#there was this one book at the library I saw with some really pretty fairy illustrations

[londoneh]

They’re fairies!!

*•🌷•*

[five-miles-over]

Scavenger Hunt

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Summary: Loki has you go on a scavenger hunt one afternoon, not telling you what he has in store for you.

Warnings: a little angst, pre-established relationship (can be platonic or romantic)

"This looks like something stolen from the Graham Norton Show." You raised an eyebrow when Loki handed you an orange and purple card.

"It's a scavenger hunt." Loki said with a twinkle in his eye. "Every clue leads you to the next one."

"I know how a scavenger hunt works, Loki." You rolled your eyes and flipped over the card. "Was this your idea, or is this some ridiculous team-bonding activity put together by Steve Rogers?"

"No. You see,…I have some errands to do, but at the same time, I have an obligatory excursion with the Lady Valkyrie."

You crossed your arms. "So why the scavenger hunt?" Loki brightly answered. "Well, it makes the errands all the more fun!"

"Alright, but you owe me, Loki." 

"Good girl." The God of Mischief kissed you not the cheek and disappeared into thin air.

You glanced down and saw that the first card, which told you to pick up six cupcakes ordered under Loki's name. The cupcakes were from a specific café….that just so happened to be the place where you and Loki had your first date, which was set up by a far-too-enthusiastic Thor. The moment you got there, a waiter brought you a "complimentary" cupcake of your favorite flavor…along with another orange and purple card. 

The second card took you to the library, on the pretext of picking up a book that was on hold for Loki. There, the librarian handed you the book - Divine Comedy by Dante - and another book that you recognized. It was Pride and Prejudice, one of the first pieces of "Midgardian literature" that you introduced to Loki, a book that you were all too happy to fangirl over. But inside the book was - yes- another orange and purple card. 

The third card sent you to pick up Loki's dry-cleaning. (Really, Loki? Dry cleaning?) At the dry-cleaners, the person at the register handed you a transparent garment bag containing a black tuxedo with a ruffled white shirt. And then you were given a second garment bag with an emerald green gown embellished with diamonds. You couldn't help but stare a few moments at the pretty, expensive-looking gown. Before the person at the register could hand you another card, you made a mental note to ask Loki about the gown and whom it was for. You guessed it was probably for himself for the times he was feeling fabulous. Actually, Loki also liked to wear absolutely nothing when he was feeling his most fabulous…but that didn't matter right now.

The fourth card took you to the park where Loki confessed his love for you for the first time, on the pretext of picking up Loki's forgotten jacket and buying a bouquet of white flowers.

The fifth card took you across the city just to get a particular bottle of liquor that Loki had liked. Okay, now this guy was having a little too much fun with you right now. 

You were relieved when the sixth card, given to you by the liquor store clerk, led you back to the Avengers compound, to the same room where you began this entire scavenger hunt. You huffed a little, setting the box of cupcakes, the books, the two garment bags, Loki's jacket, the flowers, and liquor gently on a table. "Loki? Loki, where are you?" Loki stood in the middle of the Avengers' common room, wearing polished gold armor over a black and green leather tunic with long, dark trousers. His hair was combed perfectly in place, and his hands clasped behind his back. He stood surrounded by a few candles and fairy lights hanging against the curtains. "Okay, I need answers…" You sighed, already tired from running around all afternoon. "Loki, I got your things, just tell me what the gown is for and the…the liquor and the…Are you throwing a party or something?" "I'm getting married."

"What?!" You gulped, reaching for the nearest couch. "I…what? You're getting married, why didn't you tell me? And…" You felt your head start to spin, preparing yourself for the worst. Whatever happened to all the times he said he loved you? Was he just using you to put together some kind of romantic gesture for someone else, just a tool?! Perhaps this is what you get for letting the God of Mischief into your life. Betrayal. "Well, I hope they make you happy, Loki." You relented, putting your head in your hands.

"She does." 

"Good." You murmured, trying your best not to cry in this moment. That was the last thing you wanted him to see. "Is that gown for her too?"

"Hm-hm. Of course, it'll probably end up on the floor after the engagement party, hehe."

"Loki, I am in no mood for your jokes right now." After a few moments, you looked up. 

"Come on,…have a sense of humor."

"NO!" You yelled, getting up from the couch. "No, I will not have a sense of humor right now! You used me! You used me, and lied to me. You told me to do all of these errands, like picking up dry cleaning, and buying liquor, without telling me that you were going to propose to someone else! You could have at least told me, just so I'd have some kind of closure. But no, you couldn't even think to do that. You told me it was a scavenger hunt, like I wasn't worth knowing the truth.

I...I did this because I care about you, Loki! I care about you like some kind of idiot who actually thought that you might like me the same way that I liked you. That right there, making me like you might just be the worst thing you have ever done me." You took a moment to breathe, and ran your hands through your hair. 

"Ugh…And you made me even pick up her engagement dress! What kind of person makes someone do that?!" You couldn't even think about the words you were spitting out, too busy with the hot tears clouding your vision. 

"The kind of person who knows how good it'll look when you wear it."

"What?!" You were taken aback all of a sudden. 

Loki approached you with a hint of nervousness. "Darling, you are one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I know I'm not easy to be with, that I drive you mad sometimes, and I make you put up with a lot. I...I should've practiced this more." He laughed under his breath. "Why didn't I?" Blinking, he pushed his hair back before continuing. 

"What I'm trying to say is,...my life has never been the same since I met you. You're the most steadfast ally, a wonderful friend, and best of all, you are the most passionate and loyal person I have ever known. I could never imagine my life without you, and I never want to. That's how much I love you." The God of Mischief fell to one knee, and held up a small emerald ring with a gold band.

"Will you marry me?"

[smalltownfae]

Hi! From the book rec ask game, if you want to answer any/all of these :)

16. a book you'd recommend to your younger self

41. a book about nature

55. a book with a satisfying ending

69. your favourite mythological retelling

70. your favourite poetry collection

117. your favourite anthology

Hello! Thank you for the asks :)

16. Depends on how young. I wish I had read certain old middle grade and YA books when I was a kid, but tbh most of them weren't translated or even sold here so that would be impossible to begin with. I am sad that I didn't have any Diana Wynne Jones books, for example. We did have translated Discworld books at some point though because I found some in my library (that is how I discovered the series), but I never saw them being sold around before. In my small city there weren't any bookshops when I was a kid so I got my books from supermarkets and I visited the library a lot (even if it only had really old books for the most part). That is how I ended up reading above my years and rereading fairy tales for the most part. Two shops that sold books popped up in my teens and they even sold some manga and a friend and I were so happy about it even though that kind of thing was a given in the capital hahah I visited the capital a lot in my teenage years too because I made most of my friends there. I have a kind of hate relationship with my hometown for all the things it didn't provide and things would have been so different had I grown up somewhere else. One of those things were the lack of books available which I still believe contributed a bit to everyone being so close minded around here. My first visit to the city trully blew my mind xD I was like sheep in the big city. Sorry for the personal anedocte, but the truth is I didn't even had the option to read the books that would have interested me as a kid and I am reading them now as an adult.

41. Upstream by Mary Oliver (which I am still reading...). Also a lot of Robert Frost poems.

“One tree is like another tree, but not too much. One tulip is like the next tulip, but not altogether. More or less like people—a general outline, then the stunning individual strokes.”

55. Howl's Moving Castle hahahaha it has a very nice happy ending, but I think I give this book as an answer way too much so I will try thinking of another one. I know satisfying doesn't necessarily mean happy but I always assume that is what that word means. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison has a pretty nice ending too.

69. I haven't read many of those at all so I will have to go with the cliché answer The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, which is the only book out of the 3 I read by her that I liked. I am not as interested in myth retellings as I am in reading the originals to be honest, but I am curious about The Silence of the Girls, which I only heard good things about so far.

70. I am only exploring poetry more this year so my options are limited. I am going through the complete poems by Robert Frorst and that book separates the smaller collections published before so I guess right now I would pick New Hampshire by Robert Frost, which has the most poems I like, including my favourite "Stopping by woods on a snowy evening". Collections are hard because I very seldom enjoy all the works included in the book and never at the same level when I do like all of them.

117. I do not read these either. I can only recall one anthology that I read from start to finish and that was The New Voices of Fantasy so I guess I have to say that even if it was just ok. Oh wait, this is a lie. I love "Histórias de Fantasmas" (Ghost Stories), but that is a portuguese one that has a selection of "ghost stories". I can tell which ones were included in it though. It's one of my favourite books and I did enjoy every story in it. Here's the list:

The Open Window by Saki

Afterward by Edith Wharton

The Ghost by Catherine Wells

Mr. Tallent's Ghost by Mary Webb

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Nr. 17 by E. Nesbit

The Voice of a God by Winifred Holtby

A Spirit Elopment by Clotilde Graves

[sharkrocket]

Nine people you'd like to get to know better

Tagged by: @zu-zup! Thanks for tagging me, I feel so honored! 😁

Last song: I'm going to cheat a little a talk about some loose songs I would love to put on a Patho playlist but don't have enough songs to make a full playlist, I think people would be more interested in that ahaha

BODY/PRISON by HEALTH for Rubin - Okay so, my impression of Rubin is largely informed from his P1 version, and when he's going around dressed in leather like that and has a banging warehouse theme, my mind translated that into dark club music, and it's been stuck there every since. I keep joking about making a Rubin playlist but it's just HEALTH songs because their whole discography is just kinda like that.... Big recommend from me

Glass by Blood Cultures for my fashion model Rubin agenda - Man, this is harder to explain, but BASICALLY, I feel like Rubin would make a fantastic model. Not that he would be one in modern AU, but I think he has some traits that would be very good for an alternative fashion model. MAYBE I'LL ELABORATE ON THIS ONE DAY.... But anyway, this is the song I would love to see him do a runway walk to (Blood Cultures is fantastic btw, also a recommend)

Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes for Artemy - The lyrics are pretty self-explanatory.... a man struggles with growing up and his finding his place in life, and I feel like it's pretty fitting.... Love this song a lot

There There by Radiohead - SO I JOKED ABOUT SEEING HOW MANY RADIOHEAD SONGS I COULD SHOVE INTO PLAYLISTS, but I had a really complex Burda comic I was trying to plot in my head. Unfortunately, I think animation is the only way to really convey the vision, and that's a bit out of my league.... 😔 I can talk about it more if anyone is interested, though

I'm trying to create a creepy Polyhedron playlist just for fun, but I'm having some trouble finding the right vibes.... I feel pretty solid about these two though, they feel creepy enough:

Carol N°1 by Woodkid

Spring But Dark by Clark

Favorite color: I have lots! Big fondness for salmon pink and my art tends to run in on the warm, vibrant (sometimes neon) side

Currently watching: Trying to watch Bad and Crazy on Netflix but I'm not a huge TV show person unfortunately 😔 Too time consuming and most of the stuff I do wanna watch needs subtitles, which I can't pay attention to when I'm multi-tasking

Last movie: HOO BOY, I watched Marry My Dead Body on Netflix, and basically the premise is that an aggressively straight homophobic cop accidentally gets married to the ghost of a gay man, and they need to cooperate to solve a series of crimes and find the murderer. It's a fun premise and it's supposed to be an action comedy but I can definitely see how your mileage may vary depending on what's your sense of humor might be.... Not a super terrible movie, but ehhh....

Before that, I saw The Lure (Córki dancingu) which was more interesting to me.... It's supposed to be a modern retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid, but with flesh eating mermaids and discothèque flair.... I know people have mixed feelings about this movie, but I enjoyed the style and music... The music is SO catchy

Currently reading: NOTHING AT THE MOMENT, I just returned some library books not too long ago, and these are my recommendations

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher - A sort of retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher from the POV of a nonbinary solider in fictional mid 1900s Europe... a VERY easy read.... The characters are charming and the narrator is really funny, witty and sarcastic... Reminds me a bit of Artemy in that regard... Good body horror to be had here

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw - This is more a traditional, dark fairy tale narrative.... It's told from the POV of a man-eating mermaid who burns her husband's kingdom to the ground... She takes on a nonbinary Plague Doctor as her traveling companion and they roam together before stumbling across a village of children who keep dying and coming back to the life thanks to the aid of 3 surgeons who conceal more sinister purposes...

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey - I enjoyed this one a lot.... A supernatural haunted house horror/drama where a woman returns to her childhood home to take care of the estate of her estranged dying mother while confronting the dark history that her father left in the basement.... Excellent characterizations and I was really invested in where the story was going

Sweet/spicy/savory: BIIIIGGGG savory person.... I like sweets but I love a good savory.... Fries and chips are a big weakness of mine

Relationship status: In a relationship! 🥰

Current obsession: I'm still drawing Patho, so that's still sitting on my mind.... I just finished watching a playthrough of Dave the Diver though, so that's been sitting on my mind too.... UNBELIEVABLY cute and charming.... Sort of scratches the same itch Animal Crossing does

Last thing I Googled: Different kinds of biological slimes.... I never thought about categorizing them before, but now I really want to know what qualifies as a slime

Currently working on: Portfolio stuff.... 😞 I want to leave my current job, so a necessary and time consuming evil, unfortunately

[twstrhythm]

Xinyi Tian Union Birthday

Another Late Birthday. This time is Xinyi Tian. Birthday was April 3

Happy Birthday! (Part 1) Xinyi: Ah… Today is the day… I can’t believe it is already happening. I wonder who will be my presenter today… I hope it isn’t someone who is loud.

???: Excuse me. I am coming in now.

Li Feng: Hello Tian Xinyi. I am your presenter, Jiang Li Feng.

Xinyi: Hello Li Feng. Make yourself comfortable.

Li Feng: Shouldn’t I be saying that? Is this how Pomefiore acts?

Xinyi: Huh? No. I don’t think so…

Li Feng: Oh. That makes sense. But anyways… You have a different hairstyle than usual.

Xinyi: Yup! I asked my older cousin for help, luckily he was nice enough to help me.

Li Feng: That sounds really nice of him to do. It sounds like you admire him for that. But we should continue with what I came for. Here is your present.

Xinyi: Oh yeah… I almost forgot about that part. Let’s see… Oh! This is a new fairy tales book! I saw this the last time I went to the store, but I didn’t have enough money to buy it at the time. So I started saving money. I was thinking about going out to buy this! Now I have something I can read during my free time! How did you know this was something that I wanted?

Li Feng: Sometimes I saw you reading alone in the library. And… I also asked your cousins.

Xinyi: Aww!~ Thank you for the gift, Li Feng! I really love it!

Li Feng: I am glad I guessed right then…

Xinyi: Huh? Were you worried about that?

Li Feng: Just a little bit.

Xinyi: Don’t worry about it. I would have accepted your gift either way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Happy Birthday! (Part 2) Li Feng: Since we handled the gift part, onto the interview.

Xinyi: Right… The interview. This is making me nervous…

Li Feng: You don’t have to be nervous. I’ll make it quick.

Xinyi: Then let’s get this over with quickly. What is the question?

Li Feng: Alright… Since you said you have a sister, this will be your question. "If you could take one person with you to a deserted island, who would you take?” But you cannot pick someone from your dorm.

Xinyi: Oh… A deserted island, huh? That sounds like the least ideal situation to be caught in… I would just melt in the sun. I don’t think survival would be easy for me at all… This is a difficult thing for me to think of, so give me a few moments please.

Li Feng: Of course. Take your time.

Xinyi: Hmm… Oh! I know! What about I take you with me?

Li Feng: Huh?!

Xinyi: You said to pick anyone who isn’t from my dorm, and you aren’t from my dorm. So I will choose you!

Li Feng: Hang on! I don’t think that is a good idea!

Xinyi: And why not? You’re pretty smart. Plus you can swim. We could just see how far the island is from civilization if we swim.

Li Feng: Huh? You can swim too?

Xinyi: Of course. I have sea dragon blood in my veins, just like you do. We should be able to survive just fine!

Li Feng: That’s a good p[oint actually…

Xinyi: Glad you think so!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Happy Birthday! (Part 3) Xinyi: We sure have talked a lot. This is the longest I have spoken to someone.

Li Feng: Haha! Same here. Let’s continue the interview, alright?

Xinyi: Of course! I’m ready for the final question.

Li Feng: That’s good to hear, so here it is. “If you were to join any dorm other than Pomefiore, which dorm would you choose?”

Xinyi: First off, I wouldn’t join Heartslabyul. The environment is kind of the same as here in Pomefiore. I wouldn’t want to be in the same kind of place. It would be very stifling.

I also wouldn’t join Diasomnia. As much as it would be nice to be in the same dorm as my cousins, it would be a pain to deal with. I don’t think I would be able to handle being around Lilia so much. He can be kind of scary, so I would like to be somewhere else…

Li Feng: I think I can understand that. So, which dorm would you join then?

