#None of which were the real issue with him of course. But they didn't help & I can't help but see them as red flags in retrospect

[hazbinpage]

Lucifer x Reader HCs

(In which your relationship is romantic and you both live in the hotel.)

WC is 1741

(A/N: I love Lucifer so much. What a man. That being said, he's probably really OOC in this: we've only seen his character in a select few situations, none of which demonstrate how he treats his romantic partner or bonds with people he doesn't know, and I haven't read enough fics about him to decide what I like. Additionally, I'm not the best at writing romance at this point, so hopefully nothing is too off lol! With the disclaimers out of the way, please enjoy and lmk what you think! :))

-He isn't very fond of sinners, and while his perspective on them has changed since joining the hotel, his opinion certainly hasn't flipped 180 degrees. How could it have? Good deeds never made the news in Hell, and the dead he was forced to interact with were powerful. Powerful sinners were never innocent; no one becomes an overlord by accident. Centuries upon centuries of talking to the powerful, witnessing only violence and hatred, will not be undone by a single moment of comradery in war — a battle where he couldn't know if the sinners were acting solely in their own self-interest.

-This is why, when you first arrive at the hotel, he's fairly aloof. He'll be polite, of course; he has no reason not to be (especially while lowkey still trying to win over his daughter), but will hold himself distant.

-Despite this, he admits you're kinda cute....

-You don't see him often, which doesn't help with his distance — he isn't used to being around so many people, and while he's pretty charismatic and extroverted, he's also still depressed and has a habit of self-isolating when he's going through it (which is often). He only really comes out for his daughter's sake.

-To get to know him faster than his changing perspective and mental challenges would otherwise allow, you could: one, approach him directly! Be friendly, open, and interested in his hobbies. This only works if you do the same for the others, though. If you don't, he might see your advances as manipulation. Two, you could develop a relationship with Charlie. Support her, believe in her cause, and have her back. He'll see you helping his daughter and will want to understand you further. Three, you could talk about ducks. That'll get him. He'll approach you eventually and strike up a conversation.

-If you don't do any of these things, that's fine; he'll just get to know you at the same pace that he gets to know the others. He'll slowly open up to the idea that not all sinners are violent psychopaths, become more comfortable with the rest of the crew, and realize how well he connects with you over a period of several months.

- Lucifer catches feelings pretty fast once you start hanging out for real. He's enamored with you: not only are you cute as fuck, but his daughter loves you, and you're the nicest sinner he's ever met (while kindest of the damned is not a hard-earned title, it's one he appreciates nonetheless).

-Once he realizes he's caught feelings, he'll ask Charlie for permission to ask you out. He doesn't want to pursue you if she isn't comfortable with it; she's already got familial issues, and he doesn't want a sudden shift in the family dynamic to hurt her further. If she says yes (which, if she likes you, she probably will), he'll ask you out to dinner.

-Prepare for the first date to be really awkward. Even if you've known him for a while at this point, he's incredibly nervous — he hasn't done anything romantic in a good while, and the last time he tried a relationship, it didn't work out. The whole time, he's fumbling over his words and cringing at himself, saying things he doesn't mean to while trying to be suave. When he escorts you back home after a very bumpy evening, he'll be downtrodden. He messed things up, just as he knew he would, and now you probably hate him; thoughts of self-loathing and regret swirl in his mind until you say you'll pay him back next time (he blinks up at you owlishly. "Next time? Like...another date?" You confirm his thoughts. "Oh--- oh! Yes, absolutely! I mean, no, no need to pay me back; of course not, but next time sounds good! How does this Saturday at 3 sound?").

-A couple of dates in, and he's feeling more confident, which reflects in his now far more self-assured demeanor and smooth language. He's a silver-tongued devil, after all, and he has to live up to his name.

-If all goes well, after about a month, he realizes he wants you to be his partner. He, once again, gets Charlie's permission and brainstorms with some of your friends about how to pop the question. Initially, he wants to impress you, pulling out the big guns and whisking you off your feet on the balcony of a lavish black-tie restaurant rented for just the two of you. After some discussion among your peers and deliberation of his own, though, he decides to do something else. He invites you to his tower, where he's prepared a handmade dinner with candles and soft music in the background. The food isn't particularly good (he can't cook very well and enlisted Vaggie and Nifty's help to make his dish edible), and the smoke from the candles stopped being pleasant about a half an hour in, but regardless, you both have a wonderful time, laughing about his lack of culinary skills and the excessively warm room. He asks if you would like to be his lover at the end of the evening, nervous but somehow also self-assured, and is overjoyed when you say yes. The next day, he parades you around the hotel, bragging that you said yes and talking about you to anyone who'd listen.

-If he wasn't big on physical affection before he got so lonely, he is now. While his hands might not constantly be on you, they've come close to that, especially if he's going through a hard time. Expect lots of hand-holding, arm-looping, cuddling, and kissing. He likes resting his head on yours (or your shoulder, depending on how tall you are) while he wraps his arms around you (or the reverse — he loves being cradled), you both sitting together on the couch. He also has a habit of rubbing his thumb in circles over the back of your hand while holding it.

-Smother his face with kisses, his cartoony heart-eyes expression will look a tenth lovestruck as he feels.

-You receive frequent duck memes, duck-themed gifts, and duck dissertations. He doesn't go around parading his interest, but if he trusts you, he can't keep himself from wanting to share everything about his hyperfixation. He's concerned about being annoying, though, and while you could try to curb his insecurity by telling him he's not, the best reassurance is to match his energy: talk about your own obsessions and be just as weird about them as he is. Not only does he feel better about himself, but he gets to talk with you for extended periods of time, your eyes alight and grin large. He'll probably try to get into whatever you talk about, wanting to connect with you further.

-He likes giving you gifts in general. Especially those that show you're in a relationship with him, like wearable apple or goat paraphernalia. While he does enjoy gift-giving for its own sake, he's insecure and doesn't want anyone to think they can cross him by taking you. If you give him anything duck-themed, handmade, or (heavens help him) both, especially without reason? He will melt. He loves it; he can feel the thought and effort you put in for him and feels known and loved.

- He’s kinda clingy; he likes being around you as often as possible and gets nervous if you're gone too long; if you leave for more than a day, he's like a koala when you return. It's comforting to him to know where you are, but it’s even more comforting when you tell him how much you love him before you go. His self-esteem isn't at a record low, but it certainly isn't high, and he has huge abandonment issues. Every once in a while, because of this, he'll grow distant; his thoughts of being undeserving or theories about how you're going to leave him become too much, and he semi-subconsciously pulls away to protect himself. Be patient with him during these times; show him how much you care and how you would never leave. Tell him you love him as he is. The first time you say so, he'll cry in your arms and snuggle you for hours.

-He'll become less clingy and insecure as your relationship goes on, but will always rather be with you than alone.

- He's majorly protective. He knows what it's like in Hell, and he knows that by dating you, he's put a target on your back, which only adds to your lack of safety. He will pull all the strings he has in order to keep you safe, whether that means accompanying you when you're out and about, actively keeping you away from overlords, or tracking your phone without your knowledge. He feels bad about some of his less savory means of protection, but not bad enough to stop. The thought of your death haunts him too much to let you be.

-Similarly, though he won't ever admit it, your redemption keeps him up at night. If you're redeemed and go up to heaven, he can't see you anymore — maybe ever. He knows you want to better yourself and tries his best to support you in your improvement, but sometimes his fear gets to be too much. In those moments, he has to spend some time alone before he tries to sabotage your progress in any way — any more than he already has.

-It's hard to tell what his love language is because he uses all of them. He wants to spend time with you (though he will give you a break if you need one; he understands needing to be alone, even if it makes him nervous), give you gifts, be touchy, do things for you, and tell you how wonderful he thinks you are. He wants you to know just how much he cares in every way he can and will be receptive to any form of love in return.

-He doesn't use as many pet names as some of the rest of the cast would, but he does use them! He likes calling you sweetheart and angel-eyes the most.

-Overall, he has a lot of insecurities and mental health problems to work through, but tries his best to be the best partner he can be for you. It's hard work to improve himself, but if you'll have him, he'll stay by your side forever.

#hazbin hotel #lucifer #lucifer hazbin hotel #lucifer x reader #hazbin hotel x reader #my writing #my hcs #lucifer/reader #reader is a sinner

[vinxhwrites]

I've had this idea in my drafts for a long time and only finished it today because I was procrastinating on the many many assignments I have for this week. I've never written smut before so I don't know what I'm doing, also I'm very sleepy so maybe it sucks, but here it is:

ghost x f!reader x soap

nsfw, +18

word count: 8.2k

cw: nsfw! lots of fluff, tiniest bit of h/c, smut in the end, unprotected sex (don't do it!); alcohol consumption, quite long descriptions of anxieties I guess; also not proofread, sorry

You enjoyed existing in the liminal space between something romantic and something purely friendly. You wanted to get to know every aspect of love, feel it from all directions, in all its forms.

You always wondered what exactly was the tipping point to make one thing turn into another. You wondered if it even existed, if experience could ever be restrained to one set type of relationship, if love could be divided into sections, named and labeled, put into existence and then put to death once things ended, instead of just being the overflowing unconditional force that you hoped it was.

In reality, of course, love can't be limited or restrained by words that aim to define, control or organize it. In practice, you've found it within yourself as something stronger, more nuanced, and freeing than you could've ever hoped it would be.

Ghost first heard Soap refer to you as his "nap buddy" over breakfast one day. He frowned, the first thought to cross his mind being whether the two of you were skipping work to take naps. But Soap went on, telling Gaz about how he'd been creeping into your bed at night when he couldn't sleep. "I feel like a baby, I swear" Ghost overheard him say "she'll just tell me stories until I fall asleep."

It all had started almost two months prior to that conversation, when you bumped into Soap in the corridor one night. You were both sleepy but suffering from insomnia. He shared little tips with you on what usually helped him: walking around, counting sheep, breath exercises; although he admitted this time none of it was working.

You explained your problem was the crippling anxiety that came with the insomnia sessions. You hated being alone with your thoughts during the dark moments of the night, which filled you with unreasonable angst.

You two walked around outside for a while. It was a cold night and you both started to shiver a bit. Soap rubbed his hand on your back in an attempt to warm you, but you concluded it was best to go back to your rooms. Then, as you approached your door, right beside his, you had an idea:

"Hey, I hope this doesn't sound too weird...but would you like to try to sleep with me?"

He smiled at you and accepted the invite.

At that moment, you navigated the perfect moment of sleepiness when rational thoughts can barely form, all that is left are the primary ideas, informed only by your senses and memories. The anxious voices of decent social conduct are far too tired to interject with your thoughts at this point. Anything can seem appropriate, nothing feels real and there is true bliss to be found somewhere.

That's why it felt so natural to curl up in bed with Soap that night, you rested your head on his shoulder and he held your hand. He caressed your hair before saying something nice about the way you smelled and closed his eyes. You surely talked for a bit, in whispers, but neither of you would be able to recall what the conversation was about if someone asked. And just like that, both of you were able to fall asleep in a few minutes of comfort.

It quickly developed into a habit for difficult nights, you now depended on these moments as if they were some kind of medicine. It surely didn't make the issue go away completely for either of you, but it sure was nice to find some comfort in each other's company. Having someone to talk to was a good distraction from your racing thoughts, it was easier to relax when you were with him. Plus, he didn't seem to mind how you jumped effortlessly from one topic to another, talking about anything that came to mind.

Soon, Soap started looking for you even before trying to fall asleep by himself, "preventive care" he explained with a smile when you'd open the door relatively early at night, looking a bit puzzled. You got into the habit of telling him stories, real and made-up, creating nice scenarios for his dreams.

You've let him kiss you a few times, but it never really went much further than that, even though it was no secret that he liked you as a bit more than a friend.

Part of the reason for your contentment with kisses was that both of you were almost always too tired to invest in more than that, but part of it was because of your resistance to changing your relationship dynamic. What you had built with him felt so stable in its tenderness that you were scared to risk losing it.

You've always felt, previously in life, that sex complicated things. Especially with men, especially when you thought they were your friends first, to later be heartbroken by the fact that they really just wanted to fuck you, and had no love to give. You really wished it would be different with him.

But Soap was well-versed in love, he wasn't scared of it. He fully embraced it, actually. Sometimes, while you played with your fingers through his hair, he'd make a point of telling you about his love, the depths of it, how much he could give you of it if you'd let him.

"But it's perfect like this" you cried, anytime he brought up the topic of sex, fearing the inevitable low after the high. Yet, to him sex was irremovable from love, it was the best way he knew how to demonstrate it.

He once told you that you made him feel like a teenager again, saying you were like his prudish high school girlfriend.

The furthest you've gone at this point was letting him finger you one night, just because he begged and whined so much. "I need to feel you" he said, out of breath from kissing you, and you just couldn't resist. It wasn't like you didn't desire him, you were scared doing it would make you want him more. And it did.

He licked his own fingers afterward, which made a moan escape from your mouth. He kissed you again before resting his head on your shoulder. Didn't ask for anything in return. Soap was a lover by definition. And the fact that he respected your boundaries made you treasure him even more.

"You know you can sleep with other people, right?" you assured him, afraid that he'd resent you if you kept him waiting.

"Yeah, but it's not the same thing" he replied.

You were on a first-name basis now, you called him Johnny and, when the two of you were alone, he called you "baby", even letting it slip in front of other people sometimes.

Ghost reprehended you for it one day when he heard it. Not Johnny, you. It was inadequate, he said, and made you apologize to him.

You thought Ghost was scary. It was in a similar manner to which you used to think your linguistics professor at University was scary: in a hot, sexy but very menacing way. You desired his approval and had the impression that you were never going to get it. His mere presence made your legs weak. Maybe it was the authority aspect that messed with your mind, or at least that's what you tried to justify to yourself.

He intimidated you more than anyone, constantly making you feel inadequate just by looking at you. It felt unfair to not even be able to see him properly most of the time, it made you feel naked in every interaction when he could see you so clearly. And on top of that, there was the constant staring: You were always under his watch if he was around as if he was constantly waiting for you to do something wrong. Plus, he seemed to be way more critical of you than he was of others, always questioning you or anything you did, and complaining about your skills or your lack of punctuality (even if you were late by just a minute).

