#He wasn't able to be summoned so the summoning picked up the others around him | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

amsgrey · 1 year

Text

it will be enough

requested: yes

Grisha power wasn't specified, so I picked a random one. (and by picked I mean I literally added them to a spin-the-wheel thing and went with it).

Spoilers for Season Two of Shadow And Bone

warnings: Not proofread or edited, Nikolai being jealous, fluff at the end, more things that I have forgotten

You met Nikolai when he was still parading as Sturmhond, the witty privateer who was all about money and fun. You had been locked alone in the hull of a slaver's ship for longer than you could remember, wasting away without food, water or the ability to summon. Everything had been a blur, shouting, fighting, and then you were being unchained and helped upstairs. You remembered the first time stepping into the sun after that whole time, it burnt your eyes and you had to shield them with your arm.

You had met Sturmhond on his own boat, someone had laid you in a cot and forced you to drink water. Then, a man in teal had asked you your name, told you you were safe and would have a place on his crew if you wanted it. You had taken him up on it, there was always a space for a Squaller on his crew. Nikolai grew to trust you, and put his faith in you as he did Tamar and Tolya. Since then, you would follow Nikolai anywhere he asked.

That included helping him bring peace back to Ravka with the Sun summoner. You had been hesitant to leave your comfortable life with the crew of the Volkvolny, but you loved Nikolai, you would go with him to the ends of the earth. You and Nikolai had been dancing around feelings for each other for almost as long as you had known each other. Tolya was always teasing you about it, reciting cliché poetry and watching you and Nikolai exchange stolen glances. You were sure they were unrequited feelings, so you never acted on them.

It only got worse after returning to Ravka and meeting with the rest of Nikolai's allies at the Spinning wheel. You saw the way he looked at Alina, the hope that lit up his eyes, she was all he needed now. You tried your best not to be hurt about it, you knew loving a prince would only lead to pain. He would never be able to love you back, a commoner. So you volunteered to join Tolya to travel to Ketterdam. You were born and raised in Kerch, and you had the strongest language skills out of all of the party.

Nikolai hadn't spoken to you since announcing his engagement to the sun summoner, it felt like he was avoiding you. He finally approached you on the Hummingbird the day you agreed to leave.

"Y/N?"

You turned to find him leaning against the railings, watching you prepare the sails for the journey. "Moi Tsar."

Nikolai cringed, "Not yet."

You smiled, walking over to join him, "Does that mean I can still can you Sobachka?" You laughed, playfully shouldering him like you would do on the Volkvolny.

Nikolai rolled his eyes, "What is your obsession with that name?"

You enjoyed watching him squirm, making fun of him was too easy some days, "I like calling you Sobachka, makes me think of you like a little cute pup."

Tolya interrupted you both before Nikolai could answer, "We getting this show on the road?"

Nikolai took an extra look at you and the bright smile you sported, "Be safe," He ordered, returning to his Prince persona.

"We'll bring back Neshyenyer," You promised.

Returning to Kerch and meeting the crows felt like a fever dream. Somehow, you slotted into their ranks easily, quickly becoming fast friends. You grew to enjoy Kaz's company as much as the others, something about spending time with someone else from Kerch, who really understood. Besides, he was serious and unwavering and you kind of enjoyed someone who was as serious as you.

After the events in Shu-Han, you were having second thoughts about staying around in Ravka after the war. Nikolai had everything he needed now and Kaz had offered you a place with the Crows if you wanted it. The only thing that was keeping you in Ravka was Nikolai, but why stick around to love someone who would never love you?

You jogged along with Kaz, Wylan and Jesper, headed towards where Nikolai was rumoured to be. You followed Kaz's lead as he peeked over a wall, watching three Grisha rounded on Nikolai and his forces.

"Wylan," Kaz turned to the boy, "Grenade."

Wylan handed it over to him, everyone watching him light the fuse.

"Y/N?"

You nodded, stretching out your hands to summon wind to propel the grenade to your target. You all watched it make its mark, blowing The Darkling's Inferni back until she lay dead on the battlefield.

Nikolai looked to Tamar, "Where did that come from?"

Kaz stood proudly, declaring, "My Demolitions expert."

You stood to his right, just as proud to be joining the fray.

"Expert?" Wylan mumbled, looking at Kaz. You all looked at him as he corrected himself, "I mean, yes. Expert."

You and Jesper smiled, amused by his fake confidence.

You all took a step forward, sliding down the shingled roof and dropping down the wall. You used your small science to soften everyone's fall, allowing you all to rush towards the gates. Jesper quickly worked on the rust that bound the gates closed, leading Wylan to the barricade Tamar, Nadia and Adrick hiding behind. You and Kaz headed opposite them, where Nikolai was crouched.

As you both rushed over, Kaz muttered, "What nightmare have we gotten ourselves into."

Jesper looked over at your group, "Why's Sturmhond here?"

Tamar frowned at him.

"Round here he goes by Nikolai."

"Nikolai Lantsov," Jesper realized, looking over to the man in question. Nikolai shrugged, you couldn't help the chuckle at Jesper's annoyed expression.

"All this time, close personal friend," He spun his pistols into his hands, preparing for a fight.

Nadia and Tamar looked about as confused as could be, "And you are?" Tamar pressed.

Wylan was tucked behind Jesper, his hand resting on his back, "You must be Tamar." He answered, "We came with your brother."

That didn't seem to make the woman any less confused, but she didn't press it any further.

You all watched the Darklings Squaller and Tide Maker rise to attack again. The tide maker raised her hands, drawing water from the sky to draw her attack. Jesper sprung into action first, followed by Adrick and Nadia who came to his support. Watching Jesper shoot would always entrance you, he was such a great shot, aided by his Durast abilities.

You were about to stand and join the fight when Nikolai stopped you, "Did you get Neshyenyer?"

You nodded, "Zoya, Nina and Inej are finding Alina, they'll get to her."

Nikolai nodded in relief, as you looked him over you realized there was blood staining his jacket.

You pressed your fingers to the blood, "Are you hurt?"

Nikolai followed your gaze to where your hand rested on the stain, "it's- It's not mine."

You looked up at him, seeing the pain in his eyes. You would ask more later, for now, there were more pressing matters than those you'd lost.

Jesper finished his attack on the Tidemaker with the buttons on his waistcoat, lashing out and turning them into their tiny blades. As you looked past Nikolai you watched the Squaler draw lightning to his palms, it crackled and hissed as he tried to amass it.

Kaz nudged you with his crow's head cane, handing it over for you to use as a conductor. You quickly jumped to your feet, rushing to Jesper's side and using Kaz's cane and your powers to channel the electricity. Lightning was notoriously unstable, It didn't react well to being controlled. You threw your hands up, forcing the lighting to connect the two of you through Kaz's cane, then expelling the power back into the storm clouds it came from. The more lightning the Squaller summoned, the harder you worked to draw it away. Eventually, he ceased, knowing he could not lash out with the electricity you too controlled.

"I have Datura Meloxia!" Wylan shouted.

"Wylan! Now."

The boy uncapped the vile, calling for Adrick and Nadia to help him propel the powder, "Air support!"

You and Jesper ducked to avoid the powder being swept into Grisha's face, watching him stumble around in glazed confusion before Tamar sent her axe into his head.

As the Tidemaker tried to fight back one last time, she realized just how effective Jesper's attack had been. Screaming at the realization her fingers were gone. Nikolai was appearing to the side, raising his pistol and firing one last bullet, taking down the final one of the darklings Grisha.

"It's done."

You and Jesper both let out matching sighs of relief. He bent over to retrieve his pistol, then dramatically threw his arm around your shoulders to pull you into a side hug.

"Thanks for that, gorgeous."

You smiled, "My pleasure, Handsome."

You joined Kaz and Nikolai, the two of them eyeing each other. You retrieved Kaz's cane from the mud, handing it over to him with a triumphant smile, "I believe this belongs to you, Brekker."

Kaz took it from you, twisting it in his hand as he admired the crow's head.

Nikolai looked from you to the man who you were grinning at, suddenly less pleased to see Brekker, "I didn't realize you were patriots."

"Well if you die, we don't get paid," Kaz said like it was the most straightforward answer. You couldn't help but laugh, after the stress of the fight and Kaz's arid sense of humour, you needed it.

Nikolai was sure he could listen to you laugh every minute of every day and never get sick of it. He hadn't heard it enough in the last few weeks, and it pained him. He longed for the evenings on the Volkvolny when the crew would laugh and drink without the looming threat of death and destruction.

Everyone smiled when Tolya appeared, pulling his sister in a crushing hug. Nikolai looked around his gathered allies.

"We have to find Alina. If Kirigan brought the fight here, he's gunning for her."

Tolya nodded, "I've cleared us a way into the fort. Come on."

You fell into step with Nikolai at the back of the group, his unofficial bodyguard for the fight you were about to delve back into. Nikolai couldn't help but spare you glances, you looked tired, the lightning summoning had worn you out. He wanted to stop, allow you to rest, and bring back the bright smile you almost always wore. He knew better, though, just plotting along silently beside your group.

You sat next to Tamar as everyone took a much-deserved breather.

"A moment of sun before we deal with out losses," Nikolai sighed, glancing over the wounded and dying that lay on the grass, "Dominik..."

Tamar comforted her friend quickly, "He did exactly what any of us would have done for each other."

"For you," You added, leaning over and grabbing Nikolai's hand. He glanced down at your clasped hands, giving a small squeeze as thanks.

You all looked up as Alina, Inej, Nina and Mal walked over the hill. Nina stayed by the wounded while Inej and Alina exchanged a few quick words. Alina chased after Mal, leaving Inej to inform the group.

Nikolai thanked the crows for their help, he took Tolya's arm and headed away to address the consequences. You were about to join when Kaz called your name.

You turned to the man, a small frown on your face, "Yes?"

"If you ever feel like coming back to Ketterdam," He spoke, "We would welcome a crow with your abilities."

Jesper and Inej both nodded, showing their support.

You couldn't help the smile that grew, "I'll think about it." You promised, taking your leave to follow after Nikolai and the others.

When you met up with Nikolai, he wouldn't meet your gaze. Looking at everyone else but you. He made preparations for the Darkling to be burned on a pyre, leading all of his most trusted allies to join him. It was strange, that it was all over. There was no more fold, no more bickering or fighting between otkazat'sya and Grisha, it was an entirely new beginning.

You wanted to stand by Nikolai as he addressed your small group, but there was something off about him. He still had yet to make eye contact with you, ignoring your small gestures of comfort. Eventually, you gave up, coming to stand next to Nina behind Alina.

As Nikolai finished his speech, Kaz led his crows away. Nina looked at you, knowing you needed the support. She took your hand, leading you away from the flames with the rest of the crows.

The gathered forces were celebrating as you all exited the sand that was once the fold. Offering all of you drinks and food. You couldn't find the energy to join the festivities, brushing off friends and fellow Grisha to find a quieter space.

You found yourself wandering until you reached the roof of the compound, finding a perch on the edge of a wall looking over the land around the compound.

You let out a quiet gasp in fright when Nikolai appeared at your side.

He quickly grabbed your arm, "Don't fall."

You smiled, "I won't. Probably."

Nikolai chuckled, joining you on the ledge. You were struck by how many times you would sit together like this on the Volkvolny.

"Shouldn't you go find a healer?" You asked, gesturing to the bandages wrapped around his leg.

Nikolai shrugged, "I needed to talk to you first."

You looked away, "About?"

Nikolai was staring at the horizon, clearly also struggling to find the courage to talk. Something had changed between you two for sure.

"What did Brekker say," Nikolai finally spoke after a long silence between you.

You glanced at him, the afternoon sun was illuminating his face. His hair was still cleanly combed back, neatly styled to make him look regal. His cheek was still bruised, the only thing that made him look like the Sturmhond you knew.

"He said if I ever wanted to go home, I had a place with the crows."

Nikolai nodded, "Home to Ketterdam?"

Nikolai knew how much you missed Kerch, you grew up in the countryside on a farm with your siblings. You had stopped in Ketterdam once or twice with the Volkvolny crew, but it wasn't the same as going back to live there.

"I know it sounds crazy," You fiddled with your hands, "I never thought it would be possible to go back, maybe now..."

Nikolai could relate to that, he never felt entirely at home in the Grand Palace, and he didn't think it would ever be possible to. Now he would rule there.

"When are you and Alina leaving for Os Alta?"

"Tomorrow," Nikolai replied, "Tamar and Tolya are taking over captainship of the Volkvolny."

You hummed, "I'm sure they're excited about that, Tolya can stop for all the snacks he wants."

Nikolai laughed, a carefree laugh that made you smile too.

You both sat in peaceful silence for a while, listening to the celebrations going on under your feet. You felt like there was something more to say like you both wanted the other to confess the feelings you shared.

You kept coming back to the fact Nikolai and Alina were engaged. You knew that it wasn't a love match, Alina loved Mal. But even so, they would be tied together for as long as it took for Ravka to rebuild. You were being childish if you thought you and Nikolai could be anything other than friends. And so you were thinking more and more about returning to Ketterdam, joining the crows. Leaving Nikolai would hurt, but it would hurt more watching Nikolai with Alina.

You eventually came to the conclusion there was nothing more you could say, Nikolai clearly did not share your feelings. You cleared your throat, stretching casually and then getting to your feet.

"They're probably missing us," You said, trying to hide your disappointment.

Nikolai didn't respond, staring out at the horizon a while longer.

"You should stay."

You almost didn't hear it, already a few steps away from Nikolai. You turned to face him, "What?"

Nikolai got to his feet and stood before you, giving you his full attention for the first time since leaving the Volkvolny.

"I want you to stay."

You struggled to find any words, gaping at the man before you.

Nikolai kept talking, "I know that I can't ask this of you, I know I Shouldn't. But seeing you with Brekker, the thought of you going to Ketterdam with him-"

Nikolai stopped when you giggled. He frowned at you, "What?"

"Nothing," You giggled.

Nikolai grabbed your hand, "What? Why are you laughing?"

You stifled your laugh, "Are you jealous of Kaz?"

Nikolai faked being offended, "Me? Jealous?"

"Oh, you so are," You cackled, getting a lot of amusement out of watching the Tsar squirm, "Nikolai Lantsov with his damnably handsome looks is jealous?"

Nikolai dropped your hand and threw his hands up in exasperation, "You are the worst."

You grinned, then remembered what he had asked. "Do you really want me to stay?"

Nikolai looked serious again, "I do. I want you to stay with me, by my side."

"But you're engaged to Alina."

Nikolai seemed to realize at the same time you did, he nodded solemnly, "We couldn't be anything to each other in public. At least, not until Alina and I end our engagement."

