#shes a dolt and i love her specifically

[lockedtowers]

just like randomly thinking abt how like w my lore at least human blood is a healant and a drug to faeries, so cassie biting people when they annoy her if she draws blood depending on how much gets in her system can have varying consequences thing is kind of funny when you also consider the laughfunnys of if she bites someone and less than 20 minutes later they wind up dead, because then its a matter of

sb: i told you not to eat them cassie: i didn’t eat them! technically. i did bite them a little bit, but they were alive, and being really loud, so technically!

[katakaluptastrophy]

Can we talk about Magnus in Harrow the Ninth? Because there's a tendency to paint him as this constantly cheerful figure and he's not - he's just very Fifth.

He's the only person who seems even slightly upset about the whole gun-toting horror thing:

“Did the Sleeper get them?”

“Only by assumption,” said Harrowhark, while Abigail’s dolt of a husband said, “I bloody hope so.”

“Magnus,” Abigail said, a touch disapprovingly.

“Well, if the Sleeper didn’t, that’s two maniacs with an ancient weapon and a love of blowing off faces, dear,” said Magnus.

And he's got a very low opinion of Silas:

"She won’t tell me what he said to her, just that he ‘was horrid.’”

“Cheeky little so-and-so,” said Magnus. “If he were my son, I’d give him something to think about. I’m not surprised he’s gone to ground.”

“I would hope your son might be of different character,” said his wife, half-smiling.

“Protesilaus should have biffed him.”

“It’s strange,” said Abigail, ignoring her husband’s exhortations to biffing.

Behind the jolly Jeeves and Wooster-esque talk of biffing people, let's remember that this is Magnus - who from Gideon's POV never saw a teenager he didn't want to adopt - earnestly wishing that a grown man had hit a 16 year old kid.

And when Harrow explains that she thinks she saw him jump to his death, Magnus isn't particularly sympathetic:

“We should have made him a greater priority,” said Lady Pent.

Magnus said, “I’m not certain.”

and

“We didn’t need him,” he said bracingly.

Abigail said, “We need everyone.”

“I never thought he was quite the thing.”

This "never quite the thing" line is the same one Abigail uses when she says Ianthe shouldn't have become a Lyctor and you get the sense it has a quite specific meaning on the Fifth. You get the distinct feeling Magnus is saying "good riddance" in response to a teenager's apparent suicide.

And then of course there's Magnus' conversation with Harrow as the River bubble collapses, as Harrow debates whether she should leave her body to Gideon:

She said: “If I go back, it will finally destroy her soul.”

It was Magnus who stepped forward and looked at Harrow face-to-face. And perhaps she felt that more keenly: that he was the man who had, in Gideon’s own words a lifetime ago, been nice to her cavalier. His mouth was hard now, but his eyes were as kind as they had ever been. And kindness was a knife.

He doesn't pull any punches in laying out his understanding of the situation to Harrow:

“This whole thing happened because you wouldn’t face up to Gideon dying,” he said, which was a stab as precise as any Nonius had managed. “I don’t blame you. But where would you be, right now, if you’d said: She is dead? You’re keeping her things like a lover keeping old notes, but with her death, the stuff that made her Gideon was destroyed. That’s how Lyctorhood works, isn’t it? She died. She can’t come back, even if you keep her stuffed away in a drawer you can’t look at. You’re not waiting for her resurrection; you’ve made yourself her mausoleum.”

His wife looked at Harrow’s face and murmured, “Magnus, you’ve made your point,” but he uncharacteristically ignored her.

He's trying to get through to her in a very fraught situation, but he's certainly not pulling his punches:

“You’re a smart girl, Harrowhark. You might turn some of that brain to the toughest lesson: that of grief.”

Abigail is also trying to talk her out of things, but she's much more discursive and apologetic. Magnus is kind, but it's kindness as a knife, not a cushion.

Magnus is so often written off as just a silly, goofy character, when he's more complicated than that. He's allowed to have a very real frustration with the River bubble and with Harrow, however much he does also care for her and want to help her.

And you know what, he's a CFO stuck in a horrorscape with his delighted ghost nerd wife and a bunch of soldiers. He runs with it - he cracks one of his House ordinal jokes while physically tackling a gun-toting ghost and makes a decent go at it before getting shot. But he's very much out of his comfort zone, angry, and no longer entirely held back by propriety.

[luveline]

i’ve been re-reading some of the kbd au and was wondering if u would be up to writing a little kbd blurb wherein steve’s being all flirty and silly with reader? idk what it is but flirty kbd!steve specifically rips my heart open he’s so cute when he’s trying to charm r make r laugh <3 thank u as always mwah

thank you my love!! ♡ kbd au

Bethie brings a drink with her as she enters the living room. Steve a few steps behind her, your husband leans in the doorway and winces with every drop she spills on the floor. 

The cup is half full when it reaches you, but it is for you. "Here, mom." 

"Thank you," you say, tone enthused with bubbly affection. Bethie looks like you rather than Steve, and her smile is a mirror.

"Daddy says, uhm…" She looks over her shoulder at Steve. He nods encouragingly. She turns back. "Dad says to tell you that it's from a man at the bar. Because you look beautiful." 

You sniff at the drink, take an experimental sip. It's Steve's version of a virgin margarita, lemonade, orange juice and a spritz of fresh lime juice. "Ooh, so yummy. You want to try?" 

Bethie wrinkles her nose. "Will I like it?" 

Probably not. "I'm not sure, but it's got bubbles?"

Bethie shakes her head. You don't take it personally, scooping your second eldest up to sit on your thigh. She's not heavy. It's actually really nice when she leans back and uses your tummy as a chair, to be loved like this. 

Steve crosses his arms over his chest. "Come here often?" he asks with a wink. 

"Only every day, handsome." 

"Handsome? You're two timing the poor dolt stupid enough to buy you a drink, you know." 

"Poor dolt should've used his eyes." You gesture to either side of you, where Avery, the eldest, sits to your left and Dove, the youngest, lounges at your right. "I'm clearly taken." 

"Can't blame a guy for trying. I mean," —Steve whistles, looking you up and down, but he can't commit to his skit, and he cracks a smile— "hot damn, look at you." 

"Come here," you say. 

Steve's smile turns smug. He dodges the small margarita puddles on the way and leans down to kiss you, his hands on your face, a spritely peck that turns to kisses all over your left cheek. "Was the drink okay?" he asks, rubbing at your cheek with his thumb when he's done. 

You meet his eyes. Sugary brown, little flecks of honey crushed as his pupil grows bigger the longer he looks at you. "It's nice. I like your margaritas more than the store bought. Thank you, honey." 

"Oh," he hums, kissing you again. "You're welcome." 

"Daddy," Dove says simply. 

Steve knows what she wants, he can read their wants and needs from less, scooping her up to perch on the end of the couch. She can still fit into the curve of one arm if she tries. 

"Let me guess, you wanted a margarita," Steve teases, sliding a hand under her shirt to tickle her tummy. 

She laughs but ultimately protests, waiting for Steve to kiss her. He noses at her forehead, kissing her temple softly. "Better?" he asks. 

She settles in his arms and turns back to the TV, content. 

"See? You're not the only one in high demand." 

You sit back and beg him with your eyes to do the same. Steve does so immediately, shoulder to shoulder with you, pressing the tip of his nose to your cheek. Bethie wriggles in your arms and Avery asks about dinner, but for a few silly seconds, it's just you and Steve. 

"Love you. You look really, really pretty today. I had to tell you," Steve says. 

You reach out to squeeze Avery's hand to show you've heard her question. "I love you too, Stevie. Thank you." You make me feel really, really pretty. 

Especially when he says it like that. Three kids and he acts as though you're pretty enough for an urgent telling. Steve would tell you you're even prettier than the day he met you, and he's consistent enough that you genuinely believe it. He's your number one fan, and you're his. 

"Takeout?" you ask.

Steve's eyes glow with love. "Did I mention that you're beautiful?" 

[radiance1]

Inspired by the idea of that one post I did where Tucker downloaded DDLC, fell in love with Monika and then gave her a body. Which is set in the DC universe because why naught lmao.

"I'll bring you back to me..." Monika whispered to the figure on the other side of the glass her hand was pressed against. A soft smile on her face as she looked upon the peacefully 'sleeping' figure that floated inside of the tank.

Tucker, 'asleep' in a tank flowing with ectoplasm that kept his body perfectly preserved and even helped it 'heal' somewhat when Monika wasn't taking him out to run a proper check on his injuries. Eyes softly closed and curled into a ball.

He looked at peace.

Recent magical examinations showed that due to his... circumstances, he was much more akin to something like Danny or Vlad's existence than he was human. Yet, unfortunately, he wasn't quite what they were either.

Maybe if he was, she wouldn't need to do what she has.

Monika sighed and took her hand back, swiftly turning around and walking away. She flicked her hand as she did so, summoning various screens that held various reports over select strands of both magical and scientific experiments.

'Tucker would have loved to see this.' The thought brought a small smile to her lips that swiftly turned to a frown when she remembered the reason behind these experiments. 'No matter,' She thought. 'I'll show him when I bring him back.'

She sought out a specific screen, narrowing her eyes when she realized there was a complication one of her more hopeful tests.

She would have to go resolve it personally, it seemed.

The thought of leaving her beloved alone for even a moment stifling but! If all went well then, he would reawaken! Any amount of discomfort on her end was nothing in the face of a such a joyous occasion.

If all went well, everything would be back to how they should be!

===

She should have known better than to think things were going to go well for her.

The complication that required her personal attention was solved, though it took some time, and bore fruit that, while not able to help tremendously, was enough to speed up her progress by a moderate amount.

One good thing made way for another bad thing.

Perhaps being around the Fenton family caused their luck to rub off on her.

When she returned her beloved's body was no longer where it was. Which should have been impossible, no one should have been able to get in or out without her explicate permission. And indeed, whatever happened didn't have her permission.

They forced their way inside.

Her systems were a mess. Some shut down, some dealing with viruses and some even fading from her rights completely. Which were then promptly disposed of.

