#this should give me more ideas for her ��host” design | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

thoughtsfromlayla · 1 year ago

Text

Love and Loss

Summary: Despite being married for centuries, the two lovers have yet to produce an heir. Desperate for a child, she makes a deal with Phanes, God of Life, unbeknownst to her that motherhood has its own complications much like love and marriage. Now she must find a way to save both her child and her love.

Notes: ~11k words, only lightly edited... so yeah. Also, this is my first time posting any of my writing so I'm nervous as fuuuuck. I keep switching between past and present tense but I think I caught them all but idk. Let me know if I miss any tags or warnings! (There's so many plot holes but shhhh)

Warnings: MDNI - 18+ content, one use of Y/N but written in 3rd person, Reader has a "name" that's only used twice, pregnancy, loss of pregnancy, metaphorical use of surrogation, usage of miscarriage themes, jealousy, P in V, oral (F! receiving), unprotected sex, jealous Dream but that's to be expected really, regency-esque, diverges from cannon

Main Masterlist || Series Masterlist

================================================

Despite having been in the Dreaming for so long, its frigid air was something she could never get used to. The temperature always fixed itself somewhere between an unheated house on a winter’s day and a spring day in the shade. Despite her title in the realm, she always felt like a child walking to the kitchen late at night to grab a snack whenever she meanders into the great hall.

The castle of the Dreaming was her home, and she was the owner in every right as her husband. A small black cat accompanies her, its green collar and bell jingle with each step in its preppy trot. Her Lady wore simple garments, a dark green dress with slits to match her feline friend. Its light-weight fabric billows around her with a breeze that never seems to stop and some golden jewelry decorated her neck and arms, all gifts from his Lord. She opted to walk barefoot, skin to soil, so as not to hurt her feet necessarily before the upcoming dinner the Dreaming would host later today—the idea her own entirely that her husband agreed to for her sake.

Her legs move her toward the throne room, where she is certain her husband presides. Still, her feet are cold and thus she picks up the pace. Her steps are lighthearted as she prances on her tiptoes, heels dangling from her fingers.

Lord Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, King of the Nightmare Realms, Prince of Stories. She was sure there were more, but if she were to start listing them all in her head, she’d be stuck there all day. Morpheus was as old as humanity itself, perhaps even older. But as she sees him spread out on his throne, the air of authority is never questioned. Age has only made him more intimidating.

Morpheus commands any space he enters. His shadow fills each nook and cranny it seemed fit, aura chilling and distant. Yet he himself was a beautiful creature indeed. His modern form molded himself into a lean body, distinct muscle lines, and a strong jaw. His dark hair always looked tousled as if he had rolled out of bed a mere minute ago, and despite how often she would run her hair through the silky strands, they never behaved as they should have.

“Wife, mine,” Morpheus greets as she nears the bottom of the stairs. “What ails you to seek me out?”

The Lady smiles and gives a small curtsy before she ascends the curved stairs. “Nothing ails me, my lord. Must one have a reason to see her husband?”

Morpheus lets out an entertained breath before opening his arms in invitation. Another graceful smile appears on her lips as she sits comfortably in his lap, his arms encircling her.

“No, I suppose not,” He replies. He watches as she makes herself as comfortable as she can, leaning her head on his shoulder in a way that wouldn’t mess up her hair. The handmaidens would not stop fussing over it if a single strand was out of place from their original design.

“I simply wish to spend some time with you before our feast. I fear that I will be whisked away as I entertain guests for the evening.” She closes her eyes and steadies herself on the patterned breathing of her husband.

“I will stay by your side if you so command it,” Morpheus says. He runs his thumb in circles on her bare shoulder.

“And have everyone afraid to approach me? With your dark and brooding act?” She jests, her eyes opening briefly to look into his.

He can’t help his eyes rolling at her slight tease. “As you wish, my love.”

The two lovers sit for a moment. The sounds of her cat purring and their breaths mingling fill the air. But serenity such as this never lasts long in a castle like theirs. Lucienne comes from a hallway, presumably, the library’s, dressed up as well. Her coat was tailored to fit her body, her shoes freshly shined, and her glasses cleaned.

She gives a curt bow to the two sovereigns. “My lord, my lady,” She addresses. “The guests will be arriving soon.”

“Thank you, Lucienne,” Her lady says. She reluctantly releases herself from the warmth of her husband and uses the throne as a brace to put on her shoes. Her husband’s hand rests on the small of her back to further assist her.

“I will see you very soon, my king,” She says leaning down to peck his cheek before descending the stairs. She looks back once with another smile and then follows Lucienne to greet the arriving guests.

Morpheus’s eyes watch her figure until she turns a corner. He was still underdressed, his day previously preoccupied with trying to find a certain nightmare. He was simply idling on his throne in a simple black attire with his long coat. After all, a king need not worry about how he looks if he commands respect without golden bribes. With a wave of his hand, sand befalls him and covers him like ivy to a broken wall. When they recede he is dawning a tight button-up undershirt and vest, its fabric weaved with intrinsic cloud-like designs. His coat is now replaced with another of a similar shape and design but resembles cotton instead of the original felt. He fastens the raven cufflinks and smooths down his pants before rising from his throne and going to the Dreaming’s castle garden.

When Morpheus enters the gardens he immediately spots his wife at the entrance, standing underneath a pergola of purple wisterias and climbing hydrangeas. The flowers slowly lean towards the goddess as her presence fuels them by simple proximity. Her cat is nowhere to be seen and probably ran off into the gardens after a rodent caught his eye.

Morpheus slides up beside his wife as she greets the last of the guests arriving. He turns his head towards the decorated table and can see a great spread of gods, goddesses, fairies, nymphs, and other mystical creatures that his wife had managed to befriend—the feeling of her arm wrapping around his redirects his attention.

“Shall we, lord husband?” She gives him another one of her smiles and he understands how the hanging flowers feel. How he had ever lived without her before was still a mystery to him. To be him without her, it is like the Earth without its Sun - and he wishes to always feel the gravitational pull of her love.

Morpheus leads them towards the aggregation of guests, all of whom devote their attention to them.

“Beloved guests,” His wife starts speaking in her nectar-like tone, “Despite what is currently happening in the waking world, we are pleased that you could make time and attend this wondrous dinner.”

The goddess pauses for a brief moment as her guests clap in agreement. When they stop, she continues. “The feast is served buffet style, please eat and enjoy yourself to the fullest content. The Dreaming is here for your convenience.”

With her open palm, a long table appears with dishes of all types. Wreaths and fresh flowers decorate any empty space, which is to say, not much. Lambs, beef, and several types of poultry and fish take centerpieces along the table. Fruits, vegetables, and freshly baked bread weave in between the large plates as palate cleansers and small plates appear on the very corners of the table. A satisfied smile appeared on Her Lady’s face as the guests began grabbing food.

As the dust settles and smaller niches of guests start grouping, Morpheus is displeased when his wife leaves his side to mingle amongst the other gods. He watches from the shadows, small fruit plate in hand, glooming as she smiles with her guests. A hand comes up to hide her mouth as she laughs at something Phanes, God of Life, said. Jealousy brews and grows bitter like spoiled milk.

Morpheus stands, ready to come to his wife’s side in hopes of deterring the god, but before he can a nymph comes forward and gives an exaggerated curtsy. He can’t help the slight roll of his eyes as she begins to talk him up. The nymph’s voice carries a small lithe to it and he becomes unfocused, only noticing the movement of his wife’s green dress and Phanes walking off into the hedge labyrinth.

A frown etches itself onto his face. The nymph choosing to ignore the frown finds the courage to lift a mossy hand to caress his coat’s lapel, to which the Endless notices. Morpheus looks down at the nymph, his hand tightly grabbing into her wrist and dropping it away from him.

“Do not presume you may touch me, insolent child.” His voice is deep and grave as his frown deepens.

The nymph’s face contorted into embarrassment as red poppies boom across her cheeks and ears. She briskly walks away, forgetting to curtsy, with her tail tucked between her legs. The forest nymph looks forward to the next time she meets the Dream King, but she does not know that this will be the last time the doors of the Dreaming will open to her.

Dream makes a beeline towards the hedge labyrinth, taking a right turn as he had witnessed his wife doing moments ago. But, as something as lucid as the Dreaming, the labyrinth path twists and turns in new ways each moment. Morpheus turns left and right based on where he could feel his wife’s presence, but seems that she does not want to be found.

As a deity in her own right, should she so command it, she would not be found. Something that the Endless found infuriating at the moment. What could she possibly be doing with Phanes? Did she invite him for a personal reason? Was the dinner event a ruse so she could speak with him without raising any questions? Well, Morpheus surely was starting to ask questions.

Jealously turned into guilt quickly like the crack of a lightning bolt. Has he not been a good husband? Was she getting bored of their marriage? It has been several centuries, after all. Guilt turned into sadness as the questions he asked started bringing down his spirit. Surely there is something he can do to make her happy again. Surely she is faithful, surely, surely, surely…

Morpheus stands still, the drive to find his wife lost. The hedge leaves shiver as the temperature grows colder from the king’s mood. The lovely sunset leaves the last of its warmth before disappearing, leaving the sky full of stars. He turns around and retraces his steps, if his wife does not want to be found, he will grant her this wish.

Morpheus would never admit to anyone that he mopes. But with his sluggish walk and downturned lips, he clearly was. He sees his wife had made it out of the labyrinth quite some time ago and is already waving her guests goodbye, Phanes nowhere in sight. When she sees him emerging from the hedges, she perks up and excuses herself from her conversation.

“Dear husband, where did you run off to? Too many people in your presence?” She jokes, latching herself onto his arm.

“I was merely looking for you,” Morpheous murmurs. He starts walking with her back to the castle.

He waits as his wife takes a pause, slowing down in step. “You followed me into the labyrinths?”

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting her to say, but it certainly wasn’t that.

“Yes…” He draws out, trying to tread lightly, hoping that she would open up without much prompting. “I saw you and Phanes entering together.”

An amused huff escapes her. “I see.”

The silence lingers like the plague: uncomfortable and heavy in the air.

“Will you not speak as to why?” He questions and he almost hates how desperate he sounds.

The lady takes a seat on his throne, only to lean down and take off her shoes with a satisfied sigh. She rubs the ankles of her foot when she speaks again. “I believe it to be a personal matter.”

The answer was vague, and Morpheous hated it. Angry, gray storm clouds formed overhead and the ice-cold rain started to hit the stained glass behind her.

“Am I not worth sharing with?” He asks again, but he doesn’t stop to let her answer. With her eyes wide in surprise, he continues. “Am I not good enough? Faithful enough? Am I not devoted enough to you, my love? Will you command me to beg on my knees, I shall if you so ask.”

He falls to his knees before her and runs his hands from her ankle to her knee, slowly, deliberately. His lips follow soon after, tracing the same path his fingers had. Her breath hitches and her hearts start beating faster.

“How can I show my devotion to you, my love?” He kisses.

“My wife?” He kisses again.

“My forever goddess?” And again.

“Morpheus,” She breathes out, and it’s all he ever wants to hear. She is all he ever wants to breathe and all he wants to taste.

“I pray to Daleena, Goddess of Husbandry, for forgiveness. I have left my wife unsatisfied and feel the crop of our love withered. I shall repent for my sins by your guidance.” Morpheus says in a hushed tone as he slowly inches higher on her leg.

The goddess feels power surge through her as the prayer leaves her husband's lips, and she craves the touch of them on her own. Heat pools between her legs as her husband’s breath fans across her lower regions. Her dress slits exposed her legs deliciously to Morpheous but there were still her undergarments, which he removed slowly, keeping contact with her silky skin as it slid down.

Her Lady looks down at him with uneven breaths and waits for him to give her what she wants. Morpheus, however, is patient. He traces his lips higher, he kisses all the spots she wants, but not where she needs it the most.

“Morpheus,” She pleads, and it is all he needs. One moment it is the cold air of the Dreaming and the next it is the warmth of his lips, tongue languishing the length of her slit.

She jerks in place, strong hands holding down her hips. Her own hands shoot out, desperate to grab onto anything. One, bear-clawed and desperate, on the arm of the throne and the other weaving itself into the silky strands of her husband. She gasps at the wet sensation and her head is thrown back in pleasure.

The Endless is unmovable, driven solely by the purpose of satisfying his wife. A low groan emits from deep in his throat at the unapologetic sounds she cries, babbling in a series of his name and other obscenities. He tilts his head higher until he finds her clit and relishes in the pain of her nails in his hair, lapping at her arousal with contentment until it drips down his chin. He is a starved man and she is his salvation.

Morpheus continues his demonstrations, alternating between her clit and her needy cunt. She clenches her thighs hard as she feels the impending rise of her orgasm. Her fingertips buzz with excitement as he continues to ravish her sensitive clit. His pace continues, and her eyes roll to the back of her head.

She calls out his name again, and a high-pitched whine leaves her lips as he easily adds two digits into her weeping hole. He moves them slowly, slightly curved to touch that delicious spot inside her that has her arching her back taught like a bow. From below, Morpheus looks at her through his lashes, and he can’t help the smirk that tugs on his lips as his wife tries to thrash from the sensations. She tightens around him, cunt pulsing sporadically, and he is flooded with her orgasm where he drinks greedily from the taste - sweet like a plentiful summer wine.

He places a final gentle kiss on her clit before looking at her again, the skin of her extremities glowing ethereally as she tries to control her ragged breaths. She is still in the midst of her orgasm, trying to calm herself from the high and he finds it the perfect time to leave a bruising hickey on the inside of her plush thighs. Morpheus gets up, dick painfully hard as it brushes against his pants. He takes hold of her hands to help her stand on wobbly legs and leans back.

He leans until he falls, through the throne room floor and then onto the plushness of their shared bed. His command dematerializes both of their clothes and he basks in the sticky warmth of his wife on top of him. He runs light fingers down her spine, shivers following behind like a loyal companion, whispering sweet nothings into her ears.

“Come back to me,” He murmurs, kissing her sweat-filled brow.

“Hmm,” The goddess exhales after a few more seconds of silence, eyes opening languishingly, lashes tickling the skin of her husband.

She looks around the dimly lit room for a moment before realizing that she is in their bed. Using her husband’s chest, she props herself up, effectively straddling him beneath her. Morpheus remains unmoving, ignoring the way his tip brushes against her lower lips, only messaging the meat of her hips with his thumb.

When she meets his eyes again, he speaks. “Have I proven myself, dear wife?”

It takes a moment for the goddess to remember what he was talking about and her feelings crash down again. “You had never needed to prove yourself to me, Morpheus. What happened between me and Phanes will remain between me and Phanes.”

She lifts herself on sore thighs, but can’t get far as gentle hands turn rough. The next moment, she is lying down with her husband looming over her. There was not enough light to illuminate his face, leaving only the impression of his merciless, mercury eyes. Deep down, she knows no harm will ever befall her, but in this moment, something primal presents itself.

Perhaps it is how his eyes bore into her very soul, to the very moment she was born several millennia ago. Or perhaps, she was just crazy about how his touch was driving her mad. She was very aware of the appendage that settled between the two of them and the way that her slick was coating it. His hands cup her cheek and slide down her neck and her head tilts back at the ticklish and yet pleasurable sensation. She swallows thickly and a broken sigh escapes her as his hand ghosts over her nipple.

Shivers bloom once more as his mouth incloses over the perk nipple, suckling at it in a way that has her legs wrapping around his waist. Her arms come up and snake over his shoulders, fingers gliding over the smooth marble-like skin, then resting behind his neck. One of her hands finds itself back into his hair, clenching as he gives continuous pleasure to her body.

Her hips buck up, her pussy clenching down on nothing. Cold fingers glide down the center of her stomach, going lower and lower until they cup her heat. A thumb gently circles her clit, understanding the overstimulation it recently received. They trace over her outer lips, downwards, then upwards again, coating themselves with a mixture of spit and arousal.

Morpheus removes himself from her breasts and presses his lips at the junction between her neck and shoulder. He licks at the sweat that accumulates on her collarbone and continues up her neck. When he faces her again, he speaks.

“Beg for it.” He commands.

Her Lady remains silent, slowly chewing on the inside of her lip, weighing the options in her head. Morpheus, as always, is patient and he continues running his fingers between her folds, keeping his pace but occasionally rubbing his pointer finger in circles around her clit. When she realizes that he really would just keep rubbing her and nothing else, she opens her mouth.

“P-please,” She stutters, the mere idea of begging or pleading foreign on her tongue. As a goddess, one would never allow such lowly behavior. Nevertheless how her husband will give her whatever she asks for.

Morpheus hums in approval, removing his hand to hold his dick instead. He rubs it this time in lieu of his fingers around her cunt and the goddess almost begs again. Before she can, a moan releases from both of them as he inserts himself into her and she whimpers at the familiar dull ache of being stretched out. Morpheus dips his head between her neck and shoulder again and remains stiff, feeling the warmth that only his wife can provide.

He pulls out and she mews beneath him in pleasure, ushering him to fill her up once again. Her cunt sucks him back and he wraps one of his arms underneath her waist to ground him. The other slams against the headboard of the bed, and he grabs on for all he is worth. His thrusts grow harder as her cries grow louder and he feels the way she clenches down on him.

“How divine you are, my love,” He says with a shaky breath, kissing more bruising hickeys that he hopes will last for millennia. He blows cold air over them and goosebumps rise in place, her back arching again and he can feel each perk nipple rubbing against his chest.

She moans his name again, losing herself in each drag of his cock, screaming curses when the head brushes against her sensitive spot, and whimpering when it kisses her cervix. Morpheus rises, looking down on his wife with half-lidded eyes, running a hand down between the valley of her breasts, feeling each desperate breath of air. He goes lower and groans when he sees how the two of them are connected.

Each thrust creates an unholy, slick noise and he can see the inflamed clit begging for attention. He presses his fingers on her lower stomach and she cries out for him.

