#imagine if they tried to use magic to clean it up and it just went everywhere else instead 💀

[azrielbrainrot]

Moonlit Shadows - Act I

Pairing: Azriel x F!Reader

Description: When tasked to find the once famed Temple of the Moon Goddess, Azriel only expected to find old, forgotten ruins if anything at all. He could have never imagined that not only would he find a temple but also someone who would change his life forever.

Tropes/Tags: Star Crossed Lovers (in a way), Forbidden Romance (kinda), Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, some Angst with a Happy Ending

Warnings: a bit of angst

Word Count: 12,4k

Rating: 18+ (this part is actually kinda chill)

Notes: Just as a warning (?) reader has white hair and white silvery eyes in this story but those are the only physical descriptions I will make, they're kind of part of her magic. Also when I started writing this I totally intended on it being a one-shot but the story got away from me and I decided to split it up into 3 parts. I really hope you enjoy!

You've been pacing in front of the temple's door ever since the sun set over the mountain, the warm rays slowly being replaced with the brilliant pale moonlight. You keep wringing your hands together and smoothing down any possible wrinkle on your dress, repositioning the diadem perched on your head to make sure it sits perfectly. It's not often you get visitors up in the temple, let alone any your Goddess went out of Her way to warn you about and gave clear instructions to help in any way you could. You can't quite distinguish if the anxiety building inside you is the result of excitement or wariness - possibly a healthy dose of both.

The last time someone climbed these steps had been almost a full decade ago. It was a quite short affair as well since the visitor only needed a book long forgotten in the temple's library. You'd read it multiple times before, and offered it without hesitation, prompting the traveler to thank you and immediately start descending the mountain, going on his way all the while muttering about finally having all the knowledge he needed to achieve his goal. That small interaction served as a reminder of your purpose in this temple, filled you with a sense of accomplishment you usually felt in such situations, but you've been alone in between these walls since then.

After almost four centuries you're more than used to the quiet, to the way your steps echoe in the grand empty space. The loneliness had been a more prominent companion, but even that had come and gone throughout the years. You had no place in the world, nor family or friends waiting for you anymore. All you had left was your duty to the temple. But you're still only fae and the longing for some company catches up to you every once in a while. At times you think you only want the reminder that you're still alive.

There wasn't much to do around the temple either, it magically gave you food and kept itself clean so you didn't even need to bother with that. You could recite every book in the library at this point and you found you weren't the best artist as you tried your hand at painting and sculpting, even music and dancing. The flowers around the temple seemed to grow effortlessly, not even needing you to tend to them either. Even keeping a journal proved inefficient as there was little to write down, the monotony of your life not interesting enough for such a thing. When tasked with guarding the temple, you would never have imagined boredom would end up being your biggest problem.

You still recall the day your hair started turning white and your eyes dulling, losing their color slowly until they turned into the silver, almost white color they were now, mirroring the moonlight. At first your parents thought it could be some disease or even a curse, they were scared for your health and safety beyond measure, but when the Goddess contacted you and sent you the amulet you now wear religiously around your neck, it guided you and your parents to this very temple hidden in the mountains of the Night Court. She then told you Herself what the fates had written for you, presenting you with an oath and sharing her power with you, making you the Keeper of the Moon Temple.

Everything had seemed impossible to believe at first, the time of the Gods had passed millenia ago, it was hard to find someone who could even name any of them anymore, you certainly couldn't at the time. So when you were told what your role in life was going to be you had been completely blindsided, not even knowing what to make of your new occupation, of being trusted with such an important task when you weren't even three decades old.

Truthfully, you expected at least a few people to show up every once in a while, asking for help or guidance. You even prepared yourself for there to be some threats to the temple, but things had been mostly peaceful and quiet, so quiet. You understand why guarding the temple is important, this type of knowledge and power can't ever fall into the wrong hands, the safety of the world depends on it, but sometimes you wonder what your life could have been like if you hadn't been chosen by fate to hold such a heavy burden by yourself.

Your heart stalls in your chest when you feel a presence approaching, used to feeling them pass by unannounced as the temple remains hidden in its protective spell. When it's clear this is the visitor the Goddess had warned you about, as they entered the wards seamlessly, you take a deep calming breath, adjusting the diadem one last time, and open the heavy doors, revealing the temple to the moonlight. As the stairs come into view, you step up to the threshold and clasp your hands together behind your back, waiting to be of help as your Goddess instructed you to.

Distractedly rehearsing your greeting, unused as it was, you almost miss the dark shadows swirling up the milky steps, passing by you and escaping to all corners of the temple before you have time to react. Your head snaps back to follow them, breaking the calming character you were falling into in preparation to fulfill your duty. Some of your power drips down to your fingertips, casting a white glow under your skin, as you study these shadows intently. Not finding any ill intent in them, as strange as they were, some of the tension leaves your body. They simply lay before you, more and more of these wispy shadows gathering together as they swirled around themselves, not paling even a fraction under the bright moonlight or your powers. Strange little things indeed.

You wonder for a moment if this was the visitor the Goddess had mentioned, not knowing what to make of it or how to approach such a situation. She had not specified if the visitor was fae, though you're not so sure how you would be able to help shadows. Before you could embarrass yourself in trying to speak to these creatures, the same presence you felt earlier makes itself known, much closer than before. Looking up at the starry sky, you find strong, dark wings carrying someone directly to the temple, a glimpse of blue shining over their dark form.

This was already the most interesting visitor you've ever had. You'd never had the pleasure of meeting any winged fae before, and, given their reaction to the fae approaching, you were confident the shadows were under their command. Those were definitely even rarer than winged fae - Shadowsingers, you remember them being called.

As they fly down closer to you and the temple, slowly letting the wind guide them, you feel a strange tug on your chest, and then another, this time strong enough that it makes you look down at yourself with furrowed eyebrows. Your confusion only deepens when you notice a bright string connected to your heart, raising your hand to try and touch it. Your fingers pass right through it, as if it wasn't there in the first place, and soon after you try catching it, the string disappears from sight.

You lay a hand down over your chest, feeling your heart beating under your palm. The string was invisible now, but you could still feel it tugging incessantly, as if urging you to look up. You follow its silent command, almost gasping out loud when you find the winged fae a lot closer than you had expected, catching him as he lands with a harsh tud on top of the steps, arms bracing out to maintain his balance as if he isn't quite used to landing yet. The shadows swirling at your feet rush to him, and a bewildered expression takes over his face, likely mirroring your own, as he stares at you, mouth agape.

Wide leathery wings stand behind him, open in a somewhat awkward angle as he stands frozen in place. As the moonlight filters through them you realize they're not quite black as they appeared before, the insides actually have a beautiful crimson hue to them. Your eyes seem to have a mind of their own as they keep cataloging his entire form, taking note of every detail as if it was crucial information. He was covered from head to toe in black leathers, you recognize it as an armor of sorts. It clung to his every muscle, showcasing them as much as it protected him from harm. You find the same blue light from before twinkling in the midst of all the black, studying it closer to find it came from gems scattered across his armor, you're almost certain they hold some of his magic somehow.

Moving up his neck, you find tan skin shining under the moonlight and black hair curling into his forehead softly, locks messy and a little damp from the flight. The stranger also had striking hazel eyes, and you find yourself struggling to not get lost in them, only bringing yourself to break eye contact when you notice the glittery string once more in the corner of your eye, only this time it's connected to his chest.

Your breath catches in your throat as you follow its path slowly, careful not to lose the thin thread once more, finding it leading back to your own heart. You feel another tug, prompting you to look back up at the male in front of you. A hand falls over your heart at the implication, right where you could feel the phantom string had tied itself. Yet another tug confirming your suspicions.

How could this be?

⭒.˚ ☾⭒.˚

Azriel wasn't expecting his evening to turn out like this when he was called to Rhys' office. While he knew there was going to be a mission of sorts, he never imagined it would involve a temple no one has ever heard of or a Goddess long forgotten. Even with Amren's knowledge and the old books she found corroborating her words, Azriel was still anticipating coming back to Velaris empty handed. He's flown over these same mountains at least a million times in the five centuries he's been alive, and never once has he noticed a temple or any signs of magic.

The woods under him looked completely untouched as far as he could tell, no one choosing to live so far from the neighboring towns, isolated between the trees and steep mountains. His shadows filtered through the woods in case he missed something from his high position, even if he thought this search was in vain, it didn't mean he wasn't going to give it his best to fulfill his High Lord's order. He felt almost naked without his shadows latching onto his body though, the single companion still perched on his shoulder in order to relay him information not giving him nearly enough coverage to feel at ease when he was so far from home.

Mission and discomfort aside, the wind felt heavenly hitting his skin on this warm summer evening. It had been a while since he was able to fly for this long without dreading his destination as it usually meant he was visiting the Illyrian mountains, the Hewn City or a much more gruesome mission than the one he found himself in at the moment. It also feels good to step away from the full houses he found himself in nowadays. As much as he loved his family, Azriel had always valued his alone time and it was getting harder to find himself completely alone in the midst of missions and the ever growing inner circle.

As he was flying over the edge of the mountain, Azriel was getting ready to make the trip back and throw a very satisfying “I told you so” at his brother's face when his shadows suddenly disappeared right before his eyes. The abruptness of it made him panic for a few seconds, clapping his wings so he was hovering in the same place and was able to study the space ahead of him, trying to feel for any type of ward or shield but coming up empty. He could still feel his shadows, and knew they were alright given how calm the remaining one was as it sat on his shoulder and simply urged him forward, as if confused why he had stopped in the first place.

Azriel trusted his shadows blindly, they had never steered him wrong after all, and so he did as he was told and slowly started moving forward once again. After living for five hundred years surrounded by magic, there isn't much that can surprise the shadowsinger, but he can safely say he's never seen anything like this. He felt his body pass through some sort of gateway, one that went unnoticed by him until now, and as he did his surroundings began changing as if they had only been a mirage before.

In between the trees a path carved in white stone could now be seen, glinting under the moonlight in complete contrast to the rest of the dark woods. As his eyes followed this path, going up stairs of the same stone carved into the side of the mountain, he found a white temple sitting right at the top. It wasn't a huge building by any means, but the white eerie glow it emitted made it impossible to miss had it not been the spell covering it - one that would make the one who kept Velaris safe for centuries pale in comparison - and keeping it hidden from the world and unwanted eyes.

Amren had been right after all, something that happens more often than he would ever care to admit. The Goddess of the Moon still had at least a temple left in this world, leaving it behind when She took to the sky. Not much is known about the old Gods, but Azriel, born and raised in the Night Court, felt himself relax as he looked up at the moon shining above him, not believing this Goddess could be anything but benevolent. She had watched him fly over from Velaris after all, it almost felt like he was guided here.

The entire temple was made of white stone - it appeared to be the same type of stones used for the path and stairs leading up to it, only more polished. There were silver highlights carved into the walls and columns, these glowed with an intensity Azriel had never seen. Most of the roof was a huge skylight, likely so the moon could illuminate Her temple and Her followers could bask in Her brilliant light.

Given the color scheme of the entire building, his shadows were easy enough to spot, which would have been a big problem had he decided on a more covert operation when coming to the temple, he was more than glad he came here in peace. His little companions seemed perfectly content as they swirled around and over themselves right in front of the temple's doors, a few steps from a figure completely clad in white.

Even after finding the temple where he had only seen trees and shrubs before, he couldn't help but feel even more surprised that there was someone inside it. A sudden spark of magic has the shadowsinger moving faster, a gasp catching in his throat when he sees bright, pale light coming from the figure's palms. Even this wasn't enough to send the shadows that would be at the receiving hand of it into alarm, something curious on its own as they were usually as suspicious and careful as their master.

Azriel was already within earshot when the person in front of him decided his shadows posed no threat and the white light disappeared from her hands. At first glance she might have looked like a regular high fae female, but there was a different kind of power flowing through her, as shown by the strange way this light magic manifested itself, something Azriel had never felt before.

Upon flying down closer, his feet almost touching the top of the steps in front of the temple, he realizes she had not been wearing a white hood or veil as he initially thought but her hair was completely white. There was an unnatural element to it as each strand shone under the moonlight, almost rivaling it in its intensity. The floor length dress she wore was of the same color, made of a light, breathable fabric, almost translucent in certain areas, swishing softly in the faint breeze. She had not looked up at him yet, seemingly intrigued as she watched her own chest. Perhaps looking at the pendant she wore around her neck, the magic coming from it could almost be seen in its intensity.

Azriel took this moment to take her in, not knowing what to say since he was the one possibly trespassing. She was absolutely gorgeous, truly mesmerizing in her beauty and demeanor. It was almost impossible to believe she was real, standing right in front of him and not a Goddess walking his dreams. For a moment Azriel wonders if this is truly the Goddess, if She never left the land of the mortals as it was once believed, instead keeping herself safely hidden in these uninhabited mountains, but when she looks up from her necklace, eyes falling on him for the first time, all thoughts evaporate from his mind. White, silvery eyes meet hazel and a sudden rush of inexplicable feelings hit him right in the chest, squeezing his heart tight and taking his breath away. It felt as if the world had broken apart and put itself together, as if everything finally made sense. The only thing he could make sense of was one word, swirling around in his mind and completely taking over every cell on his body. Mate. You were his mate.

In his stupor, Azriel forgets he was still up in the air, wings freezing along with the rest of his body and sending him falling towards the ground. Thankfully, he hadn't been too high up, and was still able to land on his feet, knees only buckling under his weight slightly as he steadied himself. This had to be the most ungraceful landing he's performed since his brothers were training him between giggles and harmless teasing when he first joined the Illyrian camps. If he wasn't so surprised and his brain was able to formulate a single thought, he would be cringing at the fact that you had just witnessed it, his mate had witnessed it.

It takes several moments before he starts catching on to the situation, the ringing in his ears subsiding and the rest of the world re-emerging around you. He hadn't even noticed his shadows had returned to him, ecstatic for their master finally found his equal. Azriel tries to school his features in an attempt to keep at least some dignity, in fear of coming on too strong as well, especially since it seemed you were in the same predicament as him, a curious but stunned expression locked in your beautiful face as you studied him. His stupid Illyrian senses make him flare out his wings a little before he has the chance to fully take control of his body. When your gaze finds his once more, his heart stalls in his chest before speeding up at an alarming rate. You haven't even spoken a single word to him, but his heart already sang for yours.

⭒.˚ ☾⭒.˚

The oath you made before your Goddess rushes into your head as you study the handsome male in front of you. How could this be possible? The fates had decided your life lied within the temple long before you were born, so why give you a mate? A bond like this is extremely rare, you'd never seen one in your entire lifetime, albeit you lived isolated from the world for most of it. Still, this was something only a few were blessed with, a bond stronger than what mortal minds could even comprehend, so why waste it on you? Could the fates and the Mother be this cruel?

You can't even bring yourself to hope he didn't notice the brilliant bond forming between you - an angry twist pulling at your heartstrings when you dare to think of hiding it - considering the expression on his face and his silence, it seems he's already more than aware of it. All it took was a single glance and it had fallen into place for both of you.

In the midst of the rushing thoughts invading your brain, you try to remember what you've read about mating bonds. There was a book talking about them in the library, of this much you were sure, but its contents were evading your racing mind.

Gaze falling to the floor, trying to sober up from what you imagine to be one of the most intense occurrences anyone could go through, you almost miss the step he takes towards you. The surprise of it makes you flinch slightly, but it was enough for him to notice and take the same step back, wings coiling up tightly to his back and shadows moving to cover him almost completely, excitement wiped off his face and replaced with a hurt expression.

Your gaze falls on him once more, a self loathing feeling crawling up your throat and making you want to beg for his forgiveness on your knees at the thought that you put that expression on his face. This bond would take some getting used to, in what world would you kneel before a male you've just met. Still, you didn't want him to think he scared or even disgusted you in any way, mate or no mate, that was extremely rude.

You clear your throat softly, remembering the weight of your role in this temple and trying desperately to fall back into character, hoping the familiarity of your duties will bring your mind some peace and help you get through this moment.

“Forgive me, it isn't often that we get visitors,” his entire body tenses up even further at your words, but it relaxes as you keep speaking, “I welcome you to the last Temple of the Moon. I'm the keeper and sole habitant of this temple. I've been tasked to keep it safe from any possible threats, but also do my best to help anyone the Goddess deems worthy of being shown the way, just as you have been.”

You try not to look too long in his general direction in fear of getting lost in his eyes once more, but that's close to impossible when you're talking to him and he might be the most beautiful male you've ever encountered. Taking a step to the side, you hold out a hand towards the door, inviting him into the temple, something you should have already done.

He nods his head once after watching your outstretched arm for a moment longer, and then makes his way inside slowly. As he passes by, you can't help but breathe in his scent, it feels intoxicating and it takes every bit of strength in your body to not let your mind linger on how well it would smell mixed with yours, until you couldn't point out where one ended and the other began.

A gasp pulls you out of your betraying thoughts, a smile finding its way to your lips, knowing the sight was making him speechless. It always sparks a little pride in you when someone gazes upon the temple for the first time. Even after living here for centuries, this temple's beauty still takes your breath away. The entire floor was made of replandescent white stones, silver gems weave highlights into them, creating patterns across the entire room, maps of constellations and lunar phases, and giving it a particular glow of their own. They were illuminated by the giant skylight making up most of the ceiling, as to allow both the moon and sunlight to enter. You've tried identifying the materials used in this construction before but ended up coming up empty. It seems the precious stones and gems used no longer grew in this world, perhaps they never did.

At the far corner of the room there was an altar, one without statue or offering table, but an altar all the same. Even when She walked this world, your Goddess never accepted gifts or ever allowed anyone to replicate her image because even that could end up leaving traces of her power behind. The altar looks empty right now, and you catch yourself wishing he could be here to see it on a full moon, when the moon rays fall right over it and you can communicate with and receive any orders the Goddess might have for you. The entire room holds an even more intense glow during that night of the month as well, you're sure he would find it fascinating.

Making your way around him, careful not to step too close or accidentally touch his wings, you catch sight of his awe stricken face, tan skin glowing beautifully under the moonlight. A small, fond smile appears on his face when his gaze falls back on yours, and you almost curse the Mother for the challenge she just put in front of you. His beauty was truly otherworldly, it rivaled every shiny gem and stone in this room, maybe even the moon herself. How were you supposed to act normally knowing this was your mate?

