#CAN MAZE JUST BE HAPPY LORD!!!!

[demonvibez]

Impulsive

Characters: Lord Diavolo x GN! Reader Rating: Teen Tags: comfort, fluff, gn reader, MC uses magic, kissing Word Count: 4.3k+ A/N: Happy (Belated) Birthday to My Sweet Prince, Lord Diavolo ♡ I'd give him all three realms if I could, but for now, I'll settle for sharing this silly little fluff fic. This may be my favorite thing I've written so far, so I hope you all enjoy it as well!

Late was the hour at the House of Lamentation, when you find yourself tossing and turning in your slumber, your mind currently pulled into the depths of a rather vivid nightmare. It was one of those nightmares that just feels so real, filling your senses and sending you running from the unknown terror, your heart pounding as you run deeper into what looks like the House but feels like a maze. Surely there aren't this many hallways when you're awake?! And so many doors! You run to the end of the hall, ripping open the large double doors and running into the next...which seems eerily identical to the last. Except when you get to the end of the hall this time, you run into a dead end. Panic now striking your heart you turn to the window, only for it to vanish as you touch it. A crimson ooze begins to drip down the walls, and you can feel the shadow entity getting closer, your breathing becoming more erratic as your back presses into the corner. You're trapped. Something reaches out towards you from the abyss, it's sharp claws coming into view the closer it gets.

Just before it can grab you by the neck, you fully awaken from your night terror, pushing yourself to sit up in bed so that you may try to catch your breath. You hyperventilate for a moment, grabbing your chest with one hand as the other maintains a tight grip on the bed sheets as your eyes quickly dart around the room. You're awake, and you're okay. You snap your fingers to magically turn the lights up, so that you may inspect the room closer. Nothing on the walls - and you let out a relieved sigh. You sit with yourself for a moment, in an effort to allow your breathing to return to normal, before flinging your legs over the side of the bed and standing up. You cross the room and make your way over to the window near your desk. Reaching out to touch the window, a slight hesitation makes your hand tremble. As your fingertips touch the cool pane of the glass, you breathe out an even bigger sigh of relief. The window didn't disappear this time - you are definitely safe and back in your own reality.

So, why can't you shake this eerie feeling? That same looming anxiety that filled your mind as you were being chased by the shadow creature. You shake your head, trying to just will it away, as you pick up your jacket from the back of a chair and pull it on. You cross your arms to hug yourself as you walk back over to your bedside table. Eyeing your DDD on the charger, you reach down to pick it up, unlocking it and opening the contacts in one fluid motion. Before you can even process what you are doing, you are already dialing a number, the phone pressed to your ear as you sit down at the edge of the bed. It's not until you hear his voice at the other end of the line do you really register just what you're doing. The Future King of the Devildom murmurs your name, a slight hint of concern lacing his voice - he's surprised to hear from you at this time of night. 

"Is something wrong? Are you alright," he asks you. He has no idea that the sound of his voice alone is so soothing to you. You let out a shaky breath that you had no idea you were holding, scooting back on the bed so that you can lean against the wall.

"Y-yeah...I'm okay...I-" you cut yourself off, your eyes briefly widening. Are you really bothering Lord Diavolo with your foolish little problems? It was just a nightmare, and you're awake now. You're sure the Prince has way more important things to worry about than the silly night terrors of a human. "I'm so sorry for bothering you, I know you must be busy wi-" he cuts you off by saying your name once again, this time with a slightly firmer tone.

"I've told you time and time again that you may come to me for anything, at any time," he reminds you. Softening his tone, he exhales before continuing, "Please. Tell me, what's wrong?" He truly meant it when he said you can come to him for anything. It warms his heart to think about you coming to him for help, especially when you have so many demons around you that are also willing to give you the world.

"It's...I just...it's gonna sound really stupid..." you trail off, as you fidget with the hem of one of your blankets.

"I assure you, nothing you could possibly say to me is ever going to be 'stupid.'" As you let out another exhausted sigh, you can hear the squeaking of his desk chair as he leans back against it. Lord Diavolo has always been very sweet to you, doing his best to accommodate all of your needs since you've dropped down into his realm. He always seems to have the answer to your problems, especially the more massive ones - what will it hurt to vent to him now?

"I...had a rather vivid nightmare. It felt so real to me..." You begin to describe your nightmare in great detail, not holding back any of the emotions that came along with it. Retelling this graphic tale almost makes you feel as though you are reliving it, and the crack in your voice pierces Diavolo's heart as you try to hold back tears while you finish your story. "And then I woke up," you say with a sniffle, "I guess I was quite shaken by it all, and I called you because...well, it was kind of an impulse to be honest, but I think I just really wanted to hear your voice," you admit, a rosy blush painting your cheeks. You were a bit glad Lord Diavolo couldn't see you right now - you aren't sure, but you probably look like a bit of a mess. Something else you are unaware of, is exactly how much your admission has effected the Young Prince. The idea that you instinctively sought him out for comfort is enough to get his heart racing, and now it is time for him to act on impulse - which is something he is rather good at.

"I'll be by the House of Lamentation to pick you up soon," he declares, the sound of his chair scuffing the floor ringing out across the phone line. Your eyes widen, and you jump up to stand on your bed in surprise.

"Uhhh...excuse me, WHAT?!?" There's no way he's serious. You hear his signature laugh, and now you know he's not joking.

"I'm coming to pick you up! A change of scenery is always a good idea after a nightmare - especially when the nightmare occurs where you're trying to sleep. I'll just leave a note for Lucifer, and bring you back to the Castle. This is going to be so much fun," he says excitedly. An impromptu sleepover with the Future King of the Devildom does sound like a fun idea - but doesn't he have more important things to do than to entertain you?

"Lord Dia-"

"AH! What did I say about using my titles when it's just us?" You can't help but to let out a tiny giggle, and it sends his heart over the Devildom moon.

"Okay, you're right. I'm sorry. I just don't want to be a burden on you. It's late, and I'm sure you have more important things to-"

"Nonsense," he cuts you off again. How can you possibly think you could ever be a burden to him? "I had just finished my work for the night when you called, and Barbatos hasn't even started the tea yet. We are just going to quickly portal over to you, and bring you back. It will be no trouble for us at all. Please, let me help you." Please, just let him take care of you. If you could see the look in his eyes right now, you'd see how much he yearns to pamper you with all of his affections. You spend so much time time and energy taking care of all of your demons, he wants so badly to be the one doing the same for you. Let him show you that he can be there for you, that he is capable of being your protector - even if it's from terrors created by your own mind.

"Okay...if you're really sure, then I'm game. Can you just give me like...five minutes?" He honestly doesn't have to ask you twice to hang out, you'll take any excuse to see Diavolo. You don't want to inconvenience him, but he's insisting, so why not take the gorgeous golden-eyed demon up on his offer? And even if you won't be able to fall back asleep, at least you'll have his company; his perfect smile, his soothing voice, the warm embrace of his hugs...

Before the Prince can even answer, he hears the sound of you jumping off of your bed and running around in your room. He can't help but to let out a small chuckle at how cute he thinks you are. He would tell you that there's no need to bother yourself, that you may come as you are - but as he finds himself in front of his own mirror, straightening his tie and hand-combing his hair, he relates to wanting to look impressionable for the person you're so deeply in love with. He's unsure if you return his feelings, but the idea of you scrambling around your room just to look cute for him for a surprise date has heat rising to his cheeks - which is ironic, seeing as you're doing exactly that.

"Of course! I'll send you a text just before we head over," he replies. Just after saying your goodbyes and hanging up, you race to your bathroom to freshen up your face. You had already tore off your jacket and discarded half of whatever other comfortable clothes you had worn to bed that night. Is this really about to happen?! Talk about a plot twist! One moment you're thrashing around in bed consumed with your nightmares, and the next your about to be picked up by the Future King to go hang out with him at the Demon Lord's Castle - your life can be such a rollercoaster at times.

You quickly wash your face at the sink, splashing the water in your face once more and staring into your owns eyes in the mirror, making sure this isn't also a dream. You've experienced nested dreaming a few times in your life, and it would sure as hell be disappointing if you weren't really about to see Diavolo. You shake your head, brushing off the thought, before turning off the water and exiting the bathroom.

You walk back across your room, and freeze in the doorway of your closet. The back of your closet is so dark - no matter how long you let your eyes adjust, the shadows casted in the back corners of the room still have this eerily ominous feeling. Your hand shakily reaches out towards the light switch, the hair on your arm standing up as anxiety courses through your veins. Just as you're about to flip the light switch on, a loud ding comes from your DDD, and you can't help but to jump. Your heart pounds in your chest for a few seconds before you remember why your phone had dinged - they must be on their way. Damn it! You're nowhere near ready! You flip the light on and start scrambling through your clothes, pulling out a pair of cute pajamas and putting them on. 

Just as you are pulling the bottoms up to your hips, you hear a slight cracking sound coming from the hallway, followed by a low humming noise. Barbatos' portal - they must be standing outside. Just as you arrive at the door, you hear a light knock, and you open it to find the Prince standing there in his RAD uniform, fist still raised to knock a second time. Behind him you can see Barbatos still in Diavolo's room, on the other side of the portal, his back turned to you as he sets a tray of sweets down on the glass coffee table by the bed. You look up at the gorgeous demon in front of you, and you can't help but to smile as your eyes connect with his. And the way he smiles back down at you, with a radiance brighter than any Celestial sun, is enough to make a small flurry of butterflies dance around in your stomach.

"Hey there! Ready to go?"

"Yeah, one second. Just need to grab my jacket real quick-" you go to turn around and pick up your jacket that you had previously thrown onto the floor, but Diavolo's voice interrupts you once again.

"There's no need," he says in his usually jovial tone, "I can have Barbatos light the fireplace if you'd like." Just then, you see the Butler turn around and nod at you, before speaking to you through the portal.

"Yes, and I have just started steeping a fresh pot of Hellfire Rose Tea. We have plenty of warm blankets, fresh from the dryer. You will not go cold in our care," says Barbatos, his lips curving upward in a knowing smile. For half a moment you wonder to yourself if he already knows what the course of tonight's events will be, but you don't really have too much time to wonder about that right now. 

"And of course, if all else fails, there is this." Looking down at his own chest, he starts unbuttoning his red RAD jacket. A blush creeps across your face as he unbuckles the golden belt and pulls the coat off of his large frame, holding it out for you to slide into. Your heart feels as though it is going to jump into your throat as you slide in your arms, the scent of Diavolo's cologne filling your senses as you pull the jacket tighter to your chest. The coat is rather baggy and long on you, but you feel so cozy that you don't even care. 

"Thank you so much for all of this, Dia," you say with a light blush still on your cheeks as you look up at him bashfully. Hearing the little nickname you've given him, the Young Prince can't help but to blush as well. No one has ever been so informal with him; he hopes you'll use it more, the sound of it coming from your lips like music to his ears. You move to try to take a step forward, but your feet accidentally step on the bottom of the coat, causing you to stumble forward a little.

"Oops, I suppose I didn't take that into account. Here, let me help you with that." And before you can even ask, Diavolo bends down and scoops you up in his arms. You let out a small yip as you instinctively wrap your arms around his neck, your little human hands struggling to grip him through the oversized coat sleeves as he adjusts you in his hold. He turns around with you to walk back towards the portal, and you tap his shoulder to stop him for a moment.

"Wait! One sec..." With your right arm hooked around him, you raise your left, shaking it a bit so the sleeve falls down your arm. Your reach your hand out behind him, focusing all of your energy towards the DDD that you dropped on your bed earlier. You close your eyes, visualizing in your mind the phone rising up off the bed and floating into your hand. The more you focus on it, the stronger your intent becomes, and a surge of magical energy within you causes you to open your eyes back up just as the phone glides itself across the room and into your grasp. At the feeling of the phone's plastic case hitting your hand, your eyes widen in surprise as you let out a joyful laugh. "I can't believe it finally worked..." You show Diavolo the phone you just grabbed telekinetically, pride filling your chest and spreading to the smirk on your face.

"Nicely done! Seems as though your sorcery lessons are paying off." That same pride fills the Prince's chest, for you find new ways to surprise and impress him every day.

"Thanks, I've been working quite hard on that particular skill." You slide the phone into one of the coat's pockets before wrapping your arm back around him. He walks the two of you through the portal, and over towards the grey-striped couch next to his bed. The cracking noise of the portal closing rings out once again, the subsequent hum it produced now falling silent. The only sound currently filling the room is that of Barbatos arranging a tea set on the glass top of the coffee table, along with the slight squeak of the couch cushions as Diavolo sits down with you, setting you in his lap as he leans back into the corner of the couch. You unwrap your arms from around his neck, making yourself comfortable and leaning back against him, your cheek resting against his collar bone as you drape an arm across his torso. Diavolo wraps his arms around you, pulling you just a little bit closer, and your eyes flutter closed at the warm embrace. That is, until, you remember...

"Oh, fuck," you exclaim, your eyes snapping back open, "did we ever leave a note for Lucifer?" Sure, the Young Prince is best friends with the Avatar of Pride, but it's still usually better for you to ask for permission from Lucifer rather than forgiveness. The Morningstar is no stranger to handing down punishments - even to his favorite human. Diavolo looks down at you, and the look on your face must have been priceless, for you can feel the laughter building up and shaking his chest before ringing out into the open air.

"Yes, in fact, I sent him a text message before making my way over to you. The last thing we want is a concerned Lucifer tearing apart the realm looking for you." And the last thing Diavolo wants is an intrusion by the Eldest Demon Brother. Lucifer always prides himself on how well he looks after you, always stepping up to the plate when he is needed the most. And while he admires all of the traits that afford Lucifer's status as the Avatar of Pride and Right Hand of the Future King, Diavolo sometimes feels as though it hinders his ability to get closer to you. He does his best to mask his jealousy, but you don't miss the way he pulls you just a little bit tighter to his chest. You can feel a faint tingle coming from the location of Leviathan's pact mark, causing your eyebrows to slightly furrow. Was Lord Diavolo really feeling envious towards Lucifer? Over you? Your eyes quickly dart over to Barbatos, who is currently walking out of the bedroom door, most likely to fetch the pot of tea. As the sin continues to stimulate the sigil on your skin, you can only deduce that it must be Diavolo. 

"Indeed, the last thing we want is for our time together to be cut short," you say, looking up into those gorgeous honey eyes of his, "At this point, I'm kinda glad I had that stupid nightmare..." The way he gazes down at you, so loving and full of affection, causes your heart to start beating at a rapid pace. You aren't sure if you're reading the situation correctly, but the moment just feels so...right. Impulse has led you both to this exact moment, and into the arms of the demon you've been pining over for so long. Perhaps your instincts will be right again this time.

Your hand floats up to cup his cheek, and immediately you can feel him lean into your touch. You hear him murmur your name, spoken in a tone laced with a longing you hadn't heard from him before. You both lean into each other, your lips meeting in a kiss that you both felt like you had waited an eternity for - like you both had been trekking across a barren desert, and you finally found an oasis in each other. Your hands glide up so they lace through his hair, as he pulls you so you're facing him, his hands resting on your hips. You lightly nibble his bottom lip, at which you can feel his large hands give your hips a little squeeze, and he obliges you by deepening the kiss that you're both so entranced by. 

You're both so lost each in other's tender embrace, wanting so badly for the moment to continue on endlessly, that you don't even hear Barbatos re-enter the room. The Butler was really doing his best not to interrupt the two of you - he was happy to finally see the Young Master making progress with you, in regards to his admiration. Neither of you had heard the sounds of the door opening and closing shut, so he was a little surprised that the sound of the teaspoon clinking on the glass tabletop is what grabbed your attention. You jump a little bit, your nose bumping into his slightly, before looking over your shoulder to see Barbatos with an amused look on his face - you erupt into laughter, with the other two following soon after. 

"My apologies, I did not mean to interrupt the two of you. However, the tea is ready, along with a few snacks that I have prepared that I know you are both fond of." You give Diavolo a little peck on the cheek, causing him to have the goofiest grin in all three realms, before sliding off of his lap and sitting next to him. Your hands have a slight tremble from all of the excitement, and the last thing you want to do is spill scorching hot Hellfire Rose Tea all over Diavolo and yourself. You reach for the cup of tea Barbatos prepared for you, about to take a sip as the Butler hands a plate of sweets to the Prince.

"Would you like for me to enchant the tea? To ensure that your nightmares will cease," he asks, as he crosses the room to put some music on the record player, turning the volume down so that it may play in the background. 

"No," you say with a slight blush, your eyes darting to Diavolo from behind your teacup, "I have Dia now, so I think I'm good." You smirk as you take a sip, maintaining eye contact with Diavolo as he takes a bite into his Hellfire Mushroom Rolled Cigar Cookie, the blush spreading across his tan face as your words sink in.

The two of you spend quite a bit of time together that night, just sitting in each other's arms and talking about everything and nothing. It started off just chatting in more detail about the contents of your nightmare, but quickly digressed into talking of your fears, your dreams, your ambitions, your aspirations. Diavolo has never connected with another being like this before, and he's all the more glad he gets to grow such a connection with you. And while he listens to your voice, he comes to the realization that there's no one else he'd rather bare his infernal soul to in all three realms. His visions of the future always have you in it, and he couldn't be happier to hear that you feel the same way. You both continue to exchange stories of your fondest memories, making plans to create new memories together in the future. 

Just as Diavolo gets halfway though his story - one of the many tales of him causing chaos to then sneak out of the Castle - he feels the weight of your cheek fall against his shoulder. Your breathing steady and one of your hands gripping his shirt as you accidentally fall asleep in his lap. Between his soothing voice, the soft lull of the music, and feeling completely safe in his arms, you couldn't help but to drift off to dreamland. And he can't help but to just sit and watch you for a moment; you look so beautifully at peace in your slumber, he wants to etch it into his mind permanently. He eventually picks you up as gently as possible - you only stir once or twice. The first time at the motion of him picking you up; the second when he sets you down on his bed and you subconsciously miss the feeling of his warm embrace as he goes to quickly change his clothes. 

He slides into bed next to you, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you close to him, your back pressing up against his chest. As your feel his warmth envelop you, you turn over to face him, one of your arms wrapping around him as well while you're only half awake. He lays on his back, pulling you on top of him, and you lightly nuzzle his chest and mumble an 'I love you' before you fall back fully asleep again. Diavolo's heart feels so full - he never knew three simple words could mean so much to him. He presses a kiss into the top of your head before laying back and shutting his eyes, happier than he's ever been in his life. And while he doesn't want you having anymore nightmares, he'd give anything to spend the rest of his nights like this with you.

· demonvibez ♡ 2023 · do not copy, repost or modify · · likes, comments and reblogs are deeply appreciated! ♡ ·

#obey me fluff #obey me comfort #obey me diavolo #obey me diavolo fluff #obey me x reader #om diavolo #om! diavolo #om! fluff #om! fanfic #obey me fanfic #om fluff #lord diavolo #obey me diavolo x mc #obey me diavolo x reader #diavolo x reader #diavolo #om diavolo x reader #diavolo fluff #happy birthday diavolo #obey me gender neutral mc #obey me x y/n #obey me x you #obey me x mc #obey me x gender neutral reader #ghost writes om #obey me imagines #obey me scenarios #obey me #diavolo obey me #diavolo om

[house-strong]

— BOUND BY DUTY ʾ ⋆

summary ; requested by two anons with similar ideas, so i’ve combined them.

“can u write one with an arranged marriage to jace.”

“can u write a jace fic where they r betrothed and she’s unsure and he reassures her like my doing sweet gestures over the months? Also can we see after they r married and them happy”

pairing ; jacaerys velaryon x betrothed!reader notes ; unrevised <3

as the eldest daughter of a great lord from a great house, you knew that there was only one thing that you were bound by; the prospect of marriage. your father had promised he’d find someone kind and respectable, someone who you wouldn’t have to live out your life in torment from.

he had aspired you to find love and although his hands were tied by the suitors that came for your hand, he had advised you that you could take your pick from the pool. of the short list of names was prince jacaerys velaryon, the eldest son of princess rhaenyra targaryen and her prince consort, ser laenor velaryon. his title had caught your fathers eye and he had urged you to consider this match. not only was it advantageous, he knew you would be well protected under the wings of the dragon prince.

jacaerys velaryon was rumored to be a bastard, though, your father had argued that despite that, he still carried royal lineage in his veins. he was a dragon rider like his targaryen mother, something that your father said was very telling about his parentage. so with a reluctant nod of approval, there was a raven sent from your home to dragonstone, inviting the princess and her son to court yourself.

they had arrived within a few days, having ridden their dragons from their ancestral seat, dragonstone. your father received them graciously, supplying food for their dragons, and even planning on hosting a feast in their honor. your thoughts about jacaerys plague your mind as introductions are made.

he’s tall and stands awkwardly, as if his height had been blessed to him overnight and he’s still trying to get used to his longer limbs. he stands proudly beside his mother though, head held high as if it would make up for the awkward portion of his lower half. when he makes eye contact with you, he gives you a small, reassuring smile.

