#surely if I draw him enough I'll summon him

[leonastarry]

Hi, I saw your open requests so... here i am! Would it be possible for Jinwoo to fall in love with Y/N ​​who is an S-rank in the USA? I'll explain the idea of ​​the scenario, Y/N is part of the S-ranks of Thomas' guild and Y/N would have participated in the fight between Thomas and Jinwoo to stop them. Only it wasn't his intervention as a hunter that stopped Jinwoo, it's that he fell in love with Y/N ​​when he saw her (Y/N too by the way). They don't have time to get to know each other better that evening but they meet again at the hunters' reception (nice outfits etc...) I'll give you free rein on how it goes, but I could see the end with a passionate kiss in an elevator :p

[ Req 15 ] Shadow Entwined ✧. ┊   s. jinwoo x scavenger's member!fem!reader.

Dozens of cars stopped far away from the abandoned factory. This approach was judged to be dangerous. You got out of the car with the others. These were the elite hunters of the Hunter Bureau, and also some of the key members of the Scavenger. But even with those hunters, you and Adam couldn't relax at all.

"Isn't this the right time to evaluate Sung Jinwoo, Thomas Andre, and the Scavenger?"

You shook your head. "Stop joking around, Adam. We have to stop this battle at all costs."

BOOM.

Your eyes widened. "What!? Did I just see the guild master fall!?? Let's go! Hurry up!"

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

"Oh" Hellish scene, Thomas was being brutally beaten by an Asian hunter.

Bang Bang Bang Bang. Adam pointed there in shock, "Thomas… Sir Thomas was beaten by Sung Jinwoo."

"I see." You stomped your feet. Thomas's condition after being attacked by Jinwoo didn't look good from afar. Adam quickly asked, looking confused, "What should we do now?"

"Stop them! You're not going to stand there and watch a national-level hunter die, are you?"

You quickly ran towards the two people who were fighting (or rather, Jinwoo was brutally beating Thomas) under everyone's horrified gazes.

"Miss [Name]!!"

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

"Enough!" you shouted, stepping between the two men.

Jinwoo's purple-gray eyes narrowed, locking onto you. The sheer pressure from his aura was suffocating, but you still stood firm. You couldn't let this destruction continue. His fist stopped right in front of Thomas. Thomas collapsed and passed out after he declared his surrender.

But instead of seeing you as another obstacle, Jinwoo hesitated. There was something about the way you stood, unwavering despite the overwhelming power he exuded, that caught his attention.

And then, as his eyes met yours, something changed.

Time seemed to slow down. He saw the determination in your eyes, the strength in your stance, the calmness radiating from you. He wasn’t sure what it was—your beauty, your courage, or something deeper—but in that moment, Sung Jinwoo fell.

You didn’t realize it, but your heart skipped a beat as his fiery gray eyes softened, just for a split second.

"Please hunter Sung," you said, your voice firm but still pleading. "This isn’t worth it."

Jinwoo stepped back, his darkness retreating. "For you," he whispered under his breath, so low that no one else could hear.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

The Hunters' reception was a stark contrast to the battlefield—a world of glittering chandeliers, elegant dresses, and polished smiles. You were reluctant to attend, but Thomas insisted. "We need to show unity," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Your dress flowed like liquid silver, catching the light with every step you took. You scanned the room, nodding politely at familiar faces, but your mind wandered to someone else.

You hadn't seen Jinwoo since that night.

And then, as if summoned by your thoughts, you saw him.

He stood near the edge of the ballroom, wearing a perfectly tailored black suit that made him look even more majestic. His presence was magnetic, drawing the attention of everyone around him, but his eyes were still searching.

For you.

When his eyes met yours, time seemed to stop. The noise of the reception faded away, and all you could hear was the pounding of your heart.

Jinwoo walked across the room with careful steps, his golden eyes never leaving you. When he stopped in front of you, he smiled softly.

"Miss [Name]," he said, his voice low and gentle.

"Sung Jinwoo," you replied, unable to hide the smile that spread across your lips. "Thank you."

His eyes narrowed in confusion. "For what?"

"If you didn't stop, America would lose another S-rank hunter."

He let out a soft "Oh."

A silence passed between the two of you before he spoke again.

"You look beautiful," he said, his eyes filled with sincerity.

You felt heat rise to your cheeks. "You clean up pretty well."

The conversation flows smoothly, the world around you fading away as you get lost in each other's presence. You laugh more than you expected, and every look, every word, seems to draw you closer.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

As the evening came to an end, you found yourself stepping into the elevator to return to your room. The doors were about to close when a hand slid past, stopping them.

Jinwoo stepped inside, his expression unreadable but his eyes filled with determination.

"I can't let you go without saying goodbye," he said, his voice softer now.

The elevator began to rise, but the tension between the two of you was intense. Neither of you said anything, the silence stretching as the air grew heavier.

When the elevator stopped briefly between floors, you turned to him. "Hunter Sung…"

Before you could finish, he closed the distance between you, his hand gently cupping your cheek. "Please call me Jinwoo. I haven't stopped thinking about you," he admitted, his voice a whisper.

Your breath hitched as his lips met yours, hesitant at first but quickly deepening into a kiss that left no room for doubt. It was passionate, intense, and everything you didn’t realize you were waiting for.

When the elevator dinged at your floor, neither of you moved.

When you pulled away, his forehead was pressed against yours, his mesmerizing gray eyes locked with yours. "This is just the beginning," he said, his tone full of promise.

And you believed him.

"Will you let me pursue you?"

"Yes…"

My exam has just got cancelled =)).

Instead of that, I'm suffering from the illness 😥.

Anyway, hope you like it 💗

[thegnomelord]

What about Monster!AU for prompt 5. Male reader and price please :)

Sure thing anon, made it a mage reader again, was trying to study for a 'lovely' surprise test but inspiration decided to strike me :/. Play the game HERE

Prompt: “My feelings aren’t real and my heart’s a fucking idiot.”

CW:NSFW, switch/power bottom Dragon Price, Male Mage reader, Oral, Anal, shower sex, semi public sex, reader is oblivious for a bit.

Price swears his hair and scales are going to go completely gray because of you.

You've been avoiding him for a week now, and all the base knows why — Price can still hear your desperate voice begging and bargaining with whatever will listen "I'll buy you dinner please-just stay alive- I love you- damn it you slimy bastard don't you dare die on me-" as you try to keep him alive, magic flowing from your arms to heal the gaping hole in his side despite the bullets raining overhead; a valiant knight protecting him like he's a prince instead of a dragon.

And Price can remember the way his heart had fluttered at your words, at the way you had hugged him so firmly to keep him safe as your magic raged all around you like a wild force of nature, at the way you looked at him so tenderly— eyes burning with mana like the gaze of a god he's your most prized possession —right before the blood loss made him black out.

But now that Price was out of the hospital, his side permanently marked with your magic and a hefty load of paperwork on his desk, you were acting like you never said anything. Anytime someone brings it up you just ignore them, ignore him, throwing yourself into training as much as you can. And it's getting on his nerves, his draconic blood making anger and malcontent burn in his bones because you'd looked at him like a mate but now it's like he doesn't exist beyond training and missions.

He knows it's against the rules, knows he shouldn't hope for much when he sets out to find you, but he does. It's not hard; though his sensitive nose easily picks up the stench of magic, it's the lingering mana burrowed into his skin that tugs him in a direction, even the foreign parts of him wanting you. He finds you alone in the training room, the ground around you scorched beyond hell.

"We need ta' talk lad." Price rumbles as he closes the door behind him, the deep thrum of his voice hiding the anxious pressure he feels in his chest.

Your head whips to look at him. Price cherishes the way your eyes soften when you see him like a glittering gem. Then a sea of ice settles over your eyes, and you turn your head back to the target dummy as if looking at Price makes you sick. "Nothing to talk about captain."

"That so?" Price asks like he doesn't believe you, because he doesn't. Ancient instincts tug on his mind and he follows them. You know he knows what's plaguing your mind, both of you are aware of the elephant in the room and Price can see the way your shoulders progressively tense as he draws near. But you're a stubborn fool, you refuse to show how his presence makes your heart beat faster despite how each of his steps rings like a gunshot in your ears.

Your mind fails to conjure up words but you force an "Hmh," out of your throat, trying to ignore how Price is so close to you, the heat of his body radiating into yours. His remaining wing stretches out, scales and leathery membranes barely brushing over your shoulder, but the intent is clear; the claim is clear.

You try to ignore him, ignore yourself, clinging to the sensation of your sharp mana digging into your veins as you summon another bout of magic to shoot at the training dummy, whisps of formless energy quickly forming into your preferred element.

His hand settles on your hip, not enough to make you loose focus just yet. "Because last ah remember," He leans in closer, the smell of black coffee and cigars on his breath. This close he can smell you instead of your magic, his chest rumbling against your back with a happy purr. "you promised me dinner if I lived."

You nearly choke on air, your magic sputtering out like an old car engine. "I-" You whirl around, your noses almost touching from how close you are. "-that's not what I'd meant!"

His heart should break at that, but before it can his sensitive ears pick up how rapidly your heart's pounding in your chest, reptilian eyes noting how you're flushed more than usual, breathing rapidly without even noticing it.

"Really now?" That greedy part in his bones urges him on, begging and pleading for him to just take you. His other hand settles on your shoulder, keeping you in place, close to him just like he wants. "Then ah suppose all that 'bout me bein' a slimy bastard was also not true?"

You want to flinch away but can't, your own body a traitor to you, a deep frown tugging on your lips. "Price, I wasn't-"

"And-" He cuts you off by leaning even closer, his forehead resting against yours and fuck, your head fits perfectly between his horns, like you belong there. "-I must've misheard you when you said you loved me?" He raises an eyebrow, voice both teasing and serious, holding his breath.

Just that small contact of skin on skin has your resolve crumbling like sand, "Listen, just-" You suck in a sharp breath, the situation both bliss and hell for you. “My feelings aren’t real and my heart’s a fucking idiot. Okay? And just-" You try to stammer the same lies you'd tell yourself every time you'd catch yourself thinking of him more than just your captain (which was way too often).

Price's clawed hand grips your chin and manually closes your mouth, his smooth scales cool against your warm body. You forget to breathe, your eyes flickering all over his face as he smirks, voice deep and guttural like the rumble of moving tectonic plates. "Then I'm an idiot too."

The world goes completely silent as he kisses you, holding your head still so he can claim your lips for himself, his deep purr shaking both of your chests when you submit so easily to him, like getting a gulp of fresh air after years of drowning.

You're so lost in his taste and his scent and just him you don't notice when Price roughly pulls you into the showers, tail and wing and arms holding your body; as if your brain could even conjure the thought of leaving. Bursts of awareness assault your mind every time you part for a breath and to displace a piece of clothing, his sharp claws tickling your skin as he can't wait and just cuts through your remaining clothes.

Clawed fingers grip your hair and tilt your head back, exposing your throat to sharp fangs and you submit easily, trusting him not to hurt you too much. Low sounds rumble in your throat as Price marks you, biting one spot until it bleeds your mana rich blood, greedily drinking up the crimson droplets and soothing the wound with his tongue just enough for the sting to become pleasant before biting again. Bite, lick, bite, lick, bite, lick— chest rumbling with satisfaction he pulls away, "Oh, look at you," He growls, your throat turned into a warzone, "So handsome, like a charming knight."

You snort and grip his hips, the water of the shower raining down the two of you. "Yeah?" You ask as you turn him around, pushing his chest against the wall as you drop to your knees. "Gonna let me lay you?" You ask, kissing down his spine, your rough hands groping and fondling his ass.

"Wanker," Price growls and lifts his tail, revealing his hole to you. You almost cum on the spot from the sight of it, looking every bit what you'd imagined he'd look like. But you don't get to look for long before his tail wraps around your throat, soft underbelly scales scraping against your bruised throat as he pulls you closer. "Only, if you prove your worth."

You don't need a formal invitation, pushing your tongue out as you slobber all over his hole, your hands keeping his asscheeks spread so you can worm your tongue into his hole, feeling him clench around your tongue, his moans ringing like angel song in your ears. His claws tangle in your hair, pushing your head even closer to worship him better. And you do, like a pious believer you lick and suck and nibble around his hole, your nose buried in the space between his ass and tail, barely able to breathe but it's a small price to pay.

Finally he grows greedy for more, his tail releases a fraction and he shoves you, making you fall back on your ass, your cock standing like a flagpole. You only manage to rise up on your elbows before Price jumps on you like the beast he is, thigh powerful thighs bracketing your own, his clawed fingers scraping against your skin as they settle on your shoudlers.

"Now then," Price rumbles like an ancient mountain, reptilian eyes hooded with lust. He feels on top of the world with the way you look at him, like a desperate mutt, your cock hard like a rock between his legs. "Stay still, mighty knight, an-" Price lifts himself up, positioning your cockhead at his puckered rim. "-relax."

The running water muffles your combined groans, his walls hot and tight like the fire in his chest. His weight bears down on you, wing stretching out in a show of pleasure, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he pants. "Fuck," Price growls, grinding his hips down into yours. "Feel so good, lad."

You grunt, your hands fitting on his hips like they always belonged there. Magic sparks across your arms as pleasure steadily erases your ability to think, but his thick scales keep him safe, a pleased groan leaving his chest as he starts bouncing on you, chasing his own pleasure. You can do nothing but hang on, your hips rising to meet his downward thrust, Price's lips swallowing your moans. You don't have enough sense in your head left to care if anyone was to come in and see you, your mind fully consumed by him.

You cum way too soon, your orgasm sneaking up to you, lightning rushing down your spine and magic sparking across your arms as your brain leaks out of your ears, shooting cum up into his greedy walls.

"Good- good lad." Price grinds his teeth, never stopping his bouncing, lewd sounds ringing through the showers from the way your cum squelches inside him. He rides you past the sting of overstimulation right back to hardness. His hand grabs yours, placing it over the scars on his abdomen where your magic had stitched him back together, greed and lust fueling his desires. "Protected me so good, yeah?" His hips never cease moving, that draconic endurance coming in handy to absolutely wrecking you. "Let me take care of you,"

And like a proper mate, you let him do as he pleases.

[thewertsearch]

[Dave] goes underground and discovers gold ruins. Before entering, he's interrupted by Karkat who uses a memo to warn both him and John about their involvement with Terezi and Vriska, telling them the scourge sisters are partaking in a dangerous game of rivalry fueled flirtation which has gotten both him and John killed at least once each.

Initially, I wasn’t sure we’d seen all four of these deaths - but on reflection, I think I can actually list them.

John was manipulated to his death by Terezi, creating Davesprite’s timeline.

He was also killed by Jack, as part of Vriska’s plan to turn him into a god.

Green-Suit Dave was killed as the result of Terezi’s game/experiment.

Red-Suit Dave was killed by DD, who was acting on Vriska’s suggestion to create Bec.

Bro is slain by his own sword, and the body is discovered by Dave later, who can't bring himself to retrieve the sword.

Bro's death is canon - but, at least for now, Davesprite's death is not. Hope is the thing with feathers.

[Dave] then goes on to make all the money needed, to buy all the fraymotifs, which are powerful battle techniques purchased from consorts, and to reach the top of his echeladder.

I’m interested in seeing these Fraymotifs in action – particularly the combined ones that we saw in John’s walkaround.

John appears to be getting a combination attack with each of his co-players. Based on what we know of their respective Aspects, I'll brainstorm some hypothetical techniques that match these names.

Ivories in the Fire [Breath/Time]: I'm picturing John and Dave's combination attack as a time-accelerated hurricane. The main problem with weather manipulation is that it tends to be rather slow; John's storms come out relatively fast, but Dave's help, he can bring them out instantly, firing gales off with the speed and precision of lasers.

Mixolydian Maelstrom [Breath/Light]: A maelstrom of light and wind sounds like something John and Rose would use to distract foes, rather than directly harm them. I think this could be a smoke-and-mirrors technique, summoning strobe lights and clouds of dust to confuse and disrupt large groups of enemies.

Fantasia’s Inhale [Breath/Space]: This sounds like some reality-bending shit. Maybe the Prospit siblings can warp space in a way that synergizes with John's normal fighting style. For example, they could lower the mass of any objects in their vicinity, allowing John's wind to launch much larger objects than normal.

With [Dave’s] massive reserve of grist accumulated in his travels and his more advanced torrenting capabilities, he allows Jade to alchemize some sophisticated equipment right away.

This is a good point that I didn’t catch at the time. The GristTorrent we saw in the comic has an extremely slow download speed, but Jade quickly had millions of grist to spare. Dave had to have a way to speed up the transfer.