“I've never seen anything like this before,” he admits softly, eyes never straying from yours. The sound of his voice makes you pause, it feels strangely familiar, like something you've been waiting to hear your entire life. There's a curious kind of magic around mating bonds, you don't know how it's possible for someone you've just met to already have so much power over you, even when you're trying your best to ignore him.

“I still find myself at a loss for words when gazing at this room as well,” you agree, wanting to cringe at the bashful expression you know has fallen over your face. Your plan of keeping a detached demeanor while fulfilling your duties was doomed from the start. You clasp your hands behind your back before continuing in what you hope is a professional voice. “The Goddess warned me of your arrival and left orders for me to help you in any way I can. If you tell me what you seek, I will give you what you came here for as long as it's within my abilities.”

His eyebrows furrow slightly at your words. “How did you know I was coming?”

“The Goddess knows more than us mortals will ever be able to grasp,” you explain as vaguely as possible while hopefully not raising any suspicions. There's not a single cell in your body that thinks he's untrustworthy, but they're incredibly biased, and the inner workings of your role as the Moon's keeper must be protected.

He seems satisfied enough with your answer, but there's a different kind of air about him now. As if remembering he doesn't know you, and has found himself at your mercy.

“You haven't told me what you came for,” you remind him. If you sit in silence for long your thoughts will start drifting again.

“Right,” he clears his throat, a pinkish tint covering the tips of his rounded ears. “I come on behalf of the High Lord and Lady of the Night Court.” Your eyebrows raise at this, not expecting him to be such an important person. “One of the High Lady's sisters has been turned into a seer recently, and given that she wasn't even born fae, these powers have proven extremely hard to control.”

You've heard the story of the human who saved the fae from the evil clutches of Amarantha, and her sisters who were tragically thrown in the cauldron by King Hybern and turned into fae against their will. Your Goddess had even told you one of the sisters vengefully stole her powers from the cauldron, and the other was gifted seer abilities. Given the circumstances in which this all went down, it's understandable that she has been having trouble controlling her powers. Being a seer is an exceptionally heavy burden, and she's still so young too.

“We have some books that might be able to help, both in controlling one's power and pulling an entranced fae out of any visions or dreams they've found themselves stuck in. Was that what you were hoping for?”

“Yes,” he admits, apparently relieved at having found what he was looking for, “We found texts mentioning the followers of the Moon Goddess often had prophetic dreams, and wrote entire manuals on how to navigate them. Since Elain wasn't born with these powers these books seemed perfect to help her, and so the High Lady sent me searching for them.” You nod, motioning for him to follow you as you turn and start walking to the library, already making a mental list of all the books that might help his friend.

Even lost in thought, you sense him stopping in his steps as you're walking down the corridor, overwhelmingly aware of his every move as you were. This prompts you to turn around and face him in question, only to find him watching you in amazement.

“You're breathtaking,” he blurts out before he can catch himself, making heat rush up your neck and settle over your entire face. He looks away embarrassed for a moment, one of his shadows crawling up his neck and over his ear, before looking back at you with a bashful look. “I'm sorry. I just- Is it normal for you to glow like this?”

This power has been a part of you for so long, you almost forget about the way your hair lights up in the dark, an aura surrounding you as well, giving you an overall ethereal glow. “Yes, I harness power from the moon and She glows so…” you trail off, biting your lip as he keeps studying you. “The library is right up ahead,” you add, turning your back to him once more so you can gather your thoughts for the nth time since he stepped foot into this temple.

As you navigate through the familiar rows of shelves your heart finally calms, easily picking up the pertinent books. You can't help but keep watching him out of the corner of your eye, not out of suspicion, but curiosity for his every reaction. He seems content with following after you as he watches the decorations and studies the books sitting on the shelves, not once asking you what you're giving him, simply carrying the books you hand him. It makes you wonder if he usually trusts everyone this easily or if it's something reserved for you.

When you hand him the last book, you move to the back of the room slowly, the place where you keep some important magical amulets and tools, waiting on any sign from the Goddess forbidding you from lending him any of them. He comes to stand beside you then, likely noticing your hesitation.

“There is also an artifact that I think could help your friend,” you start, picking up the bracelet in question and holding it up as you explain its power, “This can help numb one's powers.”

“Like faebane?”

You shake your head, “No, this is completely painless, but it's vital that it is only used when she's finding herself lost in her visions and you're struggling to pull her out. This is not to be used as a crutch. If she used it to suppress her powers too often, she might never be able to take control of her full powers and this bracelet could become something she can't live without.” He nods, hopefully understanding the gravity behind your words. “It's also extremely rare and dangerous so I ask that, as soon as she has a better grasp of her abilities, I would say within a few years at most, this bracelet is delivered back to the temple so it can be kept safe.”

“What happens if we don't return it?”

The question makes you tense up and close your hands around the bracelet, your voice coming out clipped as you answer him. “I'm not entirely sure as no one has ever attempted something so foolish as long as I've been here, but those types of transgressions are handled by the Goddess so I imagine you would not be able to keep it even if you tried.”

“I wasn't considering keeping it. I was merely curious,” he rushes to explain, sincerity dripping from every word and making you relax a bit.

“Curious?”

“If you would be the one to come for it,” he confessed.

A warm tingly feeling spreads through your body as you digest his words. Would he seriously consider stealing from a God just for a chance to see you again? Even if it meant being at the end of your wrath? Can you be confident the bond wouldn't drive you to such extremes as well?

“I can't leave the temple unattended,” you murmur, much too softly for your own good. Your emotions are running all over the place, it almost seems like they're fighting to see which one will take control of your body, and unfortunately, you have an inkling as to which is winning as his scent overwhelms your senses once again.

“Of course,” he says, taking a small step closer to you, shadows mostly retreating from his body, “Forgive me. I didn't mean to upset you.” Must his voice sound like a cup of hot chocolate after a day spent playing in the snow?

It doesn't help that you've been in this temple for so long that you can't even recall the last time someone touched you, not even sexually, no one has so much as held your hand or hugged you in decades, ever since your parents passed. Looking at him, you know you could get lost in his arms, your head resting against his strong chest.

It's only when you squeeze the bracelet too hard, a bit of its power zapping through you, that you're finally able to pull yourself from the beautiful hazel of his eyes, and your consuming thoughts. Clearing your throat and handing him the bracelet. He only hesitates a second, likely pulling himself out of the moment as well, before carefully taking it from your hand, conscious of not letting his skin touch yours, much to your dismay.

You can feel your eyes widen at the sight of his scarred hands before you have a chance to school your features. The armor he wears and the sword strapped between his wings tell you he's a warrior, but you can't imagine what could have happened for this injury to scar like this. Someone employed directly under the High Lord must have access to the best healers in the court. Suddenly, anger bubbles in the pit of your stomach at the thought that someone dared to hurt your mate.

This time he's the one to pull away from you abruptly, shadows returning to their master, and that infuriating string tugging at your heart as he does. It makes you want to reach out and hold his hand, reassure him somehow, but thankfully your brain catches up to the thought that might be overstepping, and so you simply nod at him and ask him to follow you back to the temple's main room once more.

The walk back is filled with a heavy atmosphere, not only considering your oversight, but also at the realization that you must send him away now, likely never to see him again. If you're lucky he will be the one to return the bracelet, and you will be able to see him in a few years. The thought makes you slow your pace.

It's only when you reach the heavy doors, that you allow yourself to turn to him, his face reflecting your feelings perfectly. You briefly consider mentioning the bond, at least to make sure he feels it too, but you fail to see what good that would bring. You still can't leave the temple and, now that he's gotten what he came for, he will not be able to return either. This will be the last time you see each other, regardless of your feelings.

He studies your face carefully, perhaps wondering the same. It seems he reaches a conclusion as he speaks up, “Can you tell me your name?” He sounded hopeful, but somehow scared of asking, as if denying him could hurt him beyond comparison.

You whisper your name hesitantly, knowing this isn't just another stranger, this was your mate. He repeats it, tasting it on his tongue as he stares at you with an intensity you almost couldn't bear, but were unable to look away from.

“My name is Azriel,” he offers willingly, like he wanted nothing more than to hear you say his name, and who were you to deny him this when you were already withholding so much? You repeat his name the same way he did yours, the impertinent little silver string connecting you and your mate reappearing as the delicious word left your lips.

You keep repeating it in your mind as he thanks you for your help and you watch him take flight, hesitation written in his entire body language as his wings slowly carry him over the clouds, looking back down multiple times as if fighting himself to keep moving. You repeat it once more out loud, when you can't see him anymore and you know he's out of earshot. This time his name is followed by a broken whisper of an apology.

⭒.˚ ☾⭒.˚

The flight back to Velaris was one of the hardest ones Azriel has ever attempted, noticeably taking him much longer than it would have under normal circumstances. He has had to fly back home on an injured body and even injured wings, carrying another with him – Cassian of all people – and he's had to fly through the most extreme weather, heavy rain, snow and the torrid desert sun. All of those things had seemed easy compared to what he was experiencing now with a well rested body.

Both Rhysand and Cassian had mentioned how the mating bond made them act differently, how it seemed like it was taking control of their body and pushing them to act a certain way, but he didn't expect it to be this bad. His every instinct was screaming at him to turn around and go back for his mate.

He even had to take a break along the way, after watching the temple disappear right before his eyes, hidden inside the spell that had kept it safe for millenia. As the sight of the brilliant building was replaced with trees and rocks, the only thing going through Azriel's mind was that he might never see his mate again, the mere thought sending his heart into disarray. He spends a good while sitting under the moonlight, looking ahead at where he knows she is, while his shadows do their best to comfort him. Trying desperately to wrap his head around everything that happened, and how much his life changed in such a short time.

If he had been given a warning, a chance to prepare himself, then maybe he would have approached things differently, but getting blindsided by a mating bond wasn't in his plans. In fact, it had been a good while since he had stopped hoping for a mate.

He had longed for one most of his life. For someone that not only was his equal, but was also able to connect to him in ways only those who have experienced such a thing can begin to comprehend. A person that would accept him no matter how wretched he was, how much blood he has had to wash off his hands for the sake of his court. Someone he would love with every breath in him, even if it ruined him completely.

So many don't truly believe in mating bonds until they see them in front of them, but Azriel always did. He'd seen the worst this world had to offer and knew that if there was such darkness, then its counterpart would be equally as strong. And what could be stronger and brighter than love?

It wasn't until his brothers found mates of their own within a year of each other that Azriel started truly wishing for one though. Before, it was nothing more than a dream, just as he had dreamt of flying when he was locked in his cell, of seeing his mother when his cruel father kept him away from her, but seeing the happiness the mating bond had brought his brothers and how amazing the connection they shared with their mates was, he couldn't help longing for the same.

That was until enough years passed, everyone around him happily mated or in loving relationships while he stood by and watched from the same dark corner of the room. Azriel had convinced himself he wasn't worthy of a mate, even now after seeing you he can't help but feel the same. You were perfect in every aspect of the word, a beacon of light even kept away in your temple, while Azriel was nothing more than a monster. The feared Spymaster of the Night Court. Always ready to drench his hands in blood for the sake of his family and his home, always covered in shadows. A lesser fae, Illyrian of all kinds.

You deserve someone better, of that much he's sure, but the Mother had decided you were equals, and Azriel didn't mind doing his best to be worthy of you even if he had to work for it for the rest of his life. He's been waiting to love someone for so long, has been saving all of that inside him, and he wants nothing more than to shower you in affection, in reverence. Except it didn't seem like he would have the chance.

For most of your interaction, Azriel was convinced you had also felt the bond forming between you two, but he couldn't be sure, not when you hadn't even mentioned it or alluded to it before showing him out. Maybe he had read too much into things, let his own feelings bleed into his analysis, or maybe you simply didn't want a mating bond, not with someone like him. It didn't seem like you knew of him, but who's to say you haven't heard of the awful things he's done, and decided you didn't want anything to do with a monster like him.

The thought had his shadows rushing to soothe him once more, whispering vehement denials of his unworthiness as they covered him. Unfortunately, they wouldn't answer any of his questions about you, claiming it wasn't their place to explain your feelings or situation. In a way they were right, but that left him with no idea of what to think.

Azriel sat on that mountain, mulling over everything that had happened until the first rays of the sun started rising over the horizon. It wasn't until Rhysand reached out to check on him, worried at his spymaster's unusual tardiness, that he resumed his trip back to Velaris, this time passing through shadows along the way to cut his time shorter, hoping his brother hadn't caught glimpse of the heartbreakingly beautiful female consuming his every thought. Trying desperately to clear his mind as the cool wind hit his face, preparing for the meeting that was waiting for him as soon as he got home.

“So the temple truly exists?” Rhysand had been as skeptical about the temple's existence as Azriel, finding it hard to believe that such a thing could be hidden in his own court without his knowledge.

Azriel nods and sets the books you've given him on the dark desk, dropping the bracelet on top of the pile carefully, trying not to be reminded of the way you had handed it to him, or focus on your scent still clinging to it faintly. Shaking himself out of it and letting the spymaster mask fall over his face, he starts explaining how he had found the temple behind a powerful spell, going into detail about the building itself, the keeper who had helped him and the books and bracelet given to him, including the warnings you gave him, making sure to stress the fact that the bracelet was to be returned as soon as Elain gained enough control of her abilities.

“You really didn't feel the wards around the temple?”

“No, if my shadows hadn't disappeared right before my eyes I wouldn't have even noticed they were there.” So much had happened that Azriel almost forgot how peculiar those wards were, in fact all the magic present in the temple and in you had felt different.

“And this keeper?” His heart speeds up treacherously, enough so that Rhys gets a curious glint in his purple eyes, undoubtedly noticing it. “Tell me about her.”

A soft scowl takes over his features, a strange possessiveness creeping up before has the chance to quell it. “She was waiting for me at the entrance. Apparently the Moon Goddess warned her there was a visitor coming.”

“She can talk to the Goddess?”

“It seems so,” Azriel hesitates for a moment, “Her magic is different from any fae I've seen. Her hair is completely white, and her eyes aren't much darker, maybe a bit more silver. There was a certain aura about her, her entire being seemed to glow beautifully under the moonlight, even more when we moved inside. She truly looked otherworldly. In that moment, she looked even more radiant than the stars and the moon combined.”

A moment of silence falls over the room as everyone digests Azriel's words, tiny gasps leaving Feyre and Elain, who had been out of it for most of the conversation as a result of yet another one of her visions, and Nesta's jaw dropping significantly as they were not used to hearing the Shadowsinger muse about someone like this. Unfortunately, the others have seen him drunk enough when he was younger, so it wasn't as much of a surprise.

“What was that, brother?” Cassian's teasing voice cuts through his thoughts, “I thought you didn't resort to poetry.”

Azriel looks up at this, heat rising to his cheeks at the amused looks shared by everyone in the room, realizing he had lost himself in his descriptions of you, unable to keep them as clinical as he normally would, especially when it came to a mission.

“I just meant her magic manifests in a way I've never seen before,” he finishes lamely, one of his shadows oh so helpfully crawling up his neck to notify him that no one seemed to believe his excuse.

“Right, her magic,” Nesta mocks, suddenly interested in hearing about the temple after focusing on the books that would be helping her sister.

Thankfully, Amren didn't care about whether he found the keeper beautiful or not, and wanted to keep the conversation on track, a bored expression on her face as she pulled the attention back to her and the topic at hand.

“You said she called herself the keeper of the temple, correct?”

Azriel nods at her while checking his mental walls just in case, lest he also let them fall in his moment of distraction, and his High Lord or Lady saw something they shouldn't. He can only guess what feelings and thoughts would be attached to your image in his mind. If they saw this he would never hear the end of it.

“I believe she not only can communicate with the Goddess but also shares some of her powers. It's hard to determine just how powerful she truly is,” the ancient one turns to Rhys and Feyre, a serious look taking over her features, “She could become a threat to us.”

“She's not a threat,” his voice cuts through the room, protecting his mate instinctively.

Rhysand raises one annoyingly perfect eyebrow at Azriel's sudden outburst. Some of the amusement still lingers around the room, but the anger behind his statement was undeniable, creating some tension and confusion between everyone. It's not often they see him so on edge, to the point of raising his voice at Amren of all people.

He tries to calm himself as much as possible, knowing this is a symptom of the mating bond and that his brothers and sister-in-laws might be able to figure that out, and tries to explain himself once again.

“I was the one who talked to her, there were no ill intentions when she guided me through the temple and gave me the books. She even added more books than we wanted or knew existed, and the bracelet. She helped us willingly.”

Amren studies him through narrowed eyes for a moment longer before finishing her earlier thought. “Even if she had any ill intentions, keepers are bound to their temples and can't physically leave, so there wouldn't be much to worry about.”

It feels like the world stops when Azriel hears these words. Every little hope he was clinging to in regards to your bond escaped him in that moment. If what Amren said was true, you couldn't leave the temple, even if you wanted to come and find him, and he couldn't find the temple unless he needed something and the Goddess showed him the way. He could very well never see you again, or only once more, when Elain got better and he had to deliver the books and bracelet back to the temple. Was that why you ignored the bond? Because you knew there was no hope for the two of you?

Azriel spends the rest of the meeting in a sort of trance, barely able to listen to what his family was talking about, or even register what they decided when it came to helping Elain use the books. It was impossible to focus on anything when it felt like his life, a dream that had barely started was crumbling right before his eyes. He only tunes back in when the meeting is over and most of the Inner Circle starts leaving, hoping he can at least go rest from his flight, take a long bath and find a quiet place to be alone and digest these life changing last few hours.

He was already on his feet, dragging his exhausted body to the door when Rhys called out his name, making him turn around in question. “There's something else we need to discuss.” His brother was always the most perceptive at the worst times. The last thing Azriel wants to do right now is discuss his miserable fate with anyone.

Everyone filters out the room then, even Feyre who drops a kiss on her mate's cheek before following her sister out - a gesture he's more than used to witnessing but bears a different weight today - leaving the two brothers alone in the quiet office. Azriel doesn't move from his spot, standing in the middle of the room with crossed arms as Rhysand studies him, daring him to start the conversation, secretly praying he simply has another mission to send him on instead of the conversation he's almost sure is about to start.

“Are you going to tell me what happened with this keeper?”

Azriel has to physically stop himself from sighing. Why couldn't the Mother let him have a moment after everything that has already happened in the last few hours?

