#I’ve already posted a fic of them dancing but oh well - have another (if you want it)

[pizzaqueen]

Another ficlet of Steve and Eddie dancing

Established relationship / around 700 words / rated T (for being vaguely suggestive?) / teensiest allusion to homophobia

Eddie loves making out with Steve. He loves everything—anything—they do, but sometimes, all he wants is to make out with Steve on his couch, in his bed, in the backseat of Steve’s car. It’s consuming. Everything else falls away when he’s with Steve.

That’s why he doesn’t realize he forgot to change the radio to a decent station until they’ve been making out for… Fuck, Eddie doesn’t know how long. He just knows that Steve is hot above him and Eddie’s working on a hickey at the juncture of Steve’s neck and shoulder that Steve will complain about later but isn’t stopping Eddie from giving him now.

But Steve breaks away for a moment, shifting between Eddie’s legs, and, above the sounds of their breathing, comes the sound of music Eddie would never willingly listen to. He tries to ignore it because Steve’s tongue is in his mouth and his hand is up Eddie’s shirt, but now that he’s noticed the music it’s so distracting. Ugh.

He pushes a confused, dazed, Steve away and shuffles over to the radio.

“What—” Steve starts, then huffs when Eddie reaches for the radio dial. “Wait, don’t change it.” There’s warmth at Eddie’s back and Steve’s hands on his hips. “I like this song.”

And, no, this is all wrong. Steve isn’t meant to get up. He’s meant to stay on the couch, waiting for Eddie to pick a better station, so they can continue their make-out session with the right soundtrack. But now he’s swaying behind Eddie, chin hooked over Eddie’s shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Eddie asks.

“We,” Steve says, turning Eddie around, “are dancing.”

“Are we?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, arranging Eddie so he’s got one arm draped over Steve’s shoulder, holding Eddie’s other hand in his own, fingers interlaced.

“I thought we were fooling around.”

“We can do that later,” Steve says, but he pulls Eddie close with the arm around his waist, so their bodies are flush. And maybe they’re a little less horizontal than Eddie would like, but he can deal with this.

“Kind of an old-fashioned song for your taste, isn’t it?”

“Old stuff is cool now,” Steve says. “Anyway, it was in Dirty Dancing.”

“Oh, so you think you’re Patrick Swayze, or something, huh?”

“Sure.” Steve rolls his hips, thigh slotted between Eddie’s, and winks.

Heat rushes Eddie, and he almost wishes they were back on the couch, but this is a different kind of fun. Still, he clears his throat and says, “Okay, just don’t tell anyone.” He bites Steve’s jaw. “I’ve got a certain reputation to protect, you know.”

“Oh, yeah, I was planning on telling the whole town I was slow dancing with another guy.”

It stings, but Eddie knows it hurts Steve too despite the joke. So, he cups the back of Steve’s neck, bringing their foreheads together for a moment. He sinks his fingers into Steve’s hair and tugs a little.

Steve hums and kisses him, then pulls back so he can sing: “For every kiss you give me—” He taps his cheek expectantly.

Eddie rolls his eyes, but he plants a wet kiss on the spot he touched.

Then Steve sings, “I’ll give you three,” and kisses Eddie three times, once on each cheek, and then on his mouth.

It’s corny and so Steve that Eddie aches, heart too big for his chest. Fuck, he loves this dorky, sexy, romantic idiot. “You’re such a dork.”

“So are you.”

Eddie doesn’t even pretend to be offended. “I love you.”

“I know.” Steve grins, pulling Eddie impossibly tighter against him, and whispers, “I love you too,” into Eddie’s ear.

A shiver runs down Eddie’s spine and his heart beats hard.

Dancing in his trailer to ‘Be My Baby’ with Steve has got to be one of the most ridiculously romantic things Eddie’s ever done. Not that there’s been a whole lot of romance in his life, at least not before Steve. But this is… This is nice. Really nice. He can’t deny that.

So, he lets Steve spin them around, sways along with him, even pulls a couple moves of his own that make Steve smile wide. And when the song fades out, he doesn’t change the station.

#steddie #Steve x eddie #Steddie fic #Steddie fanfic #here have a fic while ao3 is down 😜 #I’ve already posted a fic of them dancing but oh well - have another (if you want it) #pizzaqueenfic

[cadybear420]

Performance for fluffember🤍

The Voice of an Angel

Fandom: High School Story (Original Trilogy)

Pairings: Aiden Zhou x Evie Ayana (female HSS MC), maybe with a small side of Ajay Bhandari x Cher Lee (female HSS:CA MC)

Characters: Aiden Zhou, Evie Ayana (female HSS MC)

Rating: G

Warnings: None

Additional Tags: Fluff, Singing, Performance, Dancing

Word Count: 2,128

Summary: On Evie’s 18th birthday, Aiden and the jazz band whip up a little surprise for her. Takes place approximately between HSS:CA 2 and HSS:CA 3 (though my memory of the HSS:CA timeline is a little more fuzzy).

A/N: First of all: to the anon who sent the prompt, major apologies for sleeping on it for so long. Coming up with writing ideas is a bitch, but it is something I want to do more often. And there was also that one time when Tumblr turned off editing for answers to asks, which carried over to the draft post for this for a while. Second of all, I’m fucking obsessed with this song from Doctor Who (“My Angel Put the Devil in Me”, from the Series 3 soundtrack) and I think Evie and Aiden would be as well. Third of all, yes this is a belated birthday fic for Evie, but I’m glad to get it out before the end of Evie’s birthday month at least. Also haha both Evie’s birthday this year and in the setting of the fic were on a Friday. Fourth of all, arghrghrargh my first time writing a fic where one character sings to another AND does a choreographed dance to it too. It’s a lot more difficult than I imagined lol. 

(Also, the outfit I imagine for the other jazz band kids)

Prompt: Performance

Source for prompts here. Even though it's long past November, I'll still accept prompt suggestions from this list year-round.

Tags: @inlocusmads @aces-and-angels @aria-ashryver @lover-also-fighter-also @jerzwriter @choicesmc @3rdstreetfrank @dutifullynuttywitch @lovealexhunt @lilyoffandoms @peonierose (as this is the complete version of this WIP and this challenge bit), and @choicesficwriterscreations

Friday, March 8, 2019. The day of Evie’s 18th birthday. She’d been planning to host a birthday party at one of her favorite restaurants in the city, starting in the early evening after school. Almost everyone she knew from school was invited. 

It was late in the afternoon now. Evie took one last look at herself in her new outfit– a navy blue suit with a purple floral necktie– and grinned, before dashing to the living room. There, her dad was checking his phone. 

“Alright, I’m ready to go!” she said. 

He turned to her. “Actually… we can’t leave just yet…”

She pouted. “What??? But Daaaad, the party starts at 5 PM and it’s already 4:45!”

“The people doing the decorations are… taking a bit longer than expected.”

“Oh…”

“It’s a bit awkward to go to a party when they’re still putting decorations up, isn’t it?”

“That’s true,” her face softened. “Do the other guests know?”

“...yep! I’ve just told them, in fact.”

“Okay… but how long do we have to wait?”

“Shouldn’t be more than… ten to twenty minutes?”

Evie pouted again. 

“It’s not that long…”

“Okay, fiiiiine, I’ll be patient…”

“And I’ll be doctor!”

Evie winced. “Dad, NO…”

…

About twenty minutes passed, and then finally, her dad said it was okay to start driving to the restaurant. After a fifteen minute drive, they arrived, and Evie wasted no time going in. 

The room was alive with upbeat music, purple decorative lights and flowers, and many of Evie’s friends. It seemed like just about everyone she’d invited had shown up– her main friend group, her teammates, her friends from the other cliques and Hearst, Cher and her friends from theatre, the seniors from last year who hadn’t gone away for college… 

And all of them greeted her with a big “Happy birthday, Evie!!!”, in unison. 

Evie inhaled, beaming at her friends. Many of them ran over to hug her, a few others cheered for her. 

Then she saw Emma and Cher push their way through the crowd and grab her by her arms. 

“Evie! There’s a special surprise for you, right now!” said Cher. 

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah!” said Emma. “Just come with us…” 

The crowd parted, making way for Emma and Cher to pull Evie to the opposite side of the room. As they did, the party music slowly faded out and the lights began to dim. 

“What the–” Evie started. 

“Shhhh. You’ll see soon enough!” Emma replied. 

When they made it to the opposite end of the room, a warm spotlight turned on over her, and there she saw it. The jazz band, all set up with their instruments and dressed in matching snazzy black-and-red suits and… devil horns? Yes, devil horns. 

And at the front of it all… was none other than her beautiful boyfriend Aiden, all dressed up and holding a microphone. 

Evie just about stopped in her tracks as she took in his outfit– a snug, ivory-colored flapper dress that had silver beads sewn into intricate patterns, and hung just barely above his knees. Along with that, he also wore a couple of matching long pearl necklaces, a fluffy white halo accessory over his head, and winged eyeliner.

“Wow…” Evie felt her breath catch. “Aiden, you look–”

Just then, Aiden signaled to the band… and they started to play. 

Evie grinned broadly, her eyes immediately lighting up at the familiar upbeat jazzy tune, and watched intently as her boyfriend danced towards her, in steps that were careful and rhythmic, yet lively. 

Then the tempo slowed, and he held the microphone to his mouth and began to sing. 

“I'm a country girl, I ain't seen a lot… But you came along, and my heart went pop! You took a little streetcar to my heart… And an apple of love fell off my apple cart~”

Evie’s cheeks flustered at his melodious voice. This wasn’t the first time she’d heard him sing– he’s sung to her plenty of times, and they’d practically been doing Evie-Aiden duets since the day they met. But this… this was different. Aiden had never done a solo singing performance for her before, let alone one that involved a bit of dance as well. 

“You looked at me, my heart began to pound… You weren't the sort of guy I thought would stick around… Hey, but it don't have to be eternally… My bad, bad Angel put the Devil in me~”

And his singing voice was all the more different this time around too. Even later into their relationship, as Aiden had become more confident about his singing, there was always still a hint of nervousness in his voice when they sang their duets. But this time, he sang loud and clear. Like he was owning the stage. 

Aiden performed a small twirl before stopping, his eyes meeting hers as he began slowly walking up to her, making her heart jump a little.

“You lured me in with your cold grey eyes… Your simple smile, your bewitching lies…”

As he sang that verse, he reached out and grabbed onto her bright purple tie, making Evie’s face heat up as he began tugging on it gently and pulling her closer to him. 

“One and one and one is three… My bad, bad Angel… the Devil in me~!”

The tempo picked up again. Aiden let go of her tie and took her hand in his as he broke out into energetic dance movements while still singing the lyrics to the song, the skirt of his dress swishing about as he swayed gracefully to the instrumental music. 

Evie squeezed his hand and matched his movements, her pulse racing now.  All the while, the crowd watched with excitement. When they came face-to-face again, she was giving him an almost drunken smile.

Soon enough, Aiden broke from her hold and turned around, sashaying slightly as he started stepping away from her… before looking over his shoulder, catching her gaze once again. 

“My bad, bad Angel~ you put the Devil in me~”

Aiden shook his butt side-to-side to the beat, giving Evie a knowing look that made her cheeks brighten. The music slowed, and he turned around to face her again. 

“So, now my dear, I ain't the girl you knew… 'Cause the Angel's got Heaven, but I get you…”

He sauntered back up to her.

“And the tree of life grows tall, you see… My bad, bad Angel… you put the Devil in me~!”

The beat slowed to a more gentle, relaxed tune as Aiden placed his arm over Evie’s shoulder. 

“Oh… You put the Devil in me~”

Aiden gestured towards Evie’s arm, and she placed her arms around him, taking hold of his waist as they began to rock together. 

“You put the Devil in me…”

Gently and smoothly, Aiden broke out of her hold and took her hand again. Lifting her hand, he twirled himself under her arm, then placed himself backwards against her body– all without missing a beat. 

As Aiden continued to sing, Evie wrapped both of her arms around his middle, embracing him from behind. Aiden pressed back against her and placed his free arm over hers, almost as if to hold her arms in place, as they began to sway side-to-side together again. Evie practically melted into him, his body warm against hers. 

“You put the Devil in me…”

Then, the song picked up again. 

“You put the Devil in… me~!”

He swiftly yet carefully broke from her hold again, and danced in a circle around her as he sang the last few verses of the song. She turned to follow him, their eyes locked onto each other yet again, as he gave her an almost sultry gaze. 

“My bad, bad Angel, you put the Devil in me!”

At the final note, the lights slowly faded back on. Aiden stood in front of the now cheering crowd and took a huge bow, grinning proudly. 

Once he straightened back up, Evie finally let out a high pitched “EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”, bouncing up and down before leaping onto Aiden, sweeping him up into her arms, and spinning him around. Aiden gasped, dropping his microphone with a loud *thunk*– but then quickly held her face in his hand and pulled her in for a passionate kiss, prompting the crowd to cheer louder. 

After a moment, Aiden broke the kiss. “Happy eighteenth birthday, Darling~”

Evie squeezed him tighter. “Aiden, that was…” She took a deep breath, a starstruck look in her eyes. “Your singing is amazing… I mean, I’ve heard you sing before, obviously, but…”

A slight but visible rosy tint grew on his cheeks. 

“But I’ve never done a singing performance for you, I know. I figured it was about time I did.”

“And you were fucking amazing. I’ve never heard you sing like that before… like, you were already good, but I didn’t know you were this good…”

“I mean… practice makes perfect, after all…”

“That’s true…”

He planted a small kiss onto her lips, making her whole body warm up. 

“And what made you choose that song from Doctor Who for your first performance? I mean, obviously I love the song–”

“That’s just it. I know how much you love the song, and the episodes it came from.” He chuckled softly. “And, I mean… I don’t blame you. It is a fantastic song.”

Evie’s smile grew wider. “God, Aiden… I fucking love you.”

“I love you too, Evie.” 

They pulled each other in for one more kiss, holding each other tightly, before she set him down. 

“And I love your outfit too… you look absolutely gorgeous, as always~”

Even as Aiden beamed at her so brightly, his cheeks turned as red as the other band members’ devil costumes, prompting Evie to giggle.

“Well… I have been having a lot of fun trying on new outfits…” he said, softly. 

At that moment, Ajay and Cher popped up beside them. 

“Hey… if Aiden likes singing, dancing, and dressing up in fancy outfits now… you think we could convince him to join the upcoming spring musical?” Ajay said. “His talent would just be unmatched…”

Evie and Aiden turned towards them. 

“The next play’s gonna be a musical?” Evie said. “I’ve been wanting to act in a play, but, uh… I don’t think I’m ready for one that involves singing…”

Aiden raised an eyebrow at her. “But we’ve literally been doing duets ever since–”

“That’s different. I can sing alright when it’s more casual, but in a professional musical performance? I’m not that good.”

“You should still consider it!” Cher chirped. “If not an acting role, you can always still be an assistant director or a techie…”

“That sounds much more my speed.”

Cher turned to Aiden. “You should definitely consider trying out for a singing role, though!”

Aiden put his hand on his chin thoughtfully. “It could be fun… I know Evie doesn’t want to sing in a musical, but imagine if we got lead roles together…”

“Oh, perhaps I could be convinced now…” Evie said, before smirking playfully. “But, let’s be real. Put Aiden in the musical, and he’ll probably just upstage all the other singers with how good he is. He’ll make everyone else look like chumps.”

“Hey!” Cher exclaimed, her face scrunching up into a pout. “Are you saying I sing like a chump?”

“What– no, I–” Evie’s face fell. 

Cher dropped her pout and grinned again. “Kidding! You probably have a point… I do sing every now and then, but it could use a little more work. Especially since I’m planning to go for an acting role in the musical, of course.”

“Well, if we can’t get Aiden in a singing role for the musical, perhaps he can be a musical director and help coach the actors who are a little more inexperienced?” Ajay suggested. 

“Actually… that’s a great idea!” Aiden said, his face lighting up. “I’d love to do that!”

Ajay beamed. “Oh, perfect! We’ll talk to Mr. Olson on Monday.”

“I’ll need some time to think about it… but I’ll let you know if I do decide to accept.”

“Sounds good to me!” Ajay reached his hand out, and he and Aiden shook hands. “Anyways, great job on your performance, Aiden! And happy birthday, Evie!”

“Yeah! Happy birthday, Evie!!!” cheered Cher. 

“Aww, thank you both so much!” 

Evie gave each of them a warm hug before they walked off. Aiden placed his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek, and she turned back to him.

“Thank you so much, Aiden. For being the best boyfriend ever, and for giving me this awesome birthday.” 

“It’s my pleasure~” Aiden hugged her tighter. “But… there’s still more, of course. Ready to enjoy the rest of your birthday party?”

“Oh yes!”

#choices stories you play #choices #choices stories we play fandom #choices game #high school story #choices stories we play #hss #choices hss #choices high school story #aiden zhou #aiden x mc #mc x aiden #hss aiden #evie x aiden #aiden x evie #high school story aiden #evie ayana (og hss mc) #hss mc #og hss f!mc #og hss mc #hss f!mc #cadybear's fanfics #cadybear writes

[benwvatt]

my recent kataang fics!

hi! I’ve written a few kataang stories recently and would love to share them. AO3 links included! And there are more fics under the “read more.”

my darling, how long do you want to be loved? is forever enough? is a rated-G oneshot about the two of them bonding over Katara’s pregnancy.

Katara laughs and buries her head in the crook of Aang’s neck. In bed, he’s been tracing lazy figure eights across the small of her back. “How did we get here?”

“Well, we left the Earth King’s party after thirty-seven minutes-”

Still laughing. Aang can feel her head shake against his chest, like a magnolia raining leaves in a storm. He wants to close his eyes as long as possible and memorize the ebbs and flows of her joy, the imprints it makes in the air.

“Oh, right! And we stole dumplings,” Katara adds gently, “wrapped in napkins in my purse! I’ll never get the grease stains out.” If only oil and water were similar, she could lift the marks with a swish of her hand.

“I guess you’ll just have to use regular ol’ soap and water. Like a peasant.”

“Like a fool!”

in reverence, my cup runneth over for you is a rated-T one-shot about Katara and Aang dancing in their kitchen.

They will raise children here someday. Aang wants a daughter with whom to dance in the kitchen. Together they will shift, clumsy under skeins of moonlight; he’ll toddle around, practicing steps by letting their girl stand on his feet. She will teach him the extra-extra-cool dance moves, picked up from magazines or some technology not yet invented, because grown-ups simply don’t understand.

Aang kisses Katara. Oh, she is going to be the rest of his life. The sheer notion of this runs through his mind like a horse unbridled.

“I love the kitchen,” she finally murmurs, hugging him closer. “No need to worry, not with me.”

He already knew, but a reminder never hurts.

He talks to her about the wilder dreams (not wildest, for those have already come true) and they waltz over dusty floorboards that leave speckles on the bottoms of their shoes. The kitchen will be furnished another time. Tonight is for dancing.

you’ve got me more than clumsy, but you’re my yellow lovely is a fluffy rated-G oneshot about Katara taking care of Aang while he’s sick. 

“Honey,” Aang murmurs, two full syllables this time. Voicing anything hurts at the moment 一 he’s taken ill this week 一 but he has to catch her attention. “Katara.”

She groans. “Yeah?”

“You gotta go. I - I’m gonna get you sick if you stay any longer.”

Her head shakes ‘nope’ and Aang can feel the brush of her hair against his neck. You could hear a pin drop. Even the crickets have ceased chirping tonight.

“I’m not fun to be around.”

“That’s a lie,” she whispers. “Can I kiss you?” He’s been trying not to get her sick all week, and she ought to ask before moving any closer.

“I miss you.” Aang wraps his arms around her and leans in. “I don’t think I should kiss you. Germs. Disease. Y’know, plague and death.”

“How did we get to death?”

i’d paint a river of stars for you (cross the ocean sapphire blue) is a romantic AU about Kataang getting together in the South Pole, set in a world where the war never happened and Aang routinely visits Katara and he’s super in love with her. Rated T!

Aang looks down at her hand. She’s still wearing the friendship bracelet he wove for her out of linengrass.

He wants, not for the first time, to press his hand to her face and kiss her. He wonders if her cheeks would be cold against his. Hasn’t ever been close enough to check. Aang moves his thumb an inch until it’s over hers.

He looks at her. Is this okay?

Moonbeams wash into the bedroom through the ice. She might be blushing but he can’t quite tell.

Do you want this? Do you want me? he tries to communicate with his gaze. He was never very good at this. Monks are taught to let go of desire, not harbor it deep inside.

when the ice forgives is an AU in the works. In which, post-series, Kya is discovered sleeping in an iceberg and Katara’s whole family bond over the discovery that she’s alive. Katara & Aang are also engaged in this story and they’re very sweet.

“Were you preparing something in the kitchen?” Aang asked. He’d slept in, and he was hungry.

“I… might have been.” She pursed her lips for a moment, then let the grin wash away any hint of neutrality on her face. “Okay, there’s some baozi. And I was wondering if you wanted to eat hot pot for lunch? That was, uh, the noise you heard.”