“Can you feel me, my Queen?” He growls down at her, feeling the way his dick moves within her.

“Yes!” She cries back, her brows furrow and her cunt pulses around him, gripping him like a vice.

“Do you love me, my Queen?” He asks again.

“Yes!” She cries again. She starts begging again. Please, please, please, please. “Don’t stop, please my King. Please, don’t stop!”

“Will you tell me why you spoke with Phanes?” His last question.

Her eyes snap open, all the build up from her orgasm lost in the question. With her legs still around his waist, she twists her hips and topples Morpheus over until he is beneath her again.

“No,” She whispers, rocking her hips back and forth to regain the momentum they had lost.

This time, it is him who pleads. “Please,” He whispers back. His hands cup at the roundness of her ass cheeks, loving how soft they were.

She increases the ferocity of her grinds, looking down at her husband like he had just done with her. His head tosses back and she loves watching his Adam’s apple slide up and down his throat as he moans for her. His eyes are squeezed shut and his grip tightens but she doesn’t relent.

That familiar searing hot feeling appears again in her lower stomach and with one final grind she releases her orgasm all over him, falling onto his heaving chest. Morpheus cums right after, shooting his release into her in hot loads and she feels each jolt inside of her.

Her orgasm rocks through her body, feeling both too hot and too cold at the same time. It tingles in her fingers and toes and when she closes her eyes, she sees the stars of the Dreaming shinging back at her. When she comes back to her senses (again) she can feel her husband’s hand running through her bed hair, untangling it as much as he could with the one hand. The other hand holds her waist flush with his. The two lovers share a quiet moment after their throw of passion before she speaks again.

“Phanes and I…” She starts, and she can feel Morpheus stiffen under her. She groans as his cock is still deep in her, semi-hard and the only thing keeping them together.

She shifts a bit and some of their combined release pool down onto his abdomen. He would never admit to her how filthy he thought it was, nor the fact that he loved it all the same.

“Yes?” Morpheus urges, looking down at her on his chest with full attention.

“We made a deal.” She finishes her sentence.

Everything stops as Morpheus sits up. “What deal did you strike? I can do it instead, terminate the deal at once, my love.” He says with anxiety.

His wife grabs onto him as she is rocked back and a smile appears on her face. “Morpheus, my love, you have done your part.” Her smile turns sad and a forlorn look cloaks her face and she casts her gaze downwards. “We just needed some extra help.”

A confused look crosses Morpheus’s face. He brings a hand to lift her chin to look at him. With the raise of an eyebrow, he doesn’t have to say anything for his wife to know he wants a better explanation.

“I asked for a child, Morpheus.”

When her husband remains quiet, her lips start to tug downwards and his heart lurches at the sight. Her waterline soon floods with tears.

“We have not been able to produce an heir once.” She says, voice wavering. She dares not to blink for she is afraid if a single tear were to fall, all of them would.

“What in return?” He asks.

“I look after his pet snake for a weekend.” She replies simply. Morpheus has returned to his previous position.

The tears start to fall, each fat drop hitting his skin seemingly striking him directly in the heart. “You need not worry, wife. This time it will take, with Phanes’s help or not.” He whispers into the crown of her head.

She nods once, sniffling as her nose starts to run, too. The rhythmic breathing below her and the continued brushing of her hair rocks her to a dreamless sleep. Morpheus wraps his arms protectively around her frame and should he have known, he would’ve stayed longer. He would’ve held her tighter, kissed her longer, and promised her that he would be there when she woke. Alas, there was a missing nightmare, rampaging through the waking world, something that was his responsibility as king.

When she wakes up the next morning, with a satisfying ache throughout her body, the bed was cold and empty, and her husband was nowhere to be seen. To say that this was new behavior would be a lie, unfortunately. The number of times that a night of passionate love-making ended in a cold and lonely morning was more than she could count on her fingers and toes. That isn’t to say that Morpheus didn’t want to stay in bed with her, it’s simply a sovereign that understands his responsibilities, and she could never blame her husband for that.

Avoiding the difficult conversation the two lovers shared last night, her Lady avoids the locations her husband is most likely to reside in. Instead, she chooses to look towards her duties in the Dreaming. She finds herself amongst a simple dream from a small farmer who looks after sheep, who struggles with getting their weight to increase during the harsh winters. Carefully, she admits herself to him, dressed in a light yellow dress, sunflowers decorating the fabric and her hair. Her hands were covered in dirt, and she held a shepherd’s crook that had a bell attached to the end.

The farmer looks up from his rocking chair, prized sheep chewing lazily around him, and smoke from his pipe circles him. His face was rough - old and wrinkled from long days in the sun during his youth. But she smiles gently at him when his laugh lines appear around the edges of his eyes and mouth.

She stands next to him and they stare out on his flock together. He shares his life story. The story of a young boy whose father was also a farmer, and his father before him, and his father before him. He talks about his first puppy, named Barkly, his first love, whom he lost after he was drafted into the First World War, and how he now finds solitude with his late wife’s grave and his grandchildren.

He mentions that he needs to fatten his sheep up for the winter as he can’t lose any more stock so he may afford medicine for his sick grandson. He confesses that he has tried everything and nothing seems to have worked. He looks up at her now, tired, and slumped over, and realization dawns on his face as she smiles down at him.

She whispers at him a simple solution, one he can’t quite hear over the muddle of a dream. He stands abruptly as her figure distorts, the dawn is rising and a farmer’s body rises with it. He thanks her - he offers a sheep for her, which she nods at before he wakes from his dream.

The goddess visits a few more dreams, each giving her ethereal presence. Some were like the one she was just at, some needed comfort from the loss of animals, and some dreamed of a new pet to have. By the 5th dream, she realizes that several days had passed in the waking world, and her husband was nowhere to be found.

She admits to herself that she had been avoiding him longer than she intends, but perhaps it was time to face him again. She teleports to the castle, summoning herself before the drawbridge of the magnificent building. The ivory dragon perks up at her arrival, but otherwise pays no attention to her, going back to hoarding its gold coins, a few of them falling when she crosses the large doors.

As always, the castle is slightly colder than what she likes. A small sense of deja vu encapsulates her as she walks to the all-familiar throne room. This time, however, it was empty. No figure on the throne, nor the stairs as he sometimes preferrs it. Odd, she thinks, but not impossible. So she turns a corner to the library, she often finds him here as well, looking over the books of his dreamers. She searches high and low, through each aisle and reading spot, but still nothing. Anxiety and thoughts of doubt begin to fill her. Perhaps she did mess up, making that deal with Phanes.

Her last stop was Cain and Able’s homes. She finds the two brothers in front of their own homes, tending to their garden and playing with the gargoyle that Morpheus had given them. The two were of no help as they were unable to answer something worthy of even a hint of where her husband was.

She rolls her eyes as the walk away from their homes was accompanied by the sound of a scream and the resolute bang of a metal shovel hitting a skull.

As her last resort, she calls for Lucienne. Often, she hopes to never bother her, understanding that the work she puts into maintaining the Dreaming is never-ending. And, she knew that if she were to ask something of her, Lucienne would stop everything to help her.

“His Lord left several nights ago to fetch the Corinthian,” She spoke, pushing up her round glasses.

“And since then?” She questions, her hands wringing with themselves. She hopes for an answer she knows she won’t get.

Lucienne shakes her head no. “My Lady, Jessamy hasn’t returned either. Perhaps his Lord is simply taking longer than usual.”

“Let us hope,” She says defeated.

For the next few months, the goddess stays within the Dreaming. Each day that passes, more hope was lost for her husband's return. Doubt and anxiety cloud her mind at the uncertain future.

She looks down at her stomach, a distinguishable bump had made its appearance and she rubs it gently with her hand. The deal with Phanes went through, she is with child. She should be happy right? Except for the obvious fact that Morpheus still had not returned.

Her cat lounges at her feet where she sits and she pets its head. With a trill, it looks at her, similar mercury eyes of her husband stares back. She had no choice but to find him herself.

“Go,” She asks of it. “Go to the waking world, find Morpheus.”

The cat sits up and stretches, hind high in the air. Its claws grips into the plush carpet it rests on. With another stretch to its lower back, it trots off, the jingling sounds of its bell disappearing as it crosses over to the waking world.

All the goddess could do was wait and hope. She runs another anxious hand across her stomach and a tear escapes her.

Lucienne had mentioned it to her in passing a few days ago. The librarian stated that it probably was nothing to worry about, but the conversation had stuck with the goddess since.

The Dreaming is dying.

As much as the Dreaming is hers through marriage, it is suffering without its true ruler in the realm. She could see it in the dying leaves and small cracks of the castle. The ivory dragon that rests above the castle has gotten more restless in the past few weeks. And despite her best efforts to comfort the animal, the dragon did not listen to the Goddess of Husbandry.

This brings up a second concern of hers. The child she carries is as much a part of her as it is the Dreaming’s. It embodies a part of the Dream Lord and if the Dreaming is suffering, there stands to reason that her husband is suffering as well. If both of these entities are suffering, what is to happen to her child?

This child that she already loves until she is forgotten and nothing but stardust and she had been asking for centuries. This child that Morpheus is finally ready to love after the untimely death of his son. She must find Morpheus, and soon.

For the sake of the Dreaming and her child.

Several more weeks pass and her cat had yet to come back. She only hopes that it was due to the difficulty of finding an Endless and not because it got distracted with a family whose heart was big enough to take in a “stray” cat. Each day that passes, she grows significantly weaker. The prayers of her followers still ring in her ears, but she could not leave the Dreaming to help her devotees.

Another war broke out among the humans, the one they call World War II. Less and fewer people were crossing over into the dreaming and slowly, the once beautiful realm was losing its colors. The goddess couldn’t stop the residents of the realm from leaving its gates, the Dreaming was no longer a place they wished to stay. Furthermore, there weren’t enough dreamers for them to bother staying. She only remains thankful for those who decided to stay.

She sits on Morpheus’ throne, the castle colder than ever. Behind her, the once beautiful stained glass had shattered. The Corinthian had still not been captured, or else her husband would have been home and Fiddler’s Green had decided to leave. She runs a hand through her hair at the issues that seem to keep piling up. As she ignores her prayers, her powers start to wane. Fewer and fewer people were still believing in her.

And how could she blame them? She hasn’t made herself present in any of their prayers and with the war, people were less concerned about animals and more about themselves. She sighs.

A sharp pain yanks her out of her thoughts and a scream rips from her throat. She doubles over from the throne and kneels, hunching over on the floor. The pain spreads across her lower abdomen and a shaking hand holds her stomach. Immediately she knew something was wrong and it involved the safety of her child.

For a moment, she couldn’t breathe, too focused on staying conscious. The throne room was empty, her fall echoed around and bounced across the wide walls. When she thought the pain was over, she took in a large breath, inhaling shakily in gulps.

Salvation lasts a few seconds before another wave of pain overwhelms her. It wraps around her like a hot blanket on a sweltering day, sticking to her skin and making her overstimulated. Too much was happening at once and it was almost too hard to bear.

“Lucienne!” She screams between cramps. Tears fall in fat drops onto the floor and wets the hand propping her up.

Lucienne appears quickly, followed closely by Mervin. Hands grab at her weak body and hoist her back onto the throne. Where she had fallen, blood pooled and more fell from between her legs.

Her whole body shakes with shivers and a whimper leaves her.

“My Lady,” Lucienne says with concern. The librarian couldn’t stop from staring at the growing pool of blood below her.

“What do we do?” Mervin asks. Even though he was a glorified janitor, constructor, and destructor for the Dreaming, he didn’t know how to fix this.

“Call for Phanes,” Their Lady said weakly. Sweat begins to appear like morning dew across her forehead. For once, she was grateful for the cool temperature.

“Mervin, take her to his Lord’s chambers,” Lucienne instructs. She doesn’t stay to watch as she sprints to the library.

She flips through leather-bound books, old and new until she finds the correct summoning spell she was looking for. The loyal librarian could only hope that a god would listen to a dream like her.

She hauls the large book into the room her Lady lays in. Labored breathing came from both women, although for two vastly different reasons.

“Forgive me, my lady, but I require your assistance,” Lucienne said next to the goddess’ bed.

The goddess gives her a hand limply and Lucienne starts chanting the words on the page while holding her cold fingers. The wind whirls around them and Mervin holds onto his pumpkin head to not have it knocked off.

Lucienne finishes the spell and looks down. Her Lady was glowing with power but she could not have looked any more weak. Nothing happens for a few bated breaths, only the sound of howling wind around them. Then nothing, not even the sound of crickets could be heard.

Enters Phanes, golden and warm like the sun. He materializes in a cloud of golden dust. He slams his staff down, and his golden snake slithers up from under his robes.

“Who dares summon m-”

“Lord Phanes,” Lucienne interrupts, something she knows she would be punished for, if not for the more important matter at hand.

A glare is thrown her way and softens at the familiar face. Phanes’ eyes travel across the intertwined fingers and land on his friend.

Weak eyes open and meet his. The godly figure is almost too much to stare directly at.

As if understanding what was happening to his friend, he drops the golden light he had been shining. The Dreaming returns to its cold blue, and it was just two deities and two dreams in understanding.

“A new deal,” Phanes announces and the goddess wants to weep again. Judging by how her husband acted the last time she had done this, she was going to be doomed. But the decision was easily made.

“Anything,” she whispers. Her eyelids are starting to feel heavy. She had delivered countless calves, kittens, and cubs, but never another deity. Was she supposed to feel this weak?

Silky scales slide across her feverish skin and she is face to face with Phanes’ serpent.

“Give your child to him, he will keep them safe until they may come to fruition. Until then, you must look after the serpent as if it is of your blood.”

The goddess could barely pay attention but understood in a way without words. She nods in agreement and the relief begins almost immediately.

Pain seeps out of her body, slow, like molasses and her body starts to glow again. Lucienne shields her eyes and peeks through her fingers. The goddess’ stomach glows and deflates.

A small glowing ball releases itself from the warmth of her womb, its dim light is warm and lights the room like a lantern on a foggy night. A weak hand cups it and it sits in the palm of its mother.

“Hello, darling son,” She whispers. The ball stays still, a small high-pitched noise emitting from itself.

The goddess smiles. “Darling daughter, then?” This time, the ball bounces gently a few times in response but otherwise doesn’t do anything.

The golden serpent is slowly making its way up the arm that holds the glowing orb. A tongue flicks out and smells it. Then with a nod from the goddess, the serpent unhinges its mouth and swallows the child whole. The light shines through the crevices of its eyes and ears as it makes its way down the serpent's throat. Eventually, the light dissipates and the serpent looks all the same, save for the bulge in its stomach.

A sense of longing borrows itself into her chest where her heart lies. Quite literally, the light disappears right in front of her. Physically, her pain had been removed, only the dried blood between her legs reminded her of what had happened just moments prior. And yet, a dull pain resides. Something she couldn’t put her finger on, but she could feel it behind her eyes and how it lodges in her throat.

Her gaze is unfocused as she pets the golden snake, her golden snake now, her child. For the rest of the night, she rests and Phanes leaves without a word. Lucienne stays by her side the whole time, eyes only moving when the serpent shifts. Mervin went back to work after a few hours, the castle’s foundation still cracking under their feet. He left with a sorrowful look, well, as sorrowful as a pumpkin head could be.

As the sun rises the next day, the goddess wakes up to not only the snake by her side but the librarian and her long awaited cat. Lucienne wakes up at the first shift that her Lady makes and stands.

“Let me draw you a bath,” She said before any debate.

“Lucienne,” Her Lady calls after her anyway in rejection. All of her handmaidens had left. They were only there to help the goddess under the instruction of the Dream Lord who created them. Without him here, no one would punish them for leaving and not attending his wife.

Still, the librarian doesn’t listen and disappears into the joined bathroom. Meanwhile, the goddess looks down at her cat and raises an eyebrow. It has certainly gotten fatter. And a new name tag was attached to his collar next to his bell.

“Buttons,” She said out loud, reading the new name. At that, the cat perks up and stares back at her disappointed face. “You got distracted on your mission didn’t you?”

She pets his rounder stomach and scratches his head. “Well, they certainly loved you…” The hidden passive-aggressive message was evident.

The cat, now Buttons, doesn’t bother with a response. Instead, it lays back down, flicking its tail aggressively at her comment.

She rolls her eyes. “Did you locate his Lord?”

Buttons rolls onto his back and stretches, belly exposing to her, and opens his mouth in a yawn. “Burgess Manor,” He says and turns his body away from her.

Finally, an answer. She throws the blanket off her body and goes to stand. She looks at her closet, thinking of what to wear to the waking world to retrieve her husband.

“My Lady!” Lucienne exclaims as she walks out of the bathroom. The goddess looks over at her and notices her staring at her dress. She looks down as well and remembers all of the blood that she spilled last night. It had caked itself into the fabric and was still crusted on the inside of her legs.

The librarian’s shock was still on her face when she realizes that her Lady fully intends to go to the waking world looking like that, having overheard the conversation between her and the cat. Lucienne insists she take a bath first and that she would find something for her to wear.

Her Lady doesn’t disagree and disappears into the steaming bathtub that was made for her. She doesn’t regret it for a second the moment she steps in. The warmth was comforting like a mother huddling to keep its cub warm. The water washes away the filths of yesterday and within the embrace of the water, she finally cries.

It’s not a gentle cry, it is hiccups and gasping for breath. The pain of yesterday that she felt behind her eyes and in her throat spills out. Her bathwater which used to smell of apples and cinnamon now turns into a maroon as her blood washes out. It starts to smell of iron and salt and it reminds her of war.

Her hand runs over her stomach and a whimper leaves her again at the lack of the bump she had grown so accustomed to. Logically, she knows that her child, no her daughter, was safe. But, one would have to admit that having their daughter in the stomach of a serpent was a bit unnerving.

A golden head peaks at her over the side of the ceramic bathtub and flicks out its tongue.

