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maries-gallery · 9 months

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This is my entrance to @aquagirl1978 and @violettduchess Summer event! With strawberry and sundress <3

genre: fluff, mentions of romance between Yves, Licht and the MC

warnings: none

wc: 900

suitor: Yves Kloss

“So many strawberries!” You exclaim, a hand over your eyes to cover you from the bright sun above. Before you, strawberry bushes spread so far they kiss the sky on the horizon. The gentle summer breeze caressing your cheeks and bringing in the scent of fresh ripe fruits ready to be picked.

Above you the sky hangs in a vibrant blue, reflecting the colour of your lover’s eyes. Cotton clouds float like lost ships in a sea of their own. You want to stretch your hand out and touch them, see if they are made of cotton candy and if they taste like it too. Sweet and light on your tongue.

Yves stands beside you, beautiful and elegant as ever. And you’d think the empty basket in his hands to be out of place if it wasn’t for your knowledge of his penchant for baking and sweets. Of course it’d be one of Yves’s annual rituals to go strawberry picking.

“Don’t tell me it’s the first time you go to a strawberry farm.” Yves says, eyes wide as he turns to you. “These are the best strawberries in all of Rhodolite! Gods, these are the best strawberries, period.”

You chuckle, turning to him “I know!” You adjust the empty basket in your hands, “I just never had the opportunity to see it with my own eyes. It is very impressive. I feel like I somehow landed in a fairy book.”

Your gaze flees back to the lands in front of you, smiles curving in a gentle smile as a veil of joyful wander falls over your eyes. And Yves’s heart leaps in his chest, engulfed by a comfortable warmth that spreads wings in his ribcage. His own features softening as he observes you with loving eyes. He had never seen things this way.

But now that you point it out this place does look magical, a patch of happiness out of town, nothing but the sweet scent of fruits and all the space in the world to dream and get lost in fantasies of your own.

Although to Yves, the most magical thing of all in this moment remains you. A sight for sore eyes with your cute straw hat, red gingham ribbons in your hair and a white lace sundress that hugs your waist and flows freely in the wind.

Yves’s eyes get lost in admiring you. The way the Sun’s golden light falls just fine on your features, highlighting the natural glow of your skin, eyes full of life and genuine joy as you gaze at the land of possibilities ahead of you.

And for a moment he forgets how to breathe, air trapped in his lungs as blood runs to his cheeks. He cannot let himself be distracted by you yet again. The two of you had come here for a reason and Yves had little time ahead of him if he wanted to be able to use these strawberries this afternoon. Just in time for your garden tea party with Licht.

He clears his throat, facing away from you.

“Well now you do. But we didn’t come here to daydream. So I count on you to fill this basket with as many strawberries as you can.”

Indeed, the reason Yves had brought you here with him wasn’t for mere sight seeing, although the view took your breath away.

Your prince had been looking forward to the strawberry season. His occasion to test out plenty of new recipes and prepare his very favourite pastries. Ones he ached to bake and enjoy with you and his brothers.

A gentle smile spread on his lips at the very thought. He’d spend his afternoon in the kitchen, preparing the dough and chopping strawberries, whipping the cream in a bowl, getting the prettiest porcelain plates the kitchen’s castle had along with the porcelain cups to go with it. It’d be the perfect pastry for your garden party with Licht.

Strawberry cream stuffed croissants reminded him of you. Sweet and comforting, yet fresh on a hot summer day, light and out of the ordinary, something that steers him away from mundane strawberry tartelettes. And his favourite thing in the world.

“Okay then! Shall we get going?” You say with a beam that rivals the Sun in the sky. “The one who brings back the most strawberries wins!”

“Wait what-!” Yves’s hand reaches out for you, too late to catch you as you run down the set of stairs towards the first bush of red fruits, holding onto the straw hat on your head. You’re like the wind.

A part of him wants to pout, but another bigger part of him joins in the fun and runs after you, carefree laughs rising in the air as the two of you get to it.

You spend hours in these fields, strawberry picking and laughing, forgetting about the world outside. Until your baskets are full and it is time to go home so Yves can get to the kitchen and start baking.

“Strawberry cream stuffed… Croissants?” Licht eyes the delicacy in his plate, the three of you sitting in the gardens, surrounded by blooming roses and busy bees.

Your mouth waters at the sight, simple cream in a light croissant topped with fresh cut strawberries and white edible flowers. Yves had outdone himself, much like always.

“You’ll love them, Licht!” Yves beams at his brother.

Licht turns to you, eyes boring into yours, “Do you like them, Belle?”

And Yves smiles at the sight, happiness swelling in his chest as you take a bite and the biggest smile spreads on your lips. Enough for Licht to take a bite of it himself. Features softening as he swallows and goes for another piece.

That is why baking was so worth it to Yves. To bring the people he loves most closer.

taglist: @aquagirl1978 @randonauticrap @pockcock @kissmetwicekissmedeadly @ikemen-writer @ikesimp100 @violettduchess @scrumptiousfirepanda @skoetiepoetie @myonlyjin @ominousjangling @coverednstars @o0aj0o @rosyangel95 @dear-mrs-otome @scorchieart Hopefully fellow Yves lovers don't mind me tagging them!

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rinaririr · 9 months

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Could I please request Chevalier + fireflies? 🙈 Thank you in advance! Hope you have a lovely day and that your wrist continues to heal well ❤️

11: Fireflies

Thank you for your request Lorei @lorei-writes! My second entry for @aquagirl1978 and @violettduchess creator challenge, summer days sultry nights!

I’m being pushed (in a good way) to do interesting lightings by your guys’ requests HAHA about time i get my lighting practice in while i’m doing digital sketches 💀

Very very very heavily inspired by your amazingly delicate and atmospheric fix, In Gazebo at Night, which was of the same prompt and suitor! Please give it a read if you’re interested!! Highly recommend !!

I definitely went overboard with this sketch (if you can still call it that — well, it is still a colored sketch so) but i was so inspired i can’t stop myself. I tried my best to portray the “magical-esque” and cozy atmosphere that i felt reading your fic through the lighting.

Multiple source lightings suck ass, and this is my first try so please don’t judge too hard 😂

#ririart #ikepri #ikemen prince #ikepri chevalier #ikepri fanart #summer days sultry nights ccc

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nightghoul381 · 9 months

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Pinned~ Jude x f!Reader

Entry number 10 for @aquagirl1978 and @violettduchess's challenge!

Prompt: 10. Garden Party Pairing: Jude Jazza x Reader Genre: Fluff + a 'lil spice (because I can't seem to think of a way to write Jude without some heat...) WC: 1266

A/N: another fic that ended up much longer than I thought it would be... I struggled to come up with a reason why Jude would be at a garden party, but he won the prompt in my randomizer so this is now a thing... I also noticed it's the first fic for this challenge that I've written where the reader and the suitor aren't already in a relationship.

It wasn’t your intention to be caught in this situation, yet here you are, pinned under Jude’s sadistic gaze…

Earlier that morning…

Victor came bounding up to you with a gleeful smile on his face.

“Ah, there you are! My dearest fairy tale master, I have just the mission for you today!” His sing-song voice was filled with so much excitement you felt yourself looking forward to what he was going to say.

“You will accompany Jude to a Garden Party! Isn’t that just perfect!?”

Your mood instantly soured… Jude… great.

“How is a garden party mission related? And also, why doesn’t Ellis just go with him?” you start, looking for any excuse to get out of having to spend the day with that asshole.

“You sound utterly thrilled,” Victor grumbled, his own excitement tempered by your obvious distaste of his idea.

“The mission is to gain additional information on a smuggling ring that has been doling out restricted erhm…goods… to wealthy married Londoners. Since they are so selective with their recipients, this garden party is invite-only and used to discover new prospective clients. They, of course, have no idea that we’re on to them, and so Jude has graciously ceded to my demand that he attend. They do tend to be more open to couples though, and that is where you become the much better candidate than Ellis for the position of spouse.”

Victor’s pale gaze narrows challengingly as he awaits your response and you find yourself begrudgingly accepting.

The garden party was beautiful, the people there were obviously well-bred aristocrats, well-versed in high society functions.

