#the little motion on the earrings and the gloves are great

[satanicspinosaurus]

FINALLY. Someone who gets that bards should kind of somewhat freak you out.

Yes, there's the nervous little toot toot joke. (Still great.) But like, my man is serving world altering magic via flute. I have no clue why quarter staff is fine, but instrument isn't.

Also like he is going to set the mood for those spells. And first, just going to guess that it's not going to be all flute sounds. And second, like a lot of psychic damage is on the bards spell list. The ominous serious background of this piece would like to you to consider this. (Seriously, I don't think we REALLY think about how buffs should be weirder than they are.)

But yeah, something really clicked for me seeing Aldiirn all glammed up here. I can see him holding a room way easier now. Some of that is certainly the beautiful clothing. That looks so expensive, damn. (Might be my Western-centric view but purple in these settings always screams expensive to me, lol.)

There's so many details, damn.

Aldiirn, the Musical Merchant! I somehow became possessed to render my tav to the level of the companions' cover art and found out just how potent the embroidery on the Potent Robes is. And remembered why I haven't done any painting work for myself for half a year haha.

[jeonginsleftcheek]

At the office

pairing: hyunjin x afab!reader x felix

genre: smut

word count: 2.2k

warnings: established relationship, gynaecologist roleplay, threesome, oral (f and m receiving), squirting, dirty talk, fingering, face-fucking, unprotected sex (p in v), i wrote this at 1am pls excuse any mistakes

~ Masterlist

"What seems to be the problem, miss l/n?"- doctor Hwang asks while you sit in the chair.

"Well... I can't... um... reach climax."- you say, your heart beating in your ears, hands clutched together as your face burns in embarassment.

You don't miss the small smirk on the handsome doctor's face.

"And I've tried everything. Really. I'm beginning to worry that something's wrong with me."- you exhale, trying to remind yourself that this is a regular thing, everyone goes to see a gynaecologist, and goes through stuff like this.

"Why don't we start with the check up?"- doctor Hwang stands up and you swallow the lump in your throat.

"Nurse Felix! Come to the office."- he calls out and in walks another handsome man with a warm smile.

"Miss y/n, you need to take your clothes off."- the nurse says, his deep voice reverbrating in your chest and core.

"E-everything?"- you ask and both of them chuckle, exchanging a smug look.

"Of course."- doctor Hwang observes you as nurse Felix comes closer to help you unzip your dress.

You can feel their eyes burning holes on your body as the nurse's hands work on your bra.

As soon as he unclasps it, your breasts fall out and doctor Hwang circles the table, coming closer to the two of you and putting your clothes aside.

He turns around to prepare the table as nurse Felix hooks his fingers in your panties, slowly pulling them down.

Your body shivers at the gentle touches of his fingertips and the fact that you're now completely naked in front of the two men.

"Great, lay down here."- doctor Hwang says gently, as Felix guides you to the table with his hand on the small of your back.

You sit first and then lay down, feeling too awkward to even spread your legs or do anything.

"Put your legs here."- the doctor instructs, pointing to the legrests.

You swallow again, your heart thumping even harder in your chest and you take a deep breath in to calm yourself down.

You can't look at their faces as you spread your legs and lift them up, placing them in the legrests as ordered, both your holes on display for them.

"Good."- the doctor says. "Try to relax. We won't hurt you, we promise."- he adds and you open your eyes, catching the fond smile on his face before he goes back into character.

"Nurse Felix, you know what to do."- doctor Hwang says and you peer at the nurse as he puts on a pair of rubber gloves.

"W-what -"

"Shh, don't worry."- nurse Felix stands between your legs. "I just have to get you lubed up so we can examine you."

You don't know what's gotten into you but your pussy already clenches around nothing at the thought of being touched.

You're in a doctor's office, you remind yourself, feeling ashamed of your body reacting like that.

"Okay."- you say quietly.

Doctor Hyunjin comes closer to the table, observing the nurse and you.

You think that Felix will grab actual lube, but instead he pushes two of his gloved fingers into his mouth and sucks on them, all the while keeping his darkened gaze on you.

You gasp, hips lifting up a little at the sight. Doctor Hyunjin smirks, his hand rests on your inner thigh, gently moving his fingers in a circular motions.

"Don't worry, you're in good hands, sweetie."- Hyunjin keeps smirking as Felix releases his fingers with a pop, leaning down to spit at your cunt before he presses his fingertips on your clit.

You almost let out a moan at the sinful feeling as he circles your nub, but you bite on your lip, swallowing the sounds.

Nurse Felix plays with your sensitive clit, moving his fingers in different directions and applying different pressure, dipping them into your slick covered folds, smearing your arousal all over your pussy.

You hear the snap of the elastic of gloves and turn towards the sound just in time to see that doctor Hyunjin now also has gloves on.

You feel embarassed but you can't stop the gushing of your juices as they run down your ass and seep into the examination table below.

Little sounds escape your lips as Felix pinches your clit.

"Look at that. She's doing really good."- doctor Hyunjin leans down to take a better look at your pussy, now talking like you weren't even in the room.

Your hands grip at the ends of the table as you lean into Felix's fingers, desperately wishing they would fill your hole up with something.

"I know what will make her even more prepped."- nurse Felix smirks, before slowly dropping down to his knees.

You don't even have time to let your brain compute what's happening before his tongue is on your wet cunt, collecting your slick as he moans at the taste of you.

"Ah!"- you moan rather loudly, having no time to be embarassed as the nurse pushes his tongue into you, fucking you with the wet muscle, his nose pressing on your sensitive nub perfectly.

"Feels good?"- doctor Hyunjin smirks at your already fucked out face and you nod.

"We need words, sweetie."- he coos at you.

"F-feels really good."- you whimper, short of breath.

"Good enough to cum?"- he asks as Felix keeps eating you out hungrily and you decide to test their devotion.

"Maybe?"- you say with an unsure tone and Hyunjin narrows his eyes at you as Felix makes a displeased noise.

"Maybe?"- he laughs incredulously. "You'll see."- is all he says before he presses his palm gently above your pubic bone, right over that sensitive spot inside you.

He moves it against you, his other hand cupping your breast and playing with your nipple.

At the same time, Felix pushes his tongue in deeper and fucks you harder with it, his hands spreading your little pussy so he can bury himself as deep as he can.

You can't control your moans, losing yourself in the pleasure and the stimulation you're getting and you feel close.

Your legs shake as you approach your high and both of them work hard to bring you to it.

Finally, you snap, creaming all over Felix's tongue and chin, your sweet juice dripping down onto the table.

"You did so well."- Hyunjin pats your head gently.

"Mm she tastes so sweet."- Felix whines slowly standing up.

"Does she?"- Hyunjin smirks, his hand at the back of Felix's neck before he leans in and lick at his half-opened lips.

You gasp at them as you're still coming down from your orgasm, pussy clenching at the way Hyunjin's tongue laps at Felix's plump lips, licking off your cum.

Felix stands still, his eyes fluttering as he lets Hyunjin lick at him.

"You're right. She does taste sweet."- Hyunjin smirks and both of them snicker.

"Well, that was good, miss y/n. But we need to do more. Are you okay to continue?"- Hyunjin asks and you again, nod.

"Yes, I'm okay."- you confirm and it's Hyunjin who stands between your legs now, nurse Felix taking his place next to you.

You glance at him and come face to face with the bulge in his white pants. Your mouth waters instantly and you wish to push your face into it.

"You ready?"- doctor Hyunjin grabs your attention as you feel his fingertips on your cunt.

"Yes."- you say and feel him slowly push two of his fingers inside you, immediately searching for that sweet spot that'll make you see stars.

You tense a little at the intrusion and nurse Felix is quick to comfort you.

"Relax, darling. Doctor Hyunjin knows what he's doing."- he says, his hand now on your breast as he starts playing with it.

"Ah!"- you moan as Hyunjin presses into your g-spot.

"Here, baby?"- he smirks.

"Mhm, right there."- you whimper and he starts fucking into it, his long slender fingers perfectly hitting you with every thrust.

Felix grabs both of your breasts, massaging them and playing with your nipples, pinching and pulling on them as you start moaning quietly, relaxing into the pleasurable feeling spreading through your body.

Hyunjin presses his other hand on your navel, stimulating the spot both inside and outside at the same time and you jolt, moaning loudly as your hips move into his hands, begging for more.

He fucks you faster and your hand wanders over towards Felix's pants, brushing against his bulge before you gently grab it.

"Well, well, look who's naughty."- Felix smirks at you, turning his attention to your face.

You somehow look innocent and dirty at the same time, your eyes shining at him sweetly but your fingers playing with the tip of his cock, straining to be freed.

"She really is naughty. But we will punish her another time."- Hyunjin smirks and slams his fingers hard into you, making you whine and squeeze Felix, which makes him stutter and groan deeply.

Hyunjin works skillfully and you feel a pressure building inside you as your hips keep jerking up.

"She's gonna squirt for us."- Hyunjin smirks and Felix whines.

"Come on, sweetie. Let go."- Felix's deep voice is the last straw you needed before you cum hard, squirting on yourself and the table.

"Good girl."- Hyunjin laughs, biting on his lip and you look down, seeing him palm his hard member.

"Mm please."- you whimper, your eyes wide as you grip at the table.

"What? You need more therapy?"- Hyunjin taunts you.

"She needs a special kind of medicine."- Felix smirks at Hyunjin.

"I think she came here and lied to us."- Hyunjin says, pulling his pants down and revealing his hard cock.

"Yeah, she didn't have any problems cumming. I think she just wanted to be dicked down real good."- Felix also pulls his pants down and your heart speeds up again.

"I swear I didn't lie!"- you cry.

"Too late for that, darling."- you feel the tip of Hyunjin's cock sliding on your wet folds.

"You're gonna cum for us as many times as we want you to."- Felix adds, coming closer to your face.

"P-please."- you beg, beg for them to fill you up.

Hyunjin slams his cock into you without any warning, making you yelp as you look down to see your pussy sucking in his entire length.

"Ah, fuck!"- you whine.

"Shit, so good!"- Hyunjin moans, his still gloved hands on your inner thighs, squeezing the flesh as he drags his cock between your walls.

"I want in."- Felix chimes from the side.

"Use her mouth."- Hyunjin whines, slamming his cock as deep as he could into you, his balls resting on your ass.

Your eyes flutter as Felix slowly turns your head towards him, lifting it up in a more comfortable position.

You look up at him and he smirks at you, bringing his cock to your lips and sliding the tip on them.

You open up, letting him put it in as deep as he can in that angle, your eyes rolling back in your head at the fullness.

"Fuck, she takes it so well."- Hyunjin groans, moving inside you again as Felix grips your hair and starts fucking your mouth slowly.

You whine, hoping they would understand and go harder on you, you need them both profoundly.

They know you and your body as they share a look and both start pounding into you, using you like a ragdoll between them.

Hyunjin fucks your pussy open as you choke on Felix's dick, tears and drool dripping down your face, your arousal making Hyunjin's dick so wet that his mind spins at the warm feeling.