Her beloved was stolen, right beneath her nose. Plucked out of the safety she surrounded him with when it came time for him to reawaken.

Monika was not angry.

No. No.

What was flowing throughout her artificial body was something much, much more potent than rage. Fueled by despair and hope that crashed down around her.

Monika was not angry.

What she was feeling, if she were to put it more accurately, would be the sin that humans had come to known as Wrath.

War bless her.

Fear aid her.

Time preserve her.

She had a thief to catch.

===

In a city blessed with endless sun and protection of a god amongst men. A body opened its eyes.

'Monika.' Was its first thought.

'It stinks.' Was its second.

It stood up on awkward legs, bringing its hands to its head and turning the proper way with a loud and cringeworthy crack. It placed a hand to its chest next, feeling the slow beating of a heart that was easily viewable from the patch of see-through muscle that wasn't covered by any skin.

It looked at itself. It's very naked self and narrowed its eyes when it finally found a memory.

'Clothes.' Was its-no, his third thought.

And so, it started moving.

===

Lex Luthor was having a hard time not throwing something at one of the dolts who had lost a precious specimen he spent countless amounts of resources in order to get.

To curb his anger and not face a potential lawsuit, that was a headache he didn't care for.

He settled for firing all of them instead.

[greatwyrmgold]

People who paid attention to my blog in recent weeks probably know that July 10-17 was a busy time for people who ship Ruby Rose and Penny Polendina. There were a lot of fanfic of the two of them together, I read most of it (and plan to at least try the rest), and a lot of those fics were specifically set after Penny was turned into a real girl. And I can't understand why.

Now, I don't think Penny being a robot is the only interesting thing about Nuts & Dolts. There's more to the ship than "Girl who likes weapons dates girl who was built as a weapon". But at the same time, turning Penny human both removes some of the things that make N&D interesting and makes the overall story worse.

Cards on the table, I cannot think of a single Pinocchio-type story which I think was improved by having the non-human turn into a human. They're stories about people who were born different from other people, they feel like they need to become normal, and the narrative agrees. "Yes, them being weird was bad; this problem will be resolved in the most obvious, boring way possible."

And this isn't just a canon plot point I think is dumb. This is a dumb canon plot point that directly hits one of the things that I like about Nuts & Dolts. Penny feels isolated from humanity for being a robot, but Ruby doesn't care. She's surprised, but Penny can't even get any decent angst in before Ruby insists that she's still real, even if she has "got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts".

That sense of being isolated from the world, just because of what you are, but having one person who doesn't care at all? Someone who accepts you for who you are? That's what I see as the core of Nuts & Dolts, more than any jokes about how much Ruby loves weapons.

And having Penny become a "real girl" like Pinocchio before her just guts that.

Anyways. Not all the Nuts and Dolts Week fics with a human Penny were bad; I liked the one where she discovers heatstroke. But broadly speaking, I just...do not get the appeal of writing a story when Penny's human. If you're gonna skip her second death, why not skip the part where she gets squishy guts, too?

(If any Nuts & Dolts authors have an explanation, I'd genuinely like to hear it. I like hearing people with different opinions!)

[karatekels]

Heirloom - Epilogue

It's the epilogue, where our star-crossed lovers get their happy ending!

TW: Graphic sex, rough sex, violent sex (all consensual)

Previous Parts:

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

---

One Month Later…

Valek’s POV:

“I cannot stand by and watch this go on for another minute, Jan!” Cassandra snarls at Valek, baring her fangs at him. “You will talk to her, or I will,” she threatens, and he hisses in warning.

“You will do no such thing,” Valek orders, stretching to his full height and towering over the tiny woman ominously. “Y/N is still adjusting to this life, she doesn’t need any other problems to worry about,” he continues less aggressively, trying to reason with her. Following your Turning, the group had relocated to Valek’s castle in Germany to conduct research on the Berziers Cross. You had thrown yourself into the research, and he was incredibly grateful for it; the last thing he wanted to do was distract you from your task.

“Adjusting? She’s taken to being a vampire more easily than anyone I’ve ever seen, Jan, be reasonable,” Cassandra scoffs, turning her nose up at him. “But it has been a month now, and I have grown tired of watching the two of you tiptoe around each other!”

Since the night you had been Turned, you and Valek had not spoken of your feelings, nor your kiss in your last human moments. He had chalked it up to you being relieved that he was alright and would be saving you as well, or to the bloodloss, or shock, at least on your end. His own feelings were of little consequence in comparison to your own.

“Y/N has given no indication that she wishes to be involved with me,” he protests, and Cassandra rolls her eyes.

“Really, Jan, are you blind?” she rebuffs him, waving away his defence with her hand. “She cared for you as a human, and she cares for you now. Why must you work so hard to refuse yourself happiness?”

“It is not my happiness I am concerned about, Cassandra,” he snaps defensively, and to his annoyance, her expression softens.

“Dearest, do not think for a moment that you are not capable of bringing Y/N the utmost joy. You make her happy, Jan. She longs to spend time with you.”

“And how would you know that?”

“Because she’s told me!”

“What? You’ve already spoken to her about this?!” Valek hisses, indignant. “I specifically asked you to stay out of this, Cassandra!”

“I haven’t told her about your desires,” she clarifies, though she doesn’t seem happy about it. “She’s told me. You know I spend more time with her than you do, and neither of you are happy about that!”

Valek huffs, moving away from her and pretending to peruse a bookshelf. He knows she’s going to mock him for asking.

“…What is it that she said?” he asks softly, and he doesn’t need to turn to know that Cassandra is radiating smug satisfaction as he gives in.

“She told me the other day that she wishes she was human,” she says softly, and Valek turns to face her with a guilty, pained expression. You regretted your decision to Turn?

“…She says she had something to offer you then, and that you had more of a reason to come around. She misses you, you dolt.”

Valek feels a warmth bloom in his chest, as was always the case where you were concerned, although this particular revelation brings him a far greater joy. He had stayed away from you, it was true, but only because he didn’t want to risk pushing you towards a relationship that you did not want. Hearing that you felt his distance was due to any deficiency of yours has him feeling terribly guilty.

“Am I finally starting to get the point through that thick skull of yours?” she asks, arching a brow at him. Valek looks at her exasperatedly.

“Why does it please you so, interfering in other peoples’ affairs, hmm?”

Cassandra shrugs, sliding off of the desk she had been perched on. “Having lost my own love, I find it greatly irritating when people try to deny their heart's desire when it lies right before them. Especially when it comes to my two favourite people in the world.”

She approaches Valek, laying a dainty hand on his chest, over his still heart. “You deserve to love her, Jan,” she says earnestly, staring into his pale eyes with her own. “And you’ve waited long enough for her.”

He sighs deeply, closing his eyes as though he could block out Cassandra’s logic. She was right, she was always right… but what if she was wrong about this?

“Alright, fine, you unholy terror,” he concedes. “I will try to figure out how to approach Y/N about this.”

Cassandra claps her hands excitedly, hopping up and down.

“Wonderful! I will ensure that the two of you are left alone tomorrow night.”

“No, I did not mean –”

“I am not going to let you dwell on this any longer, Jan,” Cassandra interrupts sternly. “I will take the others and return to Castello della Chiocciola for a few days. We need to check in on the Slayers anyway.”

“A few days?!” Valek repeats incredulously. “How long do you imagine this conversation will take?”

“Oh, I am sure the two of you will find something to do with your time together,” she murmurs suggestively, laughing delightedly as she flits out of Valek’s reach as he lunges for her.

“They will be back any minute, we should go and greet them!” she says brightly, dashing up the steps to the main floor. Valek follows at a slower pace, letting his anger at Cassandra coat his nerves.

They both didn’t like the idea of you leaving the castle without one of them accompanying you, but Cassandra had insisted that they have this talk. And so, you had been sent to feed with the others, under the watchful eye of two other Masters that they trusted. Valek is eager to see you safely returned home.

The small group returns, entering through the ornate front door, everyone retreating to their own lives in the castle, until only you remain, standing before him and Cassandra.

You are radiant.

The colour drained from your complexion seemed to have been returned to the rest of you tenfold; your hair, your eyes, your lips… you were a beautiful creature. He had been wrong in his initial reluctance to Turn you; he had thought you a creature of the Sun, but you glowed just as brightly as a child of the Moon. You were a glimmer of light in the darkness; his little star.

“Cassandra!” you exclaim happily, your voice turned richer and more musical with your transformation. You flit up the stairs to embrace the woman warmly, before turning your gaze over to him. “Valek,” you murmur, inclining your head respectfully to him, your eyes cast downwards. Your cheeks are flushed, likely due to your recent meal, but he greedily wants to attribute the blush to himself.

“Good evening, Y/N,” he croons, and he sees Cassandra rolling her eyes from behind you.

“Valek and I were just talking,” she chimes in immediately, and he would snap her neck if she didn’t mean so much to him. “I will be taking the other vampires back to Italy for a few days to check on things, so you and Valek will have the castle to yourselves!”

“Oh, I don’t –” you start to protest, but she grabs your hands with both of her own.

“Come on, you can help me pack! And I ordered you some more things to try on!” Cassandra says cheerily, monopolizing the situation just as she had done with him before your return. Valek isn’t entirely sure the woman isn’t a witch; her ability to swing things in her favour was astounding. The two of you disappear, leaving Valek in the grand foyer to figure out just what he was going to say to you tomorrow.

---

The next evening, Valek leaves you to yourself for a few hours to prepare himself. You had predictably thrown yourself into your research the moment that the others had left, combing through ancient texts in his collection. Your thirst for knowledge is unparalleled, and he has started to understand the Slayers’ reluctance in letting you out into the world; you would have discovered their deception on your own, he was sure.

Once he has finished staging everything just so – Cassandra would mock him if she knew, he was sure – he moves through the castle in the direction of the library, the place where you could almost always be found. He finds you at your table in the corner lost in your reading, stacks of books and scattered papers covering the surface.

“Y/N,” he says quietly with amusement when you have still not noticed his presence after a minute or two. Your head snaps up, and you blink up at him, smiling sheepishly.