“Nothing happened,” he sounds defensive even to himself, his mind too preoccupied to try and mask his emotions, “She gave me the books and then I left.” This much was true, unfortunately.

Rhys simply hums, always sounding irritatingly sure of himself. “So you wouldn't mind showing me your memories of last night, right? I'd like to take a good look at the temple. It seemed quite intriguing,” he pauses for a second, head tilting a fraction to the side, mouth forming into a smirk, “and so did she.”

A snarl escapes Azriel's mouth at his brother's words. Even if he knew he was being baited, controlling this damned bond was impossible right now. Rhysand's smirk only deepens, like a predator who successfully lured its prey, since his brother gives him the exact reaction he was expecting with that little comment. No wonder Azriel has to work so hard as his Spymaster, it's a miracle Rhys has lived this long.

“You look very defensive of a female you've only exchanged one simple conversation with.”

“Like I said before,” he says, that snarl not quite leaving his lips no matter how hard he tries, “She helped us without a second thought, even more than we expected. I just don't understand why everyone keeps insisting that she might be a threat.”

“I didn't say she was a threat, I simply asked you to show me what she looked like.” The High Lord taps his purple painted nails on the table, waiting for a response. When it becomes clear that Azriel isn't taking the bait, Rhys keeps going, “Can't blame me for being curious of how this keeper beautifully glows under the moonlight. She looked otherworldly, you said?”

The thought of assassinating his loving brother crosses Azriel's mind. He doesn't even know what to respond knowing those were his own words, and any reaction would be amplified by the mating bond. The High Lord had him right where he wanted him.

As he keeps staring at his brother, shadows climbing up his body until most of him is covered from those intense violet eyes, Rhysand's expression changes, a somewhat defeated look replacing the earlier amusement as he accepts that he'll have to pry the truth from his spymaster.

“Azriel, I've known you for over five centuries. I can tell when you're hiding something from me,” his face and tone turning even more serious as he continues, “I also know what a fresh mating bond feels like, the emotions it evokes in us.”

Azriel stares at his brother for another moment, before realizing there was no need to try and pretend he wasn't right, letting out a sigh before sitting down in the chair across from him defeatedly, shadows settling while his wings drooped, enough to touch the floor.

“If you already know, why are you asking me about it?”

“I didn't expect this to be your reaction,” he says, thoroughly studying Azriel's face. “I don't understand why you wouldn't be happy. I know it can be scary, but you've always wanted a mate, Az.”

“There's nothing to be happy about.”

Rhys simply rolls his eyes, “I know a bit more about mating bonds than you do. Trust me there's a lot to be happy about.”

His temper rises at this, emotions still not having settled - he's starting to wonder if they ever will. Even his shadows were becoming overstimulated, not knowing how to soothe their singer in these circumstances.

“Didn't you hear what Amren said? She can't leave the temple, she's bound to it, and I can't go back there since it's hidden under whatever spell that was,” the words almost caught in his throat, “I'm never seeing her again.”

Saying it out loud makes the whole situation unbearably real. It's not often Azriel sees himself in conversation such as these, always one to ignore his feelings for as long as possible, and then isolating himself when they become too much, but his brother knows him too well, as he said before, and was prying out everything too easily.

“I don't even know if she wanted this,” he finds himself whispering.

“Why wouldn't she?”

Azriel swallows all the self-pity, the unworthiness he felt when it came to you, or anyone else really. Diving into these feelings would lead them into a different conversation, one he wasn't sure he could handle, much less right now, and so he opts for the simpler answer.

“She didn't mention the bond once, she was ignoring it – if she even felt it at all,” he leans back and runs his hand through his hair, “my feelings were muddled the whole time I was there so I can't even know for sure.”

“You didn't tell her you were her mate either,” Rhysand reminds him.

Would things have gone a different way if he had? Or would you simply let him down as soon as he brought it up? Did it even matter? Would he be able to survive your rejection?

“She told you the temple showed itself for the people who needed it, right?” Azriel looks up at his brother, nodding. “Seems to me like you need to talk to her.”

⭒.˚ ☾⭒.˚

You're not entirely sure what one is supposed to do after finding their Mother-blessed mate, and then proceed to send them on their way, possibly to never return. Not being able to get even a wink of sleep and spending the next few hours searching your library for any information on mating bonds seems appropriate though. There wasn't anything written in these books that you didn't already know about mating bonds: extreme attraction, a connection of emotions, feelings of primal possessiveness, the possibility for a love unlike any other.

There was no mention of the silver string you'd seen tied around both of your hearts, but the bond seems to manifest itself differently for everyone, and the magic your Goddess has poured into you was peculiar to say the least. Even Azriel might not have seen or felt it manifest the same way you did, but that doesn't mean it's not there. Denying it is out of the picture at this point.

The section about rejecting mating bonds caught your eye, but it quickly soured your mood. It seems there's no way to reject a mating bond and hope for life to ever go back to normal, especially for males as they would always feel like a part of them was missing. The book didn't exactly go into depth on the topic – there can't be too many other idiots thinking of turning down a mating bond, – so it didn't mention anything about just ignoring the bond. Would it just fizzle out until you could barely feel anything, or would it end up with the same effects of a rejected bond? As much as you knew this bond was doomed from the start, you didn't want to convict Azriel to a lifetime of madness, or even worse. It was bad enough he couldn't get a mate out of you.

After your mood deflates at the bleak prospect for your future, and the sun has already replaced the moon, you decide to indulge yourself for a moment. Since your encounter had been so brief, you ended up not finding out too much about Azriel aside from his name, and, as much as there was a voice nagging at the back of your mind, warning you that trying to learn more about your mate won't help you in successfully ignoring the bond at all, you're still only fae and curiosity got the best of you. How could you not be curious about your mate?

You'd heard stories about a shadowsinger working under the High Lord of the Night Court, but you didn't know if that was him as the High Lord had changed since then. If it was though, this would make him a truly important figure for this court, country even. You can't help but feel proud at the thought.

Your search for information on Shadowsingers soon proves fruitless, not being able to find much else aside from their abilities to communicate with shadows, rare as they are, so you move onto researching winged fae instead, in hopes of finding out what kind he is. There are various kinds, this much you know, but for some reason you've always imagined them all to have feathered wings. It's at times like these that you wished you had traveled more when you were younger.

Most of the day is spent like this, tucked into your favorite sofa in the library, the temple refilling your teacup and offering you little snacks as you search for any bit of information that could help you understand who Azriel is. A tug on your silver string finally pulls you out of the moment, body immediately going into alert as you feel your mate nearing. These feelings are entirely too abstract, there's no way of knowing if he's flying over the temple or simply a bit closer than he had been an hour prior - which could still be halfway across the Night Court. You'd also found in one of the books that mates could attempt reaching out to each other through the bond, the descriptions of the resulting feeling appearing quite similar to what you were experiencing at the moment.

You try to ignore it and carry on reading your book on wings - the irony not lost on you - but the string keeps tugging incessantly, even more firmly now, and you suddenly get the feeling that he was actually close, possibly even trying to reach out at the same time or following the bond.

Had he come looking for you? You told him the temple kept itself hidden unless the visitor needed something from within these walls and the Goddess allowed them passage. He had to know that he wouldn't find anything more than trees and shrubs in this forest, the temple keeping itself out of sight even if he had been here before and knew its exact location, such were the wards around this place.

Putting away the book and sitting up on the sofa, you wonder what you should do. There's no way of communicating with him, and you won't be able to let him in, no matter how desperate you were since that decision was not your own to make. Your role was to protect the temple, but you knew he wasn't a threat either. Were you to simply stand by and watch while he looked for you, only to be met with silence? The Mother seems to have a twisted sense of humor.

As you were preparing yourself mentally for what you assumed were going to be a tough few hours, you feel the unmistakable sign of someone passing through the barrier, prompting you to stand up and winnow straight to the main hall, opening the front doors in a rush, only to find a familiar dark figure waiting for you.

If you weren't witnessing it with your own eyes, if your heart wasn't beating at that rhythm that seemed reserved solely for him, you wouldn't have believed this to be true. Your feet move of their own accord, carrying you towards your mate as he stands at the entrance to your temple, a contagiously hopeful expression on his face as he watches you move to him.

“How did you get here?” You can't help the dumb question, not being able to understand what is happening in the midst of your surprise and every other feeling that came with his presence.

“I needed to talk to you,” he explains in a breathy tone, smiling down at you like he wasn't sure if this would have worked either, if he was actually going to be able to find you.

The Goddess showed him the way, if She hadn't he wouldn't have been able to find you, even with any shadowsinger trick he might have had up his sleeve. Could She know he's your mate? She had been the one to warn you of his arrival the day before after all.

You're still trying to gather your thoughts when he continues, skipping over all the pleasantries as if he couldn't keep the words in any longer.

“You're my mate.”

Hearing the word coming from his mouth makes your heart soar, a tingling feeling spreading over your entire body as if lava was now running through your veins. This was not a confession you needed to hear, but the bond welcomed it anyway.

“I know,” you admit, a bittersweet smile overtaking your features.

“Are you unhappy with it? With me?” You quickly shake your head in denial, but he continues before you have the chance to explain, “I would understand it if you were, and if you don't want the bond, I won't force you to accept it. I promise I will never hurt you.”

Is this what has been going through his mind since he left? That you wouldn't want him? The thought makes you swallow, you've only wanted to spare him as much pain as you could, not hurt him more yourself.

“Azriel, that's not it. There's nothing wrong with you, or any reason I wouldn't want you as my mate” you assure, “but I swore my life to protecting this temple, and I can't physically leave the grounds. That's not fair to you.”

He doesn't seem to be surprised at the information, meaning he was probably already aware of your predicament and decided to come talk to you anyway, but he still takes a moment before speaking, thinking through his words as he watches you, shadows coming up to whisper in his ear.

“Did you make a vow of chastity or anything similar?” The question takes you aback for a second, heat rising to your cheeks at the implication.

“Not explicitly, no,” you clear your throat, “but it's hard to keep a relationship when you're bound to a temple hidden in the middle of nowhere. I can't even walk past the first few steps.”

Azriel looks behind him at your words. If he took a few steps down, you wouldn't be able to follow him, a different set of wards keeping you within these grounds. When he meets your eyes once again, you add carefully, “This isn't a relationship worth pursuing when we both know it won't end up working.”

“I think I would like to decide that for myself,” he says as he takes a small step closer to you, “if you'll allow me.”

“What?”

“I would like to come visit you whenever I can, and get to know you. This… I don't think we should throw away a chance like this so lightly, not without at least giving it a try.” He closes most of the distance between you, raising up his hand and holding his palm up for you to take, “Even if it never becomes a romantic relationship, or if it ends up breaking both of our hearts, I don't want to be the person who didn't fight for something so special in fear of getting hurt.”

You watch his hand as you mull over his words. It's not as if he doesn't make sense in his argument, you're more than aware how downright stupid it is to throw away a mating bond when some people spend their whole lives searching for one, but you're scared, for both of your sakes. Letting your mate into your life, even without accepting the bond, knowing that there will come a time when you will want more from it than what you're capable of having would not simply hurt you both, but change both of your lives beyond recognition – it could even kill you. And yet, staring into his hopeful eyes every little reason why you should be turning him down, walking back into the temple and closing the door behind you, seems to escape your mind.

When his hand lowers slightly, wings drooping as well, possibly taking your hesitation as denial, your hand moves to hold his instinctively, surprising the both of you. You had been kidding yourself into thinking you could fight a bond like this. The smallest sign that your mate would leave and your body moved to keep him by your side. Your decision has been made. You can only hope the Gods will have mercy on you.

“I would like to get to know you too, Azriel,” you say, squeezing his hand in yours as a blinding smile takes over his devastatingly handsome face. “As long as the Goddess shows you the way to the temple, I don't see anything wrong with… talking.”

He lets his thumb run over the back of your hand before raising it to his lips, sending your heart into disarray as he leaves a soft kiss on your skin. A flush covers the tip of his ears, and you catch a flash of the silver string connecting the both of you.

“Then I promise to come see you as often as I can.” He lets your hands fall between you two, fingers still intertwined as you stare at each other like fools. You catch yourself after a moment, thanking the Mother for living in this isolated mountain for once so no one could witness this.

“Do you want to come in? You must be tired after your flight,” you invite, letting go of his hand, missing the warmth of his skin immediately.

His gaze drops to your hand before meeting yours once again and nodding, following you inside into the main hall he had been in before. It looked different in the light of day, his hazel eyes studying it once more.

“I didn't fly all the way here,” he starts, gaze still stuck on the stone covered walls, “I can travel through shadows, similarly to how most high fae can winnow.”

“Oh.” You watch as his shadows move lazily around him, coming up his legs. “Is that one of your shadowsinger abilities?”

“Yes.” You wanted to ask more, your earlier curiosity returning, but you find a conflicted expression when he meets your eyes, you can also feel it in your chest, and so you wait for him to decide if he wants to share it with you.

“I'm not high fae,” he admits.

“Right, the wings,” you let out, much too excitedly, as your eyes fall on the huge appendages on his back, “I've never met anyone with wings, and haven't even heard of featherless wings. I searched in the library for types of winged fae, but most of our collection is a bit outdated, and the Goddess was never too interested in those sorts of things so I couldn't find anything that fit your description.” Your mind finally catches up to your words then, eyes widening before falling to your hands as you play with your fingers, and add lamely, “I have a lot of time on my hands here, and I didn't think I'd see you again so…”

You dare a look at his face when his silence drags on too long, finding him watching you with a surprised expression, wide hazel eyes staring into your white ones. His shadows had crept up his neck once again - singing to him you suppose.

Azriel finally finds his words after another moment, your eyes not straying from his for a second, “I'm Illyrian,” he starts, studying your face carefully before continuing, “As far as I know, we're the only ones whose wings have no feathers.”

“Illyrian?”

“Have you heard of it?” He seems scared somehow, but you're not exactly sure why he would be. You try to remember where you've heard the word before, only taking you a moment to remember them as people who live in the mountains up in the north, and were part of the High Lord's army.

“Yes. I know they're people who live in the mountains, and fought in the war but I didn't even know you had wings,” you gesture to them, “I didn't get much of a chance to travel before I came to the temple, so I've never met any Illyrians.”

“That's all you've heard?” You nod slowly, eyebrows furrowing at his insistence. “Illyrians have an unfavorable reputation. The males train their whole lives to fight, and the females aren't regarded as much more than a means for procreation,” he explains further, “Some have started changing their ways, slowly, but most camps insist on their traditions, no matter how cruel. They- We just don't have a good reputation.”

You start understanding where he was getting at. Some fae had trouble opening their eyes to how the world was changing around them, choosing to remain willfully ignorant to the harm it brought those who were different from them, who they deemed as lesser. He was scared that, had you heard about whatever cruelty he's seen from his peers, you would judge him for it. You feel a little offended that he would think so lowly of you, but the truth is he doesn't know you at all, or you him.

“It's hard to outlive archaic traditions when we live for centuries. I wouldn't ever dream of passing judgment on an entire group of people for the beliefs some of its members insist on clinging onto,” you clasp your hands together behind your back, shrugging as you smile up at him, “and I might be biased, or even wrong, but I think you're very kind, Azriel. You came all the way here to help your friend, with no real proof that you'd find what you were looking for, and then you came back to ask permission to visit me, even when you thought I might not accept it. Cruel is the last word I'd use to describe you. I'd rather go with sweet.”

“Sweet?” He asks, a flush rising to his cheeks and a bashful smile finally erasing that conflicted expression off his face. “You think I'm sweet?” You hum in agreement, your grin growing so large it hurts your cheeks. “I'll have to let my mother know at last someone agrees with her.”

You let out a laugh, the image of a baby Azriel getting showered in praises from his mother entering your mind. You almost have trouble imagining him as a child, but you have no doubts he was more than sweet, adorable even, with his round cheeks and small wings.

“So…” You lean back on your heels, intertwining your hands behind your back. “Do you want me to show you around the temple?”

“I would love to,” he agrees with a blinding smile on his face.

[eleteo125]

"Be Mine or You Will Burn"

Rollo x GN!Reader

AN: Me and my friend are Rollo fans and they've inspired me to write this idea out 🤣

You were simply just walking around admiring the scenery of Noble Bell where you went back to the cathedral to appreciate the artistry of the stain glass. Each panel depicting how Judge Claude Frollo and his accomplishments.

Rollo, the school’s student council president has welcomed the NRC students by giving them a tour but his obvious disdain for magic users made it clear that he was rushing to get the tour done as fast as possible to get away from them. Heck you would even bet that the only reason he was able to get through the whole tour was because he only set his attention towards you barely minding the other guests. He sometimes casts a watchful eye on them but other than that he doesn’t particularly engage with them compared to you.

With those signs in display, everyone from NRC has come to the conclusion that them being invited here has an ulterior motive to it. Briefly shaking those thoughts from your mind, you admired the lights coming through the different colored windows surrounding you in a colorful halo.

My what a beautiful sight indeed.

Magic wielder or not, you’re still a student from NRC so of course Rollo has kept a close eye on you when freely strolling around the school. But he can’t help the fact that you’re devoid of any magic at all has him deeply fascinated. And to think to mingle around those…ahem.

Do not be fooled he’s only keeping watch of you because he can tell that everyone from NRC are quite attached to you especially that dragon fae. What better way to keep them in check when he has you close and in his clutches.

Walking towards you he silently stood in behind you. He held in a small chuckle as he saw you’re awestruck face looking at the beautiful work of art. “Impressed?”

Jumping a little bit in surprise, you quickly looked behind to see him “O-oh! Yes, I haven’t seen a stained glass window in person before, just through pictures.” You confessed

“Hmph of course such beauty is painstakingly crafted by hand of course you won’t see a lot of it. Craftsmanship that took people’s skill and talent with no assistance from cheap tricks everyone reveres.” He spits

“Magic?”

Rollo stayed silent at your question.

You decide to let go of the subject with his sudden silence. Instead you walked closer to the window to admire the small details. It was such detailed you can’t even imagine how long it would take to finish such a large piece.

Too lost in thought, you started to reach your hand out to the window but you’re once again surprised when you felt a strong grip around your wrist.

You were about to apologize but instead freeze up when you felt him step closer behind you. You tried to step forward to get some distance since you’re starting to get flustered at our position but realized that you don’t have much space to move in since you’re very close to the window.