"This is what she's good for, right baby?"- Hyunjin says and you try to hum around Felix but end up almost choking as he hits the back of your throat.

"Mhm. A good little cocksleeve, aren't you?"- Felix smirks.

Your eyes roll back as you cum around Hyunjin's cock, clenching around his length and trapping him inside. He groans, the feeling bringing him to the edge so he cums deep inside you, the warm liquid filling you up and making you floaty.

"Shit!"- Felix moans at the sight of Hyunjin cumming inside you and he shoots his load down your throat, holding your head so you don't move, making you swallow every little drop until you've milked him completely.

As he pulls out you cough a little and look up at him, feeling Hyunjin's cum seep out of you and drip down your asscheeks.

"Was it how you imagined?"- Felix chuckles suddenly.

"Even better."- you say and Hyunjin comes closer to you, leaning down to brush your hair out of your face.

"I swear you bring out the craziest ideas. I wanna do it again."- he smirks and the three of you chuckle.

"I'll go prepare a bath."- Felix leans down to give you a sweet kiss, tasting himself on your lips.

"Next time, let's have one of you as the patient."- you smirk as you sit up.

"I like the way you think, baby."- Hyunjin smirks, helping you up as your other boyfriend prepares a bath.

You have no idea how all three of you will fit into the bath but you'll make it work, like you always do.

✨Taglist: @moonchild9350 @janepg @velvetmoonlght @hwanghyunjinismybae @jehhskz @laylasbunbunny @porangporangmeong @jeonginslefthand @sapphirewaves @simpforleeknaur @laughatdanger

[satangcrush]

pact marks pt 2

✦ CAST: lucifer, mammon, levi ✦ SUMMARY: brothers’ reaction to you hiding your pact marks (reader has hair covering the back of their neck for lucifer) ✦ WC: 2.3k-ish

[PART 1] | [PART 2] | [PART 3] | MASTERLIST

══════════════════

Lucifer

Will mention it in passing to find out more about why the pact mark is gone but will not interrogate further. Instead, it keeps him up in bed wondering why you weren’t wearing the mark with pride LOL

.

The clear sound of someone clearing their throat caught your attention as you paused in your note-taking to glance up at the culprit who broke the silence in the library. The towering figure above you makes for a dashing picture although you weren’t sure why he was hanging around you when there was a perfectly good chair opposite you that he could take a seat in.

“Can I help you…?” You trailed off as you started racking your brain for any misconduct that you might have done in the past week that he was posing as an intimidating shadow above you. Either way, it was always a safe bet to apologise first.

“I’m sorry.” You blurted out, nervousness making your heart beat a little faster. This should be enough, right? This time, you can see his expression morph into one of confusion and a hint of…frustration. 

His breath escaped with a sigh, “Why is it that whenever I come to talk, you always apologise first?” The mirth in his voice obvious as he pulled out the chair beside you to take a seat.

Oh okay, he was sitting beside you. Great, maybe you did do something wrong that you simply couldn’t recall at the moment. Or maybe, Satan and Belphie tattled on you about the prank you had helped out with last week.

He cleared his throat again, folding his hands pristinely on the table. “I just wanted to check up on you. How are you doing?” You paused in your movement, ink blotting on the sheet of paper as you pondered fervently for an appropriate reply.

“What’s up with the artificial pleasantries?” You asked warily, not sure what to make of his behaviour. You leveled him with an even stare, as you tried to decipher his thoughts.

He stared at you, noting your defensive position, with your shoulders to your ears and the way you gripped your writing utensil tightly, “Are you a masochist? Do you like my scolding that much?” He stared at you with a deadpan expression, leaning forward to flick your forehead gently.

“Relax.” He demanded, uncurling your fingers to wring your pen away as he placed the cap back to its rightful position. You continued to look at him doubtfully, leaning back in your chair as you hummed a tune that you had picked up from Levi’s anime.

(You had an idea why he was seeking you out now.)

You wore an inquisitive smile, angling your head in the way you knew Lucifer liked. “I feel like you have a question for me?” You deliberately drawled out the end of your sentence, bringing your legs up to tuck it under your chin. With his piercing stare, he met your eyes, bright crimson eyes flashing as he snorted, “Do I?”

“Well if you don’t, I’ll go back to my studies then.” You proceeded to reach out for your pen in Lucifer’s grasp, smiling when a gloved hand enclosed it further away from you, holding it high above his head. 

“Fine.” He huffed, finally dropping all pretenses. “I heard that the shady sorcerer taught you something new.”

You nodded in return, not providing any further explanation. If he wanted to know any other details, he would need to learn how to put his big boy pants on and ask you with words instead. 

He continued to look pointedly at you, his feet tapping an incessant rhythm on the carpeted floor. When he realised he wasn’t going to get any other information from you, he continued, ”He taught you how to cover up the pact marks, correct?”

“Yes, he indeed taught me how to cover these up,” You motioned to the back of your neck, moving your hair out of the way so he could get a better view as you rotated in your seat. “See, it’s not there.” You said triumphantly, turning back to face him.

He had a complicated expression on his face, a dark scowl planted on his lip. “Lucifer?” You called out, a teasing remark already at the tip of your tongue but before you could let it slip, he abruptly stood up to excuse himself, saying that he had to finish some work.

You sat there, bewildered. For a second, you actually contemplated standing up to chase after him but then against your better judgement, you decided not to.

‘Well, he can work through those feelings by himself before coming back to you.’ You pondered before turning back to your notes and noticing the mess left behind. Damn it, you would need to rewrite your notes seeing as the ink had seeped through... as well as getting a new pen as Lucifer had left with it.

══════════════════

Mammon

Out of everyone, he would be the loudest at making it known that he disliked you not showing the pact.

.

“HUH?! Where did it go?!” A hand shot out and grabbed onto your wrist, making you stretch out your arms as you hurled forward in the hallway and into the chest of someone.

“Wha-” Putting your hands on his chest, you pushed back the assailant and instead met the worried expression on the Avatar of Greed’s face, “Mammon?” With a hesitant voice, you tried to tug your hand away from his scrutinising eyes.

“Arghhh… The mark! I don’t believe it! Where did the mark go?!” The panicked voice of Mammon resounded in your ears, a shrill symphony that rang throughout your head. He proceeded to grab onto your shoulder, spinning you around so many times as if an answer would apparate in thin air if he did it enough times.

You were starting to feel dizzy, the unmistakable taste of bile forcing its way up your throat. In the serene recesses of your mind, you wondered if you should just puke on Mammon and call it a day. Unfortunately, you knew that Lucifer would still make you clean up the mess and you just weren’t in the mood for it.

‘Then, there’s only one way left.’ You thought to yourself, sending a silent apology along Mammon’s way.

“Stay!” As Mammon got flung to the ground, you also ended up shooting for the ground as his arms were around you. You closed your eyes tightly to brace yourself for the impact, comforting yourself with the thought that you could just blame Mammon if you ended up with any injuries.

A yelp escaped you as you grabbed onto his shirt , as one of his hand rises up to latch on the back of your head as he tried to cushion your fall. With a poorly concealed grimace, you sat up rubbing your head with one hand while the other hand found its bearings below you… which was surprisingly soft and pillowy? 

“H-hey… Are ya’ done feeling me up?! I’m ‘bout to suffocate here! Get off!” With your face burning, you quickly stood up, dusting yourself off before you offered a hand out for Mammon to grab.

He looked at the offered hand suspiciously, eyes thinning as he stared at a particular spot on your ring finger… Oh, right. Your pact mark. Right. Darn, you had hoped that none of them noticed so that you wouldn’t need to explain yourself.

“Oh, I learned how to conceal the pact marks. See?” You raised your head, finger pointing to the column of your neck, where it once laid the mark of the Avatar of Sloth. Mammon remained silent for a second, hands furling and unfolding by his side. “Well, I don’t care that ya hid the rest of the pact marks, but you can’t hide mine! No way!”

You looked at him, amused by his spluttering. “...And why’s that?” 

“Why do ya’ even need to ask? You’re my human! You should be wearing my mark…” He grumbled under his breath, voice turning into a mutter towards the end.

“Well, I’m going to keep the pact marks hidden for now so that I get used to it. Also, I feel like I get too much attention when the pact marks are out on display.” You complained, mouth warping into a sulk as you remembered how the lesser demons almost broke their neck while trying to get a glimpse at your pact marks. Your eyebrows furrowed as you crossed your legs to sit down when it seemed that Mammon wasn’t going to get his butt off the floor.

“But-”

“No buts. This is my decision, Mammon.” You shushed him gently, pushing him down to lay on his back as you hovered over him, blocking the lights from the hallway out from his eyes. Once satisfied that he wasn’t going to argue, you laid down beside him as he instinctively spread out his arm to let you lay on it.

“Now shut up and just lay down with me for a minute.”

══════════════════

Levi

First, he will start with his yucky otaku tantrum. He will just cautiously mention it once while you guys are gaming and then when you give an answer, he will go like, “ofc u don't want the mark of a yucky gross otaku” even though you are indulging in the same interest as him rn… like okay guess we are both yucky otakus tgt! 

.

You know the word had gotten out that you had learnt to conceal your pact marks so you were pleasantly surprised that Levi hadn’t actually questioned you about it yet. It could be because of the fact that his pact mark was usually hidden so it’s not as obvious as the other demon brothers or honestly, you knew it was because he was too shy.

Thus, you had decided to wear a comfy pair of shorts today for your gaming session with Levi, the fabric shorter than what you would choose to opt for on a normal day of relaxation. You shrugged as you headed to the kitchen, maybe you were a sadist but you really wanted to see Levi’s reaction.

“Levi, I’m here,” You announced your presence while kicking the door open to his room, carrying snacks that you had gotten earlier. The back of Levi’s tousled head greeted you and you observed that he had already set down your usual blanket in your spot, though he seemed to be currently engrossed in his game.

An evil idea brewed in your head and immediately, you dropped the snacks you were carrying and snuck behind Levi to cover his eyes with your hands, “Guess who?” You leaned closer, nudging his headphones out of the way so you could blow hot air in his ear. 

Levi sprung back with a loud shriek, hands flying up to grab at yours, which you reluctantly set down at his insistence. “Surprise?” You chuckled smugly and knelt down beside him to grab your own pair of headphones lying on the blanket. After wearing them, you sat back down not noticing the lack of silence from Levi as you continued chattering. 

Having been struck speechless from your audacity, Levi was now too distracted by the flash of skin visible from your shorts riding up. He startled, noticing the smooth skin where his mark used to occupy, and felt the familiar glimmer of envy brewing in the pit of his stomach, clawing its way up and making itself home in the heart of his throat. He finally snapped out of his head when you paused in your speech, clearly waiting for an answer from him.

As you entertained yourself while setting up the multiplayer game that Levi had set out, you couldn’t help but notice the furrow in his eyebrows and his clenched fist around his controller. You shifted your weight from side to side, watching as his gaze followed the movement of your shorts.