“Keep yer mouth shut and let me do the talkin’. Got it?” Jude commanded, as you entered the lush flower gardens. “Remember, it ain’t proper for a lady to talk back to her husband.”

You follow along silently behind Jude as he makes his way through the winding garden paths, stopping every so often to chat with other couples along the way.

“Your wife is so quiet and submissive, do tell, what is your secret?”

“Get her to cry out enough at home and her voice will be too hoarse to speak.”

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

“My she’s so well-behaved. You must have her trained well.”

“Heh, she’s a good girl in public, but quite the minx at home. That’s why we’re here.”

Each passing comment and subsequent reply were making your blood boil. And if you had to see Jude’s wicked smile one more time, you might just burst. His amethyst eyes were glittering with sadistic pleasure and he seemed to thoroughly enjoy staring straight at you as he made his suggestive comments.

Once there was a lull in the crowds and you and Jude were finally alone, you turn on him.

“How dare you make such degrading comments about me?! You’re embarrassing me! I only agreed to come on this mission to help you get the information, not be made a fool of!” You hiss, jabbing your finger into his chest until he backs into a tree.

“You have no idea what they’re selling do ya?” Jude asked, shaking his head in amusement. His head cocked to the side, he pushes away from the tree, his chest pressing against your accusatory finger.

Stepping back and clenching your fists, you calm yourself just enough to mutter, “restricted …goods.”

Jude lets out a sharp bark of laughter. “The ‘goods’ are collars made with electrical wire that let the holder to send a jolt to the person wearin’ it. It’s restricted ‘cause these unregulated collars have a tendency to send too much of a shock and the wearer ends up in the ground.”

Taken aback, you try to imagine why such dangerous torture devices were being peddled to married aristocrats. Jude takes your silence to mean that he should continue.

“’Course it’s quite a thrill to hold that kinda power, so these rich bastards use it as a way to dominate their wives.”

“But why torture their wives? Surely they could use the device on someone else if they wanted to feel powerful.”

“Yer hopeless,” Jude snickers, leaning his face close to yours.

“It’s meant for erotic purposes.” His minty breath fills your senses as you process his words. You drop your head in embarrassment and take another step back, colliding with a stone wall.

“So… those comments…”

Before you’re able to continue, Jude has you boxed in, arms on either side of you. His eyes narrow and your heart starts racing as he grabs your chin and points it up to face him.

“Were to play the part, convince ‘em that we’re a good prospect, yeah… but I gotta say, the face you were makin’ was…” Jude’s tongue traced his lips suggestively and you felt your face flush again. Your mind was wandering to less than savory places and you scolded yourself for ever thinking that about this jerk.

“Aahhhh, that’s the face.” Jude purred, sliding his hand from your chin around to the back of your head.

Your body betrays you; a soft groan from your throat escaping as his fingers twine with your hair. You can tell that he’s drawing a twisted pleasure watching your mind warring with your body.

“That’s good enough, I think they got the idea princess.” Jude chuckles darkly, stepping back and sending an acknowledging wave to a pair of aristocratic men who had seemingly been watching for some time.

“Good girl.” He praises, his voice projected to ensure he was heard.

You take in a sharp lungful of fresh air, desperately willing your heart to calm down. How could you let him get to you like this… and why did he have to be so damn attractive? It wasn’t fair that such a brief exchange would set your body ablaze and yet he remained so blatantly unaffected.

“Come on darling, we’ve been invited to check out the wares.”

Jude’s voice snaps you out of your daze. You realize he had gone over to the two gentlemen, the proprietors of the smuggled goods, and managed to not only get them to admit that they were selling the restricted items, but also to have them offer to sell him one.

You rush over to join Jude as he walks alongside the men, chattering amicably about nothing in particular. Soon you find yourself in a secluded area of a hedge maze; a small chest sat atop a table showing off the collar that Jude had mentioned.

In the blink of an eye, the two men are slumped on the ground, loud snores rumbling an indication that they were asleep. Jude had the chest in hand and you ran to keep up with him as he expertly navigates the maze, exiting on the other side.

“Roger, they’re waitin’ for ya in the middle.” He stated, hopping into a nearby carriage. You are just barely able to scramble aboard before it takes off. Glancing behind you, you just catch sight of Roger as he disappears into the hedges.

“You were very convincing.”

Jude’s gaze is trained on you, a knowing smile on his face.

“Or… could it be that you weren’t just pretending to be so clearly aroused?”

You keep yourself turned away, feeling your ears turning red.

“A-absolutely not! It was just for the mission… I saw those guys too…” You squeaked, cringing at how unconvincing a lie that was.

“Admit it princess, I got you all riled up didn’t I?”

Knowing an answer would be useless to convince him otherwise, you kept quiet.

The rest of the trip you’re stuck, pinned to your seat under Jude’s sadistic gaze.

#ikemen villains #summer days sultry nights ccc #ikevil #ikemen villains jude #ikevil jude #jude jazza

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syneilesis · 9 months

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[fic] a quiet glow

a quiet glow

Ikemen Sengoku | Naoe Kanetsugu x Main Character!Reader | G | 1.3k words ao3 link

Making no sound Yet burning with love, Fireflies far More than chirping insects, Move me. —Minamoto no Shigeyuki

A/N: For @aquagirl1978 and @violettduchess's Summer Days Sultry Nights event. It's my first time participating in an event! :D The prompt I chose is fireflies and it's a Kanetsugu fluff fic. Dividers by saradika. Forgive the slightly anachronistic prose lol

I haven’t seen fireflies since I was a child.

It had been a passing remark, a slide of fingers across the textured roll of fabric patterned with glowing fireflies. In your gaze an odd sheen flickered and faded – blinked away – that Kanetsugu caught, stole his steps and his attention. But you’d already moved on to the next item.

He lingered, however, arrested by this seemingly negligible thing, eyes falling upon the object in question – a column of benighted forest hue, spattered with yellow-green dots that counted as lights, nostalgic in a way that invited a quiet contemplation.

You hadn’t seen fireflies since you were a child.

Later, as he’d lay with you on the futon, your warmth seeping into his skin, Kanetsugu would dream of floating orbs amidst a beautiful night, playfully dancing, up and up and up.

“Summer is upon us,” Sasuke said, falling into step beside him.

Kanetsugu ignored the man. He had just finished meeting with Lord Kenshin for an update about his territories and was on his way to the library when the ninja suddenly appeared.

It didn’t deter Sasuke at least. “Make sure your face is UV-protected.”

Not knowing what that meant, Kanetsugu continued walking.

But Sasuke kept on, unbothered by the lack of conversational reciprocation, “You’ve already done well with your body – covered and all that.” He glanced at Kanetsugu’s clothes, then hummed in thought. “I suppose it’s not that difficult to invent sunscreen …”

Kanetsugu let Sasuke talk some more.

“That reminds me – according to my calculations, it’s approximately three weeks from now that the Nigami Firefly Festival will begin.”

That rendered Kanetsugu pause.

He turned to Sasuke, felt his brows dip low. “What?”

“I once took my niece to a firefly viewing in Joetsu – which, by the way, is the future name of –”

“I see,” Kanetsugu interrupted. He pivoted to another hallway and left the ninja blinking, confused.

He’d forgo the library today, it seemed.

Lord Kenshin ordered Kanetsugu to quell a minor rebellion three towns away. That required him to travel a week or two, depending on the size of the men and the number of horses his lord would allow him.

On the way to his destination, he and his men stopped by a village at the foot of a mountain to spend the night. The villagers were welcoming of them, having met Kanetsugu a year before in another mission. He was a familiar and memorable face, one that brought a delighted smile upon the village leader – and a score of young women.

“Lord Kanetsugu,” the leader greeted him warmly, “it is an honor to have you rest for the night in our humble village.”

They made him and his men a sumptuous dinner – rather, a feast – which he tried to refuse at first. But his companions stared at the offerings with great eagerness, so Kanetsugu relented with a condition or two.

In the middle of the meal a girl came up to him with large, trusting eyes and an enthusiastic smile, and told him, “There are pretty dancing lights outside!”

