#sing and dance to praise the lord

[justana0kguy]

2024 MAY 06 Monday

"Sing to the LORD a new song of praise in the assembly of the faithful.

Let Israel be glad in their maker, let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.

Let them praise His name in the festive dance, let them sing praise to Him with timbrel and harp.

For the LORD loves His people, and He adorns the lowly with victory."

~ Psalms 149:1-4

[vviciously]

pre and post overdose & renewal

[kh358days2]

once making art becomes a central part of your life, it becomes unbearable to live without it.

[sour-leminies]

My little Fairy

Pairing: Hook x Fairy F!Reader

Summary: Coming to Merlin Acadamy you grew very close to the pirate with a hook. Everyone had declared you Hook's pirate Fairy. Truth be told, most people couldn't believe how loyal and caring you were to the pirate. So, when you finally snap, for the first time in a long time James didn't have you by his side, and all he knew was he wanted you back. Now.

Warnings: None I can think of, but let me know otherwise.

Taglist: @astrynyx @snixx2088 @4ng3l-ch1ld @herondale-lightworm Just ask to be tagged!

Navigation — other works!

I watched as Bridget and her friends all danced around the court yard - singing and dancing. It was sickening, they were so sweet and yet I couldn't help the part of me that yearned for that kind of friendship.

My only friend was Captain Hook, and if given the chance I'm positive he would have ditched me long ago if not for my help with things. Whenever he wasn't prepared for a test, I'd skip my own class to be in my smaller form tucked away in his shirt - telling him the answers. Or whoever he wanted me to spy on one of his victims he terrorized, I'd do so. Or when he wanted pixie dust, etc. The point was, I'd give my soul for Captain James Hook, and I don't even think he sees me as a friend.

Snapping out of my haze I landed on James's shoulder, whispering in his ear - telling him how Bridget was in the courtyard being all happy. A message he hurried to tell Uliana, before he made his way to the spot. I was still on his shoulder as he entered the courtyard with a dramatic flair.

I remained on his shoulder as he sang and danced, until Uliana turned into a flamingo. Something I couldn't help but smile at. Part of me was jealous of Uliana, and her relationship with James. It looked more intimate than his with Maleficent.

I pulled James through a different door, Maleficent following after us - and we cut the girls off. I now rested on Maleficent Horns. I let out a gasp, that came out like a jingle.

The Vk's all retreated once Uliana ran away - screaming and soaking wet. At least she was no longer a flamingo.

Once everyone cooled down, I was now in my human form laying on my bed, dressed in a nice pretty black dress. My makeup and hair had been done and all I had to do was wait for Hook to get here so we could go to that birthday dinner he promised me.

"Still no Hook?" Maleficent - who was also my roommate asked me. "No, you would think he'd show by now. I mean he's twenty minutes late." I praised the lord that my voice didn't come out as jingles when in my human form. Annoyingly so, only other Faires and James could understand me when I was in my smaller size.

"I hate to say this," my roommate spoke as she sat onto my bed with me. "But maybe he forgot."

I quickly shook my head. No way - he promised me. He had promised. He wouldn't forget me.

Slowly the hours ticked by and by the time it struck eight, two hours after the time we agreed on, Maleficent forced me up, and her hand Hades took me to dinner.

I wanted to cry, but how could I? Just because I love him, doesn't mean he loves me. At that very moment I accept that cold hard truth.

So as Maleficent rubbed my arm, and Hades even pat my head - I had decided that I would stop trying with Hook, it'll never happen anyways.

—

Over the next few days you ignored Hook. You hadn't made the first move to talk to him, and it seemed he had nothing he wanted you to do for him.

When the third day of you ignoring him he grew antsy. He didn't know what the sudden change in you was, but for some very odd reason - he didn't like it.

He walked out of detention - Something he had gotten when he was caught breaking in Merlin's office. His very first thought was that you weren't there. Typically, when he'd get detention - if you didn't sit in there with him in his jacket, then you'd always greet him with a hug once he walked out the doors.

"Yo, Mali." He called out to the mistress of evil. "You heading to your room?"

The dark fairy nodded her head silently, and James took that as an invitation to walk her to her room. Even though he would never admit it, the real reason was so he could check on his little fairy. The one he was now growing worried about.

—

You jumped at the sound of the door opening. Looking up from the books you were reading on your bed, you were surprised to see Maleficent, but also James.

"Hook." You spoke, but kept your voice neutral.

The man couldn't help but flinch at the name you used. You never called him that, you always either used Captain or James. Now he knew somethings wrong.

"We need to talk." Came his short reply, but you weren't dumb, you could see the slow anger bubbling up in his eyes.

You slowly got off your bed, and walked out into the hallway with him. "What's the problem?" You were honestly he hadn't already listed things he wanted done, but you were sure he'd start soon.

"The problem? You tell me. You suddenly ignore me, I haven't seen you in three days - but I know good and well Hades has. So you fucking tell me the problem." His voice was slowly growing louder and louder.

"Hey calm down." You tried to keep your guy's voice quiet - but that only set him off more.

"Calm down?! How can I be calm when you vanished. You were gone." Suddenly both of you stopped. You both could hear the hurt, the insecurity, but most importantly the fear laced in his tone. His chest breathed up and down heavily as he realized just how much he bloody missed you.

"Listen, Hook." "James."

He took a step closer to you, slightly pushing you into the wall as he pushed into you, leaning down to breath you in.

Fuck he felt like an addict who needed a hit, and finally scratched that itch under their skin.

"You call me James." His breath fanned over your face, as he slightly leaned up to get a look at your face.

Part of you loved this, as you placed your hands onto his chest, the open part of his shirt so you both could feel the skin to skin contact.

For James it was like your touch awakened something in him. Something that called for your name. Something in him burned for you.

He leaned down, his breath fanning over your lips. Making you close your eyes in anticipation. Hook didn't was a single second. He dropped his hook from his hand, and placed it onto your cheek, while his other hand grabbed a hold of the back of your neck.

You in this moment couldn't deny you loved this - the feel of his lips on yours, the feel of his wanting you. But it was too late.

He had made it clear that you weren't a priority. And even though bread crumbs of his affection felt like a feast - it wasn't enough. You hand to stand up, You deserve better. Something that Captain hook couldn't give you.

You built your strength and pushed him away. "No."

Hook looked at you confused, did you not just feel what happened between the two of you? Because he was more than happy to give a repeat.

"I deserve better than you." You pushed him again, finally letting the tears out. Letting the tears out of a woman who wanted nothing more than the man she was crying over. "I deserve so much more than what you give me." Which was nothing. You pushed him again and this time he grabbed both your hand and pulled you into him, letting you hit him over and over until you were drained - but never letting go of you.

"You done?" You glared up and him through your pretty wet eyelashes. "Good. Now listen. You will have no one other than me. There will be no other man, woman, I don't give a fuck. Your my little fairy." You went to shake you head. No - maybe once you were his but not anymore.

"You don't even make a priority - how can you say that?" Your voice was horse from the mini break down you had while punching him.

"You are my priority." How could you say you weren't? Even when he though nothing of you, from the first moment he met you he had put you as a priority on his list.

"Ask me about how I spent my birthday three days ago." Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck.

You could see the panic cross his face. The regret and self loathing as well. And maybe once upon a time that would be enough, but not anymore.

You pulled yourself away from him and hurried into your room, locking the door.

He banged a couple time before he spoke through the wood.

"I'm sorry, fuck I'm sorry. Sorry can't even explain, let me make it up to you." When he got no response from he, he continued on. "I am sorry about this but we will move past it. Just remember you may think you are free of me, but your are not. I will haunt you, beg for your forgiveness. You want better - I'll be better."

You silently cried while Hook poured everything he had from his heart into his next words.

"I'll be so much fucking better for you, my little fairy. So better."

—

The rest of the entire week, Hook would try his best; he'd bring flowers to you in the morning, he'd always walk you to class - despite how much you told him to leave you alone.

James knew he screwed up, and he hated himself for it. He didn't know what he had and he took it for granted.

He would scowl at Hades and Maleficent when you all were hanging out at the black lagoon.

Just because you and hook were on shaky ground didn't mean you were no less a Vk. Something that the crew grew to respect about you.

Every time you walked past him - not giving him a glance, he felt his chest tighten. He miss how you would cling to him. How you would rest on your shoulder when you felt over stimulated. The way you would accidently spray him with pixie dust, causing him to float.

He missed teaching you sword fighting, and all the basics. He missed you.

"Y/N!" He called out to you, desprate to get your attention. For the first time, since that kiss you didn't glare at him - nor push him away.

Instead it was worse. He felt his stomach grow cold at the neutral and emotionless look in your eyes. At least when you hated him you still cared. Now he didn't know. Your walls were up so high - it's shadow could darken a valley.

"Yes Hook?" He closed his eyes, shaking off the feeling he had.

"First, it's James. Second, will you go to dinner with me." You opened your mouth to disagree but he covered it before you could make a sound.

"Don't say no." He could hear his heart pounding in his head. "Just come. Meet me at Dip and Go dinner tonight at eight."

He dropped his hand from your mouth, and he found his courage to speak his next words.

"If you don't come I'll leave you alone." He would not, but he needed to know that deep down he still had a chance. And if he didn't have one then he would spend the rest of his life fighting for one.

He walked away, nervous for the reality check that he would soon face tonight.

—

The clock on your dorm wall ticked, and ticked. Each second growing closer to eight. The diner was an hour away and if you were to make it in time you should be leaving now.

But you just couldn't. You were too afraid. You weren't a fool, you could tell James was sorry, and regretful, but you didn't know if you could trust him.

He had unknowingly held your heart - and then crushed it. What would he do if he had known how much you cared for him? Would he treat you different?

"You should go." You looked over to the dark fairy, you had thought she was out with Hades.

"I'm scared." You had once thought James was your only friend, but Maleficent and even her boyfriend proved me wrong. "That's what makes it worth it."

She walked over to your bed, sitting down beside me before she carried on. "If you even have a chance for love then it's worth it to fight. And if you decide that he's not worth it, then at the very least you owe it to yourself to find closure." Maybe she was right.

—

Hook glanced at the clock on the wall of the diner, it said eight forty, and he knew that she wasn't going to show. He blew his shot. He wanted to throw the glass Infront of him, the one where he poured rum into it.

He had decided to dress nicely, wore his best clothing, even left his hook at home. He wanted to look his best for you - to show you he could be a good guy for you.

He had already paid for his drink, so he left a twenty bill on the table and walked out. He would wait longer, but he could tell the employees had wanted him out.

He felt like he couldn't breathe as he walked down the path, he wanted to take you on. The trees lit up with beautiful fireflies at night, and it was a view he wanted to share with you.

His vision blurred, and his chest breathed up and down, as his heart ached, pounded. He had no problems with ripping his heart out for you, but fuck, all he needed was you. He felt like a fool - not because you didn't show, but because he was too self-absorbed and if he had opened his eyes from the beginning thing would be different.

He was a villain, and villains don't get happy endings. He knew that he could never have you, simply because you were his happy ending.

He stopped walking, as he tried to calm his heart with his shaking hands. Was he having a panic attack?

"James!" He heard your voice scream out his name, as you started to run to him. Fuck, he didn't care if he was dying as he ran to you with all the speed he could muster.

Once you were at arm's length you jumped into him, and he wrapped his arms around you as tight as he could. Loving the smell that invaded his senses with open arms.

You were late, he didn't know why, nor did he care. You were here with him. That single thought caused him to break. He couldn't hold onto his sobs anymore.

He thought he lost you because of himself. He thought he would spend his entire life alone - longing for the feel of you. He thought that truly lost you. Every part of him rejected that. He couldn't live with that.

He felt his knees start to weaken as he fell to the ground, you still in his arms and he clanged to you crying. You felt your heart break once again - and all you wanted was for your pirate to feel better. You kiss the top of his head, rubbing his back as he let all his fears out, all his emotions.

"I... I love you so so so much." He heaved out, his breath making him repeat. "And I'm... I'm sorry." He was and even you knew that. You were tired as well.

You pulled his face away from your neck, and for a moment he fought you - thinking you were once again going to push him away. You rubbed you thumb across his cheek as you looked into his beautiful eyes. His brown eyes were bloodshot red from the crying, and his eyeliner had started to smidge. His eyelashes soaking together, his lips trembling as he tried to get himself together.

"I forgive you." You whispered out, before pushing your lips against his soft, and wet ones. It was a small, and short kiss, but it was full of the love you had for him. The love he felt like he no longer deserved.

"I'm sorry." His voice came out like a while as more tears dropped from his eyes.

"I forgive you." You whispered once again, and this time he initiated the kiss. Soft, craving, and you could feel his sorrow. Despite the fact he was kissing you, you could still feel him begging for forgiveness.

"I love you." You told him, and while that's all he wanted to hear. He no longer felt like that was the case. How could you love him when he hated everything about himself? How could you forgive him, when he's still kicking his own ass.

"I love you two, my little fairy." Fuck his voice broke again as he rested his forehead against yours. You also couldn't help but cry as well.

—

James kept his promise. He did become better for you, and only you. He was still a villain, but he was a gentleman to you. He kissed you every time he saw you, gave you flowers every month when your old ones would die.

He did everything he could to become a good enough person for you, and while daily you'd reassure him how happy you are - he couldn't get your heartbroken face out of his mind.

He'd have nightmares of you leaving him all alone. You loved him, and he didn't feel worthy of it, but he'd be damned of someone else had it. He was still a villain.

The first moment where he finally felt okay to breath was when you told him the future you wanted with him. You had wanted a future with him. Him.

You wanted three kids, three girls, and you would love to watch him become a father as you all lived on his ship.

When you were all banished to the Isle of the lost, he hated himself for getting you stuck there, but you'd remind him you'd rather be with him then in some land without him.

When you first got pregnant, he couldn't help but be so joyous of the boy in your stomach. He never told you he wanted a son, but you knew so you also felt happy.

You had named him Harry, after James repeatedly told you he couldn't think of one. The second born was a girl, and you demanded he named her. So, he stole your idea and named her Harriet. Then on the final and last born, you told him he couldn't name your baby girl after he just stole Harry's name and gave it to his sister.

You, James, Harry, Harriet, and CJ lived on hook's ship. And despite the living conditions, you loved your family no less.

—

A/N: Hiii, if you see this and sent me an Elsa reader x Hook request I promise I am working on that!!

[fandoms-x-reader]

Forget You

Requested By: @deludedprime

Oneshot

Word Count: 10,119

Summary: You are teleported to another universe where you are replaced by another exchange student. Replaced MC! AU The Demon Brothers and Diavolo, Barbatos, Simeon, and Solomon Short writings for Luke, Thirteen, Mephisto, and Raphael A/N: Sorry this ran so long! Hope you enjoy!

Life is full of expected occurrences. Things you never dreamt of happening. Moments you never knew you would miss until they happen.

You didn’t expect to come to the Devildom. In fact, if someone had told you that one day you would be ripped from your life and be essentially dragged down to Hell by demons - you would have called them crazy. Either that, or your death was coming up and they knew it.

You didn’t expect to come to love those very same demons - so much so that you couldn’t imagine your life without them.

You didn’t expect to meet an angel that had captured your heart or a surprisingly charming sorcerer. You didn’t expect to meet a reaper or an archangel either.

And - you certainly didn’t expect to lose them - in a way so painful that you couldn’t bear it. 

No, you never would have expected that.

You weren’t entirely sure how you ended up in this situation. It was only a few days ago when everything had been right in the world.

You were at a ball held at the Demon’s Lord Castle. It was a ball that Diavolo had been planning for a long time. And it was one that everyone was excited to go to.

You, of course, were accompanied by the seven demon brothers. They stayed by your side the entire night, switching off who got to dance with you. If they were lucky, Solomon and Simeon might sneak in a dance. And if he wasn’t busy, Diavolo would come and ask you to dance. It’s not like the brothers could tell him no.

It was a night full of fun and laughter. It was one of those memories you would miss.

The night started to come to a close and everyone had gathered for a mixer dance. It was a traditional ballroom dance where you start with one partner but end up with a completely different one by the end of it. 

You had started the dance with Lucifer and changed partners to the beat as often as the song required. By the end of it, you weren’t sure where any of your friends were. You were on the opposite side of the room.

The song was almost over as you reached your final partner. It was a demon in all black with a somewhat cold expression on his face.

As soon as your hands touched his, you felt a terrible feeling in your stomach. Something wasn’t right here. You tried to pull away, but the demon grasped your hands even tighter to keep you in place. 

The song finally ended, but the demon didn’t move, staring into your eyes. You felt incredibly uncomfortable under his gaze, and it didn’t take long for the demon brothers to notice.

The demon was pushed back, his hands dropping yours as Mammon said, “Song’s over.” Mammon was glaring at the demon and you saw the other six of them slowly making their way over to you. 

The demon left without a word and a shiver ran down your spine. Weird. “Are ya’ alright?” Mammon asked, turning his attention to you. You nodded your head before replying, “He was just giving me a bad feeling.” 

“We should be heading home, the ball is coming to an end,” Lucifer stated and everyone seemed to agree. 