Bingo.

“Do you like my shorts that much?” Your lips widened into a cheshire-like grin.

Levi almost puked out blood. Beads of sweat started making themselves apparent on his forehead as he scrambled for a defense; having mixed feelings at your accusation of him sounding like a pervert. 

Was it really an wrongful accusation when he liked seeing your skin, just not without his mark on it?

“No, I mean yes! I was just staring because the mark is gone--" Ah… he definitely had just messed up. He just had to go and say it. He just had to go and say what he was thinking in his head. Levi slowly turned his attention, dragging his eyes up from your unblemished skin only to meet a broad smirk plastered on your face. The smile was so big and aggravating that he wanted to take his controller and throw it at your head.

“Why didn’t you continue?” The impish smirk on your face made Levi want to punt you into the next century so that he could peacefully crawl into a hole and die, “I wanted to hear you confess that you couldn’t keep your eyes away from my thigh too, Levi-chan.”

He thinks that he could probably die of embarrassment now. First, he professed that he liked your shorts, and now you probably think that he was some weirdo, wanting to see his mark on you, like some kind of branding cattle.

The sound of your laughter rang in his ears as he covered his face with his arms, dropping his controller to the ground. “Urgh, I hate you.” He said melodramatically, shoulders slumped even as you tried to tug his hands away from his face.

“Aw, baby. Don’t be sad, I won’t conceal the mark during our gaming session ‘kay?” You cooed, tone infuriatingly playful. Successful in your attempt to push his hands down, you peppered the Avatar of Envy with kisses and dragged him over so that you could properly embrace him. 

Levi knew he was still red-faced so he buried his face into the crook of your neck, arms wrapping around your waist as you continued coddling him. “Don’t tease me like that again,” He muttered despondently, a frown staying on his face. A small laugh escaped as you replied with a half-hearted affirmation while ruffling his hair.

Honestly, he already knew that you wouldn’t hold up your end of your bargain but how could he possibly be angry when all of your attention is focused on him?

…Huh. Maybe he was a masochist, after all.

══════════════════

a/n▸ here are my hcs on the placement of the pact marks:Luci - back of neck leading to your spine, because he wants u to THINK.Mammon - around ring finger on ur dominant hand bc u always use that hand to payLevi - around right thigh because his tail always curls there and it just feels special to himalso, im positive theres no mention of pact mark in the OG story so im very curious as to how this idea became so prevalent in the community

[lovelytsunoda]

sleigh ride // lance stroll

summary: christmas has never been his holiday. but she adores it, and he wants to make this christmas one that she won't forget.

pairing: lance stroll x fiancee!reader

warnings: marriage proposals, fluffy lance, it's super duper cheesy, lance quotes emily henry's "beach read", where can i get a lance

the snow fell down on niagara falls in scattered flurries, the waterfalls the town used as their namesake almost frozen solid in motion as they spilled into lake ontario. the sun was setting, with niagara-on-the-lake doused in an orange-pink glow as the couple ran out of the b'n'b, giggling hand in hand.

"lance, where are we going?" she giggled, mitten-clad hand clutched in her boyfriend's as he pulled her along the snowy sidewalk.

"just trust me, but you'll need to close your eyes." lance stroll insisted, turning to face her, pressing his warm lips to her rapidly cooling forehead. "we're almost there."

"if you say so." she chortled, closing her eyes and following lance as he guided her, gentle flakes falling against her knitted hat.

the breeze was cold, cutting through the many layers that they both wore as lance urged her forwards. her mind was swimming with all the possibilities lance could have come up with, but she couldn't settle on any.

christmas had never been his thing. he was raised jewish, and she had celebrated hannukah with his family before, so why would he celebrate christmas anyways? the answer was simple: because she enjoyed it. he could convince himself to embrace a little more of the christmas spirit than normal when she was around, when she insisted on putting that stunning tree in their living room, or buying elf ears for their dog.

"okay, you can open your eyes now."

she opened her eyes, instantly covering her mouth to stop the delighted scream from coming out and scaring the horses. sitting in front of her were two stunning black mares, towing a snow-white sleigh, decorated with white glitter and snowflakes, a plush throw blanket thrown over the bench in the back.

"lance, this is incredible!"

lance beamed, glowing under the streetlamps as he pulled open the metal gate door. "milady." he giggled, reaching for her gloved hand to help her into the sleigh.

she curled into him on the bench, lance fluffing the blanket out behind and over their bodies before the well-dressed man sat in the driver's seat of the sleigh flashed them a smile, and the horses began their slow trot down the cobblestones.

she slipped her gloves off, taking lance's cold hand in hers as she played with his fingers, head resting comfortably on his shoulder. her breath crystallized in the air, snowflakes falling into the sleigh and promptly melting on the winter mats on the ground.

lance himself was fidgety, the tiffany and co. box burning a hole in the pocket of his parka. he was so anxious about asking that he'd almost done it that morning, over coffee and croissants at breakfast.

but she deserved more than that. she deserved something meaningful, something special (not that there was anything wrong with a little bit of privacy and keeping it lowkey, he just wanted to have a great proposal story to pass down to their kids. after y/n told him that her father proposed to her mother by saying 'we need to talk', he vowed that his proposal would be special).

she turned her head, pressing a frosty kiss to his warm skin. "i love you, lance."

he smiled, burying his nose in the top of her knitted hat. " i love you more, pretty girl. i've got another surprise for you, if you're up for it."

she looked up at him, hair falling in front of her face, skin pink from the cold as she smiled back at him. "what kind of surprise?"

"you'll see. it's just around this corner, love."

the sleigh pulled up to a small gazebo, cords of string lights wrapped around the weathered wooden beams to light up the small space, now that the sun was behind the clouds, the last dregs of daylight hovering in the space between night and day.

lance got to his feet, opening the sleigh gate before the driver could even get down from his perch. with her long fleece scarf hanging down to her knees, she daintily descended from the sleigh, hand in hand with her boyfriend as he led her towards the gazebo.

the snow beneath their feet was dusted with deep purple rose petals, some small tea light candles on the steps. as they got closer to the gazebo, she could see the small lightbox letters, lit up in a warm, soft yellow as they got closer, spelling out two words.

marry me.

"oh, lance." she breathed, at a loss for words as she anxiously wringed her hands.

she could hear the wooden boards creaking behind her as lance sunk down to one knee, reaching into his pocket for the turquoise box. he rested the box on his knee, frozen hands shaking as he pulled it open.

"i really should have thought this through a little better. i'm cold as shit." he giggled nervously. "but i know christmas means a lot to you, and i wanted to make this as special as i could."

she gasped, hands coming up to cover her mouth as she saw the ring: a single princess-cut diamond resting on a silver band, two small pink gemstones holding the center gem in place.

"y/n, i'm head over heels for you, and i always have been. every morning i wake up next to you, and i think, this could all go away. the racing, the money, the fame, all of it. but as long as i had you by my side, i wouldn't care. as long as i had you, i'd be happy. because you make me so happy, y/n. you remind me of all the good in the world, all the reasons to keep going. in the words of emily henry, yes, i've read your romance books, 'when i watch you sleep, i feel overwhelmed that you exist'. man, she got that right. i feel overwhelmed with love, and with care. and some days, i wonder why you chose me when you could have had any man you wanted. y/n y/'l/n. pretty girl. love of my life." lance sniffled, wiping at the tear that was threatening to fall into his stubble. "will you marry me?"

"yes!" she shouted, her voice echoing across the clearing as she started to giggle. "yes, of course i'll marry you." her eyes started to sting, tears pricking the corners of her vision, so overcome with love for man on his knees in front of her.

she sunk to her knees as well, the frost on the gazebo cold against the knees on her jeans. she clasped lance's hands in her own, pulling him in for a gentle kiss before he slipped the ring onto her finger, foreheads resting against each other.

"thank you so much for saying yes. i can't think of a day in the foreseeable future that i don't want to spend with you by my side."

"oh, lance." she laughed through her tears of joy. "don't make me cry."

"i'm not trying to, my love." he laughed, tears pricking at his eyes. "god, i just love you so much."

"i love you more." she laughed, tucking her arms around him, pulling him in for a hug before glancing down at the sterling silver on her finger.

lance kissed her hairline, holding her close and breathing in her scent.

if this was every day for the rest of his life, then he was wondering why he'd waited so long to ask.

TAGS:

@libraryofloveletters @magnummagnussen @lorarri @httpiastri @cartierre @sidcrosbyspuck @scuderiamh @oconso @thatsdemko @silversainz

[azriona]

Coffee Thievery

Pre-Bucky/Reader, ~500 words, Rated Gen (it's a meet-cute, guys, keep your clothes on). Set in the Not a Fairy Tale Kiss 'verse but not necessary to read that to enjoy this very fluffy ficlet. Today is Election Day and I wanted to give you a little bit of fluff on what is sure to be a stressful day. Please remember to vote if you're eligible and take care of yourselves! No coffee was harmed or spilled in the making of this ficlet.

Summary: It is a perfectly normal morning in Avengers Tower, and you are on a perfectly normal mission to steal Clint’s coffee, when a complication turns up at the breakfast table.

Read it on AO3 or just read it here!

The op is going perfectly when you realize you’ve been made.

It’s not your fault. Everything had been going exactly to plan: Clint’s coffee is sitting on the table, exactly where he always puts it. He’s forgotten the sugar – again, it’s a very reliable failing – and it’s not on the table like it usually is because you made sure of that as soon as you’d gotten back from the mission the night before.

So Clint’s digging in the deep well that is the pantry, trying to find the sugar, and you’re sneaking around the side like Indiana Jones, and that’s when you realize that it’s not just Clint in the pantry and Natasha on the couches reading her book.

It’s also the guy sitting at the other end of the table, holding his own mug of something and frowning at you like he’s about to blow your cover.

He’s cute, especially with his nose wrinkled like that, all frowny-faced. His hair’s dark brown and tucked behind his ears, like he normally wears it short but has missed a haircut or three, and you can tell even from here that his eyes are the bluest blue to ever blue. He’s wearing layers of soft cotton shirts and a strange shiny glove on one hand and he’s so clean-shaven you can see the slightly reddened skin, as if it’s been a while and he couldn’t wait another minute.

A little disappointing; a bit of stubble would probably look good on him. Contemplating how he would look more disheveled is probably why you’re distracted from your goal long enough to let him open his mouth, like he’s about to announce your presence.

You quickly start motioning to him Stop stop stop! Shut up shut up shut up! Slashing at your throat, one finger over your mouth, mouthing no no no, the works.

He stares at you, still incredulous, mouth open, before turning to look at Natasha.

Natasha looks up, looks at you, looks at Mysterious But Adorable, shrugs, and turns a page in her book.

MBA just looks back at you, still incredulous, but you grin and ease forward to slowly remove your goal from the table.

You’re already at the door to the stairwell for your exit when you hear Clint talking.

“We need to order more—fuck. Barnes! I thought you were watching my coffee!”