[Jade] makes her entry item from the pre-punched card. A tree sprouts from the alchemiter, and a green Bec-shaped pinata dangles from a branch.

Oddly enough, Jade’s entry item spawned the same tree that John’s did. Rose and Dave’s items didn’t have anything in common, so it's just the Prospit siblings whose items share traits.

How typical is this phenomenon? Does it mean anything? With this comic, it's often difficult to tell.

As the clock ticks down to the CRITICAL EVENT, the most important character in Homestuck sits and watches this pandemonium ensue. And then, the second most important character in Homestuck positions a shitty drawing of himself in front of a typewriter and writes this recap.

Gamzee is now more important than Hussie, for whatever that’s worth. What the hell is going on with this guy?

[novthewolf]

Two’s company, three’s a family - Part two

Summary : As a cupid, an angel of love, your mission was to make sure everyone was paired up with the right person. Yet you couldn’t get your two most ancient clients to finally end up together. And despite the 6,000 years spent on the case, you couldn’t bring yourself to give them up, oblivious to the actual reason...

Pairing : Aziraphale x Crowley / GN!Reader x Crowley / GN!Reader x Aziraphale (polyamorous relationship).

Parts : Previous - Next

Masterlist : Here

Warnings : Language, mid-violence, near death, slight angst, slow burn, english isn’t my first language.

Words : +3k

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

(5 years later)

"Alright, Eden, this is how it's going to be : I'm going to help our dear friend with his little inconvenience while you stay here and eat every bit of grass you want. Okay ?" You said, deadpan.

And the only response from your white Dexter mini cow was a simple nudge against your palm. Aw, how could you resist her when she just looked at you with such cute eyes ? You just couldn't ! That's why you brought her with you in the first place.

"Perfect." You nodded firmly before bending down to kiss your forehead. You started to retreat. The sensation of tall grass touching your shinbone You loved it. Every sensation this world had to offer amazed you and urged you to experience everything. But right now is not the time !

"I'll be right back, sweetie ! Don't wonder off too far !" And you took off towards the meeting location.

Love angels are quite particular creatures with special abilities. As they say, love makes you blind, and even though you couldn't prove that statement, you knew that love allowed you to be blind in other people's eyes. You were capable of becoming invisible. Not all the time, but you could manage to stay this way for a few days if really necessary. You had a lot of free time.

This power was mostly there to permit you to supervise dates, gather information on your clients, and occasionally spy on a demon's secret meeting. If anyone asks, you never do that.

But lately, demons have been more and more pushy with Crowley's results, summoning him to Hell for his report. However, some lower-class demon got brave enough to come up on earth and confront him. They were jealous of the redhead; you smelled the salty taste, similar to burnt meat. And despite how stupid they sounded, they were really starting to cause trouble by sensing Aziraphale's presence and also influencing Warlock.

Thus, you decided to go help the duo by playing bait. Certainly those demons' boss would be thrilled to know they successfully scared off a love angel. Right now, you slowly flew towards the meeting point, watching closely for any aggressive behaviour. Crowley had called them to "calmly" persuade them to leave, as they were starting to draw too much attention.

It wasn't really the case ; Warlock's parents were incredibly lax. But you could always trick most of the supernatural beings since they don't spend as much time on Earth as you three. You gently leaned on a nearby tree, your expression fixed as you followed their movements.

"Go back to Hell ? So you can receive all the credit to yourself ! Don't count on it, Crawley !" The smaller one snarled vehemently.

"It's Crowley, and I really never meant to take your place in a mission you are so obviously deserving of." And he seemed to actually appreciate that; they weren't great at sarcasm either.

"What the.. urgh.. angels ? Have you had any trouble with one of 'them 'em sneaking around ?" The taller one almost gagged when he mentioned them. You knew that one, actually. You leaned in a bit more on your branch, Crowley glancing quizzically in your direction (he probably heard you), and you recognised the guy's features.

Yeah, greasy yellow-ish hair ; his right cheek was necrotic; his hideous teeth were poking out. You were just so glad Crowley had clean teeth; you honestly thank God every day for it. You've met him before during a lot of your missions; he's always there to fricking ruin every one of them. God, sorry, he was so annoying... But you loved tormenting him back. But he was getting really obtrusive in your monthly life, so today you would do your best to put them in a lot of trouble. And set his friend along; you wouldn't want him to feel lonely; you were not that mean.

"Angels ? Naaah, they are way too uptight and skittish to properly go against our forces... Why ? Have you been struggling ?" He was holding back his mockery. Which was a real struggle for him.

"Just that little wuss of an angel. They keep missing me, never brave enough to truly face me. Just waiting for the right moment to get at 'em." he growled. Oh, how strong-willed he sounded, considering he always gave up mid-chase. You looked over Crowley for a second and got almost startled at how dour his face was. You bit your lip and focused back on Bobby (not that it wasn't his name; you just didn't care enough to call him something else).

"Oooh, I'm sure you'll find the right moment to strike once you muster enough courage to step out of your mud puddle." He briefly laughed, sardonic as always.

Heh, the way some demons made their entrance was so flattering. Now, thanks to his taunting, the two have started to get aggressive. I guess that's my cue to go.

"What the fuck did you just say?" The greasy boy said it directly to Crowley.

"Oh, I think you exactly understood what I meant." Obviously, he wouldn't back down ; you didn't expect anything else from him.

Calling off the spell, you stood up. Your legs were wobbly, and you tried to stabilise yourself. And leaned casually against the trunk.

"Well, what do we have here ? Hiding away from the city, I see. Why ? Was I too intimidating for you ?" you bugged. You saw his sludge vest boil, his face scrunching, and his awful teeth showing. His little friend growled behind him, ready to launch right at you. How sweet. Crowley's eyes widened. He leaned back, arms crossed in front of his chest, observing what was going to happen next.

"You... I should wring your neck !" He was an impulsive little thing, so he wasted no time and jumped on you.

You dodged him, if you can call it that : you took off your branch and let him knock his head against it. The second came running in your direction; you decided to let gravity do its thing by letting yourself fall and firmly stepping on his bald head. Wow, I almost slipped there.

You jumped off and landed on the ground. You looked up at Crowley and mouthed to him "Eden". You didn't have the heart to leave her here by herself now that you were going to have a little fun. He rolled his eyes, sighed, but nodded anyway. You knew he had a soft spot for her. You smiled brightly and ran off.

"Don't let her near the Anti-Christ !" the shortest one bawled at Crowley, getting back up.

You halted for a second, quickly building up a plan B.

"Anti-Christ ? Is that so ?" You said, teasingly. You had to turn around, bending yourself into a position that conveyed every bit of smugness you could manage. Crowley's lips twitched upright.

"You idiots !" He snarled.

"Get 'em !" Bobby roared as best as his croaking voice could.

You burst into brief laughter before finally dashing off the scene. If your plan failed, you had a backup. You really liked running, but you couldn't let yourself drown in the feeling.

The smaller one sent an electric shock your way. You leaped up, flew for a brief moment, did a half-loop, and landed back down.

"Hey ! Don't get too flashy now ! You wouldn't want to be seen making an ass of yourself !" You mocked.

"Shut the fuck up !"

Rude...

The town wasn't that far away, and you wanted to get to a more populated area as soon as possible. Because, you know, your weapons weren't lethal, so we depended on your miracles. You were used to the human environment and what they would perceive as coincidences, odd occurrences, and full-on magic. They weren't, and you believed they weren't that dumb to expose themselves too much or hurt anybody.

Bobby had summoned a huge pit right in front of your feet. Luckily for you—not much for them—you had explored everything your human body could do, including physical effort. You grounded your feet, flexed your slightly trained legs, and leaped over the trap.

You took a sharp turn, arriving in some kind of small square, and climbed up the metal fence, winning some time. Now that people could see you, you started running, but no one was in sight. Ugh. Ooh, expect those two wild geese, plainly walking around. You smiled, determined. You materialised your bow and visualised their bound. Mmh ! Better than you expected. You could give it multiple forms; get utterly creative. This time it looked like a mini-crossbow for stealth. You put your weapon on your forearm, aimed for their chest, and let go. The geese quacked, chocked by the sudden rush of emotions. Bound complete.

You skipped past them like an antelope, nearing the entrance of the park, leading into town. More people wondered in the street, and some intended to enter the square. Worry squeezed your chest ; your breathing was itching. Please don't hurt them.

They didn't bother slowing down, recklessly running in your direction. Your brows frowned, irrated by their stupor. Mud Pie ignored the cuddling geese and violently pushed a man's shoulder with his.

"Hey ! What in the bloody hell is wrong with you, man ?" The man yelled after him, holding his arm in pain.

You took a step back. No holding back. Two were too much of a handful right now; you had to get rid of one of them.

You took two steps back. So, unwillingly, you miraculously shoved one of the geese onto the second guy. Panicked and certainly repulsed by his slimy appearance, the poor thing started to attack the pariste with all its might. Without a second thought, the mate started chasing as well. The demon desperately tried to shove the two off, but so satisfyingly failed.

You didn't have time to further appreciate the show, as your dear friend didn't even glance in his companion's direction. He was like a bulldozer, ready to wipe you off the map. You took a step back and collided with an old woman.

"Oh, I am so sorry, madam ! I really apologise !"

"No worries, dear, but why are you in such a hurry ?"

The road was right here, and you saw a car coming your way. Go across and let the car hit him. Let's go.

"Mh... Life's too short ! You must enjoy it," you said, sending a happy memory orb her way. No time to waste !

You ran as fast as was naturally possible to the other side. You looked over to the other side. Everything was blurry. Great. He was coming. The car ? Not fast enough.

The black car seemed to accelerate at the last crossroad and was steering incredibly fast. Come on, come on ! Knock him out.

He was crossing the road ! ... But you gasped in terror when you saw him pulling the grandma with him. He had pushed her as well, in front of him.

His eyes snapped at the car and morphed into those of a deer caught in headlights.

He walked forward, taking the woman with him in the process. They both fell to the ground abruptly.

The car brutally stopped.

"Miss !" you cried, fright gnawing at your insides. You dropped to your knees and shoved the mud boy away from her, checking for bruises. Broken wrist. You winced and very discretely healed it. You scanned your surroundings and almost felt your ears peek up in interest.

The Bentley.

Crowley.

"Sorry, Madam, for the incident. I hadn't expected to so suddenly cross the road," he said, his glasses hiding the not-so-guilty expression. "You were lucky this man was here to save you". The smirk he wore was devilish; he barely hid his nature, and you were honestly surprised no one had found out his true nature yet. It was so obvious.

A crowd had formed around you, people helping the poor granny and the cunt up. Crowley approached, trying his best to correct his walk.

Oh, that's right ! Where did he go ?" A bystander wondered, searching for the mysterious, dirty man.

"Maybe he's shy and couldn't appreciate all the praise he would receive for saving a person's life." You smiled in your own charming way to dispel all suspicions. Still, the secret meaning behind it made Crowley scoff.

"Will you be alright, ma'am ?" you asked.

"Oh, don't worry, dear. It's always good to know that my heart can still go through so many emotions and still be up and running." Her lighthearted laugh brought a small, tender smile to your face. You parted ways and went to Crowley.

"C'mon, sweetheart, I'll give you a lift home," he said, looking away. He seemed upset, so you tried to humour him.

"Really ?! Can I drive ?" You beamed at him, your eyes eager to receive a refusal.

"Never. Again." His teeth were grinding so much that you wondered if they would break. You pouted but didn't insist. Suddenly, you remembered your little companion.

"Eden ! Oh, my poor girl ! Where is she ?" "You grabbed the demon's arm. You were actually much more tactile than Aziraphale and him, but they got accustomed to it.

He stopped, looked back, and rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, I put her in the trunk of the car." He nonchalantly explained as he sat down.

Wait... W-Where...

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

You absolutely didn't want to live with your poor baby in a small, cramped place, so Crowley accepted to go back near the dear little Anti-Christ place to check on your mini cow and pick up Aziraphale. You quickly got rid of your seatbelt and raced out.

When you opened the trunk, you sighed when you heard Crowley complaining about your "brutality.".

Mh, at least I'm not a barbarian who stuffed a baby cow into the back of a car.

You stopped mid-thought when you saw what the interior really looked like. Crowley had manipulated the space inside and made it wide enough for Eden to fit in nicely. It looked like a small meadow, too.

"Aww, Crowley !" you squealed in his direction as he was pretending not to see you.

"Ooh, my dear baby Eden ! Are you okay ? Are you good ?" You reached out and pulled her out. She rubbed her head against your belly and mooed lovingly. You kissed her forehead.

"Ooh, you really took good care of you, huh ? " You quickly glanced at him and saw him tensing up. He knew what you were going to say, and you smirked, delighted. "Yeah, you're right, he really likes you ! I totally agree. What a nice guy he is indeed."

"Don't you call me that !" he exclaimed, literally fuming.

"Shh, don't scream this way at her!" you lightly scolded.

"Oh, like hell, I'm going to let you insinuate things like that," he groaned. So easy.

You started to jump around, going down slowly like a feather. Eden happily did the same.

"I'm solely stating facts! You are a good demon—ah!" you screamed, surprised when he started to try to catch you.

"Come down here, you little minx !" He snarled, frustrated at your agility.

You stooped your tongue out, Eden still running around cheerful as always.

"What are you two doing ?" A familiar voice asked, deeply confused and surprisingly joyful at the same time.

"Aziraphale ! Hi !" you waved as your feet connected to the ground again.

Crowley was right behind you, hands twitching and mumbling complaints mixed with threats. Even if you knew that the angel had already seen the upset and irrated side of Crowley, you still needed to point out his good deeds!

Every opportunity mattered!

"Is everything alright ?" No time to worry ; you've got to praise!

"Yes, yes, of course ! It's just that Crowley doesn't want to admit how nice he's been today." You got behind the raging demon and gently shoved him towards Aziraphale.

"Oh, really, Crowley ? How come ?" He teased and smiled almost slyly.

You slowly backed off, letting the two interact in peace.

"Argh, it was nothin'. Just some demon who tried to jeopardise the mission, and Y/N over there immediately jumped in and lurked them away." He looked at you while saying it. You smiled with tight lips before I tilted my head for him to continue.

"And, urgh, well, I followed them and helped get rid of the nuisance." It almost burned his tongue.

"Aaand, you made Eden a comfy little space in the back of the Bentley!" you said, in the most jovial tone, making him growl.

"Aww, Crowley ! So do you have a soft spot for her, uh ?" He looked so touched. He was so adorable, you couldn't help but smile. Crowley looked bashful for a second before turning away.

"Oh, shut up. I only did it because I know what an awful thing you two feed her, so I just thought she deserved a little treat." He calmly taunted.

Awful things ?! Wait up a minute, mister !

Aziraphale regularly accepted keeping Eden with him when you had to work for a long time. He even arranged a room for her; he was very fond of her. And the food you gave her was the most healthy grass and hay you could find. Aziraphale was the one who helped you pick up a kind.

"She's perfectly healthy and happy; thank you very much !" You sprinted his way. He held up his hands in innocence, though his smirk revealed his thoughts.

"Of course, but also utterly bored." He leaned in, his smugness emanating from his whole body.

"Sure." You crossed your arms. "Because you know everything about having fun, Mister, I will never let you drive !" Yes. You were pouting. No. You will not apologise.

"Ooh, believe me, sweetheart, you're lucky I even let you near it."

Alright, so Crowley might not have appreciated how you drove the Bentley, but you both ended up having a great time ! Well, you and the car. But since you had driven with so much energy, it actually encouraged the demon to steer a little bit slower. You just shrugged the comment away.

"She's not a kart nor a race car, for that matter !" He exclaimed, throwing his arms everywhere.

"Don't underestimate her ; she's capable of a lot of things." You closed your eyes and nodded slowly. "Ah, such a shame you don't realise it..."

Speaking of realizing...

Shit. Aziraphale.

Great work, love angel. You felt bad for neglecting him and a weight settled on your shoulders.

"Anyway ! How was your day, Azi' ?" You gazed back, ignoring Crowley's ramble. The angel was facing the horizon, his absence crystal clear in his eyes. He snapped out of it, though, and a tight smile crept in.

"It went perfectly well, thank you ! Now, can we please head back to the bookshop so we can discuss our respective summonings ?" His hands were joined behind his back as he went to climb in.

"Of course ! W-Wait ! I'll go behind; this way I'll be close to Eden." You laughed nervously. Damn, you were way smoother with your other clients than with these two.

"No problem, Y/N." He simply said and smiled at you sweetly. Ah, what an angel, right ? Unworthy was what you were.

You heard Eden mooing in protest as Crowley picked her up to stuff her in again.