But, before anyone could move, Diavolo suddenly stood before everyone declaring he had an announcement to make. You thought it was strange that he chose the end of the night to tell his news, but you didn’t question it. He was the future Demon King and he could do whatever he wanted.

Diavolo proceeded to sing the praise of the success of the current exchange student program and you slightly blushed as you felt a lot of eyes on you. Then, Diavolo stated that because of that success, the elder demons had agreed to allow Diavolo to expand the program this year. 

There was going to be a new human exchange student who would be arriving in the Devildom in just the next few days. 

Everyone seemed to react differently to the news. You were excited.  You would finally have another human to bond with! Nothing against Solomon, it’s just that you weren’t entirely sure if human was the right word to describe what he was. 

Diavolo had decided that the new human exchange student would live at Purgatory Hall for their time here since you already occupied the guest room in the House of Lamentation.

The first day the exchange student arrived, the assembly room was bustling with enthusiasm. Normally, the assembly hall was reserved for members of the student council only, but Diavolo wanted everyone to be able to meet the new student.

Barbatos had been the one to teleport them to the Devildom and you felt nostalgic about the scene. It wasn’t too long ago that you were in their position, coming to the Devildom for the first time. 

The difference was that you didn’t know anyone or even where you were when you were teleported. You had kindly asked that the new exchange student be told they would be coming to the Devildom.

You wouldn’t take back any of the memories you had from your time in the Devildom. But, you knew how unfair it could be to be torn from your life and thrown into an entirely new one. You believed that the new student would have a better experience if they at least knew what to expect.

So, Barbatos had given them a brief explanation about everyone they would be meeting. Likewise, you were all given a file on them. It was basic information, like where they came from and what their hobbies were. And the files they were given were things like your names and the abilities you each possessed.

And even though you were meeting for the first time, it didn’t feel like the two of you were complete strangers. You got the impression that the others felt the same way as well because as soon as the new student appeared, any anxiety they seemed to have about the situation dissipated.

Barbatos gave a very brief introduction and you wore a welcoming smile. The first thing you noticed was the way everyone seemed to be gawking at the new student. They were definitely attractive - but with the way they were staring, you were sure they would freak them out.

You gently elbowed Lucifer first and he quickly snapped out of his trance. He kicked off the introductions and everyone soon followed suit. You noticed how quickly they got along with the new student. Maybe it was because everyone had already gone through this process or maybe it was because they were just that easy to like. You weren’t sure which was the reason.

It went smoothly at first. The new student was nice enough to you and you did what you could to help them. They adjusted rather smoothly in the Devildom and you were impressed by it. You felt like you had adjusted pretty quickly to the Devildom as well, but not this quick.

Everyone was enamored with the new student. Part of you couldn’t blame them - they were amazing. But, another part of you couldn’t help but start to feel left out. 

It started with small things that you thought wouldn’t matter in the long run. You chalked it all up to the excitement of a new person. But, then you started to notice more specific things.

_______________

Lucifer had made plans a long time ago with you to go see an opera. It was an iteration of an opera from the human world and you were excited to go see it with him. You couldn’t wait to see what human elements they kept in and what elements they added in from the Devildom.

Not to mention, you and Lucifer didn’t have a lot of time to spend alone with each other now, so you were excited for your night together.

The excitement didn’t last long though as you came home from RAD and saw Lucifer talking to the new exchange student, offering them a ticket instead. The smile on Lucifer’s face was one of complete joy. “There’s no one else I’d want to go with,” Lucifer told them.

Your heart skipped a beat at his words and you quickly removed yourself from the scene without catching their attention. You couldn’t help but wonder if Lucifer ever smiled at you like that. If your presence ever made him that happy. 

_______________

You and Mammon went to the casino together almost every weekend. It was like a routine. The first time he convinced you to go, he told you that you were his lucky charm and that he wouldn’t be able to win without you. And, with a nickname like that, how could you refuse?

It wasn’t long before Mammon stopped considering the casino trips as a get-rich-quick scheme and started genuinely enjoying his time with you there. He always made sure to keep you close to him and wore a proud smile whenever he won. And he never missed a date with you to the casino.

So when he was nowhere to be seen, you got a bit worried. You thought maybe he was going to meet you there so you quickly left to find him. But, when you did, you wished you hadn’t looked in the first place.

He was at the casino, his arm around the new exchange student as he rolled the dice. He wore the same proud smile he used to give you as they rolled to the perfect number. Then, he turned to them and pulled them close to him before telling them, “You’re my lucky charm, ya’ know that?”

And just like that, every meaning those words ever held in your heart disappeared. You felt like you should be hurt, but the shock was taking over your emotions at the current moment. You could feel a rush of emotions and you prayed Mammon wouldn’t see you as you quickly left the casino. 

_______________

You were Levi’s one and only true friend, right? You were his Henry. You meant something special to Levi - you were sure of it.

You didn’t think much of it when Levi started showing TSL to the new exchange student. It was his favorite series, so of course he wanted to show it to whoever he could. But, you did notice how close they sat together. Levi had told you he wasn’t a fan of physical touch - so you thought it was strange when his leg or hand brushed theirs and he didn’t react.

You shook your head as you tried to push the thoughts out of your head. You had only been passing by on your way to the room. You weren’t trying to spy or impose and you thought it was time to go back to your room.

“You’d be Henry to my Lord of Shadows,” Levi told them and you froze as you heard them both laugh. Them? Henry? Maybe you didn’t mean something special to Levi after all.

_______________

Reading was your and Satan’s thing. It had been something the two of you did regularly ever since the two of you had grown closer. He would sit close to you or hold you on his lap as the two of you read together, and he would occasionally look up from the book just to admire you.

It was something that made you feel so special because of how uninterested he was with you at first. You had to earn your way to that point in your relationship. You had to gain his trust and prove that you cared about him.

Not the new exchange student though. Within the first couple of weeks, they were in Satan’s arms as he read to them, his eyes holding more love than you thought was possible for someone nicknamed the Avatar of Wrath. 

You wished you could burn the sight out of your mind. And maybe you could have forgotten it if you didn’t hear him read the book in his hand aloud. It was Romeo and Juliet - a classic from the human world. Satan was reading Romeo’s lines and had asked them to read Juliet’s. 

"Did my heart love till now?” Satan asked, and you knew there was more to the line. But he stopped - he faltered - genuinely asking himself the question as he gazed upon the human sitting next to him. A smile graced his lips as he pulled them closer.

_______________

When there was no more love to give, you were sure Asmo would still have some. He was the best at making sure everyone felt loved. He didn’t want to see anyone upset - it would give them frown lines!

You thought that you and Asmo were supposed to attend a fashion show together. He had mentioned that it was happening to you a little while ago. And then posted all over social media that he would be bringing his favorite human.

Maybe it was naive of you to believe that person was you. You just thought that you held that place after everything you had been through. But, when you went to his room to get ready for the night, you found him doing the new exchange student’s makeup. “We’re going to look like a power couple tonight!” he told them excitedly and you realized how wrong you were.

You quickly hid in the hallway, not wanting to be seen by either of them. “Before I met you, I only knew desire - not love,” Asmo added and you felt your heart drop. Was that all he felt for you then? Was there nothing that separated you from others?

_______________

Having Beel choose someone else over you was one of the worst feelings. Beel was the most comforting when you were upset. He always listened and gave the best hugs. So, when all these things started happening, you needed someone to talk to so that you didn’t break down.

You had asked Beel to go out to dinner with you that night and he agreed. You were so thankful that you would finally be able to get things off your chest and had waited for him to get home so that you could go to the restaurant together.

It had been an hour and then two and there was no sign of him. He hadn’t responded to your calls or your text messages. You gave up on your outing with Beel and moved to the kitchen to fix yourself a snack for dinner. That’s when you heard Beel come home with the new exchange student.

“Thanks for going to dinner with me tonight, you’re my favorite person to spend time with besides Belphie,” Beel told them and you stayed as quiet as you could, trying not to make your presence known. Who do you go to for comfort when your comfort person isn’t there?

_______________

Belphie annoyed you a bit when he started growing closer to the new exchange student. You didn’t have anything against them - how could you when they hadn’t done anything to you personally?

But you had to die - correction, Belphie had to kill you - in order for him to even want to get to know you. And yet, in a matter of a couple of weeks, he was all over the new student. What was so wrong with you that he couldn’t have done the same for you?

He pretty much never slept on your lap anymore, searching high and low for them. Only wanting them. You were no longer good enough for his naps. You were no longer the one who gave him good dreams and restful sleep.

Maybe you only had yourself to blame. You were the one who changed his perspective of humans. But, regardless of whether it was your fault, it still hurt when he told them, “I finally understand what Lilith saw in humans.” He had found the human he wanted - not the one he was given.

_______________

Diavolo wasn’t known for being biased. He was taught that as the future King, he would have to put personal preferences aside and do what was best for the Devildom. You could see that conditioning in him since the first time you met him.

He wouldn’t be outright flirtatious with you. He would simply admire from afar. But, when the two of you were alone his true feelings came out. Secrets being told of how you changed him. Words of love and gratitude that were meant for your ears and your ears alone.

He wasn’t so secretive when it came to the new exchange student. He would give them flowers in the middle of the halls at RAD. He would wear a joyful smile as they clutched his arm when walking them through the campus. As if he was showing them off. He had never looked that prideful when he was walking with you.

You had walked out into the courtyard when you saw the two of them. You were just trying to go home, so you attempted to walk around them. That’s when you heard Diavolo tell them, “You are far more exquisite than any human I’ve ever met.”

_______________

If you thought Barbatos wouldn’t be one to fall for the new student’s charms, think again. He may be Diavolo’s butler, but he has a mind of his own, and he has feelings of his own. Feelings that had somehow now belonged to the new exchange student.

Barbatos didn’t have much time outside of work, so the two of you were never able to do anything specific together. So, it wasn’t that you caught Barbatos doing one of your things with them. It was what Barbatos was doing to you.

He hadn’t said anything to you - that would be improper. But you could see it in his eyes and the way he acted. How he somehow always managed to stand next to them while simultaneously giving you a slight look of disapproval.

Then, you heard him say to them, “You’re by far the best decision the young Lord has made.” You hadn’t said or done anything different. So, why were you suddenly considered not good enough in Barbatos’ eyes?

_______________

Solomon was naturally drawn to the new exchange student. After all, even though the term was stretched when talking about him, he was human. And, it was only natural for humans to want to be around other humans.

But, you didn’t realize that spending time with the new human meant casting you aside. He had been your teacher and you had been his apprentice. But he chose to forego your training in magic. He had something more important to do. Someone more important to teach.

He didn’t think twice as he practically abandoned your teaching and spent as much time as possible teaching the new student everything he knew about magic. You could admit that it hurt because you had put so much effort into trying to learn and be a good student.

It hurt more though when Solomon told them, “I’m excited to finally teach an apprentice who is actually skilled in magic.” You thought you were doing good. When you started learning from Solom, you thought you had no magical ability whatsoever. So you were proud of the accomplishments you had made. But, apparently, your best effort would never touch them on their worst day.

____________

Angels were known for being benevolent entities. So, you never would have expected Simeon to be just like the others. Another person in your life who was so blinded by the new exchange student that he had completely forgotten about you.

They were the one Simeon went to now to put a smile on his face. They were the one Simeon admired from a distance, wondering how such beauty could exist. 

Simeon had told you once that he believed you had come from the Celestial Realm because you were the perfect balance of everything good. Kindness, bravery, beauty, etc. He could have rambled on. You thought it was a compliment of the highest regard - until he said the same thing to them.

Was it a line that you fell for? You couldn’t imagine Simeon would be the type to use pick-up lines. So, then, he meant it at the time. But, now he had found someone else who inspired those same emotions - stronger emotions. He had found his new muse.

_______________

Luke had always been one you could count on to be your friend. He constantly worried about you and wanted to make sure you were staying out of trouble. He was so worried about you losing your soul or having it tainted by the demons that surrounded you.

He stopped worrying though when he met the new exchange student. Suddenly, there was someone else he cared about more. Someone else he thought was more worth protecting. He didn’t even think twice now if he heard you got into any kind of trouble.

And, any pastries or sweets immediately went to the new student. They were his taste-tester because ‘they were the only one he could trust for an honest and good opinion.’ He even went so far as to add, ‘The other person I asked doesn’t know how to give a proper review. But you seem like you actually know what you’re doing!’

It wasn’t hard to figure out who he was talking about considering you were the only other one he had asked to try his pastry. And after that time, he bypassed you and just went straight to the new student. 

_______________

It’s strange to think that a reaper would have preferences for humans. You would have thought that all humans were the same to them. After all, death is death no matter which way you look at it. But, Thirteen certainly had a preference.

Your shiny soul is what first attracted Thirteen to you. She thought it was so special. And because of that, the two of you had the opportunity to grow closer. You bonded with her over her traps and you tried to show her so many other things.

But, your soul wasn’t as special as you thought. According to Thirteen, the new student’s was so much more shiny. It was so much more special. There wasn’t another human soul that could compare to theirs.

And soon after that revelation, you had become a ghost to Thirteen. She already didn’t make too many appearances, and now when she did show up, they were the only ones she wanted to see. She could care less about you. 

_______________

There was an adjustment period before Mephisto came to like you. But, after he had gotten to know you, he understood why the others were so infatuated with you. There was something remarkable about humans.

But, you weren’t the only human in the world and you weren’t the only one who was unique. It took no time for Mephisto to take an interest in the new exchange student. Maybe it was the way they carried themselves with confidence. In your defense, you would have had a lot more confidence when you first came if you had the same preparation they got.

You had stopped helping Mephisto with the RAD newspaper after their arrival. You had introduced them to the club and didn’t take them long to take over that as well.

“You’re far more efficient than Y/N and you yield much better results,” you heard Mephisto say and that was the last day you came to the club. There was no point in going somewhere where you clearly weren’t wanted.

_______________

Even Raphael had managed to hop on board the “new exchange student” train. He had only visited the Devildom a couple of times since they came. And, he had the pleasure of talking to them each time. 

His compliments seemed to be never-ending. You had never heard Raphael speak so much and with such enthusiasm. It was as if he was writing a poem about them with the words he decided to speak. 

You wondered what exactly the new exchange student had that had grabbed the attention of the high-ranking angel. There must have been a quality they had that you were missing because you had done everything you could to gain Raphael’s favor.

“I never thought a human would be worth an angel’s time until now,” he stated. There were few things Raphael liked more than spears, and he had effectively driven one through your heart.

_______________

Things only escalated from there. You were the last thing on anyone’s mind. No one wanted to spend time with you anymore. You meant nothing to them.

At one point, the brothers had asked if it would be possible to switch your position in the House of Lamentation with the new exchange student. They just believed the new student would fit in better with them.

Diavolo had agreed to the request and the next thing you knew, you were moving into Purgatory Hall. They didn’t even pause to ask you what you thought about the situation. They just wanted the new exchange student.

Simeon did try to be sympathetic when you had first come to Purgatory Hall, but you could see the disappointment on his face. You could see it on all of their faces. No one wanted you.

Being at Purgatory Hall was uncomfortable because your presence just made your roommates miss the other human. So, you spent a lot of time out and about, only using your room at Purgatory Hall for sleep.

You avoided everyone as much as possible, not wanting to see their disappointed and cold looks when their eyes met yours. You wanted to go back to the human world and leave them behind, but Diavolo wouldn’t allow it until the school year was over. You were trapped.

Days turned to weeks and those turned to months. You felt like time was dragging on, taking you piece by piece with it. You only knew what day it was because today was your birthday.

You didn’t expect anyone to remember. You didn’t expect anyone to care. But it still hurt when you didn’t get a single text message or phone call. You really were alone here. You had no one who loved you.

You didn’t want to spend your birthday sulking in silence so you decided to go out on the town at night. You just wanted to go look at some shops and maybe buy yourself a cake from Madam Devian’s.

But you should have known better than to explore the Devildom at night by yourself. It didn’t take long for a group of demons to find you and attack you.

You could have used the pacts to call the demon brothers and have them save you. But you could imagine the anger on their faces at having been torn away from the one they wanted to spend time with. You wondered if you called them if they would even try to save you.

You couldn’t bring yourself to do it. You simply took every bit of pain the demons dealt until they were satisfied, leaving you broken on the ground. 

You were lying on the pavement, looking up at the Devildom sky when a couple of tears escaped your eyes.

You were beginning to bleed out, but you knew that you couldn’t get up and move. This was where you were going to die. All by yourself with no one caring whether or not you slipped away from them. And as you took your final breath, all you could do was pray that this was a horrible nightmare that you would wake up from.

_______________

“Song’s over.”

You let out a gasp as your eyes snapped open. You were at Diavolo’s ball and the demon in black was standing in front of you for a moment before disappearing. Mammon stood in front of you now, concern in his eyes as he looked at you. 

“Are ya’ alright?” he asked and you felt like your head was spinning. You had already been here. He had already asked you that. The other brothers had now joined your side and you felt your emotions rushing you as your mind replayed everything you had just witnessed.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Satan asked, gently placing his hand on your shoulder and you subconsciously flinched from the touch as the walls holding back the dam of tears you had were starting to crumble. 