Xinyi: I think I would join Octavinelle.

Li Feng: Huh? Why Octavinelle?

Xinyi: I guess it is because there are some people there I can understand. Plus… I think that working for Mostro Lounge would be a good experience. It might help me learn to talk to people better. It could possibly help me with my confidence too, I think…

Li Feng: That sounds reasonable, but it is also a surprising answer. Most people would prefer to avoid Octavinelle.

Xinyi: I guess I am not like most people then.

Li Feng: That is evident now. I would like to continue talking, but we should wrap this up.

Xinyi: Is it time for the “Gift of Good Fortune”?

Li Feng: Mhm! Are you ready?

Xinyi: Of course. But please don’t hurt me…

Li Feng: I’ll be careful. Here it is! The “Gift of Good Fortune”! Happy Birthday Xinyi!

[medea10]

My Review of Bibliophile Princess

How did I get into this anime? I think I was in the need for some romance during the fall 2022 season. No offense to that season of anime, but not everything has to involve testosterone, blood, and chainsaws.

Elianna Bernstein comes from a family that loves books. The family would forego food for just one more book to read. Elianna is pretty much that. She has no interest in anything else. What do you think would happen if a prince asks for her to be his fiancé? First of all, huh?!

As it turns out, Elianna comes from a family with some nobility. Crown Prince Christopher Selkirk Asherald wants Elianna to be his fiancé…in name only. Chris has no intention of getting married so early like what his parents want for him. He thinks if he gets a phony fiancé and every so often pushes the wedding date away, he’ll get them off his back. Prince Chris entices Elianna with giving her all the free time in the world to read the rarest books only meant for those of highest nobility. For the next four years, Elianna spent her time mostly reading but getting to know the people around her ‘fiancé's’ inner circle.

Good things do have to come to an end. It seems as though the prince might have intentions with another woman. Is this the end of Elianna’s weird fairy tale? And why should she care? She only cares about reading and nothing else. Unless she’s grown to like, even love Prince Chris. But does this possible love go both ways?

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: Sentai Filmworks nabbed this one. Whether they decide to do something more with this or not is up to them. It’s not like they had a lot going on back in October. Nowadays, Sentai’s got its own cash-cow to milk. So, chances are it’ll be a while before we see this anime get anything other than a proper home release. I gotta say in the first episode, I thought that was Mamiko Noto voicing Elianna. But then I saw that it was Reina Ueda and I’m like, never mind, that was an honest mistake. Still good work! Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

*Elianna is played by Reina Ueda (known for Mallow on Pokemon SM, Kisa on Fruits Basket 2019, Kanao on Demon Slayer, CereCere on Sailor Moon Crystal: Eternal, Jasminka on Little Witch Academia, and Young Hideyoshi on Tokyo Ghoul)

*Chris is played by Ryouhei Himura (known for Hinata on Angel Beats, Takizawa on Eden of the East, Kohaku on Yashahime, Grey on Black Butler, Shouma on Penguindrum, Tsubasa on Rinne, and Hiyori on Free!)

SHIPPING: Boy, anime really loves to give us fake-ass relationships these days. Either coincidence or Japan hopping on this trope’s bandwagon, 2022 had a lot of animes with that concept.

We get confirmation early in the series that both Prince Chris and Elianna have some (though awkward) feelings for one another. After living with the prince for 4 years, we see Elianna’s fear of this engagement ending. But was it because she will no longer have access to the rare books she’s yearned to read or is it that she really has feelings for the charming prince? As for the prince, Chris seems to have history with Elianna when they were younger. Elianna scolded the young prince for the mistreatment of a book. After that, they spent time with each other in the library.

Chris remembers. Elianna does not!

After Chris cemented this relationship by declaring there were no more objectors to the marriage, he started showing more affection to Elianna. And I gotta say, it started playing off like one of those rom-com sim games. You get that cute shoujo male and the cute, blushing girlfriend. It constantly felt like that. And when it wasn’t feeling like that, it was feeling like a setup for an old Popeye cartoon. Elianna gets in more trouble than Olive Oyl, no lie!

Now, there were other women in the picture that Elianna felt threatened by. It’s really nothing more than Elianna’s imagination getting the best of her. The prince really loves her and no other girl will do.

ENDING: You would think that after all that has gone down in the past 10 episodes, Elianna would see that Christopher is genuine when he only wants to be with her. Okay, maybe not. Hell, I would have been hella sus if I were in Eli’s shoes. Elianna has had to endure a lot of hearsay behind her back. Add to that, Elianna’s overall worry if she’s worthy of being the wife of a crowned prince. Girl, you have won over nearly everyone in that palace by episode 3, including the queen. Accept this as a win.

But a few daggers are out in plain-sight trying to set the soon-to-be-princess up. There are some women who hate Elianna so they do things out of pure vanity. You know them, catty bitches! But then you keep seeing this one chick named Sharon who keeps insisting to Chris to marry her sister Mirielle. We keep hearing about this woman but we don’t even see her. So naturally Elianna is concerned about everything. But then this thing about concubines comes up. It’s quite the norm for the royal family to have mistresses, concubines, etc. This family is no exception to that dirty little secret. Let’s just say that the concubine talk was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Elianna told Chris that to once again postpone the wedding and runs off. No matter what, Chris always comes to Elianna’s aid whenever she gets in an altercation. At the end of the episode 11, Elianna expressed her worry to Chris and asked him to make a promise to be loyal to her only. Chris makes it clear that Elianna is the only one for him.

Okay, final episode time. Is this the episode where Elianna and Chris finally get married? Nah, we’re getting this Holy Night Banquet. We still get some certain instigator wanting to push Elianna away. And it’s that Sharon chick that I mentioned prior. She even dangled a rare book in front of Elianna to entice her of giving up her fiancé. Episode 1 Elianna wouldn’t hesitate pushing some prince out of the way for a rare book. Episode 12 Elianna on the other hand has gone through some things. So yeah, there is no tearing up this couple. No need for affairs, mistresses, or rebound concubines.

They end with this annual banquet with some good notes for the prince and his soon-to-be-bride. No more objectors. No more sus women after the prince. The monarchy is happy for these soon-to-be newlyweds. The queen however wishes for Elianna to be more wary of suspicious folks and not be taken advantage of or get in too much trouble that would cause a ripple for the family. But she still gets a little choked up being called mother from Elianna. We don’t get a wedding. Just Elianna asking for some vacation time so she can read books. And we end with looking at trees lit up with pretty patterns. It was good timing when I saw it because the finale aired three days before Christmas.

Eh, this was an okay anime. Nothing to write home about. I honestly thought this was going to be one of those animes where the two characters were eventually going to fall in love for real instead of being fake fiancés near the end. As it turns out, Chris unveiled his feelings for Elianna in episode 2 or 3. The rest of the time was Elianna slowly falling in love with the prince with bumps in the road causing her depression and self-doubt. A LOT of self-doubt! There were a lot of characters featured in this anime and most of them do cause hiccups that make Elianna question her relationship with Chris. I honestly don’t remember most of these people. That’s how little of an impact they had.

Eh, it’s a toss up! There are many other romance animes out there I would watch before this one. But it is a short series if you want something small to watch. Hidive has the entire series available for streaming.

[writersblog20]

The grinch of New Year’s eve

Tom Hiddleston x reader

Not my picture, creds to the maker! 

Summary: Being locked up for New Year’s eve with your favorite actor might’ve not been so bad after all.

Warnings: depression,feelings of being alone, hating the holidays, anxiety and that’s it I guess?

Words: 3.5K

The grinch of New Year’s eve.

New year’s eve was definitely not your cup of tea. With every year you started to hate it more just like Christmas. You did like the days that were leading up to Christmas but The days itself were just horrible. You hated every second of it because your mental health would act up, you were alone while you could see everyone you knew having fun with their family’s that you didn’t have.

Besides Christmas, New year’s eve was horrible as well. Maybe you’d always focus more on the bad than the good but either way you would dread it, thinking about what kind of shit the New year would give you. You’d rather just forget about all of it and that was exactly what you were going to do this year.

Just to clarify, it wasn’t like you weren’t trying. You did always ask your friends to celebrate but they always had other plans. You understood that but it wasn’t making things easier for you. You’d never been invited to a New years party even though you’d love to go. Nobody really knew your hatred for the holidays and you kept it to yourself.

This year was hard though. You’ve had a very rough year and it wasn’t quite done yet, and I’m not talking about the year. The last thing you were excited about was celebrating the New year. Since this year and especially this day was so hard on you, you decided to go to the library for escapism. You would just listen to some music and read books until it was closing time, maybe even write a bit.

You walked to your library, which was a formal church but they turned it in a library. They kept it old fashioned and that’s why you liked it so much. They had decorated the entire library in Christmas ornaments, giving it an even more cozy vibe than it already had. Not to forget the fact that the library was huge. There were around 4 floors where you could search for books and chill. You loved the last floor since their weren’t a lot of people, was quiet and would be forgotten about.

You looked around and it was already pretty quiet. You walked along the isle, gathering some books that grabbed your attention and where you were sure of would get you in a fantasy world. After you gathered the books, you walked to the fourth floor.

You walked more towards the end, so if their would be someone coming up, you still wouldn’t be bothered. As you walked you saw someone already sitting there. You frowned, since there wasn’t a soul that you’ve ever found there besides yourself but shrugged it off. once you came closer you saw the person. Tom Hiddleston. You started to freak out on the inside. He was one of your favorite actors and there he was in your favorite spot.

You didn’t realize you were staring until he looked up at you and gave you a kind smile. You quickly smiled back and looked around for another spot. You saw a nice spot by the window underneath the fairy lights, so you made your way towards that spot. He was probably sitting there so he wouldn’t be disturbed either.

You sat down and looked out of the window. In the reflection of the window glass you could see that Tom was looking at you and you felt your cheeks heat up. Why in the world was he staring? Maybe he thinks I’m a crazy fan and that’s why I would sit here or…. Your mind was racing but you made a halt to it. You shrugged it off and got your phone and earbuds out of your bag, put them in, chose a playlist and a book and started to read.

2 pages in and you completely forgot about your surroundings. You were in a completely different world. You didn’t even notice Tom staring at you as you were engulfed by the book. Once you were halfway through the story, you looked up. It was already dark outside. You shrugged it off since it got dark very early. You looked a bit around you and made eye contact with Tom.

Once he noticed that you looked at him as well, he took a sharp breath in and looked back at his pages. You looked down at your book in disappointment. You couldn’t really tell why but you’d knew that just a smile towards you, would make your day but that was too much to ask apparently.

You scrolled a bit through your social media and saw that everyone was out partying, with friends or family. You let out a sigh, put your phone away and promised yourself you wouldn’t look again. You already felt pretty alone but actually seeing that, made it ten times worse. You could feel the tear prickling in your eyes and tried to focus on the book as you tried to push away the tears.

It always felt like someone ripped your heart out and you could just cry for days. You didn’t realize that your breathing changed in a more chaotic pattern, catching the attention of Tom. You got back into the story where you left off and escaped as soon as you could, which didn’t take long.

Before you knew it, you finished the story, picking up the other book that you had laid out. You looked up and saw that Tom was still there. This time when you made eye contact, he smiled at you which you returned.

All of a sudden the big lights went out. You and Tom looked at each other in shock and stood up at the same time, running to the balcony. There wasn’t a soul around anymore except you and Tom. You both looked at each other in panic, you got your stuff and ran downstairs with Tom, even though he was way faster.

As you got to the main floor, you both ran up to the door. You tried to open it but to no avail. The light went on again. Great it was an automatic light, so that means the person who would close the library, could be gone for ten minutes already.

You heard Tom silently curse under his breath. “Maybe there is a window that we can open…” you silently suggested. Tom looked at you and thought about it. “That’s a good idea, let’s see.” You nodded and both looked around but again to no avail. They were closed with a key. You both groaned. “Who the fuck doesn’t check if there’s still people out there.” you asked angry but more to yourself. You heard Tom sigh a little. “my phone….” You whispered and looked through your bag in a state of panic but couldn’t find it. Maybe you left it upstairs so you ran towards the fourth floor and looked around, Tom following you in confusion.

You saw it laying there where you were seated. You unlocked it but saw that you had only two percentage left. Maybe you could still call somebody you thought. You dialed the emergency number and could hear someone ask which emergency service you needed but before you could talk, your phone died. You cursed and sat down as you rubbed your hands in your face.

Tom looked sad at you. “Do you have a phone?” you asked hopefully at him. he shook his head “I’ve left my phone at home.” You nodded in disappointment. You could read of the clock that it was already 8 p.m. “Okay, so we have at least 2 hours to get out of here.” You told him. He let out a sight, nodded and looked around for ideas. “wouldn’t be here some stupid book of how to break out of a library for dummies.” You announced, making him chuckle. “I don’t think so but they should make them. Or we should after we find a way to get out of here.” He chuckled, making you chuckle slightly as well.

“I’m Tom by the way.” He told you as he reached out is hand for you to shake. “I’m Y/N, it’s nice to meet you. I like your movies by the way.” You could see him blush and you smiled. “Thank you, that’s very nice.” He told you flustered. God he looks so cute, handsome, gorgeous, you could go on about that for a while. You didn’t want to make him uncomfortable so you dropped the subject. You looked around as well for ideas. “Maybe there is an emergency phone here or behind the desk. You suggested and he smiled at you. “That’s very smart.” He complimented and walked with you downstairs. There wasn’t an emergency phone and the phone behind the desk was out of service. You and Tom looked at each other. “Let’s get some tea, sit down and think of another plan. Because if we keep doing this, we’ll run out of ideas.” He nodded as a response to your suggestion.

You walked into the kitchen and made some tea. You got the tea and both sat down at a table. You were deep in thought on how to get out before Tom broke you out of it. “So, do you have any plans for tonight?” you looked up at him, meeting his blue eyes. It made you feel shy and excited as well but you looked down. “No, I don’t. What about you?” You asked him. He gave you a sympathetic smile “I was going to celebrate it with friends. But how come that a beautiful, smart and I can guess, nice girl like you doesn’t have anything planned?” he asked you intrigued.

You looked down and didn’t want to answer that question really. “Well, you’re still going to celebrate it with friends. We’ll make sure, just have to find a way to get out.” You told him, avoiding the topic and he noticed. He nodded and sipped his tea, being more interested in you.

“We can put on the computer and send an email to someone hoping they will see it…” you thought out loud, making Tom smile softly. “Am I that bad company?” he asked you teasingly. You looked up in shock “No absolutely not! It’s just… I don’t really like the idea of being locked up. It gives me bad anxiety.” You told him, letting out a shaky breath. He nodded in understanding.

“We’ll find a way.” He told you. You stood up, surprising Tom as his eyes followed your movements. You walked towards the computer and opened it. “fucking hell, of course there is a password.” You let that computer be and walked towards another. This one didn’t have a password. You quickly opened your email and send a messaged to as many people as possible.

“Now we just have to wait and hope. Maybe we can find another way to get out if they don’t respond.” You told him. He gave you a sympathetic smile again. “This isn’t an ideal situation but there are more horrible ways to celebrate New year’s eve. And like you said, you don’t really have any plans.” He told you.

You looked down. “Yeah, but you have.” He gave you a smile. “I can always celebrate later.” He told you as he stood up and walked up to you and rubbed your arms for comfort. You gave him a sad smile. “Why don’t we just go upstairs again and hang there for a while.” You nodded at his suggestion.

You found your spot by the window again and Tom sat down opposite to you. “I’m sorry that you’re not with your friends right now. But I am glad I’m not alone.” You chuckled shyly but felt genuine sorry for him. He gave you another soft smile “it’s my fault as well, I should’ve kept an eye on the clock. But yeah I’m glad I’m not alone as well. Normally I don’t find anybody up here.” He told you and you smiled “Neither do I. But it’s my favorite spot because it’s so quiet.” He nodded and let out a soft hum in agreement.

You both started talking about books and hobby’s and found out that you were both very intrigued by the other person. “So Y/N, tell my why you don’t have any plans.” He carefully asked. You let out a sour chuckle and looked down. “I’m not into New year’s eve. I’m always alone even though I ask my friends but they always have plans and don’t invite me, which is fine but I also think celebrating it is bullshit. You look back at your year and it’s always very though when you had a rough year, than you look towards the new year and I think: Wow, what kind of bullshit is life going to give me this year. And don’t get me wrong, I do want to celebrate it but it’s very much depressing if you do it alone, or if you are alone and see everyone on your social media having fun. Which of course I want them to have fun but it hurts…. It hurts too much you know.”

