#reluctantly participating then realizing he actually enjoys it

[jabberwocke]

thinking about a fruity four au where they’re all still in high school and somehow they get roped into participating in the school play. it’s either twelfth night or a midsummer nights dream, one the bards gay ones anyways. and there’s just so much gay panic and angst from steddie and ronance. they all have to pretend to be in love with the wrong people and realize who the right people are for them all while most likely crossing dressing in shitty costumes provided by a tiny high school drama budget

[k-germsworld]

Blackmailing the model

Sowon x M!Reader

2.4k words

Sowon is a little-known model. Although she doesn't have many events, she earns a lot from the ones she does. She also has a beautiful face and a curvy figure. It is not an exaggeration to describe her as having an angel's face and a devil's figure. This also makes her a little-known model. 

One day, Sowon participated in a photo shoot for an endorsement. Everything went smoothly until the end. After thanking the staff, she went backstage to change her clothes. She picked up her change of clothes and went to the dressing room, only to find that all the other dressing rooms were locked. Sowon reluctantly went to use that dressing room. But she didn't know that there was a hidden camera in the only dressing room she could use, and her entire changing process was recorded. 

"What the fuck... her body is too hot. “What if.... I can make her be mine ?” He smirked and watched Sowon changing clothes and had a bad thought about her. The next day, Sowon received an email. She thought it was a job offer and opened it. Only then did she realize that the email was actually a video of her changing clothes. She was very panicked, and she saw a message below the video: "If you don't want this video to be leaked, come to this address to find me.” This address was where the endorsement shooting took place yesterday, and she rushed there after she found out. When she arrived, she found no one there. Just as she thought she was being tricked and was about to leave, a voice came from behind.

“Welcome, Sowon ssi.” The owner of that voice is the PD who filmed yesterday. "I'm already here. What do you want to do with that video? Delete it now.” She said to him angrily. "Calm down, Sowon ssi.” He said to Sowon in a joking tone. “ "I'm warning you, you'd better delete that video immediately. Otherwise, I will definitely sue you.” She wanted him to delete the video as soon as possible to avoid any more trouble. "Calm down, don't be nervous. As long as you listen to me, I will delete the video. And I advise you not to call the police, otherwise, I will accidentally post this video online and your reputation will be ruined.” Sowon didn't want this video to be spread on the internet, so she had to listen to what the PD wanted from her. "What do you want? Money? If it's money, how much do you want? I can give you 5 million won.” He smirked and shook his fingers. "Money is not important to me. What I want more is you.” She felt confused after hearing this. “Me ?” "Yes, you! Your body is so good and your beautiful pussy shape makes me think about it all the time.” She felt very sick after hearing this. She knew that the PD wanted to fuck her from what he said, but she would never let that happen. “What do you want other than me?” Sowon calmly asked the PD. "I don't want anything but you!” The PD suddenly took off his pants, revealing his cock, which had been hard for a long time, in front of Sowon. "You see, my cock is already so hard for you, Sowon ssi.” PD is now stroking his cock while looking at Sowon. Sowon feels so disgusting to see PD masturbating in front of her.

Even so, she was so frightened by the PD's sudden action that she stood there dumbfounded. He saw her standing still, so he walked towards Sowon's direction. She backed away slowly but PD still got close to her. PD took her hand and placed it on his cock and guided her hand to start stroking his cock. "Your hands are so good at stroking my cock!" Sowon tried to run away but her hands were held and she couldn't. If she tried to run away, he would pull her back. "Don't even think about running away unless you make me enjoy first." He continued to guide her hand to stroke his cock until he felt Sowon's hand begin to move on its own and then he let go of her hand. ”Ah…. Yes. Do it like this and make me cum！” Sowon stroked his cock unwillingly. But in his eyes, Sowon was so beautiful that even stroking his cock unwillingly made him very horny. Moreover, her clothes were tight, which revealed the shape of her breasts in front of him. He unconsciously reached out to touch her breasts but was stopped by Sowon. "What do you want to do? Didn't we agree that I would just make you cum only? Don’t even think about touching me." PD instantly withdrew his hand and continued to enjoy her hand constantly stroking his cock. Guys can never resist a beautiful woman stroking their dick so is PD. “Ah…. I am about to cum…. Ahh….!” He holds the cock in his hand just before he gets close to cumming and cums all over Sowon's legs. Although Sowon didn't want to have her legs stained with this dirty semen, she had no choice but to endure it in order to delete the video. “It’s so great to cum on this beautiful long leg.” He looked in admiration at his cum all over her legs. "I let you cum, shouldn't you also fulfill your promise and delete the video?" He smirked when he heard it. "Who said I would delete the video after you made me cum?" Sowon suddenly felt cheated. "Didn't we agree that you would delete the video if I let you cum?" Her tone sounded a little angry and aggrieved. PD again shook his finger. "You are still too naive, Sowon Ssi. Just now I said that I would delete it only if you let me enjoy it first, but I haven't fully enjoyed it yet." 

"You're a sick liar." As Sowon thinks of other ways, the PD pushes her against the wall. He collected the semen on her legs and put it into her mouth. Sowon tried to resist but couldn't. "How is it? Does this cum taste good?"  She didn't want to answer him because she was forced to eat it. After she was made to swallow that cum, he kissed her and he tried to put his tongue into her mouth. Although she couldn't stop him from kissing her, she kept her mouth tightly closed to prevent him from putting his tongue in. But it was all in vain as he pressed hard on her cheeks, forcing her mouth to open. He kept pushing his tongue in and kept sucking her tongue. Sowon's mouth was full of PD's saliva, and drool was also flowing out of the corners of her mouth. When he found out, he licked the saliva clean and praised it as delicious. “Your lip is so soft and sweet. Your drool is like a nectar." 

His hands were restlessly groping her breasts. "They're so big and soft!" He took off her shirt, and those breasts were perfectly displayed in front of him. PD couldn't bear the temptation of these breasts and buried his head in them. While enjoying her tits, he also removed her bra to expose her nipples. He stopped enjoying her tits and started playing with her nipples. He kept teasing her nipples with his fingers until they were completely hard. "You are so sensitive, Sowon ssi. Look at your nipples are already fully hard." Although Sowon hated to let the PD touch her body, his teasing skills made her moan non-instinctively. “Uh… Stop… please…” He ignored Sowon's attempts to stop him, which only made him more excited. He buried his head between her breasts again and began to lick her nipples. As he licked, his hand slid slowly down her body to her navel and sneaked into her pants to touch her pussy. PD felt that her pussy was already very wet. He pulled his hand out of her pants and showed her the goo between his fingers. "Look how wet you are now. Your mouth says no, but your body is honest." Sowon kept shaking her head to show her disapproval. But the PD put his finger with goo into Sowon's mouth and let her taste her juices. Sowon unconsciously licked his finger with goo in a very erotic way. PD could feel her tongue licking every inch of his fingers. Seeing this, he became even more aroused. He took out his finger and quickly kissed it. This time Sowon did not resist, but took the initiative to put her tongue into his mouth. After kissing for a while, Sowon finally reacted and pushed PD away. He was still savouring the taste of her lips and looking at her. "I didn't expect you to be so proactive. I didn't expect that the innocent and beautiful model is such a slut inside.“ 

"No, I'm not a slut. You can't slander me like that. I just... just..." Although Sowon wanted to object vehemently, she couldn't think of a good reason to defend herself.  "Just what? Just admit that you are a slut." He removed her pants and panties and began to touch her wet pussy. "Look how wet your pussy is. That's enough to prove you're a slut." Sowon shook her head desperately to deny this statement, but the PD ignored her and instead squatted down and began to lick her pussy. Although she didn't want to be humiliated by him like this, she enjoyed the feeling of her pussy being licked and she inadvertently let out a moan.  Hearing her moan, he became more excited and licked her more attentively. He felt that he could not satisfy Sowon with just his mouth, so he inserted his fingers into her vagina to give her a double stimulation. “Ah… no… please…. Ah!!” Hearing these sounds turned him on even more and he increased his speed until she squirted. Her juices sprayed all over the floor, some even onto PD's face. But he didn't wipe it off right away and instead liked her juices. He stuck to her again to suck her juices again. Those juices were so delicious for him. “Fuck, it’s so salty but it’s tasty because it is from you.” He smirked. He stood up and looked at her. Although Sowon avoided his gaze, PD still kissed her again with his smelly mouth. 

During the kiss, Sowon kept resisting but failed and was pushed onto the table by him. She is now bending over on the table now. Her perfectly shaped ass was perfectly visible to him. His cock was now even harder at the sight. Just as she was about to get up, he had already pushed her down on the table again. He aimed his cock at her wet pussy and inserted it. ”Ah…. Stop please….” The moment it penetrated, Sowon seemed to be about to cry. Her virginity had been destroyed by this disgusting man. “Oh my god, Sowon. Your pussy is so hot and tight. Its so great to fuck you.” Even so, PD didn't think of stopping. He started pumping her pussy. His hands were already on her tits, playing with her breasts as he pumped her. When he got used to her tightness, he slowly increased the speed. Sowon kept begging him to stop in a crying voice, but he seemed to enjoy Sowon's pitiful pleading. "Don't cry, sex is a very pleasant thing. I will make you feel so good that you will want to do it again and again.” Although she tried desperately to stop him, she collapsed on the table due to the pleasure brought by the thrusting and was continuously thrusted by the PD. 

Just looking at Sowon's back while fucking her could no longer satisfy PD's desire to conquer her. So he turned Sowon over and made her lie on the table. Her model-like figure, plump breasts and well-proportioned body make him never get tired of looking at her. He couldn't wait to empty his sperm into her. He continued to fuck her and lay on top of her licking her tits. She was no longer able to put up any resistance, all she could do was moan. She could only feel his disgusting saliva all over her body. After enjoying her tits, he put her legs on his shoulders so that he could reach deeper. “Fuck… Sowon, your inside is so tight.” “AH…… so deep….” She moaned super loudly when she felt him hitting her clitoris. He felt that he was about to cum, so he grabbed her waist and thrust harder.  Her body was already filled with a lot of sweat, and PD's sweat kept dripping onto Sowon's body as he thrusted. "It's time to fill you up!" "Please, don't cum inside '' After saying that, he ignored her and shot all the semen he had saved for a long time into Sowon's body. He took his cock out and saw that it was full of his cum inside her pussy. The cum kept flowing out of her pussy. He watched it all with satisfaction, leaving Sowon lying on the table gasping for air.

"Are you satisfied? Delete those videos quickly." She didn't care about anything else, she just wanted the PD to delete the video of her changing clothes as soon as possible. "I've been fucking you for so long, I almost forgot to delete it." Just as he turned on his computer and watched the video again, he broke the pledge. "I'm sorry, Sowon. I decided not to delete it." She was very angry after hearing what he said because he broke his promise. “You fucking bastard, you break the…..” She didn't even finish her words before the PD stuffed his dick into her mouth again. "Shut up, bitch. Who allowed you to talk to me like that? From today on, you are my sex slave. If you don't let me fuck you, this video of yours will be spread on the internet . Hahaha!!" Sowon listened to this devilish laughter which made her very angry but she couldn't resist. Soon, PD shot another stream of hot semen into her mouth.　From then on, every time they had a shoot, Sowon was asked to come to the set early and let the PD fuck as much as he can.

[misc-obeyme]

Hi, love your work! Could I please request a headcanon with SatanxMC, author’s choice?

Hi there, anon! Thank you so much, I'm so glad you enjoy my writing!

Okay, so uh, since it was author's choice, I thought I'd do a little hurt/comfort. And oh man, I was in a mood 'cause MC is really going through it in this one. But the thing is, I really feel like Satan in particular would be like this. He's actually really good at balancing himself in a way none of his brothers are at all. (When he's not enraged that is.) And I think that gives him a different perspective on an MC who was deliberately suppressing their feelings. Anyway, hopefully it turned out okay!

Thanks for participating!

COZY COMFORTS EVENT

It's another long day. And something inside you mumbles quietly of sadness - a constant hum that you had tuned out long ago. You have no reason to feel anything but a sense of progress and contentment along with the inevitable knowledge that there was always more to be done. You don't have time to focus on anything else.

Satan learns your patterns the first time he sees them in action. Perhaps it's the way you isolate yourself or maybe it's the strained sound of your voice. He notices when all you ever do is give your energy, passion, and love away. He watches it deplete you.

It takes some trial and error, but Satan figures out when it's all too much. He had to learn fast when he found himself unceremoniously ripped into existence, fully formed and full of rage. He knows how to adapt quickly. He knows how emotions that feel like they don't belong to you can be so overwhelming that there isn’t space for anything else.

Satan knows that you would never say it out loud, not to anyone. He sees that low melancholy in your eyes no matter how hard you try to hide it behind your smile. You don't want anyone to know, but you desperately want someone to see it, too. And he does. He always does.

He might start out with shooing his brothers away from you. Giving them glaring looks if they become too demanding. He can’t act as though he isn't also guilty of wanting your attention, your love, your friendship. He knows you like it that way because it helps you avoid the truth of your heart. It's easy to push yourself aside when others need you. He watches you bury yourself in the wants and desires of him and his brothers. Like your own don’t matter. Like your comfort is secondary to theirs.

Satan is going to ask you about it directly. It hurts. It hurts you both to talk about it and by the end you’ve both succumbed to tears. He knows you can’t hold it in forever. He knows you can’t pretend you’re okay for the rest of your life. It doesn’t work like that and he won’t watch you crash and burn. He’s been there too many times himself. That’s why he forces himself to ask you. He calls you out when you lie or somehow downplay your feelings. Don’t hold out on him, MC. Please.

Satan’s heart breaks as he watches your eyes fill with tears the minute he asks you why you’ve been sad lately. He knows this is what he needs to do for you, but he hates watching you in pain. You reluctantly start to talk to him and every word seems to be cutting you open. Every word becomes an arrow through his heart. And he realizes he’s able to stand it, able to hold this hurt, because he can also see it healing you.

Didn’t you heal him, too? Didn’t you calm his wrath in a way no one else ever could? Isn’t it the least he could do to make room for your sadness? Isn’t it the least he could do to hold it for you, just for a little while? He would take it all if he could. He would protect you from every feeling that wasn’t happiness or joy or love.

He can’t, so instead he holds you. He hates the way you shudder in his arms, like your body can’t contain the heaviness of your own heart. But he keeps you close to him, buries his hand in your hair, kisses your cheeks softly, his lips wet with your tears. He runs his fingertips down your back, he tightens his arms around your torso. He lets you stay that way as long as you want. He’ll hold you against his chest all night if you cry yourself to sleep there.

When morning comes, Satan is floored by the bright relief he sees in your eyes. For so long, you kept quiet and he watched you fade. All it took was someone to ask you, someone to listen, someone to be there to witness you pour everything out of your soul and into the night. Now you’re radiant again and beside that a gratefulness, a tenderness, a bond between you of a shared secret hurt that no one else has ever seen. You have carried him in his anger and he will always hold you through your pain.

cozy comforts | masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[zzzykiek]

The bonus chapter has arrived!!!

2PALASTOR x Human Fem!OC

(content in parenthasis are MC's thoughts)

This is fluff, smut, and some fun extra details.

Minors you know the drill DNI.

3.5 _______________ A blur of kisses, cuddles, and conversation

You don't know how long you stay buried in the heavenly softness of his embrace. Both of you take a moment to process thoughts and catch your breath. For a few moments, you get the feeling he is going to say something, but he never does. Eventually (reluctantly), you pull your cheek from the fluff and look up to meet his eyes, where silent tears are falling.

He softly clears his throat before he speaks. “T-that…uhmm… I-I…” His cheeks turn bright red as his eyes dart around wildly. He’s so nervous he’s having trouble focusing on one spot.

“You act like this is your first time. I know from how you dove in that's not the case though.”

“W-well, it is kind of a first….” He rubs the back of his neck, obviously trying to find the best words to use. “You're the first…. T-to actively….. P-participate… um…t-that isn't the r-right phrasing…” He flushes darker as he brings his focus back to your eyes. “T-to enjoy it…you're the first to w-w-want to play with me.”

“Dare I ask what you do with the ones who don’t want to?”

His expression gets a little manic for a second. “That's what the deals are for…”

“Didn’t know that's what you meant when you said you wanted me.” You feel him starting to shake and shift your weight off his legs, losing your balance as your ass plops onto the carpet. Your huff of frustration breaks him from whatever thought was plaguing his sanity.

“A-actually, that wasn’t on m-my mind at the m-moment I made our deal….” Standing up, he begins collecting his garments he’d shed in your moment of passion, placing his coat over your shoulders. He begins dressing, using movement as a way to distract himself from his nerves as he continues speaking. “I-I was a b-bit more selfish th-than I usually am. T-THe way I worded our deal…. Y-y-you agreed to give m-me everything…in-including your very soul.” As he says the last word, his eyes dilate so much that it blows almost completely black, with only the faintest hint of blue (Wait, is that a radio dial?). The change lasts for only a moment before the familiar and brilliant blue glow returns.

“I am aware of what I agreed to.” You slide his coat on properly, watching his face light up as he sees it, but then it slides into disappointment as he discovers the coat covers your bare form completely. (I could wear this as a dress; it’s so big.) It is oddly comforting and smells like he does: woodsy and sweet with a hint of something metallic. “I have honestly been surprised that more entities don't ask for sexual favors. They usually request food, or some sort of sacrifice. The ones who have insisted on my soul for payment I have always dismissed.” You look Al directly in the eyes and watch his ears fall back. “So that's a first for me too.”

“Owning souls gives us power.” His eyes have switched back to the dark, and oddly hypnotizing radio dials. “It also forms an inseparable connection between those involved.” You feel a weight on your shoulders and realize a glowing green collar now sits around your neck. It’s connected to a chain that Al begins wrapping around his hands. He gives a slight tug, pulling you closer, and he laces his fingers in your hair, eliciting a small moan from your lips. (I hope he didn't hear that.) You look up at him to see a very surprised look on his face (Shit he heard it), as a manic smile settles in its place instead. “What was that?” His voice is mischievous and demanding.

You swallow, letting your brain run through the possible ways to answer. In the end, you chose diversion. “What was what?” You say as innocent as possible. He yanks the chain firmly, forcing your body to collide against his. There's no way to hide the shiver that wracks your body as you look up to him with pupils the size of saucers. “Oh…That.''

Leaning down so his breath wisps over your ear, he murmurs, “Yes, darling…that.” His voice causes another shiver to cascade down your spine.

“What–what exactly do you do with the souls you own?” You’re trying to keep your breathing steady; he doesn't need to know how touch starved and crazy you are just yet.