"C'mon, big girl, in you go- no ! No ! Not the jacket !" You tried to suppress your laughter at the sight.

"Hop on in, dear."

Aziraphale was holding the door open for you. You overdid your bow and got comfortable on the back seats, with the guardian doing the same after you. You felt guilt watching you from afar, ready to slay your throat.

"Let go, Eden ! Let go ! AAARGH-"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"No need to overreact..."

"Overreact ?! She ate my jacket! Ugh... so ungrateful..."

Aziraphale shot him a disapproving look but didn't add anything; instead, he grabbed the torn fabric and fixed it.

"There. All gone."

The angel sat back on his seat but couldn't keep his eyes from rolling as Crowley kept on wailing about your mini cow's "betrayal". As for you, you enjoyed being the only one back there and having all this space to yourself.

You safely lay there, your mind drifting as you watched the pair talk to each other. A mushy smile painted on your face. The gentle melody of the song "Too Much Love Will Kill You", by Queen, gave the impression of a waltz in your small, confined space. Your hand was massaging your scalp to sooth you and your drumming heart. Your smile fainted with a sigh. Control your emotions, you repeated to yourself. But when you felt, you lived it thoroughly. And deep down, you suffered from it. You weren't supposed to be here. You weren't supposed to bring an angel and a demon together. And you weren't supposed to stand in between them.

Your hand slide down your body and firmly grabbed your right arm. Aziraphale was upset; you sensed it through your own emotions. He was hoping to spend time with Crowley alone without you teasing him for your own amusement. You couldn't stand in the way. You didn't want to ruin it for them. You were running out of time.

Stay away from them. Let them be...

Your chest ached as tears welled up in your eyes. The seats squeaked as you turned around, your back facing the road. Eyes shot tight, lips shivered, and a lonesome whimper crossed the barrier of your mind. The sound alerted the angel, his nature urging him to react.

"What's wrong, dear ? Do you feel ill ?"

His concern will be your death.

"Just worried, that's all," you lazily replied, seeking to close the conversation as soon as possible and give your spotlight away.

Don't worry about me...

"No need; I'll be there to help you ! Once we get to the bookshop, we'll plan out our side of the story and stick to it." You felt his eyes on you.

Forget about me...

"Don't fuss about it." Crowley said as well. "Y'know, they're... well, they're not very bright." He laughed in a breath. Aziphale couldn't restrain himself from laughing either.

A smile brushed your cheeks, not strong enough to remain there, but warmth at least tried to make its way to your heart. You looked up hesitantly, and your eyes met Aziraphale's... affectionate? You blushed involuntarily. Not affection, but compassion. Sympathy even !

Bashful, you quickly turned your eyes and looked at the interior mirror. Crowley must have sensed your eyes on him, because he almost instantly looked up at you through the mirror and winked. You rolled over again and hugged yourself tightly.

Mmph...

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I didn't expect it to be so long, but if I continue it would really be way too long 😭

Hope you enjoyed it ! I'll try my best to post once a week !

Parts : Previous - Next

Tag list : @legendary-maddie @kpop-athena @drugs-for-memes @emo-queer-boi @cunning-girl @mochikofi

[ckret2]

Chapter 25 of human Bill is the Mystery Shack's prisoner and somehow befriended Mabel: in which Bill and Mabel make friendship bracelets. It's heartwarming. Bill is not, I repeat, not secretly up to anything nefarious.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the chapter, Bill is secretly up to something nefarious.

####

"I'll be back in exactly one hour," Ford said. "Be finished showering by then. You've got everything you need, as well as..." He looked disdainfully at a baggie of shampoo and conditioner sample bottles, "your gift from the Northwests."

Bill eyed the Northwests' little care package skeptically. Four entire separate products that were supposed to be used all in one shower. He was drowning in mammal-cleaning slimes. What a waste of his time. "You don't expect me to use allthis junk, do you?"

"Frankly, as long as you aren't bald and don't smell like gnome urine in an hour, I don't care what happens between now and then."

"You're the most merciful warden I've ever had, Stanford."

Ford wasn't sure if that was supposed to be sarcasm or an awkward glimpse into Bill's sordid history, so he just shut the bathroom door. "One hour."

"One hour!" Bill waited until he couldn't hear Ford's footsteps; and then he turned on the shower, fished a crushed cider can and eight candles out of his hoodie, and stood on the wooden crate by the window.

Over the last few days, he'd spent every spare private moment using toothpaste and toilet paper to polish the bottom of the can into a perfect, shining, concave mirror. Now, he held it up to the window with one of the candles, using the mirror to focus the sun into a point on the wick of the candle... and...

It took a couple minutes of agonizing patience, but finally the wick smoked and then ignited. Yes. Moving carefully so he wouldn't douse the flame, he used the burning candle to melt the bottoms of the other candles just enough to stick them to the floor, lit them in turn, and in the middle Bill quickly made a (frankly terrible) drawing of Kryptos by finger painting with a tube of toothpaste.

And then he knelt in front of the candle circle, and—quietly enough that the shower covered the sound—he started chanting.

Some humans called Bill a dream demon. It wasn't exactly wrong, even if calling him a dream demon was kind of like naming the entire human race "the mountain bikers."

Which was to say, if Bill was a "dream demon," then so were the rest of his people. The other surviving shapes could cast themselves like shadows onto the walls and floors of other dimensions, slip through the cracks in reality that were too thin to accommodate the depths of three-dimensional creatures, and wander through the higher dimensions' mindscapes.

It was just that it was only one of their many side hobbies rather than their main pursuit as a species—and not a particularly popular hobby, at that. Most shapes weren't into taking safaris through aliens' dreams.

Out of the shapes Bill still hung out with, Hectorgon wouldn't do it; he appreciated why Bill went on his psychic excursions for the everyone's benefit, but skulking in a higher plane's second dimension made Hectorgon feel voyeuristic—and he'd only gotten more uncomfortable with the idea since his three-dimensional makeover. Bill could wheedle a majority of Amorphous Shape into a sightseeing trip once a millennium or so, but they were just a passive tour group who would be lost without Bill as their tour guide. Kryptos alone had taken enough of an interest in alien mindscapes to make the leap from "occasional tourist" to "frequent traveler." He was the only one other than Bill who spent enough time on Earth to network with the locals; and he was the only one other than Bill who had bothered to set up a summoning ritual, in case an earthbound buddy wanted to ring him up for a party.

Kryptos's party line was going to be Bill's salvation.

Which was a shame, because Bill just knew Kryptos would be annoying about this for the next million years. He'd worry about finding a way to bully Krypt into not lording it over him after he was safely back home in the Quadrangle of Qonfusion.

But when Bill called, nothing happened.

That wasn't right. Nothing wasn't supposed to happen. Even if Krypt didn't pick up, Bill should feel the spell working. The sound of the shower should pause. The air should go still and cool. Everything should be gray.

Bill opened his eyes. Nothing was gray. He checked each candle to make sure they were all lit, checked his drawing to make sure it looked right—it wasn't exactly flattering, but the lines were straight and the angles were correct, and anyway it was recognizable enough to work for the summoning. He remembered the words, he knew he remembered the words.

Try again. He shut his eyes. "Rhombus sapphirinus. Fraternitas, caritas, veritas. Te invoco, te invito." And then, not because it was necessary but because he was getting mad, he tacked on, "Responde mihi, quadrum defututum! Culum tuum calcitrabo!"

Nothing. The world went on un-paused. Bill remained awake. He opened his eyes to the vibrant, colorful, tragically real world around him.

It didn't make sense. Even without his powers, he should be able to reach Kryptos. Any human could do this ritual, and Bill knew a whole lot more than any human. Either Kryptos was dead (unlikely; but without Bill there...), or something was blocking Bill. The block could be inside him—maybe the Axolotl was sealing off even this paltry little magic—or outside, some sort of shield blocking the mindscape. But whatever the source, the result was the same:

He couldn't get a call out. Nobody, not even his oldest friends, could hear him.

He stared at Kryptos's ugly mug for a long moment; then blew out the candles, hid them and the crushed can back in his hoodie, used toilet paper to wipe the toothpaste and wax off the floor, and got in the shower.

If he wanted to get out, he had to make new friends. He'd been making some good progress lately, particularly with Mabel. Perhaps it was time to test just how far her compassion could get him.

####

Prisma the Rainbow Fairy said, "Gee, Sunny Cat, I haven't seen you spending time with Teddy Tender lately. What happened?"

"He's a killjoy," Bill said, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the TV. "He's a wet blanket."

A sunshine-yellow bipedal cat said, "Teddy's so sad today, and it's making me sad. I don't want to hang out with him when he's like this!"

"That's what I said," Bill said. Heckling the characters helped distract him from the urge to scratch the exposed skin on his arms until he scraped it off his bones. After showering, his hoodie had been confiscated for a round of emergency post-eye-bat-repellant laundry, and he was temporarily back in a reject gift shop t-shirt. He felt exposed.

Prisma said, "Sometimes when our friends are sad, all they need is another friend to give them a hug or tell them they care. It'll help them feel happier."

"I don't know," Sunny said. "When I feel sad, being around other people makes me feel worse."

"Everyone's a little different, Sunny. Why don't you offer to hold his hand and see if that makes him happier?"

"I guess I could try."

"Nah, it's too late for Teddy," Bill told the TV. With some glee, he added, "The most caring thing you could do is put him out of his misery."

Mabel, sitting up on the couch with three colors of embroidery floss tangled around her fingers, lightly kicked the back of Bill's head. He grinned wider. Mabel said, "Bill, I don't think you're taking this seriously."

"Was I supposed to?"

"It's a beautiful June day and I'm inside with you, so you could at least pretend to. I thought you were a good liar."

"I've never told a lie in my life," lied Bill. "But okay, fine. I've seen the error of my ruthless ways. Maybe there's hope for Teddy yet."

Mabel nodded, mollified. She set aside her current project and rummaged through her bag of embroidery floss. "Hey Bill, what's your favorite color?"

"Gold!"

"Why did I ask. What's your next favorite color?"

"Every color simultaneously superimposed over each other, instantly blinding you!"

Mabel tried to picture that. She imagined a rainbow that was also a laser that was also iridescent. Her mental image looked a lot like Prisma's combat magic. "You have such good taste."

"It takes good taste to recognize good taste!" Bill mentally reviewed the last couple minutes of conversation, saw an opportunity to bolster the "reforming monster" image he was trying to sell to Mabel, and added, "By the way—thanks for sticking around just to keep me entertained!" (See: he can say thank you unprompted.) "This sure isn't where I'd want to spend my afternoon," he laughed wryly, "but unlike me, you have a choice in the matter."

"Yeah," Mabel sighed. "It stinks. I wish you could go outside with me."

Bill quietly, smugly filed that statement away for later use.

Mabel pulled a couple fresh rolls of embroidery floss out of her bag and got to work with them. "We can't set off fireworks inside the shack. Or play with Soos's paintball guns."

Bill's smugness vanished, leaving behind only the hollow feeling of missing out on a lot of fun. Fireworks and paintball guns. Those were three of his favorite things: explosions, colors, and interpersonal violence.

Mabel went on, "And Candy's saved up three years of Magic Vision Poster calendars to wallpaper the inside of her closet. She read online that if you cross your eyes just right to make them all look 3D at the same time, you can hallucinate going inside them! We're gonna try it out tomorrow. That seems like something you'd like."

"What!" Bill groaned. "I've always wanted to see an autostereogram poster with two eyes! Now here I am, stuck in a stupid meat body, and I don't even get to enjoy the only thing binocular vision is good for?"

Mabel patted his shoulder.

"Back home I've got a chair with autostereogram detailing. I've never actually seen it work. And where is it when I've got two eyes?"

"I think they've got Magic Vision books in the kids' section at the library," Mabel said. "Do you want me to check one out for you?"

Bill glared at the TV, silently fuming. Then he muttered, "Yeah. I'd like that. Thanks."

The low-stakes drama on Color Critters was resolved when Sunny asked Teddy Tender if he wanted to maybe hug or hold hands until he felt less sad, and Teddy revealed he felt bad because he was lonely when he hadn't had a play date with a friend in a while. Sunny and Teddy went to the playground together, the gray swings and slide and seesaw blooming orange and yellow as they played. Crisis of the day concluded. Prisma watched proudly, before joining in the play herself. Bill was not jealous of their freedom to go to the playground.

As the credits rolled, Mabel said, "There! Give me your hand!"

Bill stuck his right arm straight out to his side. "Why—?"

Mabel wrapped something thin around his wrist, and there was a quick tug as she tied it off. "Bam! You just got friendshipped!"

"What?" Bill pulled back his wrist to examine Mabel's handiwork. It was a bracelet made out of embroidery floss knotted together into a flat band as wide as his thumb. "What is this?" Stupid question.

"A friendship bracelet!" (Of course it was a friendship bracelet; he was passingly familiar with the art form, he'd seen it centuries before they were called "friendship" bracelets.) "Make a wish."

He wished to get his body back.

"You've gotta wear the bracelet until it breaks, and then the wish'll come true."

And if he believed that, he'd already be chewing through the knot. "And, why am I getting this?"

"Because we're friends!"

"Oh." Well. Yes. Obviously.

He examined the bracelet more closely. The band formed a zig-zag pattern of black and metallic gold triangles; and Mabel had tied glass beads that looked like eyes over several of the gold triangles.

"I didn't have every color simultaneously, but I thought the black would make the gold pop." Mabel pointed at the triangles. "Look! It's you."

"I can see that." She'd used nazar beads for the eyes—a dot of black ringed in blue and white. A little eye-shaped lucky charm humans had been using to ward off the evil eye for millennia. Cute. He laughed, pointing at the beads. "So is this supposed to protect me from the evil eye, or am I the evil eye you're protecting everyone else from?"

Mabel was thirteen. Mabel hadn't put any deeper thought into it than these look like eyes. All the same, Mabel didn't hesitate before replying: "I'm turning your face into a protective charm! Now you've got to keep everyone safe!"

"Oh." And that, too, Bill quietly filed away.

"I expect you to take your new job seriously," Mabel said, pointing at him. "Don't let me down!"

"You give me a gift with my face on it and then tack on a bunch of extra terms and conditions. Very slick, kid." He admired the bracelet. It really was a pretty fine offering. He hadn't been gifted textiles in a while. "But all right! I've never gone back on a deal before," lied Bill.

Though it galled him to get something without a way to pay back the favor. It felt uneven. People don't want a god who grants miracles worth less than the tribute he'd been offered. He ran down his usual list of tricks—he couldn't snap his fingers and summon up a dream gift, he didn't have any useful info he could offer without prompting an interrogation session with his jailers, right now he couldn't even call somebody else to pull some strings on her behalf... His gaze drifted over to Mabel's bag of embroidery threads. He could see beads and a couple more friendship bracelets inside. "How many of these are you making?"

"A bunch! I'm giving one out to each new friend I make this summer."

That'd do. "Teach me."

"You what?"

"Teach me." He turned around to face the couch and pointed toward the bag. "You're making them anyway, right? Just show me as you go."

Mabel stared at him in disbelief. Was he serious? She thought he was serious.

A broad smile stretched across her face. "Okay!" She dug beneath her supplies for a little dog-eared friendship bracelet pattern book. "What kind of jewelry making experience do you have? Especially involving beads or knots."

"I can tie a living creature's blood vessels into quipu knots that spell my name—all without breaking the skin!"

"That's great! Can you do it with embroidery floss instead of blood vessels."

Bill eyed the bundle of floss Mabel held out. "Yes."

"Perfect!" She shoved four thread colors in his hands, a pair of scissors, a jar of pony beads, thought better and quickly took back the scissors, and added a roll of parachute cord. "I'll teach you everything I know. Even my secret trick to keep the edges from going all wobbly! We'll start you on chevrons and then move up to teardrop loops and triangle ends." She put her hands on Bill's shoulders, looked him in his uncovered eye, and said, "I'm gonna make you a friendship bracelet master."

Solemnly, Bill said, "I'm ready."

####

Ford squinted blearily into the living room.

Sitting alone on the far side of the room, Bill was bent over the living room table, fussing with several multicolored strings and a few beads.

Bill glanced at Ford from the corner of his eye, and then—with a faint smirk—turned back to his project without a word. Oh, he wanted Ford to ask. He was dying for Ford to ask.

It was too early for this. Ford wasn't dealing with it before coffee. He shook his head and shuffled onward to the kitchen.

Stan was already up, eating eggs with some unidentified liquid meat poured over them. Over the past year, typically Ford had been the earlier riser; but this summer Stan had gotten used to Ford pulling late nights downstairs as he worked on his research, so he didn't comment on Ford's sleeping in as he poured himself a mug of coffee.