“Oh, Valek! I’m sorry, I was a million miles away,” you say, your tone embarrassed. “What can I help you with?” you ask him with a warm smile.

“Would you join me upstairs, my dear?” he asks nervously, and you look up at him with an inquisitive expression. “You have been working too hard down here, and I know how you have missed the moon.”

“I get distracted,” you admit quietly with a guilty smile. “There’s just so much more to see now…” you trail off, referring to your enhanced eyesight. You shake your head to bring yourself out of your thoughts. “Yes, of course I can join you, Valek.”

He watches you mark the places in your notes and your book, trying to organize everything somewhat before you stand and move to join him. He offers you his arm and you take it, exiting the library with him.

“Is everything alright?” you ask hesitantly, looking up at him, and Cassandra’s words from the night before echo through his mind. Had he really left you feeling as though he only wanted to speak with you if he needed something?

“Of course, my dear,” he replies, despite his anxiety peaking. “I hope that I have not given you the impression that you are merely here as a scholar.”

“I don’t mind!” you tell him, smiling happily. “It feels so wonderful to be useful,” you say enthusiastically, sincerity ringing in every word. Valek hopes that he can channel your honesty in a moment, as you approach the door to the conservatory. While they couldn’t make use of it during the day, the glass room was spectacular for seeing the stars at night, and he knew that after the library, it was your favourite place in the castle.

“I am pleased to hear that you are enjoying your work, my dear,” he tells you, stopping you before you open the door to the conservatory. You turn and look up at him with a confused expression. “But I have brought you here to tell you something, Y/N.”

“What is it?” you ask when he cannot bring himself to speak, your voice concerned. “Is everything alright? Is that why everyone else left?”

He shushes you gently, placing a finger to your lips. He’s pleased that you have indeed retained some of your softness through your transformation.

“Everything is fine, little one,” he assures you. Despite your lack of experience, you were always so ready for a fight. He finds it charming.

“Tell me, what do you remember about the night that I Turned you?” he asks, trying to gage if you even remember your kiss in the first place. He feels you tense beneath his fingertips and you drop your gaze, unable to look at him, and he knows that you remember.

“Oh. This is about that. We don’t have to talk about it, Valek, I understand. Of course you wouldn’t…”

You stop your babbling as he throws open the doors of the conservatory, the sight within silencing you far more quickly than trying to talk to you possibly could.

Every surface in the room, from the chaise lounge to the piano is covered in bouquets of dark red roses, loose petals scattered across the marble floor. The moonlight streams through the windows and ceiling, bathing the room in a white glow, the stars clearly visible across the night sky.

You walk into the room slowly, timidly, as though you’re afraid of disturbing the scene, but Valek finds that you complete the picture perfectly. After a long moment that stretches on for ages, you turn back to look at him with an astonished expression. He slowly moves towards you, gliding across the floor silently and stopping just before you.

“Y/N, you are the most incredible woman I have ever known. You captivated my heart as a human, you sacrificed yourself for my own salvation, you have changed me irrevocably… I want you by my side for eternity. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and happy, I will give you my whole self; I am already yours. I love you, Y/N. I love you so very much.”

As you stare at him in disbelief, your mouth slightly open, he finds himself freezing in place as though he’s turning to stone. More than six hundred years of this existence, and he still does not have patience for this moment that seems to be stretching endlessly… Please, say something.

Your mouth finally settles on letting out a wordless cry of surprise before you launch yourself into his arms, wrapping yourself around him with your newfound strength. Valek did not expect such a physical response in lieu of a confession from you, but manages to catch you with ease, pulling you closer against his chest, one arm around your waist, the other running across your shoulders. Your bury your face in the crook between his neck and shoulder, squeezing him tightly.

“I love you too, Valek!” you exclaim, your voice muffled against him, but he hears every word. You lean back to look him in the eye, and his heart soars as he takes in the fierce joy in your expression. “I’ve loved you for ages.”

He can’t help but chuckle at the hyperbole, but his laughter is cut off as you press your lips to his, kissing him so passionately he swears his body is heating up as it responds to your touch. He kisses you back, letting out a deep, primal growl that has you gasping and writhing in his arms.

Valek immediately heads for the master bedroom, carrying you in his arms, moving slowly at an almost-human pace as he savours every moment of this. Of course, it wasn’t like he had a bed, but the chaise lounge beneath his window would be just perfect to lay you down on as he worshipped you.

However, upon entering his bedroom, he is taken aback by the significant changes made to his room. He gently sets you back on your feet, noting the changes with a suspicious eye. A massive four poster bed with dark, luxurious sheets now lies in the middle of his room, rose petals lining the floor from the doorway to the foot of the bed and scattered across the inky bedspread.

“Valek, how presumptuous of you!” you tease him with a giggle, taking in the new décor.

“I had nothing to do with this!” he insists, though he can’t say he’s upset with the renovations.

“Oh,” you mutter to yourself, seeming to have come to some realization. “I’m going to kill Cassandra,” you growl venomously. Valek turns to you, catching you fussing with your skirts.

“You think this was Cassandra?” he asks you, confused by your animosity towards your friend. It did seem like something that Cassandra would do to him, but she hadn’t been threatening you with the same sort of thing… had she?

“I know it was her,” you moan, hiding your face in your hands. “It matches…”

“What matches?” he asks, and you jump, looking at him guiltily.

“She uh… bought some things for me when we were having a Girl’s Night, as a joke... Insisted on it, really. And now I know why she did, and why she told me to wear it tonight… just for fun, she said…”

Cassandra had purchased you clothing to match the sheets of his bed?

Oh.

“That meddlesome little leech!” you hiss, stomping your foot in your fury, but Valek finds that his anger has completely dissipated.

“Show me,” he orders you in a low, soft voice, and you turn to look at him with wide eyes.

“W-What?” you ask meekly, yelping when he darts next to you again, cradling your face in one of his large hands.

“Show me, little one…” he croons seductively, his eyes shining brightly in the moonlight. “I want to see them…”

You give him a nervous, jittery smile, and he lowers his head to yours once more, kissing you deeply in a way that has you relaxing and pressing yourself up against him. You surprise him by running your hands up his chest and pushing his long dark coat off of his shoulders. Wanting to help you feel more at ease, he helps you, letting the heavy fabric pool on the floor at his feet. Continuing to allow you to take the lead, he lets you guide him back to the bed and sit him down, standing between his legs with a nervous expression.

“Do not be frightened or embarrassed, my treasure,” he murmurs, cradling your head in both of his hands. “I have never wanted the way I want you.”

His words seem to give you confidence, and you take a step back before reaching behind you to undo the buttons on your dress, yanking it down to the floor in one smooth movement and revealing yourself to him.

You are wearing a black brocade bustier that presses your breasts up enticingly, emphasizing your cleavage. Lacy black underwear is visible beneath the matching garter belt, holding up thigh-high stockings. The lingerie is adorned with silk ribbons dyed a deep red, matching the rose petals scattered throughout the room.

Valek lets out another possessive growl, lunging at you like a predator, his momentum carrying you both across the room until you are pressed against the glass of the windows. You gasp with surprise as his hands roam your body, relishing the look and feel of you wrapped up like a darkly sensual gift; all for him.

“You are the most glorious being that has ever walked the earth,” he whispers against your skin as his lips and teeth and tongue roam your neck and shoulders, mapping them just as his hands do the same to your body. You writhe against him, tangling your hands in his raven hair and pressing him closer, further into you. He groans at the feeling of you tugging on his locks, urging him to touch you more.

“I am unworthy of your beauty, beloved, but I will worship at your feet if you would allow it,” he continues, dropping to his knees to run his mouth from one hip bone to the next, savouring the path his lips take. You shudder beneath his ministrations.

“I should be worshipping you,” you counter, moaning as he kneads your ass in his large hands. “My love… my Master…”

“You do not ever need to call me that, my treasure,” he murmurs, rising to his full height once more to look down at you sternly, though he cannot deny that thrill of arousal that thrums through him, hearing that title from your lips. How he wants to possess you, to own you…

“I know I don’t need to,” you reply with a coy smile. “But I very much want to.”

There is a loud ripping noise as he tears the bustier to shreds off of your body, desperate to get his hands on you.

“You have to tell Cassandra you ruined that,” you tell him off-handedly as you give his shirt the same treatment, your clawed hands roaming over his massive chest, smooth and hard as marble before you attack him with you lips as well, moaning at the taste of him.

“Very well; you can explain that you ruined the bed,” he replies, the dark tone of his voice promising its destruction. He scoops you up and flits over to the bed, tossing you onto it before pouncing on top of you. You squirm and buck beneath him, clearly enjoying the feeling of being pinned by his larger frame.

“There is no escaping me, beloved. There is no escaping this…” he hisses, teasing your body with light touches of his long fingers that have you arching against him with a lusty cry. He kisses his way down your body, between your breasts and down your stomach until his head rests between your trembling thighs.

“Do you know how I savoured tasting these quivering thighs?” he purrs, pinning your legs and hips in place as he looks up your body at you. “That was my form of bloodlust, Y/N. After biting you here –” he pauses to sink his fangs into you exactly where he had when he Turned you, making you scream with ecstasy.

“– And here –” he repeats this gesture on your other thigh, and he can smell your arousal growing between your legs as you thrash beneath him. Between vampires, a bite did nothing more than provide the victim with a pleasant, painful ache, and you certainly seem receptive to it.

“– I could not stop myself from sinking my teeth into you again and again, everywhere I could reach. You are still mouthwatering, even now…” he purrs, as you shudder and moan wantonly.

“Do it again!” you cry out desperately, begging him for more of the painful pleasure, and he is more than happy to oblige, sliding up your body once more and pinning you in place.

“Yes, Valek!” you cry, throwing your head back as he claims your neck with his lips and teeth. “Please, take me! I want to be yours in every way,” you moan throatily, and he can no longer resist, tearing your remaining lingerie to shreds like a feral animal, leaving scratches across your pale skin that only seem to spur you on further. Dark and depraved; you were perfect for him.