"I think he hates me," you told Johnny one day. "I really do".

He chuckled in response. "He doesn't hate you. He's just really bad at expressing...anything"

"I think he's really good at expressing his hatred for me" you whined back "He doesn't treat you as badly".

"Well, baby, but you can't compete with me!" he smirked proudly "He loves me".

The truth is Ghost loved hearing you say "I'm sorry, sir" in a soft and exhausted voice, it tickled something inside him that he couldn't quite name. It was equally exciting and disturbing to him. But you didn't know that, which is why it caught you by surprise when he showed up at your door one night, as you were about to fall asleep.

Ghost wasn't one to sleep together, not even with the random people he had sex with on occasion. Sleep had always been a solitary activity to him, something he struggled with by himself.

The idea of having someone to sleep with, of it being such a comfort hadn't left his mind ever since he heard John talking about it at the table weeks before. He started to catch himself fantasizing about it, thinking about the warmth of having someone's body so close to him, if it'd be something to shield him from his nightmares. He started to wonder about how soft your skin must feel.

It was a foreign feeling to him, this yearning for something so intimate, but it got to a point where he just had to try it.

"Ghost?" you were confused. He wore sweatpants and a long-sleeved grey t-shirt, and still had a black balaclava on. He closed the door behind him.

"Johnny said you let him sleep with you sometimes" he cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable.

"Right" you responded, waiting for him to scold you for it. But he just stood there in silence "Would you like to sleep here too...?" you guessed amused after he let the silence hang for a bit too long.

He took a deep breath, "May I?" he asked.

"Sure, come here." you moved closer to the wall to make space for him. You couldn't help but smile as you felt him sit down on your bed, the heat coming from his body already making you want to get closer.

"You know I don't have sex with him, right?"

"I didn't come here for sex" he answered immediately, sounding almost offended, then sighed "I can't sleep''.

"OK" you said, already regretting having opened your mouth in the first place.

He laid down on his back beside you exhausted and took a deep breath. He removed his balaclava and put it on your nightstand. You noticed you were holding your breath, terrified of ruining this moment of intimacy.

"You'd better not snore" he said in a low voice, adjusting himself on your pillow with a hand behind his head and the other on his chest.

You chuckled a bit, letting yourself relax by his side. "I don't snore." you assured him "at least, not that I know of".

Ghost didn't answer you this time, and even in the dark you could see he had closed his eyes.

"Permission to touch you, sir?" you asked in a whisper after a few seconds of collecting your courage, craving to feel his skin.

That first night, he let you hold his hand while you two slept. It felt tiny and fragile on his. When he woke up sweating in the middle of the night, as he often did, his heart rate eased when he felt your presence by his side, it did feel different.

He avoided you like the plague for three days straight after that night, you thought he'd never look at you again. You thought you've done something wrong and scared him away. In reality, he was scared he'd poisoned himself by getting a taste of something so novel to him, and feared he'd become addicted to it.

He tried to go back to his regular routine, but now the emptiness of his bedroom felt even more evident, his bed felt colder. Then, when you were starting to become at peace with the anxiety that had built up in your stomach at this point, he showed up at your door again.

This time he didn't say anything after you agreed to let him in, feeling absolutely defeated. He laid on his side, his back turned to you. You asked if you could touch him once more and when he agreed you threw your arm around his torso, cuddling him. He felt a goosebump as your breath touched his back.

And he wouldn't tell you, but when he woke up he couldn't remember the last time he'd had such a good night of sleep.

You told Johnny about it the next day as casually as possible, fearing to find a trace of jealousy in his eyes. But instead, they seemed to brighten with delight. "See, I told you he didn't hate you" he smiled.

For the next few weeks, your lieutenant started being kinder to you, albeit in his own way. He stopped reprehending you for stupid reasons, gave you a little pat on the back when you did well during training, and even made you a cup of tea once when he heard Gaz comment that you had a cold one day, putting it in front of you at the table and walking away without saying a word.

You discovered him to be someone more playful than you previously imagined, witty even. The affection you had for him grew stronger with each passing day, as your impression of him morphed into something new, and you just couldn't keep it to yourself. But, unlike Johnny, who loved being touched, Ghost had serious boundaries. Most times you could tell you'd overstepped. He'd let you know it immediately: removing your hand from his face if you touched it, clearly stating "don't" if you ever dared to try to touch his hair, he'd move his hand away when you started to mindlessly draw circles on it with your fingers, and - the only aspect that didn't make you feel completely rejected - pushing you away slightly in bed if you ever got close enough to feel the solid volume in his pants.

For him, physical touch tended to be a utilitarian exchange: maybe he'd get a pat on the shoulder for doing a good job, he'd get kisses and caresses when someone used him for sex, he'd get injured during combat, but your touch was something new: it made no practical sense, there was no transaction to be made, no endpoint, it was just affection for the sake of affection. He didn't know what to do with it.

As your intimacy deepened, Ghost revealed to you that suffered from terrible migraines every once in a while and got into the habit of coming to sleep with you on those days, although he did complain every single time that your constant rambling on different topics made his head hurt even more. He'd retract the statement as soon as you stopped talking though.

One day, when he was in a particularly terrible mood, you offered him a massage. "What good will that do, huh?" he grunted "You just want to touch me"

You chuckled "well, that is partially true, sir" and he smiled behind his balaclava. But you insisted, proceeding to explain how the tension on his neck muscles could be causing the headaches, or at least making them worse, and that was enough to convince him to let you do it.

"It doesn't work if you don't try to relax" you said, pressing your fingers to the base of his neck. You were sitting on the bed, back rested on your pillow, with him between your legs, his back turned to you.

"I'm trying" he mumbled.

"Come on, deep breaths," you said, and you knew immediately that he was probably rolling his eyes. "Come on" you insisted patiently, massaging just the right spot on the back of his shoulders as he let out a low moan, letting his head rest forward.

"See, isn't it better?" you said enthusiastically.

"Stop talking" he grunted, which you did, continuing to massage him in silence.

It took you by surprise when you felt his thumb lightly caress your right ankle, it was a timid touch, and you felt afraid he would stop if you moved, even though that leg felt a bit numb already.

You could feel his body melt under your touch bit by bit, letting more of his weight rest on you. He forgot about his headache, only focused on the delicious slumber that took over his body now.

"You're gonna have to do this every day now" he muttered, eyes closed.

"I'll gladly do it" you assured him, treasuring the way he seemed so relaxed now. You had to fight the urge to put a kiss on his neck with all your might.

That night he held you like a pillow, resting his head on your stomach. You slowly pulled his mask up, waiting to see if there'd be any resistance, but there wasn't.

He shivered when you then touched his hair. It felt soft. You scratched his head gently with your nails and he savoured the foreign feeling that it caused.

"You little demon" he whispered, surrendering completely to your touch.

Ghost knew what love was supposed to look like. He just wasn't that sure about how it felt to receive it anymore. The more he thought about it, the more he was under the impression that he lacked the vocabulary to express it.

Once, when working in complete silence next to him, filling and writing reports, you asked:

"Can you take a look at this, sir?" you held the paper in front of him.

"You know you can call me Simon" he said, eyes still fixed on his papers.

"I didn't actually." you said and he looked at you, you could notice a quick smile appear on his eyes.

"Ok, now you know."

You smiled and he moved his gaze back to the papers in front of him.

"Can you take a look at this, Simon?" you repeated, and this time he looked up and happily took the paper from your hand.

Simon had never really tried anything besides actual sleep with you, and you were terrified of initiating it yourself and getting rejected. But sometimes you could feel the imminence of something, nothing clear or distinct, just the way the silence of the room felt different, a change in the pace of his breathing or a slight shift in the atmosphere. On these moments you'd feel like he could turn you over and fuck you at any second. It fed the anticipation in your chest, but it never happened.

You wondered, at times, if you were somehow able to read his thoughts in cryptic ways and that's how you'd know he was thinking about fucking you.

"What are you thinking about?" you asked in a whisper one of these nights.

"Why do you care?" his response was immediate, defensive. Your fantasies definitely weren't supported by his lack of attention to your romantic attempts.

"Just wondering" you shrugged. "Are you not going to tell me?"

He looked at you, and even in the dark you could tell he was smiling "No".

You prayed that he would kiss you, just a little bit would be enough. But, of course, he didn't.

"I was thinking about you, in case you were wondering," you said casually a few moments later, gazing at his face. You were getting sloppier with hiding your feelings for him, he couldn't possibly not see it.

He chuckled quietly at your response, "Stop flirting with me" he said and you felt your cheeks turn red, "you should get some sleep" he suggested then, shutting off the conversation. And, as if he intended to get you a bit more confused, he lightly caressed your hair.

Sometimes you'd wish he'd just reject you once and for all so you could move on. But the more you thought about your love the more you wanted to cultivate it and share it with him, the same way you felt you could share with Johnny. And if Simon didn't want it, so be it. It felt like, and it was, a big act of bravery on your part. At least you'd be able to comfort yourself on the fact that you loved, it grew and flourished inside you, and it was a beautiful thing.

It got to the point where one of them was occupying your bed almost every day of the week, people were starting to catch on to it. You knew the day would come when they'd both show up and the thought alone made you nauseous, at least until it actually happened.

You held your breath when you heard Johnny's steps approaching your door, even before he knocked on it.

"Come in" Simon said before you could even react.

Johnny tilted his head for a second, looking amused at the scene of his lieutenant cuddling you. He closed the door behind him and took off his slippers, then he approached your bed to lay down beside you.

You held your breath when you saw Johnny rest his neck on Simon's extended arm so nonchalantly. Simon didn't move his arm. You couldn't exactly name what is it that you feared at that moment, the next few moments of silence translated into nervousness within you. Johnny took your arm and casually put your hand on his chest.

"So," he said, looking at Simon playfully "Are you trying to steal her from me?"

Simon chuckled "Didn't know she was yours to steal".

The tension you felt was not shared between them.

"You could've come to sleep with me, lieutenant," Johnny said, he sounded almost offended that Simon would have preferred to sleep with you.

"Back at you, Johnny" he murmured, closing his eyes, making Johnny smile from ear to ear.

You knew your bed surely wasn't made for three, but you managed to make it comfortable. You woke up lying on top of Johnny like a baby, your chest to his, while Simon laid on his side with one arm thrown around you.

That night, Johnny could almost feel his heart flutter and twirl inside his chest. It was perfect. He had so much love to give, he couldn't wait to share it. To him, Love was generous and ever-giving, it was infinite, it overpowered him and he gladly let it.

To Simon, on the other hand, Love was a terrifying force he feared would take over him completely if he let it. He feared it could destroy him, or, even worse, he would destroy it. But, at moments like this one, he couldn't help but let love overflow in his heart, couldn't resist the warmth both of you shared from entering his own body.

Throughout the whole following day, you felt a sweet anticipation for something in your stomach, being only able to think about how nice it had felt to be surrounded by both of them. How you wished you could stay in that state forever, unmoved.

At night, Johnny curled up in bed with you, resting his head on your chest after a tiring day. He seemed almost disappointed to find you alone when he came in, he smiled while he kissed you nonetheless.

He inundated you with questions that gradually turned into whines: did you sleep with him? what do you mean you don't even kiss? what are you doing? don't you find him attractive? why don't you just ask him? do you think we should go after him? why not? let's knock on his door! why not?!

You were able to dissuade him from these impulsive thoughts eventually, stroking your fingers through his hair and recommending that he do the same as you and try to stop thinking about it. It was for the best, you assured him, trying to convince yourself of it, too. He yielded at last, but he wasn't pleased.

"Do you even want me?" he asked with a sigh

"Of course I do." you replied, almost offended at the question "You know I do."

"Doesn't feel like it sometimes" he muttered.

You took a deep breath before taking him through your typical monologue, practically memorized at this point, on your reasons for keeping things as they were - no sex - would be better. The more you talked, the less you found yourself believing in your own words. Still, you tried to make him care for the utter shape of your relationship as it was, in an eternal transient state of a romantic friendship that never lost itself. "That sounds terrible, bonnie" he said, but you insisted he just didn't understand.

"I'm sensitive, Johnny." you tried to explain yourself "I can't stand the thought of ruining what we have."

"Seems like you can't stand the thought of improving them" he sighed.

You knew he had been sleeping with other people, and the thought soothed you more than anything. He never lied to you about it when you asked, and it was comforting to see his heart still belonged to you. You tried to imagine yourself as something separate entirely.

He traced his fingers down to your waist, then hips, and back to your shoulders, letting his hand linger on your breast.

"Don't you want it, baby? Not even a little bit?"

"I do, Johnny" you admitted, not immune to the desire that kept itself alive inside you.

"Haven't you been dreaming about it...?" he continued, his voice lower than before as his fingers played with your hair "Huh? You, me and Simon?"

Your eyes widened at his words, even though you had, in fact, been thinking about it constantly ever since the first night that Simon slept with you.

"That would be a mess" you murmured, telling him what you kept telling yourself.

Johnny chuckled, "a hot, delicious fucking mess?" he suggested.

"Just a regular mess" you lied.

"Just think about it, alright?" he eventually said, resting his head back on your chest.

"Okay." you promised before turning off the light on your nightstand..

"I love you, baby. Truly." he whispered in the dark "There's nothing for you to be afraid of."

"I love you too, Johnny"

Part of you knew it was a silly decision to insist on depriving yourself of pleasure, things were already messy enough. There was no saving any naivety of a friendship that hadn't been merely a friendship from the start, and refusing to admit that you did, in fact, have physical desires toward them was, perhaps, just making things worse. You made a mental note to search for a therapist when you got back home, perhaps dig into whatever religious guilt you seemed to have inherited to drive your decisions.

Nevertheless, you were able to remain firm in your decision. At least until two days later, when everyone went out for drinks at night after a long day.

The sky was dark grey when you left the base to go to the bar. The space was crowded, but comfortable. You knew almost everyone there and quickly settled with some friends.

After one and a half beers Johnny was already getting touchy with you by the counter.

"Have you thought about what I said?"

You nodded and he got closer to you, hands on your waist, "And will you let me make love to you?" he asked softly in your ear.