She was so comforting. Everything about it, from her culinary plans to her one morning cup of tea, stolen from him, was predictable. He loved her. He told her, and they curled into the bed. Katara laid down, absentmindedly stroking her thumb across Aang’s cheekbone, and reminded him he was a sap. An honest, lovable one, but still.

“I like you,” she whispered. The words hung in the white, almost silver, morning light. They were predictable too, and Aang couldn’t get enough of them. “I like you very much.”

He kept his gaze on her and ran his thumb over the curve of her eyebrow, down her cheek until he was tracing her bottom lip. “You’re so…” and he kissed her before saying, “special. I didn’t think I could meet somebody like you. Someone so uncommonly kind.”

#kataang #kataangtag #katara #aang #aang x katara #katara x aang #atla #atla fanfic #kataang fanfic #kataang fic #benwvatt

[zombee]

THE PRINCE AND THE PIRATE AUTHOR'S NOTES

like blood under the skin, if you plan on rereading and want to figure out these lil easter eggs yourself, maybe skip these for now. otherwise, please enjoy!

·        I originally called this “Blood Under the Skin 2.0.” BUtS was one of my first fics, and while I’ve published 100 now, with many WIPs in the vaults, it was my most beloved for a long time. Might still be if I’m honest. Anyway, this was hitting very similar beats, and still does obviously, but specifically wrt Stede’s character. He was way more timid in the first few chapters, way more of a genuine coward. But then I figured out he was a dom and that was the Leslie Knope switch from season 1 to 2 – he’s a brat/bitch from the beginning, not just internally but externally. That set him apart from BUtS Stede and really cracked the whole fic. I had to do extensive rewrites of his character in the first few chapters – another reason I’m a finish before I post it truther!!!

·        I had Stede’s ship name in [brackets] for SO LONG, but then I figured out the Hydra twist (I had already had the Hercules play in place), and I went ohohoho! And went back in and put in a LOT of Hercules references. Stede’s title was originally “…grand duke of Montrose” not Nirea (named after a character in The Adventure Zone podcast), but Nirea is a reference to Nireus, one of Hercules’s male lovers. So is Iolus, Stede’s fake name at the costume contest. I don’t remember all the other references because I don’t know the myth that well, but like “Herah” being the capital city of Low is an obvious one. And River (the pirate captain who Ed has to kill) is a reference to Achelous, and so on. And generally, of course, Hercules is the half-blood son of a king. Oh and Tebai (honeymoon port) is Thebes.

·        SPEAKING OF WHICH, i came up with the name “The Prince and the Pirate” before I cracked Ed’s backstory. I also considered that a working title – it sounded like a romance novel. But I didn’t want Ed and Ned to be exes, and then I was like… oh FUCK. because Ed and Stede are BOTH the prince and BOTH the pirate.

·        The original antagonist was Prince Ricky, because we didn’t have s2e7 when I started writing. But the beats were the same – he was a monster that Stede didn’t want to marry even in the face of thinking Blackbeard would also be monstrous. But then I saw that episode and was like OH FUCK. HE IS P E R F E C T. “King Ned” sounds stupid, so that’s why he’s referred to as “the King of Low” a lot lmao

·        When I realized Ned’s real name was Edward I was so pissed. I considered changing it, since who cares, but then I figured Ned/Ed’s dad just George Forman’d them and that was EXTREMELY funny to me. And it led to the “My Edward” bit so!!! Positive, I reckon. I had plans for other bastards all named nicknames of Ed but didn’t end up working it in.

·        I did not really plan to bring Atella back (I’m very much a pantser not a plotter) but I had to c’mon

·        Stede’s whole Thing with his title being the most valuable thing about him is the crux on which him not admitting he loves Ed is based on. Nigel was the biggest part of it, but if you notice I also mention “his [number] to last ever friend” a few times – they all pretended to be friends with him and got fed up and left him. Ed is who he considers his “last ever friend,” btw.

·        Also… it’s just fun. It’s fanfic. I despaired like, is it TOO fucking stupid they’re not just saying it! And then I was like. No. It’s fun. Just have fun.

·        Ed’s reason is that he knew about Stede’s trauma and was afraid if he said it Stede would run. Which he did lol. There’s a lot of their development I don’t show on the page and that’s because Stede doesn’t even realize it’s developing. He kind of does, but not to the extent it’s happening. I put in little (or not so little) hints throughout. One of my favorites is you find out when Ed is playing the fiddle there were nights when they danced together Stede you sweet oblivious idiot.

·        Stede has cherries embroidered onto his suit in that first scene because he’s a virgin

·        The reputation of his virginity will be forfeit, regardless that he’s certain from his studies that Blackbeard does not run a ship where rape is permissible, or indeed that that kind of assault is common on the Sister Seas at all – it’s not common because Ed more or less put a stop to it

·        The hickeys are ENTIRELY adhdduck’s doing, everyone say thank you duck. They also commented in the doc “I’LL GIVE THESE PIRATES A THOUSAND HICKEYS BEFORE I DIE!” and I think about that a lot.

·        “My people would suffer all the same. Rumors, by their nature, do not care for fact.” Stede places his hands on the edge of the desk and leans forward. “And that is why it matters if I appear willing. To make Ned look like a fool.”

He knows at once from the way Blackbeard’s face goes sharp and shrewd that these are the words he needed. If he is going to succeed at this gambit, this will be how.” - so, the original words in here were “sharp and hungry,” because the motivation in my head was literally just Ed wanting to fuck with Ned. Buuuut, then I cracked the plot of Calypso, and I thought Ed knowing Stede could be a part of the plan was a better excuse for him not to admit he loves him.

·        "That's your only stipulation to this arrangement?" – Ed says this in chapter 1 and then Stede says this in the 17th chapter, right before he kills Ned >:^}

·        SO I originally had Ed giving Stede a ring in the engagement scene. But I just forgot to include it throughout the next chapters, and then I was annoyed at the thought of rewrites, so I changed it to the thumb-kiss thing. WHICH IS NOW ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS! Stede, btw, only does it once—in the last line of the fic.

·        “Oh dear. There goes Stede’s cock again.” Def a lowkey Rick and Morty reference lol

·        “but his leg pops up of its own accord anyway.” Thank you everyone who called out the Princess Diaries reference

·        There is a small motif of “interesting” (when Stede clocks something about Ed that adjusts his perspective on him) and “for now” which is just Stede being a brat

·        “There are no maimings, but otherwise the wedding is a complete success.” – there are “several maimings” at their wedding in the last chapter!

·        Ugh the stupid wedding suit. It was important enough to the plot I knew I had to describe it, and I had to find a color that wouldn’t look good on Ed or Ned. I used actual internet websites to find one. Do I think Ed would actually look bad, no, but yknow. Supposedly gold is not a great color for him.

·        “Then perhaps she can…stay?” Stede asks, trying not to sound like he’s begging. Based on the pattern of his life so far, he knows the answer. But still, he wants to try. “Can she stay on the ship with me?” – again this is me explaining that Stede has serious trauma about things in his life staying that are Good. Canonically we know once Stede figures it out he is fully confident Ed loves him back, so I had to figure out a reason that Stede wouldn’t in this universe.

·        As SOON as Stede finds out Ed’s real name, he starts thinking of him as Ed in his head.

·        “No matter. Whatever it is that Ed wants, that is what Stede shall do.” – in their first sex scene, there is emphasis on “What Ed wants right now is to do what Stede wants.” Lil baby boy cracked it :’)

·        Gosh I love the stupid “Prince’s Wedding Night” throughline lol. And thanks for calling me out on twitter that “laddybuck” is definitely a Tamora Pierce reference.

·        Stede sighs and crouches next to Ed. "Shall I help you undress?"

Ed sneers. "What, are you willing to?" – a reference to the first hickey scene where Stede says he’d “be willing” in whatever way Ed wanted aka sex. And that fucks Ed up for a LONG time because he thinks Stede would only fuck him because of their arrangement~

·        We all knew Ed did actually see Stede jacking it on their wedding night, right?

·        “Stede frowns and looks down at himself. It is true he is wearing Ed's clothes, and there is no mirror in Ed's cabin, so he must look disheveled.” (ch 2), “He has to imagine Ed took the lovely gilded mirror from his old cabin and brought it aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge. Perhaps if he behaves Ed will let him keep it.” (ch 4), “He buttons up his waist coat, admiring himself in the gilded mirror that has taken the place of the awful battle painting.” (ch 5)

·        In BUtS, I skirt around the idea of assault/rape – like, obviously it’s there, but I don’t say it out loud. I kind of consider tpatp adult while buts is young adult in that way (I mean, except for the porn). Buts was my love letter to the YA fantasy I read as a kid in general.

·        “"Raped to death?" Ed says, incredulous and offended. "What kind of a monster do you think I am, your highness?"

"Not that kind, to be sure." – dummies why don’t you LISTEN TO WHAT THE OTHER IS ACTUALLY SAYING

·        “He had not known kissing could be so soft.” (ch 2) and then I bring it back in ch 8 with “He had not known fucking could be so soft.”

·        “"What kind of books do you like?"

"Oh, all kinds! My favorites are stories of adventure and magic."

"Like what?"

"Sethera and Fairyfoot and Estril’s Mermaid Tales." – S&F is a reference to another medieval AU I wrote, I Hate It When You Stare. (shhh it’s a reference on purpose not because I didn’t want to come up with something else)

·        I almooooost tagged this enemies to lovers. I decided against it in the end for the same reason I don’t tag things a lot of the time – if you come looking for that content specifically, you might be disappointed. But know in my heart it counts.

·        ““Oh, yeah, we’re taking everything but the food and water. They should be bringing in your stuff now, actually.” Ed’s eyes go stern. “I’ll be looking through it all before I let you keep it. Make sure there’s nothing you can use to escape.”

“Ah. All of my things…?"

“Yep.”

Stede winces, thinking of his intimate toys. Oh well. The worst case scenario is that Ed will mock him. Best case, they can enjoy them together. – SCHROEDINGER’S BUTT PLUG

·        “I accepted your conditions because I want to make fucking Ned fucking mad,” he snaps. “I’m not going to fuck you, okay? You can stop these stupid fucking games. You’re safe.” - Ed thinks Stede is doing stuff like jacking off where he can see because he is trying to “honor” his side of this deal and coax Ed into fucking him. He thinks he’s real obvious about how in love with Stede he is as well, that’s a part of it.

·        “This is just a fuckery.” Ed’s voice is ice cold. “You’re going to earn your keep on my ship by participating in it, but I’m not going to hurt you. I don’t want you. Got it?”

Stede finds that he is crying. (ch 3)

“Good,” Ned murmurs. “You’re learning.” He leans in and leers into Stede’s ear. “This is just a contract. We both know what our duty is. I don’t want to have to hurt you. Got it?”

Stede finds that he is crying. (ch15) - do you get it because they’re brothers and ultimately similar and in both instances they’re lying wait wait don’t leave—

·        “Is he really so undesirable? Anyone seems plain next to Ed, but Stede thinks he has rather nice broad shoulders and a fetching pair of legs. With the right clothing and a good pair of shoes, His Royal Highness Grand Duke of Nirea Prince Stede of Bonnet is adequate.” – he also feels a little ugly in their first sex scene, but being wanted by Ed makes him blossom and by the end he’s like “yeah bitch I’m hot af”

·        In ch2 Stede wonders if he’ll ever be hugged again. In ch3 Ed hugs him.

·        “Slow,” Ed murmurs. “Slow.” -  bring this back twice! Rule of 3s, baby. Once in Tebai (honeymoon port), when Stede is teasing Ed, once in the final chapter when Ed is doing the same.

·        I have been a “Stede hates mornings” truther forever and while I don’t need canon to validate my silly AUs, I do like to be when it happens

·        “There we are,” Stede says. Indeed, Ed looks magnificent, and Stede is too tired to be self-conscious when he says, “you look fantastic like this.”

Ed’s eyes go dark. He licks his lips. “Yeah?” – hallelujah, a praise kink is born

·        “Yes.” He remembers Ed’s words from the night previous. “Like everyone knows you’re mine.”

Ed jerks backward, spins on his heel, prowls away from Stede. "It's fucking time, your highness. Get out of fucking bed." – Ned used to call Ed his. I don’t have full details, but I don’t think I’ll ever do an Ed pov for this? So something like, “you’re mine” and “my monster,” probably.

·        I have been saying “drat” and “vexed” in my real life a lot since writing this

·        “He kisses Ed warmly on the lips. Ed goes rigid, and fuck him for it, but it’s not like he can chastise Stede in front of those they are attempting to deceive.” – of course, Ed is not going rigid (snrk) because he’s mad, but because he’s shocked Stede would initiate a kiss.

·        God bless season 2 of the hit television series our flag means death for healing my relationship with canon izzy because he is SO FUN to write (ftr I liked izzy for about a month before the shitty parts of the izzy fandom ruined him for me)

·        “He thinks bitterly Ed must have chosen this on purpose, for dramatic effect.” – nope he was waiting until the last minute possible to let you sleep, you big goof

·        “might be his last kiss” because he’s traumatized baby boyyy. BUT I make it up to him with the “best kiss yet” bit in the honeymoon chapters.

·        Stede becomes a skilled seamstress throughout the fic. I put that in before we got the bts that he sewed up the couch in the captains’ cabin!

·        Ed does try to play nice in these chapters but because of the miscommunication Stede is a bitch back and Ed is like “GOD DAMMIT”

·        I had the proto-Calypso bits in before I cracked the plot. Thanks season 2!!!

·        I like the “Ed doesn’t laugh he giggles” bit a lot because he’s a SILLY BOY

·        Part of the reason Ed doesn’t allow Stede to go ashore (besides that he’s worried for his safety) is that he’s afraid Stede will run

·        “Scratch the back of my neck,” Stede says, knowing it will look pink and puffed to any key witnesses. Ed obliges. “Harder.”

Ed rakes his fingernails down Stede’s skin and digs them into the knot above his spine.

“Yes. Good.”

Ed lets out a soft whine as they squirm together for a moment – this isn’t the first hint Stede is dommy but it is the first time he like, combines it with Ed’s praise kink. Hence the “soft whine.”

·        I drop the tobacco + leather motif (mostly because of laziness) but also because Ed is dropping his blackbeard mask around Stede more and more as the fic goes on

·        “Ed sits at the desk and pores over his maps as Stede chatters at him between wolfing down bread and fish about the book he is reading.

“And then he tilts at a windmill, Ed!” – don quixote reference. Not really alluding to anything it’s just an old story.

·        “That’s because Bonnet only uses geldings. I bet you’d do well with a stallion.” – besides being funny (nice and subtle, Edward), this is a hint that Ed knows more about the machinations of court than you would maybe expect. Like, why would a commoner from Low know that about Bonnet? Why would he even be tilting in the first place?

·        “Stede takes the dagger carefully and inspects it. It is fine work, castle steel, undecorated except for a snake etched into the hilt.” – I wanted to do more with this but the muse didn’t take me. However I kept it in because “castle steel” is another hint Ed is more than he seems.

·        “And may we keep the chair, my darling? I have some… ideas for it.” – shroedinger’s sex chair

·        God I fucking love the party scene lol. No real notes I just love it. THEY’RE! IN! LOVE!!!

·        “the raids do get a bit boring, after a while… there seems to be quite a lot of them these days.” HMMM I WONDER WHY ED WOULD DO THIS NOT FOR KISSES SURELY!!!

·        Shit like, “He has even given Stede a small cabin to use as a library.” And then later when Stede has a necklace Ed gave him, again my little hints that like fuckity duh stede he’s in love with you

·        i. love. Their. First. Sex. Scene. I love it SO much. Definitely a bit of Ed pov is “Lord mother. He had married a sex god, and they weren’t ever going to fuck again (probably?)”

·        was working through a lot of episode 6-7 feelings with this one lol

·        Ed gasps and tries to pull away again. Before he can get far, Stede grips him harder on the back of his neck and says, “stay.” – STEDE WANTS SOMETHING TO STAY!!! HE SAID IT OUT LOUD!!!!!!

·        “A quiet, traitorous part of his mind says: he is frightened and you want him much more than you are equipped to give him comfort otherwise.” – idk why I do this so often but this is a flip of (part of) what I imagine Ed was thinking in e6

·        No matter that this might not be the right choice indefinitely, in this moment, this is what they both desire. – again… working through a lot of e7 feelings lmao

·        They both call each other Ed/Stede throughout this whole scene instead of “your highness/Blackbeard” (except at the very end when they both think it’s never going to happen again). Ed calls Stede Stede sometimes, always deliberately on my part, and Stede kind of does the same, but not when he thinks Ed can hear.

·        Idkkkkk it’s just been so fun to play with the power dynamics here. Like, stede wants Ed to be rough and kind of out of control, but he also loves being the one controlling that narrative, and just. The layers are fun for me. No way I could have written something so complex two years ago.

·        Stede is suddenly very aware of the aches in his body. “Ow."

Ed tenses. “Shit, I—”

“No no,” Stede laughs. “It is a good kind of ow.”

Stede pulls back to smile at his husband, who is looking magnificently fucked.

…But also quite cagey. – I swear to fucking god if Stede had said anything but “ow” they might have worked it out right then.

·        He’s “stealing” kisses in this one, afraid he’ll lose everything now… stede my beloved.

·        “There is so much warmth and wonderfulness that happened tonight, including and perhaps especially this very moment. Stede will do his best to remember that, in the days to come.” Maybe working out some general season 2 feelings WHO KNOWS!!!! Not for myself but for those who were so disappointed with izzy’s death they couldn’t keep enjoying the show. I’ve been there. It sucks. But when I look back, there was a lot more good than bad and I’m grateful. – same as “No matter what comes after, the during was wonderful.”

·        It’s been hard to take (direct) apologies out of Ed’s character since s2 but I have done it. He does apologize in this story – when he apologizes for not telling Stede sooner that he loves him 😊

·        "If you make me say it again, I shall lie to make you feel bad." – then I flip this in the honeymoon chapters when Ed says a similar thing.

·        “Can you really blame me for thinking you’d want to escape?”

“I can, actually.” – I bring back “I can, actually” twice more as well! I loooove to do that, where partners start to parrot each other’s speech patterns.

·        The Queen Anne’s Revenge is my kingdom and you are my king.” – because he’s royalty too do you get it wait doN’T LEAVE—

·        THE NIGHTGOWN STINKING IS SO FUNNY TO ME LMFAO. Stede dear god. It’s been months.

·        I tried not to actually name any direct Greek mythology references (like, I never say Hercule’s/Heracles’s name--) but I realized I did use “Adonis” in one scene just let me have this

·        I love the bit of them inventing new stories every time someone asks them how they got together SO MUCH. They’re both so dramatic and love to play off each other eeee

·        I have Ed use “my love” because that is how Ned speaks. That’s a canon reference. God I watched ned’s scenes so many times for this fic lmao. He has a more stilted way of talking than canon to parallel  Stede’s voice as that’s kind of my nudge nudge at how royalty are brought up. Ed rarely slips into it but he does sometimes.

·        Ed pushes him against the wall as soon as they are somewhere enough in the shadows and kisses him again. “Tell me what you wa—”

“This, Ed. Just this.”

Ed looks very intensely at him. “Just this?”

“Exactly this.” – gahhh another bit of misunderstanding. Ed morosely thinks “okay, Stede just wants to fuck. that’s fine, I’ll take that.” I call it back in ch 11 when Ed and Stede are fighting after Stede got hurt.

·        How many times can you spot Ed almost saying “I love you” because there is a lot >:^}

·        A lot of Stede’s “nothing stays” stuff is shit I learned from meditating. And it is SUPER useful, it is! But sometimes it’s okay to want things and Stede learns this lesson throughout the fic.

·        The boys are in their 20s for this fic that’s why they can come so much and so fast lol

·        Since the very first fic I wrote in this fandom, Stede being okay with and/or turned on by Ed’s violent parts of himself is really, really important to me. So happy I got to include some of it here!

·        “It wasn’t the almost dying,” Ed says. “It was the almost dying without having had…” Ed darts his eyes away and then makes a LOT of eye contact. “You.” – kind of a canon bathtub/dock scene reference.

·        “You are not a monster for wanting to fuck your willing husband.” – again this type of shit is important to me – I don’t want to spell out that Stede has figured this shit out about Ed. Show don’t tell, yknow?

·        Fun facts people (as in, Europeans, since we’re the gross ones) were more clean than you’d think in the middle ages. Public baths were def a thing.

·        “Don’t do that. At least not until we’re old and gray.” – STEDE PLEASE LISTEN TO HIM HE’S ALREADY PLANNING YOUR FUTURE DECADES FROM NOW

·        Even though Ed has been eating Stede out for an hour, Stede sends him down to get water and doesn’t actually give him the promised facial massage. Because he is a bitch. He would have if he was in his right mind, but, yknow. Rimmies!!!

·        “sublimation” “sodium” “aliens” lots of others – I love the David Jenkins School of Historical Accuracy (FUN FACT DID YOU KNOW I INVENTED THAT PHRASE!!! I am pretty sure. I have receipts from April 2022. I at least popularized it.)