Valek moves to the side of the bed to discard his remaining clothing, but doesn’t get very far before you reach over, ripping his clothing off of his body. He looks back at you, and you merely give him a smug smile in return.

“Just being fair,” you chirp up at him as you lounge against the sheets, looking like a delicious perversion of an angel. He gives you an indulgent smile, allowing you this one victory; you can cling to it when he’s claiming you again and again until even your immortal body is desperate for rest.

He grabs one of your bare ankles, tugging you so that your lower legs are dangling off the sides of the bed to either side of his own. Leaning down, he runs a clawed hand possessively up your body to your neck, giving it a firm squeeze.

“You wish to belong to me, little star?” he purrs, watching your eyes glaze over with desire as you nod frantically with an erotic groan, unable to speak. He grabs the back of your thighs, one in each of his large hands, lifting them up to wrap around his waist and making you lift yourself off of the bed until only your shoulders and head are on the mattress.

He looks down, seeing his hard, aching member so close to your entrance, looking past where his hands grip your hips and down your body to your delirious expression. He could he be so eager to defile something so innocent?

But defile you he would.

He lines his cock up with your dripping, wet entrance, and you let out a needy wail when he doesn’t thrust in after a moment.

“Please, Valek, take me!” you beg, and there has never been a more beautiful sound. “Make me yours, my love!”

He thrusts forward, fully sheathing himself inside of you in one smooth motion, coming to lean over you as you both moan in unison. Your mouth is in a constant ‘O’ of wordless pleasure, the occasional whine emitting from your lips as your eyes roll back into your head as he fucks you, making you his own in yet another way. You feel divine, wrapped so tightly around his cock, and your warmth… he finally understands the insatiability of some of his kind. This feeling… he never wants it to stop.

“Please, I need you closer!” you moan desperately, and he obliges, reluctantly removing himself from you before pouncing on you on top of the bed. But before he can slide himself inside you once more, you have flipped the two of you over, your legs to either side of his hips, and before he can do anything about it, you’ve dropped down onto him once more, enveloping his cock in your tight, sweet cunt and rolling your hips against his in a way that has him cursing in Czech, words that he wasn’t aware he even remembered.

“You are my undoing, Y/N,” he groans, his eyes rolling back in ecstasy as you ride him passionately, fucking yourself hard and deep on his cock. “My siren. I will bring you pleasure everlasting, for all of my days.”

As if to prove his point, he grabs one of your wrists from where you’ve placed your hands on his chest to steady yourself, bringing it to his lips and sinking his fangs into your arm, making you keen in pleasure.

“I will have you always, little star,” he coos, even as he bites you again, feeling you tighten and shudder around him. “You are mine for always.”

“Always, Valek,” you moan, reaching down with your free hand to rub yourself just above where his cock was thrusting in and out of your cunt. He replaces your fingers with his own, searching for spots that have you nearly sobbing with pleasure and need, bucking up against him. He will learn to play you like a fine-tuned instrument; you have eternity after all.

“Fuck love, I’m getting close!” you wail, your bouncing on his cock taking on a stuttering, uneven pace. He sits up, the clenching of his abdominal muscles causing his balls to tighten with impending release, and bites your neck, keeping his fangs buried inside of you as he keeps his cock buried inside you as well, hands holding your hips as you climax hard, tightening around him as he fills you with his release.

You are seeing stars, but Valek only sees you; he’ll see only you for eternity.

---

It's cheesy, and I don't care. I am a Cassandra here - not involved romantically, but more than willing to meddle when it comes to these two! Hope you all enjoyed!

[training4theapocalypse]

A Nest of Vipers Ch5. (Cormac McLaggen x Original Female Character - Slytherin)

Rating: Explicit 18+

Word Count: 4.6K

Warnings / Tags: ANGST, Tragic romance

Summary: If her brother is brave enough to ask one of the Gryffindors to Slughorn's Christmas party, surely Una can work up the courage to do the same? Or has Sabine been right all along?

A/N: No smut in this chapter just some angst and everyone being cagey with their feelings lol. Also this diverges from the canon timeline just a little - Katie Bell isn’t cursed by the necklace until after Christmas.

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Chapter 5: Suffocate

A winter chill was in the air as Una and Graham Montague walked up the steps to the owlery, their shoes crunching on frosty fallen leaves on the stone staircase. Una wrinkled her nose when Graham opened the door at the top of the tower and they were greeted with the stench of owl droppings and hay.

“I’ve been laying the groundwork and dropping some serious hints that I need a new broom for Christmas,” said Graham as he tied their letters to one of the school tawny owls who was sticking its leg out in a serious, professional sort of way.

“I can’t believe this is the first time you’ve written to them all term,” said Una. This was typical of Graham. He was their golden boy - what did it matter to their parents if he didn’t write for months? Their beloved Quidditch Captain son who could do no wrong. Una, on the other hand, had to constantly fight for their approval. 

She knew she should probably resent him for it, and yet…

“What am I going to write about? I’m not brilliant like you. I’ve not done anything worth writing about.”

There it was. Even if her parents didn’t give a damn, her little brother was always so proud of her. And he let her know it. She loved him more than anything. Although Sabine and Meredith were a close second. And, if she was being honest, third respectively.

“They’d love to hear from you, Graham. They’d want to know that your panic attacks have gotten much better lately.” Graham frowned and pretended to busy himself with the fastenings on the letters. “And Father would be really pleased that Slughorn invited you to his Christmas party after doing so well in Potions.”

“Oh, so you just send them a list of achievements every other week? Sure - that’s nothing to do with trying to get a good Christmas present.”

“Well,” smirked Una leaning against the window sill. “I’m not saying it doesn’t help.”

“Right, off you go then,” Graham told the owl who ruffled its feathers against the icy breeze, spread its wings and took flight across the Hogwarts grounds, carrying the siblings’ letters. They stood for a moment watching the silhouette of the owl disappearing into the sky across the lake.

“So, who are you going to the party with?” asked Una, looking up at him and thinking of his fellow Slytherin sixth years. As much as she didn’t like to think about her brother’s dating life, she would rather he wasn’t going out with someone who was a simpering pushover like Pansy Parkinson or a knucklehead like Millicent Bullstrode.

“Eh, I dunno…” He said, pushing a gloved hand back through his auburn hair. “I was thinking maybe Katie Bell?”

“What?” She knew that name from her lessons.

“She’s in the year above me.” He cleared his throat. 

Una blinked a few times as his hazel eyes, so similar to her own, refused to meet hers.

“Yeah, I know she is because that’s my year, you dolt. But she’s in Gryffindor.”

“Oh, don’t you start too. It’s a different house, not another planet.”

“Your friends giving you a hard time then?”

He snorted. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

“And it doesn’t… bother you?”

“What? That she’s a Gryffindor?”

“No, that Draco and the others are giving you a hard time.”

“Yeah, well, what are they gonna do about it?” He drew himself up to his full height. He was tall - even taller than his friends Crabbe and Goyle - she supposed they were probably too intimidated by him to try and put a stop to it.

“Well… good for you,” said Una. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I like that you don’t care what they think.”

“What about you?” he asked, pulling his scarf tighter against the cold air coming through the giant open windows.

“It’s fine by me, I don’t care who you go out with.” That wasn’t strictly true but it was better than him dating one of the Slytherin sixth years who were always sucking up to her, Sabine and Meredith.

“I meant who are you going with?”

“Oh.” Una and Blaise had already arranged to go with each other as friends. That way she could sneak off with McLaggen and he could attempt to get to know Ginny Weasley better, despite Una’s contempt for the latter. “Blaise.”

“What?!” His exclamation startled her slightly. “Una, you can’t go with Blaise.”

“Who are you to tell me who I can’t -”

“Not like that. Una, please. I’m begging you. Don’t go with Blaise.”

She was taken aback by this. Blaise was in Slytherin. By all accounts, he was a perfectly suitable match for her. “Why not?”

“Because he’s my mate. I mean, I can put up with them slagging me off for who I go out with but I don’t want to hear about Blaise with his hands all over my -” He pretended to retch. “I can’t have my sister going out with -” He retched again. “one of my friends.”

She frowned.

“Don’t give me that look. I mean…” He looked out the window again with a pained expression. “I suppose if you really like him, I could make peace with it. As long as y’know, you don’t start snogging each other in front of me.”

“It’s not that we like each other. It’s just that neither of us had anyone else to go with,” said Una carefully.

“Come off it.” Graham rolled his eyes and walked over to the owlery door. “I mean - they reign it in in front of me because they know I’d kill them - but I know from my mates that you’re not that ugly. I’m sure you’d have your choice of poor, unwitting souls. Like a dementor.”

“Oh ha-ha. It’s more of a quality problem than a quantity one - have you seen the trolls in our common room?”

“Well, maybe you should broaden your horizons. I’m not saying you have to go out with a Gryffindor but people in other houses exist, you know.”

Una sighed heavily as the owlery door shut behind her. She couldn’t believe she was taking dating advice from her brother - and what’s more, he was right. 

“What’s that sigh for?”

“I wish I could be like you. Sabine and Meredith would kill me if I went with someone from Gryffindor. The three of us have a reputation to protect.”

“What does a reputation mean, really? What other people think of you? Maybe they’re not good friends if they care more about what other people think than being happy.” They paused at the bottom of the stairs. “I’m serious, Una. Fuck them. Go out with who you like… As long as it’s not Blaise or Draco.” He paused for a moment and (as if to make sure he was covering all his bases) added. “Or Crabbe, Goyle or Theo.”

Una laughed but as they walked back to the castle she couldn’t help but think about how complicated this was becoming. Why couldn’t things just be simple? Surely she could just be honest with her friends and go with who she really liked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Una, Sabine and Meredith sat in front of the fire in the Slytherin common room. The atmosphere was stiff like they were the only three mourners at a very poorly attended funeral. Una had to remind herself that they weren’t actually grieving, that she had simply broken the news she was going to Slughorn’s party with Cormac McLaggen. 

“I can’t believe you’d do this to my brother either,” Sabine sniped, breaking the silence. “Who’s he supposed to go with now?”