She sniffs the last of her tears away and pets its head with her index finger. “I’m sorry for leaving you already, dear daughter.”

The serpent’s stomach had grown twice as large since last night and since this is new territory for her, she must make haste so she may be back in the dream to witness the birth of her daughter.

Before she left, though, she walks into the castle gardens and gets to work. From her fingertips she grows a birch tree, its white branches and muted green leaves fit right into the dying realm around them. She sprouts flowers and brushes for scenery and a bed made of straw under a tunnel that she dug out.

The golden serpent follows her and slithers up her body, wrapping around her curves. When its head was next to hers, it let out a rattling-like noise in agreement with the small open enclosure the goddess had made for it. It slides back down her body and makes it home in the tunnel.

“Mommy will be back,” She whispers to it when it settles in and gives it a quick peck on the top of its head. It flicks its tongue at her and moves further into its nest.

The goddess stands back up and dusts off any dirt that could have gotten on her dress. Lucienne helps her pick out an appropriate attire for the waking world. Something she wouldn’t personally wear, but it certainly helps to blend in with the mortals. She quickly had to locate her husband. After all, she has no idea how long it takes for a snake to incubate a child.

It was easy to find the Burgess Manor when she arrives in the waking world. Everyone who was anyone spoke about the grand magus who managed to capture the devil in his basement. That the devil had granted him eternal life and some other rumors. All she had to do was flaunt a smile and go where the fingers pointed.

The rumors, of course, were mere rumors. The devil? No. Without knowing it, Rodrick Burgess managed to capture something even more powerful. How he had managed to keep him captured was a different question entirely and the goddess had a sneaking suspicion that he had some help.

It was nightfall when she arrives at the gates of the manor. Thousands of people clamor in the front garden, talking amongst themselves. Suddenly, the clothing she had worn was not fit for the environment she was walking into. Using a little bit of her powers, she changes the outlook of her clothing into something else. It was a bit more formal, growing longer and softer to the touch. However, if someone were to squint and stare hard enough, they would be able to see the original dress she had worn.

She weaves her way to the front and listens carefully to the words around her.

“I had arrived this morning, my feet are killing me.”

“Ha, me as well. But anything to get into the manor. I want to see what the Great Magus is hiding.”

“Not to mention the party of your lifetime!” They joke together.

Someone taps her on her shoulder. Another young man was waiting to be let in.

“You are a new face,” He comments and takes her hand. He presses his lips to the back of it. She takes her hand back and wipes it away on the back of her dress while keeping a smile.

“Yes, I wish to see the Great Magus himself.” She half-lies through her teeth. The young gentleman offers an arm to her which she reluctantly takes. Perhaps he will be the key to getting into the manor.

The doors of the manor open and people slowly trickle in. She peers over shoulders into the manor but couldn’t immediately find anything of note that would be dangerous. The warmth of the building fans over her as she enters through the large doors and a breath of relief escapes her.

“Isn’t it everything you could ever dream of?” The gentleman asks. He looks down at her with a smile.

She looks around, the manor was certainly lively. Foods of all kinds sprawl out on tables, fresh flowers almost too sweet to smell, and candlelight flickers and dances from the sudden wind. There were some party tricks as well, the flames seem to sparkle a bit more, bubbles were floating around in the air without popping, and the statues follows her with their eyes. But, they were all small party tricks, nothing to indicate this holier-than-thou man.

Through the buzz of it all, she could feel it. The string of fate that connects her to her husband. It was faint, but it was there and she knew she was in the right place. She just had to find out where.

A man emerges on the top of the stairs to the second floor and opens his arms in a flourish. She frowns at him because there he was, Rodrick Burgess, the man who took her husband. By the end of tonight, she promises herself, there will be no Rodrick Burgess.

“Ow, dang you’ve got a grip on you,” She breaks eye contact with Rodrick when her escort for the evening exclaims out. She releases the iron grip she had wrapped around his lower arm and apologizes.

“I am terribly sorry,” She apologizes. “Actually, I am parched, can you be a gentleman and fetch me some lemonade?” She bats her eyelashes and gives a smile. His face lights up in a blush and runs off to fetch her the lemonade she wants.

As soon as he was out of eyesight, the goddess began moving. She moves between bodies like wind on the beachfront - gracefully, wistfully, but with purpose. She uses her senses to locate where her husband could be. It was like an invisible dance.

When the sense weakens she backtracks, when it strengthens she moves forward. She was so lost in her quest that she almost did not register when she ran into a wool-covered chest. Surprise overtook her face as she looks up, ready to apologize and continue on her way. But she stops when she realizes that the man she bumps into is the very host of the party.

“Rodrick Burgess,” She says almost breathlessly. Oh, how she wants to commit a grievous crime to this mortal.

The old man chuckles above her and grabs onto her shoulders. His fingers are cold when they come into contact with her bare skin and she wants to cringe away from his touch, but he holds on strong.

“You seem like a curious creature, my little dove,” He comments and starts to walk. Without much room to budge, she is reluctant to follow him.

“Yes,” She drawls out much like how Morpheus tends to do. She suddenly acts with interest when she realizes that the bond strength between her and her husband increases. She holds on tighter and presses her body against his arm.

“I heard that the great Magus kept the devil in the basement of his manor. Can we see it?” She fakes a supple voice and looks up at him with an innocent smile.

“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t think a small thing such as yourself would want to see the devil.”

“No!” She belts out, a bit too quickly. But she recovers smoothly. “What I mean to say is, I am far too excited to see him. Please don’t deny me this one pleasure Great Magus.”

“How loathsome,” She thinks to herself.

“Very well, I can’t deny you anything if you keep looking at me like that.” He confirms.

Rodrick Burgess leads her away from the party, down a long and quiet hallway. It is decorated with antique and rare collectibles. The older man talks about each one, dragging on his time that leads to her husband, but she nods along anyway.

She had waited decades to be in the arms of her husband again, a few more minutes surely wouldn’t hurt. Soon, she is led to a dark and demanding set of double doors. Locks and bolts seal it from top to bottom. With a nod of Rodrick’s head, the guards stationed outside open the door slowly and a cold air seeps out and blows her hair back. The basement smells musty of old water and stale air. A cough emits from further down the stairs and she frowns.

“Scared yet, child?” Rodrick says to her mockingly.

She only shakes her head no as she continues down the steps.

The smell grows stronger as she gets closer and she can also make out a small portion of dirt and sand amidst it all. Despite it, the air was crisp and cold, suitable for a stone basement.

A light emits from the end of the long staircase downwards and she can’t stop her jaw unhinging as she finally sets her eyes on her husband. Tears well up in her eyes as they dart across the room.

Arches supported the basement throughout the floor and a moat still separates between her and her husband. A singular fluorescent light is cast on him in a glass prison as if he were some circus animal on display. Below the glass prison were some sort of gold runic markings and even from far away, she could feel the real magic emitting from them.

Rodrick releases her hold on him and turns to the two guards on duty that night. “You two may go,” He instructs, and the two leave without debate.

At the sound of his voice, Dream opens his eyes but remains in his laid position. His gaze pierces into his corrupt heart, if he even had one left, but quickly notices his wife by his side. With this, he sits up and gently places a hand on the glass barrier.

“Would you look at that!” Rodrick boasts. “He moves, he doesn’t do that much. Perhaps he has feelings for a pretty thing like you.”

The goddess doesn’t hear him and walks up to the glass cage in a trance. How does she free him? Tears fall restlessly down her face and her stature dejects. She snaps out of her trances on the small bridge above the stagnant water when a rough hand squeezes her upper arms.

“Stop, you must not get any closer. He is trying to seduce you into releasing him!” Rodrick hashes out between gritted teeth.

She opens her mouth to tell him something, anything, to release her husband but stops when she hears Dream’s voice again.

“Wife,” He calls simply and her body fills with all of the love and adoration she had been missing for decades.

Rodrick’s grip tightens at his voice, the first time he remembers hearing it. With a shocked face, he looks down at the woman in his grip. “Wife?!” He screams at her furiously.

She takes a deep breath and steels herself, ripping herself away from his bruising grip, and stands between him and her husband. The tears had dried and only anger left in its wake.

“The one before you is Daleena, Goddess of Husbandry, Mother of Agriculture and Protector of Animals, Saint of Farmers, Queen of the Dreaming, wife of Dream of the Endless. You face me now, mortal.”

Wind swirls, somehow, in the basement but it is the least of Rodrick’s worries. He plants himself firmly as the wind picks up and sand envelops the two of them in a vortex of anger.

“I have captured something more than a god! I have an Endless!” He points a finger at her, eyes scrutinizing. “What makes you think you can defeat me? The Great Magus Rodrick Burgess?”

Walking a few steps forward, her shepherd’s crook materializes in her hand, the bell jingling violently in the wind. Her extremities start to glow their familiar light as she musters power. She points the staff at Rodrick as billets of wheat start growing around his feet and crawl up his legs, the nice wool of his pants long forgotten against the harsh stalks of the plants. The plants bloom as it sucks the life away from the very thing they grew on.

Rodrick starts chanting in Greek.

“Prostasía,” He chokes out. “Prostasía.” He chants again and he breathes easier. “Prostasía.” He chants one more time and he’s back to standing at his full height. The plants that were wrapped around him wither away and fell into dust, sucked into the sand vortex around them.

The goddess frowns, she did not realize how much power she had lost until now when a simple protection chant could stave off her attacks. Rodrick lunges at her, hands open and clawed, ready to grab onto any piece of her clothing. In turn, she slams her crook into the ground and a fissure opens up, but not before he can shove her further and her body slams into the wall of the glass prison. The fissure separates the two opponents away from each other and Rodrick steps back before he falls into the Earth.

She braces herself on the glass wall at the impact and loses her breath for a moment. She could feel the warmth of her husband’s hand and she turns away from Rodrick to look at him. His hand was aligned with her own, so close, only inches apart.

“The runes, my love,” Morpheus tells her. She looks down at looks at the graphics that surround them, the sand had erased some of it through the abrasive nature of itself. The magic within the runes would still be strong if not for the defiant smudge she creates with her foot, just in time for the fissure to finish opening. With a final look at her husband, she walks closer to the fissure, pulling the sand vortex smaller so it was just her and Rodrick again.

From the fissure glows a golden light, soft and merciful but quickly overshadowed by the growing dust. The light expands as the golden serpent which holds her daughter emerges. It had grown in size since the last time she had seen it. Its length and mass have nearly tripled in size and the baby bulge it used to flaunt was now merely a small bump.

Rodrick’s stare grows higher and higher as the snake continues to emerge, it stares at the man, tongue flicking angrily at him for daring to harm the goddess. The snake lunges, all fangs and dripping venom, its large scales clattering against each other like gold coins. Rodrick moves to the side and the serpent misses. It hisses in retaliation and comes around again, this time wrapping its body around the legs of the Great Magus.

Panic sets in as the serpent starts to constrict around the man and he can feel his pulse pounding against his head and the blood circulation gets cut off. The bones in his knees pop as they press together.

“Father!” A young boy’s voice screams across the vortex and the goddess sees a glint of silver cross into the vortex arena.

The serpent is halfway up Rodrick’s body when the goddess notices the sharp dagger that Rodrick now possesses. He rises it high in the air and with a large gasp plunges it into the flesh of the serpent. The golden scales provide little to no protection against the artifact.

“No!” She screams and takes a step forward, only to be stopped by the protective tail of the serpent.

The metal hisses as it melts against the golden scales, melting the scales together until they become smooth around the wound. Rodrick slides again and again until the weapon becomes too slippery with blood and he loses grip. The snake is now a mosaic of gold and red as it tightens one last time.

“Curse… you…” Rodrick strains out, his face turning purple as the last bit of air leaves him. The serpent weakens and falls in a slump like an inanimate rope and the sand around them falls like rain.

The goddess leaps over the fissure and after making sure the man is dead runs to the head of the golden serpent. Its eyes were dim, mouth agape as its muscles weakens and she can no longer feel it breathing on her skin when she places a hand above its nostrils.

“No, no no,” She mumbles to herself. She grabs her dress up and away from her feet as she makes her way down the length of the serpent. When she reaches where she last saw the small baby bump, she runs her hand along its underside, soon becoming slick with cooling blood.

She finds a particular cut that was deeper than normal and when she sticks her hand in there, they grab around a small appendage. A cry of relief leaves her lips as she digs deeper. She pulls her baby from the dying body and cradles it to her body. Golden scale imprints are decorated across her arms and legs and a few more along the spine of her back.

Her breath hiccups as silence fills the air. She pats her daughter’s back and wipes her mouth clean and panic seeps into her bones when still she remains quiet.

Morpheus appears behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She turns to him, tears streaking down her neck.

“Crying, why-why isn’t she crying?!” She wails and clutches her child harder against her chest.

Morpheus hugs her from behind and holds the two of them to his chest.

“Y/N,” He calls her name, her real name. Not her titles, or what the mortals call her, but the name given to her since her creation.

She weeps into his form, salty tears mixing with blood and the amniotic fluid that covers her child. Her tears fall into her daughter’s mouth and feed into the child her grief, regret, and guilt as well as the hope she still had in her.

A soothing hand pets her and the silence disappears. Loud wailing comes from below and her eyes shoot open. Her daughter was finally crying, her hands in fists as they move around in the air.

“Praises,” She sobs again, this time tears of joy. Her child's eyes peel open and smiles as she grabs at her mother’s hair.

Morpheus smiles, a rare one, all teeth showing as he touches his daughter’s head gently. The three, now a family, return home to the Dreaming. There will be more to do, especially for Morpheus but for now, a small victory lies within the hope that is their daughter.

Extra:

“Well I’ll be baffled, bamboozled, and befuddled,” Phanes says, hands on his hip and his staff leaning against one of the walls of the basement.

He stares at his serpent covered in dried blood and dearly departed, lying alone on the cold basement floor.

“Look at how they massacred my boy!” He screams to no one in particular, arms out in disbelief.

He lets out a huff and crosses his arms. “I’ll let you borrow my snake, blah, blah, blah, take care of it like it’s your own, meh, meh, meh,” He mocks.

Phanes runs a hand across the top of the snake’s head and watches as the dried blood rehydrates and moves thickly back into the cuts. The gnashes done by the weapon stitch itself back close and the gold scales return to their original form.

The snake shrinks smaller and smaller until it is back to its original size. At which, it perks up and flicks a tongue out in thanks to its god.

“All right, let’s go,” Phanes says with a sigh as if this was a mundane chore. He extends out a hand for the serpent to slither up to.

“I am never making a deal with those two ever again, that was crazy.” He says to his snake.

The snake flicks its tongue again and rattles the scales on its back.

“Ohh, that’s nice that she made you an enclosure.” He responds, then remains silent as the snake says something else. “What do you mean she forgot to put mice in the enclosure for you to eat?!”

Main Masterlist || Series Masterlist

#morpheus #morpheus x reader #morpheus x reader smut #the sandman #the sandman x reader #dream of the endless #dream #dream x reader #dream x reader smut #angst with a happy ending #light angst #the sandman fanfic #morpheus x wife!reader #morpheus x wife reader #dream of the endless smut #dream of the endless x reader

271 notes · View notes

crystallizsch · 11 months ago

Text

“Oh? *I* get to be in charge of our lovely Princes? Hehe. I graciously accept the challenge.”

[SR] Yuusha Tala -> GROOOOVY!! Glimmering Soirée (fan event by @starry-night-rose)

Groooovy!!: Hehe. If you want to dance with me, you’re gonna have to keep up with me first.

Set Home: Yeah, yeah… I know I’m just a glorified attendant and I don’t really have any say over the Princes... Look, just let me have this.

Home Idle 1: Helping Deuce act like a Prince has been really hilarious. But credit where credit is due, seeing him try his best is really charming.

Home Idle 2: Wow. Somehow Azul became less insufferable after being trained as a Prince. ….Wait. Nevermind. He’s still the same.

Home Idle 3: Kalim and Hornton seem to be a natural at this. I guess I should have expected that. It’s really nice to see them shine.

Home Idle - Login: Has anyone seen Grim? I swear I saw him lurking around here somewhere…

Home Idle - Groovy: I could go for "Belle of the Ball" if I really wanted to, especially since I'm the one who helped take care of everything after all. But alas, why would you vote for the magicless prefect..? Wait, unless.….

Home Tap 1: Where did I put that ghost camera? I was just holding it just a while ago… Huh? It’s around my neck? Well, that’s embarrassing. Oh stop laughing at me, will ya?

Home Tap 2: The others say I’m like a different person when I go into "manager" mode. …And they say it either like a compliment or an insult so I’m getting mixed messages.

Home Tap 3: Ugh. This cape is cool and all but people keep getting caught by it. So annoying.

Home Tap 4: Would I compete in being the Belle of the Ball if I wasn't taking care of the Princes? Depends. Would you vote for me? ~ ♡ …What do you mean you’ll give me a "pity" vote.

Home Tap 5: No, I’m not staring "longingly" at that band! …But hypothetically, do you think they’d let me play an instrument with them?

Home Tap - Groovy: Oh, wow. Crazy that they totally just left this violin here. Hmmm…..

notes:

i had fun with the voice lines aaah but it might have some changes when i’m done with the groovy (and i’ll properly put her in an actual card template)

also slight lore drop from one of the voice lines: yuusha has experience hosting formal parties pre-twst. basically she just locks in (a bit too heavily) when she has hosting duties.

(some of the voice lines also foreshadow the groovy 👀)

anyways i was just messing around a lot with the outfit design and the colors hgsdfjds

i tried my best making her purple color scheme agree with the limited color palette and i think it worked out??? idk idk--

also the cape was supposed to have patterns similar to the ceremonial robes so as to label her as someone from nrc.

i wanted to include a LOT more ruffles too but i had no patience for lining all of that 🤧

(bonus sketches/concepts below)

at first i based off her suit on hans frozen but then (because of pinterest giving me ideas) i realized i wanted a more fun outfit and so here i am-

(also help me i meant to have the voice lines to be just talking to anyone but it just hit me that it sounds like she’s talking to jamil 💀 girl they just can’t leave me alone they live in my head 24/7 rent-free)

147 notes · View notes

emsprovisions · 5 months ago

Text

❄️ Day 12 - The Gingerbread House ❄️

🎁 Today's fic is dedicated to @chicgeekgirl89

Summary: TK and Carlos enjoy a double date night with Mateo and Nancy building gingerbread houses.