"You'll end your engagement?"

"It was always the plan," Nikolai explained, "She loves Mal. I love you. It's just for political-"

"You love me?" You cried before you could stop yourself.

Nikolai's face flushed, he scratched his neck sheepishly, "Yes."

"Well," You reached out and took his face in your hands, cupping his cheeks gently, "Aren't you lucky I love you too."

Nikolai's face burst into a cocky grin. He grabbed your waist, firmly holding onto you and dragging you closer to him. He reached one hand u to cup your cheek, guiding a thumb over your cheekbone tenderly.

"I can't believe you were jealous of Kaz," You teased, drunk on the feeling of being so close to Nikolai.

"Shut up," Nikolai scoffed, he leaned in and captured your lips in a kiss. He pulled you even closer until you were flush with his chest. You brought your hands to the back of his neck, twisting your fingers into his hair. You couldn't help but feel relief, the feeling of it washed over you. You had spent the last few days worrying about where you stood. This answered that gnawing fear, Nikolai felt the same.

Nikolai pulled away, pressing his forehead to yours. His arms wound around your waist, holding you close while he stared into your eyes.

Your face was flushed and you were breathless, "I have been waiting years for you to do that."

Nikolai smiled, "I've been wanting to do that for years."

You knew this wouldn't be the end of this discussion, about him and Alina. But for now, you were happy to follow him to Os Alta, to know he felt the same way. That would be enough for now.

884 notes · View notes

bones4thecats · 3 months

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Can I request Nikola, Qin Shi Huang, Buddha and Leonidas with a s/o that's like Nyx?

How Past! Them Met Their Nyx! S/O

Type of Writing: Request Characters: Nikola Tesla, Qin Shi Huang, Buddha, and Leonidas Name: How Past! Them Met Their Nyx! S/O Requester: Anonymous

A/N: I only have four of Nyx’s kids mentioned (Aether, Hemera, Thanatos, and Hypnos), so just roll with it. By the way, the reader here is considered (in thought) to be a female, but it is left ambiguous so that you male and other readers feel accepted.

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

I am downright in love with this man

🧪 When you first met Nikola Tesla, you were just relaxing at night, taking a stroll underneath your sky as your long dark cloak faded into stars at the ends flowed in the air

🧪 You had just spoke to your old friend Hades during a meeting in the Underworld about your second-youngest son’s, Thanatos’, efforts of bringing souls down to the Underworld for Hades to handle

🧪 At the moment, you just wanted some peace, and knowing that your two youngest were busy with work, one being on guard for dying souls and the other watching over many different people in order to help them sleep

🧪 Though, hearing the sound of soft feathered wings moving, you looked up and noticed a bright white pigeon flying around while carrying moonflowers, chrysanthemums, lotuses, and sunflowers in its beak. These all reminded you of the cute flower crowns that the youngest Valkyrie sister, Göll, would make you and your children

🧪 You smiled gently as the bird landed on your outstretched hand and dropped a moonflower into your palm before flying off

🧪 The bird began to fly farther from your gaze as you heard the patter of small feet coming from behind you, making you turn around expecting to see a young child, and a young child you saw

🧪 He looked no older than 4 years in humans, and you noticed that he nearly had fallen older, making you lean down and catch him so he wouldn't crash and hurt himself, it reminded you of helping Aether walk all those centuries ago

" I am so sorry, ma'am/sir! " " It's alright, young man. If I may ask, why are you in such a rush? " " Oh, my pigeon flew that direction carrying some flowers I grabbed for my mother. It's so hard to catch up to, troublesome bird. "

🧪 You chuckled at his expression, he really was quite the interesting mortal, now wasn't he? You could see great potential in his soul, making you look back to where you once stood where the dropped flower laid on the ground

🧪 Picking it up, you opened the boy's palm, dropping the flower once again, not onto the ground, but into the soft hand of the young boy

" I may not be able to retrieve the rest of your flowers, but, here is one that the creature left. I also have something that may help you out! "

🧪 Reaching into your pocket lacing your cape, you summoned some flowers from one vase in your home that you shared in Valhalla with your sibling, Gaia

" Here are some flowers freshly picked from my sister's garden, they, by what she tells me, symbolize things such as motherly love and whatnot. I hope your mother enjoys them. " " Thank you so much! What's your name, if I may ask? " " I am... (Y/N). What is your name, young man? " " Nikola Tesla! " " Well, it was a pleasure meeting you Nikola Tesla. " " Nikola! Where are you, lil' brother? "

🧪 Looking up in shock as the boy turned around, you stiffened, being discovered by a mortal child was nothing, but a possible adult was something truly bad. A child could pass it off like nothing, an adult could not

" I'm over here, Dane! " " Oh thank God. Who were you talking too? " " The lady/man- where did they go...? "

🧪 Nikola looked around for the sight of the person who gifted him the glorious flowers, only for his older brother to pick him up and begin bringing him home in a rush

🧪 As the elder boy ran home with his brother in arms, the younger's mind wandered, where did that nice woman/man go? And will he ever see them again?

👑 Taking a nightly stroll was something the Emperor of China was familiar with, it was a time that he could have to himself, no guards right behind him and no duties clawing at his door for him to deal with

👑 Just himself and the night sky that he admired

👑 Meanwhile, a cloaked being was walking through the woods, passing through the trees with ease, as they had been on the same path multiple times throughout their limitless lifespan

👑 Due to being in an argument with the Head of the Gods, a headache was pounding through the head of the person as they rubbed their temples with their fingers

👑 As they traveled through the shady lands, they stumbled across a large temple, one they recognized as the very one the Emperor of China resided in

" What a sight, I never realized just how dazzling these building looked from such a high point. "

👑 The star-covered eyes of the mystery person burst with light as the sound of another's voice came from behind them, causing them to turn around, gripping a blade underneath their cloak

" Whoa there! There's no need for that. I apologize if I startled you, uhm, whoever you are. I just saw you walking alone and decided to go with you. " " It's- it's alright, I suppose. "

👑 A stern silence cracked between the two individuals, allowing the pitchy sound of a blade being laid back in a case to echo across their ear-shots

👑 Looking at the stars, Qin Shi Huang sighed deeply and back at the cloaked person who decided to stay alongside him, and he had to ask himself; did this person not know who he was? Could they be a traveler of some kind?

👑 A traveler of some kind you were...

👑 Qin looked down at your feet and noticed that your skin was dipping into a very pale looking shade as your cloak became very faded, as if it was turning into dust

" So... to make this far less awkward and save us a few moments of boring silence, may I ask what your name is, possible traveler? " " It is Y/N, and yours? " " Emperor Qin Shi Huang, but you may call me Qin Shi if you wish. " " Alright then, Qin Shi. "

👑 Qin Shi Huang sat down on the grassy plain, his masked face still looking up at the star-littered sky with such happiness obvious, despite his eyes being hidden

👑 You smiled gently and sat beside him, crossing your legs as you manipulated a star to sway across the sky in what humans seemingly began to call a 'shooting star'

" Ah, it seems that a shooting star has crossed the sky. What shall I wish for? I know! "

👑 Looking at the Emperor, you were shocked at how normal he seemed. Normally the high-ranking humans that you came across were tyrannical and fairly crude in their words and actions

" There! What did you wish for, Y/N-san? "

👑 When Qin looking back over at you, he was shocked to see that instead of you sitting there, a moonflower stood bravely, its petals pristine without any scuffs, as if it bloomed just second before

👑 Where in China had you gone?

🍭 Ever since Buddha first became a God, many weren't fond of him, though most of the Deities littered across Valhalla have only heard about the God of Buddhism through word of mouth from the few Gods that had met him so far

🍭 You, the Deity of the Night in the Greek Pantheon, had only hear about the man through your children's words, mainly Aether and Hemera, who were by-far your most patient children

🍭 And even during present time, you loved to stare at the stars and remember the first time you met your soon-to-be husband

🍭 It was a lovely night in one of the many fields in Valhalla, and normally you would watch over your domain of the starry sky as Humanity was being dealt with by your youngest boys, Thanatos and Hypnos

🍭 You had dressed yourself in your long star-covered cloak, hiding yourself from any prying eyes, since many feared you just by hearing your name. Even the strongest of all Gods, Zeus, feared the mention of your name

🍭 Holding yourself high while hidden, you walked through the grassy plain, brushing past tree by tree as the wind pulled the cloth covering you back lightly

🍭 To describe it in a few words; you were in Paradise

🍭 As you walked carefully around many plant-life and sleeping creatures, Buddha was laying in his hammock, starring at the same sky you controlled, admiring the stars as they flickered delicately in the vast land known as space

🍭 Sucking on a lollipop from his stash hidden away, Buddha sighed and stretched his back, allowing it to pop as he caught onto the sound of grass being pushed down and let back up in the form of footsteps

🍭 Grabbing his Six Realms Staff, the God held it up for whoever was around to see as he let out an annoyed groan. After all, having your peaceful silence interrupted would be annoying

" Alright, whoever ya' are, come on out. I don't wanna waste anymore time than necessary. " " I apologize, Lord Buddha. I was just taking a walk around to admire the stars and must have awoken you. "

🍭 Cocking an eyebrow at the light-and-honey-coated voice, Buddha looked up and noticed your form walk up from behind the one tree holding up the front of his hammock and once he saw your face, his eyes widened

" Holy shit! You're Y/N, the Deity of the Night! I never thought I'd be seeing you walk around in Paradise so late at night. "

🍭 Chuckling lightly, you nodded as you pulled down your hood, allowing your hair that faded into the dust of space to run out freely, making Buddha laugh at your smile

" I knew you were powerful and all from the stories told, but they never said how dazzling you looked~ "

🍭 Rolling your eyes at his attempt of flustering you, you just looked up at the sky as Buddha stood up and planted himself right beside you to look at the stars and moon with you

🍭 It was nice sharing such a moment with a lovely person like you, maybe you guys could do it again some other time?

🚬 As one of the classic Greek Gods, you were held at a fairly high standard once your myth became the talk of the land

🚬 But, ever since Zeus and the rest of the Olympians came along and destroyed your whole time with your siblings and rest of your allies, you became more of a side-god when it came to standards of worshiping

🚬 Leonidas wasn't fond of the Gods ever since his demise, blaming the demise of him and his 300 (though really 299) soldiers on the Greek God Apollo, whom your oldest children, Aether and Hemera, served alongside

🚬 You, on the other hand, had no-one to place a blame onto, though you weren't fond when someone were to try offending Apollo, as you had treated the male like a son since he was a young God making his way in the Pantheon

🚬 Holding his title far from the grasp of the Gods, Leonidas despised being told what to do, so, when your second youngest, Thanatos, began to hold himself to a standard against Leonidas, you were called in by Hypnos to help out

🚬 Watching as parts of the sky began to fall down and form a humanoid shape was something far new to Leonidas, and because of that he stepped back and readied his weapon to protect himself in case something happened

" There is no need for that King Leonidas I, I am merely here to retrieve my pain in the ass son. " " Pain in the ass? But Mom/Dad, he- " " Enough! I will listen to your side of the story when you take a break in the next few millennia, Thanatos. "

🚬 The King of Sparta watched as you grabbed Thanatos' ear and tugged on it like a parent would when scolding a child for doing something badly, like hitting a kid for example

🚬 Watching a Deity of your stature just treat your son like a human parent would made Leonidas' guard come down slightly, sensing you weren't going to attack him out of nowhere, you had a sense of understanding radiating off you

" Hypnos, please bring your brother back home and also let Aether and Hemera know that he is grounded for the next few months. No using his scythe during that time, only his old training stick. " " What?! "

🚬 Sighing as Hypnos dragged his brother through a portal he summoned, you turned to look back at the human and you smiled nervously, holding your hands out in defense

" I apologize for my son's actions, he sometimes gets in his own head and begins to believe himself to be more powerful than he really is. I think he's spending to much time with the Olympian Brothers... " " It's... alright, I suppose. "

🚬 Smiling gently, you held your hand out for the mortal to shake, making his raise his eyebrows slightly, he was surprised that a Deity of your ranking would actually try touching a human

🚬 Allowing his weapon to lean back up against the building's wall, Leonidas shook your hand, making you mentally sigh, thanking your creators for allowing him to forgive you and shake your hand as a sign of that forgiveness, since every other human just tried disrespecting you for your parenting skills

🚬 Letting go of his hand, you pulled your cloak's hood down and allowed your markings of stars and the moon to shimmer out against the sunlight, making Leonidas mentally swoon; you were quite the looker, how could Zeus fear you and not admire you?

" I hope I see you once again, King Leonidas I of Sparta. " " Just call me Leonidas. And I agree, I hope we meet once again. "

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certifiedcodbabygirl · 3 months

Text

Hear me out. Simon Riley meeting you is Travellin Soldier by Dixie Chicks coded

Like he meets you when he goes back to Manchester for the first time since his family's death and goes to a diner. Reader's the person at the counter and is super sweet. You manage to get a conversation out of him, somehow.

Surprising himself, he asks if you're able to go on an outing with him and you tell him to pick you up after your shift. He supposes it would be a good way to make the visit to his hometown more tolerable. He picks you up and you just walk around town for a few hours. He tells you about how he's in the military and how he keeps to himself. By the end of the night, he asks if he can write to you. He figures you're distant enough to not hurt nothin.

What he wasn't expecting was months of shared stories, and the bond you two grow. He deployed more than before, gone for a couple months at a time. When he's able to, he visits you. The places where he only saw his family in the places they used to go, he now begins to see your smile in them too. You both knew there was something there that isn't purely platonic. The lingering gazes, the eyes flickering down at each other's lips, the hands brushing against each other.

There are nights where you call for hours, secrets and thoughts being shared amongst each other, comforting words being softly said. He doesn't understand how you got to him. How you managed to get through to him. Maybe you were an angel, an apology from God for the misfortune brought upon him. His new light, new family. You were something he never knew he needed and now he can't imagine how he lived before you.

He gets an emergency summon for deployment; told he'd be gone fore nearly 6 months. He told you immediately and promised he'd write. He leaves you with a crushing hug and a kiss on the forehead, a silent promise he'll be back.

There was no communication. He was unable to write, unable to call. He was gone for 5 months, and you had no idea what was going on. Nights with tears rolling down your face, not knowing what happened to your Simon. He became to you what you are to him. Around the 4 month mark with no word from him, you're convinced he's dead. He promised to write. But there's no letter. No call. No Simon. You have no connection to him, on paper. If he did die, there's no way you'd know. He'd be gone into the wind, just as his words.

You carry on, seeing him in everything. In the park, the nighttime when you used to call, the stray cats he always gave you shit for petting.