·        Ed says “there’s my favorite prince” and in the next chapter Stede says “there’s my favorite pirate.” I told you in the tags the references are heavy-handed lol

·        “Flay the skin off your fingers until you beg him to cut them off—” I am a game of thrones hater unrepentedly and forever but I did used to fuck with the books hard and this is of course a Ramsay Bolton reference.

·        “We’ll be here another week yet. We are going home.”

Ed’s hand squeezes in his in such a way Stede is uncertain if he meant to do it.

“Home?” Ed echoes.

“Yes. Home. Come along, husband.” – ed’s never felt like he has a real home before IF YOU EVEN CARE

·        Thiiiis is the chapter some of yall figured out Ed was Ned’s brother and I’m DELIGHTED because these were the most obvious hints!!!

·        “Oh! Lord above” might be the funniest thing in all of season 2 and THIS IS WHERE THE ENTIRE RELIGION IN THIS FIC COMES FROM lollll. Again I had a lot of brackets like [equivalent to jesus fucking christ]” and this solved it. Thank u Frenchie.

·        Stede goes numb and hears as if from underwater himself say the words back. Ed puts him down and kisses him again. This one is, regrettably, all Ed and no Blackbeard, and Stede is struggling a bit not to cry. Ed says quietly into the ear not facing the audience, “It's funny because we're already married.” – again this is leading to Ed’s belief that he should not say it to Stede because he’ll spook him. He was about to before Frenchieus Interruptus but now this is another step back.

·        No real notes on the kidnapping scene I just think it’s funny

·        Wait I lied - “No face!” Tacky barks, stopping Stinky short from kicking Stede’s teeth in.

“We’ll just say it was Blackbeard did it.”

“He’ll blab! Look at him! He’s a sniveling little tattletale, aren’t you, your highness?” – because Ned’s general orders to people about how to capture Stede. The implication here being like “you can rough him up, just not so that the public will know you did”

·        Ed playing the violin is for one, a canon reference to his piano-playing (I like to put that in fics when I can) and also Ned’s real backstory of his brother being a savant and him being insanely jealous

·        You just have to let me be Blackbeard.”

·        “It’s not complicated! What are you afraid of, Dread Pirate Blackbeard? That I will stop loving you if you go too far?”

“You are Blackbeard,” Stede says, beleaguered. “You could stop hating yourself and start fucking me instead, you know.” – ed baby boy accept all parts of yourself it’s okay we still love you <3

With all the venom he possesses, Ed spits, “fuck you.” – LISTEN! TO! THE! WORDS! YOUR! HUSBAND! IS! SAYING!!!! Ed thinks stede is mocking him here but yknow

·        I am also subtly trying to tell you that Stede is beginning to believe more and more that Ed really does love him and I think ch12 is the most heavy-handed before I just say it outright.

·        For all of you who called me out on my Steven Universe in this chapter, bless u

·        “A prince among sex fairies."

“I don’t love that,” Stede grumbles. “Can I be a fairy queen?”

“Prince, princess, king, and queen,” Ed says easily. He yawns. “You’re everything to me.” – gender non conforming Stede my beloved. Also a recurring bit that stede is like “can we PLEASE forget about the prince thing, jesus”

·        “Oh, do you mean like that one time you asked me to call you—” Kitty Cat. He asked him to call him Kitty Cat.

·        If you thought River was supposed to be referencing a glam rocker aesthetic you would be 100% correct!

·        Now, Stede thinks, heart swollen. Now is the time to tell him. Just say the words. You will still have until Calypso at least. Be brave.

“Thank you.” Drat. Try again. “I…”

“Hm?”

“Forgot what I was going to say.” – callback to Ed saying the same thing where he was also going to say I love you

·        Ed proposing and Stede saying “Quite brilliant. I accept.” Is a rule of 3s – the last time of course it’s reversed!

·        “Sirede contingent” is a reference to adhdduck’s AMAZING SIREN!STEDE FIC PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ IT!!!

·        “What utter hogwash. The sea is both, and Stede loves every part of it.” Very unsubtle reference to Ed lol

·        The pirates at Eryma that are Stede’s heroes are all my early readers thanks guys <3

·        I’m in a group chat where we discussed the absolute chaos of a Frenchie/Archie team up, hence them being on Stede’s wedding planning team

·        Since as you know now it ends as brat4brat, see if you can spot the places Ed is playing that role. The public alley bj is a big one, but it’s been throughout.

·        I think if you squint a young Bronson Pinchot looks like Ed. If you squint.

·        Because word all over Eryma is that he’s led around by his little cock by you – because Stede encouraged this kind of chatter, whoopsy! (also it’s… correct lol)

·        “His eyes are—wrong, they make Stede feel uneasy—but he supposes with all the horrors Ned gets up to, that makes sense. – because they look like Ed’s

·        “I only punish someone I love if they misbehave.”

Stede says, anguished and unable to stop himself, “Ed—”

Ned laughs. “No, Ed stopped caring after too long. Which was a nuisance, by the way. Until I found something different to try.” - Ed’s praise kink does come from his past, but I put this in to let yall know he was still like, fuck THAT to Ned even as a young kid. He wasn’t just accepting his fate until his mom saw him torture someone.

·        Ned’s mouth and fingernails being black and his breath being bad is a hint that he’s poison-trained. Kind of inspired by president snow in the hunger games.

·        I am still, as of writing this, the only person in the Vincent tag for OFMD. Justice for Vincent.

·        Stede explaining wabi sabi to Maggie and Vincent my beloved

·        Stede at first is confident Ed is coming for him, but then his confidence flags throughout the next two chapters.

·        When it doesn’t have to racism and sexism etc don’t exist in my universes. I’m still informed by the real world, of course, but rest assured none of the Ed/Ned childhood stuff has to do with that. The “people confusing Ed for being the real prince” stuff that was a part of my calculations.

·        People got verrrry close to knowing the hydra/suit twist but no one quite got it right (who commented, anyway)

·        If the Ned/Stede wedding stuff feels like Tamora Pierce at all it’s because I’ve read her books dozens of times over the last 20+ years

·        I had to change “he tastes like black licorice” to “rotting black licorice” because some of my early readers were like “but black licorice is good tho” (they’re wrong but I didn’t want to distract from the point)

·        Also you should be getting Princess Bride vibes from their wedding 😊

·        Ned is sitting on the throne. Gray, and bedraggled, but unmistakably alive. His elbow is on one armrest with the side of his forehead propped on his fist. His legs are crossed and one foot bounces. His eyes are bloodshot around their black pupils, slicing into Stede like castle steel.

The kingsguard marches Stede forward and dumps him onto his knees at Ned’s feet. Ned hooks the toe of his boot under Stede’s chin and pulls it up until they are looking at each other. – this is a shera and the princesses of power reference and unfortunately I think it’s a little bit kind of sexy

·        One of them has on chipped black nail polish and Stede feels dizzy with anguish. – that is, in fact, Ed!!!

·        “I love you,” Stede says urgently. “I love you, I love you–”

“I know,” Ed says gently, voice thick. “I know that. We have to go.” – he did, btw. He figured it out the night of the bondage scene :’)

·        Atella my beloved. No notes I just love her.

·        Stone parchment dagger = rock paper scissors. Izzy and Lucius were both wanting to slap Stede to wake him up but Zheng wins without them even knowing she’s playing.

·        God once again so happy to enjoy izzy again I had so much fun with him this chapter

·        DENTAL PLAN! MAGGIE NEEDS BRACES! DENTAL PLAN!

·        Stede kicks the guard in the ribs because he knows how much that fuckin hurts

·        Who did Olu propose to? Maybe Zheng. Maybe Jim. Maybe all three 😊 you decide.

·        Oh I forgot to mention but Stede being so anal about water is trauma from when he was a captive to Nigel

·        I loooove a good bookend cathartic sex scene. BUtS has one, as does Mink Ed POV, and also ski boys. Brat4brat 4ever

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING I HOPE YOU ENJOYED!!! No particular plans for my next longfic.

(that is a lie. It’ll be another medieval au. It just might not be a longfic)

[practicecourts]

🔁 A fic you’ve re-read several times!

Ah such a good one…

So these are fics I’ve reread more than once, its not an exhaustive list by any means.

The Last Enemy by @chdarling 1 and 2 (maybe I’ve reread 2 more not because i like it more perse but because its still being updated so i need to refresh my memory) Although there’s a thing about chapter 2 where Lily talks with her dad and she goes have fun with some of her muggle work friends. Although if i had to pick a favourite chapter there are so many in that one (a Slughorn Xmas party, some menial labour, the shrimp fest, i won’t go on bc for some reason my app wont allow for a spoiler break…

Then there’s two shorter ones by you actually “never really” is maybe too new to have been reread… but it has. And I’ve enjoyed Purely coincidental a lot… It helps that the art by @constancezin that it inspired (or the other way around) is very nice to look at again and again ;-) > i hope these links actually work. If not I’m so sorry. Go look for it yourself!!

Another reread is by the masterful @scriibble-fics , i must admit to reread a lot of her stories, or just parts of them, chapters I love to relive the suberp tension that she does so well. My last rereads of Notes and Magic were right on time for the new story drop!! Even if they are so very different.

I;ve reread @wearingaberetinparis Royalty one shots and of course : it only takes a taste when you know it’s good, I must admit now that I’;m behind on reading her wonderful stories as they come faster than I have time to read (which is unbelievable!!!) here’s one that i def read more than once When love was king but there’s another one shot (bar hopping with the prince that’s so good!!)

Three strikes till your out by @theresthesnitch i reread the campsite chapter occasionally. Because that scene where they are dancing after s’mores…

@mppmaraudergirl has me rereading the wedding ring and just spoiling all men (fictional or otherwise) just because that james is amazing. I’d love to find a good reason (such as an update maybe - hahaha, i hope you know this is a joke!!) Of TRN… but I’ll admit I read that one more than once already (I love the way in all of these stories i get so wrapped up in them, they become real characters that i care about even if they have flaws or do stupid things, but they also don’t get boring (I’m sorry for saying this but sometimes only fluff and nice just is that…) when they do the exact best thing they are supposed to say or do in that moment! This is rambling but… my defense, if you havent read any of these i dont want to spoil anything.

I just know i missed things here (oh, yes i did @mabeltothknows i reread and leave a comment only to find that the last comment on such a chapter was actually also by me…. Hahaha. But the sentiment was very much the same) i love that war one shot so much (i;m sorry i should link it but i cant find it that fast… AND THE PUTRID CORPSE …

A one shot that i keep rereading that’s old, is somewhere hidden om tumblr here where lily has a one night stand and the next day goes to her new job … guess who. It’s chapter 4 or 5 of these on ffnet…

I think I could just go on. (Room service by @maraudersftw Good old fashioned love letters by @theesteemedladydebourgh just popped into my brain… ) And the reason i feel that way is that this is by no means a complete list. SO instead of agonising to find the one fic or 20 that i now forgot but I’ve enjoyed so much that i occasionally go back to reread because they brought me joy I’m going to finish this post ;-)

#very long answer #short ask #jily #its only jily #i could do another one of these for another ship… not as long though #we are truly lucky to have so much lovely jily stories!! really!!!!

[polikszena]

Dancing on the clouds below - Fresh air

Fandom: Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick

Rating: Teen and up audiences

Summary: A collection of ficlets, currently centered around Bob’s and Phoenix’s friendship, and the forming relationship between Bob and Hangman. The most of them are additional scenes and storylines in a more or less chronological order.

Chapter 1 I Chapter 2 I Chapter 3 I Chapter 4 I Chapter 5 I Chapter 6 I Chapter 7 I Chapter 8 I Chapter 9

Relationships: Robert “Bob” Floyd & Natasha “Phoenix” Trace, Jake “Hangman” Seresin/Robert “Bob” Floyd, Jake “Hangman” Seresin & Javy “Coyote” Machado, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell & Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw

Chapter summary: Bob starts to get a little overwhelmed during the celebration of their successful mission. When he goes out to have some fresh air, someone follows him, but it's not who he thinks it is.

Word count: 614

Songs: Hot in Herre by Nelly

A/N: Months ago I made this incorrect Top Gun post, and that one was an outtake of this fic. Yes, I actually wrote this chapter in the summer, but since this story is sort of parallel to For a little bit of sunshine (they basically set in the same verse), I wanted to post the chapters in a more or less chronological order (this is why the Balaton fic is still in my notebook and not up here).

Fresh air

Robert “Bob” Floyd’s face was aching due to smiling that much and his brain began to feel numb after telling the same story over and over again. They were back in North Island, celebrating the successful mission in The Hard Deck. Penny organized a reception for them, and naturally, everybody wanted to know what had happened. They were all very nice, buying him drinks, but after a while it started to become a little tiring. He needed some fresh air as it was very hot inside the bar. After buying himself a glass of orange juice, he quietly slipped out of the building.

As the cool breeze hit his face, Bob closed his eyes and filled his lungs with the evening air. Being out on the empty beach felt so good after the crowded bar. He knew that all these people were there to celebrate them and their successful mission, but he still found it overwhelming and he needed some time to recharge his batteries a little. Leaning against an outdoor table, he took a sip of his drink and stared at the now dark sea.

After a short while he heard the door opening, but he didn’t turn around because he knew who it was.

“There you are.”

The naval flight officer’s eyes widened when he realized that it wasn’t Phoenix who came after him. But Hangman.

“Are you okay?” the aviator wondered as he stepped next to him.

“Oh yes, I just needed some fresh air,” Bob admitted. “It’s getting hot in there,” he added, gesturing towards the bar.

A chuckle escaped Hangman’s mouth as he heard the boy’s last words.

“So take off all your clothes,” he sang, still laughing.

“What?” Bob asked, astonished. Hangman has been acting a little weird lately, but singing to him to take off his clothes was a bit too weird.

“You know, there is a song,” the aviator explained, still laughing. “It’s getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes! I am getting so hot, I wanna take my clothes off,” he sang, and even did a little dance as well which made Bob laugh.

Now he remembered that yes, there was a song like that, and he felt a little stupid for thinking that Hangman wanted to see him without his clothes. Why would he want that? Why would anyone want that? He was glad that in the darkness the aviator couldn’t see him blushing.

“Oh yes,” he said with a nod. “For a moment I’ve thought it’s another try to see my six-pack,” he added with a smile. “You were quite interested in it the other day.”

He hoped Hangman would also remember that conversation, because he already started feeling embarrassed for bringing that whole thing up. Now Hangman would know that it meant something for Bob. It did, because on that day he realized that Hangman wasn’t just that arrogant prick he looked like, and also because that was the first time he, Bob, could catch him off-guard. Their relationship hadn’t been the same since that day.

“Well, I just saved Rooster and Maverick,” Hangman said with a shrug, “who knows, I might get lucky again.”

“I’ve thought the word ‘luck’ isn’t in your dictionary,” Bob said.

“I save it for special occasions.”

“Like when you try to get a naval flight officer out of his shirt?”

“Yes. Exactly like that,” he said, turning to him, now being so close that their bodies almost touched. When Hangman’s eyes found his gaze, Bob smiled.

“You think I’m gorgeous,” he started singing, “you want to kiss me, you want to hug me, you want to-”

But Hangman didn’t let him finish it.

Chapter 11

***

Tagging: @askmeaboutmyobrienobsession​, @bigassnocash​, @fangirl-316​​, @xoxomandoo​​, @peachiicherries​​, @msmckawaii​​, @multistangirl07, @stargurl-battleship​​, @mattzwright​​ If you’d like to be added to the list or removed from it, please let me know!

#top gun #top gun maverick #robert bob floyd #jake hangman seresin #hangman x bob #bob x hangman #floydsin #my fics #dancing on the clouds below #top gun maverick fanfiction #otp: you think i'm gorgeous #jake seresin #robert floyd

[dudadragneel]

hello Duda! Felix stan here! I’ve been wanting to do an ask for you for some time but i’ve been too shy, your recent post made this feel like it was a good opportunity. I would love if you would do a fic where felix wakes up with a really bad headache, and tries to hide it from his members, but chan takes one look at him and knows he’s unwell. Felix’s condition gets worse throughout the day, especially at dance practice. I would love to see a moment where chan is like, are you okay and Felix tries to say yes but is feeling nauseous and ends up throwing up. hair holding is the best!! A trope i like is a sickie with constant nausea, keeps thinking he’s done and there’s nothing left, but then there’s another small gush and they end up having to camp out in the bathroom or with a bucket. Also the trip of a sickie who likes having company when sick, but doesn’t like having people touch them a lot and appreciates some privacy while throwing up.He can’t keep anything down and has a high fever, headache, body aches, etc, basically he is just miserable. After a day or two of this they take him to the doctor and he has the flu, but Chan and the members take care of him.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Y/N fics and prefer member and member platonic fics if possible. I’ve never done an ask before so I hope this is good! Thank you!!!!!

-💗 (idk if there’s already an anon on this account using this emoji, if there is just tell me and i can change it)

Hello, dear 💗!

Welcome to the family!

Dont be shy, we all like the same things here! I want you to feel safe!

This is awesome!!! I also love hair holding, it's just such a simple yet wonderful touch! (Just like I said before, long but not long enough to tie it, so the caretaker has to hold it)

Dance practices 👀 I like dance practices 👀👀

I also love member and member as well, it fills my heart with joy to see them taking care of each other 🥺

Oh, this is probably gonna be a long one!

Requested noted!

💜

#emeto #sickfic #whump #kpop sickfic #kpop emeto #stray kids emeto #stray kids sickfic #skz emeto #skz fluff #skz fanfic #skz angst #felix fanfic #felix sickfic #felix emeto

[jamiscrazy4krerdly]

Happy Mermay gamers!! To celebrate I ate a gummy bear and wrote an ENTIRE 60 Chapter mermaid Krerdly fanfic just last night!! Not really but trust me I am tempted, instead here’s something smaller because I found the concept funny. I call this one… “Fishing For Crits”!

EXT. SECLUDED ROCKY SHORE SIDE - SUNSET

Merbird Berdly, posing tentatively against a rock with soggy feathers: I concur, you WOULD make good company for my impending excursions… alas, the only way for us to walk along the same soil is if I beseech THE SEA WITCH *lightning strike x4* to grant me a pair of stick-structured chicken legs and you’d be a PLEBIAN to think I’d go to such lengths for a single travel companion- ACK!

Kris cannonballs into the water, splashing the avi-phibian and further dampening his vaguely water resistant feathers.

Kris, grinning cheekily behind their already kelp-filled hair: Lets go turn me into a merperson.

Kris snatches up Berdly’s wing in their fishnet-styled, fingerless glove covered hands and watches him expectantly.

Berdly, adjusting his glasses (GOGGLES??) as his seafoam irises glimmer: Y-yes! Lets!

-one epic five-minute-swim adventure later-

Kris with their head in an air bubble: *signing at Catti that ghoul should totally give them gills and shit*

Catti with tentacle hair or whatever: k *blasts them with dark magic*

And then Kris swims out the door and shows Berdly (who was required to wait outside) that they are a mer now!!!! YAY!! Then the two of them go off to dress up and travel together and MAYBE fall in love, idk… you can’t really say for sure… its up to interpretation, really… (they eventually make a habit of gazing longingly into each others’ eyes and exchanging ocean facts late into the night as they lock their tails together and lay alongside one another at the bottom of the sea).

The End!!!!

—

Okie that was fun, I’m just gonna type a bunch of randomly selected but definitely Deltarune related thoughts down now. :P

You won’t even believe which character I’m not done talking excessively about yet- it’s CATTI!! This demigirl just unlocked a new pronoun and by the goddess it is he. WOOHOO! Rockin that She/He/Ghoul swag… I probably won’t actively use it in my w.i.p fics because there’s almost always someone with a he pronoun on screen and I don’t want all that stuff to get jumbled up but it will DEFINITELY be in the fic tags and perhaps actively said by Catti ghoulself. YAYAYA!! Y’all have no idea how long I’ve been itching to post about this, applying the he pronoun to ghoul just makes so much sense to me idk how to describe it but yeah. YEAH!

I’m genuinely terrified of writing a Catti POV fic thing because I love a good side character that makes a lasting impression but I could TOTALLY flesh ghoul out more if I tried… maybe after I get through my current projects I’ll consider it.

SPEAKING OF PROJECTS!! I may or may not have three now. Derp. The new one is smaller and I’ll probably be done with it first to get it out of the way but I don’t plan to post it until the first two projects are done but yeah. Don’t think I’m going to do a Halloween fic afterall ;n; but there’s always next year.

Btw this is random but in my first ever Krerdly fic I had the two attend this thing called Alternative Prom and apparently that doesn’t… HAPPEN in the mainland?? I feel like I made it pretty clear what it was but I’m making a callback to it in my super secret fourth project *GASP* so I mine as well address it: Alternative Prom is a dance held specifically for LGBTQ+ teens, basically. I went once when I was in 8th grade and it was MAGICAL y’all… and then I proceeded to NEVER GET TO GO AGAIN because it got cancelled due to covid hitting during my freshman year and it hadn’t recovered by the time I graduated my senior year (this year) so yeah. I really hope it comes back for the future teens tho!! I MIGHT be romanticizing it a bit but oh my godssss was it such a fun night. I still have the rainbow flower crown and pin as a souvenir. I used to wear my pride shit to school like allll the time, I was a rainbow princex and shit!!! Hell yeah!! I’m a frickin inspiration!!

