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hongthoven · 5 months

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Love me like you hate me pt. 3 ✘ hongjoong x reader (smut&angst)

❅ pairing : kim hongjoong (ateez) x fem reader

❅ rating : +18 | angst, smut

❅ warnings : violence, strong language, sex, mention of death

❅ status : chaptered, unfinished (chapter 3/?)

❅ tags&stuff : gang leader!hj, gang AU, stripper!reader, drugs, money, corruption, stripclub, violence, San as hj’s right-hand man and Wooyoung as their overexcited sidekick, San is kind of a sadistic bastard, heart eyes for Woo, graphic sex scenes incoming, joong is a rough little man with a potty mouth, Yunho’s there too and the most perfect boyfriend material as usual

❅ chapter wc : 4.5k

❅ previously ― part 1 | part 2

please comment & reblog if you enjoyed reading ♥

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝟑

“Fuck- who knew a single dude could bleed that much?” San chuckled, rolling up his sleeve to wipe some blood off his skin, taking off one of his rings as it was now closer to rose gold from being painted red.

“You did rip the guy’s teeth off one by one, that’s gotta hurt!” Wooyoung giggled from the front seat of the car taking them all back home, unbothered by the puzzled look their driver would occasionally give them.

“What can I say, I like a job done right” San teased once again, cursing a little as some of the blood didn’t seem to come off that easily.

Sitting next to him, Hongjoong was quietly staring into the city skyline as they drove through the night, failing to make any comment on his friend’s behavior when he would usually mock him for being a sadistic asshole with a thirst for blood. Still, he had to admit most of his regular income was the fruit of San’s hard labor and bad temper. While he had made a name for himself, Hongjoong knew most of his enemies never came too close because they already had been flirting with death too many times because of San’s fists. If he wasn’t exactly a role model when it came to act on the low and be discreet, San was by far the best right-hand man he could wish for.

“Who’s got your tongue, boss?” San finally asked, poking Hongjoong in the arm as he had never seen him so quiet before.

“Bet it was that stripper” Wooyoung giggled, mostly to himself, sighing at the memories of the girl grinding all over him hours before as he rolled the car window down to light himself a cigarette.

“Shut the fuck up. Both of you” Hongjoong coldly ordered, his eyes never drifting from the sight of a city fast asleep while his mind wandered once again to that club, head still filled with vivid images of that girl he had reluctantly left behind. She had never left his mind, like a permanent thought soon to turn into his new obsession.

Settling back into an ordinary life was always the hardest part of the job.

As she sat in front of the mirror in her cozy little boudoir, her hair into a messy bun as she wiped away the sparkly make-up that made her feel untouchable on stage, Y/N couldn’t help but overthink the situation she had been stuck into, earlier in the night. While resentment was getting ahead of her, it suddenly seemed like Yunho had been summoned into the room as he made a quiet entrance, keeping his back against the door as he simply stared into her reflection.

“How was your night?”

A simple question he always asked, rushing into the changing rooms as soon as she was done with her shift to make sure everything was okay and none of their clients had taken things a little too far. Regardless of his schedule, Yunho’s primal instinct was to check on the girl he adored beyond any sort of good sense.

Still, when she failed to reply, Yunho instantly felt his heart drop into his chest. Something was odd and the ice cold look she eventually spared him came as a confirmation.

“Is there something wrong?” He frowned, walking closer to her, his hands instinctively resting above her shoulders while he fought within himself not to massage her tired muscles from dancing and grinding all over strangers for hours. A ritual he had grown fond of.

“I don’t know. You tell me, boyfriend?” Y/N eventually dared to snap back, her eyes turning into little darts all aiming at his puzzled face as she emphasized on the word ‘boyfriend’.

Confused, Yunho suddenly felt like he had been thrown into an impromptu game of Russian Roulette, looking for the answer that would spare him the inevitable execution. There was no sympathy in her eyes, only a fair mix of anger and judgement.

“Care to tell me why Kim Hongjoong and his men seemed to think we’re involved?” she finally spoke again, unable to deal with the sudden quietness between them, especially when she sincerely expected a valid reason for him to think it was okay to play pretend.

“I never said anything about us, I swear” with a quick shrug, Yunho felt smaller than ever, almost pathetic as he stammered through the weakest apologies he could serve. Nothing felt familiar anymore, from her body language to the complete deception in her eyes. She suddenly felt like a stranger, someone that couldn’t wait to get away from him, and that thought only was enough to tighten the knot growing into his stomach.

“I hope so. Cause there is no ‘us’…” though he had been preparing himself for years, each of these words felt like a single cut through his heart, like a dagger sinking into his flesh until it hit his bones, tearing him apart until there was nothing left of him but a pool of blood where every single one of his hopes had come to die.

Without a word, Yunho watched as Y/N removed the remaining of her make-up, pulled her long hair up into a neat ponytail and gathered her belongings, scattered all over the desk only to be thrown into her brown, leather bag. Not only was he hurt to the very core of his pride, but the way she was now avoiding any eye-contact with him made it unbearable to stand in the same room.

“He- uh…” he paused, coughing to give himself some composure, supposing he had any left, “He asked me to clean your schedule for the week, so… I guess you won’t have to see my face for a while, guess that’s convenient”.

He hated how pathetic and whiny he sounded right now, but nothing had ever come close to the pain he was experiencing as he watched the girl of his dreams changing from her stage fit to her casual clothes. When every man in town would die to see her walking around in a lacy thong, Yunho secretly loved this version of her the best. The one in regular jeans, sneakers, and a plain white tee-shirt. The real her.

“Yeah right” she scoffed, unimpressed.

“I’m serious, Y/N, that man isn’t playing” any other day, Yunho would have played along with her typical rebellious attitude, calling her smug for provoking a man that held the entire city into the palm of his hand, but regardless of the way she had crushed his soul seconds prior to this conversation, he still felt the urge to protect her.

“And neither am I” she coldly stated, adjusting the strap of her bag over her shoulder as she walked toward the door, ready to call it a night.

“I’ll see you tomorrow” she added without a look or a single sign of sympathy, walking out the door as Yunho remained alone, standing in the middle of the room, powerless and petrified at the thought of the inevitable confrontation coming his way.

Hongjoong walked home in the middle of the night. Nothing out of habits, for a man whose business typically ran after sunset. Throwing his keys and taking his jacket off as he walked directly to the bathroom, he could hear the familiar yet unsettling buzzing sound coming with the deafening silence of his place.

With loneliness as his most faithful companion over the years, he had given up trying to make this apartment feel like home; simply because he didn’t know what ‘home’ was even supposed to feel like. All these ideals of a healthy household had died with his mother and now, the only memories of ever feeling ‘like home’ were starting to fade away with time.

The smell of freshly cooked meals, the sound of her laugh, the way she always pushed his hair back to plant a kiss on his forehead, the faded sound of her favorite records playing in the living room whenever his father was out. This was home to him.

On the cusp of turning 30, Hongjoong couldn't ignore the tragic irony of reaching an era his mother would never get to experience. Though he would always remember her at the prime of youth, there was some bittersweet aspect to the thought of never seeing her grow old.

Sometimes, when he would allow himself to bask into melancholy, Hongjoong liked to imagine what she’d look like with a few wrinkles and grey hair, how her voice would change with time, what it would feel like to grow up with a loving mother by his side. Would he be any different?

While the fantasies would change over time, his father never made it to the final cut. There was no place for this man and his toxicity in the perfect picture of a lifetime with his beloved mother.

And now here he was, an orphan trying to make himself a home without knowing where to start.

His place still matched the mystery of his aura, blissfully dark, expensive, and fashionably empty. High ceilings, large windows and concrete floor made this loft the perfect place to hide, perched on the last floor of the tallest building in town with the most breathtaking view on the skyline.

Hongjoong often felt like standing in a lighthouse with nothing but the darkness of the Sea ahead of him. Nothing to be seen on the surface but a pitch-black sky sparkled with stardust. But if he dared looking down through the city lights, Hongjoong could easily picture a family. A couple. Strangers living their lives, enjoying the most trivial things of a routine he was always dreading to step into. A father helping his daughter with her homework, bending over a geometry book on the dining table, a little boy playing with his dolls in his bedroom, two lovers snuggling on their couch.

Pieces of a life he would never get to experience, only because he didn’t belong into a ‘home’.

Rolling up his sleeves to unveil his tatted arms, a few bracelets, and a vintage watch, Hongjoong frowned at his reflection in the mirror as he splashed some cold water onto his face, pressing his fingers into his temples, hoping to make the reminiscing stop. He wouldn’t allow himself to dive into nostalgia when his present already held too much drama for him to take a break.

Still, while it was easy to push the family memories aside, one thought remained. One particular face he just couldn’t blink away that easily.

She was everywhere, her voice echoing through his brain like a broken record. The way her lips curved into a smile as she teased him, her plump thighs hiding that precious mole he was now dying to taste, the softness of her skin, the way her body reacted to his touch but not entirely – not as much as he wished. Hongjoong wasn’t typically the kind of man to give a girl any second thought. If anything, women were easy targets to him, and if his good looks weren’t enough to attract them, money always was.

Money could buy him anything, and if this girl wasn’t kneeling for him within the next hour, someone else would have to do, for now.

Grabbing his phone from his slack’s pocket, Hongjoong was quick to compose a text. Something extremely formal with a few instructions. The usual.

She walked through his doorstep less than thirty minutes later, as requested by the man holding the cash in one hand while the other invited her in. Though she was a regular, Hongjoong never dared to ask for her name. He didn’t need to know, didn’t even care.

“‘been a while, handsome “ She smiled, grabbing the cash from his hand without bothering with a recount. Hongjoong wasn’t a scam, like some of her clients. If anything, he often overpaid for the ridiculously short amount of time she was here. Not that she would complain about it.

“Let’s cut the talking for today” Hongjoong simply stated, unwilling to chit-chat as he gulped some leftover whisky from the glass on his coffee table, wiping his lips with the back of his hand as he settled himself on his brown, leather couch.

There wasn’t anything remotely romantic in the way he watched the girl kneel in front of him, her hands already busy with his belt like a task she had been given, and nothing more. A perfect play doll following his instructions while his mind already wandered somewhere else, away from here, away from her, and with a much more pleasant company.

With his head tilted back and his eyes closed, Hongjoong quickly allowed himself to wrap the girl’s hair into a fist as he thrusted himself deeper into the warmth of her welcoming throat, a simple growl escaping his own lips while his head started to fill with someone else’s face.

He could see her clearly now, her sparkly make-up already ruined, black lines rolling over her cheeks as she gagged slightly with a mouthful of him. She was taking him like a champ, the perfect, velvety walls of her mouth fitting like a glove to his throbbing cock. Her hands clenched into his thighs, tracing thin, red lines all over his skin while his eyes couldn’t get enough of the sight of her exposed back and the perfect dome of her ass, peaking from her skirt. He loved the idea of having her fully dressed and already drooling over his lap, too hungry to even undress herself, too eager to be fucked.

It wasn’t long until Hongjoong found himself losing control, one particular swirl of the girl’s tongue forcing him to dig his nails deeper into her scalp while she welcomed his release through a guttural moan – and even then, his body still shaking with pleasure and overstimulation as the girl made sure to swallow every last drop of him, Hongjoong couldn’t help but picture that glow on her face as she would look up, teary eyes and puffy lips as the perfect signs of a fucked-out state while still untouched.

“Looks like you’re ready for round 2, baby” the girl teased as she wiped the corner of her lips like she had just feasted on her favorite cake, pleasantly surprised to see him getting hard again while oblivious to the reason behind his extreme arousal. While she had done a decent job, all credits fully remained to a girl who was most likely asleep by now, miles away from being the main character in Hongjoong’s filthy scenarios.

Was she alone right now? Was she even sleeping? What if Yunho had failed at keeping his promise? What if he was the one filling her perfect mouth right now with his palm resting on her cheek, her vicious tongue playing with his balls as he claimed her repeatedly?

That thought only was enough to send him spiraling, anger making his blood boil into his veins. If he couldn’t have her immediately, no one could. Especially not Yunho.

“I’ll call you a cab” his tone was cold, typically detached as he fixed himself back into his pants, the moment long gone now that he couldn’t get away from the disturbing images of another man touching his girl. Though it was crazy to think of it, Hongjoong couldn’t help but claim her as his now that she was the only thing on his mind. He could easily picture himself losing sleep over it and go beyond measures to get her. Even if that meant having Yunho and every other man looking at her, buried six feet under.

The hooker was gone without much ceremony. Not that the situation deserved any.

Alone again with his thoughts for company, Hongjoong eventually crashed into his bed an hour later, knowing he wouldn’t get much sleep that night.

Y/N had been tossing and turning through the short amount of time she was asleep that night. Struggling to find her way into a peaceful slumber after the chaotic series of events happening at the club earlier. While she tried her best not to be an overthinker, picking her battles over silly misunderstandings, she hated to face any discomfort in her workplace. The one place where she felt strong enough to handle anything. She couldn’t allow any turbulence in her comfort zone, moreover if that meant losing a precious paycheck. Something she couldn’t afford.

Stretching into her bed, Y/N looked nothing like the girl she was on stage the night before. With her long hair pulled into a bun gone messier over her sleepless night and her body wrapped into an oversized shirt that could easily pass as a dress, she fitted perfectly as the girl-next-door with her face fresh of any make-up.

Her bedroom looked exactly the same as it did years ago, when she was still a teenager running from school to her student job in the evening, trying to make ends meet so she could afford medication and a decent living for her grand-mother; walls covered with pictures of a younger version of herself with her friends backpacking through Europe, a massive poster of her favorite film, Moulin Rouge above her bed and a closet full of clothes she barely had enough time to wear with her crazy schedule at the club.

Her peaceful awakening was suddenly cut short when hearing voices coming from the living room. Voices she could instantly identify as her grand mother’s and the one person she didn’t want to see, especially first thing in the morning.

Tearing herself off the comfort of her bed, Y/N escaped her bedroom, reluctantly dragging herself toward the living-room where she was inevitably faced with her favorite person in the world and Yunho, sharing some obviously pleasant conversation.

“Good morning, sweetpea!” Joan was a 72-year-old woman living with early stage of dementia and the closest thing to a mother Y/N had been granted with, since her own birth mother had decided she wasn’t built to be a mom and bailed on her before she even turned two.

“Hi nan’ … did you take your meds yet?” Y/N purposely ignored Yunho’s presence, checking for her grand mother’s pill container to double check.

“Of course I did – Yunho brought my favorite pastries for breakfast, isn’t he a sweetheart?” She couldn’t blame her grandmother, not even when she reached for Yunho’s face, pinching his cheek like he was some good puppy playing fetch with her. Still, she couldn’t find the strength to play pretend, especially without her morning coffee.

Yunho watched as Y/N kept ignoring him, his rounded eyes desperately looking for her attention behind his glasses. If anything, he looked like the perfect boyfriend with his nice polo shirt and his perfectly tamed hair. A man she knew Joan was secretly hoping her granddaughter would eventually marry, regardless of her unwillingness to be wed.

Without a clue what to answer, Y/N gave her grandmother a quick nod as she escaped toward the kitchen, aiming directly for the coffee machine. Yunho was quick to follow her steps, excusing himself while Joan’s attention was back on her favorite morning tv show.

“So we’re not even talking now?” he dared to ask as he walked close enough for her to feel the warmth of his body behind her back.

“What the fuck are you doing here? Can’t you take a hint?” she was genuinely mad now. Mad at him for showing up and forcing his perfect boy agenda on her grandmother, mad at her for allowing him to feel comfortable to do so and for some obscure reasons, mad at Kim Hongjoong for making her feel all of this altogether.

“I came here to apologize”

The sound of the coffee machine gave Y/N some much needed break into a conversation she didn’t want to be part of, her hand clenching around her favorite mug so it wouldn’t fall off the counter from the hectic vibration of the ancient appliance she had promised herself to upgrade as soon as possible.

With barely enough money to pay rent and take care of her grandmother’s condition, Y/N was often faced with the most superficial cravings, like having a perfect espresso machine and decent coffee in the morning instead of whatever dishwater she was having now.