Food set aside, Kanetsugu permitted the child to lead him to the forest right outside the village. They walked for a while, the child never breaking pace, and before Kanetsugu questioned the girl’s knowledge of the area she skidded to a halt, spun around to grab Kanetsugu’s hand, and with a vibrating grin she proclaimed, “We’re here!”

Kanetsugu blinked and looked around, and found what the girl was talking about. He heard himself take a sharp inhale, his body frozen taut with a memory.

Moments later he patted the girl’s hand on his and murmured, “Thank you.”

As they stood there, an idea formed within Kanetsugu’s mind.

“Clear your schedule for a week,” Kanetsugu announced right after coming back from his mission, opening the sliding door of his office with solid intent. “We will go somewhere.”

Perched at the center of the room, you paused from your work, wide-eyed surprise melting into excitement. The garment you’d been commissioned splayed on your lap like fishtail. “Oh! Is it a date?”

A barbed denial spiked through his mouth, but you’re blooming like an eager flower facing the sun, so he swallowed that reflex. Instead he answered, “Yes.”

Your smile rivaled the sun, your hands curling to form a heart. Kanetsugu squinted, and shifted his stance. “Then I’m looking forward to it!”

Kanetsugu exhaled, tamped down the rush of heat in his veins, and went back to work.

The journey back to the village went faster than last time. The residents welcomed them again cordially, and you and Kanetsugu stayed there for a while before he took your hand and led you outside.

He remembered the directions the little girl took the first time. Night had arrived, the full moon illumining the leaves with its silver light. It was also a good time for stargazing, but Kanetsugu had another plan in mind.

“Where are we going?” you asked, your voice inquisitive, your hand kept warm in his.

When Kanetsugu peered at your expression, shafts of moonlight sliced through the canopy and grazed parts of your face, one iris aglow – a tenebrist diptych of curiosity. It made you seem ethereal, a part of the forest night’s wonder. Something translucent and could easily slip through fingers. Kanetsugu let out a quiet breath, returned his attention to the front, quelled the nervous pace of his heart.

He stopped all of a sudden, which elicited a sound from you, almost colliding with him. Still holding your hand, Kanetsugu whirled around, and the spill of moonlight shifted to illuminate your whole face.

“Watch,” he said.

And you studied your surroundings, waiting for anything. Then: one by one, in the near-complete darkness, they sprung to life. Fireflies. Little yellow-gold lights playfully whirling and twirling in the air. One brushed past Kanetsugu's nose and then flickered away, and your silverbell laughter filled the spattered night.

“They’re beautiful,” you tell Kanetsugu, the curve of your mouth soft and warm. You extended a hand, palm up, and one hovered for a couple of seconds then moved on. The look you gave him afterwards arrested him. “Thank you for taking me here.”

“After what you’d said before, I had to do something at the very least.”

There’s a puzzled silence, your head tilting in question.

“You haven’t seen fireflies since you were a child,” he elaborated.

It wasn’t immediate when you put the pieces together. But when you did, surprise rippled throughout your body, and Kanetsugu was tempted to push closed your gaping mouth.

“Did I say that?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

Kanetsugu sighed. “When you were perusing some fabrics in the market. There was one designed with fireflies, and you commented upon it.”

“Oh,” you said, dazed. “You remembered that? I didn’t!”

“Of course I remembered,” he said, tone almost offended. But then – a whisper: “I remember everything when it comes to you.”

It sounded like a confession, but you knew the depth of Kanetsugu’s love and devotion. Still – it felt embarrassing. Vulnerable, even.

Still.

“Kanetsugu,” you breathed. Like a prayer. Like a marvel. Like the hundreds of fireflies dancing around them.

Kanetsugu swallowed.

“I love you,” you said, impeccably, implacably, an arrow hitting dead center. “I love you so much, Kanetsugu.”

He exhaled a long breath. “I know. And I you.”

You smiled, and it was more radiant and more beautiful than the fireflies and the moon and the star-filled sky tonight. You stepped closer to Kanetsugu, wrapped your arms around him tight, and sighed happily. He reciprocated the act, his arms molding snugly across your back.

Around you the fireflies continued dancing, their lights burning brightly.

#summer days sultry nights ccc #fic #my fic #ikemen sengoku #ikesen #ikemen sengoku x reader #ikesen x reader #ikesen kanetsugu #ikemen sengoku kanetsugu #ikesen kanetsugu x reader #ikemen sengoku fic #ikesen fic #ikesen fanfic #ikemen sengoku fanfic

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lorei-writes · 9 months

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In Gazebo at Night

Chevalier x Reader Fluff Word count estimate: 1k

Turns out I could not do any better with the title.

A little something written for Summer Days Sultry Nights CCC, hosted by @aquagirl1978 & @violettduchess :) Initially I wanted to incorporate a couple of prompts, but in the end... I decided to focus just on fireflies.

Content warnings: none

Gentle winds rustle among leaves, invisible hands easing any remnants of the day’s heat from the blooming roses. Tricksters, they steal the sweet scent away, lift it towards the sky, as if to offer it to the budding stars… Little do they know, however, the celestial bodies above are not the only ones enjoying the night. There is still light somewhere deep within the gardens of the Royal Palace of Rhodolite.

Pages turn quietly, not a word being exchanged under the watchful gaze of the lantern you’ve brought along. It is barely bright enough, wayward shadows distorting words whenever you blink. Nevertheless, you cling onto each, desperately grasping the thread of the story as it moves along – cling, until you can cling no more, tiredness accumulated over the past few days having your eyes prick and then burn. They need to rest. You raise your head, lean against the gazebo seat, stare somewhere far, far away. Futile effort it is, as it barely, if at all, remedies your state.

A page turns, and so does your head. Chevalier reads undisturbed, pale blue eyes following the rows of letters at a steady pace. However vast his library may be, he is not the type that devours books, starved for the ending to be unveiled. No, unlike you, he prefers to take his time. There’s a methodical element to the way Chevalier stalks his prey, following it leisurely until nearly the finale itself, only then breaking out into a chase.

You watch him transfixed, soft glow of the lantern illuminating his face. Between shadows and light, nothing can remain hidden. His brows twitch ever so slightly, the faintest of creases forming between them as a silent complaint nestles over his shapely lips. Chevalier is focused, or so you think… But then, you blink, and when you open your eyes, it is your face, not the book, that he reads. Blood rushes to your cheeks.

“For somebody who insisted to come here, you are quite distracted,” he remarks, smiling fiendishly.

“I did do some reading,” you argue. “It’s just that…”

… that you are tired and that your vision has rebelled against you, you have meant to explain if you could. If, as you can’t.

A single glimmer floats through the air, little different from a miniscule ember carried off from a hearth by the wind. You strain your eyes once more, willing them to follow after the light as it nears the gazebo, fading to then reappear from between the rose bushes. Perhaps it is part the fault of your exhaustion, but you’re fascinated by its every turn, every swirl, every dive it takes, only for your amusement to reach the peak of child-like delight as the speck’s journey ends on the very top of your head. Too preoccupied to think, with lips slightly ajar, you look up in hopes of seeing the odd creature again. A moment passes before you realise your mistake.

A snort escapes through Chevalier’s nose, the sound reminding you where you are. It has startled you a little, but you strive to hide the fact, instead glancing towards your love. You half-fear he may laugh, that he may point out how silly you are… But he does not. There’s only affection in his eyes.

“Have you not seen a firefly before?” Chevalier asks. The book he has been reading lies retired on the bench, gold shimmering within the marks embossed over its cover as a flicker lands on its corner. Now that you get a better look at it, it’s inconspicuously grey and rather small, the light of its abdomen being too weak to rival that of the lantern.

“No. They don’t live in the town, do they?”

“Indeed. They prefer tall grass and bushes, ideally in the near vicinity of trees.”

You nod at his words, you attention being pulled towards the garden once more. You do not stare long this time, however, the awareness that this is not why you’ve come there in the first place pricking your conscience. After all, it is late. Chevalier has already indulged you plenty. You should not exploit his kindness, or so you tell yourself as you get up, forcing your lips into a (hopefully) convincing smile.

“Thank you for spending time with me,” you offer, more meek and apologetic than you’d like. “But… it’s getting late, and I can’t read any longer. We should probably just go back.”