Ok ok less about me now. I lowkey already outright said so in my Valentines fic but I headcanon that Kris and Catti are exes, right? Well it’s about time that I reveal the dramatic story behind their breakup… Kris wanted to kindate Beastboy and Raven from Teen Titan with ghoul and when ghoul said no it was all over. </3 I hope I didn’t make anyone too emotional with that one. /s

BY THE WAY… a new challenger might have entered the ring that is my infested brain. I’m definitely not gonna tell you guys because it’s my little secret OK FINE it’s M.K!! They are the guy ever and I’m DEFINITELY biased due to their iconic role in Undertale (ty Ask Frisk and Co. ask blog for changing my life for the better). Anyway so yeah they’re awesome and they’re precious and if I’m alone for two seconds I’m going to start shipping them with everybody so. Uhm. Idk if the world is ready for my M.K x Berdly rare pair…

BUT THEY BETTER BE READY FOR CATSEI because it’s been festering in my mind an d oo ooh my g osh… it is so based……………. almost too based, honestly. Like in my headcanon-ing brain the puzzle pieces fit together really well (fashionista x fashion designer) but I don’t. Know... there’s like a mental block that’s not letting me enjoy much past the original idea of their first meeting. If I try to envision their domestic life together I end up with big blurry blanks in the picture where their bodies should be. Which is PRECISELY WHY in my SUPER SECRET FOURTH PROJECT that isn’t super secret anymore they will undertake a magical adventure together through a dark world and tighten their bonds and Jockington will tag along and maybe put them in precarious situations and help them… do something idk it’s just a spontaneously slapped on B-Plot addition to one of my older Krerdly fic ideas but idk maybe something beautiful will bloom out of it!! IN DUE TIME, because it’s gonna take a while. Yea yea yea. Plus I need the excuse to write Ralsei more. His jolly little clap has been one of my dominating stims for a while now.

Also!! Also!!!!! Uhm!! @v@‘ Not super related at all but as I briefly mentioned I finished high school recently and it’s scary (bad thing) and I’m not in contact with anyone I know from there anymore (good thing) and like I’m kind of a bump on a log that’s in dire need of a job (the library thing was a student position) and am definitely nearing a low mentally (very bad thing) BUT I am battling so hard and writing helps so much (it’s like the only active thing in my life right now lol) and yeah… it’s giving going into chat rooms in Amino and telling people I’m depressed (NOT SOMETHING I DID I SWEAR)

As a reward for making it this far here’s two out of four of my outfit boards for my not-so-secret third project that isn’t coming out anytime soon!! Once again featuring my ultra cringe sprite edit of Kris that gets me giggling every time and doesn’t even apply here because both of their eyes will be concealed in this one but yeah!

It’s so obvious I’m a Nintendo kid it’s not even funny. -v- (HIGHLY EMBARRASSING!!)

#*wakes up in a cold sweat* OH MY GOOBLY GOSH I NEED TO POST BEFORE MERMAY ENDS

[thnxforknowingme]

Texts With Benefits

Pairing: Kurtbastian | Rating: E | Word Count: 800

Summary: Kurt texts Sebastian about a bad date he had. Sebastian cheers him up.

Notes: This fic is thanks in part to @backslashdelta who said on this post that she wished Kurt and Sebastian did end up sexting, and I was like..."yeah actually, me too." So I decided to write that. This could be seen as an alternate version of the scene from A Matter of Distance, but can also be read on its own. All you need to know is that Kurt and Sebastian live in different cities, and are friends with benefits who hook up when Sebastian visits New York.

Text Message

Today 10:17 PM

Kurt: I just had the worst date.

Sebastian: Oh? Do tell.

Kurt: Just like - no chemistry, nothing in common, either he was ranting about something I didn’t care about or we were sitting in awkward silence.

Sebastian: And how was the sex?

Kurt: Ha ha. Non-existent. I’m back home eating comfort food.

Sebastian: You never know, maybe that was the missing piece. 

Sebastian: Maybe everything else could have been overlooked for the guy’s incredible sexual prowess.

Kurt: Doubtful. Doesn’t matter now, anyway.

Sebastian: So you’re just moping now? You texted me to mope?

Kurt: Maybe? Do I not deserve a little sympathy?

Sebastian: Yes, obviously, my deepest apologies. 

Sebastian: What can I do to help poor little Kurt who had a bad date?

Kurt: Distract me from my woes?

Sebastian: When I want a distraction from life, I find that going out for drinks and dancing is a great pick-me-up.

Sebastian: But you don’t go to clubs much, do you?

Kurt: No, not anymore.

Sebastian: We should go clubbing sometime when I’m in town. 

Sebastian: God, it’s been so long since I’ve been to my old spots in New York.

Sebastian: I’d love to see you loosen up on a dancefloor, all touchy and forward the way you are when you’re drunk.

Kurt: I’m not that touchy

Sebastian: Uh, yes you are. With me at least.

Kurt: Well maybe that’s just a you thing.

Sebastian: Then I’m flattered, sir.

Kurt: It would be fun. I don’t really like dancing with strangers but it’d be fun with you.

Sebastian: Get a few shots in you so you’re fawning all over me, too buzzed to care if you look good while dancing, but all the sexier for not caring.

Kurt: Mm, and you’d fucking love the attention, being all possessive. I’ve seen how you get.

Sebastian: Shut up

Kurt: Make me.

Kurt: (this is okay, right?)

Sebastian: so okay

Sebastian: Since you’re being a bitch, I’d grab your jaw and kiss you to shut you up

Sebastian: make you forget about anything but me

Kurt: I’d kiss you back, because no matter how annoying you are you’re a good fucking kisser

Kurt: and grab your arm to hold on, press my hips against you so there’s no space between us

Sebastian: I’d put my other hand on your back to push you closer

Sebastian: slide it just low enough to tease you

Kurt: fuck you’re such a tease

Kurt: I want you

Kurt: I’d insist we go back to your hotel

Sebastian: we’d take a cab to get there faster

Sebastian: the whole ride I’d keep my hand on your thigh, tracing your inseam

Sebastian: making sure you couldn’t cool down

Kurt: I hate you

Kurt: god I’m so hard

Sebastian: in this imaginary taxi or real life?

Kurt: both

Sebastian: same

Kurt: In your room I’d make you sit on the bed and watch while I undressed

Kurt: force you to look without being able to touch me

Kurt: and I’d take my sweet time

Sebastian: god, seeing your dick so big and hard for me through those tight fucking briefs you wear

Kurt: I’d watch you while I slowly take them off

Sebastian: i can’t stay still anymore

Sebastian: i’m there, in front of you

Sebastian: i want to taste you

Kurt: fuck seb

Sebastian: lick up your cock, cover you in my mouth and swallow around you

Kurt: so good

Sebastian: i miss how you taste, i want to feel you in my throat

Sebastian: …kurt

Kurt: Sorry I was, uh, finishing

Sebastian: you came already?

Kurt: Yes! It was really hot!

Sebastian: Damn, and I had so many other plans

Kurt: Aww. Maybe another time?

Kurt: Do you still need more?

Sebastian: sure, supplement my imagination

Kurt: After I came down your throat I’d be so heavy and relaxed. I’d collapse onto the bed and spread my legs wide for you.

Sebastian: you want it hard?

Kurt: Yes, god, I need you, your fingers and your perfect cock

Kurt: wanna feel you thrust inside me

Kurt: you always know exactly what to do

Kurt: I love how strong you are, feeling you hold me up and pound into me

Kurt: I’d beg you for more, more, I can never get enough of you and your cock filling me up

Sebastian: damn okay. Hold on

Kurt: Good hold on, or?

Sebastian: Yes, hold on as in I was trying not to get come on my phone

Kurt: Gross

Sebastian: All because of you, baby ;)

Kurt: Grossssss

Sebastian: I liked you better when you were horny

Kurt: Thanks for that, though. It was an excellent distraction.

Sebastian: If you’re ever looking for that kind of distraction, hit me up.

Kurt: I’m gonna take you up on that

Sebastian: looking forward to it.

Kurt: Goodnight, Sebastian.

Sebastian: Night, Kurt.

#my fic #kurtbastian #kurtbastianarchive

[dixkens]

The Mini's Return

2021 007 Fest, I introduced M's (Teeny's) school chums Bitty and Tiny in "Mini Bake-Off" https://dixkens.tumblr.com/post/658094462701109248/mini-bake-off

They return here in an encore for 2022 007 fest in "Mini Crisis".

“I’ll need a bodyguard for this weekend and you’re available,” said M.

Bond cocked his head, “It’s that time of year again isn’t it?” he mused. “Your school fundraiser. I’m fairly sure that 005 and 009 are also available,” said Bond. “You chose me again.”

M’s lips had pressed together into a thin line but she nodded.

“Is it because I’ve already met the other Mini’s?” he asked. “You know they liked me.”

M sighed. “If you misbehave in front of my friends, I shall find my old field hockey stick and club you over the head with it.”

“Tease,” said Bond quietly.

M scowled and raised an eyebrow.

“My best behavior, I promise,” said Bond placatingly.

“Which isn’t promising much, alas,” said M.

“Another baking competition this year?” asked Bond.

“No,” said M, “I could be so lucky. Talent contest.”

Bond’s eyes widened. “I take it back. You’re punishing me for something.”

M’s lips quirked, “We’ll drive up the evening before. You may pick me up Friday at my residence promptly at 18:00.”

“Yes ma’am,” said Bond.

“Oh look Bitty!” said Valentine that Saturday afternoon, “Teeny brought this one again. I liked this one.”

“You’ve liked them all Tiny,” said Portia. “Though I admit this one was memorable.”

“Pleasure to see you again ladies,” said Bond with a bow and a more charming smile than he’d dared the previous year.

Bitty fanned herself.

M rolled her eyes.

“Are you looking forward to the competition?” Bond asked innocently.

“Oh we’ve prepared,” said Portia. She reached into her clutch and pulled out a flask. “Plenty of gin.”

“And earplugs,” said Valentine. She waved a couple of packets she’d pulled from the pocket of her dress.

“You didn’t bring me any,” said M.

Bond nearly did a double-take, she was pouting.

“Teeny,” said Tiny. “You’re a judge and the earplugs are bright blue. They’d be noticed immediately.”

“Should’ve stopped in Q-Branch,” said Bond quietly. “The major could’ve fixed you up.”

M muttered, “Shut up Agent Bond,” then turned to her friend. “Very well, but you could pass me the gin.” Bitty grinned and handed over the flask. M took a large swig and passed it back. “It will have to do,” she sighed. “Let’s go 007.”

“We should find our seats too,” said Portia.

“At the back,” agreed Valentine.

“Rarefied company you kept at school,” Bond murmured as the other two bustled off. “A countess and an honorable.”

“You felt the need to investigate my friends?” said M in her ‘convince me not to demote you’ voice.

“Spy,” said Bond.

The talent competition proved not quite as horrid as Bond had feared. The winners were an older couple who performed a surprisingly vigorous swing dance routine.

Then at the reception, someone tried to assassinate Portia.

After the fact, Bond was never able to articulate, as he stood watching the crowd while his boss chatted with her best chums from school, or as anyone else would see it, he was guarding the head of MI6 and two members of parliament, how he’d known that M wasn’t the target. He’d known the gunman was after Portia Nesbitt-Jones. He shouted get down, which M responded to instantly while dragging Tiny with her, and he tackled Bitty to the ground.

He’d rolled off of her, drawn his gun, and killed the assassin before the screaming started.

It was over in seconds. It felt like an age.

Dealing with the aftermath felt like an eternity.

“Well,” said Portia when things had finally settled. “Thank goodness we have all this gin.”

See the swing dance that inspired that bit of the fic in the first 5 minutes of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez9CQtKio8E

#007 fest writing #007 fest 2022 #teambondvillains #m #james bond #fanfic #original characters

[1001scoganmusings]

Irrevocably ruined by you pt.1

A/N: Hey guys here it is! The long awaited steamy Valentino fic I promised. Hope you like it just as much as I enjoyed writing it. Leave a likenif you want to be tagged in the next part. It’s already in the works. Sorry I take long to post it just work and life can get hectic so thank you for being so understanding and kind. Now just know that this is a poly ship between Valentino x reader x Vox and of you are not in to that I implore you to just skip this one.

Warnings: foul language, religious themes, low self worth, low self esteem, awful family members, kissing, fingering, vaginal sex, spanking, nipple play, car sex

Words: 10.4k (sorry so long)

Minors for the love of god please stay away this is for adults only thank you 🙏🏼

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was your birthday and your friends had announced that they would be taking you out to celebrate.

You stood in line with your friends waiting to get into the new night club that just opened up down town. The night air was warm but not too humid. You were all dolled up in your favorite sexy dress with your make up done and your hair styled to perfection. You looked stunning and felt like it too.

The line moved and it was your groups turn to go but as you got closer the bouncer held out his hand effectively stopping you guys. “Sorry.” he says. You sigh hating that you’ll have to wait a little more before going in. “I got this.” your friend whispers conspiratorially in your ear. She walks up to him puts her hands on his chest and stands on her tip toes to whisper something into his ear. The way his expression goes from curious to lustful in mere seconds is quite comical to you. She kisses him slipping her her tongue in to his mouth as she slides one of her hands down his chest to his crotch and gives him a good squeeze. He groans in to her mouth breaking away from the kiss with a loud smacking sound.

You were shocked to say the least but if she wanted to work her magic and get y’all in there faster who were you to stop her. You can hear people talking and saying disgusting things about your friend. You turn and give them the the meanest dirtiest look you can muster effectively silencing them them.

She walks back to you all and smiles sweetly at him. “Go in.” he says to you all signaling with a jerk of his head in the direction of the gleaming golden double doors leading to the inside.

“Hey how is that fair! It’s not like I could get in if I squeezed your balls. Why should she?” A man behind you says throwing your friend a look of disgust and annoyance.

But the bouncer pays him no mind, as if no one had said anything at all. You walk past him your friend giving the bouncer a wink as your group disappears through the doors.

“Oh my god. What did you say to him?”

She turns to you giggling. “I told him that if he let us in right now, I’d finally let him try anal.”

“Wait do you know him?” You say confused. You had thought he was just some stranger.

“Yeah he’s my new boyfriend. I’ve been going out with him for about a week.” You weren’t surprised to hear this. Your friend was real pretty and nice. Exactly the type of girl that deserved to have a gorgeous buff boyfriend in her life.

The inside of the club was packed; bodies gleamed with sweat swaying and writhing against one another. The blaring music thrummed through your body as you swayed your hips in sync with the beat. It felt so good to just let go and get lost in the music letting the day’s troubles melt away. The club was decked out in a dark red wall interior with black marbling that was illuminated by neon red lights along the walls and an onyx black floor polished so well that it looked as if you were dancing on an obsidian mirror. The whole place had an erotic and seductive vibe to it. Very private.

There were beautiful men and women of all colors that looked as if they were dressed as sexy butterflies dancing inside of large gilded golden cages that hung from the ceiling. The neon lights reflecting off their wings making them look translucent and iridescent. Though if someone were to get too close they’d see that those wings weren’t a costume. And neither were their pitch black eyes and sharp pointed teeth. Their lithe bodies moved and swayed so fluidly with the music. It was hypnotic to watch. Club goers crowded around them. Some throwing money others looking up at them, their eyes darkened with desire and lust as if they were in a trance of some kind. Demons in plain sight. It was almost comical to you. Except, it really wasn’t. But no one seemed to care or notice anything out of the ordinary. People never really notice the things around them as much as they should have. Oh well, can’t help people if they don’t really want to see in the first place.

As the song ends you guys make your way over to the bar ready to buy drinks. A tall lanky man with tattoos and very pale skin comes over to you guys. “What’s your poison?” His long and sharp pointed fangs jutted over his bottom lip as he spoke. You can feel the the warm wave of magic he’s used to glamor himself with disguising his true form.

You can only see a demon’s true form if they want you to. Sort of like fairies but without the whole hating to be seen thing and cursing your family to death. To them it was more of an inconvenience than preference if people started screaming and panicking because they saw something they couldn’t understand much less comprehend.

“Is this club goth themed or something?” One of your friends asks. The man behind the counter smiles an awful razor sharp smile showing off all his teeth. “Yeah something like that. But tonight’s theme is a little special.”

“What is it?” You say curious at what it could be.

“Depraved ladies night sweetheart.” He says fixing his crimson red eyes on you as if he was sharing some kind of inside joke with you. You weren’t amused. He knows what you are. You know he knows. Things like him can always sense people like you. Honestly it’s not uncommon for demons to do business up top. Most corporations are owned by demons anyway. The human ceos and board of directors are nothing more than puppets and stand ins for the real owners. You just wished you had known who exactly owns this particular club before setting foot here. Serves you right for not checking it out before letting your completely normal friends take you someplace new. Demons took business rivalry to a whole other level and weren’t fond of witches they either didn’t know or weren’t on their payroll. If you weren’t careful you might not make it out of here alive.

He turns back to your friends a mischievous smirk on his face. “So be as bad as you possibly can tonight ladies. No one here cares. Tonight is all about what you want. Trust me we got all kinds here. We are at your mercy tonight.” Your friends laugh at his declarations but you just wanna get as far away from him as possible. “Now, I’m Tony your bartender for the night, what can I get you ladies?”

Tony finishes making your drinks and hands them out to you and your friends. You take a sip feeling the cool burn of your drink as it goes down your throat. It was delicious the fruity flavor mixed with the alcohol blending perfectly together. You hadn’t realized just how thirsty you are and end up drinking the whole thing at once. You set your glass down and take a moment to look around you. A waitress dressed in a white sexy cat outfit that barely covered anything was at one of the booths along the walls taking drink orders. She turned and cough you staring. She winked at you with her jade green eyes and blew a kiss in your direction. You blush and look away. Some people in the private booths have already started to have fun getting a little too handsy with each other. And you were more than sure one couple was having a little too much fun if the mewls and moans you were hearing were correct. Well it is depraved ladies night. You wonder if you’ll take someone home tonight. It was your birthday after all and treating yourself tonight was definitely top priority.

As you and your friends begin to walk away a hand comes down on your shoulder. “Baby did you get all dolled up and pretty just for me?” A raspy and sultry voice whispers in to your ear. You turn to see a very tall skinny man dressed in a dark red suit and a red fedora smiling at you. His short hair pure white with streaks of red running through it and crimson red eyes. He looked like one of those 1920s gangsters you saw on tv sometimes.

“Excuse me?”

“What don’t tell me you forgot about me already baby. How cold, your breaking my heart.” You stand there at a complete loss for words. Who was this man? Did you know him? He takes a puff of his cigarette and blows out red smokey hearts. “You know I don’t think you recognize me huh? Here let me just slip in to something more comfortable.” He steps toward you and his glamor falls away like mist. Valentino stoops down to your height grinning at you with his trade mark cocky smirk. You can see your reflection mirrored back at you in his heart shaped sunglasses. “What’s with that surprised look on your face?” he says amused at your reaction.

“I don’t think she knew this was your club Val.” A dark haired man in a dark blue suit with glasses says stepping out from behind Valentino. His glamor melting away to reveal Vox.

He was right you hadn’t known this was Valentino’s club. But as you look around you can definitely see it’s all to his taste. You breath a sigh of relief, the tension in your body finally easing now that you knew you were safe from being potentially killed. No you weren’t on their payroll but you guys had history and you were in their good graces.

Vox looks at you his eyes dancing with mischief as he reaches out to touch you. His finger tips gently trailing down your arm as his smoldering gaze ensnares you. He brings your hand up to his lips and softly kisses your knuckles. “We missed you doll. Did you miss us?” Your face heats up as your heart flutters at his out right unabashed boldness. Valentino clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes at Vox’s display of affection. Mumbling under his breath about showing off. If anything could be said about demons it was that once they saw something they wanted, there was no deterring them from having it. They’d have their prize one way or another by any means possible; good or bad. It the one thing you really admired about them. The drive and ambition you wished you possessed to go after the things you really wanted most in life without worrying about the consequences.

For hundreds of years witches have worked with demons to help them expand their empire. What had started off as a desperate plea for help was now a begrudging act of acceptance. You see, back in the day when Christianity was new and on the rise in your town of Madride, nobody really cared for anything the priests were preaching about. It seemed to the villagers that all the Christians cared about was money offerings to the church in the name of their god, more than love and good will towards others. No one was buying it and this angered the church. So in a desperate attempt to seize the people’s attention they created horrid lies and rumors about the local witch families. The lies got so bad that eventually there was so much mistrust between the two people that the church was able to use that to lead their own witch hunts and kill anyone who spoke out against them. That was their real plan, to strike fear in to the hearts of the poor towns folk. To show them that the world was full of wicked and unholy monsters. And that only the church and their faithful worshippers could drive them off.

