#peer into my muse’s memories

[ramblingsfromthytruly]

i was studying about repressed memories & autobiographical memories in psychology. i was thinking about the concept of "childhood amnesia" and thought about why i didn't remember much from 2nd-3rd grade in my apartment building. i remember my school time. and the other people in the building remember their childhoods at the same age here, so why not me? flashes, flashes, flashes, i remember only tit-bits of words and oh one scene. near a swimming pool. i put the words together. i still don't remember but i sort of know what happened. it was horrible and i didn't deserve it, nobody does. i was a kid who used to let people walk all over me, i'm still working on that habit but i've gotten much much better. bullying from your peers is a horrible thing, they pass it off as bad jokes in the past but for me they were so terrifying and humiliating they're almost entirely repressed memories. it was manipualtion from a kid slightly older than me. humanity is horrifying sometimes, including children, god sometimes especially children. some remember everything, some remember nothing at all. for me it's the latter, makes sense considering i've always been a runner. avoidant, quiet, un-confrontational.

[cregansdingdong]

ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ ɪꜱ ꜰɪɴᴇ.

Cregan Stark x pregnant!fem!reader | no use of y/n | warnings: pregnancy fluff, the tooth rotting kind <3

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“There you are.”

There he was. Watching from the threshold of their marriage doors—the only separation between their traditional chambers—Cregan gazes over the form of his bare wife, who was enjoying a nice bath in her alcove. His eyes moved slowly, deliberately, taking her in and committing her to his memory like it was the very first time. A sleepy smile graced her perfect face, head leaned back against the edge of the tub. Just barely breaking the surface of the water was her stomach, rounded and taut with his child; her wrist had been resting on it as he entered, a letter held loosely in her hand. “I am.” He murmured, feeling himself relax just at the sight of her, and he crossed the room to sit on the chair by the tub. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better now. Jace wrote to me.” She holds out the small paper to him. Cregan hums at the mention of her brother, and his eyes scan the words on the page, quietly snorting after a few moments of reading—he was as funny as he always was. Nothing new, really, in the letter. He’d mostly asked about how his sister was faring, questions about the pregnancy, and gushing over his coming nuptials to Baela. But it all brought a smile to his wife’s face anyway. Cregan felt guilty sometimes, knowing how far Winterfell was from King’s Landing. She missed her family often, but even more now that she was having a child. “He’s eager to be an uncle.” He muses, handing it back to her. “The second he learns the babe is born, he’ll be outside our quarters pouting.”

“Yes he will.” She laughs and places it off to the side. “Only a few weeks more.” Cregan peers down at her stomach, expression softened now, his hand reaching out to gently pet her bump, fingers caressing the skin. “The water is almost cold.” He notes, a slight chide in his tone. His wife nods along, obviously aware. “Mmhm. The maesters say hot baths aren’t too good for the baby—warm is fine, but it becomes tepid fairly quickly. I’m comfortable though, I promise. Supper was divine. I was craving that stew all day. And grapes, but mostly the stew. I missed you.” A pleased smile lifts the corners of his lips at her soft ramble. He loved hearing her speak—just as much as she liked to prattle his ears blue. “I assure you, wife, I missed you even more. You and our babe. How is she doing?”

“Are you truly still convinced we're going to have a girl?” She muses. Cregan gently splashes her in mock offense, tutting lightly at her teasing. “I know we're having a girl. I can feel it in my bones, wife.” He leans in, pressing a less-than-chaste kiss against her mouth, tongue just barely slivering past her supple lips. She tasted like something sweet. “Cake?” He asks, head tilted even though it wasn't really a question. She grins. “Sara brought the letter up here—and sneaked me some frosted scones from the kitchen. I love your sister.” Cregan rolls his eyes. “I should've known you two would scheme behind my back…and not leave me any. I'm your leige-Lord.” His wife reaches out to pull him in again, not satisfied with the previous kiss, and their mouths clash together nearly with a mutual clack of their teeth. "Get in." She was pulling him down into the jasmine scented water, hands fiercely tugging at the laces of his leather doublet. "This water is so damn cold—" He barely had a moment to remove his boots. "You'll be fine." What Lady Stark wants, she gets.

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[ask-the-anomalous-linguist]

💚- A memory that makes them feel guilty

[Tres grimaces.]

Tres: "All the times I was awful to...uh, the other mes. There's no excuse for it. I'm just lucky they forgave me."

From this ask meme

[on-leatheredwings]

Sleepover

Yandere! Damian Wayne x (Fem!) Reader

romantic > summary: During a sleepover, Damian makes his first foray into infatuation. > word count: 1605 > [ a/n: i just love writing from the yandere’s point of view! Damian is 19 or college-age here. honestly not much plot, just musings~ i will try to write from the Darling’s POV next time hehe.]

This must be love.

“Wow, Damian… I’ve never noticed but your nails are so pretty,” you compliment, satisfied with the boy’s upkeep. Damian feels his heart thrumming against his ribcage. You are holding his hand. 

Not for the first time either, but the thrill never fades. 

If this had occurred a year ago, before Damian learned of how casual (generous, even!) you were physical affection, he might have dumbly stated, “You’re holding my hand.” Instead, he simply thinks it, on loop, in one long string. 

You’re holding my hand. You’re holding my hand. You’re holding my hand.

Unbeknownst to all this, you simply paint his forefinger with a stripe of green so dark it looks black. 

“If we’re going to do this, it’ll be by my rules,” he had said. 

In reality, if you needled him any harder, he would’ve accepted pink nails with glitter on them. Who cares? There wasn’t anyone who dared to make fun of him at school. Not to mention, it’d be obvious to everyone that you painted them. You'd be marking him as yours, essentially. And at night… well, Robin wears gloves.

“Hn. How so?” Damian asks with feigned coolness. Mainly because he wants to hear you praise him. In your hushed, awed voice. When he dreams, you often sound like that. (And he quickly pushes that thought away.)

You look at him pointedly, grinning. Oh, he’s not so slick. You acquiesce to his whims anyway.

“Your cuticles are impeccable and your nails are finely trimmed… I’m impressed. Don’t you do martial arts, too? Crazy they aren’t more dinged up.”

Martial arts. That was supposed to explain his abnormal strength and fighting capability, the one time you saw him nearly break a man’s wrist for trying to pickpocket you. 

You accepted the excuse with only a little suspicion.

“It’s simple grooming.”

A catlike grin forms on your face. “Hm~ I don’t knowwww… Seems like you may be trying to catch the eye of a girl – you know, girls look at stuff like that.”

Damian frowns. 

He’s infatuated but not delusional. He’s aware this ‘sleepover’ is pretty platonic on your end. After nails, it’ll be skin care. Maybe you’ll even do your makeup and take goofy pictures with him. You’ll laugh and platonically huddle against him during a movie. You may doze off on his shoulder while he’ll be committing your every dewy, moisturized pore to memory. 

Because of Damian’s (self-admitted) social awkwardness with your peers, you think that gives you some sort of elder sibling-esque edge on him. You are the social butterfly, leading a naive, but well-meaning social pariah through the perils of young adult life. You don’t know you are so much more naive than he is, and he adores that.

Rather than addressing the question, he snorts. “When are you going to turn on the movie?”

You hum, completing his nail’s first coat. “Oh yeah, that’s right!” You grab the remote and press play. You continue painting, gingerly admiring his long, golden brown digits. Damian preens at the attention. 

As the movie plays, you pause often to look up and gape at the screen. It’s a horror flick, and boasts an abundance of cartoonish gore. While a bit more sensational than something he’d put on, he likes your dark taste. An annoying teenager gets their head hacked off with a chainsaw. You laugh and Damian feels his heart sing. 

There’s a chime that rings through Wayne Manor, and he has to bite back a groan.

“Pizza’s here!” you cheer. You begin to get up when Damian whips out his card in an instant. 

“I’ll pay.” To his delight, you gape in surprise, cheeks warming. 

“Oh… Thanks, Damian!” You never quite get used to him paying for things, but you at least know by now not to argue. You grab his credit card and – thank God – your fingers brush against each other. It sends the most pleasant trill down his spine. “Since you’re paying, I’ll go bring it! I won’t be long.”

A corner of his lips quirk. “I’ll be pleasantly surprised if it gets back to this room at all.” You stick out your tongue on the way out.

As soon as he hears your footsteps disappear down the hall – such clumsy, loud steps – Damian’s attention falls to the messenger bag you threw to the ground of his bedroom. He knows your diary is in there. (In his mind, he can hear you protest, It’s a journal!)

He’ll be quick. He flips open to a random page, and he already is laughing at your writing style. There’s little care for capitalizing letters and full of what you explained are “emoticons”, despite being handwritten. He flips to today’s entry, half-finished.

February 01. 

there’s a guy in class who’s pretty cute… one may even say HOT xP

Damian’s jaw tightens. He knows exactly who you’re talking about, and he won’t allow that neanderthal anywhere near you. At least, not again. Yesterday, you told him that your crush had smiled at you. Brushed fingers with you when passing papers. In the only class you have without Damian.

(Also, “your crush,” he scoffs. What a juvenile concept. You and Damian share something much deeper. His feelings for you are not so trivial.)

The semester is still young. Damian can pull any string to land himself in your anthropology class.

The rest of your entry for today (and the past days prior) isn’t anything notable except for when he’s mentioned. 

stressful day, but at least i have tonight with damian to cheer me up. he’s seriously the best …. i should tell him more often !!! (but it’d give him an even bigger head)

He doesn’t even attempt to stop the smile splitting his face. 

Damian’s keen hearing catches you striking up a conversation with Alfred in the kitchen. Despite your promise, he knows you will, indeed, take long. You love talking to everyone, even in passing. It’s an admirable quality, and one he envies.

He unlocks your phone and rifles through some messages of yours. He uses his own phone for documentation purposes. What else is there to do… He spies your jacket on his bed.

There is a shameful thought and Damian’s heart skips a beat. It is… frankly, it’s humiliating as a concept. Yet he’s enticed. It’s your jacket, after all. He brings it to his face delicately and inhales, almost shyly. Once he catches the familiar scent of your body wash, however, he allows himself to breathe it in. After being lost in it for a few seconds, he rips it away. 

Only to see his father standing in his doorframe. 

He knows what this looks like. Damian knows what this looks like. After years of working with the man, Damian can hear his thoughts as if they were his own, as they happen. 

Damian just smelled your clothes. Even if it was investigative in nature, he could’ve retrieved a sample some other way. Someone’s personal journal is open on the floor. A phone that he knows is not Damian’s is unlocked and displaying text messages. All these things are splayed out in a circle around him. It’s uncharacteristically messy of him, as well. Damian’s own phone is actively on his camera. Was he taking pictures? And most notable is the absence of you.

In summary? Damian must have some interest in you. And by this sloppy job, it’s quite emotionally charged. And at his age, it’s likely romantic.

Damian’s skin rises to what feels like a boiling heat. What is Father going to say? He can’t stop him – he can’t. Damian doesn’t even want to talk about it, let alone be reprimanded. A feral need to escape bubbles underneath his skin. Despite the panic, he channels years of League training and hardens himself. 

Bruce watches his son’s expression morph from dazed, to fearful, to steel, in real time. From Damian’s seat on the floor he offers his father only silent defiance. Bruce knows his son, his darker needs that stem from his cruel childhood. And perhaps he should’ve expected this to happen someday. Bruce exhales, eyes closing. When they reopen, his slate-grey eyes are firm and hard. 