He sits up so he can speak to you face to face. “There is no one answer to that. For most of those in my ownership, I leave them be until a time that I need them. I have the ability to pull any one of my souls into my service and they must be ready to fulfill whatever request I so desire at the moment. Each soul has unique uses and benefits. I also take good care of what's m̶̨͙̆̕ȋ̶̟̮n̸̜̅͒e̴̛̯̓. I am able to tell if a soul in my care is in distress. A deal has to have some benefit both ways—especially ones that last for an eternity.”

“Do you have any that choose to stay with you?” You curiously loop your fingers into the chain, and feel it go slack.

“N-no.” Al’s back to his blue, saddened self as he gently embraces you. “B-but, there is a first t-time for everything.” His comment comes out as if in a daze, and you feel him nuzzle into your hair, twirling the bottom strands with his fingers.

“Is that something you would like?” You feel him startle slightly and mutter something under his breath. “Unlike you, my ears aren't in my hair, Al.” You playfully flick at one of his droopy ears, causing it to twitch.

He begins looking around the room for a chance to change the subject, eyes landing on the display of retro radios across the room. He perks up and looks around briefly, locating the radio he had brought in from the car. “Does this one get to join the display?”

“Not until it gets that TLC and is in working condition.” You proudly take the device from Al’s hands and place it on your workbench, eyeing up the screws on the back panel to identify the proper tool required. Soft static fills the room as Al turns on each radio on the shelf, gaining a new level of excitement with each click. He flicks his wrist, and a soft piano melody begins playing.

You can't stop the sound of disgust that escapes your lips as you finally get the back panel off the cathedral radio from the car. “This poor thing.” You manage to spit out the sentence before sneezing, stirring the layers of dust from inside the device to invade the air. “Fuck.” You swear as you scramble to get your detail vacuum.

“EEp!” The cutest sneeze erupts from the blue deer, along with a flash of green light. When you turn around giggling, Al is gone and the corner of your studio is dark.

“Al?” You hear him whimpering, but can't discern what direction the sounds originate from. Suddenly, a rush of cool air passes by your feet and the dark from the corner is gone, now settled over the very dusty radio. You can't hide the concern in your voice as you watch the dust begin to disappear. “Al, is that you?”

It forms into little dust balls that seem to chase each other around the table. “Al?” You are definitely a bit shaken. (Did he leave me?) The dust bundles gain floppy appendages on the tops as realization hits you (Dust bunnies!) “Really?” Your body relaxes. “Al, where are you?” You hear sounds reverberating off the walls though you can't tell if he is laughing or crying. “Are you ok?”

Finally, your attention is drawn to a silhouette on the wall behind your workbench, which waves to you and holds out its hand. As the shadow makes contact, you're surprised when your hand is engulfed in a biting, frigid air. Closing your hand around the odd sensation, you pull, yanking the shadow from the wall, which takes a moment to morph into a familiar azure hued form.

“I-I-I am s-so s-sorry. I didn’t m-mean to worry you.” He quickly wipes his tears away with the back of his hands.

“I have a feeling you didn't do that on purpose.” You brush your hand through his bangs, eliciting a tiny sigh of relief from him.

“N-no. My powers can be a little…off…here on earth. It takes significantly more energy to control them.”

Hooking your hand around the back of his head, you purr, “Well, in that case, you are doing a wonderful job.” You swear his pupils turn to hearts as he lifts you off the floor, closing the gap between your lips. Your legs wrap around him when you realize you're not getting placed down anytime soon. You have never experienced such bliss from a simple kiss like this before.

His lips slot perfectly with yours, the slight pucker allowing him to suckle your lower lip gently. He pulls back to carefully sit you on the edge of your switchboard, slotting himself between your legs. You see him taking care not to cause any harm to the machinery behind you. “Good boy.” You coo, pulling him into another kiss. He mewls against your lips and reaches for the buttons of his coat that still covers you. You follow suit, dropping his white suspenders and silky blue shirt off his shoulders, letting his white pants fall to the floor around his ankles.

Moments pass, each of you lost in exploring the other's body with soft touches and even softer kisses. You realize most of his body is relatively fuzzy, though nothing compares to the handfuls of fur on his chest. His clawed hands grab onto your hips, suddenly pulling toward the edge of the table. You gasp at the sudden force and it melts into a needy moan as his lips complete the puzzle yours have been seeking to finish. You suddenly become aware of his swollen member as it slides against your folds, releasing the slick that was barely held at bay.

“Oh, fuck.” He whispers, forehead gently pressed to yours as he watches the head of his cock slowly disappear into your more than ready cunt.

Your breathing hitches and shallows in depth the deeper he slides inside of you, both of you watching your bodies fuse in the most intimate way. “Al,” you look up into his eyes, “you feel so good!” You moan, and you feel him twitch inside you at the praise. You decide to indulge your senses, letting your fingers get lost in his silky hair and feeling the downy texture of his chest against your bare breasts. “So soft…” Your words go right into his ear as you rest your head on his shoulder. Completely filled, you can feel more soft fur against your sex, causing your walls to flutter around him.

“I–I-I…” He can’t manage to get his thought out of his lips before he begins slowly rolling his hips back into yours. Somehow, your breathing syncs as his movements remain gentle and pleasure seeking. You watch him withdraw, glistening with your thick arousal, then disappear inside you as your bodies meet again. “I-I’ve never felt l-like this.” He murmurs into your shoulder.

“Me…neither.” You reply. As both of your breaths start to shallow, he begins pressing even deeper inside you. You embrace each other, preparing for the rush of ecstasy that is only moments away. “This is perfect.'' Manages to escape your lips in a sigh before your vision blanks, your back arches, and you moan almost in unison with Al.

Gripping onto each other like your lives depend on it, he gently rocks his hips into you as you ride out your shared high. Tiny little kisses along your collarbone bring your focus back from bliss. Taking a shaky breath, you lift your head from his shoulder. Still buried deep, he gives you another perfect kiss before gently unsheathing himself from within you.

He lets out a breathy laugh, looking over at the radio on the work table. “S-sorry, guess I am a bit of a distraction.” He turns a slight shade of pink. “I really do want to see how you plan to r-restore this.”

“To be fair, the dust was the first distraction.” You slide his coat back on as you make your way back over to the workbench, handing him his trousers as you pass.

“This baby definitely needs a good cleaning. Then I can see what else it needs.” You pull out several brushes in various sizes, a soft cloth, a spray bottle, and a vacuum. Al sits in your chair and pulls you into his lap, arms wrapped around your waist and chin resting on your shoulder. You can feel his ear twitch in curiosity as he watches.

You carefully begin dusting the components using the largest brush, vacuuming before you swap for the next smaller one. Repeating until the brush currently in hand has bristles no bigger than a pin. You run the detail vacuum again and hold it up towards Al. “Already looks so much better!” He is slightly distracted, running the larger dusting brush up and down your arm, making you giggle, but looks at your work when he hears you speak.

“No more dust bunnies” He picks up one of the fluff ball creations he made in his shadow form, “well not in the radio at least.” He mumbles as he sits it back on the desk.

You yawn as you lean back against Al, glancing at the clock. “After midnight…Time flies…”

“You said you g-gave up having a bedroom for this st-studio. Where do you s-sleep?” He sounds rather sleepy himself, nuzzling his face into your hair.

“I use part of my living room as a bedroom. Usually it's just me, so I don't bother laying the futon down, but we both won’t fit on it if I don't.”

You gently push up off the comfort of Al’s lap and make your way to the door. He follows, turning the corner to see you unfold the couch to a flat sleeping surface. You pull out pillows and blankets from the coffee table as he sits on the edge of the newly formed bed.

“Get comfy while I make sure everything is settled for the night.” You tell him before you begin pulling curtains closed and making sure your door is locked. You return to see Al snuggled into the blankets, his clothes neatly folded on the coffee table. You slide his coat off your shoulders and hear a contented sigh from behind you. Looking over your shoulder, you catch him admiring your form. Carefully, you hang his coat up on a hook and join him under the covers. He wastes no time pulling you against him again. You rest your head on his chest while his fingers make little circles against your side.

Al starts humming, and the vibrations fill your senses, lulling you into the most blissful sleep of your life.

[polaroidcats]

Cat! So i have heard about the new agenda..... Cuddle the dog??? What a delightful idea!!! Do you have any tips about what are dog's favourite ways to be treated well? What kind of things will make him feel warm and happy and loved??? If dog is having a bad day, what could his friends - maybe a certain werewolf - do to make the dog feel better?? Any fluffy scenarios or headcanons you would love to share? 😍

Bat!!! So happy that you asked about this important agenda!!!

The dog grew up not getting any cuddles, so when he meets his new best friend, the stag, it takes him a while to understand that cuddle the dog could even be an agenda. He grew up mostly knowing the ignore the dog, kick the dog, break the dog's will, scream at the dog, belittle the dog, compare the dog to the dog's brother, tell the dog he will never fulfill his potential, tell the dog he is a disgrace to his family,... agendas, so this new cuddle the dog agenda makes him very uneasy at first, he even goes out of his way to avoid it. He gives the shortest, stiffest hugs, but living with the stag, the wolf and the rat makes it sort of unavoidable to get (accidentally) cuddled sometimes, huddling together under the invisibility cloak, the four of them sitting together on a common room sofa meant for two, the wolf accidentally falling asleep in the dog's bed, the stag having no concept of other people's personal space and regularly giving the dog big crushing hugs after quidditch victories or if the doe only rolls her eyes at him instead of hexes him.

Eventually the stag notices how uneasy the dog is with the whole cuddle the dog or even just hug the dog briefly agenda and they talk about it. The dog never felt at ease with physical affection but the stag makes it all seem so easy, the dog wants to try and enjoy it, he just never learnt how to. He reluctantly admits that he likes how the stag doesn't hold back his affection, and can openly and loudly admit to loving his friends as well as hug them whenever he feels like it. The dog is both bad at expressing his feelings verbally and physically, but the stag doesn't mind, he knows and loves the dog and tells the dog he doesn't need to change in order to be loved. The dog cries a little and reluctantly leans into the stag who's sitting beside him on his bed, and puts his arm around the dog and lets him have a good cry.

The dog starts to very shyly hug back whenever the stag (or, on rare occasions, the rat or even rarer, the wolf) hugs him. After the dog manages his first transformation into his true dog form he actually initiates his very first hug, so happy that he and the stag and the rat can now help the wolf.

When they show the wolf their animal forms, the wolf starts crying and the dog is again the first one to start a hug that all four of them participate in, ending up with the wolf on the floor, three very excited boys on top of him, all crying and laughing, and the dog realizes how far he has come, that he can now have this, three best friends who love him, who he loves, who he can cry and laugh with and who he would absolutely die for, no questions asked.

Later the dog has to learn all about the ways in which the wolf likes to be cuddled and taken care of, and the wolf learns all about the ways he can make the dog feel so, so loved, how to cuddle the dog, how to show up and be there for the dog and how to show the dog how much love he deserves. Both the dog and the wolf struggle with this, so it doesn't come as easy to them as it does to the stag, but they learn from and with each other, and find so many small moments of joy in each other's company, creating a perfect little world full of cuddles and love that's just for the two of them.

The dog spends many years yearning for that perfect world, mourning the life he has lost and cursing the decisions that led to him losing that glimpse of a perfect life that was way too short, filled with memories that are now forever tainted by what happened with the rat and the stag.

So when the wolf and the dog reunite, the dog has once again forgotten that he is deserving of love, deserving of cuddles, deserving of anything good really. The wolf and the dog embrace like brothers puppies but now both of their embraces have a certain air of desperation, they are both so lost and trying to cling to each other in a desperate attempt at finding their way back to themselves. The hard part isn't learning to trust each other again, that comes surprisingly easy, considering the circumstances. No, the hard part is letting the other one close again, and not getting overwhelmed by all the memories and the history, of everything they have lost and everything they could have had. The hard part is being seen, fully and with nowhere to hide. The dog often hides in his animal form, and the wolf understands. Cuddling the dog in his animal form comes so naturally to the wolf, sometimes he is secretly glad of the dog being more comfortable like that. But the dog also misses the wolf's human touch on his own human body, only it seems both of them have forgotten how to do that, and now there is no stag, no youthful ignorance and excitement, no naive and wonderful hope for the future left to help them and guide them along the way, to make things easier.

The wolf and the dog have to learn slowly, reluctantly and very carefully how to be close again, how to cuddle again without letting the fear of losing everything, the fear or breaking themselves and each other overwhelm them. The dog loves it when the wolf washes and brushes his hair, and the wolf is happy to help the dog, it seems like a safe way for them to learn how to touch each other as humans again. The wolf hates it when people coddle him after he transforms into a different wolf once a month, but the dog remembers how he used to take care of the wolf, and he tries to gently touch him like he did when they were young and happy, and those touches remind the wolf of all the things they had and all the things they could still have, if they find their way back. It takes time for them to both remember how they liked to be touched and find out all the ways in which they have changed, things they liked that they now hate or don't care for and things they never cared for but that suddenly give them comfort. Both the wolf and the dog find joy in those quiet explorations, in finding new ways to show the other one how much they are loved and how much love is still there, after all these years, after everything that has happened.

[the1trueanon]

I FINALLY GOT THESE DONE HERE WE GO:

ACTOR AU SAGE!!!

Fun fact! Actor AU is currently the only WH AU to have a version of Sage instead of Rosemary! :D

Her intro stuff is really long, so I'll put it under the cut (AAAA IM SO EXCITED TO SHARE HER)!!

So, for the Actor AU, Sage actually isn't an actor at all! She's a singer and songwriter who has pretty recently (like, within the past year or two before meeting the WH cast, maybe?) become very popular. Sage's personality and music draw a lot of inspiration from AURORA and MALINDA -- songs that tend to have a lot of deeper meaning behind them. She's eccentric and honestly a bit weird, but she's most known for being open and honest about herself and her music, and for being very caring and sweet. She's able to immediately connect to people and help them see different points of view, which is part of why she's gotten so popular with both puppet and human audiences.

Wally, of course, doesn't really trust it, considering how he thinks and what he believes. He assumes she's probably just another attention-hungry diva, thinking they're the shit, using the whole "lets all be best buds!" schtick to sell out. So he doesn't really pay attention to her or what she does too much, besides taking note of her rising popularity.

That is, of course, until he meets her.

Due to Sage's rising popularity, the show executives decide to have her come on the show as a sort of guest star. Wally doesn't really like this, but they're able to negotiate him to at least try it out for an episode and they'll decide what to do after that. Wally reluctantly agrees, but he's not too optimistic about it. He's really just expecting another one of those "rising star" types, y'know? (Which, fair enough, when you consider what all he's probably had to deal with in his time, plus the fact that all he's probably ever seen or heard of her is in interviews, and he puts on an act well enough for his, so.)

I have a whole actual comic planned detailing this that I'll hopefully finish and get out soon (sitting and writing comics is hard when you have near-zero focus QwQ) but essentially he's outside, before filming for the first day of this, just to get air before having to go back in and start directing things and getting ready and she approaches him and just starts talking with him. And he has no idea who the fuck this is??? (Honest to god, he'll never admit it now but he thought she was an intern or something at first XD) But slowly he goes from just answering her shortly to actually participating in the conversation?? And not just a "how's the weather" sort of thing, but like. Actual deep conversation, about what he's doing out there and talking through a little bit of the stress and stuff. And eventually he kinda like, comes to and realizes he's been talking way too much about way too deep stuff and he's like "hold up who tf are you again?" Which is about the same time her manager (who has been named Savannah and she's also a sweetheart) comes out looking for her and before Sage heads in she fully introduces herself to him, and he's just. Stunned. Absolutely blown away.

Here he was, expecting some diva he'd have to give the shake down to, but instead he's met with just. A girl. An honest, strange, caring girl.

This continues throughout that week of filming, Sage subverting every expectation Wally previously had of her. The whole time he's just more and more startled by Sage and who she is. Her whole team is super sweet and she obviously has very deep trust in them, and jokes with them like friends. She treats his staff with utmost respect (which, admittedly, makes him act on his best behavior every time she's around. He doesn't wanna look bad in comparison XD). She seems to genuinely enjoy her time there and what she's doing. Even more than that, Sage honestly has a very poor filter, so she talks a lot about everything lol, but it can be good! Because this is how Wally learns about her drive to create and how much she genuinely wants to bring people together. He finds out that really, the two of them have very similar visions, just for different audiences. Later, he and the executives and director and stuff are all discussing if they wanna keep doing stuff with her and her team and he's just immediately like "Yes. Absolutely. She has a similar vision to me. We either keep doing stuff with her or I'm personally helping fund her, capiche?" and they're all like "👀Got it" XD

And then, of course, there's her music. Which, after that first day of filming, he searches up as much of as he can and listens to it. And is again absolutely blown away lmao (there's another little comic idea I have for this too hehehe but its much shorter than the other one)

And thus begins Wally's journey of self-improvement, led by Sage's example /j XDDDD

ANYWAY HRGHRGHRGHRHGR THATS ALL THE EXPOSITION IMMA GIVE HERE CAUSE THATS A LOT AND THERE'S STILL A TON MORE STORY IN MY BRAIN BUT AUUUGGGHHH I'M SO NORMAL ABOUT THIS AU (also Frills, I have no idea what spell you've put on me with this thing but I have never made such cinematic art before O-O don't stop XD)

As always, Welcome Home belongs to Clown (partycoffin) and Actor/Diva Wally and the Actor AU belong to the wonderful @frillsand!! 💖💖💖

[i-am-bitterly-jittery]

If Love Is A Game, I’m Going To Win

Word count: 3652

Rating: gen

Pairings: Prinxiety, Logicality

Warnings: if you’re looking for some fluffy Prinxiety endgame this is not it my dudes, self-discovery, minor swearing, crying, angst