What a bunch of bull. Oh to be able to see the looks on the corrupt priest and clergymen’s faces when they realized that no, they didn’t go to heaven and were in fact as awful and terrible as everyone said they were.

The church would send their witch hunters out to towns suspected of being infested with dark magic and kill innocent men and women. Yes they were witches but, they only ever used their magic to help and heal others from their sufferings. It seemed like everyone had forgotten who had been keeping them disease free with their herbal concoctions and remedies. Who helped them deliver their babies and made sure the crops did more than well during the yield season for the farmers. It was as if madness had taken hold and everyone was slowly losing their grip on common sense. And even when there was proof still no one would listen to the witches when they spoke of how the church was behind all these terrible things happening. Of how the church was stealing children and live stock from the people. Of how the church was burning crops and poisoning the water supply by throwing rotting animal carcasses in it, not satan and his minions. But the witches’ words fell on deaf ears.

The witch hunters unfortunately were very good at their job. Too good. They were killing families faster than we could come up with new defenses against them. Soon there was only a handful of families left in town and they were terrified. If they tried to leave their town their whole family would be hanged with no trial of any kind. But if they stayed they ran the risk of exposure. Either circumstances were not ideal. Children and pets were not exempt from punishment. The church argued that if they were innocent that they’d just have to suffer for a short time before being taken back in to gods loving embrace. So in a desperate attempt to save anyone else from being killed, all the heads of the families convened under the new moon under the city and decided it was time to ask for help. They summoned Lord Lucifer and struck a deal with him. No the witches didn’t believe in God because they had never spoken to or seen him. But demons, the keepers of ancient and terrible knowledge, had been encountered plenty of times.

The families promised to Lucifer and his kin to spread their vision of corrupting humans however he saw fit in exchange for his help. Lucifer accepted and in return promised protection from the church or anyone who ment them harm. Lucifer only asked that the families had lots of children that way there’d be plenty of workers for him and that this would make the deal more than worth it. Reluctantly the families agreed not having any real choice in the matter. And this was the way of things for a while. Then at the turn of the 18th century as the church’s power began to dwindled and evil creatures of the night fell in to fantasy and superstition the deal changed, slightly.

We still work for the demons but now instead of cursing or hexing them to death, we work at our white collar jobs making sure everyones lives are miserable and unaffordable. Some of us being bank owners or ceos and others politicians put in strategic places to get laws passed that benefited our employers. So yes we still wreak havoc on the towns people but we just do it in plain sight and under the protection of the law.

The demons came topside for coven initiations when the children would turn 21 and come of age to scout out new workers. It was a prestigious honor you had been told over and over again since you were small. One you wanted desperately. To not be chosen wasn’t a bad thing but it wasn’t exactly looked upon favorably by the families. Depending on how high in rank the demon were determined who got first picks and who didn’t. With the new deal came new benefits. The witches would still run the top side business for the demons and in exchange your family not only got paid a portion of the profits but were able to learn all sorts of forbidden knowledge. Old Dark Magic being the most in demand. This was the way of things by the time you were born. Thats how it is and that’s probably how it will be for a while. At least until the world changes again.

Vox and Valentino. God yes you did miss them. You had met Valentino and Vox at a coven meeting one night. They had come to scout for new workers with some of the other overlords. The royals having already came to town last week to take their picks. You were new, barely turned 21 and were being initiated in to the life. You had been working on your necromancy skills since you were 7 and hoped to impress them enough to be put in a prestigious hospital as a head surgeon. As head surgeon it would make harvesting organs to sell on the black market for a higher profit much easier. This was how you planned to make a name for yourself.

As you introduced yourself and what you could do demonstrating your gifts you caught Valentino and Vox’s eye. They had invited you over to their table to drink and dine with them. They had been so witty and charming. Their friendly and casual demeanor was almost enough to make you forget they were viscous creatures that would kill you with out hesitation. But you were still polite and respectful not wanting to get on their bad side. As the night wore on their intentions had become noticeable. It started off innocent with small touches to your face and thighs, that led to sultry kisses on your lips and neck, that eventually progressed to them fucking you in a spare broom closet.

You can remember how they roughly fucked you at the same time driving away all thoughts except how you never wanted them to stop. The way they roughly gripped your thighs and held you open, feeling the sting from their clawed hands dig in to you as the obscene sound of skin slapping against skin was all that could be heard. Of how their cocks stretched your pussy out wide and filled you up so good, reaching the deepest parts of you making your eyes roll every time they hit you g-spot. They took turns thrusting up in to you rubbing against your walls just right making sure that you were always full no matter what. Making you a babbling drooling mess and had you feeling as though they were breaking you in half with their cocks. Or the way they had kissed each other right in front of you so lewdly making you moan from how hot that was. You were so loud at one point Vox had to cover your mouth before you all were discovered. But nothing, nothing could’ve made you come harder than seeing the absolutely wrecked and drooling expressions the demons had every time you clenched around them as they told you how hot and tight your pussy was. The soft mewling noises Valentino was making as you chanted his name softly. And the way he had looked at you so possessively as you begged him to make you cum. Or how Valentino had shuddered as you came on their cocks. Oh how he had kissed you over and over again through your orgasm swallowing down your cries of ecstasy, his eyes glowing softly like dying embers were solely focused on you. It was so cute how he tried so hard to hide his whimpers and gasps by biting down on your shoulder as they both came so hard deep inside you a few moments later. You could’ve sworn you saw Vox short circuiting out of the corner of your eye while he was coming. The high you felt from making these two overlords of hell cum their fucking brains out was making you giddy with pride. To know that even if there were others before you, you had done it best. Fuck how could he even think you had forgotten. They had practically fucked you within an inch of your life.

Funny enough though, when the meeting came to choosing workers you weren’t one of their picks. In fact you weren’t picked at all by any of the overlords. Your parents trying to console you only made you feel worse. Your feelings stung by how they discarded you without so much as a second glance. But what did you expect they were literal demons. It was in their nature to be cold and cruel. They saw an easy opportunity to get laid and you had stupidly fell for it. Of course they didn’t think you were special. No you had just been an easy lay. You avoided them for the rest of the evening trying not to look in their direction even though you can feel their stairs watching you closely. Not wanting them to see just how hurt you actually were you pay them no mind not wanting to see them laughing and mocking you. And especially not wanting to see their expressions of indifference etched on their faces.

As the meeting was called to an end and everyone was leaving a hand grabbed your arm surprising you and pulled you aside to one of the secluded alcoves in the hallway and pinned you against the wall. His hands on both sides of you trapping you in his arms. It was Vox. He was glaring down at your feet as if they had done something especially nasty to offend him. He sighs and speaks softly still not looking at you.

“Look I know I’m the last person you wanna see right now and your probably really pissed at me but just listen ok.” You scowl at him and cross your arms letting that be the only indication that you were listening. “I’m just here to tell you that the reason we didn’t pick you wasn’t because we don’t like you or anything. Its because we like you that we didn’t pick you ok. So wipe that look of your face and go back to smiling like you were earlier.”

“Yeah that’s a no. Also if you guys liked me so much then why didn’t you guys pick me? I thought my skills would be of good use? I mean did I do something to offend you or -“

“No!, ” he hurriedly interjects “you didn’t do anything you were,” he pauses and lets out a breathy laugh his eyes softening as he looks at you his hand coming to rest on your cheek, “you were incredible.”

But you swat his hand away not really wanting to be touched right now. “Then what is it? Was I just good enough to fuck but not good enough to work with? Is that it? Oh my god, that’s it isn’t it?”

He rubs a hand over his face with increasing impatience as if I’m just not getting what he’s trying to say. “No! It’s just -, I don’t think -, Val can be kind of -“ he growls in frustration and turns away from you walking a few feet away from you with his back turned, his hands balled in to fists. What in the world was he trying to say? Why couldn’t he just get it over with and spit it out? He takes a deep breath in and releases it. He puts his hands in his pockets and looks back at you over his shoulder. His face set in a hard and cold expression.

“The way we run our business, the way we do things, it just wouldn’t suit someone like you.”

“Whats that supposed to mean?” You say clearly offended and confused “What kind of work do you guys do anyway?”

“Val has an iron grip on the sex industry and I have a monopoly on the entire internet market.” he said it as if it was nothing. Just your everyday ordinary jobs.

“Oh.” you say slightly impressed and distressed at the same time. He stands there looking at you with a look that says told you. And as much as it irked you he was right. Neither of those things suited you. Not with your magic being better suited to necromancy. There was no way you would fit in to their categories of work.

“So what, you came here to warn me? Of what, that you guys might not be good for me?”

He turns back around facing back to the wall.

and answers derisively, “Were demons doll were not good for anyone.” Not good or not good enough you think. The thought makes something in your chest twist uncomfortably.

You knew demons could be kind in their own strange way. But you’d never guess it. Not with all the dick measuring and power plays that went on in Hell. Everyone trying to one up one another. Always trying to manipulate and bring someone else beneath themselves. And for what?

The whole idea seemed pointless to you. Everyone had their glass ceilings that they’d never break. Overlords would never become princes or princesses and those princes and princesses would never become the kings or queens. So why bother at all. But you supposed this need, this thirst for power and dominance was only an illusion to what they truly craved. Love and acceptance. No creature that lived and breathed could be without these things. It was one of the oldest pieces of wisdoms you learned as a witch. That wasn’t to say that if you loved a demon they would love you back and everything would be fine. No this way of thinking was pure fantasy. For a demon to truly love and be loved in return they’d have to go within and introspect themselves and change for the better because they want to. To truly heal and be better. This was something that they’d have to truly want for themselves. But they don’t, just for the same reason you don’t wash your car everyday; you just don’t feel like it. Conform and be sinful or be crushed under the weight of your own pain and anguish. This was the unspoken rule of hell.

Even with knowing all this there was just something about these two that you couldn’t leave alone. It would probably be a good idea if you did but, you weren’t really great at making good choices. You walk up to Vox and wrapped your arms around him hugging him from behind. You can feel him flinch as if this was the last thing he had expected you to do. “If you were really so bad, why come back here to make sure I’m ok?”

He turns in your embrace so that he’s facing you; his hands on your hips pulling you close. “Maybe because Valentino told me to come sort things out on his behalf or he’d kill me.”

You give a small laugh at this, “What, why?”.

“Well between you and me I think it was because he really likes you and was sort of scared of what you’d say.”

“Really,” you smile “an overlord of hell afraid of what I’ll say?” Vox just nods his head in agreement. “I don’t believe you.” you say shaking your head in exasperation.

“It’s true. Valentino isn’t good with saying how he feels. He’s better at showing than telling. Trust me I’ve known him long enough to know. Plus I think he was afraid you’d reject him with how much you were ignoring us. He doesn’t take rejection well if you know what I mean.” You can just picture Valentino sitting in his limo arms crossed with a pout on his face. The thought strikes you as cute.

“Or maybe,” Vox says as he leans close to you your faces mere inches away. “Maybe I really did this for myself. To be the last to see you again before I had to go.” The desire in his eyes makes your face heat up. He leans forward and kisses you sweetly and slowly. As if he’s trying to savor this moment with you. To commit it to memory for later.

That had been about a year ago. You had wondered to yourself many times if maybe Vox had just been being nice and letting you down gently. Which was stupid because why did he apologize at all if they were just going to ghost you anyway.

The sound of Vox’s cellphone brings you back to the present. He lets go of your hand and answers it. His face turns in to an scowl clearly annoyed with whoever’s on the phone. He hangs up and starts to leave. “Everything good?” Valentino says raising a brow. “Yeah just a business associate of ours acting up. I’ll handle it.” Vox bends down and kisses your cheek. “Wish I could stay but duty calls. Maybe another time doll.” He says walking away leaving you alone with Valentino.

“So what are you doing here?” Valentino says taking a drag of his cigarette. The sickly sweet smell that comes from the smoke coupled with his intense stare make your pulse quicken and your head feel kinda fuzzy.

“It’s my birthday and I’m here with my friends celebrating.”

“Oh you came to celebrate huh.” He puts his cigarette down on an ash tray on the counter. His hand tilting your chin up to look at him. Those gorgeous red eyes of his looking down at you playfully. “How about I give you a very special gift just for you the birthday girl? Would you like that baby?” he says gliding the smooth material of his leather clad thumb across your bottom lip. “I know you fuckin’ would. Besides I gotta pay you back for that little slice of heaven you gave to me that night way back when.”

You scowl at him not in the mood for reminiscing. “If I made you feel so good then why’d you ghost me?” The question catching him off guard by his surprised expression.

“What’s with that surprised look on your face?” You say mirroring his words from earlier. “Did you think I’d forgotten? Or that I wouldn’t be upset?” You didn’t really want to fight with him but you were still upset about the whole ordeal.

He quickly schooled his features and smiles. “Aww did you miss daddy that much baby?” He coos.

“Fuck off Val.” You swat his hand away flicking him off turning and walking way.

“Hey come back here. I was kidding can’t you even take a joke?” You walk a little faster but his long legs make it easy to keep pace with you. “I said come here.” He says sounding frustrated. You make a bee line for the women’s restroom and almost make it inside, your hand on the door when, Valentino grabs your wrist whirling you around to face him as a pair of arms wraps around your waist and the other pair of hands take a firm hold on your wrists pulling you flush against him.

“Let me go.” You try to pull out of his embrace but he’s just too strong.

“Firstly, don’t fucking walk away from me when I’m talking to you.” You glare up at him disliking just how easy it is for him to over power you. “Secondly, don’t think for a second I haven’t been dying to see you again.”

“Yeah right, liar.” You roll your eyes looking away from him and not believing him for a second.

He lets go of one of your hands and grabs your chin turning your face roughly to meet his. But you still don’t meet his eyes.

“Look at me.” he demands angrily.

And you do so begrudgingly. But you were not prepared for the honesty and sincerity you see in his eyes as he glowers down at you.

“I ain’t no liar. I’m a lot of things babe, a lot, but a liar ain’t one of ‘em. I’m serious. I’ve missed you.” He let’s go of your chin to cup your cheek. “But I’ve got responsibilities in hell that just can’t be ignored. Things that you can’t know about for both our safety. You think I wanted to stay away. Hell just hanging around me could get you killed.” Then this whole time you thought they had been ignoring you. But in reality all they were doing was protecting you. The cool material of his gloves soothing against your blushing cheek. “But trust me when I tell you, you’ve been on my mind everyday since the last time I saw your pretty face. Also Vox has been talking about you ever since too. It’s been real annoying. He even went as far as to stalk all your socials just to get a quick look at you. Talking about how he misses you and shit. Fucking stalker.”

They had been thinking about you just as much as you had been thinking about them. Happiness blooms in your chest. You were more than to know you weren’t just a quick romp in the sheets to them. “I didn’t know.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about us. But you could if you want to.” the sincerity in his voice catching you off guard. You don’t answer not sure what he means.

“I mean,” he says hurriedly as if he revealed too much. “I don’t think you understand just how much I can’t get how you looked that night out’a my head.”

“Then make me understand.” You say challengingly.

He bends down brings his mouth close to your ear. He runs his lips along the shell of your ear giving it a quick kiss. “The way you were driving me crazy with those sexy little noises you were making. Or how that wonderfully tight pussy of yours milked my cock perfectly.” He chuckles at the shiver your body gives as he speaks in to your ear, his warm breath tickling you. “I could’ve taken you for a pro at cock milking. Had me shaking, knees wobbling like I was getting baptized or some shit. Hell maybe I was. I wouldn’t mind getting to worship you forever.” His sinful words were going straight to your core. Of course you remember. How could you forget. It was the best sex of your life.

“What do you say baby? Gonna let daddy make it up to you tonight? Gonna let me worship that beautiful fucking body of yours? You don’t even realize how hard you got daddy’s cock just thinking about it do you?” He takes your hand and brings it right to his crotch. Sure enough you can feel he’s hard as a rock. You cup your hand and massage him through his pants. His hips grinding against the heel of your hand. He leans his forehead against yours as his grip tightens on your waist. “Fuck you don’t even know how bad I want you right now do you? Yeah keep looking at me, ah fuck, keep looking at daddy don’t look way.” As if you even wanted to. “Look at how you make me baby. All bothered and hot just for you.” Seeing him come undone so quickly from your touch make your pulse quicken and your pussy clench. “Just say you want me and I’ll make all those filthy fantasies i know you got locked up inside that head of yours come true.”

You bite your lip and nod not being able to bear another second without him inside of you. “What’s that? Daddy couldn’t hear you baby. Your gonna have to speak up.”

“Yes. I want you Val. Please make me feel good tonight.”