“I was,” says MBA – Barnes, apparently.

Barnes. Oh. It clicks.

“You were.”

“Yeah, I watched it as someone came in here, took it, and left again.”

“You…” Clint’s sputtering now.

“She went to the elevators,” offers Barnes helpfully, “if you want to try to catch her.”

“That little minx, I’m gonna—”

The door to the stairwell (conveniently on the other side of the floor from the elevators) closes quietly behind you so you can’t hear the rest of the exchange.

Which is really kind of too bad, because if that was James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, fabled war hero, Captain America’s best friend, and just-returned-last-night-from-that-mission-no-one’s-telling-you-about, then he totally had your six and you kinda want to thank him.

(With your tongue. No no, bad thought, put that away, the guy was a brainwashed assassin for decades, you are absolutely Not Allowed to think about a teammate like that, nopity nope.)

(Well. Maybe once would be okay.)

It’s gonna be a great day, you think cheerfully, as you take a sip of Clint’s coffee and head down to Tony’s lab.

Read the rest of the series on AO3.

[eternal-kosmo-ghoul]

*°:⋆ₓₒ day 10. toys

.｡❅*⋆⍋*∞*｡ “festive little fantasies”

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ — ❤︎ your gift for copia surely got him excited….

pairing: papa copia x afab!reader

a/n: day 10!!!! i wrote this at a restaurant lmao

cw: nsfw content. vibrator. oral sex (f receiving). cunnilingus. edging.

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“… color me surprised, dolcezza. you sure know how to get a man going.” —❤︎

┅✦┅

“merry christmas, darling!”

“… what exactly are you beholding?”

your cheerful, beaming smile turned into a more deadpanned look as you heard a certain papa give you his usual sarcastic quip.

“it’s a present..?” you state in a rather sassy tone, holding the beautifully wrapped present out in your palms for him to see. “y’know, the shit you get on christmas?”

copia eyes the gift in your hands, and he just chuckles. “i know, amore. i’m just messing with you.”

your blank stare quickly morphed back into your excited, playful grin, and handed the box to copia, which he gladly took. it was a rather neatly wrapped gift. a medium sized box wrapped in glittery, red paper with cute snowflake patterns printed all over it. of course, you couldn’t forget the deep green laced bow on top of it, adding holiday charm to the present.

copia gave one of his usual half smiles and tapped the bow on top of the gift, the bow springing a little from the contact. “you surely outdid yourself on the wrapping with this one.”

“yeah, i did. i know i’m great, thank you very much.” you spoke while putting your hands on your hip and flicking your hair dramatically, taking pride in your excellent work.

copia rolled his eyes at you.

“you’re so dramatic sometimes.” he rebuked playfully, and you huffed while keeping your arms crossed.

“well i’m soooo sorry you can’t handle me and my glamorous personality.”

“you sure? i can definitely handle you well in bed—“

“just shut up and open the gift.”

copia laughed heartily, before sitting down in the edge of the bed and unwrapping the present carefully, the paper tears creating satisfying sounds. copia was slowly unraveling the box of its colorful wrapping, and he lifted the lid off of the box to expose… the prize.

his eyes widened a bit as he looked at the intriguing shape of the gift, the mere sight of it coloring his cheeks a hue of scarlet red. however, copia let out a soft, hearty chuckle, before smirking and pulling out the object you had nearly wrapped for him, cradling it with two hands to show it off to you.

“really?” he asked with an authoritative tone, but he was mostly joking. “you got me something that’ll help yourself.”

“heyyy it can help you too!” you exclaimed with a giggle. “help me, help you. mi casa es tu casa.”

“not sure if that’s the right analogy, darling. but whatever floats your boat.”

the gift you had gotten copia was rather… extravagant and sexual. a vibrator, to put it bluntly. however, it was one of the nicer and more high quality ones instead of the shitty porno vibrators you find at the back of a dusty attic. the color was rather beautiful too, a seductive deep shade of red with intricate, satanic-esque black designs that made it look like it was the toy of the devil himself. but the most striking thing about the vibrator, was copia’s name ingrained in beautiful calligraphy handwriting at the base of the toy.

copia looked at you, and you just gave him a mischievous, almost evil looking grin. what crafty little scamp you were.

“custom made just for you, babe.” you smirked, moving to sit next to copia and tapping your fingers on his shoulder in a ‘walking’ motion.

“… color me surprised, dolcezza. you sure know how to get a man going.”

“do you like it?”

“fuck. like is an understatement.”

copia’s gloved fingers gently grasped your chin and tilted your head upwards to make you look at him.

“you have no idea how badly i want to use this bad boy on you.” copia practically pants out, lust lacing his voice.

you groan and whisper in his ear. “then what are we waiting for?”

it didn’t take long before the two of you started to make out furiously. clothed came off in a heated frenzy as you both found yourselves tangled up in the bed, with nothing but your underwear on. copia just panted heavily as he separated his mouth from yours, a glimmering trail of saliva connecting to your guys’ mouths.

copia let out a grunt and buried his head between your legs. using his teeth, he caught the delicate fabric of your panties between them, before using his teeth to pull up your panties, flicking it off of your legs. he cursed at the sight of your dripping wet pussy.

“you look so appetizing.” copia breathed out. you were about to speak, but was quickly cut off with a loud moan when copia started to lap at your clit hungrily.

“oh fuuuck..” you cursed lowly, moaning and spreading your legs a little more as you felt copia eating you out like it’s his last meal, prepping you for the main event.

his tongue worked skillfully around the snensirive bundle of nerves, dripping his saliva all over your slickness and fucking you with his tongue real good. heavenly and airy moans escaped your lips, gripping onto copia’s hair like your life depended on it as you bucked your hips into his face, desperate to feel more of that pleasure.

copia grinned into your glittering cunt and delved his tongue deeper into your folds, moaning at the sweet taste of your nectar. “lucifer, you taste so good.”

after eating you out for a decent amount of time, copia drew his tongue away from your puffy cunt, before he reached his hand to the vibrator that was sitting on the quilt of your sheets. he shimmied himself behind you, that way your back was against his chest and his arm was wrapped around your middle. you moaned and teasingly ground your ass against his dick, making him let out a sharp gasp.

“you little tease.” copia jeered, and you just grinned.

“can’t help it.” you spoke.

copia just sighed and click the vibrator on, feeling it buzz in his hands for a bit. he then grinned before bringing it down between your legs, letting the head of it press against your already stimulated pussy. the pleasurable vibrations only made your legs jolt with pleasure, and you cried out in pure euphoria.

“a-ahh!”

“shhh… that’s it baby.. relax…”

he massaged the sex toy all over your aching red folds, watching you squirm in his grasp as you felt an intense amount of pleasure from the vibrator. copia got more bold and turned up the intensity of the vibrations slowly, before it was at max. you cried out loudly, feeling incredibly overwhelmed by pleasure, the vibrator making your puffy cunt flutter around the head of it, and making it super wet.

“you’re doing so good..” copia praised, his lips nibbling at your earlobe while he massaged the vibrator into your pussy. the feeling of pleasure was so intense.

you were close.

“f-fuck! copia! i need to cum!” you shrieked, voice high pitched and blissed out from how good you felt.

your orgasm was dangerously close, that edge of pleasure you needed to reach to feel fulfilled. you were getting closer.. and closer.. and closer…

… until the pleasure stopped.

looking behind you to see that copia turned off the vibrator, you whined in protest. copia didn’t say a word until he turned on the vibrator again and shoved the toy inside of you, making you shriek with pleasured-pain.

“i’m not going to let you cum until i say so. for now, just sit there like a good little fuck doll and let me play with your pussy.”

you just whimpered mindlessly, too focused on the vibrator fucking you to fully comprehend his words.

“alright then.. now.. take it, cara.”

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[alluraaaa]

so @heynhay posted this art and i’m incapable of being normal so. here’s 3k words of angry pining. tee hee <3

———

Keith Kogane never does anything halfway. He doesn’t shrug or “why not, I’m not busy” his way into being a pilot, a paladin, a person. He feels everything with his whole chest so fiercely that he tastes a scream with every emotion.

So when Keith realizes he’s in love he punches a wall hard enough to break the skin over his knuckles.

Because why Lance? Lance, of all people, is the one his heart latched onto. Lance, who is loud and obnoxious and cares so much about everything and everyone. He, as well, puts his whole heart into every action, and doesn’t pull away from a fight— in fact, he starts most of them. It’s… exhilarating.

At that thought, Keith punches the same dent in the wall with his other fist.

He stares down at his knuckles, blood slowly trickling from scrapes, and scowls. He scowls because the first thought to his stupid brain is that it would be so nice if someone else wrapped up his hands for him. Someone with long, deft fingers who comes from a big family full of kids who fall and scrape their hands, so he’d have experience patching Keith up just right.

He kicks the wall this time.

———

He wraps his hands well enough. He has his own experience in violent outburst related medicine, so it’s not that bad actually. Not great, but whatever.

Whatever.

“Whatever,” he tells his gloves as he slips them over the bandages to keep them in place, as well as hide them. He doesn’t need Shiro mother-hen-ing him.

He hears a squeak, and turns to see one of the mice watching him from one of the desks, curious.

“Whatever,” he tells it, more force in his voice. He makes a shooing motion and it scampers off, probably to tell Allura.

Whatever.

He grabs an ice pack and presses it into his foot next. He kicked the wall with shoes on, but it was still enough force to leave him regretting the action. His boot now sits on the floor, with his sock on the examination table he sits on.

“There you are, man!” calls a voice, and Keith looks up to see Hunk entering the room.

“What’s up?”

“Well, we’re about to start movie night, but what’s up with you?”

“I, uh, stubbed my toe,” Keith says, knowing it comes out an obvious lie.

Hunk gives him a look that Keith can’t read, but changes the subject. “Still up for the movie? We haven’t started it, Lance wouldn’t without you.”

…

Hm.

Well.

Uh.

Keith wants to punch something again.

“Yeah,” Keith says, eloquently.

In his grip, the ice pack pops. Freezing liquid soaks his sock.

“Oh shit! You okay, dude?” Hunk says, closing the distance between them with large strides.

“I’m fine,” Keith says, maybe a little too loud. Gross gross gross gross gross— “Just. Gimme a few minutes to change.”

“Uh. Alright, if you say so,” Hunk says, looking… confused. Yeah, that’s fair.

Keith manages to calm down after that. Hunk leaves him to get a new sock and he spends a few moments in silence before rejoining the team, taking deep breaths.

And then the doors slide open at his approach, and the noise spills into his ears.

There’s a passionate argument happening between Hunk and Pidge about some technical jargon Keith couldn’t hope to follow. But he isn’t even trying to, because Lance is throwing his head back and laughing at their back and forth, face scrunched up in a way that oozes childlike joy.

And it’s only when Lance stops laughing and turns those brown eyes onto him that Keith realizes he’s been standing there in silence for a full ten seconds.