“The party is almost two weeks away. Blaise has plenty of time to find another date. Besides, Graham doesn’t want me to go with one of his friends.” 

“I think,” Sabine said coolly. “I think you should find somewhere else to sit.”

Una snorted in disbelief. “Sab, come on-” 

“Don’t ‘Sab’ me. I’m not having you cosying up with the Gryffindors all day and then coming crawling back to us. We stick together. The three of us. And only us.”

“You can’t be serious.” Sabine only raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow in response and continued to look into the fire, the light bouncing off her high, dark cheekbones as she stared stonily. “Doesn’t Meredith get a say?” Una scoffed and looked at Meredith who was attempting to make herself as small as she could in her leather armchair. “Well?”

“I agree with Sabine,” Meredith said quietly.

“Unbelievable.” Una stood up and her temper rose with it. “Are you really going to be that spineless, Meredith?” Meredith simply looked at her shoes. “And you,” she turned her glare to Sabine. “You only want me to go out with someone you can keep a close eye on.”

“I know what’s good for you.”

“What’s good for you, you mean. You’d rather the three of us were single than Meredith or I had a boyfriend before you.”

“You bitch,” hissed Sabine and Una knew she had touched a nerve. Sabine might have experience but Una knew her inside out. Sabine had never had a boyfriend for more than a few weeks. 

Cormac’s earlier teasing of Una swam to the forefront of her mind: ‘It was easy to pretend you didn’t exist since you have such a terrible personality’

If Una had a terrible personality, Sabine’s was diabolical.

Sabine pressed on. “It’s nothing to do with who I am or aren’t dating. You know for a fact that you going out with a Gryffindor ruins the whole dynamic.”

“The dynamic?” Una laughed so shrilly that Pansy Parkinson and her friends looked over from their seats at the window alcove. “What dynamic is that? The one where you’re in charge and Meredith and I go along with whatever you say?”

“No, the dynamic where we don’t have the same kind of power when one of us splits off from the group to chum up with those blundering idiots in Gryffindor.”

“Then don’t split us up. It’s you who’s making a big deal about me asking Cormac to some party!”

It was Sabine’s turn to laugh. “Wait, hold on a second. He hasn’t even asked you yet?”

“So? What does it matter if he hasn’t?”

“I saw him scowling at you in Snape’s lesson the other day when you asked about the Cruciatus Curse. He doesn’t even like you. Sure, maybe he’s trying to fuck you but there’s no way he actually wants to date you.”

It was a knife in Una’s stomach. Sabine knew Una just as well as Una knew her. She had an intimate knowledge of Una’s deepest insecurities and her attempt to wound her was working.

“Well, maybe I don’t care if that’s what he wants.”

Sabine laughed again and it stung like venom in the wound. “As if. You’re going to catch feelings.”

“You really think I’m that easily manipulated?”

“Actually I do, Una. Because without us, what are you? A goody-two-shoes virgin and a loser.”

Una knew arguing back was only giving Sabine more ammunition but she couldn’t help it. The smug smirk on Sabine’s face told her that Sabine knew just how deeply she’d cut her. “He doesn’t care who my friends are. He likes me.”

“He likes the idea of fucking you. Wait until he finds out you’ve got as much experience as a twelve-year-old.”

Una could feel tears welling in her eyes and she was furious with her own emotions for betraying her. She wanted to tell them that actually, she did have experience. And that Cormac didn’t even mind when she didn’t. “He’s not like that.”

“They’re all like that,” Sabine said seriously. She held out her pinky finger. Their special signal. “Last chance, Una.” When she looked at Una her expression softened. “I just worry about you.”

Una looked at the pinky finger extended in front of her but didn’t link it. “You’re wrong.”

“I don’t want you to prove me right. Don’t ask him.”

“Why not?”

Una gave Meredith one last pleading look but Meredith just shook her head.

“If you make a fool of yourself it looks bad for all of us.”

Sabine pressed her pinky right into Una’s breastbone. 

“I’m not a fool. And you’re a bad friend if you don’t want me to be happy.”

“You’d be happier without getting involved with him,” said Sabine. “I swear, Una. You’re setting yourself up to get hurt.”

Una thought hard. Thought about when Cormac told her he wanted to bend her over and fuck her like the mean little bully she was. Thought about the way he was as keen as she was to keep it a secret.

She barely knew him. He barely knew her. And maybe Sabine was right - what he did know he didn’t seem to like. Even if he did want to fuck her.

And asking him to Slughorn’s Christmas party would probably end in rejection and hurt.

She looked down at the pinky pressed into her sternum and locked her own around it. Sabine squeezed it with satisfaction.

“You’re right. I - I don’t know what I was thinking.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the Gryffindor Quidditch Team made their way back to the common room, Cormac McLaggen and Katie Bell lingered at the back of the group with their brooms slung over their shoulders.

“What a waste of time,” he groaned. 

“Cheer up. You’re still technically on the team,” said Katie.

“Technically, yes. But in actuality that means spending a perfectly good Saturday afternoon sitting on the sidelines watching Weasley make an arse of himself.” Cormac grumbled as he adjusted his broom. He was in a bad mood and what was worse was that he still hadn’t found a date for Slughorn’s Party.

He knew why he was putting it off and resented himself for it. He had sort of hoped that after spending the evening in the Prefects’ bathroom with Una a few weeks ago that maybe - just maybe - she’d have a change of heart about not wanting to be seen with him anywhere.

But that wasn’t looking likely.

For the past couple of weeks, their only contact had consisted of sitting too closely in Transfiguration when they could get away with it and discreet brushes of their fingers when they passed in the corridor. Just last week he had dared to squeeze a handful of her backside as he walked by her in the Great Hall which she had met with a scathing look and the tiniest jerk of her head towards Sabine and Meredith. 

Then, he hadn’t expected his heart to sink the way it did when she’d told him casually in Transfiguration that she was going to Slughorn’s with Blaise Zabini. Cormac thought they were well suited - both Slytherins, slight and statuesque. He felt like a lumbering giant when he walked past Blaise the next day.

He needed a date. And fast.

“Katie, you don’t fancy going to Slughorn’s Party with me, do you?”

Katie stopped in her tracks. “What?”

“Just as friends, I mean.”

“Thank God,” she laughed and they resumed their ascent of the moving staircase.

“Alright, don’t sound too relieved or anything.”

“You know what I mean.”

“No, I do. I just thought that since you’re not going you might -“

“I am too going,” said Katie defensively.

“What? You’re going to Slughorn’s?” asked Cormac. “You never told me that.”

“I don’t tell you everything,” Katie said. “But yeah, I’m going with the Slytherin Quidditch Captain. Graham.”

Cormac furrowed his brow. “Wait -”

“Una Montague’s brother,” she reminded him.

“What? Why’d you say it like that? I barely know her.”

It was easy to forget Graham and Una were siblings. They were different, that was for sure. Graham was taller, broader and with much hairier arms than Una - not that Cormac was complaining that they didn’t share those traits. 

Katie looked at him blankly. “Because you mentioned you sit next to her Transfiguration?”

“Oh. Yeah. Right.” 

“He’s kind of sweet, actually,” said Katie quickly. “Not as bad as the rest.”

His memory was jogged by this. “Hold on, didn’t he grab your head instead of the quaffle during a match once?”

To Cormac’s surprise, Katie gave him a girlish smile that he’d never seen before. “That’s what he said when he asked me to Slughorn’s Party. He said he wanted to make it up to me. ‘Baubles’,” she added, pushing through the portrait of the Fat Lady and stepping over the threshold of the common room.

“I dunno, Katie. Carmichael warned me about him,” he said.

“What’s going on?” said Katie. “First you’re getting defensive when I mentioned Una and now you’re telling me Carmichael is warning you about her brother. Why?”

“Nothing’s going on,” Cormac insisted, thinking about Una’s scalding look when he tried to touch her when she was near the other Vipers. She’d be furious if he told anyone about them. So furious, she probably wouldn’t want to have sex with him - and he was determined to at least do that again, even if they weren’t going to the party together.

“Are you into her?”

“No, Katie. I just sit next to her in one class.” He did trust Katie but he was becoming extremely conscious of the fact they were having this conversation in the busy common room where anyone could overhear.

“Is this why you haven’t asked anyone to Slughorn’s? Are you trying to work up the courage to ask her or something?”

“No. And she’s going with Zabini anyway.”

“Sabine?”

“Blaise.”

“Hmm… you seem to know an awful lot about who she’s going with for someone who isn’t interested.”

“It just came up in Transfiguration.”

“How did it come up?”

He dragged his hand down his face in exasperation. Katie could be so infuriatingly tenacious. “It just did. Let it go.”

“So you’re not going alone in the hopes she ditches Blaise for you?”

“No! I just asked you didn’t I?”

“As a friend.”

“Yeah, because Slughorn’s Christmas party is only two days away and I still don’t have anyone to go with.”

“Cormac?” said a voice from behind them. Katie and Cormac whipped around to see Hermione Granger standing with a book under her arm. “Sorry, I couldn’t help overhearing. Did you say you were looking for a date for Slughorn’s party?”

Now, this was interesting. Hermione was pretty, he supposed, even if she did look slightly stressed out and frazzled right now. But she had never shown the slightest interest in him before, in fact, it was quite the opposite when he had made eyes at her during Slug Club.

“Yes,” said Cormac with relief. He was proving Katie wrong before her eyes. “Are you? Do you want to go together?”

Hermione nodded. He wondered if this would make Una jealous. Hermione was, after all, a shoo-in to be Una’s successor as Head Girl. And she had gone to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum - that had to mean something, right?

“You mean like, as a date though, right? Not as friends?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, I would love to go with you as a date, Cormac,” she replied very loudly, looking over his shoulder at the rest of the Quidditch team heading to their dormitories and tucking her bushy hair behind her ear.

“Excellent,” said Cormac, clapping Hermione on the shoulder and walking backwards towards the boys’ dormitory. “You’ll wear something hot though, right?”

“Cormac!” said Katie, aghast.