"Maybe I will" you confessed, already feeling a bit tipsy.

"Come on, bonnie" he insisted, hands on your waist "You know I've been dying to fuck you."

You felt as if your legs would melt right then and there. And, even with your back turned to him, you felt Simon's oppressive stare on you. You turned to find him across the bar.

You both looked at him, sitting at the table next to Price, who seemed to be talking to him, even though his attention laid somewhere else. His hair was covered by a black hoodie, but he didn't cover his face. He grinned at you playfully, taking a sip of the cold beer in his hand.

Johnny followed your gaze and smirked at Simon, then looked back at you with a devilish smile. "I'm gonna get Ghost to come with me" he said and you froze in place.

"I don't think that's a good idea," you plead, already feeling the palms of your hands sweat. What is it exactly that you feared? You didn't really know. It felt childish to be this scared of your own desires.

"I think he's into it" Johnny said, winking at you.

"I don't think so." you grew a bit nervous "I don't think he wants me like that"

Johnny just chuckled in response. "Sure" he said sarcastically. "I can't believe you think that's possible, baby".

You looked around the room nervously, the idea made your stomach turn.

"Tell me you don't want it." he said, suddenly looking at you with a serious expression "Just tell me you don't want it and I won't say anything to him. I'll drop it."

But you couldn't say anything, which made him smile before taking another sip of his beer. Johnny pecked a kiss on your cheek, before leaving you to sit at the table beside Simon.

Although you couldn't pinpoint what exactly caused you so much anxiety, you did notice that it mixed into a twisted excitement.

You watched as they interacted with each other, leaning closer to talk, smiling, and laughing lightly. They looked so pretty you couldn't believe such a dreamy scenario would become a reality to you. Johnny touched Simon's arm and whispered something to him, he grinned and looked at you.

You tried to pretend you hadn't been staring at him the whole time, suddenly feeling a lot of interest in the bottle in your hand and then the conversation that took place between the colleagues beside you.

You tried to distract yourself the rest of the night, interacting with other people and trying your best to focus on different subjects, other people's lives and problems, it was very hard considering that yours seemed to be about to become so much more exciting than anything your friends had been up to.

Johnny didn't seem to want to leave Simon's side anymore, they were engaged in conversation with Price and Gaz at the table on the corner of the bar for what felt like hours to you.

It was pouring rain outside by the time you gave yourself a little tipsy pep talk in the dirty restroom mirror. You told yourself you looked attractive enough, beautiful even. Nothing to worry about.

When you came back, you were so immersed in your own thoughts that you didn't even notice when Simon sat on the barstool beside you.

"What are you thinking about?" you heard his low voice behind you.

You turned around to look at him, feeling blood rush to your cheeks "Didn't see you there"

"Are you not going to tell me?" he repeated your words from the other night with a playful smirk, to which you frowned. He leaned a little closer to you to whisper in a high-pitched voice "I'm thinking about you".

"I don't sound like that"

"Yes, you do" he chuckled.

You took a deep breath before answering, echoing his own words back to him: "Well, you should stop flirting with me"

"I don't think you want me to stop" he grinned, and you wished you knew exactly what Johnny had said to him. "Do you?"

"No," you said frankly "no, I don't."

It was almost 2am when Johnny pointed his head to the door, signaling it was time to leave. Simon was already outside, and you were already soaking wet even before you left the covered environment of the bar.

You thought your heart was trying to jump out of your chest when Simon opened his bedroom door later that night, and felt both of the men you loved follow you inside.

You closed your eyes when you felt both of Simon's hands hold you by the shoulders from behind, as he got closer to you "are you OK, love?" he asked against your neck, the softest you've heard him speak, with the remains of alcohol on his breath. He placed a kiss on your shoulder and you rested your head against his chest.

You nodded, your body burning in anticipation. "Will you guys stop if I don't feel well?" you asked, your voice was almost a whisper.

The anxiety about the implications and consequences of this was already set on your chest. Now there was nothing else to do, no escaping the disturbance this would cause to your life. At this point, stopping would be much worse. Your desires had already manifested, they had been spoken, and transformed, there was nothing left to do but give in to it.

The violent rumbles of lightning bolts shook the sky outside, and sudden flashes of light illuminated the room at an unpredictable frequency. Your eyes had adjusted to the dim light of the room, and the darkness felt comforting, providing an atmosphere of otherworldliness to the room, you could almost imagine this scene took place in a different reality and try not to worry about it.

"Of course" Johnny answered and Simon nodded with his face on your neck.

Johnny kissed you first while Simon held you, his familiar lips searching urgently for you in the dark. You had one hand on his neck, while the other held tight to Simon's, afraid to lose his touch. Johnny looked at him with a smile before grabbing you by the waist and turning you around so that you faced Simon.

"What do you want me to do to you?" Simon asked, looking deep into your eyes, his tone was soft, the question genuine.

“Will you please kiss me?” you cried.

He took your hands in his and kissed them, the small sounds of his kisses covering your fingers and wrists. Then, finally, he leaned down and pressed his lips against yours. You felt your heart could explode at any second. You cupped his face with both hands and caressed his skin.

The kiss was soft at first, almost hesitant. His tongue was warm and smooth on yours and he tasted like beer and cigarettes.

You heard when Johnny unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants behind you, grabbing and pulling your hips so you could feel the volume in his underwear, you moaned into Simon's mouth.

Johnny left wet kisses on your neck, making you shiver as he pulled up your t-shirt. Simon cupped your breasts in his hands as soon as he saw them, quickly struggling to free them from your bra, peppering kisses on your chest and nipples.

Simon kneeled in front of you and pulled your pants down, helping you remove your shoes along with them, then smiling at you before kissing over your panties.

You rested your head on Johnny's chest and trusted that his strong grip on your waist would be enough to keep you in place because you barely made any effort to stand anymore.

You hummed when Simon's tongue first touched you, drawing small circles around your clit. Johnny groaned in your ear, pressing his hips against yours, he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this horny in his life. His hands danced around your body until, feeling very bold from the alcohol, he moved one of his hands down to stroke Simon's hair.

"tastes so good, doesn't she?' he asked, to which Simon nodded, burying his face deeper between your thighs.

Your mind seemed to finally quiet, you wouldn't be able to form a coherent thought if you tried now. You could feel Simon's desire to devour you.

He slipped a finger inside you, moaning back when you did. He moved his lips back to your clit, sucking it with just enough intensity to make your legs tremble. And, as if he knew, just as you were about to come undone on his touch, Simon stopped, standing up again to kiss you, you whined in protest against his lips, but it was useless.

They exchanged glances and Johnny wet his own lips.

"Let me see you ride him, love" Simon whispered in your ear, eyes fixed to his. And you obeyed.

Johnny quickly removed the rest of his own clothes and lead you to Simon's bed by your hand.

He laid down, but you stood there looking at his body for a moment. He looked so beautiful lying naked in front of you, the low light that came from the window was only enough to highlight the contrast of his features. You couldn't believe you had actually been this stupid to deny yourself from him for so long. You bit your own lip at the sight, his eyes brightened with passion. "Go on" Simon encouraged behind you.

You spread kisses to his chest before sitting on him. You tried to do it slowly, making him roll his eyes back, getting used to the size of it little by little. You both gasped with pleasure when you finally took him in completely.

“You’re so tight, baby” he groaned when you started to move.

You could hear Simon ditching his own clothes somewhere behind you. Then you felt him behind you, one of his big hands gently holding your waist. Simon used his other hand to put one finger in your mouth and you sucked on it, making Johnny audibly moan under you.

You froze immediately when you felt his naked body touch yours, his hardened cock poked the skin of your lower back.

"Relax, I won't do anything you don't want" he assured you in a low voice against your neck. You received wet kisses on your back and shoulders.

Johnny moaned, his fingers tracing your thighs "Feels so good like that" he purred, and you nodded in agreement. He grabbed your hips but Simon quickly slapped his hands away.

Johnny blinked, confused, but then smirked when Simon started to guide your movements by the hips, slowly and gradually changing the speed to fit what you seemed to respond better to. He guided your body on Johnny in a way that made his cock touch you precisely in the right places. You barely had to do any work, so you rested your head on Simon's chest, only opening your eyes to watch Johnny's face under you.

Johnny rubbed his thumb softly on your clit, making very small movements around it. You moved accordingly, enjoying the way the pressure created a response deep within your stomach. You panted on top of him, exhausted but eager to continue, your body guiding you toward release.

The obscene sounds you made were thankfully muffled by the heavy rain outside. You felt your orgasm reach you with the growing rumbles in the sky, which eventually resulted in a violent lightning, not that far from the window. You let your body rest on Simon's chest after the wave of pleasure washed over you.

"You did so good, bonnie" Johnny sat up to kiss your face, and laid back down.

Simon pulled your hips back gently, indicating you should stand on your knees. Intuitively, you positioned yourself so that you could put your lips around Johnny's cock. He closed your eyes when you did.

"Look at her, Johnny" Simon ordered.

He held your hips firmly in place, then pressed into you slowly, savoring how the wet heat between your legs welcomed him.

Johnny had his head resting on one of his arms, his free hand lazily stroking your face as he watched you struggle to fit him in your mouth. He tried his best to be obedient and focus only on you, but his eyes kept looking up curiously, dying to watch Simon's face as he fucked you.

"God, you feel so fucking good" he whimpered before he started moving his hips, filling you completely with every thrust. You could feel his length messing up your insides and you were grateful to have Johnny's cock keeping you silent.

Simon traced his fingers down your spine, around your waist, then back to your neck. He gently stroked your head and grabbed your hair. You thought he'd pull it, but Simon just pressed the back of your head deeper on Johnny's cock, pulling you back when you gagged, then repeating the same movement again and again. Johnny closed his eyes in an effort not to come so soon from the view alone.

You gave up on your own body for a moment, forgot it was yours to control in the first place, letting it be taken by all their movements like one gets taken by the current at sea.

"'m gonna cum if you keep this up" Johnny announced in a low voice, and you weren't sure if he was talking to you or Simon, but the latter let go of his grip on your hair, unsure of what you wanted to do with that information. You kept going on your own now, until you felt Johnny pulse inside your mouth.

He let out a soft moan as he watched you swallow it. His body finally relaxed on the bed and you felt his fingers search your head and caress your hair.

Simon's movements became slower, almost nonexistent, and you anxiously moved your hips against him to alleviate the desire in your core.

"Don't stop" you begged in a small voice, resting your head on Johnny's thigh, but he did stop. Simon gently pulled your hips back and switched your body so that you were facing him.

"Lay down" he instructed, "I wanna see you".

Johnny's arms guided you to lay on top of him, your back to his chest. He kissed and caressed your head lazily while Simon spread your legs, sinking into you with a grunt.

You moaned loudly when you felt him entirely inside you again.

“Shh!” both of them reprehended you, and Johnny quickly covered your mouth with his hand.

"You wanted him to fuck you like this, huh?" he asked close to your ear and you nodded, unable to speak anything other than little moans that were muffled by his palm. Simon looked at you directly in the eyes, his face subtly contorting in pleasure with every little sound you made.

He pushed into you slowly, delighting himself in the warmth of having you wrapped around him. He tried to memorize the feeling of having your skin against his so he could dwell on it later.

Johnny uncovered your mouth to kiss you, moving his hand to hold you at your waist. The familiar feel of his tongue was both comforting and exciting, your lips searched for his with noticeable hunger. You didn't think you could possibly get more aroused at this point.

You rested your head on Johnny's shoulder, closing your eyes and feeling your body relax now that you've gotten more used to Simon's size inside you.

"Eyes open, love" Simon demanded, and you obeyed.

He kept his gaze on your eyes until he couldn't resist moving on to Johnny's anymore. They looked at each other for what felt like too long, Simon's thrusts into you got more intense, and it made you wonder if you were simply the vessel through which they fucked each other at that instant.

Johnny, who had his hands wandering around your body, now moved them from your breasts to caress Simon's chest on top of you, at first in shy quasi-accidental strokes, and then shamelessly grabbing at his waist, scratching nails on his back once he got a positive reaction.

He pressed his hand against the lower part of your stomach, right where you could feel Simon's cock attempting to tear you open with every thrust, you moaned into Simon's mouth as you felt Johnny getting hard under your body again. Your arousal was dripping down his crotch, his chest already wet from your sweat.

"Hm you're taking him so well, baby" Johnny whispered in your ear and you watched as Simon's eyes darkened at the sound of the words.

You’d lost track of time and sense of space completely. It was so unbelievably indulgent it almost felt wrong, as if you couldn't possibly be allowed to experience this much pleasure all at once in life.

You felt you’d reached some new sense of consciousness in which you did not belong to your body anymore, you've transcended into something else, something in complete harmony with them and their own bodies around you. You were certain for a moment that, if you tried or wanted to, you'd be able to read their minds and communicate without words.

The utter feeling of Love just invaded you in the form of radiating happiness, an epiphany planted in your heart, as if you had been stung by Eros himself and you felt yourself capable of reaching an orgasm without your body. All of a sudden the whole universe seemed to become clear and there were no questions you couldn't answer if you wanted, any doubt you had was gone, and any anxiety dissipated. You almost felt like laughing, relishing - for what was probably the first time - in the wonder of cloudless thoughts.

Simon dropped the support of his hands to his forearms, getting impossibly closer and resting his torso on top of you, the cold and metallic touch of his dog tags against your chest sent a shiver down your spine. Johnny’s hands moved from his waist to your hips, grinding you on top of his hardened cock in search of some relief, which was positioned between your ass cheeks.

You drunkenly intercalated kisses between the two of them, feeling absolutely in control until Simon locked your neck in place with his hand, choking you a little before placing a soft kiss on your lips. “Open” he demanded and you did.

He spit saliva into your mouth and, before you could swallow it, Johnny urgently pulled your face to kiss you, desperately licking your tongue.

"Fuck, Johnny" Simon grunted, digging even deeper into you, attempting to get even closer, making your toes curl. He leaned over and kissed Johnny, and you felt him instantly melt under you. His hands left your body to cup Simon's face.