You rambled almost too quickly for Tom to follow. You felt yourself grow emotional and tears prickle in your eyes. You frustrated wiped them away with your sleeves of your cardigan. Tom was silent and looked down, not knowing what to say to make it better for you. “That’s why I came here. So I could disappear in books, not having to think about it and not really being alone.” He looked at you with a little sadness in your eyes. “They’re not great friends if they don’t invite you. You deserve better!” he told you as he rested his hand on your knee. You gave him a sad smile.

“Come join me if we get out of here.” He told you excitedly. You shook your head “I don’t want to be invited because out of pity.” This time Tom shook his head. “I’m not, I promise! I just really enjoy your company. We like the same stuff that we could spent hours of talking about, you make me think more than others do. I don’t have that with many people…. Actually none at all except for my mother and one friend but that different.” He told you and you could swear you saw him blush.

“If it’s not out of pity, than I’d love to join you. but I don’t want to be a burden.” You told him and looked out of the window. Tom softly grabbed your hand and rubbed the back of your hand with his thumb. “Sweetheart, I promise you I don’t and I stand behind what I said. Let me show you how fun it can be to celebrate the next year.” He told you genuine as he looked deeply into your eyes. You smelt shyly.

“And, if you want to I would love to take you out on a date.” You looked at him in shock. “I ehh would love to go on a date with you Tom.” He smiled at you.

You both leaned back against the wall and so did Tom. “Thank you Tom…. It means a lot to me.” he smiled at you. “It’s my pleasure darling, believe me.” you felt butterflies in your stomach and smiled as you looked down. He still held your hand and you looked at it.

Tom let go of your hand as soon as he saw that you stared at it. “Sorry.” He told you but you softly grabbed his hand back to hold it again. You looked at his slender fingers and you both looked at each other’s hands. You intertwined fingers and he continued rubbing the back of it. You both sat in an comfortable silence, playing with each other’s hands, smiling as you looked at it.

You both started talking again and Tom quietly explained Shakespeare to you. His voice was comforting and you loved listening to the stories he had to tell you. You explained your favorite writer to him and both decided to search for the books and grab them for each other.

You exactly knew where your favorite book was kept and took it, walking back. Tom got back at the same time. “I have an idea.” You told him and got a pen to write a little note in the end of the book. He smiled and got a pen as well. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure I’ll pay for the book.” You told him with a grin. “I think we should keep the books, you know because they locked us up in here.” He told you, making you chuckle. “Yeah agreed.”

You both took your time writing the note. He gave you the book after 10 minutes. “You can read the note when your home.” He told you with a smile. You gave your book to him. “Same goes for you.” you told him with a soft smile. Tom looked at the clock. “I don’t think we’re leaving any time soon.” He told you.

You nodded, you had 15 minutes left before the new year. That was when it got to you. You looked up at Tom in big eyes. “The alarm….” You whispered. You stood up and ran downstairs, Tom running behind you. “Wait, what are you planning?” he asked you. You turned around “The alarm. If we’ll let it go off, the emergency services would be here.” He softly grabbed your arms. “Sweetheart. Wait for the New year. It’s already too late. Let’s celebrate together for now and five minutes after 12, we’ll let the alarm go off, okay?” he reasoned with you. You looked down and nodded.

You both walked upstairs and sat down again. He softly took your hand in his again and started to play with your hand again, intertwining fingers again, twirling etc. You started to shiver as the temperature started to drop. “Are you cold darling?” he asked you, making you nod.

He took his knitter off, showing he had another one underneath it. He helped you get in the knitter and rubbed your arms as you both stood up. You looked deeply into each other’s eyes, going in a trance as you felt all your worries float away once you looked into his blue, soft and warm eyes that held a sort of comfort and a gentle touch to them.

The fireworks went off and you both looked out of the window and back to each other. “Happy new year darling.” He whispered as he came a little bit closer. “Happy new year Tom.” You told him, not backing away, giving him a sign that it was okay.

He softly captured your chin between his thumb and finger, pulling you in closer. His lips brushed against yours as your hand found his bicep, holding onto him. “Is this okay?” he whispered gently, scared to break this magical moment. “Yes” you whispered back, making him softly smile. He placed his lips gently on yours and let them rest for a bit before moving. His hand captured your cheek as you discovered each other’s mouth, softly moaning in the kiss.

The pace went from slow, loving and gentle to passionate, heated to slow, loving and gentle again before he pulled back. He rested his forehead against yours and nuzzled your nose against his. “Let me show you how beautiful the new year can be.” He whispered again. “If you’ll let me.” he more asked you than told you. “Okay.” You whispered back, feeling a little dizzy from the most amazing kiss.

As you both held each other, you could hear the main door unlock, grabbing the attention from the both of you. You pulled away, got your stuff and quickly walked downstairs with each other, hand in hand. “Hello?” you could hear someone ask. You both came into view of the man. “We’ve got your email. Sorry it wasn’t in time and I’m so incredibly sorry that we locked you both up in here.” The man told the both of you.

You looked at each other with a loving smile. “That might have been the best thing you’ve done this year.” You told the man. “Happy new year.” You both told the man and walked hand in hand out of the library, leaving the man in utter confusion. “It was meant to happen.” Tom told you with a smile. “It might’ve been indeed.” You told him. He gave you a quick peck. “Now let’s celebrate New year’s eve.” He told with a smile, as you walked with Tom towards his home. “this is the first year that I actually enjoyed New year’s eve.” You told him and he pulled you in for another kiss. “To plenty more.” he told you and squeezed your hand again as you both made your way, happy that this disaster, turned into a fairytale.

[erwinsvow]

𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 | 𝐚𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬

a/n: hey everyone! hope you enjoy these college headcanons! part two can be found here! warning for nsfw in jean's, and mentions of alcohol/partying throughout!

jean kirstein

jean shows up to college thinking it’s gonna be high school part two, and quickly gets put in his place

his old antics (for both school and girls) won’t fly anymore, so he tries his hardest at both

i personally see jean as not the smartest, most gifted kid (in college!) but definitely one of the hardest workers

this man comes in pre-law and changes to sports management real quick

he definitely plays some kind of club sport, lacrosse or basketball or maybe even both and he is way too into it

like club lacrosse is his life.

he 100% has eyes for cheerleaders, because he loves idea of someone rooting for him, and if you are one, then it’s instantaneous

he notices you at one of his games, giving a shove to conny and asking if he knew who you were

which is met with “what do i look like, a phone book?”

he builds up the courage to ask you out eventually, to which of course you agree, and it’s pretty much a happy ending after that

makes for a lot of sweaty, post-match sex, with him still in his jersey and you in your uniform hiked up

reiner braun

frat bro reiner is a business major with a focus on finance

reiner is the guy who dedicates 100% of his time to school during the weekdays, and the weekends are for the bros

he’s the first in the library, last to leave lecture because he stayed behind to get clarifications, and pretty much aces everything

halloweekend, he decides to drag annie and bertholdt to a party, because they are in desperate need of letting loose

probably dressed up as something mildly douche-y that didn’t require a lot of thought: a foot ball player jersey with eye black improvised by annie

he is a heavy-weight if you’ve ever seen one, probably on his fifth cup of cheap beer and not even slightly buzzed

annie and bertholdt are sloshed, so he keeps one eye on them to make sure they’re alright

you, on the other hand, are serving as designated-driver for the night and sipping on soda

i think any kind of sweet, innocent costume (angel, fairy, woodland creature) would get his attention immediately

he goes over to you to try to make conversation, and finds himself stumbling over his words even though he just swore he wasn’t tipsy yet

but you find it cute, and given how you have seen him before around campus, studying all the damn time, you’re pleasantly surprised to find a sweet, interesting guy making conversation with you at a halloween party

eventually, your friends take off with their hook-ups, and reiner is left behind alone too after making sure everyone had a safe ride home

with no one left besides you two and his passed out friends, you offer him and his roommates a ride back to his dorm

after dropping annie off, you arrive at the dorm and help lug a blacked-out bertholdt to their room

you say goodnight and as you leave, feeling bold, you leave your number on the whiteboard hanging on their door

so that then turns into coffee-and-studying dates, and eventually a relationship before too long

armin arlert

i think we all know what armin is like in college: marine biology major and history minor

this is an effortless genius, so unlike reiner, he doesn’t have to spend all his time studying

i think armin would be the kind of guy who has school and life figured out, and he slowly realizes a healthy relationship is the one thing missing from his life

there’s honestly plenty of people who want to date him, if he had ever cared to return any of their gazes

i honestly see him being oblivious, so when a fellow classmate asks if he wants to study together, he goes “oh, sorry, i wasn’t really planning on studying, but maybe eren wants a study-buddy, i’ll let him know for you!” instead of realizing that was someone flirting

so it’s the same for you

you’re taking the marine sci class as a last resort, everything else was completely filled up, and you just had to get out of that physics class

but all this talk about oceans and sea-creatures is even worse, somehow. to put it short, you’re struggling, and armin is the kid who raises his hand at every question without so much as jotting down a note during lecture

you know mikasa through a friend-of-a-friend type situation, and ask her if armin would be willing to tutor you sometime

doesn’t matter that part of the reason you’re doing so poorly is because you’re staring at the back of his head most of class

armin and you get together to study on a saturday evening, and what began as a recap on the history of the ocean quickly turns into laughing, talking, and then “you wanna go grab something to eat?”

for someone so smart, he’s really dense

he thinks you’re being friendly and doesn’t want to assume you’re thinking this is a ‘date’ even though you’re internally screaming

it takes you leaning in for a kiss after he’s walked you back to your dorm for it to click

needless to say, he wasn’t quite so oblivious after that

eren yeager

eren was determined to get into the same college as armin and mikasa

my man is undecided, and then sociology after he’s forced to pick

not exactly a fuckboy, not exactly a stoner, just somewhere in between

procrastinates doing work and submits every thing a day late, even though he probably would have gotten full marks if it was on time

him and mikasa decide to take a marine bio class with armin, and he ends up falling asleep during lecture

i don’t see him going for a goody-two shoes type that wants to reform him, because he just wouldn’t want to deal with that

it’s not a toxic relationship, but pretty close to one

on again, off again ever since the two of you met in a dingy frat basement, absolutely hammered, and hooked up

this boy does not want to admit that he’s caught feelings, but eventually it comes to that because he is very much the jealous type

catches you engaging in polite conversation with reiner and he is seeing white in seconds

he realizes he has to make you his

marco bott

the most wholesome nursing major with a minor in english because he is a sucker for lit

i don’t think there is any shortage of girls who want to be with marco, just given how sweet and genuine he is

that being said, i feel like the few time he’s wanted to pursue a relationship with someone, they haven’t reciprocated/just saw him as a friend

which isn’t the easiest thing to deal with, but because he’s a mature angel, he doesn’t hold that against anyone

instead, he kind of succumbs to this false idea that people want to be his friend, and not his girlfriend, which he’s a little insecure about

that’s why i think you and marco would have idiot best friends to lovers, featuring everyone around you knowing how head over heels you both are except the two of you

you two meet in a particularly challenging class, and not recognizing anyone, you both turn to the friendliest face in the room to make study-buddies with

over a whole semester of late-night cramming (and talking), scribbling smiley faces on flashcards, and good luck texts before the exam, you realize how much you’re gonna miss constantly hanging out with marco

and on his end, he’s complaining to jean about how after the final, you two won’t have any reason to keep talking

“so ask her out then, you idiot”

“she probably doesn’t think of me like that…”

“are you blind?” jean says, with a roll of his eyes

after the class has ended and you’re both headed back home for winter break, you work up the nerve to text marco one last time

“let me know if you ever need help studying for another class :)”

you have no idea that he’s over the moon, and that finally brings an end to your friendship, and starts your relationship

bertholdt hoover

mister bertholdt is structural design and architecture major

there’s basically six of those total in your entire college, so he definitely gets a bit isolated/lonely sometimes

he basically came to college with reiner & annie, and figured he didn’t really need more friends than that

so when they’re busy, he’s just by himself

annie definitely makes fun of him for not spreading his wings and flying out of the metaphorical nest, but he’s comfortable with how it is

not a huge fan of the party scene, and prefers a quiet night of studying

i feel like you and him would be the last two studying in the library most nights, and sometimes walk out together after the librarian reminds you both the building is closing

so, when reiner and annie drag him to a party one weekend, he’s shocked to see you there too with outgoing friends of your own

he’s used to seeing you in the bright fluorescent lighting of the library, so this dim, hazy room after the shots have already gone to his head is hard to take in

you two eventually end up talking after your friends push you towards him

“funny seeing you here.” “i could say the same to you.”

he already has a crush (you do too, but he doesn’t want to accept that) so the alcohol inhibits his usual caution

a little bit of dancing, a lot of sitting on the pavement outside while looking at the moon, stars, and each other, topped off with a first-kiss starts your relationship

levi ackerman

teaching assistant levi is a staple of your college

almost infamous, really

you count your lucky blessings that he’s still a year or so away from graduating with his ph.d. in molecular biology and that he’s ta’ing this microbiology class

you’ve definitely heard all sorts of rumors, but you really don’t know what’s truth and fiction

he definitely hasn’t slept with a third of his students (right?) but the lingering way he looks at you isn’t helping quell your thoughts

technically speaking, teaching assistants and students are not allowed to date, interact, etc

until the semester in which you are their student is completed, at least

it doesn’t take long after that for you two to constantly run into each other

“how’re your new classes going? any hot ta’s?” he asks, sipping his tea from the bookstore cafe. you choke on your hot chocolate.

all this being said, you’re an upperclassmen about to graduate, possibly start a ph.d. or masters program yourself. i see him teaching upper-level courses exclusively.

it’s not long after that you admit your feelings to each other, since after all, there’s no time to waste

erwin smith

you’re a second year masters program in the history department. your specialization is military history, so of course professor smith is assigned as your thesis advisor.

i mean, he’s only written several textbooks on the subject

on first sight, you can’t believe he’s a professor. because certainly, this is a some cruel twist of fate. he’s closer to your age than some of his colleagues.

you both try to keep it strictly professional

at first least. this gets gradually harder and harder

there’s a certain chemistry there neither of you can deny.

having a mutual interest in the same subjects doesn’t help too much either. suddenly, you guys are spending hours pouring over topics for his next textbook and your thesis.

the conversation continues over chinese food in his office, long after the rest of the building has cleared out for their friday evenings

“well, i won’t keep you any longer. i’m sure you have much better plans on a friday night than talking military policy with me.”

“there is no where else i’d rather be.”

hope you all liked it! :)

[cantalouupe]

curiosity

nsfw!!! kaeya x f!reader

prequel to this drabble

hand & finger kink, semi public sex except you don’t have sex with him he just makes you suck on his fingers

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

The knights of Favonius weren’t a group of people you mingled with. While you had no quarrels with any of them and had even spoken to some before, they just weren’t people that you considered friends.

There was nothing you held against them, no vendetta you had. Your feelings of them were just neutral. Pleasant conversations are easy to have with the ones stationed around town, where they’re willing to help you with really anything you need.

That’s probably why you’ve never really had to interact much with them. You’ve never been in danger and so help from them wasn’t something you had to seek out.

The higher ups, though, were a different story. You’ve also not interacted with any of them, but heard of them incredibly often, seen the outrider around town.

But that was all.

You had understood they were busy with all their work and obviously didn’t expect them to come out just so they can talk to you, a random citizen - still, you were curious. With all the big talk of them they were bound to be quite an interesting few people.

Sara, who worked at The Good Hunter - a little restaurant near the center fountain in town that served amazing food - had told you about them. The interesting honorary knight that travels with a little fairy in search for his sister, the outrider that you’ve seen before, the librarian who apparently was incredibly intimidating when you don’t return books, and even Jean, the acting grand master. You’ve heard about all of them, your curiosity causing you ask around for stories.

The first time you met any of them was on a sunny day, not unlike any other. You were out on the trail, foraging mushrooms as per Sara’s request, when you ran into a suspicious looking group of hilichurls. The odd creatures were entranced by an odd looking sigil on the ground that glowed a faint purple.

You had chosen to mentally mark where you were and turn back to go to town and report it. Hilichurls close to town was already a safety hazard, but them acting the way they were felt off and made a pit of worry grow in your stomach.

The guards at the doors of the Knights of Favonios Headquarters had questioned what you needed when you ran up, and you explained the situation, requesting to speak to Jean if possible.

Guilt ate at you when you pushed despite them telling you she was busy with work already. “I really would like to speak to her directly,” you told them.

They were going to shut you down again, but from behind them the door opened and out came an infamous face.

Of the many people you’d been told about, the Cavalry Captain was among them. Kaeya was very popular in town, apparently appeared at the tavern on most nights to chat with the townspeople. There was a lot of mystery shrouding him and his backstory but despite that he was a favorite of many people.