“I’m sorry but those were just cleaned by the careful hands of our cleaners hands off please.” He whispered in your ear.

You shuddered at his closeness and the sensation of him speaking carefully so close to your ear. “I-I understand.” You stuttered while unconsciously leaning into his ‘embrace’.

He seems to have lost himself also since he buried his nose in your hair while his other hand rubbed your free arm.

You two stayed like that for who knows how long just basking in each other’s contact. “Why not transfer here, I can tell how ‘generous’ the headmaster is in your current school.”

“I can’t” you managed to mumble out after almost melting at the close soud of his voice yet again.

“You’re surrounding yourself with magic that is as deadly as fire.”

You leaned closer “Fire can be useful too.” You whispered

You felt his sigh in your ear and your knees almost gave up but he held you up when he sensed you were about to fall.

“Consider it.” He kissed behind your ear “Be mine or you will burn.

He carefully let you go after making sure you won’t collapse to your knees before walking put and leaving you under colorful light.

[strangemaleswaps]

Strange Spellbook Swap

I've always wondered how couples stay together so long. My husband, Derek, and I had been married for 3 years now and while we get along great and support each other through everything, the sex had been pretty stale for awhile. Half the time he's not really in the mood and when he is, we usually just jerk off next to each other. I was getting tired of it and craved something more. But Derek was still so cute, him being a socially awkward nerd, and I was scared to tell him how I feel because he might cry.

That afternoon, I was on my way to pick him up from work. We only had one car, but since both our jobs typically had the same shift, I always headed over to pick him up at his job at the library. I didn't actually have work today so I went a little earlier to look at some books. When I arrived, Derek noticed me and smiled real big.

“Hey! You're early!”

“Yeah, thought I'd browse a bit.”

“Ah ok. I just organized it all so you get to see my work!” He smiled again and continued helping customers in line.

I browsed through my favorite genre - fantasy. I always loved ones that involved magic, spells, and amazing worlds. I noticed one book that kinda stuck out a bit amongst the shelf. It was some kind of spellbook with a brown leather cover, and had a bit of dust on it, which seemed strange because the rest of the shelf was perfectly clean. I opened it up and found that it was indeed a spellbook. I wasn't the most superstitious person ever, but I did believe there was some kind of magical force out there that could do incredible things.

I flipped through the table of contents and noticed there was a category called “relationships”. I turned the pages to the section and saw a bunch of spells - ones to make someone fall in love with you, ones to get promoted at work, ones to impress your family, things like that. I was about to close the book when I found one page - how to spice up your sex life. That was just what I needed! Even if it didn't work, it couldn't hurt to try.

I walked over to the counter right as another guy started talking to Derek. He was a real muscular guy wearing a white shirt and tan hat. His pants left absolutely nothing to the imagination with the way they were tight fitting around his ass. A mustache covered his thick face, which complemented his bright green eyes. He was carrying a tote bag.

“Hey can I help you?” He greeted the man with an eager attitude. “Need a book recommendation or anything?”

“Oh no I don't read.” The man spoke with a deep manly voice. “I mean, who has time to when you could be working out?” I could see the rare irritated look on Derek's face.

“Then…what do you need from the library?” He replied, much less eager than before.

“Just dropping off some books for the wife. We're going on vacation and they’re due tomorrow.” He took a couple books out of the tote bag.

“Allright. I can take them.” The man handed him the books and immediately turned around and left. Derek's smile returned when he saw me with a book in my hand.

“Hey! What'd you get?”

“It's a book of spells.”

“Of spells? Like real ones?”

“No way,” I laughed. “Just some dumb thing. Looks fun to read though.”

“Allright. Gotcha.” He checked me out and I sat down, waiting for him to finish the rest of the closing.

That evening after dinner I tried to seduce him but he wasn't having it once again.

“Sorry, work has me so exhausted you know?” I wish that I wanted to, but…well I just don't want to. Sorry.” I stood there defeated.

“Ok.” I let out an emotionless reply. As Derek brushed his teeth and got ready to head into bed, I flipped through the pages of the spellbook. I found the “spice up your sex life” spell and read the instructions. I needed to recite the incantation while looking at a picture of the two of us. I took out my phone, and scrolled through my gallery until I found the perfect picture. Then I started to recite the spell. Nothing happened. I tried again. Still nothing. At that point I was mad at him and now mad at the spellbook for wasting my time, so I headed into the bedroom. There I found Derek waiting for me.

“Hey…look I'm sorry. How about tomorrow morning we have some fun? I promise I'll go through with it!” Maybe the spell did work afterall! We both had a day off tomorrow so that was perfect. I was so excited that I could barely sleep.

The next morning I woke up to Derek nudging me awake. Excitedly, I turned over. But to my surprise, it wasn't him smiling at me, but a hairy guy with a mustache. He was giving me a sexy smile.

“Hey…you ready?” He gave me a look of uncertainty and cleared his throat. I didn't even know what to say but I was so confused that there was total stranger in my bed, so I had to say something.

“Who are…you?” He frowned beneath his mustache.

“What do you mean? Oh no, am I having an allergic reaction somehow? That would explain my voice and why my eyesight is blurry even with my glasses on. It's me though! My face must be so puffy…oh god."

”Holy fuck. It's Derek! But this was far beyond an allergic reaction. He's an entirely different person! He pushed the covers off and was about to get out of bed, probably to take a look at himself in the mirror, when he glanced down at his body. This was definitely not normal. He was muscular, tan, and hairy - a stark contrast to what he normally looked like. He made a terrified face, which was a strange sight on such a macho guy.

“What? What's happening? I-I…” He looked at me with worry in his eyes, and it was then that I realized WHY this was happening. It must've been the spell. I guess turning your boyfriend into a muscle hunk would definitely spice up our sex lives. But I couldn't leave him in the dark.

“I-I,” I started. “It was my fault. That spellbook I got, I used it on you. I didn't expect this though!”

It was then that I realized WHO he was. That guy we saw at the library yesterday. He somehow swapped bodies with him!

“What? What spell was it?”

“Spice up your sex life. I just…was getting bored. And you were never in the mood.”

“Oh…but it turned me into this?” He then rushed to the bathroom. I followed. He immediately recognized himself as soon as he looked into the mirror.

“Hey! I'm that guy from yesterday!? Why did it turn me into him?”

“I-I don't know! Maybe it picked someone from a recent memory?”

He gazed at himself in the mirror with an open mouth, and touched all around his face, pinching and feeling his mustache.He gazed down and admired his new muscles, feeling all around his pecs and the chest hair growing from them. He then turned around and stared at the mirror again, this time making a variety of expressions.

“What am I supposed to do? I can't stay like this!”

“I don't know! There must be something about a reverse spell in the book.” Flipping through the book, I once again found the page I needed. I read every word but didn't find anything about a reverse spell. Could he be stuck like this?

“Maybe if we see like a professional?”

“What, like a fortune teller witch lady or whatever?”

“Exactly.”

“Well. I do remember seeing something like that close to town. A psychic. Maybe they can help?”

“We could try.” I looked up fortune tellers and found Madam Cleo - Psychic. It was a short drive away. I was hoping we would find our answers there.

“I got it.”

“One problem,” Derek said doubtfully.

“What?” He stared down at himself and then answered.

“I don't think anything will fit me now…” I couldn't help but laugh out loud.“I think we can find something at least.”

We dug through the closet and eventually found the Lakers jersey that my uncle gifted me a few years back. I wasn't even into basketball and it was a few sizes too big, but at least it helped us in the end! Derek slipped it on and gazed at himself in the mirror. It fit pretty nicely.

“Not really my style…but it'll do for now.” He put his finger on his chin and then rubbed his head. He froze when he grazed the back of it.

“What’s wrong?”

“I'm…balding.” He turned around and tilted his head up to show me. He definitely had a bad case of male pattern baldness. I thought it was pretty hot, but he looked terrified.

“Hmm…well. That's something we can just fix with a hat. I walked into the bedroom, grabbed one of my hats, and put it on his head. It completed the look well.

“I guess this'll work. Maybe.” I laughed again.

“You'll be fine.”

We got to the car, Derek struggling a bit to fit in the passenger seat with his new frame, and headed over to the fortune teller. It was a warehouse-like building, although much smaller. As we were about to walk in, someone else walked out. He was a young looking guy around my age, but at least 200 lbs heavier. He looked like he made absolutely no effort to control his weight.

“Hey! That lady is awesome!” He said excitedly. “She told my fortune and said that I would lose weight very soon! I can't wait!” He then ran off, his gross looking belly jiggling up and down, and drove away.

I kinda felt bad for people like that, that actually believe that sort of thing…what am I saying? We're the ones going to a fortune teller for help. I just really hoped she was legit then.

We walked in and found that the interior was nicely decorated, completely different from the outside. Shiny wooden floors, a chandelier, and LED lights hanging from the walls. All of that surrounded a crystal ball in the center. Within a few seconds a woman dressed in a typical fortune teller outfit appeared from a curtain in the back.

“What does the future hold for you two today? Let's find out,” she said with an ominous tone to her voice.

“Actually we're not here to get our fortunes told. We need your help.”

“What do you mean? She asked, dropping the ominous tone.

“Well my husband here is a victim to a body swapping spell gone wrong.” I showed her the book, flipping to the page.

“Oh my,” she said with a concerned look on her face. “This is very powerful magic indeed.”

“But how do we reverse it?”

“I don't know for sure. But the victim should try to recite it instead.

“Victim? You mean Derek? How would that work?”

“Do not question why things are the way they are. Now go!” She said suddenly. With that, we hurried back home to recite the spell.

“Ok how do I do this now?” Derek asked.

“Just recite the spell, and focus on a picture of us.” He recited the incantation.

“Nothing happened…how was it last time?”

“Same as this time. I guess it took awhile to take effect. What should we do in the meantime?” He didn't reply, but instead stared at himself in the mirror.

“You know, now that this face actually has a brain behind it, it's actually kinda hot.” He then walked over to me and got real close. I'd never been intimidated by Derek before for obvious reasons, but this time I couldn't help but feel dominated by his brawny self.

“The spell picked this guy because you thought he was so hot didn't it? That's gotta be it.” He said with a low voice.

“Y-yeah. I admit it. He seemed dumb at the library but hey, he was a hunk.”

“And now I'm that hunk.” He started feeling all around his body again. He then glanced at his dick and began to stroke it. I knew exactly where this was going and I was all for it.

“Well then Mr. Muscle Hunk, why don't you show off that body a bit more?”

“I'd like nothing more…but I'm gonna go shower first. Who knows where this guy's been?”

“Yeah good idea. I'll be in the room.”

I was so excited! This was gonna be the hottest thing ever! I headed toward the closet to find something sexy to put on. Suddenly I felt a bit dizzy. I noticed my skin seemed to be glowing somehow. Within seconds it turned ghostly white, and then became so bright, it hurt to look at. Why was I glowing? It seemed to be just my body though, nothing was happening to my clothes. As quickly as it came, the glowing stopped and the dizziness returned. I didn't have time to see what happened, because as soon as the glow stopped I lost my balance and fell onto the nearby chair.

My clothes felt incredibly tight, but it wasn't long before I realized why. I was fat! My shirt didn't even fit over my large belly. My pants must've popped a button as my gut hung over them. I tried to get up but the weight of my gut kept pushing me backwards. How do fat guys even do this?

When I finally got up and onto my feet, I rushed to the mirror, my hanging belly flopping up and down. My face looked familiar…oh shit. I was that guy we saw at the fortune teller's! Did the spell do this? How did this happen?!

I heard the shower stop, meaning Derek was going to meet me here any minute now. I couldn't believe the hottest night of my life was about to be ruined! Why did this have to happen?

The door opened and there he was, standing there in a pair of briefs. They were always a little big on him, but with his new body, they were pretty tight. It looked like he shaved his head too. He stared at me, at first he looked shocked but then his expression changed. Was that a look of lust?

“So the spell did something to you too?”

“Yeah…look at me! I'm a mess!” I jiggled my flabby moobs to prove my point.

“Well…”

“Well?”

“It's not so bad.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I mean…well you know how you said I look hot like this? And that the spell probably made me like this for that reason?”

“Yeah. What are you getting at…wait.”

“Mhm.” He mumbled with a sexy smirk.

“Y-you think I'm hot like this?!" He got real close and started making out with me. It was the most intense make out session I'd ever had. The feeling of his thick mustache rubbing against my face was a sensation I would've never expected could feel so good.

“Does that answer your question?”

“Yep,” I said with a smirk.

[cornelianlute]

"a... paint bomb..." sarah had a good guess as to who was the unlucky receipent of her sister's schemes, but she didn't say a word. a mental image of the likely suspect being covered in a shower of beautiful pink glitter is enough to make her want to laugh but she holds it in. after all she is supposed to be the older one who is supposed to be against such activities. taking in another look at the unfortunate state everything around the two sisters is in sarah wonders if they'd be able to truly hide all the evidence before someone were to find them. surely there'd be glitter for days and even in the most unsuspecting of places. 

her eyes grew large as her sister plopped her head onto her chest and sarah thought about how she was most likely covered in glitter too. thankfully the dress she wore today was also a soft pink so it'd hopefully blend right in. "well... i'm not entirely sure. i suppose it depends on where you got them? they aren't from the restricted section... are they?" surely diana's penchant for mischief wouldn't cause her to break into a closed off area for a prank... would it? "diana, relax and be calm. i will help you clean up. father and mother are gone away into town for until the evening. i'm sure everyone else is much too busy to notice where we are." but where should they start? a broom and a dust pan? would that be enough to get rid of most of the evidence?

her big sister's presence brought a brought a soothing wash of relief across her panicked features. yes, there was a possibility of a scolding, but if anyone had to witness the results of her disaster, she'd rather it be sarah than a servant or worse ... the girl shuddered — her parents. diana let out a sheepish giggle in response to sarah's question. she was about to reach up to scratch at her scalp, only to immediately throw her hand down as the acute awareness of how stained her hands were hit her. ❝ i was about to set off a paint bomb ... ❞ she told her, sidestepping the glass to reach her older sister.

❝ ah ... this sure IS a mess huh? um, & some precious scrolls are now a lot prettier too ... yay glitter, right? ❞ she tried to lighten the mood but only succeeded in making her crime worse. with a slight cry, her head plopped onto sarah's chest in defeat. ❝ ohhh! i can't get in trouble like this! i mean, were they that valuable? please help me clean up! i promise i won't do anything like that again! ❞ she whined, voice muffled by fabric.

[xxchaosjojoxx]

Love Potion (Penguin x f!reader)

You never believed in something like magic, but this love potion seems too tempting. Little did you know that Penguin drank this, thinking it was juice. And then he was quite fond of you out of a sudden.

You were sighing as you held a little bottle with light purple liquid in it. Observing it with a sad smile. You didn’t believe in magic but as you were roaming through this city, seeing the old and rusty shield with the words “Witch’s Corner - Magic Shop” on it, your curiosity got the better of you. You were looking through the shelves, seeing some lucky charms and potions. For good health, for financial luck and a love potion. You were drawn to it. This shiny and light liquid was fascinating. The old lady with this heartwarming smile patted your shoulder. “You can take it my dear. Maybe your beloved one will notice you with a little help.” And before you could argue or pretend that you didn't think of your crush, you went back towards the Polar Tang, with a love potion in your hand. You didn’t know why you bought it in the first place. There was no way this would work right? So why were you so dumb, believing in this kinda thing. Maybe the temptation was too strong. Imagining your crush, Penguin, falling in love with you was enough to make your heart, jump a little.

You were deep in thoughts as you could hear a knock on your room door. With a “yelp” you jumped up. Turning around you could see Bepo standing there, looking at you with a smile. “Sorry for disturbing you y/n-chan. I was wondering if you could help me clean the kitchen and prepare lunch?”

You chuckled. “Of course.” With that you left your quarter with Bepo unknown that the chaos will unfold soon enough.

During lunch you were joking with Shachi and Penguin, same as usual. “You have something here” Penguin said and gestured that you have a crumble near your lips. You tried to remove it til Penguin chuckled. It was just like any other day but this time was different. Penguin hovered over the table, caressing your lips, removing the crumb, sitting back to his seat while he licked his lips. “Now your beautiful face is crumbs-free.” He said and smiled softly, earning a deep blush from you.

“W-What? Why did you do this?”

Penguin titled his head smirking. “Because I thought you need a hand back there silly.”

You nodded still confused. “Dude did you drink some cringe liquor or what’s wrong with you?” Shachi said with a laugh, patting his back.

“No, I just…” He glanced over towards you and started to whisper something in Shachi’s ear. You were curious and concentrated on his words. Your hearing was quite good.

“I just noticed that y/n had some of my favorite juice in her quarter and I took a sip.”

You stood up, hearing every word he was saying. With a blank expression you felt like you would pass out every second. “Y/N chan what’s wrong? You look really pale.” Bepo’s concerned voice was ringing in your head. You couldn’t help but stare at Penguin and Shachi. Everyone was looking at you with a worried and surprised look.

“You were in my room?” You were stammering, your throat was hurting. Tears were forming in your eyes.

Penguin stood up quickly, making the dishes on the table fall nearly off. “Hey relax. I'm sorry ok? I was on cleaning duty and wanted to ask you if you have some clothes I could wash but you weren’t there. I saw it and took a sip. I’m sorry I just-”

You ran off towards your quarter. Cutting him off. It couldn’t be right? He didn’t drink the potion right? As you reached your room with heavy panting you saw the little potion empty. You felt dizzy. So he really drank it. Your body was trembling and soon enough your legs went weak and you were sinking towards the floor. That’s why Penguin caressed your lips just now and were flirting with you out of nowhere. Tears roaming down your face and you couldn’t help it. It was a dumb thing to cry about. You weren’t even sure if you would use it ever and now the decision was made without your consent. Because it was an accident.

Your sobbing alarmed some of your crewmates and soon enough you could feel a pair of arms around your body. Someone was hugging you from behind. With puffy red eyes you turned your head towards the figure who was giving you a lovely embrace.

You could only see a penguin hat. “I am sorry. If I knew you would cry I never would’ve entered your room without your consent nor drink it. I am sorry. What can I do for your tears to stop? I don’t ever wanna be the reason for your tears.” Before you could answer, Ikkaku pushed Penguin out of the way. “How about respecting boundaries first, buddy?” Ikkaku huffed, taking your hand and leading you towards the room. She was slamming the door shut, guiding you towards your bed.