Aromantic!Roman agenda 💚💚🤍🩶🖤

~~~START~~~

It started on a normal day. Roman spent the morning writing ideas in his Hopes and Dreams journal for more videos Thomas could create, then he spent the afternoon adventuring in the Imagination. Where it got weird was when he headed down to the common room to have dinner.

Logan and Patton were kissing in the kitchen. Logan and Patton were kissing. Roman didn’t know that kissing was a thing that they — as different facets of Thomas’s personality — were allowed to do.

“Oops, sorry did you need something, kiddo?” Patton asked once he noticed Roman standing in the doorway gawking at them.

“You two were kissing,” Roman observed dumbly.

“Yes,” Logan confirmed, straightening his glasses and entering teacher-mode. “That is an act that two romantic partners commonly engage in.”

“We’re allowed to have romantic partners!?” Oh, wasn’t this day getting better and better? Roman loved romance but he hadn’t realized that he was allowed to participate in it!

“Sure, kiddo, why wouldn’t we be?” Patton giggled, cuddling up to Logan. They were adorable and if Roman wasn’t so focused on his new revelations, he would have probably jumped right in to demanding to know everything about how they got together.

“I don’t know, I guess I just never thought about it before. Romantic partners,” Roman mused to himself as he sunk out, meal forgotten.

Romantic partners. Oh boy did Roman need a romantic partner by yesterday. Why hadn’t he thought of this sooner!

Romantic partners!

Logan and Patton were obviously out since they were already spoken for.

Remus was a hard-pass-not-in-a-million-years-Roman-would-rather-duck-out-than-date-him no.

Janus was… there was a time when Roman greatly enjoyed the way Janus stroked his ego. That was before Roman realized that it was all just lies to further Janus’s own agenda. So Janus was out.

That left Virgil.

Virgil would be perfect! He was the introvert to Roman’s extrovert. The emo to his prep. The pessimist to his optimist. Plus, they would have this whole enemies-to-friends-to-lovers vibe that made Roman giddy.

Yeah, Virgil was perfect.

Now all Roman had to do was ask him out.

A public display of affection was the obvious route to take, but Roman didn’t think that Virgil would appreciate that very much. Still, a musical serenade would be best. Plus flowers. And chocolate. Oh, and balloons. And confetti!

Roman grabbed his Hopes and Dreams journal and began writing down all his ideas. By the end of the hour, he had almost the entire thing planned out, all he had to do now was set it up and do it.

The actual event had to be pushed back a couple days due to Thomas’s filming schedule, but less than a week after Roman had first seen Patton and Logan kissing, it was time. He knocked on Virgil’s door bright and early in the morning, he had the whole day planned out and there wasn’t a moment to wait!

Except that Virgil didn’t answer the door. So Roman knocked again.

And again.

Finally, after a full five minutes, Virgil wrenched the door open.

“What– oh, hey Princey,” all the annoyance drained from Virgil's face when he spotted Roman. This was going to work. “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing wrong, my Nightmarish Nightingale–” that was a compliment, right? “I had just hoped that you would do me the honor of accompanying me on an adventure to the Imagination today!”

“I– now?” Virgil asked, somewhat reluctantly.

“Of course! I have the whole day planned out and there’s not a moment to waste!”

The hopefulness on Roman’s face was probably what melted the Winter Warlock’s heart because Virgil’s reluctance gave way to resignation.

“There better be food,” he warned, stepping completely out of his room.

“Of course! Anything your spooky heart desires!”

The first stop on their soon-to-be date was a charming little cafe that Roman had set up just outside his castle which was filled with Halloween themed cookies and pastries. After that, they went to the tailors for some new clothes (Roman may slay in his usual outfit, he needed to be absolutely stunning when he actually asked Virgil out, not to mention the fact that Virgil’s usual outfit was in no way appropriate for this soon-to-be incredibly romantic occasion). Then they went to the stables to get their horses for their ride through the countryside on their way to the lakeside picnic Roman had set up as his location to serenade the emo Side.

Virgil, it turned out, did not like horses, and horses, no matter how hard Roman tried, did not like Virgil.

“I am so sorry about that,” Roman apologized after Virgil’s horse finally succeeded in throwing him. He dismounted his own horse in order to help the other Side up and make sure he wasn’t too badly hurt by the fall. “I usually have more control over the animals than that, but there’s something about horses that sometimes gives Remus the edge.”

“It’s fine, Roman, seriously,” Virgil assured him as he tried desperately to brush the dirt from his new suit — a rich purple brocade with black threads woven into an intricate skull pattern. Roman waved a hand and all the dirt faded instantly. “Thanks. Can we just go back now?”

“No!” Roman all but screeched. “No, we’re almost there! I just– I have– please, Virgil?” Roman seized Virgil’s hand imploringly. “It’s just a little bit further, we can walk it in no time.”

Virgil looked down at their joined hands then back up at Roman’s face, his cheeks a little redder than before.

“Just a little further?” He asked reluctantly.

“Barely even five minutes, I swear on my sword.”

Sigh. “Okay. Let’s go.”

“Yay!” Roman pressed on to their destination, never letting go of Virgil’s hand.

He did mentally shorten the way to the lake — he had planned a much longer ride — so as to not break his promise, and they soon emerged into a clearing on the shores of a lake where a picnic was set up on the beach and a small rowboat sat ready at the end of a small dock.

“Oh wow,” Virgil marveled as he took in the scene.

Roman finally dropped Virgil’s hand in order to unpack the picnic basket for them. “Do you like it?”

“It’s beautiful,” Virgil complimented. Roman beamed.

The day was going perfectly other than the horse ride, and Roman couldn’t be happier.

…except that it didn’t quite feel the same way it did when Thomas was partaking in romantic activities. Obviously Roman knew that he wouldn’t feel exactly the same as Thomas did since he was a facet rather than a complex human being, but Roman didn’t even feel the same way that Roman felt during Thomas’s romantic escapades.

But all of that could be pushed to the side because that was Thomas and this was Roman, it was different. It made sense.

After their lunch Roman ushered Virgil onto the boat so that they could get to the next and most important step in Roman’s plan: the serenade. For this serenade Roman had chosen, obviously, I See The Light from Disney’s Tangled. Perfect song, perfect movie, perfect location. At no point did it occur to Roman to explicitly ask Virgil out, the song made it obvious, obviously.

On their walk back to town — which Roman had once again shortened but was still about ten minutes — Roman grabbed Virgil’s hand once more.

“I’m reading this situation correctly, right?” Virgil asked as he stared at the joined hands.

Roman was staring at their hands too. He had held hands with both Virgil and the others on numerous occasions, but this time it felt different. Like he could feel every millimeter on his hand where it was pressed against Virgil’s.

It didn’t feel particularly nice, it just felt overwhelming.

“I certainly hope so,” Roman chuckled as he tried to shake the uneasy feeling. “The rest of the day would be awkward otherwise.”

“You have more planned?” Virgil laughed incredulously.

“Of course! Grand romantic gestures are my specialty!”

Virgil shook his head, but he was smiling, so Roman thought he was enjoying himself. “Do I get to know any of these plans?”

“Most shall remain a surprise, my Melodramatic Melody, but I will tell you that I have fireworks planned for the grand finale, unless you find fireworks too distressing, in which case I could make them quieter, or could change course slightly if you’d prefer.”

“Quieter should work just fine,” Virgil assured him. “Especially if I know they’re coming.”

“As you wish,” Roman smiled as they entered town.

The rest of the day consisted of a leisurely stroll through the palace rose gardens, a private viewing of the Nightmare Before Christmas in the palace’s movie theater, and a romantic candlelit dinner in the Imagination’s finest restaurant. Finally, at the end of the day, a horseless carriage ride around town while muted fireworks lit up the sky in dazzling displays.

“It looks great, Roman,” Virgil commented as he watched the fireworks out the carriage window.

“Not as great as you,” Roman said, enjoying the way Virgil’s face blushed. There were a lot of elements of the day that hadn’t quite felt right, but he always enjoyed watching Virgil blush red under his white foundation.

Eventually, Roman noticed Virgil trying to stifle yawns and had the carriage take them back to the palace. From there they exited the Imagination, and Roman walked Virgil back to his room.

“I had a good time today, Princey,” Virgil smiled as they walked.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Um, if I could just ask one thing, next time you want to spend the entire day doing something, can you give me some heads up? Like, you don’t need to tell me what exactly, but maybe a general idea of what and how long?”

“That’s fair. I may have gotten a bit carried away; I was just so excited.”

“It’s all good. Thanks, Roman.”

Virgil had stopped in front of his door and turned to face Roman somewhat expectantly. It wasn’t until that moment that Roman remembered that goodnight kisses were practically a date staple. He hadn’t considered kissing before now, but faced with the expectation, he panicked slightly.

Instead, he did the first thing that came to mind: he grabbed Virgil’s hand and brought his knuckles to his mouth.

“Farewell and pleasant dreams my Sweet and Sour Lemon Drop!”

Virgil looked a little bemused, but not disappointed by the exchange. “Goodnight my, uh, Dazzling Prince.”

Roman beamed at the term of endearment before turning dramatically and making his way back to his own room. Once he was alone his smile dropped. Virgil had seemed to enjoy their date, but it hadn't quite felt right to Roman.

Clearly, he was doing something wrong.

Maybe he hadn’t been trying hard enough?

Whatever it was, Roman fell asleep lost in thought and his dreams were plagued by imperfect dates, social faux pas, and curses placed by dragonwitches.

Roman was just about ready to crawl out of his skin. It had been two weeks, but still Roman couldn’t shake the feeling that he was fucking up at every turn.

Nothing he did felt right. He and Virgil hung out in the living room, and Roman couldn’t stop wishing Virgil would get tired and leave. They went on dates in the Imagination, and he couldn’t stop wishing that he was on a quest alone.

Even when not in a date-setting, Roman was so hyper aware of where Virgil was that it was driving him batty. If Virgil so much as entered a room that Roman was already in, Roman would tense up until he’d either sat down away from Roman or left again. He was dating Virgil; he shouldn’t be feeling afraid of him!

It had to be some sort of curse!

Virgil, he was certain, had yet to notice Roman’s discomfort. Patton and Logan on the other hand…

“Alright there, kiddo?” Patton asked, having just witnessed Roman practically flinch when Virgil walked past him to the kitchen.

“I’m right as rain, padre!” Roman assured him, aiming for upbeat. Judging by the frown on Patton’s face, he’d missed the mark.

“Are you sure?”

“Now that you mention it, I am feeling a little tired,” Roman yawned, hoping for an easy escape. “I think I might go have myself a little cat nap.”

“Do you want to reschedule our date tonight?” Virgil asked, returning from the kitchen.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, mi amor!” Roman reassured him, kissing Virgil’s knuckles once more. He’d pull that move probably too many times in the past week, but luckily it was very in-character for him, and Virgil had yet to question it. “Just a little nap, and then two hours to do my makeup and I shall be ready to sweep you off your feet!”

He sank out after that in fear that if he stuck around any longer Patton might call him out in front of Virgil. He wasn’t actually tired though, so he instead spent his time making sure their date would be perfect.

Whatever Roman’s problem was, it was clear that he just wasn’t trying hard enough during his and Virgil’s dates, so tonight, under the moonlight, he would finally kiss his boyfriend, and like a fairytale, the curse would be broken, and everything would fall right into place.

It just needed to be perfect.

As he always did when they had a date in the Imagination, Roman picked Virgil up from his room and the two of them walked to the Imagination together. Their date would be a royal ball in Roman’s castle; Virgil was once again dressed in his brocade suit from their first date while Roman had picked out a stunning floor-length red gown with a plunging neckline and a train longer than Thomas was tall.

As they danced, Roman began to regret his choice of date. Virgil was pressed all the way up against him with one hand on his waist and the other in one of Roman’s — it was too much contact and it was making Roman jittery.

A thunderous crack echoed through the castle.

“What was that?” Virgil asked, looking around the ballroom for the source. There was nothing to be seen.

“Probably just Remus playing a game somewhere,” Roman suggested, mentally berating himself for his unexpected lapse in concentration. “Nothing to worry about, my Spooky Sweetheart!”

“If you’re sure.”

“I’m positive.”

The music started back up and the two continued their dance. Roman shifted his focus on his surroundings in an attempt to ignore the unpleasant buzzing Virgil’s touch caused beneath his skin.

All was going well until Virgil started to lean in.

His lips were barely an inch from Roman’s before the ground started shaking. A second, even louder crack tore through the ballroom, and seconds later the north end of the room broke away as though falling from a cliff.

“Roman!” Virgil yelped, staring at the wreckage.

This was a disaster, but Roman had a mission. He just needed to kiss Virgil, and everything would be perfect. He cupped the side of Virgil’s head to turn him towards him then cut off Virgil’s confused sound by smashing their lips together.

There had to be some sort of technique to this, and in the back of his mind, Roman knew that he knew it because Thomas knew it. But the technique didn’t come to him, and Roman ended up just aggressively pressing their mouths together.

Virgil flailed for a few seconds before firmly pushing Roman away. The rest of the castle cracked and fell until Roman and Virgil were left staring at each other in shocked silence, surrounded by the ruins of the castle.

“That always works in the movie,” Roman mused sadly, mostly to himself.

“What works?” Virgil asked, looking thoroughly shaken.

“Kissing,” Roman answered. “It’s supposed to fix everything — break the curse and stuff!”

Virgil opened his mouth, then closed it again. “Roman,” he said slowly. “I need you to be clear about this: what curse?”

“The curse that makes it hard for me to be around you,” Roman shrugged.

Virgil’s face fell, and before Roman could say anything else, he’d sunken out.

“Wow!” A voice mused behind Roman. “That was so much better than what I was going to do!”

“FUCK OFF, REMUS!” Roman screamed. Only silence followed.

It was about an hour later — an hour that Roman spent wallowing in misery and making uncomfortable realizations about himself — that someone knocked on Roman’s door. He opened the door because he was expecting Patton and he could use one of his Patton-ted hugs.

It was not Patton.

“Oh,” Roman sighed dejectedly. “I thought you were Patton.”

“Ah yes well Virgil was crying, and I thought it might be best for Patton to handle him.” Logan replied, seemingly taking little offense at the statement.

“What would you have done if I were crying?” Roman asked. Truthfully, he mostly just felt numb, Logan was probably safe from any overly emotional responses.

“I have a list!” Logan informed him excitedly, pulling out his notebook and flipping to a marked page. “It’s tailored to Patton, but I believe you would find many of the items to be agreeable!”

Roman glanced at the list and yeah, Disney movies and cuddling with someone non-romantically sounded excellent. Much better than it had when he and Virgil had done that exact same thing as a date.

“You got me there, Teach.” He was going for enthusiasm, but he couldn’t have been more off the mark.

“Hmm.” Logan’s eyes surveyed Roman searchingly. “Would you like to tell me what happened?”

“What did Virgil tell you?”

“I did not manage to get much coherent information out of Virgil, though Remus has informed me that you quote ‘flipped your shit’ end quote.”

“I was stupid,” Roman sighed. “Just one, gigantic, prince-shaped idiot! I fucked up worse than when Woody pushed Buzz out the window!”

“That is a very emotional response, with what appears to be an unhealthy dose of bias and exactly zero helpful clues as to what transpired between you and Virgil earlier — unless what you did was push Virgil out of a window.”

“No, I–” Roman choked. “I just– I was so excited by the prospect of having a romantic partner, that I didn’t stop to wonder whether or not I should have a romantic partner!”

Logan’s brow furrowed. “I am afraid I’m not quite following.”

“I think I’m aromantic,” Roman confessed. The word had been sitting heavily in his chest for the past hour, but now that it was out there, he felt the weight had been lifted. “I think I’m more excited by the idea of romance than I am by the experience of it — or at least, me experiencing it — and I know I chose Virgil because he was the most convenient option. I played with his feelings; I am unworthy of the title of Prince.”

“Beating yourself up over guilt is not a productive use of anyone’s time,” Logan stated simply. “Sometimes experimentation is required to learn things about ourselves, and sometimes those experiments accidentally hurt people. The best thing to do is apologize.”

“I know,” Roman sighed, rubbing a hand over his face — his makeup had long since been ruined so it hardly mattered now. “Can we do some of the things on your list afterwards?”

“Of course.”

Patton and Virgil were on the couch in the living room when Roman and Logan found them. Virgil was in Patton’s lap, clinging to him like his life depended on it, and didn’t seem to notice the others’ arrival. Patton sent Roman a reassuring smile.

Roman steeled himself up, mostly helped by the firm but gentle hand Logan had on his shoulder.

“Virgil?”

The Anxious Side froze for a moment before slowly pulling back from where his face was buried in Patton’s shoulder. His eye shadow was smeared across his entire face, but he said nothing.

“I need to apologize to you,” Roman continued, focusing on Logan’s calming presence. “It was not my intention to use you like I did, but I did, and for that I am so very sorry.”

Virgil said nothing.

“I was too excited by the idea of a romantic relationship that it took everything literally falling apart around me to realize that I didn’t want to be in one. You didn’t deserve to be my guinea pig. I hurt you and I will try my hardest to make it up to you because I value your friendship above anything.”

“...okay,” Virgil finally croaked before burying his face in Patton’s shoulder once more.

“I’m very proud of you, kiddo,” Patton smiled at Roman gently. “I think Vee needs some time now, okay?”

“Yeah, alright,” Roman agreed. He still felt awful, but he knew Patton was right.

“May I?” Roman turned to find Logan watching him expectantly.

“Sure,” Roman accepted, though he wasn’t quite sure what Logan was asking.

Logan took his hand — it felt nice when Logan did it, platonically, with no expectations — and sank out. They came up in Logan’s room, where the bookworm’s desk had been temporarily replaced with an in-home theater.

“My library, of course, contains every movie and television program that Thomas has ever seen,” Logan explained as he led Roman over the couch. He sat down and pulled Roman down with him, shifting them both around until he determined them to be in the perfect position — no doubt Logan had boiled cuddling down to a science. “We can watch anything you would like.”

“Moana?” Roman requested. He didn’t think he could watch a romance-heavy movie right now.

“Of course,” Logan promised.

Despite how poorly it had all gone down, platonically cuddling with Logan while watching Disney movies was the most content Roman had been in weeks. He drifted off to sleep to the sounds of Auli’i Cravalho and The Rock returning the heart of Te Fiti.

~~~END~~~

Vaguely based off of the six months in high school where I had a 🤢 boyfriend 🤮 (it was a time 🙃), and the fact that my college roommate (who I’m not sure is aromantic but def has the vibes) calls tinder her “game”

General taglist

@royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple @arsonic-knight @misunderstood-shadowling

[dcviated]

@hallowleylines sent: Honestly "Sparkleson" (he rolled with it) hadn't seen himself honestly following through with this plan at the end of the day. Yet the city like was one that seemed tantalizing in moderation without any restrictions or expectations of knighthood this time around. They're nowhere near Kazimierz mind but it doesn't lessen the effect. Walking around with Malkuth didn't inhibit the mood either, or rather enhanced it.

He only had a handful of plans he wasn't inclined to share, but in return allowed her a much broader range. There wasn't any nagging or complaining from him whenever she runs off or do some off the cuff shenanigans. Rather he seems to be an active participant in it for once. Not 'watching' from the sidelines, he's front and center to behold the epitome of her silliness, or inevitably being roped into it. It's an unfortunate circumstance this leads to several hits to the wallet whenever she falls into any Valentine's pitfall he has to pick the tab on. Not that he's anywhere near poor, but this definitely not how he foresaw "high maintenance" being. That's just a bit gullible.