“No one gets hurt.”

And by that, Bruce means no one dies. Because Bruce and Damian are Batman and Robin – they’re all in the business of hurting people. People who deserve it, yes, but it’s still hurt. Pain.

Damian feels immense relief. He wouldn’t have killed his father – he’s not that boy anymore. But a life without you seems similarly unbearable. Damian feels… shaken. He doesn’t know what he would’ve done. He also feels grateful, that it didn’t turn out any other way. 

His eyes drop to the jacket he holds in a fist.

“... Yes. Thank you, Father.” Bruce’s gaze lingers, but he leaves wordlessly.

This encounter reminds Damian of who he is. He is a detective, vigilante, assassin, and creature of stealth. He can’t be this careless, even if he knows you won’t notice. 

Damian returns your belongings to their place, exactly how you left it. Diary back in your bag, jacket to where you were lounging, your phone underneath a pillow, because you carelessly tossed it aside. You’ll inevitably begin to look for it and he’ll grin once he places it in your hand.

You finally return to his room, two pizza boxes of deluxe cheese (for him) and pepperoni (for you) in your arms. You laugh sheepishly. 

“Sorry for the wait, Dami.” His heart skitters at the nickname.

“It’s fine.” Your eyes glitter with excitement and optimism and purity. He finds it hard to look away, you raining down a gaze like that upon him.

“I was waiting for you.”

[sun-snatcher]

Elrond headcanons I’ve made that keep me up at night:

i. Elros was the older twin by 2 minutes.

Maedhros and Maglor discerned as such, being brothers themselves, and what with the way the little twins reacted whenever they got into trouble and mischief. 

Elrond might have been the more stubborn between the two, yes, but Elros was the courageous one; some innate elder-brother instinct Maglor could recognise Maedhros in: first to face the burden of punishment and last to lay it down. 

Elrond always dreaded those mere minutes, because it meant he was eternally 2-minutes behind Elros, and because it lent his brother a leverage against him throughout the years they endured growing up together. But he’d only truly dreaded it the most, years after, when Elros had chosen the mortal path.

He had counted the 2 minutes after Elros had died, and then wept as he placed a kiss on his forehead; because, after all these years: 

“At last, Elros, my dear brother, I have finally caught up to you.”

ii. Elrond untintentionally made Círdan (the wisest, stalwart, and most steadily composed of all living Elves) weep full tears over a poorly folded Leaf-boat.

This was at the atelier, in the aftermath of High King Gil-Galad’s funeral rites, where they talked and talked until the sun went down the horizon. Elrond could hardly sit still— an endearingly Mannish trait, Círdan learned early on— and that’s how the Shipwright ended up teaching the Herald how to fold boats out of a banana leaf.

“Oh, dear,” it had started on the first attempt, with Elrond showing him the sad-excuse of a boat, fraying in its green edges, “Show me again, Master Círdan, how do you do it! My craft will surely sail to no shore.”

Then Círdan laughed, because “Indeed, surely, that will hardly survive a ripple, Elrond,” and then his eyes welled with tears, and he bent his head down, and suddenly he found himself crying, unable to stop at all.

He hadn’t wept this hard in Ages.

“Ah, come now, let me show you,” he sniffled, hands trembling as he meticulously corrected the little flaws of the boat. “Forgive me. Artanáro— Ereinion— I remember teaching him too, when he was but knee-high and knew naught but how to scatter sunshine wherever he went. Your boat looks as pitiful as his first try! And, why, for a moment, I—”

He didn’t continue, because there was no need to. 

“Oh, I miss him already, Elrond. How I miss him!” he’d cried. “My dear Ereinion. My darling, dearest boy.”

iii. When at last Legolas finally completed his ship and left with Gimli from Edhellond, crossing the Bay of Belfalas— they had come across a lone, folded leaf boat, bright green and drifting unmoored across the silver crests and falls of Belegaer.

Gimli peered portside (while standing on a box) to point it out. “See there, Legolas! That’s one of them Elven leaf boats, aye? How long has it wandered adrift, you reckon?”

“Long indeed!” Legolas smiled. “Elven leaves are sturdy and crafted to endure. This one was set purposely upon these waters to sail, it seems.”

“A tribute,” the Dwarf mused, eyeing the blown-out candle cradled in its heart. “This far out?”

The elf gazed keenly, South-west upon the distant blue horizon. “Why, perhaps, to the memory of the great star-lit isle of Númenor.” 

[theoutcastwrites]

First Time - Il Dottore x Reader

So it's 1 am and I'm extremely sleepy hence why the ending is like... That. My apologies. Inspired by a line from Hozier's "First Time", because I am not myself if I don't assign random Hozier lyrics to my favorite characters

"Zandik."

The name was uttered with contempt, barely contained. He'd had half the mind to keep it unsaid, and he would have were it not for the curiosity that glimmered in your eyes when you asked: "what is your true name?"

That had been weeks ago. Still, he remembered the sweet smile with which you peered at him, the way your voice lilted with each word that slipped past your lips.

"The Fair Lady is Rosalyne, Childe is Ajax. Who are you, Dottore?"

As if a name could determine who he was. He was greater than his titles - more than what people thought of him. Yet the question lingered in his mind that night, and its presence brought about memories of long nights spent by the crackling fire, of miserable musings that never ceased. It should not have mattered; he had long abandoned his wistful soliloquies and all matters that did not concern the inevitable fall of the Old World. By all means, he was above having such worldly concerns. And yet.

Could he be blamed for pondering the idea so obsessively when it was you who proposed it? Wouldn't others be in the same predicament as him: with the syllables ready on the tip of their tongue, fighting to be heard, to be spoken aloud for the first time in so long?

It had proven to be far more difficult than he expected. It tasted foul on his tongue, a monstrous thing, made even more unpleasant by the tone of his voice - self-loathing, bitter. The mere mention of it - the reminder of that name - sickened him and made him wish he could unhear it.

"I'm sorry?"

... And for you to react like that.

He explained, "you once asked about my true name and I am telling you now: my name is Zandik."

And just why was it so quiet so suddenly? Why couldn't you say something, anything at all? He was hardly the anxious type but your silence made him feel tense. You should know that a Harbinger of his ranking wouldn't reveal these things to just anyone. You should know better than to disregard his earnest confession, his-

"Zandik?"

Whatever thoughts he'd had dissipated when he heard his name from your mouth.

"I hope I didn't butcher the pronunciation," you said, your words laced with genuine worry. He didn't know what he expected - perhaps he hadn't expected anything at all. But for you to say it so sweetly, carefully, like it was something precious and nothing less - it made his facade waver.

The lights were far too bright in the lab; Zandik could see all too well the prideful twinkle in your eyes, the happy curve of your lips. Rendered breathless, he watched as you extended your hand to cup his jaw, feeling the stubble there.

"No," Zandik spoke at last, "no, your pronunciation is satisfactory."

"What a relief..."

"Zandik." You repeated. It sounded pleasant when spoken by you - not at all like the mocking sneers he had endured at the Akademiya. Zandik relaxed against your touch. "It suits you. I like it."

"More than Dottore?"

You nodded, "more than all of your titles combined."

The sincerity of your tone surprised him. How you could find it so endearing was beyond him for many a reason. Then again, Zandik figured that it hardly mattered what he thought of his true name; so long as you decided you liked it, Zandik didn't mind hearing it again and again until it was the only word you knew.

[milkbobatyun]

mooncakes and wine, my memories of you will alway shine

pairing: zhongli x gn!reader

genre: fluff, sequel (maybe?)

summary: though thousands of years have passed, it's mid-autumn again, traditionally a time of reunion. who better to spend your time with other than your lover and (adopted) son, as well as the friends you made along the way.

word count: 1.4k

a/n: speedwrote this so i could post it in celebration of mid-autumn festival. i was thinking this could be an alternate ending to a zhongli fic im currently working on, but i REALLY wanted to post this in celebration of mid-autumn so here it is! to those who celebrate it, 中秋节快乐, to those who dont, have a good day ig !! (●'◡'●)

the cool, autumn breeze drifted in through the window, ruffling the curtains. the remnants of summer’s heat lingered in the room. in a distant corner of the room, a stick of incense burned, its delicate smoke curling into the room. long, golden beams of light bathed the interior of the traditional liyue style home, illuminating the wooden floors, mahogany wood bed and the infernal dust particles that hung in the air.

the sunlight spilled onto the pillows, warming the geo dragon and his mate, nestled together in the bed, blanketed by peaceful sleep.

you blinked open your eyes, roused from your lazy afternoon nap by birdsong spilling from outside the windowsill. finding yourself securely embraced in the arms of a sleeping zhongli, you let out an amused sigh of resignation, turning to admire his serene, sleeping face.

noticing a strand of chocolate hair laying across his face, you reached out a hand, gently sweeping it off his face. zhongli’s draconic senses tingled, his nose twitching and scrunching in alertness at the disturbance.

a narrowed eye, glittering like cor-lapis, peered at you, clouded with sleep. when it caught sight of your startled and apologetic face, its hard stare softened almost immediately. zhongli gazed at you, molten amber eyes overflowing with love.

“you’re awake, mr sleepy dragon.” you teased, a warm smile on your face. “i believe it’s time to get up and get prepared.” you mused.

zhongli shook his head with mock displeasure, burying himself deeper into the heat of the blankets. with a soft chuckle, you pressed a kiss to his forehead before slipping out from his grasp, eliciting a rumble of displeasure from the geo dragon.

slipping your feet into the slippers, you padded into the bathroom, changing into your festive hanfu. the silk rustled softly as you moved to your vanity table, the polished wood cool beneath your hands. with delicacy, you glided to your low set table, seating yourself before your mirror. you reached for your brush, gently untangling the knots in your hair.

your movements are halted when a pair of hands place themselves over yours, gently taking the brush from your grasp, before deft fingers comb through your hair, practiced hands twisting strands into delicate hairstyles atop your head.

you glanced in the mirror, zhongli’s tall form standing behind you. his amber eyes filled with unspoken adoration. a gentle smile carved upon both your lips, a silent exchange of love passing between you.

with gentle grace, zhongli slipped a hair pin and decoration into your hair, completing the hairstyle. reaching towards your box of homemade makeup, you picked out a sheet of red paper, placing it between your lips, pressing it firmly onto your lips. the red dusted your lips, a soft layer of red coating them.

unscrewing the china pot of red, you wet your brush, saturating it in the red ink that inhabited the inside of the pot. careful precision and a deft flick of your wrist, your eyes were lined with the signature red eyeliner, the bold colour accentuating your eyes.

you turned around, red brush still in hand, looking expectantly up at zhongli. understanding your unspoken question, zhongli leaned forwards, placing his chin on your hand. taking the opportunity, you teasingly squished his cheeks.

“you look like a little puppy, not some fearsome dragon god.” you chuckled.

zhongli huffed in displeasure, though a glimmer of playfulness in his amber eyes betrayed his true feelings. 