But Stan did look at Ford's face and immediately ask, "Okay. What's the latest Bill bullsh... soup? Bullsoup."

"He's..." Ford tried to figure out what Bill was doing. "Making jewelry in the living room, I think."

Stan grunted and nodded. "Yeah, he was doing that yesterday with Mabel."

"Well, now he's doing it by himself."

Stan raised a brow.

The Stans leaned around the living room doorway to watch Bill. 

Bill was engrossed with picking out a mis-tied knot, frowning deeply in concentration, one eye squeezed shut and the other squinted. He smoothed out the thread, his face relaxed; and then he glanced at the doorway, did a double take, and his shoulders went up around his ears. "What am I, a zoo attraction? Shoo! Scat!" He waved them away. "I'll throw salt at you!"

Ford raised his palms defensively. Stan said, "Okay okay, we're going."

They retreated to the kitchen.

"Well?" Stan pressed. "Is he up to dangerous voodoo stuff?"

"I'm fairy certain Bill doesn't practice Vodou."

"Answer the question, smart aleck."

Ford ran through every form of magic incorporating strings or knots he could think of. It was a pretty short list, and most of it was used for protection or binding separate things together. "Not that I know of," he said dubiously. "But it's more likely he's up to something I don't know about than it is that he's doing arts and crafts. Don't you think?"

Stan considered that. He shrugged. "Eh," he said. "It can wait 'til after coffee."

Eh. Ford was tired. He didn't want to go to red alert over some string and plastic beads. He sat down with his mug.

####

"I'm home!" Mabel called. "Biiill, I couldn't get you a Magic Vision book! The pictures in Candy's closet started moving, and I don't know if we were hallucinating or if we accidentally summoned an invisible holographic horse you can only see when you cross your eyes, so we decided to burn the posters and library books to be safe! Do you know if Magic Vision Posters summon things...?"

"I wish," Bill said. "But hey, I've got something better. Gimme your hand."

Mabel held out her hand, half pulled it back, and said, "Why?"

"Relax." Bill grabbed her wrist, tied on a bracelet, and said, "Make a wish!" He grinned. "You're impressed, admit it. Tell me you're impressed."

Mabel studied the bracelet. "Whoa." Purple, green, and orange threads formed lacy loops around a central thread, forming an endless wave that rolled up and down. The threads passed through several star-shaped pony beads, making the wave look like the tails of shooting stars. "A Peruvian wave with a perfectly straight center cord. That takes crazy precise string tension." She looked at Bill. "I have nothing more to teach you."

"Thank you, teacher."

"Is this supposed to look like my sweater?" Mabel asked, studying the pink in the tassels tying the bracelet on. "The one on your zodiac thing?"

"Sure! You gave me one that looks like me, I gave you one that represents you. Friendship's supposed to go both ways, right?"

"Bill! Is this why you wanted to learn to make friendship bracelets?"

"Am I that obvious?"

"Biiill! You're being so nice!" Mabel flung her arms around him. "I love it!" And then she took off, running laps around the living room, cackling madly and waving her braceleted arm in the air. Abuelita, who'd been watching TV, calmly turned to watch Mabel zoom around.

Oh, this was great. Look at this, Bill was the best at being a friend. Everyone who'd ever ditched him was a moron who didn't know what they were missing out on. They could've gotten personalized friendship bracelets. Maybe he should have offered Ford a friendship bracelet? No, that was stupid, why would Ford prefer a friendship bracelet over unimaginable cosmic power. But then it didn't have to be either-or, did it? Ford's favorite color was red, what went with red?

When Mabel had gotten the enthusiasm out of her system, she trotted back out to the entryway and hugged Bill again. He endured it. "You won't stop making friendship bracelets now that you've made this, will you?" Mabel asked. "You're such a natural at it! And you need more hobbies that are constructive instead of destructive."

"Ouch, kid. I'll have you know I have plenty of constructive hobbies."

"I don't believe it. Name one thing you like creating."

"Weirdness bubbles."

"Name one thing you like creating that doesn't terrify people."

Bill pursed his lips. "Agree to disagree. Anyway, I'm not getting out of the friendship bracelet game just yet. In fact, I've already got another few projects in mind."

####

Bill plopped down at the kitchen table across from Mabel. "Hey star girl. Guess what."

She looked up from her cereal at the dark rings under Bill's eyes. He had one eye squeezed shut; he could usually keep both open when he'd just woken up. "Were you up all night?"

"Doesn't matter. Time is an illusion and I can see the projector. I'm counting that as your guess. Look." Bill tossed two matching bracelets down on the table between them, deep watermelon pink and minty green, shaped like macrame chains with hearts where each link of the chain met.

"Aww, little hearts."

"Thought you'd like the hearts."

Mabel picked up one end of the bracelet and slipped it on—and then noticed the long coil of embroidery floss connecting the end of one bracelet to the other. "Bill? What's this for?"

"Didn't you say a few days ago that you wished we could go outside together? I thought up a perfect solution!"

With a sudden sense of dread, Mabel realized that the chain pattern and the string connecting the bracelets made them look like an extremely long pair of handcuffs; but before she could take off her half, Bill picked up the other bracelet and said, "There's a little magic in these, look. When both ends are being worn—" He slipped on the bracelet, and Mabel felt its matching pair gently tighten around her wrist. The string connecting them vanished into thin air.

Mabel gasped. "What—?"

"Poof! It's like a ghost: still there, but invisible to human eyes. We could even go into separate rooms and it'll connect us through the walls." He demonstrated by waving his hand under the table. "But we can't get farther apart than the length of the thread. I gave it about ten yards." He plucked up something invisible and gave it a tug, and Mabel felt the bracelet go taut against her wrist. There was no force, no matter how hard Bill tugged she didn't feel like the bracelet was pulling her; rather, it felt like the other end of the thread was tied to an immobile boulder preventing her from moving further away, until she moved her hand closer to Bill's to give the thread a little slack. "And..."

Mabel tried to jerk the bracelet off her wrist; it stuck around her hand. "How do I get it off?! Bill—!"

Bill put a finger on her hand, stopping her. He said, "Neither of us can take our end off until we both decide we're ready. Like... now." He winked; and the bracelet suddenly loosened again.

Mabel pulled it off with a sigh of relief.

"Unless one of us dies or something, I guess," Bill said thoughtfully. "That'd deactivate the magic. It'd be pretty gristly to have to keep sharing a friendship bracelet with a corpse!" He laughed. "Anyway—"

Mabel chucked the bracelet in his face. "That was mean!"

Bill blinked in surprise. "What was?"

"You tricked me!" She cradled her wrist against her chest, heart still pounding from the brief unexpected captivity.

"I did not!" He took the bracelets back and started coiling up the thread between them. "You put yours on before I even said anything."

"But you could have warned me before you got us stuck together!"

"Sure, I could have, but would you have kept it on then?"

"No, you jerk. That's the point!" She looked around for something else to chuck at Bill's face, plucked a dry piece of cereal from her bowl, and flicked it at his nose. 

Bill endured his punishment without flinching. "Well, sorry, but I had to demonstrate how they work somehow." He twirled the bracelets around one fingertip. "This solves your whole 'can't let the big scary triangle out unsupervised' problem! Slap these bad boys on, and I've got automatic supervision that I can't escape! Maybe this'll convince the adults that I can be trusted outside, right?" He ate the piece of cereal. "So? What do you think?"

She thought he was still a jerk. All the same, she studied the chain bracelets. "Did you just make me a gift that's actually a gift for yourself?"

He didn't even look a little bit ashamed. "I prefer to think of it as something we'll both benefit from!"

"Bill."

"C'mooon. You know you want me out there." He lowered his voice. "Who else in this town will help you break into the pet shop to dye the dogs' fur?"

Oooh. Mabel should not have told Bill about that ambition. "Well..."

"Or help you grill hamburgers with sprinkles. You know Stanley's never gonna do that for us again," Bill said. "Or what if you need a drive somewhere, huh? The guys with licenses are gonna get tired of trips to the craft store eventually."

"You can't drive!"

"Of course I can drive, didn't you see me during—?" Bill's eyes widened. "Oh no, you didn't see! I can't believe you didn't see my car. You, you would have loved it."

He seemed serious. Maybe he could drive. "You... shouldn't get to drive."

"What if it's an emergency and I'm the only one who can do it. Do you want me in the driver's seat with or without a leash?" He spread his hands in a shrug. "And anyway... think of everything else we could be doing together outside. Purple poodles and pink pugs are just the start, my friend."

Mabel hated when she knew she was being manipulated but Bill still made a good point. She bit her lip and glanced at the clock over the sink. A tour had just started; the gift shop should be empty and the vending machine safe to use.

She got out of her seat, taking her cereal with her. "I'm gonna run this by the household magic expert."

Bill rolled his eye. "Fine. Tell Sixer we're out of apple cider."

####

"Tell Bill we got three packs last time," Ford said. "If that's not enough to hold him one week between grocery trips, then he has a drinking problem."

"Okay, but what about the bracelets?"

Ford set aside the book he'd been reading and studied the bracelets. He slipped one on his wrist.  "Mabel, would you mind putting on the other side?"

"Sure!" She pulled on the bracelet. It tightened around Ford's wrist and the thread between them disappeared. Fascinating.

After a few minutes of experimenting to see how they worked, Ford was fairly sure this was a spell he'd learned about years ago, although he'd lost the details when he tossed his second journal in the bottomless pit. Usually it was done with metal chains—but the spell should make the bracelets nigh on indestructible while the magic was active, so, as promised, it would contain Bill. As long as he didn't murder the person on the other end of the spell.

"So can I take Bill outside?" Mabel asked, hands laced together and eyes wide. "Please please please?"

"You did hear what I just said about murder, right?"

"We'll bring someone else along! Bill wouldn't try to kill me if someone else is standing guard!" (At least she still recognized that there were circumstances where Bill would try to kill her.) "He's been stuck inside for weeks. That's not healthy! He needs to stretch his legs, get some sunshine!" She smacked Ford's desk as a thought occurred to her, "And we need to take him clothes shopping. I can tell he's uncomfortable in gift shop t-shirts and Abuelita's skirts. Does he even like skirts?" She dropped her voice to a whisper. "Does he even have underwear, or is he still wearing Soos's old swim trunks?"

Ford winced. "Melody was kind enough to pick some up a few days ago." But he could admit it had taken them longer than it should have.

"What about the rest of his clothes? Does he have a bra?"

"Wh—" Ford sputtered. "Does he want one?"

"I don't know, I haven't asked. It might be more comfortable. He has a lot of chest."

Lord. Ford closed his eyes. He did not want to think about bras.

"Pleeease?" Mabel said. "I wanna take him clothes shopping. He's probably never explored human fashion before! He's got to find his style. I can be his style consultant."

Aha. So that was what Mabel was getting out of all this: a person-sized dress-up doll.

Truth be told, they probably should take Bill outside. Depending on how Fiddleford's research proceeded, destroying Bill could take weeks, if not months. If there were ever an emergency, they might need to relocate Bill quickly—so it was better to ensure the bracelets worked as advertised before they became necessary.

"Fine. But this won't be a regular thing," Ford said. "Ask Stan when he can go. And your brother—I'd rather Bill know the numbers are stacked against him. And he's not allowed to talk to anybody outside the shack. You, Dipper, and Stan will have to intercept anybody he might speak to."

"Don't worry about that! I've got the perfect solution," Mabel said. "What if Grunkle Stan doesn't want to go?"

"Ask him to talk to me. I think I can convey the importance."

"You don't want to come? Are you too busy figuring out how to kill him?" Mabel's gaze moved to the books Ford had been reading.

Ford suppressed the urge to shut the books and hide the papers beside them. Mabel wouldn't be able to understand the books anyway: it was an ancient Roman historian's description of augury—fortunetelling with birds—and a Latin reference dictionary he was consulting to help him translate. He was more afraid Mabel's gaze would fall on the pages next to the books, where a few vocabulary words from the mystical, mythical language of the birds had been scrawled out in Bill's distinctive chicken scratch.

No, Ford wasn't busy figuring out how to kill Bill. He was still waiting to hear back from Fiddleford about the feasibility of synthesizing or replacing the quantum destabilizer's Dontium; and, in the meantime, he'd allowed himself to believe there was nothing else he could do on his own... and by now, he'd gotten thoroughly distracted. Going through Bill's notes, verifying his claims, following up on the leads he'd subtly slid in. Bill's miniature grimoire was the most dense magical text since the Emerald Tablet. Opening it up was like a cryptography puzzle mixed with a dissertation research project, and each sentence was a fractal flower of information, a bud that bloomed into a dozen more buds that each bloomed into a dozen more.

It was amazing. Enthralling. This was the kind of research Ford was made for. He was the most relaxed he'd been in weeks.

He hadn't told anybody what he was doing while Fiddleford worked.

"No, not that," he told Mabel, "I just don't want to spend time around Bill. Especially on what's essentially a social trip. Stanley can... handle it better."

"Oh," Mabel said. "That makes sense, I guess."

Ford glanced uneasily at Bill's papers, then looked away before Mabel could see.

He was so caught up in his own shame at getting caught toeing at one of Bill's traps, he didn't notice the quick shameful look on Mabel's face for the same reason.

####

(Thanks for reading! Please drop a comment or reblog if you enjoyed, y'all's commentary is what helps keep me writing. ❤️

Also I feel like Google translate can handle the Latin pretty well if you wanna see what Bill's saying at the start, but it's important to me that you know Google is wrong about "quadrum defututum" and it can actually be more accurately translated as "you square slut.")

[a-lonely-dunedain]

every magic school has the Cringefail Newbie and the Self-Proclaimed Prodigy that adopted him <3

so I finally managed a drawing of Elbryn I'm actually happy with! idk if I'll ever write a proper fic involving him but I do have many Thoughts™ about the lil guy so I'll just dump them here under the cut

so after his rather embarrassing magical mishap in Helgen (which he's pretty sure didn't summon the dragon? but he isn't ruling it out as a possibility) he basically swears off using spells entirely and opts for a war axe

somehow manages to not die despite his lack of skill, figures out he's the Dragonborn yadda-yadda, we've all played the quests.

actually counts the Seven-Thousand-Steps to High-Hrothgar like the nerd he is. It was significantly more than seven thousand and his legs hurt so badly.

after making it to High-Hrothgar the Greybeards basically told Elbryn that he would need to become stronger before he could battle dragons as equals and master his Thu'um. Unfortunately they didn't provide much guidance on exactly how he should go about that, only telling him "that path would be made clear" and leaving the rest up to him.

Decides to go back to Whiterun and join the Companions. He's very intimidated by them, but they're probably the best people he could hope to learn from if he wants to master his skills with a blade.

Notably he goes to great lengths to hide his status as the Dragonborn from basically everyone. He feels as though the people of Skyrim are disheartened enough with the return of the Dragons, and if they knew this "legendary dragon-slayer" was really just some scrawny Breton ex-mage it would only dishearten them further, so he feels like it's better to let everyone assume the Dragonborn is some strong and fearsome Nord warrior or something of that nature. At least until he feels as though he can live up to the title.

He also hides his past as a mage from them because he gets the sense that the Companions would like, instantly stop respecting him if they knew. He does feel very bad about keeping so many secrets from them though, seeing as they all talk a big game about how they "don't deal in secrets like thieves and mages do"

Anyway things with the Companions go surprisingly well! His fighting skills improve significantly and he actually starts to form an unlikely friendship with Farkas. a bit of an "opposites attract" type thing. Farkas sees that Elbryn has a lot of potential but lacks confidence, so he sorta decided to take him under his wing. (Vilkas is a bit less fond of Elbryn though. not that he really dislikes him or anything, but he catches on that he's hiding something and doesn't quite trust it)

anyway if you know how the Companions questline goes you know that they take you into the Underforge with the intention of turning you into a werewolf alarmingly fast. Elbryn was still willing to work with them upon learning they were werewolves, but becoming one himself? no no no no nope. He basically tells them "yeah uhh I'll need to think about it", goes to his room, packs his stuff and sneaks off that very same night without saying a word to anyone. In hindsight he feels bad about that. Kinda wishes he had left Farkas a note or something, but he was scared and in a hurry. Oh well, nothing to be done about it now...

now I know they weren't going to force him to become a werewolf or anything, but Elbryn didn't know that. I mean they said they weren't going to force him but they also said the Companions don't deal in secrets, yet here they are doing this under Kodlak's nose in the dead of night! he has no idea what to think or expect or who he could even talk to and these guys have teeth. so he just runs.

north specifically. Not for any particular reason, he just had to pick a direction and it happened to be north. Wanders around for a bit, unsure of were to go now that his only source of martial training fell through.

