#i’ve done the background reading there’s a lot of single names but like. this is more special

[19871997]

general inability to be normal about wikipedia naming eras of various franchises after their generational talent captain + his codependent bestie

[flickering-chandelier]

Falling Slowly 

Pairing: Azriel x fem Reader

Summary: Reader and Azriel slowly get close and realize they’re destined to be together.

Word Count: 5.5k  oopsie. this man makes me feral.

Your feelings for Azriel really snuck up on you. Of course, as soon as you had been taken in by the High Lord and his inner circle, you noticed how unbelievably gorgeous he was, but that was true of all of the Illyrian men that became your family. He was such a quiet, steady presence, it was easy for him to blend into the background, and you had a feeling that he didn’t mind that one bit.

Slowly though, he let you in more and more and you started to see through the shadowsinger’s thick shields that he always kept up. It started when you had been in Velaris for a few months, and you were finally feeling like you were settled in, that you had a home there. You were reading in the library of the House of Wind and he came in, settled down in a chair a few feet from the one you were occupying, and lifted an eyebrow when you glanced at him, no doubt silently asking if he could stay. You nodded, smiling faintly. He picked up a book that looked to be for research, his brow furrowed in concentration and his shadows wisping around him every time you dared look up at him. And thus, started your library time together.

It had gone on like that for a week or two, never a word spoken between you, but you enjoyed his comforting presence more than you liked to admit. Though it did become harder and harder to keep your eyes on your book when he was present. Finally, one day when the two of you had been reading silently for about ten minutes, he cleared his throat and said in a low voice, “you read a lot.”

The sudden sound of his slow, deep voice after weeks of silence sent a shock through your body, making your toes curl. You shrugged, hoping he couldn’t see the heat in your cheeks in the dim light. “So do you, it seems.”

He held eye contact as the side of his mouth quirked up into the slightest smile that sent electricity through your body again. You noticed his shadows were back, circling around him idly. They didn’t often show up in the library anymore. It took all you had to not squeeze your thighs together, knowing full well that he would notice. “Research,” he said. After a beat he added, “Plus, I like the quiet. It’s nice to hide out from Cassian for a while.” 

You couldn’t remember if he had ever said so many words to you directly. You found yourself hoping that he was just trying to keep the conversation going. “Completely understandable,” you laughed. “I come here for the books first and foremost, but the quiet is definitely welcome, too. I love that I’ve found a family here, but it can get… overwhelming at times.”

He nodded, like he knew exactly what you meant, continuing to gaze deeply into your eyes. “I’m glad. That you’re here, I mean. That you see us as your family,” he said quieter than before, almost like he was unsure if he should be saying it.

A smile broke out on your face, and he held your gaze for another beat, his smile widening just slightly before he bowed his head back to his book, seemingly done with the conversation. 

You hoped he didn’t notice that you did not read a single page for the rest of your time in the library that day.

A few days later, you were itching to get out of the house and wander the beautiful streets of Velaris. After breakfast, you worked up the nerve to call Azriel’s name as he was leaving, timing it out perfectly so the two of you would be left alone in the dining room. He raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised. 

“What are you up to today?” you asked, trying to sound casual.

He cleared his throat, definitely caught off guard. “Well, Rhys has me off to get some intel this morning, but if everything goes to plan, I should be back around lunch…” he trailed off, obviously waiting for you to explain yourself.

“Perfect,” you said, not able to keep the smile off your face as you looked up at him. “Do you want to go to lunch in Velaris with me? I’ve been dying to get out of the house and try somewhere I haven’t been yet.”

Azriel studied you for a moment, his head tilting slightly, one of his shadows curling around his ear, like he was trying to use his skills to see through to your intentions. “Okay,” he said finally. “Sure. Lunch. I’ll find you when I get back?”

“Great,” you grinned up at him before swooping out of the dining room, trying your best not to bounce on your toes. There was no denying it anymore: you had a crush on Azriel, and you couldn’t wait until he got back that afternoon.

You were in the library, of course, when he returned. He was out of his fighting leathers, but still wearing all black, his clothing perfectly tailored to him. He looked…so good. The side of his mouth was quirked up the slightest bit, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, his wings tucked tightly behind him. “How did I know I’d find you here?” he murmured, almost playfully. 

“Lucky guess,” you smirked, placing your book on the table next to your chair and sidling up to him. You noticed his eyes trailing after you, for once not focused on your eyes, but on your body, watching the way your dress hugged your hips as you moved toward him. You flushed. 

“Do you have a place in mind for lunch?” You asked when you were so close to him, your toes were almost touching. He towered over you, his eyes latched onto yours now, his shadows nearly tickling your arms.

“This was your idea,” he said, a hint of teasing in his voice. Azriel? Teasing? Heat went straight through you again. You tried to control your breathing.

“You’ve lived here longer,” you countered. “You know places that I don’t.”

He smiled. A real, full smile. It was life-altering, ground-shaking. You tried to take a picture in your mind of your first real Azriel smile. You couldn’t help but return it. “I’ve got somewhere in mind,” he said finally. 

“Lead the way,” you said. Even to your own ears, you sounded too giddy. You tried not to be embarrassed. 

It wasn’t until you were standing outside on the mountain that you realized the implications of what you had asked. He would have to fly you down to the streets of Velaris. It’s not like you hadn’t had one of your Illyrian friends fly you somewhere before, but now it felt… different. 

You glanced at him, and his hesitant expression told you that maybe he was thinking the same thing. Trying to make the transition the least awkward it could be, you walked right up to him and titled your head. “Ready?”

That tiny half smile appeared as he scooped you up into his arms bridal style, holding onto you tightly, yet being as gentle as possible as the two of you left the ground. You had gotten more used to flying with them, but it still made your stomach twist into nervous knots. You couldn’t help but close your eyes and lean your face into Azriel’s chest, not wanting to look at the ground approaching. 

As you leaned into him, you felt his muscles tense. “Sorry. We’ll be on the ground in a moment.”

“Don’t be sorry,” you said, leaning up to look at him, so he could hear you. “You’re better to fly with than Cassian or Rhys. They always try to scare me more.”

His body tensed, his grasp on you tightening. “I would never do that to you,” he said, his voice suddenly serious. 

“I know,” you said, just as he smoothly landed. He held your gaze as he gently set your feet on the ground. 

Your knees felt a bit shaky, whether from the flight or from your proximity to him, you couldn’t tell. You held onto his rock solid forearms for a minute, trying to steady yourself. 

“Are you alright?” he murmured, his eyes scanning your body, concern flashing on his features.

You cleared your throat, finally letting go of him. “Yes, sorry. I’m still getting used to that."

He nodded, still watching you as if to make sure for himself that you were okay. After a moment, you started walking, hoping to push down the heat that you’d been feeling at the touch of your skin against his.

The two of you walked side by side through the streets of Velaris, not saying much, though you could see from the corner of your eye how often he glanced at you. You watched as his shadows circled around his arms, as he stretched his wings out when the walkway was clear enough. You couldn’t remember seeing him do that before. They were usually tucked in close behind him when he walked around the house.

“Are they heavy?” you asked. 

He just looked at you, his brow slightly furrowed. 

“Your wings,” you clarified. 

They seemed to bristle a bit once you mentioned them, a tiny wave rippling through from one side to the other. “You get used to it. But, yes.” The hint of a smile appeared on his face again. “Why do you think Illyrians are all so fit?” 

You smiled, playfully nudging him with your shoulder. “I haven’t met any besides you three,” you looked up at him to find his eyes already latched on your face. “I thought it was just a you thing."

His face remained stoic except for his eyes, which widened very slightly. 

Suddenly, he cleared his throat, finally taking his eyes from yours, and gesturing at a small building, nestled between what seemed to be two other restaurants. Unlike many of them in Velaris that were open and had tables stretching out into the outside, this building was completely closed, keeping whatever was in there concealed. “We’re here,” he said, his voice a bit more gravelly than before.

You followed him inside, past a roaring fireplace to a small table in a corner of the restaurant. It wasn’t crowded at all, which was a relief since it was so small. It was cozy and inviting though, with low light, candles flickering everywhere and soft music playing from somewhere nearby. You noticed that the chair he was seated in was perfectly accommodating to his wings. You could tell why Azriel was the one out of the group who liked it here. It was calm, quiet, dark. Intimate.

Azriel’s eyes were on you as you settled in, seemingly trying to detect how you were feeling about his choice of establishment. You looked around before meeting his eyes. “I see why you like this place. It’s like the library.”

The side of his mouth quirked up in that half smile you were starting to memorize. “I thought you might appreciate it.”

After you ordered, you looked at him and his eyes were already on you. “You have intense eye contact, do you know that?”

He coughed, but you saw the smile he tried to hide. He slid his eyes back to yours and you tried hard not to react. “I study people. It’s my job.”

“You’re not on duty now, are you?” you said teasingly. 

Azriel shrugged one shoulder noncommittally. “It’s hard to turn off the instinct.”

“Alright, then,” you said, already regretting it before the words even came out of your mouth. “What intel are you picking up on me right now?”

He leaned forward, bracing his forearms on the table in front of him, eyes boring into yours like they could see straight into your soul. Hell, maybe they could. You had never had the courage to ask what exactly his skillset entailed. “You seem… curious about me,” he said in a low, gravelly voice that brought heat to your cheeks. “For whatever reason,” he smiled faintly, lifting one eyebrow. 

“Azriel, is that some self-deprecation I hear?” you said, trying to keep your voice steady. 

Leaning back in his chair again, he took a moment to respond. “Maybe a bit.”

You shook your head. “No, I will have absolutely none of that from the Night Court’s shadowsinger and spymaster. You are far too cool to be talking about yourself like that.” You tried to sound playful, but even to your own ears, you sounded far too serious. You meant it though, of course. How could he not see it?

He just studied you for a moment, not moving except for a slight tick in his jaw. Finally, he said, “As you wish, Lady.”

Clearing your throat, you settled back into your chair, mirroring his posture. “So is that all you’ve picked up on me?”

A slight smile. “All I wish to share.”

Mercifully, before you could reply, your food had arrived. Azriel seemed to hesitate, waiting for you to take your first bite before he dug into his own food. It was delicious, and somehow made you feel right at home. 

You ate in silence for a few moments, your focus so wrapped up in the delicious food in front of you that you did not realize his eyes were once again fastened on you. Once you finally took a reprieve from digging into your meal, you looked up, found his eyes on you, his expression unreadable, and you flushed, slightly embarrassed. 

“I’m not eating like a lady right now, am I?” you asked, your voice slightly wavering, no doubt showing your concern at the lack of decorum.

He let out a quiet chuckle that was music to your ears. “You look like a lady to me,” he said, his gaze not leaving yours.

You flushed even deeper, and he smiled, lighting up his eyes. Two real Azriel smiles in one day. You felt faint.

“You should do that more,” you whispered.

The smile dropped as he raised an eyebrow. A silent question.

“Nevermind,” you said, turning back to your meal, fearing that if you admitted how much you savored the smiles, they would stop appearing.

Azriel seemed like he wanted to push further, but decided against it. You thought he could probably figure it out anyway. He wasn’t the spymaster for nothing.

You could feel his eyes on you as you finished your meal, too distracted by him now to properly taste any of it. 

At last, he said “Did you enjoy it?”

Despite how few real interactions you’ve actually had with the man, you felt comfortable with him, so much so that you dared to say, “The meal? Yes. The company?” You paused, looking up at him from under your lashes. “Absolutely.”

Perhaps it was wishful thinking, but you swore you saw his fingers clench for a moment, heard his breath catch, as the shadows appeared around him for the first time since the two of you sat down. After a moment, he said, his voice thick, “I’m glad.” 

Your last remark took all the bravery you had, and you didn’t dare ask him the question back. 

Later, the two of you walked in companionable silence back to the House of Wind. His arm lightly brushed yours as you neared the mountain, and you again felt electricity jolt through from the point of contact all the way down to your toes. You may not know Azriel extremely well, but you were pretty sure every movement his body made was deliberate. Was that one deliberate, too?

At the foot of the mountain, the two of you turned to face each other, and he smiled lightly. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” you said, stepping closer to him before he gently picked you up. You could tell that he was making an extra effort to fly smoothly for you. 

“You doing okay?” he asked, low in your ear.

Looking up at him, you nodded. “Going up is better than going down.”

“Good to know,” he met your eyes for a moment, his eyes twinkling. Your fingers flexed where they held onto him, and the side of his mouth tilted up the slightest bit.

He landed on the balcony outside of the dining room, setting you on the ground, but not letting go of your arms yet, his eyes searching your face, like he remembered that you needed a minute to get settled on the ground earlier. You reveled in the feeling of his rough hands on your bare skin, and after a moment, you reluctantly stepped back, unable to stop your hand from lightly grasping his bicep as you did so. “Thank you, Azriel. For all of it.”

Azriel nodded, smiling faintly, his eyes not leaving yours. 

You wanted him to say more, desperate to continue whatever this was, but unfortunately Cassian walked out onto the balcony. “What are you guys up to?” he asked, his voice dripping with amusement, his gaze flicking back and forth between the two of you, no doubt noticing how close you were standing.

You glanced at Azriel, not sure what to say. He seemed to understand and answered Cassian. “We just went to grab lunch.”

Cassian grinned. “Just the two of you? Alone? Interesting.”

Azriel rolled his eyes. “Goodbye, Cassian.” 

Cackling, Cassian mock saluted at the two of you, and left. 

You suddenly felt awkward as the two of you were alone again. “So…” you trailed off.

He laughed, and you could feel heat rise to your cheeks for what felt like the hundredth time that day. “See you at dinner?” he said. 

“Dinner. Yes. Absolutely.” By the cauldron, you were starting to sound like him.

Azriel seemed to be thinking the same thing as he studied you for another moment, his eyes sparkling with what could only be described as a hint of mischief before he spread his wings and soared into the sky without another word.

You wandered around aimlessly for the rest of the day, not able to focus on anything but the memory of his hands on your skin, so gentle despite the scars, his eyes gazing into yours, the smile that you hadn’t gotten to see before today. 

Dinner came and went mostly without incident, though you often felt Cassian’s eyes darting between you and Azriel. You glared at him, silently begging him not to make a big deal about what he saw, especially in front of everybody. Thankfully, he got the hint and said nothing.

The next day, you got up a bit earlier than usual, chose a dress that was a bit nicer than what you would normally wear around the house, braided and pinned your hair carefully, and set out to very casually lounge in the library, like you would any other day.

You tried not to sigh with relief as Azriel came in some time later, his shadows nowhere to be seen, and took his normal seat near yours.

He eyed you, and smiled faintly. “You look nice,” he said, quietly.

You blushed. His smile grew. “Thank you,” was all you could say.

Azriel lifted an eyebrow. “Are you going somewhere today?”

“Not that I know of…” you trailed off, debating on whether to attempt to explain your appearance to brush it off, or let him assume correctly that you did it because of him.

“Do you… want to? Go somewhere today?” He said, his voice more hesitant than you would think possible for the Night Court’s spymaster.

“With you?” You asked, sure your eyes were lighting up with excitement.

Azriel smiled, holding your gaze. Your knees would have buckled if you hadn’t been sitting. “That was the idea, yes.”

“Of course,” you beamed, trying to keep your voice even.

Just like that, you were in Azriel’s arms again, flying down to Velaris, where the two of you wandered happily, with no real destination. He was a bit more talkative today, asking you about books you were reading and your life before Rhysand found you and brought you into his family. He told you about the far-off places he’d been throughout his years as Rhysand’s spymaster, what it was like growing up with Rhysand and Cassian as his found family. You had never heard him speak so much, and you couldn’t get enough of it. You wanted to listen to everything he could possibly share, wanting to savor every detail of it. 

And that’s how it went, just like your routine with the library. Every few days, when Azriel had the time, he would fly you down to Velaris and you two would wander the streets, stopping for food, perusing the shops. Slowly, slowly, he opened up a bit more to you, talking about his past every once in a while. He never went into much detail, but it was more than you ever expected from him. You were honored that he trusted you even that much. You became addicted to the sound of his voice, to the rare moments when his arm would brush yours, or when he would place his hand on your back to steer you away from somebody in your path who wasn’t paying attention.

On, and on, and on, you kept up your routine and you could feel the walls that he kept up for everybody break off little by little. 