“So you do have something to apologize for” she scoffed, taking a painful first sip as she finally faced her friend. Yunho looked sincerely sorry, his eyebrows knitted together as he reached for her arm, hoping she wouldn’t snap again. To his own surprise, she didn’t move.

“I’m sorry if I made it seem like I was claiming you… I know you’re not mine… or anyone’s… I just freaked out” he paused, reminiscing the events as he recalled Hongjoong’s words and the way his eyes were glued to his favorite girl’s every feature. “I’m just scared he might hurt you… Hongjoong is a scary man with power, god knows what he could—”

“I am not a child, for fuck’s sake! I can defend myself. It’s not your place to protect me!”

Her mug was back on the counter, almost breaking from being smashed against the surface as she felt anger boiling inside of her all over again.

“That’s the thing. I don’t know my place. What am I to you, exactly?”

Though it hurt him to even ask, Yunho couldn’t handle the uncertainty of his role into her life. Still, when he was faced with complete silence, it felt like his heart was slowly dropping into his chest, shredding into pieces.

“I see. Guess that’s my answer” he added, mostly nodding to himself as he pushed himself off the counter, reaching for her face to palm her cheek tenderly “just be careful alright? If I can’t protect you, no one will” he whispered, almost painfully.

Without a word, Y/N watched as he escaped the kitchen, peaking through the door to see him kiss Joan on the cheek, apologizing for leaving already with some work emergency as an excuse.

Guilt only found its way into her stomach as the front door closed behind Yunho.

“What’s on your mind, sweet pea?”

Y/N was now sitting on the floor in front of her grand-mother’s armchair, picking at a pastry while watching a silver haired TV anchor trying to sell some miracle vacuum cleaner on the shopping channel. She didn’t know why Joan loved these programs so much, but somehow, the old woman found some thrill in dreaming about appliances she couldn’t afford. Y/N loved to think she was a hopeless dreamer while secretly hoping she would someday afford to give her grandmother the life she deserved. A beautiful house filled with all the ridiculously pricy items she saw on TV.

“Nothing, just tired” she lied while Joan brushed her fingers through her granddaughter’s hair lovingly, pulling it into a nicely tamed ponytail just like when she used to be a little girl. Sometimes Joan would act like Y/N was still a child, struggling to anchor herself into present, but Y/N loved her way too much to complain, even if it meant for her to play pretend and allow herself to be groomed.

“I really like Yunho. He’s a good man.” Joan suddenly announced, her bony fingers resting upon her granddaughter’s shoulders as she massaged her sore muscles slowly.

“He is”

There was no point denying it. Yunho was a good man by definition.

“I think he really loves you, you know?”

Again, Y/N couldn’t find a single lie within herself to deny Joan’s statement. Anyone seeing them interact could tell Yunho was madly in love with her, though he never said the words to her face. It was easy to see the signs.

“I know” she simply added, her eyes suddenly heavier as her lack of sleep finally fought back. Within a few minutes, Y/N was curling up against her grandmother’s leg, her cheek resting above her lap as she fell back asleep under Joan’s sweet embrace.

Hongjoong only left his place at dusk, escaping his building only to disappear into a black, sedan car with tinted windows. Streets had been emptied earlier in the evening when a storm had wrapped the city into a gloomy atmosphere no one seemed to be equipped for. Sitting in the front behind the wheel, San turned the engine off as soon as his best-friend sat beside him on the passenger seat.

“Found anything?” Hongjoong asked before he even greeted his friend, stone cold as ever.

“Well—her name’s Y/N, she lives in the slum part of town… From what I get she’s her grandmother’s caretaker… Not much about the rest of her family so far… Got her address, phone number…”

Hongjoong welcomed every information with a simple nod while San scrolled through a couple pictures on his phone, mostly from her neighborhood.

“Anything else?” he finally dared to ask, knowing his friend enough to realize he was definitely hiding the key part of his investigation.

“You’re not gonna like it, man…” San sighed, his thumb scrolling to the next picture and zooming in so his boss could see a clearer version of Yunho escaping Y/N’s building first thing in the morning—and though Hongjoong remained silent, the way his jaw instantly clenched at the sight of him was enough of a sign to let his friend know about his next move.

“How long was he in there?” he finally asked, eyes filled with nothing but rage.

“Couple hours, I’d say two for the most—enough for a good fuck, if you ask me”

“No one fucking asked you” Hongjoong snapped, pulling his gaze off the phone screen to watch the storm outside the window, his fingers fiddling with his rings while figuring out a plan from the new information he had just been given.

“Well that’s unfortunate” he added, recalling Yunho’s faithful behavior through the years and how he had proven himself to be a fairly loyal and trustworthy associate. “Now we’ll have to teach him a lesson…”

“Want me to kill the guy?” San dared to ask like it was the only option left. Merely a daily task he was used to, by now.

“Just make sure he gets the message for now” Hongjoong added, his fist making a beat against the car door as he tried his best to compose himself, images of Yunho and Y/N together filling his brain to the point he couldn’t even think straight anymore.

“And I want someone to follow her every move. I want to know where she is, who she talks to, what she eats, anything. And if Yunho shows up again, I want you to call me immediately so I can take care of him myself. Are we clear?”

“Crystal” San nodded, starting the engine again as the tension in the car kept building up.

“Where to?” the right-hand man dared to ask after a while, only to be faced with Hongjoong’s stern look, his eyebrows knitted together with a mix of concern and anger he had rarely seen on his best-friend’s face.

“You know damn right where” Hongjoong simply stated, his eyes never leaving the road as San quickly took the next turn, heading toward the club.

#newworldnet #hongjoong x reader #hongjoong smut #kim hongjoong #ateez

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j-eryewrites · 1 month

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I’m finally writing the last chapter. I’m crying and cheering. It’s crazy I started this fic over a year ago. Anyway, here is a short snippet to tide you over until the next and final chapter. Prepare your tissues and snuggle into those blankets. You’re gonna want them for the last chapter. Without further ado, enjoy your tiny spoiler 😊

SERIES MASTER LIST | MAIN MASTER LIST

꧁_____________꧂

When he finally reached them, Joel couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of deja vu. There Ellie and Piper stood, gazing out across a city. The sun light reflected off the shattered windows off the skyline. Nature overcame the city. Vines and trees ensnared everything in sight.

“So… is it everything ya hoped for?” Joel repeated himself.

Ellie grinned. “It’s got its ups and downs… but you can’t deny that view.”

Joel laughed and then joined them. The view was pretty nice. His eyes scanned the scene and froze on what appeared to be a hospital.

“Look,” he turned to Ellie and Piper. “I don’t know exactly where this hospital is…”

“Yeah, we’ll find it.” Ellie didn’t remove her gaze from the view.

“Sure. It’s just…” Joel trailed off thinking of his next words. “Maybe there’s nothin’ bad out there, but so far there’s always been somethin’ bad out there.”

“We’re still here, though.” Ellie was facing him now.

“I know. I’m only saying there’s risk.” Taking a deep breath, Joel ensured he had both girls' full attention. “We don’t have to do this. I just… I want you to know that.”

Piper froze. All of a sudden she felt like she was on fire. *Did she want to do this?* She knew what awaited her and Ellie. Sick boiled in her stomach, and Piper wished she hadn’t eaten anything that day.

“What do you mean? What else are we supposed to do?” Ellie questioned.

“Nothin’. We just go back to Tommy’s.” By the way, Joel spoke, Piper could tell it was all he wanted to do. “We forget about the whole damn thing.”

Ellie shook her head. “After all we’ve been through… everything I’ve done… it can’t be for nothing.”

With Ellie’s confirmation, Piper knew her answer. She could see the hope in Ellie’s eyes. Those eyes that had been so void of anything since their entrapment with David. Piper had already failed Ellie once. She knew she couldn’t do it again. How would she live with herself if she let her sister blindly walk alone into death's hands?

“I know you mean well,” Joel began.

Standing straighter, Ellie interrupted. “I know you wanna protect me. You have. And when we’re done, we’ll go wherever you want. Tommy’s, sheep ranch, the moon.” Joel laughed.

Inside, Piper cried. Her dream flashed in her mind. She returned to it every night and almost stayed in the dream that day. God, Piper wanted more than anything to have her dream come true. She wanted it more than anything. But Piper had made a promise. It was her and Ellie until the end, and if Ellie wanted to march right into death's arms, so would she. After all, maybe then Piper could do something good. Maybe in her death, she’d finally be able to do what she always wished. Maybe then she’d be able to save someone instead of killing.

“I’ll follow you anywhere you go,” Ellie continued. “ But there’s no halfway with this. We finish what we started.”

꧁_____________꧂

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whorejolras · 4 months

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snippet of sw grantaire!!!!!!!!! the people desire it

asddfhjjfkls that was fast ok

here's some Grantaire/Jehan smut 🤭 just for you and the people of course 😘 (and some Enjolras pov under the cut too 👀)

Grantaire could fuck Jehan for hours.

He had been, in fact. When the two of them stumbled into their bedroom the sun had been low and the light golden. Now night had fallen, hot air coming in through the open windows as Jehan’s breathy gasps escaped. They'd gotten up a few rounds ago to light some candles, which bathed the room in warm and dynamic light.

Warm and dynamic, just like Jehan.

(keep reading for more)

They had always been a favourite of Grantaire’s. One, Jehan also knew how they could get caught up and lose time, so they always booked an entire day. Never less than twelve hours, paying for all of them even if they used less than half.

But they could use it all, they were easy to spend time with, both when they were fucking and when they were silently lying together, or sitting next to each other in bed reading or sketching, sharing joints and increasingly bizarre ideas.

For another thing, Jehan was gorgeous and addictive to touch. Grantaire was particularly fond of the light pink and white floral tattoos that cascaded out from the pale scars on their chest. Vines climbing their chest up on one side, circling a nipple and blooming with flowers across their shoulder, and vines climbing down on the other side, trailing down across their stomach and around their hip.

Grantaire had traced them with his fingers, with kisses, with his tongue. He had straddled Jehan's stomach before and jerked himself off, watching while Jehan squirmed below him, coming all over the leaves and petals and indulging himself by tracing it around a little before cleaning them off.

Right now, it was the other way around. Jehan was sat atop Grantaire, who was hard and twitching, wearing a new condom (Jehan was very good at changing them over every so often, so they wouldn't weaken and break) and a tight, vibrating cock ring. Jehan was grinding on top of him, not letting him push inside, just moving back and forth while he felt the wet heat of them against him.

They were holding a vibrator to a very swollen clit and making a show of it, and Grantaire gripped their hips as hard as he knew they liked it and obediently watched.

“You're stunning,” he said, not even trying to cover how husky his voice had gone. Jehan moaned a little louder at the praise and grinded faster against him.

and uhhh here's the same scene but from a surprise voyeur Enjolras pov 🫣 sorry not sorry

Enjolras retreated to his bedroom after the sun was set, and sat at his desk to get a bit of work done; looking over blueprints and drafting a plan of attack for Eponine’s next operation. The night was still stiflingly hot, he threw open his windows and sat back down at the desk that he'd moved to sit underneath them, so he could look out past the grounds and to the skyline of Paris on the horizon.

At first, he didn't notice the sound, caught up in his own head. Then it happened again, and he looked up into the night. Soft whimpering sounds drifted out in the evening air.

Before he could make anything of it, the sound was followed by a moan. Well, that was pretty clear. Enjolras blushed when he recognised his friend’s voice. Of course, Jehan’s room was right above his, and it was a hot night. It wouldn't be the first time since they moved in that Jehan had forgotten their windows were open.

Enjolras stood to close his windows, wanting to give his friend some privacy, but his hand stilled when he heard another, deeper, huskier voice.

“You're stunning.”

A jolt of white hot energy rushed through Enjolras’ spine at the sound. It was R- Grantaire. Of course it was, he shook himself, and from the floor above Jehan moaned a little louder.

“R,” Jehan gasped. Right, Jehan. His friend, having sex, with someone who absolutely didn't want Enjolras listening.

He reached for the window again, but only got as far as resting his fingers on the handle before he heard R purr the words “pretty boy.”

Enjolras swallowed a strangled sound.

Oh, that's not fair, he thought. Hearing those words from that voice and the things it did to his body. What was worse, not seeing the man's face while he said them.

Jehan made more sounds, Enjolras needed to stop. He needed to close his windows, to leave his room, to go take a cold shower right now. He needed Grantaire to shut the fuck up, because he knew he couldn't walk away otherwise.

So of course Grantaire kept talking.

um ok that's all i got for now let me know if you like it or wanna know what happens next 👀 that would 100% encourage me to finish the very long fic and post the whole thing 😇

#my fics #mine #r sw au #grantaire #les mis #enjolras #e/r #jehan #grantaire/jehan #asks

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skyeblue8 · 1 year

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𝓐ɳԃ Ɲσɯ ᗯҽ Ԩαʋҽ 𝜏ԋҽ Sɬσ𝜏ԋ Ꮢιɳց... 💤

-> This was arguably one of my more easier headcanons to come up with as a lot of the Ring's aesthetic, and its overall theme is inspired both by my favorite indie character/game, Albert Krueger from Dream Therapy With Dr. Albert Krueger.

-> Some of the inspo for this was also taken from fellow Tumblr user @gravcore and their design of Belphagor (who may be female in my headcanon going from her brief mention in Episode 8, Season 1):

-> For those who haven't played or seen the game, be sure to refer to that as I'll be referencing a lot of what happens in the game into this Ring.

-> Honestly, something about the main guy being a demonic dream doctor/therapist just works perfectly for Sloth's central themes with medicine and demons. Plus, the world's set in a futuristic-esque scene so it just fits like a glove.

Now, onto the usual world development...

·͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙★•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙★•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

┊ ┊ ┊ ┊

┊ ┊ ┊ ✧

┊ ┊ ✦

┊ ✧

✦

Sloth's Environment:

✧ Now, contrary to what I just stated above, there were a few minor difficulties in deciding how I wanted to world of the Sloth Ring to be laid out. For starters, I didn't want to reuse the cloud-like atmosphere I used in Lust cause that would just make it less unique to the environment.

✦ To counter this issue, I headcanon that the skyline and general atmosphere in Sloth is always dim and always patterned with stars and large, oval-shaped portals within the sky that look like planets from a far distance. The ground beneath the demons' feet in this Ring is entirely non-existent, being little more than a permanent pitch-black copy of the night sky on Earth.

✧ The Ring's color scheme will be directly similar to that of DTWAK in the aspect that it will be blue, light blue, hot pink, and magenta. I'd also accept things like light blue, deep blue and turquoise like the picture above as it reminds me of the Aurora Borealis which has its own dream-like feel to it. Despite the general time of day in Hell, it'll almost always resemble night in Sloth.

✦ As for the general layout of the Ring, I wanted to make it a technological dreamscape world with a semi-city-esque environment like some of the Envy and one of my other future Rings. Moreover, I believe Sloth would coincide with the whole deception theme that we've seen in Envy and Lust:

✧ Again, with reference from @gravcore, Sloth will essentially resemble a rather sleepy, but widespread environment, namely in the residential areas with bright, sparkly wires stringing from the buildings.

✧ In the notably more city-like areas, however, it'll establish just how heavily advanced in technology the Ring is. The notably tallest structures will be places like hospitals, shopping centers, cell-towers, companies, advanced arcades, and relaxation centers.

✦ Actually, now that I think about it, I'll be keeping the aspect from Vivzie's version of Sloth that the place has various floating islands & buildings in the environment that'll reside atop various microchip-ridden clouds that drift near the floating portals mentioned earlier. (Said portals only lead to various locations within the Ring itself, btw).

✧ I'm aware I gave the floating island idea to Envy as well, but that just goes along with Envy's propensity to steal ideas from other Rings.

✦ Moreover, the Sloth Ring in itself looks like a futuristic paradise where people don't need to move, grow, develop/change for the better, or utilize a great deal of effort in their day-to-day lives. The technology here is by far the most advanced in Hell, and the Ring is often praised for its frequent new developments in the general STEM field/Entertainment field.