The light falters inside the lantern. Chevalier makes no effort to get up. A shiver runs up your back as he scrutinises you, not a gesture of yours going unnoticed. You never had a chance to hide your desires from him, you realise. He motions for you to come closer. You oblige, the boards creaking as the heels of your shoes strike them.

Your world turns the moment you find yourself within the reach of his arm, your back soon pressing against his chest. You wish to protest, to remind Chevalier that tomorrow is another early day, to tell him that he too should rest… But your voice never makes it out of your throat, darkness following the sudden metalic screech of miniscule hinges taking you off guard.

“You want to watch them, do you not?” he sighs, his lips just a hair’s breadth away from your ear.

“I do,” you admit. “But…”

“But you needlessly worry about the detrimental effects this could have on my health and performance.”

You nod, quite relieved he can’t see your face.

“I am not as foolish as to reevaluate my priorities because of insects. If you’re still concerned, you’d do better to utilise this energy thinking of appropriate means of compensating me,” Chevalier adds, and you can nearly picture the smile he wears. His arms tighten around your waist, prompting a part of you to think that this may be merely his excuse to have you longer just for himself. However, you shut the idea down, your eyes turning towards the floating lights. You relax, wrapped in his embrace and the sweet scent of roses.

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#chevalier michel #ikepri chevalier #ikemen prince chevalier #ikepri #ikemen prince #ikemen series #summer days sultry nights ccc

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revasserium · 10 months

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狐と蛍の物語 (the story of the fox and the firefly)

harrison; 4,064 words; fluff and angst a/n: for @violettduchess and @aquagirl1978's summer days, sultry nights event -- prompt "fireflies" (obviously); i'm also gonna say this counts for my 31 days of au prompt -- reincarnation!au; inspired by hotarubi no mori e and catheryn m valente's deathless and honestly, i'm so proud and happy with this one that i'd encourage you to read it even if you have no idea of the fandom/character. u__u i would love, love, love to know what you guys think!

once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there lived a girl who only danced to the firefly’s light and a fox who could tell nothing but lies.

01.

for as long as you can remember, there’s always been the wood. and it has always been behind your house, it’s leaves and branches foreboding in the winter wind, and somehow less so in the simmer of mid-summer afternoons, when the sunlight dappled light across the soft, forest floor. it isn’t a very large wood, but it’s a wood nevertheless, and deserves all the respect and fear afforded to bigger woods in faraway places. woods that warn of teeth and terrors, woods that hide both dreams and monsters.

you’d been wandering the wood from when you were a little girl, and to you, there’s not a single rock you don’t know, a single tree you haven’t tried to climb. and the forest knows you, as forests do the people who frequent them, and it welcomes you with open arms, it cradles you to its chest, whispers stories into your ears, carves itself open to show you it’s secrets —

“you’re late.”

you crinkle your nose at the familiar voice, letting out a huffing breath as you drop your picnic basket in the middle of the small, sun-lit clearing, taking your time with laying out the checked picnic blanket and two cups and saucers for tea, and finally, pulling out a tray of confections, covered by a thin, linen baking towel.

“no, i’m not! you just want me to think i am so i’ll give you more than half of the sweets.”

a boy settles over the picnic blanket, cocking his head at you before you narrow your eyes.

“well? isn’t that true?”

“ahh… i wonder if it is…” he says, but you can hear the grin in his voice, even through the material of his fox-faced mask, which, after a few more seconds of posturing, he pushes up onto his forehead. he shakes out his milk-tea hair and slates you a poison-ivy grin. you know that grin like you know the woods— and you know the woods like you know the backs of your own hands. better, even, you think sometimes.

because for as long as there’s been the woods, and as long as you have wandered it’s depths, the boy with the fox-faced mask has always been there.

“there were fresh strawberries at farmer’s market today,” you say, setting up the tea service as you nudge the opened picnic basket towards the boy with a foot. he peers in with wide, curious eyes before letting out a soft noise of contentment as he reaches in to pull out a slice of freshly baked strawberry cream cake.

“your grandmama makes the best pastries in the world,” he says, and there’s such sincerity in his voice that for a moment, you almost believe him.

but you nod and take the compliment in stride, “she sure does!”

he digs in with gusto even when you tut that the tea hasn’t steeped properly, but you laugh as he smears a large dollop of whipped cream across his cheeks. you point it out to him with a dainty finger, and as always, you fight the urge to reach over and wipe it off for him. instead, you hold yourself still and sigh as he finally gets to it, smudging a bit into his hair in the process.

“clumsy fox,” you giggle, pressing a hand up to your lips.

“picky girl,” he snipes back, but there’s that full, sated grin on his own lips as he leans back, his elbows propped up on the soft grasses of the clearing.

after a moment of pleasant silence during which the leaves sang on their trees and the grasses swayed beneath the breeze, the boy turns towards you.

“so. no dancing today?”

you turn your head towards him before casting your eyes up towards the still bright blue sky.

“you know it’s not time yet.”

the boy heaves a melodramatic sigh, sound much bigger and larger than his 14-year old body should be able to hold.

“ah… right, right — because you can —”

“— only dance by the fireflies’ light — yep!”

the boy regards you with an imperious sort of look before breaking into a fit of bright, open laughter.

“you’re the strangest girl i’ve ever met!”

“just you saying that tells me it’s not true,” you stick out your tongue at him, even as heat washes up into your cheeks.

the boy shrugs, lying back down on the picnic basket, “i don’t always have to lie, y’know.”

and it’s your turn to regard him with the imperious look, and, a the cock of a singular eyebrow, his lips tug into a lopsided grin. his eyes flash, the color of budding spring.

“liar,” you say, but you’re smiling too as you lie back down to watch the clouds pass.

he makes no sound to correct you.

02.

once, you’d asked him what his name is and he simply shook his head and said —

“call me whatever you’d like.”

“but i want to call you by your name.”

“what’s in a name anyway?”

“uhm… nothing’s in it but…” you’d frowned then, your eight year old mind spinning to try and catch up with this strange, strange question and this strange, strange boy.

“see? so why should it matter what my name is? just… call me whatever!”

but you’d only frowned hard enough for him to roll his eyes.

“fine then — uhm — what’s the name of the current prince?”

you’d blinked, “harry.”

“then call me that.”

“but is that your name?”

“well, now it is.”

you hadn’t been convinced but you liked it better than not calling him anything at all.

“harry, then,” you’d said, smiling. and the boy — harry — had smiled too, slipping his fox-faced mask back in place as he led you further into the forest.

03.

“y’know…” harry says, his voice light as the sun dips beneath the horizon line, leaving behind a blaze of reds and pinks. you turn your head, eyes catching on the shape of him, inked out against the dying light.

“you’re the only person i’ve ever met who’s wanted to be cursed.”

you take a long breath and turn your eyes back up to the bleeding sky.

“well. you’re cursed, and you seem just fine to me,” you try to keep your voice strong, resolute and steady. grandmama had always said that if you keep your voice strong, people are more willing to believe your words. you wonder if that’s why harry’s voice is always soft, always lilting, his words slippery as moss-covered stone.

“yeah, but you can’t even touch me,” he says, and for once, his voice is harsh, his words sharp and hard as broken glass.

“that’s okay though — once i get my own curse, i’ll be able to touch you, right?”

harry fights back the urge to turn, to take you by the shoulders and shake you till you push him away. he wants to scream, to howl at the moon like the mother wolves and the hungry cubs that live in the heart of the wood. he wants to run through the woods, crash into things, climb up the trees and shake off all their branching leaves.

but he can’t, and so he doesn’t.

instead, he turns to look at you and look at you and look at you.

he wonders if it’s a strange thing, to like looking at someone so much, to find something new about a face every single time it’s looked upon — the wisps of hair fallen loose to frame your face from the velvet ribbons holding it back, the curve of your button nose, the dip of your cupid’s bow. he wonders if this is a normal thing, the thick weight of it in this chest, the truth of his curse sitting heavy on his tongue.

“yeah… probably,” he says — and the lie is smooth as milk, sweet as just-spun sugar.

“good. then we won’t have long to wait, hm?”