Word count: 598

24 Days of Tarlos Masterpost

TK knocks and Mateo opens Nancy’s door with a smile. “Hey, guys! Come on in!”

They were down to just two couples for this hang and Mateo had come up with the brilliant idea of a double date night building gingerbread houses. Carlos was only too happy when Nancy and Mateo offered to host, meaning he didn’t have to stress about frosting, sprinkles, and candy going everywhere Lizzie the dog would surely investigate.

TK has dressed accordingly for this gingerbread date by wearing a t-shirt with a gingerbread man whose leg has been snapped off that says “oh, snap!” He thought it was hilarious, and Carlos loves indulging his husband’s whims.

They step over the threshold of Nancy’s cozy apartment and she comes around the corner with her loud, jubilant greeting, and a round of hugs despite the fact she saw TK when they got off shift this morning.

“It smells good in here, Nance,” TK compliments and Nancy points at the kitchen.

“Teo and I have been making cookies.”

“It felt appropriate,” Mateo nods.

“Pizza should be here soon,” Nancy finishes. “Y’all want something to drink?”

A little while later, Carlos is situated at a barstool at Nancy’s kitchen island, sitting beside his husband, each with a can of cranberry sprite in their hands, slices of pizza off to the side, and a shared gingerbread house kit in front of them. Nancy and Mateo are at the other end of the island in a mirrored position. Nancy’s playing holiday hits through the speaker in her kitchen and TK is scrolling through Pinterest for gingerbread house designs.

“How about a sort of classic look, babe?” TK asks, showing Carlos his phone with a gingerbread house with white icing swirls on the roof, decorated in gumdrops and peppermints.

“That’s pretty, but neither of us are exactly artists,” Carlos points out.

“No, but, you have a steady hand,” TK points out. “You have pretty cursive and you’ve written in icing on some of my cakes. The rest is just having an eye for detail, which we both have.”

Carlos doesn’t stop himself from reaching over to squeeze TK’s hand. “Let’s give it a shot.”

An hour later, TK and Carlos and Nancy and Mateo have two assembled gingerbread houses between them.

TK and Carlos had been a good team, decorating each piece before assembling the whole thing, working together to hold the walls up in place until the icing solidified enough to hold steady as the other attached another piece. They added finishing touches with more candy and sprinkles and TK is beaming. It isn’t quite Pinterest worthy, and they’re both covered in icing–TK pointed out Carlos got some in his hair–but TK’s grin makes it worth it.

Mateo and Nancy’s gingerbread house is surprisingly elegant, with expert piping around the trim of the house and a pretty swooping pattern on the roof.

“Did y’all practice before we came or something?” TK laughs, as he takes a picture of their houses side by side.

“I watched a ton of tutorials,” Mateo shrugs.

“And I have a sister who’s a baker. She taught me how to pipe frosting like that,” Nancy adds in. “But we did decide on a design earlier.”

TK shakes his head with a laugh. “Well yours looks amazing.”

“Uh, so does yours! I love the candy cane arches!” Nancy exclaims.

“This was a perfect date night idea,” Carlos smiles, draping an arm around TK. “And we made a beautiful house, babe.”

The grin TK turns on him is blinding, and so full of love. “Yes, we did.”

#24 days of tarlos #tarlos #nancymateo #nancy gillian #mateo chavez #911 lone star #em writes

32 notes · View notes

shoutoutout · 7 months ago

Text

I've started up another Harlivy fic and was digging through my docs and found this old version of the noses & kneecaps section of she breaks (out, down, through). I cut it way down and changed up the setting for the published version but this Harley quote had me giggling so I thought I'd post here for folks!

Harley turns to the chef. “If you fucking spit in this food I will literally gut you right now, you hear me? I’m not letting my bestie eat any of your loogies so tell me if you did because she’ll fucking know, alright? This bitch will taste them and then you’ll be dead and the misses and junior over there are gonna have a sad as shit Christmas this year.”

You can read the rest under the cut

Surprising no one, Ivy’s not that great at the whole “friendship” thing.

For starters, she has no frame of reference by which to judge. Like her namesake, she was a wallflower as a child and when high school rolled around she bloomed into a sarcastic loner with Indigo Girls blasting through her headphones. It left little room for normal girl shit like… well… she would name something if she knew.

But even still, with all her lack of experience, she’s pretty sure that this—Harley’s idea of friendship—is not quite normal.

“I could use some new threads.” Harley calls Ivy out of the blue on a Wednesday evening. “Cops confiscated all the stuff back at my old place… not like I’d wear any of it anymore. God, I was such a tightass wasn’t I, Ives? So how about it? A girl’s day out?”

Ivy doesn’t know what to say, knuckles pale green where they grip the phone. She regrets giving Harley her number. (And by “giving” she means Harley snatching the phone from her pocket and calling herself before Ivy had the chance to stop her.) The thought of strolling through a department store with Harley causes her anxiety to ratchet the way it did when the pretty girls would laugh at her in English class. What would they even talk about for fuck’s sake?

Not much to start, it turns out. Harley’s version of shopping is a lot less mundane and a lot more criminal. They end up taking twelve hostages in Bergsduff’s and leaving with two hundred thousand in designer goods. Muzak plays idly in the background as Harley holds the salesclerk at gunpoint, parading him around the floor while Ivy snatches up some cute summer looks. His nose drips blood from where she pistol-whipped him upon entrance.

“Hey, try those on,” Harley suggests, waving the gun wildly towards a pair of gold-rimmed sunglasses. The hostages in her line of fire duck and scramble when it points in their direction. “Those’ll look real hot on you! Perfect for your face shape.”

Even the sales clerks—with the barrel of Harley’s gun poking between his shoulder blades—can’t help but agree.

Ivy slips them into her pocket.

They go to dinner.

“And it better be fucking vegan, alright?!” Harley screeches through the kitchen door. When she turns back to Ivy, she’s all grins and bubbles. “He said it should be right out!” she relays, skipping back towards the table.

Ivy glances towards the chef’s wife and son where they lay bound and gagged, piled in the living room corner. Harley had arranged a “private meal” by Gotham’s hottest new chef after Ivy had told her the reservations for his restaurant were usually booked a month in advance.

“Are you sure we don’t have to worry about them?” Ivy asks with a skeptical slant towards their hostages.

“Nah,” Harley dismisses. “They’re chill.”

Their captive hosts nod in agreement, wide-eyed and terrified.

They talk about boys.

“So like I was saying,” Harley picks up where she left off, twirling a fork between two fingers. “Joker has some real ripe areas for improvement with the overall rollout of his new brand vision before the Legion of Doom induction, ya know? Just some things I’m helpin’ him out with… order of operations and stuff like that.”

Ivy’s thankful Harley’s doing all the talking. She fills the space with an endless stream of stray observations and chatter.

She gets a dreamy look in her eye, resting her head against her palm. “I mean, he’s a real genius, ya know? It’s pure art what he does.” (Ivy wants to vomit but the food is coming soon.) “And don’t ever tell him I said otherwise”—she sits up, clasping her hands together—“but in general, there’s a lack of foresight to some of his schemes. Like escape plans, for example. Usually he has it all figured out when Batsy arrives—how to get away that is—but not for the whole crew, ya know?”

Ivy narrows, not quite getting at what she’s saying.

Harley shimmies closer in her chair, propping her elbows on the table. “Okay, okay, so like, there’ll be a getaway car, right? But it’s one of those clown cars, like a tiny one. Only this clown car isn’t like a clown car where it can fit all the rest of us; it’ll just fit him.” She pauses to let Ivy consider. “Is that… is that funny? Like ha-ha Joker-level theatrics?”

Ivy’s dumbfounded. “A clown car that’s just a regular tiny car…that only Joker can escape in… and he leaves you all behind to get caught,” she summarizes, doubt dripping from her tongue. “So you’re telling me he just like, takes off in a Smart car?”

“Yes!” Harley nods, excitedly. Her jester’s cap bounces with the motion. “Exactly! Just a Smart car for one. It could use some work, right?”

Ivy doesn’t even know where to begin. Luckily the chef returns, placing two gorgeous plates of food before them. Harley squeals beside her and Ivy snaps to attention, grabbing her fork. It smells fucking heavenly as it comes to her mouth but then Harley’s hand is strong around her wrist, stopping her mid-bite.

He shakes his head and whimpers; Harley seems satisfied. They dig in.

“Oh my god,” Ivy says, flavor dancing across her taste buds. “This is like… orgasmic.”

Harley preens. “Only the best for my friend!”

Friend. It rolls so easily off of Harley’s tongue and Ivy wonders what it is exactly that makes this shit so hard for her. Ivy tries to play along but she’s transported back to English class with Melinda Jenkins snickering every time Ivy raised her hand. “Ha,” she tries. “I owe ya one… pal.”

God, she’s a fucking dork but Harley couldn’t care less. She pounces. “Come to me and J’s Legion of Doom induction then?!” she asks like the question was burning a hole through her tongue. “It’s this weekend. We can drink all of Lex’s fancy-ass champagne. Please? Please? Please, Ivy?”

Harley puppy-dog pouts and Ivy’s stomach flips. Is this normal friend shit? She has no idea.

“I’m sorry but fuck no. No way. Literally anything but that.” Harley will just have to deal; Ivy is decidedly not a good friend.

#harlivy #harley quinn #poison ivy #harlivy fic #harley x ivy #ivy x harley #pamela isley #harleen quinzel #my fic

47 notes · View notes

theyapper0 · 1 year ago

Text

HAZBIN HOTEL REDESIGNS!!!!

I recently watched Hazbin Hotel for the first time! I've never been into it before, and I vaguely remember it when the pilot first came out years ago but I never even watched THAT!!

It's not............. the best show ever BUT I HAD FUN WATCHING IT!!!!!! I mainly like it bc I love Catholicism and the bible SOOOOO I'm rewriting it and I'll be posting ALL MY IDEAS!!!!!! (Ppl are gonna hate it LOL)

Close-ups + notes are under the cut :)

CHARLIE: OK SO I basically got rid of all the goat stuff that she (didn't) have going on ASIDE from the hooves hahaha, I didn't draw them here but she still has those bc I think they're COOL

So taking inspo from the fact that Charlie's design was based off porcelain dolls and marionettes, Charlie is LITERALLY a doll come to life!!! Lucifer and Lilith, bc they couldn't naturally conceive a child (bc Lilith is dead + is known to be responsible for the death of newborns), basically just made a child-doll and gave it life with their demonic magic!!!

I ALSO WANT CHARLIE TO CONSTANTLY BE TEETERING THE LINE OF LOOKING CREEPY AND FUCKED UP!!!! She's literally a living doll, I need ppl to look at her sometimes and be unsettled (sheep in wolf's clothing)

VAGGIE: Like Charlie, I'm completely throwing the animal (moth) motif that Vaggie (supposably) had. I'm mainly leaning more into Hotel Manager/body guard. WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOW!!!!!!

Honestly, I've changed Vaggie's design over 4 times and it's subject to change STILL. I gave her a cloak bc I think it's epic and I think she's epic and you'll be seeing her in future posts with what her outfit looks like without the cloak, it's a sleeveless collared shirt and she's got long fingerless gloves on :) AND THE CLOAK IS ALSO THERE BC I THINK SHE'S EDGY!!!! She's edgy and emo and amazing

I WAS gonna make her with awesome battle scars but then I remembered that angels can only be harmed with angelic weapons so :(((( no hot scars

ANGEL: MY ANGEL DESIGN IS NEVER CHANGING!!!!!! I have no notes, I think I'm in love with my Angel.

I heard somewhere that Angel in cannon has one black sclera and one white one bc he died with a black eye sooo..... He died with 2 black eyes LOL!!!

I didn't wanna give him prominent wrists and ankles bc I thought it looks cute :3

HUSK: He's a tuxedo cat, I think they're adorable and I think Husk is a 70 year old man who should be adorable. And NO BOW TIE!!!! I'M TIRED OF EVERY CHARACTER HAVING ONE!!!!

He's a frazzled drunk who's still Alastor's pet LOL

ALASTOR: I took a lot of inspiration for Alastor's design from Dr. Daddy-o, a radio DJ/host from New Orleans in the 1940's!!! I LOVE his voice and I wanted to base Alastor off of a BLACK RADIO HOST bc he's you know, BLACK!!!!!!!! Idk who that white boy is in cannon

He and Charlie are tied for the tallest in the cast, they're the same height (not counting his antlers)

I wanted to make Alastor look pretty human looking, aside from his antlers and deer ears ofc bc I don't think he needs to look scary all the time, he usually uses his words to provoke ppl anyway (and if that doesn't work THEN he'll use force) (Wolf in sheep's clothing)

NIFFTY: Niffty's design is based off Rosie the Riveter (WE CAN DO IT!!!!) especially with her her top, her hair and her headband/bandana.

I also made her taller than she is in cannon bc she's not the kind of character that the audience or even the other characters take seriously so in my head adding a couple inches to her will make me take her more seriously LOL

#hazbin hotel #tw hazbin hotel #charlie morningstar #vaggie hazbin hotel #angel dust #angel dust hazbin hotel #husk hazbin hotel #alastor hazbin hotel #alastor the radio demon #niffty hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel redesigns #my art #I wouldn't call these notes #its more just me talking abt NOTHING hahaha #hazbin motel

64 notes · View notes

y-ves · 1 year ago

Text

decalcomanie — the process of transferring designs from prepared paper on to glass or porcelain.

welcome to another event hosted by yours truly , useryves . the idea for this event came into my mind many moons ago while talking with my friend trivi , i told her about how I get inspired to make my creations after I read certain works posted on this app. and now after a long while , i get to present to you this event. the main aim is to support both writers & mb creators on this platform . i hope you enjoy this as much as i did creating it

INDEX ;

I ) ABOUT

II ) RULES & REGULATIONS

III ) HOW TO JOIN

IV ) EXTRAS

I ) ABOUT THE EVENT

this event is truly , very simple !

you will be assigned a drabble or a fanfic not exceeding more than 2k words ( it's not much , believe me )

you will need to create a moodboard ! based on that work ! you may use any idol that fits the theme for you <3

an example moodboard is this one !

— the fanfiction used in this is strawberries and chocolates by @bywons after reading it , i included elements of the

i) library setting

ii ) the chocolate strawberries

iii ) young love & it's playfulness as shown by the flowers & the image of holding hands

iv) the secrecy, as shown by the 3rd image in the second row

your moodboard need not be this complex , but i would appreciate if each image had a story to tell ! this should be the ultimate goal

II ) RULES AND REGULATIONS — read all of them carefully

there are both male & female writers, but more male ones , therefore you are allowed to use either female OR male idol in your creations

i will only be giving sfw works by my lovely authors ; @wheeboo @bywons @isawritesss @kimsohn

your moodboard must be directly or loosely related to the fanfic assigned to you

you can always ask for a change in fanfic

you cannot plagiarise anyone else's work

you are allowed to message me in case you want any critique or help !

your moodboard will be judged by the authors themselves !! i will judge as a mb creator but they have the final descision

III) HOW TO JOIN ;

send a message to @y-ves in this format :

hii ! i would like to participate in your event ! i would prefer a male/female idol's fanfiction please ! and i ult (group name)

reblog this post & tag any 3 of your friends

IV) EXTRAS ;

your moodboard must be posted with the # below ( just copy paste )

decalcomanie ! the event

you may add a small description of your moodboard in the comments section , explaining which elements u used or how u got inspired

deadline is 3rd April

prizes ;

🥇 the writer will write 1 work based on moodboards posted by you ( any mb of yours ) , 60 reblogs , 4 mbs by @y-ves , s/o by me , theme pack by me

🥈 writer will write 1 work based on moodboards posted by you , 40 reblogs , 2 mbs by @y-ves , theme pack

🥉writer will write 1 work based on moodboards posted by you , 30 reblogs , 1 mb by @y-ves

participation prize : 1 mb by @yujinszn ( i own the acc )

89 notes · View notes

theladyofshalott1989 · 7 months ago

Text

"In Which There's a Spooky Surprise": A Sebastian Sallow x MC 🎃 All Hallow's Eve One-Shot

Summary: Married!Sebastian Sallow is in for a spooky surprise at Sirona's yearly All Hallow's Eve masquerade.

Pairing: Sebastian Sallow x Male MC (Damien Evans)

Word Count: 1,900

SFW

Note: You can also read this one-shot on AO3! If you enjoy it, please feel free to give it a kudo, a comment, or whatever floats your boat! (Please and thank you.) [ AO3 Link ]

Sebastian adjusted the mask on his face as he glanced around The Three Broomsticks, searching for his dashing husband. In theory, he should be able to spot Damien easily. But in practice, it didn’t quite pan out.

Firstly, he couldn’t very much wear his glasses over his mask, so the world was a bit blurrier than usual. Then, on top of that, Sebastian and Damien had agreed to not divulge their costumes to each other before meeting at Sirona’s All Hallow’s Eve masquerade event.

All Hallow’s Eve, which also happened to be Sebastian and Anne’s birthday, was still a handful of days away, but Sebastian always enjoyed the holiday. Mostly because Damien loved to play dress up, which usually led to another—more sensual—experience. Obviously, that wasn’t likely to occur at Sirona’s esteemed establishment, but perhaps later, when they returned home. Oh yes, that would be positively glorious. Sebastian would trust the events of the night, wherever they may lead.