“perhaps we should allow them to acquaint themselves?” the princess says, half turning and placing a hand on the back of her son. he seems to be broken from his trance at well, glancing between his mother and yourself.

then you and jace were left alone – supervised, yes, but still alone. he follows you as you lead him through the hall-like maze, his hands joined together behind his back. the only sound shared between you are even breaths and the sound your heels make against the floor.

“i’m jace– jacaerys, i mean,” he reintroduces himself, taking a peek at you. his bangs fall of his eyes and he shakes his head in attempt to move them from his field of vision, but he just raises one of his hands and ruffles it back into place. “but, you can call me jace.”

jace. how lovely.

nerves begin to prickle at your skin, “i’m (y/n),” you respond. he smiles at this and dips his head, his eyes returning in front of him. your hands begin to wring in each other as you feel your nervousness bubble in your stomach. you slowly exhale, trying your best to keep it from overflowing. “we are to be wed.”

the question comes out more as a matter-of-fact, though jacaerys doesn’t notice this and simply chuckles, “yeah, i assume we are.”

another awkward silence falls over you two. jacaerys feels like the collar of his clothes are too tight, so he begins to pick at it with his fingers.

“i fear that you may think that i’m vile or crude,” he says, his words spoken slow as if he’s still thinking on what he’s saying. “but i can assure you, my lady, i’m the farthest from that.”

though you’re not one to take such pretty words from a stranger, you manage to give him a smile, one that reaches your eyes, “thank you, my prince. we shall see in time.”

in time. jacaerys assumes this is a victory, an acceptance of his mother’s proposal to have you both wed. inside him, he’s ecstatic but nervous at the same time. he’s never been with a woman and by the seven, you were the prettiest maiden he had set his eyes upon. he didn’t want to mess this up for both his family and himself.

when you told your lord father that you liked jacaerys better than the other suitors, he had told the princess rhaenyra of your acceptance. in five months, you two would be wed at the first convenience.

during these five months, jacaerys had done everything he could to prove his point about being a good man. although you had spent only some time together, jace looked towards rhaena and baela about what a woman likes. even though they giggled at him and teased him, he would roll his eyes and play along with their taunts. he did discover that women like flowers. that’s when he sent a messenger to your home, along with a bouquet of flowers that he had hand picked by the shoreline of dragonstone.

he even flew on the back of vermax from dragonstone to your home, claiming he had left something that he needed, but in reality he just wanted to see you. when these rare but welcomed instances happened, he’d take you for a walk around your home or even go horseback riding with you. he’d do anything and everything you asked of him.

the pure devotion and kindness he had shown you during these five months of courtship were incandescently beautiful. you enjoyed this newfound relationship. he wasn’t like your father or like your brothers, but he treated you as his equal and often asked for your input on things, even if it didn’t need your input. he claimed that once you two were to be wed, you would be a princess, and as such benefiting of a princess (or rather, his princess), you’d have a say in the matters of his affairs. perhaps the young prince was right about himself.

the days passed rather quickly; days turned to weeks, weeks to months, then the time of your marriage had come. you and your family had set travel for dragonstone, where you’d marry the dragon prince.

dragonstone was a beautiful castle, tall walls towering over the waves that crashed against the rocks. it was also beautifully decorated with sigils of their house. you had noticed, when you entered the castle walls and begun to learn the layout of it, that there were banners flying where both your house digit and a dragon laid equal on a field.

the actual day of your marriage had come and every handmaiden was giving their attention to you. with hair done in an intricate fashion of braids and waves, the band of handmaidens had come to help you dress into your dress. it was breathtaking, without a doubt. with a cream base, the ends of your long dress had intricate beading of pearls. at your chest, a cage had been enclosed around the sigils of house targaryen and your own house. two that became one.

you had walked down the aisle with your father by your side and recited the words given to you by the maester. when the ceremony ends, the crowd begins to cheer and holler at your union. during your bedding ceremony (he had voiced his want of not having one, but due to the sensitivity of his parentage, his mother advised otherwise), he had been sweet and and gentle, often asking your permission before doing anything. any other time where you two would bed, he’d often do it at you behest and when you were comfortable to engage in the act with him.

a sweet and passionate lover who had more spunk than you could match, jacaerys velaryon was more of a giver than receiver, in all aspects. the act of sex, giving you gifts.. each day was a new day where jacaerys had strived to make you happy. he was creative, that was for sure.

after a night of lovemaking, you had laid upon his naked chest. with one arm wrapped around you and the other holding a book, he was reading out loud to you. you begin to draw shapes on to his chest, your mine deep in thought.

you assumed that this is what your father talked about after the passing of your mother. he often times had said that there was no one more radiant or beautiful than her, and that he always thought of her. he mentioned how, despite tradition, he had felt safe and comfortable in her arms. with each kiss they shared, it was like an everlasting fire that warmed his heart.

you started to notice that this was how you were feeling of late. utterly devoted and in love with your prince.

in between a paragraph, you decide to finally voice your affection, “i love you, jace.”

a sentence that hasn’t been uttered by you to him yet, the dragon prince feels himself still at your words. he turns his head slightly, placing a delicate kiss on your temple. you feel him smile through the kiss and can’t help but mimic his expression.

“i love you, my princess.”

#jacaerys velaryon imagine #jacaerys velaryon fic #jacaerys velaryon x reader #jacaerys velaryon fanfic #jacaerys velaryon #hotd imagine #hotd fanfic #hotd x reader #my writing

[harrywavycurly]

I just watched Saltburn and now i need to know how you’d write a conversation with Eddie and Reader as he’s watching it 😳😂👅

Hiii lovey!!! So as someone who loves this movie I will totally give you a conversation between Eddie and Resder as Eddie watches it for the first time!😂 I just know he’d be a changed man after seeing it🙈 so enjoy!!💖

-if you haven’t seen Saltburn and hate spoilers then don’t read this!!✨

“Why is this movie called Saltburn? Is it about getting too much sun?” “Just watch the movie Eddie…” “Damn Felix is fucking tall…Oliver is so…so tiny…is that a pierced eyebrow? I think I’d look good with one of those.” “An eyebrow ring? No…now shush I’m trying to concentrate on how tall Felix is…” “that dude is a dick…his cousin…friend dude..I don’t like him.” “Yeah he’s kinda annoying.” “Jesus I thought my home life was bad…Oliver’s life is just…sad.” “Eddie for the love of god just stop talking.” “The house is called Saltburn?? This movie is named after a…holy fucking shit that’s a castle.” “It’s nice.” “His mom reminds me of Miss Molly down the street.” “Because she talks a lot and agrees with whatever you say?” “Exactly….what…what’s he doing watching Felix in the bath….oh god why is he in the tub? What’s he-” “He’s doing exactly what you think he’s doing.” “He…he literally drank…his bath water that he…good lord baby why are we watching this?” “Just keep an open mind.” “Uhm why is Felix’s sister so-” “don’t you dare say a single bad word about Venetia.” “Sorry…what’s Oliver doing? Why is he…why did he say he’s a vampire?…holy fucking shit! What the fuck? He’s…he’s…yeah okay he’s doing that….whats this movie rated???” “As if you haven’t watched worse?” “God he’s out of control…oh that’s nice they’re gonna throw him a birthday party…” “yeah…” “what’s he doing with Felix’s cousin…what’s his name? Oh shit okay…okay yeah that’s…that’s…okay….” “Yeah…” “Felix talked to Oliver’s mom?….” “Just wait…” “Holy shit! Holy shit! His dad’s alive?? Oh no…oh no no no…Felix isn’t gonna be happy…oh yeah…he’s gotta die now…no fucking way Oliver is talking himself out of this…he’s gonna have to kill him.” “Felix is so tall…and pretty with his little wings.” “What’s with you and his height?” “What? He’s fucking massive you said so yourself.” “I’m getting bad vibe about this party…this isn’t gonna end well.” “We shall see…” “someone’s gonna die in this maze aren’t they?” “Shut up and watch.” “Who are they looking for? Felix? Oh god it’s because he’s dead…i fucking knew it! Oliver killed him! Call the cops it was the dude with the antlers!” “Eddie sit down.” “Who’s next on his list of murder? Is it Felix’s cousin friend?” “You’re so annoying.” “Wait wait…why…why is he taking his shit off…why is he getting naked at this gravesite…what the fuck…why are we watching this? Oh god…not his sister! She was so sad…and…and now she’s dead…” “it’ll be…uh..okay Eddie…” “you’re so full of shit…oh he’s getting kicked out! Good he is bad news for this family.” You can say that again…” “what the fuck are the odds he’s in the same cafe as Felix’s mom?…that’s a damn set up.” “Mhmmm…” “oh my fucking god! Baby! Baby she’s fucking dying??? What did he do to her?…shut the fuck up he took…her breathing tube…holy fucking shit.” “I know…” “he got the house…he got the fucking house?…oh my fucking flying shit sticks it was all a set up!!!!! What!!! He popped his tire?? No way!! I can’t…baby what did we just….why is he naked? He’s dancing…naked…around his house…” “yup…” “oh good we get to see a full frontal…nice…he has their stones? Jesus fucking Christ….I…who am I now? I feel different…” “told you it was good.” “I don’t know if it was good or just so disturbing that we have to just say it was good so we don’t feel weird.” “Felix is so tall.” “Yeah…you keep saying that…did you just sigh? Are you okay over there?” “I’m fine…totally fine.”

#eddie munson au #Eddie Munson conversations #Eddie extras #eddie munson request #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x fem!reader fluff #eddie munson concept #boyfriend!eddie munson #stranger things au #my little dungeon master baby #saltburn spoilers

[bibbityboppitybillyharvgrove]

Always There - Chapter Ten: S.Snape

Summary: Y/N Potter was left with a baby to care for after her brother and sister-in-law were murdered by Voldemort. One person was there for her, a person she didn’t expect but soon became her comfort person, Severus Snape. During Harry’s third year at Hogwarts and her third year as Herbology professor, a few old friends come around again. Y/N has to handle the feelings of these old friends being around again as well as handle her feelings for a certain potions master all while she tries to hide these things from her godson.

Series Masterlist

My full Masterlist

Pairings: Severus Snape x Female Professor Reader, Potter!Reader x friend!Remus, Sister!Reader x James Potter, Potter!Reader x Friend!Sirius

Chapter Warnings: Female Reader, Potter Reader(No physical description of reader) probably shitty writing, Harry growing up in a loving home, Happy Snape, sappy Snape, not proofread, death, mentions of sad Snape, Voldemort, death eaters

Series Warnings: Female Reader, Potter Reader (No physical description of reader) probably shitty writing, OOC Snape, Harry grows up in a loving environment, mentions of death and murder, poorly written angst, Remus is a shitty friend, poorly written pining,

Please let me know how I can improve my writing and being more inclusive to POC as I am whiter than white. Please also let me know if I have to add more to the warnings! My messages are open as well as my asks!

I am starting a taglist so leave either a comment or something in my asks if you would like to be tagged in any of my works or just this series!

Author's Note: I am going through a bit of a writers block at the moment so please bare with me. If anyone has any ideas they can give me I will gladly take some to see if I can get over this writers block.

Please let me know how I can improve or if you find any errors! Correct me, don't be afraid to! I want to improve my writing and become a better writer so any feedback or advise is welcomed!

Word Count: 1961

My asks are open for questions, suggestions and feedback!

Feedback is welcomed and encouraged!

Enjoy!

not my gif

not my gif

Y/N was still anxiously waiting, the sun had set and it had gotten dark and still, none of the Hogwarts champions had emerged from the maze. Finally after what seemed like forever, Harry and Cedric had returned, landing in the middle of the arena for everyone to see. She knew something was wrong right away so she went rushing down to her nephew who was holding Cedric and not letting anyone touch him.

“Harry, my love, what happened?” She asked her nephew softly, knowing if she spoke in a different tone he’d probably freak out. Dumbledore hovering over her shoulder to listen in. 

“He’s back, Voldemort is back! He killed Cedric!” Harry cried. Her heart stopped beating for a moment, she nearly collapsed at the news. “Cedric wanted me to take his body back, my parents were there helping me get away.”

With that, everything went black and her body slammed into the ground. Upon seeing this, Severus rushed over asking the headmaster what had happened and why Y/N had fainted. Once Albus told him the news, he nearly fainted himself, the gryffindor boy was merely a child yet he had to witness one of his classmates die right before him, he had to see his dead parents guide him into getting away from the dark lord. And Y/N had to listen to all of this happen to her nephew and there was nothing she was able to do, she wasn’t able to help her nephew and spare him from seeing such a sight. 

Severus understood that life wasn’t fair, however, he felt as if the remaining Potters had a worse life than anyone. Y/N had to see her brother and sister-in-law dead as she retrieved her nephew who had been attacked himself, she had all of her friends ripped away from her in a day, she had a child sprung on her when she needed someone the most and she felt like she had nobody until Severus came along. Harry had to grow up without parents or even a parental unit, he was raised as a legend even though the child had no recollection of what had happened to him as a mere 1 year old, he was targeted in some way every year since he started at Hogwarts, no matter what Y/N and Severus had tried to do he was still targeted, a boy of mere 14 having to witness a classmate die right before him and watch as the dark lord rose once more.

Y/N was rushed off to the hospital wing, Severus following after her, Moody taking Harry to his office to calm him. Severus was anxious until Poppy had told him that Y/N was going to be okay, her body was just overwhelmed as her adrenaline dropped quicker than it should have. As he sat at her bedside, he began to wonder why Moody had taken Harry to his office and not the hospital wing. He shot up out of his chair, running to his store, grabbing veritaserum and running to Moody’s office. Albus was already there questioning Moody and knew that the potions master had grabbed the truth serum.

After Severus handed the serum over, he grabbed Harry in a protective manner and pulled him as far away from ‘Moody’ as he could.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Severus questioned the boy, concern laced in his voice and visible on his face.

“I have a cut on my arm,” Harry replied, his voice seeming distant. Severus performed the healing charm on the boy’s arm before pulling him into a protective embrace. 

“I was so worried about you my boy, let’s go to the hospital wing, your aunt is there.” The two set off for the hospital wing, allowing Dumbledore and Minerva to deal with Barty Crouch Jr., as they approached, Madam Pomphrey immediately began fretting over the boy, insisting he go lay down on a bed and let her look him over. Harry was about to deny but with one look from his uncle, he backed down and followed the woman. She set him up on the bed next to his aunt, who was still unconscious. 

“She should be waking soon, I was able to give her a calming draught a little while ago, it should be kicking in any minute,” Pomphrey told Severus, noticing the worried look on his face. 

“Thank you, Poppy,” The man replied, sitting between the Potters and allowing the healer to do her work. As she was finishing her work up on Harry, Y/N began stirring in the bed to the left of him, making both their heads snap in her direction. Harry got out of bed and waited beside Severus, waiting for her to wake up. As her eyes fluttered open, she was met with the only two faces she cared about at the moment, her nephew and her partner.

“Sevvy, Harry! Are you boys okay?” She woke up worried about the pair even though they were sitting right next to her, physically okay.

“We should be asking you that question, love. How are you feeling?” Severus retorted, more worried about her than anything else, Poppy had already cleared Harry telling him that he was physically okay and would only have some bruising for a few days. 

“I’m tired, what happened? Did I pass out again?” Y/N asked.

“You did. You really need to stop passing out on me at the end of the school year, this is the second year in a row my love. You need to take better care of yourself,” He lectured.

“Harry, my love, are you okay? Come lay with me,” She brushed off Severus’ comment but took it into consideration seeing that he did have a point. It was the second year in a row where because she wasn’t taking care of herself she ended up passing out at the end of the last term. After suggesting to Harry to come lay with her, the boy did just that and laid beside his aunt who held him to her side tightly. She didn’t want to let go anytime soon and both of them knew that. They were her boys, no matter how old they were, they would always be her boys.

Severus excused himself to go talk to Albus, leaving the aunt and nephew alone in the hospital wing. It was here that Harry felt safe enough to tell her the events of the graveyard, who was there, where the cut had come from and seeing his parents for the first time since the Mirror of Erised. The pair talked about everything, Y/N trying her best to soothe her nephew's worries until they had fallen asleep. Harry being held protectively by his aunt and Y/N holding the boy who always had a special place in her heart, no matter what.

Harry continued to struggle and come to terms with witnessing Cedric’s death. He began to have nightmares every single night, repeating the events of the graveyard. It had gotten so bad that his aunt had taken to staying in his bedroom or he staying in her bedroom every night, so when a nightmare did happen, she was right beside him to help him come out of it. Severus had noticed the dark circles around their eyes, he had noticed that Y/N looked haunted and Harry had seemed dull. It was the first night Severus actually had the chance to stay with the Potter’s since the summer began, helping get the Order back up and running. The three of them having a good day together, Severus taking the pair out to lunch and then going to see a muggle movie after.

Once the trio had gotten back home, Harry put himself to bed, leaving Y/N and Severus up to finally have a chance to catch up. “Have you been sleeping?” Severus asked her bluntly.

“Of course I have, why do you ask?” She replied, confused as to why he asked the question.

“You just look so tired, like you haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a while.” And he had a point, she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a while. She was already having a hard time sleeping once the triwizard tournament had started, it only continued to get worse. 

“I’m fine, I promise, I took a sleeping draught the other night when I couldn’t sleep and you know how those affect me,” She lied to him.

“Don’t lie to me, I know you like the back of my own hand to just tell me what’s going on,” Severus pleaded. Before she could even say anything, Harry began screaming in his sleep. 

“No! Don’t kill him!” Harry wailed as Y/N and Severus rushed up to his room. She was the first one in and went straight to his bedside where she gently woke him. 

“Harry, you’re okay, you’re safe. It’s time to wake up my love. Wake up,” She repeated this mantra gently in his ear until the boy woke with a start. The second the boy’s eyes opened, he grabbed onto his aunt and cried into her shoulder. “It’s okay Harry, it’s okay.”

“He’s dead because of me. If Voldemort had just killed me, Cedric would still be alive,” Harry cried, his voice muffled by her shirt.

“Don’t you dare talk like that, Harry James Potter! You gave people hope in a time where the wizarding world was hopeless!” She scolded the boy.

“I wish I just died that night with my parents.”

“Please stop talking like that, you deserve the world Harry, you always have,” Y/N was on the verge of tears hearing this come from her nephew’s mouth. Severus touched her shoulder in a silent request to let him take over so she could calm herself down. She nodded, kissing her nephew on the head before leaving to go to her own bedroom. Severus sat with Harry and allowed the boy to tell him everything he was feeling. Once he had all of his feelings off his chest, Severus took over the conversation.

“I understand and know how you’re feeling but please don’t say stuff like that to your aunt. I want you to know that for these nightmares and these feelings, you come tell me, tell me everything that’s on your mind. I felt the things you are feeling now and I get it, and you can trust me when I say that these feelings will pass. You will be happy again, it takes time but you will get there,” Severus explained.

“Will it pass? How can you be so sure?”

“Because I watched people die before me too, I was in your position once, Harry. I saw your mother and father dead and I was upset for a long time. You and your aunt helped me get through that, I may still be a scary professor still but I’m happier now than I have ever been. That is thanks to you and your aunt, you two are responsible for making me happy.”

Harry had thrown his arms around Severus’ shoulders and hugged him tight. The man hugging the boy back just as tight. 