They left you for someone else. They didn’t want you. They didn’t care about you. You remembered everything so well. You felt everything that happened. It had to have been real.

You finally looked into their eyes with tears falling from yours and at this point, they were all incredibly worried about you. They could see how much pain you were in but they didn’t know what to do to help. Suddenly, the crowd and the music were overbearing and you needed to leave.

So that’s what you did. You immediately began running out of the ball, not wanting to be around anyone else. In a happier situation, you would have looked like Cinderella running away from her prince. But right now, you just wanted to lock yourself in your room and try to figure out what was going on while letting yourself feel every emotion you were trying to hold back.

You had taken your outfit off the second you got to your room, the fancy fabric was too tight for you right now when you felt like you were on the verge of hyperventilating. You changed into whatever felt the most comfortable and then sat on your bed, your knees tucked into your chest as tears freely poured down your cheeks.

You weren’t sure how long it had been until someone came to check on you.

Lucifer followed after you almost immediately after you left the ball. He knew how dangerous the Devildom was for a human and he wanted to ensure that you got home safely. 

But with him having to push through the people at the ball and not knowing exactly where you were headed, he ended up arriving at the house just shortly after you.

He immediately went to your room and gently knocked on the door. He waited a moment for you to answer it, but when you didn’t he slowly turned the knob and opened it. Did you forget to lock the door?

It wasn’t that you necessarily didn’t want to see Lucifer, you just didn’t hear him knock through all the thoughts that were racing in your mind.

Lucifer approached the bed and sat down next to you, carefully taking your hand in his as his eyes burned with concern. 

He waited until you were ready, not wanting to push you. And when you finally spoke, Lucifer listened to every word you said. From the beginning of the story to the end. 

He made a promise to himself that he was going to find that demon and give him a proper punishment for putting you through this pain. But, that could wait.

“After everything you’ve done for me and my family, do you really think you could be that easily replaced?” Lucifer asked and your eyes finally met his, seeing the genuineness in them. He had never been so serious about something in his life.

You were the only human who had ever stirred up these feelings inside of Lucifer. And he would prove that to you every day if that’s what it took.

He never wanted you to doubt his love for you, because he knew how strong it was. And he knew that no other human could replace you in his heart - ever.

Lucifer had told you that the entire endeavor wasn’t real and that you had been at the ball the entire night.

The memories you had felt so real. Your death felt so real. But, this moment with Lucifer felt more real. Beyond that, it felt right. 

You felt like a million weights were being lifted off of you as you let yourself rest against his shoulder.

Lucifer pulled you even further into him and you allowed him to, his touch soothing every tainted memory you had. 

The opera date was something the two of you were actually talking about and Lucifer made sure to get you tickets to opening night. He spoiled you relentlessly that night because there was no one else he’d rather go with than you.

Mammon’s heart broke when he saw the sad look in your eyes and the tears falling down your cheeks when you finally looked up at them. 

When you started running, Mammon was torn between following after you and finding that demon who had been dancing with you. He wanted to ask him what the hell he did to you. But that demon was nowhere in sight, so Mammon went with the former option and went to the House of Lamentation.

He paused in front of your door when he heard you crying and he steadied himself before gently knocking on your door. 

It took you a moment to open the door and when you finally did Mammon could see the extent of your sadness.

He wanted nothing more than to rush in and hug you, to comfort you the way that you always comforted him, but he could see the wary look that you had in your eyes when you looked at him so he didn’t. Did he do something wrong?

You moved out of the doorframe to let Mammon in before closing the door again and you both sat down on your bed. 

“What happened?” Mammon asked, naturally looking over your body for any signs of injuries. If that demon laid a hand on you, he swore he would find him and kill him.

You had to take a couple of breaths to keep your composure before you told him what had happened. Everything from the casino to you dying. 

When you reached the end of your story, Mammon was on the verge of his own tears. He couldn’t believe that any version of him would ever hurt you like that. But - it wasn’t real. He knew that it wasn’t real and he wanted you to know that it wasn’t real.

He decided to take the risk and pulled you into his arms, tucking your head into the crook of his neck as your tears fell onto his shirt. 

“That would never happen,” Mammon reassured you and more tears fell. You wanted to believe him so desperately. 

“How do you know?” you asked him. There was no way he could be sure because he had never been put in that situation.

“Because I’m not just your first man. You’re my first human. You’re my only human,” Mammon admitted, thankful that you couldn’t see how red his cheeks were.

You leaned even further into Mammon’s touch, something you had been longing to do the entire time you were in that nightmare.

And being in his arms - you knew. Your Mammon would never replace you.

Levi was immediately alarmed when you had looked up at him with tears in your eyes. But when you started running - he was panicking. He’s admitted this before, but he’s seriously bad in crises. 

He did nothing but question himself over and over again on what he should do. Was he supposed to follow you? Was he supposed to find that other demon?

He knew he had to act quickly before one of his other brothers decided to swoop in and save the day, so he went after you.

He spent a good five minutes standing outside your door just listening to you cry until he finally got the courage to knock on the door.

When you opened it, he immediately tensed up. He was freaking out on the inside. Was he supposed to hug you? Maybe hold your hand?

You moved back to your bed and Levi followed, timidly sitting down next to you. He was afraid if he breathed the wrong way that it would only make things worse.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Levi asked and was relieved when you nodded your head. You explained everything to him. 

When you were done, Levi was mostly in shock. The idea of liking another human more than you was unheard of. 

Not to mention cuddling on the couch with them while showing them TSL for the first time was a total normie thing to do! They would have had to at least watched it multiple times with him for him to even consider it. Levi would have to deem them worthy to want to be that close to them.

You were someone he deemed that worthy. He didn’t call you his true friend because it was a dumb nickname. He called you it because he meant it. Friend was a synonym for partner and in his mind that’s what you were to him. You were his true partner.

“Henry isn’t someone the Lord of Shadows could just replace. Their relationship is way too special for that,” Levi stated and you gave him a small smile. A smile that somehow gave Levi the confidence to say what he really meant to say.

“You’re not someone I could ever replace either,” Levi said, a blush on his cheeks as he looked down at his hands that were in his lap.

You gently took his hand in yours, wanting more comfort than only his words could provide. He didn’t even flinch when you touched him, happy to provide whatever comfort he could to his Henry.

Few things sent Satan into a flying rage as easily as seeing his human crying. The second he saw the tears rolling down your cheeks, he was angry. And that anger only built when you flinched at his touch and ran from them.

He was out for blood and he was eager to find it. His eyes were burning bright green as he scanned the area for the demon who had done this to you. 

But he was nowhere to be seen. Satan had memorized his face. He could find him. It wouldn’t take too long.

But, Lucifer stopped him. In his angry state of mind, Satan was tempted to attack him for getting in his way. Until Lucifer told him, “She needs you.”

Those words were enough to stop Satan in his tracks as the anger that had been burning bright inside of him fizzled out. 

He immediately went to the House of Lamentation and knocked on your door. He pushed down the wrath that was starting to build again when he saw you, and he gently reached his hand out to you. Then he remembered the way you had flinched at his touch and his hand dropped back down to his side.

You led him over to your bed and he allowed you to explain what had happened without any interruptions. He was livid when you told him you had died. Alone while he was nowhere to be seen. And his vendetta against the demon only strengthened as he listened to all the pain he put you through. 

Another tear fell down your cheek and Satan carefully reached up and brushed it away with his thumb, his hand resting against your cheek.

It didn’t matter how angry he was right now, you didn’t need that side of him. You needed the side of him that was soft and caring. The side only you elicited. 

“Romeo and Juliet?” Satan questioned and you locked eyes with him. “How cliche,” he added. He didn’t want a love like Romeo and Juliet. He wanted a love that transcended it. A love that couldn’t be described by words on paper because it was too strong - too unique. A love that he felt for you.

You leaned into Satan’s touch and he dared to pull you into his lap. Something he had done so comfortably other times, but now it had a deeper, more intimate meaning. No one would ever feel as good as you to have in his arms.

From that day on, Satan made sure to read you every single romantic line he found in one of his books so that you knew that you were his one and only love.

Asmo hated seeing you cry. It wasn’t that you looked bad when you were crying. He believed you were so perfect that you looked good doing anything. 

But, someone as beautiful as you should never cry. You deserve all the happiness in the world.

Asmo was quick to reach the House of Lamentation after you and was barely able to control himself long enough to knock instead of just entering the room.

When you opened the door, Asmo immediately pulled you into a hug. He had noticed the way you had flinched at Satan’s touch and he was hoping you wouldn’t push him away. All he wanted to do was comfort you and this was the way he knew how. If he was upset a hug would instantly make him feel better.

You were tense at first when Asmo first wrapped his arms around you, but slowly you relaxed into the hug and after you had calmed down a little bit, Asmo took to over to your bed. He asked you to tell him what happened while gently wiping away all of your tears.

Asmo was appalled as you explained everything that had happened. They had all replaced you just like that? As if you didn’t mean anything to them?

“Do you really think the only thing I feel for you is desire?” Asmo questioned and you felt taken aback.

Before all this had happened you would have never believed it. You would have trusted in Asmo’s love for you.

But, after everything you had been through, you did question it. You wanted it to be real. You wanted to know that it was real.

Asmo looked into your eyes and saw the internal struggle you were having. He could tell that whatever world the demon put you in made you doubt Asmo’s love for you and it broke his heart.

“Hun, you’re the only one who’s ever made me feel something more. The only one who’s made me feel loved and the only one that I’ve fallen in love with,” Asmo stated honestly. 

You felt a new wave of tears come and he wiped them as they fell. He would always love you. It didn’t matter who came into his life or who tried to take him away from you. They would never be able to take away the feelings he felt for you. He was positive of it.

Beel is quick to react when he sees you crying. He wanted to immediately give you a hug but he stopped himself when he saw you flinch away from Satan.

At first, he thought that maybe one of his brothers had done something to you. Or was it him? He didn’t remember doing anything that could have caused you to be so upset.

When you started running away, Beel remembered the demon that you were dancing with and he started looking all around for him. 

He left shortly after he realized that the demon had disappeared somewhere. He trusted Lucifer would find and punish the demon, and he wanted to check on you.

He was nervous when he first approached your room. Would you flinch away from him as well?

When you opened the door and he saw how broken you looked, he threw all of his worries out the window. He wanted to be there for you. He needed to be there for you. But he would never push you into doing something you weren’t comfortable with.

He opened his arms, offering you a hug and you paused for a moment, contemplating it. But, as previously stated, he was your comfort person.

So you moved forward, practically collapsing into his arms, finding the comfort you had been so desperately seeking.

Beel immediately engulfed you in his arms, thankful that you hadn’t turned him away. He couldn’t stand seeing you so sad. 

He gently rubbed your back, doing what he could to help you feel better and when you finally calmed down a bit, you explained everything that had happened.

The image of you dying when you told your story was enough for tears to start to form in his own eyes. He couldn’t imagine losing you like he lost Lilith.

He pulled you even tighter into him and the hug had now turned from him comforting you to the two of you comforting each other.

“You know that you’re my favorite person to spend time with besides Belphie, right?” Beel asked softly. You had to know it. He had to hear you say that you knew it. He never wanted you to question your place in his heart.

You ran the question through your mind a couple of times. The experience you just had made you want to believe it was a lie. But, with him hugging you now, you couldn’t deny your feelings for each other.

You nodded your head, unable to speak words. But, Beel wasn’t a man of many words either so your gesture was enough to make his shoulders relax with relief.

He’ll make sure he’s always there to comfort you when you need it.

Belphie didn’t know how to react at first when he saw you crying. He hadn’t ever seen you cry before. Your resolve was usually so strong that nothing could break you.

He knew something was really wrong when you ran away from them. Whatever the demon had done to you, it must have been very messed up. And now, he wanted blood. He wanted revenge for hurting you.

He was incredibly frustrated when he looked around and couldn’t find the demon in sight. Where could he have possibly gone in such a short amount of time?

He was too lazy to hunt the demon down though. He would leave that job to Lucifer or Diavolo and ask for a turn in punishing them when they found him.

Instead, he chose to go to the House of Lamentation and check on you. 

He was unexpectedly anxious when he knocked on the door. Part of him wanted to leave, scared that his presence wouldn’t help. He had killed you.

He didn’t have time to act on his insecurities though as you opened the door and came face to face with him.

He was speechless when he saw your sad features and he made a promise that after tonight he would make sure he never saw you this sad again.

You allowed Belphie to enter your room and sat with him on the bed. There were a few moments of awkward silence when you finally started talking.

When you first started explaining, Belphie wanted to laugh. You were kidding, right? Him? Liking another human more than you?

He didn’t even like other humans. He merely tolerated them because of you. So the idea of liking one more than you was unthinkable.

But, when you finished explaining your story, he was upset. The images of you dying once already haunted his nightmares, and now you were telling him that you died again? And the way you died - Belphie knew that the new images would plague his mind.

Before you even knew what was happening, Belphie pulled you down onto your bed and held you in his arms. 

“You are why I understand what Lilith saw in humans. That’s never going to change,” Belphie told you, holding you tightly in his arms. He wanted to give you every ounce of the love he had for you and hoped that it would be enough to give you any kind of comfort.

He visited you in your sleep almost every night to chase away any dreams of your time in that nightmare. He never wanted you to think of it again, because none of it was true, and it never would be true.   

Diavolo was just about to wrap up the night when he noticed a demon in black dancing with you. He immediately got a bad feeling about the demon and took a step towards him, but then saw that the demon brothers had the situation under control.

He remained in his place as the song winded down, but he once again faltered when he saw you running out of the castle. He wanted to immediately run after you, but his duties required him to keep his composure.

He was taking deep breaths as he put on a fake smile and said the closing comments of the ceremony, wishing everyone a good night. 

As soon as the last person left, his resolve crumbled as he approached the brothers and asked what had happened.

They told him what little they knew and Diavolo went back to the House of Lamentation with them. He wanted to check on you personally. It was his ball that you ran out of, after all. And he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if he didn’t see you after you looked so upset.

Diavolo knocked on the door, attempting to respect your privacy. But, he was sure if you didn’t answer it, he would have busted it down to make sure that you were okay.

Luckily, you opened the door soon after he knocked and your sorrow passed onto him as soon as he saw you.

He took a few steps in and closed the door behind him, wanting this to be a private conversation.

“I don’t mean to intrude, but I saw you leave the ball upset, and I was worried about you,” Diavolo stated and you gave him a small, sad smile.

“Thank you for checking on me,” you replied quietly and Diavolo needed you to talk about what was going on. He wanted to help.

“Would you tell me what happened?” he questioned, gently taking your hand in his to reassure you that you could talk to him.

You gave a small nod before explaining everything that had happened that night and Diavolo was immediately concerned. How did a demon like that even manage to get past the castle security? More so, how had he managed to get to his exchange student?

“I assure you, I have no upcoming plans to expand the exchange program. And if it did happen, I would never forget you or replace you. Not after the way you’ve made me feel,” Diavolo told you, looking deeply into your eyes as he held both of your hands now.

He’ll also make sure to walk with you around RAD more and show you off because he was proud to be walking next to you. He’ll shower you with love and gifts in front of everyone to prove the feelings that he held for you.

Barbatos had immediately sensed something was wrong when you and the demon had locked hands, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. Like Diavolo, he moved to help you until he noticed the demon brothers stepping in.

He thought that they had it under control, so he remained at Lord Diavolo’s side. But, he was quickly proven wrong when he saw you running out of the castle crying. 

Barbatos immediately looked to Lord Diavolo and Diavolo gave him a nod communicating everything Barbatos needed to know. He was allowing Barbatos to go check on you.

Barbatos quickly went to the House of Lamentation, not bothering to speak to the brothers about what happened. He would find out from you.

He could have teleported directly into your room, but he decided to try and be respectful of the current situation you were in so he knocked on the door. 

When you opened the door, he saw how deeply sad you were and he was panicking slightly. He’s never had to console a human who was this sad. 

He offered you his handkerchief and you gave him a small smile of gratitude as you took it from him, gently dabbing away your tears.

Barbatos could sense time magic on you the second you had opened the door. He knew that you had somehow been teleported to another universe and that something tragic happened there. But, he still let you explain it to him in your own words.

He listened attentively as you told him the story and he paid attention to every detail. Like any good butler would. 

A new wave of tears had begun to fall as you spoke and Barbatos took the handkerchief back from you, carefully wiping them away himself this time.

When you finished talking, Barbatos’ first thought was torture. He could come up with a hundred creative ways to punish the demon who sent you to that universe. And when Barbatos was hunting someone down, there was no running and there was certainly no hiding. 

But after the anger had begun to fade, he looked at your sorrowful features once again. You were something special and no one could ever take that away from you.

“When Diavolo first mentioned the exchange program to me, I looked through the timelines to make sure it didn’t end badly for the young Lord. Trust me when I tell you this, Y/N - you are the best decision he has ever made,” Barbatos promised you, wiping away the last of your tears.