He's fine with just about anything today. Shopping? Sure. Dance clubs? Not his strong suit but why not (limiting the her alcoholic consumption after last time). Karaoke?…….That takes a little bit more of prying but he'll eventually budge on it. Very reluctantly agree on that. Other than that he's fine with simply immersing himself with his surroundings. All in but one thing.

Avoiding any 'couples' things would be great in his book, but sensory overload? Being blind makes this nearly impossible and hearing almost off the table. No, he likes to act cool but even he's embarrassed by the amount of times they caught him. "She's just a friend" is a catchphrase mumbled throughout the night for certain. Matching scarves, weird candied apples (he makes an amusing faces trying to get the caramel out his teeth). Even purchasing photos because he hadn't realized they were having their photos taken (that's a lie, he's fucking last-second posing). Shame he'll never see the outcome. But! To the horse they go!

Still, whenever he hears a lull in her schedule ideas he picks up the slack. More like he accounted for the fact surprisingly and it's time for his pit stops in-between. One that seemed boring at first, just a convenient store. He's subtle to guide her to the cooler and that's were the fun starts happening. How the it stretches a lot farther than it should. How in the corner seems to be an open passage to slip through and… it transforms into a funhouse? Secret passages? Mirror mazes? Slides? Story-lines? Talking robots? It's all a trip, but definitely something he feels could keep her busy for at least an hour. Don't mind how Everitt actually gets lost (or rather separated) a handful of times himself talking to the AI. They're cool, okay!?

Once that's said and done, and she's worked up an appetite? To a hibachi style grill they go. He's a fan of the cooking and the chef's are always somewhat amusing with their attitudes and flashiness. It's not something they had back home and well, Malkuth hardly ate actual meals to begin with. It was a slower pace (finally), and so he begins speaking freely and of his own volition. The listening and telling of stories all in a light-hearted nature. Of his Knight's club, Achilles and her friends, the hamlet he grew up in, and his own misadventures with his chattel across the world. It's… different, seeing him speak smile fondly without it being at someone else's expense.

The night winds down, or rather he does as they stroll further. He enjoys this, but he only has so much energy to high-string adventures. 2 a.m it seems. Out way past what he expected so… well he'll turn in. A 9 hour adventure was long enough for him. A journey to his place of rest, so she knows where to go once she's done Of course he'll let her know what floor and room of the hotel he'll be at before placing a separate key into her hands. Number neighbors so it should be easy enough. There's a stare before anything else… then he reaches out and just ruffles her hair a bit before gently bumping foreheads. No words exchanged, just holding it for a few seconds. After that? He simply heads in with the bags of acquired knick-knacks they both had collected. No need to force her to carry it all around town. He'll leave his room door open, just in case she wants to talk. He'll be up for a bit longer reminiscing on how tonight was… fun. It's been awhile since he could describe any day like that.

One would only be able to wonder how Current felt during the evening. It's a given they wouldn't give straight answers. And the Malkuth's would be a catalyst for further confusion. She had a way of taking the timeline in a stride that felt like it skirted carelessly between platonic and possibly affectionate? Then again, the Couatl was largely blind so any confusion brought on by her mannerisms would be missed. That's a good thing, right? Malkuth surely didn't seem bothered at any point. This was all fun and excitement for her!

The best part, if anything, was that it had happened at all. Current could be so grumpy and dismissive she had been largely convinced the idea to go out together was a joke meant to be rid of her but! She was ready! So was he! And the city? Wide open and ready to be conquered by the two peculiar operators. She dressed fun for the occasion but erred on the side of casual. A bag with her things shouldered over an open knit top that let some of the colored tank top she wore underneath peek through. It paired nicely with the slack pants with bellbottom legs.

And yes, Current can't see this, but he could smell the bit of tangerine perfume she wore, right? Also that top feels nice to the touch.

The best descriptor for the evening would be spur of the moment. Though she had made plans it was better described (and executed) as a route through the part of time that so welcomed travelers, tourists, enthusiasts and oh yes- couples. There was a lot more to see than the Kuranta expected in the end, and in her own throes of enthusiasm got side tracked from many of the spotlights she'd expected to steal.

It works out though, and eventually the internal question of is Current gonna go along with this fades away into where can we go next? It's a subconscious shift as the two embrace the newly forged mood and battleplan. And battle does seem to work out, doesn't it? Whether it was a bout of Karaoke or who could finish a ... bizarre drink of alcohol first. The answer is Malkuth. For the alcohol. Current came on top without much issue with karaoke but if it had been scored on enthusiasm and the most laughing then well maybe we could have given Malkuth an award too.

It's no wonder they get confused as a couple. For all their differences they moved and carried themselves in relatively close quarters with a natural movement that invited the assumption. Current explains the correction, but each instance got an amused laugh out of Malkuth as well. Sometimes with a cheeky glance over at the Couatl (again! he couldn't see! her smiles!) but she was never bothered.

How could she be bothered? How could any of this be negative? Even when some of the stores were closed or missed an item in the right size that she wanted to pick up it was never enough to cast any douse on her enthusiasm. A fire burned in this girl and just living life outside and free seemed to add more and more kindling to it. Could she be stopped? Well yes. Inevitably. Even someone like her only has so much energy. She was able to hide the fatigue on her expression but her voice and sighs betrayed a lot of it.

"Yeah! I'm done too! ...it's okay, anyone would be tired this late! I mean it's like... so far after midnight. The only places open now are bars and you said I couldn't have anything else to drink." For some reason he seemed inclined to keep her from drinking too much. Perhaps so she'd have enough sobriety to pull her through the route? She sure wouldn't have made it out of that secret hidden super cool maze if she hadn't had some faculties about her.

"Mm? Uh-" Her hair is ruffled, ears twitching at the sudden show of affection. It's not bad, but where was this coming from suddenly? And as if that wasn't enough, in what she could only see as bizarre coming from the other Operator, their heads touch. Huh? Huh?!?! What- what was he-- "Um." She doesn't move or resist, of course, but she is for perhaps the first time that night rendered silly stupid. There's a tinge of blush to her cheeks too. "Current?"

Largely unsurprising Malkuth doesn't get an answer for her confusion, the other's casual demeanor defusing any awkwardness (or perhaps she just let it go?) as seeing things. Rather than try and decipher the situation she was, for better or worse, just as happy to let it pass for the sake of closing things up for the night. Room numbers and keys. An insistence that he carry up their bags (though she held onto the one she brought) and then it was over.

Or was it?

Malkuth had settled in quickly. A pair of night clothes that had been brought with her for the overnight stay slipped on after a proper shower. The sheets of the bed call to her. They're nicer than the beds back at Rhodes Island to be sure. So big too. She wobbles back and forth in thought, warm gaze free of inebriation shifting between there and her bag. Before long she makes up her mind, and peeks in.

"Current, hey! Are you awake...? You left the door open and the lights on-" Her voice is a heightened whisper. Dummy. But then maybe him doing this was intentional. The fact he invites her in a relief and confirmation. She's quick to enter with all the invasiveness you might expect. "Okay good! I wanted to make sure to give you this before I forgot!" A box is held out and placed into his hand. Or on his lap if he wasn't quick enough to reach. She sits back, cobbled energy manifesting as a smug grin as she stands back with arms folded.

"I made. Chocolate. For you! Actually I made some for a buncha people but this one is different. Uh. It's good, though. I made sure to follow a recipe. I had someone test it for me too." The question though was who... there were many other operators on RI that were just as apt to be horrifying with their tastes or brush away oddities.

Not to mention... who the chocolate was going to.

"Thanks. For coming along with me today. I hope you had as much fun as I did, and hopefully we can do it again before too long. Anyway~ that's all I had to say. So I think I'll get back to my room and get to bed now." She waves, thinks, then reaches out to pat them on the shoulder.

"Goodnight, Sparkleson~"

[emeraldiis]

Pillow Talk

A/N: i will never apologize for being horny on main

AO3 Link

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Word Count: 3.4k

Summary: After an entire day of staring at you in that bikini, Loki is left utterly desperate for release. Good thing he sleeps with a lot of pillows.

Tags: masturbation, phone sex, pillow humping, needy!Loki, pining

Loki shifted on the bed, mashing his face roughly into the satin pillow case. It was nearly dawn, and he hadn’t slept. Even the tiniest hint of sleep had evaded him, and he’d tossed and turned enough to make his muscles ache in protest. With a frustrated growl, he rolled onto his back and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes until he saw stars. This was never going to work.

He had no one to blame but himself for his insomnia. Really, it was pathetic, the way his mind had latched onto one silly little human and made her the object of his obsession. You with your silky hair and soft eyes, keeping him up until the morning hours. Your melodic voice rang in his eardrums, and every time he closed his eyes, he’d see that perfect skin of yours and wish it was pressed up against--

With a gasp, Loki swiftly brought his hands down to grasp the sheets in agony. He wished he could blame it on the fact that he hadn’t bed anyone in at least a decade, but he knew himself. Celibacy had never been an issue for him in the past; he wasn’t a teenage boy, he could control his needs. But you had him feeling like one all over again. The way he gawked at you like it was his first time seeing a pair of breasts nearly spill out of a way-too-tight tank top, it was downright shameful. You were just so innocent, so pure, and he longed to see that smile collapse into a pout as you whimpered against his lips.

Despite his best efforts, Loki could feel his cock throb in renewed need. It had been begging for release nearly all night, and Loki had successfully ignored it so far. He held steady in his determination in not giving in, but his resolve was slipping. Today has been especially tortuous. Tony and his goddamn insistence that Loki participate in team bonding. A day at the beach, one which Loki spent lounging in the hot sand shielding his eyes from the blinding sun. You had splashed around in the waves with Natasha and bounced around in a bikini that seemed specifically designed to torture Loki. The bottoms had shifted themselves to ride up quite a few times, and Loki had taken pleasure in watching you reach back with slippery fingers to pull them out of your ass.

Loki’s cock throbbed again, almost violently this time. He moaned softly into the open air. The sound was pained, and Loki felt his hand begin to drift towards the string of his pajama bottoms. They were silk, and because Loki had chosen to forgo underwear, the soft material felt like heaven against his swollen erection. Before his fingers could slip inside to where he needed them most, Loki ripped them away in defiance and turned onto his side, tangling the blanket between his legs as he rolled. The pressure of the thick comforter into his crotch made Loki suck in a surprised breath. His hips twitched upward of their own accord and Loki’s eyes fluttered in pleasure.

Loki could feel his will dissolving with every jolt of pleasure that swam up his spin. His mind spun with images of you: you curled up against him, reaching back with your dainty hand to pull him closer to you, encouraging him to grind against your backside. As if he was in a daze, Loki grabbed one of the many pillows adorning his bed and shoved it between his legs. The firmness of the pillow was so much more satisfying than the blanket, and Loki groaned.

It was over, he had accepted defeat. Loki was about to hump his pillow like an animal and it was all your fault. He thought of that wet bikini sticking to your skin, your breasts bouncing as you jogged back up the beach to him and breathed out a “what’s up” like he wasn’t about to cum in his swim trunks just from watching you. As the memories danced through his head, Loki’s hips began to roll in more deliberate motions. With every thrust, his cock pressed up against the soft material of his pants. Loki could feel the pre-cum wetting the silk, but it only served to amplify his pleasure as the damp fabric clung to his skin.

The buzzing of his phone startled Loki out of his fantasies, and he nearly wanted to throw the thing against the wall. Tony would get him a new one, as he always did no matter how many times that Loki had insisted they were unnecessary devices. As much as he wanted to let it ring, Loki had learned that calls at this hour usually meant an unexpected mission, and he’d be back on house arrest if he didn’t answer. Loki reluctantly leaned over to his bedside table to grab the vibrating object, keeping the pillow between his legs. His heart came to a near stop as he saw your name illuminated on the screen.

A few moments passed as Loki stared dry-mouthed at the caller ID, wondering when he had fallen asleep. Because the only explanation for you calling him in the middle of the night was that he was dreaming. Sure, you had texted him the occasional internet video that you thought he’d enjoy, but had never called him. And certainly not at five in the morning. With a hard swallow, Loki hit the “accept call” button and waited.

“Hey, Loki?” Came your tired-sounding voice. It wasn’t as gorgeous when muffled by the phone static, but it gave Loki shivers nonetheless.

“What is this about?” Loki tried to sound as irritated as possible, figuring that would be the proper reaction to receiving a call this early. The truth was that he was elated to hear your voice, and was disgusted by himself. A mortal, making him this weak in the knees, it was absolutely pathetic.

You were silent for a moment. “I’m sorry, I just couldn’t sleep. I-I’m not really sure why I called you, I’m sorry for waking you up. I’ll just--”

“Wait!” Loki burst out before you could end the call. His loud voice echoed back at him in the silent room and he cringed, hoping that no one had heard him. Loki bit his lip anxiously, uncertain of what to say to keep you on the line. “Um, I was awake. I couldn’t sleep either.”

“Oh, I guess that’s good. Well, not really good that you can’t sleep, I mean good that I didn’t wake you.”

Loki chuckled at your awkward ramblings. Norns, you were so cute. “Don’t worry, pet, I know what you meant.” As the words left his lips, Loki’s eyes widened as he realized what he’d just called you. Pet. It had been a slip of the tongue, but it brought forth a whole new round of fantasies. He couldn’t help but imagine about what it would be like to own you, to grab you by your pretty face and push his cock between your lips over and over. Absent-mindedly, Loki began to move his hips against the pillow again. He had to bite down on his tongue to keep from gasping. As quietly as he could manage, he put the call on speaker and set the phone down beside him so he could lie back on his side and resume his earlier activities. Loki knew it was so, so wrong to do this while you were none-the-wiser, but he couldn’t help it. He had been so worked up for so long and now it was like his body had taken over, hell bent on getting the relief it needed.

“So, why couldn’t you sleep?”

“Oh, just lost in my thoughts, I suppose,” Loki said as his eyes fell shut. His voice was the slightest bit strained, the soft drag of his pants against his cock making it hard to focus.

“Yeah, same here.” You sighed into the phone, and Loki heard a bit of rustling as you presumably got more comfortable. “I have trouble sleeping a lot, actually. I guess I just get lonely.”

A heavy weight of guilt sank into Loki’s chest. Here you were, opening yourself up to him, and he was trying to get off to the sound of your voice. He was truly depraved, that was for sure. But fuck, the tired rasp to your voice and the small sighs you let out were sending him sky high. His mind was running wild with fantasies of you under him, you in his lap, you up against the wall as he fucked you into it. Loki fought to sound normal as he responded to you. “I understand. Most beings are very social creatures, we need company to--ah!” A particularly rough thrust of his hips had caught Loki off guard as the mind-numbing pleasure rocketed through his body.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, pet,” Loki said, panting as he forced his hips to still. “Just stretching.” It was a lame excuse, but Loki was too far gone to come up with anything better. His body quaked as he tried to keep still, like his own muscles were attempting to disobey his brain. Everything in him was screaming out for more. Cum, you need to cum. Once again, Loki was forced to give in as his hips resumed their grinding. The pillow itself was now damp with how much he was leaking, and it felt amazing.

The phone was quiet, and Loki could almost hear how hard you were thinking on the other end. And then: “Loki, are you...masturbating?” Your voice trailed off as you said that word. The sheer embarrassment was evident in your tone, and Loki was almost astounded at how bold you were. Not many humans had the nerve to just up and ask something like that.

Even through the shock of being caught, Loki could not find it in him to be surprised that you had caught on. You had always come across as intelligent to him, it was foolish to think he could fool you with a half-hearted excuse. Still, it was beyond humiliating to have been called out so brazenly. Loki saw no point in denying it; you would not have asked if you weren't sure. “Yes,” he replied, voice cracking as he froze in place for the second time. Despite the embarrassment, Loki’s erection did not not falter. In fact, it seemed that he only got harder. This mortal would be the death of him.

“O-oh!” You seemed surprised, like you hadn’t expected him to come right out with it. “I’m so sorry, I guess I interrupted you, huh? Shit, I’m sorry.” How absurd. Loki was the one shamelessly rubbing himself against a pillow while talking to you, and you were the one apologizing.

Loki found it intriguing that you hadn’t hung up immediately upon learning of his actions. You hadn’t seemed disgusted at all, just apologetic for interrupting his activities. Loki wasn’t sure if your lack of repulsion was what caused it, or if it was simply his need clouding his judgement, but his mouth began to move before he could stop it. “It’s excellent for sleep. I highly recommend it for nights like these.”

There was no sugar coating it; that was a proposition, no matter how poorly disguised it was as simple advice. “Um,” came your faint reply. Loki’s face burned as he pictured the look of horror you were probably wearing at the moment. And then he nearly swallowed his tongue as you spoke again. “Yeah, I tried earlier. Wasn’t really...working.”

A new gush of blood found its way into Loki’s cock at your admission. He couldn’t help but imagine you writhing on your bed, soaked in sweat and your own slick as you tried desperately to get to that crescendo of pleasure. His blush had somehow grown even stronger, and he couldn’t recall the last time he had even blushed at all. This mortal was killing him, you were his executioner and he was begging for you to pull the trigger.

“That’s quite unfortunate,” Loki managed through his reverie. He was still frozen, almost scared to begin his motions again for fear of cumming on the spot. His cock twitched in time with his racing heart, occasionally dripping precum into his pants. Loki was a mess, but he could not bring himself to care in the slightest. All that mattered was the arousal screaming under his skin and your intoxicating voice in his ears.

“Yeah. Sorry, should I go? And let you, y’know, finish?”

Loki racked his brain for an excuse to get you to stay. It was maddening, how quickly you had ruined him. Seduction was one of his many talents, as was manipulation. In the past, he would have had no trouble at all talking someone into his bed and onto his cock, but you were different. Every flirtation died on his lips the moment he was in your presence, and it was all he could do to form complete sentences as you turned his knees to jelly.

After an excruciating period of silence as Loki thought, he finally spoke. “It would be unfair of me to abandon you in favor of pleasuring myself when you cannot do the same.”

This time it was your turn to stay quiet. Loki waited anxiously, half-expecting you to just leave anyway. He had already come to terms with your disinterest in him, you were probably just being polite. But...you had called him. There must have been at least a slight attraction for Loki to have been on your mind after attempting to get yourself off.