“Come on, your aunt is worried about you, let’s go lay with her.” Harry nodded, following his uncle into Y/N’s room where she was curled up on the bed, half asleep. She held out her arms to the pair and waited for them to join her in the bed. The two climbed in with her, Severus behind her and Harry in front of her. She fell asleep sandwiched between her boys, Harry being held tightly by his aunt and Y/N being held tightly by Severus.

taglist (if your user is crossed out it means I can't tag you)

@acupnoodle @chxelsxaa @fluffyrat365 @fanficwriter5 @atanukileaf @v3lv3tvampir3 @jspidey5 @mija-novella @leo4242564 @crazyunsexycool @livillain00

#best friend sirius #harry potter #james potter #james potter x sister!reader #moony #moony wormtail padfoot and prongs #padfoot #pro snape #professor snape #prongs #severus x reader #severus snape x reader #severus snape #pro severus #pro severus snape #snape #james & peter & remus & sirius #sirius black #remus lupin #harry potter fandom #hp marauders #maurauders #harry james potter #hp fanfic #harry potter fanfiction

[libbytwq]

wowie i did it! I drew sonic designs for if he were in each shatterverse!

Im very proud of them, they look so skrungly

Also this was a challenge for me, i just kinda made up their designs as i went along with no references and no premade color palettes

Heres the post where i first made the idea:

Anyway, closeups + character info below

(Keep in mind, these characters exist in a timeline where the prism was never shattered)

Renegade Blur, the Sonic of the New Yoke City Shatterverse

I took some design element inspo from Knucks, with the scars and the lil spine dent thingies

He is incredibly reckless and very loud and overconfident (his scars are from being reckless and stupid)

He is kinda similar to Chaos Sonic tbh

He stops at nothing to defeat his enemies, even when his body cant take another hit

He can be a lil bit overbearing, but when it counts, his heart is usually in the right place

He works with Rebel and Knucks, and sometimes they don't get along but they can trust Blur usually

Loves races and is a sore loser

He's also never met Nine, but if he were to meet Nine, he'd be able to get along with him, but would side with the Rebels and agree he can't always be trusted

Very violently aro/ace, he do his own thing and doesn't like the idea of being bogged down by another person he has to take care of

Quill, the Sonic of the Boscage Maze Shatterverse

Took some design inspo from Gnarly and Thorn, as well as the facepaint from Prim

He can be a lil nervous and underconfident, and doesnt know he can run fast (hes a lil bit klutzy - if he runs too fast he trips on something and falls over, so he doesnt run too fast typically)

He loves his friends! He hates getting abandoned

He typically hangs out with Prim, Gnarly, Hangry and Mangey above the forest, but he does hang out with Thorn occasionally below the treetops (the rest of the group has no idea)

Thorn scares him a lot. He is so afraid of her, but he sticks around cuz they do actually care about each other, but they refuse to admit it

Quill is usually the one that the group sends below the forest, cuz he is able to grab some food without immediately getting sent up by Thorn and Birdie

If Thorn ever catches him taking berries, Quill is usually able to explain himself, and Thorn usually lets him off the hook

Quill and Thorn like each other (shhhh dont tell anyone i said that, not even quill knows he likes her)

Mangey is one of his best buds! They get along so well and no one knows why

Has never heard of the idea of relationships, but he has these weird fuzzy feelings for Thorn that he cant identify, hm must be nothing

Sexuality? Whats that?

Aklesh, the Sonic of the No Place Shatterverse

This one was my fav to design. I took a lot of inspo from a lot of the No Place characters, and "Aklesh" is Sanskrit for "Swift Lord"

The shiny rings and accessories are the colors of his friends - Red for Dread, Yellow for Sails, Pink for Black Rose, and Purple for Batten

His bandana on his head is yellow to go along with how Sails's bandana is blue

He just loves vibing with his crew, he gets along well with everybody - Sails and Dread are his besties tho

He's perfectly fine with being lazy and not doing anything everyday, but when the time calls, he's more than happy to be a swashbuckling pirate

Surprisingly, he is not afraid of water

He loves his colorful shiny accessories and is a bit of a collector

The peacemaker of the group, he settles disputes and suggests that the answer isn't through violence - but if the answer is to use violence, like if another pirate ship raids them, he won't stop fighting until he is victorious

Kind of unofficially unspokenly the second in command to Dread

Raging pansexual. Kind of a slut, with how he keeps his shirt half open /j

Aklesh thinks Dread is very very neat (and they were crewmates wink wink). Dread has no clue

ok thats all i needed to say, hope ya like it

#clip studio paint pro #digital art #my art #sonic prime #sonic au #sonic oc #blur the hedgehog #quill the hedgehog #aklesh the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog

[respectthepetty]

15 Questions

Tagged by @italianpersonwithashippersheart and @pandasmagorica

1. are you named after anyone?

Yes. First name is after my cousin's imaginary friend because my parents were wild. Middle name is after the song I was conceived to because my parents were really wild.

2. when was the last time you cried?

Externally? I joke that I haven't cried since 2009, but I really think that is the last time I cried. Internally? Every single fucking day.

3. do you have kids?

Oh, Lord, no.

4. what sports do you play/have you played?

Basketball, volleyball (horrible at it), fast-pitch softball, but I love watching all live sports.

5. do you use sarcasm?

Strange story, but many educators have to get "empathy training" because we do not understand declarations of self-harm to be serious. We think they are sarcastic comments. I think as an aging millennial, sarcasm is all we have, so we do not recognize when someone else is being serious. So . . . yes, I use sarcasm.

6. what’s the first thing you notice about people?

Vibes. I travel alone, so if the vibe ain't right, I'm out.

7. what’s your eye color?

Very dark brown

8. scary movies or happy endings?

Happy Endings. Both kind. *wink*

9. any talents?

Navigation and directions. Stick me anywhere, and I will find my way to where I need to go. Metro, bus, interstate, walking. Doesn't matter. I will figure it out. Also driving. I can drive loooong distances and any vehicle is my friend, which is why I got a ticket on the autobahn because I was just vibin' in the Audi at 150 km.

10. where were you born?

Japan

11. what are your hobbies

Traveling, especially for live music. I've seen hundreds of artists individually and have been to almost fifty music festivals. Some of my favorites are Austin City Limits (Austin), Electric Daisy Carnival (Las Vegas), Lollapalooza (Chicago), Country Music Awards Fest (Nashville), Osheaga (Montreal), Ultra (Miami), Primavera (Barcelona), Mad Cool (Madrid), and Pa'l Norte (Monterrey, México). Some of my favorite venues are Meow Wolf (Santa Fe), Red Rocks (Denver), and Fenway Park (Boston), and I had a ticket to see a concert at the Palace of Versailles in France for May 2020, then everything went to hell in a hand basket. But strangely, I saw Bad Bunny, Big Freedia, and French DJ Gesaffelstein in 2020.

I could talk for hours about music, but I'll stop with this picture (not mine because none I took came out good) of Gesaffelstein who dresses like this for his shows with an all black background and all black equipment. Ah-maze-zing.

12. do you have any pets?

Oh, God, no. I'm a Disney villain. I don't mess with animals. Or plants.

13. how tall are you?

5'9" (This is a good country song too)

14. favorite subject in school?

Languages & Literature, which is why I teach English now.

15. dream job

What I'm doing now. Teaching. Except I would like to grade less than ~150 essays every month, but education is a mess right now, so y'all be nice to your professors.

#fifteen questions #tag game #I hate tagging people #so if you see this‚ consider yourself tagged

[triplesilverstar]

Day 2

Rating: Explicit 18+ Minors DNI

Pairing: Vampire Knives X F!Reader

CW: Dub con, serious dub-con, Smut, angst and smut, mentions of breeding, blood, injury, Physical abuse, blood-sucking, penis in vaginal sex, Kidnapping

Word count: 2081

A/N: Day 2, this one is a two part fic. Enjoy some Vampire Knives and a cameo appearance of Legato. Still the faithful servant.

Taking a deep breath as you wake up in the morning running a hand through your hair before putting it up and out of your face and getting dressed. Fingers sore from all the cleaning of the household the last few days, all in preparation for some kind of lord or count coming to visit. 

You don’t mind hard work, you were born into a household as a servant, and from an early age, you were cleaning. Once you were old enough you were moved from the kitchen into the direct employ of the lord’s only daughter. 

Employ makes it sound nice, really you’re the young lady’s beating girl. You wait on her hand and foot and when she gets into trouble you’re the one taking the belt for her. 

At least now with her at sixteen, she’s at the age to be married off, and you just hope you aren’t made to follow her as part of her dowry. Fingers crossed that all the cleaning over the last few days will make the right impression on the visiting lord who is apparently looking for a wife. At least that’s the word you’ve heard from the kitchen girls. Dressed just before dawn you make your way to your young mistress's bedroom to start preparing for the day. 

Hours later your hands carefully folded as the young lady stomped her foot impatiently. “I said I wanted the red bow!”

“My lady. Your father has requested you wear the blue dress and matching bow, don’t you want to make your father happy?” 

“I don’t care what my father wants! I want the red bow.” Sighing internally you do as your young mistress commands, aware that later you’ll be in for a beating. 

By evening just after the sun has set, you hear the clamor in the hallway as the visiting lord enters keeping your gaze straight ahead from your position in the serving room. Tea is prepared to welcome him while the young mistress waits for him. Her father, and who you can only assume is the visiting lord enters, his voice cultured, and even as he explains the delay in his arrival some sort of mishap on the road. It sends a chill down your spine as he seems to dominate the room with his presence. 

While you keep your gaze forward you don’t miss his appearance, he’s tall and broad with a handsome face and cool eyes. A small mole on the left side of his face just beneath his eye. Something about those eyes catches your attention, making your heart freeze in your chest. Something unnatural. 

Serving the tea when called upon, Lord Millions, the visiting lord, makes a comment regarding your steady hands which your mistress makes a backhand comment about. 

That evening you feel the sting of leather across your back because of the red bow, told it will be your fault if there isn’t a proposal for marriage before the young lord departs. As you leave wincing, Lord Millions butler Legato sees you slip away back covered in bruises and lacerations towards the servant's quarters. 

The next three days pass in a similar manner, and that evening after your beating you hide in the hedge maze trying to stem the fine lacerations on your back. You can’t have your clothes stained with your blood. 

A noise in the hedge makes you freeze, mortification flooding you as Lord Millions turns into the dead end you’d hidden yourself away in. A single pale eyebrow rose in surprise. “My apologies, I assumed everyone was inside for the night.” 

Turning your face to the ground and trying to make yourself smaller “You owe me no apologies m’lord. I shouldn’t be here.” Jumping as you feel smooth fingers run under your chin, forcing your gaze upwards and meeting his own cool teal eyes. 

“You appear to be injured.” His voice is soft almost as if laced with concern. 

“Injuries resulting from my own faults M’lord. Nothing someone of your standing should be concerned with.” You want to hide more, people of his status shouldn’t care about people like you. 

A tsk from him, a noise of annoyance and you thought you saw a flash of red in his eyes. “More like faults of your young charge, spoilt brat that she is.” Using the hold on your chin he looks over your face, tilting your head this way and that before looking over your back, and you miss the way he licks his lips. 

“Tis not my place to say, m’lord.” Which is the truth, servants do not speak ill of their betters. 

“Regardless, you should not be burdened by such treatment.” Jumping once more as his breath washes over the skin of your face, catching his eyes once more you feel something take over, like a mist clouding your mind. “Upon my arrival, you appear to be the only person of note at this estate. I think I’d like to have a sample of you.”

His voice is so soothing and you feel like you’re floating away, you should be surprised when his lips catch yours. You know what kissing is, had done it with one of the stable boys but this feels so much better than fumbling around in the dark, as his lips move against yours. One of your hands raises to touch the back of his head and you moan as your fingers come into contact with the soft texture of his blond locks.

A moan that Lord Millions is quick to take advantage of, plundering your mouth with his tongue making you moan even more. Your body responds to his actions as you feel a dampness from the lower regions of your body. 

The haziness in your mind continues as you feel one of Lord Millions hands glide down your side and to the front of your skirt, slowly lifting the fabric and touching the hem of your undergarments, pushing them down to touch the bare skin. 

“Tell me little maid” whispered against your mouth when he pulled away from you. “Have you ever lain with a man before?”

You see no reason to lie to him “No M’lord.” All you have done is kiss boys who said you were pretty, you knew if one of those boys or any of the men working the estate touched you you’d be thrown out before you had time to defend yourself. 

“Knives” trailing his nose along your cheekbone as his hand slides between the folds between your legs. “Call me Knives. Tonight you are going to feel a man for the first time then. I think I’ll quite enjoy it.” You can hear the purr in his voice, he’s happy about something but you have no idea what it could be. 

He’s back to kissing you and the world falls away to nothing but the sensation of his plush lips as they work against yours with a bruising intensity. The scent of the woods and copper filled your nose, tasting the heady flavor of what could only be the wine that had been served with dinner on his tongue. 

Gasping as you feel something prodding the opening between your legs, Knives’s hands moving downwards grabbing your hips and lifting you with a strength you couldn’t have known a noble to be capable of. The wiry branches of the hedge pressing into your back causes you to hiss from the pain lacing through you, already tender from your ‘punishments’ earlier. 

“Wrap your legs around mine” While his voice is low you know a command when you hear one, it’s most of what you’ve heard your entire life. Doing just that you hear a hum of satisfaction, biting your lip to keep from crying out as he loosens his hold on your hips and he slides deep inside of your core. “Good girl, you take my cock so well, like you were made for me to pleasure myself with you.” 

Biting your lip as he pumps in and out of your body, a burning forming in your core and you feel so relaxed in his arms certain your body is on fire with the moisture you feel forming under your hair. Yet when you look at Knives it seems to be having no difficulty at all, just lazily moving his length inside your body as if he has all the time in the world. 

“It has been a while for me and I think I’ll enjoy watching you squirm as I fill you up.” What. No. Through your haze you know that’s a terrible idea.

“Please M’lord, you might put a bastard in my belly.” He starts to thrust harder, making your body shudders in his tight hold as he fucks you chasing his pleasure, a side effect being your own building from his actions. 

A low chuckle from him, and in the pale light of the moon you notice his gleaming white teeth. Fangs. He has fangs. “Something else might decide if a bastard goes in your belly or not.” A single hard deep thrust and you feel a warmth spreading inside your body, a feeling you don’t get to dwell on as his teeth sink into your neck and pleasure racks your system. 

You can barely feel anything hands sliding from Lord Millions' shoulders, you didn’t even know you had placed them there. You do however hear the working of his throat, drinking you down, the wet popping slurp as his mouth removes itself from your skin. 

“Legato” another command and you wonder why he’s calling for his butler, vision blurry you can make out his form as Lord Millions removes his softening cock from your body and places you on the ground.

“Yes, Master?” 

“Take her back to the castle, I want the first stud used. She’s the best-tasting human I’ve had in a century. I fully expect her with a child upon my return and the rest of her unharmed. I have plans for my newest broodmare.” You have no idea what any of that means, as you’re thrown over Legato’s shoulder, passing out from the blood loss. 

The next day the household is in an uproar not that you’ll ever know, Knives is sitting in the closed-off dining room. An excuse about the light bothering his eyes to ensure he doesn’t have to walk in the beaming rays of the day.

“Once I find that little bitch I’ll have her skinned alive, my apologies for the delay in my daughter joining us Lord Millions.” The uproar is because you’re missing, household chores have not been completed and the brat of this lord has been screaming about how it’s your fault that she isn’t ready. 

Knives for his part just smiles behind his teacup, never enough to reveal his teeth to the overweight Lord. Knives knew the aristocrats he used to trick into sending their daughters to his home to serve as brood mares for his stock were becoming fat and lazy. He likes his meals to have flavor and in the last century, all he seemed to come across was spoilt meat. You had been a welcome surprise last night, the bit of blood he had drained from you like a seven-course meal flooding his palate. 

As the day passed and the brat still wasn’t ready Knives finally spoke out directly as the Lord of the house kept blaming you for the failings of his daughter. "Perhaps she has left to a place that will treat her with respect. Your daughter certainly didn't nor did you. If you mistreat servants they will leave for greener pastures."

“How dare you!” The fat Lord you had once served was red in the face, sneering at his guest. 

“I dare since I had come to glean if your daughter would make a suitable bride, clearly she will not. I treat my servants in such a way as to retain them and their loyalty. I shall depart from this failing home this evening. No need to see me off.” Knives hummed happily to himself as he departed in his carriage, the thick drapes keeping the sun from reaching him. 

Licking his lips in anticipation of his return home after the last few households were visited, appearances of the Lord Millions ninth generation looking for a spouse needed to be maintained. Otherwise, in another three decades, he might have a harder time masquerading as the tenth generation looking for a young bride. 

Dividers

Back to List

#trigun smut #Millions Knives X Reader Smut #trigun #millions knives x reader #31 Days of Monsters #millions knives #trimax #tristamp

[quaintbuilds]

Hogwarts 12 - The Greenhouses

The last part of Hogwarts Castle is now complete. This area of the build is where I have done the most changes because I find the canon version of this area just so bland and square. This is supposed to be where all the magical plants are kept, it should be one of the most whimsical parts of the castle. (I know it's in Scotland, but c'mon, it's magic) So I made it more whimsical, after a lot of trial and error, and changes in planning which you can catch glimpses of in previous posts. Also, a mini rant: the big bell towers with their huge door make it seem like this is a main entrance to the castle, but it isn't, which I always found weird. Like what is going on with that gatehouse bit next to this? What is the entire point of this side of the castle?

The main aesthetic of the greenhouses was inspired by Victorian era botanical gardens, which I thinks make sense because that era would probably be around the time that Hogwarts would make their greenhouses. The greenhouses themselves have no interiors and probably never will, just like most of the castle, but I am very happy with the rest of the area. There are plenty of places for students to sit and admire the plants, lots of different trees and flowers, and a hedge maze. The four copper pillars around the fountain are meant to be statues of the four founders, but ya know... it's Minecraft.

And that is pretty much it for this project. The only big update posts I can make after this are Hagrid's Hut and the forest, and the quidditch pitch. I would like to make both of those but the forest is a huge undertaking that will involve lots of world edit, and the quidditch pitch is kinda a boring build. I will probably take a step back from this project and work on some other things for a bit. I've been thinking of doing a Lord of the Rings build for a while and feel like Helm's Deep would scratch that itch. And lastly, thank you all for the likes and comments you have left, I do appreciate it.

#minecraft #minecraft creative #minecraft build #minecraft mizunos #minecraft aesthetic #mizunos 16 craft #mineblr #minecraft castle #harry potter #hogwarts aesthetic #hogwarts castle #hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry #harry potter hogwarts game #wizarding world #slytherin #gryffindor #hp fandom #ravenclaw

[avacoleman]

when the lights go out || a firstprince fic

summary: Henry Fox’s career is in crisis and his dating life isn’t faring much better either.  After a chance encounter with a charming man becomes memorable for all the wrong reasons, Henry throws himself into his next assignment: writing the memoir of a beloved C-list actor. Henry, however, knows Alex best for the role he played as his random, awkward one-night stand. Henry enters their professional partnership keen on keeping their relationship just that. But after Henry confesses that their hookup was less than spectacular, Alex concots an arrangement that Henry is unable to resist. In addition to ghostwriting Alex’s life story, Henry will teach him a thing or two about satisfying a man.  As they spend months out on the road together, they must decide if the connection between them is yet another story worth telling.

chapter 2/8 || rated e || read on ao3 *updates every tues. and fri. *

Portland, OR Rose City Comic Con Day 1 [Unknown number] hey, i hope you’ve made it safely [Unknown number] in case it wasn’t clear, this is alex. i’ll catch you later. maybe we can grab a bite or something after today’s panel? Henry saves Alex’s number and confirms that yes, he’s arrived in one piece and would be happy to join Alex after the event. All of this is still wrapped in impossibility for Henry. Even though he’d been fully briefed on the tour and signed his contract, the fact that he’s now embarking on a multi-city tour with Alex hasn’t sunk in yet. The six and a half hour long flight didn’t do much to lessen the surrealness and now that he’s here at the venue, Henry doesn’t see an end in sight to the feeling. The convention center is, in a word, daunting. For as much as Henry loves Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, he can’t say his appreciation for the franchises has ever been this devout or even close to it. All around him people are decked out in elaborate, truly remarkable costumes. Some are easy to ID like Doctor Who and Marvel characters. But others are so obscure that Henry can’t even hazard a guess. It’s overwhelming but also kind of intriguing too, seeing people be wholly themselves and embrace the things they love. He forces himself to focus up as he grabs a directory map of the convention’s floor plan for reference before going up to one of the booths for his credentials. With his badge secured, he looks at the map again and makes his way over to where Alex’s panel is being held in one of the larger rooms. It takes him some time to find it; the convention center is practically a maze. But he spots a blowup outside the door clearly marking the panel, Supernatural in the Mainstream. By the time he gets inside, the room is packed and the excited chatter is practically tangible. 