He looked as he’s been described to you, with dark hair and tanned skin, one eye covered with a black eye patch. His bare eye, beautiful and piercing blue met yours and you looked away immediately, feeling as though you were seeing a myth in the flesh.

“Like I said,” your eyes, probably a little wide from seeing the captain, fell back to the two guards you’d been talking to. “I think it’s a good idea if I talked to Jean directly.”

You hadn’t meant to alert Kaeya as he was leaving the Knights Headquarters but he seemed to hear, voicing out an “is everything okay?” as he approached the three of you.

“I’m not trying to be any trouble,” you tell him once the situation was explained.

He watched you shrink slightly under his gaze, pretty eyes staring up at him - and shook his head. “It’s understandable to want to report something like that immediately. I can take you to her.”

Obviously he had some sort of authority over the guarding knights because they had nothing to say about that, stepping back to their spots on either side of the stone stairs leading to the building.

You mentally let out a breath and nodded up at the blue haired male, thanking him quietly and apologizing again for making a fuss.

“Come on now,” he smiled down at you, calming your nerves a bit. “Stop apologizing for trying to keep Mondstadt safe. If anything we should be apologizing to you for not catching it before you did.”

The short walk inside the Knights Headquarters was quiet, and you took the few silent moments as a chance to get a better look at Kaeya. It was weird seeing him in front of you after only hearing about him for so long.

His clothes were much different from the other knights, from the fur on the shoulder to the color of the clothing. A small blue glowing charm hung from the side of his hip - that’s right, he had a vision.

When he opened the door to Jean’s office, you caught sight of his fingers that peaked out of dark gloves. Fingerless gloves?

“Are you going to come inside?”

Oh no, you weren’t standing here gawking at his hands, were you? You blinked at him like a deer in headlights and you wanted to melt into the floor at the amusement written on his face.

You ducked your head in embarrassment, slipping passed him silently.

Your shame was short lived, however, when you stepped into the room and saw Jean. Now you knew for a fact awe was visible on your face. It’s not every day that you get to see the grand acting master herself.

She was kind and genuinely concerned about you after you ran through the scene you saw for a third time in that day. The abyss order have been causing some trouble for the knights and they had been trying to track down more about them and their plans. What you saw didn’t give away much but Jean reiterated that it was an important bit of information and she thanked you for coming to her for it.

You preened at that, glad you could be of help to her.

Before you left, she thanked you again and assured you that you didn’t need to worry, the knights would take care of it.

And that was the end of it. Nothing else regarding that situation happened and life returned to normal.

The next time you ran into one of them it was at The Good Hunter. You were chatting with Sara while waiting for your food to finish cooking when a very familiar pair on hands came to lean against the counter you ordered at, with a very familiar voice accompanying them.

“I’ve been wondering about you,” Kaeya muses.

Wondering about you? You had to take a moment to process that, forcing out a small “Why?” to which he didn’t respond.

“Eat with me,” he responds instead, smiling at you and he is nice and a knight so who are you to decline.

So, you two eat together. He’s just as charming as people have mentioned, voice smooth and easy to listen to. By your wonder, he tells you in more detail about the Knights of Favonius, and you soak up his words like a sponge.

He is able to describe specific stories that you didn’t otherwise know about, along with other people that you hadn’t heard much about.

You find it fascinating and ask more specific questions - about visions. He answers every inquiry thats thrown at him, about his own cryo power and that of others in Mondstadt.

“Does the fingerless gloves have something to do with your element?” You ask him, and he laughs lightly at you.

“You like them, huh?”

Does he remember your lingering gaze on his hands at your last meeting? God, that’s mortifying. You hadn’t meant it to be a weird question.

When you gape at him, sputtering and trying to grasp a suitable response, he reaches out and taps a finger on the underside of your chin. “Cute,” he murmurs, before taking his leave, claiming he has work he should go attend to.

You stare at him while he leaves, reeling from his actions.

Things move more quickly after that.

You don’t know who really started it, but Kaeya’s hands become somewhat of a teasing point. It wasn’t a serious attraction at first but now his hands are the first thing your gaze catches on.

In turn, he’ll tease you for it, brushing the back of his knuckles against you or tapping a fingertip on you like he did that first time.

It boiled over one day in the Knights Library, you alongside him, curiously looking at all the different titles that were offered. Kaeya reaches out to grab a book and your eyes zero in on his hands.

Bare hands.

He wasn’t wearing those gloves today, skin fully on display and that shouldn’t be as important as it is but there you are, staring at them.

“You’re not-“

He has to know. Theres no way he accidentally forgot to wear them on a day he would be with you. Another tease, definitely.

“My gloves? Didn’t think you’d notice something like that.” Oh, he knows.

Cocky as ever, he taps his finger into your bottom lip - as he has before - and your mouth parts in response. An invitation.

The taste of clean skin bursts on your tastebuds, two of his fingers sliding inside.

“Ah, I knew it,” he murmurs, moving so you were situated in the corner of the wall and bookshelf, his body shadowing yours to shield you from any possible onlookers.

Your knees buckle from under you when he presses down onto your tongue, a whimper sounding from your throat.

“Look at you,” he coos, head leaning in so his lips brush against your ear. “How was I supposed to hold myself back when you want this so bad?”

Your hands find purchase on his biceps, gripping them to ground yourself while he rubs the pads of his fingers against your tongue. Saliva pools and threatens to spill over your lip, and Kaeya knows it, fingers moving so that it drips down out of your mouth and onto your chin.

“You know,” he starts again, fingers sinking deeper into your mouth as his other spare hand wraps loosely around your waist. “If you’re so good like this I can’t imagine what it’ll be like when I fuck you.”

Another noise leaves you, fingers digging into his arms. Your head knocks back into the wall right behind you and your eyes flutter.

You feel lucky that you cant speak because you know you wouldn’t be able to trust yourself to not beg him to fuck you right here in the library.

It feels filthy, the drool on your chin and his breath against the side of your face while he tells you these things. You felt hot and if your eyes were opened your pupils would be blown out.

“You’ll have to come see me some time, so I can really take you apart with my fingers.”

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Books I’ve read so far in 2022!

Friend me on Goodreads here to follow my more up to date reading journey for the year!

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73. Disfigured by Amanda Leduc--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I first came across this book because a popular booktuber mentioned that the audiobook narration was one of their favourites. While I agree that the book itself is a pretty eye-opening and important read, I thought the narration was honestly just okay. That being said, I think this exploration of fairy tales and their erasure and/or villainization of people with disabilities is quite important. If you are born non-disabled (like I was), then you don't really take notice of how damaging it can be to have a villain in a story that is mainly characterized as someone with a disfigurement or a disability. In this book, Leduc comments on how the ableist ideology of how to cure a villain of their villainy, or a hero who doesn't fit "societal standards" until they are miraculously "cured" needs to be talked about more. I never thought of how these stories could be both a source of escapism and a damaging reminder for young children with disabilities. Thinking about it now, it breaks my heart. I recommend this book for anyone who has always been curious about the effects of fairy tales on our society and our kids. Also, for anyone who wants to learn more about experiences beyond your own on topics that you may have never considered before.

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74. Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian--⭐️⭐️⭐️

I don't generally read a lot of bestsellers when they first come out, but my coworker brought this one to my attention so I put a hold on the audiobook at the library. When it finally came through, I'll admit that I was a little wary. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't what I got--not that this is a bad thing, it was just a different experience than what I expected. The murder mystery of it was intriguing and I didn't guess who the murderer was until the very end. I'll be completely honest: while I'm writing this review, I'm wondering if the author also didn't know because there were some unexplained red herrings thrown in here that we never really got any answers for. Anyway, between the cheating, the weird and too easy conclusion that left me wondering if there's a sequel, and the unbelievable results of one of the characters' scheming, this was just okay for me. Was I partially hooked while listening because I wanted answers? Yes. Was I confused about how I felt about the cheating in question? Also yes (with the understanding that both cheaters here are complex human beings that deserve each other). This was okay, even if it was entertaining at times.

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75. Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center--⭐️⭐️⭐️

I've read a few of this author's works and I've deciding to jump into her older stuff because I really have enjoyed her more recent books. While this one wasn't my favourite one by her, I could still see the writing that makes this author so memorable. She writes women who are always trying to discover who they are and essentially remake themselves into the image of themselves that will bring them absolute joy. I definitely saw this with this main character and while I'm not a mom, I felt her frustrations with the life she'd started to live the moment her kids were born. I also felt the tiredness and irritation that came from her when she interacted with her husband. I will admit that the main reason why this is a three star for me is because half the time I didn't really know where this one was going. The story took some turns I was afraid would lead elsewhere--especially because the narrator gives us a pretty ominous warning at the beginning of her transformation. But despite me not knowing where the story was going, I found this to be one of those stories I couldn't stop listening to. I wanted to know what struggles the MC would face next. And I warn you that when you pick this book up, it will seem tedious because it is literally about a woman living her every day life (even as she's working on herself). I think if I had kids while reading this, I would have experienced this story differently. But I enjoyed it for what it was.

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76. Wait for It by Jenn McKinlay--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I’m surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this book. It wasn’t mind blowing or anything, but I loved the characters and how the romance came about. I’m a sucker for the grumpy recluse who falls for the artistic kind woman. Also, this is dual perspective and I’m a massive sucker for that in my romances. It isn’t the spiciest read I’ve read, but it also wasn’t a fade to black situation. I’m taking half a star off because I wasn’t a big fan of the anxiety I got from the MC having to deal with the asshole at her work. I think this would be a great summer read!

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77. The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas--⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm almost all caught up on this author's work and while I do enjoy her mysteries, I found this one a little bit of a let down. I still enjoyed the mystery and the twists (I saw the main one coming), and that ENDING. Holy, I did NOT see that ending coming. I think I wanted more from this one? For some reason, I thought I would get a story where the murders were being repeated or something like that (hi, I don't read the synopsis before reading a book, remember?), so I was a little disappointed and a wee bit bored when I found that it wasn't going to be that. I've been meaning to read this one for a long time and even though it wasn't a favourite, I'd still recommend it to fans of YA murder mysteries! TW though for an underage sexual relationship and abortion (it happens at the very beginning).

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78. I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was absolutely incredible. I should have known I would enjoy it from the very first sentence: "White people are exhausting." Brown dives into her life growing up in a society that begrudgingly gave her space but didn't acknowledge it. She explores the idea of how white people think that simply giving a black person space at a table should be enough--that asking for understanding and a listening ear when they've said or done something racist is simply too much. If you want to be accepted, you of course have to assimilate. There was one scene that made me laugh out loud and share the quote with various coworkers because I couldn't believe this was a real experience. A white student approached Brown and, while in tears, admitted that they had no idea that slavery was something that had happened on purpose. On one hand, I was surprised and full of laughter at the audacity, but on the other hand, I'm not surprised that this person's education failed them so much. One of the things I loved the most, I think, about I'M STILL HERE is the unapologetic approach that Brown had when speaking on topics like white people touching a black person's hair, the temptation to code switch in order to get along with white peers, and having to form a way of existing with other BIPOC coworkers in order to survive your workplace. She also brings up the micro-aggressions she's met from white people simply because they're not accustomed to either being held accountable by a black boss, and/or a black female boss with a white man's name. Anyway, before I continue rambling, this was absolutely incredible and a super important read. I can't recommend it enough. It's also TINY, so seriously, you can probably read this in a few hours!

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Have you read any of these? Would you recommend them?

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Happy reading!

[themadlostgirl]

Chaotic Coupling

*FINALLY! This f**king request took so f**king long! It matter not now because I finally finished it. It is also really long so hopefully that helps make up for how long it took. I do not mean it lightly when I say it is long. This took up 14 pages in google drive. You have been warned.*

Prompt: Reader is the goddess of chaos exiled to the Underworld. It is plenty boring but then she meets the recently deceased Peter Pan. He seems like he could be fun!