At the time they’d decided to keep their costumes a secret, Sebastian had found the idea enticing. But past-Sebastian hadn’t known that he would have two errant potions explode in his face this afternoon. The clean-up had been exasperating, to put it kindly, and the subsequent scolding he’d given to his students for being so careless with their ingredients had set him in a sour mood.

So, here he was, dressed as a “vampire.” Sebastian had thrown something together with very little thought: black trousers, a black shirt, black, leather gloves, and—yes, you guessed it!—a long black coat and boots. He didn’t bother with fangs. He'd debated adding a dab of strawberry jam just below his bottom lip, but he knew it wouldn’t be there long, especially if he ever found Damien. His husband simply adored everything sweet; it was a wonder he’d ended up married to Sebastian, as grumpy and irascible as he could be. But, to be fair, Damien often brought out Sebastian’s agreeable side. Not that Sebastian would ever admit that out loud.

And then, of course, there was this damned mask, which was currently pinching his nose. He adjusted it again with a sigh.

“Hm,” a woman in a gaudy purple dress with long trailing coattails said as she appeared before Sebastian. Her mask was designed in the shape of a giant orange bow tie.

Sebastian chuckled quietly to himself. It was clearly Sirona. Only Sirona would dare to don Peeves's garish attire. And, since she was the host of this party, she must be greeting everyone upon their arrival.

“Let me guess,” she continued, inspecting him up and down. “Death! No, no, wait! A crow.”

Sebastian released a hearty chuckle. “Not even close. I’m—”

Mirabel, her long red hair a conspicuous giveaway, swooped in, cutting Sirona off with a recitation delivered in a shockingly accurate Transylvanian accent: “Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!"

Sebastian’s eyebrows shot up. “Mirabel, you know Dracula?”

"I re-read it every year!" she exclaimed, beaming under her green mask adorned with what seemed to be actual vines. She must be a Shakespearean character. Perhaps Queen Titania? Or wait... no, Puck seemed more her style.

He gave it a try. "Lord, what fools these mortals be!"

Mirabel clapped deliriously. "Oh, well done! Well done, Sebastian!"

Sirona started tapping her foot on the floor. "I’m waiting."

Sebastian rubbed his chin in mock contemplation. He wracked his brain for one of Peeves’s more well-known phrases, settling on, "Naughty, naughty, you’ll get caught-y."

Sirona quirked a smile, patted Sebastian on the back, and before departing—her arm looped through Mirabel’s—whispered in his ear, "Damien's upstairs, haunting the corridors."

Damien was a ghost then, Sebastian mused to himself. That costume should be easy enough to find.

It turned out Sebastian was sorely mistaken. He downed the final dregs of his Butterbeer. Damien was still nowhere to be found. Damien wasn’t avoiding him, was he? They hadn’t had an argument lately… Had Sebastian forgotten something? No, their anniversary was last month. He’d given Damien a beautiful hardback edition of his favorite novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. So, if Damien wasn’t cross with him, where was he?

Sebastian deftly maneuvered past a few other partygoers, weaving back and forth through the buzzing crowd. He couldn't recall ever seeing the inn this packed, but he supposed it was good for business. Sebastian had already indulged in three Butterbeers within the past half hour, and he was now debating when—if at all—it would be acceptable to have another without appearing overly eager.

As Sebastian made his way up the stairs, his mind wandered, until something caught his attention: a shadow, barely visible, drifting past the edge of his vision. He froze, eyes narrowing as he focused on a figure up ahead wrapped in what appeared to be a long, flowing white sheet, gliding soundlessly down the hallway and into a room. A chill crept up his spine, but curiosity overpowered caution. Without thinking, Sebastian hurried forward.

The hallway seemed to stretch unnaturally as he approached, the friendly chatter from the crowded stairwell and the room below replaced by a suffocating silence that pressed against his ears. He slipped into the room after the mysterious figure, but found it... empty. Completely and unnervingly empty. Had he imagined the haunting apparition? The stillness of the room was stifling, as if the very air itself was holding its breath.

Before Sebastian could fully process the strangeness of it all, the door behind him slammed shut with a deafening thud. The sound echoed through the hollow room. Sebastian’s heart lurched into his throat. He spun around, but the door remained still, shadowed and menacing, as if it were mocking him. His unease deepened, crawling up his skin like long, spindly spider legs. He shuddered.

With a shaky breath, Sebastian approached the door, hand trembling as it hovered over the handle. He twisted the knob, then pushed. The door creaked open easily. Too easily. Was he expecting it to be locked, trapping him here? He chuckled quietly to himself. Of course not! The door must have slammed shut due to a breeze from the window. He glanced back over his shoulder to confirm his theory.

The solitary window in the room stared back at him. It was closed. There was no breeze. There was no reason for the door to have shut in such a forceful manner. There was no reason for the door to have shut at all. How peculiar. A cold sweat beaded on Sebastian's forehead, and despite his best efforts, he couldn’t shrug off the tension growing in his shoulders.

After one last long glimpse, Sebastian exited the room, swallowing his unease. Damien wasn’t here, and lingering any longer seemed... unwise.

But as he stepped into the hallway and back down the stairs, something seemed terribly wrong. The once bustling stairwell, crammed with people, had become a yawning void. Not a single soul remained. Where did everyone go?

“Hello?” he called out, his voice cracking. No answer came. Only a vast, unsettling silence.

His steps grew quicker, but the sound of his footsteps seemed too loud, too isolated in the emptiness. He descended the last few steps, his heart pounding louder with each tread, until he reached the bottom.

And then: a chorus of voices. Too loud, too synchronized, as if they’d been waiting for him all along.

"SURPRISE!"

Sebastian stumbled backward as someone cast Lumos and the room flickered to life, revealing dozens of unmasked familiar faces gathered before him. Damien stood at the forefront, a white sheet draped over his shoulder, a mischievous grin on his face as he held up a massive birthday cake—chocolate, of course—adorned with candles, also now lit.

"Happy birthday, Bash!" Damien exclaimed, signaling to the assembled guests with a nod of his head, his hands currently occupied. "Did we surprise you?”

Sebastian nearly collapsed from relief. “It’s not my birthday until next week,” he stammered back, clutching his chest.

“The better to surprise you with, my dear." Damien leaped forward and pecked Sebastian gently on the lips, somehow managing to not drop the cake or set Sebastian on fire in the process. Placing the cake on a table, he allowed Sebastian to snuff out the candles, then conjured a serving knife. “Who wants a slice?” he asked amid the crowd breaking out into scattered conversations.

Sebastian took three deep breaths in succession.

Unsurprisingly, Damien noticed Sebastian’s sorry attempt at a recovery. “Alright, love?” he asked, brow furrowed.

“Alright now,” Sebastian replied, waving off Damien’s concern. It wouldn't do to spoil Damien's romantic gesture.

Damien’s gaze lingered on Sebastian for a moment, scrutinizing his face. Sebastian must have schooled his expression well enough—the mask, which he was still wearing, may have helped a little—to convince Damien he was telling the truth, for only a few seconds passed before Damien nodded, then resumed cutting the cake.

Sebastian glanced around the busy room to take in the throng of people. The only loved ones missing appeared to be Anne and Ominis. Sebastian presumed they were at home with Leigh and Albert. The other week, Ominis had confided in him that Al, barely a year old now, was having a rough streak of sleepless nights. If Anne and Ominis needed to stay home to get some rest, so be it. Sebastian didn’t blame them. They could always have a smaller, more intimate birthday celebration later.

Once everyone had a slice of cake—Damien cutting the largest slice for Sebastian, but stealing a bite or two when he thought Sebastian wasn’t looking—Sebastian finally mustered the strength to smile. His shoulders relaxed.

Damien met his gaze, his mouth full of cake.

“Thank you,” Sebastian said.

Damien swallowed. “Of course,” he replied. “Anything for my brilliant husband.”

“Maybe not so brilliant.” He let out a nervous laugh. “Did you know, I nearly sent myself on a wild goose chase?”

“Oh?”

“I thought I saw someone enter a room upstairs, but it was just my imagination.”

“No, that was me," Damien said through a chuckle, rubbing at his stubbled chin.

“What?” Sebastian shoved him lightly. “Be serious, D. It was terrifying.” Damien had never been much for stealth; he lit up a room far too effortlessly.

“Terrifying? Little old me?” Damien's eyes sparkled; he looked far too pleased with himself. It was both delightful and infuriating. He continued: “I had to cause a diversion so everyone could hide!”

Sebastian blinked, taken aback. “How did you ever manage?”

“I Disillusioned myself, of course,” Damien said, smirking devilishly. “Had to, really. I’m rather conspicuous, you see.” He grabbed his belly and shook it, releasing a hearty laugh. “Especially lately.”

Sebastian grinned. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. And good thing you learned that spell from me.” He mussed Damien’s hair in an affectionate manner. “You’re welcome.”

“You old softie,” Damien teased, his cheeks turning a rosy shade of pink. He grabbed Sebastian’s hand and planted a soft kiss on the back of it. “Thank you, my love.”

Sebastian pulled Damien in for a real kiss, not this hand-kissing nonsense. “I positively adore you, my own personal ghost-husband,” he murmured against Damien’s lips.

“Love you too, my…” he trailed off, inspecting Sebastian with narrowed eyes, “vampire?” he finished, one eyebrow raised.

“I knew you’d get it.” Sebastian smiled, leaned forward, and gently nipped Damien’s neck. “You’re mine now. Eternally.”

Damien burst into an infectious peal of laughter. “I’m not so sure the mechanics of that works with ghosts, but I catch your drift.” He flicked Sebastian’s nose. “Eternity sounds perfect.”

[ AO3 Link ]

[ Read the whole series ]

Happy Halloween!

#hogwarts legacy #sebastian sallow #sebastian sallow x mc #hogwarts legacy one shot #halloween one shot #spooktober #grumpy sunshine #sebastian sallow x male mc #sebastian sallow x m!mc #sebastian sallow x damien evans #sebastien #like moths to a flame series

27 notes · View notes

sanajeh1909 · 2 years ago

Text

The Spy and The Spouse

Pairing : Chamber x F!Reader

Word Count : 5989

Warnings : Flirting, Romantic Tension, Spying/Action (only mentions of it, there is nothing much except the detailed description of whats happening), Jealousy, Unrequited Love (at the end on Chamber's part), Emotional Themes.

POV : 3rd Person

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

A/N : Sorry for my poor English, its not my native language. Chamber can be a bit OOC. Gif doesnt belong to me. Please do tell if there is any mistakes or off talks/writings on the scenario. There is so many expressions of the situation more than talks because i have no idea what to write as conversation, i have ran out of ideas. I had hard time writing this since i burnt my wrist accidentally now its hard to type without putting my wrist on the side of the keyboard. Yellow is for Chamber, Pink is for Reader, other colors are for side characters. I hope you enjoy it.

The day of the mission comes. She wears black one shoulder long sleeve black dress with black suede wedge heels. Her glasses are same design as Chamber's, except hers was thin framed and had soft edges on rectangular shape. Her hair is braided on both sides to the back and the rest of her hair is combed to the back. This made their hairstyles match.

While she was getting ready, Chamber put on his suit, matching her outfit perfectly. Chamber had been very particular about his own attire. The suit itself was black in color, it was a modern fashion design. It was tailored to his body to look as sharp as a knife. A crisp white shirt underneath was accompanied by a black tie with little black details. His hair, per usual, was undercut slickback.

When she finished, he walked in looking sharp and composed. When he saw the finished look, he was surprised to see how well put together she looked. Almost to a T to how she looked. Almost.

He raised an eyebrow at her look and expression, as if he were about to laugh at how ridiculous he found her similar sense of fashion. Then, he just grinned devilishly. Arent we a slick couple?

He was very confident in his appearance, as he should. After all, he was going to be playing the smug, arrogant husband. She smirks at him and walks towards him confidently. Her back is straight and her chin is slightly up. We will crush them just with our presence, it seems.

He couldnt help but admire how well you took the role of the wife. His eyes traveled upwards from your heeled shoes to the matching dress to your hair to the glasses that only gave you a more charming aura. One of his hand on his pocket, he offers his other arm to her and a smug smile on his face. I couldnt have picked a better partner. We make quite a pair.

She smirks at him and takes his arm. They get in the car, Chamber holding her door for her before going to the drivers seat. With Chamber driving to the party in silence, they are preparing themselves for the mission mentally.

As they arrive, they walk to the party with their arms intertwined. The party is filled with businessmen, CEO's and their spouses in simple yet classy dresses.

The host gives them both an appraising look before looking at Chamber. That look was followed by a small nod. Well, look at this. If it isnt Mr. and Mrs. Fabron. It was an odd feeling to have someone refer to her as a married couple. It was weird to be called Mr. and Mrs. Fabron, but it had a quite weird feeling that made her wanted to be called like that.

The man gesturs towards the crowd of guests. It was a variety of different types of people. The only unifying factor was money.

The moment they stepped inside was the second that the mission and the married couple act started. They even made custom rings to play along. That costed the couple more than they expected, but it would worth if it meant for success.

Chamber walks alongside of her, enjoying how her arm fit so nicely with his. He couldnt help but look at all the men who kept glancing up at her admiringly as they walk. He couldnt blame them. Even before he was a "married man", she looked good enough to make heads turn. All she had to do was show up.

He smiles at her side. He is still the charming bastard for the night. He whispers in her ear. This is going to be fun.

She smirks at his words and whispers back. Show has just begun, darling. Just watch and see.

He chuckled a little, liking this side of her. In the middle of his mission, he was finding himself to enjoy just being beside her. Being in this role of a married couple was different, it felt more... wholesome. It was... nice.

He gives her a little squeeze of her hand. He looks around, analyzing the crowd, looking for certain people. Alright. Just follow my lead, alright?

She nods. After all, he was more experienced than her in this type of situations, so the both had agreed to follow his lead. They have praticed and spend more time to get used to each other, but now they needed to put them all on the act.

Chamber turns his head to face you. He straightens his suit, making sure everything was clean before facing the guests. She was starting to get some glances. Some from men, and some from women. Of course, everyone thought she were just a beautiful woman with a handsome husband. No one suspected them being an undercover agent. They had to have their guards up. Especially in this kind of party.

A small smile crossed his face. This was going to be fun. Alright. Act, beloved wife.

Of course, mon mari~. She wears her most charming and sweet smile as they get close to a poseur table. The guests greets us and we greet them back.

Chamber does his best to make sure his smile looked both charming and smug. With her beside him, the smug smile had a little more genuine edge to it. With the guests, he looked at her with pride, like seeing his trophy wife. You played the part so damn well, how could he not show some pride? ;)

She takes a deep inhale, enjoying the feeling of the atmosphere around them. No one could tell the twi were anything but an extremely loving, happily married couple. No one would suspect a thing until him and her make a move. This had to be a good plan. This has to go well.

She pulls a waiter towards their table. Chamber looks at her out of the corner of his eye. He was making sure she was acting her part. Do you want something to drink, darling? She asks as she glances at the waiter, then she smiles at Chamber.

Chamber couldnt stop lookin at her. Acting and pretending felt... good, with her. She acter her part, like a good "married couple", and made the act so believable he almost forgot the reason they were there. This moment, the most intimate part of it all, was so convincing it blurred a line in his mind that he didnt know was there.

Chamber looks at her and whispers, still smiling. Your choice.

She smiles at him warmly, not too excessive to pull the attention to me, not insincere to look cold towards him. Then, im ordering Bordeaux Blend for you and for me... You choose. She gives him a subtle smirk with her voice is velvet-like and lowered.

He couldnt help but smile. In this moment, she acted so well, he would honestly consider taking her out of this plan and just make her his wife. He spoke in with a deep, warm and velvety tone, trying to match her. With a certain confidence, he orders a glass of champagne for her. This would work. A toast in advance...

After short while, waiter comes with the orders and they get their beverages. He turns his gaze towards her. For a successful mission.

She smiles at him. No one heard his sentence, that was a good thing. For our success.

A successful mission... and a successful marriage. He said the last part with a grin. It was half out of instinct, the other half just for show. It was part of the act, a married couple that planned their future together. Yet it was odd to him that he wanted that future with her, someone that came into his life at a most unusual time.

The people on the other tables clinks their glasses almost at the same time with them, then they take small sip from the beverage. It was time to wait for the perfect moment to strike. Her eyes slowly returns to scan the crowd. A lot of suspicioous types there... A lot of interesting people...

Chamber leans back slightly, his eyes sweeping across the party as he thought. His eyes landed on a certain target at the right side of the room, clearly a high-ranking businessman that looked to be talking to a woman in a nice dress.

He leans closer to her, lowering his voice to a whisper. You see that man on the right with the gorgeous woman? His name is Laurent Danton. I know him from previous missions. That woman he is been talking to is Anette Chavois, the CEO's daughter. Our mark.

She looks at the targets without making it obvious, then speaks in a tone that matches his. Yeah, lets keep an eye on them and approach carefully.

He whispers into her ear. I have been keeping an eye on him tonight, and the target always moves between drinks. Its perfect for us to take advantage of this.

He pulls his head back to look at her. As soon as he leaves his current target, we should make our move. Do you agree?

Yes, on your lead. She whispers to him, then both takes long sip from their beverages.

He gives her an enthusiastic nod and looks at his watch, keeping on eye on Mr. Danton from the corner of his eye. He could see that the man was getting into particularly... interesting discussion with the woman he was with, his right arm slightly draped on her shoulder. It looked to be a private conversation.

Chamber checks his watch once more, and with a slight flick of his head he indicates that its time. The couple puts their empty glasses on the tray that was on waiters hand which was passing by, then they make their move. Now the show is about to begin.

Once Mr. Danton took a few steps away from his partner, Chamber immediately moved towards the two, with her on his arm. The man looks at them, surprised to see the handsome couple approaching him. He offered a warm smile to Chamber and shifts his gaze to the stunning woman on Chamber's arm, offers a handshake while addressing her...

Laurent Danton. Pleasure. And you are?