“Maybe we could…” There was a tremble to your voice as you trailed off, and Loki held his breath as he waited for you to finish. Whatever your suggestion ended up being, he was ready to enthusiastically agree. Anything that involved you and pleasure was incredibly enticing. “Maybe we don’t have to hang up, then.”

Loki’s eyes went wide. Did you mean…? An involuntary moan fell from his lips as he shivered at the thought. “I would, mm, not be opposed to that idea.” Loki’s body had won over for the final time that night and his hips began to move again. After restraining himself for so long, feeling that delicious friction once again nearly overwhelmed him.

“I don’t really know how to do this,” you said. “I can’t really believe I actually asked you that.”

“Would you like instruction, pet?”

“That might help, yeah.”

Loki began to wonder if he was dead, and this was his version of Valhalla. Whatever the case, he was going to ride this high for as long as he could. Everything else seemed to fade into the distance: the chirping of birds outside as the sun rose, the hum of the traffic down below, all of it meant nothing. It meant nothing because you were on the other side of the phone asking for Loki to tell you how to touch yourself. Loki took a deep breath and tried to get a hold of himself; he needed to let you catch up before he could allow himself to lose control.

“I want you to get undressed, and get comfortable.” That was a simple enough command, Loki figured. If he started slow, maybe he could reign in his pathetic neediness and focus solely on your pleasure.

“Okay, I can do that.” The speaker went quiet as you presumably settled onto your bed and slipped out of your pajamas. “Now what?”

“Touch your breasts,” Loki said. His breathing was heavy, but even as he settled into the role of your instructor. “Rub your fingers across them, tell me how it feels.”

You sighed happily. “It feels really nice. Can you tell me what you’re doing?”

Loki was a bit ashamed to admit that he was currently grinding into a pillow, but figured there was no point in lying. “I’m, uh, I have a pillow between my legs, and I’m rubbing against it.”

A whimper burst from your lips. “Oh, that’s so hot.”

“Is it?” Loki asked hesitantly. He didn’t feel very attractive; slick trousers and sweat coated skin, fighting hard to hold it together.

“Yeah, fuck. Can I touch myself, please?”

Loki wanted to drag it out a bit longer, to tease you, but he couldn’t find it in himself to say no to that pretty voice. Especially when you asked so nicely. “Go ahead, pet. You’re such a good girl.”

There was a faint slick sound, then a drawn out moan. Loki groaned in response, the sound extracting a full body shiver from the god. He had never heard such alluring sounds of pleasure, you were just so far above any other being he had ever met. “That’s it,” he murmured in encouragement.

“Feels so good,” you said, voice growing high pitched. “Shit, I’m not gonna last too long. Ah, fuck. Been needing this all night.”

Loki sucked in a breath and began to thrust with more fervor. His eyes nearly rolled back at the pressure and his thighs squeezed around the pillow. “That’s okay, darling. I, oh--” Loki cut himself off with a strangled moan as his pleasure mounted. “I need to cum, too.”

For a moment, panting and whimpered moans were the only thing coming through the speaker. Loki prayed that you were as close as he was, because the coil tightening in his stomach threatened to snap at any moment. It was all he could do to keep from allowing his release to overtake him before you got yours. “Please, pet. I want to hear you cum,” he ground out as his eyes fell shut.

“So close,” you whined. “Loki, I’m gonna cum.”

He couldn’t help it. Loki’s control disintegrated as he began rutting into the pillow like a wild animal. His hips moved in sharp, quick thrusts, and quiet moans left his lips with every movement. ‘Cum--fuck, mm--cum for me, love.” He was going to cum, he couldn’t stop. He just needed you to finish first.

The phone crackled as you let out a sharp cry of pleasure. Loki listened in a trance, trying to memorize every noise that left your lips as you climaxed. Your sounds spurred him on, and he found himself tipping over the edge, cumming harder than he had in a long time. Pleasure whited out his vision, and Loki could faintly hear himself whining your name in a broken voice. He didn’t get the chance to be embarrassed about the noise; his cock pulsed in dizzying waves of euphoria, spurting out rope after rope of hot cum. It shot into his pants, soaking them all the way through and seeping into the pillow. It wasn’t until the last drop had left his body that he was finally able to stop the groans that had been bubbling up from his throat.

As the pleasure subsided, Loki sagged against the bed and took in the mess he had made. His pants were ruined, no doubt about that. And the pillow? Well, it would most likely need a few good washes. But he felt sated, too relaxed to even care about the cum drying to his thighs.

“Are you still there?”

Fuck, he had almost forgotten that you were still on the phone. “Yes,” he croaked out. “That was…”

“Amazing,” you finished for him. Though you couldn’t see him, Loki nodded in agreement.

The bed suddenly felt very large and very empty after the daze of Loki’s orgasm faded. He found himself wishing that you were here, so he could wrap his arms around that perfect waist and bury his nose in your hair. It was an incredibly foreign feeling; Loki had never been one to cuddle after sex. But then again, everything about you was different. You were special. Loki opened his mouth, ready to invite you to his room, but something stopped him. What if this had been just a spur of the moment thing for you? What if you only saw him as a tool to get yourself off?

“Would it be weird if I came down there?” You asked, startling Loki out of his thoughts. There you went again, calming his anxieties before he even had the chance to feel them.

A relieved grin broke out on his face, and his heart sped up again in excitement. “No, I would very much enjoy that.” And for the first time in a very long time, Loki felt wanted.

[anashins]

If You're Willing to Kiss || Taeyong

“If you’re willing to kiss, then let’s show him what he’s missing out on.”

During a stupid round of spin the bottle, your crush kisses someone else, but you make sure that he'll regret it very soon.

_____

“Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!” the people in the circle chanted and clapped their hands simultaneously to the rhythm of their voices.

You watched in rigidity as your female best friend and your crush Jaehyun were about to kiss each other.

Reluctantly, they crawled to the middle of the circle as the chants only increased in their volume the closer they approached the spot until they were awkwardly sitting in front of each other, almost not daring to look into the opposite’s eyes, their cheeks visibly flushed.

At the same time, your heart broke into a thousand pieces.

You hadn’t signed up voluntarily to play this stupid game of spin the bottle as you sure had better things to do on a friday night, like reading or sleeping.

But you couldn’t have said no when Jaehyun had tagged you along to this party as all your friends were coming as well.

At first, you had been excited about it, because wherever Jaehyun went, you would willingly join him as you always wanted to spend as much time with your crush as possible.

After years of having hidden your feelings, tonight you had gathered enough courage to finally make a move.

But now he was about to kiss your best friend, and you felt utterly devastated as you watched how they slowly pressed their lips onto each other.

The people before had only shared light pecks without even touching one another at other parts, but Jaehyun and your best friend did not only kiss longer than required, they also started to put their hands on each other’s bodies, not minding the cheering crowd at all as though they had drifted off to their own world.

You felt sick in your stomach, murmured something along the lines of a hurried apology and excused yourself to the bathroom.

Splashing water into your face, you looked into the mirror while your fingers gripped so tightly onto the sink that your knuckles turned white in the process.

No wonder, you had always felt like that your best friend was a hundred times more beautiful and intelligent than you. Every guy wanted to go out with her, then why not Jaehyun as well?

You had seen the way they turned shy, the way they flushed at each other, and then the way they shared a chaste, yet deep first kiss with 20 other people as witnesses. You may be in love, but you weren’t naive.

If one kiss could change everything, then this had been the kiss.

The kiss he had been supposed to share with you. The kiss you had wanted to save up until it was now too late.

And before the first tears started running, you wanted to go home. Nobody would care anyway.

“Y/n, are you in there?” you suddenly heard from the other side of the closed bathroom door.

It was Taeyong, Jaehyun’s close friend, and the only one who knew about your secret crush.

“Yes, I’ll come out soon, no worries!”

You had forgotten that he was also here, but he hadn’t participated in this round of spin the bottle anyway.

Taeyong only knew about your crush because you had once poured out your heart to him when you were drunk, and until this day, you regretted it deeply as he never failed to miss a chance to tease you about this.

But always, he had kept his lips sealed in front of Jaehyun, and for this, you were grateful.

So of course he would now be the only one knowing about your true feelings after having witnessed your best friend and crush kissing each other.

Yet, you tried not to let any of your true emotions slip as you opened the door and faced him with the brightest fake smile you could pull off.

“Sorry, I just wasn’t feeling well. I think I’m going home.”

“Uh-huu…”

Taeyong inspected you from head to toe, and then decided that he wasn’t satisfied with this answer.

“You sure about this or are you just affected by the clownery Jaehyun has just pulled off?”

It had been a given that you couldn’t lie to him about this topic. Somehow, he must have gotten wind of what had happened. Perhaps, he had also purposely followed you to the bathroom.

You were just asking yourself why.

“Look, Taeyong, I don’t want to talk about it, okay?”

“Lately,” he started, “he has been talking about her a lot.”

You hesitated and gulped. “About… my best friend…?”

Silently, he nodded, confirming your fears and making your stomach churn. It hurt you more than anything ever before, and you were rendered motionless.

“I want to go home,” you then said in the same robotic manner.

At home, you could pour all your feelings out and finally started crying instead of staying at this place where you had to watch them getting closer and your best friend taking the place at your crush’s side that was supposed to be yours.

“Either that or you could stay,” Taeyong suggested.

You frowned. “Why would I want to stay?”

“Jaehyun is an extremely jealous person. If he sees you with someone else, he might regret it and realize that it’s you that he wants.”

“That’s stupid,” you judged and crossed your arms.

“How long have we been knowing each other, y/n?” Taeyong asked. “Long enough for me to know that if you don’t do something now, you will whine about it for ten years, and - no offence - I don’t have the time and patience to hear about your unrequited love for much longer. Either you do something now or you let go of him.”

“It’s already too late,” you commented dryly and wanted to pass by him, but he grabbed you by your arm, making you stop.

“Are these the words of a young woman who had fought her way through the crowd to the first row to see her favorite band up close, elbowing people to the left and right? They’re not! They’re also not the words of someone who had threatened an online seller with an imaginary consumer advice centre when they didn’t want to return her money! And you want to let him go just like that? If there was anything you have taught me, y/n, then it’s the fact that it’s never too late.”

Turning keen-eared, you asked, “So what do you suggest?”

--

Shortly after, you found yourself being part of the spin the bottle circle again.

Of course your eyes hadn’t missed out on the longing gazes Jaehyun and your best friend were throwing at each other while more and more people gathered in the middle of the circle to amuse the crowd with their kisses.

You were angry on the inside, but also full of nervousness as the bottle spun again and Taeyong jumped up, paused, and then reached out his hand to make it stop at the right time.

And the bottleneck was pointing directly at you. You inhaled deeply.

“Hey Taeyong, you wanna kiss her so badly or what?” someone shouted.

Another one added with a laughter, “He’s finally shooting his shot.”

“Shut up, the bottle is pointing at her, so that’s the rules.”

No one complained though as he crawled to the middle and you did the same. It was as though the crowd, your fellow students, actually had been wanting to see you two kiss for a long time, and you wondered whether you were right with your suggestion and why they would think that way.

Taeyong… he had always been there by Jaehyun’s side. He was Jaehyun’s friend, not yours.

Even though he always helped you with homework when you forgot yours. Even though he always handed you water at parties to keep you sobered. Even though he always gave you a ride when you missed the bus. Even though he always made you laugh when you were sad about Jaehyun again.

Even though, in a situation like this, he wanted to help you again.

There were many things Lee Taeyong did for you, yet you had never considered him your friend.

You wondered whether he felt the same way when he leaned in to you.

“If you’re willing to kiss, then let's show him what he’s missing out on,” he whispered only for you to hear. “If you’re willing to kiss, then close your eyes.”

But before you did as you had been told, you threw a last gaze at Jaehyun who looked at you with a mouth slightly agape.

Surprised that it might work, you grinned inwardly as Taeyong’s lips brushed over yours.

It had been so long that you last kissed someone, but from the first moment on, he proved to you that he was indeed a very good kisser.

Taeyong’s lips moved with yours in a very chaste way that had even something romantic to it, and it surprised you, to say the least. It was not even the manner in which Taeyong kissed you that gave you this feeling, but the way he made you feel, the emotion he delivered.

So comfortable, so warm, and raw, and you wondered whether this had been his intention all along or whether this was the usual manner in which he kissed.

So you didn’t wonder when you suddenly noticed him leaning in to you and bending your body to the point of you having to wrap your arms around his neck to look for support so as to not fall backwards, yet you didn’t stop.

Before, you had agreed on fake kissing passionately to rub it under Jaehyun’s nose, but truth to be told, the line between faking and reality slowly started to blur as you genuinely began to enjoy kissing Taeyong.

With his hands now holding onto either side of your waist, he parted your lips to deepen the kiss, and you gladly let him do so.

Even when he started using his tongue, you didn’t make him stop like he had asked you to before in case it would get too much, but you didn’t want him to just yet and pulled him even closer.

You only stopped in the moment Jaehyun interfered with an, “Enough now, it’s only a game!”

But when you pulled away and looked into Taeyong’s sparkling eyes that radiated so much fondness, you wondered how you could have missed the affection he had been holding towards you all this time.

You didn’t care much about Jaehyun’s opinion anymore. Or who he was kissing.

Because if one kiss could change everything, then this had been the kiss for you.

[littlesniggy]

"Y'know, that's not where you're supposed to put it."

Anon: Hi can you do Law and gn reader with no 1 pls? Make it fluff and funny and Reader says it. Thanks!

Hey Anon, thanks for participating!! This is the first little Drabble of my 500 followers event!! I hop you like it! It's fluff and funny with a tiny hint of spicy. Please enjoy!!

Pairing: Law x gn! reader

Today was your anniversary and you had thought about so many things you could give him but you simply had no idea. You wanted it to be special and memorable but that was quite difficult if your boyfriend simply had no interest in gifts in the first place. He’d think it was a waste of time to buy something that would eventually land in the drawer, never to be seen again. And that was true in general but you were under the impression that a well thought out gift would make anyone happy. That’s why, at the last minute, you had an idea you were sure he’d like.

“Happy anniversary.” You sing sang when you walked into his office, his eyes concentrating on the book in front of him, not even looking up at your words. “Thought we wouldn’t celebrate it.” He mumbled, seemingly not too happy. You ignored his comment and rounded the desk instead, squeezing yourself in front of the desk and onto his lap, smiling at him in content.

“You said you wouldn’t celebrate it but I never agreed.” You giggled, pulling out a small gift box from behind your back. “Happy anniversary.” You repeated, dangling the small box in front of his face. Law sighed, putting down his pen and taking the gift from you reluctantly. “I didn’t get you anything, just so you know.” He warned you before he started unwrapping the box. “That’s okay.” You simply said, watching his face for his reaction.

With a suspicious look, he removed the wrapping paper, exposing a small, grey box. He lifted the top and raised an eyebrow. “So, since you knew I wouldn’t get you anything you bought yourself something instead?” he asked, slightly amused. “And what makes you think it’s for me?” you cocked your head to the side, smile not wavering.

Law looked down at the two pieces of jewelry in the box skeptically, holding up the ring that was one of the gifts. “This bracelet is way too small for my wrist. And I’m not intending on wearing just one new earring.” He explained. You grin grew wider at his words, furthering his confusion.

“Y’know, that’s not where you’re supposed to put it anyway.” You replied. It took him a while to realize what you actually meant.

“Oh.” He was at a loss for words, understanding why you have been grinning at him this whole time. “I guess you could say I like this gift, Y/n.” a grin formed on his lips, his thumb feeling the texture of the ring.

“For someone so smart you can be pretty dense from time to time.” You giggled, giving him a sweet kiss to his lips.

[aspiringauthorintraining]

Sands of Eon (1/2)

(A/N): Buckle your seatbelts, cause this is a long one! Read with sad music to really get in the mood. Cause I wrote this with sad music playing in the background lol.

“Do you have a wish, Xiao? I’ll write it on your lantern.”

“No need. I don’t have a lantern nor do I have the desire to make one.” He quickly shut down your offer, no sound of amusement or humor found in his tone. But unfortunately for him, you were used to his constant rejection and came prepared this time.

Grabbing another lantern from under the table, you pushed it towards him with a smile.

“Well, lucky for you, I already made you one.” you laughed, seeing his surprised reaction at the lantern in his hands. “No need to thank me.” you added.

“I don’t-”

You interrupted him before he could say no. “I already made it, and I don’t need two wishes. And like I said, I’ll even write it for you if you want.” Seeing his hesitation, you offered him a deal. “I’ll tell you mine, if you tell me yours.”

Xiao, knowing you weren’t going to give up until he relented, nodded reluctantly.

You clapped your hands happily at his defeat.

“My wish is to become someone who can protect the great and mighty Xiao!” you exclaimed, showing him your lantern.

    To become someone who can protect the great and mighty Xiao.

                                                                                 - (Y/N)

The adeptus gave you a puzzled look after confirming for himself that you had indeed written the same wish verbatim, onto your lantern.

“Well, you protect Liyue, right? But who protects you?” you asked the yaksha. And you predicted that he would say something along the lines of “not needing the protection of a mere human” or what not, so you chimed in again. “Of course, I’m not as powerful as you are. So my protection will mostly be in the form of Almond Tofus and my company. And I'll always be here for you, whenever you need me.”

“I have no need of you, nor your company.”

You tried not to smile at the fact he didn’t mention not needing Almond Tofus.

“I’m lonely. You’re lonely. So we can be lonely together, then.” Shrugging, you changed the subject before he could retort back. “So, what’s your wish then?”

At the conversation returning back to the topic of his wish, he let out another sigh.

“Hand me the brush, I’ll write it.”

As he silently wrote down his own wish on his lantern, you wondered whether he insisted on writing it himself because he was embarrassed to say his wish out loud. Or was it because he didn’t like your handwriting? You figured it would most likely be the latter. But upon noticing the slight blush dusted onto his cheeks, you couldn't help but second-guess yourself.

And after a short moment later, he handed the writing utensil and lantern back to you.

“You sure you don’t want to come with me to release the lanterns?” you asked him, hopeful that maybe this year would be the year to finally convince the recluse man of joining the festivities. “We can release it on the mountain, instead of in the city if you would feel more comfortable?”

“I would feel more comfortable staying here.” he replied firmly. His tone didn’t give away any leeway of changing his mind, so you decided that the lanterns would have to do this year. But hey, at least he participated.

After gathering your things, you made your way down the steps of the inn, and into the direction of the road leading back to the city. You waved a goodbye up to Xiao, who just watched your retreating figure. It was only when you stopped walking to frantically wave at him, that he gave a half-hearted wave back. He probably breathed a sigh of relief at your absence, once you left his view. But still, the half-hearted action brought a smile to your lips, and it remained with you the rest of the way home.