04.

there’s a story, so you’ve been told, of a fox that lives in the woods — and the fox can tell nothing but lies, lest the truth cut open it’s throat. and when it bleeds, because even monsters bleed (oh especially monsters), it will bleed in blue and silver, which everyone knows is the color of magic.

“but why would telling the truth kill it?” you’d asked, your eyes wide and round as the full-bellied moon.

your grandmama had sighed, rocking you in her lap as the forest outside shivers and shakes with the steps and breaths of creatures unseen.

“that’s what curses do, my sweetest… they’re unfair things, they are. and they don’t like to make a lot of sense.”

and that had been that. she’d moved onto a nicer story, a sweeter story, a story that was not so much truth and mostly lies — because the truth, as your grandmama had said, is sharp and unfair and makes so very little sense.

lies are much, much the better for the makings of stories.

05.

he has never complimented you on your dancing, not even once — not in all the years you’ve been dancing for him, by the light of a million and one fireflies.

you’d been eight when you made the promise, it’s been ten years since then.

and at eighteen, you wonder how many more years it’ll be before the moon or the forest or whatever it is that chooses people to curse will take pity on you.

it’s just after sunset, and you’d just finished your customary sunday afternoon picnic. harry is sprawled out on the picnic blanket, his fox-faced mask lying in the soft, long grasses, an arm thrown over his eyes. you wonder if he’s asleep, though you don’t think you’ve ever seen him fall asleep, not in all the time you’ve known him.

“music, please…” you announce to the clearing, and after a long pause, as if the forest itself is coming to life, the wind picks up — the leaves rustle on their branches, the birds sweep up into a twitter wingbeats and song, the grasses around the clearing hish and hush the thrumming baseline to a music that only you and harry and the forest can hear.

slowly, harry pushes himself up, making a show of rubbing his eyes, and in the darkness you can only see the shape of him.

you don’t see the prickle of tears at the edge of his eyes as he wipes them away.

instead, you close your own eyes and wait.

and wait.

and then — at the first flicker of a firefly’s light, you lift your hands and start to dance.

06.

once, you’d asked him how he’d gotten cursed in the first place.

“it’s a long story,” he’d said.

“i’ve got a long time,” you countered.

he’d crinkled his nose, pursing his lips as the pair of you hopped over a narrow stream, him watching as you teetered on the edge of the water.

“hm… well, if you do something a ton of times in the wood… the wood decides that that’s all your good for, and it becomes your curse!”

you’d blinked up at him from over your shoulder, a soft smear of mud on your cheeks.

“oh… it’s that easy?”

“easy?”

“i mean, to get a curse.”

he’d narrowed his eyes, “why would you want a curse?”

you’d straightened up, pressing your palms down your rather sullied dress.

“because — you said that i can’t touch you cause i’m human, right?”

“uh-huh…” harry had nodded, uncertain of where your child-logic had taken you.

“but other cursed things can touch you, right? like the wolves and the shadows and the queen of ravens.”

harry bit his lips. but you seemed to have taken his silence for consent and happily skipped off further into the forest. he’d never corrected you even as he heaved another world-weary sigh and followed after you. because technically, you hadn’t been totally wrong.

and his curse was only that he couldn’t correct you.

07.

your mind wanders as you begin to dance, and these days, it’s been doing a lot of that — wandering. so your grandmama says that it’s a part of growing up — learning when to let your mind wander and when to reign it back in, hold it on a tighter leash and tell it to wander no more. it’s a blessing to be able to let your mind wander, and so you do.

it’s just that these days, you can’t help but notice that it’s less of wandering and more of… well, a straight-shot descent to a well-known destination. and you know from a whole childhood of actual wandering that if you know the way and you know what you’ll find at the end, then it’s not wandering at all.

it’s just going.

but still, you let your mind go where it wants, and lately, it’s been going and going and going... to harry.

harry and his soul-soft laughter, harry and his knife-edge smiles, harry and his loose, lethargic movements, unhurried and always so certain. back when you were both still children, he’d led you through the forest with nothing but his voice, spouting out random facts that were much too outlandish to be true, and later, when you were both a bit older (and you’d long since memorized every bit of forest there was to memorize), he’d walk alongside you in companionable silence.

you knew his favorite trees, his favorite flowers, his favorite birds and colors, his favorite season, his favorite sweet, his favorite fruit and so many others.

and still, it feels as if you don’t know him at all, even though you’re certain he knows everything there is to know about you.

except…

you spin out on the long grasses, the light of a million and one fireflies dancing across your skin, dancing with you, singing with you as the forest does. and above you, a crescent moon cuts a sinister smile into a lonely, starless night.

years later, you’d wonder if the night had known — if the wood had known (of course, of course it had known, because there are no secrets the woods do not know, no secrets the waning moon doesn’t keep from the sleeping earth), if the entire world had conspired against you and for you that night.

when you finish dancing and the last of the fireflies flicker down to rest on the long, soft grasses, you’re breathless with exertion, luminous with exaltation and drunk on the song of the forest and a million and one lightless stars.

in the middle of the clearing, harry is smiling, you can see it even from here, and for the first time since you’d danced for him the very first time, he brings his hands together and claps.

“that was… beautiful,” he says, and his voice is deeper now, supple and sweet with the night air.

“th-thanks! phew — i really think that might do it,” you say, plopping down on the picnic blanket next to him, spreading wide your arms and staring up at the velveteen sky above you.

08.

once, you’d been told another story, though you don’t quite recall who you’d heard it from. maybe your grandmama, and maybe the old man who sits in the village square after all the longest days of the year, smoking his pipe and telling his stories.

“do you know why the cursed forest creatures can’t touch humans?”

“why?” a village boy had asked before you had the chance to.

“because… if a cursed creature touches human flesh, the cursed creature will die.”

“oh…” you said, clutching your hands to your chest, and you’d never really thought about dying. because really, what ten year old in their right mind would? but you knew of the concept from when grandmama talked about grandpapa — how he was there one day and then the next day he just… wasn’t.

“he died in his sleep,” she’d said, a tone of sadness in her voice that you’d never heard there before and wished you’d never have to hear again, “it was the best way to go.”

you’d wondered then if there’s really such thing as a “best” way to go. wouldn't the “best” thing to be not going at all?

“then… do the cursed creatures get to live forever?” you asked, before the village boy could cut in.

the old man took a long sip from his pipe and blew out a few concentric rings of smokes before coughing and waving it all away.

“no… you see, if the cursed creatures get to pass on their curses, they’d get to be reincarnated into being a human once more.”

09.

“do you… really want to be cursed?” harry asks as the pair of you share in the silence after your dance.

you suck in a long breath before pushing yourself up to sit in front of him, careful to keep your knees from bumping his.

“of course i do! it’s… it’s what i’ve been trying to do since i was like — eight!”

“but… why?” and harry’s voice is small, smaller than you’ve ever heard it, even though now, his eighteen year old body should carry a much heavier, harder sound.

“because,” you say, resolute as you’d always been, “once i’m cursed, i’ll be able to touch you.”

“and why… is that so important to you?”

harry casts his eyes towards you; you catch his gaze with yours, holding it steady. and in that moment, you mind lets go of the story that the old man told you. because it was a long time ago, and the story was so, so far away. and sometimes, the mind chooses which truths it wants to listen to, which truths it wants to believe in.

sometimes, it chooses truths that don’t look like truths from the outside in, but from the inside out — they’re the truest things to ever be true.

like this one —

“because i want to touch you. because… it’s what i’ve wanted since i was a little girl. because… sometimes, i think i want to do more than touch you — sometimes —” your voice catches on a hitched breath, lost somewhere in your chest, somewhere between your heart and your throat.

but then, darkness descends over your vision and it takes you a long moment to realize that you’re staring at the inside of a mask, thin but solid — the fox-faced mask that harry always wears.

and then pressure, and warmth, right where the fox’s dagger-carved grin usually is, so close to your own lips you can feel the heat.

it holds for a long, long moment, and then it’s gone.

the light returns as harry tugs the mask from you, grinning that teasing, lopsided grin of his, though there’s something about it tonight that makes your heart seize.

“tell me, one more time…” he says, and his voice is jagged with something that sounds painful and true and so, so terrible.

