#i know its only october but for some reason i just wanted to write a christmas fic

[absolutebloodychaos]

i just neeeeed bojan and kris being soft but sassy boyfriends🙏💅

Thanks @alainsthoughts so much for the ask, I loved writing this and I hope that you like it too:)

I did not mean to make this into a Christmas fic but hey, this is what happens when you listen to too much Mariah Carey in October.

I wrote most of this while listening to the Cher Chrismas album and it is absolutely fucking AMAZING. I was also listening to “Щедрик'' or “Carol of the Bells” which is my favourite Christmas carol.

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

It was Christmas Eve and the Cvjetiguštin household was getting ready for the holiday with vigour.

Due to their busy touring schedule, Bojan and Kris hadn’t had the opportunity to prepare for Christmas until now, but they were making the most of the time they had.

Mistletoe was being hung, baubles strung, tinsel wrapped, and trees decorated by the two men who were excited to spend their first holiday together as a proper couple.

Kris and Bojan had been pining over each other for years but both had finally caved and gotten together earlier that year around the same time as their first stadium show.

Each man was head over heels with the other and had moved in together pretty quickly, Bojan liked to joke that it had something to do with Kris’ lesbian like behaviour but in reality it was because they had known and loved each other for so long that there was no point waiting around anymore.

As their shared apartment was quite small, the decorating didn’t take much time, or shouldn’t have if Bojan hadn’t kept trying to wrap Kris up with tinsel or kept stopping every three minutes to hang a red bauble off of his nose and pretend to be a certain reindeer.

All the messing around made it more fun though, and Kris couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. 

The last few decorations were put up; the mistletoe taking ages as they kept on getting sidetracked by kissing every time they hung a new sprig, and the topper going on the top of the tree last, Kris boosting up the other man so that he could reach the top.

“I’m not actually that short you know,” Bojan said standing on Kris’ bent knee.

“You sure darling, I saw you struggling to hang the baubles on the higher branches,” Kris said with a smirk.

Bojan didn’t say anything once he got down, just gave the other man an adorable pout, but Kris could tell from the fact that he could see the other man trying not to smile that he didn’t mean it.

It took about twenty seconds before Bojan gave up and the pout slipped from his face, and for Kris to lean in and capture the shorter man’s lips with his own.

“Okay, you’re not that short, I do admit that we did get quite a tall tree but you know that I could have just put the topper on, I would have been able to reach,” Kris said as he pulled back to catch his breath after a few minutes.

“You can put your topper on me,” Bojan said with a lewd grin and Kris shook his head.

“That doesn’t even make any sense,” he said with a fond look and another short kiss that would have been longer if they didn’t have other things to do that day.

“Come on, we’ve got a lot more to do today, I can’t cook my famous gingerbread that you love ever so much if I just spend the rest of the day here kissing you,” Kris said and he could see Bojan visibly weighing up his options.

“If you come with me to the kitchen I’ll let you decorate as many gingerbread people as you want, any way that you like, I won’t even stop you from making rude ones,” Kris said knowing that he’d won the argument.

Also, no one ever said that they couldn’t kiss more while they were baking; Kris had no doubt that by the time the biscuits were in the oven there would have been many kisses stolen between the two men.

Many gingerbread people were made over the next few hours, Kris’ ones resembling cute little fully dressed ordinary people, and Bojan’s more PG ones representing something out of a fever dream (others representing things that were less appropriate for public consumption).

“Bojan, surely you could have made some ones that we could give to other people,” Kris said with a fondly exasperated sigh.

“We could give these to other people, they might just get the wrong idea,” Bojan said, wiggling his eyebrows, and Kris smiled and wrapped the shorter man in his long arms.

“Yes, and we wouldn’t want that, would we,” he said and Bojan just gave him a suggestive look before leaning in for another kiss.

After the baking the next task was wrapping presents and the men wrapped their joint presents together having already wrapped the presents they were going to give to each other.

Over the next hour many presents piled up and were moved to be placed around the bottom of the recently decorated tree.

This year everyone had agreed that Christmas was to be celebrated at Kris and Bojan’s house, and their friends would be arriving the next day for lunch and presents.

But that afternoon and evening were spent just the two of them, cuddled up in bed with steaming mugs of hot chocolate, watching some of their favourite Christmas movies; Die Hard, Home Alone, White Christmas and Meet Me In Saint Louis.

The next day Kris and Bojan woke up wrapped in each other’s arms and lovingly made out until they decided it was time to exchange presents.

Kris among other things had gotten Bojan a necklace and matching bracelet to replace his beloved chain that had snapped a month previous during a particularly energetic gig.

In turn he received many presents from his boyfriend with his favourite being a scrapbook full of memories from their lives together, most memorable being the diary entry Bojan had made the first day that they’d met and pictures from the day they first got together.

A while later they left bed to have breakfast and start getting ready for when the others would come over later.

Lots of food was made, too much probably given that Jure, Jan and Nace had all promised to bring a dish along too, but that just meant that there would be good leftovers for the week ahead.

Bojan set the table as Kris pulled the last things out of the oven and the finishing touches were made just before both men heard the doorbell ring, revealing their friends covered in snow from the trip over to the apartament.

“We bring gifts!” Jure said with a grin and Kris ushered them all inside with a short but sincere hug for each man, telling them to put food in the kitchen and drop presents under the tree.

Bojan, who had just finished getting ready in the bedroom came out and seeing the lingering traces of snow on his guests clothes bolted out the door quickly greeting his friends and then yelling “SNOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!” with Kris trailing closely behind.

The second he got outside Bojan practically reverted back into being a child, making snowballs and snow angels, and trying to create a snowman.

“Love, you should probably come back inside, you’re going to catch a cold,” Kris said but with a sweet smile and love shining from his eyes.

Bojan ran over and took Kris’ hand, dragging him out of the warm doorway into the cold of the snow, and Kris loved the look of pure wonder and happiness that decorated the other man’s face.

“Okay, in a minute, let’s just enjoy this for now though,” Bojan said and pulled Kris into a kiss while the snow fell lightly around them, decorating each man’s eyelashes with the small white flakes.

Kris knew that this was the first of many similar Christmases to come, and he couldn’t wait to spend each and every one of them with the man he loved.

#i know its only october but for some reason i just wanted to write a christmas fic #idk #anyways #kris guštin #bojan cvjetićanin #bokris #joker out #joker out fanfiction #joker out fanfic

[genericpuff]

Scamlords is at it again.

A few nights ago, there was a sudden blow-up in the /r/webtoons server showing a new announcement from Snailords -

For anyone unaware, Death : Rescheduled has been on mid-season hiatus since October. And it's now, and only now, that Snailords has suddenly decided the comic is ending after it returns, but readers can get an extra 20 episodes... if they fork over $1k in merch sales.

Now, this could be a lot worse. They could be threatening not to return to the series at all unless their readers hand over money. But considering it's practically just one degree away from that, it's still pretty nasty. Not to mention, the further they divulged in their reasoning around this "idea", the more confusing it got.

They also even revived their @snailordsrant account on IG which, for those of you who were there and can recall, was the same account they used to put one of their own fans on blast over some very mild criticism.

None of this makes any actual sense, for several reasons:

1.) I literally fail to see how getting $1k in less than 24 hours is worth shoving in an extra mini arc of 10 episodes if you don't even have it planned out. Why do that to your audience or to yourself? Why drag things out just to scrounge up an emergency $1k? Why not just be honest with your audience and run a GoFundMe or just say , "Hey everyone, I've run into some financial troubles, I would really appreciate it if you could FastPass my newest episodes or donate to my Patreon or buy some merch so I can cover the costs". It's really telling that this shithead doesn't have enough confidence in themselves or their audience that practically worships them that they have to resort to this kind of underhanded shit to get the money they need. I wanna make it clear that this is NOT like a Kickstarter stretch goal or anything that incentivizes readers to support their work, they're instead holding the length and future of their series over their audiences' head (which they've done before) for money. That's not an incentive, it's an ultimatum.

2.) Maybe I'm misreading / being stupid (someone pls explain if I'm missing something here) but I literally don't see how their comment about working 50 hours a week explains why they're suddenly getting their fans to pay out $1k worth of merch in less than 24 hours. For anyone who doesn't know, $1k per episode is an example Webtoons uses in its post discussing how they pay out creators (this came after the platform got called out 2 years ago for paying creators too little, there are undoubtedly creators getting paid less). And yet for some reason $1k is apparently the difference between 10 episodes and 20? How does that add up? And is the bit about them wanting to buy boba supposed to be a joke? Where's the punchline here?

3.) They say they have writer's block and they want to use the money to "motivate them", but then just a few slides later they say 10-15 episodes is what would make them the "happiest" so which is it? Do they want to write 10 episodes or do they want people to pay them to write 20 episodes so they can draw the fluff scenes that they apparently want to draw? If you have an ending planned out, why rush it or drag it out depending on how this "fundraiser" goes? Why not just write the ending you want to write that will serve your story best? Why shove in an extra mini arc that you don't even have full confidence in writing and then try to compare it to a "super expensive cake"? What are you doing? Speaking as someone who's had trouble getting motivated in the past, suddenly getting a month's rent worth of money to do it doesn't necessarily solve that, it just turns up the pressure, and if you're not someone who deals with pressure well, then you're more likely to wind up just burning out entirely rather than fulfilling that goal.

4.) The fact that they did, in fact, hit their goal just makes it all the shittier to think about because their audience is mostly made up of teenagers who worship the ground that they walk on. It's horrifying that they keep pulling these stunts with their audience, and getting away with it to boot - and Webtoons, as a company, keeps enabling it by allowing it to happen by hosting and promoting people like this.

Anyways, there's already a lot going on here that's sketchy, but then... they went and deleted their posts. At the time of this happening (as I was there to witness it all play out in real time) I assumed this meant that they had hit their $1k goal - especially as they had been showing their progress on their IG and they were already at $900 after just a couple hours - but it gave me a sinking feeling seeing them delete it because they had also been called out by some brave readers telling them that it wasn't exactly a good look to essentially blackmail their audience through their own content into giving them money.

Snailords deleting it gave me a stronger impression of "burying the evidence", especially now that they had the money. By all accounts, they could do whatever they wanted now.

So what did they decide to do?

. . . Huh?

Okay, take a second to actually think about what Snailords has done here. Because I know some of you will go "oh, it was for charity all along! that was nice of them!" but . . . I don't know about the legalities of collecting donation funds under false pretenses, but morally speaking, it's a really shitty thing to do. They stripped away the choices - limiting them to three - of what their readers could donate to, and what I think their readers don't understand - due to being mostly teenagers - is that they're tax-exempt individuals and they just unknowingly gave Snailords an easy $1k tax write-off. You really, really shouldn't collect donation funds like this without being honest, it's just a shitty thing to do, especially after you've already collected the money. It mostly just comes across as damage control on Snailords' part to make it seem like they were always planning to donate to charity, when in reality, if they wanted to donate to charity, they would have been honest about that at the start. Again, even if they wanted to do that from the start, it goes to show how little confidence they have in themselves or their audience that they have to stoop to methods like these instead of just doing it honestly.

And do you really think Snailords will actually do those extra episodes? Or donate that money? This is the same asshole who has manipulated their readers for money not once but twice, and now seems intent on doing it a third time just for the charm. This is the same person who practically sabotaged their own comic, Freaking Romance, because they apparently didn't like the romance genre and may as well have only done it for clout / views / etc.

What was especially odd - and I found this out from folks who actually read Death : Rescheduled (I do not) - was finding out that it wouldn't make sense for D : R to end in as many as 25 episodes, because apparently, the plot has basically just gotten going.

So it does seem like this is foreshadowing that D : R will wind up just like Freaking Romance, rushed into an ending that wasn't expected. And this, of course, has the people who read their work confused because D : R was supposed to be Snailords' passion project, their magnum opus, the project they wanted to do. So them holding the timing of an ending that shouldn't even be happening yet for ransom contradicts that original intention. Really, it just goes to show that Snailords has no passion, they're just in it purely for the money, to a degree that I can't even cheer them on for being a hustler because it's missing the honesty and integrity.

And of course, every single time Snailords finds a way to backpedal and take his audience for a ride, they hop right in without a single thought for themselves.

And no, none of this is to hate on the readers directly, I hold Snailords entirely responsible for this - they have an audience of impressionable, naive, gullible teenagers, and they know it, and take advantage of it every chance they get. It's why they weren't just honest about wanting to collect money for charity from the start. It's why they resorted to basically holding their own comic's progression for ransom during its midseason hiatus. It's why the deadline was 24 hours and why the posts are now gone.

Thankfully the Internet does what it does - any evidence that Snailords was trying to bury is now all over reddit, and hey, just for good measure, here's a post on Tumblr that's been sitting in my drafts for days now, days after people have already seemingly stopped talking about it. Don't let anyone bury or forget about the stunts Snailords is pulling on their audience, with a platform that they've been consistently given by Webtoons, because that's what they want you to do.

#snailords #webtoon critical

[andy-wm]

I have thoughts about the Tiktok JK deleted

<<I realise its a few days ago now and you might be wondering 'what tiktok?' but I've been writing in snatches when I have a few minutes so it took a while. Anyway, here it is...>>

A few posts I've read have suggested JK did the silly>sexy Tiktok challenge backwards. That he did sexy>silly instead. That he was being random and funny.

I disagree.

What he did was unexpected, a little left of centre, and for the people who can read subtext, not random at all but very very clever.

I'll tell you why, (It may not be what you think) but first I need to vent about two things:

1. Give the man some credit. He knows what he's doing.

There are some who love JK but who see him as a naive innocent. He is not. He isn't a child or a himbo.

Saying he did the challenge just because it's trending, and he reversed the order of the content for a bit of a joke, is insulting to him as an artist. It would suggest he has no forethought or understanding of himself or his (global) audience, and his decisions are made on impulse with no idea of the consequences.

He's very intelligent and has plenty of experience with digital media and creating content. Besides being involved in producing complex visual narratives as part of BTS for the last ten years, he has directed and produced seven highly polished and professional GFC videos. And don't forget the MVs for Life Goes On. For the October issue of Vogue Korea he took on the role of Creative Director. That's a pretty big deal. So we can assume he knows what he's doing.

If he produces content in a particular way, it's because it enables him to communicate what he wants to communicate.

2. You may not understand the message. That doesn't mean there's nothing to understand.

A heads up to people who can't work it out... your inability to grasp meaning doesn't equate to 'no meaning exists'. Suggesting that people who recognise what he's doing are reaching or delusional is an insult to both the audience who can read this situation, and to Jungkook, who is sharing his message.

Consider a system of writing you can't decode. Lack of comprehension doesnt mean the writing is meaningless, it means you don't understand the language.

Even if you believe you understand what's being said, please recognise that context may play a role too, that it could reveal a richer and deeper message. Don't just assume the easiest (laziest) interpretation is correct.

(You may have guessed, someone suggested I was 'behaving like the cult' when I pointed out that JK's tiktok was more than being funny ... and now I'm mad 🤣)

Vent over. Now back to he topic at hand...

💜💛

What was he was really doing? And why is it not at all random?

Let's take a step back to recall what army has been saying about this...

Almost every interpretation i read suggests he reversed the order (silly>sexy becomes sexy>silly). The reason given is that his tiktok only makes sense if the order is reversed, and this idea is backed up by the caption saying "I go the other way".

But the 'reversed order' theory is based on a hereronormative perspective of what's sexy (and a stereotypical perspective of silly.)

So consider the content of his tiktok from a queer point of view...

For a man in a relationship with another man, the idea that he's with all those women is silly.

It's silly to believe he's got a girlfriend - or several. It's silly to think the womens' names in the song are relevant to him.

He posted this tiktok at a time when he's releasing music that fits the western pop norm of boy + girl, and when rumours of him dating several women at once are rife. The timing is not a coincidence and nor is the choice of background song for this.

All these assumptions and rumours are pretty silly, JK is telling us.

Now let's talk about the second part, the sexy part. Yes it may look silly on the surface, but we have seen him and Jimin make dorky faces at one another when they're flirting. It seems to be the visual equivalent of calling Jimin 'Jiminssssi'.

It's just another way they create distance and avoid 'getting caught'.

Maybe sexy for Jungkook actually is lying on the couch in your sweatpants making corny faces at your boyfriend.

Remember that he puts out 'stereotypical sexy' on command as part of his job so maybe that doesn't feel very sexy to him. Maybe that's work.

In my view (I know this is subject to interpretation) they've been together for years now. This is not the first flush of love. When you've been with a partner for a while, sex is (hopefully) more fun and less serious. Maybe it's about having the confidence to be wholly unselfconscious.

(My partner makes a Pepé Le Pew face at me when he's goofing. No, i don't know why either... 🤣🤷)

But wait, what about that caption?

What about 난반대로 간다?

My beautiful Korean friend (who sadly has zero interest or care about jikook) confirmed the literal translation:

"I go the other way"

"I take the opposite direction".

It's not "it goes the other way" or "this goes the opposite direction". He's referring specifically to HIMSELF.

Jungkook goes the other way.

But it's more than that according to my friend.

It's a bold statement:

"I don't follow the mainstream."

It reminds me of his tattoo ...

RATHER BE DEAD THAN COOL

He doesn't do things just because everyone else is doing them.

"I don't follow the mainstream."

OK. HOLD UP.

This is where it gets interesting.

Then why would he do something as mainstream as a trending tiktok challenge? Especially something as vapid as this challenge?

And why would he tell us DURING that Tiktok challenge that he DOESN'T follow the mainstream?

And then delete it.

Creating content takes time.

And we know he's a busy man.

He's about to release an album. He's doing live performances. He's prerecording for music shows. He's overseas right now... for the fourth time in a month! Does he have time for this??

And he DELETED it...

Did he just WASTE all that time?

No, he did not.

He deliberately chose to do this.

He did it knowing ARMY studies every action, every video, and every media release.