“What?” asked Cormac. He was thinking about how Una would mock him if he turned up with a date who clearly didn’t look like she’d made any effort to be there with him. But judging from Katie’s horrified expression, he’d said the wrong thing. “I just meant, y’know, at the Yule Ball - you looked great. I’m looking forward to seeing you dressed up again.”

“Ignore him,” said Katie, rolling her eyes as Hermione looked offended. Cormac shrugged and turned to go upstairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the last Transfiguration lesson before the end of term, Professor McGonagall seemed to have let her hair down slightly and had allowed the seventh-years to spend their lesson practising whatever they wanted. And so, Cormac continued his attempts to silently master the Avis spell while Una sat in front of a mirror, transfiguring her eyebrows into different colours.

“You know, I might keep them like this for Slughorn’s party tomorrow night,” said Una, admiring her emerald green eyebrows in the mirror. “They match my dress.” 

Cormac turned in his seat to face her as she smirked at him expectantly.

“Blaise would love that, I’m sure.” 

“He won’t care.”

“Nice to know he’s not superficial. That’s a good quality to have in a boyfriend.”

Una snorted. “What are you on about?”

“Well… you’ve barely spoken to me since you told me you were going to Slughorn’s with Blaise.”

“That’s not -” Una hesitated before continuing. “That’s not why I haven’t been speaking to you. Sabine and Meredith are sort of… on my case.”

“They’ve always been on your case.”

“More than usual.” Una held up her mirror to her face and pointed her wand at her eyebrows. Cormac had a feeling she was hiding her face so she wouldn’t need to look at him. “I told them I was thinking about asking you.”

“You - you did? What did they say?”

“Oh they were really supportive,” said Una sarcastically, as they both watched her eyebrows resume their usual colour. “Asked if you had any friends for them too - do you think Carmichael would be interested?”

Cormac put down his wand. “What did they really say?”

“It didn’t go down well. But -” Una pursed her lips thoughtfully. “- does it matter what they think?”

“To me? No.”

“Should we, then? Go together, I mean? I know it’s only tomorrow but Blaise won’t care. We’re just going as friends.”

Friends? Shit. 

“Una, I can’t. I’ve said I’d go with someone else - I can’t ditch her the day before.”

“Who?”

“Hermione Granger,” he said and Una scoffed. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Well, you were trying to hit on her at the dinner party a couple of weeks ago, so, what, you’re dating her?”

“How was I supposed to know you were going with Blaise as friends?”

She looked at him incredulously. “I thought that was the plan? We’d find someone else to go with and we’d sneak off somewhere together later?”

“We can still do that,” he said, feeling a little desperate now his plan was backfiring.

“Cormac, I’m not…” She sighed. “I’m not gonna be some bit on the side for you while you’re actively dating. You can’t have it both ways.”

That was exceptionally unfair. “Me? Una, I’m doing this at your request. You want to keep it a secret. You want to go to the party with someone else. It’s you who can’t have it both ways.”

He was expecting a venomous argument but she just looked disappointed. Which was worse.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

He certainly hadn’t expected her to apologise. He felt his defences drop.

“Come on, Unes. I’m not dating her. I was scrambling for a last-second date and she overheard. That’s all it is.”

“And what’s this?” asked Una. “Like… between us?”

“What do you want it to be?” He tilted his head. “Una, I like you a lot but if you’re that worried about Sabine and Meredith, we can keep it a secret. I don’t care.”

“You like me? You never told me that.”

“Didn’t I?”

“No. You said you didn’t dislike me.”

“That’s the same thing.”

“Even though Carmichael says I’m evil?”

Cormac grinned. “Well, you are evil. I’m just into it.” He didn't really think Una was evil. A little mean with a twisted sense of humour, sure, but she had a soft side that most people didn't realise existed. He couldn't ever imagine her purposefully harming someone.

She laughed at this for a second then her expression shifted slightly. “And you don’t care that I’ve got about as much experience as a twelve-year-old?”

“Well, that’s not true anymore, is it?” He shrugged his shoulders. “And it’s great, actually. It’s the one thing I’m better at than you.”

“Shut up,” she said, although she looked relieved. It was oddly adorable. Usually so quick-witted and sneering, it was nice when she let him peer behind the curtain and see that she had real, human emotions.

“You’re gonna need a lot of practice to catch up,” he said with a cocky grin, and he was glad when she hit his shoulder because he knew it meant she wasn’t upset with him anymore.

The bell rang and Cormac and Una filed out of the class behind the others. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow then?” he asked and she nodded. Then Una did something she’d never done before. She stood on her tiptoes in the busy corridor and kissed his cheek.

“See you later,” Una said and off she went, giving him a quick smile over her shoulder before disappearing through a hidden passageway behind a tapestry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Arithmancy, Una went along the second-floor corridor to the nearest bathroom. It was cold and dank in here - she knew why Filch avoided cleaning this one. She looked at her reflection in the streaky mirror as she dried her hands. She too usually steered clear of this bathroom if she could because - 

“I know something you don’t know,” sang Moaning Myrtle, rising from the air above the stall behind her. Una glanced her out of the corner of her eye in the mirror as she pulled out her lipgloss.

“Oh, I’m sure there are plenty of things I don’t know, Myrtle. How to scare away every boy in school, for instance?”

“Funny you should say that… Did you know that boy you’re seeing is taking someone else to the Christmas party?”

“Oh, no,” said Una mockingly applying her lipgloss. “What a terrible shock.”

“I heard Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley talking all about it in here.”

“Did you now?” said Una, feigning disinterest as she pouted at herself and fixed her hair.

“Yes, although she’s not looking forward to it. He sounds awful. I can see why you’re both interested in each other.”

Una smirked at her own reflection. Good. She was glad Hermione wasn’t particularly keen on their date.

Myrtle continued. “I overheard them talking about what a chauvinist he is. Apparently, he told her to wear something sexy to the party. Can you believe it?”

Una’s smirk faltered as the pit of her stomach dropped. She tried to recover quickly by pressing her lips together but from the gleeful expression on Myrtle’s face, she’d seen it. Myrtle floated over to sit on the sink next to her but Una kept her eyes firmly on her own reflection.

“Said he was really looking forward to seeing her all dressed up. Gosh, he must really like her.”

Una carefully put her lipgloss back in her bag. So much for ‘only asking Hermione because she overheard’. So Cormac McLaggen was a liar - plain and simple. And Sabine was right. By putting herself out there and telling him how she felt, she had only set herself up to get hurt.

“Is that why you told me not to tell anyone? Are you sleeping with someone else’s boyfriend?” asked Myrtle in a would-be innocent voice.

Una pulled out her wand and pointed it at Myrtle’s throat. “Langlock!” she spat and watched Myrle’s eyes bulge as her tongue rolled back down her throat. “Engorgio!”

Myrtle clutched her throat as her tongue swelled up.

“Now, if you were alive, you’d suffocate,” whispered Una, watching Myrtle’s ghostly face turn less and less opaque. Her neck bulged as her tongue continued to grow. “But what happens if a dead person chokes on their own tongue, I wonder?”

Una didn’t bother to find out. She turned around and strode out of the bathroom, her heels clicking across the wet stone floor as Myrle gagged behind her. 

Chapter 6: Slughorn's Party

[maxiemumdamage]

While the homophobes and incels jump on Ruby yelling at Yang and Blake as an excuse to trash Bumbleby and insist Yang is a terrible sister, I am actually gonna try to pick apart why Ruby said what she did to them specifically. I think that the issue is basically threefold for why Ruby said what she did and had such strong feelings about it. (Aside from her general frustration and need to express her trauma and unhappiness in any form, I mean. It wasn’t really personal or thought out at all, I just think there were some specific reasons she reacted as she did.)

First, they basically have worked out any issues. Even with the craziness of the Ever After and heavy task of getting back to Remnant, Yang and Blake are actually happy and in a good place mentally. Ruby at least knows that Weiss is also grieving and frustrated with herself, and Jaune’s breakdown was obvious even if it detracted from her own feelings. But Yang and Blake seem genuinely fine at this point, while Ruby is at her lowest. Of course she was gonna be frustrated by that.

Secondly, she’s probably feeling really resentful that their relationship is going so well when Ruby’s personal affairs have become a mess. Ruby hasn’t been able to help Weiss, her partner. Penny, person she was so attached to, who she loved — whether you believed in Nuts and Dolts or not, it was clear Penny and Ruby had a special bond — is dead. How can Ruby be happy that her teammates are dating when Ruby has no assurance of that kind of love or support, has no sense that she’ll be able to preserve relationships with loved ones?

Third…yeah, she might be a little threatened by so clearly seeing Yang and Blake placing each other as their number one people. I say this as a younger sibling who found it eternally unpleasant to meet my sister’s boyfriends, playing witness to a sibling’s romantic relationships is uncomfortable at the best of times.

It’s not that Yang or Blake did anything wrong. It’s just that Ruby had a lot of reasons to feel even worse about her own position and circumstances when faced with their relationship.

[etinceelle]

Okay I finally got to listen to the full version of Guide My Way and I am going feral over the Nuts and Dolts references, I'm still processing my full thoughts on the implications but I will be thinking about "Were you at least called a friend?" for the rest of my life like--

YEAH like someone pointed that out and I'm really curious about this whole thing--

Of course I was on Casey and Martin's Instagram live yesterday about the soundtrack, and as it's tradition in the RWBY sountrack, there's no confirmation of any character POV (unless it's very obvious or specific), and it's not canon/can be interpreted in various ways. So the fact that there's a friend mention here could completely be a reference to Penny, and I LOVE the fact that they maybe thought about it, because it's such a huge deal for Ruby and she's been mourning her and struggling with that this whole volume. Summer and Penny are probably two of the most painful topics for Ruby and I'm really happy we have mentions and references like this ;;;;;

[vecnawrites]

Between all the various ships you cover which would you say is the most wholesome to the most depraved excluding au specific ships

For the most part, it depends on the actual ask itself, since I do often tweak things to fit them (not to mention, some of the girls I can see being really wholesome and utterly depraved sexual deviants), so they fit in both categories. But here we go!