They moaned into their kisses. You almost felt inadequate being there, as if you weren't supposed to witness that much intimacy, but the thought quickly died down when Simon's lips found yours again, leaving Johnny breathless, and he sealed you back into their little universe.

Your back arched when Johnny moved his fingers to your clit again, you barely needed any stimulation at this point, your legs were tense locked around Simon's hips.

"Come on, baby" Johnny purred in your ear "Let me see you cum all over his cock".

Almost as if on command, you did. The high building up in your lower stomach finally reached its breaking point and crashed into your body in waves of ecstasy. Simon moaned as he felt your entire body pulse and relax under him, he jerked faster into you and then quickly pulled out.

Johnny moved you away from him so that your back rested on the mattress with both of them towering over you, stroking themselves. Simon's eyes rolled back as he came on top of you, a heavy moan leaving his throat as he covered you with the warm gooey liquid that dripped from him.

The sheer sight of it, along with your little moans, was almost enough to get Johnny off immediately, and it only took a few strokes to make him cum again.

You watched them as Simon gently cleaned a bit of his own semen off of Johnny's abdomen with his thumb. He brought the finger close to his face in an offer, and Johnny obediently opened his mouth and sucked it off, receiving a pat on his head and a satisfied smile from his superior afterward.

You laid there exhausted while they cleaned you with tissues, getting little gentle kisses on your skin every once in a while. Simon turned you around on the bed and wiped a soft tissue on your face, removing the remains of mascara you had under your eyes.

It took you a few minutes to eventually get up and use the bathroom, Simon had one all to himself, which meant you didn't have to put your clothes back on.

When you came back, they were both still naked on the bed. Johnny was already asleep, a permanent smile stamped on his face, being only partially covered by the sheets.

"Come here" Simon whispered to you, and you gently climbed over Johnny's body to rest in the space between them.

Johnny sleepily arranged his arms around you, one over your waist and the other under the crease of your neck, his fingers reaching to caress Simon's hair.

Simon kissed your forehead. "This feels nice" he murmured, almost too quietly for you to hear. You looked up to kiss his lips again and rested your head on the pillow, wishing you wouldn't have to get up the next morning.

(now that this is out of my system I can finally move on with my life).

#ghoap x reader #ghost x reader #simon riley x reader #ghost x soap #soap x reader #cod x reader #cod one shot #ghostsoap

[i-am-a-l0st-gh0st]

When I'm not with you think of you always- Alhaitham X Gn!Reader flufftober

"Everything is alright just hold on tight, that's because I'm a god old fashioned lover boy"

T/w- fluff,

Summary - alhaitham can't get you out of his head, maybe you can help him?

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You had overtaken his thoughts, for months. He couldn't get you out of your head. Your laughter, your smile, your hugs. Alhaitham could hardly get any work done, which was very unusual. People did start to take note of this, whispering as he passed them in the hallways, the streets. He of course paid them no mind, his mind only focused on you. Oh how to get you out of his mind…

"Hey Haitham!"

It was none other then the person who plagued his thoughts. Before he could respond you ran and hugged him from behind, which made him turn slightly red. Thank archons he was able to keep his composure. He tried to turn around which he struggled with. Your Hugs were always quite tight and he struggled to get out, despite being strong himself. "Hello y/n"

"Whatcha doing." You took note of the people all staring. Archons was it really that bad to talk to alhaitham. You finally let him go, becoming slightly self conscious.

"Heading home. You?"

"Coming to find you." You flashed him a smile, oh how that made his heart race. Still he showed no sign of emotion. How hard was it to get him to smile, atleast a little?

"What seems to be the issue? If it's something regarding the academia, you'll have to come to my office tomorrow."

"No no, nothing like that. I just need to talk to you."

No one ever wanted to volunterily talk to him. Why would you? He pondered why you, one of the prettiest/handsomest people in Sumeru, would want to talk to him. Only you could answer that for him. "Hmm what about?"

"Oh um, maybe we move somewhere a bit more private." To the passing people it may have seemed like you were implying something, alhaitham also took the same approach to that.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh no no nothing like that Alhaitham."

He only nodded in exchange. You started to walk away, so he followed. Oh how people would talk after this, usually Alhaitham was by himself he seemed content that way. Soon you reached his house, the house wasn't clean but not messy either. Kaveh wasn't home either which made it easier to talk to him.

"So what is it?"

"Oh um, Archons I'm not quite sure how to say this." You added a little chuckle for good measure. Alhaitham was listening intently, but he seemed uninterested in a way. He had his usual stance, and his face was just unemotional. This made you a whole lot more nervous.

"Alhaitham, I.." You sighed, his answers either gonna be yes or no, it's fine Y/n. "I like you."

Alhaitham was taken aback, he had taken.a guess where this conversation was going, and he did guess here. He just wasn't sure how to respond. "You do?"

"I'm such an idiot, cause I know you won't like me back. Ah, I shouldn't have done this, I'm sorry for bothering you I'll leave."

"Wait."

So you stopped, the only normal thing to do. Why did he ask me to late? He is gonna yell at me? Ah, I'm such an idiot.

"Y/n you're not an idiot." That was his way of telling you he liked you.

"H-huh, b-but."

Then he hugged you. Not a half assed hug but a real one. Silence fell between you two. You buried your face in his chest, only because you were as pink as a peach. It didn't make it better when he kissed you on the head. And it got even worse when he kissed you, on the lips this time. His body was pressed against yours and your lips locking. Well until Kaveh came home

Taglist

@pandragonsoul

#genshin #genshin impact #genshin x reader #gn reader #fluff #genshin fluff #alhaitham #alhaitham x reader #flufftober day 7 #flufftober #alhaitham fluff #alhaitham oneshots #alhaitham oneshot

[plentyoffandoms]

Main Masterlist ♡ Orange Cassidy Masterlist

Just like all my other stories, this has not been proofread, but please enjoy.

Warnings: none

Gifs & photos do not belong to me. 1st gif @elitehanitje

Requested by anonymous. Hope you like it.

WC: 950

James - Orange Cassidy ♤ Dustin - Chuck Taylor ♤ Greg - Trent?

Being a daughter of the man known as Kevin Von Erich, you become used to people looking at you with some type of pity if they know your family's history.

Growing up, my fellow classmates asked about my uncles, but I didn't really know them, just stories of them.

But I learned from my siblings and cousins that it is just how it will be. That many wrestling fans will ask about the supposed curse on our family. I learned who my true friends were, and I tried to grow up away from the family business.

But I guess it is just in my blood.

I couldn't stay away from wrestling,

But I didn't use the Von Erich name or our real last name, Adkisson. I use my first name, but I used my mother's maiden name, May.

Along the way, I met and became good friends with Dustin and Greg, and through the two of them, I met James. With his smile and his kind eyes, I fell for him, hard, which I pushed those feelings aside, of course.

I focused on wrestling, and I soon became a part of the best friends, and I even moved in with Dustin and James as I refused to take money from my family, even though I know they were just wanting to help.

Then the four of us got assigned to AEW, and you could say the rest was history.

But for the first time in a very long time, I am nervous about tonight. My father and brothers are coming to watch me.

They say they never miss a match when I have one. They always make sure to stop what they are doing to watch me, but tonight will also be the night I tell the world I have a 3rd generation wrestler.

That I come from the Von Erich family.

I have kept it pretty well hidden.

I very rarely post anything personal on social media, as it is usually just about wrestling or cooking.

But tonight, that is all going to change.

◆

I was pacing back and forth when James found me.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked me as I placed his hands on my shoulders and had me look at him.

"Just nervous about tonight, and I don't know why. I mean, this is my family, and I am not ashamed about them."

James dropped his hands from my shoulders but didn't move back. "Then what is the issue? You do wrestle a lot like your dad."

"I was trained by him, so yes, I do. I don't know what the issue is now. When I first started, I didn't want to get matches just because of who my family is, and I got them all on my own. I guess maybe this was one part of me. I liked not being asked the same questions like my brothers did at the beginning of their career or my cousin. I didn't have to live up to anyone expectations except my own."

The two of us continued to talk, not knowing that we were being watched.

ORANGE CASSIDY'S POV:

I watched as she walked away, hoping I was able to calm her down. She seemed more relaxed at the end of our conversation.

"James, may I have a word?" I was startled to hear a new voice join me. I turned around to see Kevin standing there, her father.

"Yes. What would you like to talk about?"

"I saw you and my daughter talking. I knew she would be nervous about tonight, and I came to calm her down, but you seemed like you were able to."

"I hope I did, sir."

"I also noticed one thing." I waited for him to continue as he crossed his arms across his chest and looked me up and down. I instantly became nervous.

"I noticed the way how you looked at her. How long?"

"How long for what, Sir?" Why are my palms sweaty?

"How long have you had feelings for my daughter?" His posture changed, and his body relaxed.

"I see the way how you look at her, and all I can say is that she looks at you the same way."

I started to stutter like a 13-year-old boy.

Tag list: @lghockey @nicoleveno14 @legit9thlunaticwarrior @hooks-martin @wwenhlimagines @melissahausen @faerieofthenightcourt @tahiri-veyla @crowleysqueenofhell

Kevin grabbed me by the shoulders and gave me a huge smile. "I would ask her out before someone else decides to James."

◆

Kevin left me standing there, giving me a lot of food for thought. I felt a hand gently on my arm, and I saw it was her. She had a soft smile on her face.

"I saw you and my Dad talking. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, he just wanted to have a talk, that is all." I laid my hand apon hers.

"If you don't mind me asking, may I ask about what?"

'Should I tell her?' I thought to myself, but then Kevin's words came back to me.

"He just talked about you." I don't know how she would feel if she found out her Dad got involved in her love life.

"I know that. I saw him mouth my name." She teased.

"I did like how comfortable the two of you looked talking to one another. So many people put him on a pedestal when he really is just a simple guy, but that also means he is comfortable enough with you to put his guard down." She softly said as she took a step closer.

"James, I am wondering if you would like to go out for dinner, just the two of us?"

"As in a date?" We have had dinner alone plenty of times before.

"Yes, a date."

"I would like that."

#aew #all elite wrestling #reader imagine #reader insert #female reader #orange Cassidy imagine #orange Cassidy fluff #orange Cassidy fanfic #orange Cassidy fic #orange cassidy x reader #orange Cassidy x you #orange Cassidy x female reader #orange Cassidy x f/Reader #orange Cassidy x y/n #orange Cassidy #wrestler x female reader #wrestler x f/Reader #wrestler imagine

[ranger-ribbons]

Ranger Series Operators Headcanons

Ziggy isn't an orphan, he has a father. His father runs another cartel and has been quietly running it underground so far that not even the other cartels have heard more than whispers of.

Dillon and Tenaya's birth names are Daniel and Genevieve

Tenaya's implants are more complete than Dillon’s so once Venjix is defeated, she remembers everything. Dillon's memories come back slowly

Summer, Scott, and Flynn are ride-or-die friends. They'd hide bodies for each other if necessary and can communicate without speaking if necessary

Dillon thinks he stayed in Corinth for Summer, under the impression that she was the one who hooked that first fight into the satellite for Dillon’s borrowed car. Ziggy, forever the king of playing himself down, doesn't correct Dillon, he's just happy Dillon stayed.

None of the Series Operator Rangers are straight. Scott, Flynn, and Summer are all bisexual, Dillon is unlabeled and likes anyone (demisexual if he vibed with labels), Ziggy is gay (or bisexual leaning towards men), and Gem and Gemma are queer. Doctor K is the only one who's straight

If he knew to go looking, Dillon would find his parents' graves in the Wastes. They died protecting their children from Grinders, they were traveling to Corinth. Dillon's car belonged to his father

Gem and Gemma have a form of telepathy left over from the experiments done on them at Alphabet Soup, it's why they can finish each other's sentences

Ziggy has had a crush on Scott, Flynn, Dillon, and Gem, and a platonic one on Summer. He can't help it! They're badasses and Ziggy’s got a thing for people who could obviously kick his ass

Flynn is the oldest of the core Rangers at 25, Scott is 24, Dillon and Summer are both 21, Summer being a few months younger, and Ziggy is 18. Gem and Gemma are in their late 20s, Doctor K is 19

Dillon didn't just click with Ziggy, he actually only tolerated his Wastes partner for the few weeks they were in the Wastes together. But, somehow Ziggy grew on him

Ziggy is Dillon’s best friend, baby brother, and maybe more rolled up into one. Dillon adores Ziggy, but won't let it show. Ziggy, of course, knows this and adores Dillon right back

Scott, Summer, Flynn, Dillon, and Ziggy are all in what amounts to a Queer Platonic Relationship. They seek each other out automatically at this point. If so inclined, that relationship could turn romantic real quick

Scott gives doberman vibes, Summer gives white cat vibes, Flynn gives husky vibes, Dillon gives black cat vibes, Ziggy gives orange cat vibes

Ziggy was once a gymnast, which is the only reason he was able to fight as well as he did at first

The Rangers spar together even after Venjix is defeated

Dillon doesn't like Scott, but he does respect and love him

They're all fucking idiots at best, but Scott can and will chain himself to any of the Rangers if they try to run away.

All the Rangers have some form of abandonment issues. The least of which is Flynn, who has issues regarding his mother's death, the most of which is Ziggy, who was abandoned at the orphanage at age five

The Rangers are always in a rainbow of shipping, but none is more obvious than the RPM Rangers. You can ship anyone with anyone (except Gem/Gemma of course)

The hit on Ziggy’s head never went away, and he never expected it to. He was in the mob from age 10 to age 17, he knows better than to expect kindness from people who would kill him in a heartbeat

On that subject, Ziggy doesn't leave the garage unless he has another person (Dillon) with him

Dillon and Tenaya don't go back to their original names, but they do take their original surname of Sevenson (which is where Venjix got the Seven from)

All the Rangers have PTSD and nightmares. They sneak into each other's beds or have puppy piles on the floor. Usually, you'll see specific patterns with sleeping arrangements. For example, Ziggy hasn't slept in his own bed since the Venjix virus started taking over Dillon, but he rarely ended the night in his own bed even before that

Flynn is the fan-favorite Ranger, but it's a close tie with Dillon and Scott

#power rangers #power rangers rpm #ziggy grover #dillon #scott truman #flynn mcallister #summer landsdown #tenaya 7 #gem #gemma #doctor k #thoughts #headcanons #thoughts and headcanons #thoughts and rambles

[evansblues]

"The thing is, he’s a coward. but he’s a coward. And he thinks he did the right thing; I pulled cards last night and got another anon that I’ll post in a minute. He’s deluded. You do what you need to do with who he is."