You were working a 9 hour shift at that little diner, taking someone's order. Time droned on impossibly slow, the clock ticking seeming to taunt you. You automatically greet the next person to walk in, bell above dinging.

"Hi, welcome in, I'll be with you in just a moment" You say, monotone. You turn to the cook window and let him know what the previous order was.

"There any way I can scootch in any sooner?" A deep, familiar voice asks. He sounds so much like your Simon, causing your heart to clench.

"Yeah, just one second, sir"

You hand the cook the ticket and turn back around. Your notepad drops out of your hand, along with your pen, at the sight of Simon standing in the doorway. He didn't even bother to change out of his uniform, coming straight from base to you.

You come out from behind the counter and speed walk to him, throwing yourself into his arms, tears spilling. He hugs you back just as tightly, feeling like he can finally breath for the first time in 5 months.

"How are you here?? I thought you died" You cry into his shoulder, shaking.

"I had no way to get a hold of you, I'm so sorry" He whispers into your hair.

"You came back" You sniffle.

"I promised"

(Lemme know if y'all want a part 2)

#call of duty modern warfare #cod x reader #ghost cod #simon riley #simon ghost riley x reader #ghost simon riley #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley #simon cod #ghost call of duty #ghost mw2 #mw2 ghost #simon riley x reader hurt/ comfort

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reallyromealone · 1 year

Note

Rome? Are you taking any request at the moment? If you are the may I please request a Kaeya Alberich x Male Reader? Where reader comes off as a mysterious, mystical dancer who’s travelling the world, hoping to help inspire others. But in actuality he’s is actually hiding his ability to be able to transform into an dragon, an ice dragon the specific. So as reader is fleeing from his chasers, Kaeya comes to his rescue and the rest is history. I hope this is enough for you to work with. Also take your time and down forget to drink water and get plenty of sleep. 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

I absolutely got you my dude

Male reader - dragon male reader - fluff

🩷☁️🩷☁️🩷☁️🩷☁️🩷☁️🩷☁️🩷☁️🩷☁️🩷☁️🩷

Dragons were a concept long forgotten, myths and nothing more.

(Name) looked at Mondstadt fascinated, the smell of foods and the liveliness made him feel warm inside, wandering through the town in clothes blended from the different countries as he never stayed long enough to have a collection of clothes.

(Name) danced for the gods, for safety and well being not just for himself but for those around him, wanting nothing but peace amongst the people.

"A dragon?" Kaeya looked surprised and Venti nodded "dragons are extremely rare, Dvalin is the only one I know of" the retired god said "many dragons have an ability to obtain a human look, there's dragons you may have met and never even known"

"What do we do? If word gets out there's a dragon it could cause problems" Amber said and the others thought "we better find him fast then"

(Name) was thankful for the coin given by people entranced by his dance (think of yunas summoning dance in final fantasy X) and the dancer sat at the steps of the cathedral and split the coin evenly before giving one half to the small donation box for the cathedral.

"Beautiful dancing" a voice commented and (name) turned to see a beautiful man with long navy hair and eye patch "why thank you, I travel and dance for the gods" (name) said kindly as he collected his things "that's quite honorable of you, I haven't seen you here before" Kaeya mentions and (name) stood adjusted his belongings "I'm passing through, I just wanted to stop here before going to Sumaru" (name) explained as he walked past Kaeya "I see, quite the adventurer" Kaeya joked and walking beside (name) he noticed how...cold he was.

Not personality but he just radiated a slight chill.

Though Kaeya couldn't say much as he was well was rather chilly to the touch due to his element.

Kaeya came to watch (name) dance every day and was in awe, he still hadn't found the dragon sadly but the dancing was wonderful.

"The dragon..." Someone realized as they looked at the dancer... Something wasn't right, his eyes weren't quite right.

He was to perfect.

(Name) was wandering to the tavern after collecting money and offering to Barbados when he smelt someone in his proximity and turned to see someone quickly hide behind a corner and (name)s hands got colder as he grew more defensive.

(Name) darted around corners as more hooded figures appeared and (name)s heart sped up, the city was far to small for him to transform.

(Name) felt his heart rate pick up as ice formed from under his feet, and he tried to find any escape route "you thought you could hide dragon? Pathetic" rope wrapped around (name)s ankle and he fired blindly as scales formed on his skin and (name) felt fear fill his being, he couldn't transform here to escape without risking lives.

"FUCK!" One of the goons screamed as a sword impaled his shoulder and (name) looked to see Kaeya "came to ask you for dinner but I see your rather tied up" Kaeya said joking but his tone said something VERY different as he proceeded to rock the goons shit, (name) froze the area around him to protect himself, he made a vow to not harm humans and was a strict pacifist.

But that didn't mean he couldn't watch someone else fight.

Kaeya walked to (name) after the crooks were handled "so you're the dragon... That explains a lot" Kaeya joked as the ice melted around (name) "thank you..." (Name) whispered as he stood up and Kaeya smiled "of course"

(Name) was awkward and uncomfortable as his scales retracted back and he looked more human "it's in my kinds nature to give our utmost loyalty to those who save our lives" (name) said seriously and Kaeya just huffed playfully "how about you let me take you to dinner?"

"That's all you want?"

"I'm not going to abuse me saving you, it's the right thing to do"

"...then I will accept your dinner invitation"

#genshin impact x reader #genshin impact x male reader #kaeya x male reader #kaeya x reader #male reader #x male reader #x reader

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runningfrom2am · 11 months

Note

omg you should totally write a blurb (or maybe a whole oneshot, it's up to you) about drew being the absolute SWEETEST when you're sick. Like he makes sure every need of yours is catered you, that all the things you may need are kept on your bedside table at ALL TIMES, makes sure you have your comfort plushie with you IT WOULD BE SO CUTE

You can also write this for soft!rafe! Whatever you write, I know it will be soooo good <3 <3

YUP YUP YUP CORRECT I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS

idk this is just the vibe i get from him like for real,, but also soft!rafe i think would be very similar, especially with not knowing what the correct meds were and dragging you back to bed haha. anyway! enjoy!! i loved writing this sm omg-

send me other requests here !!!

you don't get sick often, but when you do? it's a whole event. growing up you'd always handled it yourself, rarely ever spending the day in bed and truly resting, letting something like a silly cold or flu stop you from getting things done. that changed when you started dating drew.

it's only happened once or twice since you've been together, but after the first time when he practically shoved you into bed, running to your side and carrying you back to the bed or your couch every time you got up for something and insisting he would do it for you, you started to succumb to your fate. it was very comforting, after all, the change of pace that was having someone who wanted to take care of you.

most of the time, honestly, he would know you were sick before you did, and you'd wake up to you having kicked your blankets off and his hand on your forehead, frowning down at you as your eyes flutter open. "you're sick." he would mutter, planting a kiss on your forehead as he moved his hand and quickly getting up.

he would disappear and return a few minutes later with your favourite water bottle and a cold, damp cloth, and an armful of every medication he could find in your bathroom cabinets.

you fell into a nice, stable routine when you were sick, in which you laid in bed and rested, whether that be playing video games or watching tv, or on particularly bad days just laying in the dark and regretting not eating more oranges while your head pounded. all you needed to do if you needed anything at all was text him, assuming he wasn't already at your side, and he would appear within moments. your favourite summoning message was 'help!', which you would type out and hit send, and listen with a smile for you to hear a chair scraping or shuffling followed by hurried footsteps approaching your room. "what do you need, love?" he would ask, standing in the doorframe incase what you needed was in the kitchen or the bathroom, he would be able to get it faster that way. no matter what your request was, you would have it in a matter of minutes, at the very latest.

occasionally, if you were feeling well enough to get up and stretch your legs and go to the kitchen for your own water bottle refill, you wondered how he could even hear you when he seemingly apparated to your side immediately. "you should be in bed! go back to bed, i'll get it." he'd usher you away, or sometimes (if he knew a headache wasn't your affliction, which would only get worse by being thrown around), he'd pick you up and carry you back to bed himself.

on days where he couldn't stay home to dote on your every need, he would shove your favourite childhood stuffie into the top of your shirt like it was a baby carrier, insisting that they take care of you while he's away. (but of course, if you hit him with the 'help!' text, he'd ditch whatever work he’s doing in a minute to be there for you, even if that meant rescheduling a shoot or a table reading to get home)

he'd always tuck in you and your stuffie of choice before he ever had to leave the room, and would come back every twenty minutes if he knew you were asleep to make sure the blanket was still covering you in hopes of making your fever break, but also not wanting you to get cold, even in your sleep. he'd run you twelve baths in a day if you asked, sometimes just running you one and then asking if you wanted to get in. which of course, rarely would you ever say no to a bath. and god forbid you run out of your favourite tea, all the windows in your kitchen would be perpetually foggy from him boiling and reboiling so much water for you.

he’d put on your favourite show and movies, and watch them repeatedly with you if you wanted. he’d apologize endlessly for turning on the bedroom light if you had a migraine, also apologizing through the whole noisy process of taping tinfoil over the window to keep both the heat and the light out. “i’m sorry, i’m so sorry, love, i’m almost done. i promise.” he didn’t want to disturb you, and felt so guilty when he had to to make sure you took your medicine or were staying hydrated.

when you tell him you’re feeling better, he’s always skeptical. he never believes you at first, continuing to insist that you “sleep it off” for at least a day before he lets you rejoin society in any meaningful way, and you are yet to decide whether or not it’s because he just really likes doting on you.

bonus: checking your temperature by pressing his lips to your forehead!!!

#drew starkey x reader #drew starkey #drew starkey x female reader #drew starkey x y/n #drew starkey obx #drew starkey fanfic #drew starkey imagine #drew starkey blurb #drew starkey x you #drew starkey fic #rafe obx #rafe cameron #obx fanfic #obx #rafe fic #rafe imagine

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twstfanblog · 5 months

Text

*~12 Days of Confusion~*

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Im so happy I managed to get this done in time for Christmas. Hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did writing it! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays~!

Word Count: 9.3K (Hot damn)

Crewel looked across the table, staring at his newly legal daughter (A part of him preening in happiness at being able to proudly claim such a fact). They and Grim had spent the first week of the winter break in his home picking out Yuu’s room in his home and making plans to decorate it to their liking. Something that would make the space all the more welcoming when they came home with him officially for their second try at a summer break.

What had been framed as a lovely new family moment was stopped when Yuu remarked the room would be a lovely early Christmas gift. Crewel simply asked what Christmas was. Yuu stopped short, staring at him with a blank expression before dropping his book of fabric samples. They stated they needed to do something, their phone being pulled out and typed on at a frightening speed.

Now his child had spent the last few days pouring over various party rental services and odd emails with animal supply chains.

He sighs, sipping his coffee and looking from the corner of his eye to Grim, the dire beast having joined Yuu in whatever elaborate prank they were scheming up with an almost laser focus. He was even practicing a summoning spell of all things.

Crewel places his mug down, “Puppy. I know you're focused on surprising your friends by visiting them. But you still…haven’t told me what Christmas is.”

Yuu doesn't look up from writing in their mini planner, “It's a holiday.”

“...” Crewel sipped loudly at his rum-laced coffee, hoping Yuu would understand he was waiting for them to continue. When they don't, he rolls his eyes, reaching across the table and closing the planner to gain their attention, “I need more context than that, puppy.”

Crewel pulls the planner away as Yuu reached to reopen it. He tilts his head, raising an eyebrow at the growling teen in front of him. Once they stopped he tapped the planner on top of their head, “Speak.”

Yuu rolled their eyes, leaning against their open palm and waved their other hand around as they explained, “In my world it's a Pagan winter holiday that was commercialized by Western society in the 1950s or something for reasons I didn’t care to learn out. Just know, I’m doing a funny, Kalim agreed to pay for the stuff-”

“About that. Stop taking money from the Asim boy. At this point, I can only call it bullying how much you’ve managed to get from him.” Crewel mentally marked down ‘Pagan’ as something for Trein to ask Yuu about later, the two history buffs can spend a few hours chatting about it so he can get nice and New Year's drunk.

“I’m not taking money from Kalim…I’m asking for it and he’s simply giving me what I ask for.”

Crewel huffs, rolling his eyes so hard his head moved in the motion before he trained his eyes back onto Yuu, “Same thing, puppy…”

“Anyway.” Yuu reaches over, snatching the planner from Crewel’s hands and opening the book. They slap it to the table, smiling as they gestured for Crewel to read it over, “I’m going to be in and out of the house delivering Christmas cheer to my lovely friends over the next few weeks, whether they like it or not.”

He looked over the blocked-out days, twelve was a strange build-up time. He assumed he didn't know how to celebrate Christmas and the dates were important for reasons he didn't understand. But, looking closer at what was written, he sighed and stood. Walking to his kitchen liquor cabinet he mused in his head. He loved his child, he truly did. But, he would never understand why they couldn't spend one holiday without causing a chaotic scramble.

☆~12th Day~☆

Malleus was not rushing. He'd deal with his grandmother scolding him for running through the halls at a later time, a later time when his lovely child of man wasn't waiting for his presence. Later, he would wonder why he didn't just teleport to the heavily guarded mirror chamber in his family's castle, but for now he could only smile seeing his lover waiting patiently for him.

He barely slows his strides, only coming to a stop as he scoops Yuu into his arms, holding them close and spinning them both in his embrace. He pulls away from their neck to press a kiss to their lips. Only when Lilia coughs does he realize how long he's been kissing them.

As they pull away, Yuu takes a deep breath, face red from lack of air and the intensity, “Hey, Peligroso…missed you too, babes.” They laugh, pressing one last kiss to the purring dragon's face before they pulled away, waving to the three retainers standing just off to the side, “Hi guys!”

The rest of the Diasomnia crew waved with pleasant smiles, each in various tiers of noble-looking winter wear to protect from the large open archways of the mirror chamber. Well, everyone was waving except Sebek. But Yuu would give the crocodile half-fae a pass. The poor guy was clearly shaking so hard he almost seemed to be vibrating in the cold, arms locked tight to his body to keep some form of warmth.

Yuu snickered, looking away as Sebek's face soured, knowing they were laughing at his shivering, “Ok, let me do this fast so Sebek doesn't freeze and die.”

“HUMAN, YOU'RE TRULY SLOW IF YOU THINK THIS WOULD BE ENOUGH TO-”

Yuu had already started to push away from Malleus's hold before Sebek even opened his mouth, alerting the dragon fae they were trying to leave his embrace. While he pouted, he still put them down as they wished. Yuu pulled a pitch pipe from their jacket pocket, blowing on it sharply enough that the note made everyone in the area jump.