“Tell me what’s wrong. There is no way you would cry for this trivial reason like entering our room without permission or drinking some of your stuff.”

You were looking at her, sniffling. Ikkaku went pale. “Oh no don’t tell me you are on your period. Sorry girl. Can I bring you a heating pad or some chocolate?” Ikkaku panicked and hugged you while stroking your back.

“I’m not on my period. It’s not a hormone thing. Don’t worry.”

You said while sniffing. “I guess I made a dumb decision.” You confessed and told Ikkaku everything.

She was nodding. “Ok let me see if I understand it correctly. You bought a love potion, and after realizing Penguin drank something you went back here just to find out that the love potion is empty.” You nodded in agreement. “And now you think, Penguin is helplessly in love with you because he flirted a little with you during lunch.” Ikkaku was giggling.

You stood up groaning. “This isn’t funny. He is under the influence of a love potion.”

Ikkaku stood up as well. “First of all magic doesn’t exist ok? Second, you guys are always flirting with each other. There is no difference at all.”

You froze looking at her with a light blush. “We never flirt with each other. What are you talking about?”

“Come on girl. Don’t play dumb.”

You shook your head. “Ikkaku you have to believe me we never flirt. It’s just -”

Ikkaku held your shoulder with a firm grip. “ And last but not least. He is already helplessly in love with you. Way before this weird love potion thing.”

You blinked a few times and then you burst into loud laughter.

“How can you be so clueless…” Ikkaku sighed. “Just act naturally and you will see that this love potion is not real.”

And you did your best.

After the worrying looks and even some concerned words from your crewmates you just brushed it off with “stressful time thanks to your hormones” and no one questioned it. It wasn’t nice of you to lie towards your crew but it was the only and less embarrassing option you could go with. As you went with your normal daily routine you came across Penguin once more.

Both of you were awkward. While you were looking away you could see that he was scratching his neck, looking away as well.”I heard that you don't ehh feel too good today. I am still sorry I just ehm…I didn’t mean too..uhh…” Penguin stammered he was kinda lost of words. You looked at him with a reassuring smile.

“It’s ok. I’m sorry for worrying you.” The sudden image of him embracing you and his warmth on your back made you blush all over again.

He looked back at you with a small smile and you were sure that your heart did a little jump. “I always worry when it comes to you. I can’t stop it y’know? You are just too precious for me.” You took a few steps towards him, closing some of the distance.

He looked at you with an anticipated look and a small tilt of his head.

You took a deep breath. “There is something I have to tell you. To confess…”

You looked at him and could see a bright red on his cheeks. “You see I…-”

“I like like you!” Penguin cut you off with a sudden confession. “I’m sorry but I just thought I should be a gentleman and be the first to confess his feelings to you. Even so it wasn’t very gentleman-like nor how I imagined it. I mean I thought I would take you out on a date and have a more romantic setting prepared and all and argh sorry I’m blabbering too much right now.”

“Stop apologizing.” You said and were looking at him. He gasped as he was looking into your sad eyes, piercing right through his heart. “You don’t mean it at all. You are under the influence of a love potion.”

Penguin tilted his head in confusion. “Huh?”

“Don’t you get it? The juice you drank was actually a love potion. I…I didn’t even want to use it in the first place. But then I saw how you were flirting with me during lunch and then I saw the empty bottle in my room…”

His hand reached out ready to comfort you. “Y/N, I-”

“No, please let me explain first. It’s not like I dislike you. I really adore you. It wasn’t even my plan to buy it but before I knew it was in my hand and I was looking at it. I want your love. But not like this. I want you to reciprocate my feelings on your own.”

The silence between you was heavy.

A low chuckle came from Penguin and you were looking at him.

“You bought a love potion because you have a crush on me?” He was smirking at you and you couldn’t help but stammer. “I didn’t buy it because I have a crush on you. I just bought it. Having a crush on you had nothing to do with you.” You pouted. Penguin was pricking your cheeks with his finger. “Stop pouting. You are way too cute like this. Blushing like this. Let me show you something ok?” He held your hand, guiding you towards your room. As you were inside he was closing the door behind him.

“W-What do you wanna show me?” You stammered while he was closing the distance between you. Even so you took a few steps back, he followed your steps, til you had the desk behind you. Penguin caged you between his arms with a grin.

He was holding the empty bottle in front of you. “Is this the one? Where ‘love potion’ is written on?” You blushed and avoided his gaze. “Yes and to be fair I didn’t even see that this was written on.”

He chuckled. “Well I saw it, after I was cleaning the mess up.”

You were looking at him with a sudden movement. “What mess?”

“Well first of all, I didn’t drink it.”

You couldn’t quite understand what he meant. You could hear him shuffle with his arm and was holding a bottle of juice in his hand. “This is what I meant.”

You were pretty dumbfounded by now.

“When I was looking for any dirty clothes like your socks, like usual, my head bumped into the desk and your precious ‘love potion’ fell off and the liquor ran out. I tried my best to clean it with a towel and then I saw two things. As I put your little bottle up again I saw the words on it and I saw that you were hiding my favorite orange juice under your desk. So I thought I could take a sip while thinking about who would be the lucky person who received your love.”

“You actually were talking about juice…”

“Well of course.” You looked down at the ground.

“But you flirted with me during lunch.” You mumbled.

He smiled and his fingers were holding your chin, forcing you to look at him.

“Not the first time I did it. And to be fair. If you would just listen to me back there, you would’ve known that I was talking about the orange juice under your desk.”

Your whole face heated up. “You are an idiot.”

He laughed and the sweet sound of his laughter made you feel warm inside.

“Then allow me to be your idiot.”

“Does that mean, you…?”

“I’m not under the influence of a love potion. Just under the influence of being in love with a fantastic and wonderful girl who is quite the catch if you ask me. Yeah she might be a little dumbfounded and silly but that makes her really lovable in my opinion.”

He closed the distance between you and his lips found yours. Happiness was all you could feel in this moment.

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

Being Kidnapped HC (ft. poly!Mates Bat Boys)

Warnings: I’m on a bat boys kick 🙃 has nothing to do with the fact that i'm missing my ex and now just want a strong male (or three) to take care of me lol, blood mentioned, violence, protective boys, polyamorous, drugged reader (faebane)

Summary: Bat Boys rescue their mate

It’s bound to happen

No matter your own power, there will always be others in Prythian who think kidnapping you will give them some sort of leverage over your winged mates

Others kidnap you to experiment on you. Why is it that the Cauldron gifted you three mates? Many wanted to know what made you different than the other fae who only have one mate

Whatever reason they had, it kept you constantly on your toes when you didn’t have one of the boys by your side.

Even in Velaris you were always on guard. You could never be too careful

Many were close calls where you were able to escape

The worse cases were when the boys had to intervene

One of Az’s shadows always accompanied you everywhere you went. Finding you was never a problem for them. There was nowhere in the world they wouldn’t be able to find you

That always set whatever worry you may have at ease

What you never looked forward to was the bloodshed that would follow

“Just take me back. Take me back and I’m sure you’ll be forgiven.” You’d try to talk your captor out of whatever plan they had in store for you. Give them a chance to change their minds.

Usually that earned you a slap across your face and vile words thrown your way

You’d have no choice but to sit back and attempt once more to pull at your restraints. Faebane still flowed in your system. There was no way you could use your magic, let alone your strength.

No way to telepathically contact your mates because of the Faebane

But you can feel the comforting coiling of Az’s shadow around your wrist

And slowly, the shadowsinger appears in the room you are kept captive

The guards assigned to watch you are easily killed by Azriel who doesn’t bother looking at them. Concerned eyes concentrated on you. “Are you alright, sweetling?” He frees you from your shackles and cups your cheeks in his scarred hands. Something dark flickers in his eyes when he spots the red mark on your face from where one of your captors had slapped you.

You could hear the sound of battle going on the other side of the. Well, mainly screams as your fae captors were torn limb from limb by Rhys and Cassian.

The splattering of blood against stone walls hits your ears. You can only imagine the carnage

They tried to shield you from most of the violence but you knew that this offense would not be taken lightly from your mates. Only seeing red and hungry for the flesh of whoever dared to lay an aggressive hand on you.

When quiet finally reined, the door opens to reveal Cassian. Wordlessly, Azriel hands you over to Cassian's strong arms. You don't care that he's covered in blood and gore. He's smiling widely at you.

"Sorry we took so long." Cassian would apologize and hold you closely to his barrel chest. He cocks his head over to the doorway. "Rhys has the boss. I'm sure he'd appreciate your help with him."

Azriel, like always, leaves you with a kiss to the cheek before he leaves.

"Shit, they really banged you around. . ." You catch Cassian curse under his breath.

"Nothing I can't handle." It wasn't the worse abuse you'd been dealt with. "Their punches were as light as a feather."

Snorting, Cassian places his lips against your brow. "You wanna go watch the interrogation?"

"Fuck yeah I do."

Just because you were accustomed to it, didn't mean you wouldn't be petty as fuck

later when they got you home, Rhysand refused to let you out of his arms. You were cleaned up on his lap. Rhysand had a few specks of blood on his face that he didn't bother to wipe away. When you take it upon yourself to reach up and clean it, he turns his face into your palm and kisses your fingers.

Safe and sound, surrounded by your bat boys.

[idiaa-shroxd]

while working on reqs. here’s a little brainrot bubble. I think it’s be funny if instead of us getting Isekai’d the twenty two boys at entrance ceremony find themselves Isekai’d into your “mysterious” house that you inherited from a grandparent after you touch a mirror that had a cloth covering. Imagine teaching them about technology and try to convince these people to stay sane while in each other’s faces for almost twenty four hours a day, especially since some of them just met and got sorted into dorms. I just had the thought of do these men have airplanes in their world? and it kind of evolved to this.

Like Diasomnia on edge at first with Silver and Sebek trying to guard Malleus as Lilia listens to you and your explanation deeming you no threat. Malleus is simply happy he was invited or included with everyone when they were teleported. In Savanaclaw they all still have their beastmen features so you’re pleading with this stranger to not leave and go outside and cause trouble and this lion man is like… if you insist, while being smug. Totally acts like he is pitiful if you ask for help because he is stuck indoors. Floyd is having the time of his life, he will gnaw on furniture, as Jade is a bit more grounded but follow’s Azul’s lead as he tries to convince you to turn your house into a business as you deny.

Ignihyde has Idia and his brother and you’re thinking what a cute robot before he shoots a laser at a bug and you think that is enough for today. You eventually let all the boys live in your grandpa’s old home since it were rather large.. and magic is convenient. They can easily clean up the place and some are eager to learn about your world. You went from a normal life alone to living a life with a whole lot of boys.

Some of them do chores, like Trey, Jade, Jamil, who are the main chefs, while others such as Ruggie and Rook handle the laundry. Azul, Jade and Floyd handle your budgeting and monthly finances. You are not sure how but the money they give as “rent” increases per month. Vil and Idia have picked up youtube and streaming respectively, Idia being a vtuber and Vil having a channel that does a variety of content. Both are surprisingly popular. Vil also helps you renovate the interior design and Idia + Ortho handle all the machines and wifi. Some do odd jobs on occasion around the place like Ace, Epel, Lilia, some do hard lifting and collecting firewood like Jack and Sebek. Others such as Riddle and Cater can set the table, sweep up and check in on you. Some are freeloaders such as Leona, Malleus, and Kalim.

You figured things would be dysfunctional at first since your newfound boys weren’t allowed outside of your house, in fact are physically incapable of leaving your property, but they all managed to fit right in snuggly. Honestly, you couldn’t imagine just how hard life would be without them. You start working from home as your grandpa’s business is also passed down to you, even though you are a grossly underqualified child- claiming to be told old to keep up as he leaves to traveling the world after meeting the boys once. He doesn’t freak out and just go “:P forgot to tell you.”

You find their magic interesting. You also find out your grandpa has a lot of secrets. He can’t return them (much to their disappoint but later they could not care less they won’t return) but he can at least help out with some ancient books passed down about the great seven themselves, helping the Octatrio stay in human form. You also find some of them demanding, Floyd and Kalim almost always clinging to your arms as you try to work.

Sometimes you wake up to arguments, a chair may be flying, literally. Another time you awoke to a crying grey cat with ears of fire, trying to scratch at you. Hearing your scream Riddle and Azul came to your rescue, but you quickly told them not to be mean to a kitty, keeping him and naming him Grim.. seems like your home has gotten a new member, again.

Idia seems much more willing to leave his room when you mention getting a cat. Ace looks slight annoyed that you get to keep a fire producing cat but he could not keep a bear that Rook found? You were completely unfair. Meanwhile Riddle is ready to collar the cat for existing because he found a tart of his being eaten by the cat. You barely contained his rage, everyone lived another day.

Overall a chaotic household you now have.

a fun concept to play with? I’m a fan of the “inherits some mysterious magic object” trope and wanted to toy around with it a bit. i also had thoughts like my yuu would 100% be nicer to them than they are to us and give them a place to actually stay than kicking them to the curb like a certain Ramshackle building.

©idiaa-shroxd. do not plagiarize, repost, translate, or use my works to train ai.

[natashaslittlegirl]

Power play - SW

DO NOT COPY ANY OF MY WORKS MINORS DNI +18 ONLY.

Summary: Being the girlfriend of the Scarlet Witch has its advantages, sometimes.

Dark!Wanda Maximoff!Scarlet Witch x Reader

Smut, jealousy, dirty talk, masturbation (mention), dub-con(kinda?), praise and degrading kink, mommy kink, choking (w to r), sexual tension, restrains used(magic), magic used, scissoring, vaginal fingering (r receiving), spanking (r receiving), pain kink, finger sucking, slut shaming.

Words count: 2100+

Wattpad Masterlist Wanda Maximoff's Masterlist

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As I said, being the girlfriend of the Scarlet Witch has its adventages, but be careful when she gets mad.

Now you were with your hands tied up with red strings to the headboard of the bed, legs wide open and your core dripping onto the sheets, while Wanda was walking in circles around the bed, using her magic on you.

But let's rewind how did you ended up in this position.

You were trying to get Wanda's attention all week, but she was so focused on learn about the darkhold that she was so immersed on the book. You tried almost everything, showering with the door open, knowing that when you do that is for her to join, nothing. Walking in your tiniest clothes, nothing. Walking only in lingerie, nothing. Walking naked, nothing.

You even touched yourself because of how frustrated you were, but she just let it passed. And your thoughts were too loud for her to ignore them, but still did it. You went out with Natasha too, knowing she would get jealous and when you'll get home she would just fuck you rough, it didn't work either.

Wanda was to focused on that, that a fucking book made you jealous and that's the last thing you wanted it.

You missed her, her touch, her warm, even her sweet words. You missed your Wanda, you were so happy when she discovered that she was THE Scarlet Witch, that you helped through the whole process of acceptance of who she is.

Another day started, you woke up and saw her side of the bed empty, sighing in annoyance, you got up and went to the bathroom, washed your face to fully wake up and go straight to the kitchen, she wasn't there, you know that she would be in her little room. Warm coffee on hands and puffy blanket on your shoulders, you went out to sit on the porch, the cold air calming you and cleaning your mind.

Wanda wanted to live away from everyone and everything, buying a house for you two in the middle of the woods, you agreed in that time but now you just feel lonely. Once you finished your coffee, you went back inside, noticing Wanda in the kitchen, finally out of that fucking room, you hugged her from behind, but she just left out a sigh. No 'good morning, honey' or even a little kiss.

"Wanda, can we talk?" you said in a cold tone, noticing how her body tense.

"Later." she tried to scape but you grabbed her wrist.

"No, enough of that book, we talk now or I'm gonna go." she tilted her head, oh, first warning.

"y/n this is important." her voice sharp as a knife.

"I'm important too." you didn't left behind, your tone was angry, you crossed your arms and bite the inside of your cheek. Wanda just rolled her eyes back and walked to the table, sitting on her chair, you slowly followed her, sitting to her right side. "What happened to you?" you voice lowered a tone, asking softly, she knew she can talk to you about everything.

"I'm just discovering so much things about this, new me." she didn't look at you.

"Why were you avoiding me all week?"

"I wasn't" this time you rolled your eyes.

"Oh, you wasn't? mhm, Wanda I literally walked naked past you and you didn't even take a glance of me." She just remain silent, not knowing what to say. "Oh and I touched myself too," you knew she doesn't let you do that, not if she doesn't ask you to, you were okay with that because she always took care about your needs.

"You what." her jaw tightened.

"And I went out with Nat, oh you can even imagine all the things we did and she showed me." you tilted your head with a grin on your face, your teasing tone was driving her insane.

"When did you do that?" she was breathing loudly, getting jealous at each word that come out of your mouth.

"She took me to the cinema, to eat, and then she bought me lingerie." that was all it took to her eyes go red.

She grabbed you by your wrist, practically taking you by force to your bedroom, slamming the door shut with her powers and leaving you stood up to the side of the bed.

"Naked, now."  her authority made you tremble, her rough and raspy voice sending a wave of wetness to your core.

"What if I don't want to?" you crossed your arms with a cocky grin on your face.

Just a move with her fingers, little red sparks and you were fully naked in front of her, gasping at the cold air without your warm clothes.

"Bed, now." you shaked your head, Wanda felt you doubting, but she knew how much turned you one when she used her magic on you.

Again, just a move and a few red sparks and you were laying in bed with your hands tied up above your head, even if you tried to scape it was impossible.

"Spread your legs" you hesitated for a moment but when she magically put on her suit you opened them wide, "good girl."

You were worked up all week, seven days frustrated without getting not even a little touch had you insane. She knew that, she could feel your arousal from kilometers, but luckily she was just a few steps away from you.

"You were a very bad girl, such a little slut all week," Wanda began to walk slowly, rounding the bed, just the sight of her hands moving with the red strings had you wetting.

"You were the one that had me like that." you talked her back and suddenly your body was pressed flat to the mattress, your ass lifted up and your hands crossed because of being tied, "fuck" you gasped when your legs spread themselves.

"You really want to talk back to me, detka?" even she was walking in the room, her voice came like a whisper to your ears.

"Why you didn't touch me then?" goosebumps appeared on your skin as a spank resound on the room.

"It is rude to answer a question with another question." you couldn't see her from your currently position, but you knew she had a smirk on her face.