This will be long and you can post or not post but IMO he absolutely did the right thing over con and I'll explain why. It's quite possible that he was advised to just confirm this and move the fuck on with his life and that's why he was feeling happy. Maybe in exchange for confirming he never has to see her again or minimal to no contact. Now to the meat of what I'm going to say; take the cards and the feelings out of this and look at this from a business/relationship aspect; who would it have served for him to sit on that stage and deny the rumors? To not wear his ring? Only a small part of his fandom. Now sit back and think about what it would have looked like for him to deny the rumors; it would have caused him(and her) embarrassment, caused confusion for the general public(why did he wait so long to say something, are they actually a couple, what is the truth?) and created more questions than answers. Lastly and the biggest thing is what would denying the rumors have done for his relationship with the entertainment publications that he NEEDS, yes NEEDS to report on him? Enews, Entertainment Tonight, Page Six, PEOPLE and a host of others. He would essentially be calling them liars and that they didn't do their research before reporting on him. This man is not an A lister anymore; he's not gonna get a ton of chances to make people look like fools. All these publications would have needed to issue retractions and that's not a good look for THEIR reputations. Just confirm and go about your business.

That last sentence is where I'm at right now; I see a weak coward with no backbone who has NO integrity. If he had integrity, it would have never gotten this far. If he had integrity, Ghosted would have been the last time we heard of this woman, but he has none and he's also incredibly weak. If there's one thing I would like a good read on, it's him and the months of may, june and july because something went REAL awry during that time. That podcast in June? He was too relaxed for this woman to really still be heavily in the picture and then we got the disastrous GQ article. I want to say the strike had a lot to do with this progressing this far but I'm not sure. Anyway like I said, post or not. Just in my eyes this was the best course of action. I also don't think he has a good support system in place to help him if he went the other route. It is what it is.

This is an excellent point and I’m sure exactly what he was told. Just keep your head down and go along with it and it’ll be over soon. That’s also exactly why he shouldn’t have; this is a recurring lesson for him in choosing himself over external pressures. He didn’t want to do this, it has made him unhappy, and he ignored his own needs over the logic and potential benefits of just playing along. He can’t be king if he doesn’t choose the right thing over adversity; he can’t stay true to himself if he never does what is best for him others but don’t want him to. This made him sick, lost him tons of fans and his personal image, which I think was reflective of the person he tries to be and partly is already. He was an advocate and they paired him with a racist, and he didn’t stand up for his beliefs. He didn’t stand up for the people he had been vocal for. He didn’t stand up for himself. This is a lesson in choosing what is best for him over the exact arguments you’ve made, because he and his ideals matter more than all of that. Just like in history, where battles were won by people doing what was right despite the dangers and social pressures. Thank you for putting this down, many have asked what he’s afraid of, I think you painted the picture very well of what he was facing. I just think he chose wrong and will suffer consequences for it. He was meant to choose himself.

[lunarrolls]

No. 8 quote for Whumptober with FCG?

heheheeeee had some fun incorporating some meta thoughts i had about fcg after 4sd 17 into this one! i sorta combined the quote ("it's all for nothing"), the lyric ("i've got a soul but i'm not a soldier"), and one of the words (outnumbered) for the full inspo. i love me some good put that robit in situations <3

F.C.G.’s no good in a fight, not a straight one.

It’s not like he doesn’t have weapons at his disposal—he has his buzzsaw, he has his bolt thrower, he has that one spell that can smack people with divine energy in various forms, and another spell that summoned those tiny F.R.I.D.A.s one time. He has weapons. He’s just really bad at using them. It’s almost laughable, how often he misses shots that should be so easy.

They’ve never had to rely on just themself, though, there’s always been others to fight with them. Always. So their lackluster combat skills that consist mostly of flailing wildly and trying to look intimidating weren’t a continuous issue, a fatal flaw, more than they were mostly a joke.

Nobody’s here, now. F.C.G.’s been dragged off to the side of this particular skirmish, far out of sight of their friends. It’s his own fault. He was supposed to be on watch while his soul-touched friends slept, since he didn’t need as much rest. They’re all probably still asleep right now, blissfully unaware of the danger he’s in.

Because F.C.G.’s no good in a straight fight, and there are so, so many more of them than there are of him.

He, of course, has been trying to fend off his attackers himself, which is why they currently have his bolt thrower captive. He'd tried to skewer one of them with it only to have them catch it and yank him in, severing the rope that tied it to his arm with a swing of a shortsword and throwing him off balance in one fell swoop. The second they get close enough, he's sure they're gonna take the buzzsaw he has strapped to his back; he hasn't had the chance to put it on, yet, and it wouldn't do much good anyway considering how he's avoiding getting close to them as much as possible.

There are four of them, best they can see, which wouldn't be a problem if the entire group was up, but with just F.C.G., they're completely helpless. All of them seem humanoid. They're not wearing the reds of the Ruby Vanguard or the pendants of the Paragon's Call, so F.C.G. guesses that they're just bandits completely unaware of the situation at hand who saw something shiny they could grab and sell. Probably didn't expect it to fight back, which might be why he's still alive at all.

They have a spiritual weapon up, but they can't see out here, and their attackers seem to be purposefully keeping it dark. All of them must be fighters like Orym or Ashton, without access to spells, because he's not been hit with a paralyzing spell yet, and they seem to be growing tired of the fighting.

"It's all for nothing," one of them growls, swiping out at F.C.G. so quickly their spiritual weapon goes completely wide. "You're coming with us, one way or another."

Their strike lands on the metal of F.C.G.'s jaw, denting the plate significantly. Before they can move, another one plants itself squarely in the center of their chassis, and another spins their head on its socket. They reel back, surprised at the effectiveness on mithral-reinforced metal, and reassess their options.

This is bad. This is really bad.

Sending's not working. He knows that. He knows that, he does, but oh, this is so bad, and he really wants to get back to his friends, and they can't hear him from where he is, and none of his spells are doing anything helpful here anyway, so--

"Imogen! Help--some bandits came while I was on watch and they dragged me away from camp and I think I'm in some real trouble--"

The spell cuts off. F.C.G. curses themself for not giving any further instructions. They're just gonna have to hope Imogen gets the message.

They wait. The spell didn't seem to unravel when they cast it, no static or strange feedback (that's good, they might still be in range, there's still hope), but there's still a decent beat of silence. In the meantime, the closest combatant has slipped closer, and though they manage to get a good strike in with their spiritual weapon this time, the bandit yanks one of the wires stored deep within F.C.G.'s chassis and tears it out, forcing their body to go limp.

"Letters? We're on our way. Just hang in there. Fearne thinks she knows where you are. We'll be there. Promise."

Imogen's message is nice, but F.C.G. doesn't really have a choice in the matter at the moment. The stunning strike vanished his spiritual weapon. He's only barely conscious, completely functionless without that damaged wire. His captors grumble something about having to carry him.

He hopes that his friends hurry. He's no soldier. He can't hold his own.

#cr #cr3 #fcg #fresh cut grass #roll history #roll performance #charisma save #i love making up situations that somehow fuck the hells up more than canon lolll #it's a challenge but with your help we can get there #it's ok fcg gets some nice saving from the gang after this #chetney manages to fix the stunning strike and fearne gives him some heals #and fcg doesn't take watch alone again <3

[ziezie13]

My first completed fanbinding! There were so many fun typesetting elements I had trouble narrowing the photos down but I didn't include everything. My favorites are definitely the music QR codes and the meta AO3 fics.

Until My Feet Bleed and My Heart Aches by @kazliin

‘…Of all the rivalries in the world of sports over the years, perhaps none has become so legendary as that of Russian figure skater Viktor Nikiforov and his rival, Japanese Yuuri Katsuki…’

A single event changes the course of Yuuri’s life, throwing him into a bitter rivalry with Viktor Nikiforov that spans across his entire skating career. But as the years go on, rivalry and hatred begin to develop into something very different and Yuuri doesn’t seem to be able to stay away, no matter how hard he tries.

Hatred and love are two sides of the same coin and even though everything changes, some things are still meant to be.

Technical stuff and bonus photos below the cut.

General

197,692 Words / 11 x 8.5 Paper / 500 pgs

Title Font & Chapter Number Font: Just Signature

Chapter Title & Body Font: Adobe Caslon Pro

Misc Fonts: Georgia, Lucida Sans, Zilla Slab, PT Serif, Segoe UI

Designed, typeset, and bound by me.

Programs used: InDesign and BookletCreator.

Anyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for enemies to lovers and this fic executes the trope beautifully. It was one of my very first fics on AO3 and since then I have read it countless times. The fic diverges from canon in a single moment and what proceeds is one of the best Victuuri fics of all time.

Materials

This was the first ficbinding project that made it off of my computer. The original plan was to keep the book thinner by scaling the page size up to 11 x 8.5, but obviously that didn't work. I ordered short grain 11 x 17 sheets from Nicole Nikolas Modern Paper Goods and printed with my large-format inkjet printer (which used more cyan and magenta than I would have expected).

Once my signatures were printed I realized just how massive this thing was, and in that moment I decided the casing was going to be leather. I ordered Royal Blue leathers from Peggy Sue Also Leather's Dutchess Collection. And while I waited for that to come in I hand-painted the chapter numbers using Dreamland Watercolor's Beta and a fluid writer. The color changing effect wasn't as dramatic as I hoped but it still turned out gorgeous.

I decided not to complicate things too much and left the spine flat and the edges deckled. I used the basic method of sewing tapes and spaced five of them out across the spine. The headbands are actually Vintage Petersham Grosgrain Magenta ribbons from Fini Ribbon that I folded over some string I had laying around. I also made my own endpapers from Strathmore drawing sheets and more of the Beta watercolor which I sprayed over the sheets using a cheap paintbrush.

I created an embossed frame on the cover by layering chipboard on top of the 0.098" Davey Binder's Board I ordered from Talas. Then I cut out a window so that I could do the title out of watercolor. I didn't have a pairing knife for the leather so I tried sanding down the edges to help minimize the thickness of the folds. I am actually not sure if this helped or not but the leather turned out better than I thought. The only issue was that I didn't have enough of an overlap at the top and bottom on the inside of the book board, and the endpapers couldn't cover the seam properly. I came up with the solution of adding a second layer of chipboard that I covered in light blue construction paper. I made it to the same dimensions as the Davey Board and then glued everything together with pva. I really like the effect it has and it also worked out as a base to paint the title onto.

Typesetting

Typesetting this fic was a lot of fun because of all the social media aspects included in the fic. This included articles, Reddit threads, Twitter posts, Instagram posts, Youtube videos, Tumblr posts, and even meta AO3 fic summaries. I did my best to match the real-life counterparts as best as I could. I ended up using Segoe UI for most of the social media typesetting. The articles used Zilla Slab for the title and PT Serif for the body. The AO3 summaries were the most complicated as they used Georgia and Lucida Sans fonts and jpeg graphics.

The other really exciting element I incorporated was the music. Kaz used music throughout the fic as a very imporvictant part of the storytelling. Yuuri and Victor communicate through their skating and their routines and the music is what brings those routines to life. I placed QR codes in the margins at the start of each routine. It is so cool to hold your camera up and suddenly have the music playing from your phone as you read! I also included an appendix of the music so that when QR codes become obsolete the music is still accessible.

#bookbinding #ficbinding #yoi #victuuri #my work #first fic bound

[wytfut]

A huge hole is forming

I've been in the Excelsior Henderson game since pretty much the beginning. Around 1999. Although I didn't buy/own one until 2001.

The community although small is very strong and supports pretty much each of the members some how some way. My youtube channel is an example (which is not exactly successful). The club is another. Friendships of course. Inner networking. AND..... Atlantic EH.

Jamie and Marty Jones started Atlantic EH in Elkton Virginia shortly after the factory closed its doors. Jamie and Gary (Jumper) Houk both started buying parts off shelves from dealerships all across the right coast that were getting out of the EH business. With their own money no less. ....

Jamie, is a well experienced mechanic. European sports cars mechanic, Diesel mechanic, and heavy equipment mechanic. I'm going to say he probably had quite a few years working on motorcycles also before then.

Their business was a huge gamble. Only so many customers out there..... the number was way below 2000. At the time it wasn't an immediate success, but did well, as the east coast owners supported them whole heartily. Jamie working out of the attached 2 stall garage of their home.

Here in the flatlands.... I had heard of them... but didn't know much other than that. We were dealing 99% with Bobby (Xman) Baldwin, and a touch with John Jones in Minnesota.

Basically thru attrition, we started dealing with Atlantic EH, and never looked back.

Jamie/Marty made another huge step, an attached shop, virtually doubling the square footage of their home. Something that can handle many X's at one time. Jamie thought this shop out well, and it worked.

In all the years I connected with them, Jamie was never ever less than 6 X's in or around his shop waiting for his soft touch. He had no need for work. They didn't need to advertise, as the bikes rolled in.

They held annual parties at their home for ALL of their customers. I did get to make one of those, and never felt so welcomed by so many strangers.

It was a promise that when you called to order parts or ask questions, the phone call was going to be close to an hour every time. Many times more so. They wanted to know the weather, hows the family, hows your X, "are you doing good?".... If Jamie didn't have time to talk, you could email him. He'd do email every Sunday, with replies.

I had an issue with my X, that needed some special order parts out of Las Vegas.... that were expensive. Marty just sent them to me. Me being confused called her immediately to cipher what was going on. She told me, use what I needed of these parts, which she'd bill me, and send the rest back.... no charge. (time sert kit). WHAT?

I'm guessing by now, that all readers are picking up, I cannot praise these fine people enough, for everything they have done for our community. You are correct... I could write anecdotes for pages. ..

...............

Jamie found out last week.... he's pretty much full of cancer. Yes its terminal. The time line they are giving him is sooooooooo short. I'm besides myself, as there is nothing I can do for them from here. I have some good X friends that are much closer and doing everything they can to make this a smooth process.