He would never look at you with disdain because he knew how unhappy everyone would be if they didn’t have you in their life. Including him.

Simeon wasn’t able to spend too much time with you at the ball because of the demon brothers, but he always kept his eyes on you. How could he not when you looked so stunning?

He was never too far from you, so when you started crying, he noticed. And when you ran out of the castle, Simeon went into full protection mode. Someone had hurt you and he wouldn’t stand for it.

He followed you back to the House of Lamentation and gently knocked on the door, praying that you would open it and allow him inside.

He was thankful when his prayer was answered and you opened the door, revealing your broken state.

Simeon took small steps inside your room, making sure you were comfortable with him being there. But, when you didn’t show any signs of resistance, he closed the door and led you over to your bed. 

You were such a kind and beautiful soul, he hated seeing you so upset. He couldn’t understand anyone ever wanting to hurt you like this.

“Can I help you in any way?” Simeon questioned, but you didn’t answer him. You couldn’t answer him because you didn’t know how he could. But, you also didn’t want him to leave yet and he could see that in your eyes. So, he tried a different question.

“Can you tell me about it?” Simeon asked and you agreed, telling him all about the world you had been teleported to that held so much hatred and anger towards you.

Your story broke Simeon’s heart. He couldn’t believe you had to endure all that pain. And he hated that a version of him had contributed to that pain.

He did tell you once that he believed you had actually come from the Celestial Realm because of how perfect you were. But he never said those words to anyone else and he never would. You were one of a kind. 

Simeon used the back of his hand to gently brush away your tears and you looked into his eyes. He hesitated for a moment before pulling you into a hug. 

He had so much love to give to you and he would make sure you got to feel all of it, starting now. “You’re the only one who will ever be my muse. The only one who I’ll ever feel so strongly for,” Simeon told you softly - intimately - meaning every word.

He knew that the demon who hurt you like this was in for it big time. He had managed to make both the Celestial Realm and the Devildom angry and Simeon was sure there was no corner that the demon could hide in where one of them wouldn’t find him.

Solomon could sense a strong surge of magic in the castle and he immediately went to find the source. That was one of the benefits of knowing magic like the back of your hand.

When his eyes finally landed on the source, he saw a demon gripping tightly onto your hands. It reminded him of the first time he saved you from your dance with Lucifer.

He began walking in your direction to once again save you but Mammon had beat him to the punch, pushing the demon away, so Solomon stopped in his tracks,

When he saw you crying, he was angry. He knew that demon had used some kind of magic on you and he wouldn’t stop until he found out what it was. 

His mind went blank when you suddenly ran out of the castle. You had rushed past him, but he was pretty sure you didn’t notice with how upset you were.

Solomon went to the House of Lamentation to check on you and when you opened the door to your room, he immediately scanned your features. He double-checked that there were no signs of lasting magic on you and when he determined that you were safe for now, he asked you what had happened.

Solomon had so many questions as you explained what had happened to you. What was such a powerful demon doing at the Demon Lord’s Castle and why did he target you specifically?

He knew he would get those answers eventually. He would play a big part in helping track down the demon. All in due time. Right now, he was more worried about you.

“You have an immeasurable amount of magic potential, so please don’t let what that demon did to you make you doubt yourself,” Solomon told you, gently placing his hands on your shoulders.

He looked deeply into your eyes to stress the importance of his words and how sincere he was being with you when he said them.

He took another look at your features. Your cheeks were stained from your tears and your eyes were glossy and puffy, but Solomon still thought you looked so beautiful.

He gently pulled you into his chest, wrapping his arms around you in a tight hug to reassure you of his feelings for you. 

In all of his time alive, he had never met someone as incredible as you and he would never let you slip through his fingers.

“Besides, I would never abandon my adorable apprentice.”

Eventually, word had gotten out to the others about what had happened to you at the ball and everyone was upset about it. They hated that you had to go through something like that. And they hated that their alternate universe counterparts had played a part in hurting you.

Luke would make sure to always bring you his pastries when he made something new and he would tell you how much he valued your opinion over others’. He would also make sure to continue to give you hugs. You were the only human he would ever be this close with.

Thirteen thought the idea of another human having a soul as special as yours was laughable. Solomon’s had come close, sure, but there was still a difference. She made sure to make more time to spend with you. She wanted to grow closer to you.

Mephisto doesn’t react outwardly to news like this much. But, it did subtly affect him. He’ll make sure to compliment you on any work you do for the RAD newspaper and he’ll go out of his way to talk to you more at social gatherings.

Raphael wasn’t the best at striking up conversations, but when he found out that he played a part in your downfall, it made him question things. If he had hurt you like the others then that meant he played an important enough role in your life that you cared about his opinion. He’ll pay more attention to you from now on and he’ll do his best to try to get to you know like the others have.

[diejager]

I need one of the boys to drunkenly confess to the reader

Cw: getting shitfaced, drinking, alcohol, drunken confession, tell me if I missed any.

“I love you, darling,” he mumbled, his pretty Cupid bow curved into a pout, “You- hic! You know tha-t right?” 

You don’t know how it got to this, his words slurred and voice whiny, his pretty brown eyes dilated so wide that you would have thought he was crying if you didn’t smell the lingering taste of alcohol on his breath. It was supposed to be a short celebratory drink between colleagues before he was dropped home, curling into your arms and smothering you in peppering kisses, but it seemed like he threw away such caution out of the window and went wild with drinks, tequila perhaps. Your pretty boy was shitfaced. 

He slumped into you, leaning his entire weight on you when he crossed the threshold of your home, dragging his feet and mumbling sobbing confessions until the tip of his shoes kicked the curb and his knees gave up. You huffed with a slight strain, supporting him while you waved at Price, wishing him a safe drive after declining his help. All to save Kyle’s dignity after he spent hours whining and singing praises about you to his mates, gushing his deep and unconditional love for the spouse he had waiting at home. 

“I love you,” he moaned, nuzzling your skin, his nose brushing the bruised skin between your neck and shoulder, where he’d covered it with spotted kisses just last night, “Love you s-so much.”

You chuckled airily, shoulder shaking at his small confessions. Dragging him into the flat, his feet unsteadily moving behind him as he tried to walk, failing over and over again despite his persistence in walking beside you and smothering you in love. You found it endearing, his drunken confessions and sloppy kisses on your skin, his wandering hands trying to grasp at you on his shaky feet.

“I know, Kyle,” you smiled against his cheek, kissing the corner of his lips when you rounded the corner of the hall, “We’re married.”

Stumbling into bed, Kyle blinked blearily, staring down at you with an awed gleam. You could see stars dancing in his chocolate hues, wide and starry in such an knee-weakening adoration that made you fall further in love with the man you married months ago. You laughed at him, pushing him to the side and straddling his hips in a soft motion, easily switching your position with a man who was drunk out of his mind to forget you were married. 

“Yeah,” cradling his face between your face, you pressed your lips to his, a soft and tender kiss that made both of you sigh in contentment, “Yeah, we are.”

“My spouse,” he mumbled sleepily, his left hand rising to touch your face, his rough pads gently fluttering over your skin, “My beautiful spouse.”

Your diamond-tipped ring gleamed in moonlight, a brilliant beacon of your devotion to each other, a reminder of your shared vows. Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay; Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.(1)

1: quote from Where You Go(I Will Go) by alittlepunkcock 

Taglist: @sae1kie @yeoldedumbslut @bvxygriimes @distracteddragoness @konigsblog @im-making-an-effort @daisychainsinknots @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @danielle143 @tuttifuckinfruttifriday @notspiders @brokenpieces-72 @petwifed @randominstake @hayleybarnesx @shironasumi @sparky--bunny @bloobewy @cod-z @sweetnanah @aldis-nuts @evolutionarry @kaoyamamegami @cassiecasluciluce

[salty-accords]

Aphrodite Intro Pages

Let us delve into the realm of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, known as the Smile-Loving. She is a divine beauty, Her radiance rivaling that of the heavens, yet Her wrath can be as fierce as the sea She was born from. Emerging from the sea froth of Ouranos' castration, She is hailed as the daughter of Zeus. While She may be a minor deity of the sea, particularly associated with sea foam and creatures like tortoises, turtles, and clams, Her influence extends far beyond, shaping numerous myths and narratives as the Goddess of Passion.

These pages will give you a glimpse into my understanding and reverence of Aphrodite. The content, largely drawn from my grimoire, is a testament to my unique perception and worship of this goddess. However, it's important to note that the altar concept, while significant to me, is a conceptual representation and not a direct reflection of my daily worship. These visuals are crafted with the internet in mind and are highly aesthetic.

55. To Aphrodite (The Orphic Hymns, Athanassakis and Wolkow translation; excerpt)

Heavenly, smiling Aphrodite, praised in many hymns, sea-born revered goddess of generation, you like the night-long revel, you couple lovers at night, O scheming mother of Necessity. Everything comes from you: you have yoked the world, you control all three realms, you give birth to all, to everything in heaven, to everything upon the fruitful earth, to everything in the depths of the sea, O venerable companion of Bacchos. You delight in festivities, O bride-like mother of the Erotes, O Persuasion, whose joy is in the bed of love, secretive giver of grace, visible and invisible, lovely-tressed daughter of a noble father, bridal feast companion of the gods, sceptered, she-wolf, beloved and man-loving, giver of birth and life. Your maddening love-charms yoke mortals, they yoke the many races of beasts to unbridled passion. Come, O goddess born in Kypros: you may be on Olympos, O queen, exulting in the beauty of your face, you may be in Syria, country of fine frankincense you may be driving your golden chariot in the plain, you may lord it over Egypt's fertile river bed. Come, whether you ride your swan-drawn chariot over the sea's billows, joining the creatures of the deep, as they dance in circles, or on the land in the company of the dark-faced nymphs as light-footed they frisk over the sandy beaches, Come lady, even if you are in Kypros that cherishes you, where fair maidens and chaste brides throughout the year sing of you, O blessed one, as they sing of immortal, pure Adonis. Come, O beautiful, O comely goddess, I summon you with holy words, I summon you with a pious soul.

[jinnie-ret]

Hiii can I rq a skz x 15 y/o trainy were she acts v gen z n stuff?

generation z

aka 3 times Y/N left the boys feeling old

stray kids x reader (platonic)

genre: fluff, crack

content warnings: none

word count: 1.2k

summary: she's the youngest of the group and the boys can't keep up with her internet slang

Ok first of all I'm sorry my mind got jumbled and I wrote this as the ninth member instead, but if you want to you can still read it as a trainee friend :) also I tried so sorry if you find this cringe lmaoo

MAIN MASTERLIST

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

1) Slay

Y/N was currently on a VLIVE with danceracha, not that she was a part of it, but she was the best hypeman around, both the boys and Stays knew this. They were practicing 'Wow', the danceracha track and Y/N was obsessed.

"Wow, wow, wow!!" Y/N shouted along with the song's chorus, comically jumping up and down in the back of the room and waving her SKZ lightstick around. It was quite the scene, Stays laughing in the comments at her enthusiasm whilst admiring the boys dance.

As soon as they finished dancing she cheered loudly for them, handing them their water bottles and reading the comments from Stays.

"'Y/N is the best hypeman', duh!" Y/N jokingly pulled an obvious face at the camera as she continued reading comments, Hyunjin sitting next to her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"'Y/N is so me'," Y/N read out and smirked, "hey Stay..."

"Oh lord," Hyunjin moved away, already anticipating that their maknae was going to do something that would disturb his ears. And he was right to do so.

"I AM YOU, I SEE ME IN YOU-" Y/N sang loudly at the top of her lungs, before Lee Know muffled her shouts with his hand.

"Aigoo, our Y/Nnie is so loud," he patted her head too, a condescending smile on his face.

"Yah hyung! You're normally the loudest! Let her be hyper!" Felix giggled, pushing Lee Know's hands away from Y/N.

"Yeah, Stays think I'm funny!" Y/N stuck her tongue out as the boys and her sat around reading the comments again.

"Go on then, give us a joke, Miss Comedian," Hyunjin poked her cheek.

"Ok, Lee Know your hands smell like cat litter," Y/N shrugged her shoulders and said bluntly, making danceracha burst out into laughter and Lee Know get up to chase her.

"That wasn't even a joke," Hyunjin giggled.

"It was a diss," Felix laughed along, the other two still running around the room. It was too much for Stays to handle, this moment going into many fan compilations in the future.

"Hey, hey Stays," Y/N stood in the middle of the room, fighting against Lee Know as he tried to drag her off screen.

"Hey, Stays, all around the world, you make Stray Kids SLAY!!" Y/N cheered and then squealed as Lee Know lifted her into the air.

"What-" Hyunjin facepalmed, shoulders shaking as he laughed.

"I'm gonna have to use that one," Felix nodded as he giggled.

2) Gyatt

Y/N was currently recording her parts in the ROCKSTAR album, entering the studio with an iced coffee in hand.

"What's poppin?" she matched Han's energy as he laughed and repeated after her, Chan and Changbin shaking their heads with small smiles.

"Ok, Y/N, we're recording Megaverse first, you ready?" Chan pressed the button to speak so Y/N would hear him once she was in the recording booth.

"Aish, my ears!" Y/N jumped at how loud his voice was and ducked down to crouch on the floor, making the staff laugh with the members.

Soon she began recording a small rap part which was new for her, she was part of vocalracha and so was used to singing on their tracks.

"Ok, Y/N, do the same again but just a bit louder, like you want the world to hear your message," Changbin leant over Chan as he gave some advice.

"Ok, ok, I got this," Y/N told herself, "GYATT!" she randomly shouted, before continuing to nod, not hearing or looking at the looks of confusion and amusement spread across the faces of 3racha.

She finished recording her rap part successfully and exited the booth, the boys praising her but they only had one question on her mind.

"What was that you shouted?" Chan rose an eyebrow at her, grinning.

"I shouted a lot of things, you told me to shout my rap," Y/N shrugged with a confused smile, hands resting in the pockets of her hoodie.

"Don't play dumb," Changbin pointed out, messing her hair.

"Ohhh," Y/N realised and laughed, "hey Changbin, just start walking over there for a second."

"Why?" Han laughed from the sofa, wondering what the maknae was up to.

"Just do it," Y/N further prompted and so Changbin sighed and nodded.

"GYATT!!!" Y/N shouted once again, as she very obviously looked at Changbin's butt.

"Omo," Chan covered his ears and laughed in shock.

"Understand now?" Y/N laughed.

"Not really, no," said poor Changbin, who had turned around in shock and didn't see what happened. It was often they didn't understand their maknae's slang words.

3) Rizz

Stray Kids were currently filming for Teen Vogue, taking part in the Compliments Battle, a video that would quickly win over Stays' hearts as one of their funniest videos ever.

Hyunjin, Felix and Jeongin had already gone, the latter unable to take Seungmin's compliments no longer.

"Innie, I'll avenge you," Y/N whispered to her fellow maknae, who in turn grinned right back at her.

"Yah what are the maknaes talking about?" Seungmin have them an unimpressed look, folding his arms.

"Hyung?" Jeongin asked.

"Yeah?" Seungmin asked back.

"Shhh," Jeongin commanded lightly, making the members laugh. Y/N took her seat opposite Seungmin whilst everyone laughed.

"Y/N is so precious, and has the purest soul, Y/N is my... everything," Seungmin stared Y/N dead in the eyes as he spoke to her, the girl cringing.

"Seungmin is my puppy, I love him so much, cute puppy Seungie so talented," Y/N said sweetly, being over the top as she spoke.

"Oh my gosh," Jeongin wrinkled his nose hearing the words.

"I think I just threw up a bit," Seungmin said in English.

"Wah? Who said that about me?" Y/N gasped and laughed.

"I did. About how you just spoke to me," Seungmin laughed at Y/N's face.

"Yah give me a compliment," Y/N folded her arms.

"Ok, ok," Seungmin stopped laughing, "Y/N is my queen."

"Woahhhh, I'm gonna have that on replay," Y/N smirked. "Let's see... Seungmin is so handsome and sexy- I'm not reading that... Forget the tweets lemme use the Y/N rizz," she smirked as she pulled up her sleeves.

"Rizz?" Jeongin repeated after her looking confused.

"Hey Seungmin, what do you say we go on a romantic walk and pee on a lamppost?" Y/N smirked, the guys choking on their breaths as they were shocked at what she said.

"Y/N... What?!" Seungmin gasped.

"He reacted, he's out!" Jeongin clapped happily.

"No, let me keep going I've got more. He's a puppy get it? It's not weird! Hmmm, what else..." Y/N defended herself and began, as her leader shared nervous glances at the staff, but she didn't need to know that. "Hey are you my dog when I'm depressed?" perhaps Y/N left a pause for too long, "because I just wanna... give you... kisses... Guys stop looking at me like I'm weird!"

Jeongin covered his face to avoid her wrath.