"We're not at school to grammar lessons." Wanda loved when you challenged her, for some reason it gave her more authority over you.

"No, we're not, but I'm gonna give you a lesson anyway." another spank hit you, making you squirm on the bed. "that's for touching yourself."

"I took care of something you didn't." now red sparks were on your neck, pressing your sides to cut your breathing.

"I don't care, you shouldn't."

"Then take care yourself." she groaned at your words, pressing harder your neck.

"Oh, I will." she let her grip go, your head falling to the pillows. Wanda spanked you with her hand now, leaving her print on your cheek, moaning at the hard slap. "Such a slut." another one, "That's for Nat's purchased." another, and another and another.

Tears of pleasure were rolling down your face, you loved when she was rough, for that bad it sounds you loved the pain. Wanda was behind you, looking directly at your center.

"So pathetic, already dripping because of the spanking, you liked this too much, don't you, detka." Her index finger run the length of your core, gathering your slit to take it to her mouth, humming at your taste. "You like the pain so much, huh?"

You clenched around nothing at the feeling of her touch, needing her.

"Oh, so needy for Mommy's touch, baby?" she teasingly say, knowing damn well you needed her.

"Please." you breath out, not feeling to fight back, just wanting her touch.

"What do you want?" she lean over you, purring her words on you ear.

"You, only you." you looked at her with pleading eyes, she proudly smirk while nodding.

She moved her fingers down your spine, her touching was burning you. She reached your core again, pushing one finger into you.

"Oh, fuck." you gasped but she quickly take it out, "Wan-" she cut you off by putting the soaked finger on your mouth.

"Suck." you did as she told, sucking her finger covered in your arousal, "such a good girl." Wanda took it out, moving her fingers to left you in the first position.

She kneeled next to you, her tight suit revealing her perfect body, toned thighs and biceps, she took off her gloves, caressing your body with her magic, not directly touching you yet. Your breath was hard and the sight of your girlfriend with her crown made you wetter.

"So perfect," she whispered as she reached your inner thighs, instinctively you move to closed them but red strings appeared on your ankles, leaving your legs open for her, "uh uh, you're not gonna close them."

Her finger traced invisibles forms on your thighs, goosebumps on your skin at each slightly touch, after a few minutes of teasing, hearing your whines and hums, she finally touched you when you needed her the most.

Running her fingers through your wet folds, making you shiver, ending up on your clit, rubbing it slowly.

"Please,"

"I'm teaching you a lesson, detka." she softly said making you rolled your eyes.

"What now!" you practically cried out.

"To be patient."

"Oh fuck that, Wanda, I've been patient all week!" you couldn't resist anymore, trying to move your hips but quickly putting you back in place with her magic.

"None of that," she smirked at your furrowed eyebrows "If you could wait an entire week you can wait a little more, don't be such a desperate slut."

Wanda took her hands off of you, but you could still feel her touch, seeing her fingers move in the air with the red sparks rounding them. Then she made the same movements as she was touching you, and thanks to her magic, you were feeling them inside you. Curling them in the air as you arched your back at the sensation.

"Fuck, Wanda." you moaned her name, the feeling of her touch was more intense now, growing the pressure in your abdomen, the knot on your stomach tingling at each curl of her fingers.

"You like that, detka?" you nodded eagerly, "such a good little slut, letting me using my magic on you, mhm, you feel so so good," she closed her eyes, bitting her lips, she was feeling you too.

The movements stopped for a second, just to Wanda clip her fingers, leaving her naked, just the crown on her head.

"You're so beautiful, baby," you whispered to her as she moved to sit in front of you, one leg crossing up your thigh, lifting the other one to line her center to yours.

"You are too, detka, my beautiful sweet girl." she pressed her cunt, slowly began to rock her hips to yours.

Your head fell back at the feeling of her wetness mixing yours, moving your hips back to her.

"This feels so good, god." you lift your head, meeting her lust-filled dark eyes, smirk on her lips, looking at you.

"Sorry for making you wait, darling." sultry voice, as she was grinding harder on you. The knot on your stomach began to become unbearable, the sound of your wetness crashing at each thrust of her hips.

"I'm so close, Mommy." Wanda groaned at the name.

"Fuck, detka, hold it," she moved her fingers again, a vibration appeared between both of your cunts.

"Oh my god." you cried out.

"That's it baby, cum with, Mommy."

Wanda and you exploded in a shared orgasm, making a mess onto the sheets, moaning each other's names. Panting for air, she moved her fingers to release your wrists, finally sitting on the bed to instantly grab her by the back of her neck to kiss her.

"I love you so much, Wanda."

"I love you too, detka," she smiled at you warmly, pulling you closer to her "no more wait for you."

[quitealotofsodapop]

TMKATI AU Wukong accidently spawning pig ears every now and then. Only seems to happen when around Pigsy for extended periods of time or when he's looking for dad flavored validation. Pigsy at first thinks he's being mocked and complains to his husband. Tang subtly asks Wukong about the ears in private just to find out Wu had NO IDEA he was doing it! Pigsy is crying. Years later, after Wu finally found out it was happening and actively tries not to bc thats embarrassing, he texts Pigsy an unsteady photo of little MK messing with his hair in a mirror oblivious to being watched, trying to shape a second ear with gel he found. Child is frustrated. Caption: "What the baby doin???"

Another photo of MK noticing his audience and lighting up. Caption: "Hold on, he's asking for help"

Last photo, half an hour later. Both Wukong and MK are in the photo. MK in his dad's lap with Wu's head on top of his, both beaming at the camera. Both sporting fuzzy "pig ears." Wukong's are the manifested ears from before, MK's are his natural bang and a second ear sculpted with hair and gel. Caption: "He didn't understand why he was the only one to 'inhawit' anything from Dadsy and why he was missing an 'ear', so we fixed it lol :P"

Pigsy is INCONSOLABLE

omg, Wukong's limited shapeshifting abilities manifesting when he's in an emotional state/mood is so based.

I feel like shapeshifting is *not* uncommon among demons, many use it to appear "more human" and fit in, or to hide blemishes or injury, or even just to fit inside buildings. But the side of it thats effected by the user's emotions is not 100% well known. It's like only seeing experts in sports or games, you have a hard time telling whats "Hard" or a "Beginner" move.

I'm imagining Pigsy and "Wu" cleaning up after a very busy and stressful day (first time Wu has ever handled a rush hour), and they're just chilling when a convo like this occurs;

Pigsy (wiping down the kitchen): "You didn't screw up." Wu, sweeping: "Huh?" Pigsy: "For someone who hasn't worked in the service industry for a long time, you did really good today. I'm proud of you." Wu, quietly smiling: "Thanks..." Wu: (*suddenly shapeshifts a pair of pig's ears*) Pigsy, confused: "Tf?? Was that intentional? Whatever, he's weird enough already." ₍ •̀ ⚇•́₎

Later he mentions it to Tang, a little offended thinking Wu could have been mocking him, only for the scholar to point something out;

Tang: "Wait. You said he spawned pig ears when you told him you were proud of him?" Pigsy: "Yeah! He didn't even comment on it or nothin'! He just finished cleaning, still with the ears on!" Tang, thinking: "Well it's said that demons who use shapeshifting a lot can glitch out when they feel strong emotions." Pigsy (rarely uses shapeshifting): "Huh?" Tang: "Yeah. You telling Wu that you were proud of him probably meant a lot to him, and his magic responded by trying to mimic you." Pigsy: "Why??" Tang, shrugging: "I dunno. The article I read said it most often occurs in interspecies adoption since kids want to *be* like their parents and- Piggy are you crying?!" Pigsy: (*emotional at the realisation that Wu likely sees him as a father figure and/or role model*) "No." (*Lie*)

Macaque witnesses Wukong do this one day and just snickers. Him and Nezha are just quietly betting on how long it'll take for Wukong to even notice that his normal monkey ears now have a permanent "flop" to them, like a pig's ear.

At least until Nezha looks at himself in a mirror and notices that his regular tiny red face markings have spread into a suspiciously familiar... heart-shape. He clams up about any emotional shapeshifting after that.

I am just adoring the phone scenario with MK thinking his hair bang was him inheriting Pigsy's ears, it's so cute! X3

And the baby isn't shy about shapeshifting either. Pigsy and Wukong were super-confused when they went into the resturant one day and saw a little brown piglet standing there - only to both scream with amazement/pride when they realised that MK had manifested his first ever *full* transformation.

On the flip-side Macaque has been accidentally spawning fox ears and extra tails for centuries since his biggest parental figure was Jiuweihuli - who like her title indicates, is a nine tailed fox. He mostly has it under control, but the extras tend to "pop out" when he's being very catty or mischievious.

The vixen warns Macaque about flagrantly shapeshifting or "You'll get stuck like that" as any mother does like to a kid pulling a silly face.

When MK is born with three tails (like his kaiju form), Jiuweihuli smugly declares herself correct - after sobbing with joy after meeting her adoptive grandbaby.

[apomaro-mellow]

Demon!Eddie 5

At some point, Eddie had cleaned Steve up a little and dressed him in a tank top and shorts. The shirt had a band he’d never heard of but maybe Eddie would tell him about it sometime. Steve had tried to get up on his own only to immediately fall back onto the bed when he felt a sharp pain. That would be last night, coming back to literally bite him in the ass.

“Job hunting’s gonna have to wait”, Eddie grinned.

Eventually they migrated to the couch back in the apartment, Eddie lying on his back and Steve right on top of him. He found it very easy to imagine if the rest of his life was like this. In Eddie’s clothes, in his place, completely surrounded by him.

Steve didn't even know where his clothes from the first night went and he didn't give a flying fuck. Not when he was laying on top of Eddie, getting his lower back rubbed.

"Don't get a big head about it. That was the first dick I ever took."

“I didn’t say anything”, Eddie said.

“I can feel it in your hands”, Steve replied before letting out a soft hum as Eddie’s fingers pressed a spot on his spine. 

The morning was spent so lazily and for the first time in a long time, Steve wasn’t thinking about his future or what he was supposed to do about it. He just relaxed in Eddie’s hold. The only time he worried was when Eddie got up to say he was making breakfast. Steve ignored any soreness to confirm if his suspicions were correct.

And to his horror, Eddie dumped ground coffee into a pot, filled it with water, and then set it all on the stove. 

“You’re an animal”, Steve said.

“I think we established that last night”, Eddie smirked.

“I’m talking about your coffee set up. Where’s your coffee maker? Your filters?”

“What’s wrong with the way I make coffee?”

“Tony the tiger wouldn’t make it that way.”

Eddie’s retort was cut off by a knock on the door and a man’s voice. “Eddie? Edifice Edacity Edger you open this door right now!”

“Shit!”

“Who’s that?”, Steve asked.

“Uhh, that would be my uncle. Stay here for a second and don’t make a sound.” Eddie pushed Steve towards the magic door and before Steve knew it, he was floating in a dark abyss.

He wasn’t in the lavish bedroom from before, nor was he in any of the places Eddie took him yesterday. It was just an endless void with no gravity. Steve was no stranger to hiding in girls’ closets, but this was definitely different.

“His uncle, huh...”, Steve whispered just in case. He wondered what he was like. Probably terrifying if Eddie was trying to hide him. Maybe he was closer to a more traditional demon and would’ve eaten Steve up or sucked our his soul.

Steve felt like he was flying and floating and descending all at the same time and just as he was starting to feel disoriented, he saw the light of the door opening right next to him and Eddie reaching in. Steve took his hand and was pulled back into the apartment.

“Wayne, this is Steve, my current contractor. Steve, this is my Uncle Wayne.”

Uncle Wayne looked more like the kind of guy who spent his free time at hardware stores and bait shops than a demon. But now Steve felt like it would be rude to ask.

“Hi there, sir. Nice to meet you.”

Wayne’s hands were on his hips as he looked Steve up and down. “Hmph. He’s easy on the eyes, I’ll give ‘im that. But you should know better than to be swayed by a nice face.”

“I’m not being swayed”, Eddie said. “It’s just taking some time to fulfill his request.”

Wayne gave him a disappointed look. Steve knew they were talking about him but couldn’t see what the exact problem was.

“You know how this story ends, son.”

Eddie crossed his arms. “No actually, I don’t. Why don’t you enlighten us, oh wise storyteller.”

“Eddie, don’t be rude to your uncle”, Steve chastised. 

Wayne held up a hand. “He’s a brat, but he ain’t misbehavin’. But my official designation is ‘storykeeper’.”

“A what?”

Wayne waved a hand and glowing tomes materialized all around them. “Every single person that has ever existed, has a story to tell. Demons too. When a life ends, everything gets compiled and their story comes into my hands.”

“So...you know everything that’s ever going to happen?”, Steve asked in awe.

“I’m not omniscient. I only know what happens when the story’s over. But after doing this for as long as I have, you start to notice patterns.”

“And what’s my pattern?”, Eddie raised a brow.

“How does bullheaded young buck gets too caught up in one deal sound? Does that sound like a fit?”

“I’m not-” Eddie rolled his eyes but made the mistake of looking at Steve while doing so and had to quickly avert them.

“I don’t understand how any of this works, but is Eddie doing anything wrong? We have a deal and he’s seeing it through”, Steve said in his defense.

“Most demons ain’t so thorough”, Wayne answered.

“You and I both know most demons ain’t honest either”, Eddie said.

“Eddie, get the deal done. And move on.”

Eddie didn’t respond but Wayne wasn’t waiting for one, already on his way out the door. Steve waited for the door to close to speak again.

“Am I....are you breaking any rules because of me?”

“Rule breaking is a part of my creed, baby. But technically, no. Wayne’s right, most demons would’ve set you up in a new place with a new name and considered their job done. But I pride myself on my customer service.”

Steve smiled. “Right. You serve all your customers the same way?”

Eddie saw the way Steve was looking at him and faltered. “N-no. No, I don’t. But you’re special.”

It certainly made Steve feel special to hear it straight from Eddie. He got the deeper meaning of Wayne’s warning. They were both supposed to be very short chapters in each other’s lives. Ships passing in the night or whatever. Steve knew, once he had figured out what he wanted, Eddie would leave and he’d never hear from him again.

“I think I’m all rested up now. Let’s keep looking.”

“You sure?”, Eddie asked.

“Yeah. After we get some decent coffee.”

--------------------------

Maybe it was because of his uncle’s words, but Eddie kept his distance for the next few jobs. Steve tried not to mind too much. He was going to have to do whatever he chose without Eddie anyway. He spent the rest of the morning into the early afternoon in a summer camp, working as a sports counselor. 

He had plenty of fun teaching some boys the basics of basketball and running them through drills and even getting through a mini game that they all seemed to enjoy. After a couple periods though, he had a free moment and explored the camp. He ended up being wrangled by a group of boys who needed some muscle for a satellite project.

“I didn’t even know we did this kind of thing at this camp”, he admitted, while lugging around machinery he couldn’t even begin to name.

“Yeah, no duh. You sports counselors barely leave Jock Row”, one kid snarked.

“You should come by the Arts and Sciences building some time”, another said. “We’re always doing something cool.”

“Even if it’s not totally legal!”, the one who had grabbed Steve beamed.

“Uh, what’re you guys’ names again?”

“I’m Dustin, the nice one’s Will, and those two are Lucas and Mike.”

“How does Will get ‘nice one’?”, Lucas asked.

“You know Will’s the reason your cabin didn’t get Cinnamon Toast night, right?”, Mike said.

Dustin gave such a gasp, Steve was worried he’d swallowed a lung.

“Our cabin had to do it with biscuits! How could you?”

“They made it a competition and that’s the one kind I can win”, Will shrugged.

They made it to their destination and Steve followed their disjointed directions but eventually the satellite was built and they were talking to the girls camp across the lake. It was completely juvenile and fun and Steve couldn’t remember the last time he’d done something like this. 

The lunch bugle rang and Steve was approached by a black and red frog while the campers went off to eat.

“And what have you been up to? Frog stuff?”

Eddie croaked, then hopped a couple times in place. Steve crossed his arms.

“I’m not picking you up like this. You’re all, slimy. And you look poisonous.”

Frog-Eddie croaked and hopped onto his shoe, still urging at him but Steve was a rock. Eddie transformed back into himself, wearing the camp t-shirt and red shorts that was the counselor uniform.

“You weren’t so picky about my fluids last night”, Eddie smirked, while wrapping his arms around Steve.

“Yeah there’s a difference.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, beautiful~ Lunch and then on to the next?”

“Let’s.”

----------------------------

Eddie had zero idea why Steve wanted to work in an office. But hey, who was he to judge? At least he wasn’t trying to be a cop anymore. 

Steve really just wanted to experience office culture for himself. It was the sort of thing his father had been setting him up for. Before the ritual sacrifice of course. He was put on mailroom duty and that was where he met his worst enemy - Robin Buckley.

She sneered and scoffed at him most of the time. And when she deigned to use words, her comments were always biting. Delivering mail wasn’t too bad, except the fact that most of the employees barely looked him in the face while delivering. He came to the break room and Robin was already there. He tried to ignore her while getting a yogurt from the fridge.

He leaned against it when another guy came in. Steve was pretty sure his name was Kenneth.

“Hey, it’s the mailroom crew!”, he smarmed while refilling his mug with coffee. “You know Robin you should, maybe not scowl so much the boys here appreciate a nice smile.”

Kenneth walked out before he could see Robin’s megawatt dirty look. She glanced at Steve and saw he had the same look as her.

“What an asshole”, Steve said.

“That’s putting it lightly. There’s so much as, there’s no hole left”, Robin snarked.

Steve slid over closer to her so they could continue to talk in whispers. The people here were jerks but he might choose to work with them one day.

“At least he’s better than Nick.”

Robin wretched with her tongue out. “You know he slept with Norma at the Christmas party?”

Steve raised a brow. “Nick? With the ring on his finger and the happy family picture in his cubicle?”

“Yeah.”

“Scumbag.”

They spent more than was probably allowed on their break, trading gossip. Steve only got distracted when he saw a very attractive janitor roll by with his mop and bucket. Without a word, he walked off and followed him right into the closet.

“You’ve been wandering around more”, Steve said as the door closed.

“Just tryina give you space baby. Wouldn’t wanna influence your decision”, Eddie grinned, taking the cap off his head.

“And what if my decision was to blow off work and have some fun with the cleaning guy in the broom closet?”

“Sounds like the opposite of climbing the corporate ladder”, Eddie grinned while unzipping his jumpsuit.