✧ In terms of entertainment, it specializes in its constant creation of new apps, video games, phones, laptops, TV's, VR simulations, and all the good stuff people like to indulge in.

✦ In terms of medical STEM advancements, it's a wide and unashamedly mass producer of various drugs and narcotics unique to Hell that makes the masses happy/content. (Said drugs are referenced to the Joy drugs in "We Happy Few")

✧ Now, what all these hospitals, drugs, relaxation centers, and various technological devices being massed produced by Belphagor all have in common is that they function more as "Soul Suckers" much like the succubi in Lust. For instance:

★ Hospitals/Drugs = Soul Suckers -> Rather than helping sinners w/ physical or mental illnesses, they actively work to either numb the sinner via Belphagor's special "Happy Pills" or straps them in and allow their condition to worsen so their souls drain away while in the Hospital

☆ Screens = Soul Suckers -> They do the same thing, though with a person's laziness and procrastination that makes them ignore their own needs until they waste away from lack of regulation

★ Relaxation Centers -> You get the jist. They turn too much relaxation and exploit into soul-draining under the guise that you're "getting better" or "de-stressing"

✦ Now, for the sinners who get their souls sucked within any of Belphagor's establishments, they have a relatively decent chance of becoming one her Dream-eaters (DTWAK). It's not a paradise, though, as their minds and bodies are lost and they become devout drones until she "relieves them" of their duties. You'd have to go through some pretty tough shit in order to get actual Healthcare in Hell, well, in Sloth, anyway.

·͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙★•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙★•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

Sloth's Residents:

✧ To keep this from getting too long, here are our Hellborns/Sinners:

-> Dreamcatchers (@gravcore); Cyborg/Normal Candlehead Goat demons (I know that's Bephomet, pls just roll with it) [Hellborns]

-> Dream-eaters, Hell-born/Sinner cross-mutants, anyone else [Typical Sinners]

·͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙★•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙★•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

✦ Nothing much left to say about the residents except that they're fairly lazy due to their environment. Those who are cybernetic are fairly a little more energized and useful to Belphagor moresoe than those who aren't, ironically. For more about the Dreamcatchers, check the link above.

✧ The Sinners here are really anyone who wasn't mentioned as Hellborns, and are also closely associated with either the night or laziness. Their color schemes differ from the Ring and those from it.

✦ The High-class is really made up of whomever has or spreads enough laziness or leisure to affect the rest of Hell (i.e. Vox or highly successful pro-gamers or manufacturer). The "low-class" would essentially be those too lazy and unmotivated to even leave their houses, thus developing a rather sloppy, poor visage; Dream-eaters; and the Dreamcatchers (sry Mx. Creator) as they're seen as pests given how they like to affect dreams and (in my headcanon) feed off the dreams and, in turn, the souls when people are sleeping. No one knows how they keep getting into houses.

....

-> Also, can anyone please give notes if my headcanons don't make any sense? Please! The feedback is greatly appreciated 😊

#Sloth Ring #helluva boss critical #vivziepop critical #helluva boss critique #helluva boss criticism #hazbin hotel critical #helluva critical #helluva boss #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel critique #Skye Blue's 7 Sins #helluva boss rewrite #rewrite #DTWAK

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nonnienonnon00 · 10 months

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Maya and Carina Season 7

So here's what I think would be a great a Season 7 kicker for our fave wives to finally start a family. Its just a thought.

Opening scene

Skyline of Seattle - we zone in on Maya and Carina's apartment. Maya is trying to leave for her shift - but Carina keeps blocking her from going.

Carina, holds onto Maya's hips and kisses her neck,

"Bambina, I have the day off - I think that should mean that YOU should take a day off with me." She kisses Maya's lips, deepening the kiss - smiling as she then moves to kiss Maya's face.

Maya is defenseless and quite frankly is considering staying at home with her wife,

"Babe, you know I want to but I gotta go." She looks deep into Carina's eyes and just marvels at this beautiful woman she gets to call her wife.

"Hmmm, you are something else Dr Deluca."

Carina gazes into Maya's eyes and just sighs. She's never felt a love like this before - its so big in her chest - almost tangible - she can feel it, taste it on her tongue.

"Ok ok, if you must. But just know I'm going to be alone in this apartment all day, doing God knows what to keep me entertained." Carina smirked.

Maya knew exactly what that meant,

"Oh you are mean. Now I'm going to be picturing you doing THAT all day."

Carina laughs a little at her wife,

"Good! That's what I want you to do. Ok go before I decide to tie you down to the bed and have my way with you."

Maya's eyes bug out at just the thought,

"Carina! Ok I'm leaving! I love you so much." She kisses Carina again and walks out of the apartment.

Carina, sits down at their dining table and smiles to herself. The past few months they really took time to get reacquainted and focused on building their foundation. Now everything feels stronger between the both of them and Carina knows that Maya feels the same way.

Just then Carina gets a phone call from a clinic downtown. Confused she answers,

"Hello."

"Hi, I'm looking for Andrea Deluca. We've tried his contact number for a while but it seems to be inactive. We do have a Carina Deluca here on file as his next of kin."

Carina's heart breaks abit at the thought of her brother. Its been a few years since he died but the sting of just hearing his name is just as strong as it was in those beginning stages of losing him.

"Hi, yes this is Carina Deluca. Andrea is my brother, he passed away a few years ago."

Carina closes her eyes as the pain seeps in - just a few moments ago she was about to devour her wife in their hallway and now here she is about to speak about her dead brother.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. We were not notified of this so he is still on file her at the clinic."

Carina's brow furrowed,

"What is this about? Why are you looking for my brother?"

The lady on the phone clears her throat,

"Mam, this is Seattle Sperm Bank: Sperm Bank & Cryobank. We have your brothers specimen here and we were just calling to let him know that we are moving offices. We've been contacting our patients to let them know all month. Your brother was the last on our list."

Carina froze. Sperm bank? Why did he go to a sperm bank?

"Mam, we can arrange for his specimen to be destroyed if you would like."

Carina immediately blurted out,

"NO! I mean, no. Please don't do that. I will come down to your offices today to discuss. I'll be there in 30 minutes."

"Sure not a problem at all. We will see you then."

The amount of questions that passed through Carina's mind as he moved around the apartment to get ready were crazy.

What did this mean?

Was he ok?

Would we want to destroy it?

Maybe this is how it was always supposed to be?

Would we even be able to take it?

What about Maya? What would she think? Would she say no?

______________________________________________________________

Scene cut to end of the day, Maya is heading home from her shift with a huge smile on her face. They tackled a crazy warehouse fire but managed to make it out unscathed. Andy was a great captain. She always knew she would be. But for now all Maya could think about was her wife. She desperately wanted to see her.

She walked into the apartment and settled down her backpack. It was unusually quiet. Rounding the corner, she found Carina sitting on the couch with a piece of paper in her hand.

"Carina, are you ok?"

Carina looks up at her wife with tears in her eyes. She hands the paper over. Maya reads it slowly,

"I don't understand. How did you get this?"

A tear streams down Carina's cheek,

"The clinic randomly called me today. Andrea put me down as his next of kin. They obviously couldnt get ahold of him."

Maya speaks under her breath,

"He went to a sperm bank? Why would he do that?"

Carina takes a breath,

"He did it when he went on meds for his condition. When he was manic and got diagnosed. It is quite common that it can effect your reproductive system so I guess he wanted to be careful. He always wanted to have a family." She smiled at herself.

Maya knew she needed tread carefully,

"This document says that its been transferred to you?"

Carina looks at Maya,

"I couldn't let them destroy it Maya. Andrea put me down as his next of kin but also as his proxy should anything happen to him I would have control on his profile with this clinic."

Maya nodded along and stared at the page,

"Babe, look at me. What are you thinking?"

Carina took a deep breath,

"I know this may not be ideal but we could never decide on a donor and then things with Jack didnt work out - which honestly I am kinda happy about. This just feels like a blessing but I dont want to do anything that you dont want - especially after everything we went through last year. I want us to make a family and be happy. But most importantly I want us to do this together."

Maya reached for Carina's hand, taking a deep breath and said,

"OK so hypothetically what would this look like? How would we do this?"

Carina picked up her wife's hand and kissed her fingers,

"Well, I guess it would be your egg with Andrea's sperm and I would carry. So in a way we would make an actual DeLuca-Bishop baby. And honestly just the thought of carrying your baby makes little butterflies in my tummy." Carina looked and Maya with so much hope in her eyes.

Maya also felt the butterflies at the thought of Carina doing this but before she they went any further she knew she needed to lay down some rules.

"So if we do this, I need to say a few things and I hope you won't get upset or offended. Can I do that?"

Carina nodded with that hope bubbling in her heart.

"I need to know that if we do this, have our baby like this that it won't be some sort of replacement for Andrew. I just want our baby to have their own life and not have this huge thing hanging over them cos of what happened to your brother. Please don't hate me for saying this."

Maya could feel the worry rising in her chest. Carina reached over and cradled her cheek,

" Bambina, I could never hate you for saying that. I love how much you want to protect our baby. But I want you to know that I would never allow that to happen. Our baby will never live in the shadow of my brother."

Maya smiled at Carina and pulled her against her body. Carina tucker her face into her wife's neck and took in a deep breath. The scent of Mayas perfume always managed to calm her down when her mind started racing.

Maya kissed Carina's forehead and hugged her body to her own on their couch. She knew that Carina must've been through a rollercoaster of emotions that day.

Taking a deep breath Maya said,

"Let's do this. Let's make a baby this way. A real DeLuca-Bishop."

Carina looked up at her wife and smiled so wide her heart felt like it would burst out of her chest.

Before she could lean in and kiss her wife, Maya smiled saying,

"Your gona have my baby."

Carina felt those butterflies again,

"Our baby".

#maya and carina #maya bishop #marina #station 19 #carina deluca #carina x maya #maya x carina

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edge-oftheworld · 6 months

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thinking about the way when i interact with fellow aussies on here I see so much disappointment about how they didn't come here on their last tour. how sydney 5sos fans are a different brand of human i'm not really sure how to describe (we all freaked out when we went to the same concert lauren was at for example). thinking about how the australian leg of take my hand tour felt like it was almost its own thing, sandwiched between the gap after the bulk of the tour before it and that short gap before they announced the most recent tour after it--almost as if it was meant to bridge both of those tours. how they played in newcastle and on the gold coast and it wasn't quite cairns or coffs but it was a bit more than your state capitals headline tour. how, with the exception of the big four, we often don't realise how small our cities are on a global scale. there are only 27 million of us on this desert island.

thinking about how they wrote easy for you to say and had to perform it on tour six months before its actual release, it was so important to this setlist, to the vibe, and how it's about nostalgia and missing sydney and they finished the tour in sydney and it makes me wonder, i can kind of guess when the song means the same thing to me, how much it hurts to be able to perform here and yet not be able to stay for longer than a holiday. and yet they do do that for us, put on shows about as regularly as any other artist does. even if they didn't play splendour in the grass. or falls festival. even if it's been four years since fire fight australia, it was only months ago sierra was promoting beyond blue as a charity to donate to. friends of friends did some fundraiser for a youth centre in blacktown: maybe I have to look to see it, but I can see the impact they've left.

and then I see how happy they all seem to look when they've gotten a chance to hang out in australia. ashton covering songs in the heat. calum obviously having a blast. luke dropping sydney pics that were assumedly from before it got really hot, looking carefree, a familiar skyline and familiar urban graffiti. the way when michael arrived in perth for the first time after lockdown he simply had to tell us all right away. and i've always kind of seen them coming back here for good? heck, joel madden even assumed right on his podcast some of them might have already. the way ashton doesn't have a dog in the states, and how i've always seen him with an aussie. the way luke integrates seamlessly into the life and culture of the inner west area; and calum carries blue mountains vibes with him wherever he goes, as michael does with the sydney pop punk scene. we know brandy and sierra at least love australia--i was actually fangirling about sierra in their comments with the veronicas just the other day (bless them for deciding my comment was something that needed to replying to). while crystal does have a massive group of usamerican friends and family I can see her enjoying the vegan places in melbourne and brisbane (they're coming to sydney too. the inner west and parts of the north side are almost there) and maybe being a little more hopeful about politics. I can also see it being a really healthy place to raise lua.

maybe it's the hopefulness of an urban designer who sees the impact of art and culture and having people around who create for a living on our cities, but maybe I see myself in 20 years bringing my kids to see them play and being able to tell the story of a series of songs (red desert, efyts, whatever is next in the theme in the works for 5sos6 as well as the solo stuff like a lot of wfttwtaf and boy) and how they figured out what we all have to, how to find and create a place that's home to you--because it's actually a pretty likely event. and i love seeing the evolution from the 'let's get out' / 'worked every weekend just to get out of town' vibe of self titled and sgfg to now. I really do want them all to feel like they can relax now after so many years of working and depriving themselves of the love that comes from belonging (I do feel like we've heard more about it from luke and ash specifically) and I also get the subtle vibes of where that might happen. and how much it might hurt when they don't get to have that. what did they do for aussies? gave us hope that we could make it, in whatever we want to do and whatever success means for us. maybe it's just me though. for now. maybe i've got the expectations of someone who grew up unable to afford things like concerts mixed with the anticipation for this june. I hope i'm not projecting, but also, the empathy I feel when I see myself in someone is usually spot on.

so idk. one day i'm gonna design some really classy public housing made to unfuck the status quo and i'm gonna raise money to build it and sierra will write a song and say she's doing a donation to this charity in australia doing things about homelessness and the class divide and it's gonna help me fund it. that's just one option of something i can see going down that's not completely unrealistic if very very optimistic but it's how i live my life. but i'll go to a 5sos concert eventually. i'll play their songs i've arranged with an orchestra one day too and we'll do it impressively, noticeably. i don't really know what else i'm supposed to expect? I know my experience is worlds away from many people's. but these guys inspire me to create and I don't really need anything else to do that.

#will add that i think if they were to move back here it would be something that would require work to be better than as kids #because it was never perfect for them to begin with and we do all deserve better than to pick the less uncomfortable uncomfortable option #fr though sierra + the australian music industry is just #like i really feel like she's at home there. more so than 5sos even #australia #5sos5 city #what am i talking about #i feel like it's just my experience really #official efyts post #nfattne tour brisbane #5sos #5 seconds of summer #luke hemmings #ashton irwin #calum hood #michael clifford #sierra deaton #almondmilkhunni #crystal leigh

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dream-a-little-bigger-x · 1 year

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Begin Again: Chapter Two | Spencer Reid

Add yourself to my taglist! | Here’s my masterlist!

<< Chapter One

Chapter Two: Room 304

Pairing: Spencer Reid x OC!Charlotte Morris

Warnings: Suggestive language, foul language, talk of murder, talk of death, description of a crime scene, mention of blood.

Author's note: Wooohooo part two!

Words: 1.6K

He had been staring at his phone for hours. The phone number he had saved last night had been screaming at him, telling him to call it. Yet, he still hesitated. Every logical sense in him told him he shouldn’t call her. It would’ve been too creepy, too stalkery for him to call her so out of the blue.

“What are you up to, Pretty Boy?” Derek asked when he found his coworker at his desk, staring at his cellphone, something the young profiler usually never did.

Spencer coughed and stuffed his phone in his pocket. “N-nothing,” he stuttered.

“Oh, come on now.” Derek sat down on the corner of Spencer’s desk. “You’re thinking about calling her, aren’t you?”

Of course Spencer couldn’t lie to Derek. To none of his colleagues, for that matter. They were the best at their job. It shouldn’t surprise him that he knew what was happening.

“Isn’t it weird to call someone after not having seen them for seventeen years?” Spencer asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.

Derek shrugged. “It’s only gonna be weird if you make it weird,” he said, then sighed at the sight of his coworker’s forlorn expression. “If you don’t feel confident calling her, then don’t. Give it some time. Think it over. But, kid…” Spencer looked up at him again. “If a girl has been on your mind for seventeen years, it must mean something.”