“you’re the only one who can tame such a fearsome dragon god into an obedient puppy.” he laughed, his voice a soothing rumble.

his only response was a playful roll of your eyes, your hand reaching out with the red-tipped brush. the coolness of the ink glided across his eyelids, a practiced flick of the brush and his eyeliner had been applied.

while zhongli leaned over your shoulder to peer at himself in the mirror, reminding yourself of a proud dragon admiring its appearance, you ran your brush through zhongli’s lucious hair, his deep, pleased purrs vibrating throughout the room. you took the chance to leave a swift kiss on his cheek. unbeknownst to zhongli, a faint mark of red lingered on his cheek.

the tranquil atmosphere was broken when a cough alerted you to a new guest. framed in the doorway, a grumpy cat xiao stood with his arms crossed, a scowl present on his face.

his hair stuck up in all kinds of directions, reminding you of a frazzled cat. what made you laugh was the thick, uneven lines of red eyeliner around his eyes, turning him into a spotted cat, rather than a fearsome yaksha.

“ā niáng…” xiao trailed off, his face turning sheepish. “could you help me with this?”

both zhongli and you couldn’t contain your amusement, a rumble of laughter sounding from zhongli, mixing with your tinkling laugh.

xiao turned red as a tomato at your laughs, a pout forming on his face.

you gestured him to come over, brush working through the mess of his hair. you collected his hair into a ponytail, securing it with a simple metal head helmet, to match his hanfu.

while you prepared xiao, zhongli went and changed into his hanfu, his hair flowing over the velvety dark silk of his clothing.

as you smoothed out the wrinkles in zhongli’s hanfu, you couldn’t help but smile. after so many years together, these small gestures of care felt second nature, but the warmth they brought was still as strong as ever. even xiao, with his grumpy exterior, seemed to melt into the quiet love of the moment, his earlier pout softening as he waited patiently. though he was careful to fashion a face of mock disgust, sticking out his tongue cheekily when he caught your eye.

as the sun began to hover over the horizon, bathing the streets with a vibrant orange, the three of you made your way around liyue, your arm looped in zhongli’s, while xiao marched on in front. 

in the betwix of dusk, the lanterns flickered to life, flames dancing, shadowy will-o’-wisps behind the paper. some were fish-shaped, some shaped like flowers or rabbits, while some were the traditional cylindrical shape. admiring the array of lanterns, hanging from shop windows and children’s hands, from the makeshift rafters built atop the streets, the wonderful smell of cooking made your stomach grumble.

passing by a liquor shop, zhongli stopped to buy a few bottles of osmanthus wine. after all, it was the mid-autumn festival, the only appropriate wine to drink was osmanthus. as expected, when zhongli reached for his wallet, his search yielded no results, realising–once again–he forgot his wallet. you shook your head hopelessly at zhongli’s forgetfulness, pulling out your own wallet to pay.

your little party made your way to wanming restaurant, the clinking of wine bottles against each other your pied piper’s melody. as you strolled through the streets, you picked up several friends along the way. 

xingqiu and chongyun’s playful banter filled the air, while hu tao attempted—and failed—to sneak up on you, switching her target to zhongli instead. with a tiger-like pounce, hutao jumped onto the shoulders of zhongli, earning a startled gasp from the otherwise composed dragon

chuckles of amusement rang out, while zhongli could only sigh and shake his head. of course his own wife wouldn’t alert him, they’d been married for thousands of years, what could he expect?

cheerful chatter rang out from the balcony of wanming restaurant, everyone turning to greet your party when you arrived. sitting around the large, circular table, many of your friends from liyue and beyond gathered, even the traveller and paimon were there, celebrating the mid-autumn festival.

there was the occasional pranks by xingqiu, keqing accidentally knocked over xiangling at one point, sending food flying everywhere. amidst the chaos, zhongli sat peacefully, appreciating the wine served, reminiscing on past memories.

the lively atmosphere warmed you, settling into your heart. you admired the sun, sinking below the horizon, dying the sky with rich shades of gold, orange and crimson, before deep hues of blue and purple surfaced, fluffy clouds replaced with glimmering stars.

as the night shone brightly with the full moon, fireworks lit up the darkness, cheers ringing out into the sky. leaning close to zhongli’s ear, you quietly whispered to him.

“happy mid-autumn festival, morax.”

resting your head on his shoulder, whilst you were entranced by the fireworks display, zhongli watched you with golden eyes brimming with love and adoration. 

in that moment, amongst the boom of the fireworks and chatter, it was just the two of you, bound by the memories you shared, by time and fate.

footnotes:

1. mahogany wood as a symbolism of status, a traditional material for chinese furniture

2. hanfu — a traditional style of clothing originating from china, nowadays is usually worn during traditional festivals

3. ā niáng — a traditional term in Chinese that means "mother" or "mom."

4. lanterns — a symbol of beacons lighting up people's paths to prosperity and good fortune

5. osmanthus wine — ironically, osmanthus wine is traditionally drunk during the mid-autumn festival, with it symbolising reunion and prosperity

6. clinking wine bottles + pied piper's reference — just a little allusion to how you and zhongli are the leaders of the group, when the others hear the wine bottles clinking together (if you search up "traditional chinese wine bottles" or you've watched 'the untamed' then you'll know what i mean)

7. mooncakes and wine, my memories of you will always shine — a reference to zhongli's voice line about memories shining like gold, while referencing the mooncakes and wine of the night

taglist (open): @yeonjunsfox

∧,,,∧ ( ̳• · • ̳)  © curated with love by milkbobayun 2024 / づ ♡

[solbaby7]

Make You Feel My Love

pairing: azriel x reader

[ part 2 to Make You Feel Something ]

warnings: sexual tension, possible sexual descriptions, not intended for readers under 18, swearing, best friends who fuck, possible typos

summary: Late nights and dim lights with a Shadowsinger who bares it all when it comes to you.

[part 1 ]

—

Practice makes perfect.

At least that’s what you told yourself every time the sun would set and Azriel came strolling through the doors of your bedchamber. He’s grown rather confident as a muse, such perfect features translating on dozens of pages in your sketchbook and countless canvases with him draped over the throne or laid out in a field of flowers. Two of them were a set, a close enough depiction of the shadowsinger in a spring, water up to his chest and inky hair dripping over his forehead—he looked peaceful, like the world hadn’t yet taken a piece of his soul. Most were divided between the two of you; stolen slices of sunshine and bargained bits of darkness hung proudly on his walls, even the nude one had its own home in his closet. “Where do you want me?”

“On the bed.”

He raises a brow, a smirk growing in the corner of full lips but he obeys. “Skipping right to the fun parts, are we?”

“Not this time,” You state firmly, arms crossing at your chest and putting your foot down. “I have three sketchbooks filled with half-finished pieces because you and that silver tongue of yours.”

“You’ve never complained about it before.” Azriel plops onto your bed face down, arms curling under the same pillow he was burying his face in. “Why don’t we do this in your room more often? I’m sure sitting for hours will be much more bearable with the smell of you surrounding me.”

“We stopped doing that because you kept falling asleep.” You’re not even facing him, bare feet smacking against the hardwood floors as you dragged over a chair and the small side table beside it. The soft blue book you pull out is far more intricate than any of the others he’d seen you use before, a special set of charcoals were pullout and sharpened. Stained fingers smear at the page, giving a rough base to sketch upon and Azriel finds he falls in love with the messy ponytail you pull your hair into each time before you’d started.

Azriel made a little noise, humming into the comfort of your sheets after shrugging off his shorts; no underwear this time. Just endless miles of hard muscles and giant wings that settled into the soft fabric of your duvet. “Even better, I’m quite handsome when I sleep.”

“You snore.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Is it? Shall I ask Rhys to join us? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind poking around in my head to help confirm.”

It was a harmless taunt; one he probably still wouldn’t have laughed at even when you were just friends. But now—this. The late nights and early mornings laughing about nothing, fingers smeared in whatever medium you’d chosen to use that time. Sometimes it would lead to more; feverish mouths molding against one another, your fingers tracing at bare skin while Az’s greedy hands tug off your clothes. Soft promises branded at your flesh each time your bodies connected, shadows in a frenzy, touching the places his hands couldn’t get to but he swallows every moan, every blissed out whimper until he was full off you and the air you breathed.

Other times were softer, two friends bonding over something they didn’t have to share with others. A reprieve from expectations; a place where Azriel bared his body and allowed another to find a beauty in him he had yet to see. “You wouldn’t dare—you’d get too jealous having someone else looking at me the way you do.”

“Maybe, I’ll just think of a different memory; of me before a mirror with my hands between my thighs.”

It’s too easy to push the right buttons; amber irises peering at you over the plush pillow beneath him, wide shoulders tense and body half covered by the sheets. “That’s not funny.”

You’re already sketching the outlines of the bed frame, the mattress and the crinkled pillows. Rough outlines of a figure beginning to form before your very eyes as you continued, fresh linen sheets, a thick duvet that smelled of you bunched low at Azriel’s waist. “I wasn’t laughing.” He shifts in bed, hair messy and gaze darkening when taking you in; giving you time to change your words. “You moved.”

“Take it back.”

“Why?” You poke harder, amused grin plastered on your face. “You jealous?”

To your surprise, Azriel nods; just once but it’s enough to have your stomach doing flips. “I don’t like the thought of someone else seeing you like that—someone that’s not me.”

The movement doesn’t alter the direction of the sketch too much and the way he rests on his side, upper body propped up by one strong arm while the other rested over his stomach and he’s not as awkward with his hands anymore—allowing them to just be. You don’t dare look in his eyes, fearful of the secrets he’d lure out of you and you linger around areas that have already been completed. The strong lines of his waist, the dark trail of hair, the muscles of his abdomen that seems to flex slightly when your stare lasts a beat too long. “That your way of telling me not to be seeing other people?”

“Have you been seeing other people?”

You try to ignore the fire that burns in your belly at the jealously he openly displays and your hand pulls away from the paper, a brow raised in question. “Have you?”

It’s difficult to maintain eye contact under the intensity of such a rich gold and you’re fairly certain he can hear the way your heart thuds in your chest. This was the closest either of you had gotten to verifying what it was you were doing and suddenly the warmth from the fire is entirely too much. A finger hooks under the neckline of your shirt, tugging gently in a motion that Azriel doesn’t miss, tongue darting out to wet his lip. “I think we both know the answer to that.”

True.

It wasn’t like he had the time to juggle another woman between all of his responsibilities and spending every spare second sneaking off into whatever room was empty for a few minutes of skin on skin, mouth to mouth and tongue sliding over tongue. “Maybe, I want to hear you say it.” It comes out a little shy, head tilting to the side to rest against your hand and shadows twist up your ankle, around your calf and over your knees. They stop at your thighs, the cool sensation almost resembling the pressure of hands when they tease at the hem of your sleep shorts. “Az—“

“You have to hear the words?” The shadowsingers voice goes devastatingly low, unbearably taunting; luring you in and daring you to bite. Play with me. His shadows seem to croon, tracing letters in your skin too gentle for you to decipher but the heated stare greedily feasting on your reactions is a big enough clue. “Can you not feel it in how I touch you? How I handle you?” The cool pressure creeps past the silk of your shorts, fleeting touches grazing spots that needed more before they dart off to the next. “Is it not clear when I look at you?”

“Azriel—“ It comes out breathless, bones melting to nothing in the cushions of the couch. “The drawing.”

“Who’s stopping you, sweet thing?” The shadows do the work for him, raising the charcoal back in your grasp while the other extends out your sketchbook. “I’ll keep still while you finish.”

A double meaning in the best case.

No doubt, this was his payback for making him spill his load in your hand like some teenager still learning their bodies.