Once the Lantern Rite festival ended, the Xiao lanterns disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.

You had been tempted to keep Xiao's lantern after the festival, knowing it was the first, but you hoped not the last, lantern Xiao had written a wish on. But the lanterns were meant to be released, not kept. And it wasn't hard to keep the wishes written on yours and Xiao's lanterns to your memory.

In the following days after the Lantern Rite festival, you spent your time contemplating how to go about making your lantern wish become a reality. But as you wracked your brain, continuously pondering over the problem, you were left with one resounding question.

What really could you do for Xiao?

You didn’t have much to offer the yaksha. You were neither rich nor someone with immense power that could rival his. Your company, which you weren’t even sure whether he enjoyed or not, was the only thing you had going for you. Well, that and making him Almond Tofus.

So then, nothing, it seemed.

You sure talked big for someone who had nothing to back it up with.

That was until one day, when you came across a certain object in a treasure chest in your adventures.

“It’d be best if you destroy that, and forget you ever saw it, (Y/N).” the archon responded to your question.

“Why? Isn’t it just another hourglass artifact?”

You figured asking Zhongli about the item would be your best bet. With how old he truly was, the Geo Archon had an immense knowledge of everything, and if anyone knew what the artifact was, it would have to be him.

“That’s one of the artifacts that was lost during the Archon War. It’s far more powerful than any used these days.” The funeral parlor owner took another sip of his tea, before continuing. “It’s infused with the raw power of a god, so it has special abilities.”

“Like?”

The man should've known that you weren’t going to follow his advice from the start. He let out a defeated sigh, before elaborating further. “There were rumors that the god who created that specific artifact had received the Sands of Eon from Time itself.”

“Time is a person- I mean a living being?!”

“Again, just rumors.” he noted. “And supposedly, by infusing the artifact with his own power, it could bend the laws of time.”

Your eyes grew wide at the new information. “So you’re saying this artifact could, in theory, turn back time.”

“In theory, yes.”

How could such a powerful artifact have washed up shore and land into your hands?

You decided to ask him one last question, already getting a slight headache at the information just revealed.

“What happened to the god?”

“It was said that the first and only time he used the piece was after watching his people massacred during the Archon War. He used it to save his people; warning them of the future events beforehand, buying them enough time to flee. Consequently, the price he paid for saving all his people was was at the cost of his own life.”

He left you with some parting final words as you left the funeral parlor, to sort out your thoughts.

“There's always a price for changing the past, (Y/N).”

Your first thought had been to give the artifact to Xiao, allowing him to go back in time to when he made a contract with the evil god, Kubira, who used him as a bloodhound. But remembering the fate of the original owner of the artifact prevented you from doing so.

It was then you were reminded of your lantern wish.

To become someone who can protect the great and mighty Xiao.

This was the answer to your wish.

You could use it yourself, and stop Xiao from forming the contract with whatever means necessary. You made a promise to protect him and by doing this you would be able to. There would be no pain or suffering for him to endure if you were successful. And once you realized that this was the the only way to truly protect your friend, you knew there was no turning back.

You gave yourself a month to prepare. Reading up on everything there was to the Archon War to prevent a change into the outcome, with your sudden appearance in the past. It was also meant a month of pestering Zhongli; asking about anything that wasn't recorded or lost in Liyue's history. You researched everything you could about the evil god, Kubira, as well, in order to prevent the infamous past contract that sealed Xiao's fate.

And it was, perhaps, the first time you were ever thankful to have grown up alone. No close ties with anyone, no family to miss once you left. Sure you had friends, but they could continue to live on without you.

The only one person you realized that you would truly miss and regret leaving behind, was the same person you were going back into the past for. You wondered if he would be okay once you left. You were the only one who pushed through his constant rejection and intimidating demeanor to truly get to know him and to be able to call him a friend.

But if you were successful in changing the past, would he even be able remember you?

The night before your departure, you visited Xiao at the Wangshu Inn, with a bowl of his favorite dish.

The adeptus who didn’t know a word about your plan, paused at the forlorn look you had as you watched him eat his food. It was already strange to him that you were just watching him, instead of asking him how his day was or telling him who you had met on your way over like always. And the forced way you nonchalantly brushed off your watering eyes as seasonal allergies confused him even more. Something was off about the way you were acting. And the question you proceeded to ask him was the icing on the cake.

“Hey, Xiao. If I went missing for some time, would you miss me?”

If you had asked this in the first year you met him, he would’ve probably responded with a relieved no. But currently, he remained silent at your question.

Had your efforts to befriend him pay off? Did you actually manage to squeeze into his heart, and make yourself a little home?

“…I would miss your Almond Tofus.” he replied after a long minute, paired with a straight face.

Well, it was better than a no.

During the early stages of your "friendship" with Xiao, the words, "get lost" were thrown in your direction every time you had come to visit. So to you, his current answer was certainly an improvement.

“Is it really that hard to say, “Yes, (Y/N). I would miss you so much. Don’t ever leave me” ?” you drawled, trying not to laugh when he briefly choked on his food at your choice of words.

Gulping down his water, he cleared his throat loudly. “Ehem. F-fine, I guess I would notice your absence.”

Sure, it wasn’t the confession you were hoping for, but you would take it.

You gave him a small smile, turning your attention to the view from the top floor balcony.

Taking in a deep breath, you gathered up the courage to speak your next words.

“Hey, Xiao.”

You looked at him with another smile, this one not quite reaching your eyes. You took a silent moment to memorize his face, down to every detail. When you reached his eyes, you tried to keep yourself from getting lost in the amber pools. But with one look at them, you failed miserably, falling straight into their depths. And with your undivided attention given to his eyes, you failed to notice the slight reddening of his cheeks.

“Thank you for protecting Liyue. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for being my first love. And most of all, thank you for always being there for me.”

You stood up quietly, holding onto the same bittersweet smile on your face as you neared him. And before he was given the chance to register your words, you quickly left a soft kiss on his cheek; disappearing down the stairs without another glance back.

Regaining his conscious a moment later, he was about to chase after you, knowing you couldn’t have gone far. But a folded letter on the table in front of him distracted him momentarily, giving you enough time to escape.

Xiao,

I thought long and hard about what I could do for you after saying those big words about protecting you. And I think this is the best way to do that. 

I know you won’t remember any of this once I come back, if I come back. You probably won’t even remember me. But that’s okay. I’ll be fine, being the only one who remembers, if it means you’ll have a better future. So don’t let my efforts go to waste! Eat something other than Almond Tofu and snow. Make and surround yourself with friends. I hope I showed you that humans can be worthwhile friends too. And don’t ever think that you deserve solitude, because you deserve so much more than that. 

Thank you again for everything. I never felt alone when i was with you. I’m still not even sure if you consider us friends, but your friendship meant the world to me. So I’m going to have to insist that we are friends.

I don’t have any regrets leaving. I lived and I loved thanks to you. So now it’s your turn. 

I hope you can live your new life without any regrets or burdens weighing you down.

Love Always,

(Y/N).

Part 2 here!

(A/N): i made it into a two part, because it was taking too much scrolling to read everything lol. Also why is Xiao’s story so sad? I did some research before writing and like I’m crying dude.

Like, comment, subscribe, ring the bell for notifications for more videos. jk lol, this isn’t youtube. Just play some Genshin.

[the-witty-pen-name]

Can’t Help Falling in Love

Loki x Reader (f) 

Valentine’s Day with the God of Mischief 

Based on suggestion by: @squadleaderchase​

A/N: Thank you so much for the suggestion! I loved writing this, it was so much fun! 

Happy Valentine’s Day y’all!

There is also a gender neutral version of this fic, and will be posted shortly after this one! Read it here! 

I recommend to putting on Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis towards the end just for that finishing touch! 

Summary: When Loki learns about the traditions of Valentine’s Day, he asks you to be his Valentine- and reluctantly takes advice from Steve Rogers. 

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: none; just fluff 

“Can’t Midgardians have a holiday that doesn’t involve such a grotesque display of… red?” Loki asks walking into the living room of the Avengers compound. Loki arrived at the compound a few weeks before Christmas and so far, he’s experienced two Earth holidays: Christmas and New Year’s. Of course, Tony had picked the theme for both parties to be elaborately red and gold- he claimed the fact that it matched his suit was merely a coincidence.

“Just wait until next month,” you reply casually, your eyes not leaving the brief you were reading while you sat cozied up in one of the large armchairs. “I think you’ll like St. Patrick’s Day much more… color scheme wise at least.”

Loki looked up curiously at the hearts of all shades of red and pink Natasha had hung up to decorate the Avengers’ living quarters. She had gone to visit Clint’s family and his kids spent hours making Valentines and decorations out of construction paper and glitter. Loki looked almost puzzled at the lopsided hearts that hung from the ceiling on transparent line so they looked like they floated mid-air.

“Perhaps I might,” he mumbled to himself, the lovesick aura of his surroundings making him slightly disgusted. “Though I suppose I find your rituals as bizarre as you’d find on Asgard.”

“Mhmm,” you mumbled in response to his thinking out loud. It was rare that the compound would be this quiet. It was a Friday evening and in the middle of a team meeting earlier today, Tony declared exhaustedly that everyone needs to start the weekend early and dismissed everyone despite Steve’s protests. You weren’t sure where everyone else went and you didn’t particularly care- enjoying the rare peace and quiet.

You didn’t mind Loki’s company. He was a little aloof but overall, you found him more to be misunderstood than anything else. He wasn’t like Thor and sure, he had a very trouble ridden past to downplay it- but he’s confided in you all it wasn’t entirely his doing. Out of everyone living at the compound, he probably had grown the closest to you, or as close as Loki would allow himself to be to someone.

“What even is this holiday?” Loki asked, pulling his attention from the decorations to where you sat, binder in your lap. You looked up and closed the brief, tossing it onto the coffee table in front of where you sat.

“Sunday is Valentine’s Day,” you say looking back over to him, meeting his eyes. “I mean overtime the traditions and how we celebrate have changed but it’s originally the day meant to honor St. Valentine and commemorate his death. There’s a lot more to it than that and there’s all different of different origins, but now it’s more like a day where you celebrate love, because he was the patron Saint of Love.”

Loki nods, liking the idea of this holiday much more than New Years already. He didn’t mind Christmas, but the elaborate parties made everything not very appealing to him. You can’t blame the god for not having a good time at parties where every guest fears him or hates him. He walks over and takes a seat on the couch and crosses his legs. He was intrigued enough to continue the conversation and ask you more questions. “What are the traditions?” He asks curiously.

“Traditionally, you would ask someone to be your Valentine, and that’s the person you want to spend the day with,” you answer with a small shrug, trying to explain a holiday you’ve never had to explain before. “Some people have it easy and they ask their significant other, and if you don’t have one, you ask someone you’re romantically interested in to be your Valentine. Then you give each other gifts, like chocolates or flowers, anything really that’s romantic and you go out on a date, like a nice dinner but it doesn’t have to be. That’s the basic gist.”

“Thank you, (y/n),” Loki said, mulling over your explanation. “You’ve been helpful, as always. Tell me, who’s your Valentine?”

“I don’t have one,” you answered honestly. The only time you really celebrated was when you had been with someone. You’d never really participated otherwise. You planned to just spend the night alone or with Nat if she also didn’t have plans and probably watch a movie- most definitely Pride and Prejudice.

“Shame,” Loki said with a tsk. “Perhaps, if you would be interested, you could be my Valentine?”

“Really?” you ask, honestly surprised.

“I actually like the idea of the day,” Loki shrugged. “And I don’t know many people, people seem to hate me on this planet- no idea as to why. You’ve always been kind to me, and you are the most tolerable person I’ve encountered on this planet.”

“That’s oddly very kind of you,” you say with a chuckle. “I appreciate the sentiments. Um, yes. I’d be happy to be your Valentine.”

“Excellent,” he grinned. He clapped his hands together and stood up. “Splendid. I’ll ask Thor to help me plan something.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” you smile, picking up your paperwork again as Loki heads off to find his brother.

***

“Brother,” Thor’s voice echoed in the training room. “Spar with me?”

“As much as I would love to,” Loki said sarcastically, “I need your help with something I need to plan.” Loki walked over to the side of the mat where Thor had been training with Captain Rogers.

“Plan what?” Captain Rogers asked curiously. It was an innocent enough question but Loki took it as Rogers insinuating his distrust in him. Of course, Loki can’t blame the man but it did rub him the wrong way.

“If you must know Captain Rogers, I’m making plans for this upcoming Valentine’s Day,” Loki said matter-of-factly. “I’m sure since you have quite the active love life recently, your words of wisdom are probably of infinite value.”

“You can learn a thing or two from me,” Steve retorted as he put the punching bag beck into place. “But I don’t like your attitude.”

“I don’t know how I’ll ever manage without you,” Loki scoffed. He turned his attention back to his brother. “I need help to determine where I should take (y/n) and what I should get her.”

“(y/n) agreed to this?” Thor asks, his eyebrows raised in confusion. Rogers kept his mouth shut, deciding to see where this conversation will go before

“Yes, brother. I asked her to be my Valentine as stated by tradition and she said yes.”

“Ah! Good for you, brother!” Thor exclaimed, happily. “I’m glad you’re immersing yourself in the Midgard culture.”

“Yes, yes,” Loki waved him off, “Now, please, tell me what I should do.”

“I’ve never celebrated Valentine’s Day,” Thor says with a shrug and a sympathetic look. “I haven’t had much opportunity to explore the culture. Every time I’m on this planet I’m a little busy preventing its destruction. Perhaps Rogers can help you?”

Loki let out an exasperated sigh. He avoided Rogers as he knew the man had such a smug look on his face. Loki refused to give him the satisfaction. However, he realized that wouldn’t be fair to you. Rogers not only knew what to do, but he was also close friends with you. He quickly realized if he wanted to celebrate with you properly, he’d need to rely on the infamous super soldier.

“Captain Rogers,” Loki said with a charismatic smile, turning back to the man. “I wholeheartedly apologize for my lack of… social niceties. If you’d be willing to help me, to ensure your dear friend enjoys her holiday, I would be sincerely grateful.”

“Only because of (y/n),” Rogers says skeptically, waving a finger at Loki. “She deserves to enjoy her time and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I let you screw up her evening.”

“What a loyal friend.”

Years later, the Avengers would still talk about the fact Loki cared about you so much, he sought out advice from Captain America and Thor. And as Captain America said, he helped Loki with every last detail and Steve never let Loki forget it.

***

Loki had told you that he’d come to your room to get you at 6 o’clock Sunday evening. He wore clothes he had picked out, black dress pants, a white button-down shirt and shiny, black dress shoes. He had kept the last button of the shirt unbuttoned and he had rolled the sleeves up, a styling tip he had gotten from Thor. He had his long hair gelled back and tamed, ignoring Captain Roger’s horrible suggestion for a haircut. He felt very weird not wearing any green, but he took the advice he was given on his ensemble.

You were just putting on your heels when he knocked at your door Sunday promptly at 6pm. Of course, Loki would be very punctual. You gave yourself one more quick once more in the mirror in your room before heading to answer the door.

You had on a pair of dark green heels that perfectly matched your dress. You also layered over the outfit a suede brown jacket, that complimented the jewel tone of the dress and shoes nicely. You kept your appearance simple, sticking to how you usually styled your hair. Not wanting to keep him waiting, you quickly opened the door, your jacket and bag both in hand.

“Wow,” you say with a grin, when you take in Loki’s appearance. “You look very nice.”

“You look stunning,” Loki said, his eyes widening, taking in your appearance. The compliment made you have butterflies.

“Thank you,” you said with false confidence. Underneath, you were a nervous wreck as you took the arm that he extended to you.

“So,” Loki began to walk down the hallway with you. “Apparently, this planet has something called reservations, and anyone who tries to get one a few days before Valentine’s Day is a “moron,” according to a very rude young man I had the pleasure of speaking with- the first time using a phone too on top of that. So, I hope you don’t mind if the evening is a little… makeshift.”

“I’m sure it’ll be great,” you reassure him. You feel him relax slightly. You found how hard he was trying so endearing.

Where else did he bring you but just down the hall to the living room. At night with the lights dimmed, combined with Natasha’s homemade decorations, it actually looked quite beautiful. He had decorated with an eclectic array of candles as well that covered most surfaces of the room. It also looked like he had swiped every throw pillow in the whole compound and had them arranged the coffee table in the center of the room.

“Did you do all of this?” You ask in awe.

“Yes,” he replied, just watching you. “Do you like it?”

“It’s perfect.”

“I had to make my own version of advice I received,” he disclosed to you. You sat opposite each other on either side of the coffee table, you kicked off your heels and he did the same with his shoes. “Captain Rogers said- and I’m trying my best to quote verbatim, ‘You need to show a girl a good time. You gotta take her to dinner and dancing.’” He even mimicked Steve’s voice perfectly. It made you laugh.

“I can’t believe you subjected yourself to Steve for me, I’m touched,” you smiled. “I mean I love Steve,” you continue, “But I can’t imagine you too being best friends anytime soon.”

“No, I suppose we probably won’t be,” Loki chuckles.

“I hate to point it out,” you continue, “but I think you missed both the dinner part and the dancing part of that plan.” Loki smirked and when you blinked, he transformed the whole room.

“Did I?” he asks, with an eyebrow raised. You gasp, looking around the room you were now in. You knew it was an illusion, but it felt very real. The atmosphere, the breeze coming in from the large bay windows that weren’t there before. The coffee table now a table now one of many dining tables in an incredibly high-end restaurant. The table had food, and a bottle of wine. You were stunned. There was a live band and other couples in other tables and out on the dancefloor.

“Loki?” You exclaimed, looking around at your new surroundings. It was amazing. You couldn’t believe the magic right before your eyes. Of course, you knew it was just one of his tricks, but it felt so incredibly real. You picked up your fork and took a bite of the food in front of you. It was incredible, you questioned if you were even eating.

“It’s real,” Loki said, like he could read your mind. Honestly, he had only just anticipated your next question. “I made it. Well, I made it with Friday’s supervision.”

“It’s fantastic! I can’t believe you went through all this trouble just for me.”

“Sweetheart, you are very much worth it- worth much more than this,” he responded casually, throwing in the term of endearment to see how you’d react. He caught the way it made you smile.

You continued to talk for a little while, and shared stories. You were worried that compared to his life on Asgard, he’d find your stories incredibly boring and mundane. It seemed to be the opposite. His attention was only on you and he held on to every word you said. He created this elaborate setting just to keep you the center of his attention.

“Should we dance?” He asks suddenly, a glimmer in his eye. You looked down apprehensively.