“The opposite of climbing is what again?”, Steve said as he sank down to his knees.

Part 7

Tag Team

@swimmingbirdrunningrock @flustratedcas @estrellami-1 @weirdandabsurd42 @lololol-1234 @chaoticvictorianspirit @giopandaonice @marklee-blackmore @blackpanzy @kacatshi @stevesbipanic @goodolefashionedloverboi @panicatthediaz @gregre369 @littlewildflowerkitten @starryeyedpoet17 @envyadams-vs-me @abbiecadabi-blog @genderless-spoon  @stxrcrossed186 @l0st-strawberry @willowsmelody @bornonthesavage @mxmakessense @roaringgoodshow @potato-of-the-lord @actualwakingnightmare @meccaminayah @irregular-child  @cherr1ehead @anaibis @finalmoondragon @sani-86 @bestwifehaver @tinyplanet95 @mc-i-r @abstractnaturaldisaster @livgil273 @crowley--aziraphale @formacoon @slv-333 @just-a-tiny-void @beckkthewreck @awkwardgravity1 @plasticcrotches

[deapax]

All eyes on her

Characters: neighbour!agatha harkness x fem!reader

Summary: Your new neighbour caught your eyes.

Warnings: 18+ smut, masturbation (r), magic use, fingering (r receiving), choking

A/N: Thanks for the good feedback on my first fic, hope you’ll enjoy this as well :)

Originally posted by deapax

You’d noticed her before she noticed you. Your eyes had been glued to her since. You’d been living here for a couple years already, you’d seen people come and go, yet you hoped the woman who’d apparently purchased the house across the street would never dare to move away again.

When you made your way to your mailbox to empty it you heard the door of your new neighbour opening. The sound of heels hitting asphalt that grew louder the longer it went on indicated that she’d the same idea. “Oh well hello there, darling! I don’t think I’ve seen you around yet. I’ve been considering ringing the bell to say hello but I didn’t want to disturb you.” The sound of her voice immediately shot straight to your core as your head shot up and met the eyes of the gorgeous woman waving across the street, trying to get your attention. She was stunning to say the least, she was all you ever wanted in person. The way her hair was put up in a messy bun, the way she smiled at you with her red lips. It all made your heart skip a beat.

—————————————————————————

After that encounter your mind was busy with her at all times. It drove you mad, maybe a little bit obsessed even. It was wrong, you knew it, she was out of your league yet you simply couldn’t help but daydreaming about her.

You stood at the stove, making dinner while looking out of the kitchen window that was facing the bedroom across the street. When you saw the lights turning on your jaw dropped. You had the perfect view on Agatha now, who was walking up to her bed and unbuttoning the blouse she’d been wearing today. It didn’t take you long to realise what you were about to witness. You felt your mouth watering when she took off the blouse, revealing what was hiding underneath. Your eyes were glued to the beautiful curves and full breasts as the bra went off after. Right as she unbuttoned her pants something started smelling extremely burnt. You looked down at what was supposed to be your dinner, just to see that it had turned all black. Well, luckily you still had leftover pizza in the fridge. Once you’d cleaned up your mess you decided to risk another look out of the window but to your demise the curtains had been closed.

Frustrated you headed to bed that night, yet you couldn’t fall asleep no matter how much you tried, your mind running wild as the image of the goddess across the street kept replaying in your head. Before you knew it your hand made its way into your panties, slowly circling your bundle of nerves as you closed your eyes, your lips forming an O. You dipped two fingers inside you, starting to move them in and out as you imagined her taking care of you.

Her lips were on yours, you two were sharing a deep fiery kiss as she got rid of your clothing rather quickly. She moaned softly into the kiss when you kneaded her breasts through her bra while she spread your legs until suddenly-

You were close to your orgasm already when your imagination came to a quick end. As you wanted to move you noticed that you were like frozen in place. A soft chuckle from across the room made you lose all colour of your face. The woman you’ve been fantasising about during those past minutes was standing in your bedroom, watching you in your quite vulnerable state. You wondered how long she’d been watching you and how the hell she even got there in the first place. Panic arose inside you, you needed to move, cover yourself up and ask questions but when the woman came closer and gently cupped her cheek, running her thumb over your reddened skin you calmed down.

“Shh, hun. Don’t panic. I’m just here to help a neighbour out, that’s what good neighbours do no? You’re lucky you accidentally left your keys in the welcome basket you gave me.” She spoke softly, her voice sending a shiver through your spine as you suddenly were able to move again. Quickly you covered your nude body with the duvet and sat up. You couldn’t remember that your keys were missing, in fact you were certain that they were hanging by the door but the little detail somehow just vanished from your mind as quickly as it had entered it.

“Miss Harkness I am so incredibly sorry for the inconvenience. If I knew I-“ You tried to explain yourself but she cut you off immediately. “I think we’re past formalities, Y/N. Call me Agatha, Ags, Aggy. Whatever you wanna scream out later.” Your jaw dropped once again at the last comment. “Tell me who’ve got your mind so busy all night, hun. Let me who gets you so worked up you can’t sleep because of it.” By now you knew you’d crossed the line of needing to be shy, you looked up at her, her cheeks glowing bright red as you answered. “Ever since I’ve laid my eyes on you I couldn’t help but think about you every second.” The witch smirked, enjoying how innocent you were while she’d been planning all this’s since the past days.

You were sure you were dreaming, there was no way that the woman of your dreams now setting down next to you on your bed, her hand grabbing the duvet and slowly moving it off you without you even trying to stop her as you were enjoying this way too much. Something made you stop worrying your pretty little head as she leaned down to kiss you passionately, her cold metal of her necklace hitting your skin in the process, making you shiver as it brushed over your already erected nipple. Focused on the kiss and the tongue that was now exploring your mouth made you completely miss the hand that was moving up your inner thigh, resting close to your core before running a finger through your soaked folds, gathering the wetness. “Someone’s got a bit excited hm? How sweet. I’m flattered.” She winked as she brought her finger up to her lips and licked it clean, a soft main leaving her mouth at the taste. “God you’re absolutely divine my dear, I should visit you at night more often.” Not that you’d complain about that at all, you’d probably even leave your door wide open for her. Not just the door in fact.

The witch was less distracted, she ran her fingers through your folds before sliding two of her wicked fingers inside you while she used her thumb to rub circles over your clit, pulling moan after moan from you. You closed your eyes as Agatha’s lips found their way to your neck, licking and kissing the soft skin until she finally found your pulse point, biting right down on it, making you cry out her name, her arms wrapping around the witch’s body tightly as she added another finger, thrusting them in and out of you with a quick pace that didn’t slow down even after minutes of keep it up. It was like Agatha didn’t tire. You felt her marking up your neck before she pulled with a smirk to have a look at her artwork. “God your gorgeous like that baby, now everyone know you’re my little slut to pleasure. I don’t like sharing, keep that in mind. I want your eyes on me.” The commanding tone made your crotch tingle as your walls started clenching around her fingers, you enjoyed the attention she gave you, the way she claimed you as hers like it was nothing. She proud her free hand up to your neck, choking you softly as she her eyes pierced your own, the wet sounds of your cunt filling the room as she curled her fingers to hit your g spot with her nails. “Can I cum? Please I need it so much, I can’t hold it back much longer!” You cried softly but she just laughed wickedly, her fingers continued working inside you as she put slightly more pressure on your throat. “I know you can hold on a little longer baby, gonna make me so very proud.” She whispered in your ear as she you dug her nails into the suit she was wearing. Yet she didn’t make it any easier for you, she licked done your chest to your breasts, wrapping her mouth around your nipple to bit and pull it gently before starting to suck, leaving red lipstick marks all over them. You moved your hand up to her messy bun, holding her head close as she switched to the other breast to give it the same attention. “Aggy please I need to cum! ‘M gonna be so good but please!” You begged her and she finally gave in. “That’s my good girl, been doing so well for me. Now make me proud and cum for me, make a mess on my fingers.” And you did right as the words left the woman’s mouth. You came with a loud scream of her name, releasing your cum all over her fingers and your bed, the grip on the witch’s suit loosening as your arched your back, taking deep breaths to come down from your high while she helped you riding out your orgasm. “Thank you, miss- I mean Agatha.”

The older witch pulled out her fingers, licking off every single drop of your cum before she used the momentum of you catching your breath to bury her head in between your legs to clean you up, running her tongues over your wet thighs and folds, gathering every drop of cum she could find to not let any go to waste. Once she was satisfied she kissed up your body until she reached your lips, leaving another soft kiss on them before getting up from your bed and straightening her suit and redoing her bun. “You should rest now, Y/N. Now that you’ve enlightened the flame I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself from stopping by more often now. Until then, hun.” After a single blink she was gone, all you could see was a bit of purple mist at the place where she’d stood just seconds ago. She left you lying there, confused but satisfied. And you were certain you’d now have many more opportunities to pay back the favour and ask your burning questions.

[irondiotallica]

Flare Up

I went a little ham with this one. Couldn't stop writing it seems, but here is a new blurb. It's def a little clunkier than the other one, but I like the idea of Steve becoming a physical therapist after everything and offering his services to the cute metalhead he's had a crush on since the upside down. Idk. Oh and fun fact, Times Square used to be the porn capital before the 1990s when Mayor Rudolph Giuliani shut it down to clean up the city. Anyway, enjoy the blurb! -Silas

[Steddie]

Eddie’s hip furiously blazed with a flash of stabbing pain. His joints had been bothering him underneath the scars left by the bats and their fucked up little teeth. The scarred flesh on his left hip was uncomfortably tight, pulled taut over his muscles and bones.

The damaged skin constricted his right shoulder, as though the skin would burst into a bleeding fissure with the tiny struggling breaths that Eddie was pushing through in labored waves. He was moments away from caving and taking a dosage of pills despite having agreed to take them less.

He felt as though his insides weren’t aware that he had been kept alive. It felt like his nerves had continued to decay turning into soaked cotton doused in kerosene with one little spark of discomfort able to render him incapacitated. 

Eddie shuffled to his phone with dread flooding through his system like an unprepared county during monsoon season. He knew that he had to call, but he was reluctant to do so. Even if he had been told it was no trouble, he knew it was more than it was worth.

He fidgeted, clenching his fingers around the coiled cord that connected the phone to the receiver. He dialed the numbers still imprinted in his brain from the day they had been hastily scribbled with a wolfish grin and intoxicating charm. The phone rang once, twice, three times, and Eddie began to put the phone back in its cradle when he heard a warm voice call out.

“Hello! This is Hawkins Physio Clinic, Dr. Harrington’s office. How may I help you?”

Eddie felt his face flush at the rush that hearing Steve’s voice gave him.

“Um H-hi,” Eddie coughed as he tried to clear the nervous lump from his throat,” Hey Steve.”

His words came out weak and nervous to his ears, he couldn’t imagine how it sounded to Steve.

Eddie could practically hear the grin that Steve was wearing through the phone.

“What can I do for you Eds,” Steve huffed out behind quiet chuckles.

Eddie tried to think before he spoke, but the words were flashing like the overwhelming neon signs that covered the porn capital of seemingly the world, Times Square. He continued to stumble through his words.

“Well, you said, uh,” his words were stubbornly refusing to come out of his mouth, thick with nerves,” you said if my joints were giving trouble, to call you.”

Eddie was not used to this. Asking for help was difficult and normally he wouldn’t ask, letting the issue fester, but he was dying. The pain was consistent and recurring. Somedays were good, but for the last week, he had mainly bad days filled with tears and laying on the floor praying for the pain to pass.

“I did say that. Are you finally taking me up on my offer? I’ve been told that I’ve got the magic touch.”

God, the cocky assurance in his voice was enough to make Eddie stand at attention in more ways than one, but another jolt of agony quickly snubbed that thought out.

“Fuck.”

It slipped past his lips before he could stop himself. His free hand gripped his thigh as he slid himself down to the ground waiting for the pain to pass. His breath was coming out short and a little frantic.

“Eddie, are you okay?”

Steve’s voice was warm and sweet like heated milk before bed as the cockiness dissipated, replaced with concern. Eddie wanted to answer, but the pain was crashing in waves and drowning him mercilessly. Still, he tries to answer.

“Ye-,” Eddie takes a deep breath in, feeling a few tears slip past his bottom eyelid,” Yeah, Steve. My nerves are just-”

Eddie breathes in again. He can’t stop the slew of pants leaving his lungs. 

“-misfiring. Just misfiring or whatever the fuck the doctor said,” he finally choked out, his voice tense and seizing with stress.

“I’ll be right there, okay? Just stay put.”

Eddie laughs at that although it comes out weak and soft.

“Where am I gonna go?”

“Oh shut up, you dork. You know what I mean.”

Eddie laughs a bit more before a groan leaves his lips at another jolt. He hears the click of disconnection and puts the phone down on the floor before laying on the tiles hoping for the chilly ceramic to ease the continuous, seizing torture. 

Eddie is still on the floor when a series of knocks echoes around him. Three rapid ones followed by four spaced out. Steve was here.

“It’s open,” Eddie calls out as he strains with tension.

Steve steps in and immediately heads to Eddie with graceful movements. Eddie looks at him through slitted eyes. Steve reaches down, pulling Eddie close, and murmuring sweet words to him. You’re so good, doing amazing, such a strong guy, so strong for me; flowing past his plush lips into Eddie’s ears.

A warm, secure, big hand grips Eddie’s hip as the palm presses down and drags his hip, resulting in a quick crack and Eddie feeling his joint loosen. Eddie pushed his face into Steve’s shoulder letting those hands massage his hip and the muscles surrounding it.

 God, Steve did have the magic touch, Eddie thought to himself with each warm bout of pressure. 

He let a sigh slip as those hands deviated to pop his shoulder before massaging the sore blades. He felt good, floaty in Steve’s care.

“There we go. Good job Eds. Always so good for me.”

Eddie feels his cheeks glow red as he tries not to think of the implications of those words. Eddie stays wrapped in Steve’s arms, comfortable.

“Thank you,” he stutters out with relief weighing his voice down.

Steve grins down at him with something akin to infatuation glimmering brightly in his gaze. Eddie couldn’t help but stare unabashedly at the pretty picture that Steve Harrington made. His warm brown eyes brimming with life. His little moles that were perfectly placed on his face as though planned. Those stupidly perfect, stupidly white teeth that Eddie had thought only possible in movies. Who could forget the hair? That stupidly styled mop of gorgeous mousy brown hair. Steve was stunning in Eddie’s eyes.

“If you really want to thank me, you could let me take you out this Saturday; see that new sequel to Alien?”

“You have the worst timing for things. Robin was right, you are a dingus,” Eddie teased, laughing at the way Steve looked away with a blush that went as far as the tips of his ears. 

“Shut up,” he grumbled out, squeezing Eddie just a little tighter. 

After Steve had finally collected himself, he looked at Eddie questioningly,” So? Are you letting me take you out?”

Eddie nodded with a grin, boyish and wide. 

Steve responded with a match grin and confirmation.

“It’s a date.”

[achromant]

Achro's 2024 Orctober Masterpost

Below is the list of prompts that i used and some thoughts that went into the sketches. They generally follow the official list from instagram, but i made a few minor changes to it.

You can click on the prompts to hop over to their respective post to see the full pic.

Warrior

Went cyberpunk with this, cause i love simplified futuristic fashion.

Mage

Polar opposite of the warrior. Wanted to do something shapey and flowing. Loosely based on my Isabella concept.

Hunter

Really didnt want to draw some kind of archer, so i went the monster hunter route. People are super horny for this one, which was almost the intention.

Priest

Tried to avoid the catholic niche, so i went with modern hazard suits. I imagine there is a very hands-on department of the church that cleanses cursed areas, like a magical cleaning service.

Rogue

Honestly, i just went for the dark gold contrast. Love me some shiny.

Druid

Just didnt want to do a green druid. Luckily, it was time for orange, so it got this nice autmnal feeling. Wanted to do a werewolf initially, but i was in the mood for something a bit more chonky. Sometimes you just need a bit more fluff, yknow?

Pirate

Oh, ya-har-har. It's a pirate! Well, a dead one, at least. I forgot why i killed him, but he probably burned alive with his ship. idiot.

Alchemist

I named him Pickles. The 5 on his helmet connects to the Five of Chalices. In tarot, that card stands for loss and mourning. I imagine that Pickles tries to replace the blood in a body with wine to achieve eternal life. He is also an idiot.

Warlock

i made eight different version for this. Still hate it. He is probably the lost brother of Pickles, but got his eternal life from a deal with something more sinister. More intelligent than his brother, at least in theory.

Barbarian

Another one that took multiple attempts. Still havent decided whether he deserves pants. Might paints something a bit more spicy with him later though.

Shaman

This one is just high.

Paladin

The idea with the shield was that it looks somewhat normal from the front, but has this nice stained glass effect only visible to those behind the paladin. His story revolves around a lost lover he failed to protect, and now he's on a journey of vengenance and self-discovery.

Death Knight

Went a bit more demon than death, but oh well. Will defintetly use him as an enemy somewhere in the story.

Archer

Based this one on Lara Croft, obviously. Didn't want to give him a bow at first. Still don't think he deserves one.

Necromancer

Honestly, this is just the standard ugly little hunchback character, but people are very adamant that he's a character from Legend Of Zelda. He's not, he is obviously from the same universe as Hatsune Miku.

Demon Hunter

Colleague of the warrior. Probably the reason the priest needs to work overtime. Actually, no, he's warrior's boyfried now.

Bard

Oh, this one is a character i made a few years ago. He's the protagonist of a story i'm writing. The skull on the head of his instrument is that of his former teacher.

Monk

Needed another round boy. Not quite satisfied with this one, but the direction is nice.

Mercenary

Probably a friend of the warrior/demon hunter. Comic relief character. The Wanted poster he's holding up shows Moth.

Warlord

This one was supposed to be a bit more epic, but i made each of the orctober sketches in ~1h. Will probably revisit this to make it a proper painting.

Sorcerer

I know he looks like he has a tragic backstory, but he doesn't. He's very evil and should be locked away in some secure place. Preferably one that it fireproof.

Engineer

i forgot what my initial idea for this was, but i really like whatever i did here. His tattoo is of the "danger! explosion" sign, but in a heart. Slightly fucked up the writing though, accidentally mirrored it. Whoops.