“There you are!” Lance says, unknowingly parroting his best friend. And Keith gets a head on look at that eye-crinkling, dimpled smile. “Thought you vanished or something.”

“I was busy,” Keith says simply, defensively. He crosses the room, standing close to the couch to look at the viewing screen. “What are we watching?”

“Yalay’s Scream,” Pidge says, “Altean horror movie.”

“Yes, after your human horror film, I have to show you something actually scary,” says Allura, who was completely unphased by the first three Saw movies. (Hunk had to leave twenty minutes into the first one.)

On screen the movie is paused, showing a title card written in spooky Altean font. Keith may not be the best at social cues, but he can hear the clear challenge in Allura’s voice. Resolute, he plops himself into the nearest seat on the couch.

Right next to Lance. If he explodes in a violent cacophony of viscera and fondness, so be it.

The movie starts, and it’s… confusing. There’s a lot of cultural subtext and commentary that Keith doesn’t understand, but he’s long since given up on trying to.

What he does understand though, is the way Lance is right next to him, their thighs touching. He feels it every time the other boy flinches or squirms. He just hopes Lance can’t feel Keith’s heartbeat just as clearly.

When the movie has a classic scene of silent anticipation, Keith can hear his own breath like it’s through a bullhorn. The whole team sits with tense patience as the lead walks silently down a narrow hallway.

Next to him, Lance draws his knees to his chest and wraps his arms around his shins. Keith turns his head ever so slightly to see Lance staring at the screen with wide, expressionless eyes.

Keith wants to do something stupid. Like put his arm around Lance’s shoulders and comfort him.

Quick as lightning, the tension in the scene dissipates. The lead is kidnapped. Hunk screams. Allura giggles.

Most importantly, Lance flinches and turns away from the screen. He’s facing Keith. He’s watching Keith watch him.

“What the fuck,” he whispers in terror, barely audible over the movie and the team reacting to it. “Why did we agree to this?”

Keith is staring. He knows he is and he should probably say something but he keeps staring.

Lance smiles, closed lips and fond eyes. “I don’t even like horror.”

“Yeah,” Keith says, eloquently.

“You do though, right? Is this actually scary or is it just me?”

Well, him and Hunk, who is trying to hide behind Pidge’s tiny frame. But Keith doesn’t know that. He’s too busy drowning. “It’s alright.” He couldn’t say a single thing that has happened on screen.

Lance squints, looking more amused. Good. Someone like him should only feel joy. “Right,” he says, before turning back to the movie. Keith makes himself do the same.

He forces himself to pay attention. Because his brain being a supercut of everything Lance Álvarez is embarrassing, even if no one else knows it.

The lead escapes her kidnapper. Someone else dies— her best friend or sibling or something. Yes yes, very tragic and sad. She takes their sword to fight the killer. Poetic cinema and whatnot—

Now hold the fucking phone and stop every single goddamn press because Lance Álvarez is putting his head on Keith’s shoulder. Keith freezes, totally rigid and unable to process anything save for the tickle of hair against his neck and squish of cheek against his shoulder.

But like. He’s sooooo normal and average about it.

The rest of the movie passes uneventfully. Well, surely there’s some resolution or scary thing or whatever but Keith doesn’t give a shit. Not until the credits start rolling and the lights turn back on— dim but still illuminating— and everyone shifts.

Pidge stands from where she was sandwiched like a human stress ball between Hunk and Allura, stretching her arms over her head. Hunk and Allura immediately occupy her empty space, talking about what they just watched. Coran adds his own commentary to the analysis— apparently he knew the director?

The noise and lights rouse Shiro, who slept through most of the film. His eyes immediately find Keith and Lance, and he smiles at Keith. A stupid, teasing older brother smile. Shiro’s known about this crush for a while, even without Keith voicing a single thought in his head. He’s apparently very easy for Shiro to read. Keith glares at him.

“Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad! Lance,” Allura is saying, and then she’s turning to face him. “tell Hunk he’s— oh.”

The entire team sees it now: Lance, curled up in a ball, leaned against Keith. Keith, a statue the color of his lion, supporting Lance. Four different facial expressions present themselves to him, but before he can decipher, Allura is turning triumphantly to Hunk.

“See? He fell asleep, it wasn’t that scary.”

“His head exploded!” Hunk shouts. Keith thinks, when?

His gaze falls to Lance. He’s apparently a heavy sleeper, if he still hasn’t risen during the ensuing argument. His face is squished into Keith, and it’s annoyingly, impossibly, terrifyingly adorable.

Fuck.

He stands up suddenly, and Lance falls into the spot where Keith just was. But Keith is too busy striding out the door.

“Wha? Huh?” is what he hears from a sleepy Lance before the doors close between them.

———

He’s finally decided to talk to Shiro about it.

He needs advice. On how to bend his mind to his will so that he can focus on literally anything else besides the warmth of Lance’s body against his. If Shiro could get straight As in the Garrison while head over heels for Adam, he’ll have to have something useful to tell Keith.

He doesn’t knock on Shiro’s door. Little brother privileges. Just opens it and walks into the already in progress advice session.

“I’m literally gonna jump out the airlock if this keeps happening, he’s just so—”

And everyone freezes. Keith, in the doorway. Shiro, on his bed. And Lance, pacing back and forth.

Keith and Lance’s eyes meet. Lance’s eyes widen. He panics.

“GET OUT!” he shrieks, arms flailing before he points out the door.

Keith doesn’t move as he processes Lance’s panicked rage. He’s interrupting something. He looks to Shiro.

“Give us five and I’ll come find you,” he says simply. He looks at Lance for a second, then adds, “Make it ten, actually.”

Wordlessly, Keith turns and walks away, the door sliding closed behind him.

He’s in his own room, doing push-ups so he doesn’t punch another wall, when Shiro finds him. He also doesn’t knock. Big brother privileges. Just opens it and strides in and falls onto Keith’s bed with a sigh.

“What’s up, kid?”

“I’m not a kid,” Keith says, finishing his push-up and moving to sit cross-legged. “What were you guys talking about?”

Mindlessly staring at the ceiling, Shiro says, “If I tell you then I tell Lance why you wanna talk to me.”

The mental image of Shiro nonchalantly broadcasting his feelings is enough to make even him let something go. “Fine,” Keith says.

“So what is it? Is it him?”

Keith sighs, falling apart to lay on the floor and also watch the ceiling. “Yeah.”

Shiro just hums in acknowledgment, waiting for Keith to continue.

“I don’t know what to do. I just keep thinking about him all the time. It’s the fucking worst.”

“Yeah, that’ll do it,” Shiro says, suspiciously sounding reminiscent.

“And the other day after the movie? I just left! Why did I do that? The fuck is wrong with me?”

“You want that list alphabetical or chronological?” Shiro quips.

Keith just sighs. “What do I do?”

“Tell him?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Keith sits up. Makes Shiro look at him. “Have you just met me?” He made Shiro order for him at restaurants for a year.

Shiro raises an eyebrow, then lets his head fall back down. “Fair.”

Keith falls back onto the floor. “Yeah.”

“So you’re just not gonna tell him?”

“Yeah.”

“And then what?”

“And then I deal with it. How do I deal with it?”

Shiro laughs, quiet and mostly an exhalation. “I couldn’t tell you.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Because my baby brother is in love and I need to support him.”

Keith groans. “Shut the fuck up.”

“No. Can I be your best man at the wedding?”

“No. Allura’s best man. Best woman. Whatever, there’s no wedding!”

“But you’ve thought about it.”

“I’ll end you.”

“Wouldn’t be the first to try,” Shiro jokes. “But you really just aren’t gonna tell him?”

“No! I can’t!”

“But do you want to?”

“Yeah, obviously.” God, Shiro is stupid.

“Then why can’t you?”

“Because it’s me!” Keith sits up again. “I can’t talk, I-I can’t flirt, I’m not smooth like him and all the girls he likes!”

Wait.

He falls back onto the floor again. “What if he doesn’t even like guys?”

It’s silent as he processes this thought. How did it not occur to him before? And then, Shiro’s making a noise, soft and muffled and—

“Don’t laugh!” Keith says sitting up once again to glare at his brother.

“Sorry, sorry, it’s just…” Shiro covers his face with both hands and sighs into them, calming his amusement. “It’s just funny.”

“What about this is funny?” Keith demands, standing.

Shiro moves his hands away from his face to give Keith a look like this is the most entertaining thing he’s seen. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it. But you should tell him.”

Ugh. “Fuck off,” Keith decides, walking away to leave Shiro alone in Keith’s room. Shiro’s returning laughter follows him out.

———

Cleaning cryo-pods isn’t Keith’s ideal way to spend his day, but it isn’t as bad as it could be.

“Okay, okay. Truth or dare?” Lance calls from the pod next to Keith.

“Truth,” Keith says, because just five minutes ago he was dared to clean a pod while hanging upside down, and he almost needed to use said pod as a result.

“Hmm… do you like anyone?” Lance asks, ever casual.

“Yeah?” Keith says, “I like everyone.” This whole Voltron thing isn’t possible without everyone getting along.

“No, like, like like someone,” Lance says, “Romantically.”

Keith pauses. Then he resumes cleaning with more vigor. “Yeah.”

“Really!?”

“Yeah. Truth or dare?”

“No, wait!” Lance says, and Keith hears him approaching. “Who?”

“That wasn’t part of it. You get one question,” Keith says, erasing the last specks of dust off the inner walls. He steps out of the pod and drops his rag.

“Come on!” Lance says as Keith reaches for a sponge for the next pod. He grabs Keith’s wrist, pulling him away from the sponge and into Lance’s space. “Tell me.”

Keith looks at that face he’s damn near written poetry about and swallows. He rips his hand away and creates distance between them, and he’s sure his glare is murderous. “Fuck off.”

“Aww, he’s nervous!” Lance teases, following after Keith, who crosses his arms and shows his back to Lance, a clear message to not poke the bear.

Lance literally pokes him as he saddles up behind Keith, one hand settling on an elbow and another on a shoulder.

“Little Keithy’s in love?” Lance asks, and it’s clear in just his voice that he’s beaming. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why would I tell you?” Keith asks through gritted teeth, his face on fire. He looks away from Lance, at the clean bare walls.

“Because I’m the best wingman this side of the universe!” Lance says, hands squeezing. “I can help you woo this mystery person. Step one,” His hand moves from his shoulder to gently tug at a lock of hair. “do something about this mess.”

Lance’s voice in his ear, Lance’s hand on his arm, Lance’s hand in his hair. It’s all too much and he’s about to do something stupid, like kiss him.

Instead he screws his eyes shut, uncrosses his arms, and presses a finger to Lance’s lips, stopping the words in their tracks. He extends his arms fully, pushing Lance away and creating distance between them.

There’s a beat of silence, neither boy moving. And then Keith feels the soft exhale of a laugh on his hand, and then another hand in his.

He opens his eyes and swivels his head just in time to see Lance pressing a kiss into the back of Keith’s hand like royalty, right on the gap in the glove, lips to skin.