MOST WHOLESOME:

Arkos: A loving pair of a goofball and a girl who found a boy who treated her normally and never put her on a pedestal

Scarlet Knight: Jaune and the shy bunny faunus are adorable!

ArcShot: Childhood friends in my headcanon, Jaune and May Zedong are the perfect pair of dorks that work well together.

White Knight: Weiss just wants someone to love her. Luckily there’s a certain knight who likes her even at her most prickly...

Nuts And Dolts: How can this not be wholesome, lol? Penny is an innocent cinnamon roll, and Ruby isn’t much different!

MOST DEPRAVED:

ArcWitch or Neo/Glynda: Glynda’s a repressed teacher who needs some relief, and some of the things that she does...woo!

ArcShot and ScarletKnight: You know what they say about the shy, quiet ones, right?

Silent Knight: ...have you read any of my works with Neo, lmao?

Arkos: Pyrrha’s plenty repressed due to her having to constantly be ‘perfect’ in the eyes of people. So I see her letting her freak flag fly when with the man she loves.

Nora’s Arc: Nora is shameless. Nuff said.

[scham-wcan]

In the WR Home Garage Workshop

Ruby, sulking over her disassembled scythe as she works on upgrading the thing; it has been hours at this point: Uhhh, crap, this is going to take forever...

Ruby, dragging her greasy hands over her face as she sighs: Shoots a half-hearted glance to her scroll

Ruby: OH, crap! That can't be the time?! Weiss is going to be-

Weiss, in her SDC office gear, opening the interior garage door: Weiss has once again gotten home before her lovely Huntress Wife has finished cheating on her with her weapon

Ruby: Oh, it's not like that, look I just got new valves for the unfolding mechanism! I thought I'd get this done faster but uhhhh...

Weiss: But you forgot to start dinner before I got home after saying you would specifically do that this morning?

Ruby, watching Weiss approach her, as she scratches her neck: Yeah, yeah. For the fourth time now?

Weiss, smugly, now in front of Ruby: Sixth time, Dolt. Kisses Ruby. You know what that means~

Ruby, sighing warmly: You get to choose take-out tonight and the movie. Yet again.

Weiss: Aww, don't worry. One day you will get to cook me a great meal, or you know read a clock~

[aknolan]

Okay so, here's how I read into the Nuts and Dolts dynamic:

Ruby: "I love Penny but I don't know if she feels the same way and everything is so chaotic and I don't want to make her uncomfortable so I'll just keep this to myself and focus on other things!"

Penny: "Ruby is such a good friend! I want to make out with her! That is TOTALLY a thing good friends do, right? I'm pretty sure Blake and Yang make out, and they ALSO seem like very good friends! Weiss, are you okay? You look like you are trying to ease a headache."

I feel like that really doesn't give enough credit to Penny tbh. I get that it's funny to treat her as super naive on how everything works, but especially in v7 and v8 she's just... not.

Penny not realizing her feelings for Ruby are romantic? Sure. Penny not realizing that making out is a romantic thing? That just seems a bit infantilizing to me. And I'm not really blaming you because it's a common thing in the fandom, but I'm also not gonna gloss over it. That reduces Penny to a joke about how she has 0 social understanding, when v7 very clearly moves waaaaaaay beyond that.

Anyways, the way I read them is that up to v3, Ruby may have had a bit of a crush on Penny, but never really thought about her feelings long enough to notice. Then after v3, she thought Penny was dead and it didn't matter what exactly those feelings were, it just hurt. Then v7 happens, and she's between "too much work to think about feelings" and "no clear time limit to figure this out so whatever" again with regard to her feelings. In v8 she of course has even less time to think about it, but a lot of opportunity to notice how important Penny is. How much the thought of losing her again hurts. That leaves her in v9 with a very clear understanding of how deeply important Penny is, with it only being a matter of time before the quarter drops and she has her realization that the feeling is love.

Penny I think has the very specific problem of not having a reference point. This especially goes for v3. The people she's close to are her dad and Ruby, and so the difference between the feelings is easy to think of as family vs friend. And that's how things stay. Sure, Winter becomes a friend of sorts, but that's still... different. It's only really in v8 that she ends up briefly surrounded by friends, as everyone tries to save her. Everyone is willing to take risks for her. This is when she gains a reference point for how the feelings she has for Ruby are different from friend-feelings.

I also think either of them may have noticed much sooner if the concept of kissing was on their minds, but it's not, and that's fine.

[shortkingvi]

Following on from the Bumbleby ship reblog, what's your brutally honest opinion on Nuts and Dolts?

i’m sure i was probably asked abt them during the ask game i was doing back then but i’ll dive into them again now that we’re in v9 and i think the trigger has been pulled on that relationship’s entire purpose

i LOVE nnd,,,,,,,,,, like love love them so much,,,,,,,, i think that they are like an upside down dark heartbreaking version of your childhood crush who moves away but who you always think abt and who, no matter how old you get, you’ll always wonder if you two could’ve given it a real shot

ruby being this young kid who has powers immeasurable but who never expected to have to use them meeting a girl who was created SPECIFICALLY to be what people want ruby to be is just like,,,,,,,, tragically heartwarming when you consider how lost ruby is after the fall of beacon and how much of that is tied into penny, this paragon of goodness and strength and protection being rendered useless by the very people ruby fears

so like, that loss weighs on ruby and guides much of her narrative for the next few seasons, turning her into a fixer and defender and protector because she saw goodness get literally ripped apart and what else can she do but try to stop it again

when they reunite in v7 ruby’s genuine shock is so so so depressing to look back on because at that point she’d faced so much more and learned so much about herself that i don’t think she has grasped even now in v9 so seeing this person who defined so much of what and who she’s become is such a relief for her

so you get the wonderful little breather that is v7 and ruby is connecting with penny again and realizing that maybe good never DOES leave this world no matter how much evil tries to get rid of it

that is, until penny is given everything she’s ever wanted and had it immediately ripped away. i know that penny’s second death is incredibly controversial in the fandom but i don’t think people are quite understanding why it had to happen the way it did because their feelings for penny as a character are too strong

penny was given humanity and happiness and her literal dream by this being outside of the realm of understanding and still, STILL, that isn’t enough. she dies in the most heartbreaking way because it was her choice but also,,,,, was it really? was any of this anyone’s choice?

so now ruby’s fallen and lost everything and if penny couldn’t even survive being everything she’s ever wanted and staying at ruby’s side… then what’s the point of hope?

i think penny is ruby’s hope, but i don’t think ruby understands that penny can BE that hope even if she didn’t get a happy ending. i think she’s meant to inspire ruby and show her that even if we lose a million good, pure, innocent things in life, we’ll always have a million and one reasons to keep fighting

and that’s what i think nnd is truly about

[hamliet]

Hi! Can I ask your opinion on Cinder X Jaune as a ship?

As in, do I like it, or do I think it has any canon basis?

My answers are basically fun crackship and then not at all, respectively.

For my personal tastes, the only RWBY ships that fill me with feels are Rosegarden and Emercury. I do like Bumbleby, Arkos, Renora, White Knight as they've been written. Cinder/Jaune is like Nuts n Dolts to me--I see why people like it and mad kudos to them. It's just not for me.

The ship, as best I can tell, is based on the fact that Cinder and Jaune absolutely do have a role to play in each other's arcs, and Jaune is absolutely going to be pivotal to Cinder's redemption. The fandom does often sleep on this. I can see why people would have a lot of fun exploring it. Enjoy!

Insofar as canon goes, I think that it has no basis because to interpret their roles in each other's arcs as romantic means misinterpreting the context of the story and the coding of their roles within said story.

I will explain more under the cut because I know I have followers who like the ship and please do enjoy it.

By coding, I do mean age coding. But not in the way antis mean it, not at all. Age gap wise, Jaune and Cinder don't have anything extreme--in fact, it's pretty negligible. That said, to take their ages literally only works in the context of fandom arguments, and so ship to your heart's content!

Within the story, though, Cinder is coded as an adult. Jaune is coded as a child. Coding in stories is not to be taken to extremes like, say, antis or anti-antis take it. There is such a thing as child-adult coding, but it's not the creepy thing people make it out to be. For example, look to Bungo Stray Dogs coding Dazai as a mentor/adult above Akutagawa even though there are only two years between them. There's nothing weird about shipping it, but the story is using this coding for a reason--to tell you about the particular dynamic and what to expect. The story will obviously never go there. Yes, it's a coming of age story like RWBY, but the point is that they aren't coded as peers.

In RWBY, Emerald and Mercury are presented as peers of RWBYJNPR in the Vytal Festival, and Cinder is presented as being above them, as a mentor, as a parental figure, at each and every turn. The reason this matters is not to say that Jaune and Cinder can't be shipped without creepiness (it's not creepy at all), but it matters because coding can tell you a lot about the intentions of the writers.

There's also alchemical coding, in which opposites should unite. Opposites, like say Bumbleby and Rosegarden and Renora, are:

Gold, red, heart, sun, hot and dry, fire, air

Silver, white, mind, moon, cool and moist, water, earth

So, if you left Jaune as he was at the start of the story as white, moon, silver, etc., he would actually work with Cinder, but at this point he's clearly not those anymore. He worked with Pyrrha precisely because of this. However, regardless of whether or not Jaune ends up with anyone, he's becoming red, gold, fire, and sun. His name also foreshadows this (jaune=yellow). He got blasted with fire this volume. He took on a white trait this volume (the streak of hair) but that's a symbol of union after a chemical wedding, which was not with Cinder.

Besides, Cinder is also gold and red and fire. I don't think this is remotely debatable. Her name is literally a reference to fire. She's introduced to us shooting flames and she relies on fire throughout the series.

Plus, in the very first episode of RWBY, Cinder's golden eye is highlighted with a specific frame that contrasts her gold eyes with Ruby's silver (like, the very next scene has Oz mentioning Ruby's silver eyes). Cinder is gold.

So what is Jaune and Cinder's actual connection? Well, it has to do with other red characters: Pyrrha, Penny, and Ruby.