He did it knowing ARMY would already have copied the video before he took it off his profile.

He said on Stationhead that he knows ARMY has it, and is sharing and posting it. He's FINE with that.

So he took the time to create and upload that video. He wants it out there.

He just doesn't want it on HIS page. That's an important part of the story.

So lets go back to the caption.

"I take the opposite direction"

"I go the other way"

"I don't follow the mainstream."

*Said boldly* remember. It's a loud statement, captioning an otherwise pointless very mainstream trending challenge.

So if he's not referring to tiktok itself, or to uploading challenges, what could he be referring to?

...

...

There's only one thing left: Himself.

I take the opposite direction

I go the other way

I don't follow the mainstream

Essentially... I swing the other way.

There's no way a queer man would make that statement and not fully recognise the message he's sending.

As for deleting the video, I'd say he knew it was too risky to leave on his profile, being a celebrity in Korea. He's managing his brand. Deleting it also gives him plausible deniability. He can say he made an error. As I said, he's very intelligent. He knows ARMY will see it and share it. He knows that those of us with a queer eye will hear the message loud and clear.

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈 And we do hear it. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

#jeon jungguk #jikook #kookmin #국민 #jungkook

[d4rkpluto]

i've returned to post about a particular subject i've been fighting to or not to post, because i used to consider this person the closest person in my life and i even considered her as a best friend and a sister.

and we have fallen out and apologised to each other many times, but perhaps whenever we argued it was life telling me that she is not supposed to be in my circle. and you could be wondering why am i bringing this up and telling tumblr this but im telling tumblr this to be aware of @couerardent and her scamming behaviour.

couerardent also known as MYSTIICWINTER OR MYSTICWIINTER.

talk about WORSE SERVICE I HAVE EVER GOTTEN MY ENTIRE LIFE.

[other people have come to me and spoke about how bad her services were, but i tried to overlook it because i really cared for her, lessoned learn]

i have always been empathetic towards ardent and her money situation, but there are moments when excuses turn into reasons to not do something. on august, i sent alex money because she needed it, but she also said in return she will give me 4 packs she usually gives her clients and she told me she would give me my money back.

first pack is "tell me your story."

second and other packs she hadnt told me what they were but she informed me that i'll be receiving them weekly since august, and now its november.

at first i was empathetic, since i used to be close to ardent, i knew she went through a lot of stuff at home, so i was patient. until august turned into september, and september turned into october and then october turned into novemeber.

and slowly i became annoyed, [as i should] because her services arent even long or good, as someone who gives chart readings to other people that consists more than fourteen pages, the effort to write that would take long, but ardent doesnt even give five pages for her services, three at most, so why is it taking her so long?

previously, she has joked to me about scamming other people, but would put the blame on them and not want to take accountability until they start using threats to expose her, i think she deleted the making fun of scamming them but here is some of it:

and when i would message her for updates about my reading because it'll take months, she would ignore me and even change her pfp on tumblr or discord, until i reach out to her on more platforms to get her attention.

and what would annoy me even more is that she would talk about how she never has something to do or would focus on other stuff knowing she needs to get my reading done lmao and this would be like 1-2 months after i was supposed to receive any of it lol.

worrying about the layout for almost 3 months PLEASE.

i have received 1/4 readings, and that was now almost 2-3 weeks ago, we should've been on my 2nd or 3rd reading by now, the only reason i have received 1 reading is because i did threaten to expose her if she didnt send the money or reading my way, because even i had some issues because living in london has gotten really difficult and i have been trying to support my family as much as i can, but im doing better right now.

its all about the principle. and she has none of that. and even attempted to victimise herself and behave like she was in distress whenever she got called out about her behaviour.

she lost track of time, the time being 3-4 months lol.

and when i was speaking to her she ignored me for a bit again ha, it was almost comedic. for almost two weeks she didnt try and check what i was speaking about.

she has gotten ill, but this was still months after.

and i have remembered, she has used much of her earned money to fund for her nose job but also uni, but during the moments it was best to pay me back was at the job she said paid her well, she informed me that when she gets paid by her job she'll pay me back, and she never did and ended up quitting the job.

[the unfairness i was speaking about is how uni her country dont do student finances, she's from romania, because they do in the uk it was just a surprise].

i asked her recently on how i was supposed to receive a reading but she didnt reply but change her pfp on whatsapp and discord, again.

if there is any confused people comment please because i did this half asleep lmao

#tarot #tarot community #pick a pile #pac #romance #astrology #pick a card #pick a photo #future spouse

[polarisbibliotheque]

Devil May Halloween - The Samhain Ritual - Dante's Path

Devil May Halloween 2023 - The Samhain Ritual, Dante's Path

Pairing: Dante x Reader Summary: It’s finally Halloween and, even if the demons are a lot more active this time of the year, that doesn’t stop you from going on hunts - the partying can be done later. Or… At least that was what you thought. Maybe Nero had pretty good reasons to worry about that job after all. Author's Notes: Fucking. Finally. It took forever, but here I have around 20 pages of a demon wanting to marry the reader and Dante going feral over it. Took me ALL THIS TIME to write and I do apologize, but SO MUCH has happened since October, I'm finally managing to get my life back on track. So heeeeeey, here we have Dante's part of the Halloween Special for 2023! Be sure to read the Prologue first to understand the road so far yes Supernatural fan right here and have fun!! But I do have to thank @furyeclipse - the idea came from an ask sent a thousand years ago and I've been reading her works on ao3 and that motivated™ me to write again! Be sure to check Fury's work over there!

Oh. And I highly recommend an AC/DC playlist while reading this. Just sayin'. We all know Dante is an AC/DC guy

Devil May Halloween 2023 – Dante’s Path

“You know, of all the things that could have happened to me as a hunter, getting into a forced marriage with a demon lord was the very last one I would’ve imagined.”

And you were definitely the only person in the world that could have made Kyrie laugh in a moment like that – at least, that was what she thought as she smiled for the first time since you both had stepped in that place.

It was desecrated ground, that was the reason why the demons chose such a place. An old cathedral, now turned into an abandoned set of ruins with a cemetery of forgotten souls in the back. Some stone walls still stood tall, but the roof was gone, along with some windows and part of its gothic architecture. The shroud of the darkest tones of night slowly crept over, having rows and sets of candles of all sizes as the only source of light beside the moon.

You and Kyrie were being kept in a secured room – the only with still four walls to hold you in, and a heavy set of crumbling wooden doors. You were handed wedding attires – white, as to demonstrate the purity of your human souls compared to demons – and shoved in there, forced to change before the ritual.

You tried to resist, but as soon as they threatened Kyrie, you had to abide. There was nothing you could do: you had promised Nero nothing would happen to her, and she was your weak spot that night.

“We will figure something out…” Kyrie murmured with a ghost of a smile on her soft lips, even if she didn’t carry too much hope in her heart. She knew that if you were alone, you would probably be fist-fighting demons with all your might to drag yourself out of that place, but with her by your side… She had never seen you so compliant.

“Hmmm. Yeah. I’m still trying to think of something.” You huffed, sitting by her side on a stone loveseat, having your elbows on your knees and your face cradled by your hands. “I feel naked without my stuff. So uncomfortable.”

Once again, Kyrie giggled. Indeed, it was probably the first time she ever saw you without your everyday clothes and specially without your weapons: be it your guns, your sword or even a pocketknife you carried around for emergency self-defense. She could only imagine how stripped you felt at that moment.

“Well, if it serves as consolation, this is definitely not my style.” She whispered in response, making you laugh immediately. Indeed, poor Kyrie looked like a princess covered in Chantilly. Too over-the-top for her, and you could say the same about your forced attire.

“Oh, what a mess we got ourselves into this time, huh…?” You still had that laugh in your lips, making Kyrie respond with a sad smile. “Though I bet Nero is going to die seeing you dressed as a bride.”

“He will never admit it.” Kyrie had to giggle with that mental image. She could almost see Nero standing in front of her, red as a tomato, stuttering while trying to maintain that nonchalant punk attitude he always tried to – even if Kyrie could easily see through all of that. “He does get all flustered whenever I’m wearing anything slightly bridal looking.”

“There you go. The hideous Chantilly wedding dress will have at least one good effect after all.” You sighed with a laugh, following Kyrie on her giggles as she blushed herself, happy to imagine that.

The moment wouldn’t last long, though, as you felt something shifting in the air. You immediately got up on your feet, keeping Kyrie safe and sound behind you. Her curious, scared eyes tried to pick up what was going on, but neither of you could see – you could just feel it.

With some fiery sparkles, one of the demons responsible for that mess materialized right in front of you.

“Well, well. It is good to see you are already prepared.” Horns and sharp features, but in the suit of a ruthless man – that was the best way you could describe the demon lords. They had the leathery wings, skin as rough as that of a lizard, eyes bright like flames in the dark – but something still carried the resemblance of a human being. They were tall – even taller than most doors – with sharp nails to be used as claws, fangs ready to tear throats apart. But they were built in the image of humans: something quite rare when it came to demons.

“Not out of our own free will – you shouldn’t be that pleased your minions managed to coerce us into these horrid things.” You pointed at your own attire, making Kyrie look up at you with tense eyes.

It was something she admired, to say the least. You could all look in the face of the most threatening of creatures and still manage to say something to taunt or belittle them. She wished she had that kind of courage.

“You do have a point, human.” The demon had a quick giggle in his voice, making you furrow your eyebrows slightly. It wasn’t every day one of those things would agree with your big mouth. “Come. I would very much like to speak with you.”

*

Oh. Demons and their teleportation shenanigans – to be quite honest, you hated it. Whenever you used any of their magic or even Vergil’s void thing from the Yamato, you always felt a little dizzy afterwards. It took you some quick seconds to make sense you were in what seemed to be the abandoned church’s library – in a room made of stones and rotten books, lit by decrepit candles and having just one usable table in a corner. The demon lords had clearly made that their own room for the day.

“It’s rare a demon wishes to talk.” You finally managed to say while the demon lord slowly walked towards his desk, having you in the middle of the room. Now Kyrie was alone and you had no idea what was going on with her – you had to play your cards well to see her alive again. “According to my experience, your kind prefers a bloodier approach.”

“I take it you haven’t met many demon lords then.” He had a nonchalant tone, waving his hand in disregard as he approached his desk and leaned into it, staring at you. “Nevertheless, that is more Orcus’ style.”

“Your little friend.”

“Al Pacino did play the devil once, didn’t he…?” The demon laughed in response and you did your best to cover up the shock that he understood your Scarface reference.

Movies and pop culture references with Dante were a given – the same way Vergil was an encyclopedia of forgotten and obscure texts, Dante was the go-to man when it came to movies, especially the classic ones. Making references and laughing with each other was something both of you cherished wholeheartedly – and you never thought a demon would get it.

Vergil never did – and he had to have spent some time with those guys in the last decades.

“Well, I don’t think you brought me down here just to talk about movies.” You crossed your arms, trying as much as you could to look tough in that attire. Which wasn’t going very well for you. “And it certainly wasn’t to properly ask for my hand in marriage.”

“Oh, no, no…” He answered with a laugh that crackled like fire – and you could easily see the amusement in his eyes. “I wanted to see what the son of Sparda saw in you… To bind himself to one of the weakest creatures known. Just like his father before him.”

“It’s not like Dante has married me, you know? We’re not like Eva and Sparda.” You raised one of your eyebrows. Something about that conversation was very… Weird. To put it mildly. “We’re not bonded like you want to do today. And on that note, I have to point out: marriages are quite religious. Aren’t you guys going to combust spontaneously trying to do something holy?”

“Oh, but you are bonded. He may not have chosen his father’s path, but his heart does not lie.” The demon had something quite mischievous in his eyes, and you were starting to notice the difference between him and Orcus: the second one was more of a brute, a lord of war so to speak – the one you were talking to, Erlach, was very cunning; but there was a glint of bloodthirstiness in the back of his eyes. That made him even more dangerous than you gave him credit for at first. “I shall never understand why Sparda did not wish to follow the ritual with his human. That would have made him so powerful, not even the most dangerous creatures in Hell would have dared to slaughter his family. A shame really.” He tossed aside a charred painting of Sparda and Eva: old, barely holding itself together, but still clearly depicting the couple holding hands and smiling to whoever decided to look upon them. “We do have our own rituals – and demons are no strangers to marriages. It has another name in Hell, though, it is a binding ritual: where souls connect and one can be made more from the other’s power.”

“Oh. So the other just accepts it’s going to be a puny little thing beside their partner? Sounds more like slavery to me.” You wouldn’t give the demon the benefit of the doubt nor make it all sound so wonderful. Anything related to devils always had a catch – and that had to be the catch to their own twisted version of a ‘marriage’.

And in all honesty, you weren’t looking forward to be made a slave to a demon lord.

“Some creatures enjoy that.” And the smile that covered Erlach’s lips could be only considered devilish. You did your best not to look like you were agreeing – even if you knew, deep down, that yes, some people did enjoy that. “Every con has its pro. With the binding and forfeit of power, comes protection and status. Few would want to desecrate the partner of a powerful demon – it could easily be the last thing they would do.”

“if I am bonded to Dante, then, I wonder why would someone like you decide to mess with the chosen partner of the son of Sparda.” Now you had a small smile hidden in the corner of your lips, slightly raising your head in hubris. You wouldn’t lie: the status you got from him among demons was always very welcome. “Not that I really need him to help me. If I had my weapons, you would all be laying on the floor in a pool of your own blood – and I’d be home celebrating Halloween with him.”

Erlach stared into your eyes for a good four seconds before opening a threatening smile with his sharp fangs. His own eyes burned like fire, but you never let his gaze go – it wasn’t in you to be scared by the likes of him. You had seen worse, you had fought worse… And only you knew how threatening Dante’s eyes could look when he was half asleep in a nightmare of his young years with you trying to wake him up so he could have some peace. That was worse than any demon you could ever face.

“Indeed, that is why I needed some leverage against you.” He waved his hand nonchalantly towards the door and you immediately understood he was talking about Kyrie. “It was never my intention to allow Orcus to bond to some creature as powerful as mine… But I did not knew the extent of your powers, so I needed something to keep you in line. Luckily, Sparda’s grandson is not as attuned to powerful partners as Sparda’s children.”

You furrowed your brows. Whenever you talked between the members of the crew, there was a tacit agreement Kyrie was indeed the most powerful of all – for her ability to love openly, to cry, to be vulnerable and to care with such an open heart.

But those abilities were inherently human – and appreciated in humans rather than demons. In the human point of view, Kyrie was stronger than all of you together, and no one could argue against that. But in the demonic point of view… You and Lady were top of the list when it came to being able to take demons in a fair fight.

But you… You had Dante’s heart.

“It was part of our bargain. But I would never allow Orcus to bind to the most powerful of partners, would I?” Again, that smile painted his lips. You remained in the middle of the room, holding his gaze, not even flinching as he approached you. “I must admit, though, I never thought you would have this… Fire.”

As Erlach stopped with a few inches from your own face, you didn’t recoil. You remained with your arms crossed, standing as tall as you could in front of that huge demon lord as his fiery eyes just stared deeply into yours – and you stared back.

But you sensed something… Different. In his words, in his gaze. You wanted to furrow your brows as you were slowly coming to realize something, but you did your best to remain as proud and emotionless as you could – and Erlach took note of that. A pleasurable note.

“I can see what the son of Sparda saw in you.” That devilish smile colored his lips once more as the demon took another step towards you. It took you a great amount of willpower not to step back. You would never step back. “When demons bind with demons, it is one sort of marriage. When demons bind with humans, on Samhein, with the correct ritual… Well, it is a very different thing. A kind of binding never seen before – and never attempted, not even by Sparda.” Erlach approached with another step, making you raise your head even higher. Every fiber of your being wanted to scream Dante’s name and watch your red devil storm inside that room and suplex Erlach face first on the floor – as he deserved. The demon lord, though, offered one hand to you, palm facing up. “At first, I targeted you for Dante would not take a weakling as a partner, but now… I am more than inclined to take you as mine. With me, you would have the protection and status of royalty in Hell. We can take over entire worlds. And they would all be mine and yours to rule.” You just kept staring at him as Erlach’s fiery eyes stared even more deeply into yours. “You just have to say yes.”

To say your head was spinning was an understatement. What a wild ride that night was becoming – and something inside you stirred, telling you it would become even wilder. Were you reading his words right…? His gestures…? Not that Erlach was being subtle about it, he was being as blunt as his kind could be, but… Were you going crazy? You were, probably. That was a more plausible explanation than what you had to admit yourself – than what you were living right at that moment.

“If you think I’d give up Dante for power, then you can see nothing he saw in me.” You spat back, still holding your head high. “You are just as clueless as the rest of your kind.”

Erlach laughed back – not a laugh of an evil demon as you were used to, but one of delight. He… Enjoyed your answer…?

“The more you speak, the more I see.” He finally chuckled, stepping back after one last stare. “And I will see you later.”

With a snap of his fingers, you were back to the cold, abandoned crypt you and Kyrie were being held hostages. As your dizziness faded and you came back to reality, you saw her holding one of your hands, checking if you were ok with one of her palms on your forehead. Even if you didn’t feel lightheaded anymore, your mind was still troubled – and you had to sit down on the stone loveseat you shared with Kyrie earlier.

“Are you ok, y/n? What happened?” She sat by your side, big hazelnut eyes staring at you with warmth and humanity – so much different from the fiery pit of Erlach’s eyes. So much more welcoming and cozier. So much more like home. You would’ve hugged her if you weren’t so disoriented. “Y/n. What did he do to you? What happened?!”

“I think…” You finally managed to put into words what just happened – even if you didn’t want to say what you thought out loud. It seemed that by saying it, a sort of magic would make it become true. “I think… A demon lord just fell in love with me.”

You and Kyrie just stared at each other in horror, not even knowing what to say.

“What the hell…?!”

And Kyrie finally managed to put into words what you had been thinking the whole time.