Still, you couldn’t tell if it was friendship that he was feeling for you or something else. It certainly wasn’t friendly feelings you had towards him. His gorgeous face, his piercing eyes, now had a permanent spot in your mind and in your dreams.  

One afternoon, when you assumed Azriel was out doing his spymaster duties because you hadn’t seen him all day, you were about to leave your room when you heard his voice low, speaking to someone. He sounded mildly upset. You knew you shouldn’t eavesdrop, but you certainly didn’t want to walk past them, so you waited it out.

“When are you going to tell her?” the other voice said, in a rushed whisper. Cassian.

“I don’t know. How are you supposed to just … tell somebody something like that?” Azriel sounded more frustrated than you’d ever heard him.

“How should I know? You’re the one who spends all your time with her. You should know what the best way to tell her is.”

Azriel sighed, and you could picture him running his hands through his hair. “I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, you better figure it out. She’s going to think that you’re not into her.”

“You think so?” Azriel sounded worried.

“Dude, you’ve been spending every moment possible with her for weeks, and you haven’t made a single move.” 

Before Azriel could respond, footsteps sounded in the hallway, and their conversation cut off completely. You seized your chance, hoping to gain some insight as to who they were talking about. 

You left your room, trying to look casual, and at the sound of your door opening, the two of them whipped their heads towards you.

You raised an eyebrow as you walked towards them. “What? Do I have something in my teeth?” you teased, trying not to dwell on what you had heard. Azriel was into someone?

Azriel just stared at you, his cheeks dusted red. Cassian smirked at you. “Nope, beautiful as ever, sweetheart.” 

Azriel’s eyes darted from yours to Cassian’s, his expression turning lethal and his shadows suddenly appearing, swirling around his head, his arms. You had only seen that kind of quiet rage in his eyes when there was an enemy present in the Night Court. 

You couldn’t fathom what would warrant this reaction. “Az, are you okay?” you asked, softly.

His eyes met yours again, the rage flickering away into something else entirely, though you couldn’t quite place it.  He opened his mouth, but couldn’t seem to speak for a moment. Finally, he choked out, “Yes, fine. I’m just -- I have to go.” Without another word, he bolted down the corridor, out of sight.

Cassian rolled his eyes, turning back to you. “You guys have been hanging out a lot lately, huh?”

You shrugged, trying not to let your feelings show. “Yeah, we’re friends now."

He cocked an eyebrow. “Friends? You sure?”

Sighing, you leaned your back against the wall. “Honestly? I don’t know. Sometimes I can’t tell.”

He pushed further, as you figured he would. “Well, how do you feel? Do you want to be just friends?”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “If I tell you, do you promise not to make fun of me, or run off and tell everyone about it?”

Smiling, he raised his right hand, like he was taking an oath. “I solemnly swear that your secret is safe with me.”

“...Fine. No, I don’t want to just be friends. To be completely honest, I think I’m a little in love with him.”

Cassian’s eyes widened, but before he could respond, you said, “I swear to the Cauldron, if you say anything to anyone, I will get Amren to toss you into the pit of the library.” 

At that, he clamped his mouth shut and held up his hands. “I won’t say anything to anybody,” but his demeanor turned serious as he leveled you with a steady gaze. “But I really think you should tell him.” 

You swore you could feel your heart beat faster at just the thought. “What if it ruins everything?” you said quietly. 

Cassian held your gaze. “It won’t.”

Before you could press him on what he meant, he smirked and clapped you in the shoulder, following in Azriel's wake down the hallway.

Surely it wasn’t incredibly narcissistic to think perhaps the “she” they were talking about before you interrupted was you, right? Who else had Azriel been spending all his time with? But… What was it that Cassian wanted him to tell you? Was Azriel interested in you?

Your head spun for days, especially as Azriel was noticeably keeping his distance from you. He had not come to the library, and had hardly talked to you at all. You felt an ache in your chest at his absence. 

After he had been avoiding you for a week, you couldn’t take it anymore. You knocked on his door after dinner, realizing as it opened that you had never seen his room before. Over his shoulder you could see a humongous bed with black sheets and weapons scattered about on tables pushed against each wall. 

He was clearly surprised to see you, hovering in the doorway, like he was unsure if he should invite you in or not. 

Before he could say anything, you blurted, “Did I do something wrong?” 

His brow furrowed in confusion, his shadows suddenly swirling around him. “Why would you think that?"

You shrugged incredulously. “It’s the only reason I can think of for you ignoring me for the past week,” your voice broke and you cursed yourself for showing him how much you had been hurting. 

His eyes softened, his expression pained. “I-- come inside,” he said, stepping away from the doorway so you could venture inside. He closed the door behind you and you gulped, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. 

He slowly walked over to you, stopping a few paces away, his wings folded tightly behind him, his body tense. It took him a moment to finally meet your eyes. When he did, he said simply, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” You asked, your voice wavering. “Az, what’s going on?”

Running his hand through his hair, he sighed, and gestured behind you at an armchair nestled between two of his tables laden with weapons. You sat down gingerly and he sat on the edge of the bed, facing you. His enormous wings stretched out behind him now that he was settled.

“I need to tell you something. And I’ve been avoiding you because… I wasn’t sure how to bring it up. I’ve been trying to figure out the right way to say everything, and  I didn’t know how you would react,” he said, his eyes on you as his shadows swirled around his head. 

“O-kay,” you said. “What is it?”

Azriel took a deep breath and bowed his head, staring at his hands clasped in front of him, his elbows resting on his knees. Finally, he said quietly, “You’re my mate.”

You felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. 

“I --” and before you could question him, you knew it was true, feeling the bond snap into place. You looked up at him to find his eyes on yours, more anxious than you’d ever seen him. “I feel it now,” you whispered. 

His eyes widened and his body went even more rigid. It didn’t look like he was breathing. 

“How long have you known?” was all you could think to say.

It was a long moment before he answered. “I… had a feeling for a while. I felt connected to you from the beginning. Even if you weren’t my mate, I knew you were different. Special. When you first met me, you never paid attention to my scars.” His fingers flexed as he said it, his deep voice slightly shaky. “Most people can’t help but stare, but you… whenever you looked at me, your eyes were on my face. Always.” He drew a deep breath and his eyes bore into yours, like he wanted to make sure you were still there. 

He continued, “But I wasn’t sure, didn’t know how it was supposed to feel when the bond snapped into place, so I started going to the library to be close to you, hoping I could confirm it. That first day at lunch, when you asked me what I was sensing about you… that’s when it happened. That’s when I felt it… that unflinching rope tied around my heart, connecting to you. Then, I couldn’t stay away, that bond was always tugging me toward you.” 

You gaped at him, images of him over the past few weeks blurring together in your mind. 

“I didn’t know how to tell you,” he said, his voice breaking on the last word. “I didn’t know how you felt about me and I didn’t want to ruin what we started.”

The hurt in his voice finally spurred you into action. You got up from the chair and crossed over to him. He sat up fully, his eyes locked on yours as you straddled him, settling into his lap and holding his face in your hands. His body finally relaxed, his shadows dissipating as his hands held your waist gently. 

“I’m in love with you, Azriel,” you said quietly. “I could not be happier that I get to be your mate.”

He made a choking sound, his eyes swimming with emotion. “You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad?” you said, your face inching closer to his.

“I kept it from you.”

“It’s okay, love,” you said gently, wrapping one arm around his neck and running your other hand through his soft hair. “I understand.”

“You love me?” he asked, finally smiling, his mouth an inch from yours.

“Of course I do.”

“I love you,” he murmured, cupping the back of your head with his hand and leaning in to kiss you gently. 

You felt tears stream down your cheeks as he kissed you, and he wiped them away with his thumb, his touch featherlight. 

“Happy tears?” he whispered against your mouth.

“Mhmm,” you mumbled, deepening the kiss.

He kissed you gently for a few more moments before he groaned, wrapped an arm tightly around your waist, stood up, and tossed you onto the bed.

Your eyes widened and he smirked, making your toes curl. 

“Ready to stay up all night, mate?” he teased, his eyes flashing with lust.

You could only nod. 

-----

You two missed breakfast the next morning, too wrapped up in each other to pay attention to what time it had become. 

Mercifully, you were left alone most of the day, and it took some coaxing, but you finally convinced Azriel that you would need nourishment to continue the fun you were having, so eventually you did make it to the dining room in time for dinner.

All eyes were on you both as you sat down side by side, trying to be as nonchalant as possible even though you knew that all your friends could smell the new mating bond on you.

Cassian broke the silence, grinning at Azriel. “Well, she looks absolutely ravished, Az.”

A growl released from deep in Azriel’s throat as he lunged across the table at Cassian, tackling him to the ground. 

Rhysand laughed, opening the door to the balcony, and the two tumbled out, arms and wings thrashing. He looked at you, mischief twinkling in his eyes as he shut the door behind them, locking them out on the balcony. “He’ll be better at controlling that, with time. Trust me.” 

You laughed, feeling your cheeks heat at the protectiveness that Azriel now felt for you. 

“I guess you’re officially part of the family now,” Rhysand smirked. “Congratulations.”

[1d1195]

Protection VI

You can read Protection here. Hard to believe it's only probably four parts left! This got a little bit away from me, I think. I hope it makes sense!

Here we are: 6.5K words.

Warnings: fluff, smut 18+ only , angst(?)

He wished he could meet her mom. Wished with everything in him he could meet the woman responsible for the girl that drove him mad—mad with annoyance or madly in love. It didn’t matter.

With her new vow to be a downright angel, she knew she was nearly boring to keep watch over. In addition, she had finals coming up; it was hard for her to do anything but study and work. Harry was endlessly helpful and kind. He made runs to get her coffee and read off her flashcards. Quizzed her on all the topics she worried about most throughout the semester, laughing every time she easily corrected his mispronunciation of the scientific words.

“What d’you want t’do once y’get your degree?” He asked.

She smirked. “I’m not sure. At one point I wanted to work for the EPA; sometimes I think about being a professor,” she shrugged. Harry thought if she was his professor, he would have never passed a single class. He would be too busy staring at her. “When I was younger, I watched a bunch of CSI shows with my mom and I wanted to be one of the scientists in the lab. It’s a bit dramatized on TV though, so I put it on the backburner. I could work in the bio-medicinal field,” she explained. “I would get to help make drugs and medicines and things.”

“Y’really like this stuff?” He asked curiously looking at the gibberish words on the cards in his hands.

She smiled excitedly. “A lot, it’s like a puzzle.”

“I’ve done a puzzle before love,” he shook his head. “S’not a puzzle.”

She giggled this adorable giggle that Harry was so smitten for. It was like his favorite song. He started to dream about her laughter. The days he had off seemed endless now—just waiting to come right back to her place and watch a rom-com before she fell asleep. If he had it his way, he would have moved into her second bedroom. He would have requested to be by her side, 24/7.

“When do you do errands?” She asked scribbling something in her notebook. It was approaching nine at night which meant they were going to start a movie to help her relax before she picked up studying as soon as she woke up. Harry was sitting on the sofa as he always did. She sat on the floor, so she had the ability to freely move around her séance circle of papers, note cards, laptop, and textbooks.

“Jus’ usually do it on m’day off,” he shrugged.

She frowned. “We could do them when I’m out and about. It doesn’t seem fair that we’re like...at Target and you can’t grab a few things.”

“S’protocol,” he smiled. Then he chuckled shaking his head at her as she rolled her eyes so hard, she turned her neck along with the motion at his words.

“I hate protocol,” she reminded him.

“I know.”

“When do you see Niall?” He stared at her silently. Wondering how on Earth she knew who Niall was. She glanced at him as she looked over her notes. But then did a double take when he looked at her as if she suddenly grew a second nose. She tilted her head curiously. Harry’s expression went blank as he searched through every moment that he had spoken to her over the last four or so months, trying to remember when he mentioned Niall’s name. After a moment of trying to figure out his hesitation, she giggled, realizing what she had done. “I told you I ran a background check of my own,” she reminded him.

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. She didn’t need a security detail. She was more than capable of protecting herself. Harry was glad he was here all the same, but it was a moment like this that he felt she was independent enough to do whatever she wanted and knew exactly how to save herself. “On m’days off.”

“Did he tell you I ran into him?” She asked.

He shook his head feeling like he was abducted by an alien and put in an alternate dimension. “No,” he put the flashcards on the table. “When did y’see him?”

Her cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink. “I went to the office,” she told him. His eyebrows rose on his forehead. He blinked at her as if he was just seeing her for the first time.

“You what?” His voice was flat.

“I was sure he was going to tell you about it,” she frowned and looked curiously at her papers.

“I haven’t seen him in a bit, he doesn’t always have the same time off as me,” he explained.

She nodded. “Oh...well, I kind of yelled at your supervisor.”

Harry knew she was...headstrong. He had seen the way she spoke to people who made her mad. But somehow, he had a hard time imagining the girl before him going to a government office and yelling at a grown man. What’s more, he was probably scared of her too. Harry was at a loss for words. No idea what to say or do. “You...yelled?” He was practically breathless. The words hardly reached her ears. She yelled at his supervisor.

She nodded again, easily. Obviously. As if that were a regular occurrence. “It was right after my hospital stay,” she murmured. Harry felt his heart freeze over at the mere mention of that awful weekend. If Harry was around, he was never going to let something like that happen to her ever again. He was sure of it. “When you were acting all weird towards me.”

Harry still felt bad that she noticed that. It took over a week for normalcy to come back to him. His supervisor told him it was unacceptable and made them look bad. Unfortunately, Harry full-heartedly agreed and since he was throwing himself a pity party of feeling terrible about it, he let his supervisor help in making him feel worse. “Oh,” he was still so utterly confused. “M’sorry. M’not really following. I...why did you—”

“I...I really...appreciate how you treat me,” she interrupted. She looked up from her papers. “I really do feel safe when you’re around,” she looked at him shyly, through her gorgeous eyelashes that nearly brushed the bottom of her eyebrows. Harry felt like he was melting into her sofa. He had grabbed her flashcards just so he didn’t do something stupid like pull her into his lap and kiss her until he needed oxygen. “So when...you didn’t want to be around me, I was really sad and hurt. More than I think I would have been if...” she shrugged off the rest of the sentence. Harry knew what she meant: more than the reason why she was at the hospital. “You stopped taking the extra shifts and stuff...and I know that you have your own life but...it’s enjoyable to be around you. I didn’t want to run away from you or do stupid things... or any of my normal stuff. But you didn’t want to be around me,” she mumbled quietly. She swallowed the lump in her throat thinking about how truly awful it would be to not see Harry for any length of time. His standoff nature broke her heart, and it was only a few days. She wasn’t sure what would happen when she no longer needed nor had a security detail. “You were all upset, and it was their fault.”

Harry felt so guilty again. “Oh,” he frowned. “M’sorry, love...I jus’...I was so upset that y’got hurt because of me—”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she shook her head. Her tone said there was no arguing with her. They had gone through this already anyway. There was no use in rehashing it. But Harry would probably feel guilty for the rest of his life.

“I would have blamed anyone that was supposed t’keep an eye on you that day,” he tried explaining once more. “S’not...we don’t have t’make it a thing, but I jus’ want y’to know I feel really guilty about it.”

She sighed. “You shouldn’t,” she said simply. Neither spoke, the silence was comfortable though. It was like a warm blanket. She scribbled a bit and Harry flipped through her index cards. “Favorite tree?” She asked quietly.

“Tree?” He smirked. She nodded. He shook his head with a chuckle and thought about trees. Did he even know if he had a favorite tree? “Uh...oak, I guess.”

“Mine’s a Christmas tree.”

“Oh, no fair,” he pouted. “That’s a good one.”

“I want to get a Christmas tree,” she told him. “Maybe we could do that instead of a movie,” she suggested.

“You’re in charge, love.”

She rolled her eyes. “Only kind of.” He smiled. “Favorite number?”

“I don’t have one,” he admitted.

She blinked. “Hmm. Mine is fourteen,” she told him. “I don’t know why. Just speaks to me.”

He would have to remember that. “Favorite cereal?”

A beat of silence. “Coco puffs, I think.”

“What’s your favorite book?” He asked.

She bit the inside of her lip. “I think I’d rather die than pick.” He chuckled at her response.