“That’s my good girl.” Valentino says taking you by the hand and leads you away from the dance floor and out the door that says exit.

~~~~~

You straddle Valentino’s lap in the back seat of his limo. Grinding against each other as his hands are fisted in your hair while he kisses you. The warm wet glide of his tongue against yours making you feel dizzy with want. Your hands parting his coat to undo the buttons on his long sleeve business shirt. The front of his pants soaked from your wet pussy. He breaks the kiss with a lewd smacking noise and you moan as he bites your lip tugging on it gently with his sharp pointed teeth. You run your hands down his bare chest feeling his stomach muscles jump under your feather light touches. The ravenous hunger in his smoldering gaze makes you tremble all over. There was a promise in those eyes of his but whether it was of pleasure or something else entirely you weren’t really sure. Never had anyone looked at you with such need, such desire it was entirely and inexplicably intoxicating. If you weren’t careful this man would be your undoing.

A pair of his hands pull down the front of your dress exposing your chest. An appreciative hum rumbles from his chest as he brings his hands up to touch you. The cold leather of his gloves making your nipples peak and pebble as he caresses your breasts. “Damn baby, you really do have a perfect fucking body you know that?” Your eyes flutter as his fingers gently pinch and pull at your nipples making you gasp softly and arch in to his touch.

“Wish you would suck on them.” you say wanting to feel his warm mouth on you.

“Oh do you now?” He said pleased by your filthy words. “Then beg nicely first.”

“But I did.“ you pout up at him.

But he remains stead fast. “No, you said I wish. Wishing ain’t begging.” You just look at him not sure if he’s serious or not. But he just leans back in his seat a pair of arms spread wide across the tops with a challenging expression on his face daring you to make your next move.

Fine if he wanted to play hard ball then so would you. You rise on to your knees, hands on his shoulders as your chest is level with Val’s grinning mouth. “Please daddy suck on my nipples. Please use your mouth to make me feel good.”

Delight lights up on his face at your act of sluttiness. Something about this man brought out a naughty filthy side of you that you didn’t even know existed until you met him. “My baby’s such a little slut tonight aren’t you?” His hands come away from the tops of the seat to slide up your back bringing you closer as he slowly circles your nipple with his tongue before sucking on it. Tugging on it gently with his teeth. You let out a gasp letting your hands come up and rest on the back of his head for purchase as your head falls back and you surrender to his wonderfully talented tongue. You bite your lip trying to stifle your voice as you feel the sharp sting of Valentino’s teeth bite down on the side of your breast hard enough to leave a mark. He soothes the bite with gentle licks lapping up the tiny droplets of blood that well up. He trails his lips to the other breast giving it the same treatment as the first. He’s so attentive and gentle with you. Could this really be the same cold and heartless Valentino all of Hell feared? The cruel and power hungry moth pimp? The same man who mistreats and hurts people for a living with out a care? How? The difference between the two was so enormous as if they weren’t even the same person at all.

The cool air inside the limo contrasting with his hot mouth make goosebumps break out all over your skin. The hands on your waist slide down to your to your thighs and up all the way under under your dress. He groans in to your chest and looks down. The look of unbridled lust in his eyes as he sees you’ve gone commando tonight. “And just who the fuck were you gonna give this pussy to tonight huh?” He says angrily. A harsh smack lands on your ass when you don’t answer fast enough. “Were you gonna give some nameless dumb fuck what’s mine?”

You shake your head. “No Valentino I -“

Another harsh smack lands on your ass. “Shut up,” his hand tangles in your hair angling you to look down straight into his eyes as he sinks two long fingers in to you. “Now let me make this clear,” his voice dropping low and dangerous as he thrusts his fingers in and out of you making you hot all over. “If you ever let anyone beside Vox an I touch you I’ll kill’em. “ His fingers massage your g-spot. “I’ll kill’em so fucking painfully and slow while you watch. Then I’ll fuck you right on top of their life less body.” You could hear the lewd squelching sounds your pussy was making. “No one touches what’s mine and lives. Do you understand?” a smack to your clit had clenching around his fingers, juices running down your thighs. His threat shouldn’t have turned you on as much as it did. But oh god it did.

“Yes, yes I understand. Yours, all yours Val. No one else.” You babble already almost at your limit of teasing.

“Good.” He says satisfied with your answer. “Hmmm what’s this?” Val looks down at his hand currently fingering you to see it’s drenched in your love juices. “I guess my baby is more depraved than I thought huh?” You chose not to answer. Not wanting to boost his monstrous ego anymore than it already was. “Damn, your really clamping down on my fingers. What, did my little speech really do it for you?” He laughs derisively. “If your this wet I guess your ready for the main event then huh.” You moan as his fingertips brush against your g-spot on last time before withdrawing completely.

You almost stop breathing as you watch him bring his fingers to his mouth and lick them clean. The way his tongue curled around each finger before taking it in to his mouth and sucking on it. It was the most erotic and sinful thing you’d ever seen. “Shhh don’t whine daddy’s knows what you need. And I’m gonna give it to you real good alright baby.” You hadn’t even realized you made a noise.

You watch as he undoes his pants. The clinking of his belt as he unfastens it sounds too loud in the quiet of the limo. He pulls out his thick 10in cock and sighs as he strokes himself leisurely. “Come here.” he pats his lap and you lower yourself back down till you can feel him lined up with your entrance. You try to sink down on the tip but are stopped by his hands holding you in place. You look up at him in confusion but he just smirks. “Nah not just yet.” He moves to rub the head of his cock in small tight circles on your clit. The much needed friction making your thighs tense and shake, driving you crazy. “You like that baby? Want me to put it in? Want me to shove it all the way in deep inside huh? Want it real fucking bad don’t ya?”

“Val just get on with it already.” you say impatiently. You were so done with fore play and you wanted him to just hurry up already.

“Nah, a slut like you has to work for this cock.”

“But you said you’d spoil me remember?”

“That I did. But that was before I knew you were gonna spread you legs tonight for some fucking cocksucker nobody.” He says glaring at you. “So now you beg. Beg me and I’ll give it to you just the way you like it baby. Rough and deep.” He leans down and kisses down the side of your neck; sucking marks here and there. “Look at how wet you are down here for me already. Your pussy is practically drooling all over my cock.” You look down to see he’s right. His cock was wet and shiny as your juices drip down his shaft. “Hurry up and beg already. She’s hungry, aren’t you baby,” he starts slapping his cock against your pussy and watches as it clenched around nothing “and I can’t wait to feed her, her favorite meal.”

Arrogant jerk you think. Valentino could be such an annoying pain at the worst time with his cocky attitude. But as much as it killed you to admit it, he was right. You wanted him. Bad enough that you were willing to put your pride aside an beg him to fuck you.

Arrogant jerk you think. Valentino could be such an annoying pain at the worst time with his cocky attitude. But as much as it killed you to admit it, he was right. You wanted him. Bad enough that you were willing to put your pride aside an beg him to fuck you.

But you know how to get him to give you what you want. You place your hands on his face pulling him down your lips against his and whisper “Please fuck me Valentino. I need you so badly. No one else can make me feel the way you do. I know you want me just as bad as I want you so top pretending already.” You say as you place chaste kisses on his lips trying to entice him to give in and break.

Your plan works but his face has the exact same expression from the last time you guys were together. That look of lost and confused. As if no one had ever spoken to him like this before. Had no one said these words to him? No that was ridiculous. He was the overlord of lust and depravity. Surly tons of past lover had said these exact things to him too many times to count. But then, why was he looking at you like that. As if no one ever had. No. Now was not the time for such thoughts. You put it in the back of your mind and bring yourself back to the present moment. The one where your about to give Valentino the ride of his life; give the lord of lust a run for his money.

His grip on your hips eases letting you lower yourself down on him. You both sigh as the head of his cock slips into you. You relax letting yourself take more of him in. The delicious stretch making your walls flutter around him. He makes a choking noise and grits his teeth as you sink down about half way. God he was so thick how did you manage to take him and Vox at the same time before when you already felt this full. Taking him slowly was probably best but you just couldn’t wait anymore. You rise up till jut the head was in and just let yourself slam down on his cock. “Fuck.” Val growls through clenched teeth, his eyes falling shut as his head falls back against the seat. The stretch bordering on painful but you didn’t care. That was more than fine with you so long as you got to see Valentino’s calm and collected demeanor shattered. You wanna see it again. To see him writhe and squirm until his a complete wreck under you. To see him so desperate and hungry for your touch as you were for his.

You slowly lift yourself halfway up. “Val,” he lifts his head meeting you gaze as you say, “look at me and don’t look away.” as you let your self drop down. His eyes seemed to glow darker and brighter in the darkness of the car as he tries to keep them open. You could see the way he was fighting to keep quiet as if he wasn’t affected at all but you weren’t fooled for a second. You could feel how his thighs tensed and hear how his breathing had started to pick up. Making him come undone so quickly was enough to make you giddy with confidence.

“Tell me, tell me how much your enjoying this Val.” You say breathlessly, a cocky smile on your lips. His eyes bore in to yours. Taunting him might not have been the best idea but it sure as hell was fun. His hands griped your waist tighter, his claws sinking in to your flesh. You hoped it left marks in the morning. It would be your proof that he was really feeling it and loving it. “How much your, ah, loving how good I make you, fuck, make you feel. Tell me, oh god, how you’ve never had a, fuck, had a pussy as good as mine.” You laugh bouncing on his cock as his scowl deepens. “Nothing to say? Oh fuck, guess I’m just that good -“

You feel it. You feel the exact moment that Valentino’s resolve breaks. In a flash his hands come around your neck cutting you off as he plants his feet and just starts driving up in to you with reckless abandon. Your surprised screams of pleasure filling the inside the limo. “What’s the matter?” Where’d all that confidence go? Who has nothing to say now? Tell me!” The way he bounced your body up and down on his cock as if you were nothing more than a rag doll had you more turned on than you cared to ever say. His glasses skewed on his face as sweat falls from his brow. You close your eyes and held on for dear life just letting yourself get lost in the feeling of being used by him. Fuck it was too much and not enough. He was stretching you out so wide that it felt as if you could feel every ridge and bump he had on his cock. He was so deep it felt as though he was in your stomach. He adjust his hips slightly hitting your g-spot. You screamed, surprised by the blinding pleasure and the intensity of his thrusts. You knew you’d never go to heaven but hell of it didn’t feel like you were already there. Your toes curling each time he hits your g-spot with the head of his cock. You look up at him tying to convey what you can’t say; More, don’t stop, don’t fucking stop, please make me cum, I want to cum.

“That’s it baby, fuck, scream for daddy. Let everyone know who’s cock is making you feel this fucking good.” He snarls. “Fuck it’s too good. Your pussy is sucking down my cock like a pro. So good,so tight” he says drool leaking down his chin as he looks at you as if your the most fucking mesmerizing thing he’s ever seen. An wasn’t that just the best damn compliment you ever heard. The lord of lust saying you were the best he’s ever had. You almost came for a second.

Liquid fire felt as if it was coursing through your veins as stars danced across your vision. “Please, please let me cum, oh fuck please.” You beg him as tears form in the corner of your eyes. You were so close just a little more. And there it was again just like last time. That look of possessiveness in his eyes as he looked down at you. “Fuck what are you trying to do to me?” Awe and confusion mingled with frustration colored his voice. As if he couldn’t quite believe what what happening. “You think you can just make me feel like this? What are you doing to me? Are you trying to fuck with my head?” He growls. He was panting hard now moaning unabashedly mouth open to far gone, beyond the point of caring. He was close, you could feel it by the way he twitched inside of you each time he bottomed our and how his thrusts were starting to become choppy losing any sense of rhythm.

One of his hands came away from your neck to rub tight circles on your clit. “You wanna cum, then go on cum for daddy. I give you permission to cum on this cock baby. Let me feel how much you love gettin your shit wrecked by me.” That was it. The tight thread in your belly snapping and you were coming. Wailing as you came not caring if the people outside in the parking lot heard you. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck” Val cursed his eyes slamming shut as your walls constructed and fluttered around him pulling him over the edge with you. He thrust in to you a few more times before hilting one last time. A cry of your name on his lips as he shuddered, his hot semen spilling inside you filling you to the brim.

Oh god you were still shaking as you sat there letting your brain come back online. That was it. These damn demons had ruined you for life. There was no going back to sleeping with humans now. Labored breathing was the only noise now inside the car. Valentino released his hold on your neck. “You good?” he asks sounding winded as he gently rubs your neck checking for any signs of bruising. You nod and wrap your arms around his neck pulling him closer and kiss him. Your tongue sliding between the seam of his lips asking for entrance and he grants it. The way he kisses you was so tender and almost loving. This was only your second time being with this man and already you could feel yourself getting lost in him. Your heart feeling as if it’s swelling with some indescribable feeling as he wraps his arms around your back pulling you close so there’s no room in between. His other hands rub soothing circles on your waist where he gripped you too hard.

When your both done redressing as best you can Valentino presses a button and speaks in to a speaker. And to your horror the driver of the limo answers. “What’s your address?”

Are you taking me home?

“Yeah why you not done partying? I guess we could go back inside and have a couple of drinks it’s only 2. We still got another hour before last call.”

“No, I mean thank you for, the ride.” Thank you for not just sleeping with me and then ditching me like last time is what you really want to say but you don’t. You give the driver your address and the limo starts up and pulls away from the club.

Valentino light a cigarette the soft glow of the bud illuminating his face. He offers it to you but you decline. Smoking not being your thing. He rests his chin on his palm on the armrest of his seat as he looks out the window. You sit there awkwardly not sure how to proceed. But he decides for you as he pulls you closer to his side. One arm draped over your shoulders and another wrapped around your waist.

“It wasn’t a coincidence that we met here tonight was it?”

“Aren’t you perceptive.”

“How’d you even find me? How did you know I was going to be here?”

“I used a locator spell I got from an old acquaintance to find you. As for how I knew you’d be here tonight, I didn’t.“

“So what you built this club close to where I live and came everyday hoping to maybe see me there.”

He just shrugs his shoulders and continues to look out the window as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world.”

“You could’ve just come to visit me or I don’t know maybe called me, you know.” Your starting to suspect what Vox had said about Val being scared of what you’d say was true. But again why? You were no threat. Or was it more of a feelings problem than a physical one. Demons after all are unfortunately all emotionally immature. No matter how strong and powerful they were.

“Why don’t you live with your folks?” He asks breaking the silence. Witches tended to live with their families till marriage but you had to move out sooner. The shame and disappointment had gotten to be too much for you.

“It’s complicated.” He raises a brow as if saying try me. So you continue. “My family and I haven’t really been on good terms since initiation last year.”

“How come?”

“Well as the only child of the house of Dramir it is, was my duty to bring honor and glory to the family name. I had planned to make that happen by showing off my skills and catching the eye of some overlord who could make that happen. That was how I was going to make a name for myself. But it didn’t work out like I had hoped.”

“Wait aren’t you guys supposed to have lots of kids for crap like that? Why are to an only child?”

“My parents did try a couple of times before me but those pregnancies ended up being still borns. My parents were devastated each time. They had lost hope of ever having their own child. Until they had me. I was their little miracle. So with that they poured all their knowledge and resources in to making me as strong as I could be in hopes of impressing you guys. But i guess I just wasn’t what you guys were looking for.” Valentino laps back in to silence and doesn’t speak for a while. He takes a long drag of his cigarette and blows out small smokey red hearts. You watch as they bump against the car window and slowly dissipate. Then finally he turns his attention away from the window and on to you.

“That doesn’t explain why you moved out?”

“Witch society can be brutal and very shallow. To be turned away from being picked at initiation is the equivalent of being told that your weak and worthless. Because if you are valuable and of use then there would be no reason to not be chosen.”

You can remember the awful things people said under their breath about you. Or the mocking your parents endured during coven meetings. Of how all the other parents gushed about their child’s new position only to ask “ - and what about your daughter? What does she do?” The absolute duckers that had been.

“I am now the reason my family is the laughing stock of our people. A disappointment my grandmother had outright said to my face. My parents never say it out loud though which I think is worse but I can see the disappointment in their eyes and their tight smiles whenever I’m mentioned. So now I live here in Miami. Hopefully this will be far enough away that I won’t bother my family.”

Valentino just looked at you a myriad of emotions playing out on his face as you told your story. But he didn’t say anything to which you were grateful. “Big skip across the pond for a fresh start. Not the worst decision.” It was actually the best decision you had ever made. Here there was no pressure to perform. No old biddies telling you how to act and how to live as a witch. Out here you could breath. Being a with was who you were but that doesn’t mean it should be the only thing you are. You’ve enjoyed finding out what kinds of things you like to do and how you really want to dress and wear your make up. Never again would you be modest or conservative about anything ever again.

“So what do you do now?” he asks curiously.

“I now am the proud owner of my own business.” you tell him proud that you were able to start a business all by yourself.

“Oh.” He says interested. “And what exactly does your business do?”

“I sell my magic to those who can afford it.”

“Like what, 5 dollars a pop for a tarot card reading?” He smiles and chortles.

“No.” You say playfully elbowing him in the ribs. “It more like 25 dollars actually.” He shakes his head in disbelief. “There are other things too like potions and spells. But the real money maker is letting people talk to their passed loved ones.

“A seance, your shitin’ me.” He out right laughs.

“No not a seance.” You scowl at him for even mentioning that horrible cheap carnival trick. “We both know that those things aren’t even real. The people who conduct seances are fakes and phony’s. They make the rest of us, true practitioners, look just as phony and stupid as they are.”

“Jeez sorry.” He hold up his hands on mock surrender. “Don’t get your panties in a twist”

You roll you eyes at him.“Whatever. Now with me. People call me when they want to have one last word with their deceased loved ones. So I go down to the morgue with them and reanimate their loved one calling the soul back to the body. It only last an hour any more than that and the dead will be in terrible pain. This is usually enough to help the living move on.”

“Sounds like your making decent money.”

The limo comes to a halt in front of your apartment complex. You don’t really want to go though. Your afraid that this might be the last time you ever see him. He makes no move to disentangle himself from you. Valentino takes one last drag of his cigarette before snubbing out in the door ash tray. “I’m taking you out this weekend so be ready when I get here at 8.” How rude, but your happy he’s making an effort to see you again. “Ok.” you say.

He gets off to lets you out and helps you out of the limo. Your about to walk off when he catches your wrist gently pulling you back. You let him hold you against himself. He brings his hand to your chin and tilts it up as he bends to kiss you. He tastes of smoke and ash. The kiss ends just as fast as it started. He lets go of you and you walk to your apartment. He stands there watching you go in only getting back in his limo once you’ve entered your home safely. You watch him leave the parking lot from your window praying time will fly by till the weekend comes.

#hazbin hotel valentino #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel vox #vizziepop #monster x fem!reader #monster romance #romance #teteraphilia #monster lover #demon x reader #demon x human #valentino x fem!reader #vox x fem!reader #smut writing #writing

[jerzwriter]

Conversations - Ethan & Casey

Book: Open Heart (Post Series)

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Casey MacTavish)

Rating: Teen

Category: Fluff

Summary: Ethan and Casey play a “getting to know you” game.

Warnings: None

Words: 982

A/N: My dear Tash sent five “nosey asks” for Ethan and Casey, I decided to make it into a short fic for them. Hopefully, it’s entertaining! The five questions she submitted are highlighted in bold in the conversation.

CHARACTERS BELONG TO PIXELBERRY STUDIOS

“So,” Ethan sighed, “what is this ridiculous thing that is taking me away from my reading?”

“Oh, yes, Ethan. Taking twenty minutes away from reading another medical journal may just kill you.”

“Kill me, no, but… what is this thing?”

“It’s just a getting to know you game. We pick a card, and we both have to answer honestly.”

“You don’t know me well enough already?”

“Can you humor me?”

“Fine. But only because you’re so cute when you beg.”

“Although,” she smirked, “I’m usually I’m naked when I do.”

“I was about to point that out. Would you be so kind as to get naked for this activity?”

“I’ll tell you what… let’s answer five questions with me, and I’ll get naked for you.”

“Suddenly, I’m all in. Let’s get this thing started.”

“OK, I’ll pick first… What age are you usually mistaken for?”

“38.”

“You are 38.”

“And I guess I look it. Most people assume I’m in my mid-to-late thirties. So, what about you?”

“Most people assume I’m in my middle twenties, so, at 29, I guess I look a little good for my age.”

“You look a lot good. Do I pick now? Is this how it works?”

“Yep!”

“Oh,” he grinned, “I like this one… What are your biggest turn-ons?”

“You. Next!”

“Uh-uh-uh. You want to play; we’re going to play. I need more detail than that.”

“Fiiineee. Sarcasm.”

“Well,” he chuckled, “No wonder you’re with me.”

“No kidding! But I mean it, sarcasm and wit, bantering. I find it so attractive, and, yeah, it’s probably one of the things that attracted me to you because we had it from the start. Oh, and I like when you nibble on my ear.”

“Like this,” he said, demonstrating.

“Stop,” Casey giggled. “Save that for when I get naked after the game.”

“Oh, I will be!”

“I look forward to it. But, your biggest turn-ons?”

“Your laugh. Your smile. The little line that forms between your brows when you’re deep in thought. The way you tenderly stroke my hand or arm when we’re out together. The scent of your shampoo. The way you dance around the apartment with your headphones on, like you don’t have a care in the world. When you’re standing up for something, you believe in. Your….”

“Ethan… I’m flattered, but is there anything I do that does not turn you on?”

“No. Not really.”

She leaned in to kiss him. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Now, pick the next card. I’m dying to get naked.”

“This is a little deeper if you want to skip it.”

“Shoot.”

“Describe your relationship with your parents?”

“Well, it isn’t as if we don’t know the answers,” he shrugged. “My dad, I’m glad we’ve been able to work through some of the resentment I harbored. We always had a good relationship, but it’s even richer now. With my Mom, it will never be what I hoped to have in a mother, the damage is too great, and there were too many years lost, but I’m glad for what we are beginning to establish. And, I have you to thank for both of those things.”

“Stop,” she smiled. “You have done the work, baby. Not me.”

“Yes, but I’ve done the work with your encouragement and support. I don’t know that I could have without you.”

Casey ran her fingers through his hair. “I like to think you would have.”

“Hmmm. I’m not entirely sure. Now, do you want to say how perfect you have it with David and Rose?”

“Hey, I know I’m pretty lucky. But nothing is perfect. My dad used to be way too protective, but he’s improved. Mom, she’s my best friend, but we had our growing pains too for a bit. But they are wonderful parents. I’m lucky. Now pick the next card.”