His shadows are relentless, memorizing every curve and branding their touch in their wake. Focusing is near impossible, hands shaky and breathing choppy when forcing yourself to relax; to continue drawing the tortuously beautiful body before you. Az smirks when you pause, throat bobbing with a swallow when you feel the cool caress graze your chest, teasing over peaked nipples. You can feel him following your every move, every drag of pencil to paper; a few of the lines are less than neat but you can’t find it in you to care when Azriel’s attention on you is so addictive. “Can you feel it now?”

“I’ve always felt it, Az.” There’s such vulnerability laced in your tone, eyes trained on your paper; copying the furrow of his brow, the straight line of his nose, the plush of his mouth. “Just need to hear you say it.”

There’s a brief pause; enough time to sign the page and neatly put your utensils away but instead of tearing the page free like usual, you shut the baby blue book and tie it tight. “I want you,” He confesses when you stand, your back is to him and the words come out so quiet you barely hear it. Your body stills and your soft inhale of breath is encouragement enough for him to keep going. “—as more than just friends.”

A slow glance over your shoulder, book still in your grasp and now you’re definitely sure he can hear your heartbeat—everyone in the whole damn city probably could. “Yeah?”

He nods, a smile creeping in the corner of full lips at the way you’re looking at him and Azriel shifts to make room when you move closer, hands and knees sinking into the mattress when you sit yourself on top of him. “I want to kiss you in front of people,” Warm palms dips under your shirt, strong hands gripping at your sides with the most perfect pressure when explores the shape of you. Az lets a pleased sound rumble in his chest at the way you fall into him, allowing him access to a body he’d laid claim to long before he’d ever even touched you. “And have a cheesy picture of your face hanging up behind me in my office.” A blush fans, soft laughter filling the room but inside your screaming; on top of the world with no plan on how to get down. “Just want you. Only you.”

His hands keep trailing higher, pausing at the curve of your breasts and his pupils go wide when you grind down on him, pulling the shirt clean off and throwing it somewhere behind you. “Then have me, I’m yours. Only yours.”

[ponderingmoonlight]

Quiet mornings with Shigure Sohma

Pairing: Shigure x reader

Word Count: 1,4k

Synopsis: While you're surrounded by mess and trouble all day, you can't help but enjoy those mornings with none other than Shigure.

Warnings: the fic no one asked for, I fell for fruits basket so hard that you guys are forced to read my trash now hehe, fluff over fluff

The weather outside is soft today. Not warm, not cold, just enough of something in-between to make the morning feel cozy. You’re sitting cross-legged on the floor like you always do, sunlight pooling across your lap, your hands holding a ceramic mug of tea. The house feels quiet with all the kids gone, without Tohru’s soft voice and the boys fighting over nonsense. But that peace, you know, is an illusion. Or, at the very least, a temporary state.

Because Shigure Soma is never quiet for long.

Right on cue, there’s a shuffle of feet against the floorboards, and then his voice - a melodious hum that could belong to someone much less chaotic.

“My darling,” he calls, the sing-song lilt of his tone already filled with teasing.

“How rude of you to start your morning without me. My feelings are positively shattered!”

You tilt your head just enough to see him standing in the doorway, one hand pressed theatrically to his chest as though wounded. His yukata is draped carelessly over his shoulders, the belt knotted loosely at his waist. His hair is a little messy, and he hasn’t yet shaved the faint stubble on his jaw. But the sight of him - rumpled, relaxed, utterly himself -makes warmth bloom in your chest anyway.

“Shigure,” you say with an exasperated smile, “it’s past ten. I’m not going to wait forever for you to wake up.”

He gasps as though you’ve just insulted his ancestors.

“Ah, how cold-hearted my sweet muse is! If you loved me, surely you’d have brought me breakfast in bed-”

“I made tea,” you interrupt, raising your mug pointedly.

“And there’s toast in the kitchen. If you want anything else, you’re on your own.”

He pouts, but there’s a glint in his eyes that tells you he’s not offended in the slightest. He never is, really. Shigure’s ego might be gigantic, but it’s not fragile. If anything, he seems to flourish on your chit-chat, your little refusals lightening up his mood even more. It’s a dance the two of you have perfected, a rhythm of soft blows and exaggerated reactions that always ends in laughter.

Shigure pads across the room and lowers himself to sit beside you, far closer than necessary. You feel the brush of his knee against yours, the gentle press of his arm as he leans in, peering at your face with open curiosity.

“And what, pray tell, are you thinking about so deeply, hmm? You’ve got that faraway look again.”

His voice is quieter now, softer. You don’t miss the way his eyes linger on you, their usual playfulness tempered by something more genuine.

You hesitate, caught off-guard.

“I’m not… really thinking about anything,” you reply, though it’s not entirely true.

There’s always something brewing in your mind: a stray memory, a half-formed plan, the ever-present hum of life’s what-ifs. How are you supposed to enjoy the present with the past and future weighing down on you this heavily? But explaining those things feels impossible, so you simply shrug.

“Just enjoying the quiet, I guess.”

Shigure hums thoughtfully, tilting his head as if to examine you from a different angle. His dark eyes are warm, patient, even as his lips twitch with the beginnings of another grin.

“Ah, yes. You’ve been enchanted by my humble house. It’s no wonder you’ve fallen for me so completely.”

You roll your eyes while taking a brief look at the destroyed shoji, don’t bother moving away when he rests his head against your shoulder. His hair tickles your cheek, and you can smell the faint trace of his shampoo. Definitely something light and floral. Did he use yours again?

“You’re insufferable,” you murmur, but there’s no real bite in your words.

Your free hand comes up almost instinctively to comb through his hair, smoothing out some of the more unruly strands. He hums again, this time in obvious ease.

“You’re so good to me. “Really, I don’t deserve such a kind, gentle soul.”

You snort, flicking his ear lightly.

“That’s the first truthful thing you’ve said all morning.”

Shigure doesn’t respond right away, but you feel him shift, his weight settling more fully against your side. It’s a little unbalanced, but you don’t mind. His presence is warm, comforting against the sometimes harsh reality. And though he’s quiet now, you can sense the wheels turning in his head, the way his mind is always spinning with something - mischief, poetry, or the occasional genuine thought he’ll tuck away for safekeeping.

It’s in moments like this that you’re reminded of the duality of Shigure Sohma. He’s a mystery wrapped in jokes and half-truths, a man who wears his whimsy like armor but lets it slip when he’s close enough to trust. And though he can be infuriating, there’s a softness to him as well, a tenderness that he rarely shows but always carries.

“I like this,” he comments suddenly, his voice low enough that you almost miss it.

He doesn’t move, doesn’t look at you, but you can feel the weight of his words settle in the space between you.

“Like what?” you ask quietly.

“This.”

He gestures vaguely, his hand brushing yours where it rests on the floor.

“The mornings with you. The quiet. The way you let me bother you without pushing me away.”

There’s a smile in his tone while his breath caresses your skin gently, but it’s faint, almost self-conscious.

You blink, taken aback. Shigure is rarely so direct, so open. When was the last time he talked this seriously with you, let alone with his voice this muted? You don’t quite know what to say, but you feel something shift in your chest, a fluttering warmth, soft and fragile.

“I like it too,” you admit, your voice barely above a whisper.

“Even when you’re being a nuisance.”

That earns you a chuckle, low and rich. Shigure lifts his head to look at you, his eyes crinkling at the corners in a way that makes him look far younger, far happier. He doesn’t say anything, but his gaze lingers, warm and steady, as though committing you to memory.

For a moment, the two of you simply sit there, the world fading into the background. The sunlight shifts, casting patterns across the floorboards, and the faint scent of tea and spring air fills the room. It’s the kind of moment that feels fragile, like it could shatter if you so much as breathe too loudly. You can’t help but allow your eyes to rest for a moment, to take in the calmness of the moment.

But then Shigure sighs dramatically, breaking the spell.

“Ah, I suppose I’ll have to go hunt for food if I want to survive this cruel, neglectful treatment.”

You laugh, the sound light and unrestrained.

“There’s toast in the kitchen. You’re so dramatic”, you remind him again, shaking your head.

“And yet you adore me,” he remarks, pushing himself to his feet with exaggerated effort.

He stretches, his yukata slipping slightly from one shoulder, and you catch the briefest glimpse of his collarbone before he adjusts it. A man looking this good with that cheeky mouth…How is your stay here supposed to end in a good way?

“Maybe I do,” you reply without thinking.

The words slip out way too easily, carried by the warmth in your chest and the sight in front of you.

Shigure freezes, his hand halfway to his hair. For a moment, you think you’ve gone too far, that you’ve somehow crossed an invisible line. Does he feel uncomfortable, insulted even? But then he turns, his expression unreadable, and you feel your breath catch.

“Careful, my dear,” he murmurs, his voice low and almost teasing.

There’s a flicker of something else in his eyes. something softer, more vulnerable. Something you’ve never caught before in his gaze. For a moment, time seems to stand still, your breath gets stuck in your throat.

“I might just take you seriously.”

You hold his gaze, the words lingering in the air between you. And though your heart is racing, you manage a small, steady smile.

“Maybe you should.”

[gallusrostromegalus]

So could it be said that Seiretei is Yamamoto sneaking his unionizing underneath the nobles' noses, if I understand correctly what he pulled, by getting all the psychics signed up to have food and wages and some sort of job security?

That is *EXACTLY* what he's doing.

Well, its the extremely sexy and cunning plan his Wife Tsubaki came up with but fortunately for him she thinks it's equally hot shit when he's a huge fucking problem for the Bourgeoisie on her behalf.

After she leaves him, his plans aren't quite as... subtle, but the willingness to be a huge asshole for the benefit of future generations remains, and what he can't get my subtle manipulation or cunning tactics he's more than willing to achieve with strategic use of extreme violence.

His first few years trying to manage Zaraki are... Difficult. Yamamoto often muses on the old curse of teachers that one should suffer a student just like yourself, as he struggles with another catastrophic asshole who unfortunately has the physical chops and social skills to back his bullshit up. The Giant Bastard's monstrous Reiatsu is it's own problem but unfortunately Zaraki is also in possession of a startlingly cunning mind, a long memory and a fiendish sense of humor. Tsubaki's influence on the lad became clear in the first captain's meeting when Zaraki dog-walked him through naming specific statutes until he had to admit defeat and let him restock the 11th with every freak and monster in the Rukongai.

...a week after The Calamity In Hiroshima though, Yamamoto realizes that A Giant Bastard is *exactly* what he needs.

It's midnight when he arrives at the 11th Division to 'have a little walk' with Zaraki.

It's 1:04 AM when he gets over to the 4th Division where the man actually is.

As the Giant Bastard is redressing (and Unohana is indicating via Very Pointed Eye Contact that there will be Consequences (TM) for this interruption) Yamamoto explains he needs Zaraki to come with him on a trip to "A Place several people who legally I do not know the names of- much less their professions! are gathering in secret. They have tremendous sway in the governing of Soul Society, and somehow they have gotten ahold of a Schematic for The Device. I think it only appropriate that they be reassured that the construction of such a device should not even be considered, as there is More Than Enough Destructive Power between the two of us, isn't there?"

Zaraki peered down at him with the one functioning eyeball (and the malfunctioning one too, if the prickling in Yamamoto's thumbs was anything to go by) for a minute and he worried he might have to try again with smaller words when Zaraki grinned in comprehension.