Requested by: anon

Warnings: language

~~~

What is more sweet than chaos? What is more freeing then giving into desire? What is a life if one does not indulge in their sins?

Boring. Tedious. Peaceful.

Not at all fun.

Y/N was a goddess of chaos. Messing with mortals by causing trouble and anarchy wherever she went. It was chaotic and threw mortals into a hysteria but that was not how Y/N saw it. Oh no. When she looked down and saw what her actions had wrought she only saw beauty. The anger, confusion, sadness, and raw untethered emotion bursting from every lifeform like a volcano. She loved it.

Unfortunately the other gods did not. She was warned hundreds of times to stop causing such blatant and unneeded mess around the globe but she never listened. It was not like the gods ever punished her. The world would always need a little chaos. Trying to contain it would only build it up until it was unleashed like a hellstorm causing much more damage than she ever could by herself. She almost wanted them to detain her just so she could see what her release of chaotic energy would do to the world.

That was not what happened. After centuries of warnings the gods did finally punish her. She was not put in a crate like a pup as she had almost secretly hoped. The gods were smarter than that. Instead she was put on a leash. Banished to the Underworld to help her Uncle Hades. Her presence would still be felt throughout the world but she could not incite anything truly chaotic as long as she was regulated to the Underworld.

At first she tried to keep her head up. Though she had never visited the Underworld she had to believe it would be fun. It was where all dead souls went. Good and bad. They may be dead but that didn’t mean they were free from chaos.

As she soon learned though nothing she did made much of a difference in the Underworld. Her Uncle Hades ran a tight ship so she could never get away with anything too bad. How could this punishment get anymore boring? She was practically debasing herself with these petty squabbles among the dead. It was humiliating and it was boring! What she would give to be able to leave but so long as she was under Hades watchful eye there was no escape.

It was another miserable day in what was essentially hell. Y/N was taking a walk along the street of the town Hades had modeled the Underworld to. All of the sudden a new soul materialized in the center of the square. That was nothing new. New souls appeared all the time. There was something kind of off about this one though. They had an energy about them that practically made her mouth water. Who exactly had died?

She made her way over to them. “Hello there,” She said and the soul turned sharp on his heel. It was a boy. Young. Disheveled brown hair and piercing green eyes blown wide like a cornered lion. “You have some bite don’t you?”

“Who are you?” He snarled.

“I’m Y/N. Goddess of Chaos and unwilling permanent tenant here in the Underworld.” She stalked around him assessing him up and down. “And you are?” She reached a hand out to touch him. He grabbed her by the wrist halting her. He pulled her closer his eyes hard like stones and his words dripping with malice

“Don’t touch me,” He growled.

Y/N chuckled. “You are fun.” She inhaled deeply, “You absolutely reek of it.”

“What?”

“My beautiful chaos. It’s been so long since I’ve caught a whiff of such potent mayhem. Far more intoxicating than any wine.”

“Get away from me,” The boy shoved her off, “Insane woman.”

“You would be insane too if you were stuck here for centuries unable to have any real fun.” She followed after him, unperturbed. “Well I guess you are now.”

“Why are you following me?”

“I’m bored. Duh. Also, I still haven’t learned your name my delicious little anarchist morsel.”

“Stop talking to me like that. My name is Peter Pan.”

“Hm,”

“What now?”

“Such a boring name for someone who absolutely reeks of pandemonium. Care if I call you something more interesting? Like Balthazar or Zebulon.”

“No.”

“No fun.”

That seemed to irk him and he reared on her with a fury. “You do not know who you are talking to. I have fun more than anyone. The world is my board and everyone else in it are pawns.”

“Really? Cause you seem straight boring now. Peter Pan. Blech, and here I had such high hopes for you.”

“Oh woe is you. So sorry to disappoint Your goddess-ness. Unless you can get me out of here then I have no use for you.”

“If I can’t get out of here then there’s no chance you can. If you decide you want to stop being such a stick in the mud come find me. I live in the clocktower.” With that she walked away. Such a shame. She had gotten her hopes up for a minute just for him to let her down. She wondered what he had done in his life that made him smell so delicious though. Oh wait! She could!

She entered the library and went to the secret section in the back. No one could enter here except for gods. Millions of books lined the shelves. The life stories of everyone that had ever lived. “Peter Pan.” She said his name and waited as a book levitated off of one of the many shelves and flew into her hands. “Let’s see what is so interesting about this Peter fellow.”

Lots of reading later and Y/N understood better exactly who she was dealing with. This Peter Pan was a lot like her. Living on his own island doing whatever it was that he wanted. Instigating violence and anarchy in the name of fun. He was also far older than he appeared. Since time stood still on his island, his Neverland, he lived for hundreds of years without growing older. How had she missed such a place? It sounded like somewhere she would have thrived.

It was almost eerie how similar the two were. At least in the context of his book. The real thing seemed a lot more boring. Perhaps that was due to him dying. Death just took the life out of everyone. Metaphorically speaking.

A few days went by of Y/N stalking Peter to see what he would do. After reading through his novel she was sure he’d be one of those that roughed it in the wilderness but to her surprise he took up residence in a secondhand shop. Why there?

Curiosity overtook her and she went inside the shop. Pretty little trinkets long ago lost lined the shelves and glass cases. Something stood out to her amongst all the sparkly treasures. A doll. A simple straw doll with a little blue coat on it. It stood proudly on a pedestal all by itself. What was so precious about this?

She took the doll off the pedestal to inspect it further.

“Drop it.” A cold voice demanded. There was Peter Pan behind one of the cases. His eyes narrowed at her.

“What? This?” She waved the doll, “If you don’t want people touching it you should really put it somewhere more secure than a pedestal in the middle of the room.”

“I said, drop it.” Peter urged again. Y/N didn’t miss the hint of panic in his voice.

“What if I don’t want to?” She produced a flame from her finger, “What if I burnt it to a crisp instead? It’s awfully dry. It’ll be ash in seconds.”

“Put it down!” Peter roared, he had jumped the case and in a split second had a dagger pressed to her throat. “Now!”

“Why is this so special to you?” She asked. He pressed the blade closer to her neck, not saying a word. Something clicked in Y/N’s head right then. A mention of a doll in Peter’s book. A smile creeped back onto her face.

“It’s your doll. The only toy and the only friend you ever had until you came to Neverland.” She extinguished the flame on her finger. “How sentimental.”

“How did--how did you--”

“I know everything now, Peter Pan.” A shadow passed over his face, “And I mean everything. The mother that never wanted you, the orphanage, the fairy that guarded you, your attempts to go back and have a real family failing year after year until you decided you were too old to be anyone’s son again--”

“AGH!” He slashed her throat but not a mark was left on her skin. Not a drop of blood.

“Now that was rude,” Y/N rolled her eyes, “I think I’m owed an apology.”

“But how did…” Peter stared at the dagger.

“Seems you need a reminder.” Y/N took him by the throat. The doll and dagger clattering to the ground as she hoisted him into the air. “I am a goddess. The Goddess of Chaos. Did you really think it would be that easy to kill me?”

He clawed at her hands but they were like stone around his throat. “Remember this Peter Pan, my body takes an insane amount of power to break. Yours, not so much. So remember your place in this world. You are no leader here. You are no threat. You are my toy and I can throw you away whenever I want. So either be a good toy or I will destroy you.” She dropped him. He collapsed to the ground gasping for breath.

“This was fun,” She knelt down next to him and pulled his chin up to look at her, “I’ll be back to play again.” She left a kiss on his forehead. “Farewell.”

Y/N did not go back to see Peter Pan again for several days. For days she watched him stew in his paranoia. Constantly looking over his shoulder like a frightened deer everywhere he went. He liked games. Y/N knew that much. But it looked like he wasn’t having as much as she was with this latest one. Every so often she would walk by him on the street, acting like she hadn’t noticed but all the while watching him from the corner of her eye. He got so tense when he saw her but never withdrew. He would glare at her until she passed.

It was fun having someone to torture like this again. He still had fight in him.

Then came the morning everything changed. Y/N was walking along the street as she usually did this time of day when she noticed Peter exiting the diner. What luck!

“Good morning!” She sidled up next to him, “Got some breakfast did you?”

He didn’t reply. Just shoved his hands deeper in his pockets and kept walking.

“Oh come now, it’s no fun if you don’t reply.” Y/N said, “If you don’t say anything I’ll just take it as a challenge.”

Nothing.

“Fine.” She sighed, “I just thought you’d like someone to talk to. You don’t talk to anyone around here. I think the only person I’ve seen you talk to is my uncle and that was only once. Don’t you find it boring doing this routine everyday? Don’t you want to try something new? We can have a lot of fun if you would just remove that stick up your ass. What happened to the fun boy full of mayhem that I read about? Did he die when you did? I wouldn’t think death would change a person so drastically. People usually retain their personalities from when they were living into their death but not you. You are more boring than watching grass grow and trust me, there is no grass growing here. You are as boring as watching non-growing grass. Isn’t that sad? I think--”

“SHUT UP!” Peter shoved her hard against the wall of a store. His arm was pressed against her neck pinning her in place. “Leave me alone!”

“Ha!” She laughed, “I told you I could get you to talk.”

“There has got to be a way to kill you.” He muttered.

Y/N smiled. Peter’s arm dug into her neck harder. “Stop smiling.”

“You have fire,” She grinned wider, “I like fire.”

Something clicked in his head. His grip on her easing. She figured that would get his attention. He backed away from her slowly. Y/N turned to a potted bush next to the store window. Peter watched her with a growing sense of interest.

“Don’t you like fire too?” She produced a spark in her hand and flicked it at the flower bush. “One little spark of fire and from that spark it grows. It grows, it spreads, it devours everything in its path leaving behind nothing but torment in its beautiful inferno. It’s the most breathtaking form of destruction I’ve ever come across.”

“You’re kinda crazy aren’t you?” Peter asked, watching as the flower bush was consumed by the flames.

“Perhaps.” she fluttered a hand over the fire making it grow faster. “Being the goddess of chaos kinda does that. I thrive off of disorganization and pandemonium. It would only make too much sense that’s what my mind is like as well. I may be impulsive but that doesn’t make me dumb. You have to find the right nerve to hit to maximize your effect. Groom them with little incidents of mayhem here and there. Then, when the timing is right you hit them where it’ll hurt most and watch the beauty unfold before you. Just like a flame can engulf an entire forest, one perfectly hit nerve can destroy an empire.”

“What do you do when it’s all in ashes then?” Peter asked.

“Not my area. I can bring civilizations down but I’ve never really put much thought into raising new ones up. That’s what the rest of my family is for. They take the ashes of what I have done and create new life. It’s an endless circle of life and death. Gods, I miss it.”

She stared deep into the fire.

“Is that what you’ve been doing with me? Bothering me with little annoyances for days on end before trying to strike that nerve that would drive me insane?”

“A bit.” She shrugged, “Not a fan?”

“Not really, but I guess that’s the point.” He sighed, “I think we’re a lot alike actually.”

“I thought the same thing while I was reading through your book. Did death really suck all the fun out of you?”

“Not much fun to be had here. None of my boys are here, I have magic but there’s nothing for me to control outside of a stupid little shop, and the residents are insanely dull and sad. I fear that you have been my only form of entertainment since I got down here.” Peter waved his hand and the flame from the one flower pot jumped into the next catching that one on fire as well. “What did you mean when you were talking about my book?”

“Oh, there is a portion of the library only accessible to gods. It holds books that contain the entire lives of everyone who has ever lived. I read through yours. That’s how I know everything about you.”

“I see…”

“Would you like to see it?”

“Sure,” He nodded. “Don’t think this means that I like you now or anything. You’re merely the most interesting thing here at the moment.”

“Which is precisely why you do like me.” She elbowed him, “Come, I think you’ll like this place.”

They went to the library and Y/N entered into the area reserved to gods. Peter pouted outside since he couldn’t get past the invisible barrier that shielded him from entering. Y/N grabbed his book and returned with it. “See?”

“Do the gods have these as well?”

“Yes, but they are kept on Olympus. Did you want to read mine?”

“I thought it only fair seeing as how you read my entire life story.”

“Well you would be reading mine for a long time. I do a great many things and I have lived far longer than you have. There’s no need for you to read my book though. Whatever you would like to know you simply have to ask. I have no secrets.”

“Forgive me if I don’t trust anyone who is that open about their past. No secrets? At all?”

“There is nothing I have done in my life that I feel ashamed or embarrassed about.”

“I believe that.” A grin started to spread on his face, an idea latching in his mind, “But that doesn’t mean you don’t have anything personal that you’d rather not share. Acts of wrath and embarrassing moments aren’t something you would feel bad about sharing. Intimate moments though, personal moments, that’s where you clam up.”

“Is this your clever way of trying to dig into my exciting love life?” She smirked. “Afraid I don’t have any secrets there either.”

“Oh no, you misunderstand. I don’t care about any past lovers. I can tell what really gets to you.” Peter stepped closer, “Your family.”

“I don’t care about my family.” Y/N said, she tried to sound casual but his tone gave her pause.

“Yes. You’ve said so. They kicked you out and it is dreadfully boring down in the underworld. But beyond that, you miss them. The only one down here is Hades and I doubt he’s great company. But the other gods and goddess, your other family, even though they banished you here you still yearn to be a part of their world.”

“You don’t know anything.” Y/N’s voice was quiet. She hadn’t expected him to turn the conversation around on her like this.

“I know a lot actually.” Peter continued, “And what I know best is when someone is lost. You may be the Goddess of Chaos but you know what I see? I see the same sadness and desperation that many of my boys wore on my island. You are just a lost little girl crying for your family.”

She hadn’t realized she threw the punch until she saw Peter collapse on the floor. Her breathing was heavy and her hands were shaking. This boy had drilled down into the very core of her being with no effort. He had seen through her as plainly as glass. It was unnerving and she may have reacted a tad harshly to his assessment.

“Punched by a goddess,” Peter stood up again, rubbing at his jaw, “Can honestly say that’s something I hadn’t expected to happen in my life, er, death I guess.”

“You’re not angry?”

“Hardly. Figured you were gonna react like that.” He sighed, “Still not the worst hit I’ve ever taken.”

“You are a strange boy.”

“It’s what keeps me interesting.” He collected the book that had fallen from his hands off the floor.

“Does this mean you still want to kill me?”

“I’m debating it.” He said. “This interaction doesn’t change the fact that you are incredibly annoying.”

“Hurtful but accurate.” Y/N shrugged as she made her way to the stairs that led up to the clocktower. “In another life I think we could have been a very good team.”

She paused. She turned around and saw that Peter had the same look of contemplation. Their eyes met and twin smiles sprouted on their faces. “Is this my magic at work or are we on the same page?” Y/N asked.

“I believe we are.” Peter approached her, “Neither of us wants to be trapped in the Underworld and neither of us individually has the power to escape. But if we work together…”

“We can escape this hellhole.” Y/N finished. “Think you can survive teaming up with me long enough to get out of here?”

“If it means freedom then I will be at your side until we both see the blue sky once again.” He held out a hand, “Partners?”

“Partners.” She shook his hand, “This is going to be so much fun!”

Time passed quickly after Peter and Y/N teamed up to find a way to escape the Underworld. Y/N already had a headstart on research since she spent so much time when she was first banished here finding a way out. She shared her findings with Peter and the two spent days pouring over every detail that looked like it could be useful.

With no need to sleep or eat in the Underworld they would spend several days straight huddled in the library plotting their escape. In between all their research and brainstorming sessions Y/N got to know Peter Pan beyond what she had read in his book and in return he got to know her. They were closer. He still said she was the most annoying thing in all the realms and she teased him often when he got too serious.

When things got especially tense and they needed to blow off steam they would go out together and cause mischief in town. They even snuck into Hades’ office once and stole some of his decanters of fancy liquor. For the first time in a very long time Y/N was truly having fun. Torturing and messing with souls was all well and good but she found she was actually enjoying her time with Peter. She was laughing a lot more with him. Peter himself seemed to grow more at ease with her with every passing day.

Before she had even realized it their begrudging partnership to find a way out of the Underworld had blossomed into friendship. Y/N couldn’t remember the last time she had a friend. She couldn’t remember if she ever did. No one had ever wanted to be very close to her. Causing chaos wherever you go, even unintentionally, threw people off. It never bothered Peter though. He called her annoying but he smiled and laughed at the havoc that naturally happened around her. He played along with it.

“Good morning, Chaos,” Peter let himself into her clocktower bedroom. “Got you a muffin from the diner.” He tossed her a paper bag.

“Thanks.” She caught it. “So, look at this thing I found. So we know that the only way anyone can get out of here is if Hades opens a portal, right? Well, apparently it isn’t solely Hades that can open portals out of the Underworld. Any god can by either being more powerful than Hades like Zeus or by usurping him as the ruler of the Underworld.”

“So you could open a portal out of here?”

“Theoretically yes. But we would have to usurp my uncle.”

“I think we can take him together.”

“No. Here’s the problem. The only way for us to usurp him is to kill him and it is hilariously, nearly impossible, to kill a god.”

“But there is a possibility?”

“I mean I guess but it is hardly a viable option. The only way I know how to kill a god is with the Olympian Crystal which Uncle Hades keeps heavily protected. It is also broken with no way to fix it. Trust me, he brought it out once for me to try and fix but I couldn’t do anything.”

Peter pondered it for a minute. “Okay, you couldn’t fix it all by yourself but what if we tried combining our powers? Do you think that could do it?”

“Maybe. Hades and I tried together once but he said it wouldn’t work since his heart isn’t beating.”

“What does that have to do with--”

“It was part of his own banishment. He can’t leave the Underworld unless his heart starts beating again or something like that. So even though he has the means his dead heart keeps him trapped like us.”

“Alright, is he tied to the crystal in any way? Is there any way he could track it if it went missing?”

“No. So long as it is broken he shouldn’t be able to find it. Why? Plan on stealing it?”

“Yes.”

“Stealing my uncle’s most prized possession from right under his nose, sounds risky...I love it!”

“I thought you would.” Peter grinned, “Seems that for the first time we have a real plan. I say this calls for a celebration.”

“Not too premature?” She asked.