*

She put on a Christmas rom-com while they decorated the tree. Harry chuckled at some joke on the TV, but she could not be bothered to pay attention. Harry was helping decorate her Christmas tree. Just like how he helped decorate her apartment with a million flowers. Harry paused his decorating, however, to focus on the movie. He stood in the middle of her living room, hands holding the string of lights while he stared at the screen intently. Invested in whatever was happening. Since she couldn’t be bothered to know even the basic plot, she took that time to gaze at Harry without a care. She wondered if it was possible that he had gotten more beautiful. Or maybe she just looked at him differently now.

Her mom would have loved Harry. She could practically picture her saying oh, he’s very handsome, with a little giggle. She would like how he was snippy with her. In fact, she imagined her mom saying something like, you’re too hard on, Harry. Don’t be so mean. She bit the inside of her lip and closed her eyes tightly to keep from crying. Harry had carried the tree from the car to the apartment with ease. It didn’t even look like it was heavy for him. He’s strong too, that’ll be good when you have babies. She shook her head of the daydream. Babies with Harry. Babies that wouldn’t meet their grandma. God, she missed her mom so much.

“Are y’alright, love?” He asked quietly. She blinked her eyes open. He was looking at her nervously. Like all the other times she was hurt in his presence. She worried he would take her to the hospital just for looking upset.

She nodded. “Just...thinking about my mom,” she mumbled and turned her attention to the tree. It wasn’t a lie, not really anyway.

“M’sorry, love. Did...did your mum like Christmas?”

She nodded sullenly. “Was our favorite.”

He looked at her flowery walls. Poinsettias and snowdrops. Harry wished there was mistletoe fixed to the ceiling somewhere. He would stand under it all day with her. He let her mull in silence about her mum. Maybe it was good to think about her. “I don’t know how y’do it.”

“Do what?”

Harry shook his head and shrugged. “Live. Think I would die without m’mum,” he told her.

She smiled weakly, tiredly. “I think a part of me did,” she shrugged. “But...my mom...” she rolled her eyes, and her smile grew as she thought her over. “Oh, she would have...” she giggled making Harry smile. “She would be so mad if I stopped living just because she did.”

Harry nodded. “My mum’s the same way.”

She had only a small bandage on her hand now. Harry had been taking very careful care of it. Making sure it healed properly and didn’t get in her way too much. “I miss her,” she told Harry. “I miss her every day...” she turned to look at Harry again. “She would have loved you.”

Harry felt some kind of pride that he didn’t know he needed. Knowing her favorite person in the universe would have loved him. “Yeah?”

She was all smiles now. Her giggle was infectious. “She would tell me I was being awful for you.”

“Well, then I love her too,” Harry rolled his eyes and he swore his heart grew to fill the entire space of his chest as she laughed her real, unfiltered laugh. He wished he could meet her mom. Wished with everything in him he could meet the woman responsible for the girl that drove him mad—mad with annoyance or madly in love. It didn’t matter.

*

Since Harry had been helping her study—or even since he started and watched her study, he knew all the signs of frustration and burnout. “Love, maybe a break?” He murmured. She shook her head.

“I hate this class.”

“You’re going t’do great, love,” he encouraged.

She rubbed her temples and sighed. “Can...” she looked at him sitting quietly on the other sofa, he was reading a book. She was so boring now, he could sit and read as much as he wanted. He tilted his head at her. “Are you busy?” She asked.

He smiled at her. “Does it look like m’busy?”

She shrugged. “It looks like a good book, is all.”

“M’not busy. Not for you,” he promised.

Her heart fluttered. He wasn’t too busy for her. She bit the inside of her lip. “Could you help me?” She asked quietly.

He folded the corner of the page down and nodded. “Course, love.”

Her asking for help was a really big deal. Normally, he just helped her. It never got to the point of her asking. Hence why it was so monumental when she was alone in the park and called Harry. It had to be nearly catastrophic when she injured herself in the kitchen and she called out for him instinctively. But somehow this moment outshone both of those. Sitting on her floor, papers spread about. Her needing his help to study was some form of intimacy that he wasn’t sure he could fully articulate how...wonderful it was.

He sat beside her on the floor and took her index cards as he was accustomed to doing. The pile was now at least three hundred cards thick. It was no surprise she was nervous. Harry wasn’t sure how she would retain all of it either. She stared at the study guide rubbing her forehead. “Okay...” she sighed. “This section, molecular symmetry and its relationship to vibrational spectroscopy and bonding, is giving me the most trouble.”

He stared at her as she looked over her notes. Harry set aside the section of index cards she didn’t need. She looked adorable, pursed lips and concentrated expression. He still hated the way her forehead creased with worry. He swore she was always two minutes away from a headache because of it and she failed to drink enough water to support her brain.

If I drank enough water, I would be too much for the world. She told him. I’d be unstoppable.

He must have been staring too long because she turned to look at him. “What?” She asked touching her cheek. “Do I have pizza on my face still, you’re supposed—”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re fine, love. Jus’...I literally haven’t a clue what you’re talking ‘bout. Spectroscopy?” He murmured. She smirked and shrugged. “You should have been a florist. Y’wouldn’t have had t’give yourself headaches,” he explained as he got to the section of index cards she referred to.

“Maybe in my next life.”

He chuckled. “D’you believe in a next life?”

She nodded. “For the sake of my mom I do,” she mumbled.

Harry was looking at her, she could feel it on the side of her face. If she looked at him, she was afraid she would burst into tears and never stop. It was something about her apartment being decorated for Christmas that had her feeling so much more...she was so upset that she would never meet Harry. Harry wasn’t even hers. “Your mum would be really proud of you,” he promised.

“I hope so.”

“I know so.”

She looked at him finally. His green eyes met hers and she thought if he wasn’t her bodyguard, she would kiss him and probably never stop kissing him. She would become part of the floor and kiss him until her mouth hurt. Until her lungs screamed for air. He was perfect. Truly. It was awful she made him work so hard up until the past couple weeks. She would never forgive herself for that. He smiled at her. “Do I have pizza on m’face?” He asked.

She shook her head and blushed as she looked back at her study guide. She had to be careful, or she was going to fail merely because Harry was so pretty just sitting beside her, it distracted her.

*

After three hours of studying, they put on a movie. She was practically asleep before it started. Her body slumped across the couch. Harry glanced at her eyes, practically little slits. “Can y’even see?” He asked.

“See enough,” she mumbled. He stood up and draped a soft blanket with a Christmas tree pattern over the length of her. She was in leggings and a long-sleeved T-shirt. She was so pretty. Her hair was pulled to a bun on the top of her head and Harry just wanted to kiss her sleepy, pretty face. She sighed. “M’gonna fall asleep.”

“S’okay, love,” he chuckled sitting back on the other couch.

“M’too tired to get to my room.”

“I can carry you.”

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

He rolled his eyes and let out a note of laughter. “I don’t mind.”

“I do. M’too heavy.”

“You are not. S’this a comment on m’muscle tone?”

She snorted and cuddled the throw pillow closer to her face. It smushed her cheek against the fabric. Harry wanted to put her in his pocket, she was so adorable. “No...I don’t know...I mean—When do you even have time to work out?”

“I usually jus’ workout in m’time off, or while you’re asleep.”

“You go home at midnight and do a workout?” She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t even want to do a workout past five in the evening.”

He smiled. “You’re not heavy,” he repeated.

“M-hmm...I think I ate my weight in pizza today.”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re so stubborn.”

She smiled. “Leave me here,” she mumbled and drifted off to sleep. But Harry was stubborn too, so he carried her to her room. If he could, he would have taken a video of the pair of them just to show her.

“Harry,” she murmured sleepily once she was lying in her comfy bed. Harry’s heart felt like it was going to explode. Her eyes didn’t open, and she didn’t speak again. In fact, she had fallen asleep around him a lot and he had never heard her talk while she dreamed. He wanted to lay down right beside her, hold her, squeeze her. Tell her that he adored her and everything: her exam, stuff with her dad, her missing her mom, and everything her beautiful, brilliant mind worried about would be okay.

But instead, he gently smoothed part of her hair back and left her to dream.

Hopefully, about him.

*

Harry walked up to her apartment and waved to the agent outside as he looked down at his phone. He brought her a coffee to celebrate the end of her exams. The agent left and Harry waited until he was fully gone to let himself into her apartment.

She was on the phone and smiling like it was already Christmas. Like she had gotten the best gift of all.  Harry smirked and placed his stuff at her dining table and then held the coffee up for her to see. She bit the inside of her lip to keep from squealing. Harry settled her cup down on the table as well as she spoke to the other end of her phone. “Thank you. Thank you so much,” she said gratefully. “Happy holidays. Have a wonderful break.”

The moment her phone was on the counter she was running across her apartment and throwing herself at Harry. He staggered back a step at the impact. Her arms tossed around his shoulders, and she sighed as she breathed into his shirt. He was taller than her of course. By at least half a foot. She was on her tiptoes, and it felt like magic to hold her.

Harry felt like when she did this back in August. However, this time obviously didn’t have the hidden pretense of needing protection from some guy that couldn’t take a hint. This was real. She was really throwing herself at him and giggling like a madwoman. He wrapped his arms around her waist giving her a returning squeeze. “Mmm...y’okay there Miss Wildflower?”

She was jittery. But in a good way. She pulled from him, dropping her arms to her sides. Harry regretted asking her if she was alright. He would have much preferred her in the circle of his arms. “My professor emailed me asking me to call him,” she was giddy. Harry was in love. There was no longer a question about it. Her smile, her eyes, everything about her made his chest ache with adoration for her. “I...” she was nearly breathless. “Harry, I got the highest grade on the final.”

He rolled his eyes. Naturally he was proud and happy for her but it wasn’t all that surprising. “Of course, y’did, love. You’re brilliant and y’studied for ages.”

“No, Harry...like...ever. The highest grade ever.”

Oh. That was different. He tilted his head and smirked now understanding her excitement a little more. “Oh?”

She nodded excitedly, rocking back and forth on her feet. “He’s been teaching this course for...” she rolled her eyes. “Over twenty-five years...he was so impressed. He wants me to be his TA next semester, he wants me to do research. He thinks I should be a professor—especially because he wants to retire soon...Harry,” she was still practically bouncing with excitement. She was so adorable Harry didn’t know where to look. “Thank you,” she sighed her expression was so soft. Harry was melting for her. Right onto the floor. Just a puddle of the man he once was.

“Me?” He was shocked she was thanking him. He didn’t do anything. All he did was hold some index cards and mispronounce words for her.

“You helped me study so much...I,” she sighed. “I know I was a pain, and you didn’t deserve all that and you certainly didn’t have to help me after all that either. The studying, the crying about everything, the coffee, the...just putting up with me. It is just...thank you, truly. I am so happy. So unbelievably happy I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy in m—”

Harry’s mouth was on hers.

Her brain short-circuited. Harry’s pretty pink lips were finally between hers. His hands were on each side of her face. His body curled down toward her as he kissed her. His lips were soft. So soft she wondered what chapstick he used—literally almost pulled away just to ask. But she was certain she would never pull from his lips. If she died from lack of oxygen, it would be okay. Except she worried Harry would have to do paperwork on it. Her eyes fluttered closed as soon as she felt the touch of his mouth.

Her hands fisted the sides of his shirt pulling him closer toward herself. His tongue gently stroked over her lower lip and then carefully probed at the space between her barely open teeth. Asking for silent permission to let it in her mouth. She moaned when his tongue licked hers. She could feel his heavy inhale and exhale from his nose as he breathed in and out.

Oh, it was so much better than she could have imagined. Better than she could have dreamed. She turned her face upwards allowing more access given his height. He pulled from her mouth, allowing her to breathe. But his lips didn’t stop, he kissed down the side of her throat, making her heart hammer out an unsafe rhythm. She didn’t dare speak; worried she would somehow ruin it.

This cannot be protocol. Why on earth would she care about protocol right now?

If she brought attention to the fact that Harry was willingly kissing her, he would probably stop. He seemed like the type. But instead, he brought his mouth back to hers, curled his arms around her middle long enough to almost crush her to his body. He got her toes off the ground, never stopping his kiss as he maneuvered blindly over to the sitting area. He guided her back carefully, so she went down gently on the sofa and Harry followed right after her, hips between her thighs. She groaned softly at the feeling of Harry pressing against her. This was an awful day to wear jeans. The stiff fabric had no give for her to fully feel and enjoy the way Harry grinded against her. Her leggings would have been much better. One of his hands rested at the back of her neck, his fingers gripping lightly on her hair so he could tug her closer to his mouth. The other touched her side, stroked down over her hip that bent around his waist before he slid down to her outer thigh.

“Harry,” she whimpered his lips breaking from her mouth for a moment to kiss along the side of her neck that didn’t receive attention before.

“What, love?” He mumbled. His voice seemed deeper, sexier.

She was aching everywhere. Harry wasn’t close enough. She wanted him everywhere. Wanted him to fix the ache. She had never needed anyone. Not once in her adulthood had she ever needed help from anyone nor needed anyone so much that her bones ached.

But she had never met Harry until this year. Now she wanted him to make the ache go away. “Please,” she begged.

“Please, what?” His lips brushed over the hollow space at the bottom of her throat. “Tell me,” he murmured. “I’ll give y’anything y’want,” his lips pressed to her collarbone and moved further south down the V of her T-shirt. She made an embarrassing little whiny sound out of her throat. She arched toward his mouth. Desperate for his kiss, his touch. All of it. “Tell me, love.”

She felt dizzy because despite all the stupid things she put him through, she believed he really would do anything she asked of him. The hand on her thigh moved back up toward her shirt and slid just below the hem so his fingers skimmed over her stomach. “Please,” she begged.

“‘Please’ what, kitten?” His voice was so gentle, deep. She wanted to drown in his voice. It made her chest ache to be called a new name. Honey set her on fire. Kitten was going to send her heart to the moon.

But he was smug too. He knew exactly what she wanted. Exactly. He was refusing to give it to her. Refusing to put his hand between her thighs. He brought his lips back to hers, kissing her plead, her question, all rational thought out of her mind.

“Want you,” she whispered.

“Yeah?”

She nodded. It was hard to keep calm when he spoke so gently. When his lips tasted so good and felt so soft. “Please?” She begged again.

“Love,” his voice was gentle. “I want you so bad,” he promised. Her heart felt like it was about to fly right out of her ribs and across the room.

But she still had one little neuron firing in her Harry-obsessed mind. His tone had a ‘but’ in it. She wanted to go back to kissing before she asked. Wanted to feel the lightness that drenched her and Harry as he sprinkled her with hundreds of kisses. Kisses, that if she was being honest with herself, she wanted since the day he knocked on her door for the first time.

But instead, his tone just made her feel terrible. She dropped her head back against the cushion. “S’not protocol,” he mumbled. He trailed his kisses back up her neck.

“Oh for...Harry, fuck protocol,” she moaned. She felt too warm. He chuckled against her making the little breath of laughter tickle and cool her skin. She thought she was going to pass out. She yanked on his shirt hard, trying to get him closer but she sensed it wasn’t going to happen. No matter how hard she tried.

“Easy, love.”

“Easy?” She felt agitated instantly. “M’gonna combust,” she told him breathlessly her head turning to the side.

“Good,” he said smugly pressing a wet kiss to the side of her neck. She flopped back miserably against the sofa again and looked at him through her lashes in that way that drove him crazy with adoration for her.

“You don’t...want me?”

“Kitten,” he tutted disapprovingly. He pressed his hand against her cheek. “Obviously, I want you.” Ever so subtly, his hips dipped against her leg, pressing his hard length against her thigh as proof.

“It’s not obvious,” she frowned sullenly. Even with his erection, it didn’t mean anything. He could just be horny, and she didn’t see Harry with other women often—well ever. She was here and he could just enjoy kissing or whatever. “Then—”

“M’sorry, love s’protocol,” he smirked sadly. “I jus’ want to—”

“Harry, what about me says I give two shits about protocol?” She groaned throwing her arm over her face.

He pulled it away and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “I know, kitten,” he kissed the tip of her nose. “I want to,” he promised. “But...I can’t. I can’t right now.”

“Why are you on your period?” She rolled her eyes.

“Would never pin y’as a horny thing, love,” he pressed his lips to her ear. “Is that why y’tense all the time? Just need t’come?” She was silent. Unwilling to be bated by his words into revealing something about herself or admitting she was so fucking hot for him. “M’not gonna...do this with you...not while m’working.”