*

“Fuckin’ hell…”

Nico just stared at Lady as Dante growled while mounting on his bike.

To be fair, Nico wasn’t the safest person to be behind a wheel, even more in a dire situation like that with Nero by her side looking like he was about to bite ankles and throw punches – but something about Dante looking like he was about to burst into flames while viciously riding the Cavaliere and growling in a half-distorted demon voice was enough to get the gunsmith ever so slightly… Concerned.

“Everything ok there, Dante, or do we need to take you in the van?” Lady screamed out her window, while Nico hoped the bright red glint in Dante’s eyes was only her imagination. “You look like you wanna beat me in a race! We hunt demons to save humans, not run them over, you know?”

“Eh, demon spidey-sense is tinglin’, Lady! That’s no good!” Dante screamed back, doing his best to keep the demonic part of his voice repressed inside his chest. He would have more than enough opportunities to let that explode. “Y/n is unsafe. I can feel it. And I…” With that, Dante drove to the back of the van because of a narrowing road, only to come back a few seconds later. “Don’t…” Another interruption for Dante not to run over a citizen cluelessly crossing the street and almost being run over by Nico. “Like it!”

His last phrase couldn’t keep the distortion in anymore and it sounded like a deep roar that came out of his chest like fire. Trish could already see the fangs in his bared teeth: those demons were in for the fight of a lifetime, for everyone knew making Dante’s lover feel unsafe was one of the worst sins in the Sparda dictionary.

Nico opened her mouth to talk to Nero – because, maybe, he could beat some sense into his uncle’s head, given they had the very same heritage – but for the first time she just put the cigarette between her lips and decided to shut up.

She was still getting used to Nero’s new trigger, so the halfway-into-turning state was something Nico didn’t really know how to deal with. By this point, Nero’s nails were definitely claws and his fangs were very much similar to Dante’s. He was fidgeting everywhere, messing with Blue Rose, as if something was really wrong with the gun and he had to fix it – a thousand fucking times. Nico could also swear his eyes were starting to glow with an inhumane gold tinge and that was very alien to her.

“Hey, kid! What about your spidey-sense tingling? Anything new?” Luckily for Nico, she had Trish around – and that woman was a pure devil, so there were very few things she feared. They all knew Nero was getting used to his own new powers, so Trish always decided to stay around and lend a hand whenever Nero had to go through something emotionally heavy – she knew it herself that demon instinct always came crashing like a wild wave whenever emotions were running high.

“Eh, she’s not good too, Trish. Worried as heck, I can feel it.” Nero mumbled under his breath, fixing the barrels of the Blue Rose for the tenth time, probably – not even needing to mention he was talking about Kyrie. With a click, the gun cocked back to its original state and Nero turned his now slightly golden aquamarine eyes to the devil leaning on his seat. “And I don’t like it either. Not at fucking all.”

Nico had to say, it always sent shivers down her spine when Nero spoke with his demonic voice like that. She was used to him being her goofy sort of brother, bickering with her down the road and tossing over-the-top, smart mouthed taunts to demons. Hearing him like that was… Something else. And Nico didn’t like it that much as well.

*

The last time you felt unsafe seemed like a whole lifetime ago.

You tried to control your hands as they wanted to start shaking – but you kept telling yourself you needed to keep Kyrie safe. After all, you were the devil hunter, not her. Kyrie could kill every single one in the crew with kindness, but not those devils… Those had to be killed with blades and gunpowder.

Being with Dante had given you something you never really had before, and just now you noticed it was tied to your red devil: safety. Even if he wasn’t around physically, you could always count on the fact that Dante, son of Sparda, Crimson Slayer, would bend Hell itself around his will to keep you from any kind of harm. It had never downed on you because, up until that point, that was a given.

Today, Halloween of all days, was a little more complicated. Dante wasn’t around, the whole ritual was bound to have some heavy magic to keep him at bay, you were completely unarmed and the demons you were up against were another kind – not the stupid, belligerent type you handled almost on a daily basis; no, those were smart, cunning and dangerous.

To top all of that, you had Kyrie on your side. If you were alone, you’d probably already be trying some unhinged escape attempts, but they were so smart on deciding to kidnap her as well. She was your weak spot on that situation and the fact that you felt unsafe and couldn’t do your best to protect her, only highlighted the fear you started to feel creeping up at the base of your stomach.

Closing your eyes and taking a deep breath, the only thing that could at least try to calm your nerves was to imagine being back in Dante’s arms, at the Devil May Cry, the smell of warm pizza around and him humming some old tunes you both loved. That was home. That was your haven. Dante was your refuge, keeping you secure from every evil thing that could attack you in this world, and he wasn’t there.

For a split second, you wondered if he could feel how much your heart was aching – screaming with all its might in the hopes he would hear its call.

Suddenly, two demons entered the room you and Kyrie were being held. They didn’t have to say much: with swords pointed at both of you and the heavy doors wide open, you knew it was time. Knowing you had to calm your nerves so at least she could have a chance to escape, you got up and calmly walked in front of Kyrie – head high and staring those demons right back in their eyes.

“Everything will be ok.” You murmured back over your shoulder, knowing Kyrie would listen. “If you find a safe chance to run, do it and don’t look back. I can handle them better alone.”

You felt Kyrie’s soft hands brushing on one of yours, her voice nothing but a whisper. “Don’t put yourself in danger, y/n. I don’t wanna run without you.”

You closed your eyes, chuckling a little in silence. She was indeed an angel among so many demons – including all of you in the crew. “Oh, Kyrie. You have to learn… The whole crew would die for you, don’t you know that already…?” And even if your words weren’t the kindest, you had the sweetest tone in your voice – saying nothing but the truth. “You run. It’ll take more than a few demons to bring me down.”

Kyrie knew you were lying only to make her feel safer – there was a tinge of bitterness in your sweetness, a slight glint of sadness in your eyes. Those were more than a few demons, and both of you knew it.

She could only sigh in response and confirm with her head. You and Dante were bittersweetly so alike: always lying and pretending nothing was too serious, putting yourselves on the line for those you loved, trying to make them stop worrying while you were both ready to walk right into certain death. She had seen how angry you got every time he tried to pull something like that on you – and Kyrie had to smile even if a little bit upon realizing how similar you and your lover were, even if you hated when he did that.

Both of your thoughts had to be violently changed and brought back to the present moment when the time came to enter what one day was a beautiful, untarnished cathedral. The imposing gothic architecture was in shambles, the stars shining clearly in the deep night sky above your heads – the high peaks of the cathedral long gone. A long tapestry on the ground, torn apart and eaten by parasites, lead the way in a dirty blood red to the middle of the aisle, where a grandiose bonfire stood and lit none other than your groom.

That was definitely not the devil you had intended to marry if you ever walked down the aisle. Also, you always thought if you ever married Dante, the ceremony would be in the Devil May Cry: you would enter the shop, dressed in your best hunting clothes – maybe something leather, carefully picked by Trish to make you even more mesmerizing – watching Dante smiling at you, leaning on his desk, arms crossed and love pouring from his eyes.

That was the perfect marriage for you alright. And leaving for a quick honeymoon with your red devil, riding on the Cavaliere, a few cans tied to it with a “just married” sign on the back, waving at the crew at the door of the shop while Dante made the motorcycle burn the road with its demonic power? More than perfect.

“You shall enter first. The other human stays until your ritual is performed.” One of the demons held Kyrie hostage, pointing your way down the derelict aisle. Her eyes were filled with fear, and you couldn’t do anything but comply.

Holding your head high, you walked down the damned aisle. Not like a perfect fiancé, but like a wronged force of nature, just waiting for the right time to unleash your fury against all those demons. You were wearing those ridiculous clothes, on that ridiculous place, while demons started chanting and playing a song for the demonic ritual that had just started, stripped of your guns, blades and clothes.

To say you wanted to sucker punch Erlach on his face until his sharp teeth fell out was an understatement.

And yet, he had nothing but admiration and fire in his eyes for you. The more you approached, the more he smiled, offering you his hand as you were getting closer and closer – you refused to take it, standing in front of him just like you did when he first talked to you.

“You know, the kidnapping and taking my gear away, I could forgive. But these clothes…?” You pointed down at that hideous thing that was forced to you. “You could’ve done better. A lot better.”

“I judged you by all the mortals I’ve ever met – and now I realize I shouldn’t have done so. Do apologize, exquisite creature.” And Erlach answered your insult with a delighted distorted laugh. You just remained there, looking like you had just stuck a flip flop into a toaster, not knowing what to do. It seemed that the more you tried to repel him, the more Erlach liked you. “But rituals shouldn’t be taken lightly. One should wear the proper attire.”

“To think a demon would’ve dressed his counterpart a lot better and risqué than this…” You sighed, pushing all those ruffles away from your face as he, once more, tried to take your hand and guide you to approach the bonfire. “I thought this was going to be a dual wedding. Where’s your friend?”

“Orcus can try to pull off his ritual after I’m done with mine.” Erlach had a devilish smile pulling his lips up in a distorted line. It was a little… Unsettling. “We… Agreed such a powerful ritual should be done one at a time.”

“Huh. That’ll be before or after you kill him?” You had one eyebrow lifted and Erlach laughed with joy in his voice, now finally forcing you to walk with him towards the bonfire. “You got quite the silver tongue to convince him you’re gonna let him go through with his ritual with his head still on his shoulders.”

“Oh, my dear, you have no idea.” Erlach forced you to spin around and look deep into his eyes, holding you by both of your arms in an iron clasp you couldn’t break away easily without your weapons. “You are very welcome to discover soon enough. I am mesmerized with your cunning and wit – so much better than all those pitiful uninspired creatures I have to live with every day. We will be quite a pair, sweet temptation.”

That admiration was there, that fire burning in his eyes, and… Lust…?! You had to contain a shiver of pure terror thinking a creature like that lusted for you. It wasn’t necessarily his appearance – you did find Dante one hell of a piece of temptation in whatever form he was, be it human, Devil Trigger or even his Sin Devil Trigger – but his soul. Erlach lacked the very thing that made you fall madly and hopelessly for Dante: his golden heart, his gentle soul, his kind eyes and his unapologetic humanity.

That was why it didn’t matter how Dante looked like: you would always fall in love with him. Even if he was just a piece of rock with googly eyes laying on his desk, you would love that rock with all your heart.

“What if I refuse to be your pair?” You had one of your eyebrows raised, trying to hide the fear creeping at the base of your stomach. “As far as I know, all marriages require a resounding yes from both parts. What are you gonna do? Torture me?”

“As tempting as that sounds…” And even if you didn’t show it, your blood certainly froze in your veins for a second. “I fear you would take a very long time to break under such circumstances. The Son of Sparda chose you for your brave heart and hardened soul, I can see that now. Luckily for demonic rituals, the sacrifices don’t need to consent.”

“Oh. I thought I was more than just a disposable piece of meat. I’m hurt.” Masking your fear with jokes and taunts, you had learned that with the very best. Dante had all the blame for that.

“Don’t be, my creature.” Erlach’s words were laced with a laugh while he took a ceremonial dagger from an altar nearby. “That is how humans are usually named in our rituals. You will remain alive, or else, it doesn’t work. I do need your blood… A reasonable amount, but nothing lethal.”

His hand clasped your wrist with a tight grip you couldn’t break from. Your heart started beating faster and faster, as you looked around trying to find Kyrie – crossing her terrified eyes as she watched from the distance, close to the entrance where once was a door, fearing for your life. You wanted to mutter some soothing words for her, but not even you could lie that much: your survival instincts kicked in and your adrenaline spiked. It was now or never, but you had to escape.

Erlach held your arm above a bowl made of pure gold, now darkened with time and stained with all the sacrifices it contained. He spoke some words in demonic language, while the chanting got even more intense – some things you could understand, but the others were lost as your mind became hazy with trying to think what to do.

It was a surprise to all – you closed your free hand in a fist and did exactly what you wanted to do since you saw that hideous thing you were wearing: sucker punch that conceited demon right on his face.

Erlach was taken aback for a moment, looking back at you with confused eyes. Seizing his distraction, you disarmed him and took the ceremonial dagger to yourself, cutting his hand that held your wrist and demanding him to let you go. Erlach stumbled back in awe, while you took a fighting stance with the dagger in your hand, ready to kill – but not ready to get married.

And he smiled.

“Such fire…!” To say Erlach was ecstatic was an underestimation. “My creature… What are you going to do with that?” And he took a predator stance, as both of you studied your options in that fight.

If you could look back at Kyrie, you would see her smiling and supporting you as much as she could. To say she admired you, was to say you only liked Dante.

“I am going to kill every single demon in this cathedral… Including you.” Pointing the dagger at Erlach, it was your turn to allow a devilish smile to cover your lips. “Then, I’m taking my friend back home. Back into the arms of the only devil I will ever love. Back to Dante.”

As you spoke, you didn’t even hear a ragged guitar faintly playing in the background – and approaching ominously. The only thing you had in mind was a tunnel focus on Erlach, ready to tear him apart as soon as he got close to you.

“Oh, I will enjoy that, my creature. And I might even need to get rid of Dante myself.” As soon as he finished his sentence, though, you scoffed in a laughter of pure mockery.

“Now that, you would try. Dante is so much more than you will ever be – he will reduce you to ashes with a single stare. That’s how pitiful you are compared to him, Erlach.” As your words poured, you couldn’t stop laughing at how he looked slightly insulted. Fucking finally. “And I gotta say, that’s not the only thing Dante is really good at. He does burn like fire.”

“I will enjoy subduing you.” Erlach growled, baring his teeth. Now you managed to piss him off.

“I will enjoy watching you try.” You wouldn’t allow him too much time to think: spinning the blade in your hand for a better grip, you finally tried to stab him with a swift attack – but he easily dodged as you got even angrier at that ridiculous clothing you were wearing. Those frills and terrible fabric made your movement a lot debilitated.

You tried a few other attacks as Erlach dodged and started smiling again, enjoying every bit of it – starting to even try a few attacks, while you blocked with the dagger. It was all too fast… At the same pace of the guitar that now echoed loudly, with a very familiar song approaching the chorus.

“Now, my creature.” Erlach held your hand with the dagger when you tried another stab. Even if you were resisting, it was more entertaining than anything else: you needed your gear. He pulled you closer to him, even if you tried to stay away as much as you could. “It’s time to stop the fun. We can do this after the ritual.”

Before any of you could do anything else, the guitar finally arrived – with the screeching of what seemed a thousand tires, the smell of gasoline and the sound of a shot from a gun you knew so well.

Said shot hit the dagger, making it shatter into a thousand little pieces in your hand, causing Erlach to let go of you in a reflex – while AC/DC’s vocalist screamed he would shoot to thrill, play to kill.

“Well, I think we’re all ready for the afterparty, aren’t we, hot stuff?”

Dante had entered down the aisle with Cavaliere screeching, leaving a trail of fire behind him, stopping right in the middle to shoot that ceremonial dagger into oblivion. The smoke was still fresh on the barrel of his gun, while he had one foot on the ground, still mounted on his motorcycle, smirking at you with that gorgeous smile that, today, you wanted to kiss out of his mouth with so much passion the crew would probably have to throw a whole bucket of water on both of you to put out the fire.

And, right behind him, Nico crashed what was left of the cathedral’s door while blasting AC/DC’s Shoot to Thrill because she would be damned if she didn’t put a good soundtrack for that moment. You could see her smiling behind the wheel, supporting every single bit of Dante’s antics.

The smile that painted your lips – a broad one, mixed with thrill and relief – was everything Dante wanted to see. That was all the confirmation he needed to know that pull in his chest was actually your heart desperately calling for him to help.

“Ya know, I could forgive the kidnapping, you got one hell of a devil hunter in your hands to deal with…” Dante now let go of Cavaliere, leaving it in the middle of the cathedral, walking down the aisle with the sassy walk you always loved to see – moving his hips and opening his arms, taunting with a pretended carefree attitude. The distortion in his voice, sharp teeth and claws betrayed his words, though – and you couldn’t be happier. “But what’s the deal with those clothes?!”

“Exactly.” You smiled back, sighing as if someone there finally understood you. Erlach just looked at you and back at Dante trying to contain his surprise – it wasn’t possible you were synchronized in even that. “I can barely move, how am I supposed to kick his ass?”

“I can help ya with that, pretty eyes.” Dante’s voice now became darker, leaning even further into his Devil Trigger. For a split second, you could swear you saw his demonic form taking over before Dante appeared again. His eyes were almost entirely taken by red, his hand already gripping the hilt of Rebellion. “But I gotta deal with a few of these clowns first.”

“I’m not going anywhere, hot stuff.” You had the proudest of smiles on your lips as the demons started to approach, ready to fight your red devil. “Show them what a real party looks like.”

“Ya don’t have to ask twice!”

“What are you all waiting for?!” As soon as Erlach screamed, the demons ran towards Dante as a pack of rabid creatures, ready to take his blood. Erlach smiled with pride as they surrounded the Crimson Slayer, already pouncing to take a bite – there was no way a hybrid could take so many demons at once in a fight.

Looking at the crew’s van, you managed to see Lady leaning by the vehicle, watching it all with excitement but refusing to get into the fight. You almost laughed upon seeing Trish holding Nero’s jacket while he tried to let himself go from her iron tight grip, probably saying he should be in the fight too – but his eyes weren’t locked on Dante or the swarming demons: Nero was looking for Kyrie.

And you would’ve done the same, finally questioning yourself where they were keeping her after all that confusion took over the ritual. Nero could very well let himself go of Trish, but everyone knew he had his own priority – a priority you couldn’t find, and that fact started worrying you.

You would have given that a better thought if a sudden fiery explosion hadn’t sent demons flying around the cathedral like fireworks. Dante’s Devil Trigger was on, but not his normal one… It was his Sin Devil Trigger in all his demonic glory, with leathery wings hovering him from the floor and Devil Sword Dante burning like fire in his hands.