“Well, if we fuck it up then we are both doomed so we might as well celebrate now before anything potentially goes wrong.” He pulled what was left of the liquor they stole from Hades out.

“I won’t object to that.” She took a sip before passing the decanter back to Peter. She stared wistfully out of the clocktower window and sighed. “It’s so strange,” Y/N said, “To be this close to freedom. I have so many memories of the world above but they feel more and more like fantasies I’ve created than something I was ever a part of. I don’t even know what I would do when I get up there. Where would I go?”

“You’re more than welcome to come cause havoc on Neverland if you’d like.” Peter said. “Give my boys a challenge.”

“You really want me on your island? The most annoying being in all the realms?” She teased.

“If you happen to be near at least.” He smiled, softer. “I’d blame it on the liquor but it doesn’t affect us so I guess I’m just gonna have to say this.”

“Say what?”

“I think I am actually gonna miss you when we get out of here.”

“Really?”

“Yes, Chaos.”

“I suppose I’d miss you too.” Y/N shook her head, “I take that back, I know that I’ll miss you.”

“Well that’s enough mushy stuff,” Peter said quickly, dropping his gaze, “We have a crystal to steal after all.”

“Right, of course,” Y/N nodded.

More time passed and Y/N found herself in a new and frightening headspace. She was confused. All her life she had lived through chaos, so much so that it was what she was named the goddess of. Anarchy was where she was most comfortable but yet, when that same pandemonium she thrived in was pushed inward she didn’t know what to do. She could do well in chaos because she always had a focus point. Herself. She was the eye of the storm. She was safe while everything happened around her.

So why did it feel like she was caught in the hurricane?

It had all started that day she and Peter had decided to steal the crystal and usurp Hades. Something about that day disturbed her. When she looked at Peter now her mind wandered. When he sat close enough to touch, her brain burnt out. Yet nothing had changed.

No. That wasn’t entirely true. At some point during all their scheming Y/N had grown to really care about Peter. She’d even call him a friend. When she thought of her life outside of the Underworld she couldn’t think of one where she wasn’t hanging out with him. She already missed him and he wasn’t even gone yet.

What was wrong with her?

Whatever it was it would have to wait. She had a mission now. It was finally the day. After tons of careful and meticulous planning they were going to steal the crystal. Peter was serving as a distraction for Hades while Y/N snuck in and bypassed the traps and wards Hades had around the crystal. She figured she’d have five maybe ten minutes max to get in and get out before Hades got bored of Peter and came back. That’s if she didn’t trip one of his traps first.

By the time she finally got the safe unlocked her whole body was sweating and shaking from nerves. She had come so close and now all she had to do was grab it and get out. She took down the last ward and grabbed the pieces of the crystal and shoved them into her bag before slamming the safe closed and putting the wards back up as quickly as she could.

And done. Phew. Now all she had to do was get out.

“Now this is a surprise.” Y/N froze. Damn. She had taken too long. She poofed the bag away to her room in the clocktower before turning to meet her uncle.

“Hello, hope you don’t mind that I popped in.” She said as casually as she could. “Life up top was getting dreadfully boring.”

“I would say so, it is a rare thing for you to come visit me.” He scanned her up and down, “What entertainment do you think I can provide?”

“I don’t know. You have the billiard table. Care to play?”

“Not now.” He shooed her, “I have work to do so you can scamper along and torment some other poor soul.”

“Boo! You really are the god of the dead.” She stuck her tongue out at him. In the next instant she reappeared in her room. She collapsed back on the bed in relief. Hades didn’t suspect anything.

She heard the sound of pounding footsteps and Peter barged in. “Did you get it?”

Y/N held up the bad with pieces inside. “Who do you take me for?”

“Yes!” Peter was so happy he lifted her off the bed and into the air in a tight hug, “We’re gonna get out of here!”

And the inner turmoil was back. Heat crawled up her neck and burned her face. Had Peter ever held her like this before? Why did it feel so nice to be in his arms?

Just as quick as it started Peter dropped her back to her feet and reached around her for the bag. He pulled out the pieces and set them on the bed, looking over them carefully. He was talking about how it looked like it should be an easy fix but there were other logistics to take into account and whole lot of other technical mumbo jumbo that she really didn’t care about. Well, not so much cared about but couldn’t bring herself to comprehend since her mind was still being tossed around in a tornado of unfamiliar feelings.

“Hey” Peter shook her shoulder, “Were you listening?”

“Spaced out. What were you saying?” She asked.

“I tried a spell on my own but it did nothing. Care to try with me this time like we planned?”

“Got it.” Y/N took her spot next to him and stared down at the broken pieces of crystal. She picked up one and Peter picked up the other. “Here goes nothing.”

They faced each other and started the spell. She was channeling all of her power into it, willing the crystal to come together. This had to work. It just had to. The spell died and when she looked down she frowned at the still broken crystal in her hands.

No. No! It was supposed to work! This was supposed to work! She slid down to the ground, her half of the crystal laying limply in her hands. Peter knelt down with her.

“It didn’t work.” She muttered, “It didn’t work, Peter. We went through all of this and our one way out of here is still just a hunk of junk!”

“We’re never going to see the world above again.” Tears started to slip from her eyes and down her cheeks.

“Don’t say that,” Peter tilted her chin up. His large green eyes bore into her. “We are not giving up now. Not after we have come this far. We are going to see that big blue sky again, Y/N. I swear it.”

“How? We have no other way to get out of here unless we kill Hades and we can’t kill him without this crystal.”

“We’ll find a way. We will not rest until we get out of here. I don’t care how long it takes. Do you wanna know why?” He brushed the tears from her eyes, “Because I want us to go on adventures together. I want to see what you can really do when you can let chaos run free. I want to show you my home. I want you to see Neverland. I want us to have fun together outside of here.”

“Peter…” The whirlwind within me started to ebb, “I want that too.”

“And hey, in the meantime, we can still have fun together right here.” He smiled.

That’s when it hit her. What that chaos reigning inside her really was. Why it felt so strange yet so pleasant at the same time.

“I love you.” She said.

Peter blinked at her. “Huh?”

She grabbed his face and brought him closer so her nose touched his, “I love you, Peter Pan.”

He didn’t respond. Not with words at least. The distance between them, as small as it was, closed and she felt his lips brush against hers in hesitant kiss. She pulled him closer again and the kiss deepened. The spark that ran through her felt like a bolt of lightning and she should know since she had been struck by one of Zeus’ blasts before. This was a lot better though and it certainly didn’t leave a coppery feeling in her mouth.

A flash of light made them break apart. Down at their knees was the Olympian Crystal in one piece. Y/N picked it up. She could feel the power running through it. “But how did…?”

“Through the most powerful magic of all. Something that not even a god could compare to.” Peter grinned, “True love.”

“Are you saying that we have true love?” Y/N teased. Truthfully the thought made her want to jump up and down but she would never admit it.

“Seems so. Only makes sense that I would fall in love with the goddess of chaos.” Peter ruffled her hair. “And she made the unfortunate decision to love me back.”

“Why’s that unfortunate?” Y/N asked.

“Cause now you’re stuck with me forever, Chaos.” He pulled her into his arms.

“I think I can live with that.” She kissed him again. She held up the crystal with a wicked smile. “Now, my love, how do you feel about killing a god for our first date?”

“Sounds perfect to me.” He matched her insane smile. They were going to have so much fun!

[joy1579]

self indulgent

I've been sad. so i wrote a thing to make me less sad. maybe it'll make someone else less sad too or at the very least they can laugh at my “cringe” but either way it did make me less sad so goal accomplished.

Mc and jumin organize a bookshelf jumin asks what neko girls are and MC short circuits his brain for a couple of seconds. no smut just fluff

Moving hadn’t taken long. You had opted to donate your furniture to the local homeless shelter since Jumin’s penthouse was furnished with the highest quality furniture you could dream of. Honestly most of your things paled in comparison to the lavish goods Jumin considered tawdry. Still there were a quite a few boxes you had decided to save, filled mostly with sentimental keepsakes and the few odds and ends that catered to your specific tastes. You were practically finished by noon save the three or four boxes that sat in the main room next to the larger than life bookshelves. Certainly there was plenty of room on them. You never where a fan of negative space on bookshelves but if you were being completely honest that had more to do with how many books you needed to fit in such a finite space. Jumins bookshelves had plenty of room with just enough negative space to look perfectly balanced and while you knew Jumin had told you to do whatever you wished this felt intimate. Bookshelves where holy spaces after all, housing books that change hearts and minds alike that shape the soul and … okay so maybe you just really liked books and that made them seem important to you either way this was definitely something you wanted to do with Jumin. When you heard the door rattle with Jumin homecoming you bolt towards it excited to greet him after work.

“Jumin! Welcome home!” you cried bouncing in place as he made his way inside. You smiled as you saw the creases in his brown flatten and the stress slip from shoulders when he saw you. You waited all of 5 seconds for him to close the door giving you both some privacy from the bodyguards stationed outside before you pounced, leaping upon the business man wrapping your arms around his neck. You delighted in the deep honey of his laughter as he caught your waist in kind and kissed the top of your head gently.

“darling. I’m so glad to be home. How was your day? did you get settled?” Jumin asked as you pulled yourself back slightly giving him room to loosen his tie and set aside his coat.

“everything is in its place except um Jumin there is one thing I need if you don’t mind”

“name it and its yours”

“I wanted to share your bookshelves and I was hoping that maybe you could organize the books with me?” you admitted shyly. It had seemed like such a good idea in the beginning he could show you his favorite books, walk you through his favorite plots and tell you his favorite quotes and you could do the same with him. Yet now as you presented the idea to him you worried. What if he was to tired he had worked all day after all, what if he thought you too needy, or your books to childish. what if he didn’t want your books displayed in the living room because they weren’t very pretty, all of his books where gorgeous leather bound tomes or mint condition hardcovers, yours where second hand at best many where decommissioned library books or garage sale rescues, broken in battered and bruised by years of use. It would make sense to have them put away in a back room where they couldn’t tarnish the pristine collection Jumin had on display. Perhaps you where spiraling, working yourself into a nervous frenzy in the span of a few seconds.

“nothing would make me happier love. We can call the chef to start dinner and begin emptying the shelves for rearranging while he works.” You couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face or the giggle that escaped your lips. The surprise on Jumins face was evident if only for a second before it gave way to a warm sort of fondness. “had I known simple redecorating would make you this happy I would have stayed home and done it all with you” he said affectionately running his fingers through your hair.

“it’s not that I just,” you paused face flushing a bit “books are a big deal, ya know? My dad used to tell me that every book you read becomes a part of you and that you can learn more about someone by the books they love than by the words they say so I wanted to share that with you” jumins eyes where so soft and gentle in that moment you felt your breath hitch “I want to know everything about you and, and I want you to know everything about me” suddenly his lips where on yours fervent and full of passion the hand that had been in your hair now on your chin guiding you too him. The kiss was short and when you parted from him he stayed close, just a hairs breath from your face.

Jumin voice was little more than a whisper as he asked “how is it that every day I manage to fall more in love with you?” you couldn’t help but lean forward and kiss him again an all too familiar giddiness bubbling its way through your soul. You loved this man more than life itself and you knew that would never change.

 “so your ‘Encyclopedia of Fairies’ should go next to the Catherynne M Valente series so we can reference it while reading agreed?” you giggled thrilled that his collection of mythological reference books slotted together with your fae fiction so perfectly. Puzzle pieces connecting to create a masterpiece.

“yes I think that’s perfect. I can’t wait to read her interpretation of such ancient mythos. I also have ‘The World Guide to Gnomes, Fairies, Elves and Other Little People’ if you’d like to add it to that shelf” he said grinning like a child at show and tell.

“oh my goodness yes! That’s perfect and your book on Romanian vampires should be near my ‘Dracula’ and ‘vittorio’ that way that shelf over there can be dedicated to the occult, hauntings, and psychic reference books”

“that sound wonderful and takes care of all the written word but we still haven’t found a place for your comics” Jumin informed glancing toward the woefully large stack of manga you had brought.

“not comic Jumin manga and yeah I think we’re out of space though. I um I didn’t think I had that many books. Sorry” you admitted not meeting his eyes. He tilted your head up to look at him.

“there’s no need to apologize it simply means that tomorrow we can go shopping for another shelf and the next day we can organize those. I’m quite curious about ‘la petite cossette’ you said these where Japanese but that is most certainly a French title.”

“oh I actually think you’d like that one a lot it’s about a man who falls in love with a woman in a cursed portrait its actually pretty tragic in the end.”

“How interesting” he mused retrieving it from the pile of books and skimming through it “the art is truly enchanting and you said that manga has its own subculture?”

“yeah from neko girls to shonen action tropes it has its own vocabulary, history and groups of people its really fun”

“neko girls?” Jumin repeated and your eyes widened at his confusion. This was definitely something he of all people should know about! You jumped up and sprinted to the closet you had filled earlier that day with the few cosplay supplies you had. At the time it had taken nearly half your pay check but if Jumin liked them right now the purchase then would be completely justified. You put on your surprise as quickly as possible before rushing back out to greet Jumin who had just made it to the edge of the living room to come find where you had gone. He froze for a second processing what you were now wearing. White cat ears that moved and twitched fairly believably and just as he was able to cope with that your made paws with your hands and tried your best “nya”. For a moment you feared you may have broken him. He didn’t move his face blank, eyes fixed on you. You tried again hoping to spur some sort of reaction from him “nya?” you said turning to the side slightly to show off the other half of your surprise a white tail complete with pink bow and bell at the base where it attached to your skirt. You tilted your head to look up at him through your lashes trying every trick in your arsenal to look as cute as possible but nothing. He was completely frozen. “Jumin? Hello?” now you were getting worried “darling are you okay?” you asked placing the back of your hand on his forehead to feel for a temperature. The second your hand touched him however his face flushed.

“neko girl.” He muttered “that’s neko as in cat” you could see him trying to calm himself. Fiddling with his shirt sleeves and attempting to stay in control. You smiled standing on your tip toes to kiss his cheek and whisper in his ear.

“am I a good little kitten at least?”  you couldn’t contain your giggle as you heard him choke slightly before scooping you up bridal style.

“certainly not, in fact I think you’ve been a very bad little kitten.” He said his voice deeper than normal as he carried you back towards the bedroom.

[farfromharry]

The one with the makeover | Peter’s girl

Summary: Mj persuades you to give her a makeover after feeling like she isn’t pretty enough for her crush

Word count - 2317

Warnings - i don’t think there is any? possible language?

A/n - i’m really excited for this, if you want to join the taglist for this series you can join here!

━━━━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━━━━

Peter Parker was head over heels for Liz Allan, and everyone could see it, probably even her too. Some might say it was slightly creepy, others might say it was cute puppy love, but Mj hated it, oh she hated it so much. You couldn’t blame her, because you did too.

The two of you were meant to be meeting Ned and Peter before school to exchange ideas about your Physics project you’d grouped up to work on. The plan was that they’d come over to your apartment to work on it tonight, if everyone stuck to the plan. It seemed like it was always you and Ned that were stuck actually working on it, Peter running off to who knows where, and Mj seemingly too cool to help out.

So here you and Mj were, waiting by Peter’s locker to see if he and Ned would show up as planned, on time, or if they’d be late like usual.

You heard the familiar laughter of the brunette boy before you saw him, prompting you to scan the crowded school hallway for him.

With her height advantage, Mj managed to spot him first, pointing the pair out.

“There they are, finally,” she huffed, nodding her head in their direction. You noticed that the two boys weren’t actually getting any closer to you. They seemed to have just frozen in their spot, staring straight ahead at the end of the hall behind you. You nudged Mj with a look of confusion, pointing out the odd behaviour, not that you weren’t used to their odd behaviour by now.

You both followed Peter’s stare to find his gaze fixated on, guess who? That’s right, Liz.

Your best friend let out a verbal sound of disagreement, slumping against the wall of lockers in defeat. You frowned, your eyes drifting back over to the boys.

“Ned, Peter, over here,” you bit back your smirk as you caught both of their attention, snapping Peter out of his daze. “We’ve been waiting for you guys forever.”

They made their way over to you with small smiles, the four of you starting up conversation. Well, more like the 3 of you, considering Peter was more interested in searching the crowd for Liz.

You placed your hand on his arm, your fingertips tracing the slight fuzz on his blue sweater. He turned to you with big eyes, looking down at your hand before his eyes flickered back up to yours.

“You okay, Pete?”

He nodded, giving you a tight lipped and very unconvincing smile. “Perfectly okay.”

»»——⍟——««

Gym class. A complete waste of time in your best friend’s opinion. Mj hated the class, she’d much rather be reading her book or sketching randomly in a secluded area of the library.

Partner tasks seemed to especially get on her nerves, especially when she was paired up with you. Yes, she loved you, but your level of participation in useless classes such as this one infuriated her. You always wanted to try and get her to join in, making up random excuses and false facts to make exercise seem more appealing.

Your eyes raked over your best friend lying down on the exercise mat, pretty much bench pressing her book while ignoring the sit ups exercise you were all currently meant to be doing.

Your coach was lazily circling the gym every so often, rolling his eyes whenever he caught sight of Mj. This was a consistent thing, Mj refusing to take part in these ‘dumb exercises’ as she called them, when she could be doing something much more worth of her time, like reading her favourite book again. He wasn’t going to question her at this point in the school year, finding it wasn’t worth the fight she’d put up in the end.

You however, had no problem trying to push to get the girl involved.

“Mj come on, if you aren’t going to do them can you at least help me do them?” you asked, using a whiny, childish tone that you knew got on her last nerve.

She rolled her eyes at your whining, placing her book beside the mat on the dirty gym floor with a grimace, folding the corner of her page as a bookmark.