“You sure know how to make a girl feel like she’s begging for sex.”

“Pretty sure y’could convince anyone t’have sex with you without begging.”

“Look in the mirror,” she muttered.

“I adore you,” he promised. His hand cupped the side of her face. “Obviously.”

She pushed him away. “So...what? We’re just going to...make out and dry hump?” She asked, frustration laced in her voice. She paced away from him quickly. Going to her room and shutting the door behind her. It wasn’t to avoid Harry. Actually, she wanted nothing more than to throw herself back at him, immediately. But if he was going to be rational, then she needed space so she could be rational too.

He knocked gently on the door. “Love,” he hummed. “Open the door.”

“No.”

He tried the handle and then sighed when it didn’t move. “Jus’...let me explain.” She waited silently. Now that she could breathe air that wasn’t heavy with Harry’s cologne or with just the scent of him, she was thinking a little more clearly. A little more like herself. He sighed again. “God, you’re annoying,” he mumbled. “I jus’...I can’t...take advantage of you,” he told the door.

“I want it,” she said petulantly. Like Harry was candy that she was being denied on Halloween.

He laughed behind the door. “I know, love. Me too.” She waited in silence again. “I don’t want t’do this while m’working. S’not fair.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s...” there was a small thunk against the door.

“I swear to God, Harry. If you say it’s protocol...” He didn’t speak giving her the answer she needed. “Why’d you kiss me then?” She groaned. “You got me all worked up.”

“I know, love. M’sorry. It was a moment of weakness...I shouldn’t have—”

“So, you really don’t want me?” She repeated sadness on the edge of her voice.

The idea that she was worried about Harry wanting her was killing him. “Kitten, open the door or I’ll break it down.”

She unlocked it and it was out of the way. His lips were back on hers in an instant. Brought her mind right back to the frenzy she felt moments ago. Her breath was lost in his mouth. He cupped her face and pecked at her upper lip as he started to chat with her. “Want nothing more than t’get y’out of your clothes and lay y’down and kiss every inch of your skin.”

If his tongue went in her mouth again she wasn't going to be able to think...maybe ever again. “But?”

“But...s’not...”

She pushed him away as much as she didn't want to, flopped onto her bed with a huff. “Harry, please,” she sighed. “What are we supposed to do? I don’t want you to not be on my detail. But we can’t...be...physical?”

“No...” he smirked. “No, we can’t.” She gazed at him curiously as he emphasized the pronoun. Harry sat beside her touching the inside of her jeans, following the seam to the middle of them below her zipper. Somehow his touch could be felt through the rough denim. She was certain if she was wearing leggings she would have come already. “I don’t want to get fired.”

“Pretty sure you’d get fired for this,” she whispered breathlessly.

He chuckled. “M’not explaining it right, love.”

“No, you’re not. M’feeling very unwanted. Which you know is...like really bad for my psyche,” Harry’s hand was literally between her thighs. He was breaking all kinds of protocol and she was still being annoying about his lack of attention to what she wanted more.

“Honey, I want you so badly,” he promised and brought his other hand to her face. He leaned down to kiss her softly. His fingers tapping almost rhythmically against the center of her jeans. “I can’t have sex with you while m’working. S’a recipe for disaster.” His fingers moved to her zipper, pulled it down. Moved back to her button, unclipped it from it’s place. "We'll figure it out, I'll kiss you and touch y'as much as y'want...but y'gotta lemme do this my way, please," he looked at her apologetically. "Know it doesn't make sense," his fingers were touching the elastic of her underwear. Her breathing hitched. “M’gonna take care of you, now. Okay? S’got nothing t’do with me or the job. S’all you, love. Y’deserve t’feel good.”

“You’re not making any sense,” her voice lacked air—it barely carried to his ears.

“I know, can’t think straight with y’looking so pretty like this,” his fingers dipped in between the opening of her jeans and the outside of her underwear. She moaned softly as his fingers moved over her. Her breath caught in her throat. Swore it stole the oxygen that went to her brain. There were no more brain cells in her head for rational thought. Thank God she took all her exams. “Y’better not fake it for me either. I know the difference in sounds y’made between the guy y’had here in September than when y’use your vibrator.” She wished she could feel embarrassed or angry toward him, but Harry’s fingers were pinching so softly but expertly at her clit she wanted to scream.

She didn’t know Harry could hear her.

“Y’make it so obvious, love. Moaning so loud for someone. S’not how y’do it. Y’get all breathy. Quiet. Hiding it. I know y’hide how y’feel...I don’t know why...but don’t y’dare think ‘bout lying t’me.”

That wasn’t going to be a problem. She had imagined Harry all over her so many times before. She was going to come in twenty seconds. “Oh...” she moaned arching into his touch. His hand slid lower, pushing her underwear out of the way and sinking a finger inside her. “Harry, please,” she begged.

“Oh, s’nice t’hear y’say please, love.”

Oh no. He was going to torture her.

“Didn’t know y’knew how t’be good.” Her toes curled. She tilted her hips up toward his fingers begging for more friction between her thighs. “Thought y’jus’ knew how t’be a pain in the butt. Didn’t know y’had manners.” Her brain was literally fried. It was an entity outside her body. The only thing she knew was Harry’s fingers on her body and his voice. His lips were pressed to her ear as he spoke. All while massaging his fingers in her folds, around her clit, and dipping inside her aching hole. It was like he was in the dark and could only use his sense of touch to find all the spots that drove her mad. She wanted to keep his hand in her pants every moment of every day. His fingers were so long and perfect and she could almost forgive him for not going further.

“Gonna listen t’me?” He asked. She nodded, gasping for air that didn't smell like Harry but enjoying that it did. “Say it,” he murmured. “For all the times y’didn’t.”

“I’ll listen,” she gasped.

“Good,” he continued rubbing leisurely. It was working her up beyond comprehension. She thought about whining at him. Or begging again. He seemed to like that enough that he might take pity on her.

But fortunately, he didn’t make her wait long.

“Come.” The knot in her stomach came undone without her even realizing it was there and ready to unravel. Her eyes fluttered as her body arched toward him. He pressed his mouth back over hers, licking her tongue. “S’a shame he couldn’t do that for you,” he murmured in her ear as her breathing settled. He gently removed his fingers from her pants, zipped and buttoned her back up.

Unironically, it felt like she had been drugged, the waves of dopamine coursing through her. Her eyelids fluttered rapidly as she watched Harry place his finger in his mouth and draw it out slowly. “Can’t wait t’taste you firsthand, kitten.”

This had to be the best day of her life. She passed her exam, she had a job opportunity, a mentor...she had...Harry and his lips and his fingers. Even if she had to figure out why he didn’t want to fully have sex. It didn’t matter. Having Harry like this, lying on her bed looking at her like she was...beautiful...

It was Christmastime. It was perfect.

She was happy. Really happy.

For all the bad stuff that happened to her, all the bad things she felt, it was nice to finally have something good. To have Harry beside her...to have finally kissed him. Those hearts in her eyes had to be back. But she swore as Harry smiled at her, she saw them in his as well. Her brain didn’t need to think about chemical bonding, O-rings, or compounds for a while. She could focus on Harry, his lips, and their movie list.

So why in the bliss of this perfect day, did a foreboding cloud of anxiety take over her mind?

--

general taglist: @justlemmeadoreyou @daydreamingofmatilda @sunshinemoonsposts @youdontcaredoyou @tiredinwinter @loving-hazz @likeapplejuicenpeach @straightontilmornin @freedomfireflies @littlenatilda @kathb59 @babegoals @angel-upon @lilfreakjez @mleestiles @ameliaalvarez06 @canyonmoondreams @summertime-pills @daphnesutton @l4rrysh0use

Protection taglist: @youcouldstartacult @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @luxiorchive @ameerakane20 @be-with-me-so-happily @cherryshouse @foreverxholland @tenaciousperfectionunknown @samanddeaninatrenchcoat @cherrystyle

I'm sorry if I missed anyone in the taglist. Please let me know if you'd like to join, if it didn't work, if you no longer want to be included, etc. :)

If you like this, check out my masterlist for more of my writing.

[writeforfandoms]

Click Click Boom

Find my CoD masterlist

My first shot at writing Alex, and he’s a wee bit feral in this one. Because why not. Also, these two do know each other, but I’m just dropping you in without a lot of background.

Warnings: Canon typical violence, imminent threat on life, threat of explosives, reader is having a Very Bad Day. 

Italics is speaking in Arabic.

Word count: 2.1k

Alex x f!reader

You’d been in Urzikstan for two days, and were scheduled to be there for a few days more. You didn’t think it would a problem, since you were staying in the quieter parts of the country. 

You were wrong. 

Someone had clearly fucked up advising how volatile the situation was, because you went from talking to one of your sources over lunch to a hostage situation. Half a dozen armed men held up the entire patio, shouting to each other. 

One of them looked at you and sneered, and your heart plummeted. “An American will make a good sacrifice,” he said, stalking over to you. Your contact cowered a little away from you - not that you could actually blame him. 

But you still closed your eyes when the barrel of a gun kissed your temple, warm from the sun. 

Hands grabbed you, forcing your arms behind your back, wrists bound too tightly together. You opened your eyes just in time to be shoved away from the table, towards one of the men. You stumbled, and he grabbed your upper arm, hauling you with him. 

“What–?” you started to ask, only to gasp in pain when the man nearly wrenched your shoulder of its socket. 

“Quiet,” he growled, pulling you harder towards an unmarked van. You shook your head, half in denial, half pleading. 

But there was no mercy for you as you were shoved into the back of the van, the door slamming shut behind the man who’d grabbed you. 

You opened your mouth to try asking a question, and coughed as a rough wad of fabric was stuffed between your lips instead. He tied it tight behind your head, uncaring. 

“We have what we need,” he said over your head to the driver. “Let’s go.”

The van pulled away from the restaurant, and for a moment you wanted to panic, to cry, to do something. 

But it wouldn’t help. 

Instead you closed your eyes and thought about Alex, how that silly mustache tickled when he kissed you, that syrup-sweet smile after drinks the last time, the warmth of his skin as you fell asleep next to him. 

The realization that you may never see him again was a cold wash down your spine. 

But you didn’t give these bastards the satisfaction of your tears. 

The van stopped sometime later, and the man hopped out first, reaching back in to drag you out into blinding sunlight. You blinked rapidly, trying to adjust, eyes watering. 

“She is still conscious?” a new one asked, stalking over to the man holding your arm. “Fool!” The new man raised his gun, butt towards you, and you had a single moment of fear before he hit you, hard, and you knew no more. 

–

Alex really kind of liked Urzikstan… apart from the parts where he got shot at, and sworn at, and had things thrown at him. Other than that, it was a great country, with some great people. 

But if he never had another op here, he’d be thrilled.

“Alex,” Laswell greeted over the phone. “We’ve got a situation.” 

“What kind of situation?” He glanced around, wary. 

“Al-Qatala has taken a hostage. American press.” 

Alex’s stomach dropped all the way to his boots. No. No, there was no way. “Who?” he asked, a little hoarse. 

Laswell read off your name, and Alex’s blood froze. “We need her back alive.”

He swallowed hard. He’d have a chance to get retribution later. He needed to focus now. “Location?” 

“I’ve got a chopper ready to take you most of the way,” Laswell informed him. “This needs to be done quietly.”

“Roger that.” Alex took a deep breath. 

“Keep me updated. Watcher out.” 

Alex had about two seconds to feel fear. To panic. To give the ugly emotions their moment. And then he stuffed it all down, because he needed to be alert to get you out of this alive. 

He restocked everything he needed, and then some. Because he was going to get you back. And he was going to make every single bastard who’d taken you pay. Dearly. 

The rhythmic thumping of the helo had him jogging outside, and he hopped up into it the moment he could. 

“We’re gonna have to drop here, sir,” one of the two Marines aboard told him, holding out a tablet with the location marked in green. “She’s at red.”

It wasn’t terribly far, really, all things considered. But it was too far for Alex, his heart still thrumming with the need to get to you. 

“Understood. You two coming with?” Alex grabbed onto the netting as the helo took off again. 

“Yes, sir.” 

“We do this quick and quiet. I don’t want her being put in an active hostage situation. Got it?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

Alex settled uneasily for the remainder of the flight, trying hard to stay focused. It wouldn’t help to think of what state you might be in, if you’d been hurt, if you were even still alive–

“Just about there, sir,” the first marine piped up, and Alex was grateful for the imminent drop. 

His feet hit the ground and he was off, trusting the two marines were behind him. He paused at a corner, back pressed tight to the building, listening hard. Nothing. A quick peek showed nothing - no people, no movement for ways. He slipped around the side of the building, advancing carefully, pistol in hand with suppressor attached. 

The first AQ to fall didn’t even see him coming, a quick knife to the throat keeping him silent. Alex swallowed back the first rush of vengeance, of satisfaction, and continued forward. 

Another fell beneath his knife. Three moved out of a building, chatting amongst themselves, at ease. His lips curled and he nodded to one of the marines behind him. All three fell within moments, not given enough time to raise the alarm before bullets pierced their skulls. 

They were getting close now, or they should be, based on the intel. Alex paused, glancing at the two men. 

“We’re gonna start clearing buildings,” he murmured, keeping his voice low. 

“Copy,” both murmured in reply. 

One nod, and Alex was off, checking all his doors and corners as he made his way inside. One more AQ, then two in the next building. Nobody had had a chance to raise the alarm. 

One more building cleared. More bodies left behind. But the vengeance singing in Alex’s blood wasn’t satisfied, not yet. 

He dropped another AQ, the two marines fanning out. And then he stopped.

You were alive. Blood crusted over part of your face from a cut over your eye, the skin puffy and irritated. Your hands were bound behind your back, shoulders pulled tight. But your eyes… your eyes were open and clear and terrified. 

The bomb strapped to your chest beeped once, and started counting down. Alex whirled to see one of the AQ a marine had taken down was not actually dead yet. A headshot corrected that, but the damage was done. 

He turned back to you and swallowed hard. 

–

“Okay, sweetheart.” Alex holstered his pistol, approaching you slowly. You tried to steady your breathing around the gag still stuffed in your mouth, though you couldn’t help the tears slowly leaking from your eyes. “I’m gonna get you out of here, okay?” Gentle hands tugged the gag down around your neck, and you immediately gasped in a few breaths. 

“Go,” you gasped, tugging uselessly at your hands. Your wrists were already chafed raw, but you barely felt the pain anymore. “Alex, go.”

“No.” Alex crouched in front of you, gaze flitting over the bomb strapped to you. “You two, outside,” he barked without ever looking up. “Keep the perimeter clear.”

“Yes, sir.” Two marines slunk outside, one giving you a last pitying look over his shoulder. You swallowed hard. 

“You don’t have time,” you argued softly, trying hard to blink back tears. You wanted to see him unimpeded before… before. 

“I have time.” He kept his voice pitched low and soothing, hands moving around to your back to feel where the bomb had been fastened. His lips curled in anger, brow furrowing. It was locked on pretty firmly - you knew because the two who had strapped you in had laughed about it. 

“Just go,” you whispered, yanking one more time at your wrists. Something warm dripped from your fingers and you gave up. “Just go, Alex.”

“I’m not going anywhere without you.” Alex rested his hands on the outside of the bomb, carefully checking wires. 

“Alex–” You stopped yourself, biting your lip. He was stubborn, sure, but he could be reasoned with. You just needed to be reasonable. “Alex,” you started again, slower, softer. “How much time is left on the timer?”

“Doesn’t matter.” He clenched his jaw, pulling a pair of snippers from his vest. 

“It doesn’t make sense for you to stay.” You kept the same tone, staring at him, trying to get him to be reasonable for once in his life. “You should go. We don’t both need to–” You stopped, unable to say it. A lump settled in your throat and you had to swallow twice to get it down. “Please, Alex.”

“Told you.” He separated the wires, confident and even. “I’m not leaving without you.” 

“You’re not getting yourself killed for me.” You sniffled, wiggling your fingers. 

“Neither of us are dying today.” Alex sounded a bit like he was trying to bend the universe to his will by sheer force of personality. 

“Don’t make a girl a promise you can’t keep.” You let your head fall back a bit, looking up at the cracks in the ceiling. Your lips felt chapped, dry from hours of being gagged with no water. 