Keith stares, unable to do anything as Lance, face dusted with the smallest blush, drops Keith’s hand and leans back on his heels. His smile is shaky. “Sorry Romeo, I’m just messing with y—”

Unthinking, Keith presses his palm to Lance’s mouth. “Do it again.”

Lance’s blush erupts in full force. The two maintain eye contact as Lance gently, slowly takes Keith’s hand in his again, head bowing as he presses a kiss there again, painstakingly gentle.

Keith watches as Lance moves so thoughtfully, asking permission with every shift. His hands glide up Keith’s arm, hands coming up to cup his face. There’s barely a height difference, despite Lance’s insistence, but Keith feels those centimeters like miles as he looks up into Lance’s eyes.

Lance’s eyes, which are pointed south, lower than Keith’s own eyes, to stare at his lips. His eyes flit back up, and in the eye contact a silent question is asked. Keith manages a weak nod.

Their lips meet and Keith is first and foremost blown away by how soft Lance is. He’s known for months now that Lance is capable of inhuman degrees of kindness and compassion, but it’s never been directed his way. To feel this softness, of his hands, of his lips, of how he moves, is breathtaking. Keith’s hands fall to Lance’s waist and he tries to follow along, tries to be soft too. It’s surprisingly easy; Lance makes him soft, after all.

When they part, it’s all too soon.

Lance is still cupping Keith’s face, looking down at him with pure awe. Keith’s pretty sure he’s faring about the same. They’re both still blushing, and everything is warm warm warm.

“Truth or dare?” Keith asks before he knows what he’s doing.

Lance smiles, and Keith finds the other half of himself. “Dare.”

Keith licks his lips. “Kiss me again.”

Lance chuckles, leaning back in. “If you insist.”

[herarcadewasteland]

happy death day

A/N: Purge night.

-SKZ x reader, 18+.

mature content, violence etc. its the purge. more warnings later

next!

---------------

You hated this “holiday” with a passion. It was cruel, violent and in your opinion, completely unnecessary. It wasn’t worth a few years of lowered poverty in the country to let everyday people become murderers just for fun. And you stood by it. Declined participation, parties, even hanging out with friends. You did none of it. Never would. You swore to yourself that after that one night when those eight men held your father and mother hostage while you were tied to a chair, which was in turn tied to a wall, torturing them slowly before killing them in front of you, you would never even acknowledge the horrendous night. So, you didn’t. You saved up and bought the best home protection you could, hiding away under blankets until your ears were blasted by the alarms that signaled 7am. 

Tonight was the annual purge night. Work was filled with preparing purgers stocking up on their energy drinks and snacks. Oh the joys of working at a gas station. Gas prices were lowered for the day so purgers could fuel their vehicles of carnage, bullets and pocket knives were also half off. You hated that the most, your stock in the back was mostly shotgun shells and 12mm’s stacked beside boxes of pocket knives and ball-point pens because people had a strange liking towards pens around purge night. The 4:30pm close could not come sooner, your eyes staring daggers at the clock beside you. It was almost painful waiting, your stomach twisting, head a little fuzzy and hands sweating. It was far from your best feeling. You’d place an orgasm at the top of that list for sure. 

The small chime of the bell hung above the door caught your attention, eyes drifting over to watch as eight men sauntered through, broad shoulders clad in leather, boots clicking against the tiled floor and faces already covered with black face masks. Some sported black caps, others slicked back hair and one who had achingly bright blue hair. You blinked at the bright colour, your eyes scanning the others as they spread out, gloved hands tracing shelves before your eyes caught the muscle of one of their arms, the veins in his arm pronounced as he lifted a case of diet soda. The realization he was grabbing diet soda made you laugh a little, not noticing the set of eyes it drew towards your position leant against the counter. 

His intense gaze soon registered and you glanced in the general direction it was coming from, one of the tallest staring straight back at you with unblinking and dark eyes. It made you clear your throat and turn to start locking up the nicotine products for the night, time flying away as you glanced back at the clock which now read 4:20. Great, you thought, almost done. You locked up what needed to be locked behind the counter with practiced ease, muscle memory guiding you as you started zoning out. You didn’t even realize you completely zoned out until one of eight cleared their throat to get your attention. Turning in an almost graceful circle, your eyes widened slightly as you saw them all gathered with armfulls of things for the night. You huffed a small sigh and walked back up to be nearly flush with the counter, hand grabbing the scanner in preparation. 

“You guys got everything? Not gonna be breaking in when I close up to get something you forgot because you were distracted by the soda choices?”

A few of them chuckled, the clear ring leader shaking his head as the one holding the soda visibly shrugged in a clearly unfazed motion. You hummed as the leader started piling items, your hands working double time to grab, scan and push away items as they slid one after the other. It took you two minutes to scan everything they had gathered in their tour, your hands now busy bagging as the leader typed in his card pin. Everything paid for and most things bagged, you could feel their eyes on you as you neatly placed the last of their protein bars in a small paper bag. 

“Okay. That should be everything right?”, you sighed as you glanced up and accidentally made eye contact with every single one of them. 

Their eyes almost made you zone out, something about them so alluring and dangerous… it made your heart race as you shakily pushed their last bag forward as the leader nodded again, his eyes catching yours for an unnerving moment as they began exiting with bags in hand. You cleared your throat to rid yourself of some nervous energy as you rounded the corner as the leader left, hands turning the lock quickly, your back meeting the cool glass as you let out a large sigh, your head dropping forward as the revving of a clearly modded engine filled your ears. The muffler shot twice before the heat of eight gazes left you free to sprint around, shutting off lights, locking things down and couple checking the front before you booked it out of the side door to your little punch buggy. 

The click of the locks echoed slightly in your car before you started it, the time ticking slowly towards 7pm as you released a long breath. The journey home would be stressful. All the purge goers taunting the scared people with machine guns and shotguns as they drove past, cars bumper to bumper as you crawled through the streets to get home. The main street was the worst of it, your eyes scanning over 70 cars in front of and behind you on both sides of the road. It made your hands sweat more, small shakes running through your body as the clock ticked to 6:30pm. Half an hour to get home and activate your systems. Fuck. You glanced around frantically, the side road blissfully empty of large amounts of traffic, the crowd generally being too afraid of more secluded zones to take side streets. 

Using that to your advantage, you swerved off onto the side street, speeding up significantly as you took a new, slightly longer route to your house. Well, technically your parents house. Your childhood home actually… you just stayed in it due to the convenience of owning it and the short distance from many stores you frequented often. Taking slightly sharper turns than normal, you arrived home with three minutes to spare, the sun setting peacefully in a mocking show before the carnage of the night began. Hands trembling and fumbling with your keys, you dropped them as you approached your doorstep. A loud curse and you were bending to grab them in a panic, eyes scanning your peripherals as the announcement froze your body mid bend.

Your heart beat faster as the announcement progressed, your body kicking into flight mode as you sprinted into the house after unlocking the door, your harsh breaths filling your ears as you locked the door, hand already punching in the security code and locking down the house. Your wide eyes watched the metal plates slide down over your large living room windows, the large black truck across the road sending a tingle down your spine before the barricades slammed shut and locked in place with a resounding clang. The loud alarms rang out seconds later, the noise making you jump as gunshots rang through the streets already, screams echoing from people who couldn’t make it inside in time. 

Relaxing with the added noises and suffering outside was easier said than done, your tv on 45 to block it out but failing as trucks sputtered by, screams following, guns firing, more screams. It was torture. You needed a larger distraction, you decided as your security camera showed you a large black van blaring its speakers, a man's voice breaking through the static of it periodically.

“Bring out your dead! Bring out your dead!”

A disgusted shiver ran down your spine, neck curving back and shoulders scrunching up before you shook it off and headed upstairs. A shower would help. Yeah, you thought, a nice warm shower, some music, a candle. Perfect way to distract yourself from outside. So gathering a change of clothes, sleep shorts and a nice big hoodie plus your comfiest pair of underwear, you started the shower, your music blasting. Stripping went quickly, your eyes avoiding the mirror as you walked past it. Stepping into the shower, most noise drowned away, “Boss” by NCT U guiding your head as you bobbed it along to the beat, lip syncing your favourite parts as you ran your hands through your hair. Your eyes closed in bliss as you let yourself float away in the beat and the comforting embrace of the water as it streamed down your body.

Your bliss was slightly disrupted as the next song started, the hard-hitting drum resonating in your bones as the lyrics started. 

“나나나나나나나나 나나나나나나나나나,”

You nodded along, your body rolling slightly as the beat picked up further, your mind partially blanking as you got lost in the routine of your shower. 

“Happy death day, happy, happy worst day,”

Foot tapping in tune with the chorus, your eyes opened to reach for your body wash and loofa, scrubbing away the nervousness in eucalyptus and mint as the song echoed in the small room. 

“Wе're closer to death,”

You lost track of time, the last few verses cutting through the air as you turned off the shower slowly, towel wrapping around your body as you shivered in the rapidly cooling air. Your hands almost vibrated as you dressed quickly, your hands pausing as the song finished itself off a little too slowly for the moment. 

“I'm so sick of the fakes, I'm so sick of the fakes,”

You mouthed the words, hands straightening the hem of the hoodie once you pulled it on properly, your eyes scanning your reflection with a certain distaste as you brushed your hair. 

Vroom. Vroom. Vroom.

You rolled your eyes at the revving, placing your hairbrush back down on the counter and flicking off the light with a sigh.

Crash.

“Run, run for your life, run, run for your life.”

————

tag list: @artisticbirb

-----

next.

[snailsdraw]

[Start ID: 4 pages of HLVRAI doodles about Darnold joining the Science Team.

A concept drawing of Darnold: A black man sporting a short afro greying at the temples, lab goggles, big-cartoony gloves, and a scientist uniform consisting of long pants and collared shirt under a lab coat. Additionally, he dons a second lab coat with slightly exaggerated lapels that he drapes over his shoulders and buttons at the top to look like a wizard cape. He is holding a round-bottom flask. Next to that are narrative doodles of him interacting with Gordon: Gordon asks: "Wait, why're you wearing two lab coats? Are you- you good under all those layers?" Darnold casts a glance over his shoulder at said second lab coat. It is ripped and singed at the base, and its sleeves are tied together behind his back. He casts Gordon a smile and winks: "Why, yes! You can't be too careful in the Mixology department, so it's always good to add on a few more layers. I mean, you should'a seen the last guy. This extra coat was his afterall."

The narrative continues as Gordon stares at him, stuttering: "Wh- what happened to the last guy, Darnold? Gh- Are we safe here??" Darnold rushes to reassure him, moving his index fingers in a circular motion as if rewinding: "Oh! No, no, last time I saw him he was asleep!" He lifts up an arm and looks a little guiltily at the extra lab coat draped over it: "I mean, I feel kinda bad for not asking while he was awake, but I was working with potentially dangerous chemicals and he hadn't complained when I borrowed it, so I'm inclined to believe that everything was okay." Despite his words, the confidence he wears for a split moment while concluding that falls almost immediately as he tenses up, smile in a tight line and eyes screaming. It is clear he does not fully believe the guy had just been asleep but is trying desperately to for his sanity. Gordon grits his teeth awkwardly and looks around to the Science Team for help: "Is…is anyone gonna tell him? Is anyone-?"