The two of you switched places, having you lie down on the mat while she sat up on her knees. She placed her hands down on your shoes, adding some of her weight on them so you wouldn’t shift every time you sat up, allowing you to do the proper fitness technique that had been instructed by your teacher.

“Why do you even do this anyway,” she sassed. “It’s not like he cares.” She motioned her hand toward your teacher who was practically falling asleep against the Tv cart, his eyes barely even open anymore as he ‘supervised’ the class. Every time he jolted awake he accidentally made the cart roll a couple inches, nearly falling onto his face.

You let out an amused giggle, shaking your head and flashing her your signature cheery smile.

“Because, Michelle, every time I do one I get to see your smiling face,” you teased. She flashed you a sarcastic smile, rolling her eyes at your attempt of poking fun at her.

It was moments like those that often made people question how you and Michelle were actually friends when you were complete opposites.

You were a naturally bubbly person, always trying to make other people happy, very outgoing too, you liked to make lots of friends. Mj however was labelled as ‘dark,’ sad all the time, sarcastic, sometimes considered mean (by the people that didn’t know her.) She liked to keep her circle of friends small and she was pleased with that.

Compared to most people you were considered a ball of happiness and fluff, but compared to Mj you were practically a magical fairy.

“Peter knows Spiderman!” You two shared a look, your head turning in the flustered boy’s direction. You watched uncomfortably as a nervous, red faced Peter Parker stuttered his way through a minor conversation with Liz.

When Flash made a rude comment you fully expected Mj to jump in to Peter’s defense, she normally did when it came to him, who could blame her for not liking the kid.

“Yeah, I’m having a party, you should come.”

Out of the corner of your eye you saw her practically deflate, meaning she was letting Peter endure Flash’s pathetic words as some sort of petty punishment. You couldn’t be mad, Peter’s crush on the popular girl was so painfully obvious.

While everyone was distracted by Ned’s outrageous confession, you stood up from the floor and offered out your hand to Mj, sending her a reassuring smile. She sent one back, not a genuine one, but it was enough to tell you that seeing Peter send Liz those puppy, heart eyes hurt her.

“Come on,” you said, tugging on her hand so she hurried up. You led her out of the gym, in the direction of the locker rooms where you could change back into your normal clothes.

“What are we doing?” she asked, following you without hesitation. You just grinned, pushing open the doors to the locker room.

You found your bag on the bench where you left it, pulling out the sweet yellow sundress you wore to school. Mj had made sure to tell you that morning that you looked really good in it, and you were convinced your heart melted a little.

“We’re skipping,” you explained. Her eyes widened, staring at you in disbelief. You bit back your smile as you changed from your awful gym clothes into your dress, pulling on the jacket you brought with you to shield your arms from the cold breeze.

“Who are you and what have you done with my Y/N?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowed. You giggled quietly, handing her bag of clothes to her.

“It’s friday and you need cheering up, let’s go have some fun.”

She stared at you like you were some kind of extraterrestrial being, placing the back of her hand on your forehead to make sure your temperature was normal.

“You never do anything rebellious, what’s gotten into you?” she asked. You shrugged, letting out genuinely excited and happy laughter. The noise of your contagious laughter made her smile, deciding she was willing to do whatever you wanted.

“There’s a first time for everything, I guess.”

She started to change into the clothes she was wearing earlier. A simple dark pair of jeans, a band tee and a dark brown jacket to top it all off, the ‘classic Mj’ look.

“I guess I’ll support this,” you cheered, ignoring the way she rolled her eyes at you. “But this is one time, don’t let this become a common occurence,” she warned.

“Okay Mom, jeez.” She scoffed, placing her hand over her heart in offense. You didn’t give her time to clapback, taking her hand in yours again.

“Now come on, let’s go.”

»»——⍟——««

The two of you did manage to sneak away without being noticed, something you were both very grateful for, because that wouldn’t have been fun to explain to your parents.

Luckily they weren’t home, so you and Mj decided to hang out in your room, listening to music while making random conversation. She clearly avoided the topic of Peter and you were more than okay with that.

Conversation between you both eventually died down for a little bit, the two of you busying yourselves with your own tasks. You’d chosen to pick up a book, one of Mj’s recommendations of course, while she just laid there quietly.

“Is it because she’s prettier than me?” she asked, completely out of nowhere. You lifted your head from your book, looking at where she laid on her stomach on your bed, cocking your head in confusion.

“Who?”

“Liz,” she mumbled. She’d told you before that Peter drooling over Liz made her sad, and she didn’t why. You’d suggested it could be a small crush, even if she didn’t want to admit it or thought it wasn’t, but you never thought Mj would actually end up being insecure over it.

You frowned, standing up from your desk chair to climb on your bed next to her. She laid her head in your lap, enjoying the way you stroked your fingers over her curls.

You didn’t know what to say, your heart aching as you noticed the saddened look on her face.

“He’s just blind, he doesn’t see this amazing girl in front of him.” Your words clearly hadn’t done much to up lift her, seeing as the next words that came out of her mouth made you want to roll your eyes.

“Can you give me a makeover?” she asked quietly, almost like a scared child. You frowned.

“What do you mean?” She sighed, worried you were going to either make fun of her or scold her for wanting to try and look better for some boy. She sat up across from you and took your hands in hers, a pleading expression on her face.

“Do my hair, my makeup, anything, please.”

You were hesitant at first, and she could tell, but as soon as she flashed you her puppy dog eyes she knew she’d broken you down. You let out a groan, standing up from your bed to move over to where you kept your own makeup.

“Fine, c’mere.”

»»——⍟——««

It didn’t take much to make the girl look beautiful because she didn’t actually need any makeup in your opinion.

“Done,” you smiled, guiding her over to the mirror with her eyes closed. You helped her stand so she’d be able to see, shifting a few of her curls behind her ear so she could get a clearer view of her face. “And, open.”

Her honey eyes fluttered open, a gasp slipping past her lips as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. You stood behind her with a grin, glad to see that she looked happy.

“Look at you,” you whispered, placing your chin on her shoulder and your hands on her upper arms. She scanned herself from head to toe in the mirror, a soft smile creeping onto her face.

“I-I look-“ She was practically speechless.

“Stunning, you look absolutely gorgeous.” She looked down at her hands, beginning to pick at the nail polish on her finger nails. You could tell she was growing shy from the way she refused to look you in the eye, the girl clearly not used to getting compliments. “But you always look gorgeous, and who cares what he thinks?”

She took a deep breath, nodding her head and standing a little straighter.

“Yeah, who cares what he thinks, he’s just a dumb boy.” You cheered quietly, happy that you were able to make her smile after her awful mood earlier this afternoon.

“Who’s a dumb boy?” Both of your heads snapped in the direction of your bedroom door, a silent gasp slipping past your lips as you saw Peter and Ned standing there awkwardly.

You and Mj shared a nervous look, silently making a pact to keep that information to yourselves. You grew slightly flustered feeling Peter’s gaze burn into the side of your head, but you ignored it the best you could.

“Uh, no one important,” you reassured. You saw Peter’s eyes widen when his vision drifted to Mj, noticing how her face looked a little different.

“Wow Mj, you look-“ He was lost for words, trying his best to compliment one of his friends. He saw her smile falter slightly and he quickly sputtered out a word. “Beautiful.”

Her eyes bulged, an unintentional grin spreading across her face. Meanwhile your heart was breaking, part of you wishing the world would just swallow you up.

However, Ned came to save the day. “So, the project?”

━━━━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━━━━

peter’s girl taglist → @sunsetholland @captainamirica @tomsirishgirlx @givebuckyhisplumsnow

[hercleverboy]

can i have #36 from the general part :D

stephhhh!! ily

wc ↠ 1k

note↠  I imagined this as being season two Spencer, and I’ve thrown in some glasses!spence too because i can :)

General #36 ↠ “Why can’t I get you out of my head?”

Spencer eagerly stepped through the doors of the little library he’d stumbled across and was immediately immersed by its warm atmosphere. Hundreds of books lined the shelves, the room lit with pretty dangling fairy lights and soft cushions on brown couches. He felt welcome, relaxed, peaceful. Something that was hard to come by with all that he saw on a daily basis.

Spencer pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose as his attention turned to a young woman who rounded the corner by the check-out counter. She beamed over at him with a wave.

Spencer found himself enamoured by her. She was easily the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. Thanks to his glasses, he could see the name badge attached to her lavender coloured cardigan. Y/N.

Spencer clutched the leather strap of his satchel in one hand tightly, raising the other in a small wave with a tight-lipped smile. 

She grinned back before grabbing the stack of books on the countertop and moving to place them back on their designated shelves.

He took another moment to take in the space, biting back a small smile. He couldn’t help but feel like he was meant to find that place. Like he was meant to meet Y/N.

And he would prove to be correct. Any free time he had, he’d spend at the library. Sometimes he really would be reading, other times it was an excuse to watch Y/N from across the room but quickly duck his head and act like he was busy if they accidentally made eye contact. 

The first time they spoke, she struck up conversation over one of the books he was checking out that day. From there, their friendship only grew. Y/N would always set aside a collection of books for him to check out the next time he came by, and he’d gladly accept her recommendations — it meant they’d have more to talk about the next time they saw one another.

The feelings Spencer had for her were only cemented when he next got called away on a case, and found himself missing her presence more than he thought he would. He’d stay up in his hotel at night reading whichever one of her book recommendations he’d brought with him. He’d think of her pretty smile and mesmerising laugh. He’d think of how she was definitely out of his league. How she appreciated his jokes and even understood most of them.

To her, he wasn’t Dr Spencer Reid, boy wonder, genius FBI agent with a high IQ and brilliant mind. No, to her he was just— Spencer.

He liked that.

One evening he’d insisted on staying behind to help her close up the library. They were putting books back on the shelves together, and Y/N was chuckling at some joke he’d made. Over the last few months, Spencer had fallen head over heels for the pretty librarian. It had gotten to the point where she consumed nearly every waking thought of his, and he’d been reprimanded twice by Hotch for getting so caught up in thoughts of her that his focus on their cases stalled. He couldn’t understand it. Why was he so consumed by her? What was it about her that slashed his IQ right down to 60? 

Spencer hadn’t realised how close the two had gotten until he could quite literally feel her body heat. She looked up at him, eyes hopeful as his own eyes flickered down to her lips nervously. This was it; this was his shot. 

And just as he’d plucked up the courage to kiss her, their lips mere millimetres from meeting — the sound of a phone ringing cut through the air. They both jolted apart, Y/N cringing at the noise. “I’m sorry, that’s the front desk phone. I better get that.”

He nodded, listening as she answered the phone. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

The moment was gone. 

He quickly grabbed his satchel, his cheeks burning with embarrassment at how he’d lost his shot with her as he stumbled his way back to the front of the library.

Y/N looked up as he reached the doors. “Spencer? Where are you going?”

“Uh sorry, something’s come up. I-I have to go.” He stuttered, hand reaching out to grab the door. 

“Spencer, wait!” She called out, and his body froze on the spot. He couldn’t run from her, he couldn’t push away how he felt. Not anymore. “Talk to me. Please.” She whispered from behind him. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, he found the courage to turn and face her. 

“Why can’t I get you out of my head?” He whimpered out, as though the words were difficult to say. She was taken back by the way his tone was so desperate, so confused.

“What?”

“You’re all I think about. Even when I’m supposed to be working and people are depending on me, you’re still the only thing on my mind. I-I’ve never felt like this about anyone, and I really don’t know what to do with myself? But I just- just can’t understand it? Why can’t I stop thinking about you?” He sounded exasperated, his brows furrowed and breath coming out in heavy pants. At her lack of a response, his shoulders dropped, gaze falling to the floor. “I’m sorry. Forget that I said anything, it was stupid.” 

“I can’t stop thinking about you either.” 

His eyes snapped up at her words, searching her face for any sign of dishonesty of insincerity. He found none. 

His feet moved on their own accord, and before either of them could register what was happening, Spencer had cupped her cheeks in his hands and brought his lips down to meet hers. 

When they pulled apart, Y/N beamed up and him and Spencer gave a shy smile back.

“I was hoping you were going to do that.” She murmured.

He chuckled. “Sorry I kept you waiting so long.”

“It’s okay.” She promised. “You were worth the wait.”

[still-a-morosexual-help]

OBEY ME! LESSON 49 DETAILED SUMMARY + THEORIES

One locked lesson

Mammon, Luke & MC are visiting Diavolo’s hotel. Mammon talks about wanting to book a suite and have a party, Luke says he doesn’t like the devildom opening businesses in the human world cause he’s scared they’ll take it over completely. Barbatos says that Diavolo is only interested in coexisting in peace & if he’s gonna snitch to Michael he should tell him their actual intentions. Luke says he’s not a tattletale Mammon vehemently disagrees with that. Barbatos reveals that Diavolo & Levi have started staying up till dawn gaming together (I’m so happy they’re friends!). Mammon said he never knew that Levi previously had issues against Diavolo. When Luke asks where Diavolo is Barbatos tells him he’s out on a date with Lucifer. Mammon asks about Barbatos’ choice of human clothes and MC says he looks really good in it. He says the look he was going for is ‘tea leaf importer’. In a private lounge Barbatos serves them fairy ring tea which surprises Mammon & Luke. In the Devildom on rare occasions small sparkling golden flowers grow in a ring rather than the more usual mushrooms, and the teas is supposed to smell like those flowers. He says despite what the ring is made of there’s a legend they form when fairies dance in a circle. Luke says the tea smells and tastes amazing and MC asks if fairies are real. Barbatos says fairies in the human world are supposedly extinct and us humans are really fucking up the ecosystem huh

Mammon seems really disappointed by that and when MC asks why he says that treasure can be found near fairies, leprechauns are also related to fairies btw. Barbatos says there’s still a chance there are fairies somewhere in the human realm – there are rumours about fairy rings made of flowers in the human realm which can only be caused by fairies whereas mushroom fairy rings have a scientific explanation. And that there are rumours that those flowers can be used to make a rare sweet. Obviously Mammon & Luke are excited about finding fairies for their own reasons (AND is this gonna be a Mammon & Luke lesson!??? I desperately need that) and MC says lol good luck with that anyway byeeeee~ Mammon & Luke immediately strongarm MC into coming along. Barbatos tells them to bring some flowers back and he’ll make tea for them out of it. Luke & Mammon briefly argue about whether they’re after sweets or money, and Luke wonders where they might even start looking. Mammon suggests going to a library to find out what they can and Luke is surprised Mammon suggested that to which Mammon gets annoyed.

Mammon suggests splitting up to be more efficient and Luke is surprised ‘efficient’ is part of Mammon’s vocabulary. MC can go with either of the boys. With Luke; they find books about angels and demons, including a picture of Michael but nothing about fairies. Luke says the picture doesn’t capture how amazing Michael really is. MC can say A.) that Luke seems to really love Michael. He says everyone loves Michael before remembering the brothers and saying they’re the only ones who don’t (no offense but everything I hear about Michael has made me highly suspicious of him too – I’ll get into that later). B.) MC asks how Michael’s been doing lately and Luke says the way they worded it made it sound like they know him personally. But he says it’s understandable that they’re curious when Michael’s the greatest angel to exist (how can you say that when Simeon is literally raising you!?). He says Michael is till sad about what happened with the brothers and seems to regret it and that though their portraits are no longer in the Celestial palace you can find Michael standing and staring at the empty spot looking lost time and time again – that though he doesn’t say it, he misses them (I’LL GET INTO IT). Luke says that the brothers are happy in their new home and have forgotten the celestial realm and Michael and that after meeting them Luke acknowledges that they have a FEW good qualities but whenever he remembers Michael standing under that empty spot and how the brothers don’t even stop to think about how Michael feels or to look at things from Michael’s perspective he gets pissed off (do…do you think Luke knows about Lilith…..I – I highly doubt it because the circumstances behind her death and everything we’ve seen and heard about the celestial realm so far makes me feel like the brothers were completely justified to leave it all behind). With Mammon; He finds a book about Angels, Demons, Fairies and their worlds – though it’s mostly about angels and angel!Lucifer. Mammon asks where the part about him is and MC says they’d love to hear about his time as an angel. He says he was really talented and that Lucifer recommended him to be a Cherubim (so the others as angels said that angel!Mammon could do anything he set his mind to and we’ve seen that despite what his brothers say Mammon actually has a pretty vast array of skills and can really step up and be the responsible big brother when it’s needed so am I the only one who feels like Mammon’s that ‘gifted’ kid in highschool who got burnt out and then said fuck it and decided to stop trying? And now everyone looks at him shakes their head and asks wtf happened to him? Solmare gave me a blank canvas of a character to project on to and instead I go and choose Mammon :))) I’m in pain). Michael & Raphael treated Mammon like he was a problem child but Lucifer saw his potential (GIVE ME THEIR BACKSTORY!). MC can ask A.) If he was sad to leave the Celestial Realm. He looks surprised and then thoughtful and distant and says he never thought about it. He says dwelling on the past isn’t his thing but if he had to pick he’d say he didn’t miss it. But he doesn’t hate it and or like he never wants to go back and that he doesn’t hold a grudge (okay so usually during a Mammon centric lesson I write this after I finish the whole lesson instead of one by one after each chapter like I usually do and I’m gonna tell you things happen that show that he might’ve been unconsciously lying about the grudge thing). He says he doesn’t know how his brothers feel and that they maybe less happy with the celestial realm than he is (calling back to the grudge thing we know Mammon tends to bottle things up emotionally, specially when it’s things that hurt him, we also know that right after they fell Mammon was the one who took care of everyone so I think it’s very likely while the others had their emotional fallout about Falling and Lilith and being Demons and Satan’s birth Mammon just never got the chance as he was taking care of their well being and I have this whole fic floating in my head about it let’s see if I put it into words). He says even if they wanted to it’s not like they could go back )  B.) If he loved Lucifer back then. Mammon goes Loved!? LOVED!? -ED!? PAST TENSE!? I still love him and fjeodkkfnak BABY! (love that angel!Mammon refused to admit he loved Lucifer while demon!Mammon was like fuck yeah I love him what’dya think!?). Mammon then blushes and