“I love you.”

You froze. Very slowly, you lifted your head again to look at him. He hadn’t even looked up at you, still focused on the wires. 

“Say that again.”

His lips quirked into a little smile. “I love you,” he repeated, as if it were that easy. He snipped a wire. Just one. You barely even heard the snikt over your racing pulse. 

“You absolute bastard,” you breathed, watching him sit back with a sigh. “Now?” 

“Figured I might as well.” He flashed you a grin. 

“You…” You trailed off, staring at him, and then craning your neck to look down at the bomb. A bright red “0:07” showed just how close he’d cut it. “Alex.” 

“Yes, sweetheart?” 

“Get over here so I can kiss you.”

He laughed, low and quiet, but obligingly leaned in to kiss you. But he kept it chaste, pulling back before you could even try for more. “Later, sweetheart,” he promised. “We’ll have time later. We need to get you out of here first.” 

He moved around behind you, a sharp inhalation his only reaction to the sight of your wrists. Another snip, and your hands were loose and hurting like hell. 

“I need the bolt cutters, Jimenez,” he said into his radio, one hand resting on your shoulder to help steady you. 

Jimenez jogged in, holding out the bolt cutters to Alex. He smiled at you, easy and warm. “We’ll have you outta here in no time,” he assured you before shifting his attention back to the door. 

You felt it when Alex cut through the padlock, the straps loosening around you. A few careful movements and a handful of seconds later, Alex had the bomb off of you. Suddenly it was a lot easier to breathe. 

“Alright, sweetheart. Up we go.” Alex carefully helped you to your feet, holding you steady when you swayed. “We’ll get you bandaged up real soon, I promise.” 

“I know.” You blinked rapidly, holding tight to him as you found your equilibrium again. “I can make it.”

“I know you can.” He smiled, warm and approving. “Let’s get you out of here.” 

“What about that?” You eyed the bomb left on the floor with no small amount of fear.

Alex’s smile shifted, something bloodthirsty peeking out. “Oh, that? Well, it was a nice gift, but I’m afraid I’m gonna have to return it.” He winked at you, looping one arm around your waist to help steady you, scooping up the harness of the bomb in the other hand. 

“Hey, Alex?” You timed it right as you rejoined the two marines. A little payback for his earlier stunt. 

“Yeah?” 

“I love you too.” 

Alex stumbled, and the two marines looked away. You smiled serenely, tightening your grip on Alex. You still had a long ways to go before you could kiss him the way you wanted to. 

[cyberr-v0id]

Could you tell me more about yourself?

It is for something important.

Oh yeah sure!

I’m cyberr, I go by a lot of names, currently my favourites are Phoenix, Leonardo, and Jackdaw. I use any pronouns and I am asexual.

I have numerous skin conditions, feet bones in the wrong place, and a really bad back at the moment, as well as chronic daily headaches . So uh. You could say that I am as fit as a fiddle, if the fiddle in question is the one in my garage, which has all its strings snapped.

I really enjoy reading, and have done since I was seven. I’m currently reading the reappearance of Rachel Price, as well as the Iliad. Some of my most favourite books include: the wizards of once, how to train your dragon, murder most unladylike, all about romance, Sherlock Holmes, and treasure island.

I’m also a writer, I’ve been working on this one story for five years now. Hopefully I’ll finish it one day. I write a lot of poetry.

I love mysteries and have been apart of numerous mystery solving groups, several founded by me.

I’m an artist, of course, and my top three mediums are pencil, watercolour, and digital. I’m not the best at digital tbh. I hate acrylic and acrylic hates me.

I usually do a lot of sports but right now because of my back I can’t do a few of them. I can still do swimming, archery, rounders (tragically:/), stand up paddle boarding, and roller booting. Because they don’t involve as much bending down.

I’m gay

I’m a part time goth, which is to say I listen to goth music (my favourites atm are fields of the Nephilim and all about Eve) but only sometimes dress goth, and in varying degrees of goth. I am the most inconsistently dressing person I know, and right now my catchphrase is ‘the duality of man’. For some reason.

Music wise I listen to a lot. One day I will truly be able to say that I listen to everything. But not yet. My most favourite band is the crane wives

I want to be a marine archaeologist when I’m older, or, failing that, a famous actor. Let’s be honest here, unless I do become a really famous actor, neither career path is likely to pay well. Marine archaeological, or maritime archaeology, is all about ships wrecks, and how cultures of the past interacted with the ocean and other bodies of water around it.

I like all the animals. Genuinely there is lot a single animal that I don’t like. Well- I’m not too keen on bugs but I wish them all the best, and may many of them please stay away. I have a severe phobia of moths, and slight arachnophobia that depends on how I’m feeling and what the spider is. Tarantula? No problem, big and hairy enough to be a kitten. Now let’s move away from it in case it sprays its hairs. Brown garden spider? Bloody Mary on a motor bike get it Away.

My attention span is low. I am a theatre kid. As I type this is have a musical going in the background.

. I’m so sorry I’ve kinda made this really long, idk how much information you need

Fandoms: rise: tmnt, Percy Jackson, the owl house, the dragon prince, httyd, the inheritance cycle, red wall, Sherlock Holmes, mythology, epic the musical, so much more I can’t think of right now

I love the ocean

Lmk if you need anything else, hope this has helped, and uh. Yeah it’s kind long winded

[prismaticflare]

Okay, enough with the positives, lets talk flaws. I wish I could say there weren’t any, but I am not a liar. Warning, spoilers along with swearing and excessive caps lock.

Also am being pretty blunt here. I did overall enjoy the movie a lot, but if you’re reading my criticisms, I doubt you want me to sugar coat them, so I won’t. If you don’t want the negativity, that’s totally fine! A movie doesn’t have to be perfect for you to like it, and, again, I ENJOYED THIS MOVIE! So, feel free to skip this post and enjoy the rest of my autism fueled happy rants! However, if you want to hear my honest criticism, here you go.

Firstly, ending was fucking awful. I will be making a whole post alone on it just because of how much it sucked. Also wont did into the problems with the time travel, other than one major one at the end. Time travel in ANY show is a horrible idea.

Choreography was garbage. Every single song had the same dynamic. The main singer was at the center while a triangle of backup dancers flailed around in the back. If you don’t know, I’ve done dance for a large portion of my life, and have a background in ballet among many other styles, so I know for a FACT they could have done better. And its not just that it was bad. D1-D3 were no chorographical masterpieces, but DROR felt as if it was HIGHLIGHTING IT! YOU COULD NOT ESCAPE THE JOJO SIWA ASS FLAILING. WHAT THE HELL!

That one ponytail on Bridget was a hate crime. I’ve never really been a wig snob, I though Mal’s D3 wig was fine although apparently it wasn’t, but if I can tell a wig is bad, you need to burn it.

Although Uliana (aka my wife) was the best thing in this world, the rest of the Merlin-Era VKs were meh. They tried to recreate the Sea Three dynamic and did it, but it wasn’t good. I actually liked Morgie better than Gil, but that’s because I never liked Gil as I am a firm hater on comic relief characters, and Morgie is the same exact things although he gets glowey eyes so that’s better than Gil. Hook was just Harry but boring and no longer a whore (non-derogatory), and the rest of them could be erased from the show and nothing would change.

Speaking of characters, WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH MADDOX!? I didn’t finish the newest book, but unless something CRAZY happens at the end, these are two different characters. I suspect this is another crime of Disney not telling Melissa de la Cruz enough, or maybe it was bad writing on her end (wouldn’t be the first time,) but still was lame.

Also, this might just be me, but the way they handled Carlos rubbed me the wrong way, although that was a decision from the wedding animation that I always hated. They could have just pretended they never did that, but I understand why they didn’t. Still made me hella uncomfy.

As of now I think that’s about everything, although there were quite a few minor things. I won’t list them all off as I don’t want to nitpick, but just to name a few…

Flamingo CGI hurt my eyes

So This Is Love was D1 Be Our Guest coded (derogatory)

Tried too hard to recreate D1-D3 although they actually had a fine plot without it

Uliana’s “perfect revenge” was boring. Go with Hades’ idea and burn her. Much better (also will mention this in ending chapter)

IDK how a sequel (which they hinted at) would work since they literally said Mal, Ben, Jay, and Evie are just on a trip. Are they not gonna come back?

Speaking of which, such a lazy excuse. Just say they died. If you did it for Carlos, you can do it for them

Didn’t have my bbgrl Lonnie

See you soon for my final part of this chat. The one I hate the most. The End

[chayscribbles]

chayscribbles’ monthly writing update ☆ february 2024

yes, i know, february has an extra day this year, but i'm posting this today bc i won't have time tomorrow lol

☆ STATISTICS.

projects worked on: The Gemini Heist

proudest accomplishment: i... wrote?... i guess??? *can't remember a single thing i did this month for some reason*

books read: Witch King by Martha Wells. i'm ngl, i was lost like 80% of the time, but that might just be a skill issue on my part (it's the kind of book that throws you into the thick of it without holding your hand and listening to the audiobook with the attention span that i have was... probably not the wisest idea lol)

(alhough funnily enough, it's while having this audiobook on in the background that i came up with a lot of my plot thoughts for gemini heist LMAO. either that or while playing zelda.)

☆ GENERAL COMMENTS.

although i did get writing done this month, this update's gonna be short. i don't really have much to say lol

more specific wip-related comments + featured excerpt below.

☆ COMMENTS: THE GEMINI HEIST (draft 0.5)

it's very weird to not be using word count to track my progress anymore. freeing, but weird. i have no concept of how much i've actually done for this wip this month.

i do know i've figured out a bit more stuff about the heist and the lore. i had a big plot brainstorming session and untangled a few scenes. while i know what direction i want the story to head, i still don't know how any of this gets resolved, tho.

and i wrote out a few important scenes. that's progress, right?

☆ FEATURED EXCERPT.

i've been writing so chaotically out of order based on whatever scene i feel most inspired for in the moment that i,,, honestly can't remember what i've written this month vs what i had already written before 🥲 here's a scene that i THINK i wrote in february. Leo and Illiana might be my new favourite dynamic. (for context, Illiana is posing as her identical twin at a party, and Leo is posing as a guest. they came in separately.)

With the bodyguards tailing her the entire way, Illiana slowly made her way towards [Leo]. She tolerated a few brief exchanges with other guests she crossed paths with to appear natural, then, once she was close enough, she slipped the extra comm out of the pocket concealed in her skirt. She made a show of bending down to pick up something, then strode towards Leo. “Excuse me,” she said as she approached. “I believe you dropped your earring.” Leo turned to her, smile strained underneath her veil. “Oh, thank you,” she said, holding out her hand. Illiana placed the comm into her palm, taking care to hide it from the guards. As Leo angled her head away to slip it into her ear, she added, “I must say, your Holiness, this is quite a lovely party.” “Why, thank you, Miss…” She faltered, realizing she didn’t know Leo’s alias. “I’m sorry, I don’t believe I’m familiar with you.” “I’m a business leader from Tharekkan,” Leo said, pressing her palms together and giving Illiana a slight bow with her head. “It’s an honour to be here.” Illiana was surprised that Leo, with all her meticulous planning, didn’t have a fake name ready, and now she was curious. “How may I address you?” Leo’s already tense smile tightened even more. “‘Miss’ is fine,” she replied, practically through clenched teeth.  “No, I meant, your na—” “I’ve been told much about how lovely Fiolsby is, right before the winter,” Leo cut off, an unnatural segue back to the script they had practiced. “But I haven’t had the time to properly see the city.” Now Illiana just had to pry Leo's fake name out of her. “Really? That’s a shame. You know, the gardens offer a wonderful view of the city. Would you like to see, Miss…?” She let her sentence trail off, watching Leo expectantly. “If it’s not too much trouble, I would love that,” Leo replied, to Illiana’s annoyance.

☆ TAGLISTS. let me know if you want to be added/removed to any of them.

general taglist:

@dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @onomatopiya @quilloftheclouds @ashen-crest @writeblrfantasy @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @extra-magichours @avi-why @lefttigerobservation @chazzawrites @bardolatrycore @innocentlymacabre @subtlefires

gemini heist taglist:

@florraisons @akindofmagictoo @cream-and-tea @memento-morri-writes @antique-symbolism @rose-bookblood @afoolandathief @pepperdee @avi-why @zonnemaagd @chazzawrites @analogued @enchanted-lightning-aes @innocentlymacabre @kahvilahuhut @celestepens @cilly-the-writer @extra-magichours @onomatopiya @outpost51 @planets-and-prose

[tracybirds]

Remember my TAG Sims 4 save that I’m building? Well it’s well time for an update on where I’m at! I’m having great fun populating the worlds with characters and various people’s OCs* and thought I’d show off how they’re going! I’m focusing on CAS (Create A Sim) rather than building in this save and trying to create a full world of sims! Also note that I’m planning on the gameplay beginning with a teenage Jeff, so no main characters for now. I play with aging off and age them all manually so the other characters will just stay the same age until I’m ready to interact with them.

I’ve finished three worlds; Willow Creek, Oasis Springs, and Sulani. Working on Newcrest and Henford-on-Bagley next! Today I'll show off the characters made in Willow Creek :)

*I’m only showing the TAG characters and the OCs I have made for them today, not OCs made by other people... mostly because I'm not done!! Also if you're interested in my making your Thuderbirds OCs, let me know! I have a lot of households to fill lol and they'll just hang out in the background of the game :D

Notable changes: I moved the park to the Oakenstead lot, added a second park (in Foundry Cove) and a skate park. I changed the museum into a botanical library and placed a community garden next to it. There is now an early childhood education centre and a hospital that can be visited, and I placed a gym and a museum. I did not make any of the builds, they’re all found on the gallery and then tweaked.

There are twelve households in Willow Creek, including an apartment with four families. The only townies I care about are the Goths so they’ll end up being the only non TAG characters. I found a renovated Goth Mansion and a Goth family revamped to look closer to their Sims 2 counterparts on the gallery and stuck them in there :)

Sims 4 lore down, let me show off the sims!!

Sally, Grant and Jeff Tracy

In this save, Jeff has two brothers and a sister, based off of @amistrio's hc :D

Kyrano, Kayo and Tin-Tin

I decided I wanted to add in Tin-Tin and I have vague memories of reading a fic where they were sisters, so I went ahead and did it :D

Brains, Brains and Fermat Hackenbacker

I love Brains ahaha so I put him in twice :D why not after all!

The Apartment Building has four families: Ned Tedford, Tycho Reeves (and his brother David...lol), Wayne Rigby (and his daughter Eleanor... double lol, I think it was @katblu42 who suggested that name :D), and Kat Cavanaugh (who I gave a sister who lives in Oasis Springs, but I've included said sister for completeness)

Ned Tedford

I gave him lots of freckles mostly because I think they look sweet ahaha... I'm tempted to make Gladys a Plant Sim, but for now he's just going to enjoy gardening :D

Tycho and David Reeves

Come on... I had to XD David's a doctor whose aspiration in life is to solve the Strangerville mystery ahaha

Wayne and Eleanor Rigby

Yes the glasses are on purpose :D I love the idea of Rigby being a single dad and I also aged him up a little simply because he's clearly been with the GDF for a while and it made sense to me.

Kat and Sara Cavanaugh

Sara is Kat's older sister but they don't get on so they live in different worlds.

And finally, our last couple of houses are filled by...

Cass McCready, Aiden Hawkins and Theo McCready-Hawkins

Cass is obviously our favourite firefighter, and so I decided to create Aiden to be her fiance and Theo to be their kid. I always imagined Cass having two boys and to be a single mum when she met iR for the first time, so I did give Aiden a couple of less desirable traits lol... I'd like to play out their story at some point so they only have Theo to start :D

Reece and Dobbs (aka our favourite space pirates/scrappers!)

I love these guys so much, they crack me up :D They're space married, don't question me on this, and they live in a tiny home with some chickens xD I might see if I can replace their current home with one that's modelled after a spaceship bc that would be fun!

Robert and Aidan Williams

Aidan is one of my favourite kid characters in the show and I love him! So cool headed even when crisis is happening and his dad is hurt :( I thought for a long time about whether I'd add in more family but then I realised the house was only two bedrooms and then I invented a story where his mum had recently passed away and him and Gordon could have some bittersweet bonding (bc Gordon stays in touch and remembers everyone obviously!!) so I decided to leave them as they were and also the smaller the household the less likely the game is to crash lol

WillowCreek also is resident to three OC families, but they are not mine so I don't want to post about them without permission :)

Anyway I hope you enjoyed the update on this!!! Someday I'll have real gameplay to share lol, but I'm having so much fun building the world up!