"I get it now!" He laughed, patting Yamamoto's shoulder and the old man sighed with relief.

"-Gotta say, it was kinda buggin' me, but now I see what Madame Tsubaki saw in ya!" he laughed, and Yamamoto realized several decades too late that Zaraki's former Employer and his own Ex-wife were one in the same.

"C'mon Grandpa, show me whose head needs knocking into the outer districts."

[buckets-and-trees]

A thot!

Curtis, with his face buried in the crook of your neck, his humid breath panting against your skin as he cums with a groan and frantically pumps you full of his cream.

Okay, bye! 👋🏻😘

I don't thin you intended to poke my muse specifically for our lake Creature Curtis, but I don't think you will complain about it either. 😏Just know that this has been growing in my head for a few weeks now...

Never Going Back Again Characters/Pairings: Bolotnik!Curtis x curvy!Reader Word Count: 3.7k Summary: One night near the lake has changed everything.

Content/Warnings: explicit smut - oral (female receiving), vaginal fingering, vaginal intercourse, breeding; breeding kink; Curtis's tail; teratophilia/monster fucking; size kink

Notes: This is a follow up piece to this ask about a lake monster CE character, but you could theoretically read this on its own. This is also another piece in my Countdown to Chris-mas collection.

↠ Main Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

When you were small, you and your sister had sat up late so many nights curled up in the window seat of the small bedroom you shared, and looked out over the trees out to the shores of the seemingly infinite lake. Sometimes you could see pockets of water glowing out across the wide, blue darkness. Sometimes there were dancing lights along the shore. The lake was integral to your town’s way of life, providing fish, connecting you through trade to other towns and countries, and nourishing the plant life along its edges. 

As a child, those nights in the window had been frequent, both of you enchanted with the water and with the sky of stars and the moonlight. You had never given up the practice entirely, but as you’d both grown, sleeping hours had grown more appreciated. 

But now you sat up again far too late every night looking out over the water. 

Where he came from. 

There were old stories told about creatures in the mountains, in the forest, in the lake, under the bed, in the closet, living in the attic… too many cautionary tales told keep children in line and to grow up wisely. 

But now that you knew there was at least one man from the lake, you wondered how much of at least his folklore was true, and how much more you didn’t yet know. 

And, most importantly, how much would affect you.

Because you had been enormously affected by him already.

Foolishly lured away from the safety of others along the shoreline, snatched by a bolotnik, your virginity not only taken, but your body used, ruined, and exploited for pleasure all night. For by the end of it all, you could not deny you had succumbed to the pleasure he wrought from you, even though he was still terrifying.

And so you watched each night from your window, unsure what to do.

You couldn't shake the memory of his touch, the way he had made you feel things you'd never imagined. Each night as you gazed out at the dark waters, a part of you hoped to see those mesmerizing lights dancing on the surface again.

But weeks passed with no sign of him. You began to wonder if it had all been some fevered dream. Yet your body remembered - the soreness between your legs, the marks on your skin that had slowly faded. And there was something else, a change you couldn't quite place.

Your courses didn't come. Panic rose in your throat when you realized what that likely meant. But there was a chance his seed hadn’t taken. Your bleeding had come late or not come at all before. And it had taken your sister a fair amount of time until she had born her first child while diligently trying with her husband.

Still, you placed a hand on your belly, wondering if there was new life growing inside you. The child of a monster. Your child.

Though it was the water your eyes relentlessly looked to, a flash of movement in the trees drew your gaze. Heart pounding, you peered at the edge of the forest near your family’s home. For a long moment, nothing stirred. Then you saw it - movement among the underbrush.

A shadow detached itself from the trees, moving with an unnatural grace. Your breath caught in your throat as you recognized the hulking form of Curtis. He emerged into a patch of moonlight, his scales glinting, eyes fixed on your window.

Your heart raced. For a moment, you froze, unsure what to do. Part of you wanted to flee, to wake your family and raise the alarm. But another part, a part you were ashamed to acknowledge, felt a thrill of excitement at seeing him again.

Before you could decide, he was striding forward, pausing only for a moment at the edge of your family’s property, those eerie, impossibly bright, blue eyes fixed on your window. Then he continued forward. Even from a distance, you could see the way his muscles rippled as he moved. His tail swished behind him, hypnotic in its motion.

Your breath caught in your throat as the creature approached your home. Every instinct screamed at you to run, to hide, to call for help. But you remained frozen, transfixed by his otherworldly presence.

In mere moments, he had scaled the side of your house with inhuman agility. His clawed hands gripped the windowsill as he peered inside, those piercing blue eyes locking onto yours.

Without him prompting you, you pushed the window open.

A slow, predatory smile spread across his face.

"Did you miss me, little one?" he purred, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down your spine.

You almost balked at the term because anyone is little compared to him, but you couldn't find your voice to respond even if you'd wanted in that instant. Your body trembled, caught between fear and a shameful excitement.

With fluid grace, he slipped through the window and past you into your room. He towered over you, his massive form larger than you remembered. The cool night air raised goosebumps on your skin, but it was the intensity of his gaze that made you shiver. You could smell the scent of lake water and earth on his skin.

He reached out, his clawed hand gently cupping your cheek. You flinched at first, but then found yourself leaning into his touch. His skin was cool and slightly damp, reminding you of the lake's waters.

"You've been watching for me," he said, his voice a low rumble. It wasn't a question. "I've seen you at your window night after night."

You nodded, unable to deny it. "I... I wasn't sure if you'd come back," you whispered.

His thumb traced your lower lip, sending a shiver through you. "I told you I would return for what's mine," he said.

His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply, and a knowing smile curved his lips. His gaze dropped to your belly. "And it seems I've left more than just memories with you."

Your hand instinctively went to your stomach. "How can you know?" you asked, your voice barely above a whisper.

His chuckle was low and dark. "I can smell the changes in you, little one. Your scent is sweeter now, ripe with new life."

Your breath caught in your throat. So it was true. The suspicion you'd been harboring was confirmed by this creature who could somehow sense what your own body had only begun to whisper.

His hand drifted down to rest on your belly, his touch surprisingly gentle, brushing over your hand.

“Do you have a name?” you asked tentatively.

He smiled, a mixture of amusement and appreciation in his eyes. "Curtis," he replied. "Though I'm surprised you care to know it."

You swallowed hard, unsure how to respond. Part of you was still terrified, but another part was drawn to him, fascinated by this otherworldly creature who had claimed you so thoroughly.

"Curtis," you repeated softly, tasting the name on your tongue. It seemed too ordinary for such an extraordinary being.

His hand moved from your belly to your waist, pulling up from your seat and drawing you close. "And what shall I call you, my sweet human?"

You hesitated, then whispered your name.

"Beautiful," he murmured, leaning down to nuzzle your neck. His breath was cool against your skin, making you shiver. "It suits you."

You gasped as his lips brushed your throat, your body responding to his touch. Your breath hitched as Curtis's lips trailed along your neck, his sharp teeth grazing your sensitive skin. A whimper escaped you, torn between fear and desire.

"Shh," he soothed, his large hand cradling the back of your head. "We don't want to wake your family, do we?"

The reminder of where you were, of the danger, sent a jolt through you. You tried to pull away, but his grip was firm.

"Curtis," you whispered urgently, "we can't - not here."

He chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest. "Oh? And where would you suggest, little one? Back to the lakeshore?"

The memory of that night flooded your senses - the cool grass and earth beneath you, the scent of the water, the overwhelming pleasure. You shuddered, heat pooling low in your belly.

He nipped gently at your earlobe.

"I've thought of you every day since our night together," Curtis murmured, his voice low and husky. "The taste of your skin, the sound of your cries... and if I hadn’t found you with child, I was determined to attempt to breed you again, little one."

You trembled in his arms, torn between fear and a growing desire. His massive form dwarfed you, reminding you of his inhuman strength. Your resolve weakened as Curtis's hands roamed your body, igniting sparks of pleasure wherever he touched. You knew you should resist, should cry out for help, but the words died in your throat. Instead, a soft moan escaped your lips as his fingers traced the curve of your breast through your thin nightgown.

"That's it," he purred, encouraged by your response. "Let yourself feel, little one. Your body remembers the pleasure I gave you."

And it did. Your skin tingled with anticipation, your core aching with need. You pressed closer to him, inhaling his scent of lake water and earth. His tail wrapped around your waist, pulling you flush against him.

"Curtis," you breathed, your hands tentatively exploring the planes of his muscled chest. "We shouldn't…"

But even as you protested, your body betrayed you. Your nipples hardened as he insistently brushed his thumbs back and forth over each tender nub.

"Please," you whimpered, though you weren't sure if you were begging him to stop or continue.

Curtis lifted you effortlessly, carrying you to your bed. He laid you down, then stepped back to shuck off his meager clothing - only a white shirt and dark pants. In the dim moonlight filtering through the window, his scales glimmered, casting otherworldly patterns across your skin as he loomed over you.

He settled onto the bed, slowly crawling over you. "Hush now," he murmured, a clawed finger tracing your lips. "I'll make you feel good, just as I did before."

Your nightgown was pushed up, exposing your bare skin to the cool night air. Curtis's hands roamed your body, reacquainting himself with every curve and dip. You bit your lip to stifle a moan as his fingers found your most sensitive areas.

"So responsive," he purred, his tail caressing your inner thigh. "Your body remembers me well."

You arched into his touch, shame and desire warring within you. You trembled, both from fear and anticipation, as the cool night air kissed your exposed skin. Curtis's eyes, gleaming in the darkness, roved hungrily over your bumps and curves.

"Gorgeous," he breathed, leaning down to press his lips to your stomach. "My child grows here."

You gasped as his tongue, longer and more dexterous than any human's, swirled around your navel. His hands gripped your thighs, spreading them wider as he settled between them. You could feel the heat of his breath against sex.

"Curtis," you whispered, your voice trembling. "We can't... my family..."

He looked up at you, his blue eyes glowing in the darkness. "Then you'll have to be very quiet, won't you, little one?"

Before you could protest further, his mouth was on you. His tongue, impossibly long and nimble, delved into your folds. You bit down on your fist to stifle a cry of pleasure. Curtis growled approvingly, the vibrations sending shockwaves through your core.

Your free hand tangled in the sheets. His tail slithered over your wrist, then wrapped around your thigh, holding you open for his ministrations. You writhed beneath him, struggling to stay quiet.

Curtis's tongue worked magic between your thighs, lapping and probing in ways that made your toes curl. You pressed your fist harder against your mouth, desperately trying to muffle your cries of pleasure. His tail tightened around your thigh, keeping you open as you squirmed beneath him.

"That's it," he murmured against your sensitive flesh. "Let go for me, little one."

Your hips bucked involuntarily as he sucked on your most sensitive bud. The pressure built inside you, a tidal wave threatening to crash over you at any moment. Curtis's fingers joined his tongue, stretching and filling you. The dual sensation was overwhelming.

"Curtis," you gasped, your voice barely above a whisper. "I can't... I can’t..."

“But you are,” he growled, the vibrations sending you over the edge. Your back arched off the bed as

Your back arched off the bed as pleasure exploded through you. Curtis's mouth stayed locked on your center, drawing out your climax until you were trembling and gasping for air. Only then did he lift his head, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

"Stunning," he murmured, crawling up your body. The scales along his torso rubbed against your sensitized skin, sending aftershocks through you. "But we're far from done, little one."