“Yeah… I guess…”

“Morning, sunshine,” Thomas greeted when Charlotte raced out of her room with her blouse only half done up and still sticking out of her dress pants. The young man was enjoying the sight in front him more than his morning cereal.

His roommate was racing around the house looking for her stuff whilst still getting dressed, clearly in a rush to get to work.

“Morning,” Charlotte grunted as she clasped her watch around her wrist before moving to continue buttoning her blouse. “I-I need… Did you see my–”

“On the kitchen counter,” Thomas replied, pointing at the kitchen.

He didn’t even need any more information to know what she was looking for. It was the little bracelet she always wore with the Las Vegas charms. One had the Vegas skyline, the other was a deck of cards. She had taken it off last night when she was heating up the dinner Thomas had left for her.

She could never leave the house with it.

“Thanks, my sweet,” she mumbled as she walked over to the counter and put the bracelet back on around her wrist, right next to her watch. “Oh, hey, do you wanna have lunch with me and Val later? We’ve got the big meeting with the mayor just before noon, so we figured we could take a break and have some lunch together. Wanna join?”

Thomas sipped his coffee, letting the question simmer in his mind. “Oh, uh, yeah, sure!”

“Can I come?” The incredibly beautiful British accent of Yanisha Kumar echoed through the air.

The beautiful Indian-Brit slunk around her boyfriend and pressed a kiss to his cheek. She was wearing one of his shirts, which was big enough to reach beneath her bum and made her long legs look even longer. Next to Yanisha, Charlotte was but a blob, but she had managed to get over her insecurities the more she got to know Yanisha.

“Yes! Please, join us,” Charlotte affirmed as she tucked his shirt in her pants. “I’ll see you both later then.” She kissed both of them on the cheek, took a gulp of Thomas’ coffee and then grabbed her stuff to leave the apartment.

“Good luck on the big meeting, Lot!” Yanisha called after her whilst Thomas simply yelled out a “bye!”.

As Charlotte moved through the hotel on her morning walk-through, she ran all the things that she wanted to talk about during the meeting with the mayor through her head. There was so much she had to be thinking about. Nothing could make her stray from the boost of confidence she was on to tackle the mayor down and get what she needed for the hotel.

“Jeez,” Val complained when Charlotte walked into the back offices. The young receptionist was vacuuming the carpeted floor around their desks. “I suck dick better than this piece of shit.”

The thirty-something general manager chuckled. “You don’t suck dick, Val.”

She stopped her vacuum-cleaning and looked up. “Exactly my point.”

“You’re a menace to society, my darling.” Charlotte took a seat at her desk and sighed. “Can you go and check on Joy and Tinashe? One of them needed more rose petals.”

Valencia hummed as she straightened out her skirt before heading off to check up on the housekeeping team. With a sigh, Charlotte started rummaging through her files and wrote down all of the bullet points that had rushed through her head during her walk-through.

“Lottie…”

Charlotte looked up from her paperwork at Val and her heart shot up to her throat. The look on her face didn’t predict much good. In fact, it was the same look she had given her a little over a week ago when one of the guests didn’t check out on time and they were met with the most horrifying scene of their career.

“No,” Charlotte mumbled and got up before grabbing Val’s hand, allowing the receptionist to guide her towards the room in question. “304, again?” She whispered as she took out her keycard to open the door.

Neither of them stepped inside, but Charlotte did lean in to slide her card into the slot for electricity, her hands shaking as she did so. The lights in the room flickered on, revealing the one thing both women were so afraid of.

“Val, honey… Go downstairs and call 911…” She whispered, not taking her eyes off the man on the bed. Splatters of blood decorated the walls and furniture around. From where she stood, the man was stabbed to death, multiple times before his throat was slashed.

It was the second time she had seen something like this, though nothing could ever prepare you for how horrifying it is.

It made her wonder how anyone in law enforcement could possibly do it.

“We’re going to Hartford, Connecticut,” JJ started the briefing, showing the crime scene photos of the hotel room. “It’s the second murder in the same hotel in two weeks.”

Ignoring the little flip of his heart at the mention of the city, Spencer dove straight into the case file. “Stab wounds and a sliced throat, that’s overkill. Was the previous MO the same?”

“No. The first time, the victim died from asphyxiation,” JJ informed.

Emily’s brows furrowed. “Then how do we even know it’s the same UnSub?”

“It happened in the same exact room, room 304 and he left this behind…” JJ showed a close-up of the shreds of paper scattered around the body and room. “Paper shreds around the body, all seemingly with the same handwriting.”

Hotch nodded his head whilst gathering the files in the folder and scraping his chair back. “He’s accelerating. We’ll debrief further on the plane. Wheels up in ten.”

“Hey,” Morgan started when the team filed into the jet. Spencer and Derek sat down opposite each other. “Doesn’t Charlotte live in Hartford?” he asked with a half-teasing smirk on his face.

“Who’s Charlotte?” Emily queried, interested in any and all workplace gossip.

Chuckling, Derek turned to his female coworkers, wanting them in on what he and Penelope had found out for Spencer. “She's Spencer’s high school crush.”

“Oh,” JJ tried to bite back a smirk. The boy next to her was blushing furiously. “Weren’t you like twelve in high school?”

Spencer hummed. “Yes, I was,” he simply answered, not giving any details.

“How old does that make her?” Emily asked, furrowing her eyebrows in thought.

“Thirty-three,” Penelope responded as she pushed through the aisle with her luggage. “She was born on January twentieth, 1976, which makes her four years older than our dear Reid and a Capricorn.”

Derek’s brows furrowed as he shot up to help her put her luggage in the overhead compartment. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Hotch asked me to come,” she replied, nodding towards Hotch and Rossi, who had just boarded the plane. “Said I could do my sleuthing there with the security cameras and everything.”

“Can we focus on the case instead of Spencer’s high school crushes?” Hotch ordered, though he couldn’t hide the proud smile on his face. He knew something Spencer did not know yet and he wasn’t going to say anything before Spencer could find out himself.

For a good hour and a half, the team bounced theories off each other, based on the facts they had, until they landed in Hartford, Connecticut. Hotch had told them they were all going to set up at the hotel where it had happened as the general manager had told them they were allowed to set up shop in the meeting room, just so they could be close to the crime scene.

The team entered the hotel, looking around and taking everything in so they wouldn’t miss any details that could come in handy later. The only detail Spencer did miss was the young general manager walking up to them and shaking JJ’s hand.

“Hi, I’m Jennifer Jareau, we spoke on the phone,” JJ introduced herself.

“I’m Charlotte Morris, general manager.”

As the words rolled off her lips, Spencer’s head snapped up and when his eyes landed on her, his world started spinning. There she was. Although her hair had grown longer and the pink was all gone, it was still her. The same girl from seventeen years ago was still very visible through her kind smile and her worry-filled eyes.

Then, their eyes locked and for a second, Spencer thought he was going to black out.

He watched all of it begin again.

Everything taglist: @calamitykaty @n0wornever @wanniiieeee @unnowhatthisistbh

Criminal Minds Taglist: @boimlers-gonna-boim @samsbirks @tinaasthings @dysphoricsanity @love4lando @elenamoncada-ibarra @r-3dlips @magstheslayer @astess @sylvcaplath @tillypettitt @mordechaisworld @ssameadows @spikedhe4rt @spencers-bookworm @littlemissaddict @kirbybean

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid imagine #dr spencer reid #spencer reid x oc!#spencer reid x oc! charlotte morris #criminal minds #spencer reid x fem!reader

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sissytobitch10seconds · 2 months

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The Morningstar's Rays: The Heir of Hell

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel Summary: It has been years and years since Lucifer gave birth to a child, so he supposes that means it's the perfect time for him to fall pregnant again. Lilith had been talking about wanting a child made from the two of them anyway. Warnings: Implied forced pregnancy, domestic abuse, mpreg, graphic birth, medical trauma, and implied child abuse Word Count: 13,384 Ship(s): Adam/Lucifer Morningstar (endgame), Lilith Morningstar/Lucifer Morningstar

Archive link!

A/N: Before we go into this, I just want to warn everyone to look at the tags and head this trigger warning. Lilith is massively abusive and neglectful of Satan and Ozzie, as well as Lucifer during his pregnancy and birth. The birth scene in this is very traumatic and not at all like the other ones I've written. If these things could trigger you, please proceed with caution. That being said, I do love the comfort that comes after this fic and it makes the entire thing feel softer for me. Stay sissy and bitchy everyone <3

Lucifer set the pen down beside the papers that he had been signing and looked out at the skyline of Hell.

It had changed so much since he had first come to the realm. Once it had been nothing more than a dark mass of trees in the furthest distance and tall grass as far as the eye could see. Now, there was a massive castle over the place where he had first landed when he had been tossed from Heaven and a sprawling city around it. There was still some amount of grasslands between Cannibal Town and Imp City, but none of it looked at all like it had when he first came. He found that to be both a good and a bad thing, mostly because it meant even more change even if it was in the direction that the land had wanted itself to move in.

Other changes had happened as well, one of which he had been thinking about a lot. His children were grown and had come into their powers. He would never forget the days when they had come into their powers, stepping into their realms and their bodies snapping and cracking as they acquired their demon forms. It left Ozzie as a rooster and fire inspired demon and left Satan with the fur of a badger and the wings of a bat. He was so proud of how far they had come, but they lived in their own palaces and didn’t contact him anymore. Lilith had assured him that was because they were so busy with their work, just as he was, and not because he was a bad father. Something inside of him knee that if he had been there for them more, had witnessed those important moments, had comforted them when they needed him as teenagers, then they would be more amicable to actually being with him.

He supposed that he was getting another chance now, even if he wasn’t feeling the best about the idea of going through another pregnancy. A shiver ran down his spine as he remembered the massive fight that he’d had with Lilith over who was going to carry their next child. They both agreed that they didn’t like an empty nest, even if Lilith had been the one to encourage their children to leave before Lucifer was quite ready for them to be gone. She had accused him of being like Adam, of wanting her to do whatever he wanted simply because he was the man in their relationship. She had accused him of trying to destroy the body and career that she had worked so hard for.

Lucifer had quickly conceded and had spent the next several days trying to assure her that he didn’t want any of those things and that he loved her very much. She had agreed only when he had proven to her by letting her top in bed that he would carry their next child.

He had loved Lilith once, he was sure of that. He had once seen her as something beautiful and deadly, something that he wanted to cherish and treat properly. She wasn’t that person anymore, though, just as he was not the angel that he had been when he was in Heaven. He had heard of other married couples growing old together, changing and shifting until they were mirrors or the same soul. He knew that wasn’t what was happening to him and Lilith, but he still wanted to try.

He hadn’t yet told Lilith about the babe growing in his belly, but he was sure that she knew. He slept more, ate more, and his maid was beginning to get rather fussy about his hair and claws. He also had the urge to build something soft and warm in the back of a closet or under their bed, away from all the danger of the world.

Lucifer sighed and picked up the pen from beside the papers, placing his signature on the laws that the Overlord Counsel had asked of him. It was an odd thing, to have laws on the human souls that had done so wrong by God that they had been gifted to him. He knew, after all the time he had spent ruling this realm, that their sins could be anything from child sexual abuse to simply loving the wrong person at the wrong time. He was glad that he had the powers of the realm to help guide him through his rule, he knew he would have floundered already without it.

With most of his work done for the day, he checked the time and saw that his next meeting was in an hour, so he had time for a quick nap. He made sure that his meals were taken while he was doing paperwork in the hopes that it would both quell his morning sickness and allow him more time for himself. He had always thought that he would have less work to do when he had another ruler by his side, but he supposed that Lilith had more important things to do than help him sign paperwork.

He rose from the desk and swallowed hard as even the small amount of movement tried to make him vomit. He had brief bouts of morning sickness with both Satan and Ozzie, and had seen Adam overcome with it during his early pregnancy in the garden, but it was nothing like what he was going through now.

He stepped forward cautiously, humming low in his throat to try and keep the acid at bay. He was going to have to go to the doctor sooner rather than later, if just to get something that would settle his stomach so he didn’t feel quite so rancid throughout the day. When he got to his bedroom, he collapsed down onto the bed and breathed through the remaining pain in his chest from heartburn.

His eyes were just barely beginning to droop shut as the exhaustion clinging to him threaded throughout the rest of his body. He was good at fighting, he always had been, but this was one of the hardest battles that he had ever endured. He had been pregnant before, twice, and he had seen countless demons and sinners go through the same process. He wasn’t sure why this one was being so awful to him, but he wasn’t sure that he was going to make it to the other side in one piece.

Part of him wanted to laugh at the pun he had made in his thoughts, because he never came out of a pregnancy in one piece. After the birth had finished and the cord was cut, another piece of him had been severed from his body. That part of his heart would grow and develop, forming their own personality and likes and thoughts and dreams. The child that he had born was a part of him and always would be, but they had to spread their wings and fly. He would never try to lock them in a cage the way that he had been.

Sleep pulled at him a little harder than it had before. He could feel all of his tense muscles relaxing down into the bed underneath him as he let the sleepy haze of the candles from Sloth wash over him. He had told Bel that he was having trouble sleeping due to nightmares about a hundred years ago and now she sent him a couple of candles every other month so that he could burn the min his room and it would help catch the bad dreams and disperse them. It was working remarkably well with his exhaustion now because he was already slipping into a light doze.

He didn’t know how long he had been sleeping for when the door to his room opened and a pair of heels clicked across the floor. He felt a gloved hand brush over his face and then opened his eyes to see that Lilith was standing above him. “Now, now, Lucifer. Today is not the day to be lazy, we have quite a lot of work to do.”

“I wasn’t-” he began as he slowly shifted into an upright position.

“Dear, please do not argue with me. The preparations for the gala are already wearing me down so much and having you try to get out of the meetings with the Overlords that the secretary double booked me for isn’t going to help,” Lilith snapped back in reply.

He shrank down in on himself at the tone of her voice. At one point in their marriage, they had always been fighting with each other. He had learned that it was simply easier to agree with the way that she saw the world and keep his mouth shut at this point, though. The exhaustion he was battling with agreed with that course of action, the bed almost physically pulling him back down into the comforting warmth of the sheets.

He shook his head to try and dispel some of the exhaustion that was clinging to him. It was as if he were wrapped in a cloak made of the stuff, something that was smothering the fire in his chest that held the energy he had once had. He knew that it was for a good reason, the energy now feeding the lifeform growing larger and larger in the depths of his belly, but that didn’t stop him from feeling quite so poorly.

He knew better than to argue with Lilith after how long they had been married. So once he was no longer feeling like any amount of closed eyes would send him into a month’s long sleep, he began to move towards the end of the bed. He had shed his jacket upon his arrival, so now he reached out to the chair beside the table next to their bed and put it back on. “You wanted me to meet with some of the Overlords, right?” he asked.

“Yes. Unfortunately, the secretary that you hired has decided that my entire day is going to be overbooked. I had a spa appointment for my nails and horns at the same time that I’m meant to be meeting with Zestial. I assume that you can handle something that basic?” she asked. Her eyes were hard as she looked over him, like she was trying to pick him apart without having to touch him. He knew that was only because he had upset her, he should have worked harder to make sure that she had the happy life she deserved.

“I can do that,” he replied as he righted his suit jacket over his top. He knew that soon it wasn’t going to fit, if how large he had gotten with Satan was any proof.

He wondered how his daughter was doing, his heart aching in his chest as he thought about what it had been like to happen across her room when she had left. She and Lilith had apparently gotten in an argument about her training and she had decided that she was ready to rule her own ring, far before Lucifer had thought that she was ready. He had left his meetings a bit early when one of the servants told him about the yelling. When he finally got to his daughter’s room, the entire thing had been emptied out of all her personal belongings so that the only thing remaining was furniture and the bedding that the castle technically owned. It broke his heart, but he left it like that just in case she ever wanted to come back. He knew that the chances of that were unlikely, especially with how much time had passed, but he had always been a dreamer.

He cleared his throat when he heard the heels his wife was wearing clicking across the wooden ground as she got closer to the door of their bedroom. “Lilith? Do you have a moment to talk?”

“I suppose,” she replied as she turned around. “It’s not like I just finished telling you how busy I was or anything.”