Magical Girl

This one was supposed to be a "Cleric" as per the prompt list, but i already had a priest, so screw that. Wanted something super sweet and pink. The motif this outfit follows is the Weeping Heart flower. Also slight nod to Madoka Magica.

Scout

Didn't want to do the typical RPG style scout, so this one bakes cookies instead. He also has an axe, which has absolutely nothing to do with the cookies, i hope.

Beastmaster

This one was purple, so i really wanted to do somethine werewolf-y. I imagine him being the younger version of the barbarian, who will later learn that he shouldnt rely on the wolf alone, and better get a bigger axe.

Dragon Rider

So. This. I wanted to go for a biker dude, but went a bit too punk with it, and then just leaned into it. He is a biker at heart, but his dragon is the equivalent of a bicycle. Neither of them mind that though, theyre a very happy couple.

Assassin

This one needs a bit of explaining. I started with a himbo-type dude-bro (he had a "knife to meet ya"-shirt), to get a contrast to the rogue. And then the next thought was pretty much "what would be the most inefficient weapon for an stealthy assassin?", so he got a chainsaw. The rest of his design is a nod to Lolipop Chainsaw.

Witch Doctor

This one is 100% based on Baron Samedi, one of the main voodoo gods, which is why this character is half skeleton. The feathers are just for drama. I love feathers.

Sage

Oh, this one is just an old man. I'm pretty sure there was a reason i gave him a bunny hat, but dont ask me what that was.

Cyborg

Eyyy, throwback to the first of the month! Warrior got a bit of an upgrade. Only cost him an arm! Not much of a fan of fullblown cyborgs, so i went with the cyberpunk direction again, and left the traces of his upgrades at a minimum. Wonder if his boyfriend approves.

[themsource]

Stan and Soos having a moment

Um... was this a shipping request?

I couldn't tell because it was a bit vague what with no ship name, 'x' or '/' indicator, plus a lot of these requests are all pairings ^^; So I just kind of defaulted and went the platonic route

Hope this is still a good read for you!

A Guardian

Stan has to admit, he isn’t particularly fond of employing child labor to help out with his business (too many bad memories he’d rather not have), however it was really paying off for him in the long run.

Not only was he not having to pay what was considered a decent wage (more money toward the insanely expensive supplies for fixing that damned portal was always a win, he was getting too old to keep up the theft game like he used to), but he also found that…

The brat’s company wasn’t too bad.

Soos could be… a little weird from time to time. He obviously had daddy issues (who didn’t though?) and lacked an understanding of boundaries (a bit too familiar of a trait that reminded him of someone he tried his best not to think about too often when not perusing those frustratingly crazed scribblings of a ‘journal’).

But he was a good kid.

As good as a kid could come, he guessed.

Which is why Stan finds himself torn as he stares down at the little tyke who, rather than working on trying to fix the AC unit like he’d asked him to, is instead hiding his chubby face in the tops of his knees, sniffling on the brink of tears.

Stan looks awkwardly around, as if that will somehow magically make someone else appear who’d be more capable of handling this situation, before patting his hands stiffly on his thighs and letting out a resigned sigh.

“What’s wrong chick-o-stick?”

For a long moment Soos doesn’t say anything, only lets out a whimper, before reluctantly lifting his head as Stan takes a seat on the wooden step beside him (with great difficulty by the way, his back isn’t what it used to be).

The kid wipes his eyes and snotty nose with his arm, making Stan wince in disgust before murmuring, “Abuelita i-is in the hospital… she fell.”

Stan’s eyes widen.

He’s only met Soos’ grandma once, but she suffered from the same myriad of problems that Stan did, if not more. She cleaned like it was going out of style and always wore a calm and serene smile even when angrier than a bull, but she was as fragile as glass. The kid had told him how she’d dislocated her hip getting out of bed once, and ever since Stan has always made sure to roll out of bed rather than just jump out like he used to.

“Geez… that sucks.” Stan comments, not sure what more to say.

“Yeah.” Soos agrees, his tiny hands balling into worried fists.

Stan looks out at the forest, his eyes flickering between swaying branches and fluttering leaves as he asks casually, “So, you gonna visit her when you get off here in an hour?”

“No,” Soos whispers, wiping his eyes one more time before looking up at the trees too. “I’ll probably go home, maybe play more games while I wait for her...”

Stan frowns, his eyes darting down to the kid in confusion.

“Wait a minute, I thought only you and your grandma lived together.”

Soos nods, and Stan instantly feels a knot in his gut that has nothing to do with his digestive issues.

“Well then who’s watching ya?”

Soos doesn’t say anything.

Stan’s frown deepens. “You telling me you’re at home alone? You’re what… eight?”

“Twelve, Mr. Pines.” Soos mumbles.

Twelve is still too young in Stan’s book for a kid to be without supervision for an extended period of time. If he was closer to say, fourteen (like Stan was when he was first allowed to be home alone), then Stan would brush this whole thing off with maybe a pat on the shoulder and checking in on Soos once in a while with a surprise visit to his house under the guise of some convenient excuse.

But Soos isn’t.

And as much as Stan likes to think his heart gave out and withered away a long time ago, he can’t ignore how it makes him imagine all sorts of gruesome scenarios that could happen to the young boy.

The world isn’t kind, he knows from experience.

Stan looks up at the sky with a roll of his eyes before huffing, “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about somethin'.”

Soos looks up at him curiously, and Stan pointedly avoids meeting his gaze.

“Wanted to ask if you’d be up for doing overtime. Next week is some kinda golden week nonsense that’s sure to bring in tourists from outta country, and I could use the help setting up for it.”

“Overtime?” The confusion in Soos’ tone has Stan reluctantly daring a glance at him as he shrugs his shoulders.

“Yeah, extra work hours… thinking it might be an all day thing, go from five hours to twenty.”

It’s an insane and ridiculous leap of a work schedule but Stan is working with what he can, and waits for the kid to take the bait. 

Soos rubs the back of his neck. “That’s a lot of hours…”

“It’s temporary. And before you ask: I won’t pay you extra, and you’re not getting a raise… but I’d be willing to give you a break room.”

“Break room?” Soos echoes in an awed tone as he instantly perks up, his eyes lighting up at the thought of having his own space at the mystery shack.

He’s not surprised, he knows Soos basically views this place as a second home.

For whatever odd reason that is.

‘Too easy.’

Stan crosses his arms, biting back a smirk as he shrugs again. “Yeah, for taking breaks in, obviously. And for… I dunno, a place to take naps. You’re gonna be doing a lot of work so you might not get it all done during the day. There’s a spare mattress I could toss in for ya. Only rules I’d have for having it is no touching the Pitt in my fridge and no noise after eight.”

Soos suddenly goes quiet, and the look in his eyes… It's a bit too uncharacteristically perceptive for the little pipsqueak, as if he sees right through the older man and knows that this is Stan’s way of trying to keep an eye on him until his Grandma can again.

As if in defiance he silently tells himself and Soos both, ‘it’s only because I don’t want to risk losing the cheap labor, that’s all!’.

But the lie feels a bit bitter on his imaginary tongue. 

Stan fidgets but holds his ground, doesn’t dare say a word as he swallows thickly and tries to ignore how vulnerable he suddenly feels making an offer like this. It’s been longer than he can remember, the last time he tried to look out for someone.

Gradually, slowly, a smile spreads across Soos’ face. 

“Gee Mr. Pines! That sure is cool of ya! I’ve always wanted a break room!”

Just like that the tension breaks, and a feeling close to relief floods his chest as Stan grunts and he pushes to his feet. He absently ruffles the kid’s hair with a careless vigor Soos giggles under.

“Yeah well, don’t get used to it. Like I said, temporary.”

Soos looks up at him with an admiration that makes Stan subconsciously puff out his chest a little (despite knowing he doesn’t deserve it) before he pockets his hands and turns on his heel to head back inside, eager to get away from how awkward he’s starting to feel.

The decades old memories threatening to stir within him.

“Get to work on that AC would ya? Getting hotter than an oven in there.”

“Sure thing Mr. Pines!” Soos calls back before facing the surrounding forest again.

Stan pauses in the doorway as he hears what he’s sure Soos didn’t intend for him to hear under his breath. “Thank you…”

Those two simple words are like an arrow right through Stan’s chest, a breach in his carefully constructed walls. 

…when was the last time anyone had ever been grateful for him being in their life?  

Stan looks down at his feet, and allows himself one moment of selfishness, one split second of stolen and misplaced affection before he buries it again as he whispers back, “Anytime kid.”

And proceeds inside without another word.

[velvetvexations]

acting on your best behavior lending a hand to mother nature everybody wants to save the world

I'd be so happy to never clean up after myself and make you break your back every day doing it for me but I would definitely harass you more actively regardless of you being less conventionally appealing by the standards of frat bros because of your age and I don't know if that'd make it better or worse for you.

imagine if trans men refused to tag forcemasc or threw it at random trans women

Yeah, that is super hot anon. I went to a movie and restaurant with my best friend and his sister on, I think my sixteenth birthday, and she kept farting the entire time, and she was SO fucking sexy by my standards. Really cute nerdy girl. At the time I was super into non-skinny girls and humiliating weight gain, too, so all that combined into me getting into slob kink, and I'm mostly not into the fat aspect anymore but ever since then girls being humiliated by flatulence in one way or another, either enduring someone else's or having to deal with their own, is now honestly one of my main things. Like I tried to keep it subtle in OoA but I had to include it because yes, I'm obsessed with it.

Enjoy being a freak!

lmao man I wish someone would hit buttons I didn't even know I had so hard I have to safeword from overstimulation

get your tits whipped to hell and back anon

<3

yeah that's definitely a common strain of masochism

be your true Disinterested Bitch self anon

autoandrophilia and autogynephilia are real things in the sense that "cumming from imagining yourself as the gender you're attracted to" is a really basic and intuitive concept to get horny about but it doesn't work as an explanation for being trans

anyway there is literally nothing transphobic about your magic genderswitch kink and it wouldn't be taken as transphobic except by stupid people you shouldn't care about offending anyway

hell yeah that's how you do it make yourself invincible to that shit

valid

suggest forcefem anon - it also just feels strange as hell to me as a concept for a gimic blog as a trans dude whos deeply into forcefem (the actual kink not tumblrs version of 'sfw kink completely removed from anything sexual bc sex is gross'). the mod seems to primarily use this blog to *actually suggest* being fem/femme/women to people, seemingly indescriminately. plus the 'forcemasc dni' thing was so incredibly braindead & hypocritical but thats TRFs for you

It's not misunderstanding forcefem to do it in a gender validating way, it's just different. But everything about how TRFs do forcefem and talk about it is very unsafe and rests on the idea that everyone should want to be women and cis, and trans men alike should shut up and put up with misgendering as a fun joke, and also it's not even a kink but just a funny meme/"transfem culture" so why bother tagging this sexual fetish they masturbate to.

[mysteryshoptls]

SSR Malleus Draconia Dorm Uniform Personal Story: Part 2

"Briar Valley's own."

(Part 1) Part 2 (Part 3)

[Diasomnia Dorm – Lounge]

Lilia: …Which is why it is an issue that you weren't at the Dorm Leader meeting.

Malleus: I hadn't realized such a thing was happening while I was absent. I've caused you such an inconvenience, Lilia.

Lilia: I'm not really inconvenienced. However, the others were saying things that could affect your reputation.

Lilia: So I promised you'd come "next time," without thinking.

Malleus: I see… I myself have been wanting to attend these meetings.

Malleus: For this meeting in particular, the notice was sent out quite a while ago, so it was not as if I had forgotten it.

Malleus: However, that notification came as a mechanical message. That strange board would not allow me to view it.

Lilia: Mechanical message… Strange board… Ah, you mean your email and smartphone?

Malleus: That's right. I could not read it, so I did not know the time and place of the meeting.

Malleus: I attempted to estimate the time and place, and so I ended up waiting in the Lecture Hall…

Malleus: No one came after two hours of sitting alone, so I headed towards the library and waited for an hour, before finally making my way to the Headmaster's Office.

Lilia: Malleus… Most humans won't just sit and wait in one place for one or two hours like that.

Malleus: Is that so? Humans sure are restless…

Malleus: It also isn't ideal that they move the location of the meeting as often as they do. It would be best if it were always in the Mirror Chamber.

Lilia: The Mirror Chamber is often used by those visiting the school. It would not be unusual for the meeting location to be changed on short notice.

Lilia: However, if you did not know the location, you ought to have asked. There must have been someone who would have known.

Malleus: Well, of course I attempted to ask.

Malleus: However, they would immediately scream and scamper off. I had even tried smiling as I called out to them, as you taught me…

Lilia: I wonder what could have possibly gone wrong there? I feel you have a very cute smile, especially when you can catch a glimpse of your pointed fangs… Hm.

Lilia: Then, I suppose we should make sure that you carry your smartphone with you as a means of communication.

Malleus: The smartphone, hm. If we're talking of that thig, it has not made a peep since this morning.

Lilia: I thought so. But we had it repaired just the other day! What could have caused it to stop working?

Malleus: I do not know. I did not do anything, and yet it broke.

Lilia: Malleus… When someone says, "I didn't do anything, but the device broke," that usually means they did something.

Malleus: You say that, but I cannot fathom what may have happened. I believe the last thing I did was…

Malleus: I cast a cleaning spell on it because it had become rather dirty.

Lilia: WELL, THAT'S WHY!!

Lilia: Most devices are weak to water. Hypothetically, even if it were waterproof, it would definitely not be able to withstand the might of your magic.

Malleus: That may be so. There was indeed a crack in the screen.

Lilia: So something had happened to it! And you thought to say you didn't know anything about it being broken.

Malleus: Your phone also has a cracked screen. I thought it a normal occurrence.

Lilia: That's just because I'm a bit rough with it!

Malleus: I cannot imagine that is anything to be boastful about… But alright, I understand. I will refrain from cleaning it from now on.

Malleus: Nevertheless, these devices certainly are inconvenient.

Malleus: It recently returned from servicing, and yet it seems I shall have to completely replace it now.

Lilia: Come to think of it, how did it break last time?

Malleus: I went flying through the sky with the smartphone in my pocket.

Malleus: In the process of moving back and forth from a high altitude to the ground several times, I eventually found the inside of my screen had become wet.

Malleus: According to the repair shop's findings, the rapid temperature change caused condensation, which in turn caused it to break.

Lilia: How high were you flying for the temperature to drop so low as to cause condensation?

Malleus: Prior to that, I was told it short-circuited when I touched it while I was still imbued with lightning...

Malleus: And even before that, it melted when it was exposed to the high temperatures of my fire breath.

Lilia: Hmm. Then, why not leave your phone behind when doing those things?

Lilia: You do that with the little drago-kun I gave you a while back.

Malleus: What do you mean? There is no purpose to a smartphone if it is not carried with you at all times.

Lilia: I know that, but…

Malleus: It's susceptible to water, low temperature, lightning, and fire. These phones are quite frail.

Malleus: Do humans truly value such a useless object? It is past simply being intolerable… I am starting to find it a nuisance.

Lilia: Wait, wait, it's still too early for you to give up. You've come all this way upon leaving Briar Valley, so you must familiarize yourself to human customs.

Lilia: I'll teach you how to use the device again once more from the beginning to make it easier from now on.

Lilia: Here, you can borrow my phone, try to hold it properly. Don't summon any lighting, now.

Malleus: I understand… Hm?

Malleus: Some text has appeared on your screen. It says, "New Message."

Lilia: Ah, a notif. Someone must've uploaded a new post onto Magicam.

Lilia: Looks like it's from Kalim. Let me see…

Lilia: "PARTY TIME WITH ALL THE DORM LEADERS!"

Malleus: …Is this a photo from the meeting earlier? Everyone looks terribly happy in this picture.

Lilia: Kalim must've taken it after the meeting. There's a few frowns, but it's quite a wonderful picture of all the Dorm Leaders together!

Malleus: …

Lilia: Well… I mean…

Lilia: All the Dorm Leaders except for you, who didn't attend…

Malleus: …

[CRACKLE, CRACKLE, CRUSH!]

Malleus: Oh. I accidentally destroyed it.

Lilia: MY PHONEEEEE!

Lilia: How could you, my screen is shattered… Oh, no, it was always like that.

Lilia: What do you think you're doing, Malleus!?

Malleus: Apologies. Seeing those people enjoy themselves while excluding me…

Malleus: I just couldn't control my ire in that moment.

Lilia: If you just destroy the phone whenever you get mad, there's no meaning in me trying to teach you how to use it!

Malleus: Calm down, Lilia. Don't get angry.

Lilia: You don't get to say that, as the person who broke my phone in anger!

Lilia: Sigh… Malleus. Are you truly wanting to participate in the Dorm Leader meetings, or their little get-togethers?

Malleus: …Are you now doubting my true feelings about this? You, of all people?

Malleus: Humans are quick to fear creatures of the night. They are often unable to talk to us out of fright.

Malleus: The ones who taught me that was you, Lilia, and Grandmother. And it is the truth.

Malleus: It is not my fault that I am unable to show my face at those gatherings. It is because those humans have decided to fear me.

Lilia: No, in your case, that is not the only issue at hand. You fail to understand what is going on around you!

Lilia: Faes and humans are different both in their sense of time, and in the tools they utilize. I fully understand how you may have troubles when you first come in contact with them. However…

Lilia: it has been 3 years since you left Briar Valley, you know? And you haven't changed at all in that time!

Lilia: It isn't anyone else's fault. You have to first look inwards. Have you actually put forth the effort to attend these meetings?

Malleus: Put forth the effort…?

Lilia: We've said that, because of your position, it is an unavoidable fact that you cannot join gatherings of people. However, there is still a limit to how shielded you can be.

Lilia: As the heir to Briar Valley, and as the leader of Diasomnia,

Lilia: You need to carefully reflect on how you should conduct yourself.

Malleus: …He got angry and left.

Malleus: It has been quite a long time since Lilia has scolded me like this. It seems it was not smart to crush his phone.

Malleus: …

Malleus: Indeed… It is possible that somewhere in the back of my mind, I may have thought that faes and humans are incapable of comprehending each other.

Malleus: Perhaps that may be the reason why I refrained from making an effort to meet them halfway. But if a change in my conduct can change this atmosphere…

Malleus: What can I possibly do in order to become closer with the other Dorm Leaders…?

Malleus: I shall have to think on it.

(Part 1) Part 2 (Part 3)