[sirenjose]

Your thoughts on the Identity Switch

Thanks to you…. I now really like Norton. I used to hate him because I have a vendetta against people taller than my 4’11 self but now I love him.

on another note, what are your thoughts on the Identity switch system? Looking more into Norton’s background specifically makes me wonder why Norton gets a hunter form. What does this represent? I know that there’s a lot of drugs involved but I always interpreted it as them unlocking a new personality or smth, one more attune to following the manor’s games and supervising it (hunter) and like the other just trying to leave (survivor). I’ve been so interested in Norton’s lore lately that now I’m in an existential rabbit hole in how survivors get hunter forms, why that is, and if it’s like some sort of curse or punishment. Why are these survivors getting hunter forms?

soooo many questions, IK. But like reading your theories and analysis at 3Am is my serotonin. As a new player purely interested in the game for its lore I am just excited to know more but can’t wrap my head around all these weird concepts cause, again, I’m new. Also if I spend the next hour reading more of your analysis I will not sleep so therefore I need to preface my curiosity with a timed endeavor. My question probably do3snt make sense but like uhhh yeaaaaa. You should totally make something on your thoughts on identity switch (especially for the survivors gone hunters) cause I am too far in deep into the Norton-Campbell-Fool’s-Gold-Alternate-personality rabbit hole.

I’ve never done the questioning thingy before so sorry if this is not how it works. G’day!

Ah, it makes me happy to think a nobody like me can turn your thinking around on someone. Especially Norton since he was 1 of the main reasons I got started with the lore at all. I'm someone who usually plays a game based on how interesting the story or characters are, so I was interested in learning about idv's lore soon after I joined (had to take quite awhile to figure out the basics of the game and what all the various buttons were, then take some more time to get used to it before I could even get started with the lore). Was the main reason why I went looking to join places like Discord or Reddit, just so I could find people talking about the story.

Started by just understanding what I could about what people said, but then I eventually moved on to trying to understand at least the basics of everyone's backstories (once again, took me awhile to do that ^_^; Especially as I joined before we were getting all that much story at all). While I was doin this, I heard a lot of people saying bad stuff about some character named Norton. Have to admit I didn't know who he was for quite awhile. Wasn't in my radar. Can't even say I cared much for him. But I eventually got to the point where I basically decided I wanted to see if I could determine if Norton really was that bad or not (maybe as a challenge to myself, maybe because I wanted to find out myself rather than just hearing other's opinions, or maybe because I failed to find anything really in-depth about him).

That analysis took a ridiculous amount of time. In part because I ask too many questions, because I'm a perfectionist and wanted to look at every bit of info on him and detail on him, but also somewhat because I ended up writing this like a persuasion piece, and felt the only way to do that was by going through everything to back up my conclusion (whatever my research turned up). Which was also why I analyzed every single essence he had a skin in, as well as any skins not in an essence, his accessories, emotes, etc... It was during that process I actually got attached to Norton. Probably because of how long I spent going through him (no one needs to know how long it took... only the immense joy and desire to collapse I had when I finally finished).

Since then, I've rewritten his analysis... 3 times now I think? Counting after hunter norton's release? Though I've taken down that 1st version due to issues, and haven't reposted my essence analyses as they're old (they were pretty much the 1st analyses I wrote, and I'd like to think I've improved since then) as well as because they're based on the 1st version of my norton analysis... and because they're probably a bit needlessly long and thus embarrassing... Maybe I'll repost them once I get around to rewriting them. I definitely will eventually at least for Soul Catcher's and Magic Item Keeper's essence because I have to say they took longer than almost any other part of that original (complete) norton analysis (i can never forget the trouble they caused me over how long it took to understand them).

ANYWAYS! Ignoring my stupid rambling because who cares about any of that.

I was going to include my answer to your question about Identity Switches but it’s starting to become a little silly in length ^_^; (seriously, for those who know me well enough, I have a bad habit of writing more than I initially intended to once I get started) so I’ll make that a separate post for you, and you can let me know if it answers your questions (once I post it). If not, feel free to ask any more of your questions.

Honestly, the lore is confusing even to those who aren’t new players, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t wrap your head around a lot of this ^_^;

It’s hard for me to imagine my stuff is so good people are willing to read it, much less re-read it. Especially as I know people tend to prefer… shorter things, but I have tendency to be lengthy. I can’t help it though ;’) But thank you so much for the compliment.

And please, I’m still pretty new to Tumblr, so I’m still figuring all this out myself.

Anyways, don’t feel nervous talking to me or asking me any questions you have. I enjoy being helpful! So please, ask whatever you like. Or even if you don’t have a question, that’s ok too. I enjoy rambling about a subject I get started on, as long as the other person can bear with me ;’)

 It’s always nice to know people besides me, myself, and I are reading this stuff.

(Apologies for any errors or nonsense in this post, as I decided to write it without double checking it for errors cuz I felt like being lazy, and I'm still busy writing out my thoughts about Identity Switches for you)

[captain-astors]

H, J, and P?

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)?: It really depends on what I’ve heard, but typically I prefer to read the manga if I really care about the story/want to get through it faster! However there are some cases like Land of the Lustrous or Jujutsu Kaisen where the animation is so good that I start with what’s out of the anime, then go back and read it to ensure I don’t miss any details. Or alternatively, I go to the anime if I just want it as a background story while I draw. I’ve been doing that with Attack on Titan recently, it was a lot better than I anticipated so I presume the general negative opinion I’ve heard derived from its overpopularity not the quality itself? Or maybe it gets really problematic or something, haven’t finished it yet. As for Movies Vs. Books it’s a similar situation, but I prefer books more generally.

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until tumblr: Honestly, I’ve been introduced to a good portion of my recent fandoms by a friend of mine first, and then convinced to actually start them by tumblr art/my mutuals (mostly Quinn) so if I had to think of something that was genuinely introduced to me here… Good Omens? Haven’t watched it but I see them on my dash constantly. Oh also Witch Hat Atelier!

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas): Tokyo Ghoul obviously,

maybe an AU where all the folks pulling strings and playing king (Arima, Kaneki, Furuta, Eto) somehow end up in a very uneasy alliance to take down V for good. They argue over the ultimate goal constantly, they all hate at least two of the others, nothing’s really going well but they do get stuff done… somewhat, but they hate each other’s methods and tend to end up fighting after ever decision, and very rarely consulting each other before. The only thing keeping them united is a common goal and wanting to die.

AU where Haise is sent with the Quinx to deal with Noro instead of capturing Shuu on the roof. Shirazu doesn’t die, neither does Kanae (unless Eto decides to dispose of them?) but also, Haise never stops dreaming. But, a King is needed anyways and thus he ends up tentatively playing the role despite shironeki continuing to insist he be let out. I thought this one up right now and I haven’t considered consequences to this yet, but I like it as a concept.

Don’t think I’m inventing this but, AU where someone, legitimately anyone, comes to rescue Kaneki in time, hopefully helping him steer away from the mindset of “No one is able to help me”

AU where Juuzou and Hanbee are a little too effective and end up actually killing Kaneki (or injuring him to the point where he’s unable to dragon-ify even after taking a bite out of Hajime, leaving him only with the strength to flee) effectively throwing a wrench in everyone’s plans.

Not an AU but do you ever think about the fact that every single crucial event in Tokyo Ghoul wouldn’t have happened if Tsuneyoshi was just actually a good dad.

AU where everyone has actually decent parents (This one’s a joke but I actually cannot conceive of it.)

AU were Hide, Kimi, or someone else is the person to get Ghoul’d instead of Kaneki and the consequences thereof.

Very self-indulgent AU where Koori gets kidnapped by Aogiri instead of/in addition to Amon or Takizawa (mostly just writing this here because I’d like to draw it maybe, thematically I’m not really even sure it would work for him to begin with, but I like drawing theoretical ghouls.)

Also not really inventing this but I’d also like to draw a Pokémon AU some time.

[mybones537]

Time chapter 5 (Moriarty the Patriot x reader)

This has already been posted on wattpad under the same username

  London, England 1875 

It’s been 3 months now since I’ve been here, it's now October. I’m now working as a doctor for a few nobles, I use half the money I earn for personal stuff and the rest I use for medical care to help the lower classes. 

Last month a young girl came up to me and she asked me to come take a look at her big sister. They live in the slums. I ended up spending 2 weeks there helping sick people. After that I realised that there is clearly no proper medical system in this country, but I can’t expect much from 1800s England.  

After that day I saved that heart attack victim, I've been popular as a doctor. I was on the front page of the newspaper. One person accused me of being a witch, but they were deemed insane so nothing happened luckily. A lot of other doctors have tried to debunk my way of practice, but each time they failed. I’ve had a hundred percent success rate since I got here. My medical textbooks have helped a lot and the history textbook turned out to be a medical history, which helped a lot. Thanks to my books I have been able to more easily figure out what is most likely wrong with my patients.  

Sherlock has come by once or twice asking some medical questions relating to his cases. I’ve managed to help him here and there. Lestrade comes and visits once in a while to see how I’ve been doing. I often see Miss Hudson. We have become good friends. 

About a week ago I was on my way to a patient when I started to notice a man following me. I’ve tried to figure out who he is and why he’s following me. After that started, I purchased a gun and bullets for self defence and kept it on me at all times. I’ve been cautious whenever I go out. This is starting to freak me out.

Today I have been extremely careful. I have only gone out to see one or two patients today. 

I had just finished with my last patient for today, I was on my way back to my apartment in Baker Street. When I suddenly fell unconscious. I felt my body being lifted up. 

3 hours later  

I woke up with a pain in my neck and a throbbing headache. It was dark, very dark. I tried to move but felt my arms and legs were bound to the chair I’m sitting in. I tried to untie the restraints but they were too tight.   

The door opened and a man walked in, he was holding a lantern. The light from the lantern was dim but it was bright enough for me to see my surroundings, brick walls and an old oak door. The man that walked has short naive blue hair similar to Sherlock. The same eyes as him, he has that same look, he’s trying to read me but almost seems to have a look of confusion. He seemed slightly taller than him, his demeanour was commanding respect. He seemed older than Sherlock, but based on genetics I’m guessing he is Sherlock's older brother.

“You’re Sherlock’s older brother aren’t you? I’ve seen you before, you’re the guy who’s been following me” I asked, he looked surprised but then covered it up with a smirk. 

“So you are as good as they say. I usually get the other guys to do it but you intrigue me” He walked up to me, he leaned down and lifted up my chin. He looked me in the eyes, then moved my head from side to side. “My name is Mycroft Holmes… you’re awfully pretty and I have some questions for you” 

“And why would I answer any of your questions? The only thing I know about you is that you are Sherlock’s brother, you are practically the British government, you are at least 7 years older than him, he despises you but you still care about him’’  I said to him.

“Well you clearly know more about me than I do you. I’ve done a background search on you but the only thing that came up was from 3 months ago. I even pulled some strings to see if I could find you at all but not a single thing came up. I expected to at least find your medical degree since you’re a doctor, but nothing not a thing” My blood ran cold. He was onto me.

Fuck. What do I do now? I doubt I will be able to fool him. He’s Sherlock’s older brother, he is probably even more observant than Sherlock. I’m done for.

“Don’t know why you couldn’t find anything, maybe there was a mistake.” I said lying through my teeth. 

“You see at first I thought so, but after I checked another 2 times I started to suspect something wasn’t right” He let go of my chin but still leaned in close. “Now Dr (last name) you got some explaining to do” 

[deusvervemakesgames]

Project RBH Devlog 0 – The Story So Far

I’ve wanted to make video games for approximately two-thirds of my life at this point. I hear a lot of indie developers who make devlogs and videos and posts talking about their Dream Game that they’ve always wanted to make.

I don’t have one of those.

I just really want to make games. Plural.

I do however happen to have a budget of zero dollars. Which is, I will admit, something of an issue when it comes to game development and design. Don’t get me wrong there are a lot of powerful free tools out there. Unity, Unreal, Blender, I’m not exactly short on options. Okay, so I was put off of Unity from their CEO calling people who don’t monetize their games ‘idiots,’ but the point stands.

I was also fortunate enough to be gifted Game Maker Studio 2 right before they updated their Terms of Service to a subscription system or whatever nonsense YoYo did. What matters is that I own the engine and don’t have to pay subscription because they were nice enough to not try and retroactively alter legal user agreements, unlike some game companies I could name did recently.

But enough digs at the evils of capitalism, let’s talk about Project RBH.

Project RBH is a placeholder name I’m giving this game while we’re in development until I can come up with a better one. It stands for Reverse Bullet Hell, which is a decent summary of the main goal. Project RBH is a top-down twin-stick roguelike. The Reverse Bullet Hell comes from the main mechanical twist I’m putting on similar roguelikes, like Enter the Gungeon. The upgrades and pick-ups found during your run aren’t better weapons or equipment, but upgrades to the behavior of your primary attack. Most of them will do basic things like increasing the speed of the projectile or making it bigger, but there are other things that can be done to really make your attacks crazy.

The goal is to have a game where it is possible, over the course of a run, to build a gun that shoots a gun that shoots chainsaw bullets.

So Where To Start?

Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve watched multiple devlogs on YouTube, read Devlog posts, etc. And I see many of them running into what seems to be the same or similar problems: a lack of focus.

I also happen to have a degree in game design. And fortunately we had industry veterans in the course, so one of the things they taught us was the importance of a Game Design Document, or GDD.

Warren Spector, one of the leads on the classic Deus Ex, talks a lot about having a GDD during the development of that project. It’s an incredibly useful tool for pre-production, as well as for ensuring that people from across the project all have the same understanding of the creative vision. Obviously, I am a solo developer because I am broke and insane, so that last one won’t be much of an issue. But that first one is extremely important to combating many issues that crop up during game design and development, like feature creep and decision paralysis.

Which is why I haven’t made one.

Okay, no, that’s not the reason, and I will, but it was too good a transition to pass up.

The real reason I haven’t made a GDD yet is because there is another way that one can start a project. I would not recommend you do this, the GDD is a really good idea and I’ll go into more detail about it in a future Devlog, probably the next one. The reason I have chosen to do things this way is because I wasn’t confidant about the planned gameplay, so I wanted to quickly prototype it and experiment with it to see if it was actually, you know, fun. It’s nothing fancy, I have no background and the character sprites are squares, but it gives me something I can mess with.

This prototype is where I’m at right now. There isn’t even Procedural Generation, just a giant room with some walls and a whole lot of enemies.

You know what, I didn’t even realize the player and enemies are both green.

So that’s where Project RBH stands right now, a single prototype that I’ve been toying with so I can decide where and how I want to focus this game. From my experiments so far, I’ve noticed a few different directions I can take the project.

A game with a wide variety of weapons which the player can loot during runs. The player’s collected weapon improvements carry over between weapons. This has the pro of providing things for the player to unlock from runs without affecting game balance, but comes with the con that certain upgrades will make weapons feel too similar.

The original plan, in which the player has a single weapon which is reset after each run. The pro of this is that the random weapon upgrades can do some crazy stuff to this weapon, but comes at the con of being very same-y at the start of each run.

Additionally, my experiments have lead me to the realization that having a lot of powerups that drastically alter your weapon leads to a chaotic mess as you rain doom and destruction upon your pathetic enemies. This leads to the third direction I’m considering.

Much like the first one, there are a variety of weapons, however these weapons are far more powerful and do not upgrade. The player mows down hordes and hordes of foes and has a power fantasy. This has the con of being basically an entirely different game.

Here is me with no upgrades versus me with many upgrades.

As we are so early in preproduction, I don’t feel like showing off video is strictly necessary yet, but yes, it’s more obvious what’s happening in motion.

Which is where we will end this Devlog. I’ll run some more tests, maybe ask some people I know to try my experiments to get some more opinions, decide on a direction for the project, and make a GDD.

Until next Devlog!