"This isn't just Y/N rizz! This is puppy rizz!"

tagged: @skz-streamer @kiraisastay @hannahhbahng @kpopmenace143 @sakufilms @hanjiquokkaaa @arloo00 @dunno-wut-to-do @splat00z @cheesemonky @his-angell @turtledove824 @2minstan @royal-shinigami

[sidekick-hero]

(steddie | gen | 1.2k | tags: feelings realization (not his own), Kas!Eddie (flashback), smoking weed together, boys in love | @steddielovemonth prompt: Love is what makes you brave | AO3)

Eddie never claimed to be smart. It was not for nothing that it took him three tries and a very lenient high school administration - thanks to Hawkins' very own apocalypse - to graduate from high school.

It's not that he's dumb. It's more that he has what his uncle calls a scatterbrain. It's hard for him to focus on anything outside of the things he's really passionate about, like DnD or metal or fantasy. So it's not really surprising that he realizes that Steve is in love with him weeks after he's fallen for the boy himself.

And oh boy, did he fall for Steve Harrington. Hook, line and sinker.

It's new and exciting and scary. It takes up all the space in his head, and just as he read Lord of the Rings so many times that he can recite Aragorn's battle speech at the Black Gate, Eddie now spends all his time and energy learning everything there is to know about Steve Harrington.

He begins to pay attention to what people say about Steve and even more to what's said between the lines. He learns a lot by finally listening to all the times Dustin talks about Steve, which is often, singing his praises in his own, unique Dustin way.

Eddie focuses on what he can learn about Steve from the stories the others tell about a time when Eddie wasn't part of this weird little group of misfits and heroes, and collects all the clues like he's Sherlock fucking Holmes and Steve is his Moriarty.

Like how Robin and Steve have all these jokes from their Scoops days, even though they only really became friends later, during their run-in with the Russians. Yet Steve was willing to bait them into beating him instead of Robin, sacrificing himself so she could be spared before they ever established their platonic soul mateship.

It fits with the story Jonathan told him once, when they were smoking pot with Argyle, about Steve running back into a house with an honest-to-God monster in it to help Nancy and him fight it. And that was after Steve had come to Jonathan to apologize for their fight, even though he had reason to suspect that his girlfriend was cheating on him with Jonathan.

It's like puzzle pieces clicking together in Eddie's head.

At first, they don't fit with the things Steve tells him while they're out by the pool, sharing a joint and just talking. Steve goes on about all the times he was a coward, how he never stood up to his father or the bullies at school, even when he thought they were going too far.

But the things he says start to make sense to Eddie when Steve starts talking about how he only ditched Tommy and his other asshole friends because of Nancy. Because she made him realize how shitty he had become for fear of falling out of line and losing his status and his so-called friends.

Steve would never say he was brave.

But Eddie knows the truth.

Eddie knows that Steve is brave for the people he loves.

Love makes Steve brave.

And Steve loves fast and hard.

Once those two things become a certainty in Eddie's mind, other things fall into place.

Vecna sent him back to his friends as a spy, but they saw right through him, so he attacked them. He was faster and stronger now, thanks to whatever spell he was under, and he was vicious. They weren't his friends, they were the enemy. If he didn't kill them, they would kill him.

It makes him remember something he mostly tries to forget because it still hurts. It still fills him with shame and guilt. But now he thinks back to those weeks when he was under Vecna's control, a puppet dancing to his master's will.

Vecna had saved Eddie's body from dying when Dustin and the others thought he was already dead, but it came at a price.

Steve, the self-sacrificing idiot, managed to trap himself and Eddie in a room away from the others, his trusty nail bat at the ready. They faced each other, both ready to attack, to fight until one or both were dead.

And then Steve dropped the goddamn bat.

"I'm not going to fight you, Eddie. This isn't you. This isn't the guy who gave the outcasts and the nerds and the geeks a safe haven in the middle of the hell that is high school for them. This isn't the guy who decided to fight for a town that abandoned him and hunted him because he was different."

Steve took a step closer, so close that Eddie could see the flecks of green and gold in his hazel eyes.

"This isn't the guy who gave his life to save Dustin and buy us more time."

Warm hands closed around his own, clenched into fists and ready to strike, and cradled them gently.

"You saved us, Eddie. Because you are good. Because no matter how cruel the world was to you, you never stopped being kind." Another step towards the monster with his friend's face, but Steve never faltered, never hesitated.

"Please come back to us. Dustin needs you. Mike and Lucas need you."

Steve's arms wrapped around him, pulling him into their warm embrace, holding him tight as Steve said directly into his ear, "We need you, Eddie."

It hit Eddie right then and there, lying on the grass in Steve's yard with the pungent smell of the finished joint still in the air and the warmth of Steve's body seeping into his own where they touched from head to toe.

He never thought about it before because it couldn't have been. Steve had only known him a few days before the bats got him. And besides, he had been mooning over Nancy at the time, hadn't he?

But Steve risked his own life to get Eddie back. He could have killed Eddie, probably should have. Instead, Steve bravely stood his ground and reminded Eddie of his own humanity. Of all the love in his life and in his heart.

Steve falls hard and fast.

Love makes Steve brave.

Steve had only known Eddie, really known him outside of high school gossip, for a few days, but he risked his life to save Eddie.

Clumsy with the lingering effects of the weed in his body, Eddie turns his head to look at Steve, who's still staring up at the starry night sky. He takes in his profile, the sharp jaw line, the strong nose, the full lower lip. Steve is beautiful. He's good and kind and bitchy and secretly a giant dork. And he...

"You love me."

Eddie doesn't mean to just blurt it out, a thought that only formed a few minutes ago, but he's never been known for his brain to mouth filter and holy shit, Steve Harrington loves him.

Startled, Steve tears his eyes away from the stars to look at Eddie instead, his lovely hazel eyes wide as they search and hold Eddie's.

"I know," he finally says, leaning in even closer as if they were sharing a secret. "What gave it away?"

Instead of answering right away, Eddie bridges the infinitesimal gap between them and kisses Steve.

"I make you brave." At Steve's questioning look, Eddie adds, "Don't worry, you make me brave, too."

Before Steve can ask any more questions that Eddie's weed-addled brain couldn't answer anyway, he captures Steve's lips in another kiss before bravely rolling on top of him and showing him just how much Eddie loves him, too.

[inhuman-obey-me]

Ooh 🕶 with Asmodeus and F!MC please? So in love with the way you guys write him in particular; he's so facinating!

Thank you!! We love writing Asmodeus as the unhinged demon he truly is. <3

"I saw a little thing I didn't like you tried to hide." - Asmodeus/F!MC

Note: The gendering in this is minimal, but is there.

He hadn’t meant to leave your side for long – he wanted to get you both some drinks, and in the process a gaggle of his fans came to laud him with their usual praise and words of devotion. Asmodeus gave his charming smile, blew them a few kisses – “I’m busy tonight, darlings, but we’ll chat another time!” – and danced through the crowd on his way back to you. 

And that’s when he sees through the pulsing lights a particular incubi getting too comfortable with you, clear from the discomfort on your face and the way his hand hovers too closely to your waist, his teeth looking a bit too sharp and gaze too filled with bloodlust. 

“I’m back~!” Asmodeus sings out, and much to his delight the incubi jolts and tries to disappear into the shadows. “Now, who was that?”  

“Thanks, Asmo. I need this!” You move closer to him with a look of relief, taking one of the drinks from his hand. He watches you take a swig, seemingly trying to avoid the question.

“Now, now, hun.” He murmurs, his lips brushing your ear so that you could hear him over the pounding bass, his arm reaching behind you. “I saw a little thing I didn’t like you tried to hide. Was that guy bothering you?” 

Before you can answer, Asmodeus brings his arm back to his side – the offending demon in his grasp. His claws were hooked in the chains wrapped around the other’s torso, a tut-tut leaving the Avatar’s lips. 

“Running away so soon, Gilarion? How lovely of you to join us!” He flutters his lashes at the other, though there was clearly a dangerous glint in his gaze.

“L-Lord Asmodeus, I didn’t realize you were here!” Gilarion nervously laughs.

“Oh, is that so?” Asmodeus pouts, swirling the drink in his hand as he unhooks his claws from the other. “Is that why you were bothering our lovely human here?”

“B-bothering?” Gilarion shoots you a panicked look. “No, no, I was just admiring the details in her dress and was curious! Your design, I’m told?” 

It’s true, Asmodeus had insisted on dolling you up in his latest fashion collection before taking you out, having had you in mind for every piece. He smiles, his fangs catching the light. 

“That’s right. And doesn’t she look absolutely ravishing? I doubt anyone else could compare – except me, of course.” A giggle, and then he felt your hand on his arm. You were well aware of what that sinister smile wrought. 

“Asmo.” You quietly scold. “It’s okay, just leave him.” 

“Oh, don’t worry, hun. I’m not going to do anything to him!” There’s a depraved glee in his voice as he sees momentarily relief in Gilarion’s features. “He’s one of my important little minions, after all.” 

He steps toward the lesser demon then. “But you must have been really curious about my darling’s look, with how close you were getting! Or, was it something else?” Another flutter of his lashes. “You know, all you had to say was that you wanted more attention from me, silly. I would have gladly given it to you!” 

Asmodeus takes a single sharp claw, tracing it down the middle of Gilarion’s exposed chest. “I would love to see your luscious red ribs … I mean lips – lips! – in my latest shade. Would you like that? We could shoot some lovely photos, you know.” 

“I-I’m sorry, Lord Asmodeus! I didn’t mean anything by it, I – I’ll take my leave now!” Gilarion knows his superior well enough to distinguish a threat, so he gives a rather clumsy bow as he stumbles backwards, then darts into the crowd. 

“Did you really have to scare him like that?” You sigh, though he notices that slight smile.

“Of course I did.” Asmodeus smirks with satisfaction, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you close, his lips ghosting yours. “And I know you love it.”

[eatommo]

Kisses of Fire [j.m.]

Summary: You and Joel get caught up in a champagne-filled domestic dream, and your impulses are too strong to resist. Aka, you and Joel sing and dance in the kitchen until you can't deny your feelings any longer.

C.w: slight dub con because of alcohol consumption, mentions of parental loss, age gap (reader is in her 20s), unprotected pinv, lots of praise, pet names, Joel is a sweet talker, fluffy dancing and cooking with Joel, size kink?, creampie, squirting, oral sex (f receive), mentions of oral sex (m receive), breeding kink if you squint, mutual pining?, idk I probably missed some let me know!

A/n: Hello! I am alive! I started a new job and it's been pretty crazy but I am pleased to bring you my first Joel Miller fic and my first contribution to the Dbf!joel subgenre that has been one my favorites lately. enjoy!

~3.5k

“Joel, the sauce is going to burn.” you stumble through a laugh, trying to focus the little clarity of your mind on the chicken browning in your ceramic pan. He had insisted on opening a glass of champagne to congratulate you on your new job. It was sweet and dry, exactly what you liked, and it went down easy.

You were sitting around the coffee table gushing and hardly letting the man get a word out, and then he asked if you were hungry, and well you hadn't yet eaten and with your stomach growling at his words, he was very insistent.

In truth, you'd always looked out for each other, you'd help pick up Sarah from school, on occasion try new recipes in his much larger kitchen, and in turn, he'd fix your sink leak, install a new shower head, or even build you a new coffee table.

Here standing in his kitchen you felt so comfortable, stirring the pasta with one hand and rummaging through his cabinets for oregano with the other. It could've been the alcohol or the decade-long crush on the older man that was driving you wild.

With a rush of melody, you realized where he disappeared as the fun rhythmic beat of Be My Baby echoes through the living room and into the kitchen. Joel's words barely call above the song, “Oldies okay?”

You turn to answer him, only to catch him jamming out to the song behind you as he strides cool as a cucumber back into the kitchen. “More than okay.” You’re beaming, enjoying the music and the laid-back demeanor of his slight dance and groove.

You've cherished the few moments of joy since your father passed away a few years ago, singing with him and Sarah in the car, bullying Joel onto a rollercoaster, and summertime BBQs complete with movie marathons.

This felt different. Not only was Sarah noticeably absent, but there was an electric hum of something between you, it was almost palpable. Chalking it up to the alcohol, you settle back into your rhythm of taking care of the food in front of you with extra sway to your hips and occasionally singing into the wooden spoon like a microphone.

Joel returns to your side, stirring the thick sauce before grabbing a spoon from a drawer and tasting it. He moans around the cheap metal, throwing his head back in exaggerated ecstasy.

Hoping the heat from the stove disguises your blush, you carefully accept a spoonful he offers you after he cools with a few quick purses of his lips, humming in agreement.

“What did you say this recipe was called?” When he's been drinking, his Texan drawl lengthens, and you swallow around the lump in your throat, lord have mercy.

“Marry me chicken? It's said to get a man to marry you on its own…” you try and let your voice trail off as he grabs a colander and begins to strain the noodles for you, and before you can think you add, “I thought it would be good practice.”

You catch something in his face as he looks toward you, now mouthing the words to a song by Simon and Garfunkel, but your brain is a little too fuzzy to dissect it completely. Turning off the heat, you quickly add bacon and parmesan before tossing the chicken and sauce mixture on top of Joel's freshly strained pasta.

He hovers over you like he hasn't eaten for days, grumbling something about sweet torture as you garnish his bowl with freshly grated cheese. Turning your attention to the table you see a second bottle of champagne adorning a small dining set, and your flukes full and awaiting your attention, and your blush returns, what is happening to you?

Dismissing himself to turn the music lower, you set his plate down and settle into your chair beside his. Briefly, you consider refusing another glass, you were supposed to drive home, but his slightly tousled curls and the nonplussed smirk on his face as he walks into your field of vision wash over your body like a cool shower on a hot Austin evening, refreshing, revitalizing, and rewarding you with his simplistic beauty.

The way his eyes fell to yours with each silly verse, speaking to each moment you’ve swooned over him in private and cementing the swell of your heart. He sits and you both immediately dive into the food, moaning in unison at the salty and creamy flavor. “I get it.”

“For sure.” You confirm, shoveling more into your mouth as delicately as you can in your haste. “I’ll keep it in my back pocket for sure.” You both laugh and reach for your champagne for a toast.

“To the luckiest man in the world.” This time, he does a piss poor job of covering his shock, and you don’t dare let the moment slip from your grasp, setting your fork down, and reaching to settle your hand on his forearm, tenderly running your fingers over the rough-tanned skin.

The affection seems to coach a weight from his shoulders, as the tension in them drops and he meets your eyes with a deep and wicked sense of playfulness. Holding his gaze, and touching the lips of the flukes together you smile innocently, and hum as the cool bubbles coat your tongue and lift your confidence higher with every passing moment.

In a flash you feel the energy in the room shift, as silence flirtatious eye contact is shared between smaller sips of champagne and groans of delight, you find your eyes lingering longer on the base of his throat and the purse of his lips around the tip of the glass.

In your stupor you miss his devilish grin, he’s chasing the feeling of your gaze on his skin, drinking in the slip of your guard, and suddenly the incredible food you prepared for him is not nearly enough to sate him.

It’s his turn to stare, watching as your lips part in a soft pant as he takes a lingering swig from his glass, imagining how delicious this could pair with the taste of your pussy. Fuck, he’s so hopeless, you could talk him into anything, yet you sit and torture yourself undressing him with your eyes and practically projecting your dirty thoughts onto his chest.

When your eyes meet again your breath catches in your throat, some snarky comment you bury beneath the burning fire on your cheeks. “Joel…” it’s an invitation, a plea, and your heart stands still in its cage in the breath between your words and his mouth on yours.

His beard and moustache are rough against your lips, but the kiss is hungry, and not nearly as vulnerable as you feel. It's a clash of tongues and teeth, your bodies are drawn together like the world is stitching them together with desperate rough movements.

You can taste the rich sweet champagne on his tongue as it drags over yours, tilting your head back with a soft hand on your throat. Standing to his feet, he breaks the kiss with a reluctance you feel, but he’s ushering the plates off the table in a single trip, setting them on the counter to be dealt with later. The complaint dies in your throat, as you let your brain devour him in a primal sense. The broad expanse of his chest rising and falling in heavy needy breath, the veins in his neck as he tilts his head to return the same hungry stare, you don’t make it past his biceps before his hands are on your sides, directing you to stand but only for a mere second as your practically lifted onto the kitchen table.

His mouth is on yours again, hot and determined, your mind is made up, and he can feel it in each little whine he swallows. Confidence surges through him, bolstered by the hum of alcohol in his system, and he leans over you guiding you to your back, while he slots himself between your legs.

You part them quickly, wanting to feel him pressed against you more than you want to breathe, and rather than following you he kisses down the smooth skin of your calves and begins working on the button of your shorts, yanking them up and off with a dexterity that would surprise you had it been anyone else.

The thin cotton panties are not your first choice of sexy intimates, but it doesn’t seem to phase him as his gaze holds at the growing wet spot pooling in the fabric. His index fingers ghost over the seam of your pussy. “Are you sure?” He kisses the words across your skin, moving along the inside of your thighs as his stubble draws the nerves in your skin taught.

You blink your eyes a few times, almost not believing and basking in the warmth of his breath. Your mouth falls open in a pant as you throw your head back onto the table, in any other circumstance it would've hurt. “Yes…Joel…please.” Each word takes a lungful of air worth of effort.