Eventually comes across Frostflow Lighthouse (REAL downer of a dungeon that one) Now the thing about Frostflow is that near the end you drop down a cliff, and the only way back out is through the final boss. the giant Chaurus Reaper. So he's cornered down there, alone, with a foe he is woefully unprepared to fight. (In game it kept two-shotting me lmao, but I decided to make a story thing out of it!)

So in desperation he decides to use his magic. Not a lot mind you, maybe just to heal himself or create a flash to stun it so he could get away, but whatever it was he intended to do with it hardly matters, because that's not what ended up happening.

See, as it turns out, when you're naturally gifted with high amounts of magic, trying to suppress it for long periods of time like what Elbryn did basically turns you into a magic bomb. So the moment he tried to tap into his magika reserves, it was like a dam burst open. Everything in the cavern was engulfed in a storm of pure untamed magical energy, swirling and burning and tearing until nothing was left of the Chaurus but some strips of charred flesh and chitin

Elbryn immediately passes out, wakes up an indeterminate amount of time later dazed and utterly horrified at the carnage he left behind. I mean sure, it worked out in his favor this time, he was surrounded by foes and going scorched earth was really the only option, but if someone else had been with him? if something like that were to happen when he was with a friend or trying to protect or rescue someone... He looks back at the charred bits of Chaurus strewn about.

yeah, just suppressing his magic ain't gonna cut it, he needs to learn how to control it or else. There's a college in Winterhold right? that's where he has to go then. So he sets out east over the ice fields and hopes he can make it there before getting hopelessly lost and dying.

(ok I had a lot more to say but this was getting LONG I'll have to make another post later lol. sorry, Elbryn decided he wanted to have a story so I guess there's a story now)

[jeonjungkookenthusiast1997]

Seduced by Shadows

Summary: Y/N summons her demon boyfriend Bang Chan for a movie date night but things quickly escalate as the atmosphere gets hot and heavy.

This is my own work not a reblog! Please do not repost or translate.

Content Warnings: demon sex, magic used in sex, oral (male receiving), face fucking, cursing, pet names, creampie, unprotected sex (wrap it up people!), established relationship, rough sex, breeding kink, marking, possessive language, shameless smut, fluffy smut, domestic fluff, porn with feelings, Minho and Changbin make a brief appearance, demon form during sex, cum swallowing, demon summoning, an attempt at comedy

Word Count: 4,914

Navigation

It's been a very long day at work and all Y/N wants to do now is relax and unwind, she's had enough of her bosses nagging her and customers walking all over her. She hurries home as fast as she can and quickly grabs some chalk to draw the all to familiar summoning circle placing a candle around each point.

Happy with her work, having done this many times before tonight, she dusts her hands of the chalky substance and runs upstairs to her bedroom to make herself look a little more presentable. She applies some light makeup, a simple red lip with sleek winged liner, and puts on a sleek form fitting black dress before kneeling at the base of the circle and whispering a small spell to summon the great demon prince Bang Chan into her home. Almost immediately the white chalk lines are replaced by vibrant blue magic and she can instantly feel the crackles and sparks that shoot off from it, a gust of wind sweeps around the room before settling back down leaving a beautiful young man firmly at the centre.

Once the dust settles the man walks out of the circle and smirks "hey there babygirl, what took you so long?" he rolls his strong shoulders letting the bones crack with each movement "almost thought you weren't going to summon me tonight" he pouts slightly as he offers a hand for her to take which she happily does as he pulls her to her feet ``sorry Channie got held up at work stupid boss wouldn't let me leave, came home as fast as I could" she smiles sheepishly at him.

He chuckles softly taking hold of her chin turning her face towards his own "it's alright babygirl no need to apologise" he wraps an arm around her waist pulling her close against him "you look so fucking beautiful tonight baby~" his other hand slides down her back caressing her skin gently "what's the plan?" Y/N sighs contentedly feeling the demons strong arms wrapping around her so tightly "thanks you're not looking so bad yourself" she giggles as she looks him up and down his red hair is styled up and out of his face, his dark eyes shine beautifully and the intricately decorated jacket he wears shows how regal he actually is "I figured we could have something to eat, maybe watch a movie cuddled under the blankets'' she gives his chest a tight squeeze "wasn't sure how long we'd have before your bodyguards show up but wanted to do something nice tonight… I don't know if you remember but it's been a year exactly since I first summoned you" she blushes slightly feeling a little silly under his brooding gaze.

He nods stroking her cheek lovingly finding her embarrassed blush so very cute "of course I remember that sounds perfect babygirl, we can order some takeout, I'll even let you choose what movie we watch" he winks playfully giving her ass a playful slap making her jump slightly and let out a squeak "after all it's been a year since the best night of my life" Chan pulls her in for a soft kiss before adding "as for the bodyguards, Minho and Changbin won't be showing up anytime soon" he murmurs into her ear "we've got all night baby~" he wiggles his eyebrows seductively, she giggles at the seductive look he's giving her "really how do you know? because I don't want them walking in on us like last ti-" he stops her sentence with a soft kiss and a low growl "that won't happen again, no one but me gets to look at my baby's body" he stares down at her possessively making a shiver of anticipation crawl up her spine.

Her gaze moves from his eyes to his soft plump lips thinking to herself how kissable they look, realising she's getting distracted she shakes her head of the thoughts starting to niggle in the back of her mind, she pulls away from his body slightly and grabs his hand leading him to her kitchen where she digs out some takeout menus to look through "where do they think you are Channie? surely they know your here with me again" she asks with a raised eyebrow as she hands him a couple menus to look through "I left a few tasks to keep them busy, told them they were of the utmost importance to keeping the realm safe" he chuckles as she gasps and pushes his chest "if they find out you're here they'll kick your ass" she shakes her head at his antics "I had to tell them something!" he laughs as he explains his thoughts "they can try and kick my ass but I am a prince of Hell, plus if they do find out you never know maybe they'll understand, they already know I have a soft spot for you babygirl" he winks and pulls her into a warm embrace "if by some miracle they DO show up I'm here to protect you, they'd never lay a hand on you" she sighs and rolls her eyes playfully at him.

She picks up a menu for a pizza place, basic but yummy and not too heavy, and nods towards the paper asking him to tell her what he wants "you're going to get in so much trouble for being here again aren't you?" she asks as she wraps her arms around his body burying her face in his clothes, enjoying the way his scent wraps around her making her feel safe and loved, he quickly points to a pizza he likes then curls his fingers under her jaw and presses his forehead to hers whispering "maybe but I don't care anymore even my father couldn't keep me from you, you're going to be my queen one day" his promise makes her chest tighten as he smiles enjoying their embrace before reluctantly pulling away to let her order the food. She takes the menu and orders two large pizzas with extra cheese and pepperoni. It doesn't take long for the food to get there so they gather up from blankets from Y/N's bed and huddle onto her sofa.

She turns on a movie she knows they've seen a few times before and cuddles into his arms as they eat. Y/N cuddles up to Bang Chan's side as he drapes a large fluffy blanket over the two of them, once settled he places a soft kiss on her forehead as they start watching the movie "you know, when I first summoned you..." at her words he turns to look at her face intrigued "I never could have imagined I'd be having domestic as fuck movie dates with the crown prince of Hell" she giggles as she teases him, he chuckles at her teasing "yeah yeah I know, I'm a big bad demon and we're watching fuckin' Bride Wars while cuddled on your small ass sofa" he jokes as he pulls her closer to him as he sighs contentedly "the shit you do for love" he smiles as he kisses her lips gently. The word 'love' makes her heart thud rapidly against her ribs "I love you too Channie" she returns his kiss eagerly.

He wraps his arms around her tightly as he pulls her closer to his chest "I want to spend every moment with you, to just lay in bed with you every night and wake up to you every morning" he kisses her hair softly "I don't want to let go ever, I can't wait for the day I get to take you back with me rather than having to leave you here alone" his words almost make tears of happiness well up against her lashes ``want to spend the rest of my life with you Chan" she moves her hands to her fingers wrap around his jaw as she pulls him down into a passionate kiss. He lets out a low laugh as he leans down to kiss her again "I want that more than anything babygirl and I promise as soon as I can guarantee your safety I'll take you to Hell with me" he says as he begins to nibble along her neck gently, his fingers moving to run through her hair as he pours all his feelings of love and affection into her skin.

She sighs softly as she feels his warm lips on her skin "I'll make sure you keep that promise" she replies as she moves the hair from her neck giving him more access to mark her body the action making him smile as he continues to kiss her neck and shoulders nibbling on the sensitive skin, he leaves small red and purple marks peppered over her neck and collarbone. As he moves one hand to cup her face and bring her head close to his so he could look into her eyes "you'll stay with me? Forever?" he asks as he looks deeply into her eyes. She nods her head "forever" she promises as she shimmies the blanket off her body as she climbs into his lap, she wraps her arms around his neck "let me show you how much I love you Channie" she kisses him, licking over his bottom lip with her tongue making him groan as he grabs onto her hips pulling her closer towards himself as their tongues dance together passionately.

His other arm wraps tightly around her waist holding her firmly against him as she bites his lip gently before breaking apart panting heavily Chan looks at her with love filling his dark eyes "my beautiful baby…" Y/N pulls away from his lips to kiss down his neck and jaw leaving her own little bites and marks, claiming him as her own knowing that his court would know who left the marks on their prince. Once satisfied she moves her hands down to unbuckle the belts tied around his waist, next she unbuttons his shirt and pulls the material off throwing it to the floor, taking a moment to run her hands down his exposed body.

The demon prince lets out a low sigh as he feels her touch sending chills down his spine as he leans back and closes his eyes enjoying the sensation of her hands caressing his bare chest. With each movement of her fingers he can feel the warmth radiating through his body enjoying the way her nails dig into his skin "so pretty" she smiles as she kisses down his body moving off his lap to sit on the floor between his feet. She runs her hands over his muscled thighs then settles her hands on his belt slowly undoing the leather material letting it also fall to the floor.

He looks down at her with an intensely lustful gaze as he bites his lip at the feeling of her teasing his body. Chan reaches down to run his fingers through the silky length of her hair as he feels his body reacting to the seductive touch of her fingertips Y/N moves her attention to Chan's hardening length, she applies slight pressure making Chan suck in a sharp breath as she plays with him "don't tease babygirl, it's been too long since I've felt your hands on my body" she bites her lip nodding almost obediently as she motions for him to lift his hips so she can tug his pants down. As he sees her motions he lifts his hips allowing her to pull his pants down with ease, as soon as they are down she licks her lips at the sight of his pretty pink cock a bead of precum dribbles over the head of his length.

Chan growls in warning as he sees her staring "what did I say about teasing me?" he groans "sorry baby just love your cock, so pink and pretty" she smiles as she leans forward to lick off the precum from his head, she gives teasing licks and kisses down the length of his dick. He groans low in his throat as she starts licking his cock, the feeling of her tongue running along his shaft sends shivers across his body as he arches his back slightly urging her to stop teasing him "mmmh.." he moans softly. His big hands flex and grip onto the sofa cushions "ah ah" she tuts as she uses her hands to push his hips down and keep them there "we're doing this my way" she smiles as he looks down at her not fully sold on relinquishing control however his the worry soon leaves him as his mind goes blank when she wraps her lips around the head of his cock giving the slit as few licks then moving back to soft sucks around his cock head.

As she sucks his cock head he lets out a shuddering moan her soft sucks aren't quite enough, he starts gripping the cushions tighter as he begs "mhmm.. baby, please" Y/N feels pride swell in her chest at his reactions to her touch but she wants to explore his body "wanna take my time Channie, we're always rushing because of your bodyguards" she flattens her tongue against the underside of his length using her tongue to lick at the veins running along his length, moving her right hand from his hip she spits into it before gripping his length giving it short pumps. His eyes roll back as she spits into her hand and starts applying sweet pressure to his dick, he can feel pleasure starting to spark in this body "you're killing me babygirl," he pants "please let me fuck you already" she simply shakes her head as she rolls her wrist tightening her hold on his length letting her hand rub up and down as her mouth focuses on the head, she gives him a few hard sucks before she starts to move him slowly down her throat licking anywhere she can as she does, keeping up the rhythm with her hand.

His eyes close as he feels her hands and mouth working together in perfect harmony, she's always been good at making him melt with her touch, but this is on another level. Her tongue feels so sinfully good as he clutches onto the pillows and moans her name, as she moves her head further down taking in more of his length she keeps a firm hold on his length making sure every inch of him is covered and pleasured as best she can with his impressive size. Her thighs start to rub together in a bid to create some much needed friction as wetness starts to collect between her legs, having him in her mouth and hearing his moans turning her on quickly. He feels every movement in her throat, every twitch of her tongue, every touch of her hand. He's almost at the point of no return, and she hasn't even taken all of him yet. He knows he's done for as she steadily takes his full length down her throat, the tightness and wetness of her tongue and throat making his length throb as a low moan leaves his lips and his hands shoot out to take a hold on her head.

Suddenly she pulls off his length completely taking a breath as her hand keeps pumping him, when she's gotten a lung full of air she takes him back down her throat to the hilt and takes a hold of his hands and pushes them into her hair making him take a hold of her "shit~ you sure babygirl?" he asks, she taps his thigh to give her consent as he starts to fuck her throat his hips thrusting up into her mouth starting slowly at first to let her adjust. She takes everything he's got to give, her throat working against him in a rhythm that drives him wild. Her hair slides through his fingers as he tightens his grip, his eyes closed tight as he fights to maintain control and not go too rough. He can feel his release building in his balls, the pressure building with every stroke of her throat, his grip tightening as the rock of his hips increases as he fucks his cock down her throat as carefully as he can.

She moans around his length as he takes control of her body, the vibrations flow straight to his cock making him choke out a loud groan "fuck...fuck... close" he moans out as his grip on her hair becomes almost bruising, she uses her tongue to lick against his cock as he moves faster down her tightening throat. He feels his orgasm building, and with a grunt he grips her hair even tighter, his thrusts becoming more frantic, harder, his breathing quickening. Then it hits him, with a loud moan of her name he holds her head firm against his body as he cums hard down her throat as his grip on her head loosens she slowly pulls away from his cock making sure to clean him clean as she moves away, looking into his eyes she licks her lips and any precum left on her fingers "you good baby?" she asks with a giggle as his chest heaves heavily.

His breath coming in ragged gasps panting for air he nods, letting his hands run over his face before looking back down at her and nodding slightly, "yeah I'm fine..." he says softly, "I think you just sucked my dark soul out through my dick" he chuckles as his breathing evens out. She giggles at his dramatic comment "glad you enjoyed it baby" she crawls back onto his lap as she nuzzles his neck with her nose, Chan basks in her loving attention for a moment before he grins at her mischievously. His dark eyes glow blue as his magic crackles into existence, he clicks his fingers and teleports them to her bed where he throws her down and crawls over her body with a predatory gaze.

He smiles widely when they arrive at her room feeling himself getting lost in her beautiful eyes, he leans forward and presses gentle kisses along her jawline before trailing them lower towards her collarbone, licking lightly "I've missed this, missed feeling you" he clicks his fingers again to leave her bare in front of him, he nudges his nose along her neck as he growls possessively "you smell so fucking good babygirl... smell like me" a shiver runs down her spine at his words she lets out a small whimper as she spreads her legs for him "need you Channie" she reaches her hands out to grasp at his body.

His cock hardens at her words, he nips at her neck softly and smirks a little "need you too little one, need to be inside you... I need to hear your sweet voice calling my name as you cum around my cock..."he reaches his hand down and groans as he feels her slick running down her thighs "so wet... I'll barely have to prep you" he smirks as he pushes two of his long fingers into her wet pussy making her moan out. His words have her walls clenching down on his thick fingers as they thrust up hitting the deepest parts of her body "don't need prepped Channie, I can take you please...please need you in me now" she cries out as her hands come to grip his muscled arms.

He pulls back sucking her essence off his fingers and growls hearing her beg before reaching under her knees and lifting them over his shoulders. He groans deeply as he enters her, stretching her wide, slowly pushing his cock into her, filling her so deliciously as her moans steadily increase in volume before he begins to pound into her with force, his lips crashing against hers with a savage passion that matches his movements. Her back arches off the bed as he sets a rough pace pounding her back into the bed as her eyes screw up from the immense pleasure "want you to call me by my birth name babygirl" he grunts as he re angles his hips to make sure his cock head is hitting her g-spot "want you to call me Chris" a loud moan leaves both of their lips as she clenches down on his length, she nods her head immediately moaning out his name "C-Chris~ fuck baby... you're cock is filling me so deeply" she chases his lips as he trusts into her.