Henry spots a few Crescent Valley fans in t-shirts referencing the show. Admittedly Henry still hasn’t started the series, but before he hopped his flight out of JFK, Pez spent the vast majority of their last few days together giving Henry a pretty substantial rundown of the essentials, including some cast trivia. Most notable from the recap was learning that Alex had dated one of his co-stars, Nora Holleran, during season two. Henry decided it was none of his business– only after doing a Google search on her.

Even with the knowledge that the show resonated with so many people while it aired, it’s strange to reconcile it with the fact that the guy he met on a whim at a bar is part of such a cultural force.

After a few moments, a woman takes to the stage, introducing herself as the moderator. The audience is ravenous as she introduces the panelists and Henry almost goes deaf from the screams Alex earns when his name is called.

Henry studies Alex as he crosses the stage, waving to fans and putting a hand to his heart in appreciation for the warm reception. The large monitors on either side of the stage zoom in on his face and the sincere gratitude Alex feels is plain as day in his eyes.

“Alright, let’s get started, shall we?” the moderator says to kick things off.

Alex in his element during the panel, magnetic really. Even though he’s one of four panelists, it’s so clear to see how he effortlessly draws people in. 

Henry takes out his notebook, hoping to glean something in any of Alex’s responses to the questions directed at him that can be a kernel of an idea they can turn into the core of this book.

He can’t shake Alex’s words during their lunch with Zahra, the way it seemed that Alex sincerely wanted his book to be about something real. 

Vanity cash grab celeb autobiographies were a dime a dozen. Henry figured for people who lived so heavily in the spotlight, it probably felt like the natural progression of things. But with Alex and his team being so adamant in their search, scouring through profiles in hopes of finding the right person to pen Alex’s story, he had to believe this book would actually stand for something other than more dollars in their pockets.

There isn’t much that Henry is able to take away for research other than noting the way people gravitate towards Alex. More than once, he’d actually seen people in the audience quite literally shift to the edge of their seats as he spoke.

When the panel is over, Henry fights against the current of attendees to make his way backstage. He presents his badge to the man at the entrance who gives it a once-over before deeming it to be authentic and ushering Henry through the curtain.

Alex is easy to spot, holding court just as he’d done on stage before, this time with a small audience of just the moderator and his fellow panelists. He’s got a water bottle in his hands, preparing to take a sip when he catches sight of Henry instantly and politely excuses himself from the group.

“You survived day one. How’d you like it?” he asks.

“Your world is very different from mine, but it’s pretty cool,” Henry admits.

“Good, I'm glad to hear it.”

There’s a lull as Alex looks him over and Henry suddenly feels oddly self-conscious and small. Seeing this side of Alex, the sheer star power, is a bit overwhelming.

“You're done for the day, right? I took another look at the itinerary this morning. You’ve got the signing tomorrow, yes?”

Alex nods. “Yeah, I’m all yours starting now.” The man’s face instantly flushes. “You know what I mean.”

Henry offers up a smile that feels more like a white flag. 

“We should head out,” Alex says.

He moves away and heads back to the others in the room, making his parting remarks before touching Henry’s elbow and guiding him to a set of double doors he hadn’t initially noticed when he entered. Henry is treated to a glimpse of the convention center’s underbelly, the private exit that leads them to a secluded area outside on the street level.

Henry is sure it’s probably all in his mind, but now that it’s back to just him and Alex, away from the adoring fans and bright lights of a main stage, the man standing before him now is someone else entirely again. Henry wonders if he’ll ever be able to wrap his head around the two versions of Alex that exist in this world.

“There’s a park not too far from here. Do you want to walk around for a bit?” Alex asks.

It’s a random ask but Henry is glad for it. He’s not sure what to do with himself as they try and find their rhythm around each other.

They make it to the park a few minutes later and walk alongside the edge of a small pond.

Henry turns to attempt starting a conversation and it seems as if Alex had the same thought too; they bump arms immediately and both rush to apologize.

Henry sighs and stops walking.

“I have to ask. Are you still sure about this?” 

Alex’s eyebrows furrow. 

“What do you mean? This walk?”

Henry crosses his arms and gives him a dry look.

“Ah. You being on this project then,” Alex says.

Henry nods. 

Alex looks at him. “Of course I am. I won’t lie, it is a bit of a mindfuck when I stop and really consider it. I’m still trying to figure out how to be around you. But my opinion on your work? My decision to collaborate with you? That hasn’t changed. Not one bit. So, yeah, we had a good night. Great conversation and even better sex,” he muses. “But I can forget it if you can.”

Henry snorts out a laugh in surprise that he quickly tries in vain to cover up as a sneeze. Alex, rightfully, doesn’t buy it though Henry wishes desperately that he would. He hates the way Alex’s face falls. 

“Are you…do you mean you didn’t enjoy it? That I wasn’t…,” Alex trails off.

Henry’s basic functions betray him and his mouth merely opens and closes like a landlocked fish struggling for breath.

In the end, no response is an answer within itself and Henry watches the varying degrees of what can only be described as horror play out across Alex’s face.

Goodbye tour, goodbye contract, Henry thinks. All gone before it even truly got started.

For a man that writes for a living, Henry falls short on what to say. How could he possibly salvage this now?

“I…it…,” he flounders. 

Bang up job, Henry, he internally chides.

“Oh, my god. Oh, my fucking god,” Alex whispers to himself. “Crap, that’s why you snuck out then, isn’t it?”

Henry winces. While that is an astute, wholly accurate description of what he did last week, hearing it so plainly — and from Alex’s lips no less— just makes it sound that much harsher.

“Maybe it was just an off night. It happens sometimes. But look, we don’t have to talk about it. Like you said, we can both forget it ever happened. Today can be our official day one.”

Alex shakes his head, refusing to let it go.

“No. What didn’t you like about it?”

“Alex, come on. Seriously. We don’t have to get into it.”

Alex takes a step closer.

“Please? I want to know what I did wrong.”

Henry frowns.

“That’s harsh; don’t frame it like that. Just think of it as…areas of improvement.”

Alex crosses his arms. “That isn’t much better, but I guess you’re right.” Alex pauses. “Okay then, what do I need to work on?”

Henry groans and looks up at the sky.

“I…how is this happening right now?” Henry mutters to himself, rubbing his forehead and turning his eyes to the water.

He gets a wild fantasy of jumping into the pond and hiding in its depths to avoid this conversation. Could he hold his breath long enough to wait Alex out? He’d be willing to test that hypothesis if it meant even five seconds away from this talk.

When he looks back at Alex, the man’s eyes are unwavering and Henry’s instantly transported to the night in question. To how wide eyed and earnest Alex had been after they had sex and he checked in. It makes something in his chest crack a little, enough to put a hole in the wall he hoped to build around the truth.

“Well, the handjob was a bit…rigid. And when you were working to open me up, that felt a touch awkward. And then when you were actually inside me, it was rushed and uh, a tad repetitive. You were enthusiastic, which was nice, but I couldn’t quite mirror that.”

He hopes his answer is diplomatic, but he knows there’s simply no easy way to say any of this. 

Alex’s brows knit together deeply and it feels like a lifetime before he speaks again.

“So…sex. You’re telling me I’m just straight up bad at sex as a whole?”

Henry groans and slaps the palm of his hand against his forehead.

“Like I said, it could have been an off night. We were drinking, we were both overexcited. The room was cursed or perhaps I really was, remember? There’s a lot at play here.”

Alex is quiet again, too quiet for Henry’s likings. Henry awkwardly scratches the side of his nose and rocks slightly on the balls of his feet as Alex stares off at nothing before turning his gaze back on Henry.

“I’ll take this into consideration. Thank you, Henry. I appreciate your honesty.”

It’s clinical and closed off and Henry wishes he could take back the last few minutes. But the truth is out there, the ball squarely in Alex’s court and Henry can’t help the sinking feeling that he’s about to lose it all.

~*~*~

Rose City Con

Day 2

Much like yesterday, Alex continues to be incredible with fans. It’s only a signing today, but Alex’s energy is on one hundred for each and every person that comes his way. He poses for pictures and makes good conversation with fans. He asks them questions, learns a bit about each of them. It’s clear to see the knack he has for making everyone feel like they’re having a unique, truly personal interaction with him.

Several people come up to him already in tears and overwhelmed, but Alex doesn’t seem fazed by it at all. Henry is impressed with the way Alex puts them all at ease in no time, cracking jokes as he signs merch.

Henry has no clue how Alex manages to keep his enthusiasm going for hundreds of people. The fact that this is only the first city makes his head spin. He’s not even the one engaging with people and yet Henry feels exhausted merely watching Alex in action.

Henry barely managed to sleep last night. Each time he closed his eyes, he was brought right back to the water’s edge with Alex, replaying every painstaking moment of their conversation. 

There was no time to talk about it this morning. The last thing Henry wanted to do was throw a wrench in Alex’s day when he had this signing scheduled.

Looking at Alex now, it makes Henry commend actors for their ability to truly compartmentalize and put their focus where it needs to be.

Once the signing wraps and the final Crescent Valley fan is off with a bag full of newly inked merch, Henry sees the first crack in Alex’s mask. His shoulders sag a little and he rolls his neck from side to side before standing.

He hops down from the slightly raised platform he was seated on. Henry walks towards him without really thinking about it.

“Are you heading back to the hotel now?” Alex asks.

Henry cocks his head to the side, adjusting the strap of his bag.

“I was going to…unless, do you have something else you need me to shadow you on?”

Alex shakes his head.

“No. I was hoping we could talk.” 

Henry looks around. There are still some stragglers from other signing lines though they’re out of earshot.

“We can go back together,” Alex says decidedly. 

They take a car service back to their hotel and Henry is all too relieved once they’re outside again. The ride over was silent and heavy with the weight of whatever Alex wanted to say but couldn’t in the moment.

All that free time merely left Henry with a thirty minute window to dream up scenarios of what Alex wanted to discuss. Every single one of them ended in him being fired and pulled from the tour.

“Can we go to your room?” Alex asks.

Henry nods stiffly. He figures maybe it’s for the best. At least he’d be able to pack his things immediately after Alex chewed him out and sent him on his merry way back across the country to New York.

For now, three thousand miles don’t separate them, merely three feet as they head up the elevator. 

A feeling of déjà vu sweeps through Henry, but this evening couldn’t be any more different than the night they met. Instead of crowding each other’s space and making out, they keep enough distance that their clothes don’t even come close enough to touching, never mind any other parts of them.

Henry lets them into his room and pockets his keycard as he steps inside. The door slamming shut behind Alex sounds ominous though Henry fully recognizes that’s probably his irrational brain conjuring the sense of foreboding.

“So…you wanted to talk,” he says, toeing off his shoes and setting them neatly along the wall. The sooner they got this over with, the better.

Alex nods, crossing his arms against his chest, his hands holding firm to his biceps. The positioning makes him look so small suddenly, vulnerable even. It’s such a sharp contrast to the energy Alex had with fans not too long ago. 

The enigma of Alex Claremont-Diaz continued to baffle him.

“After we spoke yesterday, I took some time to think about everything. I decided to do some research,” Alex says. “I went back to past partners to see if they shared your point of view.”

This isn’t at all where Henry thought this conversation was going. All the same, he plays along, still bracing for the worst. This could all well be a roundabout way of him getting the axe.

“And what were the results of your findings?” he asks.

“They were inconclusive. They all said they never faked it with me which got me thinking again. There’s a factor to consider here that varies from the others.”

Henry's confusion must register on his face because Alex sighs and rubs his face.

“I’ve recently…uncovered something about myself that probably should have been super obvious to me. But hey, you know what they say about hindsight.” 

Alex groans in frustration at himself.

“Can you, like, just face the wall or something? I’d really rather not have to look at you when I say what I’m about to.” 

“Your ridiculousness truly knows no bounds, does it?” Henry huffs but Alex quickly levels him with a glare.

Henry holds his hands up in defense, knowing a lost cause when he sees one.

“Fine, fine,” he says, turning away. 

He can see Alex in the reflection of the TV screen and a part of him feels guilty for not owning up to this fact when sees the tension in the man’s shoulders and watches as Alex shakes his hands as if warding something off.

“My past partners were all women. It’s come to my attention in recent weeks that I’m bi and the night we hooked up…that may or may not have been the first time I had sex with a guy. So maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t stellar at it for what I think is a pretty valid reason when you think about it.”

Henry turns back so suddenly the soles of his clothed feet scrape against the carpet. He’ll think of the rugburn later, but for now, there are bigger things to focus on.

“Alex,” he says, unsure of where to even go next. His mind is racing so quickly, it’s hard to make sense of anything right now, not with Alex’s confession laying bare before him. 

“Your shoulders barely even fit through doorways so I don’t want your head getting big too,” Alex quips, “but…I wanted to be with you that night. It felt like nothing else really mattered to me except getting into bed with you because we really vibed and I wanted to see where it could go. And I know that sounds totally lame and cheesy and probably pathetic as hell or whatever, but it’s true.”

Alex rolls his eyes at himself, stuffing his hands in the back pockets of his jeans.

“This doesn’t have to be a big deal. Hell, it doesn’t even have to be a thing, period.”

“Alex,” Henry says again. This time, something in his voice must stand out because the other man finally stops talking and looks directly at him.

Henry holds his gaze for a moment, needing his words to ring clear.

“It should be a thing because it is in fact a big deal, contrary to what you might think of the matter. Coming into your sexuality, it can be a lot mentally and emotionally. Add in making physical strides…you took a major step that night. That sort of thing isn’t easy to do.”

Alex huffs out a terse laugh.

“It was a swing and a miss.”

“I’ll pretend that’s a cricket reference instead of the tragic baseball one I’m sure it was intended to be.”

Alex’s lips quirk into a reluctant smile just as Henry was hoping it would.

“The only cricket I’ll acknowledge is Jiminy,” he says.

Henry laughs. “I’ll allow that inane response. We’ve got more important things to discuss.”

Alex sighs and takes a seat at the edge of the bed, his head lobbing back as he looks up at the ceiling. All it does is expose his smooth neck and Henry looks away before the sight gets the better of him.

He follows Alex over and sits beside him, his hands resting on the comforter on either side of him. Alex doesn’t rush to speak which Henry grows a little concerned with. Alex is hardly ever quiet or still. Seeing him like this now, Henry can practically hear the whirlwind of rushing thoughts. 

“I should hope that by now, you know you can be honest with me. That’s quite literally what I’m here for. Whatever’s on your chest, you can say and it’d be completely safe. Let your conscience be your guide and all that.”

“God, I hate you,” Alex says, but there’s no bite to his words, especially as he smiles softly and rests his head against Henry’s shoulder.

“Thanks for being so cool about this. Part of me is still not entirely convinced I won’t be struck dead from embarrassment later but, if I had to get news like this from anyone…I sure as shit am glad it was you.”

“You’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about. This just explains a lot. I’m sure you’ll only get better from here on out, now that you know.”

Alex sits up and snorts a laugh.

“And how many guys will I have to fuck until I get it just right?”

“Is that a riddle? A rhetorical question? Some kind of demented R-rated Goldilocks reference?”

“I’m genuinely asking here,” Alex says sincerely, enough to get Henry to quiet down. “What if I never figure it out and I’m just this trash partner for dudes going forward? How many is standard for it to, you know, click?”

Henry smiles sympathetically. “I can’t answer that for you.” Alex frowns, but Henry continues. “It could be ten or it could be as little as one. It’s different for everybody. You just need to get more comfortable with it.”

Alex’s brows furrow, his lips pinching slightly before he looks away. It’s almost an identical look to his expression that night when he was taking his time in touching Henry for the first time.

“What are you thinking?” Henry asks now, unlike that night. They’re well past that stage of being tentative.

Alex opens and closes his mouth before shaking his head.

“Nothing. It’s nothing,” he says, getting up from the bed and running a hand through his curls.

Henry rises to his feet too as Alex turns back to him and speaks suddenly.

“I’m hungry. You hungry? What do we think the room service situation is like here, hmm? I’m guessing high volumes of quinoa and other rabbit foods. A damn shame. I weep in Texas barbecue. Fuck, what I wouldn’t give for some good barbacoa right now,” he prattles on as he tries to sidestep Henry.

Henry gently catches hold of his arm and stops him in his tracks. Alex sighs defeatedly and looks up at him.

“Maybe we’ll get to a point where I’ll be able to read your mind, but until then, I’d really like to know what you’re thinking,” Henry says. “Please.”

Alex sighs again. “Well, when you ask so nicely.”

Henry lets go of him then and holds his gaze. The stalemate ends as Alex collects his thoughts and courage.

“I was thinking, maybe you’re onto something with that whole ‘one person’ thing. Like…I don’t know, maybe that one person could be you? You could, maybe, teach me. Show me the ropes. Or at the very least, explain how I could be better. You know, give me pointers and stuff…if you’d even go for that.”

Henry’s jaw drops slightly, his blood rushing and pounding in his ears. For all his ribbing and joking before, Henry can tell Alex is completely serious now.

“You know, I can’t read your mind either, right? You’re gonna have to say something. Ideally right this second because if I thought I was out on a limb before, I’m freefalling right now and spiraling is not cool or sexy,” Alex says.

Henry blinks twice, letting Alex’s words fully sink in.

“Wait…you’d want to…with me again?”

Alex rolls his eyes and throws his hands up.

“I feel like you deserve a redo. And besides, do you see any other hot British men around here who know my secret shame?”

Henry startles out a laugh.

“You shouldn’t be ashamed and we British men do not travel in packs.”

“Tell that to the Redcoats. British men traveling in packs,” Alex repeats and shudders. “No good ever came of that. Just open any history book at random.”

“My god, do you ever stop talking?”

“Usually when my mouth is occupied in other ways.”

Henry quirks a brow.

“Down, boy. Get your mind out of the gutter. I was absolutely talking about when I’m drinking coffee or eating food or—“

Henry puts his hands on either side of Alex’s face.

“For the love of God, can you be quiet for two seconds so that I may think?”

Alex mirrors his raised brow.

“Holy shit, you’re actually gonna consider this?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t?” Henry shakes his head and lowers his hands. “I mean, yes, there are a hundred and one reasons why we shouldn’t. Chief among them being that we’re here for business not pleasure.”

“But seeing as though we kinda shot that to hell without meaning to…,” Alex supplies. “I freaking love loopholes. I really do.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

Henry looks up at the ceiling briefly before shaking his head.

“If we do this, we’re going to have to be very, very careful. I don’t want to jeopardize our working relationship. This book has to always come first.”

“Of course.”

Henry sits once more on the bed, Alex stepping close to him with his arms crossed against his chest.

“If this were to happen, we’d need to establish some ground rules. No staying overnight in each other’s rooms. If, for any reason, one of us wants to call it off—,”

“No questions asked. No awkwardness,” Alex says. “Simply not wanting to anymore would be reason enough.”

Henry nods. “Yeah, exactly.” He purses his lips. “And it won’t be a daily thing either.”

Alex scoffs and puts his hands on his hips.

“Jesus, do you think I’m insatiable? You’re hot, but I promise you, I can in fact exercise some self-control.”

“In the short time that I’ve known you, I must admit that’s coming as quite a revelation, but I suppose I’ll have to take your word for it.”

Alex rolls his eyes and smiles softly, his face a bit thoughtful. Henry can’t look away as Alex speaks, especially as he takes note of Alex’s change in tone, the way he grows more serious and contemplative.

“I’m gonna make it up to you. That night.”

“You don’t owe me anything. Besides, this isn’t even about me. I’ll just be here to help you figure out what your future partners might like.”

“And the best way for me to start with that is by learning what you like. When the time comes, yeah, I’ll figure out how to make another guy come undone. But in the meantime? These next few weeks? It’s just me and you. I want to make you feel all the things you should have when we were together. Every sigh, every moan, every desperate breath. I’ll earn it for real this time.”