You felt the hard length of him pressing against your thigh, and a mix of fear and anticipation fluttered in your stomach, remembering how painful and then how pleasurable his thick member inside you had been. Curtis nuzzled your neck, inhaling deeply.

"Your scent is intoxicating," he growled. "Especially now, carrying my child."

His hand splayed possessively over your belly. You shivered, torn between the lingering pleasure and the reality of your situation. This creature - this man from the lake - had claimed you in ways you never imagined possible. And now he was here again, in your own bedroom, ready to take every piece of you once more.

Curtis's lips found yours in a searing kiss. His tongue invaded your mouth, tasting of you, of lake water, and something wild. You moaned softly against him, your body responding despite your lingering trepidation.

He pulled back, his blue eyes glowing in the darkness. "Turn over," he commanded softly.

Your heart raced as you obeyed, rolling onto your stomach. Curtis's hands gripped your hips, lifting them. You felt exposed, vulnerable in this position. His tail wrapped around your waist, steadying you.

"So beautiful," he murmured, his hands caressing your back, your sides, your bottom. You shivered at his touch, goosebumps rising on your skin.

You felt the blunt head of his member pressing against your entrance. Despite your earlier climax, you tensed, remembering the initial pain from your first encounter. Curtis sensed your apprehension and leaned over you, his chest pressed to your back.

"Relax, little one," he whispered in your ear. "Your body knows me now. It will welcome me."

Slowly, inexorably, he began to push inside. You bit down on your pillow to muffle your cries as he stretched you, filling you more completely than you thought possible. Your fingers clutched at the sheets, torn between the discomfort of the intrusion and the growing pleasure.

His hand slid between your legs, fingers circling your still-sensitive bud. You gasped, pushing back against him instinctively. Curtis took advantage of your movement, slowly pressing inside you.

The stretch was intense, but not painful as it had been before. Your body, as Curtis had promised, seemed to remember him, accommodating his impressive girth. You bit your lip to stifle a moan as he sank deeper.

"That's it," Curtis growled, his voice thick with pleasure.

Curtis's tail tightened around your waist as he seated himself fully within you. He stilled for a moment, allowing you to adjust to his size, filling you completely. His hands roamed your body, caressing and soothing.

"So tight," he murmured, his breath hot against your ear. "You feel exquisite, little one."

You whimpered softly, overwhelmed by the fullness, the stretch. Curtis began to move, slow, shallow thrusts that made you gasp. His hand slid from your hip to your belly, caressing the slight swell there.

"Mine," he growled possessively. "Both of you."

You whimpered softly as he continued to move in slow, deeper thrusts that sent waves of pleasure through your body. His tail unwound from your waist, the tip sliding between your legs to tease your sensitive bud.

"Curtis," you gasped, struggling to keep your voice down. "It's too much..."

But your body betrayed your words, pushing back to meet his thrusts. Curtis chuckled darkly, nipping at your shoulder.

"Your body knows what it wants, little one," he purred. "It craves me, just as I crave you."

His pace increased gradually, each thrust driving deeper. You buried your face in the pillow, muffling your cries of pleasure. The initial discomfort had faded, replaced by waves of sensation that threatened to overwhelm you.

Curtis's movements grew more insistent, his hips snapping against yours with increasing force. You clutched the sheets, struggling to stay quiet as waves of pleasure washed over you. His tail continued its teasing ministrations between your legs, the dual sensations driving you towards another peak.

"That's it," he growled, his voice rough with desire. "Let go for me again, little one. Show me how much you've missed this."

Your body obeyed, even as your mind reeled at the intensity of it all. The coil of tension in your core wound tighter and tighter until it finally snapped. You bit down hard on the pillow, muffling your cry of ecstasy as your second orgasm crashed over you.

Curtis groaned, his thrusts becoming erratic as your inner walls clenched around him. He buried his face in the crook of your neck, his breath hot and humid against your skin. His hips jerked erratically as he reached his peak. With a low, guttural groan that vibrated through your entire body, he climaxed. You felt his member pulsing inside you as he pumped you full of his seed.

Wave after wave crashed over him as he continued to thrust, each movement sending another surge of his essence deep within you. His tail coiled tightly around your thigh, holding you in place as he claimed you completely.

The warmth of his release spread through you, a stark contrast to his cool skin. You shuddered beneath him, overwhelmed by the intensity of the sensation and the knowledge of what was happening. The room filled with the scent of lake water, earth, and your combined arousal.

Curtis's teeth grazed your shoulder, not quite breaking the skin but leaving marks that would linger for days. His hands gripped your hips tightly as he rode out the last waves of his climax, determined to empty himself inside you. You trembled beneath him, your body still quivering with aftershocks.

Slowly, his grip loosened, and he eased himself out of you. You whimpered at the loss, feeling suddenly empty. Curtis gathered you in his arms, rolling onto his side and pulling you against his chest. His tail wrapped around your waist, holding you close.

"Beautiful," he murmured, nuzzling into your neck, the scratch of his beard making you shiver. "You were perfect, little one."

You lay there, catching your breath, your mind reeling from what had just transpired. You could feel the stickiness of some of your combined spend that had oozed out of your cunt hot between the top of your thighs. Curtis's hand splayed possessively over your belly, reminding you of the life growing within.

"What happens now?" you whispered, fear and uncertainty creeping back into your voice.

Curtis's arms tightened around you. "Now," he murmured, his lips brushing against your ear, "you come with me."

Your heart raced at his words. "What? I can't just leave, Curtis. My family, my life..."

He chuckled softly, the sound rumbling through his chest. "Your life is with me now, little one. You carry my child. You belong to the lake, to me."

You tried to pull away, but his grip was unyielding. "Please," you whispered, tears pricking at your eyes. "I'm not ready. I can't just disappear."

Curtis sighed, his breath cool against your neck. "I understand your hesitation," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle. "But you must understand, little one. Our child cannot be raised in the human world."

You trembled in his arms, torn between fear and a strange sense of longing. "I can't just leave. My family—"

"Will never understand," he finished for you. "They can't accept what you've become, what we've created together."

You closed your eyes, tears slipping down your cheeks. Part of you knew he was right - there was no way to explain your pregnancy, no way to raise a half-human, half-lake creature child in your village. But the thought of leaving everything you'd ever known was terrifying.

"Shh," he murmured. "I know it's frightening. But I will take care of you.”

“I’m not ready,” you cried softly. You weren’t ready to leave, you weren’t ready to carry his child, you weren’t ready for any of this.

Curtis's grip on you loosened slightly, though he didn't let go completely. His hand continued to caress your belly gently.

"I understand your fear," he murmured, his voice softer than you'd ever heard it. "This is all new to you. But you must understand, little one - our child cannot survive in your world. And you... you've been changed by our coupling. The lake calls to you now, doesn't it?"

You shivered, realizing the truth in his words. Ever since that first night, you'd felt drawn to the water in a way you never had before. The sight, the smell, the sound of it called to something deep within you.

"I... I need time," you whispered. "Please, Curtis. I can't just vanish without a trace. My family will worry."

He was quiet for a long moment, his tail tightening slightly around your waist before loosening as well.

“Curtis?” you prompted, worried as his silence drew on.

"Sleep now, little one," he finally murmured, his arms tightening around you once more. "Dawn will come soon enough."

But sleep didn't come easily. You lay there, hyper-aware of Curtis's presence behind you. His cool, slightly damp skin pressed against yours, his tail still wrapped loosely around your waist. The rise and fall of his chest against your back was steady, but you could tell from the tension in his body that he wasn't sleeping either.

The moonlight filtered through the window, casting eerie shadows across the room. Every creak of the house, every rustle of leaves outside, made you tense. You kept expecting someone to burst through the door, to discover you in the arms of this creature. But the night remained quiet, save for the gentle lapping of the lake's waves in the distance.

As the sky began to lighten, your eyelids grew heavy. Despite your racing thoughts, exhaustion finally overcame you.

When you awoke mere hours later, you were alone.

Well... a little surprise monster fucking for your Monday. HOPE THE HOES IN THIS HOUSE ENJOYED IT!

↠ Main Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

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[ddejavvu]

omg can you write a smutty and fluffy fic about reader discovering that aaron has tattoos under that suit of his and also could he drive a motorcycle 🤭 like imagine aaron having a helmet for her and teasing her on it and her grabbing his hips

Perhaps you're crossing an invisible line when you begin thumbing through the pages of a photo album that had been tucked away beneath Aaron's coffee table, but you're a nosy drunk, and he'd invited you to sit on his couch. It's his fault, really.

Emily peers disinterestedly over your shoulder, only paying attention because it's more entertaining than listening to Spencer talk Star Trek. You find baby pictures of Aaron, grainy photographs of a moderately chubby baby, and your giggle is heavily laden with booze.

After the fifth nondescript baby portrait Emily turns away, and only a few pages later, he's graduating high school. Something is unsettling about the way that his memories had so quickly switched from infant to adult, but his smile is dazzling under the weight of his cap and gown, so you let the uneasy feeling wash away in exchange for some belated pride.

"You're a snoop," Aaron observes, when he comes back from the bathroom to find you transfixed by his photo album. He smiles, his own demeanor loosened by liquor, "That was my graduation day."

"I know,' You gush, "I'm not that drunk."

He rolls his eyes at you, but a grin is firm in place over his lips.

Then you turn the page, and it's not Aaron anymore.

Oh, fuck, it is Aaron. Aaron with tattoos littering his toned torso, jeans hanging low on his hips, a cigarette in his hand and his legs straddling a motorcycle. He's polishing the body, pinning it between his knees to do so.

You hadn't realized your jaw dropped, but it did.

"Those were my teenage dirtbag years," Aaron recalls, with a snort that's a mixture of fondness and ridicule, "I thought I was some rebellious-" His brain falters, failing to provide him with the proper connection, and he falls short, "-Uh, rebel."

"Woah," Is all you can muster, tracing your fingers over the page wistfully. He laughs, and you blink up at him blearily, "Do you still have those?"

He quirks a teasing brow at you, "My tattoos? Well, they're kind of permanent. I thought you said you weren't that drunk?"

"You could have gotten them removed," You grouse, "So... do you?"

"Still have them?" He verifies, and when you nod, he bites back most of the force of his smile, "I do."

"Lemme see." You demand, before you can process that you're asking your boss to take his shirt off. His eyebrows raise, nearly merging with his hairline, and you stammer, "Not- like, I'm just curious, they're so... unlike you."

"I've changed a lot," He lets your slip of the tongue slide and you're grateful for it, "I'll show you one."

You watch with wide eyes - you're not aware that you're gawking at your boss, but you are - as he peels away the hem of his shirt from his skin, exposing black ink that you've never seen before tracking up his torso. It's on the left side of his stomach, near his groin: a pair of handcuffs.

"I was into some weird shit," He muses, tongue loose from the drinks he's had. You don't bother gaping at his unprofessionalism, you're stuck staring at the handcuffs.

"Twenty-year old me thought I was gonna be the one in handcuffs, not the one locking them on people," He laughs, and drops his shirt, covering the tattoo. "So, you have any wild teenage tattoos of your own?"

You're a changed woman. Twenty years ago your boss had been whorishly draped over a motorcycle, handcuffs tattooed above his pelvis. You finish the night out in a trance of absent-minded conversation, but it's less from the liquor and more from the stun of seeing Aaron's past self.