Smiling, Yuu snapped their fingers to the mirror, a dozen of green and black suit-dressed men marching from behind it in perfect lines of six. They didn't let their friends have a moment to question, breaking into a song accompanied by the drummers playing in an unfamiliar pattern, “On the 12th day from Christmas, my true love gave to me~...” They spread their arms wide, gesturing to the lines of drummers beside them, “Twelve drummers drumming~...”

…

Yuu smiled, dropping their arms as the drummers continued in their beat, “So anyway, I'm gonna go greet Granny Draconia. Enjoy your gift Malleus, you get them for the rest of the day!” They shouted over their shoulder, walking deeper into the castle without them.

Malleus looked after them in confusion. While the song and the gift were delightful in their own right he was…confused. What is Christmas? Why drummers? Why twelve of them?

Lilia speaks from beside him, his whisper somehow heard over Sebek's yelling for the musicians to stop, “Malleus, were you supposed to gift Yuu something in return?”

…

By the Seven, was he!?

Panic flickered over his expression as his thoughts raced. Oh Lords, was he meant to also give a gift of 12 drummers? Did he need to gift more drummers? Other musicians? What was Christmas!?

Malleus rushed after the now sprinting figure of his beloved, “Yuu! Yuu! Come back, we must speak about this gift!” He knew he'd easily catch them, the real battle was getting them to talk.

☆~11th Day~☆

Azul was happy to be home, he truly was. What he wasn’t happy about was acting as an extra eight hands for one of his mother’s smaller, more family-focused restaurant locations as a waiter. Why he couldn’t be in the back and cooking was beyond him. His mother had stated she wanted everyone to see just how handsome her son had become. Something that continued to mortify him as she pulled him front and center to her friends and their children.

The newly crafted Bubble Swimways were nice, finally allowing abroad students safety from the harsh winter currents and the ability to return home for break. Jade and Floyd were more than ecstatic to be able to spend the winter holiday with their family again. Azul was as well, of course…But hearing the two eels cackling behind their hands at his misery from their booth, Azul wished he had the school given power to teach them a lesson…

His stormy mood only grows worse at hearing the sea glass chime of the door opening, knowing it was potentially either an old schoolmate or one of his mother’s friends. He turns only to freeze, a genuine smile growing on his face once he fully recognizes the person in front of him, “Yuu-”

“SHRIMPY~!” Floyd had swam so fast he was only a blur, quickly wrapping around the small technicolor body of a Shrimpmer Yuu. The eel giggled, nuzzling into Yuu’s face before pushing away to look at them clearly, “Ah~, You really are a shrimpy!”

Jade swam over, smiling as he reached out to tug playfully on one of the teal antennae sprouting from their head, “A rather dangerous shrimp at that.”

Azul had to admit, Yuu was a very dangerous shrimp as a mer; A Mantis Shrimp. He cleared his throat and moved his body closer to the mini-reunion, “I believe I saw them first you two…”

Floyd rolled his eyes, a scoff turning into a hiccuping laugh as he swam away, Jade not far after him as he placed a hand to his chest, “Our apologies, Azul. Please, enjoy your shrimp.”

Yuu swims forward, spinning to show off their form and posing, “So~? Am I good looking or would I need to come with a side of fries for you to order me off the menu?”

“Hm…” one of Azul’s tentacles reaches out, wrapping around their tail and flipping them upside down before placing them back, “I would ask what grading system they're using; you're rather small. Not to mention how much you cost. Good shrimp aside, if the price is high I would expect decent fries as a side dish at least.”

“WOW.”

“But! If it were you, I'd order every time.” Azul couldn't bring himself to care that they were in public, pulling them close to press a kiss to their shoulder. His lips trailing up their neck as they giggle before he kisses them properly for a few moments. Pulling away, he keeps his arms and a few tentacles wrapped around them, “What brings you here, my pearl? I'm not upset about the visit, but you didn't even call.”

Yuu holds up a finger, gesturing behind them to a group outside of the restaurant. Azul made note of eleven mer swimming in, each with a flute or recorder in hand. He watches in confusion as Yuu pulls a pitch pipe from their cleavage, flinching a bit as they blow into it so close to his face.

“On the 11th day from Christmas, my true love gave to me~...” Yuu leaned back from Azul’s arms, gesturing to the musicians playing in time with the strange melody Yuu was singing in, “Eleven pipers piping~...”

…

Azul looked at Yuu's smiling face, confusion clear in his expression, “What?”

Yuu kissed Azul's face, waving over the twins to pull them away, “Just think of them as free entertainment for the day. A gift from me to you~.”

“Yuu, what is Christmas and why did you rent me the most unbalanced ensemble?”

He tried to hold onto them, he really did. But the Tweels were faster than him, tugging Yuu clean from his suckers and all laughing as they swam around the area away from him and his questions.

“I-GET BACK HERE!?”

☆~10th Day~☆

The Isle of Woe wasn't an actual place to vacation, but thanks to his sisters wearing their parents down, Cater was free to spend winter break with his boyfriend. Cater worked equally as hard to convince Idia to help him make his idea a reality. Their moms would get along amazingly! Their dads could work in silence away from everyone else and claim they were bonding when asked later. His sisters would be all over Ortho, he was adorable and so high-energy!

And, as he expected, once the Diamond family crew was welcomed to a secured STYX-sponsored rental home, their families molded together perfectly.

Idia sighed, typing at his desk with lightning speed, “I admit…this team match is killer. I honestly couldn't have thought of it even with a guide.” He looks over his shoulder, smiling as he watches Cater on his bed taking selfies.

The redhead smiles, winking at his phone before looking over to Idia, “Told ya babes. Cay-Cay knows how to match people up! Plus…” He pulls his phone closer, doing minor editing on his photos before opening his Magicam, “We get left alone from our families for a few hours per day.”

“That is nice…I do miss hanging out with Ortho…But your sisters are…really loud though…”

“Tell me about it…” Cater taps at his phone with a focused expression before he raises an eyebrow to his boyfriend, “Ok, seriously. I know you joked about having the fastest Wi-Fi in Twisted Wonderland, but is it so fast it's putting my tags in before I even type them?”

Idia snickered, turning back to type, “Nah. That was a joke…the AI text bot though…”

“The what now?”

Idia’s computer makes a ping, a simplified animated version of Ortho jumps around excitedly. The large icon of a video icon shaking in a speech bubble attached to the chibi. Accepting the video call, Ortho waved gleefully on the screen.

“ Nii-San! Come outside and bring Cater-San, we have a guest!” Just as fast as Idia had answered, Ortho ended the call.

Cater rolled off the bed, stretching his limbs with a groan, “Well, let's go see them. They came all this way to visit after all.”

“Cater, I don't have friends who actually know my name and your family signed NDAs to not tell anyone about this place. I have no idea who came to visit.”

“Aw…You know who came to visit…” Cater smiles, shaking his head as the horror slowly overcomes his boyfriend's face. He grabbed onto Idia’s hand, tugging the mumbling taller boy out of his chair and toward the door, “Come on.”

Walking into the ‘Commons Area’, Idia and Cater watched in amazement as a group of men were jumping around and performing parkour on the surrounding ledges and stray floating platforms. Each were in what appeared to be STYX-issued jumpsuits and wearing high-tech-looking boots. Idia racked his brain, finding the boots' design familiar as Cater took his phone out to record.

“O.M.S! This is so cool! I have to get this for my Cam~!”

The single blow of a pitch pipe brought the room to order. Yuu, who was just to the side of them now with Ortho in tow, smiling at their confused faces. Sharing a glance with their robotic friend, they started to sing together.

“On the 10th day from Christmas, my true love gave to me~...” Yuu and Ortho gesture to the performers, the men jumping in a practiced manner, “Ten lords a leaping~!”

Cater ooed and awed, holding his phone in one hand to snap his other in place of clapping, “So cool! Did you get these guys as an early New Year's present?”

Idia looked at the leaping men, watching them double jump using the boots, “What is Christmas…? And why are you here?”

Ortho floated closer, smiling and clasping his hands together, “Yuu called me saying she wanted to give us a gift! They explained their idea and I used one of your scrapped invention ideas, Nii-san! I just fixed a few things and here we are. Isn't it cool?”

Cater laughed, moving his phone to catch as many of the ‘leaping lords’ on video, “Totes cool! Do you think I can get a pair of those boots, Ortho?”

“Sure!”

Idia looked at Yuu, feeling unease at their smile, “...How did you get here?”

Yuu smiles back, whispering under her breath so that Cater and Ortho couldn't hear her over their gushing, “I'll never tell…”

☆~9th Day~☆

Harveston was always beautiful in the winter. Busy. But beautiful. Epel sighed out, reaching to a tree and twisting an apple from the branch. Taking a bite from the treat, reaching up with his free hand to pick another apple for his basket.

He had been sent out by his mother to gather a number of apples for a batch of emergency jam. A gift idea for the gift-giving party Yuu had invited them to. Kinda short notice if Epel was concerned, he only had a week to find a bunch of presents for their massive group of friends/acquaintances and their younger siblings. Who even has a party on the 24th of all days?

The peace was broken, hearing his mother calling for him all the way back at the house. He wasn't taking that long to pick apples was he? In brief panic, he managed to grab a few more before dismounting his ladder and rushing back. But to his surprise, he found his whole family outside, a familiar black-furred dot among them being hugged and fussed over.

Epel smiled, picking up speed, “Yuu!” He shoved the basket into his cousin's arms just in time to slam into a hug with the magicless mage. Both of them laughing as they tried to overpower and swing the other off their feet.

He only pulled away as his father jokingly stated they were going to hurt themselves if they didn't stop. Epel kept his hands gripped to Yuu's shoulders, “What're ya doin’ hur? Ah thought Ah'd see ya on the 24th, not at mah house!”

Yuu giggled, always loving Epel's accent in its natural state, “I come with a gift, my country friend.” They gesture behind them, Epel finally taking notice of the nine elegantly, but still warmly, dressed women.

“...” Epel leans forward, whispering to Yuu, “Ya know ah like boys, right?”

The prefect didn't answer, pulling out a pitch pipe from seemingly nowhere and blowing into it, calling the woman to attention. Yuu takes the position to construct them, keeping them in tempo as they sang.

“On the 9th day from Christmas, my true love gave to me~. Nine ladies dancing~.”

…

Yuu and the ladies do a bow, prompting Epel's family to clap and cheer for the mini-performance. Epel's aunt had walked up to one of the dancers, commenting on the quality of their skirt covers.

Epel walks to Yuu, raising an eyebrow and whispering under his breath, “Why did ya bring a buncha ladies as a gift? What am ah suppose’ ta do with a buncha ladies?”

“I don't know, Epel.” Yuu spoke in their normal tone, not trying to hide their conversation and calling attention from the others, “Maybe one of them will teach you how to fucking respect women.”

One of the older dancers raises her hand, smiling as Epel's cousin plays with the pom-poms attached to her hair, “I can do that!” She nods at Marja, beaming at the older woman, “I have three boys at home.”

“OH! That's a handful!” Marja laughs, gesturing to the town hall, “Let's get you ladies inta the hall. We can get the neighbors all together and teach ya gals some Harveston dances!”

Epel watched in confusion as his family, Yuu, and the dancers all made their way to the town hall. Leaving him in confusion as questions started to arise in his head.

“...Wait a minute…Yuu! What's this Christmas thing!?” Seeing how no one had even turned around at his yell, he started to run after them with a scowl on his face, “...Yuu!?”

☆~8th Day~☆

The Sunset Savana never got snow. Except that one year, but that was later exposed as a political attack. So, sometimes Ruggie forgot about the holiday season. The weather was the same as always, food was his main concern as always. If it wasn't for the yearly banquet his village took part in at one of the bigger settlements, he'd really treat the new year as another day.

But, since going to Night Raven, he's made it his personal mission to bring in a big haul of treats for all of the village kids at every break. Though he's lost the magic of the ‘winter season’, doesn't mean the little rugrats he took care of needed to lose it.

So he was a whole new shade of surprised when he walked out of his humble home to a large crowd. Pushing through his neighbors, he blinked in confusion at the eight finely dressed women milking eight massive cows. Looking over, he stared as a number of kids took turns gently petting at a herd of baby cows in a makeshift petting zoo.

“...” He looked to one of the people beside him, “What-”

“Ruginald!”

The name made it easy to tell who was there. He smiled, opening his arms and accepting the hug from Yuu, “What are you doing here? Don't tell me I'm late for your party. You said the 24th.”

Yuu pulled away from the hug, “Oh, it is. This is just a fun thing I'm doing leading up to it.”

“The last time you did a ‘fun thing’ like a third of the school got food poisoning.”

The violent shushing Yuu did was plenty to make Ruggie shut his mouth. He raised an eyebrow, folding his arms in amusement as he watched Yuu pull out a pitch pipe. His ears pressed against his head just lightly at the tune.

“On the 8th day from Christmas, my true love gave to me~...”

Yuu gestured to the eight women in a line. The group of them managing to squeeze milk into their buckets in time with Yuu's song.

“Eight maids a milking~!” They looped their arm around his shoulders, whispering as they both watched the women pass around the buckets of milk to people asking for them, “This isn't a hand out. I just thought you'd appreciate the free milk for everybody more than anyone else would…”

Ruggie watched the kids petting the calves and hounding their parents for a sip of the fresh milk, smiling as they got scolded but promised a glass once they had safely pasteurized it, “Yeah…Yeah, I do. Thanks.”

The wholesome vibe hadn't ended once Yuu had gone home later that night, a fresh donut bitten between their teeth. His grandmother had made batch after batch of donuts for everyone to enjoy along with their fresh glasses of milk. A kid had sleepily tugged on Ruggie’s shirt, a mug of warm milk in his hands as he quietly asked him what Christmas was. Only when he tried to reply did Ruggie realize Yuu never fucking told him what a Christmas was…

☆~7th Day~☆

Vil wasn't happy with Yuu's surprise party invitation. He already had a strict schedule to keep during his break and it was hell trying to plan a free day. But, curse him if he ever missed an event his Onion was excited to host, even if it was just to critique it. However, when they called and stated they also had a surprise gift to bring him, he had simply dropped the location of the condo his and Rook's family had chosen to vacation in. Mild weather, warm yet not hot and lushed rolling hills surrounding them.

Rook's siblings were odd to him, though just as endearing as his boyfriend. Somehow refined, yet Vil could see that same feral energy Rook had in all of their eyes. His eldest brother, Bishop, somehow being an even more flirty version of his brother. The early 20's man had kept a constantly filled glass of wine since breakfast that morning, taking turns waxing poetic about the most asinine things with Rook.