There's a dark chuckle as if taunting you for being so pathetic, as he nibbles on the skin of your inner thigh, you feel goosebumps spread across all your skin, unaware if it's from shame or the heat of his mouth muttering sweet nothings into your skin.

“So pretty,” he coos letting two fingers trace over your slick panties, “Spread out on my table for me,” he presses harder but slows his movements to a beautifully slow taunt, “A fucking meal.”

The chair moves sharply back with his movement, as he pulls your underwear to the side and licks at your hole for his first taste. His mouth is feverish in appetite, licking and sucking and caressing each part of your sex, the assault is overwhelming at first, the movements so erratic you’re unable to focus on anything but trying to breathe. Cantering your hips against his mouth his rough palm stalls one of your thighs from closing, the hand is firm and warm commanding you to obey in just its presence. “More,” you beg, again the pleasure dulled as he slowed to listen.

His free hand goes to the waistband of your underwear running along its length and tickling the skin, before you feel a rough tug at the fabric and hear the tearing sound before you can even comprehend what’s happened. The fabric disappears and the soft table mat you are perched on protects you from the cool wood of the table. He mumbles more things into the flesh of your mound, and he kisses at the exposed skin of your hips, “Sweet little thing.”

You throw a hand over your eyes, losing yourself to the embraces and brushes of pleasure he showers you in. He settles back between your legs, pinning them to your chest with his arm and working two fingers slowly into your tight heat. The stretch is pleasant, and he lets his tongue lave over the top of your sex. “Joel.” You whimper feeling his knuckles curl inwards brushing against a bundle of nerves that has your vision lulling white. Each stroke feels like it's pulling your soul from your body, and an unfamiliar pressure builds as he coaxes the orgasm to the surface with his tongue swirling over your clit.

You explode, soaking the table and his hungry waiting mouth feeling the clear gush of liquid pool beneath you and coat your thighs. “Oh god, I’m sorry I-” you stammer, not having experienced this yourself before.

Joel’s attention snaps to your eyes, “Don’t.” It's a warning, his eyes dark and muddled with something animalistic you’ve only seen when he’s angry. “You’re going to do it again.” he sits straight, and you realize he’s still fully dressed as he stands on his feet, dwarfing you against the table, undoing the length of his belt.

Unsure if your breathing is coming fast or if he is moving slowly, undoing the buttons of his flannel, and exposing skin that you’ve seen countless times before, but as each button is freed and his shirt spills open, you struggle to keep your breath even. Thick tanned skin, soft to the touch but cords of practical muscle run through his pecks, and down his well-defined biceps hold your eyes still, as your heart clips away steadily. You mumble something about his muscles, fawning over him like you’ve done so many times before, but unafraid to get caught this time.

He peers down at you, maintaining eye contact through your spread thighs as you lay waiting gawking at him like you always have, the loose leather of his belt is tugging the jeans down his hips slightly exposing the soft flesh of his stomach and the feather-light trail of hair disappearing below his jeans. He longed to reduce you to a babbling drooling mess, he wanted to mark your skin his and fill you so full his traces would linger on your cunt for days. Days, he knew it wouldn’t be easy to stop, he felt like he was running downhill and his legs were jelly beneath him, hurtling towards some sort of self-destructive meltdown. But the sweet tang of you lingering in his mouth, splashed across his chest, on his dining room table.

You were perfect, even more so than he thought possible. He ached, the jeans strangling his thick cock, he longed to free himself and sink into you. “Come here.” he stepped closer, back between the welcome squeeze of your thighs, and he wondered if he would need a new table.

You sat up barely even with his chest and when you're close enough he brings you in for a deep and filthy kiss, giving you a chance to taste your slick from his tongue and to groan as your hand settles over the hard length of his cock in his pants. You allow a finger to trace over the outline surprised when your hand keeps finding more of him to play with, fighting the urge to squeak in delight as each kiss grows in fervor.

If Joel hadn't suggested otherwise, you would've happily been fucked to bliss on the table, but as one of his hands falls to cup the supple flesh of your ass you're lifted into his sturdy arms. Now even this isn't a first, but your cunt is pressed flat to the ripped muscles of his abdomen and you can't help but trail feather-like kisses and nips across the thin skin covering his Adam's apple, half tempted to suck a bruise into his skin as he whines lowly into hair.

He traverses the stairs with ease, fingers squeezing and playing with your ass as he does so. As you enter his room, he leans in for another searing desperate kiss, nipping and tugging on your bottom lip almost painfully slow.

The bed is plush, more so than you expect, the sheets feel cool and inviting as you settle into them, not daring to turn your attention away from Joel for a second. The moon is the only light in the room, but it's bright enough for you to drool over the large bulge he reveals as he shucks his jeans.

“Something you want darlin?” that all-knowing chuckle, call your attention to his face, always handsome but there's a depravity and a hunger in his eyes that is a little bit intimidating.

“I-” You struggle to decide what exactly it is you want to do, part of you wants to let him lay down and have you suck his cock dry, and the other part wants to see you bent in half stuffed full of his cum.

Your stumble only brings another dry chastising chuckle, “Don’t worry honey, I'll take care of you.” His dark boxers leave little to the imagination, the fabric pulled tight across him as the curve of his cock is pinned to the curve of his hip. He’s huge, bigger than you could’ve dreamed, and by the looks of it nice and thick, you would be happily limping around in the morning.

He plants his hands next to your legs, crawling up your body until he’s even with your mouth, his skin radiating heat and his mouth meets yours once more. The taste of you is still lingering in his mouth, spurring you on.

The clothed hardness of him presses against you, insistent and delightfully relieving the tortuous pressure building at your core. You run your hands against the muscles of his back, at first gently caressing but as his teeth skim your pulse you dig into the flesh with your nails. “Joel…” you whimper, knowing if he wanted to drag this any further you'd have no choice but to beg, there's something so addictive to his power and the way he looks at you. He knows what he's doing to you, he knows the way you shift your hips to grind against him is a silent plea, he wishes he could withhold longer, but each hitch in your breath coaxes more precome spilling into his boxers, he hasn't been this hard since he was a teenager.

He hushes you, soothing you with a hand running over your hair, and shoves his boxers down to free himself. He lets the weight of his cock slide over your sex, the thick head catching deliciously on your clit and allowing it to get coated in what's left of your cum. You both groan into another kiss, “Condom?” The question shocks you into reality briefly, but you quickly shake your head no, not bothering an attempt to form any words.

You swear you hear a whimper in his half-lidded chuckle, but you try to focus on the feeling of his body pressing against yours, the heat of him and the rich smell of his skin the taste of his mouth as he kisses you through a few more lazy strokes.

He runs a calloused hand over the soft skin of your throat before sliding it around and into the hair at the back of your neck, tilting your eyes to his As he lines up and slides in a single brutal thrust. Your body tenses at the stretch, but the pleasure is immense and Joel's mouth parts in a pant so beautifully you crack a wickedly seductive smile.

As he begins to canter his hips, his grip on your hair gets tighter, holding your eyes to his, his pelvis grinds delectably against your clit, as the ridges of his cock and the angle of his hips drag along your walls. You wonder if you'd been able to take it if it hadn't been Joel, you don't think you've ever been this fucked out in your life. He presses your legs slightly further apart nudging at your cervix, and grounding down.

The orgasm rips through you before you know it, the shake in your legs and your panted obscenities only encourage him further. “Fuck, good girl,” your hips love on their own grinding up fucking yourself through the climax as a second wave of white-hot pleasure soaks his abdomen and your thighs, “So good baby.”

Your head drops, body limp and wrecked he kisses along your cheeks and forehead, giving you a moment to catch your breath.

He moves quicker than you can register what's happening, his boxers are on the floor and suddenly you are straddled over his lap dropping down onto his cock as he buries his face in your tits. Tongue drags deliciously over your nipples as he lets you adjust to the new angle, you rest your head on top of his, kissing his sweat-damp hair and rocking your hips slowly. You didn't think he could feel any bigger, each slight rock nudges almost painfully against your cervix, words no longer forming in your brain and breath escaping in squeaks.

You let yourself get caught up in the moans and praise failing out of Joel nonsensically, the drag of his stubble on your skin overstimulating, you bear down on him and shiver as you hear the hitches in his breathing. “Where?” you almost miss it, his voice is hoarse, desperate, strained even.

“Cum inside me.” you can't suppress the smirk, “I want it.” It's your turn to pull his head back, looking deep into the rich dark brown eyes as they admire you, he chews on his lip. His shoulders hunch as you feel him twitch, his grip tightening on your hips as he uses the last bit of his strength to bounce you on his lap and fuck up into you as he cums deep and hard into your wrecked swollen pussy.

You suppress a shutter, you feel like you're made of gelatin and you slump against his body, going completely slack.

He waits a few moments to collect his wits and allows you both to catch your breath. “Should I start a shower?” You laugh, hoping to skirt over any sort of rebuff.

“Sure,” he massages the flesh of your ass, “I'll take care of the leftovers.” You're overwhelmed with a sense of relief, both letting out a massive sigh at the same time, and laughing once you make eye contact again. You feel his heartbeat against your chest and lean in for another kiss, the complicated stuff can come later, but the smile he gives you as he tilts his chin up slightly for the kiss, makes you feel like it's all going to be more than you could've dreamed of.

Part 2

[daydreaming-nerd]

Young Love and Old Money (Cassian x Female! Reader) Part 15

Young Love and Old Money Masterlist

AN: I'm sorry I haven't been writing a bunch lately. I've been going through a pretty big transitional period in my life and it has my mental health in the absolute shitter. Please be patient I promise I'm writing whenever I can. Love you all I hope you enjoy the second-to-last chapter of this series.

Summary: She was the most beautiful woman in Prythian, sister to the High Lord of Night, and now she is the soon-to-be wife of Eris Vanserra. Despite her many titles and her aura of unattainability, Cassian can't help but fall deeply in love with the princess of the Night Court. But will it be enough to stop her impending wedding to a man who is sure to destroy her from the inside out?

Warnings: jealous cassian, angst but fluffy at the end

Word Count: 6,517

It’s been three weeks since we went to Hybern and I hadn’t left the cell. 

The first time I woke up Rhys had to come into the cell and cleave into my mind to make me sleep. Thankfully the burn marks on his hands and wrists are fully healed now. Feyre is in the Spring Court acting as our spy and when he’s not talking to her, Rhys is down here with me and Cassian. 

Cassian hadn't left my side for a moment since I woke. He had a small cot placed outside my cell so that I wouldn’t have to sleep down here alone. Despite my protests he wouldn't leave to see Madja, he made her come here in this dark, dingy place. I had yet to touch anyone, even him, and it was starting to weigh on me. It was as if my skin turned colder in the absence of him, of anyone. I had taken for granted all the times I hugged my brother around the neck or sparred with Azriel. Not fully appreciated waking up in Cassian’s arms and being engulfed in his embrace when he came home sweaty and stinking from training. 

But it wasn’t just me who was suffering from lack of touch. Cassian was a broken male. Many times he fought with Rhys and I to simply be allowed in the cell with me, but both of us declined. While Cassian was a strong male, Rhys had magic that could help protect him. If something happened he wouldn’t be gravely injured. Cassian argued and argued with the two of us for days. He only gave up when I told him I couldn’t live with myself if I had hurt him. I asked him to imagine the situation in reverse. 

Rhys and Amren have been working tirelessly to teach me how to control my power. Even Cassain pitched in, teaching me the breathing techniques of Valkyries to keep my emotions calm when things seemed lost. I had made progress, but with the wards on the cell it was hard to measure the true extent of my control. The flame that danced on my skin was more of a flicker now, but who knew if that was the wards doing or my own. 

“Keep pressing your power down into that well, what does it look like? What does it feel like?” Rhysand coached me. 

We had found that the best way for me to put a damper on my power was to put it somewhere else. To seal it off from the rest of me in a way. Putting it in a vault and locking the door was effective until my emotions came into play, then Cassian’s breathing techniques worked their own magic. 

“Good, good! You’re doing fantastic!” Rhys praised his voice the most enthusiastic it had been in a while.

I opened my eyes to see the flames on my skin extinguished, though I could feel them simmering under the surface, waiting to ignite once more. It hadn’t been the first time I was able to control my power, I had been doing well for the past week. Rhys figured I would do better if I let some of it out, like a cauldron that needed to boil over in order to simmer down. But I couldn’t do that here. 

“How do you feel?” Rhys asked again, stepping closer to me. 

“I feel more me now, not that I really know what that means anymore,” I say looking at my hands just waiting for them to ignite again. 

Rhys takes my hands in his own, his wards up to keep from being singed. I look up to see his eyes sparkling, the happiest he’s been in a while, a smile lighting up his face.      

“I think you’re ready to leave the cell,” he smiles and I hear Cassian remove his arms from the bars of the cell where he always rested them. 

“Rhys I don’t know,” I shake my head as he holds my hands tighter. 

“Well I do, you’re ready y/n and I can’t stand to see you in this cell any longer,” he pleads with me. 

My eyes flit to my mate, who waits dutifully on the other side of the bars. His knuckles white from where he grips the iron. Like he was praying I’d cross that threshold just so I could be in the same room as him. It was that pain, that longing in his hazel eyes, that prompted me to nod my head yes. 

“Thank the cauldron,” Rhys sighed in relief, bringing me towards the door. “Now the wards won’t be there to help you keep your power down, you’ll have to focus just as hard as you have been.”

The second my feet step over the threshold I feel it. The wards felt like a heavy blanket placed on top of me, without them I felt like I was laid bare. The violet flames under my skin flickered a bit but went out as soon as I pushed them back into that vault that kept us all from being burnt to a crisp. 

Once I feel that vault door seal itself shut I look up to see Cassian staring at me like he’s seeing me for the first time. His eyes hold hope, and longing, and unmistakable sadness. My mate, my Cassian. Just three feet away from me.

I reach for him, feeling the need to comfort him but the second I do I stop myself and look down at my hands. There are no flames, but the simmering remains, icey and hot all at once. My hands clench into fists as I feel the pain in my chest. My eyes meet Cassian’s glassed over hazel ones and I feel the last piece of me break. 

“I can’t- I can’t hold you,” I say, my voice breaking mid sentence. How long would it be till I could touch my mate again? Would I ever touch him again? 

“It’s okay, I can still feel you, in here,” Cassian says, placing a hand over his chest and tugging on the bond so I could feel it. 

I feel my throat bob as tears prick my eyes, suddenly it’s harder to breathe and flames ignite at my fingertips. My tears evaporate as they fall down my face and suddenly the room is caving in. 

“Princess you need to breathe,” Cassian coos, placing his hand on my shoulder, the hiss of burning flesh echoes through the room as my mate rips his hands away from me and cradles his burnt hand. “FUCK!” he shouts. 

“Cassian I-” my words get caught in my throat. “I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to.” I say moving towards him, but Rhys steps in front of me.

“y/n stop, you’re burning up. Let it wash over you, like a wave washing over a rock.” he says calmly. 

I take a deep breath in through my nose and out through my mouth. I picture my power being shoved back in that vault, I imagine a wave of calm washing over me like a warm blanket. Only when I hear my heartbeat slow do I open my eyes. The flames have danced out again. 

“That was incredible, you did that without the wards and without my help,” Rhys smiles proudly. “Today feels like a setback but you’ve made more progress than you know.” 

I nod and turn my attention to Cassian who still holds his hand, “Cass I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to-” 

“Shh princess, I know you didn’t mean to. I should’ve been more careful.” he says warmly, thankfully he doesn’t reach for me again.

“He’ll be okay, from the amount of times I’ve been burned Madja has the healing process down to a science,” Rhys chuckles trying to lighten the mood.

I wish his words were enough. I just burned my mate while he was trying to help him, and what’s worse, I couldn’t even hold him. I couldn’t comfort him, or ‘kiss it better’ or even inspect the injury. It was like every bone in my body wanted to see if he was alright and I couldn’t. 

“I can put some wards on your bedroom, they won’t be as strong as down here but they will help,” Rhys assures me. 

My mind wanders to  my room. I had been sleeping in Cassian’s room for forever now, it was our room. But I couldn't sleep next to him anymore. Those days were gone. 

“Put the wards on my old room, not Cassian’s,” I say calmly, averting my eyes to the stone floor. 

“Like hell you’re sleeping in there,” Cassian grumbles. “You’re sleeping with me, in our bed, in our room.” 

“Cass I can’t and you know it,” I say a little harsher than I should. I shudder a sigh and continue, “Look at what just happened, I won’t hurt you again, I refuse to.” 

“She’s right Cassian, she could have a nightmare or a flare up in the night. Trust me when I say that little burn you got was nothing compared to her full power.” Rhysand says, knowing that there needs to be another voice of reason. 

Cassain purses his lips, “Fine, then I’ll sleep in the reading chair next to your bed.” he says. 

“No it’s not comfortable, you don’t have to do that,” I pleaded with him. 

Cassian goes to argue but Rhys steps in, “I can have a bed moved into your room sister. Cassian can be close to you and he will be far enough away that he won’t be roasted alive.”