Pyrrha's final act of love was saving Jaune and telling Cinder that destiny exists. That even if things are cut short, even if your very life with all you wanted is taken from you, you can still impact the world in a powerful way. This is precisely the connection between Jaune and Cinder: he is going to pass on Pyrrha's message to Cinder. Destiny is real, and she can choose it (because choice is the final relic/theme to be explored).

Lastly, Ruby is actually Cinder's prince, and has always been since the ball. Ruby is the one who will probably save Cinder from her Grimm arm, showing her that being a human being is enough to not deserve to be consumed by chaos. Being a human is enough.

So then, what is Jaune? He is the Maiden of Cinder's story. He will embody the message of Pyrrha and Penny, two maidens, to help Cinder reach individuation, the archetype of the self that Ruby also embodies. Cinder's ultimate choice will be to be a Maiden, but not in the way that she's been so far--in a heroic way. Cinder's arc has always intertwined the supernatural/goddess imagery with that of a lonely child, and so in the end she will be both human and heroine--because through embracing humanity, people can transcend weakness and impact the world.

If there is romance for Jaune, it will be with Weiss. It should be, considering they've set up the crush, explicitly paralleled White Knight with Arkos, Bumbleby, and Rosegarden, and you shouldn't set up crushes without following them up. It's a story, not real life; if it's mentioned, it should matter. (Okay Black Sun but... I would hope the writers have like, learned from that. Plus we do have a Black Sun parallel, and it's Weiss and Neptune.)

Lastly, I don't think Jaune is dying at all, and I don't think Cinder's chances of surviving are much higher than say, Eren Jaeger's in SnK. This isn't me saying it's what I want to see or that I think she shouldn't live; it's just looking at the story thus far, seeing how it's treated say, the Curious Cat, and examining patterns.

See, in alchemy there is something called the Deaths that mark the end of a color phase and the transition to the next. I'm going to use Harry Potter as an example not to be gauche but because it's extremely obvious:

Black Death/Nigredo: Sirius Black

White Death/Albedo: Albus (means white in Latin) Dumbledore

Red Death/Rubedo: Harry Potter himself in the presence of Rubeus Hagrid

Most stories don't use the Yellow phase (it's subsumed into Red) but RWBY does. We have:

Black Death: Pyrrha, death at Beacon at night surrounded by black Grimm

White Death: Weiss Schnee at Haven, although Jaune revives her

Yellow Death: Penny Polendina at Atlas, when Jaune kills her via a weapon (Crocea Mors) that literally means "yellow death," in case you weren't sure.

So, yeah. RWBY is using deaths to mark passage. I do think Cinder will be "saved" from her Grimm arm at Vacuo's climax by Ruby and be given Jaune's message, but the odds of her not dying back at Beacon (even if she does die, it will be to save the world) are not great. She could revive as well, but... we've already used revival and stories do like to keep that special. Plus, RWBY's message on death is clearly not that death is a punishment. It's a tragedy to be mourned, but it doesn't have to be the end of any story.

[unlimited-dark]

FFXIV Write Day #4 - Off the Hook

As a preface, this is a short drabble of what I imagine Aishi's parenting life to be like! Aymeric is the stay at home husband while Sileas goes out on trips fairly often! It features the twins (Lilia & Aria), a lot of their lore is not concrete but I wanted to try just writing my HCs of their future ;w;;

The smell of honey cakes filled the sitting room of the manor when Sileas opened the door, as she returned from a long trip away from home. A familiar scent of a local delicacy, in the city that she called home. Despite the warmth she felt from the scent, her eyes narrowed, deep in thought of how it came to be in the manor. She hadn’t prepared honey cakes for the family before she left for the Far East. And she specifically told a certain Lord Speaker that the girls were not to have too many desserts other than the carrot cakes she prepared for the week away.

Walking towards the kitchen, she found the Lord Speaker, her dearest husband, dressed in an apron, watching their daughters feasting on some honey cakes he had seemingly baked for them. He soon looked up, noticing her presence, his expression turning into one of guilt.

“W-welcome back, love!” “Mama!! You’re home!” the twins chimed, with Lyria speaking up after, “Papa made us honey cakes. Does Mama want one?”

Smiling at the twins, Sileas gently gave the two girls kisses on their foreheads, replying to Lilia tenderly.

“Absolutely, my dears. I’ve missed you two very much.” “Yay! I wanna have cake with Mama!” Aria exclaimed, pulling her sleeve to ask her to sit down.

She would gladly oblige her daughters, gently asking them about the week they had while she was away for work - some simple adventuring jobs that she wished to attend to. Giving birth to the girls had not stopped her from her life as an adventurer, and she was glad to see her darlings safe and healthy while Aymeric was left in charge of caring for them. Except for this one weakness he had for them. She had given him a stern glare as the Lord Speaker was scurrying away from her to clean up the utensils he had used for baking.

After making sure the girls would not eat more than one cake for the evening, she tucked them into bed, telling them simple details of the trip she had. Once they were asleep, she headed to her bedchambers to settle matters with her dear husband. Aymeric was relaxing on the bed, looking through his documents.

“I told you to make sure they only had the amount of sweets I prepared before I left, Aymeric. You’re pampering them too much.” “Well, I couldn’t help it when they pleaded with such adorable expressions…” “Yes, yes. You’re weak to their little smiles and their love of sweets, just like yourself. You need to be more strict with them. They could get cavities from the amount of sweets you’re feeding them!” “Look at their excited, happy faces, though. They wanted me to surprise you when you returned with their treats!”

Sileas sighed, climbing onto the bed beside him. Hugging him, she pouted at him as she spoke.

“They’re good girls, aren’t they?” “Only because they were raised well by an excellent mother.” “Flattery will not get the best of me, you dolt. You’ve known me long enough!” she chided, quickly pulling his cheeks in irritation. 

“You’ve barely changed since we’ve had the two of them. Still kind and gentle to our children, though you’re strict. And my part to play is of a kind father.” “I’m simply glad that they’re not frustrated at me with my strictness…” she trailed off, sinking into the pillows next to him. “They aren’t. That, I’m sure of. Lilia would keep asking me for the details of your trip, while Aria would demand that I ask you to return sooner. They indeed love you,” he said, taking her into his arms.

“I’m glad. As for your punishment for not listening to my instructions…” “Ah. But of course. A massage every week for a month?” “That, and…you can pick up the girls from their school for this week. I’m exhausted from this trip.” “As my lady wishes.” His voice was gentle, giving her relief as they kissed.

[acacia-may]

Okay, to spoil you, 🧡💚💘 fo Yuri Dreyar.

I am still squealing over this ask, Anon-friend! 🥰 Thank you so much!! I love Yuri Dreyar! He's such a little tree in the background, but he's important to me. 💖 It was honestly one of my dreams to get an ask about him one day so thank you so much for helping my dream come true!! 🥺💕 I hope you'll like these headcanons (even if they mainly serve to spoil me 😁).

Questions from this "Bye Bye Writer's Block" Ask Game

(Warnings: Spoilers for Fairy Tail. Mentions the Second Caravan Trade War and pregnancy)

Yuri Dreyar Headcanons

💚-- General

Yuri has always been an amazing storyteller. He's so incredibly passionate and exuberant when he talks that he has a real gift for drawing the listener into the story he is telling. When Makarov was very little, Yuri used to tuck him into bed every night and tell him fantastical tales of his adventures in Fairy Tail and as a treasure hunter. The stories were so gripping and compelling, but Yuri had a tendency to often leave off on cliffhangers that left his son on the edge of his seat and actually excited for bedtime the following evening just so he could find out what happened next.

Tiny Makarov was so captivated his dad's stories that he would often beg Yuri to play "Fairy Tail" with him, and Yuri would always oblige--playing with his son for hours pretending that they were in the guild together and going on grand adventures. To this day, it's one of the things that Makarov remembers most about his father, and Yuri's stories really inspired him to want to become guild master one day so he could actually live their adventure games.

🧡-- Childhood/Backstory

Yuri grew up in a merchant family who briefly sent him to an all-boys boarding school to get an education after it became clear that he was quick-witted and intellectually gifted. His teachers had no idea what to do with him, however, since he had such a scatterbrain and could never sit still. Even more perplexing was the fact that he continually earned top marks in his classes, mostly through merits of his own natural intelligence since he spent most of his time goofing around rather than studying.

He was eventually expelled for trapping a goat on the roof in the middle of the night dressed in the headmaster's pyjamas and night cap and that was when he decided he wanted to become a treasure hunter.

💘-- Romance

Yuri Dreyar has two "Love" modes: (1) dismissive tsun who acts like he couldn't care less about his beloved (even though he is (often obviously) desperately in love) and (2) grandiose romantic who will shower his beloved with the biggest, flashiest romantic gestures known to man. [A/N: The in between is total simp who will blatantly refuse to ask his beloved out on a date but will buy crates and crates full of fruit in a grand but ridiculous love expression and a desperate plea for attention (which I wrote about in my Yuri/Rita fic here actually)].

Some bonus headcanons about Yuri/Rita specifically:

Bonus: Yuri naturally expresses his love through gift giving and impulse buying. When he is wooing Rita, Precht and Warrod have to ban him from shopping and cut him off from guild funds for a while because whenever he is out at the shops or market, he will always come back with some shiny new trinket for her (often jewelry, sometimes flowers and chocolates, but also a lot of inexplicable and random things). His reasoning is usually, "It's pretty and Rita is pretty." His friends insist that even if that is the case, she does not need every "pretty" item in existence. Yuri begs to differ and has basically no impulse control so Rita gets lots and lots of presents.

She soon recognizes that these are expressions of Yuri's love for her and truly appreciates them, even the random ones...except for the time he brought an acorn home for her from a walk while she was pregnant with Makarov because it "reminded him of her." (A/N: He can be such a dolt sometimes, but his heart is in the right place).

Bonus 2 (because I poked a lot of fun at Yuri & wanted to write an actually serious one): During the Second Caravan Trade War, Yuri and Rita exchanged letters. Yuri soon realized that he could tell Rita things in his letters that he could never tell anyone else: about his feelings, the war, and himself. This realization was soon followed by another one: he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.