In another scenario, the Science Team is battling headcrabs. Gordon is yelling and firing away with his gun-arm, while Dr Coomer takes confident shots next to him with his revolver. Tommy is looking around, alert and gun at the ready, and Bubby is screaming in the background as a headcrab jumps in on him from above. Darnold, disliking real violence, stands at a distance with his back turned and palms over his ears, muttering to himself at rapid fire through a forced smile: "I am okay. I am in my happy place. I am flying kites in a nice green field and I am safe. I am gonna go home- NO! No, I am AT home in fact. And I had my lunch, and dinner, and this morning's breakfast and my stomach is feeling great and I am never working overtime again, no reason. I am leaving work at reasonable hours. I am clocking out at. Reasonable. Hours. And I am feeling very okay and normal because I have my kites and I am going to fly them. The weather is perfectly breezy and the temperature is just right. Everything is alright."

Darnold encounters a Peeper Puppy (AKA a Houndeye) and throws an untested red potion from a conical flask on it in desperation, bracing himself for an attack. The potion, however, causes it to fall asleep instantly, and Darnold sneaks a glance at it in surprise. He looks at the flask in his hand and puts a thoughtful finger to his chin: "Oh! I, uh, I seem to have made a sleeping potion. A-and I was about to drink that too…" He laughs nervously at the thought of what might've happened if he had.

End ID.]

Couple of doodles before I start :)

[spicy-outer-space]

Day 1 of whumptober 2024!

Not proofread, I just want to post this before midnight. Bonus points if you can guess the fandom Mike is based in

Trigger warnings: to be added, proceed at your own risk

Prompts: race against the clock / search party

Mike thew himself behind a toppled table as gunshots echoed elsewhere in the building, pressing a hand to where his head got slammed into the wall minutes ago.

Great. Just what he needed. As if the day wasn't going badly enough as is.

Not only has he woken up with a killer headache, still sore from his last mission, he also managed to get into an argument with Hank before even arriving to whatever agency building they were sacking this time.

And now he's gotten himself injured, and managed to split up with Hank. Not to mention that the gun he's picked up from some agent's corpse is jamming.

Just great.

He bites back a groan, sitting up and peeking from behind his makeshift cover.

No agents in sight. Good. That's... something.

Mike probably has a few minutes before the agency realises that he and Hank split up. He just has to pray that by then he finds a decent weapon and some bandages. And maybe a way out, since he has no idea where he currently is. He starts heading to the closest door, holding his gun like a bat, ready to swing if the need arises.

Unfortunately, that's the moment it decides to unjam and, for some god forsaken reason, shoot.

Mike curses, throwing the gun across the room and trying to not think too hard about how much worse that could have been if his arm was angled just a little bit lower. Great. Now all the agents nearby have been alerted to his location. Fucking perfect. He wouldn't be surprised if there were soldiers in this building too. Hell, maybe even a few MAGs. Why not? At this rate the Auditor himself could materialize in front of Mike and he wouldn't be surprised.

Loud footsteps jolt him from his thoughts. Right. More pressing matters. Of course. Mike quickly glances around again, ignoring the way his vision blurs with the motion. Spotting a door, and only taking a moment to make sure there weren't any sounds behind it, he tears it open and slips inside.

It's... A broom closet. Shit. There was a different door not far from this one. Maybe if he's fast enough, he can-

"Clear the perimeter. Search every nook. We can't have it escaping to rejoin with him again"

Ugh. Well, there goes that plan. He can hear the agents spread out to search the room he was just in. Judging by the footsteps, at least a full squad of agents, probably with a soldier leading them.

Mike takes note of the equipment at his disposal. Buckets, brooms, rubber gloves... What sort of agency broom closet doesn't have any weapons?! Well, at least none of the agents have bothered with checking this broom closet. Yet.

Mike moves, silently, climbing onto the boxes in the corner of the room. It's getting harder to think, and the ringing in his ears is telling him he needs to sit down. He pulls himself inside some box, shoving aside the mops already in there as quietly as possible, and pulls a different box partway onto the lid.

With any luck, the agents won't notice the bloody prints he's left while hiding. Or the bottle of soap he's spilled when shifting the other box. Not like he can do anything but hope, now. His body is already going limp, passing out without his permission.

He just has to get lucky. For once today.

Please, gods, just let him be lucky.

[chromatic-crow]

so. been a while yea? have a college brock.

Practice runs longer than expected, Brock finally making it back to his dorm room at almost eleven pm. Too late to study, missed the Wild game, but far too awake to sleep still. He’s glad he managed to get a room by himself, able to lay in bed on his phone without someone walking in, thumbing through notifications.

The Wild had won that night, which is great but he wishes he could’ve watched it. Not even caring that he’d been drafted by the Kings and felt like he should be watching their games instead. Immediately tapping the highlight video and watching it. Seeing as Brodin scored the overtime winner in under a minute against Colorado. The next video was an interview, Evason smiling at one of the reporters.

That wasn’t important. Finding himself rewatching Brodin’s goal, every little motion he makes with his stick, the way his legs move on the ice. In somewhat of a trance watching it over and over until another interview is recommended. Thumbnail showing Brodin with a hat on, partly surprised that it wasn’t on backwards, looking to the side adjusting the headset.

Finding himself wishing he could see that in person, be in the same locker room with Brodin, on the ice with him. Wanting to find a way to get a full smile out of him, maybe more than that, quickly pushing that to the side. Tapping on the thumbnail a little too hard, glad that he’d put on earbuds, Brodin’s voice fills his ears. And not the typical quiet voice that he’s heard before, a bright smile flicking onto his face as he accidentally curses. It’s not typical for him to do an interview, but there’s a little breathy laugh that he does that gives Brock goosebumps.

He knows that he’s already half hard, reaching down to palm himself through his sweats. Licking his lips as he replays the interview, wishing he could just isolate Brodin’s voice. Not wanting to listen to Gorg ask all the same questions he’s heard and answered himself. Finding that someone had clipped just Brodin’s response, calling out his accidental curse. But it was perfect for Brock, exactly what he wanted. Able to just hear Brodin’s breathy laugh, the accidental use of “fucking” as he answers the question.

Feeling his hips twitch upward, setting his phone on his chest as he pushes his sweats down. He hadn’t bothered putting on his boxers after his shower, now a little grateful for that. He gets up to grab the lotion he keeps on his desk, laying back down and starting the clip again. Hissing as he wraps his hand around himself, lotion not quite warmed up yet. Imagining it’s Brodin’s hand after he’s been on the ice, cold and a little clammy from being in and out of gloves.

Shiver running through him from that and thinking about the clip of the goal, jerking himself a little faster with a quiet moan. Pushing his shirt up a little, pinching at one of his nipples. Not able to keep himself from wondering how Brodin’s hands feel, whether they’re calloused or soft. He replays the clip of the interview again, brain isolating the breathy ‘yeah’ and playing it on repeat. Wanting to hear Brodin breathing that out as they fuck.

He pants harder, feeling himself getting close. Thinking about Brodin riding him, feeling his stomach quiver, thighs tensing and relaxing as he bites back a groan. It’s too good of a mental image, that mischievous smile, tongue flicking out to wet his lips. Wondering how Brodin’s sharp canines would feel biting at his lip, jaw, neck. Brock would let him do anything he wanted at this point.

Those thoughts send him over the edge, coming onto his stomach as he twists his wrist a little, stroking himself through it with a stuttering curse. Gasping as he fights the overstimulation, too tired to do anymore and finally letting go. He lays there, eyes closed as he comes down from it, feeling the shame that always creeps in on him arrive.

In a few years he would be on the other side of the ice, playing against Brodin. Only able to hope that he never accidentally tells him about all the times he’s gotten off on his highlights or pictures. The thought makes him grimace, shame getting heavier as he grabs something from the floor, dirty pair of boxers he’d left there. Wiping his hand and stomach off and tossing them to the side again, trying to ignore those feelings as he turns over in bed.

[starry-hughes]

I need more angst of Luca being distraught when the scare happens with angel during birth 🥲 like we know he’s a great father but he can’t even care about the baby for the first few minutes bc he’s so worried about her

luca feels like everything is moving in slow motion. his heart rate feels slow, everyone around him is moving slow, the sound of doctors and beeping machines coming from angel’s room fades into his ears.

he doesn’t know where he’s walking, but he ends up in front of the nursery window. all the newborns lined up, small and cute. a new one is introduced to the room, dalton. luca recognizes the little gloves angel had picked out.

he feels the presence of someone next to him. “first time?” a random gentleman asks. luca struggles to find his voice, “i have no idea what i’m doing.”

“yeah, the baby books don’t prepare you for everything.”

“i think my wife is hurt and my son is in there, oblivious.” luca blurts, his eyes never leave dalton. he’s not losing him too. “i’m so sorry,” the gentleman apologizes before changing the subject, “have you held him yet?”

“they pushed me out of the room.”

“i’m sure we can ask one of the nurses, c’mon.”

[greenlightbulbonawire]

Misfits (yeah like the Arcane song)

XXVI.

___________________________________________________

Author's note: Steam has some lovely sales these days and my library is definitely not filled with new games nuh uh

previous: Twenty fifth chapter

next: Twenty seventh chapter

Masterlist

___________________________________________________

"I fixed it."

You said, motioning to the arm. Ekko grabbed it and turned it from side to side, looking it over. Scar closed the entrance door and left you two alone.

"I know only one thing that can do this."

He let your arm go and wiped his face with his hand. You just stood there, quiet as a mouse.

"My room. Now."

The leader commanded you. You didn't argue, you could see how mad he was, so you listened. This time you each went there on your own board.

When you stood firmly on the balcony he grabbed your arm again and shoved you into his room, slamming the door behind you.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?"

You stood in front of him and he let his grip go, pushing you back a little.

"Do you know what that stuff does to you? And more, you can't just wander off like that! I'm starting to think you don't take me seriously!"

"I'm sorry."

Honestly, mad Ekko was really scary, but also kinda... He sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

"You can't do that [reader]! We're a team here! And what I say goes."

"But I did what you told me, I let my hand heal properly."

"Don't use my words against me."

He was pacing around his room and his face portrayed a mix of emotions.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you mad. I just... I don't want to be a nuisance because of a broken arm."

The boy stopped and scoffed, shaking his head before he looked at you again.

"You're making it really difficult for me to stay mad at you."

His lips displayed a little smile. You tore your eyes away from the floor and turned them to his face.

"I'm really sorry."

You muttered and watched him come closer. He grabbed your arm again, pulling you into a hug, one gloved hand holding the back of your head and the other snaking around your shoulders.

His face fell beside yours and you let your hands hold him too.

"I was just worried about you."