Vil would take sitting with the two poets over the younger siblings and their pocket knives or his father, Rook's parents, and Rook's eldest sister bemoaning their youth good-naturedly.

He only noticed a lull in Rook and Bishop's conversation as they both turned to the open balcony doors. Vil followed them as they both stood to look over the railing.

The view made Vil almost choke, nearly falling off the railing as he leaned over to yell, “What are you doing!?”

Yuu stood at the edge of the small pond in the front yard of the property, smiling and waving as seven swans were seen swimming, “Hi~!”

Rook waves back, beaming down to the freshman, “Bonjour, mon vieille amor!”

Bishop sipped from his glass, “Ah~. Such a cute little sister you have, Vil.”

“They're not- Yuu! Get away from those swans, I've warned you that they're dangerous heathens!”

Yuu simply held up a finger, pulling out a pitch pipe to blow a single note before they started to sing, “On the 7th day from Christmas, my true love gave to me-Ah!” They quickly sidestepped a swan moving to bite at their leg. Grumbling as they gently nudged the large bird back into the water to swim with the others. Once the aggressive fowl was back to swimming peacefully, they turned back to the balcony, smiling and gesturing to the pond, “Seven swans a swimming~!”

…

Both Rook and Bishop start to clap, the two bold gold blondes cheering for the small performance as Yuu playfully bowed.

Vil groaned, clicking his tongue and tapping his nails on the railing harshly, “That was poor grammar. Now get up here!”

Yuu rolled her eyes, moving quickly as another swan swam out of the pond to try to bite them again, “Just because you had a traumatic experience with a swan doesn't make them evil!”

“I told you that in confidence! And, while it doesn't make them evil, it makes you a dimwit for not heeding my warnings!”

With a comical gasp, Yuu raised their voice louder as they entered the condo, “Mr. Shoenheit! Vil's being mean to me!”

From deeper in the house, his father's voice came from around the corner, “Vil, be nice to Yuu!”

“...” Vil turned to Rook and Bishop, expression in a state of stunned, “I'm an only child. I'm an only child.”

Bishop giggled, sharing a look with Rook as he raised his glass to his smiling lips, “Are you sure?”

☆~6th Day~☆

Riddle sipped at his tea, smiling as a new plate of cookies was placed on the table. “Thank you for allowing me in your home Ms. Trappola. It's very lovely.”

Helen Trappola smiled, waving off Riddle's comments, “Oh, it's no trouble! I'm just glad this one actually has friends.”

“Mom.” Ace huffed, pouting as his mother roughly messed up his hair.

Trey grabbed one of the cookies, smiling at Ace’s frown, “I'm more glad that you actually managed to get Ms. Rosehearts to agree Riddle could come…”

She just waved again, though her smile turned into a copy of Ace’s own mischievous grin, “Don't worry about it. Mama Trappola isn't the top cosmetic saleswoman of Fairest Wares without having exceptional persuasion skills.”

Ace mutters under his breath for her to not call herself ‘Mama Trappola’.

Riddle gave him a disapproving glance from the corner of his eyes. Sipping at the tea while grabbing a few cookies for his own plate, “Yes. Not only did you convince my mother to let me out of the house for a few hours, you also talked her into buying $400 lipstick…”

Helen smiles, winking as she snaps her fingers to shoot the small redhead finger guns, “And she's gonna look amazing in it.”

“Mom, can you leave?”

She responded with a swift slap to the back of Ace’s head, “Ok! You kids have a fun time! Just yell if you need more snacks!” She walked out from the living room, walking back up the stairs to give them privacy.

Huffing, Ace sipped his tea, “So annoying.”

Deuce clicked his tongue, stopping abruptly from drinking his tea and glaring at Ace, “Your mom is really nice, show some respect.”

Riddle and Trey spoke up in unison, “Indeed.”

Ace rolled his eyes, grabbing a cookie to gnaw on it in annoyance, “When is Yuu showing up? I'm sick of you guys ganging up on me.”

At the mention of Yuu, Riddle raised his head, “Oh! Ace, do you have cocoa? Yuu isn't fond of tea so they might appreciate a second beverage option.”

He nudged his head to the hall leading deeper into the house, “Yeah. The container should be on the counter already.”

Riddle stood to prepare the drink, raising an eyebrow as Trey followed him to the kitchen, “I think I can manage to make a pot of hot chocolate alone, Trey…”

“I'm just…supporting.” Trey smiled at the scolding glare Riddle shot at him, only to laugh when the short redhead didn't stop him from following.

While Trey and Riddle were busy in the kitchen, Ace and Deuce perked up at the knock on the door. Ace stands, smiling as he opened the door only to have it drop at what he saw.

Yuu stood smiling, six unknown adults behind them each with a small goose in their arms. The people walked in, brushing past Ace’s confused rambling and placing the geese in various locations before leaving. Yuu closed the door behind them, pulling out a pitch pipe and blowing.

Ace glared, gesturing to his living room now populated by a family of geese, “Don't you sing a little fucking song! Explain yourself!”

“On the 6th day from Christmas, my true love gave to me~!”

Deuce cautiously reached a hand toward a goose beside him, pulling his hand away as it tried to nip at his fingers, “Christmas?”

“Six geese a laying~.”

…

Ace looked at the geese, eyes wide seeing a number of them resting on his mom's favorite couch, “Laying?”

Deuce called out to the kitchen hoping Riddle and Trey could hear him, “Rosehearts-Senpai!? Is there a Queen's Rule about geese!?”

There was a beat of silence before Riddle's voice called back, “Well, rule 365 does state that a rogue floating goose may stay in the home for the night but only during the winter and only if the teapot has been stirred counterclockwise. If that answers your question.”

“...” Deuce took the time to grab the teapot, spinning it a few times counterclockwise before speaking again, “I guess…but what do we do with them now!?”

“...Do with whom?

“The geese!?”

“...” There was a heavy clatter, as though something was dropped and barely caught in time, “There are actual geese inside!?”

Yuu grabbed a cookie from the plate at the table, smiling as Ace yelled from the couch.

“OW! One of these fuckers just bit me!”

☆~5th Day~☆

The past week had been concerning for Jamil. Azul and Malleus had sent him numerous messages and calls asking if he knew what Yuu was doing. The magicless mage visiting them and bringing strange gifts with no explanation. Malleus was particularly worried, unknowing if he was supposed to give them a certain gift in return. He had spoken to Yuu about it, only for them to instantly try to gaslight him into thinking they did no such thing. Like there weren't numerous eyewitnesses to back up such claims… So he just assumed they were finding ways to entertain themselves over the break (since they weren't being held captive this winter…).

So when Yuu came to visit him, luckily with no ensemble of musicians, he chose to not bring up the odd events. After bringing a tray to his room, sharing the drinks and snacks with his date-mate, they moved to the bed.

Though Yuu joked about it, Jamil was not going to do any kind of sexual act with them in his home while his entire family plus a ⅓ of Kalim's younger siblings were on the grounds. So instead they cuddled, holding each other in the warm sun from his window and almost drifting into sleep. Jamil breathed out, fully relaxed as he gently rubbed his thumb against Yuu's bicep.

“Oh…I almost forgot I have something for you…” Yuu reaches behind them, a hand digging into their back pocket and pulling something out. They grab his hand, placing a collection of something small and cool into his palm.

Jamil opens his eyes to look at what Yuu gifted him, eyes widening as he fully registers what it was. In his hands were five stunningly gold rings, each with artful designs carved in the metal, gemstones embedded on a few of them. They seemed to almost glow in his hands just from how shiny they were.

“I…Yuu-”

In his confusion, Yuu had also pulled out a pitch pipe, blowing into it but not lifting their head from Jamil’s chest as they sang, “On the 5th day from Christmas, my true love gave to me~...”

Jamil sat up so fast that he would have nearly launched Yuu clean off his bed if he didn't have an arm still locked around them. In the pause of Yuu's song, his sister and a number of the Asim children she was babysitting all sprang out of hiding spaces in his room. All of them yelling as loudly as they could, Jamil just barely made out Yuu's sleepy singing.

“Five. Golden. Rings~...!”

Once the song ended there was silence, everyone going back into their hiding spots. Jamil sat in his bed stunned with the rings still in his palms, “I…Where'd you-hold on. Get out of my room!?”

Jamil glares, watching as Najma exits his closet with a few of Kalim's siblings, more of the preteens giggling as they crawl out of other hiding spots.

Yuu called out, raising a hand to wave after Najma, “Thanks for the assist girlie~.”

Najma waved back, making sure she had all of her charges before closing the door slowly, “My brother doesn’t deserve you, bestie~.”

Jamil growled out, pointing at his sister in a threatening manner, “Get out.” He scoffed as Najma flipped him off before closing the door finally. He raised an eyebrow, looking at Yuu still resting contently on his chest, “Yuu, what the fuck was that? Where did you get these rings?”

“What rings?”

“The rings in my hand, Yuu.”

“Wow, Jamil, those are beautiful. Where did you get them?”

“If I didn’t love you, I would throw you into traffic…”

☆~4th Day~☆

Home was a sensitive subject to Leona. He had spent so much time at Night Raven over the past few years that it had become his own lesser version of home. Not really in the reality of the situation, but it was good enough at the time. But, after his overblot, and a few months of mandated therapy during the last summer, he actually felt happy returning home for winter break.

At the very least, the Sunset Savana only had one pest who wouldn't leave him alone that he couldn’t escape. Or so he thought.

Sleeping in his room, Leona groaned at feeling a weight sitting close to him on the mattress. When they didn't leave after a few aggressive hits with his tail he opened his eyes in annoyance. That feeling only grew seeing Yuu sitting on the mattress with a smile.

“Hi~.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Cheka popped up from the bedside, eyes wide and brows furrowed in scolding as he pointed to his uncle, “Oji-Tan! That's a bad word!”

Leona scoffs, rubbing the back of his head as he slowly sat up, “What bad word? I said fudge…” He looked away from Cheka's pout, yawning loudly, “What do you two annoyances want?”

“Oji-Tan! We have a present for you! Yuu-Tan said I can help give it! Can we do it now? Please!? Please!?”

“For the love of the Seven, fine. Just stop screaming, you're two feet away from me Cheka.”

“Okay!” Cheka beamed up to Yuu, hands gripping onto the sleeve of Yuu's shirt dress as he jumped in excitement, “Yuu-Tan! I'm ready!”

Yuu giggled, grabbing Cheka and pulling him into their lap as a means to keep his energy contained, “Alright…” Pulling the pitch pipe from their pocket, they blew it carefully, keeping note of Cheka's still-developing ears.

Once the note was set, both Cheka and Yuu started to sing. Cheka louder than Yuu, only tripping up slightly at the unfamiliar word, “On the 4th day from Christmas, my true love gave to me~...”

Just then the door burst open, four discontented-looking attendants entered the room with four large bird cages. Inside each was a loudly cawing blackbird, the sound making Leona's eye twitch.

“Four calling birds-”

“Why the fuck did you bring four Ibis birds into my room?”

“Oji-Tan!”

Leona clicks his tongue, ears pressed to his head as the birds kept up their noise, “I said Fudge. Answer me, Feral.”

“It's a gift. Now you won't have to worry about oversleeping.”

“I won't have to worry about sleeping, period.”

The sound of rushing footsteps managed to echo over the cawing birds. Falena slid into the open doorway, a beaming smile on his face and a few boxes of board games in his arms, “Oh good! You're awake, Leona!”

Leona puts his head in his hands, a growl easing into a frustrated yell. He wanted to go back to Night Raven…

☆~3rd Day~☆

Kalim bounced in his seat, smiling at the large box in Yuu's hands. He was so upset when he learned they had visited earlier that week, even more so to hear he had missed a fun prank they pulled on Jamil. But now, Yuu was back in the Scalding Sands with a gift in hand for him!

Yuu bit her lip, trying to keep her laughter down, “Are you excited Kalim?”

“Yes! Please, I wanna see what the prank is!”

Yuu can't help but laugh, placing the box down and slapping Kalim's overzealous fingers away from opening it, “You're the only Night Raven boy I know who's excited to be pranked. But, ok, I'll do this fast so you don't explode.” Out comes the pitch pipe, a note blown crisp and clear before Yuu sings for the nearly vibrating Kalim.

“On the 3rd day from Christmas, my true love gave to me~...” They pull the lid from the box, showing three small-sized black and white spotted chickens. Each of them with a golden and burgundy colored beret affixed to their heads, “Three French hens~!”

“Ah~! Yuu. They're so cute!” Kalim stood, instantly reaching into the box and pulling out a chicken to hold. He giggled letting the young bird peck at his finger before it calmed down, “But what makes them…what did you say? French? What makes them French?”

Yuu scoffed, folding their arms and frowning, “Kalim, do you not see their delightful little hats? Do my efforts mean nothing to you?”

“...” Kalim looked closer at the chickens trying to see what his friend meant. It took him a bit, but he yelled as he realized, “Oh right! You call Florian ‘French’. Ok, I get it. Hahaha, thank you so much, Yuu! Can I keep these little guys? I think they'd love my aviary!”

Yuu shrugs, picking up the box of chickens as Kalim was already walking to said aviary with the last bird in hand, “I mean, go for it. I'll send you the bill for the purchase.”

“Are these really Florian hens? I didn't think there was a Florian chicken…”

“They're actually some kinda Shaftland breed.”

“Oh! How fun!” Kalim didn't get the prank. He also had no idea what ‘Christmas’ was. But Yuu was his friend and wanted to spend time with him, so he didn't mind the moments of confusion that normally came with the magicless mage. Plus, they were always fun to be around!

☆~2nd Day~☆

“Silver…Silver.” Yuu gently slaps at the ivory-haired man sleeping peacefully. Groaning, Yuu tries to shake Silver awake. Their plan wasn't going to work if the second year didn't wake up.

At another slap, Silver finally opened his eyes, blinking slowly as his brain refused to fully wake up. In his half-conscious state, his eyes managed to at least focus on the blurry black form beside his bed, “...Yuu?”

Yuu pulls out their pitch pipe, blowing softly so as to not startle Silver fully awake. They opened their mouth, poised to sing only to struggle holding in their laughter as Silver whistled in response to the note in perfect pitch.

“...” Once calmed, Yuu started to sing, “On the 2nd day from Christmas, my true love gave to me~...”

Silver blinked, almost like it was a frame-by-frame animation on the slowest setting, “...I don’t feel about you…that way…I'm sorry…”

Yuu snorted, a hand moving to cover their mouth in an effort to not laugh in Silver's face. As they got themselves under control again, they pulled out two small white birds from their coat. Placing them gently in front of the sleepily bewildered-looking Silver as they finished, “Two turtle doves~...”