-DeusVerve

Support me on Patreon

[married-2-the-music]

K-pop Discography Deep Dives: Purple Kiss

A Disclaimer: I was planning, when I first started Tumblr, to be a lurker, but then I began an office job and needed something to listen to to keep myself occupied. And then, I started going through entire K-pop groups’ repertoires, album by album, and jotting down my thoughts. And then, I stumbled into K-pop tumblr and decided, you know what, there’s at least four people on this hell site who would read in depth rants about these discographies and at least five who wouldn’t read it and then get mad because it’s kind of our job as K-pop fans. My lukewarm takes should be taken with an entire silo of salt and the knowledge that this is completely for fun and occupying my very bored, very neurodivergent brain. All this to say, for the love of god, I’m a sleep-deprived student and I don’t have time for internet hate, so don’t kill me. With that being said, enjoy!

Here are my credentials: I’ve been what I’d consider a casual fan of Purple Kiss for a little while now, and I first found them through a cover of Seventeen’s Adore U. I know their singles, their names and a little about the members of the group, but I’m the first to admit that there’s far more that I don’t know, and far more that I’m open to learning. So, let’s get started!

Before Purple Kiss’ official 2021 debut with seven members (Goeun, Yuki, Chaein, Swan, Ireh, and Dosie; Jieun left earlier this year), they had two pre-releases in 2020. The first, Can We Talk Again, is a bit of an odd choice for a k-pop single. Its beginning is slower than a usual single, but it’s also a bit fast for a traditional ballad, which makes it difficult to classify. It’s pretty but also a little meandering, and though I think it needs a better build and climax, I appreciate that it immediately sets them apart from other groups of their time’s brasher girl crush. When I’m in the right mood, I enjoy this one (although the rap is unnecessary).

If Can We Talk Again is a gentle plea, My Heart Skip A Beat feels more like a declaration of war. From the second those guitars sound, I’m nodding my head. It’s very much a product of its girl-crush era, but the rock elements and the fullness of the chorus (no anti-drop here, folks) sets it apart. The rap works far better here than in Can We Talk Again, and the song never loses its momentum. I especially liked the two-part bridge: the sung-through section and the more odd EDM section, which feels more thought through and not like they’re rushing to the end. So when that last chorus does come, it feels earned.

After two wildly different beginnings, the middle path of Ponzona is their official debut. Its name is the Spanish word for poison, and they take that horror element and absolutely run with it. This song begins the trend of Purple Kiss’ title tracks, which often stay in the slowly creeping, oddball “witch-pop” style, which suits them well. It isn’t a style that’s for everyone, but I think that when it’s done well (as it is here and in a few of their other songs), it can really work. The song reminds me a little bit of Spider by Hoshi, albeit with a less tightly-wound arrangement than that one. I like this song; I could do without the breakdown in place of a bridge, though.

From Into Violet, the first album, I liked both Hello and Period. They’re similar, but Hello just edges it for me. It has that quietly twinkling guitar and piano in the background and such nice use of their voices, with a lovely mini-explosion of emotion at the beginning of the choruses (especially the last, which has some excellent harmonizing).

Zombie is the first Purple Kiss song I heard, and I liked it right away. It starts with the satirical tone and poppier beat, and the abject oddness won me over before the first chorus. Speaking of choruses, this one is a lot of fun: it’s anthemic, and while the post is a little repetitive, I appreciate that it isn’t as a whole. I even don’t mind the rap in this song, since it does a good job keeping the energy. Its off kilter humor reminds me of Sunmi’s You Can’t Sit With Us, right down to the zombies. I really like this one.

Though I think Zombie is their strongest single, I think Hide & Seek is their weakest EP. While I like parts of the songs (like the calmer jazz of 2am and the soothing mood of ZzZz), I don’t like any of them enough to feature as a hidden gem. Cast Pearls Before Swine comes close with that pre-chorus but something about the follow-up doesn’t work for me.

My My isn’t part of an album, but is instead a special Christmas track. I’m a bit of a hater, truth be told, and it takes a lot for me to enjoy a Christmas song, so I’m already biased against this. Look, I don’t really like this one, but I’m not going to judge it too harshly because I feel like that wouldn’t be fair. Their voices are pretty nice in this one, though, it just doesn’t feel at all like Purple Kiss.

MemeM, at first glance, seems like a return to form, and parts of it follow a usual Purple Kiss template. I like the pre-chorus, and especially the bridge, but I just can’t get past that repetitive anti-drop chorus; I find it utterly grating on the ears and had to resist the urge to turn the song off. Unlike with Ponzona, which somewhat has an anti-drop, there’s not enough drive in this and it leaves the song feeling…empty, and not in a way that feels intentional.

Fortunately, I like the album (also called MemeM) better than the title track. While I do agree with public opinion that Pretty Psycho would’ve made a better single for them (“maestro, maestro, I’m a pretty psycho” gets a good laugh from me every time), my hidden gem is Hate Me, Hurt Me, Love Me. Despite the quiet, almost mournful beginning, it quickly blooms into a very fun pop song, and I admit I went “aww” a few times at the cute special video they released with it.

Nerdy, like Zombie, follows more of a fun-creepy vibe, which I naturally prefer to the “I’m so cool” concept. It’s both a niche that sets them apart from their peers and a style that Purple Kiss pulls off well. I absolutely adore the completely unnecessary, over dramatic classical dance break during the bridge and the sarcastic tone of the verses, although I wish that the choruses had a bit more heft to them, as they’re around half vocalizing and repetition, but overall I like this one.

The Geekyland EP is really strong and probably my favorite of their works, and I loved the acoustic guitar in Summer Rain, the wispy instrumental of Can’t Stop Dreamin’, and the Latin-pop influence of Fireflower, but my hidden gem is Love Is Dead. From the start, the strong beat, the slinky (definitely not the right word, but *shrug*) vocals, and the rock influences had me tapping my foot. This was an instant standout for me, and not something I’m used to hearing from k-pop. The “love, love, love is dead” hook has been stuck in my head since.

Sweet Juice comes right out of the gate with that tense creepiness and a far-too-quick-for-my-liking classical sample, before spiraling into an equally tense chorus. I like the sparseness of the instrumental and especially the added atmosphere the voices have, but I wish that the classical instruments made a return and that the chorus had just a little more “oomph” to it, to make the building tension feel more genuine. Like with Nerdy, it’s a good song, but with just a few changes I feel like it could be great.

I liked the Cabin Fever EP too, although not as much as Geekyland, so I have a clear stand-out in Autopilot. I’m a lover of synth and citypop, and this song’s crying-on-the-dancefloor vibes immediately made it a favorite. Its quiet ending and emotional, acoustic plea add a little bit of heft to its hook of “I feel like a monster, oh, but I can’t stop”, and, given Purple Kiss’ affinity for telling stories of monsters, I choose to read it as a look at the other side of monsterhood: what happens when the kind of self-acceptance they so often sing about isn’t enough? I acknowledge that I’m probably reading way, way too much into it, but Swan’s voice makes me have emotions (lol).

7Heaven surprised me on first listen, because it sounds nothing like a Purple Kiss song. I have no idea what caused such a dramatic shift in concept, tone and vibe, but I was a bit confused. 7Heaven is a very catchy song and feels like somewhat of a spiritual successor to Autopilot, but without the interesting lyrics that made Autopilot still feel like a Purple Kiss song. While I do like the song itself, it’s fairly standard for k-pop and doesn’t distinguish itself like the rest of their catalogue (whether I like every song or not) does.

Festa is only a three-song single, and neither of the b-sides really stood out to me. Truth be told, I’m a little annoyed that they didn’t wait another month and a half or so and released another great full EP for Halloween, which would’ve fit their vibe so well and probably felt more complete, while this one feels a little more rushed and very not-them.

Groups having their own, very clear, identity is a topic I genuinely care about, and something that I feel is becoming less common, which is one of the reasons I mostly stan 2nd and 3rd generation bands. I’m not saying that I want groups (or the idols in them) to be pigeon-holed, but looking at, say Girls Generation, Dreamcatcher, or Stray Kids, their styles (inspiration from vintage pop, rock, and hip-hop respectively) are very evident while still managing to have variety and keep innovating. Anyway, this was a longer rant than I’d planned, so let’s get back to my final thoughts.

Overall, I’m glad I did this! I got to learn so much more about Purple Kiss and who they are as people, got to listen to some great b-sides that I’ve added to my study playlists, and learned that they write a lot of their own songs, which is super cool! I’m always looking out for more self-produced groups. (And always looking for more recommendations too). Special shout-out to Yuki for writing such well-flowing raps in her second language, because I can’t even write them in my first.

My top 5 songs are Zombie, Love Is Dead, My Heart Skip A Beat, Autopilot, and Nerdy. Special shoutout to Hello. Purple Kiss gets an 8.25/10 from me, because they’re incredibly consistent in tone, style, and quality (except for a few dips), and they’ve done a great job carving out a niche, but I don’t think that they have any songs I would consider classics or favorites. I think that they, like LOONA, often stay in a middle ground of good, not terrible, but also not excellent. Also like LOONA, they do a lot of experimenting with genre, albeit in their b-sides, not their titles, which I think works better. I didn’t become a Plory through this deep dive, but who knows? I’ll be keeping an eye on them, and maybe after the next comeback, I’ll change my mind.

I’ll see you next week for a boy group (well…soloist, technically). I’m super excited for this one, so prepare for a lot of discussion. Tschüss!

[thecherrycoast]

OUR NEW CHAPTER.

Okay, everybody… I’m finally done, and I know it’s late, and I know some of you are in bed - but in true Cherry Tradition, here I am with a huge plot twist right at the end of the night!

I’d like to start off by saying that the Lux Lewis story genuinely plagued my brain for an entire, like, year and a half of my life - and not even in a bad way! I loved it to death.  I spent so much time planning out every aspect of it - I created an entire world, and an entire mystery for everyone to solve, and poured my heart into it; and I am so proud of every single thing we’ve all written together within that timeline. 

In an ideal world, we would carry that storyline out until the very last moment I had planned for Lux and the Candy Girl’s Saga - if I could turn back time, we would have focused on it, and gotten it DONE within our first year here! But on the way toward the end of Lux’s plot, we sort of got to play around with the LDB, and Blaire’s murder, and the Phantom, and all of these different plot twists and mysteries… and I think that’s genuinely where Cherry thrived, and I think giving us the freedom within our story to explore mysteries and insane plot twists without  being tied down to such an extensive central plot line is going to do all of our muse some good. 

For the last few months, I have genuinely toiled over what to do about Lux and Candy and Hargrove. I knew I needed to find a way to wrap it up; I could feel myself losing passion, and I think everyone and everything kind of came to a standstill. I knew exactly where we we’re going, and I knew exactly how we would get there; I planned everything out to a T, and wondered why it was all kind of petering out, but I think planning to hit so many story points is exactly where we lost so much of our momentum. 

At a certain point, I came to the conclusion that the best thing for me creatively - and for Cherry moving forward - is to put the story of Lux Lewis, and THIS timeline to a close and to start in a Reboot of CHERRY, USA. What I’ve come up with is a brand new era for us called CHERRY, CA: THE CHERRY COAST. 

I know that probably sounds scary, or strange - but just trust me on this one, because I’ve put a lot of thought into it. Just like Spider-Man reboots, we won’t be starting over on our characters… we’ll simply be placing them into a new branch of our multiverse. Some things will stay constant, a la Ben Parker dying, or Peter getting bitten… But other things will vary. 

Not everything in their past HERE, in Cherry ‘96, actually happened to them: not all background characters and NPC’s will be exactly the same, even if they share the same name or face as their CHERRY, USA counterpart. 

There will be a new timeline, and a new storyline - but that timeline and storyline have been thoroughly based off of the MAJOR events of CHERRY, USA, and where all of your characters are NOW instead of the baseline I wrote of them back when Cherry first began. 

There will be some big changes:

CHERRY IS GOING TO 1985! I know we’ve always been a 90’s rp, and I know that’s what you all joined… But I think in the spirit of rebooting and freshening up everyone’s muse, this is going to be a good move for us! Worst case scenario, we can always jump into a new era, or back into the 90s, and I have complete faith that you will all be able to handle it with literary grace.

THERE IS NO TIME WARP!

LUX LEWIS WAS NOT AND IS NOT DEAD. She IS a horrible person - and in fact as you read through our new timeline will show that she was definitely not someone to be trusted in their lives! She will take over a large part of the Candy Girl and LDB storyline in this universe… and though she is not deceased, she will not be a present character in THE CHERRY COAST… at least not yet!!!!!

Our new timeline is going to be mixed-up, mashed-up version of CHERRY, USA’s MAJOR PLOT CHANGING events, and the Gang in High School! This essentially means Carousel Cove happens in Rory, Noah, Zev’s, and Donny’s (YES, I SAID DONNY! A NEW CHARACTER NAME? HMMM….) freshman year, and all of the drama unfolds from there! I’ve genuinely done my best to try and like hit relationship plot points as references in terms of time elapsed within the rp instead of exact plots!!! And I’ve tried to lay everything out in a way that will kind of give everyone good flexibility within reorganizing… THAT BEING SAID! If you’d like something moved around on the timeline that doesn’t clash with a truly major plot point, it can definitely be switched around! If you’d like anything added, or if any relationship points need to be moved around to fit certain plots y’all have, just let me know! I tried to do my best to include where I thought all of our major things were, but as you’ll kind of find out… I basically rebuilt our RP from the ground up in the last few weeks!! And I’m expecting to have forgotten something or mixed something up SOMEWHERE.

As you’ll see on our new Gang page… I’ve removed the skeleton connections! To be totally honest with you, we’ve all been playing these characters for a year, and you’ve all made them your own!!!! At this point, we KNOW our connections with each other, and I think for this round, we can really just use it all as a jumping off point for this new universe. ALL that I ask is that you stay in the spirit of your original connections and skeletons! Tweak things to your delight beyond that. This will honestly just help me in terms of keeping tracks of dynamics and Gang history, etc. For our new OPEN characters, Donny and Danny (!!!!), i HAVE included connections for everyone!!! This is solely because they’re both new and deserve a fair shot at being integrating into a Gang that’s so solidly connected. These characters ARE open to play, but unfortunately, until I have more time on my hands, I’m not sure we’ll be opening to new players for a hot second!!! I would LOVE to get a few new people after the holidays are over, but these two characters are up for grabs!! I will leave a poll for them for anyone interested. 

HARGROVE IS NO LONGER A DRUG KINGPIN, HE IS NO LONGER THE DEAN OF THE SCHOOL NOR WAS HE EVER, AND HE IS NO LONGER EVIL PAST JUST BEING SORT OF AN ASSHOLE FATHER AND A MAJOR CAPITALIST! There will  be new villains, and new NPC’S to absolutely hate… but I wanted to pass around the Main Villain, and the familial trauma on to another player!!! No spoilers!!

TOM TELLER AND CLARISSA DO NOT EXIST IN THIS UNIVERSE! I know this is devastating, but I hope our new girlie, DAWN, is just loved!!!

IF YOU WANT TO DROP SIDE CHARACTERS, CHANGE THEM, IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR MAIN CHARACTER, IF YOU NEED A NEW FC, A NEW NAME, TO TWEAK YOUR BACKSTORY, ETC - NOW IS THE TIME TO DO IT! I have laid out BASIC plot points on everyone’s character pages that will sort of get you kickstarted within our new universe! If you are not happy with your skeleton/bio, or would just like to make a change bc you’re feeling it - let me know! One thing I do want to keep is everyone’s ages on the Gang page! I’ve aged everyone down a little to keep in track with our new timeline - everyone WILL still be CCU students! I just think it’ll be a little more organized if we keep everyone within their like connection circles in the same age groups/grades, etc!! I know this will make it easier on anyone who likes to make timelines!

THERE WILL BE A NEW MAIN, AND A NEW DISCORD SERVER! If you would like to make a new account, please go for it! Make a fresh start, on a fresh dash. My hope for this is just to kickstart our muse with characters we love in a new setting - I know there’s going to be some gaps, and plot holes to fill… But I truly do believe it will be worth it in the end. 

To cap this all off, our format WILL change slightly! Cherry mysteries are gonna run more on a serialized sort of storytelling process!! What this basically means is that each new mystery, monster, murderer ( ? ), we tackle will be about 2-3 months long! It will sort of be up to everyone in the group if they’d like certain parts to carry on, or if they’d like to let it float away from their characters psyche from episode to episode. Think of it like Scooby Doo, Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any sort of serialized comic book! Some characters go through hell, and they’re good as new by the next issue, you know? If that’s the route you want to take so you don’t feel so stuck, you can do that! The only thing that needs to connect these mysteries is your character’s connections with each other. 