To say that would be a slaughter… Again, would be putting it lightly. With the masterfully chosen soundtrack by Nico blasting on the background, Dante single handedly slayed all the demons that decided to cross between you and him. You risked a side look to Erlach, only to find the demon astonished by Dante’s form and power – and you couldn’t resist. You leaned on the altar next to you, with a matter-of-fact look in your eyes.

“He usually has this effect on people… And demons.” You had to say it. You just couldn’t refrain from taunting and annoying that silly devil who forced you to wear those terrible wedding clothes.

With the Devil Sword Dante dripping blood, the son of Sparda approached as he slayed all the demons that tried to fight. Dante was a frightening powerhouse – usually terrifying, but today even more… After all, the human he loved most in all dimensions was kidnapped by a conceited demon who thought he would have the chance to bind his beloved in a marriage ritual without their consent. Dante was beyond angry.

“It will only be an obstacle, then.” Erlach turned his eyes back to you. “Don’t think for a second I gave up, my creature. If I have to kill the son of Sparda, I will do so – with the power you will grant me with your blood.”

Once again, the demon held your arm – but this time, digging the nails into your skin, making you scream with the sudden pain. That made Dante immediately turn to you, being hit as well and inundating the cathedral with the smell of the blood of Sparda. His fighting became sloppy as he tried to approach you even faster – but it also became even more vicious.

Erlach dragged you back to the sacrificial bowl, as you tried to get away. Even with your fighting, your limited movements weren’t helping too much. As he extended your arm above the bowl, you managed to see – behind him, in the distance, covered in shadows – Orcus holding Kyrie hostage, searching everywhere for a breech so he could finish his ritual before Erlach.

“Nero! Kyrie is over there! Go kick his ass, kid!” You screamed while fighting so Erlach couldn’t drip your blood into the bowl. Yes, he needed more than a few drops from the gashes from his claws – but he could make them bigger once you were in a decent position. And you didn’t want to give him that.

“Kyrie! I’m coming for you!” And finally, after his aquamarine eyes found Kyrie’s plea for help, Nero did let go of Trish with ease – and the she-devil didn’t even try to hold him back. With just a smile on her face, the woman looked back at Lady and they knew it was time to intervene now that both of you were located and they wouldn’t risk any of your lives.

Amidst all that, with Dante literally burning his way towards you while being held back by three demons, a few invisible cuts made them fall apart and gush blood all over the floor. Vergil entered the cathedral, while carrying an old book you saw at Erlach’s office earlier that night – the book with all the ancient, and most forbidden, devilish incantations.

“Go on, Dante. I’ll take it from here.” Vergil barely looked at the demons he was fighting with: holding the book with one hand and being assisted by summoned swords, he only needed a few well placed judgement cuts to get rid of all those nuisances.

Dante didn’t even think twice after hearing his brother’s words. Marching down the aisle, he approached you and Erlach like a death omen – his demonic form in his ultimate Devil Trigger was enough to inspire respect even in the upper echelon of Hell.

And you had to say, you were proud of that.

“Let y/n go, Erlach.” As Dante commanded, you couldn’t fail to notice his voice was slightly… Different. The more he approached, the more his voice sounded less distorted and more human. “Ya know, for a demon with such a pretentious plan, you’d think you’d put up more of a difficult fight.” And when Dante stopped right in front of the altar between you both, he was completely human – looking at you with the sky blue eyes you loved so much. “I’m barely breakin’ a sweat.”

If Erlach’s claws weren’t deep into your skin, you would’ve locked your arms around his neck already, taking in his scent and calming down your heart. Yes, Dante would be smelling of gunpowder, blood and sweat, but that was still his scent. It was enough to make you feel secure again.

“Indeed. I underestimated you.” Erlach’s claws dug out of your skin, making you retreat quickly. You managed to see a little commotion where Kyrie and Nero were before, but with everything that was happening, you couldn’t quite make the moment where Orcus was nowhere to be seen – all you could be sure was that Kyrie was safe, back into Nero’s arms. And that was enough. “It seems like the blood of Sparda still thrives to this day.”

“Yeah, yeah, daddy’s blood and all that…” Dante rolled his eyes, shooting near Erlach’s feet. The demon jumped back, farther away from you – and that made you smile. “Spit it out, spook. How did you find out ‘bout the ritual? Where did ya get that book?”

“Apparently you never heard of a library. On that aspect, I win, my creature.” Erlach still had that weird admiration in his eyes for you, making you wince. You never gave him a single reason to like you. Demons had to be masochist creatures.

“Oh, I heard about those alright. It just so happens my brother here has spent a very long vacation time in Hell and lemme tell ya…” With those words, Dante finally took Erlach by his neck, leaning the demon over the sacrificial bowl and touching the blade of Rebellion on his neck. Dante usually didn’t get that feral… But Erlach had tried him a little bit too much that night. “He doesn’t have very nice words about you and your little friends. Those rituals aren’t well known in detail. Something gave you that book. Who?”

It wasn’t a side of Dante you liked to see, but, when dealing with those kinds of demons, it was a necessary one. Erlach, as far as you could tell, wasn’t just your dumb daily demon – he was in the upper echelon. And said echelon only became worse the higher the rank.

“You would love to know, wouldn’t you?” Erlach laughed even if the sword already started to nick some blood out of his thick demonic skin. “You will have to let me go to get your answer. If you don’t, no deal.”

You closed your eyes, sighing. Erlach was the deal kind of demon. And it was always a slippery slope with those silver tongue devils.

Dante knew that as well. His heart screamed at him to kill Erlach and let his blood run over the floor of the cathedral – to take you home safely and let you know that threat would never loom over you again.

But they needed answers. Only very high rank demons would have access to that kind of book – to those kinds of rituals. Demons like Sparda… Like Mundus. And that was something none of them wanted as a threat. The single thought of the possibility of Mundus being alive made him shiver and his blood boil. His house burned in his childhood, his family slaughtered like animals, his past stained in blood and sulfur. He didn’t want that to happen again. He wouldn’t let that happen again. Not to anyone in the crew, not to his nephew, not to his brother… Not to you.

Dante let Erlach go. The demon cracked his neck, gaining his posture once again. You stood by Dante’s side, ready to suplex Erlach into oblivion if he tried anything funny.

“The two of you already have what you need to know the answer.” Erlach pointed at the book in Vergil’s hands, moving his gaze back to you soon after. “I will have you as mine, y/n. You have my word, sweet creature.”

Before you could do anything in response, Erlach set himself ablaze in flames that kept burning for a few seconds while he disappeared back to where he came from – probably Hell, if you had to guess.

“Eh. We should’ve known he would leave without giving us a decent answer.” You sighed, feeling your shoulders relax for the first time that night, knowing all demons were dead and you were around safe people again.

“And even shamelessly flirtin’ with ya, what’s up with that…?”

“No idea, red devil. I did my best for him to hate me; apparently it backfired tremendously.”

You finally turned to look at each other. Both of you looked tired, completely out of energy – you, from your human body; Dante from the toll all that fiery explosion of anger and demonic heritage could take on him. His eyes, though… Those sky blue eyes, looked at you with the human kindness you always longed for – with the admiration and fire of a lover, but the gentleness of a soul who was not only your mate, but your home.

You felt safe again. All that insecurity, that fear, that horror of being alone and having to fight on your own – to survive on your own – it washed away in that infinite blue sky. He was your home, and you were safe. Nothing bad would ever happen to you, for Dante was there to catch you and hold you in his arms until you felt you could walk with certainty again.

“I heard you, pretty eyes…” Dante murmured, taking a strand of hair out of your dirty face, watching with amusement as you furrowed your brows. He took one of his hands over his heart, eyes looking into yours. “I heard you here.”

A gradual smile lit up your face as you understood what he had said. That pull, that thing you did, of closing your eyes and praying he would find you… It worked. Of course it worked. And you couldn’t be happier, with all that pouring like a golden fountain from your heart, making your eyes laminate with a few tears and threaten to overflow.

“I’m glad you did, cowboy.” You approached him, cradling his face with your hands and leaning him down so his forehead could touch yours. “I’m glad you did. I prayed so loud for you.”

With that, you took his hand to touch your heart, in the hopes he would once again listen – but this time hear the golden tunes it sang along the overflow. The frills of the ridiculous attire didn’t allow him to find your beat, though.

“Well, I told ya I’d get rid of that, right?” Dante sighed, staring down at that horrid attire – although he would argue you could never look bad. Even with that thing on. “Ei! All of ya, look away! I’m puttin’ y/n out of their misery!”

“What…?”

Before you could finish asking, though, Dante masterfully moved Rebellion around you – while everyone turned away or closed their eyes. Lady and Trish, though, just kept staring at that goof of a man you called your lover. Within a few seconds, those terrifying wedding clothes tore apart, pooling around your feet on the floor while you just stared back at your red devil – the chilly air of the night all around your bare skin.

“That was hot.” You had to say it while Dante quickly checked you out like the masterpiece he always thought you were.

“Not as hot as you, babe.” With a wink, Dante took off his red coat, wrapping it around you and making you warm again.

You loved wearing Dante’s coat. It was definitely too big for you, but it was always warm – that night, you could almost say it seemed like it was enveloped in flames. But it had his scent all over it and it fit like a huge cape you could almost drag on the ground. You couldn’t have asked for a better attire for that evening.

“Hey.” As you called for his attention, those blue eyes rested on you again, little by little settling all that restlessness that whole ordeal had set in your soul. And, since words weren’t enough, you once again cradled his face with your hands, this time placing a well-deserved kiss on your lover’s lips.

Dante giggled between your lips, wrapping his strong arms around your waist to lift you off the floor – making it easier for you to kiss him unapologetically. You never saw yourself as a damsel in distress, and you would have killed every demon in that room with a dagger and your teeth if it was necessary, but it wasn’t. And that was so new: you could always count on Dante to be there for you, to protect you and to be a place for you to fall whenever you lost your balance.

Your heart stopped screaming and Dante’s soul found peace again.

*

“Ah, I see Nero stole Dante’s idea.”

As you saw Kyrie leaving the van’s bathroom wearing nothing but Nero’s coat, she smiled happily back at you while showing it off as soon as you pointed that out. You were sitting in the van, still in the red coat – Dante would know only later that decision would cost him his sanity while trying to get his coat back from you. A few chases and him gripping you tight to get his coat back was in store for the rest of that night.

“It was a very good idea.” Kyrie had a mischievous smile on her lips, blushing a little bit while grabbing the collar of Nero’s coat and taking in the scent. “It smells like him. It feels like he’s always around.”

“I know what you mean.” You smiled proudly as an answer, barely noticing Nico staring at both of you while Lady and Trish giggled.

“Ya know what she means…? That coat is nasty!” Nico pointed at the blue coat enveloping the crew’s little angel, making you laugh a little bit more. “And yours?! If Nero’s coat is bad, Dante’s even worse! Looks like he just blasted from the insides of a frog demon or somethin’! And you say it has his scent?!” The gunsmith couldn’t be more revolted at yours and Kyrie’s antics.

“That’s Dante’s scent for ya...” You sighed, leaning back on the van’s seat – something quite red devilish like. “Gunpowder, demon’s blood and sweat. When he’s clean, though, it’s more of a woody and musky with a hint of pizza kind of scent. Sometimes strawberries.”

“Apparently, love doesn’t make us only blind, it makes our sense of smell completely absent.” Trish strutted her way towards the seat she always took in the van, across from you, having a complacent smile on her devil lips.

“It makes us more tolerant.” Kyrie sat by your side, completely happy to be wearing Nero’s clothes and safe and sound with the crew again. “That is a thing most people need to learn more about.”

“As always, angel Kyrie is right.” Lady sighed, taking her spot inside the van – after lightly elbowing Nico just to tease the gunsmith. “Just like we tolerate the smell of your cigarettes.”

“Hey, at least I’m not turning into a fuming creature blasting demon viscera everywhere!” Nico pointed at Lady with her cigarette between her fingers, making all of you laugh. “Must take days to get those things off your hair!”

“Sometimes, it takes even weeks!” Dante’s voice added from outside of the van, entering soon after to take his seat right by your side. To say Dante would be hovering around you for months, overly protecting you over anything and everything, was a very mild way to describe his behavior after that evening.

“Ya know, once I found a piece of liver hidden right behind my ear…?” Nero approached Nico as she just glared at him with pure disgust. “Took me days to find it.”

“You’re nasty, demon boy.” Nico lightly shoved Nero out of the way, dismissing all that conversation to go back to the stirring wheel. Nero laughed back, making his way to Kyrie and sitting by her side, cradling her with one of his arms while she rested her head on his chest.

“We couldn’t find more on the origin of their knowledge…” Vergil was the last one to board, closing the van’s door behind him. As soon as he did, Nico started driving back home – and he showed you a few things he had in his hands. “But we did find your gear. I will keep it in a safe place until we get back to the shop.”

“Oh, thank you so much, Verge!” You had genuine relief in your voice, watching as he carefully placed your sword next to him. “I thought I’d never see those things again. Thanks for finding them.”

As always, Vergil didn’t answer, just bowed his head as the perfect gentleman he was. Soon, Dante’s arm found its way around your shoulders, pulling you closer to him.

“Huh, so much thankfulness for Vergil, while I was the one who saved your ass from that demon lord. I’m feeling a little ignored.” Of course, you knew Dante was only joking – never in all your time together you picked up any sign of jealousy he could have of you and Vergil. Dante was very secure about your relationship, knowing quite well where your heart rested – he would be insecure, sometimes, when it came to other humans.

“Oh, c’mon. How can I not be thankful when it’s my gear we’re talking about?” You raised one eyebrow, teasing him back – which only made Dante smile. “Now being a little more serious, it was rough being stripped of everything. Even with that hideous frilly attire, I felt completely naked. There’s no way for me to defend myself without all my stuff; I don’t have demonic blood running through my veins to go into a rampage and kill every single living thing in front of me.”

“Well, lucky for you, I got that goin’ for me.” Dante brought you even closer, tightening his half hug around you.

“Hmmm…” You took some time to take in his scent, this time directly from his neck, right in front of you. Yes, all those things you mentioned before, but you could always find the woody and musky Dante scent underneath all of that. And maybe it was that which made you feel so comfortable and secure. “I was scared. I was running out of options when you showed up.”

“Shhh, don’cha think ‘bout that, pretty eyes.” Whenever you voiced how uncomfortable you were with something, Dante immediately started caressing you just to at least make you feel physically comfortable again. And you had to say, it always worked.

“I know, I know… It’s just… I know I can always count on you to appear at the direst of moments, no matter where I am.” With those words, you placed one of your hands above his heart, making those sky blue eyes look back into yours. “I know you can hear me call, no matter what.”

“It’s part of the demon thing, babe.” Even though he was happy with that, Dante had a bittersweet smile on his lips.

“Yeah, maybe… But demons don’t show up to save desperate souls who are praying for them when all other options have failed.” You brushed aside some strands of dirty hair that insisted on covering those beautiful eyes – now looking at you with curiosity and admiration. “Do you know who do?”

“Hmmm…?”

“Angels do.” Your answer was but a murmur, even quieter than the engines of the van. “You are my very own guardian angel, Dante.”

Lady once said that, somewhere out there, even a devil may cry when he loses a loved one – but you would dare to add that devils did cry when they were loved back.

Your red devil was living proof of that on that Halloween night.

#devil may cry #devil may cry imagine #dmc #dmc imagine #dante x reader #dante imagine #devil may cry fanfiction #dmc fanfiction #dmc dante #dante sparda #devil may halloween #the ripping the dress apart scene #I'm SUCH a fan of Zorro #and Antonio Banderas does that with Catherine Zeta Jones in the 1st movie #BOOM one of my fave things right there when I saw it for the first time #Dante was raised on Zorro and I'll die on this hill #alsoooo couldn't resist making Erlach a character that may or may not appear again #something about having a demon lord fall in love with Dante/Vergil's s/o sounds so funny to me #I have to make that a recurrent theme #and the 'I'd love you even if you were a rock with googly eyes' is indeed a reference to Everything Everywhere All At Once #just recently watched with my mom and was devastated and happy at the same time #some people we would love even in the rock dimension #I hope you guys like it!! even if it took forever to post!! T-T

[alieinthemorning]

Lilia meeting his lover who he thought was dead from the war because they left and never contacted him, but he saw them at the sorting ceremony to go to Diasomnia? Angst, but then fluff afterwards.

Can be anything u wan <3 I love how u write sm!!

For Everything and Nothing at All [Lilia Vanrogue]

Content: Established Relationship, Reader is of Fae Descent, Original Female Characters of Color, Angst, Hurt no Comfort

Pronouns: None

Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don’t forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!

This work’s concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots. Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries.

You were left behind. After the war, you searched and searched and searched, and yet he was nowhere to be found. And still you searched for him. Until finally you could search no more. You had to accept that your beloved had moved on before you—without you.

You would have descended into madness if not for the black invitation that found its way to you. With no reason to continue with something fruitless, you moved on. Improving yourself to make up for the lost time spent on him. So, when the carriage came for you, you dawned the ceremonial robes, entered the Gate, and descend into your rebirth.

“The nature of your soul is…Ignihyde.”

You felt neither upset nor elated. You simply returned to your seat, and waited for when your Dorm Leader escorted you back to your dorm. However, right as the ceremony was brought to an end, one final student made their appearance.

“…Maeda Yuuna.”

“The nature of your soul is…unclear to me.”

Then all hell broke loose. The creature in Headmage’s arms broke free from his grasp at the sudden revelation of a magicless student, claiming that it would take her place, but when he was refused, he retaliated. He turned his blue flames upon any and all that it would reach.

And just as quickly as it had begun, it ended.

“The verdict will come afterwards. Head they sentence. Off With Your Head.”

But then, and only for you, did it ramp up again.