“Describe the person you dislike the most.”

Casey sighed deeply as she sunk back into the sofa. “I honestly don’t like to spend much time thinking about people I dislike. But Faruggia is the first person that comes to mind. He’s so damn phony and self-serving… the damage he’s caused….”

Ethan took her hand as she trailed off. “We can skip….”

“No. I’m fine. I just look forward to the day when he gets his comeuppance. Because I know it will happen.”

“I’m certain that it will too, and when it does, we will toast.”

“Indeed. Now, what about you.”

“Dead. Because it’s Travis.”

Casey held Ethan close. “Yeah, let’s move on to the next question.”

“Agreed.”

“Well, this one is fun, I guess… share a random fact about anything.”

Ethan sat in thought for a moment. “Do you remember the first night I saw you in Donahue’s?”

“Of course.”

“That outfit you had on… it almost gave me a coronary.”

“Did it,” Casey laughed. “I kind of thought it might have, but to be honest, you had such a cool exterior, it was hard to tell.”

“Yeah, well, the interior was not cool at all.”

“I still have it, you know… that outfit.”

“Hmm. Then guess what you will be putting on when we’re done before I get you naked.”

“That can be arranged,” she grinned.

“Now, you’re random fact?”

“Hmmm. OK, marsupials first evolved in South America about 100 million years ago.”

Ethan raised his eyebrows, “That’s your fact.”

“Yes.”

“That’s so….”

“Random. Which is what the question said.”

“Why do you even know that?”

“Because I love marsupials. And, it was the Snapple fact inside my Snapple cap today.”

“Ah, that explains it. Now, I believe that was five cards.”

“I know, I know,” she said, rising from the couch. “I’m going to go put the outfit on.”

“Good, then I’m going to do everything I wish I could have that night.”

“If that’s your response to this game, we will be playing every night, Dr. Rasmey!”

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#playchoices #open heart fanfic #choices fanfic #ethan ramsey #open heart choices

[thedoubteriswise]

okay so. I am a smart adult with many important responsibilities. I have good taste and care about things that matter. for this reason, I’ve been trying to identify where in cql canon wangxian manage to fuck.

because they definitely do; I like a good post-canon getting together fic as much as the next guy, but it’s just not realistic.

allow them. it’s already been so long.

(just like this goddamn post turned out to be, let’s do a cut)

right. so initially it looks like you could place this right after the time skip in episode 33, because it shows us that wwx is with lwj in cloud recesses. we know that he spent the night in the jingshi because he wakes up there the next morning before he goes for a nostalgic tour of his old school.

and also visits the cold spring, where lwj is mostly naked. nice.

but wait! wwx is surprised by the scars on his back and chest. that seems like something he would have known about if they’d already been naked together the night before, so I’m going to say they did not fuck immediately upon wwx’s return to cloud recesses. okay, fine, they’re taking things slow, that’s cool.

maybe they could work it into the next night, then. oh wait, lqr is injured and... staying in the jingshi? for reasons?

I don’t know why. he must have his own house in cloud recesses, and it’s probably at least as comfortable as lwj’s, but here he is. he lives to stop his nephew from getting laid, I guess.

the next day they do some Q&A with the kids and determine that they need to head to qinghe to figure out what’s going on with this sword thing. great! we love a romantic road trip, plenty of alone time. but they also have to do their jobs, and then jin ling needs to get rescued from a wall of dirt, and jc is unfortunately there being himself, and then they have to grill nhs about his tomb full of angry sabers, etc. etc.

with all that going on, their next obvious chance is at the inn immediately after interviewing nhs. this evening has already included:

wwx gazing lovingly at lwj from afar

lwj carrying wwx on his back

lwj pawing at wwx’s robes trying to deal with his cursed leg

lwj helping wwx up the stairs, serving him wine, fixing his flute, and generally being at his beck and call

a very sexy and homoerotic duet

and now they’re alone and drooling over each other as usual. this seems like a plausible spot, right?

it does! but no. after they go back to the nie basement o’ swords and hear the backstory on nmj’s death, we see them walking in yueyang and lwj asks wwx how the curse mark on his leg is doing. wwx says it’s almost healed, which may or may not be a lie, but his inner monologue says:

he’s more concerned about the wound on his arm from the sacrificing curse, which lwj doesn’t know about, because wwx won’t tell him and they still haven’t been naked together.

also, this silly teenage shit doesn’t make much sense unless they’re still dancing around each other.

you guys love the sound of opportunities as they go flying past, don’t you?

right after this, lwj gets drunk. I’m aware that Stuff Happens in the novel scene that inspired this bit, and they do incorporate some of that into the show by having lwj commit petty larceny and admit that he “likes rabbits” as part of the softest and most loving conversation in human history oh my god

but lwj goes to sleep right on time, and the next morning, wwx is laughing and reassuring him that nothing happened.

after this, it’s time to go on a fucked up field trip with the kids in yi city, so they don’t really have any time alone for a few episodes until they’ve finished that and everyone is back at yet another inn. I wonder if they learned something about wasted chances and poor communication from this miserable songxiao story?

maybe! look, they’re being cute and domestic. there are currently no material barriers preventing them from having sex, nor will there be any specific evidence later on proving that they didn’t.

but they’re still firmly in mystery-solving mode and the juniors and lxc are floating around. the vibe isn’t quite there. if I were to pick the most solid reason why I think they’re saving room for jesus at this point, it would be the tension that happens when wwx again asks how lwj recognized him. lwj asks why his memory is so bad, and wwx replies that he wishes he had a bad memory. even though they’re comfortable and happy being together, there’s still some fundamental distance remaining. there’s no sense of romantic resolution. that was actually a point against all their previous opportunities as well; they’re all very sweet, but none of these feel like the place in a story where the romantic leads Officially Get Together.

okay, off to koi tower! shit is getting extremely real. everyone’s busy insinuating that they recognize wwx, but no one is saying it explicitly. wwx isn’t supposed to be here. the guy he’s pretending to be also isn’t supposed to be here. he and his boyfriend and his boyfriend’s brother are trying to figure out if his boyfriend’s brother’s boyfriend is a murderer. no one is comfortable and the political intrigue leaves no time for fucking in front of anyone’s salad.

I guess there’s plenty of time to make dozens of armed guards and like half the people they know wait while they have a romantic moment, though.

could they be more in love? And that sure feels like a romantic resolution that might be followed by narratively-earned sex.

ah. no, unfortunately wwx gets stabbed again. this certainly sucks, but it does have the helpful consequence of making lwj take him back to cloud recesses, where they are mostly alone and as safe as they can be in the circumstances. now there’s even more tenderness and also some plot-justified touching and skin exposure. plus, lwj just made a very public declaration of love.

too bad wwx has probably been unconscious since he started coughing up blood in the forest near lanling. he’s also still visibly in pain. fresh abdominal wounds tend to kill the mood.

but hey, the injuries on this show are only as serious as they need to be to move the plot forward and facilitate gentle h/c scenes, so by evening he’s looking perfectly healthy and walking around under his own steam like nothing’s wrong. I guess that problem can be ignored moving forward.

lxc then offers the the most devastating highlights of lwj’s backstory, like, all at once. it’s nice that he includes a flute solo to give wwx a second to process this mountain of terrible information. what the fuck.

there he is! the most devoted man in the whole world! turns out they can actually be more in love after all.

and then the following scene... look, I’m lazy and I don’t know how to make gifs, but screenshots cannot properly convey how good it is. you all know. the hesitant way wwx approaches, the slow and gentle piano version of wangxian, the two of them watching the snow together, it’s. ugh.

remember how I was talking about how the last scene with no material barriers was an unlikely candidate because of the lack of romantic resolution?

well, here’s wwx still being cagey at the beginning of this conversation.

and here they are in the middle of this conversation, having some epiphanies about the course of wwx’s life - I love this shot for a lot of reasons, but I extra love it because it shows wwx out in the snow, with lwj as the safety and warmth waiting behind him, god this show goes hard, holy shit

they both recall their vow to live with a clean conscience and internally say some very corny things about each other because they are both So Much, and then,

ah, what the hell. he can say it out loud after all. romantic resolution accomplished.

and then the camera slowly pulls away as wuji plays.

a slow zoom out? swelling music? listen, I am a connoisseur, I know a tasteful fade-to-black indicating a sex scene that won’t happen on camera when I see one. at last, we have a winner!

now you may think this post is finally over, but I actually have one more piece of evidence for you - the next scene shows the two of them the morning after, meditating behind a screen in the hanshi while lxc is waiting for jgy to show up.

before wwx got de-cored, he was a pretty powerful cultivator, right? the chances that he’s just bad at meditating or that he can’t stay focused on this task seem slim to me. so why does he keep falling asleep?

well. he had kind of a late night.

#yes I do have a lot of time on my hands #the untamed #cql #wangxian #meta #my meta

[brushstrokesapocalyptic]

it’s time for the “overanalyzing one-off lines” show!

so the very first thing magnus says when he sees pit in chapter 2 of kid icarus: uprising is as follows:

“Well, I didn’t expect to see an angel here. Hope this doesn’t mean I’ve kicked the bucket.”

now, i’m not sure if you’re aware, but that’s a really weird thing for someone to say, and it’s even more weird that no one comments on it. pit and palutena go on talking about unrelated things, as if that’s a totally normal and expected thing for magnus to say.

now, if you’re like me, you probably also didn’t really react to this line the first few times you saw it. it’s the second chapter, kiu has a lot of slightly-odd lines which turn out to be foreshadowing. me, personally? my first thought was “oh, i guess angels are probably associated with escorting the dead to the afterlife,“ and then i moved on.

they’re not, though. that’s what reapers do. and there’s no way humans have these two races mixed up. just fucking look at them.

do they look anything alike to you??? no. they don’t. which raises the question of why, exactly, magnus said that.

now, we don’t know a lot about angels as a whole. pit (and by extension dark pit) is emphatically not the gold standard of angeldom. we can assume he looks fairly ordinary for an angel, seeing as no one has trouble identifying him as such. beyond that, though, a lot of what we know about angels comes from what pit isn’t. for starters, he can’t fly. and there’s something else, too, but i’ll get to that later.

before that, though, i’m gonna go through the various unsubstantiated comments made by people with a dubious level of authority on the subject. (incidentally, i sourced these screenshots from the wiki— much more convenient than trying to dig through youtube for every single random conversation.)

without any further ado! let’s get into it!

Angels as Messengers

Gaol: Aw, Palutena’s little messenger boy. And Magnus, it’s always a pleasure. (src)

in the specific context of overanalyzing magnus’s first line, this is an important sentence to pick out. magnus and gaol are both humans, both with presumably a fairly similar history as mercenaries up until gaol got stuffed in a suit of armor. but while magnus makes a weird comment about death, gaol calls pit a messenger.

and pit agrees with her!

Viridi: I wish I had an angel to do my bidding. It’s like having an intern.

Pit: I’m not an intern. I’m a messenger of the gods!

Viridi: Poor Pit. Don't you know that the definition of angel is "errand spirit"? (src)

this particular conversation is the most insight we get into angels as a whole, i think. viridi thinks of angels as like divine interns, there to do little tasks for gods, and palutena doesn’t exactly disagree with her. pit says they’re specifically messengers, which lines up with biblical mythology. i could see the traditional role of angels in the world of KI being exactly that, showing up to tell the humans what the gods have to say because the gods themselves are too busy being petty jerks to do it themselves.

The Angel’s Code of Conduct

Magnus: You go in fully dressed? Don't you at least want to change into a...swimming tunic or something?

Pit: Oh, no no no! The angel's code of conduct says that we must always be ready for duty.

Magnus: I guess you wouldn't be an angel if you didn't do things by the book. (src)

Pit: Hey! You know the angel's code of conduct! I need to be prepared at all times! (src)

another random little thing is the angel’s code of conduct. without a larger sample size, we can’t know if it’s a real thing or just an excuse to save on laundry, but apparently it’s against the rules to not be on call at all times. in pit’s case, the duty he has to be ready for is doing palutena’s dirty work, but it can easily mean just about anything— including, of course, being a messenger.

No Warrior

Chariot Master: But you are no warrior, angel. Tell me, why do you fight?

Pit: I fight for Lady Palutena. And I fight for the people under her protection!

Chariot Master: That's not reason enough for an angel. (src)

remember how i said there was something else weird about pit? the chariot master seems to think angels aren’t very prone to battle— or perhaps even that they’re actively opposed to it. this lines up well with the idea that they’re supposed to be messengers, peaceful go-betweens for gods and mortals. this does not line up well with pit, the adorable weapon of mass destruction.

and it also does absolutely nothing to explain the question driving the whole existence of this post.

you know what does kinda lean towards an explanation?

No Other Angels

Pit: Do all gods have their own angels, like you have me?

Palutena: No, I don't think that's necessarily the case. (src)

i said before that the Intern Pit conversation had the most illuminating information on angels. this is what i was actually referring to. on its own, it’s pretty innocuous, but it’s just as weird as the magnus line. shouldn’t pit know about other angels, seeing as he is one himself? but he doesn’t know if there are other angels.

the only angels we ever see are him and his clone. no one ever directly references the existence of other angels, they only make general statements about what angels as a whole are like— statements which clearly don’t apply to pit, meaning they’re not just extrapolating based on the one angel that definitely does exist.

the one time someone does comment on the hypothetical existence of other angels, palutena gives a vague answer to the tune of “no,” the topic is changed, and no one brings it up again.

let’s go over everything i’ve established about angels up to this point. they can fly, they’re peaceful messengers of the gods, and pit is the only one that seems to exist as of the start of KIU.

it should be pretty obvious at this point what answer i’m dancing around, if it wasn’t obvious from the start. pit is the only angel around because all the other ones are dead. the reason why magnus said what he did is that his thought process went something like this:

See an angel.

Think “Aren’t angels extinct? Is that a ghost? Am I a ghost? I sure hope not.“

Make a quip about that.

Move on with his life, because he isn’t dead and evidently neither is this guy.

i’m not gonna pretend i went into this post with the intent of any other conclusion to that mystery. anyone who’s bothered glancing over a plot summary for the original kid icarus can draw that conclusion. it’s certainly what i did, reinforced by fics by people who had the same thought!

the truth, however, is that this was all a trick to get you to read my analysis of the theoretical nature of angels as a race. now that you’re invested, i’m going to dramatically throw aside my cape and reveal my TRUE FORM: telling people that fandom consensus is wrong, and my ideas are cooler and better than everyone else’s and you should all throw roses at my feet and bow before your king.

(or just, y’know, take it as the subjective analysis that it is. whatever floats your boat.)

Hot Takes

the original kid icarus does not actually tell you about angels going extinct. here’s the wiki article with the full text of the backstory, just for convenience, so you know what i’m on about for the rest of this post.

so, the part of the story that i think gets misinterpreted is this part about palutena’s army.

Medusa led a surprise attack on Palutena's army which could barely fend off the attack. Palutena's army suffered major losses and was heavily defeated in the final battle.

specifically, i think a lot of people interpret said army as having been made up at least partly of angels. sure, in the actual game it consists entirely of centurions, but you have to take old NES games with a grain of salt. i know i don’t buy for a second that pit was part of palutena’s guard before the original game (he was just too goddamn young), there’s nothing wrong with reinterpreting things.

recall everything i established about angels already, though. this is the hot official lore, from the game everyone knows and loves. angels are messengers, and if the chariot master is to be believed, never warriors. pit is an outlier. palutena’s army consists of centurions, not angels. if medusa wiped them out, it wasn’t because they were fighting for palutena.

(and honestly, i don’t think angels are necessarily associated with palutena exclusively. sure, she’s got the wing imagery, and she’s got the one known surviving angel working for her, at least up until pittoo is born. but angels are messengers of the gods, not messengers of palutena. again, pit is an outlier.)

which all brings us to the real question of this post.

what the FUCK happened to all the other angels? why is there only pit? why does magnus act surprised to see a messenger of the gods, and make a quip about being dead, if not because angels are otherwise extinct?! WHO KILLED THEM, AND WHY?!

thus concludes the “over analyzing one-off lines“ show. see you next, uh, maybe at some point if i feel like it!

(also another thought i had but couldn’t find room to fit it in properly: the gods don’t really act like angels are all extinct, but i feel like that can be explained through the sheer scale of a god’s lifespan. if we assume they were wiped out sometime around the original kid icarus (even if not as palutena’s army) then that’s a whole twenty-five years. that’s a long time for us humans, but for a god, that might as well be last tuesday. “yeah, i know what angels are like. sure wish i could have one. too bad palutena’s got a monopoly on the one single angel that medusa didn’t manage to wreck.”)

#kid icarus #kid icarus uprising #the things i think of at five am #i am just yelling and spewing thoughts and theories and headcanons #if anyone has their own thoughts to add go right ahead i am dying to know whether or not i'm actually breaking new ground with all this #or if there's some vital lore i missed #or anything like that #i am OPEN for CONVERSATION

[simoneswritings]

4 and 1/2 Months

Summary: Jimin comes home to his pregnant wife.

Warnings: Fluff, Pregnancy Jimin being a cute dork, Reader is a dork too, Domestic Bliss, sexual innuendos but nothing too extreme, First BTS fic, first fic I’ve actually posted in long a while actually...

Word Count: 570+ words

A soft peck on the cheek steered your attention away from your reading of Xiran Jay Zhao's Iron Widow. You turned your head to see the bright smile of your husband, Jimin. "I'm home."

"Minnie," a smile danced its way across your face as a bubbly joy fell over you at the sight of the love of your life . "We didn't hear you come in" you told him, putting your book down on the coffee table next to the sofa ,where you were sitting, with one hand while placing the other on your growing belly bump.

Jimin’s own smile deepened as he walked from out behind the sofa, making the extra effort to have his back facing away from you, towards the front where you were facing. He stared hard and kept his eyes trained on you the whole time,

And just when you thought it was over, he did what you think was supposed to be a pirouette and pulled out a bouquet of flowers with a flourish.

"Happy 4 and 1/2 months!" Jimin proclaimed, like a showman in a circus, finishing his little performance off with a over dramatic pose.

You giggled at all this much harder than necessary, probably because of the pregnancy hormones. "Geez, Jimin..." You jittered as you accepted both the flowers and another kiss from the father of your child.

Jimin soon joined you on the sofa and gathered you up in his arms. It was such a warm and loving embrace, fatherly in how one of his soft hands rubbed circles around your bump.

"How was practice?" You asked, euphoric.

"It went well" Jimin replied, more focused on your huge belly. "We'll definitely be ready for this next comeback.

"Everyone's really excited" you said, thinking back to your scrolling of Stan Twitter. "Those teasers really drove the ARMYs mad..."

Jimin smirked, the angelic phasing into mischief. "You think so?"

"I know so," you said. "You might as well have been shirtless with the skimpy shirt you were wearing."

"Hmph" pronounced Jimin. "Well, I won't be." He leaned towards you. "That sight and so much more is all just for you, baby" he flirted. "That’s why you're the only one pregnant with my baby."

You gave a faux scandalized gasp. "Hush your mouth, deviant! Such immoral filth is not fit for the ears of babes" you said, clutching your bump for dramatic effect.

This caused Jimin to roll his eyes. "Oh please..."

"I thought we already established the fact that they could" you retorted. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be reading books to them every other night!"

Jimin looked over to the book you had placed to the side. "Oh, is that what you were doing when I got home? Teaching our baby about the evils of the patriarchy early, I see?"

"Damn, straight" You said.

The both of you laughed, holding tightly on to each other. It lasted for about a minute before the both of you settled into an easy silence.

"I still can't believe it, you know," Jimin admitted. "In a couple of months, a whole human being is going to come out of you."

"I can believe it," you told him. "I can longer fit in my favorite jeans anymore."

Jimin giggled.

"Don't laugh, it's your fault" you told him in a matter of fact voice.

To which he shushed you and put a single finger to your lips. "None of that" he said, a smile stuck on his face. "They can hear us, remember?"

#first fic #park jimin fluff #domestic fluff #jimin drabble #park jimin drabble #jimin fluff

[kass-storycorner]

I really loved your ghost fic with Xiao. But it left me curious to have a second part in which they finally find the way to communicate. Whenever is just to say goodbye and having reader going to the afterlife or getting stuck there forever in an eternal solitary pseudo-company together is up to you, I just want to see them talk 😭

awww, thank you! I'm so glad you loved it (though I am sorry for the sad feelings haha). And I was really struggling to find a way to end that orginal story in the beginning, which is the reason why it ended that way oops. Well, now here is the follow up for it. Compared to the small bit I wrote for Xiao... I mean not even compared to it, this is the longest fic I've posted on here so far? Ah, well. I just had so much fun with it.

Idea/Prompt: a follow up to Xiaos part in this post

Genre: a bit of Angst and Hurt, more comforting than the first part, but if the ending is a happy one is up to you!

Characters: Xiao (Zhongli as side character, mention of Hu Tao, Verr Goldot, a new character I made up that did not get a name)

Format: Text

Word count: 5593

Content warning: mentions of blood, spoiler-y for the second act of Zhonglis story quest and the same spoilers warnings as for the OG post! this is not proof read, I started writing this at midnight and its 5am now ahha fml

The Ghost of you Part II. - To the end

yes we are keeping the mcr names

“Xiao”, he felt an uneasiness in his body upon hearing his name. Where was he? Looking around, Xiao saw he stood in a field of flowers. When did he come here? He had no recollection of it at all. Confused he furrows is brows, worry filling his heart and then- “Xiao.” There it was again, that voice calling out to him. Speaking his name softly, voice filled with affection. Where did it came from? He walked around the field, no end of it in sight, looking for that voice calling out to him. The longer he searched for it, the more his heart was filled with dread. “Xiao.” This time the voice came from behind him and when he turned around, he saw you, holding your hand out to him and smiling. “(Y/N)”, Xiao looked at you in disbelief. Was it really you standing in front of him? Your laugh pulled him out of his trance. “Xiao, why are you standing there like a pillar? Come, take my hand,” and at that you wiggled it a bit, signalling him that you're waiting for him to take it. “(Y/N),” Xiao repeated, standing still and looking at your hand, then to you. “What are you doing here?”. Again, you laughed as if what he said was the silliest thing you ever heard. “What do you mean by that? Xiao,” you shook your head and then you shoot him a bright, warm smile. “You wanted to come here, remember? Now come, take my hand and dance with me before the music stops.” Dance? Music? At first Xiao did not understand what you meant, but then he heard it. In the distance, the low sounds of a flute, a sweet melody that sounded strange but all too familiar. “Xiao”, he heard you whisper his name, speaking so gently. Slowly, he was still a bit hesitant, he reached out for your hand, taking it in his. A smile came across your face at the touch of your hands. With a swift motion Xiao was pulled into your arms, you both at first staying still in that embrace. “Xiao, lets dance, okay?”. With that you both started to waltz around the field, Xiao not knowing how he knew to dance like this, but somehow, he did. The dread that started to spread in his chest earlier was now gone, replaced by the feeling of love he felt for you. Still, there was something tugging at his mind, telling him something was amiss here. It felt familiar, yes. However, it also seemed to be strange to him at the same time. Though Xiao tried to push the nagging feeling away, wanting only to enjoy this pleasant moment with you. Which is why he at first didn’t notice how the sky darkened above them nor that the music had stopped a while ago. As you both stopped to dance, still holding each other in your arms, he heard you call out to him again. “Xiao”, the sound of your voice was filled with pain and when he looked at you in his arms the light behind your eyes was gone, your face stiff and emotionless. At the sight of your dead eyes, he wanted to part from the embrace, but he couldn’t let you go. Xiao saw the blood, saw the bruises and suddenly he was on his knees again, you are laying in his arms. He wanted to cry, wanted to say your name but he couldn’t. It was as if there was no air to breath so he could speak. And then – “Xiao.” His name. “Xiao.” Again. “Xiao.” Over and over again he heard how his name was spoken, but with every whisper of his name the voice became more distorted, louder. Until he cowered in pain at the sound of it, wanting it to stop, wishing for it to stop. “Xiao”.