I nod solemnly, I still don’t like the idea of my mate being anywhere near me at the moment, especially after what just happened. But I knew that if I didn’t let him sleep in the room with me that he would sleep in the hall outside, and that wouldn’t do either. And besides, who knew how long things would be this way…

One month later…

Things are getting better. However I have yet to touch anyone but Rhys. 

With my brother's help, I’ve gained more control over my power. We discovered that releasing it makes it easier to manage. When I depleted my reserves, there was less to burn off. However, the problem was that my reserves kept growing every day, as if I were gaining more and more power continuously.

There was no telling if it would ever stop growing and even more alarming, we didn’t know what would happen if I burnt out. 

On top of that came new revelations. It seemed my power was more linked to the Night Court than we initially thought. I could now manipulate darkness and winnow just like Rhys could. Turns out winnowing was incredibly handy, especially since Cassian couldn’t fly me anywhere anymore.  

Rhys and I worked everyday to let out some power. He taught me how to control my fire, how to aim it, and wield it as the weapon it was. It was during one of these very lessons that he got the news that Feyre had finally returned to us. 

The reunion was teary and beautiful as I watched my brother and his mate embrace so warmly on the floor of the townhouse. Though, there was a certain pang in my heart knowing I couldn’t hold my own mate that way. I looked up at Cassian from across the room to find him already staring at me. I pursed my lips and looked away, trying my best to keep myself from crying.

“Oh y/n!” Feyre smiles and begins to run over and embrace me but Rhyand catches her around her middle. 

“Feyre no!” he shouts, a male clearly worried for his mate.

His booming voice made me curl in a little on myself as Cassian took a protective step towards me, eyeing both of them. 

“I’m sorry Feyre, but I can’t touch you. I can’t touch anyone actually, even Cassian.” I say sadly the shame washing over me like the tide. 

“W-what? Why?” she asks from where she stands a safe distance away in my brother's arms. 

I let out a breath, “When I went into the cauldron I changed, power awakened inside of me and I can’t control it. I’ve burnt Rhys about a hundred times now.” I sigh, knowing the last thing she wants to hear is how I’ve harmed her mate. 

She turns and slaps Rhys across the chest, “I knew you were lying! I could feel the heat down the bond! Why didn’t you tell me?” she asks. 

My brother chuckles at his applauded mate, clearly just happy that she’s finally back in his arms. “You had enough to worry about already, and besides I had it under control. Y/n is doing much better now.” he assures Feyre. 

“As I live and breathe,” croons a voice that I hadn’t heard in years. 

My eyes flit to behind Feyre, where Lucien Vanserra stands, his eyes raking over me. I knew him when we were young and Rhys and Tamling were still friends. I was always fond of the male, and his flirtatious ways. Rhys used to call us childhood sweethearts, though we were never anything more than good friends.

“Lucien-fucking-Vanserra,” I laugh as Lucein prowls towards me. 

“It can’t be? Is that the precious Jewel of Prythian?” he jests. “If I had known I’d be seeing you I would’ve brought flowers. I think I recall the Spring Courts peonies being your favorite?” he smirks, cocking an eyebrow. 

“You’re a terrible guest Vanserra, we should throw you out,” I laughed, shaking my head at the silver tongued fox. 

“Then allow me to gift you this instead,” he drawls before reaching for my hand. 

“Lucien I wouldn’t” warns Rhys but it’s already too late. 

The fox ignites flames across his fingers and picks up my hand. He doesn’t hiss or even flinch as he brings my hand to his mouth and kisses it in greeting. His eyes of gold and russet burning into mine. 

Cassian growls in warning at the sight of the Autumn Court prince touching me, but if Lucien cares or is even afraid he doesn’t let it show. Instead he flips my hand over so my palm is facing up, using his free hand to graze over the skin of my palm down to my forearm. 

“Her power is not like mine,” he says to no one in particular. “It feels darker and perhaps stronger.” 

“But you can touch her?” Amren questions watching Lucien inspect my hand. 

“Of course I can touch her,” he smirks, winking at me. “My flames burn at the same temperature as hers. I don’t feel anything but her lovely skin.” 

“That’s enough,” Cassain growls, stepping forward a bit. 

Lucien’s eyes turn to the general, nothing but sheer amusement in them. 

“Yes, yes, Feyre told me that The Jewel was spoken fort now,” Lucien tuts releasing my hand. “Forgive me for trying to ignite old flames.” he chuckles, turning away. 

Rhys and Feyre promptly excuse themselves and we all take it as our queue to get lost, clearing the room at lightning speed. I walked out of the house with Cassian in tow, and I could practically feel his anger radiating behind me.

Since going into the cauldron things between Cassian and I had been, well… different. We were so physical before I was cursed with a power I couldn’t control. Always holding hands or cuddling whenever we could. It cleaved a hole in our relationship we couldn't find a way to replace. 

While we still spent every waking moment together, we talked less. I missed the conversations we used to have about books or training (which I had kept up on in my own time). However, I knew that my new powers were a lifestyle change for him too. It felt like grieving who I once used to be, who I may never be again. 

Part of me wondered if we would survive this “new me”. Cassian fell in love with me when I was weak and meager, he might not like this new me. This female he had to walk on eggshells around. What I did know was this, he had to adjust in his own way, and I would stand by him through whatever that process was for him. 

I thought I could keep quiet about his intense brooding, until he grunted once more. I stopped and turned around to face him. My neck craned up to where his jaw ticked in frustration.

“You sound pretty angry back there big guy,” I tease, trying to keep the mood light. 

“I haven’t been able to touch you in almost two months and Lucien Vanserra walks in and holds your hand like it’s no big deal,” he grumbles looking off to the side. 

If things were the way they used to be I would be turning his chin to meet my gaze. 

“Maybe he can help Cass,” I say softly, trying to give him something to root for. 

“Yeah, yeah, but I’m always going to be upset he was the first one to touch you,” he says, lip curling into a half smile as if he realizes how ridiculous he’s being. 

“Rhys says I’m doing better, and I feel better too.” I tell him. “Better days could just be around the corner.” 

Cassain lets my words hang in the air a bit and I can practically see the wheels in his head churning, like he’s waging a war against his thoughts and instincts. 

“Can we- can we try again?” he asks hopelessly. 

Cass had been asking me the same thing for the past few weeks. He wanted to try and touch me, just for a moment. The male just wanted to hold my hand.  But I told him no every time, for every time he asked I could hear the singing of his flesh and see him cradling a burnt hand. Like a bad nightmare on a loop.

“Cass no I won’t hurt you,” I say firmly, taking a step back from him just in case he got any ideas. 

“Baby please, I just want to hold you again. I just want to feel my mate.” he begs and my heart shatters.

“I’m sorry Cass, but I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt you again.” I say sadly, casting my head down. “We just have to hope that things get better tomorrow.” 

Cassian goes to brush a hair out of my face and when he realizes he can’t he clenches his hand into a fist and clenches his jaw. And so the invisible wall that had been built between us raises again, and I feel that pang in my chest that, just. Won’t. Go. Away. 

“What do you mean that was pretty close?” I cry looking at the scorched bit of grass next to the large rock I was supposed to hit.

“Pretty close could be the difference between hitting Hybern and hitting me in the heat of battle sister,” Rhys chortles. 

We had been at it for hours today. After the week-long disappearance of him and Feyre he had finally come back to the real world to help me control my magic. 

My well of power was turning shallow after hours of practice and my aim was starting to get sloppy. Which of course was dangerous for all involved, but mostly for the spring grass on the secluded hill we were on. 

“Keep trying,” Rhys urges me from the boulder he sits on. I’m sure the thing had a permanent imprint of his ass by now.

“I can’t!” I say frustrated, running my hands through my hair.  “I can’t break into people's minds, I can’t shapeshift.” 

Rhys cocks and eyebrow and gracefully stands from the rock walking over to me.

“You wouldn’t know, you haven’t tried,” he says, summoning a kernel of his magic to rest in the palm of his hand, pure violet light. I do the same, but like always, it only manifests as violet flame. “Your power resembles mine, I can feel the traces of it that you carry. Try shapeshifting, amuse me sister.” 

I look up at him with a sour face, “Into what? It’s not that simple.” I scoff, my brother always made magic seem so carefree, I was jealous of how easy he made it all look. 

Rhys smirks and the snap of leather rings in my ears. The shit eating grin he wears as his wings spread out, basking in the sun makes my blood boil. Rhys was always a show off, especially when he was trying to push all my buttons.

“Maybe we’re the same, you are half Illyrian, even though you never got the wing gene.” he says, stretching his wings like he might stretch his arms when he first woke up in the morning. 

“Rhys,” I grit out. He was toying with me, trying to poke fun at me so I might aim better or spew some more fire. 

“Oh come on, humor your big brother.” he laughs. “Picture them in your mind, what do they look like?” 

I let out a huff and rolled my eyes, and despite my better judgment I scrunch up my face and let my eyelids flutter shut. I try to picture what I might look like with wings, the same way I used to do when I was a little girl. I used to imagine myself flying around with my brother and his friends, going to far away places, anywhere but the townhouse I was raised in and caged in. 

Weight crashes over me and when I open my eyes Rhys stands there with a smug grin on his face. His eyes gleamed with that ‘I told you so’ look only a big brother could possess. I dare to shift my shoulder blade behind me, and then there they are… that weight on my back that feels all too comfortable, like it was always meant to be there. 

“Ha ha!” Rhys laughs, pumping his fists in the air.

Before I can protest he’s running over to pull me into a hug and ruffle up my hair with his knuckles. 

“Look at that! My baby sister has wings!” he smiles, his eyes taking in the sight of them as they light up brighter than I had ever seen before. 

I curl my back muscles so that my right wing comes in front of me. They look just like Rhys’, except unscarred from years of battle and much smaller, even smaller than Feyre’s. But the weight of them was perfect, like they were made for me. 

“You’ve been training with Cassian haven’t you?” he asks, circling me as if he is taking in my posture and the muscles of my back. 

“Yeah I have, why?” I ask, watching as his gaze rakes over my wings. 

Even when I was in the cell I worked hard to continue doing the exercises that Cassin has taught me. It was hard to be cooped up in there all the time. While I trained and motivated I was able to escape if only for a little bit.

“Because the drills he has you running? They’re the same ones they put us through when we were young. They’re meant to strengthen our backs so we might carry our wings,” he explains, coming back to stand in front of me. “And by the looks of it you bear yours quite well.”

I look at my wings and flex them a bit. My brother was right, I was carrying my wings like they were second nature. My back didn’t scream from the pain, instead it almost seemed to welcome their weight. However, it was another change I would have to get used to. Unrelenting power, winnowing, not being able to touch my mate, and now wings? 

I shook my head and thought for a moment. I was a completely unrecognizable person now. Far from the person Cassian fell in love with. My mind drifted back to the talk we had the other day, how I could feel the distance between us. I wondered if maybe this new me wasn’t one that he wanted. Wondered if perhaps he had preferred me to be nothing more than a princess… his mate. And now the wings? Could I possibly change any more? 

“Do you think Cassian will care?” I ask softly bracing myself for any answer my brother might provide. “I mean I’ve changed so much, and he married me without wings and now all the sudden-” 

“Sister,” Rhys says, grasping my arms to stop me from speaking. “Cassian is going to love your wings. He’s going to drool all over my carpets when he sees them.”

“Yeah but-” 

My words get caught in my throat as I feel my brother's fingers digging into my arms. Into my skin. My eyes turn down to where he grasps my bare forearms. No wards, no magic, just him and me. Rhys was touching me. And he was unburnt. 

“You-you’re touching me,” I breathe, grasping his forearms back. 

“I had a suspicion that if you deplenished that well of power enough that I would be able to touch you. Looks like I was right,” he smiles. 

I throw my arms around his neck and pull him into a soul crushing hug. It had been so long since I had been hugged or held or touched in any way. I didn’t know how badly it would burden my soul, not to feel my brothers warm hugs or my mates lingering touches. But here I was, happy and whole again. 

When I pull back there are tears in both of our eyes. Tears of hope. Hope that I might make it through whatever this power was that sought to bring me down, hope that I could make a difference in the upcoming war, and hope that when all this was over, I might have a normal life. 

“I think there’s someone who is desperately wanting to see you right now,” he smiles as a tear rolls down his face. 

The townhouse is quiet when we walk in, both of us wingless and searching for one person… Cassian.  Of course we knew he would be here, he was always here when Rhys and I went to train. Pacing and patiently waiting for me to return with some hope, some kernel of a possibility that I might be able to touch him or hold his hand that day. 

That’s where we found him, wearing a hole in Rhysand’s beloved carpet waiting for any semblance of good news. 

“Hey, how was training today?” he asked from where he stood a good few feet away. 

“It went well,” I say timidly. Despite my brother's assurance I was still scared of what Cass might have to say about my new changes. 

“It went well, that’s all you have to say? It went well,” Rhys protests from where he leans against his desk, arms crossed and looking every bit of the swaggering High Lord he was painted to be. 

“Rhys,” I growl under my breath, he had promised not to butt in if I let him see Cassian’s reaction to his winged mate. 

Rhys holds his hands up in mock surrender before signaling that he’s going to shut up now and enjoy the show. 

I sigh and prepare myself for the worst, “Rhys and I discovered yet another new aspect of my power,” I say, looking to Cassian whose face is nothing but apprehensive, like he won’t let himself get his hopes up. 

“And it’s a physical manifestation of sorts, one I’m not sure how you’ll react to,” I continue wearily. 

Cassian relaxes a bit, “You’re my mate, and you always will be. You could sprout a tail and I would still love you.” he chuckles. 

“I don’t know Cass, this one is pretty unforgivable,” Rhys teases, breaking his promise once again. 

I shoot him a pointed glare that tells him he’s run out of warnings and he closes his mouth again. I take a deep breath in, visualizing my wings just like Rhys had instructed me and when I breathe out again I can feel their comforting weight. 

When I open my eyes I find Cassian standing slack jawed in the middle of the room, Rhys’ booming laugh echoing off the walls at his usually composed brother's appearance. I can’t help but let my lip turn up at Rhys’s good humor, it was nice to have him break the tension. 

“Y-You have wings?” Cassian sputters out taking a step closer to me.

“I’ve always been half Illyrian just like Rhys, but I never had the magic to shift into wings like he did. Now I do,” I explained to him.

“How could you for one moment think I wouldn’t be overjoyed by this?” he laughs stepping closer so that he’s towering over me. The movement feels so natural, the position feels so us. 

I smile softly, my cheeks no doubt flushing under his lovesick gaze. My hand reaches out to touch him, like it had so many times before, but this time I don’t stop myself as I slowly go to touch his cheek. 

As my fingers get closer he flinches ever so slightly, I can tell it’s a knee jerk reaction from being burnt, but my gaze never falters. Not as my fingers brush over the stubble of his unshaved jaw, and my palm  comes to cup his face. 

The tension in his body releases and his eyes flutter closed for a brief moment. He opens them and a tear falls down his face as he lets out a ragged breath. 

“I can feel you,” he breathes out and I feel a piece of my soul come back to me. 

I shudder a breath as I realize I’m crying too, “I can feel you,” I cry putting my other hand on his cheek. 

“We…well I, figured out that her power is a well, when it’s near empty she doesn’t burn,” Rhys smiles from the corner of the room. 

Cassian’s hands encircle my waist as he pulls me to his chest. I breathe in his scent, cedar and leather, and thank the mother that I can be in his arms again. 

“What happens if she burns out? Uses all her power?” Cassian asks, already looking towards the future while I was still taking in the moment we had now. 

Rhys sighs and shakes his head, “I’m not sure what happens. But I’m not willing to test her limits to find out, not when the possibility could be losing her forever.” he says sadly. 

Cassian nods, I can tell that the answer Rhys gave him didn’t sit right with him. That he wanted to know more, wanted to make sure that very real possibility of losing me wouldn’t happen anytime soon. But then he tilted my chin up to meet his gaze and I could tell that he had decided that this moment was more important. 

“You’re so cold,” he breathes. “But you’re still you. You still feel like you.”

“Oh Cass,” I laugh, throwing my arms around his neck.

His arms encircled me pulling me to him in a soul crushing hug, no doubt releasing all the tension between us that had been building for nearly two months now. I can’t help but let out a sob at the feeling of being in his arms again. At some point I feel us both hit the floor as we hold each other. 

Cassian pulls back to brush the hair from my face, a movement I know he missed doing. Both of our faces streaked in tears but I didn’t care. 

“Let’s go home,” he says softly. “To our room and our bed, so I can show you how much I’ve missed you, my beautiful mate.” he says.

I wasn’t able to fly myself to the House of Wind, despite having wings of my own now I had no clue how to even begin to fly. But Cassian didn’t mind carrying me, hells I didn’t mind either. For the first time in a long time we felt like us. 

I lie on my stomach cradling a pillow as the sheets drape around my bare skin. Cassian lies next to me, propped up on his elbow as he runs a finger up and down my back, like even a simple touch like this meant the world to him. I know it did to me. 

We had been at it for hours, I had to take a couple breaks to release my flames on the balcony but somehow the display of my power only seemed to turn Cassian on more. It wasn’t until now that we were truly spent and basking in the glow of just lying in our bed together. 