I think it’ll make more sense once we’re all IN IT! But I think the system might just work better for anyone who might have felt stuck after so much TRAUMA was inflicted on their characters. The only trauma they HAVE to hold onto after plot events or Mysteries wrap is the trauma they acquired during the High School/Lux period of their lives! 

That’s all I can think of for right now! I will send links to everything on our discord chat, and get us started ASAP. I love y’all, and I really do hope you all are as excited as I am about our new chapter. I think it’s going to  be so fun, and so worth it. Thank you again for being here!

[viviennevivisection]

Session 27 - “The Cost of Starting Anew” - 1/29/23

-Corsica plane shifting is like the worst thing that could possibly be happening :|

O: “Fighting fire with fire is dangerous.” (On Naomi having DE and DL)

-Oran doesn’t know what’s in store…

O: “If I were a betting individual, anything you can do to steel yourself against intrusions of the mind. There is a certain benefit to wildfires — they tend to force regrowth.” (Oran on preparing for whatever the hell is going on) 

C: “Oran, do you believe in all this?” 

O: “Believe is a complicated word. I do ‘believe’ because I’ve seen.” 

C: “Do you have faith in it?” 

O: “No.” 

C: “Why do you stay?” 

O: “There are others that deserve a chance at freedom.” 

O to N: “You are capable of facing what’s ahead. And know that whatever happens next, I’m happy.” 

-DN is slightly visible, a little more coherent

DN: “[I showed you The Grove] so you would join me…to free them so they can be like us.” 

-Naomi is the one who drew DN to HER? Not the other way around… 

-Searching Oran’s office — VE looking for books. Naomi and Cass looking for anything suspiciously left out (as if for us to find)

-There are a lot of Druidic texts

-We don’t … know many druids … what has happened to the natural world? Who is protecting it? Something’s certainly weird!

-Based on this, Oran most likely has a Druidic background (makes sense as a genasi) 

-Some of the texts are in primordial 

-Binding entities to plants? Old Druidic rituals 

-Dodder corp took the name from the plant (not the other way around) 

-Dodder plants themselves are invasive, parasitic, but they have pretty flowers 

-VE read this in a plant field guide, which they took with them 

-Naomi knows about Oran’s secret desk compartment — finds a diary. Written in a personal code/cipher 

-He also has dossiers on everyone 

-Eugene Sutter? Cyrus, Whitmer…. Felix Ellison (?), Teresa Collie (a librarian at AC??? VE recognized this name??), other names, etc. 

-The Cyrus File has evidence on every single criminal activity he’s ever done, mostly relating to unlawful procurement of wares for the Sanctum

-Whitmer file — she does blackmail! You’re usually born in Corsica, but some people are “poached.” Purveyors of public education (?) but learned to gatekeeper because sometimes….information and knowledge are bad! Whitmer is a groomer (academically). She seems to often choose TC people. Some bribery here and there (feed your brain to the tree and we’ll get you a job) 

-Cass was recruited to go to a school? This pattern of poaching/recruitment seems familiar… 

-TC+Corsica seem to work together out of necessity but also seem to be adversaries at the same time 

-DN + N pinky promise !!!

N: “We’re friends, right?” 

DN: “Friends forever.” 

-Divinity sparked! 

-There were/are multiple rumors about Miles (the gardener) — potentially a member of the Coralogia? He cannot or does not speak (ever). Not even telepathically like the other freaky little freaks.  He just vibes? He’s one of the only adults still functioning, though…. 

-It’s more of a topiary style garden — with some basic flowers. Clean, white aesthetic 

-Everything feels intentional, the city is a sigil etc etc 

-Heading into The Sanctum 🤪

-Passing some of the collections…it feels more like a museum than a library 

-Powerful, evil books 

-VE notice a wall of preservation jars, some body parts….a jar full of pointed teeth

-Vampires were all killed and if not expelled to the Wild Lands centuries ago — the followers of Coranimas spearheaded this effort. The fangs themselves are The Man sized, not VE sized 

-Naomi is looking for info on aasimar 

-She finds a book full of pressed feathers. Each feather has a name and dates of birth and death. Each feather is golden. There is a blank page waiting for Naomi. 

-None of them made it past the age of 30. 

-Naomi took the book 

-Trying to break the glass and get the teeth 

-We have the fang jar, trying to put one in the chalice. However, instead of being absorbed (like normal), it withered and turned black and remained in the cup

-NO TC related items in the collection — are they banned from the collection or do the Coralogia simply not care about their shit? 

-There was a feeling of bitterness from Vytris with the receipt of the fang 

-VE casted warding bond on Naomi 

-There are commonalities between The Sanctum, Rose Castle, The Mines…we have to descend into the earth a lot 

-We went down the scary spiral staircase

-The Sanctum itself is very minimalist

-The Coralogia are here (masked, of course) — Whitmer is not masked 

-Hive mind voice… 

HM: “Welcome. Are you ready to get the answers you’ve been craving?” 

N: “I think I already have.” 

-They are casting…something! They are…changing the reflecting pool’s use 

-Conjuration magic 

-The surface of the pool is still, like glass 

-They have (allegedly) been told not to harm us 

-We are holding hands and entering the pool

-The feeling is disorienting, tumbling through time and space 

-We are in The Grove - the trees here seem to be healthier, show new growth. They get ickier looking the closer we get to the Cor 

W: “You wanted answers and The Cor has decided to give you answers. This is extremely rare. We have been instructed to stay here. You may approach the center of The Grove.” 

-The paranoid feeling of being watched intensifies 

-VE has been feared (disadvantage on INT saves) — relying on animal instincts 

-A presence has access to our mind in this place — we feel extremely seen 

-Younger people are farther away from The Cor (healthier), older as close and spookier 

-Naomi is touching a random tree 

-There is a green glow from under the tree

-We hear a LOUD telepathic voice comprised of many voices

The Cor: “Welcome. Please Enter.” 

-There is a node here 

-There is a giant, disgusting red brain here with plant-like tentacles 

N: “The system you’ve set up seems stupid.” 

TC: “I’d have to agree with you there.” 

N: “So why would I let you continue to fuck around?” 

-Hundreds of years of knowledge 

N: “Then you give it back. And we start from scratch.” 

TC: “If I’m gone…you wish to start anew with a fresh mind?” 

N: “It’s better to try something that may actually work instead of whatever selfish endeavor you have here.” 

TC: “I think we lack the ability to be selfish, as we are all one, or, maybe we are the pinnacle of selfishness because of that.” 

TC: “The ascension is for all of us — to regain what we lost those years ago. We made a mistake that we have paid generations for.”

-They can’t tell us who they made the deal with — something as strong as a god 

-The Cor cannot move 

-Extreme logic from the Cor, very realistic (?) 

-A creature that has only been theorized — an elder brain. A creature formed from the minds of many — through the consumption of those minds. It is…evil…but there seems to be an extra clause here that…it needs something more. It seems sad, stuck in a fucked up cycle 

-It wants movement, freedom, revenge, knowledge…to make a difference 

TC: “As you’ve said we’ve tried many times to find a way out of what we have wrought for ourselves. I’d like to try. Naomi — is that what you call yourself now…” 

Cass: “You’ve got all the knowledge in the world and you can’t see what’s right in front of you?” 

N: “That sounds like you’re not very creative. And not willing to die for it. Like you expect me to.” 

-The Cor is losing patience 

-They are digging around in Cass and VE’s minds

(Pictured: The Cor digging around in VE’s mind and finding a full recreation of Rose Castle.)

-They are trying to tempt VE with info on the Old Gods and her past, Cass with her “newfound power” and its source 

TC: “You liked the pretty lies once. Gave you purpose — a light in the dark.” 

Cass: “What did you start as? Didja make a deal?” 

-We see an image of three or four individuals — the ones present as the birth of The Cor 

-Prior to the deal, they were the protectors of Corcillium, there was a physical manifestation of the God that they were contemplating revealing

-They wanted (demanded) access to the full knowledge of the universe, Corcillium refused 

-The entity that struck the deal is fully redacted from the vision 

-It was…a bad deal 

-The Cor has grown more powerful AND hungry over time 

TC: “Who are [the gods] to decide for us?” 

C: “Isn’t that what faith is all about? What makes you think you know better than the gods?”

TC: “What makes you think you’ll leave here alive?”

C: “Faith.”

-They want to proceed with the ascension (lol) 

-Static shocks, scary shit 

-An INT save — N+C succeed and VE FAILS 

-They take 21 points of psychic damage and are stunned for A MINUTE and then proceed to roll a Nat 1 on initiative

-Naomi seems to be on a first name basis with MORTENIA? 

-She reached out to her and this seemingly produced a very salacious voice memo 

INITIATIVE ORDER 

Lair Actions 

The Cor 

Cass & Watts 

Naomi 

VE 

-VE are psychically linked to The Cor 

-How do we start over? 

-Naomi read thoughts 

-Break the container. There would be an outpouring but…something else might happen 

-Nothing is created or destroyed 

-Some knowledge will inevitably be lost 

-VE spent most of the battle fully Stun locked and taking half of Naomi’s damage — tried to combat this by scream singing in their head 

-Naomi has established a thought reading link 

-Cass set the whole place on fire 

-The Cor can heal itself :/ 

-Oran is a homie (Naomi reached out to him within the Cor and freed him from control and he fought alongside us) 

-VE did the same thing for Adrien and he literally came back to life!

-The Cor DOES know the Old Ones — was impressed we knew them and was…a little scared 

-DN casting blight to execute The Cor  

-The knowledge is about to be scattered, there is a chance to save some, but there is risk involved 

-NAT 20 FROM NAOMI LET’S GO

-The mind layers are turning to dust 

-The brain is melting into goop (on brand)  

 -Naomi is radiating a golden light, her eyes are golden light 

-A FLOOD of knowledge 

-Vitalia…Mortenia…Saetus…there’s nothing except the names 

-Focus on Saetus. “Do we have a deal?” A famine, Woodvalian accent….

-Nature is healing around Naomi

-“Why isn’t it beautiful?” —> It is now. 

-Naomi has taken the last vestiges of knowledge and the rest has returned to where it belongs 

-She also now has gorgeous, black raven wings and can fully fly!!

-She descended from the sky and healed and embraced everyone 

-DN is also still here, seems more chill and also more powerful 

-Naomi is able to return Corsica to the material plane 

-On our return, the Aurora Borealis is visible 

-This pings the Angie blood bond

-A slight shift, but looking at the Aurora Borealis through her eyes. She’s near? 

-There is Something Bad 

-VE found an orange flower and pressed into the field guide they took from Oran 

-The media is here!!

-Cass is calling Dr. Cunt 

-Naomi pressed a flower into her page in the Golden Angel Book and also gave one to Viv 

-A seeding birthed from Naomi’s hand and placed in the Grove, growing upon The Node 

-We went back through the pool to return to the Sanctum and deal with…whatever is going on back in Corsica

[witchthewriter]

𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞

⤷ gender neutral, ambiguous race, and any size reader. Requests are open, thank you for reading!  

a/n: okay now this actually is my ALL TIME FAVOURITE post that I’ve ever done ... I was literally kicking my feet and giggling while writing this ...

ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ

SFW🌿

Wanda is such a sweet partner. She has so much love and she just needs a person to give her love to. What better idea than to have two people to love?

Nat felt hesitant at first. But got more comfortable with the idea when she saw you and Wanda interacting. 

You have Mummy issues? They’re healed. They’re gone.

Wanda is the type of person to call you out of the blue, even when you’re at work.   “I just wanted to hear your voice!”

Whereas if Nat called you out of the blue, you’d start to panic

The amount of support and encouragement in this relationship is out of this world. 

Whenever you have a bad day, there is always someone ready to make it better

You guys have favourite tv shows and movies that someone will put on randomly, even if no one is watching it. All three of you agree that it’s for comfort; background noise is a must in the household. These are: → Gavin & Stacey: a british tv show that Nat originally thought was ridiculous but now you all do the accents → Modern Family: Wanda LOVES this show, she likes the family dynamics and that they’re always there for one another → Peaky Blinders: This is Nat’s favourite, she loves Tommy Shelby. There are certain aspects of the show that she can connect with → Vikings: all three of you like this show! Especially Lagertha; all of you have a crush on her.  → Elf: yes, Wanda knows it’s a Christmas movie, but when she first saw it, she couldn’t stop. So Nat had to put a ban on it unless it’s near Christmas (which Wanda said was November 1st) → Mamma Mia: All three of you know the words to EVERY ABBA song. Once Yelena slept over and you had the movie playing and she became OBSESSED.  → Every single Harry Potter movie: Wanda sees herself as a Hufflepuff (is actually a Slytherin), Nat knows and accepts she’s a Slytherin → Practical Magic: comes on during the start of Autumn/Fall and stays playing until the 1st of November

Wanda is an amazing cook, especially when it comes to baking. She usually makes a different sweet at the beginning of the week. 

You literally don’t have to lock your house up because you’re protected by the two most formidable women on the planet 

Nat’s love language is acts of service and secretly words of affirmation. She absolutely DIES whenever you say “I’m proud of you” or “You did a great job!”

And Nat is always the one to fix tires, lightbulbs and get rid of spiders

You might think that Nat would be against living in a cottage, but she absolutely adores it. It was your idea, and Wanda fell in love with it

There are many pets in your household, Nat felt like they were liabilities at first. She wasn’t used to a breathing thing continuously dependent on her

Wanda was a tad unsure as well, but she folded almost instantly 

Your pets are:  Trix: the newest addition to the family, she’s a little black kitten who is absolute chaos. She runs up and down the hallways, doing those weird little cat stances. It makes all three of you laugh. Malachi (nicknamed Mal): An Irish wolfhound who had been at the pound for years and was about to be put down Alf: grumpy ol’ fluffy cat who likes to sleep in the sun all day every day. funnily enough, his favourite human is Nat. 

Alf bit Sam Wilson when he came to visit and he was so offended because usually animals LOVE him. 

There are so many panic buttons around the house in case it becomes a target 

Yes, you guys have your own rooms. But they’re basically where you keep your belongings. 

Nat works a lot at night, so it’s usually you and Wanda at home by yourselves. When it’s bedtime, you sleep together

Nat’s pet names for you are: ‘sweetheart’, ‘darling’, ‘honey’

Wanda’s pet name for you is: ‘moja ljubav’ meaning ‘my love’. It’s in Serbian which is the official language in Sokovia, where she grew up.

Wanda hums a lot, it’s usually a lullaby from her childhood. It calms her down, especially when she’s worked up

Nat and Wanda like to slow dance in the kitchen. Wanda’s head gently leaning on Nat’s chest, their arms wound tightly around each other. The pots and pans on the stove completely forgotten. 

Yelena visits often! She loves Wanda’s cooking, talking with you, and getting to see her big sister. You always beg her to sleep over, and most of the time, she does!

Wanda’s love language is physical touch and quality time. She loves when you kiss her face; peppering small kisses over her nose, cheeks, chin, and forehead.

When Sam comes to visit, he usually brings Bucky and although he starts off as moody, he soon comes to love staying over. He and Nat have a lot in common and chat about their pasts. 

Wanda does your and Nat’s nails. She begs Nat to let her do pink but never wins 

As a joke you bought everyone matching pajamas, and although it was very funny, you all wear them unironically

Wanda uses her powers for a lot of things, and you absolutely love it. It’s so handy! If something breaks, Wanda can fix it, if you’re out and guys are harassing you, she has the ability to LITERALLY CONTROL THEIR MINDS. 

Nat is the least likely to hold grudges, then you, then Wanda...

You’ve all decided that you want to travel the world together. Nat may not appear as excited as you and Wanda (she’s already traveled the world, but that was for missions.)

Wanda wants to go to Disneyland. Can you imagine Nat and Wanda with the mickey ears on?!

Theme Song: 

Gimme All Your Love by Alabama Shakes

Relationship Tropes: 

  ✧ Moon (Nat) x Sun (You) x Eclipse (Wanda)

  ✧ Tragic Past x Ray of Light (this goes for everyone)

  ✧ The Impulsive (Wanda) x The Hyperactive (You) x The Unheeded Voice of Reason (Nat)