Henry’s throat feels a bit dry at the thought, at the determination in Alex’s eyes. 

“Is that a promise then? A challenge perhaps?” he manages to say, trying to keep his composure even as he feels himself getting aroused.

Alex doesn’t miss a beat as he says, “Sweetheart, that’s a goddamn guarantee.”

~*~*~

Phoenix, AZ Canyon Con

One of the best parts about agreeing to be the ghostwriter for this project is undoubtedly the ability for Henry to visit cities he’s never been to. 

The flight to Arizona with Alex was enjoyable and this time around, they’re set up in an AirBnB for an entire week.

They’ve settled into their temporary new digs pretty nicely and Henry is looking forward to making further progress with Alex and this book. 

Neither of them has actually brought up the other day and the deal they’ve struck with each other. Henry hasn’t been sure how to breach the topic, but now that they’re set to stay inside this rental for the week, it feels like it’ll take true Herculean effort to ignore the elephant in the room for much longer.

He reasons that since it was Alex’s idea, he’ll leave it to him to mention when he’s ready. For now, they have been able to tiptoe around it, making conversation about virtually anything else.

Henry takes up residence on the couch with his laptop, headphones on as he queues up Crescent Valley. He’s begun watching the series as part of his research. He’s halfway through season one and he still can’t tell if he likes the show or not. Despite that indecision, he can sincerely say Alex is a pretty great actor.

The show itself is campy at best, but there’s something very earnest in Alex’s portrayal of a newly turned vampire attempting to find balance in the two worlds he’s a part of.

Episode nine begins and for better or worse, Henry finds himself getting sucked into it. He rues the day already when he’ll have to confess to Pez that he should have watched along with him back when they were roommates in university. He’ll never hear the end of it. He’d better start preparing now for the resounding chorus of “I told you so”.

Henry’s so wrapped up in the show that he jumps a little when he sees a figure in the doorway of the living room. Alex is now both on his screen and here in the flesh.

Henry awkwardly makes to get up, hitting pause and taking off his headphones.

“Did you want to watch television in here? I can go.”

Alex’s brows furrow a little.

“Oh, no. I just wanted to hang with you. I know we haven’t really had much time to sit down about the memoir yet, so maybe we could now? But if you’re busy though, we can do it later.”

Henry shakes his head and closes out of Crescent Valley. He switches over to the Google Doc he created, storing away all the notes he’s been taking from various interviews he’s watched and read of Alex.

“Now would be great. It’s been nice seeing you out there with fans, but what I’m still trying to understand is the reason why you want a book at this time. What’s the angle or message you want readers to connect with?”

Alex takes a seat on the single seater across from Henry. 

“I want to talk about my sexuality, my ADHD, being a tragic child of divorce, the highs and lows of being in this career. But, mostly the first part.” 

Alex takes a deep breath and lets it out.

“I want to come out and maybe in doing so, it’ll help someone else to make sense of the things they might’ve been feeling for years, but never knew how to dissect or put a name to.”

Henry thinks back to their initial business meeting. Alex had made it clear that despite their past, Henry still remained his top pick to ghostwrite. Alex had also said there were different reasons why he hid the truth of who he was. Now it all slid into place since Alex’s admission the other day.

“Alex, that’s incredible. This is huge.”

Alex smiles nervously. 

“I can’t believe I’m doing it, but I feel good about my decision. My friends and family know. I feel good about myself, even though I’m still figuring this out.”

“You’re taking a big step and on the world stage no less. That’s pretty remarkable. I’m proud of you. I’d be honored to help tell your story.”

He takes his phone out of his pocket.

“Do you mind if I record? It helps me to get details correct and it’s also useful in getting your cadence right when it comes time to start writing.”

“Not at all. Go for it,” Alex says.

Henry nods and opens his voice memo, hitting record. He asks questions about Alex’s upbringing, the sort of little things a quick Wiki search can’t tell a person. 

True to the terms of the contract and Zahra’s assurance, Alex makes himself, for a lack of a better term, an open book. He gets candid about how his parents’ divorce coupled with his relative celeb status has made it difficult for him to put much stock into the concept of dating, especially with people outside the industry.

This fact in particular strikes Henry though he decides not to examine that too closely.

After about an hour and half, Henry decides they’ve covered enough ground to get him started.

“This was great. Thank you,” he says, looking over the new notes he’s taken and saving the recording.

“Yeah, of course.” Alex still looks contemplative and for a moment, Henry merely chalks it up as a side effect of their in-depth conversation until he stands and Alex speaks up.

“Um, could we talk about the other thing too?”

Henry doesn’t need clarification. He tucks his laptop under his arm and sits back down.

“Of course we can.”

Alex lets out a relieved breath.

“I couldn’t sleep last night and I kept thinking about the problem areas you mentioned. One thing you’ll learn about me is that I like making lists and stuff to keep me on track. There’s a neurosy or two in there, but let’s not look at it too hard right now. We can get into that later for the book,” Alex says.

“Point is, I ended up making a sort of…outline for us and these sessions so they have some structure to them. You can talk things out first and then maybe we could have a practical portion. I can link you to the live doc.”

Henry blinks a few times.

“That’s comprehensive. You've made a sex syllabus.”

Alex’s cheeks flush slightly.

“It’s too much, isn’t it?”

“Alex, I’m British. I thrive off structure and formality. I’d quite like to see this outline so yes, please, link me.”

He stands up again.

“Maybe you could come by my room in about an hour?” Henry suggests. “The deal was that the book comes first. I’d say we made sufficient progress today in that area,” Henry says, tapping his laptop.

Alex blinks twice. “Sounds good.” 

His tone is almost detached and before Henry can ask if he’s alright, Alex is already on his feet with his phone in hand.

Henry retreats to his room and sets his computer down on the nightstand. He hears the chime of his inbox and he opens it to find an email from Alex, subject line “aforementioned sex syllabus 🍆💦”.

Henry laughs and opens it.

The first lesson, Back to Basics, has subsections for kissing and touching.

Henry closes out of the doc as his eyes look at later topics like fingering and oral. He begins to pace, his neck feeling hot at the road ahead. 

In all fairness, at least, this first lesson won’t be difficult at all. Kissing is as harmless as it comes and Henry can attest to the fact that this wasn’t actually an area in which Alex needed improvement.

All the same, Henry knows there’s merit in easing them into this new working relationship instead of jumping into the deep end on day one.

An hour goes by much faster than Henry could have anticipated and suddenly Alex is knocking at his door.

Henry squares his shoulders and crosses the room to let him in. He takes some reassurance in the fact that Alex looks as uncertain as he feels.

“Hey,” Alex says as he comes in, taking a look around himself before landing back on Henry. Even though these sessions were Alex’s idea, Henry gets the feeling he’ll have to be the one to get the ball rolling tonight.

“I will preface this lesson by saying you don’t need any pointers in this department.”

Alex smiles to himself and Henry has to admit, it’s kind of adorable seeing that reaction.

“Regardless, I think your guideline was pretty smart in starting out slowly with these sessions. We can build up from there.”

Alex nods. “Cool, I’m glad you agree.”

Henry stuffs his hands in his pockets. “And you’re sure you want to do this, right? I won’t be offended or anything if you’ve had a change of heart in the past hour.”

Alex shakes his head. “No, I’m still in. I guess I’m just nervous about screwing things up a second time. I don’t know if I could readily bounce back from that level of humiliation.”

Henry steps closer to him, removing his hands from his pockets and instead encircling Alex’s waist.

Alex’s eyes widen but he doesn’t shrink away or look uncomfortable. If anything, he looks curious. Expectant even.

“I think the best way for us to get past the awkwardness might be to simply embrace it,” Henry says.

Alex peers up at him, his eyes drifting to Henry’s lips and back just as he’d done that night right before they kissed for the first time.

This time around, it’s Alex who makes the first move and tugs Henry closer. Henry can’t hide the way this affects him. His breath catches as Alex leans in and presses his lips to Henry’s.

It’s reflexive to kiss him back at once. Alex had left his brain in an absolute fog that night in New York as they kissed on the street and weeks later, Alex hasn’t lost his spark.

This kiss doesn’t mean anything. It won’t lead to anything and Henry thinks that’s what allows him to rid himself of any self-consciousness or second thoughts.

Alex’s kiss grows hungry and quickens and for the sake of Henry’s quickly beating heart, he needs them to take it down one notch or two.

“A bit slower,” Henry says softly against his lips. “I don’t want to rush this.”

Alex smiles and does as he’s instructed. He kisses Henry agonizingly slowly, perhaps out of spite, but Henry relishes in it. Alex’s tongue skims along the seam of his lips and Henry opens his mouth to him at once, gripping Alex’s hips as their tongues meet.

He breathes in deeply, his mind growing hazy in that way that Alex is too good at initiating. Henry feels like absolute putty in Alex’s hands, entirely malleable. 

Alex must know it too as he takes control and walks Henry back to the nearest wall. Henry instinctively drapes his arms over the man’s shoulders, lightly threading his fingers through Alex’s hair.

Alex lowers his hand between the two of them and lightly cups Henry. Henry sucks in a surprised breath at the touch.

“Next time,” Alex says quietly, tauntingly.

Henry whimpers in protest.

“Unless,” Alex tacks on in question.

Henry pulls his face back a little and licks his lips.

“Touch was on the agenda, right? We can do a teaser.” Henry sighs. “Rather, selfishly, I really want you to keep touching me. That felt nice,” he admits.

Alex laughs softly but places his hand back over Henry. His cock twitches immediately at the attention. He clenches his jaw as Alex strokes him lightly over his clothes. Henry’s eyes shut, his head resting back against the wall.

His arousal grows with each stroke, his whole body feeling liable to melt. If Alex had touched him like this their first night, it most definitely would have set a different tone for the evening.

He rocks forward as he resumes their kiss. Alex tentatively squeezes his cock. Henry moans against his lips, heart pounding. Alex squeezes him again before continuing to stroke him. Henry can feel himself leaking.

Alex’s hand creeps up, gripping the waistband of his jeans. Henry desperately wants to feel Alex’s skin on his in earnest, but he reminds himself that this is merely their first day. He can’t lose himself like this, no matter how good it feels.

He touches Alex’s wrist lightly and opens his eyes. Alex stills at once and lets go.

“I think that’s good for day one,” Henry whispers.

Alex nods. “Yeah, that was, uh,” he clears his throat and returns his arm to his side as he steps back, “that was enough.”

And yet still, Henry wants more. He wonders if it would be wiser or more efficient for them to blow through the lessons in one go. Maybe that way they could in fact spend the rest of their time together doing what they’ve signed contracts for and are actually getting paid to do.

But the knowledge that he can get access to Alex like this for several more weeks makes him throw away all sense and logic. He wants an excuse to keep these clandestine meetings going.

“I’m gonna grab a shower,” Alex says unhelpfully. All his words do is put images in Henry’s mind that shouldn’t be there.

Henry nods stiffly. 

“I’ll get started on dinner for us in the meantime,” Henry says. Maybe getting lost in the rhythm of cooking will make it easier for him to calm down.

“I’ll see you in a bit then,” Alex replies.

Henry sees him out and waits until he hears Alex’s footfalls down the hall before locking his door and undoing his pants to finish the job Alex started.

#rwrb fic #red white and royal blue #firstprince #firstprince fic #henry fox mountchristen windsor #alex claremont diaz #userthai #tusersonia #tuserpaige #ronenrubinstein #usernicholas #usersteen #tusersilence #userjamiec #kimmy writes

[feiandart]

Hi Fei, not sure if this message becomes public or not but I couldn't find any other way to contact you. Just wanted to apologise for my comment on chapter 35. I realise in retrospect it might have seemed rude, I was trying to be funny. So, I'm very sorry, and I don't want you to think I didn't enjoy the chapter. I have deleted the comment. If I may take this chance as well, you have been an inspiration to me, I love your writing. I am too an aspiring writer that took a sabbatical for many years, though my self doubt is my biggest saboteur right now. I would love to know how you honed your craft, your words are so beautifully written. I look forward to the next chapter ♥

First of all, hello and thank you for reaching out to me! ♥

I'm afraid my memory doesn't work properly (it never does, sadly), but I'm pretty sure no comment made me think "oh, that was rude", so don't worry at all ♥ Gonna admit now I'm curious 'bout what that was owo But I will not ask for you to share that again if it makes you feel uncomfortable!

Your words means a lot to me! ♥ I had inspiration issues for half of my life. I was around fifteen when I wrote my last paragraph, and after that I didn't for other fifteen years. Honest to God, Good Omens and its community saved me in more than a way when I was at my lowest - helped me both with coming back at writing, and starting drawing for myself. I startend enjoying things again. And I needed that. So, since finding inspiration again was so meaningful to me, being able to inspire others is like I achieved something so big I can't really find words to express it properly. It makes me feel kinda... Oh, dunno. I guess we can go with: blessed. Finding inspiration was (and is) an healing process to me. And I hope it'll be the same to others. So if it came to me, I can only be SO glad to know!! So thank you so much for sharing this!! ♥

Let me tell you this: I am my biggest saboteur myself. So I do understand what you say, and I can guess what you feel right now. My suggestion is something practical. Go in front of the mirror, tell yourself what you want to do and look straight into your eyes. Then, say: "I will do it. And you will NOT stop me." Then say the same to all the people who might go against you. Nobody, not even yourself, should have the power to stop you from doing the things you love. It may be hard at the very start, troublesome meanwhile, but I can assure you nothing's better than being able to live your dreams. All I can do for you now is assuring you I am on your side! And I am sure you can do whatever makes you feel happy.

Last, but not least (dear Lord I wrote so much and I'm not done yet.......), your last question. Funny thing to answer that one, actually. 'cause I never practiced. I never studied a way to arrange phrases and words, actually right now I'm always a bit overwhelmed anytime I sit myself in front of the screen and open my file to start writing. I'll tell you, I'm the messiest people in the entire universe. I had all the plot already written back in november, but yet my characters slip off my hands and do whatever they want. Does it makes any sense to you? I have to costantly re-arrange my plot to make sure everything have some kind of logic. The rest come from my own mind. Sugar, specifically, means a lot to me under a lot of different aspects. Both characters holds part of myself, my own traumas, my own experiences, my own mazes and struggles. I think maybe sometimes things went when I didn't want them to go 'cause my mind played dirty on me and I was unable to stop it. But I don't complain. So I'm afraid I don't have a real answer but this one: I just put myself into every single word I write. I play all the scenes in my mind just like watching movies. I feel what my characters does and, I will not deny this, oftern I cry while doing that too. I'm a bit too much emphatic, perhaps?

Gonna admit, writing Sugar is exactly like going to therapy to me. Goes just along with that, it helps me process myself, my own emotions, helps me validate anything bad I've ever felt.

Well uh, I got pretty carried away with this answer but I hope you can find something helpful around all of these messy words of mine ♥ (And sorry for my poor english if I made some mistake here and there, I fully believe in honest-to-God messages when it comes to answer people, both in comments, chat or anywhere else, so I never actually go back trying to correct my messages. Dunno, it feels like leaving you all full access to my stream of consciousness everytime I give answers like these. Not sure this makes sense. To me it does.)

Don't ever ever be afraid to tell me what you think or reach out! I'll always be here, happy to give you an answer. Thank you so much! ♥

#fei loves to reply #so feel free to ask anytime you want #sugar #writing #fic writing

[frogtape2]

Modern!Gareth Emerson Pt. 2

Part 2 of lover boy thoughts 

He absolutely knows Sophia the first theme song thanks to his little sister 

he hums it all the time and doesn’t even realize it 

weakness is head scratches 

and cheek kisses 

he loves when his girl kisses him on the cheek

Since this is modern-day he's not an outcast 

Like I would say he's not quite popular but a lot of people know him in high school

He lives in an arcade

has a ridiculously amount of tickets saved up  

Has an interest in hockey 

He plays it for fun with his cousins because pretty boy can’t be getting injured 

Loves harry potter, star wars, the hobbit, Lord of the Rings, hunger games, maze runner

He's a movie guy 

But he watches them on his phone so he can move around

Oh he lets his sister paint and customize one of his dnd characters  

His family gets so happy when gets a gf 

I see him as being straight 

But he probably questioned it and kissed a guy and realized it wasn't for him

Big ally supporter 

Big supporter in general 

But back to the gf 

His family gets so happy and instantly opens up their home with open arms

His little sister makes them both have tea parties with her 

Gareth has heart eyes for her whenever he sees her interacting with his family 

Like her helping his mom with dinner yeah he's ready to propose

His little sister loves doing his hair and putting butterfly clips in his hair

He totally forgets about them 

His friends wouldn't even mention them tell they were leaving wherever they were 

I mentioned before that he tried skating

Because of that he has the tools

Now with those tools he may or may not have stolen a street sign 

Or two 

When he's in a relationship he's not big on PDA 

However when he's home he's the biggest baby 

He just wants to either be wrapped up in their arms or have his arms wrapped around them 

This dude lives for kisses 

Neck kisses and he's done for 

I also mentioned he plays Minecraft 

Hellfire and him would have their own server and their builds are inspired by their campaigns 

He 100% found a cat by a dumpster 

That cat lives in luxury now 

Hes the boyfriend that does everything perfectly 

Like obviously everyone has flaws

But he is such a good boyfriend 

If he was to mess up he’s instantly try to fix it 

His love language is quality time 

It's why he's always with his family, friends, gf 

He loves being around the ones he loves

Oh he loves blaring music and man has he gone through a serious amount of headphones

Definitely broke a few by stepping on them

Without even thinking about it he got into the shower wearing them

His garbage cat chewed up a pair 

He eventually found a pair that has kept up with him 

Hellfire Club has its own TikTok to 

Which people love 

Lots of thirst comments 

Gareth has gotten many comments talking about him being beautiful 

Oh man the way this boy's face lit up when he was going through his grandparent's stuff and found a Walkman 

The way he freaked out finding metal tapes 

#froggie writes #froggie thoughts #gareth emerson #stranger things #modern gareth emerson #gareth the great #gareth x reader #gareth emerson x reader #stranger things x reader #gareth xreader #gareth emerson xreader

[yokohamapound]

Ok but your most recent post got me imagining Chuuya being dragged to an IKEA for one reason or another, getting lost in the maze hellscape it is, finding out the kids beds fit him… Dazai would be on the ground in a mess of tears and laughter. Here’s to hoping there isn’t a crater in the wall at the end of the day.

This fucking took me OUT.

PLEASE.

I just—

"What the hell are you lookin' at?" Chuuya asks, his irritation only half-feigned—the bleached wood and mustard corduroy hellscape is beginning to get to him.

He gives you a suspicious squint, wondering if you're about to come up with another godawful pun using the IKEA brand names. At this point he's gone beyond impressed at your ability to turn Swedish product names into filthy innuendos, into slightly concerned.

He needn't have worried. You're not looking at SVINDELBONK or whatever it's called this time. Your gaze is fixed on the bright red monstrosity in the middle of the bedding section.

A bed shaped like a bright red racing car.

He snorts.

It's...actually not too dissimilar to the car Chuuya drove the pair of you here in. A bit more cartoonish, but the lines are similar. You're fighting for your place in heaven as you try to keep a straight face, nudging him with your elbow.

"Try it."

Chuuya pulls a face. "What? Why?"

"Go on. If you like it, we can get it for the apartment," you say, voice wavering as a giggle lurks under the surface.

"Like hell," he scoffs.

But, he's wearing an amused smirk. Maybe the IKEA maze and your endless puns are starting to get to him, making him crack. Like the constant drip of water torture, but with innuendos and overstuffed throw cushions instead of water drops.

"Fine."

Oh, sweet lord.

Chuuya saunters over to the bed, ignoring the incredulous looks of the other people browsing for kids' beds, for actual kids, and throws himself down on top of it, sprawling. He pushes up the brim of his hat to look at you.

"Happy now?"

"Chuuya..."

Your voice dies in your throat. How do you tell him? How do you tell the feared executive of the Port Mafia, how do you tell the vessel of Arahabaki, how you tell the man you love...that he fits?

His feet don't hang over the edge. He's not bunched against the headboard. He's the perfect size. He's Goldilocks and this is bed is just right.