“Ah. Just as I'd expected.” You froze, every hair on your body standing on end. “I figured I'd come down and see for myself whether Malleus had made an appearance. But once again, he was evidently not informed that his presence was required at an official ceremony.”

It was him.

The one you had been searching for.

The one who had left you behind.

He heard you—felt you.

And he did nothing.

You felt your Aether begin to unravel from you, moving toward him. You snatched it back up, and locked it away.

Leaving it to fester while you lied in wake.

And then it was October, a whole month had passed, and you hadn’t had any contact with him.

“Understood. Stay strong until I return!”

And it seemed like it would continue to be that way.

“Grrrrraaaaawwwwwrrrrr!”

“Why does this keep happening to us? This is soooo not my hashtag brand!” Cater whined with a grimace.

Until a chance presented itself.

“If you’re afraid, feel free to run.” Riddle brandished his staff.

“If that’s the case, then I’ll be retreating.” You spoke up, taking a step away from the group. “Good luck, everyone.”

You didn’t look back to see their shocked passes. You’d come up with a better excuse later. For now, you had something more important than some child’s tantrum.

You traced his Aether, finding him in the Diasomnia dormitory instead of the main building to find the staff like he said.

You barged into his room, not bothering for the proper etiquette. “You’re a coward.”

His back was facing you, and he didn’t turn when you called him that. He simply continued to fumble with something in his hands.

“I am.”

“You left without a trace.”

“I did.”

“Without me.”

“Yes.”

“Why?” Your voice raised, Aether flaring out. You felt his against yours, instinctually reaching out, but you swatted it away. “You left me alone for so long! And nothing! And you can barely say anything to me! Did any of that—our vows—mean anything to you? Anything at all?!” You grabbed his shoulder, roughly turning him to face you.

“Of course it did!” He was telling the truth, the taste of his Aether flooded your senses. You knew he was telling the truth, but…

“Then…why couldn’t I come with you…?” You crumpled into him, finally releasing all 485 years of…everything.

He followed you to the floor, and held you close. “I’m sorry. For everything, I am.”

“Then explain.” You felt the weight of him, physical and magical, on you. As if that story had been wearing down his shoulders for centuries now.

However, right as he opened his mouth, three sharp knocks at his door interrupted him.

“Father, I—” It was a silver haired human boy with periwinkle eyes. “Oh, it’s you.”

You tilted your head. “And who am I, child?”

“You are Father’s partner.”

You felt his fear, your rage, an ice-cold feeling, then—

Nothing.

“Oh.” You pulled yourself from him, and stood. “So, he’s told you about me, hm?”

The child’s brows furrowed, but he nodded.

“Tell me, in these stories, did you ever get the feeling of if I was dead or alive?”

The child paused, thinking back to whatever tales were spun for him.

“Alive.”

“Splendid.” You smiled, turning to face him. “Then please—” You slipped off your ring, and dropped it into his lap.

“Consider me dead.”

I'll be 100, I came up with the plot of this while in the shower, and completely forgot what the request said, so that's why it's kinda sorta backwards premise wise. As for the fluff...the story wanted to be written this way. Don't worry, the ending hurt me too, I actually had to pause and before writing it because I knew it would be really mean.

And yeah, thank you for requesting! I hope you enjoyed!

And everyone please be excited about the 750 follower event (whenever it comes out, I am so unprepared y'all the influx of followers recently has been INSANE! Thank y'all so much)!

Oh also! Aether! Yeah, I randomly had the idea to have like different branches of magic, so Fae Magic is called Aether, and there's also Mer Magic, Thera Magic, Human Magic, Beast Magic, and whatever else my head can think of.

Oh oh! Shout out to my girl, Maeda Yuuna! Catch her in her own works.

Ko-Fi | Commission | Masterlist

#alie requests #alie requests: twst #alie requester: anon #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #lilia vanrouge x reader

[shikai-the-storyteller]

Routeriver's selkie Hideduo drawing reminded me of the old Hideduo + Tazercraft Mermaid / Nautical AU I started writing wayyyy back in October, so I dug up my old notes because I was feeling nostalgic.

I've moved on to other fics since then, but I really like the portion I did end up writing, so here's the opening scene along with some extra notes I made when I first came up with the idea.

—

One of the most common misconceptions about merfolk was that they'd die without water.

The other was that they only lived in the ocean.

Pac didn’t always live in the ocean; he grew up in a freshwater river with a large estuary at its mouth. There were plenty of fish to catch and more than enough space for him to swim freely without fear of the dangers that normally roamed deeper waters. It was only when Pac got older that he ventured out to sea and began traveling – which is how he wound up meeting his best friend.

According to Mike, a common misconception about selkies was that they could swim with or without their pelt. Mike said it might be true for others, but not for him. When he was younger, he almost never used his human form, so trying to swim without his pelt made him panic and claw at the water in a feeble attempt to keep from sinking like a rock. Thanks to many lessons from Pac, Mike was a strong swimmer in both forms now, but when Pac first met him, Mike was stranded alone on a remote beach. A handful of human boys were in the water jeering at Mike, and Pac felt a pang of sympathy and anger as he saw them waving a seal pelt just out of Mike's reach. Every time he tried to wade out to them, they'd move into deeper water, and Mike would have to scramble back to avoid getting pulled in by the current. Only when Pac swam underneath the boys and grabbed one by his ankle did they let go of the pelt, shrieking about sharks as they swam to shore as fast as they could.

He and Mike were best friends ever since, and not a day passed that Pac didn't have Mike by his side.

Except for today.

Even after being trapped with him for so long, Pac still didn’t know what kind of creature Cell was. Cell once told Pac he could smell blood in the water a mile away, and his night vision far surpassed either of theirs, allowing him to explore parts of the ocean neither of them dared to venture.

Both these thoughts were in Pac’s mind as he and Mike executed their escape plan and trapped Cell in the winding underwater caves of a cenote. Pac didn’t know what Cell was, but he knew that Cells’ claws were sharp and his teeth were even sharper. Half of Pac's fins were shredded to ribbons mid-escape while he tried to buy Mike time. That alone might've been a death sentence, but Pac's tail was the real problem.

The water around them was quickly being dyed a murky brown from the deep long gashes Cell left behind on Pac. Every movement only made the pain worse, and the water was getting so dark with his blood Pac could hardly see, let alone swim.

Here's the other thing most people don't know about merfolk: they're mammals.

Without air, they die.

The only reason Pac didn't drown was because of Mike. Mike was a faster swimmer than Pac in his seal form, and he could’ve – should’ve – escaped when Cell caught up to them, but he stayed. Mike did his best to help, encouraging Pac to lean against him as he inched them towards the surface, but Pac could barely keep his head above the water even when they reached it. Mike was a powerful swimmer, but he wasn't strong enough to carry Pac for long, and they were a long way from shore.

—

I know it's bad manners to end on a cliffhanger, but unfortunately this is all I wrote at the time! :'D I do have notes about what I wanted to happen next however, and notes about the rest of the cast.

After this scene, I planned to switch to Fit's POV. I imagined Fit as some kind of fisherman, and Ramon was his assistant (and adopted son) who wanted to become an engineer / inventor. They'd be out on the water hoping to catch some fish, and all of a sudden a harbor seal would flop into their boat. They'd laugh it off and assume it was after their fish, then Ramon would notice something was caught in their net, and they'd find a very injured and still bleeding Pac, who grabbed onto it to keep himself from sinking / drowning.

I do have a small piece from Fit's POV regarding the injury:

Fit was familiar with treating basic injuries, especially thanks to his time in the war. He knew how to do stitches, which came in handy back in the day when he had to tend to his own gaping wounds, and was still handy whenever Ramon came to him with holes in his clothes. Experience and quick-thinking was the reason Fit was still alive today, but the person – or whatever it was – bleeding out on the wet dirty floor of his boat was way outside his area of expertise. How can we help? Ramon signed to him. His eyes were wide with concern, but he didn't look afraid. No matter what happened, Ramon trusted him to know what to do, and he'd be damned if he let his son down now.

The story mostly fell apart after that because I had too many ideas for where I wanted to take it. I wanted to make Pac and Mike some kind of water-creature from Brazilian folklore since Selkies are from a very different region's mythology (wasn't too concerned about the mermaid bit though), but I also wanted to make sure I wasn't wading into any weird territory with that. (Before moving on to other projects, I was doing a lot of research on the lara myth, and similar "lady of the lake" stories.)

Another route I considered was making Fit a "merman" too, or reverse things entirely and have Tazercraft be human. I imagined 2B2T as a deep ocean battleground, which Fit only leaves after losing his arm in a battle. Pac and Mike find him washed up on the beach, and they take him to their lab, where Fit wakes up and nearly bites Mike's arm off.

Other aspects of the story I wound up incorporating into different projects, so you might see those in future fics (which I'll hopefully finish someday).

Even though this is an unfinished story, I hope you enjoy the concept! I sure do.

#QSMP #Tazercraft #Pac #Mike #qsmp talk #fic talk #I didn't edit this much so if it's not too polished that's why #<- I definitely did make a few tweaks though #I'm incapable of posting rough drafts. I'm trying to change that

[leechanpremacy]

People You Know

After the death of his wife, he starts a whole new life in a whole new city with his three year old twins only to meet someone from his past. What a way to start something new, right?

pairings: psychiatrist!jeonghan, parent!jeonghan x doctor!reader petowner!reader fem!reader

tags: fluff, crack, slow burn, exes to lovers, romance, angst (if you think into it really deeply)

word count: 0.7k

notes: i’ve been dreading to write jeonghan as a parent of twins, now having the motivation and inspiration to write the plot, IM ON CLOUD NINE!!! lmao i’m also planning on posting this as an au on twitter if time, and motivation persists as my alter ego’s such a lazy ass bitch that takes at least half a month to find motivation to do updates on on-going twitter series’ THIS might also be turned in to a series (fuck, my mingyu series long forgotten 💀)

prologue | masterlist | one

Setting down the last batch of boxes, Jeonghan huffs a sigh of relief before watching his twins run around their new home. After three years, he finally had the guts to leave behind his work and old town that was filled with memories of her. His deceased wife. If it weren't for the twins, he wouldn't know how he'd survive those years. He loved her enough to grieve such a long time.

“Alright, who wants McDonald's?” He enthusiastically asked, erupting a squeal as they run towards their dad to cling on his legs, looking at him with their cheeky smiles.

Letting his children indulge in their food keeping them occupied with his phone playing some cartoons, he took the time to scroll through his tablet to see any emails from his patients and from the hospital that he recently applied with.

Clicking on one recent email, he checked to see if it was regarding of when he can start opening his clinic. “Fourth of October huh?” Smiling disappointedly before moving his eyes to his giggling daughter who had left her food unfinished. “Sweetie, no leftovers,” He softly says, “Dada!” Feeding her a couple of times, cooing her as she kept calling him every time he nears the food to her mouth.

“Dada?” His son then called, causing him hum and raise both his brows, before moving his gaze to his son, “Dada,” Reaching to his dad as he gestured grabbing hands, wanting to be lift by him.

Looks like cartoons aren't helping anymore. Immediately carrying his son to settle on his lap, he continued to feed his daughter who was fortunately two mouthfuls away from finishing.

You were having an afternoon walk with your dog after finishing a 12 hours shift. You were far from sleepy, reason to why you have opted to walk, just to tire yourself up.

“Am I that un-active?” Flabbergasted at how tired you are considering you just walked two blocks away from your home. You hear your dog barking for your attention, “No, I think I've had enough Manju, no more walks.” You tirelessly say to your dog, as if they could understand you. Seeing a nearby bench, you opted to sit and take a rest before going home.

“Should we just take the bus home?” You cooed your dog, letting out a bark as response. Giving your dog a pat on the head, you leaned back on the bench, letting your dog wonder off to the grass beside the bench.

You had your eyes closed when you heard giggles nearing you. Considering that your dog sometimes act out, you were afraid that the giggles you heard were children that may or may not be fond of dogs.

Jolting up from your seat, you watched to toddlers running towards your dog that had its back on them, with worried eyes, “Please don't touch her,” You said, softly enough not to scare the kids.

They seem too young to understand such words, but they halted and turned their heads to you. Wearing cheeky grins, now running to you instead of the dog.

Flustered at how they caged themselves in between your knees, as if using it shield against your dog, you brushed one of the two's head, “Who are you guys with?” Smiling at them warmly catching their attention that was on the dog earlier.

You watch her tilt her head cutely, making break in to a chuckle. Resting your hands on her head, you looked up trying to search for people who were looking frantic.

A bark erupted from you side, making you whip your head to your dog who was wagging her tail as it approached you. “Manju,” You warningly said, but the dog took no mind and continued to near you, causing you to pick both of the children up, settling them on the bench. Switching positions with the two children, you held your dog in your hands, weighing it's temperament.

“Do you want to touch?” You asked as you safely hold your dog's snout.

“Yuna! Yejun!” A frantic yell was heard behind, you were about to turn and apologize, not wanting to stir a misunderstanding but he beat you to it, “Thank God you found them, apologies. I hope they didn't bother you too much.” You could hear his quiet pants, probably from running around. “It's okay—” Finally taking notice of the man in front of you.

Shock filling you both as you locked eyes with him. A man from your grueling past that was bearable a long as you're with him. A man you loved so dearly. A man named Yoon Jeonghan.

#seventeen #svt #yoon jeonghan #jeonghan #jeonghan x oc #jeonghan x reader #jeonghan dad #jeonghan parent #jeonghan drabble #jeonghan imagine #seventeen jeonghan #fluff #jeonghan scenarios #Spotify

[ditto-not-on-discord]

in less than 60 days, It will have been a year since blaseball was suddenly canceled.

TRUST ME, THE OTHER TAGS WILL MAKE SENSE IN A LITTLE WHILE.

Blaseball, in its 2.867 Years of existence, was many things. but the easiest way to describe it is "Good". It had a very incredible fanbase that still kind of mourns the game to this day. the devs had a panel at GDC in 2022. It was nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Game Writing in 2021 and also the "Best Video Game" at The Hugo Awards in 2021. It won the Nuovo Award at the independent games festival in 2021. people could observe the games happening, gamble fake money, and also affect how the story and the characters would develop at certain points. It was a great game, that sadly was canceled because the cost that was needed to run the game was too high for the team at the game band to support, at least according to wikipedia. It being dead is also a major part in proving that there is no justice in the universe because of it not being here, yet SILENT HILL ASCENSION SOMEHOW HASN'T KICKED THE BUCKET YET.

Now for all Silent Hill fans who have blocked that game out of their memory, and for everyone who has no idea what Silent Hill Ascension IS, here is a refresher:

"Released" on October 31st, 2023 (which was already a bad day for me, but I am NOT getting into that), Silent Hill Ascension is an interactive thing (listen its not a tv show, and it isnt a video game. the developers say that its "the best of both", but lets be honest its more of the WORST of both) that is canon to the silent hill franchise.

people can observe the games happening, gamble fake money, and also affect how the story and the characters would develop at certain points. Yes, I know this sounds EXACTLY the same as what I described blaseball as, but thats because I purposefully oversimplified both games a bit. Silent Hill Ascencion has bland writing (so bland people even thought it was AI), all the mechanical depth of a bad mobile game, and all the horrible microtransactions (loot boxes, a season pass, and something else I will get into later) as well. Blaseball, as previously mentioned, was nominated for several story writing awards, had enough mechanical depth that some fans created a SCIENTIFIC COLLECTIVE TO ANALYZE IT, and at the time it died, NEVER had any micro transactions or a fee to enter.

Remember how both games use fake money? In Blaseball, those who were in the 1% of money havers had all their coins distributed to the other players. In Silent Hill Ascension, you can literally just buy so many "Influence Points" that you can manipulate the entire fucking story, and you can hoard them for as long as you fucking want. Also, Something else I want to mention: Literally nobody talks about Silent Hill Ascension because its so bad. hell, and those that do talk about it DON'T have anything good to say. very few people play it, and there are a shit ton of bots that the devs added so it feels like more people are actually watching. Silent Hill Ascension has reached lower lows than blaseball ever did, and is less than half a year old. So why the hell is it still alive, when a game that did its entire stick better is fucking dead. THE ONLY REASON I CAN THINK OF FOR IT BEING ALIVE IS BECAUSE ITS SUPPORTED BY FUCKING KONAMI.

There is no justice in the world.

#blaseball #silent hill #thoughts #confusion #video games

[kwiwrites]

On the Hills (1/?)

Hello everyone! Thank you for 10k hits on the hills. In celebration, I've put together a little essay of sorts on the makings, as well as my thought process behind this fic. I still have a lot more to say about it, so if you guys enjoy this please let me know, and I would love to publish a second part.

this account is still not in use, and basically inactive. I just didn't wanna put anything marauders on my other accounts haha.

Note: This entire doc is about my interpretation of Regulus and how I wrote him in the “The Hills.” Your view of him may not match in the same way, and that’s alright! 

Initial Idea

I honestly don’t have  a timeline or even reason for writing this fic. I remember thinking that there weren’t enough fics with Regulus dealing with his mental health and just having a shit time of it, so I sat down and wrote the first chapter on a whim some time in October. 

The way I viewed Regulus back then (this was only my second Jegulus fic- the first one being a long-winded fluffpiece with barely any character development or even actual character traits of James and Regulus other than being horribly terribly in love with each other- the fic is called Finding Barty if anyone’s curious) was different from many other people (and even slightly different from the way I view him now). Regulus to me was a person who wasn’t exactly brave- not in the ways that are “visible” to people at least. He’s not a coward but he isn’t outspoken as Sirius, especially when it comes to rebelling against his parents. To me, he also never blamed Sirius for leaving without him- at least not more than he blamed himself for not being stronger. I don’t think Regulus could ever channel his anger outwards at Sirius, he would turn it inwards at himself, destroying himself before he could harm others. 