“i — i want the curse…” you say, before you really realize what you’re saying, and it takes you a moment to realize that this too, is the truth.

“okay then… it’s yours.”

and he leans in to press his lips to yours.

the truth, harry realizes, is always bitter, and harsh, and much too sharp. when he pulls back, he presses his palms to yours and lets the moon wash the clearing in blue and silver. you gasp as you feel the magic creeping into your bones, tugging you under, dragging you through the cracks in the world even as harry is tugged away from you back to the world of the living.

“w-was this all a lie?” you ask, because inside you, your heart is fighting for it’s last few beats.

“no,” harry says, his voice is pained, and his expression even more so, because every truth he tells cuts him a little deeper, and he feels his throat constrict over the words, “your dance really was beautiful… and…”

he swallows hard, feeling the knife-edge of this one final truth slicing through him, sharp as moonlight, sweet as the lightless stars.

“i love you. please… don’t forget me.”

and already, you can feel the truth starting to hurt, starting to constrict inside you like a curse. but still, you force it from you as harry flickers and fades along with the light of a million and one firefly lights.

“i — i won’t.”

10.

“but how exactly do you transfer a curse?” the village boy asked, his voice loud and jarring.

the old man takes another long sip of his pipe, puffs out a few more smoke rings.

“through a kiss,” he said.

you blinked. a kiss?

“ew!” the village boy recoiled then, shrinking back from the thought of kissing — because that’s what children are taught to do at such grown-up concepts as kissing.

you, on the other hand, you stayed right where you are, but a frown has creased your tiny, child-like brow.

“and the trick,” the old man continues, his smile going wide and a little lascivious, “is getting someone who will take their curse willingly… to accept the kiss.”

01.

for as long as harry can remember, there has always been the wood. and in the wood, there’s always been a girl with a fox-painted mask who danced to the light of the fireflies.

once, when he’d gone exploring (even though his grandpapa had warned him time and time again about going into the wood by himself), he’d nearly run into her and she’d cocked her head when he’d fallen face-first near the bank of a tiny stream, smearing mud across his cheeks.

“you’re strange little boy,” the girl said — and she could be no more than his age, harry thinks.

“and you’re a weird little girl,” he counters, his eyes catching on the bright red of the fox’s painted mouth.

there is magic at work here, harry knows, though he doesn’t know what kind, and all he really wants is to explore the woods behind his house, to know all there is to know of the world, and perhaps — he thinks as you turn and make your way deeper into the forest — to one day hold the hand of the girl with the fox-faced mask.

but that’s a wish for another day, he decides as he follows after you, jogging to catch up and ask for your name.

“ah… what’s in name,” you say, you voice light and languid, even as he frowns, “you can call me whatever you like.”

02.

once, harry had asked his grandpapa what the truest feeling in the whole wide world is.

and his grandpapa had answered —

“that, harry, would be falling in love…”

“falling in love?”

“yes, my dear boy — and the thing about love is that it’s like a curse… but it’s also like a blessing.”

“but… how can a thing be a curse and a blessing?”

then, his grandpapa had smiled, a smile that is starlight and wolfsong and all the secrets the forest ever has to tell.

“because we are doomed to always, always fall in love, my boy — and it will always, always be like handing someone and knife and asking them to cut open your throat.”

#harrison gray #ikemen villains #ikevil #ikevil harrison x reader #ikevil harrison #harrison gray x reader #ikemen series #summer days sultry nights ccc #angst mcgee #floofy floof floof #uHM i refused to apologize hoLY shit you guys i fucking adore this story.#fUCK goddamnit i am so high rn on having written this u__u but like PLS dear god tell me what you thought i have SO MANY THOUGHTS AS WELL #here are some concepts that i rly fucking adored: the ease of lies and the difficulties and harshness of truths #the fact that loving someone will always be the most painful thing you'll ever do #and that sometimes a thing can both be a lie and a truth -- or a lie that becomes the truth #and GOD it is not a sin to want things because sometimes the world wants us to want things that we shouldn't want #and sometimes the world wants us to want things because there are stories carved into the grooves of the world #stories so old that the world would end before it stopped telling these stories and children have been getting lost in the woods #since the inception of humanity itself u__u and that's a story that always needs to be told #because isn't that what growing up is about? the realization that not all truths are true and not all lies are all the way lies #and that most things actually live in between? uGH #anyway u__u im emotional and tired #pls read this <3

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fang-and-feather · 9 months

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Sweet Meetings

Ikemen Vampire - Vlad x Reader, Coffee Shop/Flower Shop AU, pre-relationship

Prompt(s): strawberries

Genre: Fluff

Summary: You had just gotten some fresh strawberries when Vlad came to visit. You weren't expecting his reaction to it, or your reaction to him.

Thanks @violettduchess and @aquagirl1978 for hosting this

Also written for Year of the OTP July, prompt: coffee shop au, from @yearoftheotpevent

I thought I wouldn't be able to finish this one this month... Like most of my other AUs this is just a small scene of what I might make into a bigger fic later...

IkeVamp Masterlist // General Masterlist // AO3 Link

You hummed happily as you cooked. It was a fine summer morning, the kind that easily put you in a good mood. Besides, you had been having the happiest mornings since you got this new job.

The bell at the front door rang, and you smiled to yourself. The shop was still closed and your coworker had a late shift, so it could only be the owner of the flower shop across the street.

Not long after you started working, you had brought some flowers from him to decorate the shop. His bouquets were so wonderful that you started visiting him every morning.

At some point, without reason or warning, you had switched to him delivering the flowers directly to your shop instead.

“I’m in the kitchen.” You informed.

You were busy putting the final touches on the cake you were baking, and he didn’t come to see you either. Footsteps could be heard moving from side to side in front of the shop, occasionally accompanied by the sound of someone searching through the cabinets. You didn’t worry, though. By now, you recognized the footsteps of anyone who frequented the shop.

You chose to look, though, and as you opened the door, Vlad was standing on the other side.

“Having a busy morning?” He smiled, and you stepped back to let him in. “It seems like every time I see you, you are hard at work. So I already set up the flowers. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Like you’re one to talk. Since you started making the deliveries, I can aways count on seeing you at the same time, and your shop is aways so busy afterward.”

“Flowers always make people so happy. I especially lie how you smile when I stop by.”

Vlad smiled at you. He had this friendly smile, with a mystical air. A smile that had lured you from the first moment you laid eyes on him. A smile that tempted you to unravel all the secrets behind.

But Vlad was so ethereal, so fleeting, like he wasn’t even human. Like he wasn’t even real.

Even if he wasn’t, you would want more time into that dream. More time with him. So, at each of those encounters, you tried to buy more time, to delay the inevitable parting.

At first he slipped right through your attempts to grasp just a little more of his attention, but, as time went by, he lingered more and you felt like you were growing closer. It still seemed like he would disappear if you fully reached out, though.

“Are you going to stay for a drink again? A friend brought some fresh strawberries this morning, so I was putting the finishing touches on some mini cakes.” Although you were hoping he’d say yes, you weren’t expecting the way his eyes lit up, like a child on Christmas morning. You chuckled and picked a strawberry from the basket behind you, coating it into the cream you had made for the cakes, and held it to him. “I tried a new cream recipe, too. Want to try it?”

You froze when he ate the strawberry right out of your fingers, lips brushing your skin.

“Sorry.” He said, when he noticed your reaction. His smile was the same as ever, though. He neither looked like he was sorry, nor like he’d done it on purpose. Then why was your heart beating so hard over an honest mistake? “It was delicious, though. I always love to try your cooking. Would you join me, though?”

“Sure. Take a seat while I make the drinks.”

Good thing you could dismiss him for a moment. It was difficult to recompose yourself with him right there. At least you would have time to calm down before facing him again.

He had invited you so smoothly and you were already in a fluster that you had hastily agreed. But, except for you preparing and serving the food, it sounded like you being invited on a date.

“Don’t read too much into it.” You whispered to yourself, trying to ground your overexcited brain. “Friends eat together all the time.”

Your brain still insisted that, even if this wasn’t a date, you had just found a way to his heart. But since when did you want that? You had never considered your interest in him in such a way. When had Vlad become more that the friendly neighbour shop owner to you?