You clamp a hand over your mouth, turning away and pretending to be very interested into the HYBLIMPDT. Your shoulders tremble, little snorts escaping even as your hand clamps tighter, trying to shove them down your throat.

Chuuya frowns. "Oi. Oi."

Snort.

"What're you laughin' at?"

"Nothing!"

#Yokohama Pound #bungou stray dogs #Nakahara Chuuya #Chuuya x reader #Chuuya is traumatised by ikea #Also I am sorry #I wrote this in ten minutes #cackling like a goblin #this is the sorta bullshit you can expect from me most of the time I'm afraid #another idea was him getting lost #taking a nap on a bed #only to find out it was the kids' section and he didn't realise because he is a short king

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 6: NICO BUYS HAPPY MEALS FOR THE DEAD

Even when Percy looked moments away from torturing Will just to get an answer out of somebody what happened on this quest, Nico licked his lips nervously before he could start anew. Would it be awkward to ask if it was all in his head every time he got this book it seemed like a worse than usual chapter?

Then he read the new title and sunk low in his seat, waiting for the bombardment of freaking out that would ensue about his next death entrapment of them all.

"Well that was very considerate of you, but I have questions," Magnus tried to begin as politely as ever. "Do they prefer chicken nuggets or burgers? What toys were available?"

"When it says buy, like where did you get the money?" Alex asked with diabolical interest. "Did you ask your dad for it? Try to pay them in drachmas? Mythomagic cards?"

"I'm over here hoping he didn't threaten the cashier with that sword," Jason admitted.

Nico was only blushing a tiny bit as he smiled at them. "Um, a bit of all three." He'd tried to ask Hades for money and information, but hadn't even made it past the front gates of his palace before he was bared by the fury's telling him now wasn't a good time.

Minos had helped him with the details among his own research and he'd just stolen the rest.

That unfortunate incident with the chicken nuggets and the dog chasing him out of the car would not be discussed.

At least I got a good night's sleep before the quest, right?

"Do you jinx yourself on purpose?" Thalia asked him in concern. "Like, you do know when you throw questions like that out into the universe, you're just going to get slapped with the opposite answer."

"I'm starting to get that, yeah," Percy mock rubbed his cheek.

"Will it stop him from doing it?" Alex snorted.

"Nope," Magnus sighed.

Wrong.

"So, should I just start wishing for a horrible night's sleep?" Percy groaned.

"Percy, I don't think anything can fix, whatever this mess of your life is," Jason told him with nothing but sympathy.

"I've already tried shock therapy, so I'm out of ideas," Thalia agreed cheerfully.

That night in my dreams, I was in the stateroom of the Princess Andromeda. The windows were open on a moonlit sea. Cold wind rustled the velvet drapes.

"There is either a really inappropriate dream about to take place, or a nightmare with monsters and dead people," Magnus shivered at that setup.

"My money's on both, Luke's nighttime routine with one of those bear twins," Alex rubbed his hands together. Magnus mock vomited over the side of the couch, though for a moment they weren't sure if he was faking it.

Luke knelt on a Persian rug in front of the golden sarcophagus of Kronos.

In the moonlight, Luke's blond hair looked pure white. He wore an ancient Greek chiton and a white himation, a kind of cape that flowed down his shoulders. The white clothes made him look timeless and a little surreal, like one of the minor gods on Mount Olympus. The last time I'd seen him, he'd been broken and unconscious after a nasty fall from Mount Tam. Now he looked perfectly fine. Almost too healthy.

Percy shivered with the kind of forbidden knowledge nobody could joke away. Somewhere inside his head was the answer to that mystery, and as his stomach churned while he looked down at his own shaking hands, he didn't think he was going to like the answer he'd inevitably get.

"Our spies report success, my lord," he said. "Camp Half-Blood is sending a quest, as you predicted.

Nico really hated that word, traitor. He knew everybody at camp thought he was one bad day away from being one himself. He'd really never gotten to know Silena that well to be calling her anything.

Our side of the bargain is almost complete."

They were already to late, Jason frowned in concern. Their quest hadn't even started and Krono's forces were almost guaranteed through the maze at their convenience. His heart thudded painfully in his chest as he imagined the camp in ashes- No, surely Thalia and Will weren't that good of actors. They'd be more than mildly distressed at this if that were the case. Annabeth's quest had come through, somehow.

Excellent. The voice of Kronos didn't so much speak as pierce my mind like a dagger. It was freezing with cruelty. Once we have the means to navigate, I will lead the vanguard through myself.

"The sarcophagus doesn't grow legs, does it?" Magnus asked in concern.

"Let's be more concerned if he's almost about to leave the coffin," Alex shook his head sharply. "What the heck kind of deal was struck to cause that?"

There was no answer except Thalia playing with her bracelet. She was grateful they didn't seem to connect Luke's life force with Krono's, it was such a twisted bit of magic she couldn't stand to link the two herself.

Luke closed his eyes as if collecting his thoughts. "My lord, perhaps it is too soon. Perhaps Krios or Hyperion should lead—"

No. the voice was quiet but absolutely firm. I will lead. One more heart shall join our cause, and that will be sufficient. At last I shall rise fully from Tartarus.

"Who the heck is that special last someone going to be?" Alex wasn't really joking even as he laced his voice with sarcasm. "Is it going to be some sweet underdog story about an invisible person finally feeling seen by Luke? Is it going to be some mad powerhouse?"

"We really need to take away whatever the heck is feeding his imagination," Percy told Thalia as he watched Alex.

"Or bottle it and use it as a weapon," Thalia agreed.

"But the form, my lord..." Luke's voice started shaking.

Jason shivered right along with him. Was it terror? Excitement? He didn't know which was worse, but any answer wasn't going to be great for Percy.

Show me your sword, Luke Castellan.

"I didn't even think this guy had a last name," Percy jolted in surprise. "I thought he was just born Luke Evil, or Luke Son of Hermes, and just dropped it to Luke."

Thalia didn't even have the heart to smack him for being an idiot. Sooner than she'd like, Percy would know all to well what came attached with the last name of Castellan.

A jolt went through me. I realized I'd never heard Luke's last name before.

"Annabeth never cursed it in front of you," Alex agreed, "we didn't get to hear Chiron chasing him around and yelling it."

"Now we just need to know his middle name, surely then somebody can do an evil spell to curse him or something," Magnus agreed.*

"We're not the fae folk Magnus, that's not how that works," Thalia couldn't help but snicker at him, keeping to herself Luke's middle name was Oro in case anybody wanted to try.

It had never even occurred to me.

Luke drew his sword. Backbiter's double edge glowed wickedly—half steel, half celestial bronze. I'd almost been killed several times by that sword.

"You've almost been killed several times by being in school too and we don't go around reminding you of that," Will said.

"Yes you do, frequently!" Percy yelped.

"It was a silly detail Percy, we assume everything's tried to kill you at this point, including the kitchen sink with lava in it," Magnus rolled his eyes.

It was an evil weapon, able to kill both mortals and monsters. It was the only blade I really feared.

Nico's hand twitched uncomfortably to his own sword that could do the same. That was branded the same. The only difference was his blade had never tried to kill Percy. He hoped that distinction would be enough nobody would try to disarm him if the truth of what he carried came out.

You pledged yourself to me, Kronos reminded him. You took this sword as proof of your oath.

"Yes, my lord. It's just—"

You wanted power. I gave you that. You are now beyond harm. Soon you will rule the world of gods and mortals. Do you not wish to avenge yourself? To see Olympus destroyed?

A shiver ran through Luke's body. "Yes."

Thalia knew in that moment she could hear that a thousand more times and it would still hit her fresh and raw every time. It just wasn't the same person to her. Luke might as well have died instead of her and come back as someone else.

The coffin glowed, golden light filling the room. Then make ready the strike force. As soon as the bargain is done, we shall move forward. First, Camp Half-Blood will be reduced to ashes. Once those bothersome heroes are eliminated, we will march on Olympus.

"It's an honor to be so bothersome we have to be eliminated before the gods," Percy said with all the snap of a dragon.

"C-compliments?" Will agreed hesitantly.

There was a knock on the stateroom doors. The light of the coffin faded.

"Does Kronos only talk to him?" Alex asked with his head tipped to the side. "Like, imaginary friend style?"

"I can't imagine why, I'm surprised there isn't a speaker attached to his lid so the whole ship can hear him monologuing," Jason rolled his eyes.

Luke rose. He sheathed his sword, adjusted his white clothes, and took a deep breath.

"Come in."

The doors opened. Two dracaenae slithered in—snake women with double serpent trunks instead of legs. Between them walked Kelli, the empousa cheerleader from my freshman orientation.

"This book stays rated K right?" Magnus asked with mild concern for their joke from the beginning of the chapter getting another uncomfortable piece set in.

"How should I know? How do you rate monsters turning to dust, because it's pretty traumatic to any age from where I'm sitting," but Percy looked just as queasy why she'd walked in like this was a red carpet ceremony.

"Hello, Luke," Kelli smiled. She was wearing a red dress and she looked awesome,

"The highest amount of praise a teenage boy can give," Thalia snorted.

"Oh gods, please nobody ever tell Annabeth I called an empousa awesome before her," Percy groaned, causing a round of snickering he really didn't approve of.

"You told her she was going to do awesome on this quest," Will reminded fairly without dropping his smile. "I think she'd give you a pass on the demon that's supposed to be hot."

but I'd seen her real form. I knew what she was hiding: mismatched legs, red eyes, fangs, and flaming hair.

"What is it, demon?" Luke's voice was cold. "I told you not to disturb me."

Magnus mock wiped sweat from his brow Luke was disgusted with her. Now they'd just get death threats and insults...though it did make him wonder why Luke apparently didn't have an attraction to her like Percy had. 

Kelli pouted. "That's not very nice. You look tense. How about a nice shoulder massage?"

"I wouldn't let that thing near any part of my body," Jason shivered. "I'm not banking on the fact she'd just drink from my neck."

"Good instincts," Alex approved.

Luke stepped back. "If you have something to report, say it. Otherwise leave!"

"I don't know why you're so huffy these days. You used to be fun to hang around."

Thalia would have rather been slapped than realize she'd ever think the same thing as Kellie, and yet the sick feeling in her gut only seemed to settle in at home. How long exactly had these two been hanging out for her to claim this?!

"That was before I saw what you did to that boy in Seattle."

"Oh, he meant nothing to me," Kelli said. "Just a snack, really. You know my heart belongs to you, Luke."

"My heart belongs to my snacks too," Alex frowned. "Whatever she did to that boy in Seattle has to be something alright."

Magnus had a very concerning look on his face as he struggled with the idea of whether he wanted to know details of that or not. What could she have done that was so awful even this guy deemed it too horrible?

"Thanks, but no thanks. Now report or get out."

Kelli shrugged. "Fine. The advanced team is ready, as you requested. We can leave—" She frowned.

"What is it?" Luke asked.

"A presence," Kelli said. "Your senses are getting dull, Luke. We're being watched."

She scanned the stateroom. Her eyes focused right on me. Her face withered into a hag's. She bared her fangs and lunged.

"Eep!" Magnus jumped in his seat no matter the lack of harm that was coming to him. "Can you die in your dreams!"

"Gods I hope not, I've had enough close calls," Percy was rubbing his chest in here plenty to prove it had been real enough to him too.

I woke with a start, my heart pounding. I could've sworn the empousa's fangs were an inch from my throat.

Percy's trembling fingers brushed over his thumping pulse one last time too. Not a reminder he needed, but when did he ever get a say in those?

Tyson was snoring in the next bunk. The sound calmed me down a little.

"I would have thought it was the ocean," Thalia snorted.

"To each their own, hopefully Annabeth snores," Jason snickered.

I didn't know how Kelli could sense me in a dream,

"I really didn't question that to much," Magnus admitted, "or I'd just fall back down the rabbit hole of wondering how she even existed."

but I'd heard more than I wanted to know. An army was ready. Kronos would lead it personally.

"So what specifically in that would you like to know less about?" Alex frowned. "Because I'm personally interested in any details I can get how to stop that!"

"The part about what they'd be wearing while doing it," Percy rolled his eyes.

"But the details make it!" Alex looked personally wounded.

All they needed was a way to navigate the Labyrinth so they could invade and destroy Camp Half-Blood, and Luke apparently thought that was going to happen very soon.

I was tempted to go wake up Annabeth and tell her, middle of the night or not.

"Regardless of those pesky, man-eating harpies inflicting curfew huh?" Will chuckled.

"Percy is the reason the curfew exists," Jason said in exasperation.

"Nuhu!" Percy yelped. "The Aphrodite kids, or heck the Hermes kids are far worse about that!"

"You're the only person in your cabin, so you get all the blame," Thalia reminded with a smirk.

"So are you," Percy shot back. He felt instantly bad for it though, as Thalia winced and looked away. Clearly that was a bit of a sore subject to her, she probably would have preferred if he'd reminded she was responsible for all of the trouble Artemis's Huntresses got up to when there.

Then I realized the room was lighter than it should have been. A blue and green glow was coming from the saltwater fountain, brighter and more urgent than the night before. It was almost like the water was humming.

I got out of bed and approached.

No voice spoke out of the water this time, asking for a deposit. I got the feeling the fountain was waiting for me to make the first move.

"You're grasping a fountains nonverbal cues better than anything Annabeth has ever actually said to you," Magnus snorted.

"Note to self, teach your cousin sign language too," Alex chuckled.

I probably should've gone back to bed. Instead I thought about what I'd seen last night—the weird image of Nico at the banks of the River Styx.

"You're trying to tell me something," I said.

No response from the fountain.

"It's perfectly normal to talk to inanimate objects," Will said innocently. "It's when they start talking back you should be worried."

"How many cups of coffee has that taken?" Nico asked slyly.

Will blushed and decided against answering.

"All right," I said. "Show me Nico di Angelo."

I didn't even throw a coin in, but this time it didn't matter. It was like some other force had control of the water besides Iris the messenger goddess.

Nico still disliked this coming up as much as ever, because he could never ask what the heck was going on. Would his sister have had different abilities than him, was this a manifestation of using the Mist like Thalia could? If she could send messages to Percy, why couldn't she do the same for him?!

He knew the answer though, no matter how many warnings she would have sent about not trusting Minos and to stop what he was doing, he most likely wouldn't have listened until something else had happened, like Percy saving his stupid life. Again.

The water shimmered. Nico appeared, but he was no longer in the Underworld. He was standing in a graveyard under a starry sky.

"It's good to get out and check the scenery every now and then," Alex nodded as if this had been a serious concern of his.

Thalia twirled her bracelet around and decided Nico might not want to know the Huntress's own ideas of his sister looking down on him from those stars. They might not all get a constellation, but they were a part of Artemis up there.

Giant willow trees loomed all around him.

He was watching some gravediggers at work. I heard shovels and saw dirt flying out of a hole. Nico was dressed in a black cloak. The night was foggy.

"Really setting the mood I hear, all you're missing is the ominous fire," Alex chuckled.

"I avoid human sacrifices if it's not convenient," the morbid joke slipped out only after a moment of hesitation. He finally got the reaction he was expecting too, Alex laughed.

It was warm and humid, and frogs were croaking. A large Wal-Mart bag sat next to Nico's feet.

"Which I really hope isn't left there when you're done, or somebody's going to end up on Grover's shit list," Jason grinned.

"One of the very few lists I strive to stay off of," Nico promised.

"Is it deep enough yet?" Nico asked. He sounded irritated.

"Nearly, my lord." It was the same ghost I'd seen Nico with before, the faint shimmering image of a man. "But, my lord, I tell you, this is unnecessary. You already have me for advice."

"I want a second opinion!" Nico snapped his fingers,

Will hummed with appreciation on that. "You should have like, three at minimum before making whatever life-altering decisions go into digging up holes."

"Next time you'll be the third," Nico promised, not bothering to hide his amusement.

and the digging stopped. Two figures climbed out of the hole. They weren't people. They were skeletons in ragged clothes.

"Cooool," Alex grinned. "How long have you been at this? And you've already got minions at the tip of your fingers!"

"Um," Nico kept finding himself grinning in surprise somebody said cool in regards to him. "Just that past month. It used to take a lot of effort to concentrate and resurrect them without passing out." 

Will couldn't help a frown at the end, watching Nico with concern how somebody could say that casually. Who had been there for Nico when he woke up? Just some old ghost?

Nico just saw the frown, and the concern, and swallowed anxiously if he'd finally freaked Will out. Alex interrupted with, "Sweet, and you could do it down here?" Alex was starting to eye the walls in a bit of a concerning way.

"Probably," Nico shrugged nonchalantly. "There's plenty of skeletons in the ocean to pull from if I wanted to try, though it's easier pulling them from the soil for some reason."

"Please do not," Magnus did not care his voice cracked, it seemed to encourage Nico to move on just that touch faster.

"You are dismissed," Nico said. "Thank you."

"Politeness!" Will chuckled. Nico felt a tiny breath of relief come loose he'd rather not dwell on. He didn't need anybody's opinion.

The skeletons collapsed into piles of bones.

Percy still looked mildly disturbed, but it was definitely at the bottom of strange things he'd seen.

"You might as well thank the shovels," the ghost complained. "They have as much sense."

"Maybe we should thank the shovels too," Thalia sniffed. "I actually do owe my shield a thanks or too for saving my hide."

"I knew a guy who named his vacuum," Percy shrugged.

"That ghost sounds like he's being disrespectful on purpose," Jason frowned. "He's no different than them, just floating there. Is he saying he shouldn't be thanked for all his advice?" His creepy, murdery advice Nico shouldn't be around.

"It wasn't part of the ceremony, just something, I wanted to do," Nico said with a sad smile. He didn't have any specific memories of his mother encouraging manners or anything, but he liked to think that would have made her smile. It had just felt like the natural thing to do.

Nico ignored him. He reached into his Wal-Mart bag and pulled out a twelve-pack of Coke. He popped open a can. Instead of drinking it, he poured it into the grave.

"There had better be some serious reason you're wasting perfectly good Coke," Percy told him tragically.

Nico gave him an awkward smile he couldn't say yes. It hadn't gone remotely as planned. Did Percy consider everything he did a waste?

"Let the dead taste again," he murmured. "Let them rise and take this offering. Let them remember."

He dropped the rest of the Cokes into the grave and pulled out a white paper bag decorated with cartoons. I hadn't seen one in years, but I recognized it—a McDonald's Happy Meal.

He turned it upside down and shook the fries and hamburger into the grave.

"In my day, we used animal blood," the ghost mumbled. "It's perfectly good enough. They can't taste the difference."

"I will treat them with respect," Nico said.

"What's the difference? The grease, I mean, Greek of it all?" Alex snickered at his almost pun.

"The principal," Nico grinned. "It adds that little bit of extra mph," he even sprinkled his fingers like his sister was adding a last dash of cinnamon.

"Mmm, the perfect ingredient then," Alex laughed as he even smacked his lips.

"At least let me keep the toy," the ghost said.

"Be quiet!" Nico ordered.

"Well now you're just not being nice Nico," Percy grinned. "You should always bring enough of those for everybody."

"You can be quiet too," but there was nothing but an exasperated sigh in Nico's voice for knowing he could never make Percy Jackson do that.

He emptied another twelve-pack of soda and three more Happy Meals into the grave, then began chanting in Ancient Greek. I caught only some of the words—a lot about the dead and memories and returning from the grave. Real happy stuff.

"All we're missing is the ball pit," Percy tried to say without sounding too queasy.

The grave started to bubble. Frothy brown liquid rose to the top like the whole thing was filling with soda. The fog thickened. The frogs stopped croaking. Dozens of figures began to appear among the gravestones: bluish, vaguely human shapes. Nico had summoned the dead with Coke and cheeseburgers.

"That is some serious mojo my dude," Magnus told him. He didn't think he sounded that terrified that somebody he now knew, like actually in person, treated this as their casual Saturday night. It was more strange to him than the idea of having a roof over his head again.

"There are too many," the ghost said nervously. "You don't know your own powers."

"As much as I don't trust this ghost, I don't think it's great he's the one cautioning you over that when he's just begging you to do some wild stuff," Jason frowned.

"Yeah, yeah," Nico muttered inaudibly. Like he needed another person to tell him what an idiot he'd been for having Minos around.