And so- this is the basis that this fic was born off of.  A vague idea of Regulus getting disowned and a half-formed idea of a character. Like I said, there wasn’t much to go off of. I was impulsive, and I had time. So I wrote the first two chapters in a few days, published it and decided to see where it would take me. 

On the story

(Note: In this section I am NOT invalidating romance stories. I literally write romance stories as my hobby. I read romance stories exclusively.  Just- The Hills is not one. It will never be one. That does not take away from nor add to its value as a fic.) 

The Hills was never meant to be a romance story. The Jegulus is there, yes- but it’s not the focus. I think it’s better that way, though readers might disagree.

In the first outline of the story (now buried deep in my notes app, never to see the light of day again, for better or worse) the Jegulus was a lot more prominent. There were many instances of James and Regulus growing closer, bonding together- but I never managed to fully follow through with it. Even when I tried to incorporate the Jegulus more, I just realized it wouldn’t work. It simply was not meant to be the focus of the story. The exes storyline also just didn’t exist originally. James and Regulus were going to organically grow closer, and fall in love. 

Looking back, I realize that that would never have worked- not if I wanted to completely shift gears and turn this mental-health focused character study into an actual romance story. Regulus falling in love with James would have been at odds with his constant struggles to keep living, and while those two things are not mutually exclusive, I do believe that if I had kept the original outline and made the Jegulus more of a focus- then it would have fallen apart as a narrative. 

I didn’t even realize I was deviating from the romance part of the fic until it was quite literally pointed out to me (albeit in a positive light) by one kind commenter. The more chapters I wrote, the more I diverged from my original idea of a Jegulus fic. Somewhere along the way it turned into purely a Regulus focused fic, with James being there as a sort of physical manifestation of Regulus’ past, as well as a narrative tool that allowed me to give Regulus comfort without it feeling like any of the characters was trying to “fix” him. 

So yes, I would call this a Regulus character study before anything else, along with a study of how depression/ anxiety/ self harm / suicidal thoughts can impact a person; tear them apart at the bone and turn their life and their sense of self inside out. It’s about how absolutely debilitating mental illnesses can be; how they are a constant, daily struggle that you can’t just overcome like so many people lead you to believe. It takes time. And sometimes it doesn’t fully go away, your life just grows around it. You become better, not because you have been fixed- but because you have come to terms with being fractured. You are learning how to cope with it, and you are better than you were tomorrow, the day before. That’s all that matters. I wanted Regulus to learn all of this through the course of this fic.

Writing this fic was a form of catharsis for me, and I wanted to give other people facing similar struggles the same form of hope I felt while writing it. I won’t go into too much detail, but this fic is deeply, deeply personal to me, and seeing so many others resonate with it and love it in the same way I do has been awe-inspiring, for lack of a better word. I cannot thank all of the readers, the commenters and everyone who gave this fic a chance enough. 

Thank you to anyone who's read this entire thing, please do let me know if anyone would like a second or even third part since this is not all I have to say abt this fic

#jegulus #fic: the hills #regulus black #james potter #fanfiction

[emelinstriker]

Hi! Just wanted to ask if you knew, but...do you know that Nezha in eternally a kid? Like- not trying to hate or anything! I'm just finding it strange how you depict Nezha with a 'toy' brand as well as romancing him. Again, no hate! Just trying to understand!

I already talked about this entire thing in October due to 3 Anons getting upset over Nezha and the branding as well. [My response in question.]

I'm fully aware he's said to be a kid in religion and all that, but the fact that AUs are literally there to alter things and change up stories in fiction is also a point that has to be considered. Because I've seen people get upset over others using an adult version of Nezha in fanfics and fanart for a long while, but the people saying those things also change things regarding characters for their own AU's content and amusement. So there's a lot of hypocrisy surrounding what all I've read recently, and not just about the Nezha drama.

Even though they know LMK is nothing but a fictional parody show to sell literal Legos as merchandise. Like, it's not supposed to represent the entirety of a religion's belief.

The writers may draw inspiration and characters from the source, yes, but it's still at its core an entirely different story with the way things have been altered. And I'm not even taking my own info from JTTW or anything from centuries ago.

Like- I'm literally just taking the Lego pieces I've seen and have actual interest in doing content of due to my hyperfixation. And I know for a fact many people feel the same. They don't want to sexualize a kid. But much like Sun Wukong, they do tend to want to sexualize the idea of having a partner who has some form of power they themselves don't have. They're not even attracted to a kid, they're attracted to a Lego man on wheels. They're just trying to have their own fun without being unnecessarily judged by others for liking something that's even just remotely seen as bad, despite it all being kept in fiction.

[I even made a bit of a summary of what the AU is for.]

And despite that I still see people saying it's disgusting and all that while also spreading misinformation based on assumptions, just because it's not catering to their own likes. Behind my back as well. Like I wouldn't have even known about this if one Anon wasn't so nice and gently nudged me into the idea of checking out one blog again.

The fact that these rants keep talking about my age, only to then write behind my back like kids instead of talking to me directly to clear up any confusion, is also just straight up rude.

I actually did write up an entire response to the rant from one blog to point out how they literally made up things based on assumptions. But then the second rant dropped, now for some reason also talking about the Nezha drama as well as my persona, who has only been in literally three doodles of the AU instead of a blank Y/N figurine. Even though I've clearly talked about my standings on both cases and even have the Master System in the pinned main masterlist. So I'm still working on doing a response, trying to avoid having to do two separate ones about the same points.

#lmk esau #eternal servants au #esau qna

[the-valiant-valkyrie]

Iknow you talked about them meeting before, but i wanna know more about how solaris or fabby feels about the bobots.. Either or, whichever one you wanna write for :3c

i don't think she would have met any of them other than robutler, but i think fabby would have gelled pretty well with any of the robots she met. i think she would think he was cute (though mainly in the same way someone thinks an animal is cute... i think it took her a bit of time to wrap her mind around the fact that they're actually alive alive). honestly the fact that he's got a little bowtie would be enough to win her over from the start, if the way she dresses up ZC-07 is any indication.

i do think robutler (and all the other robots, for that matter) would find her quite cool. i think- before cold shoulder- they kind of idolized zor as the one to make prism's dreams reality... meaning that anyone close to zor would probably be Only Slightly Less Cool than zor themself. fabby called him "[prism's] darling little valet" once and he always giggled and puffed up all flustered proud when he remembers.

at some point, i like to think fabby floated the concept of prism adding a poison module to her robots, but she quickly rejected the concept. sure, they wouldn't get poisoned, obviously- they're metal- but she wouldn't be able to guarantee her own safety... not to mention, that early in their relationship, it was harder for prism to trust fabby to begin with (ultimately, for good reason...)

solaris... was a bit different. the death engine was the most lethal invention zoraxis ever weaponized against the agency, so of course prism knew a lot about her- and of course robutler picked up a lot of that information from her. still, it was a bit... strange to meet the solaris in person. she was just as scary looking as he thought she would be, but not really scary that aside. imposingly tall, yes, but... exhausted, and quiet, and cold, and not really all too impressive for one of zoraxis' most lethal engineers.

solaris tended to keep out of prism's way, more often than not. no reason to get attached to someone who's just going to die (and depending on if zor decides to give her clearance, she may be the one helping to build her death trap). but even beyond that, she wants little to do with the agency; that includes ex-agency faculty. it puts a sour taste in her mouth.

i like to think post ieytd3- if solaris and prism ever came into contact and made an uneasy alliance with each other- she'd be more willing to give right robot a chance... however, i think prism's haphazard method of upgrading her robots would damn near give her a hernia. as well as the precariously placed and horribly ventilated laser systems. i mean christ, prism- what were you thinking?? putting a laser DIRECTLY in front of HEAT SENSITIVE kinesium?!

i don't think solaris would be opposed to giving right robot the occasional upgrade... but i do think she would be... weirded out that she would probably have to do them while he's 'awake'. there's something very... invasive about rummaging through a robot's guts while its staring at you and asking you questions.

i wasn't going to include this originally but writing that last paragraph made me remember this thing from like. october of last year so i'm including it too

#ask #ieytd #commander solaris #the fabricator #robutler #roxana prism #headcanons #crackpost #for the thing beneath the cut #this was NOT supposed to be that long.... whoops......... #prism youre just going to rummage around in his chest at 7 in the morning?? in the middle of the living room?? thats

[chickenstrangers]

2023 gifs in review tag game

tagged by @khaotunq (here!) to post my favorite/most popular gifs throughout the year. thank you!!🩵🩵🩵

I only started making gifs partway through this year, so there was a big learning curve and i still think i'm pretty newbie but it has been a lot of fun and it's nice looking back on how much i think i've improved, though i have so much left to learn next year

i am going to ramble too much because this is my post, fair warning, forgive my self indulgence

april

this was the very beginning, back in the photopea days before i tried photoshop (i am still quite fond of photopea, 1. because it is free and 2, for stills i think it's just as good as photoshop, but i could never figure out how to make gifs look good with its dithering system. i have seen some remarkable gifmakers using photopea tho so that's a my limited skill problem, and i'm glad i used it to dip my toes into the process!)

i only posted 1 set for abaab this month which looks not good but is still a very fun scene, but this was not actually the first thing i made (see below).

may

most popular: msp finale, tinn knowing all the words to gun's song <3

favorite: moonlight chicken, my first ever gifset and the reason i got into gifmaking because i wanted to capture the way moonlight chicken visually returned to locations and shots to underline its theme of loneliness being replaced by community, which is the mlc repetitions series

june

most popular & favorite: kiss me again (2018) and the lovely way june say's goodby to his friends (i learned how to add text to gifs for this one, and not only that but timed text! i thought it would get like 5 notes. it's very messy and doesn't look great, but i'm proud that i learned something with it, and i think its very funny and that's all that matters to me)

july

it's photoshop time now!! photoshop beloved you make such beautiful gifs and also you are So Slow and my computer cannot handle you.

most popular: only friends original trailer set

favorite: jimwen looking at each other set (the start of my most belovedest of series, the followup to the first ever meta i wrote)

august

most popular: part 1 of the can't i look at you edits, cool tones edition

favorite: part 2 of the can't i look at you edits, warm toned edition (i love them both but this has two of my all time favorite wen faces)

hey its my profile picture and also i find it very funny that the Os line up with his eyes, and the second gif i love how impossibly happy they look

september

my busiest month in terms of gifs, in large part due to only friends

most popular: topmew and fire

favorite: alanwen poetry edit i spent soooo long learning keyframes for the heartbeat effect and then the ghosting effect was a happy accident thank you person in the background walking past at the right moment

(i also love my charn laws of attraction set because he was a surprise favorite character this year, i loved collecting the quotes for how he speaks of himself)

october

most popular: only friends sandray finale parallel set (it is. very very close to 1k which is. so many).

favorite: he's coming to me edit because it was so fun to make for @dudeyuri

november

most popular: not me sean and black getting along super duper well!

favorite: moonlight chicken haunted house edit, accompanying this meta/creative writing thing. i loved choosing liminal feeling shots for it and i liked how the simple typography turned out

december

most popular: a little jim and wen set i am very fond of

favorite: the moonlight chicken new years set i posted today. i love this little chicken diner

hey look i managed to mention moonlight chicken almost every month (i swear, i watched so many favorite shows this year but i loved making mlc gifs so much)

and that's that! thanks for reading if anyone read til the end.

no pressure tags for some amazingly talented creators who have made some of my favorite sets this year (if you feel like talking about some of your highlights, whether monthly or not, because you all make so much incredible work and i'd love to hear about it) : @hoppipolla @sollucets @icouldhyperfixatehim @celestial-sapphicss @chinzhilla @krystaljungs @moonkhao and anyone who wants to, consider yourself tagged <3

#tag game #bl superlatives 2023 #rambling rambles #*mine #this was a fun retrospective! #thank you to all of the amazing creative people in this community that inspired me and taught me so much

[thathartleykat]

A very lengthy letter before the series' departure.

Hey, everyone, Hartley here.

By June of 2023, it would be my 4th year in the Hilda community, and i'm still in disbelief that i've been active in the community for this long, as well as the animated series is coming to an end tomorrow.

I have been wanting to post this since then, but i've been extremely busy in my life, as well as my personal computer was broken for almost an entire year - hence why my activity in the community also got died down a little bit.

I have a lot of things to say to everyone, from people in the community to the people who worked on the show, as well as the past, present and future, so for the convenience of your reading, i'll divide what i want to say into chapters.

I. About me & how i got into the show ( Trigger warning: Deaths ) I've rarely talked about this to anyone, but... I live by myself, and there's a good chance i might not be around for much longer. It's sort of the reason why i got into Hilda from the first place.

I first found out about Hilda in October 2018 when i was browsing on Tumblr, but never really watched it until May 2019, when a friend of mine gave me a month free subscription of Netflix. I started to go down the list of things i wanted to watch on the platform, and when it came to Hilda, i never thought i would get fixated on the show. Well, guess where we're at now?

I was stunned by the show's colorful vibes, amazing plot writing and how the show built the characters and mythologies, especially how they portrayed the mentality of the children in the show when the kids interact with each other or with adults.

The one thing that i also extremely adore in the show is the relationship between Hilda and Johanna... because it deeply reminds me of my parents when they were still alive. I had a similar life and relationship with them. Every time i see Hilda and her mum together, it always makes me remember about my former childhood life, how kind my parents were to me, and how i wanted to be the adventurous kid that never disappoints them.

I had a pretty good life until my parents got cancer when i was 11 years old - the same age with Hilda in first & possibly second season. Things got worse since then, and they passed away a few years after that.

Now i'm pretty much alone, with a good chance that i might follow them, so if i ever just disappear without telling anything, well... at least i had a good run, i never thought i'd make it this far anyway.

The show had made a significant change on my life, as well as some of my future decisions and helped me through hard times.

It would be an understatement to say this series meant a lot for me.

Because of this, and the feeling of the show doesn't get enough attention that it deserves, i've been dedicating myself for the last few years to help the show and its community thrive.

II. About the animated series Sometimes, i feel really sad that they couldn't have done more for it. - As someone who lives in Vietnam, it's really sad to see the show lacks Vietnamese subtitles and audio language - despite there being a huge number of Netflix users in the country. Due to this, the series basically got hidden from anyone who's watching with their Netflix's interface language set to Vietnamese, which makes the show really hard to be recommended to anyone here. At the same time, many other animated series on the platform have either or both of those. - A lot of merchandise of the franchise has either never saw the day or short-lived. Hilda's GUND plushies only lived for 1.5 years, and by my count, there were 3 Hilda board games that got reported to the news, but never got released. - Hilda video games. The only official Hilda game we ever got was Hilda Creatures, and sadly, the company that made the game went defunct in April 2022, dragging Hilda Creatures along with it. - Netflix. Batch releasing the show and giving it the bare minimum marketing. The same thing happened with Jojo and we all know what happened to its hype. - The mishandling of social media pages, which led to Hilda's Facebook page got hacked for an entire month during May 2023, as well as a lack of interaction posts after season 1 to keep the community up.

I really wish the show got better treatment in a lot of stuff, but at the same time, i'm grateful for the crew's work to get the series this far. One of the directors at one point confirmed that the show got pitched to various networks like Cartoon Network, Disney, Children BBC, Nick... and no one accepted the show until Netflix came along. If Netflix never took the show in, or if it was another network that got it ( which i suspect it'd change the direction of the show by a lot ), where would we be now...?

Though the show will definitely not be reminded by Netflix every now and then as other networks do, but at least it is going out with a bang. Really wish the show would become a sleeper hit at some point in the future.

III. About the community Genuinely, it's one of the most amazing communities i've ever been in. People who are younger, same age, or even parents who are much older than me... I had amazing experiences with all of them. I've made many friends from here, which sometimes makes me wish our community would stay the same like this forever after the series ends.

Honestly, i don't know what else i could say about everyone, other than thanking you guys for making my days within the community, as well as your efforts in making it an amazing place for me and everyone else to stay in.

IV. About the future Well, i've been thinking about it quite a lot.

After the animated series ends, i'll try my best to continue sticking around in the community and do a lot more stuff for it. The franchise will still seem to continue for at least some more time, with the upcoming release of the new prequel Hilda comic series, "Hilda and Twig".

I'd be selfish for saying this, but if the current state of animations improves in the future... I'd want to see Hilda's world return as animation at some point - either following the same blue-haired girl that we all know and love, or just a spin-off from an entirely different character. It's hard to imagine how the worldbuilding we've seen in the last 12 years, where "there's so much we've never seen, so much we don't know" and "there's mystery everywhere you look" would potentially disappear after this... I really hope i would see it again, as well as be around long enough to see it.

As of now, this chapter is about to come to an end. So before it does, i want to say thanks to everyone who has been involved in this show.

Thank you Luke Pearson, the people who made Hilda the series possible, and especially - you. Whether you worked on it or are just simply a fan of the show, you have my sincere gratitude for all the great things that happened to the series in the last 4 years.

This is Hartley, and i hope everyone enjoys Season 3.

#hilda #hilda the series #hilda netflix #cartoon #netflix #hilda comic #comic #animation

[sugarmaiiu]

Fuck You, Billy. (Part 3)

Part One

Pairing Billy Hargrove x reader

Time Frame: between season 2 and 3 / October 1984 (Billy hasn't gotten his Lifeguard job yet)

Warnings: t/w rough handling, unadmitted consent, semi-lemon (unprotected)

Word Count: 7.7k

First Person POV

a/n: Hi everyone! This is going to be the last part of the Fuck You, Billy series. Anything I write for Billy x fem reader will most likely use this as background knowledge so if I get a request for Billy x fem reader, consider it as a side part for this series. I've really enjoyed coming back to Tumblr after writers block and getting all this love from the community so thank you so much! NOW to address the text at hand, I wanted to make it long so I could wrap it up. As a thank you from the support I've gotten I included a little bit of spice, some lemon perhaps. So buckle up, and get ready cause its show time!

I didn't expect Billy to stick around.