“Show me again,” he muses, placing a kiss on my shoulder. 

I knew what he meant. He had asked to see my wings a million times already. The first time he wanted to touch them, feel every inch of them. He opted to show me how sensitive they could be and I was greedily taking every touch he gave them. If I had known how easily affected his wings were I would’ve been far more careful when I washed them. 

I roll my eyes and muster a kernel of power to summon my wings. His eyes light up immediately as he runs a hand down the leathery material. The hair on my skin raised and I couldn’t help but smile at the tenderness. My feared general admires my wings like they were expensive art. 

“Beautiful,” he smiles, kissing the edge near him. “My mate is so beautiful” 

I hum in delight as he repeats the phrase, fearsome general indeed. I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful he looked in this moment. How long had it been since I saw him bare? His sculpted muscles that  make him look like a god. Hair falling from where it was tied at the nape of his neck, face worn from coupling but still aglow with love? It had been so long. I could’ve stayed there forever. 

“Tomorrow I’ll teach you how to fly,” he tells me softly, still brushing his hand over my wings and down my spine. 

“Rhys says he wants Azriel to teach me since he also learned later in life.” I reply, my voice tired as the late hours creep in. 

Cassian shakes his head, “No, you’re my mate. I’ll teach you.” he said in a tone that left no room for arguing.

“Rhys didn’t teach Feyre how to fly,” I pointed out with a smug smile. I knew how important it was to him that he be the one to teach me, but it was fun to push his buttons like this. 

“Yes and because of that Azriel pushed Feyre off a cliff as a flying lesson,” he chuckled. 

I remember the day my brother's mate came home with twigs in her hair, we all made fun of her then. Now I fear I will be living the same fate. 

“But she did in fact learn how to fly,” I say, needing to push his buttons one last time. 

“The answer is no princess,” he grumbles, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Besides I feel like I just got you back.” 

I sighed knowing the feeling all too well. While Cassian and I weren’t apart physically it felt like it. Sure I saw him every single day, and he slept in a bed next to mine, but we weren’t the same. 

“I know how you feel,” I say, reaching out my hand to stroke his cheek, his eyes fluttering for a moment as if savoring the feeling. 

He was silent for a moment, the air between us thick with things we never talked about. Hybern, the Cauldron, the war. It was something we should’ve talked about weeks ago. But if I had to talk about watching him die and not be able to hold him after? I don’t think I could do that. Clearly he felt the same. 

“When you went into the Cauldron,” he said, drifting off as if recalling the horrid event. “I thought you were dead. I thought I was sitting there watching you die.” 

My breath caught in my throat as I watched him come to terms with his thoughts, his emotions. 

“I- there are no words to describe how it felt. To sit there and watch you die and not do anything about it. It was a mercy that I lost consciousness,” he continues. “When I woke up I thought you were gone. I thought I had woken up to a world where you weren’t alive anymore. Worst of all I thought they had left your body in that horrible place. That I wouldn’t be able to hold you one last time, even in death.” 

“Cass-” I start to comfort him but he cuts me off. 

“Azriel said you were here and that you were breathing and I nearly cried with happiness. But then I saw you in that cell, cold and on the dirty floor. I just wanted to hold you and…god, I wasn’t sure if we were ever going to be able to do this again.” he says, voice filled with emotion as he strokes my cheek. 

“It’s not going to be easy Cass, the road going forward. There will be war and ruin, but I know that we can get through it. We’re going to be okay,” I smile cupping the hand he has rested on my cheek. 

He smiles down and pulls me to him so that I’m laying on his chest.  “We’re going to be okay,” he repeats back. 

I had laid on his chest like this a hundred times before, but now it meant more. I sigh, breathing him in, enjoying the feel of his skin under my cheek once more. He was very adamant that this be the way I sleep tonight even though I was scared. 

“But Cass what if I burn you in the middle of the night-”

“No. You will sleep in our bed, in my arms and that’s final.” 

I didn’t argue with him after that. 

As if on queue the second I feel myself drifting into sleep Cassian shakes my shoulder a bit. 

“Princess you’re heating up a bit,” he whispers in my ear. 

We found that whenever my skin started getting hot that my power started to grow, when I expelled the excess my skin turned cold. A welcome meter of where I was at, but good lord I simply wanted to rest. 

“Ugh, I’ll go light something on fire,” I groan, pulling myself from the bed and tossing Cassian’s shirt over my head. 

It was going to be a long road back to normalcy, if there could even be a “normal” after this. But I wasn’t walking the path alone, I never would be.

Last chapter coming soon….

Taglist: @crystalferret202 , @nickishadow139 ,  @graceshifts , @writeroutoftime , @heyyitsnat21,  @stinkinstuffie , @lilah-asteria , @12358 , @fxckmiup @daughterofthemoons-stuff @mybestfriendmademe , @anxious-study , @bxm-1012 , @mal-adaptive-dreams ,  @sh4nn , @talesofadragon , @5onedirection5 , @saltedcoffeescotch , @flourelle , 

Permanent Taglist: @fides25, @dissociated-always @crystalferret202 , @kennedy-brooke , @sunshineangel-reads , @lilah-asteria , @evergreenlark

[zkbigbang]

ZKBB 2024 Sneak Peek

Pride and Prejudice

“Well that is praise, Zuko,” Mai said, unlinking her hand from Katara’s and walking up to lean on the table Lord Lee was writing on. “Oh look how busy you are, writing letters of importance, business, politics. It’s so admirable.”

“On my behalf, I think you ladies are the ones who are admirable,” Mr. Aang said, likely with the worst timing possible. “ You are all so accomplished—you paint tables and play the piano and embroider cushions!”

Katara had to smile at this. Mr. Aang had once again affirmed that he was a good man. She sat back down to pick up her book.

“I think the word is applied too liberally, I personally know only half a dozen truly accomplished women,” Lord Lee said in his usual stern manner and Katara barely managed to suppress rolling her eyes.

“Oh yes, absolutely,” Ms. Azula piped up.

“She must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing and different languages to deserve the word,” Ms. Mai said. “Something about the way she carries herself…” she said as she walked slowly past Zuko.

“And of course, she must improve her mind by extensive reading,” Zuko Lee completed, glancing slightly in Katara’s direction. This didn’t seem to have the consequence he intended, because Katara got even more annoyed at this, and answered stroppily,

“Well, I never saw such a woman, she must be a fearsome creature,” Katara declared. “With all the requirements you have listed, I shall be surprised to find a single woman who can satisfy them, let alone half a dozen!”

The evening was awkward. Some more glances from Zuko, some small talk with Aang. The women were largely quiet. Katara then confined herself to Toph’s room and fell asleep at her bedside.

The next morning, Toph was better. Aang was very happy at this, and spent quite a few hours at her bedside with Katara talking about a lot and nothing at once. Toph seemed to enjoy the sound of his voice and Katara gave them as much space as she could. She liked the man, and genuinely hoped that he could think for himself. If he was swayed by his friends, he would likely end up marrying Ty Lee.

(…)

Zuko Lee kept to himself as well. Katara kept getting the feeling that he wanted to talk to her about something, but ignored it, since he didn’t come up to her at all. She wondered why he had so much interest in an unaccomplished woman who could not tempt him.

Interested in seeing the full piece? Posting begins on August 29th, and the writers’ identities will be revealed on September 15th!

[kit-williams]

Yandere Sanguinius and yandere Ferrus?

I was given Easy mode Primarch and fuckin Soulsborn NG+ Primarch

Ferrus is 100% thanks to @bispecsual because I had literally nothing

Yandere Sanguinius To catch the eye of the angel of Baal was a feat many would dream to have but knowing what you know... you'd hardly wish it upon your worst enemies. He is kind... he is sweet... but there is a wrath that dances just behind his eyes. The gentle coo that leaves his lips as a room is painted red with limbs and viscera and not a drop upon you. Though should blood touch you... it is because the Red angel willed it.

He was certainly kind... he was certainly sweet... he was certainly thoughtful... but there was something few forgot about the Angel.... he always got his mission done... many wish to sing the praises of peaceful compliance... but you've had to bear first hand the utter annihilation... the blood soaked wings... and iron mixing with his blonde hair turning it a blood red, and his skin stained for days from the blood.

You are his gem... his beloved... whom he and his sons cherish and adore! Even if you try to pull away nothing can pull you far away enough from him you always snap back to him because who wants to believe the angelic lord of blood is a monster? No one. Even if he does not hurt you... anyone else is fair game for the Sanguine Lord and his devoted sons... your monstrous step children... no one will save you from this outward fairytale.

Yandere Ferrus His hand runs over the pod as there she has been for over 150 years... Ferrus feels some guilt over what he has done... but she is all he has as he presses his forehead against the glass coffin. She looks so peaceful and so etheral as she just lays there unaware of how the galaxy marches on without her. But Ferrus knows... he is here... he will always be here for her... his hand brushes against the pod.

She is locked away within his secret workshop with plans on how to remove the metal on his arms... he wants to feel that feathery touch she did on his hand just reading his palm, the way the corners of her eyes wrinkle in joy as she tells him that he'll have a long life. He remembers the way her fingers caressed the seam of his arms and it drove Ferrus to the limit.

He had asked her bluntly if she was willing to extend her life... and she had only said if he ordered her too... Ferrus could not force his will on her... even if he could just crush the life out of her... he could order her to live longer... to be with him! WHY was he cursed with her showing up at the START of the Crusade. And he had to meet her... she had to charm him with her humanity.

He remembers how fast her heart was beating as she laid on his bed naked as he allowed himself one concession... he loved her that night... he can still smell her... still hear her pleasured screams as his hips rocked against hers. He couldn't wait to explore her body with his actual hands... its why he injected her as she laid on his bed blissed out and put her where she is now. He worked on it lovingly for her... as for her... the last memories she has was herself under him screaming in that pleasured haze.

He kisses the glass. Smiling to himself as it wouldn't be much longer...

@egrets-not-regrets @moodymisty @bleedingichorhearts @liar-anubiass-blog

@thevoidscreams @barn-anon @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

[mybeingthere]

SISTER GERTRUDE MORGAN, 1900 - 1980, born in Alabama, USA.

“I guess my paintings spread the word; they represent something. They get me a living, of course, and help out the mission here … I am a missionary of Christ before I’m an artist. Give all the fame to some other artist. I work for the Lord. Now don’t forget to give Him credit.”

A street preacher who became an artist, poet, and musician, Sister Gertrude Morgan was guided throughout her life by visions from God. Her artistic talent was a conduit to express her religious fervor and illustrate her teachings. Self-taught, Morgan created artworks when the Spirit moved her, using found materials such as cardboard, window shades, wood, signs, and more. Her imaginative compositions often incorporated text to emphasize important themes or to cite Scripture verses. Later in her career after 1970, Morgan devoted the majority of her paintings to biblical scenes from the Book of Revelation, which focuses on the second coming of Christ. Her recurring imagery depicts the Book of Revelation’s theme of the New Jerusalem, which represents the Holy City for Christ’s followers and the fulfillment of all God’s promises. Morgan’s interpretations of this abstract, spiritual concept often include a large multistory building shown in cross section to reveal empty chambers and Christ preparing for His marriage to Sister Gertrude, as shown in New Jerusalem Court and Untitled (New Jerusalem). “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”

Born on April 7, 1900, to a poor rural family in LaFayette, Morgan moved to New Orleans in 1939 to begin her missionary work as a singing street preacher and soon joined the Holiness and Sanctified denomination, a church where the services praised God through music and dancing. In the early 1940s, Morgan adopted the title “Sister” when she worked with two other street missionaries, Mother Margaret Parker and Sister Cora Williams. The three women built a chapel and opened a children’s shelter; the center closed down when it was destroyed by a hurricane in 1965. Morgan then moved to St. Bernard Parish where she became a nurse to a woman whose house later became Morgan’s Everlasting Gospel Mission.

– Vicki Phung Smith

https://www.juxtapoz.com/.../outsider-artist-gertrude.../

https://www.bridgeprojects.com/art.../sister-gertrude-morgan

[misc-obeyme]

I got a prompt for diavolo for flufftober! "Stop trying so hard to impress me."

That's always the first thought that pops into my head while listening to no. 1 lol

Hello, anon!

Okay I kinda ran with some of the ideas from the lyrics - specifically where he talks about dancing all night. But I was also just trying to capture the way he sings about being... well no. 1 lol. It's kind of a commanding presence that I think he probably has and that he likely does kind of without realizing.

Anyway! I hope this turned out okay.

Thank you for submitting a prompt!

FLUFFTOBER 2023

GN!MC x Diavolo

Warnings: none!

When you arrived at the Demon Lord's Castle, there was a lull in the bustle of the party as you entered. Nobody announced you, but nobody needed to. You looked absolutely stunning in the custom outfit Barbatos had made, as requested by Lord Diavolo himself. All of the demons that were already in the castle paused their conversations to take in the sight of you.

Even more of them watched as Diavolo deliberately crossed the room to greet you. He was in full demon form, standing out among the others like a jewel among rocks. In the soft lights of the party, the gold on his horns and wings seemed to sparkle softly, a glittering that was also reflected in his eyes as he looked at you.

"Welcome, MC," he said. He spoke at a normal volume, but somehow his voice seemed to carry through the space. "I am so thrilled you could be here tonight."

You smiled at him, matching his formality while everyone could see and hear you. "Thank you for inviting me, Lord Diavolo."

The moment seemed to pause for what felt like an eternity until Lucifer entered the castle door behind you. You felt his hand on your back, guiding you down the hall. After him came the rest of the demon brothers, all in demon form. Diavolo greeted them each enthusiastically and the attention of the other demons in the room shifted from you to them.

As you and the brothers began to move through the room, you soon found Diavolo by your side. Due to his fame, people continued to watch him as he remained next to you, asking you questions and chatting about mundane things.

Diavolo launched into an explanation of the food on the buffet table, all of it prepared to perfection by Barbatos. You murmured in appreciation, sampling a few things you knew you'd like to try before they disappeared into Beelzebub.

The castle certainly looked amazing. No expense had been spared in the decorations for tonight. The whole place seemed to shimmer in glossy light, gold adornments, and sparkling guests.

You found yourself next to the most elaborate Demonus fountain you had ever seen. The Demonus was a gold vintage that splashed over the sides of a glass fountain. Next to this was a tower of sparkling glasses. Diavolo filled two glasses and handed you one.

"I know you aren't affected by Demonus," he said. "But this particular variety still has a lovely flavor that I think you would enjoy. It's very rare. We had it imported from across the Devildom."

"You had this much of it imported?" you asked, eyeing the fountain.

Diavolo beamed. "It was no easy feat, but we managed it!"

You sipped at the Demonus. You were pleased to discover that it did actually have quite a good flavor. "It's good," you said.

Diavolo looked positively radiant in response to your praise.

A little later on in the evening, a band began to play. Diavolo bowed to you, which made you blush and caused everyone else in the room to watch you both. He took your hand and looked into your eyes.

"May I have this dance, MC?" he asked.

You couldn't exactly say no with everyone watching. Not that you would have anyway. You smiled. "Of course, Lord Diavolo."

Diavolo escorted you onto the dance floor. He was a good dancer, no doubt having been taught by Barbatos from a young age. He took the lead, moving you effortlessly, but keeping you close to himself. You were relieved to see a few other demons joining you, meaning it wasn't just the two of you.

The music became slower and softer. As it did, Diavolo pulled you even closer to his body, his wings almost creating a sort of shelter around you. His movements were much slower now, making it easier for you to truly look at him.

"You really command the room, you know," you said, taking in his demon form. He was easily the largest demon there. His personality, his presence, it was all larger than life.

Diavolo squeezed your hand, the arm around your waist also tightening. "I am aware of having eyes on me at all times," he said. "They think I'm doing this for them, but the only one I care about tonight is you."

You laughed gently. "Is that why you went to such great lengths? Having Barbatos make me this outfit? Importing rare Demonus? All these gold decorations?"

Diavolo puffed up a little. "Is it not exquisite?"

"Stop trying so hard to impress me," you said. You dropped his hand, stepping in a little closer beneath his wings and putting both of your arms around his neck. "Don't you realize that I like you best when you're just being… you?"

Diavolo seemed so taken aback by this statement that he missed a step. His hands on your waist kept you from stumbling, but you had both stopped moving at that point.

There was something in those golden eyes that you couldn't quite read, though they were so wide as he looked at you, searching your face.

"I have spent so much of my life trying to impress others," Diavolo said, his voice unexpectedly quiet. "Everyone has different expectations of me. It's the burden of being a ruler, one that I shoulder without complaint. And yet here you are, telling me to just be myself."

You ran your fingertips down his cheek. "You don't have to be the next Demon King with me. You can just be Dia."

Diavolo wrapped his wings around you even further before he kissed you in the privacy they created. You put your hands on his chest and felt the rapid racing of his heart.

It was a night to remember. While the other guests would recall the fancy food, drink, and decorations, you would forever hold the memory of the moment Diavolo realized you loved him simply for being himself.

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