He flinched back when she said that and realized that he had been rather foolish in asking at that exact moment. He hadn’t meant to be disrespectful to her time, he just wanted to let her know the good news before he forgot to tell her or before something happened. He didn’t think that it would, in all honesty. He’d never even had a premature labor with the pregnancies that he’d carried, but there was a chance that his body would see the new baby as a risk because of how sick it was making him.

He took in a deep brath breath to soothe the worries that were plaguing him. He wasn’t going to lose his baby, he was far too powerful for that. “Lilith, I think that I’m pregnant,” he finally admitted. They both wanted another baby, but he was still somehow more worried than he thought he would be for what her reaction was going to turn out to be.

Her face split into a wide grin, her golden-red eyes sparkling with the love that he had wanted so badly. She walked back over to him and placed her hands on either side of his face to bring him in for an adoring kiss. “I knew that you could do it love, I’m so proud of you. You’re going to be bringing our heir into the world and that’s just wonderful.”

“Our heir?” he asked. As soon as she had said that, the hazy adoration that he had for her snapped. He had just been thinking about his adult children, the ones that had been borne before the one in his belly was going to be by nearly eighteen hundred years. “We already have two children, Lilith.”

“Well,” she dropped her hold on him and then stepped away. Her long hair was flowing gracefully down her back as it always did, which made her look more ethereal than many of the angels that Lucifer had to deal with when he was in Heaven. “I wouldn’t expect either of them to be able to rule Hell if either of us ever ended up dying. They have their own rings to run.”

“I ran three rings and was king for the beginning of our reign and I still serve as both king and Pride,” Lucifer objected.

“I suppose,” she sighed. “I just don’t think that either of them are nearly as competent as you are, dear. If they were to juggle both of those things then it would cause turmoil for them and their rings would surely suffer for it. That’s not very fair to the demons that reside there, is it?”

Despite the fact that he knew better than to argue with her, despite the urge he had to just fall back into bed and sleep with the bit of goodwill that he had earned by carrying their child. His Pride wouldn’t allow that though, it was his fatal flaw and what had gotten him tossed from Heaven. The angels had referred to it as arrogance in the face of their creator, but he knew that he was simply confident in himself to the point that authority figures saw him as a threat.

Once upon a time, he had gotten in trouble for trying to make a family and tempt the humans in Eden so that they would understand the true being that God was, but now he knew he was getting in trouble for a different reason. Lilith had insulted his children, the ones that he had fought tooth and nail to be able to protect and raise in a world that none of them truly understood. “Ozzie’s ring involves more demons that go up to the surface so that they can tempt humans than literally any other ring. Not even the nightmares in Bel’s ring go up more than the succubus do and they can only inhabit people’s dreaming bodies. He could definitely handle running our kingdom. Satan has completely turned around her ring from the dwindling wasteland that it was when we found it to a thriving culture full of agriculture and ranching, it feeds most of the other rings entirely independently.”

“Lucifer,” Lilith said, her voice dark with danger. She was standing with her back to him, but he could see the way that the bridge of her nose was pinched and the scowl that had already taken over her soft lips. He wished that she would smile shyly at him more often, as she had done in the garden, he wished that she still regarded him with something more than the contempt one felt at a misbehaving dog.

“Lilith,” he replied. He wasn’t backing away this time. He had something that she wanted deep inside of him, something that wouldn’t be able to be taken from him for another eight months at the least, so he had something that he could use to bargain.

“I want an heir that is part of both of us. It hardly seems fair that you want to pass our kingdom over to children that were borne from other beings and not even in this realm in the first place,” she said, ice cold and detached.

He had seen the way that she had interacted with their people before. She sang to them from a high, gilded stage where she looked like a glowing purple and gold star in the sky. He knew the way that she warped the magic she had been given as the first Sinner, and an Overlord at that, so that people would listen to her. He hadn’t understood why humans had been able to tap into abilities that the native demons of his realm didn’t have, but perhaps he would have understood it more if Lilith had let him watch her more often. She prevented him from attending many of her concerts, probably so that she could do something like this. If Lucifer had been completely unaware of how her power worked, then his mind would have been entirely wiped instead of him simply fogging over.

She was using her abilities on him in an attempt to get her way, the same way that she had when they were talking about who was going to carry their next baby. It meant that most of the thoughts other than one had lost, leaving him with the singular thing that he was about to say next and nothing else. “Satan was born here.”

“Satan is volatile and not to be trusted with anything fragile. I’m surprised that she hasn’t broken most of the demons that are sent to her for army training,” Lilith sniffed. She brushed some of her long hair over her shoulder and then stepped out of the room with the same grace and power that she had entered with. When she got to the doorway, she said, “I expect you to keep the pregnancy a secret until after we’ve confirmed that you’re going to be able to carry to term. And I want you to attend all the meetings that I’m not going to.”

He didn’t object with her, the exhaustion and her magic making his mind too cloudy to think of something that he could say.

---

The morning sickness only worsened as time went on. Soon, Lucifer found that he could only keep a handful of things down. He ended up eating more apples, chicken broth, and leafy greens than he ever thought he would in his entire life. He had always enjoyed trips down to Gluttony so that he could try the new foods that humans had come up with, indulging in the things that his Heavenly counterparts had likely already been able to eat with the guilt that came each time one neared a sin. Lucifer was glad that he was free of that now, but he would almost take the guilt back if it meant that he didn’t turn a little green every time someone with a full plate passed him by.

He had always heard that with standard demonic and sinner pregnancies, the morning sickness would be bad when the pregnancy began to release a certain hormone but would decrease when the second trimester started. For Lucifer, it seemed like it was just wearing him down enough that he was too exhausted to use his magic to heal himself. He had heartburn and acid reflux almost constantly, which made his stomach hurt something fierce. He had actually begun vomiting when he smelled certain foods or when he ate something that particularly didn’t agree with him.

Sea food was out in its entirety, which meant that the meeting they’d had in Envy was near unbearable for him. He wasn’t able to eat a lot of meat now, which made him feel so lightheaded when he stood due to the lack of iron. That was what had actually spurned him into trying the leafy greens after Bel had mentioned something off handedly about what the demons in her own ring used to supplement their needs. He found apples helped him the most, likely because they were tied to his power and thus allowed him to heal himself enough to handle other foods as well. Chicken broth was something that the cook had suggested when he had rejected lunch for the forth time in a row because it was light on the stomach and something that was full of vitamins to help him recover.

Now, though, he didn’t have his own staff that already knew that some of his habits had changed and what they were meant to do now. No one other than himself and Lilith knew about the pregnancy before yesterday, when the doctor had confirmed that everything was looking good and he was on the right track to having a healthy baby. Lucifer had been very relieved to hear that, but the relief had been short lasting because now he had to tell the rest of the sins that he was expecting a child. He was sure that Lilith was also going to announce it at her next show, which meant that he would have to deal with the nightmare that was the paparazzi, which had gotten even worse now that the sinners were the ones that were controlling it.

That was the least of his worries in that current moment, though. He had taken the medication that the royal doctor had provided him to try and help with some of his morning sickness, but that was struggling to stay in his system with the wafting smells coming from each plate that the other sin’s were holding and the massive buffet along the wall. Lucifer had tried to tell Lilith that it was a bad idea to announce his pregnancy at the meeting that Bee was holding for this very reason, but she had dismissed him.

The meeting was called to order as Bee bounced over to the table and said, “Thank you everyone for coming. I know that the meetings aren’t allowed to be parties anymore, but I thought that it would be fun for everyone to eat while we talk. Then maybe afterwards we can drink and people can come back to my place for a real rager,” she grinned.

“Pass,” Bel yawned into the strawberries and cream that she had been munching on since she had returned from the table.

“We know,” Ozzie rolled his eyes. “I would love to come to your party, Bee. Especially if that cute Hellhound you’ve been playing around with is going to be there.”

“You can’t just steal my girlfriend like that, Oz,” Bee laughed. She then settled down in her seat and said, “Now that we’ve established that I’m going to have fun after this meeting, does anyone have personal business?”

“You’re so nosey,” Levi complained as he picked over his own food. An oyster shell skittered down the table a little too close to Lucifer and he had to resist the urge to put a hand over his mouth.

He knew that he had gone at least somewhat green when the food was moved closer to him because he felt Lilith’s hand move from her own lap and squeeze his leg. For any other couple, that would have been rathe romantic. It would have been seen as a wife checking in on her husband when he was sick before they both did something scary. With their relationship, a marriage of half-love and mostly convenience, it was her telling him to not step out of line. Lilith cared greatly for how she was seen by other people and always had, so she didn’t care for the idea of Lucifer rushing out of the room so that he could vomit his guts up because of something as stupid as a shellfish being too close to him.

“We do, in fact, have a bit of information that we would like you all to be the first to know,” Lilith said. She dropped her hand from where she had been warning Lucifer and then rose so that she could speak to them from above. She towered over even most of the largest sins with her mere presence, her voice dragging their attention away from each other and their food and over to her. “I know that there have been quite a few questions and rumors from other members of the upper class, such as the Goetia, but we are happy to be able to put them to rest. Lucifer and I are expecting our first child together and the royal heir,” she declared.

His stomach sank low down in his body, plunging his entire body into the icy darkness of his mind again. He had been too tired to look through the note cards that Lilith made herself before she made any kind of declaration. He knew that he should of, for this exact reason. He usually picked through what she was planning to say and then changed it a bit so that she might change her mind. It had worked for a lot of the official announcements that they had given to their people before, but he had forgotten for the meeting. It had entirely slipped his mind that she might say something stupid when they were announcing his pregnancy and now he was regretting it terribly.

Lucifer could barely even remove his eyes from the table so that he could look at his friends and children to see what their reactions were. Bee’s smile was already strained, mostly focusing down at her plate of food. Levi was bearing his teeth at the royal family but that could have meant a number of things given that he was the hardest sin out of them all to read. Bel’s eyes were wide as she looked over the rim of her glasses, her eyes boring hard into him. Ozzie had leaned back into his chair and slammed his fork down onto the table, though his face had a pleasant smile plastered over it that spoke only of political politeness. Mammon was staring at them both with a bewildered expression and his eyes kept flickering to the two sins that Lucifer had birthed with very little subtleness. Satan was staring down at her food, the tips of her short blond hair beginning to flicker with fire as the blazing orbs at the tips of her horns grew hotter with the intensity.

“That’s wonderful news,” Bee forced out.

“What the everloving fuck do you mean first?” Mammon blurted out. He was going to make the same arguments that Lucifer first had when he had told Lilith that he was pregnant. He hoped, for the safety and sanity of his friend, that she had come up with a better argument than she had back then.

“We’re going to be naming her the Heir of Hell and Crown Princess when she’s born, I don’t see what’s so confusing about this,” Lilith said. Her voice was sickly sweet, like she was talking to a particularly petulant child that had been giving her difficulties for the better part of an hour. The fact that she was speaking to the Sins of Hell, who had more raw power than she did as an Overlord Sinner, was not lost on any of them.

“You have two other children who are already grown and very familiar with the legal system. Why are you trying to pass that on to a new baby?” Bee asked cautiously.

Lilith chuckled, “Well, none of you are parents so I know that you wouldn’t understand. It’s very important to me that someone of my own flesh and blood manages to succeed me in the unlikely event that either of us are deposed from the throne or we decide to step down. I think that it would also mean quite a lot to our people if they were able to see one of their own on the throne, a child born of a sinner and a sin instead of just another angel in power.”

Lucifer knew that had to be hard for his children to hear. Ozzie had told him that he had a couple memories of their time in Heaven, but nothing to feel like he was really connected to it. Satan had been born in Hell and it was all she ever knew, so the fact that she was hellborn and an angel wasn’t something she had ever really thought about. It had also never been used against her before, Lucifer could plainly see that by the shock and anger that was covering her features.

“Um, well, that’s great. Let’s get started with the rest of the meeting, shall we?” Bee asked.

They had all been integrated into the cultures of the realms that they had fallen into, so Lucifer knew how easy it was to forget that they weren’t technically hellborn themselves. It had to be painful to be reminded that they were born in a realm that decided it didn’t want them simply for them being themselves. Lucifer had never brought it up or held it against them when it came to their ruling over the lands they currently presided in, it would make no sense seeing as that was himself as well. Now that Lilith was bringing that up as a point towards why they were making the new baby their heir, it made him look like an absolute hypocrite.

He wished that he was able to scream that wasn’t him, that it wasn’t his choice. He would fight tooth and nail for Ozzie to be named his heir, or for any of his children that had already been born fight for it in some way instead of it just being handed over to the first child that Lilith had contributed to genetically. That meant so little to him, especially after he had witnessed the way that the imps in the original tribe he had fallen into loved the children that weren’t theirs biologically.

He was too tired to fight against her, though. The pregnancy was draining every bit of his energy and then some, which left him as a hollow shell. He had no way to stand up for his children and give them what they needed, he had no way to say that she was being unfair and rude to his friends. He had nothing.

---

His belly began to swell after they announced it at the meeting. He had been right in thinking that Lilith would also want to declare it to their people in some grand party. She had forced him onto the stage and then made him sing with her despite his exhaustion and nausea. He would have enjoyed that special moment shared with her during any other situation, but it was barely tolerable with how run down he was feeling during the pregnancy.

Now that the people knew that their royal family was expecting another addition, one that would eventually become the ruler of Hell, Lucifer could barely go outside without being swarmed. He had already decreased the amount of time that he spent wandering around amongst his people due to his decrease in magic and general unwellness, but now he barely went out. It was hard for him to lock himself away in his home and only come out when he had meetings or when Lilith asked him to. It left him feeling like he was something shameful again, the same thing that Heaven had cast him out for being. There was no way for him to explain that to Lilith, though.

He lived through his pregnancy like he was a ghost, to the point where he was forgetting most of what happened during it. That made his heart ache because he treasured each of those moments with his other two children.

He only noticed that he had begun to show because his clothing was getting tighter and tighter until he couldn’t make his pants closed. Instead of worshiping his belly by always having his hands on it after that point, to acknowledge the little life growing inside, he simply called for his tailor and had maternity clothing for his entire pregnancy made in a single afternoon. Even once his stomach had grown so big that he had to support himself with both hands, he barely even thought about it like it was a pregnancy.

The baby began to move exactly on time with the books that Lilith had been reading through. Lucifer insisted that they didn’t need those, he had been through two pregnancies on his own and one of those had been the first humanoid being to ever be born through the conventional methods. Still, she had insisted that she wanted to be informed about her baby was developing since Lucifer always just assured her that things were good. She had only laid hands on his stomach once, when the babe inside of him was flipping over so that her head was engaged towards the end of his pregnancy.

He didn’t mind, he wasn’t really feeling the need to connect with Lilith that he had used to. He spent most of his time sitting in the uncomfortable chair in front of his workbench so that he could create something for the baby when they were born.

Each of his children, at least the ones he knew for sure were his own, had gotten a little stuffed toy when they were born to comfort them when he was rushing to get them at night. Ozzie had gotten a parakeet because they were the animal that Michael most resembled at that point, something soft with a beak that had been mostly chewed off by the time they fell to Hell. Satan had gotten a little cat creature that was now missing an ear and had remained in her bedroom when she had left. He was stumped on what to give the next baby that he was bearing, though, all of the animals that he came up with were associated with some other Overlord or sinner that he had interacted with over the years. Eventually, he settled on an animal that he had never really thought about before. Yellow wings and an orange beak, made of rubber instead of cloth so that it would be easier when the teething stage rolled about and possibly even used in the bath.

That item sat on the top of his workbench, ready to be passed on to his baby whenever they decided to make their appearance. That appeared to be sooner rather than later, as he had been cramping in his back for the better part of the day. He had woken feeling rather tense and uncomfortable but that was common now that he was in his third trimester. It was only when he stood from breakfast and his entire back seized up with pain that he realized things might be on the move.

It was a familiar sensation, traveling up his spine before it spread out around his hips. When it wrapped around his stomach, it felt like the tendons were growing so taut that they snapped when they finally released and all the pressure went away.