It's been a month since Billy blackmailed me into being his pretend girlfriend, and like now, Billy is still there everyday waiting for me by his car to pick me up after school.

"Took you long enough," he said taking a puff of his cigarette.

"It's Friday, you can afford to wait," I said, "Besides we still have to wait on Max, so don't you start giving me that tough guy bullshit."

He waited till I was right in front of him to blow out his smoke in my face. It smelt terrible and I couldn't help but cough up a lung when he did it.

He was laughing, but still kept his smug composure, "How many times do I have to tell you that you should watch that mouth of yours when you speak to me."

I was still coughing when I flipped him off, only earning myself more laughs from him in response.

"You'll never win me over when you do that kind of shit, " I said when I could finally breathe again. He rolled his eyes and put it out.

"C'mon let's go," he said putting his cigarette out on the concrete.

"What about Max?"

"I already warned her ahead of time, she'll find another way home. Let's go."

Once we got on the road I looked at him in curiosity. I know him, and I know that he must have had some reason to why he shooed off Max.

He said looking at me from the corner of his eye, "For somebody who claims they hate me so much, you sure do stare at me a lot."

"C'mon Billy cut the shit, where we going?"

"Nosey aren't you? You saying you don't trust me?"

"I don't trust any guy with a mullet," I said with a smirk, knowing it'd get a reaction out of him.

He nodded his head and I could see him mouth the word 'Wow', "I'll remember that."

"Good for you, I'm surprised that brain of yours can remember anything at all."

He kept nodding his head with a smile, saying nothing back for a moment, "And here I was about to tell you where we're heading, but I don't remember anymore baby, so guess we'll both just find out when we get there, won't we?."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah alright, but I'm not getting out of this car if you take me someplace weird."

On the way, I thought about that dinner I had with Billy's family the first day all this started between me and him. The whole family, including myself, ate in complete silence. I thought at least Max and her mom, Susan, would talk when Neil had gone back to his chair in the living room after scoffing down his meal, but the dinner table remained speechless.

I will never forget the way Billy looked that night.

He looked broken and letdown, but I could tell that he was just holding out for the sake of not embarrassing himself. He drove me back home in silence that night too, and he didn't even tell me bye once I got out the car. He simply drove off.

I thought for sure he was going to rid of me, but when I saw him waiting for me outside of school the next day, he acted as if nothing ever happened. I haven't been back at his house since and all I could ask myself is 'what happened outside between him and his dad that night.'

Whatever it was, it really affected Billy.

I tried everything to step away from Billy after that night; after I realized how horrible it would be to be involved in his life.

I refused to take a ride home from him day after day, but he'd just show up at my house while my dad was at work. I only spoke to him in very dry responses, but he'd continue to talk to me anyways. I even tried to give him back the clothes he bought for me, but the next day I found them in the mailbox.

After a week of going on like this he still stayed by my side and tried to stop me everyday after school to give me a ride home.

My heart couldn't take it anymore, seeing how much he was putting in to getting my attention back, so I finally just gave in and took the damn ride home.

Though one weird thing I noticed is that he completely stopped touching me. I was curious to why Billy had stopped, but if I was honest I kind of missed it. I caught myself blushing every time I thought about his legs rubbing in between mine, as he pinned me down to my own bed to do it.

I am full of gross self loathing shame for enjoying it.

I know myself, so I knew that if I was aboard his train before, I was definitely on now. Though not only was I just aboard, I was strapped into my seat. I don't think I could break out of it, even if I went at it with full force.

If the Billy Hargrove Express was going to crash, I'd be going down with it.

Billy handed me a bandana, breaking me away from my thoughts, "Put this over your eyes, don't complain about it either," he said.

"Wait why?"

"Jesus, just put the damn thing on. I just said don't give me shit for it."

I looked at him strangely, but took the bandana from his hands regardless. "I don't trust you at all just so you know. I'm only doing it because, knowing you, you'll probably stop us in the middle of the road again, like some lunatic, till I do."

"Damn straight I will, so hurry up and put it on," he said smiling at my comment.

I took a deep breath before tying the cloth around my eyes, completely blinding myself to where we were heading. As much as I give Billy shit, I do actually at least trust him enough to not be some raging serial killer like Ted Bundy.

Billy turned the music up in the car a little bit louder, making it to where all sound I could hear was he music around us.

It gave me shivers not knowing where we were going and having my senses taken away.

I take it back, maybe he could be another Ted Bundy.

If he was a serial killer, I'd be dead. Due to the smooth way the car traveled across the road and the sheer darkness from the blindfold, I fell asleep.

I woke up to Billy picking me up out of my seat. His touch startled me awake and I reached for the blindfold that cover my eyes, out of panic. He grabbed my wrist to stop me.

"Hey, if I wanted you to see again, I'd already have taken it off," he said now cradling me in his arms.

"I can walk dipshit, put me down."

"Yeah but then I have to guide your ass, and as funny as it would be too see you wipe out on the ground, I'd rather us just get there as quickly as possible."

I huffed and wrapped my hands around his neck. Even though I couldn't see I knew he'd be smiling like the prick he was because he was getting his way.

"You still want down?", he asked after walking us around a few feet.

"Yes, now can you please just put me down."

"Whatever you say," he said before throwing me out of his arms. I let out a scream, afraid of not knowing how far I was being thrown. I was expecting to hit the ground, but almost immediately as my worry began, I crashed into a soft squishy surface.

He was snickering at my sudden fright. while doing so, he stepped towards me, taking off my blindfold before I could even get situated to be sitting upright.

The sudden light burned my eyes as I looked up at the dark and tall figure above me, which I knew was Billy, even though my vision was still blurry.

It only took a few seconds for my eyes to stop burning, when I realized we were out in the woods, and I was sitting on a couch on some random porch.

Attached to the porch was a small cabin, and not too far off from us was a lake. I looked around, seeing nothing but woods and a small wooden dock, sticking out from the lake's shore.

"You blind folded me to take me here?", I asked looking up at him.

He looked down at me into my eyes before kneeling down to my level, "Yep. We're staying here this weekend, and since you don't really know where we are, you kind of don't have a choice in the matter."

"What about your dad?", I said before pausing, "What about my dad Billy, huh? You ever consider that?"

He shushed me. "Yeah I did actually, and he was ok with it."

"Oh really? So you just called my house, hoped it was my dad, then told him I'd be staying all weekend alone with you. Oh, and in case you forgot, Billy, you are literally a stranger to him." I huffed, "Yeah I don't think he would be quite so ok with that like you claim."

Billy rolled his eyes and shoved the bandana into my mouth in one quick swoop of his hand. "Yeah and that's why I didn't tell him the truth y/n. You think I'm an idiot or something?"

I spit out the bandana, onto the floor, almost as quickly as he shoved it into my mouth.

He was really starting to get on my nerves with the whole inconsiderate bratty child act.

I forced Billy to move back when I practically jumped up from where I was sitting, "You can't just decide I'm staying here Billy! And you lied to my fucking dad to get me here. What the fuck?", I said seconds away from slapping him, but I resisted the urge.

"I'm trying to give you a good weekend and you're mad at me? Your dad thinks your on some trip with the yearbook committee for the this year's yearbook. What's the harm. It's not like I kidnapped you," he said getting in my face.

"Yeah Billy, you basically did. Last time I checked, you never asked me if I was okay with this!", I yelled getting increasingly louder as I spoke.

I went to turn away, and for the first time in weeks he grabbed me by my waist and pulled me in close so he could get in my face. He was about to say something, but instead he looked at me in my eyes.

After a moment of staring into each other's eyes, I thought he was going to kiss me, like he had done before. I mentally prepared myself to be kissed, when suddenly he let me go.

I felt the air crawl it's way out of my body. I felt a ache in my heart but only for a moment. I actually got disappointed he didn't kiss me.

I huffed and internally scolded myself for being disappointed when I said, "You know you could have just asked me to come this weekend. You could at least be kind enough to give me the choice."

"Would you have said yes?", he added quickly.

"I don't know. I-", he interrupted me.

"Would you have said yes, y/n?"

I gulped and let there be a pause before I quietly shrugged my shoulders.

"It's not like I despise being around you. I- just-" , I had to pause to let out a nervous laugh, "I know we can have a good time. I mean I've had a fun time around you before."

He scoffed, "You sure as hell don't act like you have."

"Billy, you can't be serious?", I asked.

"No, I'd like to genuinely know, because I sat around for you everyday like some needy bitch, and you walked all over me for days despite that. Do you know how fucking embarrassing that is for me?"

I was too stunned to speak.

Afterall, this was the selfish man whore Billy Hargrove in front of me, admitting that.

"I won't say everything has been. . perfect, but," I looked at him ready to admit some feelings, "you've given me good memories since day one."

"Oh yeah the day I blackmailed you, that was a good memory?"

"Not all of that day of course. I mean you for sure scared the hell out of me that day. You were very intimidating, but not all of that day was bad."

He rolled his eyes and walked past me to sit on the couch on, he had previously thrown me onto. He lit up a cigarette and looked out onto the lake.

"I enjoyed going to the movies that day," I laughed in between my words, refusing to let the topic go, "and when you were on my last nerve you suggested we scream it out, and we just flew down that road afterwards with no care about how dangerous it was."

I quickly noticed him start to smile again.

"And dinner with you family wasn't all that bad."

He scoffed in a sort of half-laugh kind of way, "I can believe that other shit you were spewing out just now, but that dinner was fucking horrible."

"Maybe for you, though I don't really know how your side of things went," I said hoping he'd elaborate on it.

He huffed and took a long hit from his cigarette, "You ever even try to smoke a cigarette before?", he asked avoiding the conversation.

"I don't mean to pry Billy, just your dad seemed strange to me is all. I'm just curious if he's always like that or not."

"If you can smoke a whole cigarette with me I'll sleep on the couch and you can have the bed to yourself," he said. Even if the deal was a pretty good offer, he still was avoiding the conversation.

"Ok got it, you just expect me to tell you what's wrong when I start acting off, but your just allowed to avoid the question entirely?"

What I said, must have strung a nerve withing him. He put out his cigarette and within seconds he was standing up, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt, and pinning me against the wall of the cabin.

The sudden impact with the wall left me breathless as I looked up to Billy's angry eyes.

"Is this what you want to know y/n?" he asked spitting in my face as he smoke

"What the fuck is wrong with you?", I asked trying not to focus on my now aching back.

"A lot of shit you don't even want to get me started on," he forcefully let me go and let out an aggressive scream as he began to walk off towards the lake.

"Billy where are you going?" I asked but got no response for.

I pursued him as he marched his way out towards the lake. A part of me felt bad for edging him on, but I was in the right about this. Even if it was a sore topic for him, he didn't have to be such a closed off dick about it.

He sat down at the lake's edge and I stopped to stand behind him.

"The way I held you against that wall," he said after a long awkward pause, "is the same way my dad held me when we walked outside. .all because I brought you into the house."

"I didn't kno-" he shushed me once again, and patted down next to him, signaling me to sit. "I just get so fucking angry living out here. This cow-shit smelling, hick of a town, pisses me off to a extent where you can't even begin to understand," he said as I plopped down next to him.

"Why don't you move back?"

"There's no where to move back to."

"You don't have family back there?"

"My mom," he said scoffing, "but she left me and my dad when I was just a kid."

I could tell his mom was a sore subject for him to talk about. He hung his head and fiddled with his hands as he spoke about her, even if it was just a quick mention.

I decided to get off the touchy subject, "I don't live with him everyday, but your dad is a fucking asshole."

He nodded his head, "Yeah, he is."

"Max told me he's hit you before, which I don't agree with of course. It's really fucked up."

"Yeah well she and her mom are real pieces of shitty work too."

"You don't mean that."

"Yeah I do, and you wanna know why? If it wasn't for them I'd still be in California and my dad wouldn't be as much of a fucking prick asshole," he picked up a nearby stone and threw it as hard as could, to send it skipping across the lake's surface, "He wants me to be happy or some shit that they are in my life, and he wants me to act like their my family, but they aren't. It's not my fucking job to be responsible for Max either, when she's thirteen years old and isn't even my real fucking sister."

"She's still the closest thing you have to a sister."

"Yeah well step-sibling isn't close enough.", he said looking away from me.

I sighed and leaned my head on Billy's shoulder, hoping it would calm him down. Even if it was slightly.

"Just because your dad is a piece of shit doesn't mean you have to be like him, you know? I prefer the real Billy more than the stuck up asshole version of you."

"Yeah and what's that real Billy like?" he asked, obviously still frustrated.

"The real Billy waits for me every day after school to take me home even though he knew I would refuse it."

He stayed silent but I decided to keep going anyways

"Or the Billy who surprises me with a weekend getaway," I said with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, sure seemed to me like you hated that I brought you here," he said, sending another another stone skipping across the water.

"No actually, I think it's very sweet of you to plan this out for us. I just think it was pretty inconsiderate of you and how you went about it," I looked to him, "You did kind of go out of your way to lie to my dad about it and then blindfolded me on the way here, so I wouldn't be able to get back home."

"You really think if I asked, you would have came?"

I made sure he was looking back at me before I spoke, "Yeah Billy, I think I would have," I let out a small laugh, "Hell, then we could have thought of an excuse together for my dad."

He scoffed, "You can't be the same y/n I know. She would get a high horse from me telling her she's right," he finally smiled, but it was different than his usual. It wasn't fake, or didn't come from his ego, this smile was genuine.

"Oh, so now you're saying I was right?"

"Jesus, nevermind, your still who I thought you were."

I lightly swatted his arm in a playful manor, "Well as much as I'd love to tell you, I told you so, I'm glad you told me." I added, "At least I didn't have to slam on my brakes in the middle of a road to make you do so."

"That just proves I'm a lot less work than you."

I scoffed, "You keep dreaming Billy."

He stayed silent for a second before yanking me and himself up off the ground. Before I could react, he picked me up off my feet and carried me to the dock I had noticed before.

"Don't you fucking dare!" I yelled thrusting around in his grasp as he walked.

"Oh yeah admit you're the bigger fucking handful and I'll let you go."

"You're the one who probably spends more than half an hour fixing your hair up in the morning, and I'm the handful?!" I asked not being to help myself from laughing.

He started swinging me as if he were to throw me, but didn't fully commit. He was giving me a warning.

"Last chance, y/n!" he yelled out. I yelled out in a fearful scream, choosing that over responding to him. I grasped onto him for dear life.

"Suite yourself!" he said throwing me into the water. I tried my best to cling onto him, so at least he'd come down with me, but his strength was ten-times my own. It was nothing for him to pry me off before throwing me out.

The water hit me like icy stakes piercing my body. It's much colder in the fall compared to the summer, so I doubt the water could be anything over than sixty-five degrees.

I popped my head out of the water just in time to catch Billy throwing his shirt onto the dock, before jumping in right after me.

I got yet another round of icy cold water to the face.

Seconds later, he too sprang his head up from the surface. He immediately started to shake the water from his hair like a wet dog, and screamed out a loud 'whoo', that echoed across the vast, open lake.

Both of us were laughing as he swam over to me and my shivering body. He scooped me up and wrapped my legs around him so he could hold me.

I blushed. This was the first time he had tenderly held me, since the first day we got into this whole mess.

He came in for a kiss, interrupting my giggles.

"Hmph!", I instinctively let out as his lips came crashing onto mine.

He was hungry. Last time we kissed was a month ago when he kissed me by sheer force. With the way I was kissing back now, I'm sure even he could tell that I wanted it. I wanted it bad.

His hands explored my back as I held onto him myself with my legs. The journeyed across my shirt until they found a resting spot near my lower back.

I broke away first, and for once he actually let me. This was better than I remembered, it was good. Really good.

No matter how great it made me feel, it still didn't change the fact that the water was freezing cold and I was shivering in his arms.

I stuttered from how cold I was, "Can- Can we please go- go back onto the shore?"

He shook his head, denying my request, "Admit it."

"Billy!" I threw my head back in annoyance that he was still even on the same subject that got us into the water in the first place.

"It's your fault if we catch a cold from being out here for too long, so you better hurry it up and just admit it."

I huffed, "Ok for fucks sake Billy," I gave him a mean looked before I continued, "I can be a handful sometimes, just like everyone else, so can we please just get out of this water."

His egoist smile returned, "First one out gets to sleep in the bed," he said suddenly dropping my weight back into the water. I almost went back under, but I was half expecting him to let me go either way.

"You cheating prick!" I yelled out, but he just laughed.

Not only did he beat me to the shore, but he beat me back to the cabin to. It was quite a sight to see him in such a hurry to grab his previously striped clothes off the dock, before running back up to towards the cabin.

It made me smile how Billy reminds me of a happy toddler, who just is over themselves with excitement, when he is having fun.

I finally drug myself back up to the cabin, walking into it for the first time, soaking wet.

"Hey don't move, you're still soaked!" he yelled out from across the small cabin.

"And you aren't?" I yelled back.

I didn't receive a response till he trotted his way back over to me with folded towels wrapped up in his arms, for us to dry off with.

"What just happened out there proves I can be quick about pretty much anything," he said gloating.

"I'm sure you're right. You really are quick about everything." I said with a wink.

He scoffed, "I'm sure you'd like to know. Wouldn't you sweetheart?" he said wrapping a towel around me.

"Maybe I would," , He paused for a half a second, not expecting that sort of response. "Maybe I wouldn't. You'll sure as shit never find out," I continued after a long pause.

"Well your stuck all alone with me all weekend, I wouldn't be so quick to say that."

"Oh yeah and boost your ego? I'd rather go drown in that lake out there."

He rolled his eyes.

Billy was obviously prepared for this trip, and it was certainly no last minute decision on his part. The entire kitchen was stocked for the weekend, and the sheets on the bed had been freshly washed.

Billy even bought me a couple outfits to wear for the weekend, knowing he would take me here by surprise, leaving me no time to prep.

"You do realize how this all seems suspicious to me right?" I said finally snuggling in on the couch after drying off and changing into a silky pajama set he had bought for me.