She gives a smile mixed with a smirk. she shakes Laurent Danton's hand eleganty. Y/N Fabron.

Its clear Danton likes the sound of her name, and she is pretty sure he just took a long look at her. Danton has eyes for women, that much is clear. Not just any women, though. Women that are just as gorgeous as her. She could tell by the way his eyes were fixated on her.

Chamber speaks before Laurent can come up with a flirtatious comment directed his wife. Vincent Fabron. He shakes Danton's hand, then moves his hand towards her in a welcoming gesture. My wife. She bows slightly as if she is proud to be Vincent's wife, still smiling at the businessman.

Laurent's eyebrows raise. He looks between the two of them, then he chuckles, clearly impressed. What a beautiful couple you make, to have such a stunning and gorgeous woman with you, Mr Fabron. And his eyes lingered back at her. If they werent pretending to be wife and husband, the man would obviously be flirting with her left and right.

Chamber didnt look away but his arm tightened on her hand, and his eyes narrowed in a focused manner. He didnt like these kinds of people in the slightest. After a few moments of silence, he speaks with a casual tone, like this was a random encounter. So, i understand you are friends with Anette Chavois? Thats an interesting woman, if i have ever met one. The tone wasnt quite hostile... but it wasnt friendly either.

He directly went to the topic. No games, no subtle meanings... She still keeps smiling and strokes his arm slightly to signal him if something goes wrong, she will back him up.

A quiet smile on Laurent's lips. He notices that stroke, no doubt. He knew it was meant for him to signal if something was wrong. But she looked absolutely charming, and the fact that she was touching him was just as effective. Even the woman he was with tilted her head, looking at her with admiration.

Laurent clears his throat, his smile growing wider by the second. Of course, we are good friends. Anette and me, we go way back.

Chamber looks over at her and gives her a smug smile, proud of how she was able to carry herself. He then looks back towards Laurent. You two must have a lot to talk about then. He makes a small pause. Or perhaps i can steal my wife for a moment?

She chuckles softly, it was fake but it made the mood that was getting heavy a little bit lighter. Mr. & Mrs. Fabron could see the man considering the decision. He clearly wanted to say yes, being a man of status and privilege... but the hesitation came from him wanting to keep Y/N close, too. An excuse to have her nearby just to look at.

Laurent chuckles. Just for a moment. He gestures towards his partner. Anette looks at her again, her eyes studying Y/N, perhaps a little too intently. Y/N knew that look. Anette was jealous. Of her.

Y/N smiles and they take some steps back, to have some privacy away from the crowd, including the businessman and CEO's daughter.

Chamber turns to face her, speaking quietly so only she can hear his words. His tone was soft and sweet... Are you okay, wife?

His arms wraps around her waist, his eyes closing in satisfaction. She was the only thing he could focus on, like a beautiful distraction that would lead to a dangerous spiral. He was just making sure her part was going well.

She reaches a hand to the side of his neck, gently caressing, her hand trails down to his shoulder sometimes and trails back to his neck. I am, except the hungry looks of Laurent. If we werent on a mission, i would have taken care of him. But i have to bear it now. She speaks in quiet tone, almost playfully and pouting, but he knew she was serious on her words. She was clearly irritated by the flirtation of Laurent, but she was heeping the pose for the sake of the mission and Chamber.

His eyes narrowed slightly in irritation, his grip on her waist tightening in an almost possessive fashion. He was still playing the role, but the words were genuine. He didn't like the way these rich, flirtatious people tried to get at her. He gives a warm, friendly smile, but his eyes were stern. One hand stayed on her waist, the other hand ran across her shoulder to her neck. His thumb caressed her cheek.

Husband mode activated. If he so much as touches you, wife, I'll make him regret it. Dont worry, beloved wife. I will take care of this situation.

Then Laurent spoke up again, a clear tone of sarcasm in his question. Tell me, Mrs. Fabron. He was being far flirtier than anyone should, and he knew it. He was clearly enjoying it.

Chamber had no problems ignoring Danton's presence when she decided to keep talking to the man. If anything, it got him more irritated the longer the conversation with him went on. Laurent was just enjoying the situation a little too much… in an inappropriate manner. Chamber let out a quiet sigh, trying to keep his smile as polite as possible.

Laurent noticed the sigh, and he spoke up while giving him a smug smile.

Laurent seemed almost as arrogant as Vincent thought he would be. It wasn't a good look for a man in his position. It was good that he was an arrogant man, though, because it was exactly what Vincent wanted. What he needed. He was going to let the man have his arrogance, in order to catch him off-guard.

Chamber looked at her softly, wanting to protect her from this person…

Excuse me, Mr. Danton? She asks without turning her body towards Laurent, one hand on Chambers shoulder and other hand is on his arm. Chamber's arms are wrapped around her waist again. She gives a gentle smile to Laurent to not cause a scene, but her body language shows how much she got uncomfortable with his behaviors.

Laurent immediately stops, his eyes shifting towards her. It took more than a second to break the smile he gave. He turned to her, a charming grin on his face. One that could not hide his intentions. I did say just a moment, didn't I? He looked as though he couldn't help it; in fact, he was simply unable to take his eyes off Y/N. He looked at her with such a predatory smile. He gave off a certain aura that he was sure Anette was enjoying. No, she wasnt. She looked at Y/N with that familiar jealousy.

Y/N chuckles softly and let go of Chamber's shoulder, but then she holds onto his arm with both hands. Of course, you did, Mr. Danton. We got carried away, apologies.

The more she tried to act the part with Laurent, Anette's gaze didn't waver. Anette would glare at Y/N, as if to express how irritated she was by the situation. Her partner looked at Mrs. Fabron, Y/N, still with that predatory gaze and sly smile. All he would need was a simple word, and he would drop Anette right away. Y/N could see the attraction to her in his gaze. Y/N could almost feel Anette's jealousy behind her. Anette needed to look good to her own partner, and Y/N was certainly ruining that.

Anette rolls her eyes, obviously knowing the intention of both parties. She can't believe she has to share a partner with Mrs. Fabron. Anette looked like she wants to make a scene to get Laurent's attention back to her. She's the type who's used to having the attention on her. Anette clearly needs a lot of it.

Chamber is still in character, so he keeps a smile on his face. However, his grip slowly gets tighter and tighter on his partner's waist. He was getting genuinely annoyed by this flirtatious bastard.

Y/N feels the tight grip on her waist and puts her hand over his gently, their rings on their fingers were touching each other. She gently stroke his hand to calm him down.

Her hand was exactly the kind of distraction he needed. For a second, his attention was back on her, and her only. He looked to her, her hand stroking his, and the anger on his face slowly disappearing as his grip on her relaxed. The warmth of her hand put a grin back on his face.

He suddenly had a mischievous idea. He leaned in closer, as if they had something between them. He kept his voice low and calm, letting his eyes rest on Anette. Let's cut to the chase, darling. You know that won't last.

Y/N smirks at him. She had a plan and they found their targets, why miss them when they can catch them? Why don't we all sit and talk a little bit? She suggests to Laurent. By we, she meant all four of them, but she is sure he will accept it.

Laurent's expression changed a little, from the predatory and charming smile, to an expression of confusion and intrigue. He was clearly trying to read both of them, searching for their intentions. He looks back at Anette. Anette was still looking at her with anger, clearly not happy with how her partner was acting. He turned back to Mrs. Fabron with a grin. The more, the merrier, darling. Have a seat. He gestures towards the empty chairs. The four of them was certainly drawing a lot of attention from other guests.

Y/N smiles and they all four walk to the empty table enough for 4 people. They sit down on the table. Chamber next to her, Anette across her, and Laurent next to Anette and across Chamber.

Chamber looks at the table. He cant help but notice how close Anette and Laurent are sitting. It wasnt a matter of space at the table, it was an act of affection. A clear display to the other guests, as if it hadnt been clear already, this was a couple. Anette placed her hand on Laurent's, resting on the table. She wore a ring on it. A gold wedding band. Fabron couple saw a small glimpse of it.

Y/N was holding Chamber's hand and gave slight squeeze on his hand, signaling the ring on Anette's finger. Chamber feels her squeeze his hand and he returns the squeeze to reply that he saw the ring too. His eyes were on Anette and Laurent's interaction. They were… comfortable together.

Y/N was wondering how much longer she'd have to sit here in the presence of these people. She had a job to do. That was the only problem. But at that moment, all she wanted was to have a moment for just the two of them, Chamber and her. All they needed to do was get close to the Anette and Laurent, and make the couple trust them enough to give some information. except that everything was nothing but just empty words.

She waited and watched. Laurent and Anette's hand kept touching… and touching. Y/N's eyes wandered to see Anettes's face. Anette was clearly enjoying this conversation. She also noticed the woman kept glancing at Y/N and Chamber out of the corner of her eyes. It was like Anette was jealous, but Y/N couldn't say why. Chamber squeezes her hand again. He was just checking in with her. His grip on her hand was getting tighter. A sign he was getting impatient.

She strokes his hand, then starts a conversation to talk. An easy and light conversation that won't bother anyone. After a good hour, They all laugh and chat. They did their job and got the information they needed. They could leave after not so long.

Chamber gave a casual and handsome smile towards Laurent and Anette. His grip on her hand was starting to hurt, but he didn't care. He was too intent on ending this conversation. He also noticed her hand stroke on his a second time. So, Anette didn't manage to be in a corner of his attention anymore. All he could think about, all he could focus on, were her hands on his, and the way she looked at him with those beautiful eyes. He was too caught in the moment, almost forgetting his job.

Y/N turns her head around to look whats happening around them. Clearly bored from the atmosphere and the conversation yet she had to play it off. Chamber looks around and sees that some partners were looking at them with awe and admiration, some women with jealousy, and Anette with… jealousy as well. From the way Anette kept looking at her, he was sure his hypothesis were correct. …This might work. He looked at her. I have a plan I think you'll like.

Y/N looks at him confused, but they were partners, even if it was just an act, she had to trust him. Especially when they were on a mission.

Chamber takes a couple steps back, pulling her with him. He moves slowly, seductively, and with grace. He took some steps back, putting some space between the table Anette and Laurent were sitting and him and his partner. He grabbed her by the waist, his arms slowly pulling her in. His eyes never left hers, the same captivating look from before, just a little more intimate.

He started dancing with her on the spot. The music was slow, the atmosphere was right, and the way they kept looking at each other… It was perfect. Y/N turns her head around to look whats happening around them. There was a light romantic melody on the background and some couples were dancing together. They can do a little show before they leave, maybe?

She smirks as she understood what he was planning. She puts her hand on his shoulder as they dance, they were close enough to whisper to each other. She whispers with a smirk. You really put on a show, Mr. Fabron. She teases him with the title. He really knew what he was doing.

He just pulls her closer to him with a smirk, his face looking even more smug than usual. At that moment, his eyes locked on Anette's for a moment. The predatory and arrogant look was still there, but it changed ever so slightly. He was observing Anette's behavior. His hand slowly slides up to the back of her neck. It was so warm, so soft. He leans in closer to her ear, whispering with confidence. Did you enjoy the show, darling?

She couldn't help but chuckle, but She tried her best to keep the smug smile on her face. The music was perfect for this kind of slow dance. It has so far worked, beloved Fabron. She looks around the room, seeing all the eyes on them, all the eyes on the two of them.

He pulls his head back. Just enough to see her face, and just enough for her to see that grin. He slowly drags his fingertips across her face, tracing her mouth and chin, still staring at her. The way she looked at him, the way her eyes locked on his. He couldn't look away. Your body is amazing. He whispers. His lips are very close to hers, but the man decided against the last step… yet he was inches away, his mouth at a perfect distance from hers.

The couple was dancing together. As much as Anette hated it, that much was obvious. But even while she looked at the two of them with jealousy, there was no denying it: they were quite the couple. Anette was clearly starting to question her relationship with Laurent after seeing the way he kept looking at Y/N.

Y/N smirks at him, she knew his intention and whispers. Oh, my husband wants kiss? She chuckles softly. I hope you still remember this all is just an act at the end of the mission. I hope your heart won't break after a pretentious kiss.

He couldn't help but chuckle at her teasing. She was too bold sometimes. Still, he couldn't resist. Still inches away from her lips, he leans closer, his eyes locked on hers. He whispered, loud enough for only her to hear. …I do get to kiss my beautiful wife, right? She chuckles silently. Then… their lips meets in a tender, gentle, slow kiss.

It was everything he expected it to be, and so much more. His eyes lit up when she kissed back, their lips touching for those precious, blissful moments. He pressed his lips against hers, matching the same gentle and slow pace. This kiss was tender and beautiful, an act of pure affection. Even if they had to lie, even if this moment was going to be just for a short instant, the two of them kissed, as passionately as any husband and wife would kiss. But they had a job to do.

Their lips part away after the short kiss. She speaks whispering and teasingly as they walk back to the table. Be grateful my lipstick doesn't come off.

Even though he knew he shouldn't, the grin on his face widened. Somehow the kiss made him feel more confident and smug than usual, and he was completely aware of it. I would have been happy to get it off your face anyway. I wouldn't mind the red lipstick on my face. He gave her a devilish look, enjoying the little fun he was having, if not enjoying the mission itself.

She rolls her eyes and chuckles. It was time to leave, since Anette and Laurent was ready to leave this "businessmen party".

Chamber glances at Laurent and Anette, whose eyes were still on the two of them. Their eyes seemed to give off a different kind of energy now, like the kind of people who just got to the end of the perfect date. Anette seemed more enamored than ever, but Laurent seemed… different. Almost as if he was jealous. Jealous of Chamber for being Y/N's husband. Chamber checks his watch. It was time for them to wrap things up.

Chamber turns and addresses the four of them. We have had a lovely night, wouldnt you agree, chérie?

She smiles at him gently. Thats right, it was a pleasant night, mon mari.

He turns his body ever so slightly towards her, keeping his eyes locked on her. He then raises a hand in the air. A small gesture of leaving the party.

Chamber's gaze suddenly turned towards Laurent, their eyes locked, like if they were trying to outstare eavh other. Laurent looked away first, almost reluctantly. He could barely hide his annoyance, like he had the worst case of jealousy.

Y/N could feel Anette squeeze Laurent's hand, and a soft kiss on his cheek. She whispered something into his ear, and Laurent let a smile creep onto his face as he nodded. He didn't look at Y/N anymore.

We should go. Chamber's smirk returned.

She bows slightly and they both turn towards the exit, arms intertwined. She whispers to him, clearly exhausted and frustrated from everything. Finally.

He gave her a charming smile. Their mission was successful, and she did a great job being his wife for that period of time. His eyes fell on her lips, as if there was something to say but he chose not to say it. He held on a little more strongly to her arm. He just enjoyed the intimacy of being with her, like the most devoted husbands might do.

I feel like we should celebrate our success somehow. He smirks, looking like he had a few ideas on his mind.

I want to celebrate it by taking my shoes off and jumping in my bed for a good night's sleep. She speaks clearly irritated by the party, act and Laurent's flirting.

He cant help but chuckle and look at her sideways, rolling his eyes. He smirks at her playfully, still clearly trying to look like the most loving husband. I think i have the perfect remedy for that... He leans in closer. In the meantime, can my wife walk next to me, arm in arm, with a smile in that gorgeous face of hers? He looks at you with more than just a hint of affection.

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. Chamber opens the door for her, she slumps on the passenger seat. He gets in driver's seat. Lets just end this mission. And since we are done with pretending to be a happy married couple... She takes the ring out of her finger and puts it on the cup holder of the car.

If his eyes could go any wider, they would. His smile disappeared from his face, and was replaced by confusion. His reaction wasnt due to pain or sadness, it was due to the sudden change in tone. His confident, happy-go-lucky expression turned into a look of surprise... followed by something.

She could feel that something in his eyes. It was like a tiny flicker, but she saw it. He couldnt help but look surprised... and disappointed. He turned his gaze away. ...Of course. He starts the car.

She stares at the road in silence whole time back to the quarters. All the act, all the pose of married couple ended. She had told him in the first place, after this ends, everything will be over. Now everything ended, and they were going back to how they were.

Chamber kept driving. The radio was off, the windows slightly open, with a beautiful night and a clear sky outside. The silence was awkward, to say the least. His eyes were focused on the road, while his hand gripped tightly to the steering wheel. His face was emotionless, while his eyes were filled with regret. In such an odd way, even though the act was a lie, he felt hurt. Because of his role, because of who the target was, and because of her.

As he parks his car on the parking lot of headquarters, she had fallen asleep on the passenger seat on their way back after all the tiredness of the mission washed over her.

He opened the door and saw her asleep. His eyes looked down at her, her face so peacefully serene as she slept. He gave a small smile. He was proud at how well she managed to act for most of the time. He wasn't proud of something else, though. He got the ring from cup holder and put it on his jacket's pocket.

He gently picked her up so that she wouldn't wake up. With his arm under her legs and the other supporting her back, he walked to her room to lay her down. The way he walked and his face said: "I just want to take care of you."

He placed her on the bed, her body looking like a sleeping angel. He then sat down on the edge of the bed, watching her sleep as he stroked her hair with extreme tenderness. His face was still expressionless, but his eyes gave the expression away. The look of... Love. He loved her. But that feeling would have to wait. He looked at the ring on the coffee table. He had to keep telling himself he had a job to do.

He placed her down carefully. He pulled the blanket up to my chin and he took off her shoes for her, placing them on the side of the bed. He then turns the light off, but he just stands there. Still no words, nor any hint of movement. He is just watching over her as she sleeps. Making sure she is comfortable. Making sure she is okay. Doing what a husband would do for their partner. It was an affectionate yet sad sight, if one could call it that. He had placed the ring she took off to the table on the bedside. She was still sleeping, her hair draped over the pillow, the blanket over her.