then tells MC not to tell Lucifer cause he’ll get a ‘I knew it’ look and grin like he was self-satisfied. Given how happy Lucifer became the last two times Mammon admitted to caring about him and how in the recent lessons Lucifer said he didn’t think his brothers love him I really want them to tell Lucifer. In the end they don’t find anything. Mammon wants to quit. Luke doesn’t want to, he wants to see Michael’s face when he eats one of the Legendary sweets. Mammon gets annoyed saying that Luke’s always going on about Michael and asking if he’s worth it (NO GRUDGE HMMMMMM?!) Luke gets really pissed in return. Mammon laughs and tells him to cool down and that despite being a demon he’s being honest and asks why a ‘goody-two shoes angel’ so pissed (no grudge huh? I mean it’s miniscule rn but everything’s way too complicated for Mammon to be just over it). Solomon interrupts them and tells them to stop shouting. Okay so first off starting from S2 Michael’s being brought up a LOT and I’m pretty sure MC spoke with as well and nearly met him and he said he’ll have to meet them on a later day. S3’s going into depth about the Celestial Realm and Michael’s getting way more mentions and they’ve started bringing up Raphael as well and at this point I’m 100% sure they’re gonna actually introduce them as new characters? Maybe by the end of the season? And I’d love this cause I need new dynamics and to learn more about the brothers’ past and the celestial realm but it also sucks cause I have such a clear vision of what they look like and ik solmare’s gonna destroy that. ANYWAY I don’t think they’ll introduce “bad guys” to the story given that this is a dating sim at the end of the day and Michael & Raphael will probably wanna bang MC too but with what they’ve given so far the Celestial Realm and the higher up angels seem very morally dubious? We know that Michael as an angel gave out punishments that were worse than Lucifer as a demon – Mammon saying he still shakes when remembering them thousands of years later. We know they were against mixing with humans and demons – enough that they were willing to kill off an angel for healing a human. We know they supported the war with the demons and were not actively looking for a peaceful end to it unlike Diavolo (to the point that even Lucifer one of the highest angel in ranking was surprised by the notion of peace). We know their rules were much more strict than that of the Devildom and Raphael acted as somewhat of an enforcer and he considered human parties immoral. We know they highly looked down on the demons and considered them pure evil & below them despite not really knowing anything about them. And sure all of these facts are things that happened when the brothers were still in the celestial realm and I bet they’ve changed after thousands of years and are more open minded, but have they changed enough? The way ‘Michael’ spoke to MC when he called the brothers wicked despite not really knowing what they are like as demons, despite the fact that ‘wicked’ doesn’t cover what the brothers are at all and that there are probably humans who are worse people than them, that he thought MC would be wicked too just because the brothers liked them, the fact that Luke still had these beliefs that all demons were evil and terrible despite having never met a demon, which were the same beliefs angel!Lucifer had when he met Diavolo thousands of years later, the fact the angels still have a very strict idea of what exactly an angel should be like and enforced those ideas on the brothers during the angel event to the point that after they were back to normal they all freaked out. All makes the angels seem highly…..um? questionable. Also luke said Michael missed the brother, but does Michael actually miss them or does he miss the perfect angel versions of them? We know in the celestial realm the brothers had to repress a lot of their urges, likes and even small parts of their inherent personalities to be accepted/to not be threatened to be kicked out (ex: Mammon supressing his pranks/more playful/mischievous side in the celestial realm vs being comfortable enough to fully express that side despite Lucifer’s punishments in the devildom) to the point that they had a secret room they’d escape to just so they could skip work/hang out/relax, we know angels still see demons as evil beings and probably don’t still accept them despite the peace, we know that Michael’s view of the brothers as ‘perfect angels’ completely strips them of any identifiable characteristics even if you were to compare them to what they were like when they were really angels. So when luke says Michael misses them I feel like he doesn’t miss them he misses them as these perfect angel versions of themselves that never really existed. If this season is about getting MC’s stars will next season be about getting Michael and Raphael to accept the brothers for how they truly are? More interdimensional therapy sessions? Does this make sense? Talk to me

Solomon says he doesn’t know what happened to the fairies but that they’d have more luck finding them if they went out and looked deep in places free from human influence than looking for info in a human library. Mammon says Solomon should change his name to the “not so wise” & Solomon says it’s not like he came up with his nickname in the first place. Luke has the idea to ask Crowe for help. When Mammon asks Levi about his falling out with Crowe Levi says though they aren’t friends anymore he’s still useful. MC asks crowe where they can find fairies and they find out about rumours near Lake Io Lanthe. Though they can only get there and back within a day with a private jet. Mammon says it’s not like they can use their own wings to fly in the human world either and I’M!!!!!!? would Mammon have had to carry MC? Have they seen the brothers flying in the devildom? Has anyone carried them and flown? In the end they decide on an overnight train ride. Levi says the “kids” should probably first get permission from the “adults.” MC who’s a fully independent grown adult doesn’t need permission.

Simeon happily agrees as long as they can find someone to cover Luke’s shifts in the café. Luke asks MC which of the brothers they should ask, there are 6 options and for each the 3 of them imagine the scenario that would take place. 1.) Levi; Simeon getting steadily more and more irritated while Levi tries to win a game instead of working till black-purple smoke is rising out from Simeon even as he smiles sweetly and calls Levi. 2.) Lucifer; looking deeply disappointed with crossed arms says “So, are you going to tell me your order or not? Hurry up. I don’t have all day. I have (list of café related chores) French chocolate cake with hot cocoa? Are you insane? Who in their right mind would pair chocolate cake with hot chocolate?” why is this so funny!?? 3.) Satan; Fully serious “Simeon, table two wants an earl grey. And a pretty kitty special to go with it.” Simeon, “WTF is a pretty kitty special!?” The pretty kitty special is paw shaped pancakes and Simeon thinks they’re cute. In this universe no customers or Levis are harmed. 4.) Asmo; Asmo starts almost instantly hitting on the customer. “You know I don’t usually do this but how about I sit down with you for tea?” Luke says while bright red, “ABSOLUTELY NOT! He’ll turn the Angel’s Halo into a different sort of place.” And umm Luke buddy what exactly were you thinking of here… 5.) Beel; Simeon: Hey have you seen the BLTs? Beel: *actively munching away* No. Can’t find them? Want me to help? Simeon: …Nevermind 6.) Belphie; Orders food for himself from Simeon during a lull in the customers and takes a nap before Simeon even gives it to him. In the end they decide on Satan.

They find Satan at the pizza place watching his tab with a serious expression, Luke wonders if he’s learning new things about the human world (languages, the economy, etc) Mammon says that’s the face he makes when he watches cat videos. When Mammon tries calling him he pretends he doesn’t know them until Mammon’s yelling his name and he can no longer ignore them (Wonder how humans feel about some buy yelling ‘SATAN’ in the middle of a diner). Satan immediately refuses to work at the café cause he’s busy (watching cat videos) until MC lies through their teeth and says that Simeon wants to turn the café into a cat café. Luke jumps on board instantly and starts supporting MC’s claims further adding that as a cat lover they need Satan’s advice and that working part time at the café will give him a better understanding to how the business is normally run. He then agrees to help. (Luke none of that lying seems really angelic…). At the café Satan immediately goes “okay, so… let’s talk cats”. And Simeon’s like????????

At home Lucifer’s still not back from his date & they tell others about their plans for the trip. Asmo says if he had a choice he’d like to meet Narcissus… Mammon tries to play off the fact that he’s nervous about asking permission from Lucifer and Belphie tells them to watch out for Banshees – a type of fairy - when they get there (I first heard about banshees as a little kid and they freaked the shit outta me, gave me way more anxiety than I already had). Satan says there are lots of types of fairies including those that make you fall in love. Mammon is way more interested in them than in Banshees – Asmo tells him he’s being a pervert. Lucifer arrives after dinner and they follow him to his room. Lucifer says a quiet lake might give Mammon the chance for some self-reflection and personal growth (pretty sure Lucifer needs that too ngl) and it’ll give Lucifer some peace and quiet but also who the fuck’s gonna pay for you huh!? Mammon tries to play the “my favourite older brother” card. Lucifer disagrees and they decide to gamble on it – if Mammon wins he gets to go and if Lucifer wins Mammon gets bathroom cleaning duty for a week. Lucifer says Mammon’ll just cheat so MC volunteers to play and Mammon gets really happy that they’d do that for him, saying he feels like crying. Lucifer agrees except if they lose BOTH of them get bathroom duty. MC has to guess if the card Lucifer draws is odd or even. Even’s correct and they get to go without a fuss. If they pick even they lose.

If they lose the next chapter starts with Mammon crying in MC’s room about MC and Luke being allowed to go and not him and how with MC gone bathroom duty is all his, MC says they’ll do anything to get him to forgive them and he blushes and asks them to stay with him till he allows them to leave and that means they’re gonna be at it all night…. ALL RIGHT ANYWAY Luke then texts them saying he’s impressed that they managed to convince Lucifer to let Mammon go and that Lucifer had actually sent Luke three tickets for “Mammon’s journey of Personal Growth” and Lucifer’s such a good dad sometimes I can’t deal with this BS. Mammon immediately runs off to thank Lucifer and you can then hear lucifer screaming at Mammon to get out and stop hugging him cause he’s in the shower and I love them both so much I NEED them being soft to each other more and the only reason Mammon ended up being the avatar of greed is cause Lucifer probably spoilt him rotten growing up *cough*Lucifer’s B’day Present To Him*cough*. If they win the next chapter starts in Mammon’s room where he’s asking crowe, who’s apparently been borrowed from Levi, how much money he could make selling fairy ring flowers, he then asks MC to ask crowe something too. They can ask crowe about tomorrow’s weather or tease Mammon by either asking crowe how to control Mammon or asking if they’re compatible with Mammon. Mammon blushes but Crowe says they’re fairly compatible and if they can control Mammon’s self-destructive tendencies and how he puts money before everything they may last – mammon says all of that is wrong (I mean we have seen that he actually puts MC before money and material goods quite a few times so yeah…). He says they already know how well they work together better than anyone in all the 3 worlds and they don’t need anyone to tell them that and MC kisses him. Mammon blushes and says “yeah ik Luke’s gonna be with us but let’s try and get our own room to share cause this is the one chance to get time alone away from the others so we can have all kinds of fun. Though we can still have plenty of fun rn” and then he calls them closer and the screen fades to black :) It later opens to screams being heard from inside the house somewhere.

[fae-fucker]

Review: Stolen Midsummer Bride by Tara Grayce

Steal a bride. Save the library. Try not to die. Basil, a rather scholarly fae, works as an assistant librarian at the Great Library of the Court of Knowledge. Lonely and unwilling to join the yearly Midsummer Revel to find a mate, Basil takes the advice of his talking horse companion and decides to steal a human bride instead. But Basil never expected to find a human girl waiting for him, wanting to get snatched. Nor had he expected a girl like Meg, an illiterate farmgirl who has no use for books. With the barrier with the Realm of Monsters wearing thin and the chaos of Midsummer Night about to descend, will this unlikely pair put aside their differences long enough to save the Great Library from destruction? And maybe find a spark of love along the way.

After reading the Elven Alliance books (I’m still on the fourth book and idk when I’ll finish it so don’t @ me), I’ve sort of -- and I’m saying this in the most neutral and genuine way possible -- developed a fascination with Tara Grayce’s work  and figured I’d take a gander at her non-EA books to see if the general blandness is a symptom of her writing style or if it’s just that one series.

Do I finally have an answer? Well. We’re still in 3-out-of-5 city, so ... Let’s check a look.

This one’s not exactly a groundbreaking story, lads. What you see in the blurb and on the cover is pretty much it. It’s a light and breezy romance that’s inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream by some obscure author I can’t remember. I haven’t read that one (I don’t care for theater or plays I’m SORRY, I tried reading Hamlet once and it bored me out of my skull) so I can’t speak for how well the inspiration and references are integrated or how accurate they are. King Theseus and Hippolyta are there, as well as the four quarreling lovers and a group of actors, which I understand are all based on the play?

It would explain why most of the names are Greek, and then there’s ... Basil, a tasty herb.

ANYHWAY, my missing out on some tasty Willy Shacks references notwithstanding, the main flaw in the whole book is right there in the blurb. Actually, it’s in the very title itself.

You might think: oh, this is going to be a cute little story about two young people falling in cute puppy love after surviving a series of life-threatening events?

No, um, actually it’s about how profound and deep and true their love is, and how they overcome their differences and Choose To Love each other and how they’re each other’s Home and how they’re family. Except it all happens. In the span of 3-4 days. I could even make the argument it happens overnight with decent evidence.

Call me a cynic, but I just had a really hard time suspending my disbelief.

Let me describe the so-called conflict:

Basil needs a bride because he’s lonely, but he can’t get laid because he’s poor and a nerd and can’t get a promotion. His pony friend tells him to steal a bride on the night before Midsummer, because drama, and he’s like “yeah ok.”

Meg’s family is destitute, and a big scary man is threatening to sell her as a slave if they don’t cough up the cash soon. Meg decides to get kidnapped by a “fae warrior” as a get-rich-quick scheme in an attempt to save her siblings from slavery.

They meet in a fairy circle and Basil just picks her up. They get “married”/mated/bonded/whatever on the way to Basil’s house, on horseback (ponyback?), barely before they introduce themselves. Before Meg, who saw a dude roll up on a PONY, finds out whether he’s actually rich or not. 

So Meg finds out that Basil is poor, and Basil finds out that Meg can’t read and thus can’t help him at work. What drama. They’re both kinda bummed out about this but I’m not sure what else they expected when marrying a literal random person whose name they didn’t know? Whatever, man. 

A couple of days later and some cutesy yet very on-the-nose interactions later, we find out that Meg is actually spunky and sensible and knows things about subduing farm animals which apparently translates flawlessly into battling supernatural beings a hundred times their size, which makes her so much more valuable in Basil’s eyes despite her inability to read, and we also find out that Basil ...

Ok, I think Basil was supposed to be. Kind? Or something? I’m not sure. He’s still very much poor and a nerd at the end, and Meg just learns to accept that? So that’s ... fun, for her. I guess. Meg gets to figure out that Basil is great despite being poor, while Basil learns that Meg thankfully has other useful traits even if she can’t read. Truly the romance of the ages.

Then a bunch of Midsummer Night shenanigans happen, the four lovers get love-potioned as per the play, Basil gets got by a basilisk and it’s all very dramatic.

(Also, there’s this part where they encounter a cockatrice, which is the thing that killed Basil’s parents. Basil tells Meg this at the end of a chapter all angsty-like, and then at the beginning of her chapter, right after the previous backstory drop, Meg notes that Basil isn’t doing well and it’s because the cockatrice is affecting him more than other monsters, since it was a cockatrice that killed his parents. Like, yeah, no shit. Thanks for the recap of the previous 100 words.)

After all of that, we get tearful and heartfelt monologues and dialogues about how Basil isn’t alone and actually has a family (that family being the woman he met 3 days ago and her siblings that he hasn’t met yet, the four people who didn’t give a fuck about him and were busy with their own petty drama, a random dude who helped create the situation that almost killed him, his place of work, and the one individual actually worthy of being called family aka the talking pony he lives with) and that they love each other so dearly and are each other’s home. And I’m just sitting there. And I keep thinking. 3. Days.

I feel like Tara Grayce is really into the concept of choosing who you love and accepting all their flaws, but keeps missing the entire point of why and how such a love story would work. For one, she keeps writing romances between two really hot people (Basil has chest muscles despite the book making a big deal out of how he’s not a warrior and just a librarian) whose flaws amount to “can’t read” or “poor” or “shy”, so their SO’s “accepting” them amounts to “accepting” a bowl of warm, delicious soup that’s two degrees below your personal ideal soup temperature. But in this case specifically, the concept fundamentally can’t work, because choosing to love and to accept takes time and effort, which these two simply do not have or give. They just see that the other person has multiple personality traits and go “I have accepted you as you are.”

And yeah, you might say Eff, why read a cute and simple romance if you’re not enjoying it! But I would have enjoyed it if it was a simple and cute romance, if it committed to being that instead of trying to go for something more emotional and profound. I would have totally vibed if Basil and Meg just ... liked each other? If they worked well together and enjoyed each other’s company and were attracted to each other. I even accept the explanation that extreme circumstances bring people together quicker. But I just can’t accept the whole “you’re my home, you’re my mate, you’re my family” shit form people who’ve known each other for less than a work week. It just feels forced and hollow. When Basil started lecturing another character about the nature of true love I couldn’t believe his audacity. (And also there’s something ironically funny about an author’s OC lecturing a Shakespearean character about the nature of true love.)

There’s just no room for these sorts of “overcome our differences and learn to love each other” stories when they take place over the course of a few days, because the “flaws” they learn to accept in each other are surface-level, obviously because those are the only one’s they actually know of. Like, wow, Basil accepted that Meg can’t read and is plucky! How brave and wonderful of him to choose love and make her his home! 

Okay, so the romance falls flat, but what about the other plot? Well, it’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream but there’s random fairy monsters and a big library. And that’s about it, really.

I’m of the opinion that a good romance needs a blend of internal and external conflict. Internal conflict between the lovers to keep them from getting together, and external conflict to keep the lovers apart. Here, the internal conflict is weak for the reasons I explained above, while the external conflict has ... nothing to do with them, and in fact mostly works to bring them together at the end.

So this book is basically ... just a bunch of low-conflict, no-stakes faffing about until the leads realize they’re each other’s mates, home, family etc etc. It’s Elven Alliance all over again but mercifully short and there’s no Essie to make a stink.

And I mean, if you’re into that, then this book definitely delivers. It’s got everything it advertises in the blurb. But if you’re even slightly familiar with romance tropes, then you need only read the blurb and you’ll get the experience of reading the book, because while it tries to reach deeper, its arms are too short and its midsummer dreams are too large.