The blink this time was so long Yuu had actually worried Silver had fallen back asleep. But, once again, Silver opened his eyes, earning a chirp from one of the birds as it nuzzled into Silver.

“Oh…thank you…they're lovely…”

Yuu petted Silver's hair, standing from their crouched position with a small smile, “Go back to sleep, Silver.”

“...Okay…” and just like that. Silver closed his eyes, breathing out a long sigh that set him back to lightly snoring as he drifted into slumber.

Only hours later, when Lilia returned from an outing with Baul did Silver realize that Yuu had actually broken into his father's home. With two birds at that…

☆~Last Day~☆

Yuu's surprise winter seasonal party had been wonderful so far. The rented cabin was massive, with plenty of space for all twenty-two of them and the secondary group of younger children running around. Though confused, the big brothers of the group couldn't deny that Yuu was correct in insisting the kids all join in their party. A Christmas Party, whatever that was. But for the past few hours, they had all come together to bake and decorate cookies. Decorating a large evergreen tree with sparkling blubs and tinsel ropes. Not to mention they were instructed to place their gifts under said tree. Now the kids were on the floor beside the fireplace, glue and other craft objects scattered as they made their own custom ‘stockings’ to hang along the mantel.

No one wanted to question it anymore. Not since giving up on learning why Yuu had felt the need to visit them for the past two weeks to deliver their bizarre gifts. Something that Jack was surprised to hear about, seeing how he hadn't been visited by Yuu at all. Only to regret such a statement as Yuu stood in front of him with a smile.

“Jack? Can you follow me outside, into the dark woods, alone?”

“...” Jack sighed. Whatever Yuu had planned, he wasn't strong enough to really fight it. Not after being force-fed cookies that were more frosting than cookie from his overzealous siblings. He turned to Trey, whispering under his breath, “If Yuu kills me, please make sure my siblings brush their teeth before bed.”

Trey smiled good-naturedly, guiding the wolf children to his own younger siblings with practiced ease, “I'll even make sure they floss.”

“I'm not asking for a miracle, Senpai…” Jack stood up, grabbing his coat to follow Yuu into the dark snow.

Jack followed Yuu through the cold fluff, huffing and tensing up more and more the farther they walked away from the cabin's light. He quickly pulled his phone from his pocket, sending a message to the group chat of the other first years, ‘If I don't come back, I love you guys.’

Sebek replies first, ‘Do you honestly think that human could kill you?’

Epel sent a single heart emoji before typing out a reply, ‘Sebek. Didn't yuu bust ur kidneys in a one on one?’

‘That event doesn't pertain to this conversation.’

Jack stops short, putting his phone back into his coat jacket as Yuu stops in front of a gathering of evergreen branches. He sighed, wanting to step away as Yuu pulled out a pitch pipe with what he could only call a sinister smile, “Oh Seven, please don't sing-”

The note plays clean and quick, making Jack's ears fold down at the noise.

“On the last day from Christmas, my true love gave to me~...”

Jack mutters under his breath. “What the hell is Christmas…?”

Yuu pulls a branch away. Showing a small clearing with a singular medium-sized Pear tree, decorated just as fanciful as the evergreen in the cabin. Jack looks into the tree with a critical eye seeing something moving around. While he would love to watch Yuu get spooked by a lone squirrel, he didn't want to deal with Yuu's scream potentially causing an avalanche.

“Uh…Yuu-”

“A partridge in a pear tree~!”

Once Jack clearly sees the bird in the tree he glares at Yuu, “How did you get this tree here?”

Yuu's smile quickly falls off their face, expression showing how annoyed they were, “Jack, you are being so fucking ungrateful.”

“No, tell me how you got this tree up here. Who helped you with this prank? It wasn't funny.”

“Ungrateful. I did this specifically for you. You like pears!”

“That bird looks terrified. What did you do to it?”

☆○~○☆

The walk back to the cabin was full of bickering, Jack holding the shivering Quail in his arms as he scolded Yuu for having the bird out in the cold. Once they both entered the cabin, Yuu slammed the door shut behind them and they shouted out.

“Leona! Get ya boy, he's being ungrateful!”

Leona didn't move from drinking a bottle of amber liquid. Seemingly trying to get drunk to block out the sound of the children squealing in delight. Ruggie however looked over, the snicker stopping as he looked at what was in Jack's arms.

“...Is that a quail?”

The bottle left his mouth before he could fully tip it upright, Leona looked to Jack as liquor dribbled down his chin, “They gave away another fucking bird?”

“OJI-TAN.”

“Fudging bird.”

Ruggie snickered, the yelling finally bringing the attention of everyone else to the new addition. But Ruggie was laughing at the indication that Leona had also been gifted a bird, “Another bird? You got some fowl gifts there, your Highness?”

Jack huffs, letting an excited Kalim run up and gather the bird out of his arms. The merchant heir quickly showing it to his younger siblings and Lilia as Jack grumbled, “I also own a pear tree in the middle of the mountains now. Don't know how they even got it up here…”

Vil groans from his seat, fingers rubbing at his temples and seamlessly taking the glass of water Rook hands him, “Yuu, enough of your games. What is this Christmas nonsense you've been going on about?”

Yuu pours a glass of sparkling grape juice for themselves, deciding to finally spill the holiday beans, “It's a really popular winter holiday in my world. Once I realized you guys didn't have Christmas here I just wanted to recreate one of my favorite songs. The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

Jamil mutters under his breath, mildly horrified at the idea of a 12-day long holiday as festive as the party was, “Oh Seven, please no…” Please don’t give Kalim any ideas.

Malleus speaks up, concern on his face as he wonders if he was supposed to be celebrating the past eleven days, “Was I supposed to gift you back an ensemble by the 12th day? You stated in your melody that a ‘True Love’ is the one gifting such things, this won't affect our agreement will it?”

Azul perks up, almost panicking at the idea that if he failed to give Yuu a proper ‘True Love’ Christmas present they'd break up with him.

Yuu giggles, waving a hand as a show for their lovers to calm themselves, “It's just a song, no wordplay magicks involved. And even if there were, I wouldn't let you guys go that easily.”

Ace clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes at the brief romantic declaration, “Whatever. The gift kinda sucks though, prefect. Who wants geese of all things?”

Leona freezes mid-drink, raising an eyebrow at Ace, “Geese?”

“Mon Roi and I received a delightful flock of swans!”

“Oh! Yuu got me three hens with cute little hats!”

Epel frowns, turning to face Yuu with a glare, “Why'd you gift me a bunch of LADIES!?”

Yuu held their hands out, calling to calm everyone slowly descending into a shouting match over what the actual ‘Gift’ was, “Ok…we're gonna do the last verse of the song and you all get to hear the wonderful gifts this dude gave to this poor woman over the course of twelve days.” They pulled out their trusty pitch pipe, smiling as they raised their finger to conduct, “When I point, sing what I sung when you got your gift.”

~ 🎶

“On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me~...”

“...Twelve drummers drumming?” Malleus sang in mild confusion, Sebek almost yelling the phrase as support for Malleus's soft tone. Lilia giggled out the tune, eager to hear the full gift list.

Azul frowned but easily mimicked the melody from before with the twins joining him in glee, “Eleven pipers piping.”

Cater and Ortho joyfully sung their part, Idia between them mumbling out the tune, “Ten lords a leaping!”

Epel flinched, not expecting to be pointed to already, “Nine ladies dancin’?”

“Eight maids a milking?” Ruggie let out a nervous laugh, was the tempo getting faster?

“Seven swans a swimming.” Vil crossed his arms, glaring and saying ‘a swimming’ with a bite as Rook sung it with a grin.

“Six geese a layin’!” The remaining Heartslabyul four all sang out in unison. Riddle taking what little time he had to get the phrasing and melody from Deuce and Ace and give a neat performance.

Jamil sat with his arms crossed, refusing to participate, but was instead dogpiled by a number of Kalim's siblings. Most being the ones who helped Yuu with their prank on him almost a week ago.

“FIVE! GOLDEN! RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGS!”

“By the seven- Four calling birds- oh my fuc-” Leona and nearly everyone else too close to the pile-up of children had either covered their ears or leaned away from just how loudly they had ‘sung’.

Kalim laughed, clapping in time with the beat of the foreign song, “Three French hens!”

Silver sat in mild confusion, eyes widening as he remembered, “Two turtle doves…”

Yuu points to Jack, smiling as they teasingly sang out, “And~...”

“...” Jack sighed, ears flicking in annoyance before clicking this tongue and singing through his teeth, “A partridge in a pear tree…”

Yuu cheers, “Yes! I never thought I'd miss hearing Christmas music…” They clap, smiling at their friends' confused faces, “That was perfect! Grim, show the nice people the treats they've won.”

Grim perked up, leaping out of the arms of one of the children, dancing on his toes briefly in a happy jig. “Finally! Watch and be amazed by the Great Grim!” He sucks in a large breath, cheeks puffing up before he lets out a massive ball of fire into the air. The blue flames twist and turn, swirling into a sphere before falling to the ground.

A brief shout of panic passes over the group, everyone moving to shield the children from the potential fire spread. Only to watch as the fireball disappears on contact with the floor, a massive red sack left to bounce once into the air. On the second impact, the top burst open as the weight of it shook the cabin, revealing treats and a plethora of toys. Grim slumps over exhausted. He had been practicing that summoning spell for weeks and it still took a lot of him.

Yuu points to the bag of treats, smiling at the awestruck children, “Those are for you guys, happy holiday.” They all leave their respective siblings' protective embraces, descending upon the bag and nearly climbing inside it to see just how many toys and treats were free for the taking.

Idia blinked, uncurling himself from around Cater as Ortho took his shield down, “Man…talk about a mega item drop…those kids hit the jackpot on holiday loot…”

As everyone calmed down, Deuce looked up from counting on his fingers, mentally figuring out just…how many people and birds in total were ‘gifted’ in the song, “Wait, you said one guy is gifting all of this…to one woman? On the same day?”

“He actually gifts them multiple times for each day. The first eleven are repeated multiple times until you get to the 12th day and then you get the whole song one last time as a gift.”

Riddle realizes why Deuce was distressed. Eyes widening at the number that appeared in his head at the final amount of ‘gifts’, “That's-that's too many birds! Too many birds and too many people, where in Twist is he getting them!?”

Idia groans, sinking into his seat in despair at the very thought of so many people, “Better question is what are you even gonna do with all those birds? Most of them just sound like weak deco items…”

Rook hums, “Well…40 pheasants sounds lovely. Especially for the winter months!”

…

Vil turned to Rook, gently taking the wine glass from his hands, ignoring the Florian laughing at his action, “Rook…there wasn't a single pheasant mentioned in that ghastly song. I think you've had enough for tonight.”

“Oh mon roi! How you care for me so! But, I fear I must correct you. A pheasant is a bird with a golden ring around its neck. I would assume the five golden rings are five pheasants.”

A moment of silence passes over the room. Yuu huffs into their glass, raising an eyebrow at Rook, “I think they're just golden rings, Rook. The song is already weirdly bird heavy as is…”

“But, they are all birds, mon vieille amor?”

…

Epel speaks up, “So…ladies dancing?”

“Cranes.”

“The drummers?” Lilia tilts his head, genuinely curious about the new information on the song.

“Woodpeckers most likely!”

Ortho perks up, eyes almost glowly in his excitement, “Oh! I just did a search. Heron is also known as a ‘leaping lord’ in some parts of the world!”

Floyd pouts, “Eh? What kinda bird is a piper then? Don't they all whistle?”

“Possibly a sandpiper…if we're going by name alone…” Azul pushed his glasses into place. The song…somehow got worse. These were far too many birds…

Leona scratches the back of his head, “Calling bird could be any bird then…”

Vil taps his chin, looking into his cup as he thought, “The song is full of poor grammar. Who's to say it was calling originally? Maybe…coying? Colly? Four coally birds makes the most sense, word-wise at least…”

Yuu frowns, putting their glass on the counter in an aggressive fashion before pointing at Rook's smiling face, “Ok, wise ass. What kinda bird is a ‘maid a milking’ then?”

Rook shrugged, “I would guess a magpie or other dairy-cultured bird.”

…

Everyone watched as Yuu grabbed the whole bottle of sparkling juice, scowling as they stomped to a lone armchair and folded their arms, “This is why we got fucking divorced…”

Cheka instantly turned his attention away from the bag of gifts he was digging around in, instead scolding his pseudo aunt, “ YUU-TAN! THAT'S A BAD WORD!”

Yuu pouted but still called to Cheka, “I'm sorry, Cheka. I'll do better, just enjoy your treats ok?”

Lilia chuckles, floating over and sitting on the back of Yuu's chair, “You said this was your favorite song. I'm guessing there are others then, would you like to share them with us?”

That was the magic switch. Yuu quickly pulled their original phone from their pocket, eyes glittering as they connected to the music system, “Yes! I can tell you guys all about the Christmas Time Curse and Mariah Carey!”

“I'm sorry, Christmas Time Curse!?”

“Is this Mariah woman the one doing the curse or somehow worse than the curse?”

#twisted wonderland #twst #disney twst #twst wonderland #yuu oc #night raven college #twst heartslabyul #twst savanaclaw #twst octavinelle #twst scarabia #twst pomefiore #twst ignihyde #twst diasomnia #malleus x yuu #azul x yuu #jamil x yuu

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reverie-starlight · 7 months

Note

heloo saw ur req was open!

Can i req smth like a fic? (or hcs if u prefer) of mammon x gn reader!

Basically where reader is the type that enjoys horror movie and never flinches or might even laugh at some jump scare bcuz they think it’s horrible or funny! and mammon is like ‘what?? how r they laughing??!’ while he’s shivering and clutching a pillow like his life depends on it..

YES OFC I CAN THIS IS SO FUN!!! PERFECT FOR HALLOWEEN <3

(I hope you can forgive me for taking so long to post it, my plan is to schedule this to be released ON Halloween hehe)

also I don't watch a ton of horror movies, so I'll keep it kinda general, but I hope you enjoy anyway!!!!

gn!MC, pre-established relationship with mammon, takes place in OG obey me.