Chamber looks at her. He sees the beautiful and fragile features of her face, and the way she sleeps peacefully and serenely. He couldn't help but place a soft, tender kiss on her forehead. He lingered for a second, letting his lips linger, but he knew time was of the essence. He walked out, turning off the lights behind him, leaving her room pitch black.

On his way to his room, he turns towards her door once more. His chest filled with conflicted emotions, he turns away and enters his quarters, leaving her to rest. The mission was over, but his heart remained undecided.

He enters his own room. He sits down on his bed, looking at the bed beside his own. His face has an expression she've never seen, an expression that he had never expected. He was thinking about her. About the one woman who had the power to change his life. The one woman who made him feel both warm and cold. The one woman who made him feel so much affection and love at the same time. The one woman who could break his heart.

He throws himself on his bed to lay down. As if he was too annoyed with himself. Too much work, too much acting. His head spun with emotions. The mission was over. So why did his heart feel like a trainwreck?

Sorry if this sucks with too much explanation and lacking conversation and mission scenes/action. I had hard time to write something good and it was hard to type with burnt wrist so it took longer than intended. I hope this meets with your expectations.

#valorant chamber #valorant x reader #vincent fabron #chamber #chamber x reader #valorant fanfiction #chamber valorant #valorant chamber x reader #valorant vincent fabron

55 notes · View notes

yerimbrit · 7 months ago

Text

[flufftober day 25, wc: 595] - pumpkin carving : ot7 izna

THIS IS TOTALLY a good bad idea—you and 7 of your closest friends carving pumpkins together, that is. well, at least that’s what jiyoon insists, even when she’s barely holding back a smile with the way her mouth is twitching. everyone else agreed readily, some more enthusiastic than others, some just wanting to spend time with all of you, cough, saebi, cough.

the group gathers at jiyoon’s house (after she tried to pass the host cloak onto someone else, thrice) in the backyard, a pumpkin in front of each of you on the two tables set up by her dad. the carving tools were provided by jeemin, which, you don’t know where she got all of this, but you don’t want to ruin her no-aura-loss-streak by asking, so… to hell with it!

you’re in the middle of carving, you know, a regular jack-o-lantern face, triangle eyes and all, when you look over to sarang sitting next to you on your left who has traced the outline of a heart onto her pumpkin, and then proceeds to stab the middle of the heart with her knife. she notices your gaze on her, and then smiles brightly at you, saying how much she loves your pumpkin. after she turns back, you scooch away slightly. ‘i don’t know who hurt you, but i hope it’s not me.’

on your right, and you breathe a sigh of relief, you see something non-questionable. mai (who is probably one of the only normal people in your group) is focusing on her own classic jack-o-lantern, with dots for eyes and triangles for ears accompanied by three lines on either side for whiskers.

“cute cat, mai-unnie,” you grin, earning you a thankful smile from the older girl.

she holds her hand out for you to high-five, which you give, “yours is too, y/n.”

since you’re pretty much done with your design, you decide to stand up and stretch, checking out your friends’ carvings in the process. jiyoon and jeemin have carved out a star-faced pumpkin and bear face respectively, koko made what she calls a “pumking”, saebi somehow carved out all eight of you (which everyone is probably going to vote for as the best one, including you), and jungeun…

“hi y/n-unnie,” she greets, not looking up from her pumpkin. “what are you doing here?”

you squint at her pumpkin, trying to make out what exactly it is, “just looking… what’s yours?”

it seems to be a mix of ribbons, hearts, music notes, and a rectangle(?) but you’re curious as to what she’s intending it to be. jungeun giggles, putting down her carving tools.

“it’s our dance practice room! the ribbons are the ones that sarang brought that one time, and this thing,” she points to the rectangle, “is our speaker for the music. i just made what i last remembered enjoying.”

saebi, next to her, lights up and exclaims, “mine should always go right next to yours then, it’d be like us going to practice!”

“that’s genius,” jeemin notes, nodding in approval. koko goes over and brings saebi into an affectionate hug, bringing jeemin in with her too. you give jungeun a hug from behind. sarang (who’s cut out the middle of the heart, finally) jumps up to join the joint group hug, and mai drags jiyoon to join as well.

“everyone wins!” you shout, scaring off some crows that had gathered on the edge of the fence.

jiyoon hums, almost melting into the hug. “was it ever a compet—mmph!”

“everyone wins,” mai repeats, her hand slapped over jiyoon’s mouth.

“mnh, mppph!”

flufftober masterlist!

a/n : writing these have made me realize ive never actually done most of the prompts goodbye

#izna x reader #izna imagines #girl group x reader #girl group imagines #izna #flufftober #flufftober24 #an's flufftober!

19 notes · View notes

formerfirstson · 11 hours ago

Text

alright so i'm a sucker for timelines and whatnot, blame my ocd, so that fic prompt idea could work with something i've been playing around hc wise for political animals actual timeline:

the show takes place in 2012 where garcetti wins the election, his term should have been 2012-2016

rip garcetti, collier took his place for the rest of his term WHILE after a prudential time, elaine brought back her presidential aspirations and ran against that moron (surely people hated his guts tbh)

elaine ran and won the 2016 elections, so her term was 2016-2020

infinity war events were in 2018 if i'm not wrong, so saying she survived the blip (and for dramatic purposes tj was snapped)

counting the 5 years chaos until endgame (2018-2023) elaine probably ended her term (2020) in an attempt to keep herself occupied but also because everything was already fucked up, she worked hard to bring some sort of clarity and order

i'm going to stretch it out here because who the hell knows what happened. the world without borders movement probably took place, so considering the fact elaine still couldn't process lossing one of her sons (probably more family members too bc hell yeah angst), she stepped down from her position on 2020 (if there wasn't any formal elections. in that case she surely designated someone else in the charge. otherwise, formal elections took place)

so timeline wise, there should have been another president until ross in brave new world events

that's all for timeline, so coming back to the fundraising idea to re-built the city, maybe because elaine was in charge during the blip and she took actions during that time, she's probably invited or selected as a co-host (maybe along with whoever was president after her).

so here comes the plot part, there's no need to follow exactly the promp above, but the tj being mistaken for bucky always gets me, and sounds fun to incorporate if everyone's down. the fundraiser would be the starting point, we could derive different things for it. as for characters, the ones mentioned: sam, joaquin, bucky, tj, but some other mcu charas could be involved as well that could fit (valentina for example)

idk give your thoughts, let me know what you think. feedback is appreciated

#this is part headcanon and part wishlist #also rec me some joaquins it's a shame i'm not following anyone lol #「 wishlist 」#「 headcanon 」

6 notes · View notes

vestaclinicpod · 2 years ago

Text

Audio Drama Sunday - 20th August ✨

I must admit that I dedicated A LOT of listening hours this week to the new Hozier album (which is incredible omg) but I still had some great audio drama listening!

🌲@hellofromthehallowoods (129) What a fun break from episode convention! I’ve been highly suspicious of Nimbus from the start, and I feel vindicated that he’s not a normal cat as well as relieved that he doesn’t seem to be overtly malicious. I can’t relate to Nikignik’s dislike of felines, but it did really make me chuckle when it was revealed that all indescribables fear cats… Buddy, you can fear something without reviling it! Ough and the look-in on Jackie HURT MY FEELINGS so bad!! I can’t cope with sad dogs 🥺

🦀 @thesiltverses (30) TSV is back, babey!!! The sound design at the start of the episode was phenomenal, I loved the way they weaved music in with the sound effects in such a fluid way (the river sure does rise!) And oh man, Faulkner, you fucking idiot. They know!! They all know!!! It is such a delight to hear some of my favourite VAs doing their amazing work again. Méabh de Brún has absolutely annihilated me already. I’m obsessed with this discovery that the Trawlerman appears to still favour Carpenter while the Caring Maiden seems to slip away the more Carpenter seeks her. I should have started a S3 bingo because I was hoping so badly that Carpenter would join up with Hayward and Paige!! This season is going to be amazing. I’m so ready.

📻 @monstrousagonies (108) Mab!! The queen returns! I am ever so slightly skeptical that Apocacorp is all bluster . . . I just feel like, even if that is the case, they’re not going away without more of a fight . . .

🌒 @monkeymanproductions Moonbase Theta, Out (finale part 1) OHHHHH SHIT!!! It’s all kicking off on the moon!!!!! I love Alex’s sweet, sincere hopefulness in: ‘We’ve been through the end of so many things but we’re still here’ 💙 Isn’t that just it! I don’t want to give away the major spoiler because the ep only just dropped but oooohhhh my god! I was wondering if this might happen and wrote the idea off. This changes everything!!

🎙 Welcome To Night Vale (232) HELL YES. I have been waiting literal YEARS to get into this business with the Desert Otherworld and its impact on my favourite scientist and the impact of both on my favourite community radio show host. My popcorn is ready, let’s get into it!!! 🍿

🤴I finished season one of InCo by @itmeblog! This is micro-scifi at its best and if you’re a fan of extensive single-person casts, InCo does it remarkably!! I'm really looking forward to seeing how the story develops!

🧬 Regina Prime (6) OOF I think this is one of the most intense episodes we’ve had yet! The acting was amazing in this one, Jess pulled out a full Youtuber apology and managed to keep that edge in her voice to give you the prickling sensation that something isn’t quite right.

💫 Wolf 359 (48) Ugh what an absolute mind fuck! I’ve been tying myself in knots trying to work out how I would personally react and cope if faced with a scenario where one of my friends is not the person I knew but is otherwise indistinguishable from them. And I just don’t know!

🎩 @ethicstownpod (8) AAH!! Ethics finale!!! This show has been a wild ride from start to finish and WOW what an ending!! I really don’t want to give anything away to people who haven’t listened yet but I’m almost ashamed that I didn’t see this coming and if you haven’t listened to Ethics you really really need to!!!

🥾@doyoucopypod (6) More questions than answers from this episode of Do You Copy! What does Reese know?! What doesn’t like you listening?? What doesn’t like you listening?!??!

🐬 More spectacularly odd @patterspod P Files! It’s fun to hear the obvious mistake being made and I’m really looking forward to Ryan facing the consequences of certain actions….

I hope everyone has a lovely week!

43 notes · View notes

petty-crush · 10 months ago

Text

“The Unborn” 1991

-a wonderful entry in the “maybe having a baby wasn’t such a good idea” subgenre

-amusingly this is also director Rodman Flender’s first film, so he gets to channel that feeling of nervous excitement and perplexing dread that comes with your first picture

-also having their first shot is cinematographer Wally Pfister, of later “dark knight” trilogy and “inception” fame. He has the goods already, bathing the film in eeriness

-I admit I had to recalculate my brain numerous times during the first ten minutes, reminding myself that Brooke Adams starring and not Karen Allen. Their similarities are surprising

-it occurs to me now how dramatically smart it is to have a pregnant person when featuring a lead often alone by themselves

+it certainly resonates more than with a drunk overcoming addiction. Possibly because the transformation is so visual

-actor James Karen is so good as the doctor who appears pleasant at all times, but is clearly a sinister riptide waiting to erupt

-a big laugh as a woman is seriously skeptical about this lamaze class (the two ladies are not accredited or trained) and when told by the lesbian couple to embrace her femininity, she curtly replies “suck my dick”

-Gary Numan’s score is a supreme addition to the picture. It has a sneaking sense of doom that climbs up our ears

-how uncomfortable in universe must it be to have sex in a wooden rocking chai? Hormones are great

-truthfully I can’t imagine giving up smoking or eating soft cheeses for anyone

-when Allen’s character Virginia is talking about her children’s book of dealing with fear/death/the void, and is suggested to not emphasize that in the interview, I like her response of “but she triumphs over that! She realizes her life is ok”

-later in the actual tv interview, the sheer fake upbeat banality of the host is delightful

-I know others feel different, but put me down in the “crazy” cat lady > exhausted mother scorecard (or better yet a dog)

-Allen is quite good at projecting the fear that her bloodline is defective, and how she worries that she is making something that carries on her worst attributes

-there is nice segment on depression and moving forward as well

-not really explored but nicely hinted at is the divide between wanting a “perfect” child (really, pride for parents) and a child that has physical/learning disadvantages

+ I can imagine a different story about the super solder children fighting the “imperfects”

-this film does not skimp on the gore. The women impaling her own baby bump with a knife is grisly

-more horrifying is the moment where the pregnant lesbian beats her partner to death, and utters the line “you and the baby…I don’t have the love or room for you both”

-I wonder if the part with the cat getting strangled was originally in her sleep or that was added to soften the blow

+her horror when she wakes up is quite effective. As is the raw desperation when she looks for the toy to vainly revive it

-easily one of my favorite moments was when the dad seems the baby and goes “oh my god, it’s hideous!” Then gets stabbed in the eye by the needle

-actor Jeff Hayenga don’t have much to to, but he supplies warmth quite well. His frosty relationship with his mother in law is very satisfying

-the most whacked out moment is when Virginia hears the baby cry (after the abortion), wanders out to the back alley dumpster, and encounters a black little person belly skateboarding

-I love sections like that

-great production design in the lab with the glowing red babies in spheres

+even better when they explode and get mutant baby guts all over the shot doctor

-my only regret is that she should have reality strangled that baby in the sunset scene, but it works well and yeah this era is notorious for sequel teaser stingers

-I had a chuckle when Virginia pulls out a gun. Rare to see a film that is so loved by planned parenthood and the nra

-the great thing about horror is that the heightened situations really bring out the most vivid emotions, and the feelings around birth are really really easy to go delightfully over the top with.

It’s a winning combination.

#the unborn #film #rodman fletcher #new bev #brooke adams #new beverly cinema #james karen

2 notes · View notes

k7l4d4 · 1 year ago

Text

K Reviews and Rants: Miraculous Ladybug Season 5! Episode 17

Hello all, time for yet another review and rant by me, K7l!

Now, there is a LOT I could rant about regarding this episode, but in hindsight, leaving to the blatant script-shilling going on by the writers' having all the adults lose brain-cells to buy Chloe, the known liar and cheat, be believed when she accuses Marinette of having stolen stuff despite it being known that Chloe HERSELF once stole from Marinette to try and cheat in a design contest... But I'm not gonna do that, since it'd be just another re-hash of this season just shitting on Chloe as a character.

No, what I'm focusing on, at least in the forward, is how this episode marks the first time the Writers have tried to paint Sabrina as being "good inside." How do they do this? They have her be upset at Chloe wanting her to rob people in order to frame Marinette, claiming "My dad's a police officer!" What makes this utterly stupid is that Sabrina has already stolen things on Chloe's behalf going as far back as Season 1. Her breaking the law on Chloe's say-so is nothing new. Having her just NOW sprout a conscience over this just does not work. If they'd framed it as her being hesitant to drag other people into Chloe's feud with Marinette, and building off of that later on, it'd be one thing. But that isn't what is happening. What the writers are doing is acting as if Sabrina has always had this moral opposition to breaking the law because her dad's a cop, despite having never been bothered at doing stuff like this before. Doing so, if anything, makes Sabrina look worse to me because it comes off as Sabrina only having moral standards when it involves people other than those she dislikes. It's hollow, and uninspired.

Like how I think that Kagami's plots this episode involving being used by Lila would worked marginally better if they took place before Oni-Chan (emphasis on "marginally," to be clear), this idea wouldn't be bad if any actual care for continuity was taken into account. But it isn't. And thus we get a lazy plot that exists more to shill Zoe as a character while also dodging her explicitly admitting she's LGBT+.

Also, on the topic of Zoe, I should mention that, in hindsight, I got really pissed off this episode and the fact that Marinette realized what Zoe was talking about slipped my mind. Although whether that's entirely a "me" thing or if it was influenced by how shoddy the writing was, I couldn't tell ya. Still, egg on my face!

And with that, onto the review! As always, warning for profanity on my part.

Episode 17: Adoration

Okay, I just got started, and are seeing Zoe and Andre "bonding" over his past as a lover of movies and cinema... and he talks about how he wrote a script dedicated to his love for Audrey. I just... no. Right from the beginning, NO. If they had done this to show how Audrey used to be different, and had maybe grown worse over the years, MAYBE I could've tolerated this, but the show has been very consistent on Audrey having always been a piece of shit so... fuck that. We also learn that Andre used to have a different name that I'm not even going to PRETEND to try and spell, let alone pronounce, because the way he phrased changing it as being "in the name of love" is part of why this set-up of him doing it "for love" reeks of bullshit.

Okay, so Zoe has a "secret crush," and that's the reason that Andre spelled out that he's a simp for Audrey without explaining what it is he "loves" about her. It's very telling in this show that it often either gives very bland and unoriginal reasons why someone is "in love" with someone else, or just doesn't give a reason at all.

Like, Andre literally coming running at Audrey calling for a foot massage isn't funny. It just makes him look like the same kind of spineless parasite that enabled Chloe FOR FUCKING YEARS!!

Okay, we have a dance about to be hosted... and they unintentionally called attention to just how small the cast is by explicitly making Marc and Zoe's class "the Eight Grade class" and Marinette's "The Ninth Grade class," which honestly just looks insanely awkward since how in the world is the school so empty that the only have one tiny class per grade!? The school looks huge!

Now we get a scene of Zoe being shown around Marinette's room before spotting Marinette's insanely creepy pull-down curtain covered in Adrien photos (and that "perfume commercial" comment from Guitar Villain makes a lot more sense now) with Marinette babbling in embarrassment, no surprise there. Okay, why the hell is Marinette babbling about kissing Adrien and babbling about planning things out despite the show having insisted she's "over that" already? Wait, don't tell me, "drama." Barf.

Oh, NOW she remembers the dance! And NO, Andre is NOT ZOE'S STEPFATHER. That would imply that he married (or Audrey married) into his family. That is not the case. Audrey CHEATED ON ANDRE WHILE STILL MARRIED TO HIM. That is not a stepfather. God dammit!!

Having Zoe pull "first name privileges" does not make it look like she has a stronger relationship with Andre, and his "real name" is an obnoxiously pretentious sounding mouthful. So yeah, no one has any clue what she's saying.