He knew that it was a contraction before the pain had even finished. That combined with the burst of energy that he’d had earlier in the day had him convinced that he was in labor. He had once again forgotten how bad the pain could get, the actual contractions never once mirroring what he had recalled them feeling like during his preparation for that moment. He knew now that it was an evolutionary benefit, to try and make him have more children despite how painful it was to bring them into the world.

He glanced at the calendar that he had hanging next to his desk and saw that he was scheduled for the monthly sin meeting that day. He knew that he wouldn’t be any good to anyone if he was contracting every five minutes and leaking various, fluids, however, so he embarked on a journey to find his wife so that he could let her know that he would be staying home.

He walked down the long hallways, moving past the servants that were bustling with activity. Lucifer had no idea how much upkeep went into something like a palace, especially one as grand as the one that Lilith had asked him to make her, but he had no idea how they managed to find enough jobs to keep themselves that busy. It was hard to be around people that refused to look him in the eye and never spoke to him outside of saying a quick ‘Yes, Your Majesty’ whenever he asked something of them. He wished that he still had his friends, that they didn’t resent him for bringing another child into the world with a woman that none of them cared much for. He missed his children too, they were so kind to the staff and compassionate to the people that moved through the palace to do odd jobs.

Eventually, he managed to find Lilith in the stage that she had made herself in the throne room under the one that they used for their personal courts. She was dressed in a slim black dress with her hair styled back and up so that the length of her neck and high cheekbone were fully on display. She was practicing one of the songs that she was going to be performing later that night, swirling and belting out the notes with everything that she was. She looked truly happy, like she was doing something that she enjoyed.

Lucifer wished that he was able to see her like that when she wasn’t performing. Something inside of him shattered into a million tiny pieces that would never have a hope of being put back together when she caught sight of him and then her smile dropped completely off of her face. She placed her microphone down into the holder to the left of her and stepped off the stage so that she could speak with him.

“What do you want? I’m practicing.”

“I didn’t know that you were until I opened the door, I’m sorry,” he apologized quickly. He knew that he shouldn’t have, he didn’t need to say that he was sorry when he was trying to tell her that the baby was coming. No one had ever made him feel quite so guilty for being in labor before.

“Well, did you have a reason for interrupting me or are you just being a petulant brat that doesn’t want me to enjoy things?” she snapped.

It was almost as if he could feel himself shrinking down into nothing. He felt like he was facing God, the one time that he had overstepped his boundaries in front of the Almighty and had been shamed for it on the spot. His heart was hammering in his ears and he could feel another one of the pains creeping up on him. It had taken him long enough to get to Lilith that he’d had another one in the hall, but he had gone ignored by the staff that was meant to be serving him. “I don’t think that I’m going to be able to make it to the Sin meeting this afternoon,” he blurted instead of explaining himself. It hurt too much for his mind to be functioning properly.

“And why would that be? I told you that I wouldn’t let this pregnancy make you lazy. I don’t care if you’ve let go of your body and are ashamed, you’re not going to let me take over your duties just because you have no self control,” Lilith snapped.

Lucifer scowled. “I haven’t let my body go, I’m nine months pregnant with a child that you wanted. I didn’t look like this when I had Ozzie because Michael was the same size as me. You’re much taller than this form and that means that the baby is taking up more room inside of me. Don’t insult my appearance just because you didn’t get your way for once.”

“Don’t talk back to me when you’re trying to get out of your responsibilities! I didn’t come down here and marry you so that I could be tied to a man that thinks he can tell me what to do because God said that he could,” Lilith snarled back in reply.

Lucifer wasn’t scared of her power, he knew that he was more powerful than she was thanks to the connection he had to the land of Hell, but he wasn’t sure that he was going to be able to overcome her in that moment due to the contractions taking the wind out of him. “Lilith, I can’t go to the meeting because I’m in labor. I need to stay in our room and deliver our baby. Don’t you want that?”

“I think that you can make it through one measly meeting before the baby starts to come out,” she rolled her eyes.

“That’s- That’s not guaranteed and also not the problem,” Lucifer objected. “The problem is that labor is painful and I don’t want to be having to stop talking or going through all of that in front of anyone else. I would prefer to get to rest in my own bed so that I have plenty of energy for when the time comes.”

“Labor can’t be that painful, I think that you’re exaggerating it to try and get sympathy from me,” Lilith sniffed.

“How would you know, you’ve never gone through it,” Lucifer snarled. He didn’t like the implication that he had a low pain tolerance or that he was trying to wuss out of the things he knew he had to do. Labor was the most painful thing that he’d ever had to do, including falling all the way from Heaven down into Hell.

Lilith flicked her hair over her shoulder as she began to clean up the performance remnants that she would need to reset before she began her rehearsal again. “Do you even remember who I am when you’re talking to me? I was the other half of the couple that God placed in the Garden of Eden, the woman. I was expected to get pregnant and give birth for the entirety of my life, which would be far longer than the normal human’s.”

He had lost all of the energy that he’d had to argue with her moments before. “I’ll go to the meeting,” he mumbled as he turned on his heel and began to walk down to the massive meeting room two floors below Lilith’s rehearsal stage. It would be where they were holding the sin meeting, which he was eternally grateful for. It would have been a lot more difficult to battle through his labor if he was in someone else’s home and knew that there was a longer journey to head back to his home and bed when the baby decided to actually make her appearance.

This was something that he would rather not to, but he knew that he had to push through it so that he could get the reward of hiding away from the world by choice instead of force. So when he got to the doors that led into the meeting room, he paused and forced a smile onto his face. He pushed them open and stepped in, holding his head high and sucking in his stomach as he had been doing since he reached twenty weeks and popped. The comments that Lilith had made about his body had damaged his pride, but he also didn’t want other people to know how much he had changed. He was hoping that if he hid the bump to some extent then they would be less likely to comment on it.

He greeted each of the Sins like he always did and quickly made his way over to the chair. His ankles and calves were uncomfortably swollen with water despite the temperature in Pride being significantly lower than in Wrath during the summer. He hadn’t made a comment on it, though, too worried that it would be taken as more complaining and people on his staff or in his inner circle would begin to see lesser of him.

Lilith entered after him, grand and sweeping as she stood behind his chair, “It’s so wonderful to see you all again. I hope that you’ve all been productive during the weeks where we’ve been apart, we have a lot of space to fill.”

He felt his heart sinking at the mention of that. Just how long did Lilith want the meeting to go on for? Usually they only spent a couple of hours talking about how things were going in their rings and how they wanted to improve things across the board in Hell. The longest that they’d ever had a meeting had been five hours, which was plenty of time when he was as early in his labor as he was. If she was planning on pushing it past them or arguing with the sins to extend the meeting length then he was beginning to worry that his baby might be born on the chair he was currently sitting in.

Still, he kept the smile on his face. He listened to each person as they brought up their problems and possible solutions that they had for them. He helped them work through the laws and proposals and bills that they wanted to pass as he always did. Each contraction rolled through him like a storm through the deepest parts of Hell, making him ache something fierce.

Each time that he had been in labor, he had been allowed to pace. With Ozzie it had been in the small spaces of his Heaven-owned apartment, and then with Satan it had been the walking with Mammon to induce her labor. It had soothed the ache in his hips that always set in when he reached the thirty five week mark, as well as bringing their head down to exactly where it needed to be. He had been seated for almost the entirety of his labor this time and he could already feel the difference in the way that the contractions were grabbing onto him as hard as they could. It was hard to speak or listen to anyone when they were happening, but he pushed through so that the others wouldn’t see him as week.

When the five hour mark came and went, Lilith called the servants to bring in the meal. He knew then that she did have to be punishing him for his insolence against her wishes because the food was nothing that he could eat. While his morning sickness wasn’t as bad now that he had learned how to live around it, the scent of pork always set him off. When the plate of the stuff was placed down in front of him, it took all of his control to not immediately vomit onto the table.

Instead, he excused himself to go to the bathroom and then rose as gracefully as he could. He was glad that they had a multi-stalled bathroom in the lowest floor of their castle so that multiple people could be inside of it at once. It made Lucifer feel more like he was taking a moment to himself and less like he was hovering over the toilet so that he didn’t puke. He had spent too much of his pregnancy doing that and he was honestly completely sick of it.

He had reached the bathroom in just the right amount of time, placing his hands down onto the edges of the sink. He leaned down when he felt the next contraction beginning to curl around his spine and travel throughout his hips. It had been happening more and more frequently the longer that the meeting continued, to the point where he wasn’t sure that he was actually going to make it to the end. The cool porcelain against his head alleviated the fever caused by the pain when he first set it down, and the proximity to the floor muffled the sounds of his moans while he worked through the pain.

It was all so overwhelming that he barely even processed the sound of the door opening behind him and only clocked it when he heard his eldest ask, “Dad? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he mumbled as he straightened himself out. “Just tough being in the last stretch of things, needed to take a moment to myself. Should we get back to the meeting?”

“I… I don’t think that everything is okay, if I’m allowed to say that,” Ozzie replied. The Ram and Bull in his hair were sharing the same concern that he was, both of them locked onto

“You’re allowed to speak your mind, Oz,” Lucifer reminded him. He knew that Lilith had instilled a need for respect in their children when they were raising them, to try and teach them the hierarchy of Hell. Unfortunately, it meant that the relationship that they had with them now was a little stilted and awkward. Again, he wished that he could go back and change it so that he had the kind of loving fondness from his children that the imps had with each other back then.

Ozzie stepped forward and placed one of his hands down on his father’s shoulder, “Dad, you don’t look good at all. You look like you haven’t slept in weeks and I saw you wincing when you were in the meeting. Do you need to go back to your room and rest? Maybe the baby’s coming.”

He had struck the nail on the head because of course he had. If anyone knew Lucifer, it was his children. They were going to be able to see past the walls that he was trying to put up around himself to protect them and him in an instant. He recoiled back from the touch of his son and then gave a big, boisterous laugh. “I’m not in labor, Oz.”

“I think that you are.”

He scoffed, imitating Lilith simply so that he could get back to the meeting and end it as soon as possible. He knew that his baby was coming and he didn’t want to be actively giving birth in front of all his friends and family. “I’ve given birth twice, I know what it looks like,” he said as he pushed his way out of the bathroom.

He was glad that the door was between them now because he was already being overcome with another contraction. He forced one leg forward, and then the other, until he was finally back in the meeting room. The smell once again invaded his senses and made him feel absolutely sick to his stomach. He dealt with it well as he returned to his seat and brought up the last topic that they had been discussing.

It was harder to focus the second time, maybe because he had let himself think about the pain and actually feel it. Still, he was able to power through so that he was asking questions about proposals and vetoing things that would infringe on other deals that they had made in their time ruling Hell. He only went quiet when he felt something beginning to leak out of him. He knew the feeling in a slightly different way since the last time his water had broken, most of the amniotic fluid had come out at once. Apparently this baby was laying a bit closer to his cervix because now his water was breaking in the slowest trickle known to man.

Finally, finally, Lilith stood and said, “Thank you all so much for coming to this meeting and getting so much done. I trust that you will be able to find a safe way home and keep up the good work.”

Each of the sins chatted with each other for a while, catching up on the things that they had missed. Lucifer had his hands resting on the top of his thighs and was clenching the fabric so hard he was sure that he had ripped it despite the treatments it had gotten to be tougher. The pain was unbearable and almost his entire lower half and chair were soaked through with the amniotic fluid from the baby.

He tilted his head up just in time to see Ozzie and Satan talking with each other. They glanced his way and then walked over to him, Satan giving him a nervous smile. “Hey, Dad,” she greeted quietly. Despite her temper and power, she had always been quiet and hesitant when she was talking to people. She had never shown that towards him, though, so he felt like he was breaking even further than he had before.

“Hey, sweetie,” he replied with a strained smile. He wanted to talk to her, he wanted to have both of his children in the safety of his home so that he could feel whole again. Lucifer knew that he would have moments where that hollow feeling returned, but they always felt so much less when it was just the depression instead of the desperate missing of his children on top of that.

He felt Lilith move to stand behind him. He was always aware of where she was when they were in the same room together, his magical senses tuned into her own magic and her presence in general. She placed a hand down on her shoulder and he could almost hear that sickening smile spreading across her face as she said, “I think that it’s about time that non-family members go home. I would like to be able to spend some time with my husband and our child.”

He opened his mouth to tell his children that they were included in the family and he wanted them to stay. He wanted to tell them that the baby was coming and they needed to be there so that they could meet their sibling during their first couple minutes of life, but he was wracked with a pain before he had the chance. He had to place his hand down on the underside of his bump and the other on his pant leg as he tried to force himself to breath through the massive amounts of pressure that were plaguing him.

Soon, each Sin opened a portal and stepped through them back to their own realms. Usually they had a get together of some kind back at Bee’s ring since she loved throwing parties and getting them to indulge in their favorite things. This time, though, the meeting had gone on too long for any of them to want to spend more time together. So they each returned back to the rings that they felt most comfortable in and then Lucifer was left alone.

He felt humiliated as he rose to his feet with a small squelch. The water had created a pool on the seat that he had been sitting on before, but yet there was still more running down his legs and onto the floor. “Lilith, my water broke. I need to be checked by the doctor so that we can make sure the labor is progressing normally. May I please go back to our room?”

“No, you’re going to the birthing suite that I picked out for you. I won’t have you oozing blood and all other manner of fluids onto the mattress that I have to sleep on,” she replied with a click of her tongue. Her nose was wrinkled in disgust, the same way that it had been in the garden when she found out about the poisonous mushrooms. Back then, Lucifer had thought that it was cute that she was already so judgemental of things that had just been created. Now, he knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of her ire and he couldn’t help but feel bad for the poor fungi that she had spent hours sneering at.”

“Alright, fine,” he managed. He had wanted to give birth in his own bed, or at least his own room. He knew that he wouldn’t have managed to push his newest child out while in an reclined position, he was going to need all the help that gravity could give him. His room would have the things that comforted him, like his desk and workbench and the things that smelled of him and his wife. At this point in his labor, after a grueling eight hours spent trying to hide his contractions from his friends and family, he didn’t have the energy to argue with her.

He waddled from the room in the direction of the private suites, hoping that she would follow after him so that he would at least know where he was going to be delivering their daughter. He also wanted her present, wanted the support that he knew she could give when she was in the mood. He had never had the other parent of his child present when he was giving birth. In Heaven that was because his baby had been a secret, and in the caravan the space was too small and the father unconfirmed. Lucifer turned to look back at the space he had left once he got about three yards down the hall and saw that Lilith was nowhere in sight.

His heart aching as bad as his belly, he continued down the hall. He peaked into every single room that he passed once he was out of the meeting hallway. He eventually managed to find the room that was stocked for his delivery. The bed was narrow and had an uncomfortable waterproof mattress on it, along with a mattress covering sheet. There was a massive set of cupboards that contained a number of medical tools in case something went wrong and a sink to wash the baby, the little bathtub already placed inside.

Lucifer sniffled as he rang the bell that was labeled ‘in case of labor’ and then began to chance. He found a robe, thankfully, in one of the drawers and then wrapped it around his body. It would give the doctor easy access to check how dilated he was but wasn’t constrictive around his chest or belly to make up for the space at his legs.

By the time that the door opened and the hospital doctor entered, He was already bent over the bed and moaning with the pain. He had never had to endure such a long labor before, he didn’t know what he had done wrong to deserve that much anguish when all he wanted to do was bring his child into the world.

“Your Majesty, I must insist that you get up into the bed so that I can inspect you properly,” the doctor informed him. There was no greeting, no excitement about the baby that they were going to be able to meet. It was cold and clinical, which is what all of his appointments had been with the physician that his wife had hired to handle his health when they started trying for a baby.

“I don’t think that I can move at the moment,” he gasped out. His entire stomach was in a vice and it felt as though it was trying to squeeze everything inside of him out. He could barely even breathe through the pain, the only way his body let him draw in air was so that he could moan in anguish when the next wave hit him.