“I’m not really a dancer,” you tried to insist.

“Do you actually not want to dance, darling? Because if so, I will not bring it up again,” he says earnestly, “But, if you’re saying no because you’re afraid I’m going to judge you, I honestly can promise you I would never dream of doing so.”

You give it another moment to ponder over his words. You were taken aback at how well he seemed to know how you were thinking. You let out a sigh of defeat, and smile. “I’d love to,” you reply.

He stands up and offers you his hand. His smile is enough to make you weak at the knees. You take his hand and he leads you over to the dancefloor as the band starts playing its next song. “Does that singer sound like Elvis?” You ask, the small glitch in the illusion throwing you off for only a moment.

“I don’t know who that is,” Loki says with a laugh. He pulls you in close and rests one hand on the small of your back and the other grasps your hand close. You wrap your other arm around his shoulder. You are both pressed up incredibly close to one another. You rest your head on his chest comfortably, and you can’t see how much the action makes his whole face go red. Guiding your movements together, it mostly just swaying in place. The steps were small, and with the music playing for the two of you.

“This place is incredible,” you sigh happily looking up at him. “But I think I liked the first place a little better.”

He nodded in agreement and you got to watch a green hue encompass the walls of the restaurant as they almost melted away, and everything around the two of you just fade away. The sconces on the walls, revealed themselves to be the candles that cluttered the living room and the couples evaporated with the green mist. The table you had both sat at, turned back to the coffee table but the empty plates remained. The elaborate statues that surrounded the room turned into the furniture you knew well, and then the live band faded away to reveal Steve’s record player indeed playing a 45 of Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley.

When the room finished revealing its true appearance to you, you laid your head back on Loki’s chest and mumbled that now it was perfect. He smiled to himself, thinking about how without a doubt in his mind, Valentine’s Day is his absolute favorite holiday on Midgard. He now couldn’t believe this reality was real. If he wasn’t holding you, he’d pinch himself. You were here, with him, in his arms, dancing in the middle of the living room on this godforsaken planet.

“(y/n)?” he whispered softly as the song was coming to an end.

“Mhmm?” You responded, your eyes closed, really just basking in the feeling of being so close to him and the smell of his cologne.

“Will be mine?” He asks carefully, remembering the phrase from Captain Roger’s advice. That phrase apparently being very important if today went well and he wanted to ask you to “go steady.” You chuckled softly, hearing Steve’s influence in the phrase.

“I would love to,” you say with a shy smile looking back up to him. He beams, incredibly happy you said yes. Swept up in his emotions, he swiftly leans down and presses his lips to yours capturing them in a passionate first kiss.

“Oh gross!” You hear someone exclaim, making you both pull away. It’s Tony- who was currently holding his side in pain as Pepper elbowed him in the side.

“You really had to do that?” she chastised him, rolling her eyes and giving an apologetic look to you and Loki before pushing Tony down the hallway to give you both your moment back, as sullied as it had become thanks to Tony.

“I’m so sorry,” she said embarrassed by his outburst, ushering him out as quickly as possible.

Loki turns his head back to you, immediately after they are out of view. “Where were we, darling?” He smirks, pulling you in for another kiss.

[angxlyxn]

preservation - aesop x f. reader

summary: Aesop wants to make sure that you stay as his, forever.

warnings: death, reader dies, minor gore (blood), asphyxiation/choking, obsessive behavior, usage of a syringe, death by use of pancuronium bromide.

a/n: identity v is unfortunately my current brainrot, so please take this.  i’m actually pretty proud of this piece and i hope you enjoy it too!

word count: ~4.6k

When you had first arrived at the manor, you had been seen by many as strange.  An oddity if you will, a disturbance in the otherwise monotonous and flat life that the others led.  You had stood upon the steps of the mansion, clutching a leather case between your clammy hand and knocking definitively on the door.  The oaken frame was soon flung open by a vivacious girl, her brown hair falling in locks about her face and tangling around her chin with a sort of carelessness.  She had introduced herself to you as Emma, and you had given her a curt nod in return.  You mumbled out your name, mindlessly letting your eyes drift about the meticulous architecture of the manor in disinterest, the girl’s lively rambles buzzing about and filtering through your previously vacant ears.  She soon had led you into the warmth of the building, a creeping feeling overtaking you as she tugged you towards the dining hall, where she said the others were waiting.  Your hands tightened around your skirt pocket, where the letter that brought you to this place was secured.  It had promised a large sum of money for your participation in some sort of “game”, of which the details were not included.  You, however, blindly jumped at the opportunity.  Lack of a spouse and job had left you nearly homeless, and you had become tired of being a scavenger, tired of having your life depend on whether or not an inn had vacancies.  So, the idea of a huge cash prize was everything to you.  

You remembered clearly the moment when you had been pulled into the dining room and hurriedly introduced by an overly excited Emma, the sea of survivors greeting you with looks varying from boredom to contempt.  One person, however, stood out to you as they looked on with an expression of interest, cold grey eyes analyzing your features and brows drawing together in thought.  You returned his stare, not as a challenge but simply out of curiosity.  Upon realizing that you were looking at him as well, he turned away from you, gently tucking the hem of his mask further over his thin nose.

A peculiar one, Aesop was.  He never did grow less reticent during your time together, always staying serious and stone-faced, yet easy to fluster.  A few survivors took advantage of his frightful nature, but most were too afraid of the embalmer to even spare a glance in his direction.

Which, he supposes, is where his infatuation with you began.  You were like him, in a way.  Generally avoided by most, with the exception of a few more social survivors, such as Kevin and Emma.  Luca, it seemed, had also taken a liking to you, and often would drag you along to keep him company.  Those were the times that Aesop hated the most.  He never minded much when Kevin would flirt, or when Emma would insist on you helping her with her gardening, because he knew that these were just patterns of behavior, and nothing personal.  Luca, however, was hard to read.  He was extroverted, yet private, and tried as he did, Aesop was never able to figure him out.  His motives were too jumbled to understand, his words always far too fast and convoluted.  And the amount of attention you seemed to divert to the young inventor was more than enough to bring forth the feelings of jealousy and disdain that seemed to occupy Aesop whenever someone spoke of or interacted with you.  

Despite these odd feelings, Aesop was disgusted by you.  The living repulsed him, and you weren’t supposed to be an exception to this rule.  He would hold back a flinch each time that you would breathe, the motion of your chest rising filling him with contempt both for you and himself.  He hated that he was so attached to a living thing such as you.  

You would be so much better off dead.  So much prettier with your eyes permanently closed, the gentle flush that usually occupied your cheeks drawn out from your skin.  

He knew that he had to resist these temptations of seeing you lifeless.  Aesop was a calculated man, but he seemed to have much less control when it came to you.  So, he decided that it would do him well to attempt to act as one usually would, and for a time he tried to fit himself into the social structure of the manor, at least more so than he usually did.

He tried to grow closer to you as someone usually would.  The male would dedicate part of his day to attempting to be social with you, although this usually just meant that he would sit near you in the library or join you by the fireplace.  Little to no words were exchanged between the two of you, and yet, he could not have wished for anything more.  During the time he spent with you, he was able to observe, able to familiarize himself with your behavior, your quirks, and your patterns.  He found immense satisfaction in watching as your expression would change as you read, taking great joy in the way that your brows would cinch together every so often.  Not to mention your other more intimate expressions.  It almost felt orgasmic to the male whenever the most lithe of smiles would spread across your cheeks.  Sometimes he would grow flustered just thinking about the gentle curve of your lips, or the way your tongue would protrude slightly in an ever so innocent way when you would grace him with that kind smile of yours.

This was enough to keep him content for a long time, but at some point, that changed.  He grew bored of just watching you, and longed for more.  He wished to feel you against him, to feel your steady breaths reverberate against his ribs.  He wanted to experience the sensation of you quivering against him, wanted to caress and tug your hair, wanted to wrap his hands around your pretty little neck and squeeze until you were begging and gasping for air.  He wanted to make it so you were completely at his mercy.

Unable to refuse him.  

Helpless.

But still he continued watching you, without your knowledge, of course.  He familiarized himself with your schedule, and found that Tuesdays were the days you were most often matched, while Sundays you always kept to yourself, not even sparing a glance at other survivors unless it’s warranted.  

Sunday was Aesop’s favorite day.  Sunday meant that he could observe you without being bothered or eavesdropped on himself, it meant that he could watch over you in an environment where pests, such as the likes of Luca and Emma, weren’t constantly flitting about you.  

Today was a Sunday, and Aesop was planning something special for you.

A bundle of storm clouds had gathered atop the manor. Rain had already drenched the wooden exterior of the building, and was now continuously pelting against the many window panes.  The sound of the storm resounded through the manor in a way that was reminiscent of a hum.  You presently were sitting inside of your room, clothed in a silk nightdress that was gifted to you by Miss Nightingale.  You didn’t have many proper clothes upon your arrival at the manor, neither had most other of the participants.  The majority of your wardrobe was provided for you by the woman herself, whom you had never seen.  

The dress itself was rather comfortable, and draped nicely over your body.  It reached the floor, the ruffled trim on it brushing against your feet periodically.  You had laid yourself across your bed, pulling the blankets adorning it up to your chest and drawing the bed curtains closed.  A book sat beside you on your bedside table, and yet you couldn’t be bothered with reading it.  You were too occupied with watching the rain outside, memorizing the patterns of the water as it fell down and clambered against the manor.  

A knock at the door brought you out of your dazed state.  You waited for a voice to precede the sound, but nothing came, and so you rose from your bed, reluctantly moving out from under the bundle of blankets and grabbing a dressing robe from your armoire.  You pulled it on, walking tiredly towards the door with an unconcerned expression and grasping the brass handle, pulling the hatch open to reveal the delicate frame of a man before you.

Aesop stood outside of your doorway, grasping his embalming kit and standing stock still, as though someone had forced a pole up his back.  

“Mr. Carl..” You said, voice breathy and calm as you pulled your robe further over your exposed clavicle.  He offered a curt nod in return, acknowledging you with a blink.  You noticed how his hands were shaking, quivering around the handle of his kit as he stood in front of you, his fingers obviously clamming up.  Perhaps he was nervous?  “Do you need something?”

He looked up at you with a frightened expression, and you were worried that you had said the wrong thing.  He looked back down, turning from your skeptical eyes and nodding profusely.

“Y-Y/n,” he began, gaze still casted downwards. “Would you mind...a-accompanying me to my room?  Th-There’s a bird that flew in, and I don’t know what to do about the thing.”  His voice shook as he spoke.  

You squinted at him.  It was raining outside.  Why had he propped open his window?  Why would he ask you for help?  Emma and Eli were both much more comfortable with animals than you, and the latter especially had a talent with birds.

“Do you want me to get Eli?  He’s much better with things like that,” you offered, your voice skeptical.  

He finally looked up to meet your eyes, his pupils dilating slightly.  

“No, I’d- I’d rather have you.  Help me, I mean,” he finished awkwardly.

You turned over his question in your mind, surveying the man’s frail appearance.  Aesop had never talked to you much, but you supposed he did have a habit of staying around you.  Sometimes you would find him following you places, and he never seemed to be more than a room away from you.  You knew very well the male’s nervous tendencies, as well as his difficulty with interacting with others.  Part of you felt sympathetic for him, but your place in the manor’s social structure wasn’t much different than his.  Still, you felt obligated to help him.  Not many other survivors, or hunters for that matter, acted too kindly towards Aesop.  If he had worked up the courage to ask you something, you might as well comply with his wishes.  He never asked much of anyone, so you supposed it was a rare occasion that you should indulge.

“Alright,” you said hesitantly.  He looked up at you, his eyes the most telling they had ever been.  His grey irises swirled with probably the closest thing to joy you had ever seen him express, mixed with a bit of shock.  You supposed the second part was warranted.  You weren’t particularly one for helping others around the manor, especially because of how selfish and cruel many of the survivors were.  You sure as hell weren’t going to help Freddy if all he would do is be stingy towards you, neither would you help Naib, who would just yell at you if you tried to assist him.  You couldn’t be too upset with him for his reactions, though.  You supposed you would do the same.  Your life before the manor, which was generally spent in poverty and isolation, had bestowed upon you the gift of independence, as well as a lack of selflessness.  You saw this as good.  Why help others if they have nothing to offer to you?  

You were only helping Aesop because...well...you supposed you enjoyed his company, however solitary the time you spent together would be.  And you supposed he had never asked for anything before…

And so you were off, following Aesop down the winding hallways of the manor.  He led you through sets of doors, each strikingly similar and equally as eerie as the next.  The clothed floor creaked beneath you as you walked, carpet growing indents in it each time either of you would take a step.  

After what felt like an eternity filled with nothing more than the sound of monotonous footsteps, you reached what you presumed to be the embalmer’s door.  It was a tall door, one that was crafted from mahogany and glazed to be a darker, more sultry color.  He hesitantly turned to face you, an unsure expression on his face as he gazed at you with distrust.  

“I…” He began, only to leave his sentence hanging.  

“You wanted me to shoo away the bird, right?”

Aesop tried not to panic as he looked at you.

Vulnerable you.

Standing outside of his room.

Once you were within the confines of his abode, he could do whatever he wished to you.  You were going to look so wonderful dead.

He wrapped a milky hand around the doorknob, pulling it open and letting you into his room.  He watched you with narrowed eyes as you walked through, observing your surroundings with a sort of careful skepticism.

You had a distinct feeling that something was wrong.  Aesop never allowed anyone into his quarters.  He never even let anyone see inside of his embalming kit.  He was excessively private.  This was strange.  And the feeling of eyes burning into your back was not helping with your nerves.

“Mr. C-Carl,” you said, shifting to face him.  “Where was the bird?”  Your words knocked him out of his unconscious stupor, and he shut his door behind him before pointing to a place near his clothing chest.  You turned around, walking towards it as he discreetly locked the door behind him.  

He watched you intently as you bent over, looking carefully through his meticulously organized room with part curiosity and part concern.  

“Aesop,” he corrected, his voice barely a whisper.  

You hummed in confusion, looking back to face him.  

“My name...please don’t be so formal.”  

Your eyes betrayed you as utter confusion seeped through your pupils.  Aesop had always been one for formalities, and he had always been perhaps the strictest about respect out of the group.  Only a few survivors called him by his first name, all of which did so without his permission.  This wasn’t like him.

By now you were certain that something was wrong.  However, you just nodded compliantly, still foolishly putting your trust in the male and shoving your suspicions down.  He was probably just trying to be nice.  

You breathed in a sigh, turning back to to corner and continuing to look for the bird.  There were no signs of one, and you grew increasingly irritated at the male for calling you as you came to the realization that there was probably no such thing in the first place.  Bringing a finger up to your temple, you muttered out once more.  

“Mr. Car-”  

“I told you to refer to me as Aesop.”

You felt a deep presence take its place near you as you stood stock still, the clarity of the young embalmer’s voice indicating that he was directly behind you.  Lurching upwards, you whipped around, an unintentionally accusatory expression on your face.  

“Please don’t...be so close to me.  I-  Why are you..” You couldn’t even finish your sentence, your discombobulated words drying up as he leaned into you, moving his face down to meet yours as you looked on with discomfort and shifted away from him as far as you could.  He just hummed in satisfaction, eyes narrowing as he observed the power he currently held over you, how you were bending away at the mere prospect of his touch.  Anyone else might have found this hurtful, but your actions just submerged Aesop into an unmistakable feeling of power, one that he faintly remembered from his time before the manor when he was still working as an apprentice.

He carefully reached out a hand, feelings of longing spreading through his fingertips as he drew them close to your face.  A slender digit traced up to your hairline, shifting some stray hairs aside.  You stood there, quivering.  

This was uncomfortable.  You had to go.  Even Aesop must know that this wasn’t normal.  Your eyes darted across the four walls of his room before falling on the door.  You spared him one more shaking glance before pushing him away from you, shoving the male to the side and sprinting towards your only viable exit.  You heard him stumble a bit behind you, the satisfaction of having stunned him motivating you to move faster.  You grasped a hand out, searching blindly for the doorknob in a less than futile attempt to let yourself out of the room.  You grabbed a hold of it, shaking wildly when it failed to click open.  

An unforeseen force grasped you by the back of your collar, pulling you backwards and eliciting a few chokes from you.  Your body collided with something soft behind you, the slim torso of the embalmer pressing up against yours in an uncomfortably heated manner.  His breathing was thick and shallow, as though he were struggling for air as he grasped you within his horribly depraved hands.  His arm slid around your middle, pulling you further into him as he breathed down your neck, heavy sighs falling against your skin and creating a sensation of chills within your shoulders.  

“Don’t run,” he said between heavy breaths, voice shaky and thick with something akin to arousal.  

Without warning, you were shoved against the cold wood of his desk, head banging against the surface as he wrapped his hands around your throat, his movements sharp and concise.  You yelped, only for the sound to come out as a series of gasps due to his inhuman grip on you.  You clawed your hands against his, eyes glazing over as you fought against the male.  He refused to let up on you, his mask itching down his face and revealing a sick half smile.  

You felt as though you were about to die. Correction: you were going to die.  But you were nothing if not a fighter.  You kicked your steadily numbing leg up, your unclothed foot colliding with his stomach.  He grimaced, his grip loosening noticeably for what must have been less than a second.  This moment, however, was enough to give you just the slightest bit of hope, and so you kept struggling. If he was going to kill you, you should at least like to go out fighting.  

A flash of clarity came to you as you shoved your hands towards his face, aiming for his eyes as your outstretched fingers came into contact with the male’s milky flesh.  He threw himself backwards, retracting his hands and hissing as he shaded his face from further assault.  

You took off, sprinting wildly towards the door and stumbling over your own feet as you tumbled away from your attacker, lunging once more and outstretching your hand.  Taking heed of your previous mistakes, your fingers slipped around the lock, releasing it before pulling the door open.  The hallway never had looked so inviting before as you jumped out into it, forcing yourself through the doorway and out into the hallway and screaming for someone to help and…

And no sound came from your lips.  In one swift motion, Aesop grabbed you back, his grip on your midsection suffocating.  He kicked the door closed, wrapping his arm around your chin in order to muffle the cries that were threatening to spill out of your mouth.  You kicked and struggled as he once again pulled you backwards, keeping one arm wrapped around your waist as he reached into the pocket of his jacket.  

“I wanted to try and make this as painless for you as I could, darling.  However, it appears that tried methods always work the best.  Choking is far too messy of death anyways, isn’t it?  I want the beginning of your new life with me to be as clean as possible, I want it to be something befitting of a person like you.”  You stopped moving, freezing up as he spoke out the word death.  “It’s a good thing I prepared for this, hm?”