Zoe, going "Chloe doesn't have that power anymore" is a blatant copout. It does not acknowledge ANYTHING about why she doesn't have a power she shouldn't have ever had to START WITH, and she doesn't need the ability to enforce rules on you to make your life a living nightmare. So shut the fuck up.

Having Zoe apparently know a random employee of the Hotel and know about his personal life looks creepier than anything. It doesn't make her look more "down to Earth" or "relatable" because it comes out of fucking nowhere, was never once foreshadowed, and the idea she's somehow bonded enough with a building of random adults who have no reason to be loyal to or care about their boss's kid to know their personal lives makes no sense at all.

Zoe, Chloe, it's NEITHER of your HOUSE, it's a fucking Hotel that Andre owns and lets you guys live in rent free, AND NEITHER OF YOU MAKE THE FUCKING RULES.

Now we get to the scene of Chloe smacking Mr. Cuddly to the floor... wow, they really aren't even TRYING to act as if they are bothering to acknowledge continuity. Seriously, Chloe loves that stuffed bear more than life itself, they have GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME WITH THIS SHIT!! Seriously, WHY THE HELL Is THIS the BEST THEY CAN DO!? WHEN AND HOW DID ZOE GROW A SPINE WHEN IT COMES TO CHLOE!? WHEN!?!?

They are LITERALLY having Chloe act like a LITERAL FIVE YEAR OLD by going "I saw Marinette step on MY stairs, I KNOW I did!!" That is LITERALLY the logic a five-year-old would use. HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FUCKING TAKE HER SERIOUSLY AS A VILLAIN IF THIS IS THE BEST SHE CAN DO!?

AND WHY THE FUCK IS "We were in the middle of a computer update, so the cameras were off" THE REASON THEY HAD CHLOE'S ATTEMPT TO PROVE HERSELF RIGHT FAIL!? And for FUCKS SAKE, ANDRE IS STILL A FUCKING WUSS WHEN IT COMES TO DISCIPLINING HER!!

And we get a scene of Audrey acting like an abusive bitch to both Chloe AND Zoe. "But Chloe isn't abused, she gets whatever she wants!!" We LITERALLY JUST SAW THAT AUDREY STILL CANNOT BE BOTHERED TO REMEMBER HER NAME!! THE BEST SHE COULD DO IS REMEMBER THAT ONE OF HER TWO DAUGHTERS IS NAMED ZOE, RIGHT BEFORE PULLING THE EXACT SAME "THE STAIRS BELONG TO ME!!" SHIT AS CHLOE!! CHLOE IS LITERALLY TRYING TO MIMIC AUDREY'S BEHAVIOR, WHY IS THAT SO HARD TO COMPREHEND!?

And then she just walks up to Andre and demands a trio of credit cards because WHY THE FUCK NOT!? It is shit like THIS that makes me have ZERO FUCKING SYMPATHY for the spineless louse!!

Zoe is literally just fucking STANDING THERE WITH MARINETTE. Despite being verbally threatened by Audrey with being sent back to New York (leaving all her friends behind) she doesn't respond in any way.

The most she does is smugly point out to Chloe that she isn't allowed on the stairs either as determined by Audrey (who will probably stop caring and forget about the threat in the space of an hour since she gives that little of a shit about her own kids one way or another).

And we get Chloe saying something incredibly bizarre and out of character. "I'll make you pay for every one of these steps!!"

It makes absolutely NO FUCKING SENSE!!!

And Zoe's just staring at her. Still not having responded in any way to Audrey treating Andre like shit this entire time.

And then we get Zoe going "it's all thanks to you Marinette, you're the one who helped me change!!" When. Fucking. WHEN!? WHEN DID SHE EVER HELP YOU CHANGE IN ANY WAY!? YOU BARELY HANG OUT, YOU DON'T SHARE A SINGLE FUCKING CLASS, AND YOU ARE BASICALLY A NOISE IN THE BACKGROUND NINETY PERCENT OF THE TIME!! THE MOST SHE DID WAS CONVINCE YOU TO STOP TRYING TO PLEASE CHLOE BY MIMICKING HER!!! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HER!!!

Okay, NOW Zoe and Marinette get around to asking Andre's help on their dance thing. And for some fucking reason Andre keeps a portrait of himself in his Mayor's sash behind the front desk of the Hotel. Why!?

And after proposing their idea to Andre, he starts going off on a weird fucking rant about filming. I GET IT, he's meant to be a movie buff, THIS IS STILL STUPID!!!!

Okay, so all it takes to set-up a private party for a single school that will literally COVER a national monument, all it takes is Andre saying so as Mayor. All right then, that makes perfect sense and NOT COMPLETE BULLSHIT!!!

Seriously, this is the STUPIDEST ABUSE OF POWER IN THE SERIES!!!

Again, WHY IS ZOE SUPPOSED TO BE ON A FIRST NAME BASIS WITH ANDRE!?

Also, Andre going "if Chloe comes sniffing around, we never had this conversation," instead of "I'll use my authority as mayor and her father to get her to settle down." YOU KNOW, DOING HIS JOB APPROPRIATELY!!!

Also, now we have yet another scene of the show trying to pretend Gabriel isn't an abusive piece of shit by having him superficially dote on his son by personally preparing meals that Adrien has wanted to try. What makes this utterly hollow being how he literally cares more about forcing Adrien to follow his little plan for how his life should go rather than accept who he WANTS to be with, of FUCKING COURSE!!

And of course, Gabriel went demanding to his minion Lila for her to ruin things for him, because of course he can't do something in all his influence and power as a rich business man to ruin one lousy dance. Oh, and then we see Lila was apparently in Chloe's bathroom, with Chloe describing presumably Zoe as a "punching bag" while Sabrina files her nails (I'm FAIRLY CERTAIN that every time in the past that Chloe has looked after her appearance, she's done it herself, so this is just fucking pointless). THEY ARE NOT EVEN FUCKING TRYING!!!

She basically just says that it's actually all Marinette's fault that Zoe is standing up to Chloe (despite the fact that literally no one has genuinely given a shit about Chloe's alleged "authority" in-universe among her age group SINCE SEASON FUCKING ONE!!). Again, NOT EVEN TRYING WHAT THE FUCK!?

And now we get a brief scene of Marinette seeing Zoe's room, with Zoe trying to desperately hide a photo that we don't get to see. Wow, much shock. Much mystery.

And then we see Sabrina has apparently sprouted a conscience because "what she's being asked goes against everything she stands for, because her father is a police officer." Sabrina... I am going to say this as calmly as possible... YOU HAVE BEEN HELPING CHLOE BREAK LAWS AND VIOLATE THE PRIVACY OF OTHERS SINCE THE FIRST FUCKING SEASON!!!

Also, WHY THE FUCK DOES CHLOE THINK NO ONE WILL SUSPECT SABRINA OF WHATEVER THE HELL SHE'S SUPPOSED TO BE DOING!? SHE IS LITERALLY CHLOE'S ONLY KNOWN ACCOMPLICE AND HAS BEEN HER EAGER MINION SINCE DAY ONE!!!

This goes beyond just stupidity, this is CONTRIVANCE!!!

I can't even get pissed off at them having Chloe deny that Sabrina's her friend and calling her her Underling, since Chloe caring about Sabrina in spite of how shitty she treats her has literally been a thing, I repeat, SINCE SEASON FUCKING ONE!! You can't even present this as being part of Chloe "getting worse" since this entire fucking SEASON has been hammering the "CHLOE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN EVIL BRAT" button since the beginning!!

And then we get a scene of Chloe throwing a whistle of Sabrina's on the ground... when did she even GET a fucking whistle to start with!?

But yup, it looks like the whistle is going to be targeted by an Akuma.

And Lila apparently can sense Akumas or some shit since she perfectly counted down to Sabrina's Akuma bursting through the doors. And never once does Chloe seem to be worried that the Akuma formed from the person she just pissed off might try and hurt her, she cares more about her FUCKING PHONE. Yeah, FUCK THIS SHIT.

...Okay, so Zoe's crush is someone in the 9th grade, and this means she won't "ever see them again." BECAUSE IT'S NOT AS IF PEOPLE CAN STAY IN CONTACT OUTSIDE OF FUCKING SCHOOL!!! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!!! It's unimaginably stupid. Oh, and Akuma Sabrina is creeping up behind them, apparently planning on either stealing stuff or taking creepy photos, while Marinette rants and gushes about how amazing love is, yet does so in a way that just comes off as someone who "loves the idea of love" rather then someone who is IN LOVE, because she's just rambling a bunch of generic slogans and talking points about the amazingness of love that don't have any context or personal experience behind them.

Wow, they actually addressed the fact that a person can be in love with multiple people at the same time, or dating someone but in love with someone else, or just plain not being in love at all, and coming from Marinette! If they hadn't spent several episodes shitting on the idea that you can EVER move on or find love in someone else or hold multiple crushes at the same time, this would be sweet, but since they did do that, it comes off as FUCKING PRETENTIOUS!!

Now we get Marinette shilling how great Zoe is now, and how much growth she's done off-screen, to Alya over a video conference. And never once does the idea that maybe Andre doesn't have the actual authority to let them use the Tower for a fucking party cross their minds.

Marinette... WHAT THE FUCK DOES IT MATTER IF ZOE'S CRUSH WON'T BE GOING TO THE SAME SCHOOL AS HER NEXT YEAR!? If she's close to them, she'll be able to see them plenty of times OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL!!

Oh, and Marinette referring to Zoe's crush as her "true love." I am fucking CRINGING. They throw around "true love" and "destiny" so much that it makes the BS damage control all the more blatant.

And NOW we get Marinette thinking that "What if Zoe's IN LOVE WITH ADRIEN!?" Just... fuck that. Fuck this BULLSHIT of Marinette once again refusing to GROW THE FUCK UP about her relationship troubles!! WHO GIVES A SHIT IF ZOE HAS A CRUSH ON ADRIEN OR NOT!? MARINETTE, YOU ARE THE ONE DATING HIM!!! Wow, she literally couldn't go a single fucking second without bringing up Adrien after getting this bullshit into her head.

She also, mid-rant, stated "he doesn't belong to me, well, he kinda does a little" and I'm just... sitting here, barely reining in my temper at just how fucking STUPID she sounds right now because WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK IS THIS BULLSHIT!?

We get a montage of Marinette gathering supplies, and Akuma Sabrina covertly following her the entire time SOMEHOW, despite the fact that Marinette was explicitly driving on her scooter through traffic and Akuma Sabrina's only powers are teleporting objects TO HERSELF and being invisible. HOW!?

And is apparently also framing Marinette for stealing stuff, all in the name of ruining the party.

This is literally just a lazy rehash of Lila's "fake Marinette having stolen answers to a test and pushing her down the stairs" plot. I say "lazy" because Marinette hasn't been shown to have ever been in ANY position to have taken anything, she just showed up a bunch of places and then LEFT, so HOW IN THE WORLD COULD SHE HAVE STOLEN THEM!?

And it's kinda fucking rich them having Tom be one of the ones getting mad about Chloe accusing his daughter of theft when HE was one of the ones to basically sit back and let it happen ALL THE WAY BACK IN SEASON ONE.

When Chloe says stuff like 'There will be no obstruction to MY justice!' while yanking Marinette's gym bag out of her hands and dumping its contents on the ground, it's really clear the writers aren't even bothering to give her a consistent voice and behavior any more. They are just shoving whatever anger-inducing buzzwords they can into her mouth. Also, I'm honestly surprised no one is accusing Chloe of planting stuff in Marinette's bag, since SHE IS LITERALLY THE EXACT TYPE OF PERSON WHO WOULD DO THAT!!!

Oh, and it's Marinette herself who accuses Chloe of planting the stuff. Still surprised no one else is saying it since, AGAIN, Chloe has a TERRIBLE reputation and unlike Marinette, is a KNOWN THIEF, given she was literally caught red-handed having stolen from Marinette TWICE in SEASON ONE!!!

Again, WHY IN THE WORLD ARE PEOPLE JUST STANDING THERE AND LISTENING TO THE WORDS OF SOMEONE THEY KNOW THEY CANNOT TRUST AND WHO WILL SAY OR DO ANYTHING TO GET HER WAY!? WHY IS NO ONE QUESTIONING HOW IN THE WORLD CHLOE EVEN HAS ALL THIS FUCKING INFORMATION!? THIS IS FUCKING STUPID!! THEY KNOW FULL AND WELL BY NOW THAT CHLOE IS A MANIPULATIVE AND SPOILED LITTLE FUCKING BRAT!!!

AGAIN, ONCE AGAIN!!! WHY THE FUCK IS ANYONE BELIEVING A WORD CHLOE IS FUCKING SAYING!? CHLOE IS NOT TRUSTWORTHY AT THIS POINT!! EVEN IGNORING THE HAWKMOTH BETRAYAL SHIT, SHE IS SOMEONE THAT LITERALLY EVERYONE FUCKING KNOWS CANNOT BE TRUSTED AND WHO DOES WHATEVER SHE WANTS WHENEVER SHE WANTS TO DO IT!! FUCK THIS NOISE!!! FUCK IT ALL TO FUCKING HELL!!!!!!

And literally everyone, INCLUDING MARINETTE'S PARENTS, ARE BUYING IT HOOK LINE AND FUCKING SINKER!! Except for Zoe, the girl who does FUCK ALL FOR THE PLOT BUT IS ALSO OH SO IMPORTANT!!! WHO TAKES THE FUCKING BLAME FOR SOME GODDAMN FUCKING REASON!!! WHAT IS THE FUCKING POINT!? THERE IS NO ENGAGEMENT TO THE PLOT!! THIS IS JUST SHOEHORNING IN ZOE INTO BEING IMPORTANT IN A COMPLETELY NONSENSICAL PLOT!!!

I'm gonna be actively ignoring the Akuma Fight itself, I think, because I've reached the limits of my tolerance for bullshit, and just wait until the "confession" before I get into it.

And now that we are at the rough timeframe of the confession... we get Marinette saying "I know you love Adrien" BITCH NO YOU DON'T!! YOU BLINDLY ASSUMED THAT BASED OFF OF LITERALLY NOTHING BUT YOUR OWN FANTASY-DERIVED IMAGINING OF HOW "PERFECT" ADRIEN IS AND YOUR INABILITY TO WRAP YOUR HEAD AROUND THE IDEA THAT PEOPLE CAN HAVE CRUSHES DIFFERENT FROM YOURS!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?

...And it isn't even a confession. Not even NOW, when they have literally HAVE THE PERFECT FUCKING MOMENT, THEY CAN'T ACTUALLY HAVE ZOE SAY THE FUCKING WORDS!? AFTER JERKING EVERYONE'S CHAIN, THIS IS THE BEST THEY CAN FUCKING COME UP WITH!?

THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE MARINETTE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT SHE'S THE ONE WHO ZOE IS CRUSHING ON!!! WHAT KIND OF BULLSHIT IS THIS!?

She "knows" in that she goes "Ohhh" in a tone that could be implied to be realization, but they don't have her actually indicate that SHE is the one Zoe has a crush on in any deliberate way. She doesn't point to herself. She doesn't say "me!?" She doesn't do ANYTHING to show that she is the one who is being crushed on. "Oohh" is the best we fucking get.

They are having the characters bend over backwards to avoid being "actually gay." Because heaven fucking forbid they ACKNOWLEDGE that Zoe has a crush on Marinette directly instead of trying to go for a "wink and a nudge" set-up.

Okay, maybe I spoke too soon. They have her state "I am truly, very honored." And they then act as if Zoe has actually stated that she has a crush on Marinette instead of vaguely implying it with Marinette vaguely acknowledging. Because WHY THE FUCK NOT!? It's not as if Marinette hasn't been dancing around confessing to Adrien FOR FOUR FUCKING SEASONS!! AND STILL CANNOT EVEN KISS HIM!!!

And then they have ZOE give MARINETTE advice to finally tell Adrien she loves him, and apparently Marinette is still a fucking hypocrite in being unable to even MENTION the guy.

OF FUCKING COURSE ZOE HAS HAD A CRUSH ON MARINETTE SINCE THE DAY THEY MET, IT'S NOT LIKE THEY BARELY KNOW EACH OTHER OR ANYTHING!!! AND APPARENTLY SHE'S MEANT TO BE SOME FUCKING LOVE MARTYR IN THAT SHE WILLFULLY REFUSED TO EVEN TRY TO PURSUE MARINETTE BECAUSE SHE WAS "MADLY IN LOVE WITH ADRIEN" CRY ME A FUCKING GODDAMN RIVER PEOPLE!!!

At least Zoe POINTED OUT that Marinette's a hypocrite in not practicing what she preaches, NOT THAT THE WRITERS REALIZE THAT THIS APPLIES TO MORE THAN JUST FUCKING SHITTY ROMANCE!!! AND ZOE YOU HAVE NOT ACTUALLY TOLD MARINETTE THAT YOU LOVE HER AT ALL, SO YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN MARINETTE IN THAT REGARD!! Remember, MARINETTE STILL CAN'T VERBALLY TELL ADRIEN SHE'S IN LOVE WITH HIM PEOPLE!!!

And when Marinette FINALLY FUCKING SAYS THE GODDAMN FUCKING WORDS, Adrien RIGHT ABOUT TO FUCKING RECIPROCATE, and DESPITE HAVING A STANDING ORDER TO NEVER LET ANYTHING STAND IN HIS WAY OF PURSUING LOVE, Gabe STILL KILLS THE FUCKING KISS!! THIS SHOW FUCKING BLUE-BALLED EVERYONE STILL SHIPPING THIS GODDAMN TOXIC TRASHFIRE LOVE SQUARE!!! GABE IS SUCH A TOXIC PIECE OF MONSTROUS SHIT!!!!

#miraculous ladybug #mlb season 5 salt #mlb season 5 spoilers #mlb writing critical #mlb writing salt

3 notes · View notes