With that Xiao woke up, his body covered in cold sweat and his breathing erratic. Another nightmare of you, another nightmare of something he wished the both of you could’ve done but never did – because of his shortcomings. Xiao sat atop of a rock, looking over the forest in which your ghost continued to wander aimlessly around. He had been watching you for a few weeks now, trying to figure out what kept you here and how he could help you. However, Xiao was clueless at what could be the cause of this. It was clear to him now that he couldn’t help you, he needed to find someone who could. Looking down at the forest, seeing your ghost wander around between the trees, he softly whispered. “I will be back soon, I won’t leave you again for long, I promise.” There weren’t many people Xiao could ask for help. Back when you were alive Xiao wasn’t the most social, wanting to keep his distance from humans. After you died this habit of his, avoiding others, only worsened. So, the only person Xiao could think of to ask for help in this matter was the same who saved him from his servitude as a bloodhound. Zhongli spend most of the last hundred years among the people of Liyue, but for a few decades now he lived in a remote house. It was now the door of said house Xiao knocked on, knowing that although he could easily enter the house, Zhongli preferred it for him to knock. “Ah, Xiao, it is nice to see you,” Zhongli greeted the adeptus. As Xiao entered the house and followed the tall man into his kitchen, it was a standard practice of Zhongli to drink a tea with anyone who visited, he couldn’t stop to notice that the notebooks scattered around the house grew in number. “So,” Zhongli began his question, “what brings you here? From your troubled look I can tell you didn’t come for the tea or my company.” With that Xiao didn’t waste any time on more formalities, explaining his predicament to the former Geo-Archon. “Mmmh, I see,” he replied, taking a sip from his cup. “I fear I might not be much of help in this case, although I have some knowledge on the topic of the human afterlife, I can’t think of a solution to this. However, it might be best to go ask Hu Tao on advice, as she is way more… let’s say, perceptive when it comes to the dead.” How bothersome, Xiao thought at the mention of Hu Tao. “Zhongli, Hu Tao is long dead”, was all Xiao could say. It happened more frequently now that Zhongli seemed to forget things, small ones but also important pieces of information and this filled Xiao with unease. He didn’t like it that the erosion of Zhongli already was set in motion, thinking about that one-day Xiao might have to face him in battle should he lose all sense of self and sanity. Neither did Zhongli enjoy slowly losing his memories of the past – although he wrote down as much as possible, it bothered him that he had to even rely on his notebooks. “Ah,” Zhongli replied, setting his cup down on the table and with a troubled look, “I seem to have forgotten something again. Would you please help my memory, when did this happen?” “One thousand years might have already passed,” Xiao saw how much it stirred Zhongli up that he had forgotten the passing of a friend. “She had a good life, right? I’m sorry for asking, but I somehow can’t seem to remember much about her later life.” “Yes,” Xiao answered, thinking about the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. There weren’t many humans he tolerated or even enjoyed being around, but Hu Tao was one Xiao always was fond of. She was also the one at the Parlor that day you died, when Xiao came in with your dead body in his arms, he hoped he might find Zhongli maybe he could do something about it, but… Xiao knew there was nothing anyone could do. Hu Tao understood his pain, without a word she showed him where to put your body and prepared your funeral, without even asking for a single Mora. “Then, “Zhongli pulled Xiao out of his thoughts, “maybe you might find help with the new Director, her family always had some knowledge about that human afterlife that’s even a mystery to me.” With that

Xiao said his goodbye to Zhongli and made his way to Liyue. The city of Liyue changed over the last thousand years a lot, but the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was still one of the constants in the city. Xiao couldn’t remember the last time he visited the city, though it must have been a few hundred years ago for sure. He just never really liked it and since, what the humans called a ‘industrial revolution’, the city was even more crowded and overwhelming for Xiao. “Welcome to the Wangshen Funeral Parlor, how may I help you?”, a young person greeted Xiao as he set foot into the building. At the enthusiastic way the person greeted him as he entered a funeral home, Xiao was sure this was one of Hu Taos descendants. He barley could imagine anyone else be so happy surrounded by death. “Are you the director?”, Xiao asked in his usual stern voice. “The 107th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, yep that’s me!” “I may need your assistance.” “Wonderful, I’m always happy to help- oh well, not happy as I am happy for your loss, my condolences by the way, but in happy as I am happy that I can be of help. So, what do you need help with? We have some wonderful new coffins out of a wonderful wood, really they are also very comfortable, not that comfort is that important for someone who’s dead, but I thought it might be also of interest to say that they are really comfort-“, ah yes, Xiao thought, definitely related to Hu Tao. “I don’t need a coffin”, he interrupted the young director. “Oh, um… what can I help with then?”, they asked and then Xiao explained everything to them. At first, he wasn’t sure of the director would be of help, most humans have long forgotten the existence of the gods and adepti, as most of them died or lived a life among humanity, but sure enough the director did turn out to be well versed with the forgotten knowledge of the world. “So, you say the ghost is just roaming around those woods? Nothing else happens?”, the director asked, sitting in their chair in the back office of the Parlor, and they had their hand on their chin, looking like they were thinking about something “Will you be of help now or why do you keep repeating the same useless questions?”, Xiao became a bit impatient now. He just needed to know if someone was able to help you. Without even answering the question the director stood up from the chair and walked towards a bookshelf, pulling a big and old looking book out and opening it up on the table. “Mmmh, from what you’ve described it seems to be nothing to grave, they don’t seem to have become an evil spirit just yet, moreover it seems like they are just one who got lost, though it is surprising that after such a long time the spirit didn’t just turned into something malicious. Normally for most human ghosts it takes a few hundred years until they go insane and well, you know all too well what then happens with an evil spirt I guess.” Xiao was aware what happened to the evils in the world, because it was mostly him. Though he didn’t like to think about it what it would have meant if you- no, he didn’t even want to finish that thought. “How do I help them?”, he didn’t care about any of the other information, he just wanted to find a way to help you. The director pointed at a passage in the book in front of them and continued. “What we have to do is easy if you think about it, I just need something that belonged to the deceased they held dear, a few materials like Qingxin flowers, around twenty should be enough, and the next part is more tricky if you don’t know the deceased that well, which shouldn’t be a problem here, but we need to, well you need to, speak some words that you know are important to them. A story or something like that, sometimes even the voice of a loved one is enough to help to guide the spirits back. Though I will definitely have to accompany that spirit to the border, just to make sure it won’t happen again, you know getting lost, because I can’t guarantee this method will help a second time.” Xiao was quiet. Something that belonged to them, when the director said

those words, his hand immediately flew up to the necklace with the small pendant he wore. Xiao wasn’t the most adept with words, he rather enjoyed listening to what you had to say to him most of the time. He enjoyed the sound of your voice; it was so much more pleasant than his own. One day, Xiao still remembers it so well, your voice said something he did not expect for you to say. “Xiao, I love you.” It took him by surprise, standing on the balcony of the Wangshu Inn, watching the night sky… he suspected that you liked him that way, he did too. Oh, but how he hoped that you wouldn’t say anything about it, like he planned too. Your openness scared him. The idea of being loved scared him, for what was there to love about him? He didn’t want to be a burden to you, his karmic debt, his burden – he feared it would all just make you hate him one day if he let you see it all. That night, after you said these words, Xiao disappeared without a word from your sight. He wasn’t far away, but he wished back then that he teleported out of his hearing range. The sobs that came from you after his departure broke Xiaos heart. After this he avoided you, which wasn’t too hard because you did the same thing too. But with every day that passed when Xiao didn’t see you, hear your voice, his heart grew heavier. Asking himself if he really did do the right thing. Verr Goldet approached Xiao a few weeks after your confession, inquiring why now you didn’t come to the Inn anymore. Xiao did not answer her question, but Verr was a smart woman and at the look in his eyes she understood. “Don’t give up someone you love, only because you are scared of the love you both feel for each other, Xiao”, was all she said. This was the final push for Xiao to finally get over himself and embrace the feelings he felt for you. He didn’t know anymore where the idea came from, but he decided to gift you a handmade necklace along side his confession. Xiao was scared that it might be too late for telling you that he felt the same. However, he knew he had to do it and he wanted to give you something that showed you how he felt too. So Xiao collected the material all around from Liyue, creating a metal necklace and using a small piece of Cor Lapis, your favourite you told him once, as the pendant. With that he looked for you, finding you sitting in the middle of a flower field. “(Y/N)”, he said, stopping himself from continuing when he saw how you jumped at your own name. “Xiao! You scared me!”, you quickly stood up and turned around to him. Xiao wasn’t the most adept with words, he enjoyed listening to you – but you stayed quiet after facing him and you kept quiet when Xiao came closer. “I-“, he began, but unable to speak the words he so wished you to hear from him. Instead, he took your hand and put the necklace in it. “I- I made you this,” was all he could say, feeling how fast his heart pounced in his chest. The look in your eyes, Xiao saw the love you felt for him in them. “Xiao, I-“, he saw how you viewed the necklace in your hand, tears starting to form at the corners of your eyes. Before you were able to finish the sentence or let the tears fall down, Xiao took your face in his hands and kissed you. Yes, he wasn’t the most adept with words, but he learned that he could show you how much he loved you in other ways.

From that day on you wore that necklace every single day, never taking it off since Xiao but it on you after the shared kiss. You joked that it was a physical representation of your love for each other, though Xiao felt like you actually meant it. And somehow it really was. Xiao remembered how that necklace was still around you neck when he took your body to Hu Tao, he remembered that it was covered with your blood. He didn’t even think about taking it off you. It was Hu Tao who gave him that necklace after your burial and since then he hadn’t taken it off. It was the last thing he had of you, the last reminder of your love for each other and every night after your death, when he cowered in pain because of his karmic debt, the cool touch of the stone on his skin helps him to stay sane. Just like the flute he heard even long before he met you.

When Xiao and the director arrived at the forest, they collected the flowers on their way, he could see your ghost again. Walking around, calling for him. His heart breaks every time he had to witness your suffering. “Okay, we have the flowers… do you have something that belonged to them with you, Xiao?”, the director asked, and Xiao shifted his focus from you to them. Slowly he took the necklace off, feeling somehow so vulnerable without it, and gave it to the director. “You know where they start their walk and end it right?”. Yes, Xiao knew that. He had watched over your ghost for the past couple of weeks and noticed that you were walking in circles, without even knowing so it seemed, starting from the place you died and ending up there again. Although your body was buried in another part of Liyue and already long gone, taken back by nature, you stayed here. Where you died. Xiao wished he had come here earlier. Together with the director Xiao made his way to the place where your life ended and your endless suffering in a sort of limbo started, laying down the flowers and the necklace. “And how is that supposed to help them now?”, he asked, not sure how any of this will work. “Like I said, we put down something that belonged to them and was important because they will gravitate to the feelings still connected with that object. The flowers are helping, because they built a bridge between the living realm and what state they are in. Now we just need some words that they have a connection with, in the past it used to be certain prayers because people kept using them a lot, but you know it honestly doesn’t matter what you say, it just needs to be connected to them in some way. Maybe their favourite story or a lullaby, there are many possibilities.” “A lullaby, huh,” this was something Xiao hadn’t thought about in a long time. “Xiao, are you alright?”, he heard your voice from across the dark room. It was the middle of the night, normally he would be out killing monsters, but for tonight you were able to make him sleep with you. When you found out that he never sleeps you were shocked, though he tried to calm you saying that an adeptus didn’t need to sleep. “Maybe you don’t need to,” you told him with a stern look, hands on your hips, “but it will be good for you too, believe me!”. And somehow, after each of you confessed the feelings for the other, you were able to make him sleep next to you some nights. Just for that night his karmic debt plagued Xiao. He sat in front of your window, trying to keep his distance from you, not wanting to disturb your sleep and he didn’t want to worry you. “Xiao?”, you asked again, but instead of an answer Xiao growled in pain. Suddenly you were beside him. “Don’t”, he said through gritted teeth as you tried to touch him. “You’re in pain, let me help you.” He saw your worried painted face, ashamed that you had to see him like this. “It’s fine, I’m used to it. Don’t worry.” “Don’t tell me not to worry when I see the person I love most suffering,” and with that you took his hand. “Please Xiao, let me help you.” Even when he wasn’t in such a weakened state it was hard for Xiao to refuse you and now – all he wished for was your comforting touch. You led Xiao back to bed and when you noticed how he had a fever you quickly prepared a cold and wet towel for him. As you both lied down in bed you took Xiao in your arms. “I don’t know if this will help,” you began after a short amount of silence, “but when I was a child my mother always used to sing this lullaby to help me fall asleep. She even continued singing it when we were older and got sick… it always helps me feel better and at ease, shall I sing it to you?”. Xiao only gave a small nod, not believing it would help when you sang that song for the first time. But it did, you soothed his pain and helped him fall asleep. From that night on you would sing it more often to Xiao, he never asked for it but you somehow always knew when he wished to hear it, especially on the nights when is karmic debt caused him great pain. That lullaby became

another sign of how much you loved each other – the necklace was Xiaos gift, the song yours.

Now there he stood, in this forest that once was just a plain field, the flowers and necklace to his feet singing that lullaby. Xiao never sang it when you were alive, he never sang at all. No matter how much you begged him to sing for you, this was something he always refused to do. Thinking about how beautiful your voice sounded, he never wanted to soil this song with his voice.

It felt like you screamed for Xiao for hours and hours on end, but your voice doesn’t hurt. Where were you? What had happened? In your head you repeated and repeated the last things you could remember again and again. You were walking in the fields, wanting to collect some crystal flies for a commission. Then you remembered that you were attacked, who or what attacked you slipped your mind. However, the fight was tedious and hard… and then you called for Xiao. That’s it. That’s all you could remember. But where was he? Where was Xiao? Didn’t he say he would always come when you called out for him? Why didn’t he come now? You feared that he was still angry with you, though you didn’t know anymore why he even should be angry with you in the first place. The two of you had a fight yes, but… was that it? You spend so much time apart, did he just decide you weren’t worth his time anymore? Did he maybe stop loving you? Those thoughts filled you with dread and you wanted to cry, cry at the thought of Xiao not loving you anymore, but somehow you couldn’t. So you kept calling for him, over and over again. “Xiao,” you screamed. “XIAO!” And then you heard something, at first you weren’t sure what it was, but there was a noise. You stopped calling out for him, trying to focus on where the sound came from, following the direction. It got louder and – was that Xiao singing? The closer you came towards the sound, towards Xiaos voice singing that lullaby… your mothers’ lullaby, the lullaby that became yours and Xiaos. Which he always refused to sing, no matter how much you pleaded. The closer you came you started to remember the things that happened more clearly. How you didn’t want to call for Xiao at first that day, how something hit you in your stomach and how you felt the blood gusher out of you. Yes, you remember how you couldn’t stand anymore and all that was on your mind was Xiao, you wanted to see him again. Just once. You wanted to tell him how sorry you were, how stupid it was for you to fight and how stupid it was to wait this long to call for him. You wanted to say this to him, all of it. But all you remember you said was his name. “Xiao.”

He stopped singing, his head flying up seeing your ghost stand right in front of him. His name. You just said his name. “Xiao,” you said it again, this time he heard you say it clearly and you looked right at him, not through. “(Y/N)”, it came more out as whisper. This is what he wanted. He wanted you to see him, to get out of that limbo, but why does it still hurt as much? “Ah, seems like it worked, great!”, the director interrupted the moment, looking at Xiao and the ghost of you. “I ummm- I’m gonna leave the two of you alone for a while, so you can talk things out, say your goodbyes, yadayadayada.” With that the director walked away and it was just you and Xiao.

“I-“, Xiao began, but somehow his voice failed him. What was there to say? What should he say? “Xiao,” he heard the hesitance in your voice. “Xiao, I am dead, right?”. He couldn’t stand looking at you, his eyes avoiding yours as he gave his short answer. “Yes.” “I see,” you replied quietly. You slowly started to remember the nights you stood on the field, waiting for him to come. “Why,” you weren’t sure if you wanted an answer to your question, “why didn’t you come? After, you know… I- I waited for you. I called you. Why-?”. “I felt guilty. It was my fault, if I just hadn’t tried to push you away again, then you wouldn’t have died, I’m so sorry,” his voice was so quiet, but you could hear how he tried to hold back the tears. “Xiao,” at hearing his name again he looked back at you, you now seeing the tears that pooled at the corner of his eyes. “It wasn’t your fault. I shouldn’t have pushed you… and I should have called for you earlier. But Xiao,” you saw how the tears started to fall down his face, “it wasn’t your fault.” He couldn’t hold it in any longer, Xiao fell to his knees, hands in his face and crying. “Please,” he sobbed. “Please, forgive me. I should have protected you that day, I should have come here earlier and see what was happening… please, forgive me.” You walked towards Xiao, reaching out your hand, wanting to touch him. Wanting to take him in your arms, but you couldn’t. It broke your heart. “Xiao, please, please look at me,” he did, his eyes red and filled with his tears. “There is nothing to ask for forgiveness for, you did nothing wrong Xiao. It’s alright. I’m sorry for leaving so soon, for running away that day we had this stupid fight. I don’t even know what it was about…”. “I don’t know either”, Xiao admitted and somehow you had to laugh a bit at that. None of you ever remembered why you fought even in the first place, all of this nearly felt so normal. But it wasn’t. Xiao wiped away the tears from his eyes and stood up again, this time to be able to face you. You looked just like he remembered, except for the see-through part but… your smile hasn’t changed. Even if this was a sad one. “Xiao, how much time has passed since I died?” That question surprised him. “Around…”, he was hesitant to tell you the truth. Should he really tell you? “Xiao,” and you looked at him and he knew that he couldn’t hide the truth. “A thousand years perhaps.” Thousand years, you thought. For thousand years he walked around with this guilt, for thousand years he kept that necklace that still was on the ground… for thousand years he lived his life, still mourning you it seemed. “Did you get over me?”. Again, another question he didn’t expect. Why were you asking him this? Did he get over you? “No, every single day since you died you were on my mind, I couldn’t forget you and I do not wish to. I can never get over you.” This wasn’t the answer you hoped for. “Xiao, I’ve been dead for thousand years. Even if I hadn’t died that day, I would have died on another one. Thousand years compared to what, sixty? Maybe seventy years if I had lived a full life is nothing. Humans are weak after all, aren’t we?”. You didn’t mean to stir him up with your last comment, it was more intended as a joke, alas a sad one, but somehow you struck a nerve within him. “No, they are not. I always said that, but I was wrong (Y/N). I don’t understand how you human can live your life, knowing that you will die, that those you love will inevitably die. How you can idly sit next to people you care about forgetting important things, things about themselves, struggle to remember who they are, seeing them die… and you move forward. I watched over you humans for such a long time, protecting you and I still- I don’t understand how. How can they love again? Where does the strength come from to keep moving forward?”, Xiao’s voice was full of pain, you heard it clear as day, seeing how tears rolled down his face again. You felt that there were even other things weighing heavy on him, not only you, but you knew that you couldn’t comfort him. That this was

something he needed to figure out himself. “Xiao, you will learn. You will understand it one day, it just takes time.” Your voice heavy with sadness and oh, how you wished you could take him in your arms, wipe his tears away and kiss him.

Before Xiao could reply anything in return the director disturbed the two of you again. “So, are you ready now?”, looking directly at you. “No, but I stayed here for far too long now, didn’t I?”, a sad smile coming across your face. You really didn’t want to leave, but you knew you couldn’t stay any longer. It was time. “I will come with you as far as I can,” Xiao had wiped his tears away and stood now right next to you. If you still had a body your shoulders would touch.

Xiao and the director accompanied you to the border of life and death in silence. Before you crossed it you looked at Xiao. He looked so sad, as if he was to lose you a second time. “I wish,” you heard him say, “that you could stay just a bit longer. I know it’s selfish, but I just wished you could have stayed by my side forever. But you can’t stay, and you shouldn’t.” “Xiao, I feel the same. I wish I could have spent eternity with you, but I can’t and it okay. I just want to ask you for one thing, one last promise before I go, okay?”. Xiao looked at you with a heavy heart. “Yes.” “Promise me you will try to find happiness for yourself again, okay? Promise me you will love again, please. Don’t stay alone.” Silently Xiao looked at you to then finally say “I promise.” “Thank you Xiao,” Archons, you wished you could take his hand. “Now then,” you said looking in the directions you had to go. “Time to go.” “(Y/N)”, you heard Xiao say before you left. “I love you.” “I love you too, Xiao.” As Xiao and the director left the border, he stayed quiet, the atmosphere being quite sombre. “Maybe,” the director pulled Xiao out of his thoughts, “there is nothing behind the border and they stopped existing completely. But maybe their soul will now find a way back to you, just in another way? Who knows,” and with that the director left. Xiao didn’t know if he believed that you would find a way back to him, but as it started to rain and as it fell down on his skin, Xiao felt now lighter as if a heavy burden was taken off of him. With that he started to move forward again.

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