You craned your head towards his mobile hand, spotting a syringe filled with a milky substance, the tip of it dripping slightly as he pushed the plunger forward and tested the liquid.  

“What?-”  You managed to spit out, gasping as you pulled against his restricting arm with all your worth.  

“Pancuronium bromide,” the male said, addressing your unspoken query.  “It’s a serum used in lethal injection.  It should be relatively painless, well- as painless as death can be.”  His voice was confident, firmer than you had ever heard it.  It was terrifying, how quickly he had switched from his customary anxious demeanor to this cold, almost professional persona.  

“No, Aesop please think about this!  I’ll- I don’t know what you want, money, or- or information or sex- but I’ll give it to you, please we can work this out, I just- Mr. Carl please!”

He paused before answering, his grip tightening even more as he began to speak.  “My love.  My beautiful, exquisite gem, my precious doll.  You really do not understand, do you?  This is the only way we can truly be together.  I cannot bear to be without you any longer, I can’t stand being without your presence.  Of course, the likes of you wouldn’t spend time with someone such as myself, so you must understand that this is just me ensuring that we can stay together, forever.”  He halted, letting his words hang heavy in the air. “I’m doing this because I love you.  This pain will be temporary, but my affections for you won’t ever let up.  I’ve never had even a concept of what love should be, but you’ve helped me to see that this is what it is, and you are the person who I have chosen to spend the rest of my time with.”  His voice grew gentler as he spoke, his tone reverent as he held you.  You grew numb at his words.  He truly was messed up, in more ways than one.  What he was describing was not love, it was obsession.  It was a cruel infatuation, one that, for some reason, had led to him feeling the need to kill you.  

“Aesop.  I- I promise I’ll be with you.  I- I love you!  I do..and I will continue to do so, but you must let me live.  I beg this of you, I just wish to spend time with you, I truly am o-obsessed with you, Mr. Carl.”  You felt him freeze up behind you at your feigned confession.  The promise of your affections had to be enough to convince him to not kill you, you were going to make sure of it.  No matter what, you were going to make it away from the embalmer, alive.  You would try anything, and eventually you would be-

“Doll,”  He began, his arm resuming its suffocating grip on your torso, the sudden pressure enough to make you draw your breath in as you fought for air.  “Please don’t be so formal.  I told you to call me Aesop”

A sharp pain spread through your neck, the feeling of a needle plunging into your skin barely registering in your mind as he held you, a low hum falling from his mouth as he held your quivering self.  He drained the syringe of the substance, pushing it further into your vein as he gazed down on you with eyes full of concentrated adoration.  He had killed before, but nothing had ever felt as satisfying as gripping your twitching body, holding onto your vulnerable form as the fluid began to spread through your bloodstream.  You shook against him as he laid you on his bed, silken sheets coming up to caress your steadily paling face.  

Nimble fingers removed the syringe, wiping the needle with a nearby cloth before setting both upon a bedside table.  His silver eyes drank in your form, pupils dilated as he ran his gaze over the red marks on your neck.  He couldn’t manage to resist a final temptation of his, reaching his hands out once more and wrapping them on top of the strips of pink skin.  He knew that the bromide would be enough to kill you, but he couldn’t deny that there was something satisfying about the power he felt as he had choked you before.  As so he gazed down at you, now too weak to struggle against his hold.  

His grip was what finally pushed you over the edge.  A deep breath reverberated through your lungs right as the life finally faded from your eyes, pupils glazing over and cornea becoming cloudy as you gazed forward with a sort of inanimate poise.  You were still, completely still.

Aesop was right.

You did look beautiful dead.

He kept his eyes on you, gazing at you distrustingly as he retrieved his embalming case, as though he was expecting you to spring back to life.  

He set it down beside you before moving your limp legs onto the bed, your body significantly heavier than it was before.  Such was one of the physical tolls of death.  

Hands subconsciously reached for a needle and thread, used normally for repairing ripped clothes and garments before burials.  It held a different purpose for you, though.  You were special, a newly immortalized doll, and one that should be treated as such.  He threaded the needle, gripping it between careful fingers before carefully lifting your eyelid and plunging it within the flesh that lay there.  He slowly sewed it to your bottom lid, a bit of blood spurting out, which he quickly wiped away with a previously pristine white cloth.  He moved on to your other eyes, repeating his same meticulous process.  A finger traced over your stitches, caressing them with a sort of gentleness that could only occupy one such as Aesop. He took another glance at your features, deciding that you needed to look at least a bit more lifelike.  Aesop hated the living, but he supposed you had always given him pleasure while alive.  He wanted to preserve his feelings, no matter what.  He plucked the corners of your mouth up into a smile before threading the string through your lips and cheeks, forcing your features into a permanent simper.  He tied off the string, appeased by the doll-like appearance that the stitches gave you.  He took out some blush, methodically spreading it upon your blanched cheeks and up near your nose, returning a bit of life into your body.  Your robe was soon pulled open, leaving you in only your nightgown.  You looked so soft, so vulnerable.  Aesop was pleased.

He caressed his hand against your cheeks before bending beneath his bed, drawing out an elongated wooden box that lay there.  He opened the top, revealing the plush white surface of the surrogate coffin.  He pushed himself up, more careful than ever as he placed you within the tomb, manually wrapping your hands over your chest.  You looked so peaceful, so utterly perfect, and you were going to stay as such.

Now you two would be bound forever, with him as your owner and you as his loving doll.  Such a relationship was born out of his pure love for you, his unadulterated affection that no one, not even yourself, could hinder for any longer.  This was a safer and more thorough solution, not to mention more desirable for Aesop.

He despised the living.

And so here you were, perfectly preserved for him.  

[kelchase]

RNM Create 2021 | Day 2:  AU

I have been thinking about posting a rec list since June but, for some reason, I felt overwhelmed every time I wanted to sit down to put one together.  A friend of mine finally convinced me to submit one for @roswellnewmexicocreate so here I am.  Doing the thing. (Hopefully correctly - I’ve never created a rec list or participated in an event 😂 - please be kind) I don’t know that I will participate any other days but I do love to escape into a good AU so I think this was the right day to contribute.  If you haven’t checked out any of these stories I hope you will or revisit them if you haven’t read them in awhile.  Happy reading! :)

Send Me Home by @litwitlady (69,108 - completed)

Michael Guerin is the star first baseman for the Atlanta Braves. Alex Manes is a Nashville superstar. They meet at an after-game concert one cool September night, instantly connecting and unable to stay apart from one another. As Michael battles loneliness and a desire to embrace his various identities, he and Alex grow closer despite the many obstacles standing in their way.

Why I love it:  

1.  Aliens...but make it baseball. 😂  With that being said, the baseball is really secondary in this story. 

2. Honestly, Michael’s character growth throughout this story - *chef’s kiss*.  At the beginning of the story he thinks he is so alone with his secret & that he can’t trust anyone with it.  He eventually trusts his secret to Alex and Danny (aka one of the most wonderful OCs to ever exist) and they accept him for who he is.  Between Alex, and Danny and his family, he finds the home and family that he always longed for, realizing he is not as alone as he originally thought.  I hope we will eventually get to see this kind of love and support on the actual show.

3. You never doubt Michael and Alex’s love/attraction for each other.  Michael was all in right away to the point of making me giggle in delight as I followed along. 

4. The smut is 🔥 & I’ll leave it at that. 😉

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Hold Onto This Lullaby by southern_stars

After moving in with Alex, Michael starts to adopt some of his habits.

Why I love it:  I often think while watching RNM “just let Malex be happy!”  This story delivers the every day domestic fluff that I dream of.

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Heartbeat series by @adiwriting (133,057 - WIP)

During the lost decade, Alex gets Michael pregnant and Michael doesn't see or hear from him again for the next four and a half years. When Alex comes back to town, he discovers he has a daughter with Michael and they all have to figure out how to be a family.

Why I love it:

1.  I’ll be very upfront with you.  Mpreg is not my thing - no disrespect to anyone who enjoys it; it’s just not my usual cup of tea.  I truly almost did not read this story because of it and, let me tell you, my life would be lacking if I had not decided to give it a chance.  I will also mention that you see very little of Michael’s pregnancy in this series thus far.  I would say that there are less than a handful of flashback stories where you get a glimpse.

2. NOVA MAE.  @adiwriting has dreamed up the most wonderful little mixture of Michael and Alex.  She is smart and strong and sassy and I just love that Michael and his support system cultivated these characteristics in this vibrant little 4 year old.  I honestly just want to be Nova Mae when I grow up.

3. The fatherhood.  It melts me.  I have this secret notion of Isobel being a surrogate for Michael & Alex on the show.  I know that it is wishful thinking & highly doubt it will ever come to fruition so I’m happy to live in the world of Nova Mae and pretend. I also enjoy seeing the growth of Alex & Michael coming back together in their relationship while navigating fatherhood & parenting.

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See Something You Like? by @prouvaireafterdark (14067 - completed)

Monday afternoons at Pandora's Box are the best. They’re notoriously slow so Michael gets to work his shift alone, which gives him ample time to grade the engineering assignments he procrastinated on all weekend while he sits behind the counter.

It’s a Monday afternoon, in fact, about a year and a half later, when Michael hears the bell above the door chime softly to announce the arrival of a customer who would change his life forever.

***

The Malex Sex Shop AU™️

Why I love it:  Sometimes you just need some filthy smut in your life and this story delivers. 🔥 Author does a great job with her tags if you want to see if it’s something that would float your boat. 😉

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*Special mention: 

My Crown is in My Heart series by @litwitlady

This was an arranged marriage fic between Michael & Alex that was a work in progress. I was unable to track it down on AO3 so I assume the author has since removed it but I still think about this story so often that I had to mention it.  I hope she doesn’t mind.

Why I loved it:

1. All I want from RNM is some alien soulmate bullshit & I think this story was headed in that direction.

2. I rarely care about political side stories in my fic but I was honestly intrigued by the world that was being built around the truce between humans and the alien race.  

3.  If I’m recalling correctly, Michael was an alien king (albeit somewhat reluctantly) & I enjoy anytime that Michael gets to be the focal point over Max.

@litwitlady should you ever decide to revisit this universe, you will have at least one very loyal reader. Also, if I totally missed the story on AO3, please feel free to reach out & I will edit my post.

[nbrook29]

101, 104 and 110 for the dialogue prompts 🖤

Hello!

101. “I’m ok, thank you. Just please, stop talking to me.”

104. “You weren’t supposed to laugh! I’m so embarrassed!”

The 110 one is not included here, but I also got it from someone else so it's gonna be filled later :)

* * *

Robbe hears the doorbell coming from downstairs, but he stays put, knowing his mom is in the kitchen so she’ll open the door while he adds two last sentences to his final history essay. He’s clicking ‘save’ when there’s a knock on his door, and without waiting for a response, Sander’s smiling face pops from behind it.

“I didn’t say you could come in,” Robbe grins at him cheekily, standing up from his swivel chair for the first time in hours. He immediately pulls Sander into his bedroom, looping his arms around his neck as the boy kicks the door closed behind him, licking into Robbe’s mouth in no time.

He feels a light slap on his butt as a response to his words, and then Sander disentangles himself from him to flop dramatically on the bed, a groan leaving his mouth.

“I’ve just participated in the dullest lecture known to humanity,” he complains, pouting at Robbe. “I need you to entertain me or I’mma die of boredom tonight.”

Sander’s pleading eyes make him snort, but he grabs his laptop and joins him on his bed, rearranging the pillows to make it more comfortable for them to sit straight.

“Okay, drama queen, what do you wanna watch?”

“I get to choose tonight?” Sander’s face lights up with excitement and it’s adorable how little it takes to make him look like that. When Robbe nods, amused, he gets a kiss on his shoulder as a thank you before Sander turns his attention to the screen where Robbe started the endless scrolling on Netflix.

He’s a picky viewer so eventually Robbe leaves him with his computer and goes to the kitchen to make them popcorn and grab some chips. It’s where he’s confronted by his mom who catches him midwalk back to the bedroom to gently remind him that she’s staying home tonight and not going out and that please take that into account, honey. And then she shoots him a wink and now it’s Robbe who’s going to die.

Of shame.

Beet red and mortified, Robbe enters his room and at Sander’s questioning look he tells him his mom basically requested them to keep quiet this time. Unsurprisingly, Sander is unaffected, grinning at Robbe like it’s funny.

“It’s all your fault, by the way,” Robbe accuses him, thinking back to last Friday night.

“You’re right, I’m so sorry I’m so good in bed you can’t contain the noise you ma-”

He doesn’t manage to finish his sentence, cut off by the popcorn Robbe throws at him.

“Who’s being a drama queen now?!”

“My mom heard us, Sander, do you understand how embarrassing that is?!”

Sander rolls his eyes and pulls at his sleeve to make him sit back on the bed, careful not to spill the bowl full of popcorn.

Once he has him where he wants him, sulky eyes on him, he frames his face with his hands and says placatingly, “This isn’t a big deal, Robbe.”

Robbe looks very unconvinced so Sander leans in to catch his frowning lips in a kiss to ease his worries.

Then he claps his hands, nodding at the screen. “Look, I chose a movie for us?”

Robbe turns around reluctantly to check it out and cocks his brow when he sees the newest horror that everybody’s been talking about.

“You really want to watch this?”

“You don’t?”

“No, I do, I love horror movies, but knowing you I thought you’re gonna choose some psychological drama.”

Sander shrugs. “I wanna see what the hype is all about.”

It’s a surprising turn of events, but Robbe is not going to question it any longer because he really wants to see that movie. They turn the lights off and get comfortable on the bed, sitting upright for the time being to avoid choking on the popcorn. But Robbe is not capable of having Sander in his bed right next to him and not having any type of body contact so he innocently swings his leg on his lap, scooching a little closer, a small smile blooming on his face when Sander doesn’t even question it, just starts drawing random patterns on his sweatpants-clad thigh.

An hour into the movie and Robbe is having so much fun because it’s just the right amount of scary combined with some weird psycho shit and frankly, that’s his all time favorite combination. He’s been feeding Sander chips for the last ten minutes, his arm absent-mindedly traveling between the bowl and his boyfriend’s mouth as he himself has been completely engrossed into the movie, eyes wide and jaw dropped, not paying much attention to his surroundings.

It’s why he doesn’t notice the slow but steady attempts of Sander’s to merge his body into Robbe’s. It’s only when he turns to him to comment on the latest jump scare he realizes half of Sander’s face is hidden in Robbe’s left sleeve, eyes wide and scared as they peek reluctantly at the screen.

“Sander?”

“Yeah?” he squeaks out.

“Are you scared?”

“No.”

That earns him a doubtful look, and Sander had to realize he’s not very convincing at the moment because his shoulders drop, the defensive look on his face replaced with resignation.

“I have a confession to make,” he takes a deep breath as if he was about to drop a bomb on Robbe. “Horror movies terrify me.”

Robbe blinks at him in confusion. “But you were the one who chose this one for us to watch.”

“I thought I got over it. I was wrong. I was so wrong.���

It’s not that funny. Really, it isn’t. But there’s something about the face Sander is making that pulls an involuntary giggle out of him.

His boyfriend’s not very happy about that.

“Shut up, you weren’t supposed to laugh!” he whines at him, accusation in his voice, and his cheeks couldn’t be redder if they tried, Robbe notices as Sander hides them in his hands. “I’m so embarrassed.”

“I’m sorry!” he pauses the movie and turns fully to him. “I’m not laughing at you, I swear. It’s actually kinda adorable,” Robbe adds in a soothing tone, trying to remedy the situation, but Sander’s not very happy about that particular comparison.

“Great, now I’m adorable, that’s so much better,” he mutters grumpily, and then he ostensibly leans away from the kiss Robbe’s about to place on his cheek in order to pacify him.

“Seriously?”

His question is met with silence as Sander keeps being stubborn, still offended.

“Play the stupid movie.”

“Are you su-”

“Yes!”

Robbe has to bite his lip to keep from laughing again, knowing it wouldn’t be well received. He’s not exactly worried about Sander being mad at him right now because he’s well aware of having a couple of tricks up his sleeve to smooth his ruffled feathers. For now, he resorts to pressing “play” and trying not to coo at Sander’s pouty face.

The movie only gets scarier and more twisted since then onwards. For Robbe, it’s top entertainment, but when he glances surreptitiously at Sander’s face it’s ghost-white, and something tells him it’s not only because of the light from the screen. And it’s not like Robbe actually enjoys seeing his boyfriend suffer.

“Are you alright?” he asks softly, hand reaching to rub his thigh in what he hopes is a comforting touch.

“Yes, I’m okay, thank you. Just please, stop talking to me.”

Okay, still mad then.

Robbe keeps his hand where he put it and counts it as a win when Sander doesn’t swat it away.

They get to hour and 40 minutes, an hour of the movie still ahead of them when Sander reaches his breaking point.

“Fuck, I don’t care anymore, call me a wuss or whatever, but please turn it off, I’m done,” he groans, a pained expression on his face as he brings his legs in and hugs his knees, looking like a little boy and breaking Robbe’s heart a little.

He shuts the computer right away, his bedroom swamped in darkness as a result, only the moonlight creeping in through the big window making it possible for him to see Sander’s pale face. He gathers him into his arms, grateful he’s not putting up a fight and instead eagerly letting Robbe hold him.

“Do you honestly think I’m gonna call you a wuss? Especially in not, like, a teasing way?”

The shrug he gets as a response is miniscule, but it’s there.

He sighs, nosing along Sander’s hairline and pressing a kiss to his forehead which makes Sander cuddle even more into him. Robbe takes that as a sign of forgiveness for his previous unfortunate laughter.

"I kinda know you wouldn't, but... I want you to think I'm, you know, cool and stuff," comes a small voice from under Robbe's jaw.

Awwww.

"But I will always think you're cool and stuff."

"Yeah?" Sander blinks at him with his insecure eyes.

"Yeah."

He places his head back in the nook of Robbe's neck, nuzzling in like a cat.

"Okay."

"Okay."

They're silent for a few seconds before Robbe speaks again.

"Can I kiss you now?"

"Yes, I'll allow it."

Robbe snorts, fingers tangling in the brown strands as he angles Sander's head for a proper kiss and once he's done with him, his cheeks look much more human-like, blood flowing back to his face.

"Wanna watch stupid TikTok videos for a change?"

Sander nods against his chest, a smile on his lips now.

His arm tightens around Robbe's waist as he says, "I hope you're aware I'm sleeping here tonight cause there's no way in hell I'm gonna be alone in bed after this shit."