HALLOWEEN MOVIES WITH MAMMON

okay so

at first when you say you want to do a horror movie marathon with him, he's hesitant

yeah, human world horror might seem a bit lackluster for a demon, especially ones centered around possession or summoning- they might even see some as comedies if the execution was done poorly

but possession hits a bit too close to home for mammon, and he's never been a big fan of horror in general

you see him hesitate and before he has the chance to hide his feelings and force himself to agree, you give him an out

"hey, we don't have to if you don't want to... I just thought it might be fun since Halloween is coming up and it's a fun way to get into the spirit of it all. I won't force you, my love."

and he almost takes it.

but then he thinks about how you were probably really missing out on human world holiday traditions... and he sees the bit of disappointment you're trying (and succeeding for the most part- if he didn't know you as well as he did you would have fooled him) to hide

so with a deep breath, he sucks it up and shakes his head. "no, it's okay. we can totally do that! pick a time and place and we'll binge as many as ya want."

your eyes light up and you grin. "really?! thank you so much, mammon! I promise we'll start off with some easier ones and work our way up! I'll go make a list."

he doesn't regret his decision one bit and appreciates that you're being considerate of his feelings

until he realizes that your definition of "easy" horror movies didn't exactly align with his.

the first movie on the list was not "easy" at all, and at first he thought you were pulling his leg a bit

until he saw that you looked almost bored whenever there was a jump scare

it was almost embarrassing that he was clutching the pillow as tight as he was, but you were so focused on the movie that you didn't notice.

you did make sure to periodically check on him in between scenes and during bathroom breaks, but he didn't want you to feel bad, so he put on a brave face that seemed to sway you

he somehow made it through the first movie, and the second, but by time you were on the third (still in the "easy" category, you had said), he felt mildly sick to his stomach

during the movies, you had actually laughed during a few of the scary scenes.

how were you so desensitized to the horror genre?!

he usually admired your bravery, but this was a whole other level.

this third movie had to do with a zombie apocalypse, and you teased him, saying it reminded you of that haunted house you both got trapped in forever ago.

he tried to laugh with you, but at that moment the main character came into contact with one of the zombies and he wasn't able to hold back his scream since his guard was down

suddenly he was hiding his face in your shoulder, and shivering in your arms

poor baby starts apologizing and shaking his head when you pause the movie to check on him

"mammon have you been trying not to let on you were scared this whole time?!"

he tries to deny it but you give him a stern look and he sighs, nodding, starting to shake less now that the initial shock had worn off

"I just wanted to make you happy! I know how much you must miss human world halloween traditions and I wanted to make it feel more normal for ya..."

you smile at him and cup his cheek.

"mammon, that's sweet, but I'm literally in hell watching horror movies with my demon boyfriend, it doesn't get more halloween-y than that for a human," you giggle when he pouts and you lean down to kiss it away

"and if you were scared, you could have told me! we can watch something else, it's totally fine. it's no fun if only one of us is enjoying it."

he reluctantly agrees, still feeling bad for "ruining" your horror marathon (to which you reassure him that he didn't ruin anything, and then apologize for not realizing sooner).

so for the rest of the night you watch horror parodies (which are definitely more his speed) and cuddle up together under the blankets until you both fall asleep, thankfully nightmare free.

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

OKAY I really hope you enjoyed this, anon!!! and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!

I tried to keep it as general as possible because horror movies really aren't my thing, but if you're interested in more spooky mammon content, I have a fluffy halloween fic coming later today (it may already be out depending on when you read this) and I promise the quality is a lot better than what I've offered here :')

#mammon x reader #mammon x reader headcanons #mammon x mc #obey me mammon x reader #mammon fluff

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car-sounds · 19 days

Note

Hello! Can you write about Alpheratz with a blind summoner? About helping them get through bullies

Alpheratz Defence

(again sorry for taking so long for this, I'm so sorry. Also sorry if I didn't portrait blindness correctly)

Alpheratz & reader (could be read as romantic)

2nd person

450 words

Summary: Alpheratz overhears people insulting you, and even when you hesitate to respond, he has your back.

Your last class of the day ended, and Alpheratz picked you up to go try out a new menu item at the coffee shop nearby as what was planned last night.

When you got there it wasn't too busy, the excitement for something new must have worn off by the time you two decided to go. Most were empty but Alpheratz noticed a group of Contell students in one of the tables close to yours. They seemed to quiet down when you and Alpheratz sat down but he didn’t think much of it at first.

They stayed relatively quiet until Alpheratz left to go order for the both of you and then they started laughing and insulting you like they thought you wouldn't be able to hear them. People at Contell knew you were blind, with being a new student able to summon without an imprint, any information people could find was spread throughout Contell quickly so it was a very well-known fact even to those who haven’t met you yet. The jokes seemed to be centered around your blindness.

“They can’t see, they're all defenseless now that Alpheratz isn't with them. I don't know why they even hang out with someone who's not even a sorcerer and is blind. They probably have to take care of them all the time.” They all laughed like hyenas. Although you wanted to do something about them, for the sake of the cafe employees and the few other customers you held your tongue. After a while of keeping quiet Alpheratz came back, they didn’t notice him right away so he could hear what they were saying before they shut their mouths again.

“Mc, are they bothering you?”

“Don’t worry about it let's just finish our drinks, alright,” Alpheratz can tell by the tone of your voice you’re upset and after putting the drinks you guys ordered down on the table walked over to the group. You could hear the nervous chatter coming from their table and Alpheratz's voice telling them to get outside.

After a few minutes, he comes back, “Mc, don’t listen to what they say got it? They have no idea what they’re talking about. Next time someone treats you like that, don't hesitate to throw something at them. I’ll pay for any damages to the cafe and tip the employees a lot extra for having to deal with it so don’t worry.”

“Alright. Thanks for dealing with them Alpheratz!”

“No problem. But I wouldn’t say I’ve fully dealt with them yet. Wanna throw rocks at them with me for a bit before eating?”

“Sure!” the two of you get outside with the Contell group still on the ground from Alpheratz.

#arcana twilight #arcana twilight x reader #arcana twilight fanfic #arcana twilight fics #artw #arcana twilight alpheratz x reader #arcana twilight alpheratz

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fateinthestars · 4 months

Text

Star-Crossed Myth Fluffbruary FanFic (2nd Feb): Surprise Picnic (Dui/MC)

Title: Surprise Picnic

Fandom: Star-Crossed Myth

Genre: Fluff

Rating: T

Pairing: Dui/MC (MC’s name left blank so you can fill it in with whatever you wish in your head)

Word Count: 939

Written for Prompt: February 2 : engagement | scent | jam for @fluffbruary

A/N: Set after Dui's Promise of Infinity story. Spoilers for Dui's route.

February 2nd: Surprise Picnic

Dui smiled to himself as he checked over the basket of food once more. He hoped he hadn’t forgotten anything from the article he had seen about picnics a while back. If he had he could technically summon stuff later but once they were on their date he wanted it to be completely normal. He would have done everything without powers in the first place but food preparation took a lot of time and at least a part of him wanted to make sure he spent as long as possible with his wife.

His smile widened at that thought. It was not long since Heaven’s Rift had enabled them to actually get married, and this was actually the first time since then he’d been down on Earth long enough to do something for ___ . They’d occasionally spent some time together in the Heavens, and even the occasional evening at the Mansion, but he couldn’t remember the last time they’d been on a full outing.

Hurry it up, if you keep reminiscing like this we’re gonna waste the time we do have with ___, then you could have made this stuff in the first place.

Alright, we’re going, Dui reassured his other side, before picking the picnic basket up.

***

When ___ opened the door to her apartment after hearing someone knock, her eyes widened in surprise. “Dui! You didn’t mention being able to come here at any point this week!”

Dui smiled softly at her as he stepped inside. “I didn’t want to get your hopes up,” he murmured gently, but as his hand caressed her face his eyes widened and he grinned, “‘Sides, I wanted to surprise you. Go get ready.”

“Ready?” ___ asked, frowning a little.

“What do you think this is, dummy?” Dui teased, nodding to the basket on his arm.

___’s eyes widened. “We’re going on a picnic?”

“That is the idea, yes,” Dui muttered, then looked down as his expression faltered into one of unease. “Unless you don’t like them or it’s somehow a problem.”

“No of course not!” ___ tried to reassure quickly, hugging her husband. “I’d love to go on a picnic with you. Just let me find something a little warmer to wear.”

***

Later, in the park, they both sat down on the picnic blanket that Dui had laid out. Wrapping an arm around ___ , he lifted the lid of the basket with the other. The sweet aroma of cherries filled the air.

___ leant her head contently on his shoulder with a smile, not at all surprised at the type of food he had packed. She picked up a sandwich filled with cherry jam whilst Dui cut himself a piece of cherry pie.

They then talked for a while about their work week whilst enjoying the food.

“...Don't you want to taste anything other than cherries?” ___ asked him after a while.

Dui put the plate of fresh cherries he'd been eating from down, a mischievous expression crossing his face. “Well there is one thing,” he answered, before pulling her into a deep and loving kiss.

Dropping her glass of cherryade in surprise, ___ blushed deeply and pushed him back a little. “Dui, we're in public.”

“Meh, who cares?” He grumbled with a pout. “Besides, I can't see anyone.

Looking around, ___ relaxed a little as she realised there wasn't any activity elsewhere in the park, then blinked as she realised the light was fading. “How long have we been here for?”

“I'm not sure,” Dui murmured, smiling softly now. “Does it matter?”

“No,” ___ murmured, “I was just surprised it was getting dark already. We're not going to be able to see much soon.”

Dui sighed. “Oh you're right…” He hadn't wanted to use any powers whilst with her but there was still something he wanted to do. Deciding that spending time with his wife was more important than not using his powers, Dui snapped his fingers.

The sky lit up with brightly shining stars.

___ looked up, smiling brightly at the sight, but then glanced at him with slight worry. “Won’t other people notice?”

“I’m sure they’ll just think it’s an exceptionally clear night. Just for a little bit won’t hurt.” Dui then looked away from her.

“Dui?” ___ asked softly, taking his hand in her own. “You seem distracted. Was there a reason why you wanted to stay out here a little longer?”

“I… well…” Dui mumbled, suddenly feeling rather awkward, worried she’d think this was silly.

We’ve been through this. Do I have to do it myself?

No!

Taking a deep breath to relax, Dui looked back up at ___ and smiled warmly, before getting a small box out of his pocket.

___’s eyes widened. “Wait… but if that’s what I think it is, why…”

“I’ve been reading up on human customs,” Dui murmured softly, squeezing her hand. “We’ve already done the one in the Heavens but you’re still living down here. Remember when we were mistaken for Newlyweds? I’d like that to happen down here and we can actually say that it’s right.”

“... Dui…”

Dui opened the box to reveal a ring engraved with the Gemini constellation on a silver chain. “I figured this was best as you already have the ring from the fountain on your finger but… ___, will you marry me?”

“My answer to that will never change,” ___ responded, her voice barely a whisper in case there was anyone else around. “Yes. I still want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Placing the chain around her neck, Dui then pulled her close into a tender embrace before kissing her.

#scm fanfic #star crossed myth fanfic #scm #star crossed myth #scm dui #dui x mc #fluffbruary 2024

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qiutls · 11 months

Text

TNGDH 015

"Maybe he didn't want the two of you to be upset?"

People who were gathered around looked at us as if we had said something so absurd.

It was expected, of course. Who doesn't know the reason Belial came to the North? It wasn't enough to just send aristocrats and find trouble with the estate, the imperial family came forward and wanted to find fault by themselves.

Kyle's biological mother, as written in < The Heart of Winter >, was a commoner who ended her life as a maid, not being able to be recognized by the imperial family, nor even buried with a grave. For Belial, who's a prince and a member of the imperial family, Kyle's existence itself is an insult to his so-called noble bloodline.

I understand it's hard to accept the situation. His biological father suddenly got someone other than his mother pregnant and made him accept that child as his brother. If we were bound my original world's laws, you'd be stoned to death. But still, that isn't Kyle's fault.

*Okay, so this is how I found out Belial and Kyle are half-brothers, and not uncle and nephew... correcting the other chapter where it says Kyle was the son of previous emperor*

Belial turned his head to look at Sen.

"Because it will make me upset?"

Sen picked up the bag of walnuts from the floor and said calmly.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Belial looked at me this time. He stared at me with questioning eyes, 'Is that really the case?'

I don't know. I don't know what Sen meant; we didn't talk about this before. But I smiled at him, hopefully making him believe Sen more.

Fortunately, Sen continued.

"There will be a flower-giving event at the banquet, which marks the final day of the Northern festival."

"And?"

"People who attend the event are supposed to give flowers to someone they love and respect. The people of Blake will naturally offer their flowers to their master, Lord Kyle."

'There was something like that?'

The system quickly answered my question.

[ A crooked smile lay on Belial's face. His eyes scanned the large yet empty straw basket next to him. The basket next to Kyle was filled up to the brim with white flowers. Not a single symbol of respect was given to him. It was as expected. This is why he needed to get rid of Kyle and get rid of the North as a whole. ]

'... This was more dangerous than I thought.'

There's no reason to hate Kyle that much, there's also no reason to hate people who just want to make a good living. You can't really judge people based on their faces. You may look good, but your personality is dirty.

"This is basically a tradition in the North. I'm worried that Your Highness will be hurt."

"Hmm."

Belial didn't seem interested in me anymore, he passed by me and went directly to Sen.

Although the plot of the story must've been changed, it is true that their fates are intertwined, and they're bound to form a relationship. Belial's gaze at Sen looked unusual.

However, it was a misleading gaze. It wasn't an 'I fell in love at first sight' look... It was a gaze that felt so hot it could burn.

'A look of possessiveness?'

That's right, it felt like a desire to win, rather than love.

"What's that you're carrying?"

Belial looked at the hamster supplies and snacks.

There was cotton candy-colored cushions, plastic balls, sawdust, and swings. Why does it look like they're trying to make a theme park for hamsters?

"Ah yes, you're the maid who's been to the grand duke's study a lot."

"His Highness is raising a magical beast and I am merely helping him with miscellaneous things."

Okay, you two talk. I'm going to leave.

Anyway, now that there's a reason, don't go if you can help it. It's a one-of-a-kind life, don't you think you should try and protect it and live for a hundred years?

I was creeping back and about to disappear from the gathering when Belial called out to me.

"Hey, you."

"......"

Please don't pay attention. Don't worry about me. The time for "Summon" is almost over. I need to go now, so you two have fun.

Belial grabbed the back of my hand as I tried to pretend, I didn't hear his call. I turned my head to look at him and forced a smile. That's right let's just laugh. This damn social status, you'd be dead by now if you weren't the prince. Seriously...

"Did you really mean that?"

Why are you still asking?

It was difficult to refute the statement, so I struggled and ended up agreeing.

"Yes, well... I'm not good at explaining stuff so I was thinking how to tell you, but Sen took the words right out of my mouth so..."

Belial cast a glance at me as if he were seeing something strange. He treated the magical beast indifferently, but he seems quite interested in people... No, maybe, he's just curious at interesting stuff.