Jason heard the reluctance in his voice, he realized he'd said something wrong, but he wasn't sure what. He glanced awkwardly between Percy and Nico, who had been more awkwardly still trying at stilted conversation and avoiding each other all morning, and then Will who looked as confused and concerned as he felt. He felt a flash of sadness for Nico, it didn't seem like he'd made many great friends since his sister's death, he certainly never went around mentioning someone he'd rather have down here who would know what had upset him.

"I've got it under control," Nico said, though his voice sounded fragile.

He drew his sword—a short blade made of solid black metal. I'd never seen anything like it. It wasn't celestial bronze or steel. Iron, maybe? The crowd of shades retreated at the sight of it.

"I've been meaning to ask about that," Alex looked so eager, they could literally not predict what was about to come out of his mouth. "Where'd you get the sword? Does they have a name?"

"Um," Nico looked more baffled at his sword being called a they. Was Riptide a they? "It doesn't have a name, and it's a long story," he sighed. "It involves a clown, a fish, and I'm pretty sure Phil hasn't forgiven me for wrecking that statue, so, later."

"You mean, a clown-fish?" Percy tried to correct.

"No, no, fish, clown, two separate dudes," Nico shrugged.

It wasn't even the top twenty weirdest things any of them had tried to wrap their heads around. Alex still looked very much like he was going to protest until he got this story in detail, but Nico was trying to keep reading and had once again masterfully maneuvered out of sharing his own autobiography Alex was clearly after from all of them.

"One at a time," Nico commanded.

A single figure floated forward and knelt at the pool. It made slurping sounds as it drank. Its ghostly hands scooped French fries out of the pool.

"I really want to say eww here," Thalia looked far to intrigued to sound right anyways, "but I'm more curious what would happen if anybody other than a ghost drank that."

"To clarify, it takes you chanting, right?" Magnus asked with a heavy frown. "Because if I start shoveling fries, a burger, and a coke all at once and swallow, I will blame the consequences on you."

"I promise not to chant over your food while you're eating," Nico said with a little to much of a wicked smile to encompass that promise he'd never chant around him. "Seriously though Thalia, it wouldn't have an effect on anything but a ghost, the ritual just gives them back their human form. So, unless you lost it, it would just taste normal."

"Huh," she grinned, very curious if Artemis knew about this ritual and used it to commune, or if the gods even needed such a thing and could freely interact with any ghosts from their past that lingered.

When it stood again, I could see it much more clearly—a teenage guy in Greek armor. He had curly hair and green eyes, a clasp shaped like a seashell on his cloak.

Percy wondered how self-centered it was of him to feel very awkward that an obvious ancestor of his had been the one to get to drink.

Then Alex laughed enthusiastically and ruined the idea it was just his idea. "I'm really getting the impression why Percy thought you wanted his soul though just from this moment. What are the odds of that one Nico?"

Nico looked like he was going to keel over from stress rather than answer.

Percy swooped in anyways, pigheaded or not, "a child of Poseidon got to the water fountain first, it's a matter of pride!"

Alex just gave one last chuckle and was clearly going to let it go, while Nico took deep breaths and fought back tears of shame how stupid obvious his obsession had been. How Percy wasn't cringing in disgust away from him as far as he could he didn't know.

"Who are you?" Nico said. "Speak."

The young man frowned as if trying to remember. Then he spoke in a voice like dry, crumpling paper: "I am Theseus."

"Cool!" Jason yelped like he'd just gotten the best birthday present and the rest could all stay in their wrappings. "Can you summon back any hero of old?!" The idea of being able to converse with The Caligula for any length of time and ask him about all his rulings and advice sounded like a dream!

"Not exactly," Nico said sullenly. If he could just call his sister up like this whenever he pleased, he liked to think he wouldn't always feel so alone.

Jason didn't ask any further questions, though it was obvious he really wanted to.

No way, I thought. This couldn't be the Theseus. He was just a kid. I'd grown up hearing stories about him fighting the Minotaur and stuff, but I'd always pictured him as this huge, buff guy. The ghost I was looking at wasn't strong or tall. And he wasn't any older than I was.

"That was just depressing," Will frowned. The age of manhood back then had been like fifteen or something. In theory, they all knew the heroes of old had been about the age they were now.

To hear it described so vividly though only emphasized the idea no demigod in history had really gotten an easy life.

"How can I retrieve my sister?" Nico asked.

Theseus's eyes were lifeless as glass. "Do not try. It is madness."

"Does a ghost telling you something's mad make that better or worse?" Magnus asked.

"I'm going to leave that up to the ghost your questioning," Alex shrugged as if this were an every day occurrence for him.

"Just tell me!"

"My stepfather died," Theseus remembered. "He threw himself into the sea because he thought I was dead in the Labyrinth.

"Tragic," Jason said with sympathy.

"Now see, why couldn't my life parallel that story," Percy huffed.

"Because if Sally pushed Gabe off the roof she never would have discovered her passion for the arts," Thalia tragically reminded.

I wanted to bring him back, but I could not."

Nico's ghost hissed. "My lord, the soul exchange! Ask him about that!"

Theseus scowled. "That voice. I know that voice."

Percy felt like there was a mosquito bite on his brain. Something he longed to scratch at but knew he shouldn't or it would just get worse.

"No you don't, fool!" the ghost said. "Answer the lord's questions and nothing more!"

"I know you," Theseus insisted, as if struggling to recall.

"How did Theseus die again?" Magnus asked wearily. "Does dying affect your memory?"

"Very much so," Nico sighed. "They're specters who forgot themselves without the ritual, and even then, it won't all come back."

"And, um, let's just say it wasn't a happy ending I'd want to end up with," Percy said with a wince. He remembered stories about sons of Poseidon mildly better than others and hoped his powers never failed him when he was thrown into the ocean.

"Right," Magnus agreed reluctantly, realizing he probably shouldn't ask again unless it was about the original Perseus.

"I want to hear about my sister," Nico said. "Will this quest into the Labyrinth help me win her back?"

Will's laugh was nothing but sympathetic. "I'd help you out no problem Nico, with anything other than this."

Nico smiled. Will had already said as much, but it was still nice to hear.

"Win her back?" Jason couldn't help but fret over that word. "Is the labyrinth a game and you win a prize?" The dread in his voice made it sound like one he didn't think he'd participate in if given the chance.

"There are many things to discover down there," Nico answered as cryptically as possible.

Theseus was looking for the ghost, but apparently couldn't see him. Slowly he turned his eyes back on Nico. "The Labyrinth is treacherous. There is only one thing that saw me through: the love of a mortal girl. The string was only part of the answer. It was the princess who guided me."

"We don't need any of that," the ghost said. "I will guide you, my lord. Ask him if it is true about an exchange of souls. He will tell you."

"A soul for a soul," Nico asked. "Is it true?"

"A part from the absolute ick factor of that being discussed," Alex said cheerfully, "are we going to get details on how that would work?"

"No," Nico said flatly. The little he'd gleaned from Minos had put him off this idea until his last desperate attempt with nothing left to lose. He would not be sharing what he'd considered doing to Daedalus' soul to retrieve Bianca's with it.

"I—I must say yes. But the specter—"

"Just answer the questions, knave!" the ghost said.

Suddenly, around the edges of the pool, the other ghosts became restless. They stirred, whispering in nervous tones.

"Anything that makes a ghost nervous and I am out," Magnus muttered.

Then again, Nico obviously made them nervous, so maybe that was a little to broad. He still wasn't happy about whatever was coming next, he knew that much.

"I want to see my sister!" Nico demanded. "Where is she?"

"He is coming," Theseus said fearfully. "He has sensed your summons. He comes."

"It's not Hades is it?" Alex asked, sounding far to much like that's something he wanted to happen. "I am honestly expecting him to show up any time now to scold you for messing with this stuff, all the underground talk, the ghosts, it fits perfectly!"

"It was not Hades," but Nico wasn't going to elaborate any more than that. He was not looking forward to that stupid ranch anymore than he was that stupid cavern with Pan.

"Who?" Nico demanded.

"He comes to find the source of this power," Theseus said. "You must release us."

"The one occasion I will always agree the pronoun game is the worst," Alex shook his head with disgust. "Just say his bloody name!"

"He forgot the name of the ghost following Nico around he obviously knows, he might not know whoever it is that's about to show up, just that he doesn't want to be around him," Jason offered halfheartedly.

The water in my fountain began to tremble, humming with power. I realized the whole cabin was shaking. The noise grew louder. The image of Nico in the graveyard started to glow until it was painful to watch.

"Stop," I said out loud. "Stop it!"

The fountain began to crack. Tyson muttered in his sleep and turned over. Purple light threw horrible, ghostly shadows on the cabin walls, as if the specters were escaping right out of the fountain.

In desperation I uncapped riptide and slashed at the fountain, cleaving it in two. Salt water spilled everywhere, and the great stone font crashed to the floor in pieces. Tyson snorted and muttered, but he kept sleeping.

"Man, that was like, the coolest thing too," Alex pouted.

"Hopefully Tyson can fix it," Magnus offered.

I sank to the ground, shivering from what I'd seen. Tyson found me there in the morning, still staring at the shattered remains of the saltwater fountain.

"Nico," Will managed through numb lips. "What happened?"

"I got caught," he shrugged with the kind of nonchalance of this being an everyday occurrence.

Then again, they were all presently kidnapped, so maybe it wasn't such a traumatizing thing the second go around. Better company here anyways.

Just after dawn, the quest group met at Zeus's Fist.

"Where Luke was tied up and this problem was resolved in a timely manner for once?" Magnus sighed.

"I'm starting to get worried about your active delusions man, what are you eating over there," Percy shook his head. "If ever something went that easy, I'd be convinced I was being had."

I'd packed my knapsack—thermos with nectar, baggie of ambrosia, bedroll, rope, clothes, flashlights, and lots of extra batteries. I had Riptide in my pocket. The magic shield/wristwatch Tyson had made for me was on my wrist.

"At least they packed the essentials," Will said in relief, but then continued in a rather concerned tone, "but what about the snacks?"

Nico fought hard to smother a snort of mirth as he looked at this blonde guy in shorts and flip-flops. This was probably his first time ever leaving camp down here. It was all so innocent it almost hurt him.

It was a clear morning. The fog had burned off and the sky was blue.

Campers would be having their lessons today, flying pegasi and practicing archery and scaling the lava wall. Meanwhile, we could be heading underground.

"And they're all jealous of each other," Alex chuckled.

"Are you nuts?" Will looked at him scandalized. "We were all thanking our lucky stars we weren't heading to the place that didn't have grass! We all pitched in and held a thank you seminar Percy and Annabeth were at camp to do this quest!"

"Thanks man," Percy sighed. At least he knew Will was joking that time...or he'd somehow hadn't been invited to a seminar about him and he really wasn't upset about it.

Juniper and Grover stood apart from the group. Juniper had been crying again, but she was trying to keep it together for Grover's sake. She kept fussing with his clothes, straightening his rasta cap and brushing goat fur off his shirt.

Percy recalled watching that with a dull sense of confusion. Like that was something his mom would have been doing, not a girlfriend. His eyes had flickered to Annabeth at the time, who had been staring at the rock as if it were going to move and crush her any moment. He'd reached over and zipped a pouch on her backpack left half open without her noticing like that would be of any help.

It had felt silly and stupid at the time, he was really grateful she hadn't noticed then, and the book not mentioning it now.

Since we had no idea what we would encounter, he was dressed as a human, with the cap to hide his horns, and jeans, fake feet, and sneakers to hide his goat legs.

"One of these days I just want you to not though," Thalia grinned. "The amount of people who will just think he's walking around in the weirdest outfit ever would be so much fun."

"We'll get him a cane so everybody will be to awkward to look long too," Percy agreed indulgently.

Chiron, Quintus, and Mrs. O'Leary stood with the other campers who'd come to wish us well, but there was too much activity for it to feel like a happy send-off. A couple of tents had been set up by the rocks for guard duty. Beckendorf and his siblings were working on a line of defensive spikes and trenches. Chiron had decided we needed to guard the Labyrinth exit at all times, just in case.

"What do you mean? That sounds like the best sendoff ever," Jason smiled. "You get to come back and see all the improvements they made, like a then and now skeleton in the works!"

He seemed to be missing the detail they were doing all that in case they didn't come back, and nobody had the heart to correct him.

Annabeth was doing one last check on her supply pack. When Tyson and I came over, she frowned. "Percy, you look terrible."

"The standard morning greeting," Percy sighed.

"He killed the water fountain last night," Tyson confided.

Alex clasped his hands as if blessing the book for that particularly strange sentence.

"What?" she asked.

Before I could explain, Chiron trotted over. "Well, it appears you are ready!"

"It is criminal he is that excited first thing in the morning, let alone about this," Will sighed.

"He's probably lacing his morning hay with coffee beans," Nico agreed.

He tried to sound upbeat, but I could tell he was anxious. I didn't want to freak him out any more, but I thought about last night's dream, and before I could change my mind, I said, "Hey, uh, Chiron, can I ask you a favor while I'm gone?"

"Of course, my boy."

"Be right back, guys." I nodded toward the woods. Chiron asked an eyebrow, but he followed me out of earshot.

"Last night," I said, "I dreamed about Luke and Kronos." I told him the details. The news seemed to weigh on his shoulders.

"I feared this," Chiron said. "Against my father, Kronos, we would stand no chance in a fight."

Chiron rarely called Kronos his father. I mean, we all knew it was true.

"You didn't until he told you," Thalia snorted.

"I assume other kids around camp actually look up the myths. I just wait to live it all out in person," Percy shrugged.

Everybody in the Greek world—god, monster, or Titan—was related to one another somehow. But it wasn't exactly something Chiron liked to brag about. Oh, my dad is the all-powerful evil Titan lord who wants to destroy Western Civilization. I want to be just like him when I grow up!

"How I imagine every rich brat talks to be honest," Magnus scoffed.

"It's a good thing Chiron lives off the saddlebags on his back then and is nothing like them," Jason chuckled.

Thalia smiled to herself they had no idea they'd met a rich brat, and Rachel would have been laughing right along with them.

"Do you know what he meant about a bargain?" I asked.

"A bargain is offering one exchange for another, usually with one person getting a much better deal," Magnus smirked.

"Now if only you knew the definition of shutting up, then we'd have it made," Percy chuckled.

"I am not sure, but I fear they seek to make a deal with Daedalus. If the old inventor is truly alive, if he has not been driven insane by millennia in the Labyrinth...well, Kronos can find ways to twist anyone to his will."

"Maybe Daedalus is insane, and Kronos will twist him all the way back into being sane, and then you swoop in and rescue him," Alex offered.

"That sounds like a lot of twists and turns," Percy sighed. "Any chance we can just skip to the part where he's on our side?" Then Percy winced for reasons beyond him.

"Then we'd lose out on all your brilliant commentary," Will mock pouted.

"I could live without some of it," Percy huffed. He most certainly wouldn't have advertised his every embarrassing mistake for starters.

"Not anyone," I promised.

Percy smiled with pride for that, until he noticed Thalia's uneasy little wince. He settled quietly into his seat beside her and didn't draw attention to that which Nico had read over without a single bit of surprise.

Chiron managed a smile. "No. Perhaps not anyone. But, Percy, you must beware. I have worried for some time that Kronos may be looking for Daedalus for a different reason, not just passage through the maze."

"What else could he want?" Magnus frowned. "How many things can he get from one dude."

"Hercules has defeated everything in the past," Percy reminded in exhaustion just thinking about him. "It's more than possible Daedalus had more than one thing going on."

"What else would he want?"

"Something Annabeth and I were discussing. Do you remember what you told me about your first trip to the Princess Andromeda, the first time you saw the golden coffin?"

I nodded. "Luke was taking about raising Kronos, little pieces of him appearing in the coffin every time someone new joined his cause."

"Still disgusting and terrifying by the way," Will promised as if anyone had forgotten that.

"And what did Luke say they would do when Kronos had risen completely?"

A chill went down my spine. "He said they would make Kronos a new body, worthy of the forges of Hephaestus."

"Kronos clearly needs to get caught up on all the AI movies proving why that won't turn out like he wants," Jason snorted.

"Indeed," Chiron said. "Daedalus was the world's greatest inventor. He created the Labyrinth, but much more. Automatons, thinking machines...What if Kronos wishes Daedalus to make him a new form?"

"He could tell him no," Alex said stoutly. "That powers within anybody's control!"

"I don't think it worked out so well with that evil king," Magnus reminded uneasily. They didn't yet know what had happened to him and his son from that, but going by the history of all these Greek stories, he was guessing, not well.

That was a real pleasant thought.

"If pleasant means bone chilling," Thalia muttered, getting her own flashes of that all over at just the thought of that reveal.

"We've got to get to Daedalus first," I said, "and convince him not to."

Jason frowned as he wondered how far Percy would be willing to go to convince him though. What level of favor would Percy consider to get Daedalus on his side? Would he kidnap the inventor and drag him back to camp just to keep him away from Kronos against his will?

Chiron stared off into the trees. "One other thing I do not understand...this talk of a last soul joining their cause. That does not bode well."

"Must be a pretty special soul to complete such a ritual," Alex said with an almost serious face for a moment before following it up with, "so I guess that leaves Percy out."

"He's got you there," Magnus snorted, "New Yorker's are one in a million."

Percy laughed along at them downplaying this, as well as trying to take some comfort perhaps if his was the soul needed at least that meant this would never happen.

I kept my mouth shut, but I felt guilty. I'd made the decision not to tell Chiron about Nico being a son of Hades. The mention of souls, though—

Magnus and Alex exchanged surprised, uneasy looks for that. They already knew Kronos would be begging to get Nico on their side by any means necessary, but if Percy's guess was right and he was somehow the child of the prophy meant to help drag Kronos's soul the rest of the way out...well they already knew Minos was evil and could be up to something far worse. What if all this talk of helping bring Bianca back was just practice to get Nico ready for something far worse?

What if Kronos knew about Nico?

"We still haven't gotten clarification how anybody knows anything around here," Will shook his head as if this were a mild concern, "no sense in useless worries until then." He bit back the exclamation Nico would have been safer at Camp in the meantime whether anybody knew his parentage or not only because Kronos was no longer a threat. He'd just have to come up with other arguments.

What if he managed to turn him evil?

"He's literally hanging around with an evil ghost and still making morally ambiguous almost good decisions about not wanting to murder people," Jason reminded with a casual shrug. "I like his chances."

"Thanks," Nico muttered in surprise.

It was almost enough to make me want to tell Chiron, but I didn't. For one thing, I wasn't sure Chiron could do anything about it.

"I'll give you that one," Will agreed briskly. He didn't exactly do a stellar job of the campers already under his care.

"Even the best marksman has a limited range," Thalia said with a bit more sorrow. Even if Chiron couldn't have done anything, he surely would have appreciated a heads-up just in case he could later.

I had to find Nico myself. I had to explain things to him, make him listen.

"Strapping someone in a chair for a lecture is worse than anything Kronos would do to him," Magnus reminded.

"I'd offer snacks?" Percy said.

"Nico?" Magnus let him pass judgment.

He considered for a moment, his stomach in knots over the last time he'd let Percy make him listen. It had only opened a whole other can of worms he was still processing.

So for now, he waved his hand and said, "I'll consider it."

"I don't know," I said at last. "But, uh, something Juniper said, maybe you should hear." I told him how the tree nymph had seen Quintus poking around the rocks.

"Which I'm still mildly offended you didn't do yesterday," Jason scowled, "or her, when this happened!" The safety of their home was not something that should be trifled with!

"Juniper's not great with people," Percy reminded, "and I've had, like, a million other things on my mind!"

"Which is 999,999 more than he usually does," Thalia smirked.

Chiron's jaw tightened. "That does not surprise me."

"What does surprise him is when we spend Father's Day hiding his arrows from him and call it advance practice," Will chuckled. He realized after the fact he was probably being a little to nonchalant about this when he got some strange looks for that, or they just didn't think it was funny. Probably the first though.

"It doesn't sur—you mean you know?"

"Percy, when Quintus showed up at camp offering his services...well, I would have to be a fool not to be suspicious."

"Fair enough," Percy huffed, he still thought somebody could have at least gasped.

"Then why did you let him in?"

"Because sometimes it is better to have someone you mistrust close to you, so that you can keep an eye on him.