He grips her asscheeks tight pulling closer as he continues to pound into her hard, his teeth bared in a feral grin as he speaks "always wanted to hear you moan my given name...had to wait until I knew you'd be my queen" he grunts each time his cockhead rubs against her g-spot. He growls out her name as he slams into her faster and harder, his breath coming in short bursts, his face twisted in pure lust as her pussy sucks him in greedily. Her bed starts to shake with every thrust but neither of them could care what her neighbours can hear, she whimpers and clenches down on him as he calls her his words "you like that babygirl? when I call you my queen?" he grins as she nods her head, her grip on his body tightening as he rocks her body back and forth.

He groans loudly as he feels her tighten around him, her walls squeezing tightly around his shaft as he pounds into her relentlessly, his hands gripping onto her thighs for support as he leans forward kissing and licking her neck "well I love calling you my queen because that's what you will be when we get married" he whispers between kisses, his voice hoarse from all the exertion as he lays his heart bare for her. Her cries in pleasure are making her throat sore but she can hardly recognise the pain through the immense pleasure shooting through her limbs "'m gonna fuck my babies into you, gonna breed you so every demon out there knows your mine" his grip on her thighs tightens, the skin turning red from how hard he's gripping her "need your cum Chris" Y/N cries out.

The sound of her cry sends shivers up his spine, his hand reaching down to stroke her clit in gentle circles "I'm going to fill you up babygirl, mark you as mine" he whispers before leaning down to kiss her lips passionately, his tongue sliding into her mouth eagerly "want you to cum around my cock~" he grunts as his fingers increase their speed on her throbbing clit. Y/N reaches her hands up to rest in his hair tugging roughly as he thrusts into her, she whines loudly as the pleasure of his fingers on her clit and his cock spearing into her g-spot have her eyes rolling back as she babbles cock drunk "g-gonna- g- gonna cum!~ cumming~" she cries as she bucks her hips up, thighs shaking wildly.

He grunts as she tugs on his hair and he feels her buck against him, her body trembling beneath his touch as she cums hard around his thick member, coating it in her slick "ohh fuck...you're such a good girl for me..." he moans softly, as his thrusts become erratic a familiar blue crackle fills the room as his regal red horns sprout from his head making her gasp, knowing his horns are sensitive she gives them a rough tug making his hips stutter into her walls.

He growls deeply in pleasure at her rough touch on his horns thrusting into her harder as he feels them being played with, making his eyes roll back as he loses himself in the moment "you're so fucking sexy playing with my horns like that...Y-Y/N... I-I'm…" she clenches her walls down hard as he gives her one last rough thrust before he's spilling his hot cum into her pussy, rocking his hips forward as he slowly comes down from the intense high she's milking from him.

He releases a ragged groan of pleasure as he spills himself into her feeling her tight walls clench down on his cock making him shudder with pleasure, leaning forward as he kisses down her neck groaning as he feels her soft lips against his neck "fuck...you're so-wet and warm around me…" they stay still wrapped in each other's arms for a moment as their breathing becomes less erratic Y/N winds her hands through his hair, brushing her fingers over his golden tipped horns with a small smile on her face.

A smile plays on his lips as he feels her hands in his hair and ghosting over his horns reaching up he wraps his fingers around her waist, tugging her closer to his chest as he nuzzles his nose against her own "I love you" a soft giggles escapes her lips at his feather light touches "I love you too Chris" the demon on top of her blushes slightly but smiles moving his lips to place kisses along her wrists, once his length has started to soften he pulls out of her slowly moving his body away to get a damp cloth to clean them up with.

Chan quickly and carefully cleans her up first then gives himself a quick wipe down before throwing the cloth into a nearby bin, he rejoins her in bed crawling over her body as he pulls her close his face inches from hers as he places light kisses over her cheeks then down to her lips. She returns his soft kisses sighing contently, he rubs his nose against her neck then he looks into her eyes "if you ever wait that long before you summon me again I'll hunt you down and make your life insufferable" he laughs as he gently pokes her side "didn't wanna disturb you in case you were busy with your 'princely duties' but couldn't pass up the opportunity to see you tonight" he hums at her answer "summon me anytime you want or need me babygirl, I'm all yours" he smiles as she gives him a tight squeeze.

A low hum rumbles in his throat as he holds onto her tighter, unable to resist the urge to claim every inch of her body. His lips are hot and demanding as they take hers desperately, their tongues intertwining together without restraint. Chan softly pushes Y/N into her bed and he's about to crawl back on top of her when the pair hear two very familiar voices pounding on her bedroom door "you in there Chan?" Changbin asks, sounding a bit sheepish, as a slap fills the space "of course he is, can't you smell them" Minho complains and she can already imagine the look of disgust on his face. Chan simply growls low in this throat "someone better be fucking dying" clearly not sensing the danger they're in at interrupting Chan the duo burst into the room "no one's dying yet… woah" Minho blinks as he points to Chan's clearly visible horns grumbling as he dodges a pillow thrown at his head by Chan.

The frustrated demon prince pulls Y/N behind his back and makes sure her body is covered completely before giving his friends his attention "demons are whispering about how long you've been gone man" Changbin speaks before hesitantly adding "the king and queen, y'know your parents, are demanding you return home" he flinches slightly expecting another pillow to come flying at them.

The sigh that leaves Bang Chan is one of defeat and annoyance "fine fine I'll get dressed and come back home" he turns to his pretty human with a frown " 'm sorry babygirl, I'll make it up to you, yeah?" he places a chaste kiss against her lips, he gives her one last longing look before he stands making the men quickly cover their eyes "you could've waited till we left the room ew" Minho tuts as Changbin laughs silently "you two" Chan points between them "wanted me to hurry and I was clearly very busy before you teleported here" an amused laugh leaves his friends as they both nod muttering a joint "clearly" while looking at each other with smirks on their faces which only works to increase the frown on Chan's gorgeous face.

Using his magic he quickly redresses himself and his lover allowing Y/N to stand and say goodbye, she gives him a long passionate kiss before muttering a soft "I love you" against his lips. With a longing sigh he responds "I love you too babygirl" he gives her one last tight squeeze before standing with his life long friends and bodyguards "a pleasure as always" Minho smiles giving her a small bow "same time next week" Changbin jokes earning a slap to the back of his head from Chan and a laugh from Minho and Y/N "bye boys, look after him will you?" she speaks sweetly, receiving an earnest nod from the two slightly smaller demons as she blows Chan a kiss and watches with a sigh as they disappear in a haze of smoke "see you next week" she smiles to herself as she flops onto her bed curling into her bed sheets surrounded by the scent of her royal lover.

Banner made by: @cafekitsune 💙

[imtrashraccoon]

We're getting closer to the finale! Yay! Also getting closer to my favourite of the four...

@owl-bones

First, Previous, & Next Day

Bad Sansuary II: Killer - Jacket

Word Count: 845

You comforted Dirk for a few minutes before pulling away again. "Are you going to be alright?" you asked softly.

He shrugged, "if i don't think about it very much, i'm usually fine."

"Still, if we ever get out of here, I'll be here if you want to talk about it." You grinned at him and added, "We're partners and no matter what, I'll stick by you."

He opened his mouth to respond when you both picked up the sound of approaching footsteps. Exchanging a glance, you lowered yourself to the ground once more, followed by Dirk. With your keen hearing, you were able to differentiate that there were only two people approaching.

Dirk nudged your side and motioned down at the room. You tilted your head curiously as he quietly crawled forward to look over the edge. Was he trying to get caught? Surely they would see him the moment they stepped into the room. Not wanting to be left behind, you crawled forward as well and slowly poked your head up, just enough to look down without being spotted.

Two cultists stepped into the room with one holding a lantern. They were of similar height, but thanks to their cloaks, you couldn't see what they looked like. While they didn't say anything, you could tell that they were searching for the two of you. As they moved further into the room, Dirk glanced at you and his grin sharpened as he looked back at the figures below.

It hit you in that moment that Dirk didn't want to get caught, but rather, he wanted to take out the cultists. You could get behind that. The trick would be to do it fast and to do that he might need some help. You placed your paw on his shoulder and nodded, giving him an almost manic grin.

As the cultists reached the far side of the room, Dirk dropped down from the ledge and you were quick to follow. While neither of you had made much noise, the soft crunch as you landed was enough to draw attention.

As the cultists started to turn around, you and Dirk rushed them. You conjured your meteor hammer, swinging it around and letting one of the weights connect with one of the cultists faces. They crumpled to the ground in an instant and you were immediately on top of them with your dagger.

Dirk took a different approach, summoning the other cultist's soul and launching several red bone bullets at them. He darted forward, throwing a well aimed punch at their face, sending them down as well.

For a moment, neither of you said anything, listening for the sound of anyone else approaching. The fresh EXP burned in your veins, but in a good way. When no one seemed to have noticed the murder, you and Dirk turned to look at each other again.

"That...went oddly well," you remarked, finally letting out a breath you had been holding.

His target shaped soul flickered and glitched, but except for the manic grin on his face, he looked oddly calm after that. "very well," he agreed.

"So... I got to ask, but did you have a plan for what to do now? Or did we just kill them for no reason?"

He chuckled and bent down, beginning to remove the cultist's cloak. "i'm making this up as i go, but if we take their clothes, we can walk around without being noticed."

You let out a quiet hum of approval. "That's...actually a pretty good plan. Except for one problem...I'm shorter than both of them."

He paused and looked up at you again. "well, we have blades. we could trim the edges of the cloak to fit you better?"

You stared at him for a moment before chuckling and shaking your head. "I wasn't thinking about that. I'm more worried that the other cultists will notice we aren't the same as these guys because I'm shorter than you, when they were pretty close in height."

"oh." He scratched his skull before shrugging. "again, i'm making this up as i go, but if we don't go up to them and talk, the disguise should work."

"I suppose we'll find out," you murmured.

After stripping the cultists of their cloaks and attempting to move the bodies out of immediate line of sight, Dirk helped "tailor" the clothing to your size. Thankfully, he was accurate enough with a knife to cut relatively straight lines. Once you had both donned your disguises, you turned to the passageway leading out of the room.

"So, are we in agreement?" you asked.

He nodded, "we get out, preferably without being seen, and get back to the camp. after that, we head to the dark fortress to tell the boss and get back up."

"Do you remember which way was out?"

Dirk opened his mouth before closing it again. "no? i was rather focused on losing those guys earlier..."

You sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose. "Greeeat. So we'll have to use trial and error then..."

[sparklecryptid]

Imagine if Feanor!Ace+finwion!brothers+ The Rest Of The Bastards + ARDYN get dragged to Tirion via the summoning ritual. (Should have specified better then 'Feanor and Feanor's kin' in the ritual, Manwe. Poor, poor Valinor.)

There are three things Ace does when he realizes that he and his family are in Tirion, standing in front of the Valar and various family members from their previous life; the first is that he makes sure his siblings and Ardyn are okay, and while Ardor looks like he wants to run his sword through something Ace deduces that if he's fine enough to be angry he's fine enough to deal with whatever this is. The second thing Ace does is yank two bottles of wine that he usually reserves for Ardyn out of his armiger and wordlessly hands a bottle to Thanatos who opens it and proceeds to take a swig from it like its rum and not one of the finest wines on Eos.

Ace then stares Manwe directly in the eyes and follows Thanatos' lead. The Vale pauses in his speech.

Ace stops drinking long enough to grab Mercury and Jupiter.

"No," Ace says.

"You don't even know what we were going to do!"

"I don't want explosions happening in the quarter of Tirion I helped build, thank you."

Mercury pauses.

When she laughs it's like breaking ice.

"Shit, Ace. How many times did you die?" The crowd around them ripples with voices at that. They know he was Feanor but they don't know who he is now or who he was before.

They don't need to know. They aren't his kids.

"Twice," Ace says blandly, "I'm hoping this is the last time I remember my previous lives. It's rather disorienting."

Manwe clears his throat. The attention diverts back to him.

"As I was saying, as long as you stay you will be well taken care of-"

"No,"Ardor says.

"I'll pass," Thanatos says.

"No thanks," Ace says.

"Did they bring us all here with the intention of kidnapping you?" Bard gasps in outrage, "They can't do that! You're ours."

"Bard is right," Persephone says serenely with the glint of something deadly in her eyes, "You're our brothers, how could we let someone else take you from us?"

"Aww," Thanatos says, "You two do care!"

"The door between worlds has closed, you cannot go back."

Ardyn's laughter is like stone breaking. It causes the air to freeze.

"Oh dear nephews," Ardyn drawls as he swaggers forward and draws the three into an embrace, "Do you have a habit of making enemies of conceited gods?"

Thanatos and Ardor give Ace some very pointed looks.

"Yes."

Ardyn laughs again and when he grins at Manwe it's all teeth.

"I suggest you do better research into who you are abducting next time," Ardyn says, "I am not going to let my nephew leave. Nor will I allow you to make us stay."

Ace debates letting his uncle rip a hole between worlds.

"Uncle," Ace says instead, "Not here at least, there has to be a better place."

[avionvadion]

My brain had some thoughts while I was trying to type the fanfic and de-stress, dunno if I'll follow through with it, but it was a fun idea that I wanted to draw out, haha. Like, why was El the human that was summoned instead of any other? Surely there's a reason, yes?

What do you think happens to the Angels and Demons that die??? To the Sinners that are killed in the Exterminations? Reincarnation isn't in the bible, but... it's a fun idea to play with, especially since it's a thing in so many different religions. And since Lilith is a thing (following the Jewish texts in that she was the first woman and Adam's first wife) it's not purely the Christian version of events.

I dunno, I think it leaves room for creative liberties, haha.

Anyways, dark ramblings below!

The idea is that Iliana served as Adam's guardian angel, but fell in love with Lucifer and his ideas. Lucifer, however, fell for Lilith, and Iliana probably slacked off on her duty as Adam's guardian angel (or at least distracted him while Lucifer was meeting Lilith) since she cared for Lucifer's happiness over her own.

When Lucifer and Lilith fall, she becomes lost in despair- but holds on long enough for Adam to ascend into Heaven. Having no reason left to keep going, her duty done and her one-sided love lost to the depths of Hell, she stabs herself and dies. She wasn't particularly close to Adam, but she was the only one that remained by his side despite his horrid personality, so he cared quite a lot about her. He was more than a little upset (and pissed) when she died in his arms.

Thousands of years pass.

Iliana the Angel is reborn as Eleanora the Human, who ends up getting summoned into Hell via a demon trying to reverse engineer a summoning circle. She's miraculously saved by Charlie, Lucifer's daughter. And... yeaaaah.

I feel like Adam would end up having a, "You're lucky you're a human now, or I'd have killed you myself for dying all those millennia ago!" Before actually trying to kill her during the next extermination after she's transformed into her somewhat demonic self out of rage/betrayal that she "abandoned Adam/died on him" just to reincarnate "for Lucifer".

Like... dude lost both his wives to Lucifer. And then he lost his "best friend" at the time, only to find out she reincarnated as a human... and rejected Heaven again... for Lucifer.

Adam's gonna rampage. XD

[alexanderlightweight]

I'll confess, I did read your previous prompt but it had slipped my mind and I was not thinking of it specifically when I wrote mine. I just really like hair lore and long hair and fancy hairdos and can never get enough fics with those. So if you want to extend the previous verse or if you've got a slightly different idea and want to write that instead, I will be entirely happy either way Thanks for picking mine! I'm all excited now ~~ \(^o^)/ ~~

haha you're good. i just was trying to figure out if it was a continuation or not but here we go! new hair lore from a different verse lol

i hope you enjoy!

<3 lumine

-

“And what will you need for this ritual?” Alec asks, barely looking up from where he’s bent over a screen. Because if he sees Fray with braids other than training ones, he’s going to throw something — probably her — and he wants to finish this conversation.

There is silence and Alec looks up, frown on his face because he isn’t sure why they’re stalling or why they have yet to introduce whoever they’ve brought with them.

“This is, uh Alec this is Magnus Bane.” Fray says and Alec’s eye twitches, ready to rip out the braids currently in her hair and the small little demon bone charm in it.

“Yes, I know the High Warlock of Brooklyn.” Alec allows, nodding casually to Magnus who is watching him with far more interest than he did when Alec was seven and trying to stalk him out of the Institute.  It’s been years since he’s last seen him and Magnus is only more handsome, more beautiful and Alec reminds himself that business has to come before pleasure.

“It’s a sacrifice.” Magnus allows, “nephilim hair is steeped in their grace and the price to pay for nephilim memories must of course, come from a nephilim.”