If your boss suddenly notices your eyes roving over the spot where his tattoo lies beneath his button-up from then on, he doesn't say a word.

[abibliophobiaa]

One word prompts are so hard for me cause they could go an infinite direction but what about the word Cherry with Steve?

don’t you call him ‘baby’

steve harrington x f!reader. angst with a happy ending. [2k]

——

There’s a cherry red stain on the edge of the grainy photo. The color of your favorite lipstick — the same color still on the collar of his old jean jacket. He'll never get rid of it, he’s decided long ago now. You’re smiling back at him, captured forever in this picture, the sunset behind you, a hand hiking up one side of your flowing dress, the fabric backlit by the orange sky, highlighting the curves of your silhouette. He doesn’t even need the photo to remember the way it feels for his hands to travel the pathway of your side, your hip, the contours of your thighs. And the memories of that day hit him like a freight train all the same, like it was only yesterday.

Your hand is in his as he peels away from the curb at Max and Lucas’ new place in California. Sun streaks across the sky still, his sunglasses perched high on his nose. He feels you squeeze him tighter, thumb stroking lovingly along his knuckles. He turns his head and captures your gaze, your mouth a firm line, eyes round and soft. Sad.

“You okay?” you ask, and he realizes that sadness is for him. Heart practically shatters at that, because you know him deeply — just as you’ve always known over the years without him ever uttering a word.

His lip wobbles, but he doesn’t cry, tries not to at least. Even so, you gather the tear that eventually streams down his face. Thumb it away so tenderly it’s like you’re trying to capture it — to encapsulate this moment. Max is gone, Lucas is starting a new career, Dustin is off to college with El, Will, and Mike. Robin’s getting married soon. And he’s peering at everyone through the window, wishing them well, watching them slip away with the passing of time.

Everything is changing, yet you remain, and though it aches to see his life changing so quickly and suddenly, you’re a constant. The thought alone has him leaning over at a red light and kissing you soundly on the lips, hands in your hair at the back of your head, his cheeks flaming hot when the light turns green and someone slams on the horn behind him.

“Let’s go somewhere,” you muse softly, a little to yourself, head against the doorframe, free hand twirling in the wind out the window, catching sunlight in the palm of your hand. “That sign says there’s a beach up ahead. I want to put my feet in the water.”

He smiles, squeezing your hand, thinking how he can’t wait to marry you one day. “Okay, honey.”

Soon enough you’re both running along the beach with your hands tangled together. You’re spinning. Twirling. Laughing as he turns you round and around on the beach, sand between your toes, sun kissing his skin, blissful words punctuated by lingering kisses. There’s a blanket strewn out nearby you brought along and laid out, shoes discarded, your newest book propped open on its front. Beside that is the camera he brought along for the trip, the same one he rushes away to grab, chest splitting in two at the wide smile that breaks along your face.

You’re perfect. Everything he could ever want and more in a person. Beautiful beyond whatever measure a camera could ever capture you within. The photo slides out and slowly develops. The same photo you hold pinched between your fingertips as you later drive back to your hotel, bringing your lips to the bare corner, leaving a cherry red stain behind.

“Give me your wallet,” you reach an arm out and he slaps the leather within, the picture sliding into an empty slot. “Now you’ll always have me with you.”

Such sweet words — if only you had known.

He’s not sure how it happened. How that one perfect day became a memory. He still remembers the feel of your warm skin after hours on the beach spent kicking up sand, dancing in the waves, falling into fits of laughter as you eventually fell back onto a blanket, hands tangled together as tightly knit as your hearts. Later you’d pulled him down against you in that hotel bed, blocked out the rest of the world, and relished the feel of two souls wound together like one. You whispered forever against his throat as he later curled you against his chest, with the sound of his heartbeat a promise to lull you into sleep.

But things changed. His anxiety after Vecna grew, he buried himself in a job he didn’t even want at his father’s company to run from it. Work became too much — distance between you grew, him on trips that drew him further and further away from Hawkins. He pushed you away, he knew it, you knew it, though neither wanted to admit it out loud. At first you fought about it, about how you wanted forever but forever couldn’t look like this if you wanted it to stand the test of time. And then the apartment grew silent. Screaming matches turned into quiet sobs before bed, when you thought he couldn’t hear you, but he did every time. The distance became a chasm, too far to broach.

Then you left. Packed your things one morning and chose yourself. He understood. Of course he did. Still it didn’t make anything better. Didn’t make his heart hurt any less.

Now he sits in the middle of your — his — bed staring at the photo of you. The box of things he kept of yours through the years stored beneath his bed, even after Eddie suggested he might want to put it away in a closet or something. It’s been six months, six months of not turning over every morning to find you already awake and propped up beside him, wanting the first thing he sees every morning to be your smiling face. Six months of wondering what you’re doing, wondering who you’re talking to, wondering if you’ve moved on.

He gets his answer that night.

Eddie’s shoving Steve along beside him. Clothes cling to sweaty bodies in the packed bar. Robin couldn’t make it, so the two decide on a ‘boy’s night out.’ They’ve not had one in a bit, since Chrissy’s just given birth to their first baby a couple months ago. But she practically pushes him out the door that night, promising her and their new son will be fine, that he deserves a fun night with his friend.

Only it’s far from fun. With July came the hottest weather Hawkins has seen all year. ‘A record breaking high,’ the news stations tout. All Steve knows is his jeans feel tighter than usual, his skirt is stuck to his sweaty back, and the woman he loves is standing at the bar with a man Steve doesn’t recognize.

“Don’t look,” Eddie warns, as though it’s not already too late. As if Steve’s not drawn to you like a magnet, even after all this time. “He could be a friend, or something.”

He could be. But the man is reaching over to rest a hand over your forearm, head bent low, eyes wide, and clearly engaged in whatever story you’re telling him. Steve’s not surprised. It’s one of his favorite things about you: this way you seem to captivate every room you walk into. Like he’s in your orbit, circling around you, pulled in close by your mere aura. Anyone who knows you loves you, he thinks — and they’re lucky for it. He’d been lucky for a time, too.

“Steve, stop torturing yourself,” Eddie says, giving his friend’s shoulder a little wiggle. “Here — let me go grab us some beers. I’ll be right back. Don’t do anything hasty.”

Steve shakes his head. What’s he going to do? Scream. Cry. Beg for you to come back. No — instead he watches. Feels his chest ache as you throw your head back in a laugh at something your date must say, hiding your smile against the lip of your glass, suddenly bashful when your eyes flicker up and clash with Steve’s. The drink in your hand falls and shatters and people rush to clean it up. Your date scrambles to find a stack of napkins, dabs at the front of your blouse, the gesture lost to you as you stay staring ahead, held in place by a ghost of your past.

Suddenly, like a light bulb flashing in your mind, you snap back to attention. He watches the bob of your throat on a swallow, the long rise and fall of your chest on your deep inhale and exhale, the forceful smile that curls your lips as you return your focus to your date.

The moment slips away as Eddie returns to the table, glasses in hand.

——

He’s not sure how he ends up here. Standing in your doorway, the ‘exit’ sign at the end of your hall flickering in the night. Your palm splays against the open door, mouth agape, eyes on his face, blinking frantically like you might think he’s an apparition.

“Please don’t tell me he’s your boyfriend.” Please don’t tell me you call him ‘baby.’ He hates himself for the tears that glimmer like pools in his eyes, hates as you reach up to cover his cheek when the first spills down his skin. “Damn it — I had a whole speech and I —” His voice breaks, throat closing around his words. You’re on your toes, face in his collar bone, clinging to him like he’s the very thing keeping you afloat at sea. “I quit my job, I started therapy, I’m not saying it excuses anything but —”

“Come with me,” you whisper, dropping back onto your heels, pajama shorts ruffling around your thighs.

Heat blooms in his belly as your fingers knit with his, dragging you further into an unfamiliar apartment. It’s very you. All your favorite colors and things, movies strewn about the living room floor, the grainy static humming on a television screen. A pot of half-eaten macaroni is left on a stove top, a plant on your kitchen table, books on a little shelf on a corner leading to a hallway. Lived in.

“Sit on the bed,” you demand as he slips inside your bedroom.

The blankets are messy, like you’ve risen from a nap recently. A stuffed animal he won you at a carnival rests beside your pillow, well-loved, as the fur is no longer as fluffy as it once had been. He watches stiffly as you reach down beneath your bed and pull out a shoebox. In your lipstick, you’ve written “Us” and decorated the top of the box with dozens of little stickers accumulated over the years. In awe, his gaze trails your hands as they pluck item after item collected throughout the years together. That first Scoops Ahoy napkin where he wrote his phone number down, that strip of photos at the photo booth at a carnival, your plush toy between your bodies as he kissed you that first time, a shirt of his from high school days that still smelled like him when you breathed deep enough, the little stack of Polaroids with all your memories scattered within. Early dates, holidays, Valentine’s Day, trips out of town with Robin, photos with the kids. Memories frozen in time of a life that feels so long ago — a life he still craves more than anything.

“I never got rid of them,” you mutter thoughtfully, holding up a photo of him napping on a lawn chair at his parent’s house, skin tanned, chest bare, marker scribbles by the kids on his face in the shape of glasses. “He’s not my boyfriend. I haven’t dated anyone since…”

“Me neither,” he swallows, inhaling sharply as your forehead rests against his. “I know I can’t…I know I messed up and I can’t take that back. But you deserve the world and I want it to be with me.”

“You’re going to give me the world, Harrington?” You tease, and he can almost hear the laughter in your voice as you reach down between the two of you to shove the memory box aside.

“If you’ll let me.”

“You have a lot of groveling to do,” you murmur, and he can feel your lips brush his, just a whisper, softly enough he wonders if he’s dreaming, “starting with this.”

He kisses you. One for every day he’s gone without. Until you’re falling onto your back and gazing up at him with stars in your eyes, fingers trailing his bare chest, lingering along the heart that thumps wildly beneath, singing of a forever.

——

[ask-the-anomalous-linguist]

Ash: 💖- A memory that made them feel special

[Ash smiles.]

Ash: "The winter after I was...contained...my older brother invited me t' spend the holidays with him and his family. It was nice. ...Hah. I bought an outfit 'round that time, too. I think Bell liked it."

From this ask meme

[xetlynn]

an artists muse- a viktor fic.

nine.

[eight] [nine] [ten]

a string tied in a knot, how to loosen it…

And as the professor concludes the lesson both of your hearts were racing. You were just having a worse time hiding it. The food you ate last night was threatening to come up and you hoped it would wait until at least after this conversation with Viktor. 

He stands abruptly, turning to glance at you and motions with his head for you to follow. You let out a small breath but do so. He doesn’t speak, doesn’t utter a single word as he leads the way out of the science building. You don’t question where he’s going either. Waiting to speak until he does first. You didn’t have the right to speak first. 

“I woke up late, didn’t get coffee this morning.” He mutters out, all you do is nod your head in response even though he wasn’t peering your way. He didn’t really care if you said something anyways. 

This tension couldn’t even be cut through with a knife. It was boiling over to a point of no return. You wanted to yank out every hair in your head because of it too. He opens the cafe door, that familiar bell toning. He lets you in first, quietly you thank him. He grunts lowly before heading to the counter to order his drink. You just sit yourself down at your guys- Viktor’s normal spot. Your knee is bouncing 100 miles per hour. 