“I must insist,” the doctor replied. They looked similar to Bel, squat and goat-like with soft pink fur. It was reassuring to know that the person that was going to be caring for him was a demon and not a sinner, since he still didn’t trust the people that had fallen to Hell when they had used their free will to hurt people. He knew some of them were good, such as his wife whose only crime had simply been trying to choose her own destiny instead of following what God demanded of her.

The pain eventually left him and he was able to turn and get on the bed. He put the pads of his feet together and then raised them up so that his heels were pressed against his bum. It opened up his pelvis so that the baby sat more comfortably inside of him for the present moment. “I do wish that you had called me sooner, it was incredibly irresponsible of you to sit through that entire meeting when you knew that you were in labor,” the doctor chided.

“I had to get it done,” Lucifer breathed. He knew that throwing his wife under the bus was only going to get him in more trouble. It was better to take accountability for something that she had done than try to explain what had actually happened.

“I suppose so, but you put the child at risk. What would you have done if you were more than eight centimeters dilated when I finally came to check you?” the doctor asked as he pulled his hand from Lucifer’s vagina.

Eight centimeters felt like a death sentence. He knew that he only had two more to go before he was fully dilated and would finally be able to start pushing, but he had already been in labor for so long. He didn’t want to have to wait a single moment more to meet his baby and finally be freed form the anguish that was childbirth. He let out a shaky breath and let his head fall back against the uncomfortable bed.

Once he had recovered from the emotional turmoil, helped by the pain and hindered by it at the same time, he moved to get off of the bed. “What do you think that you’re doing?”

“I’m going to get up and pace,” Lucifer replied. “It helped speed my labor along with the other two and I want this baby out.”

“You don’t get to make such decisions,” the doctor shook their head.

“What do you mean I don’t get to make those decisions? I’m the patient and the King of Hell!” Lucifer would have flared into his demon form if he had not been wracked with another contraction. His nails dug into the mattress protector over the pad and ripped some of the fabric with the force. He was glad that he hadn’t had claws when he was in Heaven or he would have had a lot of explaining to do when the cherubs found the sheets that Bel had taken from him.

“You’re currently carrying the Heir to Hell and Queen Lilith’s first child, which means that your body is not entirely your own. I have been given the legal right to order you what to do as this counts as a medical emergency,” the doctor informed him plainly. “Now I suggest that you return to the bed and lay still.”

Lucifer was seething with frustrated rage. He knew that there was a clause in the charter that stated members of the royal family and the Counsel of Sins could give medical privileges over to certain demons during emergencies, he had put it in there himself. It was supposed to be for moments when himself or another Sin was so out of their mind with sickness that they wouldn’t be able to make good decisions. It wasn’t meant to be used against him when he was giving birth to his third child, he knew what he was doing and was in his mind enough to not do anything stupid.

That wasn’t his choice anymore, he realized. In her desperation for control over her life, Lilith had become the very thing that she had run from all those years ago. She was demanding things of him that he wasn’t comfortable with, like carrying a child when he had so many responsibilities as the king that she wouldn’t take for herself and giving birth with someone that he wasn’t comfortable with in a room that was not his own. She had become Adam and God wrapped up in one, a woman that promised him the world only to provide him with nothing but pain.

He stayed on the bed like he had been told to. The pain of the contractions centered mostly in his back now, each one pressing the child against his spine and hips painfully. He wasn’t even permitted to get onto his knees or to squat with his hands on the bedframe, he was told that he had to lay supine on the bed with the doctor checking his progression every ten minutes, sometimes without warning or permission.

After what felt like another long eight hours, the doctor snapped off his glove and said, “Congratulations, Your Majesty. You’re finally far enough along to push. Now, I want you to take each of your knees into your hands like this and bend forward each time you push. Make sure not to make any noise, all of the energy needs to go down to the delivery of the baby.”

Lucifer wanted to argue with that. He wasn’t sure that he could make it through his contractions with absolutely no pain relief and no sound. He knew that giving opium to laboring people was standard on Earth, so part of his mind longed for the drug even though he knew it wouldn’t do anything for him. His body had a strong constitution, enough so that he couldn’t even get drunk without consuming three times the amount that would kill the common person.

He did as the doctor told him, reaching down to his knees. His hands were sweaty as he pulled the material of his robe back so that it fell in folds around his hips. He kept his feet somewhat down on the bed so that he had something to stabilize him. He could feel the way that the position was opening him up, but he couldn’t help but think that being on the edge of the bed or even squatting on it would be a better way to do the process entirely.

When the next contraction came, he bored own as hard as he could. His spine curved due to the position that he was in, his chin hitting his chest. He kept the noises as far down in his throat as he could despite the pain that was wracking his frame. When the contraction finally ended, he collapsed back into the bed and let out a panted breath that he had been holding while pushing.

“Is that really all you’ve got? I thought that you were supposed to be the great King of Hell,” the doctor nearly sneered.

“I’ve been in labor for almost twelve hours and I barely slept last night, I’m tired,” Lucifer bemoaned. He knew that Alafair and Bel never would have treated him this way, especially not after a couple pushes. When he had gotten to that stage in his delivery before, it had taken at least twenty minutes of pushing before the head was born and he had been doing this for only five.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re tired, this is the way that your baby needs to come out into the world. Now push,” the doctor commanded.

Lucifer did as he was told, despite the rage that was running through him. He wanted someone to speak tenderly to him, to wipe the sweat from his hair and hold his hand each time he pushed. He had another being in the room with him while he was giving birth and yet he felt more alone than he had when he was giving birth to Ozzie. He almost wanted the entire thing to never have happened in the first place, to settle with the two children that he had down in Hell and not focus on the idea of having the happy family he had always dreamed of.

It was far too late for that now, though, so he kept pushing. He strained and screamed when the head began to crowd, unused to the stretching and burning pain that came with it. He had prepared himself with certain exercises before he’d had Satan and had been in too much shock to feel it with Ozzie, but now he could feel every nerve in his vaginal opening screaming due to the stretch.

“None of that now, my liege,” the doctor replied with a dismissive wave of their hand.

“I’m going to rip you apart with my bare hands,” Lucifer informed him. Despite the pain that he was facing due to the baby crowning, he hefted himself onto his knees. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to continue to birth his baby while on his back, not without one or both of them being killed in the process. He placed both of his hands a shoulder width apart and his knees on either edge of the uncomfortable bed, giving the baby plenty of room to move. He pushed and screamed and grunted with each contraction until the baby’s head and been born from him.

“This is entirely uncouth,” the doctor complained as he ran his fingers around the baby’s neck to check for the cord. “I must insist that you change position this instant so that I may catch the baby properly.”

“You can do it like this,” Lucifer snarled back in reply. He was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to snuggle up with his baby, even if it meant waking up to experience the full brunt of postpartum pain without the easing he had gotten with Satan from staying up for longer after her birth.

He huffed for a contraction before he pushed again, regaining some of his strength from the long stretch he had done before. He felt the widest part of the shoulders begin to crown before the baby slipped down into the waiting hands of the doctor. As soon as he knew that all of her had emerged from him, he collapsed down onto the bed and slowly turned around, careful of the cord that was still attached to him.

The little girl was cradled in the gloved hands of the doctor, covered in silver-white vernix and golden ichor from the tear that she had made while being born. Her skin was pale under the mess but he could already see the distinctive cat-like nose from Lilith and red cheek markings from him. She was screaming as she balled and released her fists, kicking her little legs with distaste.

The doctor placed her down on the edge of the bed and then clamped the cord in two places before he cut it and then turned away to the basin in the sink. Lucifer craned his head in the hopes that he would be able to see his baby, but it was obfuscated by the doctor. He had never given birth or seen a birth in which both the parent and child were healthy where there was no immediate skin-to-skin contact and he was beginning to worry for the health of his baby.

He watched the doctor clean the newborn and then lay her down on the counter. The clamp on the cord got changed out for a tiny string that would keep it closed by not get in the way of her movements. She was placed into a diaper, the pin shining pretty purple against the soft white material. He could see more what was being done now, so settled against the bed in his exhaustion so that he could supervise.

Adrenaline rushed through his body when he saw the doctor prick the bottom of her foot to get some blood before it was placed into a test tube. “Don’t do that to her yet, she’s barely even eaten!” Lucifer shouted. He wanted his baby properly in his arms so that she could eat her first meal and the two of them could bond.

“I am simply doing what is best for the royal heir,” the doctor replied as they continued to run the tests on the baby. He then dressed her in a black onesie that looked like something that Lucifer had seen Lilith receive at the baby shower she had thrown for herself, despite him being the one that was pregnant. When the babe was wrapped up in her blanket, Lucifer held his hands out for her but was passed by as the doctor lowered her down into a warming bassinet in the corner. “You need to deliver the afterbirth, Your Majesty.”

“I want to hold my baby first. It will help it come away if my body knows that she is here,” he tried to explain. He knew that there was some kind of component to the skin-to-skin contact that he got after his deliveries that had let his body know what had happened, even if he wasn’t knowledgeable enough about the medical field to be sure what that was.

“You will deliver the afterbirth,” the doctor said. He put on a new pair of gloves and then pressed his hand on Lucifer’s stomach, pushing the sore muscles in a downward motion while pulling on the cord that was hanging limply from him with the clamp on the other end. The Morningstar let out a gasp of pain and writhed on the bed while his body suddenly began to contract. The afterbirth came away in a big, bloody heap that the doctor placed into a bowl and examined.

“Congratulations on the daughter, Your Majesty. I trust that you can get yourself in a state of repair on your own,” the doctor gave a half bow and then picked up his daughter. She began to squeal for her meal, the cry of a baby that was hungry and upset at being handled in a way that she didn’t like.

Lucifer was in such shock that he barely even managed to reach for her. He was left laying on the bed, exhausted and covered in the fluids that came with birth, with absolutely no one to help him. His baby wasn’t even in the room any more and he didn’t know what he had done to forsake Lilith in a way that would cause her to take his child away so soon after delivery.

He knew that he wouldn’t be able to search the entire castle as he tried to find her, so he simply rolled himself off the bed and searched through the drawers and cupboards hidden in the room. He found another washcloth and used that to remove the gunk and sweat from on and between his legs, before he placed the period garments he had found next to the cloth onto him to track his bleeding. He washed off the rest of him with the edges of the cloth that weren’t covered in fluids. His robe was ruined, so he shed that onto the floor with his clothing from earlier.

He walked slowly through the halls of his home with his hand hovering over his stomach, soft and devoid of the baby that he had grown attached to despite his brain fog. He found an unused room and collapsed down onto the soft sheets to sleep away the remainder of his exhaustion with the determination that he would find his daughter and wife in the morning, no matter what.

---

He didn’t get what he wanted, he never did. A nursemaid found him and brought him to a recovery room down the hall from his actual bedroom. She checked over his wounds and then bound his chest. He took epsom salts to stop any milk production as Lilith had apparently determined that she wanted her daughter to be fed with the best that science could give them, even if what Lucifer produced had given them two healthy children beforehand.

He was a month post partum, not that he had really noticed any of that time passing him by. Each day he rose, ate breakfast alone, filled out the paperwork and read the minutes from the meetings he had missed, and then returned to bed after dinner. He barely slept at night and longed for it during the day. He sat near the door when he ran out of work and simply listened for crying, or cooing, or gurgling, or any noise that would let him know that his new darling daughter was alright.

Lilith came to visit him only when she was bringing him a special task. Eventually, she appeared at his door with a bundle of yellow in her arms. She asked, “Do you want to hold her?”

“I’ve wanted to hold her since I birthed her, Lilith,” he replied hoarsely. He hardly felt like himself and it was hard to be compassionate when his baby was so close to him and yet so far.

“Don’t be silly, Lucifer. You’ve gotten to hold her for the past nine months, so I thought that it was only fitting that she get to know me for her first couple weeks of life. It’s very important that she use this time to bond, after all,” Lilith replied. She stepped elegantly and gracefully into the parlor and then set the baby down in his arms.

He felt his breath catch in his throat when he looked down at the baby and barely recognized her. The features were still the same, but she had obviously aged and developed far more than he thought she would have in the time that she was gone. He began to worry that he had been locked away for longer than he thought that he had, before he reminded himself that he had to take this time to appreciate his baby since he wouldn’t get much time elsewhere.

He brushed his hands over her forehead and then leaned down to kiss her. She smelled like Lilith, the sweet scent of flowers and the gentle cardamom of her perfume. She used to smell like him, when she was drenched in the ichor from his body after she was born. Lucifer realized then, with a crippling bout of agony coming straight from his heart, that she was no longer his daughter. Perhaps she never had been, since Lilith had been the one asking for her the entire time they were discussing their family. She had all of his features taken from him, left with only the two red spots on her cheeks that might fade with time.

“What did you name her?” Lucifer asked.

“Charlotte,” Lilith replied as she leaned down and picked her baby back up. She kissed over the spot that Lucifer had, her dark lipstick smearing on the baby’s face. The little one began to cry and Lucifer felt like he was dying because he couldn’t quite recognize what was wrong with her from only that sound. He watched in near abject horror as Lilith turned and walked from the room again, leaving him alone.

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bengiyo · 1 year

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I Told Sunset About You Rewatch Ep 3 Stray Thoughts

It's time for the tension episode. This is where things come to a head. Let's just go.

This boy really liked Oh-aew so much that it rewired his sense of smell. It's really incredible how much Billkin was willing to be unattractive in this show. This team understood that to be truly beautiful, there needs to be a little ugly.

I'm really glad they took time for us to see Teh thank Hoon for the plane ticket.

I forgot we started with Oh-aew in the tub. The girlies were not ready.

Of course Teh is up at 4 am for Oh, but he wouldn't get up for Tarn. That poor girl. Look at Tuty in the background watching this gay shit go down.

Teh asking Tarn to go off with his friends while they all watch silently from behind the screen is still one of the best scenes in the e fire show. Will also never get over PP making Billkin cry for accidentally hitting him too hard during the horseplay.

See, even Tarn knows that Teh is making exceptions for Oh he wouldn't make for her.

They just love letting Billkin play Teh being awkward. The cut to Oh falling behind Bas? Incredible. Bas always knew what was going on and was so powerless to do anything about it.

Teh is actively flirting and confusing everyone!

"I'll be with Bas, then," but looks directly at Teh? Both of these boys need to stop using Tarn and Bas as a way to one-up each other.

This going back and forth between them, Oh-aew? Heart wrenching.

Truly, how much money have PP and Billkin made from Lays because of this scene on the deck?

Poor Bas. Puts his heart out there and gets crushed. Oh knew what agreeing to that New Year's date would mean. At least be has enough class to let Bad down.

This couch scene is great because it almost feels like it could be from a multi-cam sitcom.

Hammock scene my beloved. Oh-aew is so brave. He breaks the subtext of all of their interactions and pushes Teh directly. Lets him know as they're literally on top of each other that Teh is the source of his confusion about Bas. He asks Teh the question in a way that doesn't let him deny it. Teh knows it's coming and pretends like he doesn't. "I think you know. You really don't? But I think you do. Or you really don't? But I do think you know?" Teh can't help but ask, "Since when?" And can only answer "I don't know." And admit his desire for closeness when Oh leans forward and pushes.

And now Skyline. It's out in the open now. They may not have moved much, but everything shifted.

Oh, Tarn. I need you and Bas to get a scene like Lennier and Vir in Babylon 5 where they commiserate about Delenn and Londo.

Oh shit Teh is wearing the shirt. It's about to go down.

I get it, Teh. Oh-aew is just so alluring. This man is on the floor inhaling the paper. Mess of his face. He is so gone.

Skyline really is undefeated. The amount of control Oh exerts over Teh with just his presence is just so incredible to watch even still three years later.

"Why do you have to think so hard about it? Forget about it. Do whatever you feel like. There's no need for an answer, if there's no answer." This is what I'm saying!! We get so caught up in the warring over labels. They're just tools to help us think about ourselves. Oh knows intrinsically that these two are drawn to each other and it's stronger than what he's ever felt for Bas. That feeling is what matters. He offers Teh the time and patience of "secret" to let him figure it out. You can see Teh instantly relax at that and try to fall back into the flirtatious studying they've been doing.