Your time together would be short. There was little time left before you had to finally open the shop. But they would be some long minutes if you had to endure your new fixation. You only hoped that, next time you met, you had already sorted your feelings.

IkeVamp Masterlist // General Masterlist

#summer days sultry nights ccc #YOTP 2023 #ikemen vampire #ikevamp vlad #coffeeshop au #flowershop au #ikevamp #fanfiction #ikevamp fanfic

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aquagirl1978 · 9 months

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Cruel Summer - Vlad x Reader (Ikemen Vampire)

A/N: Part of the Summer Days Sultry Nights writing event I am co-hosting with @violettduchess . This fic was inspired by fanart of Vlad created by @ana-thedaydreamer of a shirtless Vlad at the beach - sorry, I couldn't find the link to the work but it is glorious!

Pairing: Vlad x Reader

Prompt: a walk on the beach & barefoot in the sand

Tags: fluff

You didn’t like summer.

Correction – you hated summer. The long days of summer meant spending time indoors counting down the days until cooler weather, avoiding the cruel heat and everything it brought, from sunburns to bug bites.

And despite all that, when Vlad had invited you to spend the day at the beach with him, you happily accepted.

Because going anywhere, doing anything was always better with Vlad.

You took a sip of strawberry lemonade, its ice cubes nearly melted in the heat, doing little to quench your thirst. Fanning yourself with your book, you soon realized there was no relief from the brutal summer heat, even under the shade of your large umbrella.

"Hey…" Vlad called out your name, his soft, sweet voice distracting you from your misery. "It's much cooler over here."

Shading your eyes with your hand, you looked out towards the shoreline where Vlad was standing, the water barely reaching his knees. He reached down and cupped his hands in the water, splashing some on his face. He stood back up, smiling at you with the sun high above him, droplets of water sparkling like diamonds on his skin.

You licked your lips as you gazed at Vlad, respectfully admiring his sculpted abs and chest. Your eyes drifted, shamefully lingering at the narrowing of his waist while thoughts danced through your head. Happy thoughts that caused heat to rise to your already warmed cheeks.

What made this summer day so cruel was that you couldn’t act on your thoughts. You couldn’t slip your hand under that thin band of fabric and touch Vlad. Feel him. And see if he was feeling the same exact way you were.

But the beach you were on was not secluded and actions like that had to wait until later. Much later.

You rose from your chair, your feet sinking into the soft sand, hoping your knees wouldn’t bend and go weak. The hot sand burned the bottom of your feet as you quickly made your way to Vlad.

“You’re right,” you said with a smile as you reached him. “It is cooler here.” The cool waves were refreshing as the water lapped against your ankles, the soft sand sliding between your toes as you looked up at your lover.

“Let’s go on a walk,” he suggested, taking your hand in his, the salty sea breeze mussing his pale hair.

Fun will have to wait for later, you told yourself as you walked away with Vlad, summer proving, once again, just how cruel she truly was.

Tagging: @redheadkittys @kissmetwicekissmedeadly @chaosangel767 @ikehoe @kpop-and-otome @lucyw260 @queengiuliettafirstlady @kisara-16 @lordsisterxotome @violettduchess @umi-adxhira @bellerose-arcana @crypticbibliophile @yarnnerdally @tele86 @nightfoxqueen @wendolrea @randonauticrap @aria-chikage

#summer days sultry nights ccc #ikemen series #ikemen vampire #ikevamp #vlad #ikevamp vlad #ikemen vlad #ikemen fanfic #ikevamp fanfic #otome #otome games #otome fanfic

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violettduchess · 9 months

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A/N: Last but not least: Cyran tied with Gilbert right behind Clavis and so he gets my final entry for Aqua and my Summer Days Sultry Nights CCC.

Suitor: Cyran, Prompt: Starry Night

WC: ~560

You think you are alone, here in the open heart of the forest, but you are wrong. Above, swimming in the inky darkness of a night sky, the stars themselves blink at the sight of you two, together. They watch, curious, as you fall, heavy with relief, into the fortress of Cyran’s arms and press yourself against the hard stonework of his body. Your eyes close as you hold him, as you breathe in the comforting, earthy scent of his skin. Here you are safe, far away from the palace with its many doors and many windows where even an idle gaze might happen upon something it shouldn’t. Something that is forbidden.

You hurried here, fighting through the grasping branches of the forest, the ones that plucked at your clothing and passed on the whispering wind’s warning. You were fleet-footed over winding paths littered with sharp twigs and leaves that hid dangerous inclines and threatening stones which punched the bottom of your leather boots as you ran. The forest watched closely as you cut your way through the darkness, no light but the pale slants of a crescent moon filtered through the trees to guide you. Finally you finally reached the clearing, the clandestine oasis in the middle of the forest, where the moon can shine unhindered and crickets sing a love song to the starry sky.

He is already there, having arrived earlier than planned. His usually bright hair is a burnished garnet in the darkness. He has his broad back turned to where you emerge from the trees, one hand at the pommel of sword, always at the ready, always dutiful. Always on guard.

Until he met you. You are the one that penetrated his rigid armor of order with your kindness, your intelligence, your warmth, your beauty. The one who reached through all those layers of loyalty, uncertainty, propriety, apprehension to take his heart in your hands, and remold it into a vessel capable of holding more than just those iron emotions.

Now, as he holds you in his strong arms, your hands cradle his face and fill his heart with tenderness; your body presses against his, electric, filling his heart with desire. Your throat passes along sighs and whispered words of devotion, filling his heart with a sense of calm, of safety. Because of you, his heart is full, those once locked-up chambers unfolding like a lunar blossom in the starlight.

He undoes his alabaster cape in one elegant movement and lays it down, a rectangle of light surrounded by dark green grass. He pulls you back in his arms, even a second apart too much, and locked together, you slowly sink to your knees. The world tilts and for a moment, only the star-crossed sky fills your vision, those glowing pinpoints of heavenly brilliance scattered across the velvet black of night. And then Cyran is above you and you close your eyes to the sky, sight unnecessary, as you run your hands through the silk of his hair, taste the hunger of his kiss.

The stars continue to shine, but you have found a source of something divine, right here on earth. Devotion in the caress of his rough fingers, benediction in the sound of your name on his lips, revelation in every heated kiss. You sink into the pure light of his affection, your heart alight with a love brighter than any nightborne star.

Tagging: @aquagirl1978 @alexxavicry @queengiuliettafirstlady @rhodolitesrose @ikemen-writer @bellerose-arcana @thewitchofbooks @aria-chikage @redheadkittys @tele86 @dear-mrs-otome @firestar-otomeobsessed @curious-skybunny @rhodoliteschaos @kpop-and-otome @writingwhimsey @mxrmaid-poet @silver-dahlia @wendolrea @otomefoxystar @nightfoxqueen @myonlyjknight @queen-dahlia @aceuuuuu @scorchieart @bubblexly

#ikemen series #ikemen prince #ikepri #ikepri cyran #cyran rose #ikemen cyran #summer days sultry nights ccc #ikemen fanfiction #ikemen fanfic #otome fanfic #violettwrites

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queengiuliettafirstlady · 9 months

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Sunbathing in Love

Fandom: Ikemen Vampire

Pairing: Jean D’Arc x OC (Julia Lesser vampire)

Part of Summer Days Sultry Nights Content Creator Challenge hosted by @violettduchess and @aquagirl1978

Prompt: 1. A walk on the beach & 12. Barefoot in the sand

Tag: Established relationship Fluff Kisses

Word Count 702

Author’s Note A summer day leisurely spent at the beach give the two lovebirds a much needed time together, to enjoy one another company basking in the warmth of their love. 🥰

Tag list

@kissmetwicekissmedeadly @lordsisterxotome @aquagirl1978 @violettduchess @atelieredux @klutzyroses @randonauticrap @thewitchofbooks @princess-pray-a @itsjudesfault

You can find me on AO3 as QueenJuliet 😊

Thank you for everyone who will like, reblog, or comment please be gentle with me english is not my first language so please do not leave rude comments I apologise for eventual errors I hope you will like it 😊

It was a pleasant summer day, the warmth of the sun melting well with the fresh winds rustling through the luscious vegetation surrounding the beach, offering a much needed shelter for the ones who tried to escape the scorching sun of the noon, sat comfortably on a patio overlooking the sea two figure looked at the small sailboats sailing lazily in the distance, their white canvas starking against the azure sky melting with the sea below the horizon so much one did not know where one end and the other begin, enjoying an homemade meal she cooked herself, basking in the moment carefree smile curling their lips, as he caressed her hair, tighten his grip around her form sat between his legs on a chaise lounge, talking leisurely about everything and nothing, dozing off from time to time, crickets and seagulls creating a peculiar sea melody he was grateful to hear for the first time with her lover, taking in the sight of everything basking in the scorching sun kissing over his skin as they relaxed in the fresh wind rippling above water creating little waves she admired crashing over the shore, paying no mind to the way her light sundress billowed in the breeze showing the hem of her long drawers to his sight alone.