Marty before this.... has been having her own personal battle with Alzhiemers, and Jamie has committed himself to helping her, and working on X's in between. Jamie officially retired as the "official" Super X mechanic 2 summers ago in the Wisconsin Dells.

And this huge hole is forming within our community. There will be other heros within our group, no doubt. But none will be equal to our first 25 years of the Jones.

Jamie.... I hope you get to read this. I can't get anymore real than this. And I stand by all of this. Gods speed my friend!!

[squidkid15]

As a deep and long-time lover of whump if you're serious about being all right taking time out to give me a list I would absolutely LOVE a list.

so I'm too lazy to alphabetize it but *cracks knuckles* let's see how this goes

Read more because I was serious about him having a shitton of issues.

The circlets he's wearing in that new picture? Yeah none of those is the original one

His tongue is lightly coated in copper after 500 years of being fed nothing but that. His sense of taste is greatly reduced, and he can faintly taste copper all the time.

His Tripitaka was...pretty cruel to him. Wukong, of course, has yet to realize this fully. He still thinks the monk was trying to help - he just failed at it (see next bullet)

He spent all of jttw and afterward being called all sorts of terrible things and never being thanked/being good enough that he's decided he never will be. ("A good person? Nah. I'm not one of those.") He's given up on it.

He no longer does things just for the sake of being a "good person," he'll only do it if he wants to. Usually, these things overlap, what he wants is generally good, but not always. He's decided that no one will ever see him as good/good enough so he's stopped trying.

Oh, every single one of these issues? Before and after this bullet? Never addressed. He's the definition of "I'll keep all my emotions right here and then one day I'll die". Except, unfortunately, that second part never happens so all those emotions have been bottled for literally thousands of years.

He has been borrowing mental spoons from future wukong for centuries and at some point he's gonna run out of spoons to borrow

Doesn't sleep. Ever. Hasn't for a LONG time. His Macaque has sleep/dream powers and made sure Wukong has nightmares any time he's asleep. So he just. Doesn't. This does not help the 'mental spoons' issue.

He killed his Mac. Like flat out did it. Knows he did it, meant to do it (sorta). Soooooo thats like 29473834 issues wrapped into one

The four NEW circlets were tossed on him after the fire was split. The force of taking the ring knocked him out and when he woke up he was wearing not one, not two, but FOUR circlets. Heaven claimed it was to seal the Samadhi Fire (which it does do!) but Ne'Zha and DBK don't have them so Wukong knows better.

"Last 'good thing' I did, I helped a friend with his kid. And it landed me in chains."

The new circlets have only been used once - right after he woke up and tried to rampage through heaven when he saw what they did. They were used just the once to stop that, and now remain as just a threat, but a very real one.

He won't fight back (unless its to protect someone he cares about). He just won't. Last time he fought back he killed his best friend, so he Will Not defend himself. Any amount of verbal or physical abuse, if it's aimed at only him, he won't fight back. Mac has said some awful things to him and Wukong just looks away.

Mac gave him a nightmare about Wukong killing him again and Wukong woke up and rolled right into a full-blown panic attack. It was really bad.

Killed his Mac to protect the jttw gang, and was...mostly in his right mind at the time. Buried pretty deep in Stockholm Syndrome, he didn't see that Mac was trying to help. Mac's powers make it near impossible to stop him without lethal force, and...so that's what Wukong used. He shifted into "this is a threat. threats need to be stopped" mentality, and only after he'd snapped mac's neck did he fully process what he did.

He completely understands Mac's grudge, has never tried to defend or explain himself there.

#squid speaks #answers #anonymous #lmk daydreams au

[you-usuratonkachi]

I don't know.

I mean, I've been on here long enough now that I know which theories about Mike are the most popular. I know most Bylers believe that Mike is dealing with IH from the start and that he actually always loved Will romantically, he just never knew and that he confused what he feels for El for romantic love because of all his preconceived notions of what's socially right of him and all that. I know most like to believe that he only feels platonic love for El, but... well, I never felt like that.

Rewatching ST from the start, I feel even more strongly about this. Mileven were beautiful. In a "they are children, both of them don't really know how it works, but they are still gonna try it out" because... well, because that's what children do. They feel good about something, they do it, it's as simple as that.

I think Mike genuinely liked El romantically. "Fell in love" with her, if you will, in the way 12 years old fall in love, at least. Have you ever? You cannot compare it to what you might feel in an adult relationship, but that doesn't mean it's not romantic... It's just proportioned to your understanding of the world.

El? El just knew she felt safe and liked Mike. And it's very very true, she should have experienced life before engaging in a romantic relationship with Mike, but even that is technically part of life? It's not like Mike was an adult manipulating her into it, Mike was almost as clueless as her. Yes, he had an idea of what it was supposed to be like, but he was also figuring it out. In the same way they figured out how to dance together at the Snow Ball. He knew what dancing was supposed to be like, but he didn't know how to dance. She didn't know anything. They just got on the dance floor and did whatever. That's basically their romantic relationship.

It's really quite the same for Will? He liked Mike romantically from the start, but he was a child and he didn't know what to do with all that. A lot of trauma ensued and eventually, with age, his feelings grew too.

What I believe has happened to Mike and El instead is the opposite.

Both of them have grown as people, season after season, and it feels to me like what felt like was really big and amazing between them, does not really compare anymore.

In S3 it feels already like it's less epic love and more teenage hormones, which is realistic, they are that age. But a relationship without communication is not gonna survive after childhood and you see that with them a lot. They just don't know how to talk to each other and in S4 they get to a point where the world makes a lot more sense to both and whatever dancing they are doing is uncoordinated in the worst way. They bump against each other, they trip, they feel awkward.

The excitement of discovery is gone, what's left is the more adult knowledge that perhaps they would rather not be on the dance floor together anymore.

That doesn't mean they never wanted to.

They have just grown out of it.

Their relationship has naturally come to an end, because they are different people from what they were when they got together.

Does that mean none of it has been real?

I think saying that would be invalidating their feelings and how they felt in the moment, all the first experiences they had together and what one helped the other understand about themselves, what it is to grow up.

If Will can have romantic feelings for Mike at 12, all of them might have had them.

Mike loving El back then? I believe it.

Now though? I think she is right... he doesn't love her anymore. He cares for her so much, because of course he does! She is important, she will always be, he's just... stopped dancing.

Mike loving El (in his 12/13-year-old capacity) doesn't invalidate his feelings for Will. He could have had romantic feelings for Will this whole time too, just never recognized or entertained them. It's very true that his relationship with Will was always special. The issue is, he never figured he could step on that dance floor with Will.

The issue is, now that Mike seems to be looking around himself, is he gonna ask Will for a dance?

#byler #I know this dance metaphor has gotten out of hand #but I truly feel like this #I think mileven is a beautiful couple that completed their arc #that's all #mike never feeling that way about her makes no sense to me I'm sorry #I believe he did #he just doesn't anymore #he's just broading his perspective #he's been too concentrated on El #but he AWARE of it now #El is going through the same thing #they are growing out of their relationship #does it mean byler endgame #not necessarily #but there was no need to get here and make the triangle happen if it was gonna lead nowhere #it's still fiction after all #so yeah

[queerasaurus-rexx]

Harder To Breathe (Twisted Wonderland)

DISCLAIMERS: mc is referred to as 'yuu' for convenience, they/them pronouns, gender isn't specified. set in book four, chapter 17, so spoilers for that, and some for later chapters if you squint. grim can and does say 'fuck', fight me. slightly more devious yuu here.

TRIGGERS: breathing issues, asthma attack, mind controlled!kalim says some fucked up shit about it

yuu felt like they were gonna die. even grim dumping an entire bottle of water over their head was really not helping.

their hair had already been soaked with sweat, but now, well, this was just overkill.

thank you so much, kalim.

kalim's training regime was bordering on inhuman and yuu's limbs felt like they were on fire. why did they have to march through the goddamn desert? couldn't they have marched around the dorm?

frustrating. annoying. terrible. hate hate hate.

they glanced over at grim, wondering if it would be a good time to set a little plan in motion. despite running themselves ragged trying to dig themselves out of their room, yuu could tell grim was running out of ideas. of course, there were plenty of non-magical solutions the demon cat hadn't thought to consider, a few of which yuu would have no trouble pulling, so long as grim played along.

they were practiced at getting themself out of gruelling phys. ed classes, so pulling out an old trick was nothing.

the wheezing sounded real. real enough to get everyone's attention, at least.

"yuu, do you feel ill?" jamil asked, concern washing over his features.

"vomiting will not get you excused from training, yuu!" kalim shouted, his unusual aggression not relenting for a second.

"they can't fucking breathe, you knucklehead. congratulations, your training regime has given them an asthma attack."

"what do you mean, they can't breath?!" jamil was panicking. something flickered across kalim's face, concern or confusion or conflict, but it passed so quickly grim barely registered it.

"you think it's my fault their lungs don't work? their weakness is their own problem. dying is not enough to get out of training." the housewarden of scarabia had done some seriously messed up stuff over the past few days, but something about him basically saying he didn't care if yuu died was on a whole other level.

"can we circle back to the part where THEY CAN'T BREATHE?" jamil seemed to be stuck on that point, and to be fair, as vice house warden, it was a fair point to be stuck on. his usually cool demeanour was now burning hotter than the desert around them. "grim, what's happening? why can't yuu breathe?"

the demon cat rolled his eyes and stretched his arms.

"as far as i recall, their airways are swollen up and they can't get air into their lungs. they're gonna need their inhaler soon . . . which is back at ramshackle." he explained. yuu definitely did have asthma, that was true.

"why didn't they bring it with them?" jamil's voice carried the energy of a chicken with it's head cut off.

"well neither of us had imagined we'd be strong armed into kalim's fucked up little desert excursions!"

the scarabia students looked on in horror, unsure if they were about to witness a peer die before their eyes.

suffice it to say, everyone was pretty worked up. plan successful. now, if they somehow managed to convince jamil to just let grim go back to ramshackle, they could get an sos message to the appropriate parties - maybe azul was feeling gracious for the whole photo thing and would lend the eel twins to their little escape plan -

"we're leaving! single file, back to the dorm!" kalim announced, as though none of this was happening.

something was seriously wrong with him.

"kalim, yuu may be in serious trouble!" jamil protested.

"if you're so concerned about them, then why don't you carry them back to the dorm yourself?" kalim challenged, crossing his arms over his chest. a scattered whispering fell over the students of the scarabia dorm, and yuu briefly thought they had incited a coup - which, while not their intention, could serve as a possible means of escape if things started really going south for kalim.

instead, the uneasy silence was broken when jamil defeatedly knelt in front of yuu and gestured for them to climb onto his back.

"would an air spell directed into their throat help?" a ruddy haired scarabia student asked, almost unsure.

"no. they need medicine, not just air. their inhaler has anti-inflammatory steroids in it, to reduce the swelling in their airways. plus you might mess up their throat and lungs even more." grim explained, waiting until kalim had turned to hop up onto yuu's back for a free ride.

the wheezing was starting to hurt yuu's throat, but anything for the prize, right?

despite having a whole other person and an annoying demon cat on his back, jamil made good time back to the dorm, muttering under his breath the whole time. yuu only caught bits of his ramblings, whispered

'i'm sorry, so sorry, it wasn't supposed to be like this' and they almost had the urge to comfort him.

poor guy had been running himself ragged on kalim's command, cleaning up the house warden's messes and trying to keep the students safe and sane. it made sense that a few screws were starting to come loose.

jamil gently placed yuu on a nearby bench as they entered the dorm and exhaled, the panic on his face fading to his usual collected expression.

"you three, head to the medical station and see if we have any inhalers." he ordered, carefully watching yuu.

"i'd be surprised if you had any, considering you guys are all jocks." grim said, carefully eyeing the students as they hurried off.

"i suppose, if they're triggered by extreme physical activity, but i'd rather make sure we didn't have them here before going to ramshackle to get yuu's. we don't want to make kalim any angrier than he may already be." jamil explained, shrugging mostly to himself.

it seemed like he was more trying to convince himself than grim. kalim had breezed past them without concern, merely glancing at the students as they hurried back.

"is this what they need? the label says it's a corticosteroid, and you said their inhaler has a steroid, right?" the student asked in a huff.

"well," grim began, but yuu hurriedly snatched the inhaler from the student and uncapped it. the plan had failed, and all the fake wheezing had done a number on their throat, so they decided to take the out.

jamil looked quite relieved when yuu's breathing stopped sounding like a tea kettle, but he warily eyed kalim just the same as the housewarden called from down the hall:

"yuu and grim will have to make up for their missed training later."

yuu narrowed their eyes.

"i came for dinner, got pseudo-kidnapped and ran ragged training to help a dorm my grades don't even count for. why shouldn't i just lock myself in the room and not come out?" they spat, shaking their head.

jamil exhaled. "that wouldn't help you. the other students would get you out eventually. we need to talk later on - all of us, excluding kalim."

if you like my work, please remember to drop a like and give a little reblog. if you want to see more of my writing, make sure to follow my blog!

#twisted wonderland #twst wonderland #twst fic #twst scarabia #twst book 4 #kalim twst #jamil twst #grim twst #yuu twst #grim says fuck

[greekwarriors]

( taylor zakhar perez  +  twenty-nine  +  he/him  )  look who has entered camp halfblood college !  meet JAMES CHANCE ,  the child of TYCHE .  they have been living in long island for nine years and is currently a counselor.  when someone describes them, they are often described as OUTGOING and HYPERACTIVE. zeus believes he are responsible for stealing the lightning bolt but is that something they are capable of doing?

tw: death

basics:

full name: James Chance nicknames: Jimmy gender: cis male pronouns: he/him sexuality: gay aesthetics: bundles of four leave clovers, ringing of slot machines, finding random angel numbers age: 29 date of birth: August 19th zodiac sign: Leo residence: Cabin 19 occupation: College Counselor species: demigod powers: regular skills with being a demigod, crazy amount of luck

appearance

faceclaim: Taylor Zakhar Perez height: 6'0" eyes: dark brown hair: dark brown piercings: none tattoos: 777 on his wrist

tldr;

James grew up with his grandparents. His mother was unknown to him and his father was terminally ill.