“Alright.” Alec says and when Jace gives him a surprised but pleased look he adds, “Fray, you’ll supply as much as needed.  If there is more needed, you can request volunteers though no one is obligated to help you.”

“Alec—”

“Surely you weren’t expecting me to volunteer?” Alec asks casually as he stares Jace down. “If you and Izzy and interested in volunteering then of course I’ll allow it. If mother asks, I’ll make sure she understands it was a sacrifice for a…” his bottom lip curs into a sneer despite himself, “comrade of yours.” 

Magnus Bane is staring at him curiously, eyes incredibly intent and Alec is trying so hard not to let it affect him, even when it makes him want to stand straighter and turn, to show off the charms on his braid.

“Seriously? It’s just hair! These are my memories.” Fray tries to explain and Alec sighs, because his hair is more important to him than a stranger’s memories and he turns to Magnus.

“What are the specifics?”

“I’m not actually sure—” Magnus tells him and he seems completely at ease with the admittance. “Jocelyn Fairchild didn’t care about how they were protected, only that the memories would be nearly impossible to get.”

“My mother—”

“Shut up.” Alec says at the same time Magnus snaps his fingers and Clary goes surprisingly silent and then her face twists in outrage.  Alec snorts and ignores her, giving Jace a look that just dares him to interfere.

“A price will need to be paid to summon the demon, let alone find out what the cost will be.”

Alec sighs and looks at Clary with a frown and draws a small, ritual knife from his sleeve.  “Take off until just above the charm, that should be enough to figure out what the actual price is.” He holds it out, handle first to Clary and she crosses her arms and snorts.

“You cut your hair!” Clary spits out, the spell finally gone, “you’re the leader, aren’t you! So cut your own damn hair, Alec.” She tosses her red tangle of braids, “you’re a guy. You don’t even need long hair.”

Alec blinks and then he moves.  Clary is on the ground a moment later and he pins her there with his foot on her shoulder blades, one hand in the garish mess of braids.

“Do you want your memories back?” He asks calmly and Jace and Izzy are still, their faces pale from the moment Clary demanded he cut his hair.  The moment Clary garbles out a yes, Alec ignores anything else she adds and he cuts. 

There is a tiny chime, like a gong being shattered and Clary shudders as what little has grown of her angelic power is sheared away.  This is meant to be a sacrifice; it always is when a shadowhunter cuts their hair and Alec feels no sympathy.  The tiny demon bone charms disintegrates and he scoffs as he tosses the bundle to Magnus.

“The charm broke, it didn’t consider any of her demon kills to be valid.” Alec says mockingly, because Jace and Izzy insisted that Clary counted as bloodied even though Alec was sure it didn’t.  The charm dissolving without the connection to Clary’s core makes it clear that she’s not as strong or as capable as they keep pretending.

Clary sobs on the ground, looking up at him in horror and Alec shrugs.

He’s given Clary Fray every opportunity to learn and ask questions.

“You don’t get to pick and choose what parts of our culture you like.” Alec tells her and Magnus hums in agreement as he steps up close and the look, he’s given Alec is so hard to turn away from, but he does. “You want to be a part of our world, then you pay the prices like everyone else and you don’t get to ask others to sacrifice parts of themselves for your own vendetta.”

“Get her to the infirmary.” He tells Jace, “she’ll be fine in twenty minutes with a little adrenaline. Tell them to give her one of the weaker IV cocktails for nephilim children, she won’t be able to handle the amount an actual shadowhunter can handle.” He turns to Magnus then and swallows, “would you like to discuss the array and look over the wards in the rooms we have in our ritual rooms?”

“That would be perfect, thank you Alexander.” Magnus murmurs and he steps up next to Alec and smiles, something daring in his gaze. “Lead the way?”

[chaotictempleknight]

UnderSulfur - Flowey and Sans

Hello, I posted a sh_tpost drawing of Sans and it actually did well compared to everything else I post, so I guess UnderSulfur gets to see the light of day.

UnderSulfur

In the ancient past, demons once mingled with humans. It was a time of magic and wonder, but one day the demons vanished, taking with them their knowledge of the arcane. Humanity moved on, forgetting its past with demon-kind, with only remnants of this time surviving through the practices of a scant few magicians who study the grimoires and tomes of yore. One day, a human seeking knowledge and enlightenment fell down a great, bottomless hole. This hole was rumored to be a gateway to Inferno. Upon coming too, the lone magician discovers that he has ended up in the realm of demons with no way to return to his home. The Kingdoms of Inferno were fascinated to see a human again, but things are not as they seem in Inferno. A group of malcontent demons appear to be plotting something that could spell the downfall of humanity.

Sans and Flowey

Sans is an obscure Duke of Inferno, albeit one would never realize that given that he is rarely summoned by humans and does not act like a duke. Typically he stands guard near entrances to Inferno, making sure there is no trouble. Papyrus, a president and his brother, constantly gets on his case to get out there and make himself known to the humans. Naturally Sans says he will get on and then makes a joke at his brother's expense. Sans is not the most motivated as Inferno is much more preferable to the human realm. Most humans are petty and corrupt, but the odd few who either summon him or end up in Inferno fascinate him. They seem to have their heads on straight and actually want to learn.

Flowey is an abrasive mandrake who has been tempting humans into giving him their souls for ages. He would promise riches and glory only for the deal to backfire. Why Flowey is claiming souls is unclear, but King Asgore had finally had enough and instructed one of his underlings to deal with the nuisance. Sans stepped up and compelled the trouble making plant to be one of his familiars. Flowey is mad he cannot get away with his misdeeds, and Sans has loads of puns to yank his leaves and drive him nuts.

The lone human

The lone human is a boy named Aleister Archibald Craddock, a rebellious 11 year old who was reading books he should not have. And now he is stuck in Inferno. While not the realm of evil most paint it out to be, Inferno is no place for children or foolish mortals. Thankfully he was discovered by Sans and Toriel rather than some trouble making demon or earth spirit. Given that he is going to be in Inferno for the foreseeable future, Toriel has elected to take care of him. Papyrus is curious to see if the human has what it takes to join the psuedomonarchy of Inferno, something Toriel is not keen on.

Some notes about this AU:

I'll work on it whenever I can, as I have an ongoing project already.

This project will borrow a lot from ULTRAMagic Alternate. If I don't do a lore post for something in this AU, you may be able to find info about it in UMAE. UMAE started out as an Undertale AU before becoming what it is now, so haha.

Don't be surprised if my UMAE characters cameo in this project.

There will be demons from books like the Goetia, The Sworn Book, and The Infernal Dictionary showing up. Given that I have some adaptations of these demons in UMAE, it only makes sense.

I would have made a proper UnderSulfur logo, but my Chromebook can't add new fonts, Canva sucks, and I'm not using a logo generator. Someday we'll have a proper logo.

[comfort-questing]

29. "fatigue"

you need to check on Torin, they'd told her, he's not doing well.

nobody was really doing very well these days, with the scouts reporting maybe three more days before the last road was blocked, and the enemy forces drawing close and closer to their walls. nobody was doing well exactly, and so Sir Torin the governor looking bad enough to require a specific report to her was indeed not a good sign. that was why she'd taken the time to leave the placement of tents and the cataloguing of incoming refugees to one of her subordinates for the afternoon and made her way uptown.

she'd had to wait an hour to get an audience along with the rest of the folk in the governor's mansion. when she did get into the room, the dense dimness of it startled her, and she paused on the threshold blinking frantically.

"pardon the curtains," came Torin's voice, from somewhere beyond, oddly hoarse and flat. "I've had an awful headache all day. what do you need, 'Lis?"

her eyes adjusted at last, as she rubbed at them with one hand, and found Torin where he sat behind a cluttered desk with a half-lit lamp at his elbow. maybe it was only the lamp-shadows, but the color seemed to have all gone out of his face except for a brilliant blush along his sharp cheekbones.

"heard on the wind that you were working yourself to death," she said.

"what of it?" he brushed his hair back from his eyes with one clumsy hand. "how's the camp in the south marketplace?"

"fine. it's fine, and do you know how I know it's fine? because I have other people helping me, and they're dealing with the roster and the placement of the three sheep-farmers coming in from the valley without me, while I'm up to check on you."

"don't give me another lecture about - what's it - delegation." he coughed into his elbow, thickly. "what do you think I've been talking to people about since first light?"

"governor things, I'm sure. important ones. but - Torin, you look like a ghost."

he sighed, letting his head rest on one hand, elbow to the desk between two piles of papers. "we're three days out from a siege. it doesn't matter."

the fingers of his free hand were horridly warm in hers, as she reached across the desk. "you're not going to help the city much from a sickbed, you know."

"I'll help the city from wherever I have to. I just - wish my head would stop hurting." there were dark circles etched under his heavy-lidded eyes. "I was up till four o'clock with the captain of the guards."

"and up at first light talking to folk about delegation?"

Torin's shoulders heaved with his next breath. "it's a - a - what - a manner of speaking."

this was how he'd always been, so desperately earnest, ever since they were schoolkids together in the academy; she'd seen him work himself to this point before, and it never ended well. she let go of his hand and stood up. "I'm letting the secretary know you're done for the afternoon."

"no - I can't. the scouts are reporting back in an hour or so - there'll be news of the advance - " he rubbed at his reddened eyes, haphazardly. "I'll go to bed tonight, 'Lis, I promise."

"Torin." she put her hands on the desk, then. "you have to understand - the city needs you, yes, but that means we need you safe and sound, and awake too. and that means you have to rest sometimes."

"don't - don't." he coughed again. "oh - blast."

"can't I listen to the military reports for you instead? I'm on the marketplace council, that's kind of official."

he laughed, shallowly. "I'll delegate that to you, if I have to, I guess."

she had been about to leave, to summon the secretary and a servant or so to see their governor off to bed; but something of the slump of his shoulders then, the ragged fringe of his fallen-loose hair, put her back into the memories of the old days, and so she moved back towards him instead.

Torin stiffened a little at her arms around him, but then relaxed with a sigh, as if they were two kids at the academy again. "oh, 'Lis."

"we're going to be all right," she said, into his hair. "I - I think we'll be all right, Torin, even if it's bad for a while. reinforcements will come and we'll hold out till then. we'll be all right."

and if the secretary, opening the door to ask about scheduling the next audience request, had any questions about why the councilwoman was hugging the governor, he had the sense not to comment.

[unluckyxse7enart]

And now for some shippy Hoshi no Kirby fic snippets! I honestly may keep these or finish them eventually for my series "Star Allies Unite!" (Because I keep telling myself I'll finish it lmao) but by now they're old enough I'll probably just start over, and also they may change as the main fic series develops.

First up - some Marx x Bandanna Dee! Premise is they're partway through one of the snowy boards in Star Allies, and taking shelter to flirt rest uwu

•••

The wind howled keenly outside the hastily-dug shelter, snow blowing both from above and below as the wind whipped and snapped through the snow drifts outside. Bandanna Dee eyed the entrance of their shelter, half evaluation and half wariness, before giving a satisfied nod.

"We should have enough cover from the elements here. It's cold, but we don't have to worry about the wind at least," they turned back to their chilled compatriot with a pleased expression. Marx returned their look with a dour expression, wings theatrically folded over themselves for effect.

"Great, but is there any way we can heat the place up a little, mx. Survival guide?" He groused, drawing his wings in tighter as an involuntary shudder ran up his body. Bandanna Dee raised an eyebrow at him, noting that the scales on his wings were shimmering only orange and red.

"Didn't Kirby give you a fire power-up before this, so we could make it to shelter safely?"

Marx's frown deepened.

"Curse your excellent, royal-grade memory," he huffed, summoning up a flame-coated beach ball and setting it in front of his feet. Bandanna Dee snickered.

"Not entirely sure what royal-grade memory would even be… but even if I didn't, you might want to blame your wings- those color-coordinated hexagons might be considered what some would call a 'dead giveaway," they pointed out. Marx glanced down at the offending wings still somewhat encircling him protectively, giving out an exaggeratedly scandalized gasp.

"What's this? My own flesh and blood... ratting me out like this?? How dare you!" He began staging a wrestling scene with himself, pretending that his wings were fighting back against him as he tumbled around in the cold dirt of the cave, kicking and biting them all the while. Bandanna Dee began chortling, enjoying the jester's slapstick antics quite wholeheartedly. Eventually, Marx appeared satisfied with the shenanigans, pulling himself up from the dirt as if coming back from a huge fight.

"You, uh... You have something on your face there," Bandanna Dee said with a poorly restrained snicker, gesturing to a cheek. Marx roughly rubbed at the smeared dirt on his face with a claw, giving the waddle dee a mischievous grin.

"You think this looks bad, you should have seen the other guy!" He replied in a mock gruff voice, spitting to the side for effect. Bandanna Dee busted into another fit of laughter, tears beading at their eyes.

"What in Popstar does that even mean, what did I walk into?" They giggled, wiping at their eyes with a paw. Marx snickered as he watched Bandanna Dee laugh, feeling unusually warm inside. No, it wasn't from anything about the way the waddle dee sounded when they laughed. Certainly not. It was purely from him standing nearly on top of the flaming beach ball. That's all. 

Instead, he flopped back down on a nearby rock, letting the heels of his feet warm up by the fire.

"Hey, you know, I took you for something of an uptight royal lackey, but you've got an alright sense of humor!" He smirked. Bandanna Dee sighed, finally catching their breath.

"Well yeah, of course, that was funny! Weird, but funny!"

Marx's heart did not skip a beat upon being complimented. Just because people rarely called him funny as a compliment didn't mean he was going to be flustered by that. Nope. No way.

He flexed his wings, stretching them out at either side behind him.

"Well of course! There's little that The Great Marx can't do, after all!" He replied smugly, puffing out his bowtie. Bandanna Dee raised an eyebrow at him for a moment.

"Like having wings that don't flash in embarrassment?" They pointed out. Marx's eyes bugged slightly as he realized that they were, indeed, shifting and changing color more rapidly than usual.

"What? Psht, as if. These are my nerd-detector wings to tell me when there's a nerd around," he sneered, jabbing a talon towards Bandanna Dee. The waddle dee rolled their eyes as they scooched closer to the fire, paws held out to soak in the warmth. There was a beat of silence, as Marx realized Bandanna Dee was refraining from dignifying that with an answer, and he started folding his wings back in on himself, watching the embers quietly, before Bandanna Dee spoke up again.

"You know, I've always thought your wings looked very interesting... May I take a closer look?"

Marx gawked at them, stunned uncharacteristically silent by the request. If it were almost anyone else, he would crack a joke to laugh it off, but for some reason the waddle dee's sincere tone made it hard for him to feel that great about the concept of doing so.

"Uh, er.. Yeah I guess so? Can't imagine it looks that much different than it does from further away though," he replied haltingly, turning his back towards the Dee so they could examine the wings better. Bandanna Dee clapped their paws once in delight, beaming.

"Thank you, I appreciate it!"

Marx mumbled something incoherent under his breath, something possibly along the lines of 'yeah sure whatever' but any intelligibility was lost before it even left his mouth.

Bandanna Dee did not seem to pick up on this, approaching his wings cautiously, almost reverently, taking a paw and delicately tracing against the edges of his golden wingframe. Marx twitched a little at the initial touch, but was somewhat relieved to find it tickled less than he expected. The only other person he let near the things before now was Kirby, and the kid never tried to treat them so carefully. He had not been looking forward to the concept of being ticklish there of all places.

Bandanna Dee ran their paw up and down the frame, admiring the shimmer to the golden tone, pondering the material it was made of.

"I know you said they wouldn't look different up close, but I never realized how scratched up they were," they murmured, tracing some particularly deep divets in the thick skin. Marx's expression tightened, and he was thankful Bandanna Dee couldn't see it.

"Are these all from your fight with Kirby?"

No.

"Oh, uh... Yeah, some of them, probably, but most of them are more recent than that I think," Marx replied with a jovial tone in his voice that he hoped didn't sound as forced as it was. Bandanna Dee hummed thoughtfully, running their eyes over the numerous lines and pockmarks.

"That does make sense, you're something of a reckless fighter from what I've heard," they replied with a bit of a laugh in their voice. It died in their throat though, as they noticed a particular set of scars. They carefully rubbed them, relatively deep gouges in sets of two almost directly mirrored on both wings, noting that Marx had tensed up upon their discovery of them, and that the wing's scales were beginning to shift colors rapidly. Bandanna Dee almost didn't even need to eye the talons on his wings to compare the angle and length to double check themselves. They debated on whether to press on the matter or not, before deciding against it. It wasn't their business, and Marx was already clearly uncomfortable.

Instead, they chose to gently pet over the scores, turning their attention to the scales on his wings. They tapped at a scale, surprised at the way it responded to the touch, the color changing and pulsing outward across the neighboring scales, like a ripple in a pond.