Your eyes were locked on the booth seat before you. Zoning out, your mind was running but it also felt empty and blank. You felt your phone buzzing in your hoodie pocket, you were supposed to be meeting Powder and the three boys at the cafe. You’d have to apologize afterwards… 

Then an iced coffee is placed in front of you as Viktor sits down, letting out a huff. His cane rested against the table. Your eyes avoid his. You now gaze at the iced coffee and you feel like crying.

Memories of the phone call from high school hit the both of you. The pleads that left your mouth swirling inside Viktor’s head. Viktor’s voice cracks and disappointment with you is all that repeated within your own. 

“Why’d you hide it? That you knew? Was that the whole point of becoming my friend?” And like your memories that spiraled, his voice cracks and you wince at the sound. “I didn’t know,” You rasp out. “Not until last week. Found out on Friday.” It was the truth but he can’t seem to trust your words. “You came to my place and knew?” He glares at your iced coffee since he can’t seem to find it in himself to actually look at you. 

“I- Yes.” You bow your head in shame. “Were you planning on keeping it from me?” He questions, begging that you say no. 

“Yes, just until the semester was over. Then I was never going to bother you again. After this project I was going to start distancing myself so you wouldn’t have to relive what I did to you. Remind yourself of what I did.” Tears welded in your eyes but you blink them away. You didn’t deserve to cry. Not in front of him. 

He was taken back by your plan. He didn’t know how to process it. His mouth grew dry. “Maddie came to me. Said it was all her. What I don’t understand is why you told her such personal things.” He clutches his chest. Your purse out your lips. “I vented to her once about your… personal stuff. I was worked up because you had just told me about something your mother had said. I wanted to help you and didn’t know how. It all slipped out. Which is not an excuse. And truly you shouldn’t forgive me. Just know I’m sorry. There’s not one day where I don’t think about it.” You explain to him, sneaking small glances up at him as you speak. Only towards the end did he actually do the same. 

It sucked. Knowing that after all this time you were truly remorseful and by the state of you in this moment he knows you're telling the truth. That as he thought you didn’t actually give a shit, you really do. Was he the asshole for blocking you? No. He was hurting, he thought he was betrayed. Even you understand that. 

“I forgive you, [Name]. But I just… I can’t forget that. You know?” His eyes meet yours and you nod your head solemnly. “I understand.” You whisper. “It might be best if we do the rest of the project separately. I’ll email you the slideshow so you can do your six. I’ll print out the papers for the board.” He then gets up from the booth.

 He hovers over you, waiting for your reply. “Sounds good.” You give him a heavily forced smile with a thumbs up. As he grabs his cane you watch his leg slightly give out from underneath him. Your hands reach out just in case but he ignores it. Continuing on his way out of the cafe. Leaving you there. 

You look back to the iced coffee. “Fuck.” You choke out, snatching it up as you pry yourself up from the spot. Throwing away the caffeinated beverage without a second thought. And as you walk out, it begins to sprinkle. Water trickled down from the sky. And you didn’t have Viktor this time. Holding an umbrella for you. 

“[Name], what the hell?” A voice pierces your ears as you lay in your bed. Your eyes boredly stuck on the wall before you. You give a small hum. Not tearing away from the cream colored blocks. “You ditched on us?” Powder asks, yanking your blankets off of you. You were unphased though. Just laying limp. “Sorry.” You murmur. 

“We were worried about you, dude? What the hell happened?” She shakes your body fervently but again you give nothing. “Said I was sorry, Powder. Leave me alone.” You grab your covers and throw them back over you. 

Your best friend gives you a dirty look, silently staring at you. 

You think she’s given up until you feel her body weight on top of you. “Powder get off.” You try shoving her but she doesn’t budge. “No, not until you tell me what happened.” She says, you continue pushing and thrashing underneath her. “Powder, please!” You yell out desperately. She shoots up to her knees, off of you. 

“Woah, [Name]... What’s going on?” Her face falls at the sight of you as your chest heaves up and down. Your cheeks stained with tears and your eyes puffy. “I-” Tears stream, you couldn’t hold it in anymore. 

You felt pathetic. It’s like this is all you can do lately. Cry and have panic attacks. 

“Viktor is my online friend. From high school. The one that ended badly. And he found out” You dryly laugh, sniffling at the same time. “He said he forgives me… but we now have to do our project separately. So, don’t think we’re friends anymore.” You click your tongue, taking a deep breath. 

“I’m sorry.” Powder frowns deeply, hating that this is eating up at you like this. You wave a hand. “It’s fine, Pow. I’m sorry I didn’t let you guys know where I was.” You apologize, picking up your phone to see the millions upon millions of notifications from them. “It’s okay, the boys are actually out in the hall. Let’s go get food and get this off your mind for a little bit.” She climbs off your bed, sticking a hand out to you for you to take. 

You think about it for a moment before biting the bullet and taking her hand. Sliding off the bed as well. “Please don’t tell them anything.” You say before she opens the door. “Of course.” She smiles, and the two of you walk out to the three boys instantaneously bombarding you with questions. Claggor lifting you into a tight hug. 

“Where’d you go, girl?” He asks and you laugh. “Sorry! Got caught up in class!” You squeal out. “Man, tell me about it.” Mylo chimes in, and you’re placed back down on the ground. 

They heard everything. You crying. All of it. But they know when to shut their mouth. So they don’t say a thing. They crack jokes and distract you from the pain you’re clearly dealing with. 

“Viktorrr!!!” Jayce and Vi sing out as they enter his dorm. He was hunched over his desk, focused on the project for Bio. Trying not to focus on the pain that is not only in his chest but his leg. Ever since he left the cafe it’s been brutally tweaking out. “What do you two want?” Viktor groans, glaring up at them. 

“I told Vi about your whole… situation. We want to know if you talked to [Name].” Jayce shrugs his shoulders simply. Plopping down on the futon beside the desk. Vi standing with her arms crossed. “Yeah, I can't believe you know my sister’s best friend.”

“We talked, I forgave her. I left.” Viktor shrugs his shoulders. Vi goes to cheer but Jayce stops her. “What else, Vik?” He breathes out, knowing it’s not going to be good. “I told her that we should do our project separately.” He adds in, averting his best friend’s gaze. Vi scrunches her nose. “Why? Jayce said you were in love with her or something.” She questions the boy who’s eyes widen, shooting over to the tanned man who does a “what the fuck?” motion to Vi.

“I am not in love with her? Why would you say that? It hasn’t even been a month.” Viktor angrily exclaims. 

“Oh, come on! You know you are. And just because of one thing that happened in high school you’re going to ruin it?” Jayce was upset with his best friend’s stupidity. Viktor scoffs, shaking his head. “You don’t know wh-”

“Viktor! It was a mistake she made. A horrible one, yes but she was, what, 15 years old?” Jayce stands up, disbelieving how dense Viktor was acting. “Jayce,” Viktor warns. “No, no, you need to understand that you’re throwing away a good friendship because of a mistake that she clearly wants to fix.” He says, Vi awkwardly stands there. Not knowing what to do in this situation. 

“Jayce, shut the fuck up for a second!” Viktor bursts, standing up from his spot. His knee buckled and almost falling for the second time today. Jayce and Vi go to help him but he pushes them away. “Don’t.” He puts a finger up. 

“I understand it was a mistake. But it left me feeling like absolute shit for years. I couldn’t trust a single thing someone said for a year after that. I’m trying to process everything right now.” He defends himself, his hand gripping onto his chair. The piercing ache in his leg was beginning to throb. He needed to get them out of here. 

“If I tell you that I planned on talking to her again will you leave?” Viktor asks tiredly. “Yes, actually.” Jayce perks up. 

“Okay, leave then.” He points to the door. Vi furrows her eyebrows “When?” 

“Huh?” Viktor and Jayce look at her. “When do you plan on talking to her again?” Vi rolls her eyes at their stupidity. 

Viktor tenses up. “I don’t know.” 

“We’ll sit here until you do know then.” Jayce sits back down on the futon, getting comfortable. “Ughh!” Viktor groans, slamming himself in his seat. Tapping away on the laptop. Going back to ignoring the agony that’s in his leg. Along with now ignoring the two in the room as they talk his ear off. 

four more chaptersssssssssss taglist: if you want to be added lmk! @policedeer @im-just-a-simp-le-whore @confusedgemposts @ang3lz-lov3 @almostdrowningdown @corpsepies @obittwo @bakusquadobsessed @ren-ni @xx-siren-sings-xx

[sparrowmp4]

Disciple Yu Jing and her Shizun Lü Shang

Part 1 of putting dislyte characters in hanfus *rubs hands* watch out for Bi Tao next :p

Short wholesome story extra: (btw english isn’t my first language and I only write for fun!!)

Lü Shang sat on a weathered stone, holding a fishing rod loosely in his hands. The sun had risen on the horizon and slowly crept further across the lake surface until it reached the man.

This secluded and serene place was his sole refuge from the burdens of his memories. At times, it felt too quiet—quiet enough for the muddled pleas in the back of his mind to resurface. These voices were heavy, yet not heavy enough to sink to the depths of his consciousness.

The cries of his disciples echoed faintly, disturbing the tranquility of his rippleless mind. He has long given up on fishing out the ghosts of his past. They came unbidden, reminders of failure, yet he let them be. It was a punishment he believed he deserved.

“Shizun!”

He ignored it.

“Shizun!”

Only a soft splash jolted him back, hoping it was the tug of a fish but as he peered at the surface of the pond he saw a face that wasn’t his own.

“Shizun, did you fall asleep?”

A bright and familiar voice sounded near him. Yu Jing stood a few paces behind, holding what appeared to be something wrapped in paper.

Lü Shang sighed, his voice quiet but not unkind.“Why are you not at morning practice?”

She grinned and held up that ‘something wrapped in paper’, “Candied hawthorn! And—” then she took something out of her qiankun pouch. “A steamed bun! You didn’t eat breakfast again, did you?”

His stomach betrayed him with a faint growl before he could rebuke so he averted his gaze, choosing to close his eyes and focus on the calmness of the lake.

Yu Jing didn’t wait for permission and plopped down next to him, offering him the unwrapped bun. “Shizun, you can’t fish if the fishies can hear your stomach growling!”

He hesitated then accepted the bun. “Thank you, Yu Jing”

The young woman beamed at him before happily gnawing on her Tang Hulu. “Fishing doesn’t seem very fun,” she mused between mouthfuls “it’s just sitting and waiting, I’m sure Shizun has a spell to catch fish more efficiently.”

Lü Shang smiled faintly. “It’s not about efficiency, fishing is meditative, it’s a way to calm the mind”

“Does it work for you?”

The question was innocent yet it struck like a blade. He glanced at her, the light in her round eyes were so bright, so earnest and so free of judgement.

“Sometimes…” he said at last.

A comfortable silence settled between them, broken only by the occasional chirping of the birds.

“But you always look so sad when you're here,” Sje said softly “At least let me keep you company.”

He neither agreed nor disagreed, but he didn’t send her away. Yu Jing's attempts to cheer him up were as clear as the water in the lake, so he allowed her to chatter on while he took bites of the warm bun.

Each bite felt as comforting as her presence. She was the last of his disciples— the final bright ember of a fire that had long since extinguished. In the end he knew he couldn’t undo the past but he’d give his all to shield the last glow.