"How so?", he said coming to sit next to me after turning on the TV across from us.

"You replaced all my clothes, I have no idea where I am, you've had this planned out for a few days at least, and there's a lake about thirty feet from this cabin for easy disposal."

"What am I? Ted Bundy?", he asked, reading my thoughts.

"You could be. I mean you totally check off all the boxes to be a serial killer." I said smirking.

"Well you're the one who said you'd rather drown than sleep with me so if your dead body ends up in the lake that's by your own doing."

I rolled my eyes, "Even if you kidnapped me into bringing me here, I still am glad to spend the weekend somewhere outside of my bedroom," I said tempted to lay my head on his shoulder.

"Is this a thank you I hear?" he said. This was pure fuel for his ego.

"Yeah, it is. Thank you."

"Guess I'll have to kidnap you more often then." he said scooting closer to me.

He and I both let out a little laugh at the wording, and I finally gave in and laid my head on his shoulder as we both looked at the TV.

All I remembered was closing my eyes for a second, but before I could stop it, I was asleep on his shoulder.

When I opened my eyes again, everything was completely dark except for the TV that illuminated us on the couch and the surrounding area.

I blinked a few times before realizing I was still on the couch, I went to stand, but there was an arm around me, that wrapped tighter when I moved.

Billy.

I froze, realizing I had carelessly fallen asleep in the arms of Billy. He groaned from my previous motion, and snuggled me tighter, as to keep me fleshed up against him.

My face was on fire, and as much as I'd like to stay here snuggling. Now that I was up, I had to piss so bad I was going to explode if didn't.

I tried my best to get out of his grasp, but he instinctively held on like how a child holds onto their favorite teddy bear.

"Billy. I need to get up," I said softly while nudging him arm.

He groaned and when I looked back at him, he was shaking his head no.

'Goddamn how is that even when he's asleep, he's still a selfish bastard.' I thought to myself.

I grabbed one of the couch pillows that fell onto the floor and held it to my chest. With my free, I began to lift Billy's arm up from my side.

When I finally had it up enough for me to get through, I quickly got up and replaced myself with the pillow.

When I got back, the lamps had been turned on, and Billy looked to me while standing before an open fridge.

"You know you woke me up the second you started moving me around yeah?" he said half asleep still.

"I had to piss and you wouldn't let me up. What was I supposed to do?," I answered. He didn't respond, only to pull out some cookies from the fridge.

"You keep cookies in the fridge?"

"They taste better cold," he said ripping apart the packaging.

I lifted myself to sit on top of the counter, next to him. I dipped my hand down to steal a cookie, so I could test his opinion out for myself. We both munched in silence as I formed my own opinion.

"Nope, tastes exactly the same," I said.

"That's cause your opinion is shit," he said still with a mouth full of cookie.

"Ha, no. Your opinion is shit, have you seen the type of women you've slept with?" I asked jokingly.

"What's that say about you then?"

"Well I haven't slept with you."

"Not yet, but your curiosity will get the better of you soon enough," he said smiling

I ruffled his bed head, "You wish."

He stood in front of me, trapping me in his arms as he placed them on the counter space on both sides of me, "What's stopping you?"

I laughed, "You're joking right?"

"Afraid not babe."

I rolled my eyes, "You do realize that the only reason you know I even exist is because I turned you down after you tried to get in my pants at some stupid party? You got all handsy with me then too."

"I touched your waist, big deal."

"That's besides the point! The point is, Billy, is that if I sleep with you, you win," I huffed.

He smirked as he leaned in closer to my face, "So that means you want to, but just won't let yourself? All because, what? I'll win?"

I blushed, "Wha? No. Did you not hear me at all?"

He forced me to look at him in the eyes by tugging at my chin, "I heard you, but I can also tell that your lying."

"I'm not lying Billy." I said with butterflies in my stomach.

"C'mon cut the shit y/n.", he said with his typical devilish grin.

If my blush wasn't noticeable before, it for sure was now.

He leaned closer to my ear and whispered, "You didn't think I'd notice how you cling onto me when I touch you, did you sweetheart?"

He ran his hand up my thigh stopping just before the edge of the silky sleep shorts he bought for me. He gave my thigh a good squeeze occasionally as he explored the surface.

It was true that his touch always sent thrills all through me, but that doesn't change how I feel on the inside. This only started, because all I was to him was another plus one to his body count.

"The only reason we talk now, is because we're friends. I know that you only wanted me for sex though when this all started, I'm not stupid." I said in a somewhat of a pouting tone, "Why would I sleep with you?"

He paused and let my chin go, "At the party, yeah, I did just want you, you looked fucking amazing," he got a sincere look on his face, "I also told you the next day how you intrigued me. You stood up to me, and I liked that a lot."

"Just because you tell me that I sexually intrigue you doesn't change anything about this, Billy."

"You got my respect then, y/n," he said, "I think your fucking sexy of course, but I liked the way you carried yourself that night. It's way different than any other bitch I've met here."

Had my whole problem really turn out to be a complete misunderstanding?

"How am I supposed to know you were being sincere then? You forced me to kiss you and coerced me into being your fake girlfriend. That's a lot of mixed signals don't you think?"

He hung his head and smiled, "y/n, I'm good enough to get anyone I want.", he said proudly admitting his ego, "but even after you ignored me, everyday, I stayed. Your the only one here in this hick town to ever earn my respect."

I felt my breath crawling its way out of my body with every word he spoke. This was not the Billy I came to know at first. This was the Billy who could finally let his guard down around me.

Though his attitude was awful and his ego was still raging, I finally could see him as a loving partner.

"Just forget it," he said backing off.

"Billy," I said grabbing his hand on my thigh before it could fully leave.

"Did you only threaten me into pretending as your girlfriend, just so you could . . . get to know me?"

"That sounds pretty fucked when you word it like that y/n."

"Yeah well that's what happened you dick, don't avoid the question."

He laughed in a nervous kind of way, "You intrigue me in all ways sweetheart, so yeah, don't get a big fucking head about it."

I was red all over.

I laughed at how he could say something so sweet, but still act like a dick at the same time. It was just the way he was, and it's what I fell for in him.

I pulled his hand to rest up on my waist before I gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"I guess you've got my interest too," I said softly, "It's not every day a guy admits he enjoys his time around me."

"Told you I was nice."

"Well, at least now you are."

I looked into his eyes, realizing he was coming in for another kiss. I snickered as I turned my head away, making him kiss my cheek instead. "I didn't give you permission for that," I said.

"Good thing I don't need it," he said as he picked me up off the counter.

"Hey! What the hell Billy?"

"I'll just take what I want, if you won't give it too me, babe," He held me with one hand so he could give a nice tap to my ass, "I'll get you begging for it, in no time."

We got into the bedroom and he didn't even bother flipping on the lights. There was still plenty enough shining in from the living room.

He threw me on the bed before pinning me down with his hands, ramming his lips into mine instantly. I tried to push against him, but it only made him force me down even harder.

Unlike last time I was pinned to a bed by Billy, I was kissing back. I couldn't resist this any longer, but the realization of that only made me angrier to be proving him right. My anger fueled the kiss even more, only adding more steam to the fire happening around us.

He freed up one of his hands to aggressively explore my body. He let his hand travel across my torso letting it rest on my ribcage for a moment. It didn't take him long to discover there was nothing being worn underneath the shirt.

"Well what do we have here?" he said breaking away from the kiss.

I blushed and turned my head away, I was in so much shock I could barely speak, "Mine- It was- The lake- It got wet." I fumbled with my words, but it still got the message across. He laughed, menacingly, before slamming his lip back onto mine.

He started exploring the new discovery, but held himself back from going over the top. He was toying with me. Teasing me.

I put my newly free hand on his cheek so I would have a deeper grasp on the kiss. I tried to move from his cheek down to his chest, so I could do my own exploring, but at the touch of his collarbone he stopped, breaking our kiss.

I hated the feeling of the cold air on my lips when he moved away, but I hated it even more that I was actually pouting about it.

"Beg me," he said

I shook my head no out of stubbornness, so he gave my thigh a good hard love tap. I let out a whimper due to the sheer unexpected force that came to me.

"Say it y/n."

"I can't- I can't." I said hiding my face with my free hand.

"Why not sweetheart?" he whispered. I stayed silent and simply held onto his wrist that pinned down my other hand.

I couldn't think straight due to all the emotions I was feeling. I was nervous, excited, and my whole body burned with lust.

I was to embarrassed to speak, but I couldn't deny the fact that I liked what was happening between us. I wondered frequently how he would be in bed, since he was always the one to bring it up. In all that time I thought about this, I never expected that I would be left so speechless.

Even in the dim light, I caught a glimpse of his cocky smile, before he flipped me over onto my stomach.

I attempted to lift my face from the bed, but he shoved it back down into the fluffy comforter with his hand.

"If you aren't going to use your mouth to talk then you don't need it at all," he said after giving me another spank to my ass. The sound echoed off the walls, luckily covering the squeal I made. "I'll just let the rest of you speak for itself."

With no struggle from my part, he lifted my shirt, exposing my whole back to him.

I tightly grasped onto the blankets as he kissed down my back, but it wasn't long till his lips got bored and he made his way further down to my shorts.

After removing those pretty quickly, he started to take off his own clothes.

"Wait- Wait, Billy," I said lifting myself weakly from the bed.

If it wasn't the sight of his bare upper body that made me blush, it was for sure going to be what I had to say, "I'm- I-"

He flipped me around the rest of the way, back onto my back. He leaned over me, letting a hand rest on my face while using the other to balance himself. "You know you talked all that shit, but you can't even speak right now. Slow down so I can understand you."

I took a deep breathe and looked at him, "I'm not on any pill," I managed out.

He laughed, "That's what your worried about right now?"

"I think it's a perfectly good thing to be worried about right now, so yes," I quickly blurted out.

"This isn't my first time you know, now I can't say the same for you, but-"

"This isn't my first time either, thank you," I interrupted.

He raised a brow, "Oh really? With how nervous you are, and how defiant you've been. I figured it was."

"No, I- This isn't new for me. Just how you are is new for me." I said speaking more quietly as I went on.

"You mean somebody with experience is new to you?" he laughed.

"I guess," I looked away, "Your very handsy."

"How could I not be? You've been keeping me waiting," I gave him a pouty stare in return.

"Careful for now, pill for next time. Ok?," he continued.

I nodded my head in agreement. I trusted him, and he's right, he does have way more experience than I have. If he says that he'll be careful, I trust him.

"Now where were we?" he said while scaling his eyes down my now exposed body.

After plenty of fore-play on both sides, he had me close to him and finally put himself into position on top of me. The embarrassment I felt from the noises I made when he started, could single handedly put me in my grave.

He completely blurred my mind after putting me through multiple rough and intense rounds.

He always kept things interesting, never letting me take it for too long in a certain position. Whether I was pressed into the bed or thrown into his lap, no matter how he was ramming into me, I held him tight.

I've never felt such an intense emotion before and quite frankly, I was addicted. I wouldn't complain when he would hastily go back in for more, even if it left me with no time to rest.

I very much so regret calling him quick at 'everything'.

He would edge me for what felt like an eternity before he would allow me to spill. He always made me wait for him, no matter how good I was feeling. I shamefully admitted how wrong I was for calling him quick, earning myself a even quicker pace at which we were going.

After hours of endless pleasure, he decided enough was enough, after seeing how utterly worn out I was. It was still dark outside, but I knew the sun would be coming up soon. I needed rest.

He pulled me in close before laying beside me on the bed. Stroking my head as I thought to myself.

Even when he wasn't ramming himself inside me, he could be so vicious and forceful, but I learned there was a reason to his extremely rude demeanor. He was only so snappy so he wouldn't ever have to confront his feelings head on.

He tries to pretend he doesn't care about anyone, but really he just wants no one to view him as weak. He was conditioned to think that way.

"How about instead of screaming matches in my car, we just do this to let out some anger," he said pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Then we'd be at this all the time," I responded rolling my eyes.

"I can shut you up again if you keep up with that attitude."

I cuddled into his chest, saying nothing in response.

"Yeah that's about what I thought," he said wrapping his arms around me.

"I thought you liked it when I stood up you," I questioned.

"Yeah, but I like it when you suck it up and just be mine as well."

"Pretend yours? Or actually yours?" I asked quietly.

He snickered, probably about how shy I was at the moment, compared to usual, "Actually mine."

"I think I'd like that too."

We both had our problems, and Billy's family life was going to for sure be a problem later, but right now I could be happy. Right now I trusted Billy.

Even though his scary and unpredictable behavior would always leave me feeling uncertain, but he's now showed me multiple times that he can normally handle things, even if its still in his own snarky matter. He showed me that I didn't have to ask him to change, that he would just do it on his own for my sake.

The weekend flew by after a days full of more intense times in bed, cooking meals together, talking about where'd we like to get jobs at for the upcoming summer, and working out with one another. He went out of his way to create a personal routine for me, so I wouldn't feel left out. I didn't expect to feel sad when it was time to head home, but I was.

It felt like Billy and I were already living our life together.

We completed our final task of packing all the leftover food into the trunk of his car, and now it was time to leave. I wistfully watched the cabin disappear from view as we drove away and began our journey of heading back to civilization.

When this started between us in the theater of Hawkins High, I was not in love with Billy Hargrove. In fact I thought he was a total dickhead. I'm not wrong though, he totally was.

Despite it, he made me feel alive. I had to tell myself, I can't fall in love with Billy Hargrove.

I laid awake at night, in my own bed, hoping I wasn't going to fall, because why would any person fall for such a self centered man.

What we had was beyond my control. I would yell out screams of frustrations till I would wake up the next day, unable to speak. I wanted to control my feelings, and I wanted to hate him, but I couldn't.

Even though I wanted to hate him, I always knew we were much more than just pretend. I knew I would inevitably fall, so once I embraced it, everything changed.

He opened himself up and I was able to see the true Billy. He was unpredictable and inconsiderate at times, sure, but he always cared for me in his own bitchy way.

He went out of his way to check up on me even if it was in a snarky tone. It was just who Billy was, and I finally understood that. I finally felt like I would be safe to care for him as well.

I can't believe I'd ever actually admit it, but I fell in love with Billy fucking Hargrove. It was clear that I was his, and he was mine.

No matter what we would have to go through, we would be each other's future.

#stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove smut #stranger things smut #billy hargrove angst #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove #stranger things x reader #stranger things imagine #billy hargrove fanfiction

[mirjam-writes]

What about you? What writing are you happy about this year?? Is there anything you want to brag about?

Happy Yule, solstice, Christmas, Festivus, (belated) Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Doctor Who Day! And anything else you might celebrate, or happy Monday if you don’t!

Thank you so so much for asking 🧡🧡

This was quite a writing year for me. I wrote only four stories, but I'm quite proud of all of them. To Love Somebody was my first foray in rare pairs. An angsty backstory for Shadwell, and what made him the way he is. It has an hopeful ending, and I'm quite proud of the structure, and how much I managed to squeeze into the small word count. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is a short and wholesome outsider pov story I wrote for an event. I was surprised how much people liked it! It was also my first attempt on present tense, which continued in A Stable Relationship, one of my FTH stories for this year (the second one will probably be a bit late, and be completed in January). I had fun writing it, and it turned out to be a good one, and the only one of these oneshots that was Explicit. It was set in horse riding world.

The reason why I wrote only three oneshots, and why my second FTH piece is late, was of course my favourite story of all time: Be Still My Soul trilogy. A human AU story set in the sad moments of Finnish history.

Despite the class differences, landowner Azirafel Fjäll and sawmill worker Anton Crowley have been friends since childhood. The Great War rages over Europe and the Empire of Russia is in the firm grip of a revolution. The echoes of these fateful events carry over to the Grand Duchy of Finland, vaguely sauntering towards independence. Azirafel and Crowley find themselves on the opposite sides of a conflict that will eventually lead to a bitter civil war, tearing the country apart.

Is there a possibility for them to find their own side, or will this be the end of their budding love story?

I started writing the third part in January, and finished it just before S2 aired in July. It finished posting in October, and it's now complete and done, though I'm still commissioning art for it. This story took over my life for over two years, and it's my baby. I've had such a hard time to let go of it! It also has its own blog @be-still-my-soul-fanfic where I posted dozens of posts about historical and cultural facts. The story is written in a way you don't need to know anything of the Finnish history beforehand (my American betas made sure of that). It's a lovestory, not a history lesson, BUT if you want to learn more, there's a lot of extra info available 😅

I think it's the best story I've ever written (and probably ever will). Many readers have agreed, but it's angsty with very heavy themes until the happy ending, so it's not for everyone and I think posting it just when S2 aired cut some of the potential readers. The third part of the trilogy is now five kudos shy of 100 kudos, and I'm hoping it could get past that milestone before new years. 😂 So yeah, my own personal favourite gets the least interaction of them all. Oh well.

I'm gonna sound a bit self-absorbed, but I'm proud I finished it and it turned out even better than I hoped. My dream would be to print a physical copy or to record a podfic of that, but both might be a bit too much work.

For the next year I have two zine fics to finish, and I have applied to a third one. I have one event fic in the works as well, but the FTH story will be the one I'll concentrate until it's done. It's an oneshot human AU which somehow grew limbs and now it's 7.6k words and nowhere near done 😱 That's my holiday project.

Thank you for asking!! I was so delighted to get a chance to ramble myself 🧡 There's never enough chances for writers to gush about their own work because it always feels a bit self centered. That's why I like to wander around Tumblr and give people the perfect excuse to do that! Peek at the #writer's favourites tag if you want to see other fanfic writers sharing their favourites! And feel free to use the tag yourself if I forgot to ask someone (I was very much not organised when going through the blogs and I'm not good at matching blog names with writer names 😅)

I hope you'll have a magnificent new year 🧡

#writer's favourites #my writing #good omens #ask #good omens fanfiction