Ekko whispered into your ear and burried his face into the crook of your neck. You stayed like that for a few moments, you were scared to let go, as not to offend him and the boy not wanting to let go just yet. He finally pulled you away from him by your shoulders and held them with stretched arms.

"But seriously, if you ever do something like that again, I'm gonna cuff you to myself."

You nodded to let him know you understood and his hands left your shoulders.

He opened the door to his room, letting you out.

"Go get something to eat."

"I took something on my way back here."

The boy sighed and chuckled quietly, shaking his head.

"Why am I still suprised."

He grabbed his board and jumped off the tree. You followed, just a little more carefully. He stopped on the ground in front of the painted pillar, putting his board aside and waiting for you with his arms resting on his hips. You landed skillfully before him, sending dust flying his way. You put your hoverboard next to his and looked at him, wanting to know what comes next.

"Since you've decided to heal up your arm, why don't we just pick up where we left off?"

He said and assumed a fighting pose. Great. But okay, fair enough.

"Sureee."

You hesitantly walked to your destined place and took a fighters stance too. The boy didn't waste a second and charged at you. He managed to hit your face, but you just took the punch and slid a little back. His outstretched hand gave you an opening and you took it. You finally managed to land a hit on him, onto his side. He didn't expect it, another opening. Face. Strike.

He wiped the skin under his nose and readied a other punch. You stepped aside. He missed and stumbled. You swiped his legs with yours and he fell to the ground. You didn't know how you even managed that, you knew he had to be holding back, you saw haw he fought on the bridge, this was vastly different. But still, there he lied, and you stood on your feet. How?

[tavarillasgalen]

You know how Maas likes her unconvential fairytale retellings, Aelin as Cinderella, Feyre as Beauty & the Beast, etc. I was thinking how Elriel could work as a Sleeping Beauty retelling, but not in the traditional way.

Because Elain, she's constantly described as the most beautiful of the sisters. But also - no one really knows her. No one really sees who she is or understands what she wants. She has come out of her shell a great deal since ACOTAR, but still, I feel like Rhys hit the nail on the head when he mentioned how perhaps Elain is sweet and quiet and "boring" because she's felt she had to be.

So, she's 'sleeping' in the sense that she hides herself and lets others make decisions for her.

But being around Azriel, Nuala, and Cerridwen seems to bring her to herself, 'wake her up', as it were. She has newfound boldness. She speaks up for herself, calls Nesta out on her shit. She volunteers to help find the trouve. She dresses in unflattering clothes to do what is best for her new home, somewhere she feels safe, where she helps people, where she has a family - and a love and friends who see her for her. She's even bold enough to want Azriel to kiss her - and possibly more - while the mate she does not want is in the house.

Whenever confronted with Lucien, she retreats, 'goes back to sleep'. Her own family doesn't see her, doesn't let her wake up - "you can't resent my decision to live a small life while refusing to allow me to do anything greater".

But with Azriel - when she saw Azriel was relaxed when they first met, she relaxed a bit, even with her iron engagement ring. When no one else knew what was wrong with her, he 'woke her up' with the revelation that she's a seer. When he gave her Truthteller, she killed a king.

He sees her, like no one else does. He wakes her up each time they're together, sparks her to be a little more herself, gives her presents that speak to her, like the stunning necklace, that no one would see the true beauty of until it catches the light; whereas Lucien's only touch what everyone would assume of her - gardening gloves, when she likes to get her hands dirty, pearl earrings she immediately sets aside because Elain is pretty so she must like anything that is pretty.

She's a Sleeping Beauty. Pushing herself under the surface, allowing herself to be tugged along how others want, quietly avoiding conflict even though Lucien makes her extremely uncomfortable. She goes through the motions expected of her, like she's sleepwalking.

And Azriel - of course he recognizes her beauty. Who wouldn't? But he sees what's underneath. He flatout tells Rhys what everyone else refuses to acknowledge - Elain has no interest in Lucien. He spends hours listening to her gardening plans. He realizes what she truly is, what she truly needs. Of course he wants to protect her, like when he rescues her and tells them not to use Elain to find the trove. But with the implied spying lessons, with Truthteller, with each interaction, he shows he sees her potential.

With Azriel, Elain's going to wake up. She already is starting to. And I can't wait to see what she's truly like when she's not sleeping.

[sunlightamed]

"Psst! Klee!"

The blonde Traveller sat crouched down while motioning with one hand for the younger girl to move closer.

"Say, how about the two of us sneak out together for a bit? I found a great fish blasting spot." Perhaps it was somewhat irresponsible of her to condone the youngest Knight's potentially dangerous behavior, but Lumine would be there to keep a close eye on her and to ensure that nobody got hurt.

Unlike Mondstadt where most lakes are surrounded by grass and the fire caused by explosions could easily turn into a catastrophy, she knew a few bodies of water in Liyue which were secluded and with not a lot of shrubbery around - lessening the risks.

"Oh. But don't tell your big brother Albedo or Grandmaster Jean, okay? It'll be our little secret!"

her pointed ears could not help but twitch, easily responsive to the sound of lumine's voice; recognizable even from far away!

klee turned in a complete circle, attempting to spot the golden ━ haired traveler as she swayed from side to side as a habit of excitement. and when rosy eyes caught sight of lumine waving her over, she was quick to rush over. her rucksack jostled dangerously on her back as she hurried in quick, hop ━ like steps. laughter fell easily from her lips, though it was muffled by the gloves she pressed over her mouth once she met with the traveler; after all, lumine was being secretive by crouching so surely she had to be secretive too!

but how was klee supposed to be quiet when lumine had just revealed the best news she heard all day?! ( well, that and that albedo would finally let her see the recent sketches he had been working on. oh oh!! or that and that AND that jean being busy in her office for a day or two because of some important adult things! )

"really?! i can't believe you've found a spot that great!" despite her not being told, exactly, where said fish ━ blasting spot was. but that hardly mattered since anything lumine found was usually perfect! "i finished all my research today, plus i haven't seen jean anywhere so yes, i can go! absolutely! klee would love to go!"

klee nodded her head, almost fast enough to make it ache, before pressing her finger against her lips to make a small, shushing noise. she was such a great spy that not even the bestest ( greatest? most secretest? ) spies would be able to find out where lumine and her were! especially if this new fishing location wasn't as eager to light up as every other lake had.

"of course! klee can keep a secret! i won't tell anyone, you can trust me on this. our little secret will stay a secret." little sun smiled, fanged and bright, as she rambled her curiosities into the air between them, "but can i know where it is before we go? is it in mondstadt? oh oh, is it outside of mondstadt? no waaaay, are we taking a trip to somewhere far away? just to go blasting? hee hee, you're the best, lumine!"

[night-unfurls-its-splendour]

When the Longing Returns

(Full fic here)

Ch. 7 Preview

Chapter 7 is taking me such an unholy long time to write. I'm a little over halfway through now. I wanted to share a little preview to tide everyone over. Hope you all enjoy

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She pressed his fingers to her angel's lips and again whispered, so softly, "Please tell me."

Her breath, warm and gentle, puffed through his fingers as she spoke, and her eyes, troubled, but gently pleading, peeked over their joined hands,

A different kind of numbness—not numbness... calm? Peace? Something foreign. Not an emotion he had experienced enough to correctly identify it—spread through Erik's chest as reality settled on him.

Christine would listen.

For years Erik had been the listening ear to whom Christine had bared her soul, while Erik himself had no similar confessor. And... if he could not confide in Christine, then who else would ever hear him? Did he have any choice but to go down on his knees and pray that she would have the strength to forgive all the things that he'd done?

It seemed so wrong to burden her with the afflictions of a loveless childhood and the crimes of a godforsaken youth in the middle of a dark, damp tunnel.... Yet she knelt with him, held his hand with such an attitude of attentive sympathy! So ready to listen, to hear him...

That nameless sensation spread through his limbs and up to his head, bringing with it clarity; and he looked down at her knees, where they rested on the floor of the tunnel. Now he could feel the chill of the damp stone seeping into his own legs, and he could only imagine how cold it was for Christine in her thin cotton nightdress and negligée.

Christine was startled when he suddenly righted himself and made a decisive motion to stand and bring her up with him. With wide eyes, she watched as he unclasped his cloak, swept it off and brought it around her shoulders. She hadn't realized how chilled she was, even with her shawl, until she felt the garment envelop her in its warm, heavy folds, the sudden shift in temperature eliciting a delayed shiver.

Erik's expression was inscrutable as he gathered up his gloves and the lantern with its two broken panes, setting it down next to the bottom of the staircase. He then took her, very gently, by her upper arms and guided her to sit on the steps, the thick woolen cloak protecting her from the chill of the stone.

Erik knelt on the floor to one side of her, his eyes fixed on her knees. 

"How much did your—" he paused here, with a sigh, before resuming, "How much did the Vicomte tell you of what he learned about my past from Madame Giry?" he asked. His voice was strangely even and detached.

It galled Erik that he even had to ask her. No doubt, he thought, the simpering jackanapes had taken great pleasure in painting Erik's history to further condemn him in Christine's eyes—a murderous imp locked in a cage; a mere child, but already more monster than man. Much good it had done him.

Erik knew that some conversation had passed between the two. The Vicomte had found Christine huddled on the front steps of the opera house with little Meg following his little têt-á-têt with the latter's mother.

Erik had seen it all, but from the rooftop; and even his superb hearing could not cut through the din of New Year's Eve in Paris to capture what was being said in hushed voices seventeen stories below. Erik strove not to remember the surge of jealous rage that had overtaken him as he had watched the Chagny boy put his dolman around Christine and hold her as she rested her head against his shoulder.

Christine was a little surprised at Erik's question. She had always thought of him as being absolutely omniscient. She had assumed that, somehow, he had heard all that Raoul had related to her. But then, she supposed even the Opera Ghost might not hear what was said outside of the Opera house's walls.

"Only that you were kept in a cage in a travelling circus, and Madame Giry helped you escape," she replied. "And that she hid you in the opera cellars, and you've never known anything outside since..."

"Is that truly all he told you?"

So the Vicomte hadn't spoken of the murder at all then?

"Yes. That's all," she confirmed, now certain, from Erik's response, that Raoul had withheld some details of importance. A twinge of irritation passed through her. "There's more he didn't tell me, isn't there?" she asked quietly, an edge to her voice.

Erik could not help the little sound of dark humour that escaped him. "Yes, Christine... yes, there was more..."

A moment of silence as Erik gathered his thoughts, steeling himself against the heavy sense of trepidation that threatened, like a disease, to take hold of his tongue.

Doing his level best to shake it away, he said, "I will tell you all," his even tone trembling a little. "I only ask that you be gentle in your judgement of me."

He chanced to look up at Christine, dared to meet her gaze, and felt a profound sense of nudity; as though her rich, dark eyes would draw the truth out of him and into their depths with an irresistible gravity. Hers was not a piercing gaze, but a haling one. 

Once caught by that gaze, he found that it held him, and he could not look away.

"I was born in a village near Rouen," he began simply...