She sighed dreamily entwining her fingers with his as he gently curled it on her tummy, nuzzling on her neck playfully leaving feather light kisses making her giggle, that sound enough to fill his heart with the warmth of thousand suns, bursting with love he tried to convey leaving a kiss on her hair basking in the brightness of her smile as she tinder around leaving a tender kiss on the scar above his right eye, placing his eyepatch on its place once more, taken aback by the soft yet passionate way his lips melted on hers in a sweet pure kiss filling her heart with all the love she felt for him alone, reluctantly he pulled away hugging her closer to his chest, cupping her face in his hands he looked into her eyes.

“Je t'aime plus que tout au monde Julia.”

“Je t’aime de tout mon coeur Jean.”

They stayed like this cuddle to one another all afternoon until she suggested to take a walk on a beach, idea he promptly accepted taking her hand in his as she took the lead, the sand was surprisingly warm and soft beneath his feets as they strolled lazily on the shore, he had never felt that way but his hesitation was easily won over as she guided him, her eyes glimmering as she saw him walking with her, courage he got admiring her bright features looking at him so proudly he had not the courage to let her down, even though he knew she would have stick up to him no matter what, before he knew it their movements had tuned on their own accord as they admired the sun setting below the horizon everything in sight was painted with his warm colors, glimmering on the little waves rippling through the otherwise plain surface of the sea, they mindlessly walked into smiling carefreely as the pleasantly tepid water washed over their feets not minding the hem of their clothes getting soaked, tiredness washing over her he lead her to sit on the warm sand next to him, one arm wrapped around her waist as she leaned her head on his shoulder smiling to herself as his kindness melted her heart, she nuzzled closer to him basking in that bright smile lighting up his gorgeous features, talking of anything and nothing as he entwined his fingers with hers, enjoying the frizzy breeze of the early evening until it was time to return home ready to show off their love to one another as only they could with kisses so warm to put even the summer sun itself to shame, outwin even by the brightness of their smiles curling up their lips as they drifted asleep in their embrace, landing together in their dream land following that feeling they had neve believed possible for them, bonding their heart together for mighty and unbreakable was the power of love.

#summer days sultry nights ccc #ikemen vampire #ikemen vampire jean #original character #ikevamp jean #my writing #ikemen vampire julia original character #ikevamp

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rinaririr · 9 months

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How about Theo with fireflies?

11 x 14: Fireflies and Summer Festival

Thank you for requesting @pathogenic 🥺💖 My first entry for @aquagirl1978 and @violettduchess summer-themed event, summer days sultry nights!

I know it’s only supposed to be the prompt fireflies but I love love love love love matsuri motifs and themes so if I ended up combining any prompts with summer festival you know why lol. I also just want to draw Theo in a yukata U-U

I thought of making the furin a bag of goldfish that he caught for you at the summer festival but I changed my mind too late and was too lazy to fix it, so furin it was 😂

#ririart #ikevamp #ikemen vampire #ikevamp theodorus #ikevamp fanart #summer days sultry nights ccc

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nightghoul381 · 9 months

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If it Pleases You~ Elbert x Reader

Last one! This was difficult since I don't know Elbert super well, but I think it turned out okay. Thank you @aquagirl1978 and @violettduchess for hosting this awesome challenge! I really had a blast with it :D

Prompt: 14. Summer Festival Pairing: Elbert Greetia x Reader Genre: Fluff

As promised, Elbert met you at the entrance to the summer festival. You insisted that he go when he had mentioned that he had never been to one. Tonight, however, you have to stifle a laugh when you see the garish hat on his head.

“Um, Elbert… What are you wearing?” You ask, gesturing to his head.

“A hat. I don’t like people gawking at my face.” He answered bluntly, his face showing no emotion. You’re not really sure how such an obscenely elegant hat would do anything but garner even more stares.

“Well, they may not be gawking at your face, but that hat is very extravagant, so it’s bound to draw attention too.” You advise.

A long sigh escapes from his lips as he gives you a dejected look, taking the hat off his head. He handed it to Alfons, who accepted the hat and absconded into the crowd.

“What should I do now?” He asks, his eyes searching your face.

You knew he hated people staring, but he was so beautifully captivating, he couldn’t move around in public without attracting the gazes of others.

Glancing into the festival, you noticed that there was a stall selling masquerade style masks.

“We can get you a mask!” You shout, causing Elbert to start, his eyes widening.

You grab his hand and pull him along behind you, as he hung his head, trying to obscure his face with his hair.

The array of masks ranged from ornate designs, to simple, plain colored masks. One white mask had small blue beadwork around the edges and tracing a swirling pattern over the cheeks.

You eagerly hold it up to Elbert, who hesitantly brings it to his face. You can feel your breath catch in your throat as he looks at you. The color of the beads seems to bring out the color of his eyes, causing them to look even more piercing.

“Is it bad?” He asks, lowering the mask, a dour expression taking its place.

“No! Not at all, it really brings out your eyes.” You assure him.

“So, shall I get this one?” He inquires, turning it over in his hands to inspect it.

“I think it suits you quite well,” you offer, watching as his gaze roams over the object.

“Do you think it’s beautiful?”

“Uh, I suppose so.”

“I’ll purchase it then.”

He seemed unconvinced but returned from the vendor with the mask affixed to his face.

“What should we do now?” He inquires, offering his arm for you to take.

“We get to go around and check out all of the goods and sweets and exhibits that are on display. And at the end there’s a fantastic surprise!” You exclaim, pulling his arm along behind you.

He doesn’t say much as you make your way around the festival, but there is a soft smile on his face as you excitedly show him various vendors that you knew. As much as you tried to dissuade him, each time you pointed out something that caught your eye, he bought it for you, instructing the vendor to hold the item and he would have it collected at the end of the night.

You quickly tempered your excitement after he had purchased a gorgeous pendant that you had picked up to inspect for the briefest moment. When you heard the price that the vendor quoted him for it, you nearly choked.

“Elbert, please, you really shouldn’t purchase these things for me.” You insist, after tucking the two of you back behind some trees.

“Why not?” He asks, lifting the mask. You could see his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Do you not desire those things? It appeared that you were quite taken with them.” He placed his hand on your cheek, to guide you to look at him.

“I… I did want them, but I don’t need them.”

“I wanted to purchase them.” He insisted, pressing his thumb to your lips. “You looked so beautiful every time you found an object. Your face lit up with such joy that I naturally wanted to preserve that.”

The tenderness in his gaze was so warm, your heart squeezed sweetly in response. His thumb gently dropped to your lower lip and your mouth dropped open instinctively.

“This face is beautiful too.” He adds, bringing his face so close your noses were almost touching.

At that moment the finale began and Elbert jumped back in surprise at the loud sound.

Realizing what was happening you let out a quiet giggle.

“Surprise!”

Bright specks of light dance through the sky as the firework display continued. You’re enraptured by the irresistible beauty of your lover in that moment. The different colors playing across his features and the lights reflecting in his wide eyes were bewitching.

You can’t help the affection welling up inside you from spilling out. You reach up and wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him down to meet your lips. This was absolutely the most wonderful summer festival that you had ever experienced.

#ikemen villains #ikevil #summer days sultry nights ccc #ikemen villains elbert #ikevil elbert #elbert greetia

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