"As pretty as these are, their very nature has always baffled me. Do you even feel these?" Bandanna Dee asked, rhythmically tapping a couple more, unable to stop themselves from letting out muted oohs and ahhs at the way the resulting color ripples overlapped. Marx shook a wing lightly in response to this, but it was very clearly half-hearted.

"Hey, c'mon, I said you could look at them, not play them like bongos. Anyways yeah, I can feel you poking and prodding at them kinda, but it's less like you touching me and more like... tugging on my bowtie, almost? Like I feel the push and pull but I'm not actually feeling your paw against them or anything. I can tell if someone tries to yank ‘em out of the formation though... just ask Kirby," Marx replied with a roll of his eyes. Bandanna Dee snickered at the mental image of the puffball trying to sneak off with a colorful scale and failing to avoid an irate jester's notice.

“I can't say I entirely blame him for trying though… they really are quite striking,” they admitted, pulling away to admire the way they flickered in and out, red and orange. 

[estinininininen]

FFIV: Arm in Arm, Hand in Hand, ao3 link, ~2400 words

Rydia has a simple request for Cecil.

He'd do anything for her. She doesn't want to make it weird.

(He makes it weird.)

warning: unbearable cuteness

Cecil and Rosa agreed at once when Rydia asked for a private moment.

"Thanks for seeing me," Rydia said. "I know you're busy all the time."

"It's no problem," Cecil said. "I'd make time for you. Are you hungry? Did you have a good trip?" Taciturn King Cecil only babbled around people he liked. "Surely you must know I'd make time. Surely you know that."

"I know. I believe you. And I'm fine," Rydia said, even as Rosa brought a tray of tea to their table and Cecil jumped up to help her. Rydia stood up on court etiquette but Rosa shooed her back into the chair. "Really, I won't need more than a moment with you, but I wanted to ask you something."

"To ask something in private," Cecil said. "Are you safe? Are you in danger? What do you need?"

"I'm sure she's fine," Rosa said. She had an idea what Rydia might say, but it was important and Rydia should be the one to ask.

"I'm fine," Rydia said. "I'm more than fine."

"Right, right," Cecil said. "You wouldn't let anyone get the drop on you."

Rydia wrinkled her nose like she always did when teasing. "You should know that by now. No one gets past me if I don't want them to."

"Dear, have a little faith in her otherwordly magical abilities," Rosa said.

Cecil held up his hands. "Don't need faith. Seen it myself." He laughed. The stress of being King melted from his face. "I just worry about you, when I'm not looking." His expression blanked, and history for a moment weighed over their little table. Rydia and Rosa understood this was a truth that popped out before Cecil meant it to.

"That's alright," Rydia said. "I worry about you two, too." Then she stopped. Whatever Rydia had to say, she might need a little prompting.

Rosa covered the pause in conversation with pouring the tea. "How is Edge?" she asked.

"Speaking of people I worry about," Cecil said.

Rydia smiled and tucked her head down a little, to hide her glee. It was such a typical movement for a young woman in love that Cecil had to hold his surprise.

"Well. Edge and I. Um. We just got back from visiting the Feymarch," she said.

The Feymarch was a home to Rydia, and to everyone else it was the long-forgotten alien world of sentient monsters of legend. Even though Cecil and Rosa had been, twice, they still felt a thrill of awe when it was mentioned.

"And?" Rosa said. "It . . . went well? Asura and Leviathan are well?" she asked, stumbling and falling back on neutral politeness.

"Oh yes. I wanted to introduce them to Edge again, and for him to spend enough time for them to get to know each other. He managed to spend two whole weeks out of Eblan, got everything prepared and signed off. He gets so much more done when he's motivated. It turned into six months in the Feymarch. I think he really appreciated a long time away from the throne."

"Between us? Can't say I blame him," Cecil said. "And this . . . went alright? Edge in the Feymarch?"

"For half a year?" Rosa said.

"Yeah," Rydia said. When Rydia had started looking dreamy-eyed when talking about Edge, Cecil couldn't say, but it made his heart clench a little at his responsibilities drawing him away from friends. "Yeah, he and I had a wonderful time. I miss them all already," she sighed. "But, it also really is like Asura tried to tell me. I miss the surface, too. I'm glad now she told me to get out of the Feymarch more." She took a sip of her tea. "I don't think I'll be going back for such long periods anymore."

"Oh?" Cecil said. "Not that I'm not afraid when the next time I see you you'll have grown old, but are you sure that's what you want?"

"Mist is also my home," Rydia said. "And Eblan is too, now-"

"Oh," Cecil said, and Rosa thought, Ah.

"-and I've done what I set out to do with the new order of Summoners," Rydia continued. "There's not many, but there are some. My distant cousins, or random chance. They're doing so great, they study everything I tell them, and practice all the time," she said.

"Wait, but do you not still intend to keep them hidden? You don't need to tell us about them," Cecil said. "I still think you shouldn't. For their sake."

"I won't," Rydia said. "And I'm not. But I get to be proud of them, right? Let me brag a little! They're doing all the hard work but I like to think it's because I'm a good teacher, too!"

They all laughed.

She continued. "My point is, Mist is my home but it's not going to be the home of Summoners any longer. We're going to move around, stay separated for a time."

"That's a hard life," Cecil said.

"Not like wanderers," Rydia said. "Just a hidden group, our people in different places around the world. Living ordinary lives, as black mages or white mages. I might even have a Sage on my hand, if they can hold on to the balance. But I will be the only one who knows where all of them are," she said.

Cecil assumed this was what she needed help with. "What do you need? Anything I can give, I will," he said.

"Oh, no," Rydia said. "It's already done. The ninja skills have been of great help. Edge taught them the basics."

Cecil and Rosa glanced at each other. "He did?" Rosa said.

"He knows them?" Cecil said.

"He's the one who suggested all the subterfuge," Rydia said.

"But, he is . . . " A king, Cecil wanted to say.

"Ah," Rydia said. She sighed. "It really is unavoidable, politics."

"No. No," he said. "Not for this. It's too important. Does he understand that no one else can know? If, all the gods forbid, one day Eblan does as Baron did, then a record Edge leaves behind, even accidentally-"

"I don't think that will be a problem," Rydia said. "He doesn't know their names, or where they are. Give us some credit, please."

"Of course, of course," Cecil said. "But-"

"I don't think Eblan and the Summoners are going to be in conflict for a long time, unless Edge is taken off the throne," Rydia said, and shifted in her seat.

Rosa shifted. "Rydia, I know you've spent a lot of time with him, but he will always be the leader of his people before a friend," she said.

"I know. I know that!" She threw up her hands. "Next thing you're going to tell me is he has to marry some day," Rydia said, and avoided looking them in the eye.

"I'm sure that's hard to think about, Rydia," Cecil said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "Whatever happens, Rosa and I will be here for you." He looked to Rosa for assistance, who was now being quiet for some reason Cecil couldn't fathom. "It - it might not even change much between you and Edge," he said.

"Well I hope not," Rydia said, "because he's married to me."

Cecil stopped rubbing his thumb over Rydia's scapula.

"What?" he said.

"I married him," she said. Her eyes twinkled and her nose was, very slowly, wrinkling again. "Edge. We got married. We decided in the Feymarch."

Rosa broke into a huge smile.

"Arm Lady and Daddymonster were really patient with him," Rydia said, using her private family nicknames for Asura and Leviathan from when she was a girl. "Daddymonster especially, while Edge figured it out. He was right, he needed time away from court."

Cecil said, "What?"

"Time away from court. To figure out that I am much scarier than Eblan court politics," Rydia said.

"Much scarier," Rosa said.

"No," Cecil said. "I mean, you . . . got married? You married Edge?"

Rosa giggled and stood up to cover his ears, laughing at him. "He needs a moment," she said.

Rydia was giggling now, too. "Why - why is he like this whenever anyone surprises him?"

"It's good news, Cecil," Rosa said, drumming his skull. "Don't think too hard."

"Hey, hey now," he said, grabbing Rosa and pulling her into his lap. "Of course it's good news! Con - Congratulations!" he said.

"Why are you wheezing," Rydia said, now laughing in full.

"I just needed a moment," Cecil said. "Oh, oh. Oh. You're married." He stood up. Rosa squealed in indignation as she was forced to stand up too.

"Cecil, what-"

"You're the Queen of Eblan, now," Cecil said.

Rosa dashed around and grabbed Rydia in a huge hug.

"I feel like - like this is very good but maybe a little bit rushed," Cecil said.

Rosa glared at him from over Rydia's head.

"Are you sure about this?" he said.

Rosa huffed. Rydia said, "Well, I sure hope so, because it's done! Yes, Sir Cecil, I'm sure."

Cecil blushed. Rydia had only ever called him Sir Cecil when first reacquainted as adults and unsure of mortal habits.

"She spent six months with him in the Feymarch," Rosa said. "That's plenty long enough."

"The Eidolons all like him," Rydia said.

"I . . . " Cecil said. "I don't mean about the Eidolons. Eblan has assassins, Rydia. Eblan is assassins."

"That's a negative stereotype, but yes. It is. But I'm not worried about them," Rydia says. "Or the old judgy Judys at court."

"Who knows?" Rosa said. This was what Cecil really wanted to know but couldn't assemble the words for.

"The Lord and Lady of the Feymarch, Edge's personal guard, and his seneschal. And now you two. For now."

"Oh, so we are still important to you," Cecil said.

Rydia and Rosa stared at him.

Cecil clapped his hand over his mouth.

"I didn't mean that," he said. "I didn't mean that. Rydia, I'm sorry, I don't know why I think I have the right-"

"Cecil," Rosa said, and having known Rosa for most of his life and been married to her for five years now, he heard the danger. "Are you jealous?"

Damn women and their damn intuition understanding him before he understood himself.

"No!" he said. "I'm not jealous."

Rydia muttered something under her breath. Unless Cecil's ears were also as muddled as his thoughts were, it very much sounded like, "And there he goes again with the guilt spiral."

"Cecil." The Queen of Baron crossed her arms. "You're upset she didn't tell you they were getting married when they were in the Feymarch," Rosa said.

"No, that's ridiculous! I wouldn't be so petty," he said, and hoped, oh how he hoped, that the political skills he gained as King were going to one day give him the ability to lie.

But not to Rosa. Never Rosa. Just because he wanted to avoid the consequences of his own stupidity right now didn't mean he thought it was a good idea to lie to his wife. She looked in his eyes. "You are," she said.

"That's absurd," Cecil said. I thought I stopped digging my own holes a long time ago. "I - I really don't know where I get the idea I can keep doing this to you, Rydia, but I am so sorry-"

"Keep doing what?" Rydia said.

Rosa stared him down too and Cecil felt almost nauseous.

"Keep doing what, exactly?" Rydia said.

"I - I -"

Rosa saw what he meant, saw him floundering, and finally gave blessed, stinging mercy. She uncrossed her arms and spoke quietly. "We're not your family."

"No," Cecil said. "We're not. I'm sorry."

Rydia looked between both of them, and no matter how hard Cecil told himself she was an adult - she was more than an adult, she had often walked the road between the sands of time and come out closer to Edge's age than Cecil's own -

- he still just saw a little girl peeking out from beneath the covers in Kaipo while he wiped his blade clean of his countrymen's blood.

"You're not?" Rydia said.

Cecil grew even more confused.

"So do you not want to be?" Rydia said.

Cecil and Rosa shared glances. "Huh?" Rosa said.

Rydia said, "I don't know a lot of people personally on the surface still. People that can come to a royal wedding. The Eidolons and my summoner students can't. Isn't it important for someone to give the bride away?"

"I'm confused," Cecil said.

"I am too," Rosa said.

"Oh. We're going to have another wedding," Rydia said. "I got scared and skipped ahead. Sorry. Do you . . . Do you not want to walk me down the aisle?" She tilted her head at Cecil. "It's more of a surface thing, Lord Leviathan already gave his blessing anyway. I thought it wouldn't matter to me but in the Eblan weddings I've been to - oh, oh no, oh Cecil don't cry," Rydia said.

Cecil reared back and touched his face. He was crying? Why had he started crying?

He blinked and was hugging Rydia. He blinked again and was sitting down in the chair sagging like a bag of potatoes. The weird noises coming from his mouth and nose were indecorous for a king of a sovereign nation to make, but wasn't he already among company that didn't care?

"Oh," he heard Rosa saying. "Another wedding. Oh, that makes sense."

"For the benefit of Eblan and everyone else," Rydia said. "Because it really is always about politics, isn't it? He's marrying the Summoners and I'm marrying Eblan."

"Politics," Rosa said. "Sometimes I think Kain had the right idea . . . "

"Is - is he alright?" Rydia said, eyeing Cecil.

"I think he will be, yes," Rosa said, and she squeezed her hand. Cecil realized it was wrapped in his. He squeezed back. "I've . . . never seen him like this, though," Rosa said.

"Cecil, sometimes I can't tell what's going on in your head," Rydia said.

"Oh that's alright," he said, sounding like he had a head cold. "Makes two of us."

"So . . . can you do it?" Rydia said. "Walk me down the aisle?"

Cecil burst into tears again.

"That's happy crying," Rosa said. "Yes. Yes, he will, or I will throw him in the dungeon myself."

"I'm glad I have you to translate," Rydia said.

"Well I - I really don't know what's happening. Cecil, honey, breathe-"

Rydia started giggling. "Oh, no, I've broken him again."

[highcaliberstupidity]

Dog Days Pt.1

Part 2 (TBA)

Soap's never been much of a dog person.

He doesn't mind them, really, he'd loved the pooch he grew up with. But a stranger's dog, specifically a large one, yeah, any man was right to be wary of them, right?

So it's totally excusable for him to yelp like a scared little kid when a forty-kilogram German Shepard assaults him via slobber and tongue in the middle of the park. Minding his own business, drawing away, and then BOOM, several kilos of a very heavy, very wet dog that seemed intent on drowning him in its drool.

Casting his sketch pad and pencils to the side, all he could do was throw up his arms, calling for mercy as the big bastard just kept licking.

"Bloody 'ell, Riley, down!" A gravely, thick accent shouts and the assault comes to a very sudden end. Not before the bastard sticks a paw in his gut for good measure, that is.

For a long moment, all he can do is lay there, blinking confusedly at the blue sky as the slobber starts to dry.

Disgusting.

"Shit, sir, are you alright?" The sun and sky are blotted out, dark brown eyes full of concern and messy blonde hair snatching his attention. "Swear he's not usually like this, got a bit too excited and broke'is damn leash."

All Soap can bring himself to do is stare, blinking stupidly as his jaw falls open a bit. The mutts owner is nothing short of god-like, with wide shoulders and a slender build that tapered out of his line of sight.

Despite the black medical mask covering the lower portion of his face, the big brown eyes expressed all he needed to know as he gaped up at him.

Christ, the fucker was beautiful.

"...Sir?"

"Am I dead?" Oh, good fucking going MacTavish. "Cause you look like an Angel." Yeah, way to put your foot in your mouth you fucking bampot.

Promptly the pale, beautiful face scrunches up, and he could swear he sees a tinge of pink flush across his cheeks. "Did you just hit on me?"

"Did I?"

"Christ, did Riley hit your head off a stone or something?" Actual concern blooms in his eyes now, kneeling down next to him with a low huff. "Most sane men don't try to hit on someone when they're covered in dog spit."

Soap promptly lets out an affronted noise, sitting up fast enough to nearly brain his own skull of the strangers. "Oi, is'yer mutt that slobbered all over me!" He puffs, doing his best not to stare now as his higher brain functions slowly kick back online.

"Right, sorry bout that, he's usually pretty well behaved. Not to sure what got into him." As if summoned, the mutt in question, 'Riley' went in for another lick, only to be gently scruffed by the blonde. "Nough of that lad, leave the poor bastard alone. " He grunts, amusement clear in his tone.

"So, any chance I get to know the name of my beautiful savior?" Jesus Christ, apparently his higher brain function wasn't back up to snuff just yet. The blonde looks at him, and Soap can't quite tell if the squint of his eyes and furrow of his brow is a grin or a grimace.

"Mm, maybe." Brown eyes evaluate him for a moment, fingers toying with the torn end of the leather leash. "Have a coffee with me to make up for Riley, and I'll tell ya."

Soap grins despite the flush of heat that spreads across his own cheeks. "I'sppose I could be convinced, I even know one that's mut-Riley friendly." The blonde snorts, but there's a twinkle in his eyes now.

Yep, definitely grinning.

Pushing up from his squat, the blonde leans down to offer him a hand. "Well, lead the way then, mohawk."