Man, what is it about Teh? If Teh tells him he can't quit, Oh always finds a way to dig deeper.

Jesus, Skyline remains undefeated.

"As promised." It gets me every time.

I tell ya. It's always queer boys and their moms.

I don't know what went wrong with the original translation scene or the final scene from this episode when they were in post, but what we got was so good from the reshoots that I legit never want to see the discarded takes.

I still can't believe they filmed this while surrounded by tourists. The translation scene is still my favorite confession in BL. Oh knew what was happening. He knows Teh is flirting through these Chinese lessons. It's absolutely incredible. It's just so much. Teh connected the series that helped him find his purpose to his feelings for Oh. Just omg.

That's right, Tuty! Regulate!! You can smell the sexual energy! Don't let nothing gay happen on your watch!!!

Notice that the leg touching begins as soon as Tuty leaves? She lost focus and now look at us.

Oh is so careful, he mentions being tired from walking before touching Teh's leg. He's giving Teh another way to ease in by framing it as normal help. But the score knows. Oh's hand on the inside of his thigh knows.

Oh's shirt literally says sunset, and Teh is wearing the branded shirt. They wanted us to know how this was really the climactic moment of the show. That's where his head is still at.

JFC Teh pushing Oh's face to say he's not ready for that. Look. I need to pause for this one. So many of my young encounters did not begin with or ever involve kissing. It's just too much. We can rub each other's legs and grope all night, but there's something about kissing when you're in the closet that makes it too much. Oh made it clear it's what he wanted, Teh couldn't give it to him, but they can still touch.

"What if there are two male protagonists?" I was holding my breath at this point in 2020.

It's the way Teh can't stop moving as he pulls Oh onto his chest. He just can't stop touching. The breathing gets heavy. We know where this is going. And then he stops at Oh's chest and the spell is broken.

The hot, bothered, and devastated look on Oh's face is the most impressive single expression I've seen in all of BL.

The silence at the end is deafening, and then we go into PP singing Skyline? I remember this week breaking us.

What an incredible episode. All of the games. All of the rituals. All of the safety valves. All of the blinders. All of it just to have Teh bail in the moment because he faced the physical reality that Oh wasn't a woman. He once again made Oh think he wasn't enough after pouring it on thick all episode. Goddamn.

#i told sunset about you #thai bl #bl series #itsay meta #Ben watches

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pianokantzart · 1 year

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Small Shadows (Part 1)

Daisy takes Luigi on an outing with the intention of teaching him to fight, but as it turns out their approach to training, their approach to friendships, and their outlook on the world couldn't be more different. In the process, Daisy accidentally brings to the surface some of Luigi's deep-seated insecurities.

(A scene that takes place at some point after the first Mario movie, smack dab in the center of a different overarching plot that I have no intention of writing. This scene is the only one that I have fleshed out in my head. I mostly wanted an excuse to play with the concept of Movie-Verse Daisy.)

Available on A03: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47310646/chapters/119211211

_____________________________________________

Night had fallen over Sarasaland, the unrelenting heat of the Birabuto Desert dissappearing into ice cold of sand and stone as the sun sank over the skyline. The civilians lit their lamps and took to the streets, the growing darkness doing little to dissuade the excitement of the bustling city. Waddling goombas and black-shelled koopas hurried about with more an air of frivolous fun than they did during the business hours now that the oppressive heat of afternoon had long abandoned the earth. Princess Daisy weaved through the crowd, ducking out of the main streets and down into the far less crowded byways with Luigi in tow.

When the princess had pulled Luigi aside and asked him if he wanted to do some training, he, perhaps against his better judgment, agreed. He barely had enough time to let Toad know where he was going before he was dragged out into the night. In truth, Luigi would've rather gone to bed. He was tired from the long journey, but that journey had been fraught with mistakes… stupid mistakes that he couldn’t afford to keep making. Of course, his brother and friends had his back with every step (and misstep) of the way. Mario had faith in him, Peach had seemingly limitless patience, and even Toad respected his willingness to come along, but nobody couldn’t deny that Luigi had some catching up to do.

So, of course, it came as a great surprise when Princess Daisy, renowned for her fighting skills worlds over, offered to train him one-on-one. He would've been an idiot to say no, he only wished he had a chance to explain where he was going to Mario before accepting the offer. His big brother had been averse to separating ever since he first saved him from Bowser, even for a few hours. Luigi could only hope that Toad's word would be enough to convince Mario to get some much-needed sleep in his absence.

Luigi huffed and puffed as he struggled to keep up with the princess– dashing up and down steep stone steps, diving into narrow passages, and ducking under clotheslines. He assumed they were heading toward an obstacle course, like the ones he had practiced on back in The Mushroom Kingdom, so he was surprised when their journey ended at the entrance of a dingy bar, carved into a stone wall off the beaten path. The windows emanated a golden light, a musty smell, and the sound of uproarious laughter. Before Luigi could ask any questions Daisy kicked open the heavy door. And Luigi, after pausing in a moment of anxious confusion, felt little choice but to follow her inside.

While the streets were filled with the more common residents of the region, this bar was packed with well-built warriors from all across Sarasaland; insects and arachnids, strange reptiles both winged and earthbound, and strange sentient faces made all of stone, all at least a head taller than their dainty ruler. The moment she burst in they all perked up to greet her, cheering as they lifted their glass. “Aaaye! Princess Daisy!” Daisy stepped proudly through the crowd, greeting old friends with a frenetic glee, passing around high fives and fist bumps as the group cleared a path for her. “Tiko! Looking good bud!… Frang! That scar’s healing up nicely!… Morgrus! How did the hunt go?”

“Knocked seven pokeys and twelve firesnakes from the main road!” answered a spine-covered spider, pointing to a large burn on one of its eight legs as he flexed, “Check it out!” “Ha! That’s gnarly man!” Daisy rushed over to give Morgrus a noogie, momentarily leaving Luigi isolated in the center of the room. Up until now he had made an effort to go unnoticed, Princess Daisy’s broad skirt making a suitable shield from prying eyes. Now that she was gone he could see clearly all the gazes fixed upon him, a mix of wide-eyed surprise, squinting suspicion, and belittling amusement.

Luigi kept his hands tucked to his chest. He awkwardly waved to anyone he caught staring, trying to ignore the sensation that his legs were already shaking beneath him. Thankfully, Daisy wasn’t gone long. She soon returned to his side, placing a reassuring hand on the small of his back as she escorted him to the bar at the far end of the room.

A plant rose up from behind the counter– resembling something like a large piranha plant, but instead of having two petals filled with razor-sharp teeth it had four petals forming a toothless maw. It gave something of a grin as it spoke in a hoarse, gravely voice. “Daisy! Long time no see! I take it, you want the usual?” “Torque!!” Daisy leapt up and wrapped her arms around the plant’s stem. Torque bent down to receive the hug, smiling as big as any plant could smile as he was embraced. “Of course I’ll have my usual!” she said, cupping the creature's petaled face for a moment before releasing him, “Double shot, extra acidic!” “And… uh…” a spindly leaf poked up from behind the bar to gesture at Luigi, “… what about you?” Luigi stuttered for a moment, his index finger raised as he searched around some sort of menu. He found nothing. After five agonizing seconds of uncomfortable silence, Daisy spoke up for him: “He’ll have what I’m having!” She hopped up on one of the bar stools with an airy grace. Luigi attempted to mimic her, but his natural clumsiness caused him to stumble off the chair. Daisy reached out with a catlike swiftness, grabbed his overall strap, and pulled him back up on the seat before he fell face-first on the unswept floor. “Torque, meet Luigi!” Daisy introduced, still holding him by the overall strap as she gestured toward the little man in green, “He’s a guest from The Mushroom Kingdom! He’s one of the ones who defeated Bowser!”

“Ha! Really! You!?” Though Torque was occupied with the kegs at the back of the bar, there was no subtlety in his doubt. Luigi couldn’t really blame him. “Well, my brother Mario and I used the power of The Superstar–”

“Aaah, that explains it.” The plant chuckled as he poured a frothy liquid into two large stoneware mugs, his tangled vines sliding them across the bar. Daisy picked up both drinks, and pressed the fuller of the two into Luigi’s chest.

“Bottoms up little guy! Let’s get some liquid courage in ya’!” Luigi smiled awkwardly at his host, then inspected the drink. It looked like beer, but it smelled floral. Taking a tentative sip, he found it tasted floral too. It was like drinking the smell of a summer garden, but it burned the whole way down.

While he continued taking dainty little sips, wincing with every swallow, Daisy started up conversation with the barplant. “Has a fight happened yet?”

“Not yet.” Torque laughed, taking up a rag and cleaning an unused mug, “But I’d bet money that we’re going to get some chaos tonight. The Muda and the Easton Kingdom have been in a bit of a dispute over fishing rights, and if a Gunion shows up… let’s just say this place is going to be in shambles by the time the night’s over.”

Daisy giggled like a schoolgirl, clapping her gloved hands in excitement.

“Perfect! Because the moment things get rough…” She reached over and held Luigi to herself in a tight side-hug, “... this guy is going to join in!” “Wait, really?” “What?!” Luigi asked, sounding twice as surprised as Torque. Daisy released her grip on Luigi, and turned in her seat to address him directly.

“Look, Peach’s little training regimes and obstacle courses are cute, but what you need is real experience! Nothing better to sharpen your reflexes than a good old-fashioned drunken brawl!”

“Haha, wow.” Luigi forced a laugh, unable to hide his apprehension at the idea. “Sound like fun… but jeeze, y’know, maybe you should do all the fighting, and I can just… hang back and takes notes.”

“Oh, Don’t be like that Lu Lu!” Daisy laughed. She rubbed the top of his head so hard his hat was pushed down over his eyes, “If you don’t start taking initiative, you’re gonna be in your brother’s shadow your entire life.”

Luigi pulled his hat off his eyes, revealing an annoyed look as he adjusted its brim. “Well, what’s wrong with being in someone’s shadow?”

“Because those guys are the first to be left behind.”

Luigi was set aback by this. Putting down his drink, he braced a hand against his chest and began rubbing the back of his neck. Daisy sounded completely matter-of-fact in her statement, swishing the contents of her mug around as she continued, “Sure, Mario may have pumped the brakes for your sake when you two were nothing but nobodies, but that’s not gonna keep happening! Now that he’s getting hailed as a hero, do you really think he’s going to keep letting himself be slowed down?”

“... I'm slowing him down?” Daisy failed to notice how hurt Luigi sounded, she was too interested in surveying the surrounding crowd for signs of rising tension, for the inevitable fight she so longed for.

“You’re lagging behind the team Lu Lu, I can see it!” Daisy answered cheerfully, “On the battlefield there is no better partner than Peach, and Toad’s proven he makes good backup– not an ounce of fear in those beady black eyes! Peach, Toad, and Mario… they make a great trio, don’t they? Why should they make room for a fourth? Huh? Why shouldn’t they leave you behind?”

Luigi didn’t answer. His shoulder’s hunched, he looked down at his reflection in the polished countertop. “I-” was all he managed when his voice violently cracked. He braced his elbows against the bar and shielded his face with his hands, trying desperately to compose himself as an unwanted urge to cry came over him. "No no no. Come on, get it together. Not here. Don't look stupider than you already do."

Hearing the tears in his voice, Daisy turned her full attention back to Luigi. Seeing his demeanor, she grew confused. She knew that the little guy was emotional– she liked that emotion! It showed a love of life and a determination to survive, but she didn’t expect it to overcome him at a time like this. Feeling a strange pang of what she could only describe as regret, she reached over… gently at first, as though she wanted to gingerly pat Luigi’s head… but suddenly changed course at the last moment to take hold of the handle of Luigi’s mug, and press it unceremoniously to his lips with enough force to tip his head back.

“Hey, easy there! Here, take another swig, get the edge off!” Luigi almost choked as he was manhandled into downing the drink, his head buzzing slightly as he swallowed a large mouthful. Coughing, he pushed the mug away as Daisy continued with added determination: “I only say these things because I like you! I think you’ve got every chance to be just as good as Mario! If we work hard enough at it, you might even be better than him before you know it!”

Luigi climbed down from the barstool, the alcohol hitting his system dulling his overheightened impulse control as he turned to the princess and finally talked back, even daring to raise his voice.

“Better? What do you mean better? I don’t want to be better than him,” he said sternly, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

Daisy stared down at Luigi with a frown, looking more confused than upset. “...Why not?”

“I– I…” Luig stuttered. He fidgeted with his cap as he tried to gather his thoughts. “It’s not that I don’t want to be strong for him. But Daisy… there’s more to who a person is than who they’re able to beat. Not everything is a competition you know.”

Daisy laughed heartily at this, toasting her mug toward Luigi in admiration of his “joke.” “Good one Lu Lu!”

Luigi sighed. He dejectedly rubbed his arm, then turned away, heading toward the door.

“Thanks for the drink Daisy, but I think this was mistake.”

“Aw c’mon! Don’t be a quitter!” Daisy called after, “You can’t keep going like this ya’ goofball! You can't spend your whole life running away!”

Luigi turned his head to say something back, but in the two seconds he wasn’t paying attention he walked directly into someone. He felt a drink drench him as he fell backward, a half-empty mug clattering to the floor next to him.

“Hey!” A gruff voice yelled out, and Luigi had barely enough time to recover his bearings when he felt the scaly coils wrap around his arms, pinning them to his side. Forced to his feet, he found himself face-to-face with a giant serpent, its nostrils blazing with a heat that curled the hairs of his mustache.

“Watch where yer’ going, runt!”

“So sorry!” Luigi whined, squeezing his eyes shut. He felt his heart thudding against his chest. The immobilizing grip, the heat, and the dry scales, all bringing back the worst of memories. He struggled, but with every motion the coils seemed to only constrict tighter around him.

“‘Sorry’ don't do nothin.” The serpent raised Luigi a few inches off the ground, giving him a firm shake, spurts of flame jutting out from between his teeth, “Yer’ gonna buy me a new drink, ain’t ya?”

“Yes! Yeah yeah yeah, I can do that!” Luigi gasped out, struggling to draw breath. Through the fog of fear and oxygen deprivation, he remembered he left all his stuff back at Daisy’s castle where Mario and the others were staying the night. He had thought he was heading to an obstacle course– he didn’t think he’d need money. “I… will need to go back to my room to get my wallet though. If you just wait here– ACK!” Luigi wheezed as the coils gave him a sharp squeeze, threatening to crack his ribs for a moment before loosening just enough to allow him to take shallow breaths.

“Ya’ think I’m stupid!?” The serpent sneered, leaning in so close that he was nearly nose-to-nose with his trapped prey, “Do ya’ think I was born yesterday? I know that trick!” “Daisy!” Luigi looked over to the princess, and called out to her with the last bit of air left in him. She was still sitting at the bar, finishing off her drink, seemingly unaware of his situation. “Daisy!” He pleaded again, his voice soft and squeaky as the coils continued to tighten “Please!”

The Princess looked up, but her expression didn’t indicate any sort of worry, rather there was an undeniable spark of excitement in her eyes, a broad grin spreading across her face as she slammed her mug against the countertop with enough force to shatter it, and started pounding her fists upon the bar in a steady rhythm. “Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!” she chanted. The rest of the bar steadily joined in, their attention drawn to the altercation. Dozens of fists slammed down against tables to join Daisy’s drum beat, the words “Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!” filling the air, shouted by every patron.

Luigi looked at his attacker with redoubled terror. The serpent’s angry expression was replaced with a jagged, confident grin as he tossed Luigi in the air, and slammed him back down on the nearest table, breaking it in half. A cheer rang out, and from there every manner of furniture was toppled or broken, mugs and glasses shattered as everyone in the establishment threw themselves into the fray, the night erupting into chaos as the shadowy bar in the back alley echoed out with war cries and exchanged blows.

#My Writing #Fanfic #Super Mario Brothers #Mario Movie #princess daisy #I just want her to be unhinged and socially awkward #Also giving Luigi his own 'you're bringing your brother down with you' moment #and Mario's gonna have some things to say about THAT in the next chapter #Mario #Luigi #mario fanfic

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