His grandparents were the most loving and caring couple. There is no one else James would have wanted to raise him

James knew the universe was kind to him. From a young age, he knew his had some luck up his sleeve.

He would get away with anything. Things always went his way. He couldn't explain it but he wasn't going to question in. But not all his luck was good. The universe always balanced it out.

After years of treatment and hospital stays, his father did not make it.

His father's passing didn't help his issues with school. James was an active child, never standing still or focusing on one thing.

His grandparents tried everything to possibly help until he was eighteen. James decided to move out and not be a burden to his grandparents.

Despite after everything, James kept a smile on his face.

Out in the big world, James found some challenges. But by far the worst was when he was approached by a monster. He had seen strange things all his life but never felt real. But this monster was real.

With ease, James was able to fight off the monster on his own

As it was just his luck, James was found by a satyr that was gladly to take him to this place that was safe for him

He was a demigod, which helped explain a lot for him.

At this college, it had become his new home. His schooling had gotten better, he was interested into his studies. He easily passed his courses and graduated without any problems.

He decided to stay the college after graduation. Unfortunately, his grandparents had passed while he was in college. So he stayed and worked for the college to help other kids that came through

HCs

James always has a four leaf clover in his pocket. It was the first one he ever found and he has never lost it.

He had a bit of a gambling problem. He got it from playing cards with his grandfather.

Over the year, James has met a lot of celebrities. And he liked to name drop some of the big ones.

Connections

Cabin Siblings: He needs his found family

Friends from Cabin 12: I'd love for him to have a bestie with a dionysus kid. It would be wild

Big Brother Mode: Some younger students that he has under his wing.

Long time students: Any older students that had been there for a while.

ANY PLOTS

#dhqzintro #[ ꕤ ] : ʟᴜᴄᴋʏ ʙɪᴛᴄʜ ➜ intro ™

[marawhydontyoudraw]

Human!Ornstein, ringed knights and the Ringed City headcanons

I've decided to make a post about my human!Ornstein hcs to finally elaborate on all the art I have of the ringed knight Ornstein. In fact, this is one of the oldest hcs of mine which has been with me since the days of ds2, though it took on its final form only after the release of the Ringed City dlc.

So, let's go.

My Ornstein originates from the lower classes of the Ringed City; his mother was a temple maiden and father was an insignificant servant in a Pygmy Lord's household. In the Ringed City there was no equal or healthy society, the difference in life between the main population and the Lords and chosen servants of the gods was tremendous; besides it, although the old beliefs of the Dark were banned and their followers were punished by death, said beliefs were still popular among the lower classes, as the Dark promised solace to people suffering from the artificial injustice of the gods.

One of the greatest social issues of the City at the time was the conscription into the Ringed knight legion. Since the gods used the knights mainly as cannon fodder, the mortality rate among them was monstrous and therefore the legion was constantly in need of a large number of new recruits. And, of course, the upper classes of the City didn't want to send their children to war that amounted to guaranteed death, so new recruits came mainly from the poorest population and/or those who had somehow incurred the wraith of the City's rulers. Ornstein himself was an example of the first case, being conscripted as the teen boy because his family was too poor to pay off the recruiters; however, there were many heretics and political arrestants in the legion, so its reputation among the main forces of Lordran dragon slayers was... questionable at best.

But the ringed knights never actually recembled a real army to begin with. Almost none of these people wanted to be where they were, so their discipline was basically non-existent and the chain of command was very vague - the knights listened mostly to other veteran knights with some level of respect among the troops rather than to the appointed commanders. Their second biggest problem was the lack of proper supplies, as the officers from Anor Londo did not want to waste resources on a human army that would be decimated in their first battle anyway. In that circumstances, the ringed knights really were a mere meat on the battlefield and no one, including themselves, expected anything else from them. It was absolutely impossible to imagine that some random ringed knight would be able to slay an everlasting dragon. Right...?

So, Ornstein. He got drafted into the legion, given a spear, some minimal training and friendly advice to prepare himself for quick and painful death. Which he did, and then... he did not die in his first battle. And in the second one. And in the third. It turned out that he was extremely good at not dying, and also managed to learn something new every time he survived a clashing with dragons. He survived the war for a couple of years - longer than the most ringed knights at that time - and eventually became one of the most respected veteran commanders of the legion. Of course, he didn't have any official authority, since the gods did not allow human officers into their not etirely loyal human army, but he was a field commander de-facto, and it was enough for him to try to do something new. He watched how the other dragon slayers fought, adopted and adapted their tactics to his army, trained his troops... The result of his efforts was that he, with the help of a company of his subordinate knights, actually killed a dragon.

It was a bloody, pyrrhic victory, and various god officers were furious at Ornsten's arbitrariness... and yet he was the very first human to kill a dragon without any help of the gods. And the was a god - the god - who noticed it. So, the Gwyn's firstborn, the commander-in-chief of all the Lordran forces, came to the camp of the ringed knights and demanded knight Ornstein into his service. It wasn't actually a question, since it occurred to no one, not even Ornstein himself, that he might refuse. And so Ornstein left with his new god for Anor Londo, which was a whole new level of culture shock and existential nightmare for him, but that's a topic for another headcanon post.

#a fantasy game about a sacred fire

[autumnbrambleagain]

Yhelm p9 - readmore for full

Drizzle hadn't left Flyhhnemonia yet. This was day eleven of constant rain.

Rumors had it she'd gotten into a tiff with another god--most said Solid--and was hiding behind Flyhh until the fight was over. Others were saying she'd fallen in love with a mortal, who'd finally died, and she was taking comfort with the Heir of Love. Whatever the truth was, it was day eleven of her stay in Flyhhnemonia, and day eleven of constant rain. The Guild of Porters and Fishermen were already busy enough keeping things from washing away. Yhelm had to help dig a literal ditch last night to help with the run-off.

And now some idiot had gone and gotten herself arrested and now it was Yhelm's problem. Which was fun.

She was currently dripping in the entrance hall of the Cabdrydal courthouse. The ceiling was tall and arched, each marble beam decorated with little iron-work statues Yhelm couldn't even make out from all the way down here on the ground. But each drop of water from her soaked-through tail onto the colorful tiled floors echoed far deep back into the building and it made her feel just a bit self-conscious.

"Umbrella didn't do you much good did it?"

There was an adversary sitting at a little booth off to the side of the entrance. Of course Yhelm's umbrella wasn't going to protect her from the rain--using a narrative reassignment to turn umbrella into sword meant sword couldn't keep you dry. "I don't see why it should," Yhelm said. "I had to swim half the way here."

The security-dog laughed, but he also stood up and stepped out of the booth. "You ask me, Drizzle needs a good, hard dicking."

"Wow," Yhelm said. "In times like this, the world mourns our lost Apat."

The security-adversary checked Yhelm over for weapons, and found none, because her umbrella was a weapon but only for her, and so she was let through. At the end of the hall was a tall, rounded wooden desk, a single contiguous piece at least twenty feet long, very impressive and very expensive. Two clerks were seated there, their pen-scratchings echoing out into the vast cavern that separated them from Yhelm.

Hopefully one wasn't her little brother?

She started the long walk over. Why was it so long? Was it to facilitate lines? There were benches along the sides of the entranceway, and more statuework lining the walls. And there, hanging from the ceiling on heavy wires, a great iron-cast statue of Cabdrydal herself, some winged breacher lawyer of ages past. She was kinda hot. Yhelm wondered who would be in blamed the day the wires inevitably broke and the statue fell and crushed some poor person. Maybe it'd be a criminal and everyone would say Cabdrydal got one more.

She decided to not walk directly under it.

And. Well. Fuck.

The desk was divided into several booths for several lines, but Yhelm was the only person here. There were two clerks here, and that mean she could have her choice of which one she wanted, and one of them was some freeperson she'd never met, and the other was her little brother. Fuck. It'd be worse to go to the other one and ignore him, right? It would probably be worse.

"Heyyyyy baby brother," Yhelm purred.

Bodo looked up. There was a split-second of recognition in his face where he saw her as his sister first and that was a real nice second and after that he caught up to his own opinion on her and now he was looking at a criminal, a disappointment to the family. "How can I--what do you want, Yhelm."

Fine we can be business like Yhelm couldn't do business she was here for business. "A gaitsbird was arrested last night for assault and public what-have-yous."

"I'm not at liberty to discuss any on-going--"

"Yeah that's nice," Yhelm interrupted, and she clacked her umbrella-tip on the tiled floor and it echoed a good long second. She could be shitty to family too watch her go. "This is a Guild issue and I'm here to take her into our custody."

A demented smile broke over Bodo's face and even his coworker stopped and looked over in concern. "Haha. Hah! And you really think I'm just going to let a criminal go free because you asked nicely? Really?"

Yhelm sighed. "No, you're going to entrust the criminal into our custody so we can punish her by Guild laws."

"Guild laws!" Bodo looked over at his coworker. "Do you hear this? Criminal laws. Criminal courts. She wants me to believe that!"

Yhelm glared at the coworker. He'd obviously been working here much longer, because he said, carefully, "Ah, s’ent, I can send for the lawizard on duty for you?"

Bodo's face fell. Yhelm just smiled thinly. "Yes. That would be appreciated."

The clerk turned to what Yhelm had assumed was another sculpture, set up behind the desk, but oh, those great brass tubes were some kind of… instrument? Giant bells? The other clerk picked up a padded hammer and struck a few with slow, deliberate gongs. Everyone's ears flinched at it. Clearly no one liked this.

"The lawizard on duty will be with you as soon as he can, s'ent," the clerk said. "You can have a seat while you wait if you like."

Bodo huffed. "She's a criminal, we shouldn't be giving her what she wants."

"Dude, it's not our call," the freeperson said.

They slowly turned back to their work. Yhelm didn't sit. She stood right where she was dripping. "So," she tried. "How long do you have until you become a lawizard?"

Bodo's pen stopped scratching. "I'm at work, Yhelm."

"So am I."

"No, no you are not."

"Pfft. My boss told me to do this it’s work."

Bodo's coworker looked up from his paperwork with a sort of 'what is going on' expression.

"He's my brother," Yhelm whispered, which, no, whispers didn't work in this oversized hall they just echoed as loud as anything else.

Bodo didn't take the bait and the coworker went back to his work with a sort of 'wow okay not my business' expression. Yhelm contented herself to stand there right next to her baby brother and drip all over his floor. Bodo did an amazing job of ignoring her, though. It was sad. They used to get along really well? He'd been so happy when she'd come back home from the Cazirizahd. Of course now he resented her for it. That was neat. That. Was. Neat.

The lawizard finally arrived. Try not to laugh but he was an honest to goodness meadow deer. Tall antlers and red tie and black jacket and nothing else. The absolute stereotype. Yhelm was an adversary criminal, though. Meadoe wasn't a very original writer, Yhelm considered.

"Ah?" he announced into the room.

Bodo stood up--was he standing on his chair? He was kind of short. Or was there just a platform there for height-challenged races back there anyway? "Ah, Prim'ent Apples. This uh, adversary wanted to speak to you about a recent arrest." Look at him go, all business when the game was on. Yhelm was proud of the little bastard. He wasn't actually a bastard she was technically a bastard but like whatever.

The lawizard swung his head back to Yhelm.

"Dentsiles," she said. "I'm Guild of Porters and Fishermen. You have a gaitsbird, Lastsong, in your lock-up. She started a fight in a Guild of Brick Layers and Ditch Diggers bar and stabbed a Guild of Lamp Lighters and Wood Cutters member most-of-the-way-to-death. Which sounds like the lead-up to a joke but the punchline is she's in a lot of trouble."

"Ah, ah," the lawizard smiled. "We expected you much earlier you know. We almost had to start process on her ourselves."

"Yeah well so long as Drizzle keeps crying gopaf has our hands full keeping the docks from flooding out. I'm running on three hours of sleep." Which was normal for her, but don't tell anyone that.

The lawizard nodded and Yhelm had to take a step back to not get stabbed by his rack. Apat preserve he was actually kind of handsome. What deer didn't look good in a suit though? That was cheating, God was a deer in a suit, of course it was a good look. "I don't envy her," he said. "I need to confirm you before I can hand her over."

"Yep."

Red lights of Law sprang to life from the lawizard’s very body, twisting into a picture-frame that settled in front of Yhelm's face. The color bled and spilled out into neatly-written words floating mid-air, within biting distance. Someday Yhelm was going to bite a Law construct. "All right, S'ent Machato--hah! Machato! I wonder if there's any relation to our own S'ent Machato behind the desk there!"

The lawizard smiled but Bodo just looked up miserably.

"He's my brother," Yhelm said.

"Oh. Oh! Really! What wild things life holds for us all. I hope you two can still get along?"

"Of course," Yhelm said, and Bodo sat up like he wanted to say something but probably not in front of his boss. "We good though?"

"You check out," the lawizard said, dismissing the inquiry spell. "I'll go grab S'ent Lastsong and transfer custody."

"Wait!" It was Bodo, now fully standing on top of his seat, Yhelm could see it he was actually standing on it. "Wait, you're actually handing a criminal over to criminals?"

Bodo's coworker was giving him a look like 'holy shit dude stop' but he didn't say anything.

"Isn't that a bit of a rude thing to say to your sister? She hasn't been accused of anything. If she had been I would have seen it when I did the inquiry, you know."

"No--but--wait--I don't understand." Bodo was now scrambling over the desk to join them on the floor. Adorable. He was basically still twelve years old in Yhelm's head. "I'm sorry, Prim'ent, but, I don't understand how this is legal? Isn't it our duty to, to put her on trial and punish her for her crimes?" The way he was saying that, Yhelm thought, he was probably talking about Lastsong but she could feel an argument could be made he was talking about Yhelm herself. She wondered if Bodo realized that.

But the lawizard was just chuckling. "I'm sorry, S'ent Machato, he--well I don't have to apologize for your own brother do I? No, Bodo, the Guilds have a Legal Authority in their own prescribed jurisdictions, and their jurisdiction takes full precedence over ours here. Don't imagine she's getting off free. She'd probably prefer to be tried by us?"