"I always hated that saying," Alex scowled, "the adage only works in enclosed spaces to know what your enemy is doing intimately, and even then if they're clever enough they'll pull a wool over your eyes. Otherwise, it's safe to be as far away as possible. Or just kill them."

It wasn't much of a guess which Alex leaned towards.

"There's a certain strategy in both," Jason passively said.

He may be just what he says: a halfblood in search of a home. Certainly he has done nothing openly that would make me question his loyalty. But believe me. I will keep an eye—"

Annabeth trudged over, probably curious why we were taking so long.

"What, is she jealous Percy's having a conversation without her in it for a change?" Alex chuckled.

"She's probably convinced Percy will monopolize himself into being Chiron's new favorite," Magnus mock agreed.

"Percy, you ready?"

I nodded. My hand slipped into my pocket, where I kept the ice whistle Quintus had given me. I looked over and saw Quintus watching me carefully.

He raised his hand in farewell.

Our spies report success, Luke had said. The same day we decided to send a quest, Luke had known about it.

"That's happened the last few quests though where he's up to date," Magnus shook his head. "Can't explicitly blame that on him."

"Take care," Chiron told us. "And good hunting."

"If he asks you to bring him back a skin, tell him to get in line," Alex mock waved.

"You too," I said.

We walked over to the rocks, where Tyson and Grover were waiting. I stared at the crack between the boulders—the entrance that was about to swallow us.

"Well," Grover said nervously, "good-bye sunshine."

"Hello rocks," Tyson agreed.

"Hopefully not the last thing they agree on," Jason said with a wayward smile.

And together, the four of us descended into darkness.

"Real happy, go-getter of a last sentence there," Nico shook his head as he passed the book along to Will.

"At least you never leave camp angry at anybody," Alex offered. "By the rules of writing, that would spell trouble with a capital death."

"My life is not an actual book," Percy told him blankly.

"Well the narrator sure isn't reliable enough for this to be a biography," Magnus smirked. "How many times did you say you're voice has cracked from puberty break?"

"And we're moving on!" Percy yelped.

PJOPJO

*There are no canon middle names for any characters in the series except Will, and it kind of drives me nuts.

#pjo #Percy Jackson #Jason Grace #Thalia Grace #alex fierro #Magnus Chase #nico di angelo #will solace #percabeth #solangelo #fierrochase #percy jackon and the olympians #battle of the labyrinth #mcdonalds #reading the books #big three kids

[carnal-lnstinct]

SCOURGE OF THE STARS ‧₊˚✩彡

“What should I do? I'm just a little baby. What if the lights go out and maybe. And then the wind just starts to moan outside my door. He followed me home.” - Shivaree

DBZ HALLOWEEN EVENT Oct 1 - Nov 1 REQUEST STATUS: OPEN / CLOSED

Conditions & Characters Updated 9/17/22

Event Open early due to scheduling 🎃 9/29/22

Find completed requests here 10/4/22

Accepted requests tracking below, will keep updated 10/27/22

Happy Halloween! 🎃 requests are closed, thank you for participation! I will continue to wrap up as many accepted requests until Nov 7th. 10/31/22

Intro—

Welcome to my DBZ Requests event! Thanks to the support of some good friends, I was able to kick off this idea in the spirit of Halloween and will be open to requests for the entire month of October!

The Villains of DBZ are taking over the requests! And they've brought the wicked variants of the saiyans with them. Be as dark, spooky, naughty, and creative with your requests. Or just carve a jack-o-lantern while deciding on Halloween costumes with your favorite villain or saiyan who adores you. So long as they meet the conditions of the theme, anything goes!

This will contain 18+ content so MINORS DO NOT INTERACT.

Accepted Request—

Yandere!Frieza Tail Play - WIP

Goku Black Trick or Treat - WIP

Raditz Halloween Party- WIP

Goku & Vegeta x Majin!Reader

Beast Gohan Corn Maze - WIP

Depraved Warrior Broly Hurt/Comfort

Vampire!Goku

Conditions—

✧✧ Askbox will be open for requests starting Oct 1st and will remain open thru Oct 31st. No requests are accepted on or after Nov 1st. ✧✧ Please adhere to the request rules already in place for what type of requests I do and do not accept. ✧✧ safe for work and "naht safe" for work requests are accepted! ✧✧ Apologies in advance if I happen to not get to you, but any requests not completed by Nov 7th will not be answered later & will be cleared from the askbox. ✧✧ There is no set limit to how many requests one person can submit. Just bear in mind I am one person with a full-time job working the requests, so I'll do my best to get to as many as I can! ♥ ✧✧ Large fics/series will be put on hold for this time to focus on the requests. ✧✧ I will be accepting requests for Villains or Villainous versions of the characters I already write for ( see list below ). In addition to this, I will accept the reverse character x villainous!reader and Halloween-themed requests with the normal characters, villains, and AU villains (ex: dressing up in costumes, trick or treating, visiting a haunted house, binging horror movies, dark/yandere characters, hay rides through the pumpkin patch, etc.) I encourage you to be specific with your requested character. ✧✧ Any requests not fitting the theme will not be accepted at this time. ✧✧ You do not have to use the AU version of the characters I recommend! Be as creative as you like with the request. Consider it accepted unless otherwise stated. ✧✧ This is my first time writing the villainous characters of the series so my characterizations may be a little off to fit the requests. ✧✧ All requests will be tagged as SOTS* which you can track on my blog to find them without searching through the My Writing or Requests tags. This will be updated on the welcome post soon.

Characters—

✧✧ VILLAINS: Villains are their canon appearance with variations being AU versions.

Raditz The Saiyan Elite Variations: Royal Guard Elite (Planet Vegeta AU) Android S (RR Android)

Bardock Slayer of Civilizations Variations: Tyrant Killer (Destroyer of Frieza) Masked Time Breaker (XV2)

Frieza Galactic Emperor Variation: God of Destruction (Lord Beerus' Protégé)

Cooler Prince of Tyranny Variation: Emperor of The Galaxy (Inheritor of the King Cold Force)

Perfect Cell The Immaculate Weapon

Turles The Renegade Terror Variation: The Galactic Usurper (Saiyan God AU)

Buuhan ( Gohan Absorbed ) Chaos Embodied Variation: Buugito (Vegito Absorbed)

Goku Black The Black Divine

Dabura The Demon King Variation: Time Breaker Demon King (XV2)

Super Android 17 The Ultimate Android

✧✧ AU VILLAINS: I use the term AU lightly as they're mostly the "canon" variation of the characters and some fun spin on their characterizations.

Kakarot The Adept Lower-Class - Saiyan of Planet Vegeta Variations: Ruler of Earth (Sent to Earth AU) Super Oozaru Goku (Corrupt SS4 AU)

Prince Vegeta IV Prince of Destruction - Conqueror of the Galaxy Variations: King Vegeta IV (Planet Vegeta AU) Majin Vegeta Super Baby Vegeta

Broly The Exiled Saiyan - The Legendary Super Saiyan Variations: The Forgotten Saiyan (Feral AU) Depraved Warrior (Planet Vegeta AU)

Gohan The Raging Berserker - Ox Prince of Fire Mountain Variations: Super Baby Gohan (GT AU) Corrupted Beast Gohan Legendary Super Saiyan (Pre-Buu Saga AU)

#SOTS* #masterlist

[mishwanders]

Chapter Four {Heisenberg}: Act of Approach

Pairing: Karl Heisenberg x GN!Disabled Reader

Summary: Heisenberg hears the buzzer going off and is surprised to find you at his gates.

Warnings: dead body that has been carved into (unfinished soldat), guts, and intestines.

Read on AO3 { X }

Heisenberg was hard at work in his factory, gloved hands deep within the maze of intestines of a new test subject when he heard the loud buzz come over the speaker above his head. He let out a disgruntled sigh and pulled out the ropes of organs, dropping them into a bucket that was filled with fluids. He removed his gloves and apron and left the room, making his way upstairs to the ground floor. The closer he got, the more his power reached outside the factory, moving through the magnetic field, extending all the way out to the gate. He couldn’t sense any metal on the person, save for a chain necklace.

He immediately knew who it was. He connected through the speaker outside and spoke.

“What do you want, Saint?” He asked, the last word coming out like an insult rather than the title he knew you were bearing proudly.

“I’m here at the request of Mother Miranda.” You replied

“What - Why?”

“I’m compiling all of the information I can about the Cadou to go along with what I have in its connection to the black god. She wanted me to come see everyone’s work in person.”

He left you in a moment of silence, debating whether he should let you in or just leave you out in the cold and wait until you finally left.

“Lord Heisenberg, you’re going to have to let me in. It’s either going to have to be at your own discretion or when I tell -”

God damn it.

Heisenberg let out a sigh and opened up the gate for you from inside. He continued to make his way through the factory until he finally made it to the large garage doors. He slid them open and leaned against one, arms crossed and staring down at you through his mossy glasses. He watched you trudge your way up the hill with that flimsy cane of yours, trying to keep stable.

He knew you needed a new one, the one you had was fairly old and looked like it was made out of a broken branch. But he also knew you couldn’t afford one that was sturdier, one that didn’t look like it was about to break from underneath you at any moment. It was then that an idea sparked in his mind - he had enough shit around here, he’d easily be able to make you a new one. He would just have to find a way to give it to you without realizing it was from him.

When you finally reached the doors he could see you were out of breath, leaning over your cane for support. But he could see a slight smile on your face, he knew you were happy to have just made it this far. You gingerly stood up again and attempted to move closer to the doorway, but he threw his arm up preventing you from going any further.

“Let’s get something clear here. You’re allowed in only on a few conditions. 1. You are only allowed to go where I say, nothing more nothing less. 2. You will do what I say, and 3. You’re not allowed to touch anything without my permission. Got it?”

You nodded in response.

“Yeah, got it.”

Heisenberg finally moved his arm out of the way, allowing you into the safety and warmth of his factory before closing the metal doors shut behind you. He led you down the stairs and through the halls into a larger dimly lit room with a desk, tables, red ceramic floors, and a large gray curtain hanging over one wall. He pulled out the metal chair for you and motioned towards it.

“Take a seat. You look worn out.”

You looked at him, shocked at his offer that came unexpectedly. You sat down in the chair, leaning your cane against the desk, and pulled out your notebook from your bag, to which he grimaced at. Of course you were going to be taking notes the entire time.

“Thank you. Long walks like that can be rather painful.” You replied

“Then why come?” He asked, crossing his arms.

“Because Mother Miranda asked me to.” You explained, “But to be honest, I wanted to. I wanted to see what you had been doing with the Cadou, because I’m genuinely interested.”

Now he was looking at you surprised. You had to be pulling something - this had to be Mother Miranda’s way of getting intel on his army that he was building. Somehow that bitch must have known, must have found out -

No, that couldn’t have been it. Maybe you were just telling the truth, maybe you were just genuinely interested.

“Would you mind telling me what you’ve been doing with them? I’ve looked over some of Miranda’s notes from previous meetings and she wrote that you’ve been putting them inside dead bodies, is that correct?”

Heisenberg slowly nodded in response.

“That’s correct.”

“Why? Are you trying to raise the dead? What’s the purpose of it?” you asked

Heisenberg hesitated to answer your question - trying to figure out just how much he should tell you. Should he tell you that he’s been doing it to create an army to destroy Miranda - to end her, to get back at her for everything she’d done to him? No, he knew you wouldn’t agree with his reasoning, even if it were the truth. You’d go back and tell that bitch of a mother and then she’d do god knows what to him. No, it was best to keep his answers plain and simple.

“I'm just trying to understand it - your motives, that’s all.” You replied, gaining his attention back on you. “I would like to be able to include the hard work you’ve done in this manuscript, along with the others of course.”

He looked at you contemplatively for a moment. As much as he preferred to keep his work and everything out of the villagers' hungry eyes, maybe giving them a taste of his power would keep them off of his back, just as much as it would Miranda.

Fuck it.

“It might be better if I just showed. Stay right here.” He said, turning towards the doors, “And don’t leave this room, got it?”

You nodded

“Yes, sir.”

Heisenberg made his way into the factory, finding one of the lines that had unfinished soldats on it. He chose one that had no weapons attached, only the cybernetic headgear with the metal plate covering its eyes and the attachment on its chest with all of the wires connecting inside. He called it forward off of the line, forcing it to float towards him. It followed behind until he opened the double doors again. He stopped at the entrance, seeing you now standing with your flimsy cane, a hand reaching out towards the curtain covering the wall. He narrowed his eyes at you, irritated and disappointed.

“What did I say about not touching things without my permission?”

He watched you jump at the sound of doors and his booming voice. You gave him a shy smile, knowing that you’d been caught. But he watched as your eyes widened in surprise when you caught sight of the monstrous creation behind him. He moved it in between you two, allowing you to have a better look. You moved closer to it, inspecting it all, asking a wide array of questions about it, jotting down notes the entire time. You seemed genuinely interested in the mechanics of it all - how he was able to get the Cadou working with the complexity of the human body along with the wires and metal that was attached. He found himself growing proud, which was something he wasn’t expecting. Hell he even found himself enjoying the conversation at hand, even if he had to bite his tongue on certain things related to the topic. It was just nice to have someone to talk to about it - someone that had a similar fascination to it all.

“The work you’ve put into it is amazing!” You said, writing more in your notes. “But this still leaves me with the question - why use the gift on the dead?”

“Because everyone else uses it on the living.” He said simply, “Besides, I run a dangerous factory, it’s easier to just sew on another arm if they lose one versus a living person.”

He could see your eyes moving from the soldat over to his shoulder. You looked as if you were staring at something that wasn’t there. Were you lost in thought? He couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in your head. But before he was able to ask, you looked back up at him and nodded.

“I guess that makes sense.” You replied, “It’s interesting how you’ve created this. Its shape reminds me of the black god itself on a smaller scale.”

He grimaced at the mention of the megamycete, forgetting that you still sew it like the rest of the sheep in the village - like a god that deserves to be revered.

“Why do you say that?” He asked

“The light reminds me of it, with all of the wires and tubes running into the body like the roots and how they run along the cave and away into the soil. Roots are the ways plants communicate to each other, and you’ve found a way to make all of this work and communicate to each part of the body.”

“You’re really sold into all of this stuff, aren’t you?” He asked

You looked at him in surprise, he knew you weren’t expecting that type of question.

“I’m not sure I understand.” You said, “I just see the similarity, that’s all.”

“I mean you really believe in this religion. Does it mean that much to you?” He asked

“Well of course. Why wouldn’t I? It’s a big part of the village community, it’s a big part of my life - I’ve given my life to serve it and now I finally get a chance to help others with my words - so of course it means a lot.” You said, “I can actually do something good for others.”

He stared you down for a moment, hearing the honesty in your voice as you spoke, the sincerity on your face. If only you truly knew what this damn thing was all about, what it could truly do…

Maybe it was better to allow you to live in blissful ignorance.

Heisenberg moved the soldat away from you, opening up the metal grate towards the side of the room, dropping the soldat below it. He turned his attention back to you.

“Alright, well you got everything you needed. You know the way in - you know the way out, so you see yourself out.”

He turned around to head back into the factory, but he noticed that you didn’t move from your spot. He stopped at the double doors and looked back over his shoulder at you.

“What is it?” He asked

“I wanted to ask you if you’d be willing to accompany me to see the others, Donna and Moreau? I’m unsure if I can make the trek alone.” You explained

“And that’s my problem, how?” He asked in an irritated tone.

“I just thought I’d ask you first because Mother Miranda was going to force you to do so at my request.” You replied, “But seeing how you’re still just going to be an ass about it - forget it.”

You packed your journal back in your bag, throwing the strap over your shoulder and began to head for the door to leave. He knew he’d hurt your feelings. Heisenberg let out a loud sigh, which forced you to stop in your tracks.

“What time are you heading that way?” He asked

“Tomorrow morning at dawn.” You replied

“I’ll meet you at the chapel. Don’t be late.”

You smiled at him, nodding.

“Okay!” You said

“See you then.”

Chapter Three: Daffodil

Chapter Five: In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company

#resident evil fic #resident evil fandom #resident evil fanfiction #resident evil #karl heisenberg #our moral decay #karl heisenberg x you #karl heisenberg x y/n #karl heisenberg x reader #karl heisenburg x reader #resident evil 8 #resident evil viii #resident evil village #re8 x reader #re8 fanfiction #re8 village #re8 #re8 heisenberg #re8 lords #series: our moral decay

[dthale90]

The Lord's Work

Prompt inspired by "Instigation: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side," by Michael Arnzen

“What sort of work?”

Clive looked up. “What?”

“Your sign, son. It says will work for food. What sort of work?”

The man asking was fat, with a lined, smiling face and strands of gray hair clinging to his liver-spotted scalp. He wore a plaid jacket and jeans, simple work boots. He looked like a working man, a grandfatherly sort who was happy to do things the hard way.

Clive felt every speck of the filth on his body when set against the stranger. He could smell his own stink, feel the grime and sweat clinging to him beneath his clothes. “Whatever work you want, mister.”

The old man nodded, and held out a plastic Subway bag. “Turkey ok?”

After Clive has eaten, the old man asked: “Can you act?”

“Act?”

“Yeah, like, in a theater.”

Clive wiped crumbs from his beard. “I mean, I didn’t really do that kind of thing in school. I think I was in a couple of concerts in elementary. Nothing elaborate.”

“I don’t need elaborate,” the old man assured him. “I just need someone who can play the Devil.”

“The Devil?”

“It’s a church thing, see. We’re starting up this hell house for the local kids. Like one of them haunted mazes but with a biblical theme. Figure if the kids are looking to get scared this month they might as well learn something too. Anyway, the last scene has the Devil pop out and scare the kids. Then the kids can stone him to death.”

“Stone?”

“Not real stones, mind you. Just paper balls made to look like stones. They go through all these trials in the haunt, and then they get to show their strength by overcoming the Devil himself. They stone you, you act like it hurts and then you die. Simple.”

Clive considered this. You didn’t ask questions when you were in this position but he couldn’t help himself. “Why me?”

The old man chuckled and tapped his chin. “That beard. Honestly it made me think of the Devil. I don’t mean that in a bad way,” he added hastily. “Just mean that we can get it looking mighty sinister, with a bit of grooming.”

Clive resisted the urge to scratch his itching beard.

“Obviously we’ll get the rest of you cleaned up nice too. Book you a room with a shower, clean sheets. Feed and pay you for your trouble.”

“I didn’t ask for—”

“I know you didn’t ask for money, son. But we gotta pay you for your time, don’t we? See if we can’t put you up somewhere better. More reliable work. A second chance.” The old man placed a hand on th side of Clive’s face, made him look him in the eye. “This is all the Lord’s work, son. That’s what I believe.”

Volunteer Recognition: Ryan Dearing

On behalf of everyone at the Wrathful Joy Congregation, I would like to express my personal gratitude to Ryan and his team for all the work they put into at their Redemption Hell House.

I know many of us have had some misgivings about putting on such a sordid entertainment for the children, but I think we can all agree the results have proven us wrong. To see so many of them exiting the house, wide-eyed and quivering with the Lord’s spirit…it’s simply wonderful!

And I have to confess, I had a good time myself! I had the privilege to follow the group as a chaperone, and found myself astonished by what Ryan accomplished. I particularly enjoyed the Sins of the Flesh room. I’ll spare you the more colorful details, but I feel pretty confident that we’ve put the notion of blasphemous lifestyles to rest.

Of course, the runaway favorite was the finale, where the children got to prove their power over Satan himself! The Devil (played masterfully by one of Ryan’s down-and-out volunteers) barely rose from the smoking pit before the children began throwing stones! His cries of defeat were incredibly realistic. I almost felt sorry for the Adversary!

And where is this devilish thespian now? Well, as you know, the donations made by our generous flock allowed us to put on this little production. Much of those expenses went towards finding this previously destitute volunteer a new life abroad, helping out our fellow believers at the African sanctuary I’ve told you all about. How I wish you could see the paradise being built here, the Eden-on-Earth raised in the African wilds, all thanks to you, my friends!

Rest assured, the day is not far off where you might see this miracle for yourselves! In fact, if you continue to support our church, as well as Ryan’s efforts to combat the homelessness crisis in our little town, that day may very well come sooner than you think!

Be joyous! Be wrathful! Be ready!

#fiction #horror #short story #writing prompt #michael a arnzen