"Ooh yeah," Yhelm agreed. "You'd put her in jail or proscribe behaviors or something right? Oooour boss is probably just gonna. I don't know. Break her arms? Pull out her teeth? I dunno. Criminal stuff." She winked at Bodo.

"This--this is Legal," Bodo said, dumbstruck. "This is actually Legal-legal?"

"Don't like, hold this against him," Yhelm said, gesturing to All Of Bodo. "He's still upset I used my college education to become a guild academage instead of, I don't know. Sitting in a tower writing self-congratulatory essays all day? What do wizards do. This apparently I'm a wizard and this is what this wizard is doing right now."

The lawizard was smiling but also clearly running out of patience. "If you'll excuse me then," he said, and he left Yhelm and Bodo there to deal with one another while he got Lastsong. Except Bodo just stood there staring up at her in confusion, and Yhelm just stared down at him with a little bit more smug satisfaction than she'd have liked but it wasn't like she could help every feeling she had all the time.

"I had hoped you wouldn't be working today," she finally said. "Like. I don't want to actually cause problems for you."

"You're doing a good job of it," Bodo huffed. "I, I just." He looked down at his wrist and little lines of Law flowed from his fingers and wrapped into a red wristwatch. "I have ten minutes before I'm done for the day anyway. Let me finish up my work."

"Wanna escort the prisoner with me?" Yhelm offered.

"No," Bodo said, clambering back over the desk and into his seat, "I want you to be gone before it's time for me to leave."

She'd tried. No one could blame her for trying, Yhelm thought.

Finally Lawizard Apples returned, leading a yellow gaitsbird on chains of Law. As custody was officially transferred--wow okay now the chains were on Yhelm's wrist and they felt really weird and warm--Bodo apparently finished up his work and he was already speeding down the hallway to the exit without even a goodbye to Yhelm. Sort of rude, but okay. Whatever.

"So like if she runs does this give me the power to like, do something to her?" Yhelm asked, holding up her end of the chain.

"Yhelm I swear to Aiax I'm not going to run!" Lastsong said, and everyone braced themselves because she'd done the dumbest thing and swore to Aiax and yep here was the sudden rush of pressure constricting everyone's chests and the light in the room for just a moment was blindingly red as the Heir of Law took special interest in the situation to make sure the oath was fulfilled. Yhelm snarled and bopped Lastsong on the head. Not especially gently.

The lawizard laughed. "I don't think that's going to be a problem now. Is Bodo already gone? Lucan? Did he already leave? I wanted to have a talk with him."

"Hey," Yhelm said. "Really don't hold it against him. Mom never let it go that I became a gangster-wizard and now all of the family's disappointments are his to fix. He does good work when I'm not here, right?"

"All the same," Lawizard Apples said. "Nice meeting you, S'ent Machato."

"Yup," Yhelm said. She gave an experimental tug on Lastsong's chain and the poor thing stumbled. "Seriously Song I can't get over how bad you fucked up why did you stab him?"

Yhelm started into a walk and Lastsong hopped to keep up. "We--Yhelm we were playing cards, okay, and--"

"And he cheated?"

"N-no. He. He was winning. A lot. So."

Gaitsbirds, Yhelm sighed. She was sure somewhere Bodo was sighing and thinking the same thing about adversaries, though. It didn't matter she had a job to do and even if Lastsong was a workplace friend Yhelm was an enforcer and she had to actually look intimidating when someone was in trouble and she could do that pretty well at least. She gave a nod to the adversary at the door and then they were back out into the rain.

Bodo was still here. Out in the rain, by the statue of Aiax. There was another freeperson with him, young looking, tall and in patterned clothes that weren't native and they were talking. Yhelm really, really didn't actually want to interfere in her little brother's life and she was literally in the middle of a job but she still slowed down to make sure things were cool and that's when the tall freeperson hugged Bodo?

Huh. "Huh," Yhelm said, not realizing she'd stopped walking.

Bodo spun around and his loafers couldn't make angry stomps like hooves could but they splashed at the puddles and got his pants even more wet all the same. "Yhelm! Are--can you--can you just leave!?"

"Yeah it took a bit to get--" Yhelm rattled the Law chains but they didn't rattle. Lastsong swung her arms to keep up with the movements. "This sorted out. Not even a good-bye for me? And I think your boss was kinda upset with you."

The tall freeperson, his hands holding themselves in front of his lap and trying to make himself look small despite being taller than Yhelm, whispered, "Lottle, war saet dar?"

Haha holy shit. And here was Yhelm in the pouring rain looking intimidating with her fucking leather jacket and umbrella that was secretly a sword, holding a gaistbird by a set of chains, staring down poor Bodo and this poor--poor fucking soul was here having no idea what he'd just gotten himself into.

"Ehs sesster," Yhelm answered, before Bodo could find the words himself. Holy shit. "Arest dayr et loozah at myrs bretter?"

The freeperson stammered. "Ah--sait."

Bodo sputtered. "How--how, how do you know, where did you even learn--"

"I went to magic fucking college, Bodo," Yhelm said. "Do you know how many theses come out of Upper Retlay? Traverse's sake I soft-dated a Retlayn while I was there. So."

Yhelm had intended to have a dramatic pause, but Lastsong whimpered, "It's, it's raining all over us can we not be standing out here please? I'm getting soaked…" Everyone ignored it, though, and Lastsong just warbled miserably to herself.

"… so. Do you want to introduce me to your boyfriend?" Yhelm asked.

Bodo groaned. "Yhelm this is Latyzell, Latyzell this is my sister Yhelm, okay, that's fine, we're done here?"

Latyzell leaned in again and whispered to Bodo, "Why are we angry?"

"It's--a family thing," Bodo huffed.

Don't be an adversary don't be an adversary don't be an adversary, "Does mom give you guff for being in a non-productive relationship?" fuck she fucked it up.

Bodo didn't answer right away, which was actually an answer.

"Oh no," Yhelm said. "Oh you haven't told her yet. Because you grew up seeing how much she hated me dating a phanteasel."

Bodo stared. Yhelm stared back.

Latyzell and Lastsong watched on helplessly, the rain pounding at their shoulders and heads. Roped in to a sibling-stare-down, prisoners to a conflict no one wanted to actually be a part of, especially the siblings forced to carry it out.

Bodo blinked first. "Don't tell her."

"She won't talk to me. And fuck her anyway. Mom can go up to Princess Flyhh and complain and see how far that gets her. You two look cute together. Don't let her ruin it for you."

Bodo huffed.

"Bring him next time we do coffee. We can welcome him into the family when we aren't standing out in the middle of a rainstorm."

"N--next time," Bodo started, but Yhelm didn't give him the chance to get around to declining.

"The forty-third. We'll see you then, kid. Latyzell, al mat myr svitch darit. Groop dayr carr ruber myrs bretter. C'mon Song."

Yhelm tugged Lastsong with her and started off, hooves splashing on the soaked stone walk. Behind her, Bodo stammered. "Wait--wait what did she say that was too fast for me to get it?" Yhelm glanced back just enough to see Latyzell kiss Bodo's forehead in answer. Freaking adorable.

"Your family's kind of messed up?" Lastsong offered.

"Haha yeah," Yhelm said, "you almost killed another guild, Song, you are so screwed."

"I knoooow! He was winning though!" she whined. "Do, do we have to go right to Prim'ent Pio? Can, can we get like, can we stop by Alzzard's Curry first? You know? Like a last meal? Before he plucks and cooks me?"

"Yeah that's fine, I could eat," Yhelm agreed. "Just a little bit though. I don't want to spoil my appetite. I hear we're having roast gaitsbird tonight?"

"Yheeeeeeelm that isn't funny! We're friends pleeaase!"

"Yeah but I'm not your friend when I'm working," Yhelm said. "What kind of sauce do you think you'd go best in?"

"Aaahahaaa someone save meeee!"

#autumn writes things #autumn draws things #series tag yhelm #yhelm 9 #fiction #writing #furry art #? #i don't know how to tag this so more than 3 people ever see it #i've been off tumblr too long

[ladyhindsight]

ahem so i will talk about robert during cofa/cols i hope to not bore you too much

remember how trsom keeps up with the retcon tendency full force and that like always, almost none of the logistics of stuff is thought about

there's funny (probably only i find it funny) logistic details that i couldn't help but notice, about robert

first, the most obvious, is what alec says in city of lost souls:

When Magnus and I were traveling, and I’d call from the road, Dad never asked how he was

when. WHEN.

i feel robbed

...from where robert would get the calls. wasn't he in idris? so...

the second part is more complicated and it's more about logistic details that make me feel out of my mind

at the end of cog, everyone was in alicante, okay. then everyone goes back to ny and alec and magnus leave for their trip

the curious part is how robert fits into this, because through cofa + cols it's implied that robert never comes back from idris until the end of cols

more logistic assumption comes into this with isabelle being very upset that robert was away as if it had never happened before. it absolutely has. like, 2 books ago, robert was in idris for a good while. of course now there's the aggravation of max's death and the family falling apart, but the point is that the vibe is that robert has been in idris since cog

so in rsom we have that convo

His father had not liked it when Alec announced he was leaving the Institute to go on a trip with Magnus.

what where when?

the implication of this is of something happening at the ny institute, where robert supposedly wasn't

“What has he told you about us?” Robert Lightwood had asked, pacing Alec’s room like a distressed cat.

extremely adorable imo, but where is he again

this logistic complication can be divided into two possibilities: this somehow happened in idris, contradicting the words used (at least according to my reading), or robert did come back to new york once between cog and cofa. (i would only assume once since even his adopted son disappearing under disastrous circunstances makes him come back to ny. we get it, the guy is really ditching his family)

cc doesn't like robert's character so of course that the jace father reveal is not at all ever something approached thinking of robert's point of view as if jace didn't use the name wayland for xx years and robert is just being very normal about it. ah nevermind we remember that the parabatai bond is only real in the infernal devices, it's not a thing in tmi. so whatever if in the last couple of months robert maybe had multiple reasons to want distance from it all and reject his responsabilities with his family

plus alec stuff with magnus which is supposedly a huge scandal. none of this is ever considered as stuff piling up to make robert run away. his absence is always referred as something with very simple and objective reasons, even if they don't make that much sense or if there's a lot of context behind

since somehow alec seems to assume the worst about robert's attitudes towards his sexuality, there was the opportunity for him to feel like maybe he was one of the reasons for robert deciding to stay away, it would make sense, and that would have made alec's feelings richer in my opinion, giving him more reasons to be upset that justified his resentment towards his father

instead, there was that cols convo that i can't understand for the life of me. i want to write about robert as a parent in another ask, so not going for much information except the timing

But my father — no, not really. Once he asked me what I thought had turned me gay

the timing issue keeps bugging me. when did that happen. robert was in idris during cofa and cols, so of course it would have happened between cog and cofa, and that goes back to the question of i robert was ever back to ny or if this happened in idris and certainly would have been before the convo from rsom

i could stay a long time here trying to chart possibilities of timing of robert's supposed reactions to alec's sexuality, but that would be just me making stuff up, because none of this was ever written to make sense and it never attempted to make sense. stuff going on carried by vibes only, no basic time-space logic

- R

City of Glass takes place in September, City of Fallen Angels six weeks after that in October.

“Maryse was still coping with Max’s death, which had been only six weeks ago, and she was doing it alone, with Robert Lightwood still in Idris.” (City of Fallen Angels)

“Tell that to Dad. Did he even come back from Idris for the meeting?” (City of Lost Souls)

“Well, whatever,” said Isabelle, obviously annoyed not to get the joke. “It’s not like Dad’s ever coming back from Idris, anyway.” (City of Lost Souls)

Nothing indicates that Robert ever came back even for a bit to pace around Alec's room. It’s reasonable to assume Robert never came back to New York during those six weeks after City of Glass. Also, in CoG:

“Clary. There are no cars in Idris.” Seeing her shocked expression, Luke laughed without much amusement. “The wards foul up the machinery. Most technology doesn’t work here—mobile phones, computers, the like. Alicante itself is lit—and powered—mostly by witchlight.”

and

“Maybe you should call him,” Simon suggested, trying not to think too hard about how weird it was to be giving a demon hunter advice about possibly dating a warlock. “Can’t,” Alec said. “No phones in Idris. It doesn’t matter, anyway.” His tone was abrupt. “We’re here. This is the Gard.”

So indeed, how would he pick up a call if there is no phones? This is such a good catch.

The whole passage in The Red Scrolls of Magic is:

Now he was out of the money he’d brought with him. As he’d left the New York Institute, duffel bag slung over his shoulder, to begin this trip, his mother had chased him out and pressed money into his hands, even though he’d tried to refuse it. “Go be happy,” she had said. Alec wondered whether he’d been scammed by the faerie girl. She might be hundreds of years old, and faeries were well-known for their love of scamming mortals. But he decided to believe that she was what she seemed—a scared, hungry kid—and it made him feel happy to have helped. So the money was well spent. His father had not liked it when Alec announced he was leaving the Institute to go on a trip with Magnus. “What has he told you about us?” Robert Lightwood had asked, pacing Alec’s room like a distressed cat.

For why I feel like, with the recent books, there’s been some attempt to rewrite Maryse’s personality as well. She's pretty cold in TMI, a bit villainized also (in Luke's and Clary's perspectives), compared to TRSoM or TDA. What has always struck me weird is that there is no reaction from Robert or Maryse about Jace being Herondale, son of Stephen, any of it, because these relationships do not exist in Clare’s mind, or existed at the time anyway. It’s also weird that they too fail to see the similarity he bears to his birth parents.

Aside from the timing, which is all over the place, I think that “what has turned me gay” thing uses Robert’s character as a vehicle to the homophobia Alec experiences, because Alec never otherwise faces those dire consequences Isabelle warned Clary about in City of Bones. There’s the car conversation about the tiny little papercuts, but that’s about it. Before Clare decided to deepen Robert’s character more than treat him as this side figure people sometimes mention and talk about, he was more like a mere boogieman to Alec’s self-image issues and confidence.

Robert and Alec's relationship is all over the place in the series. At some points it is left somewhat vague. Sometimes I can't figure out the angle because the writing doesn't really give the time of day to this particular father-son relationship.

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