"You can give me flowers then; I won't be upset."

What are you talking about? How can I go to the banquet? I don't even have an invitation!

Even if I tried to go as a servant, the competition to be hired during the banquet was huge. In other words, I'll end up frying or picking up food, and have no place to intervene.

I looked at him in embarrassment, and Belial took out a piece of paper and handed it to me with an indifferent expression.

"Come."

It was an invitation to the banquet; it even had his name written on the back. Probably because he's classified as VIP, Kyle even wrote the invitation himself.

'Ah...'

My head throbbed when I saw the invitation and I almost swatted it away.

If we're being honest, it was a good opportunity. If Belial attends the banquet and decides to do anything suspicious, the best way to stop it is to stick by his side and prevent anything from happening myself.

However, the moment I received this piece of paper, it felt like my future would be more tiresome than it is now.

"... Yes."

I took it. What else can I do? Rip it in half?

As the duration of "Summon" is ending, I slowly excused myself and went back. I bowed my head and sighed constantly on my way back to hide my clothes.

'I shouldn't run into Kyle at the banquet.'

But there's no way to avoid meeting him. Ah! Why did I say that when we met!

Life is really not easy.

The next afternoon, as soon as I dressed up, I met Sen.

"I've been looking for you! Where the hell have you been? I've asked the guards and they've never seen you leave nor enter the gates, and you're not sleeping at the servant's quarters, and no matter how many guest rooms I've searched, I couldn't find you."

"Ah, that-"

I've been sleeping at Kyle's bedroom. Since I'm not disappearing randomly these days, Kyle has been comfortable enough to let me out of the hamster house.

It turns out I didn't have good sleeping habits, whenever I came to my senses, I was sleeping on Kyle's face. He'd grab me from the back of my neck, put me back down and wrap me tightly in a handkerchief, and go back to sleep.

At first, I didn't like being swaddled at all, but because of the cold winter nights, I found that it was more comfortable than I thought. As the morning dawned, I found myself back at the hamster house again.

In the afternoon, after pretending to play with the toys he gave that was bought by Sen, he said that he was going out and put me back in the house.

"Well... that's what happened."

I couldn't think of any excuse, so I decided to be vague and remain silent. It's better to give an impression that's a little bit suspicious than to be caught lying.

Sen stared at me for a moment before dismissing the conversation as if it wasn't important.

"I've been looking for you since morning."

She handed me a big box that was heavier than it looked.

"What's this?"

"It's a suit for the banquet. His Highness, Belial, sent it. He didn't even know your name, yet he gave you this."

"Oh..."

What an amazing guy, he didn't even know my name, but he thought about preparing clothes for me. Indeed, it was weird to receive a flower from a stranger, so he probably gave the invitation and prepared clothes so it would seem less strange.

"I got one too!"

Sen smiled and lifted another box.

"He asked me to come with him. It's the first time I'm wearing a dress. Actually, there was one time I wanted to wear something like this but..."

I pretended not to see Sen's slightly sad face.

"Anyways, thanks to you Shu, I get to wear pretty clothes like this. By the way, why did you tell the prince not to go to the banquet? Was it really about the flowers?"

"Ah... about that, it's not about the flowers, I just don't have a good feeling."

I felt ashamed and cut the conversation short.

"Anyways, you go attend the banquet! It's good to attend as a guest and not as a servant."

"You're right! I will surely repay this kindness."

"If that's the case, then pay it back with food!"

Northern food is really delicious.

"You're such a glutton! Where does everything you eat even go?"

"... I know right?"

It's actually going straight into my hamster belly.

Thanks to that, Kyle has been touching my belly fat more than kissing me. Even though I try to kick his hand every time he does it, he thinks I like it and that I'm trying to play so he continues to do it. I think he'll even mistake my swearing for a serenade.

I talked a little more about the banquet with Sen and then we went our separate ways.

Eating the bread Sen gave me as we parted I thought, 'Northern food is really a delight.'

The thinly sliced meat, vegetables that overcame the tough winds of the cliff, and bread fresh out of the oven were as delicious as famous fast-food franchises in my world.

I kept my daily clothes and the suit in the box hidden once again, patted my stomach and the white light enveloped me once again. As soon as I turned into a hamster, I felt heavy.

'Kyle is going to nag me again.'

Maybe I can hide when he comes back if I slip through this hole.

".... Cashew Nut."

―…….

Fuck.

I murmured curses as I felt my body crammed in the cylindrical hole. Is it right to swell up like this?! Just because I ate two sandwiches, I can no longer fit here? I ate just two!

[ 乁(・o・)ㄏ ]

Yeah, I'm larger, but not that much... Maybe I grew around 15 centimeters.

I held my breath and tucked in my stomach to slide down the hole as Kyle gave me a worried look. Hey, who cares about gaining a few pounds! It's not like I have a terminal disease.

"You're not eating the food I've been giving you; I don't know how you're gaining so much weight."

It's because you're not bringing something delicious Your Highness. He kept touching my stomach the whole time, seemingly worried. Okay, let's not play today.

Kyle brought me to his bedroom to sleep again tonight, and as soon as I woke up in the hamster house in the morning, he forced the macadamia in my mouth.

Go, do your duties!

I'm going to a big banquet this evening. If I want to eat all the delicious food there, then I need to make space in my stomach.

Of course, Kyle who had no idea what I was thinking, stared at me grimly, before placing me back at the hamster house.

t/n sorry for the late update & for not being able to markdown the text! ill edit it later when i get home ^^

#tngdh

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happyk44 · 10 months

Text

Still kind of miffed that the sequel series wasn't Olympus versus the underworld like it was kind of setup throughout PJO. like the whole ending to the underworld stuff was sort of... boring. when you look at it. like hades gets blamed in TLT despite no proof, TTC his daughter dies and her body just disappears (and it's never brought up why they couldn't find her body, like??) and his son runs away, TBotL shows how powerful and deadly children of Hades' can be

(in a way that Percy really hasn't shown with his own powers imo, like Percy and his usage of his powers doesn't really happen very much until TLO, it's generally just small things like healing himself, or swimming, etc. nothing particularly big. like the most notable event prior to TLO is blowing up that volcano, and that's fucking four books in, bro, Percy please. why is the first time you summon a hurricane in the middle of a battle, baby, please hyperfixate on something other than your sword)

anyway Nico also states that children of Hades have never been accepted at camp (why, why, why - like the implication is because no one trusts Hades, but what does that mean for his children when they do go to camp? Plus Hades saying his kids rarely have happy endings in BoO, like WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, this is why my headcanon is they literally got bullied into suicide or "accidentally" killed off by other camper, and they just. fucking accepted it because they had to protect the other underworld kids and better they got beat and harmed than the children under their wing - they can handle it, they're stronger and they're not afraid of dying)

and then in one of the side stories we find out through Persephone that Hades may never have actually been on equal footing as his brothers, that Melinoe might've helped Ethan with Bob (and thus was on Kronos's side to some extent.

and in TLO we find out morpheus, born of the underworld, is on Kronos's side and also that Zeus straight up tried to kill Nico and Bianca and judging from Hades' insistence w/ trying to get Maria to agree to go to the Underworld with him, it's not a surprise to him that this happened, if anything it was anticipated - which means it had to have happened before, either with him or with anyone. he knows that if he refuses his brother's demand (his brother who is not a king to him, mind you, olympus has no bearing on the underworld) that his brother will strike and he will not be able to do anything direct about it because conceptually the underworld is smaller than olympus, and has few, probably none, allies outside of its underground walls, so he would be risking everything if he fought back at his brother for the death of his beloved and his children

it's also why my headcanon is that zeus wanted all his niblings rounded up into one place, and then he sent down the seed of "hey, kill your cousins to save the world" to his kids and there was a big all out battle, and everyone died (because it's so easy to blow up people without anyone noticing your involvement when lightning is being flung everywhere) and like. i am. jsut

this would've been so cool

but also rick probably would've effed it over so lmao because he's not the best at nuance and complex situations - see Hermes as an Olympian and a Chthonic deity, where would he sit if he had to choose, what side does he pick?

see Annabeth as a child who has grown up in camp, who views things from a logical perspective and can see why Nico would be dangerous to keep around, the risk he carries from the death that oozes off his fingertips with ease, who can see why past campers tried to get rid of him and his ilk.

see Percy who has no loyalty to Olympus or camp, he is only loyal to his friends and his friends belong to Camp, Annabeth belongs to camp, Grover is literally akin to an olympian deity right now, but Percy intrinsically feels the need to protect Nico and Nico belongs to the Underworld - what does he do when his heart belongs to different powers? does he steal nico away while his family burns and lets the kids hate him again, so long as he's safe? does he help him and watch the place he just worked so hard to save be brought to its nees? does he try to be diplomatic about it? try to mend things back together?

the complexity of it - the choices you'd have to make and the reasonings you'd have to apply to the characters so nothing seems out of place, but also so that no one is enraged by the characters they loved making decisions they don't agree with, so maybe it's a good thing this story never got told

but it would've been so cool to see, if it had

#don't worry folks i will make my own heaven vs underworld story #happy talks pjo #it's literally call pjo runoff in my wips list lmao. runoff because i forgot the word knockoff 😂#like i know where the inspo came from. it's been sitting there for like 2ish years now #but tbh ive been thinking about this concept for at least 5 years #i'm just utterly devoted to the light vs dark trope tbh

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sakuraryomen01 · 2 years

Text

Devil's Playground /Devil! Toji x Reader/ [No Nut November drabble]

warnings: devil! toji . part 2 of "Cherry Picker.." . summoning devils/demons . some claiming as well as marking . slapping . pussy drunk! toji . cumshot to the face . breast fucking . clit pinching . belly bulging . size kink . prideful toji . reader has a small fascination with toji's chest . shower sex . wall fucking . taking it from behind . backshot .

plot: summoning Sukuna wasn't enough for you? well.. you try your hand at summoning spells once again, two months later, with the hopes of seeing Sukuna again, but end up with more than you bargained for the first time around!

reader: female reader; has summoned a demon before, why not go for two?

words: 2.958k

a/n:: sorry for the delay, i haven't been well recently, but i am getting better! i will be putting a label on my nsfw drabbles, but you can go to your settings and change whether or not it is hidden for you or not. (unless u r underage, then u cannot change it.)

. . nsfw under the cut . .

Thank you for reading this bit! Enjoy!

Here you are. Again. What was wrong with you?

Was Sukuna's cherry popping amazing dick not good enough for you? It had been almost a full month since Sukuna actually visited and you were already missing it?

Him and his tight ass haven't strolled into your bedroom late at night for some time and you've gotten lonely. So, stupidly enough, you decided to try contacting him once again.

Not that thinking about his tight ass was on your mind half the time anyways. No sir, not you...

Now, since you had summoned Sukuna, he told you easier ways to get into contact with him if you wanted a quick fuck. He told you about ouija boards, though you thought it was childish, he was dead serious.

"Remember to ask for my name first, got it?" He had told you, writing down his name and telling you what to specifically say. "It's like my version of getting you getting my phone number. Aren't you lucky, little human?"

You thought you were lucky anyways.

Imagine having a slut demon to your beckon call whenever you wanted to spice up your rather boring life only to not be able to contact him personally and got weird creeps coming through the board instead.

Sukuna was hot, sexy, and even knew what you and your pussy liked as if it was common knowledge. You missing your weird sex-based relationship with him wasn't even the half of it. Ever since you hooked up with him, he always stayed around your house more and in the human world.

Taught you a few things about better summoning methods and so on, but also told you that you had been 'marked' by him of sorts.

"It's usually hard to get a demon to mark you, human. So be happy and love it."

You did, until you failed multiple times to find him!!

After a while, your obsession with getting some action made you pick up the stupid spell book and write some marking for a different demon. It was a real sex demon, it read. An incubus actually.

You've always thought that those kind of demons were rather funny to think about. If only you thought differently when you summoned one.

His hair was jet black and his body was like something out of an anime. Fit to perfection with a chest that looked as if it needed its own bra size, and black tail with a purple tip at its end coiled like a snake's around his leg. There were no wings like Sukuna had, but there were two small horns that were on his forehead, like a devil.

"What the fuck?" He first said, his almost neon like eyes darting around your studio apartment. "Wasn't I just at a pub in the lust ring?"

"Wow," You muttered, your eyes still glued to the sex demon's tits. I mean, chest. Fuck, why do they look like a snack?

The demon looked around for a few moments, eyes gleaming as he sensed more than a little demonic presence from others. “I’m not the first, am I, love?“

“N-No..?” You muttered out, face flushed as he sat down and crossed his legs, tail continuing to curl and coil around his thigh. “Um, what’s your name?”

He raised a brow, looking down at you with a questioning glare. “..It’s Toji Fushiguro. Yours?”

“Y/n, sir.”

Toji chuckled at this, standing from his spot on the couch and leaning down to pet your head. Your face burns at this, looking away and just watching his tail wave and curl near the ground.

“Aren’t you cute,” Toji cooed, his voice deep enough to make your body have a heart attack. It was so sexy, and rough at the same time. “Calling me sir isn’t going to get you out of the situation. Do you know what summoning an incubus can do to your poor body?”

You shook your head, making Toji laugh once again. You really were adorable.

“Now that I’m here, I can’t leave until you pay me back,” He said calmly, his lips twitching into a smile, a scar decorating it that you hadn't noticed before.

"Pay you?" You asked, your eyes flitting from Toji's to his scar. "As in money?"

The demons smile only widened, a lustful and perverted shine in his almost neon eyes as he lowered his head to yours.

"Didn't you read your silly spellbook, love? You have to pay with your body."

. . .

So that's how you got here? Sitting on your toilet as if nothing was wrong?

"Satan, your pussy is so warm, love," Toji muttered, his fingers curling and pumping into your hole. The stretch making you tremble and ache as Toji's tongue circled your clit.

"Never met a human with such a tasty one, too! Fuck, can't wait to get inside you, doll."

The pet name made you blush, your hips twitching as your thighs shake. An orgasm working its way into your belly as Toji continued to play with your pussy. As it turned out, this particular incubus visited the human realm often for sexual desires since the ones in hell didn't cut it for him.

Though, no matter how much pleasure he was giving you, your mind wandered back to Sukuna. The one that actually took your first, and solved your first problem.

Now, you couldn't help but want him, letting out a soft mewl.

"Gonna let that orgasm out, pretty girl?" Sukuna's voice rang in your head, Toji sensing the insufferable difference in your tone of voice.

Your ass is soft in his hands as he pushes his tongue into your little cunt, swirling around in an attempt to get your attention back. He let out a small growl, the vibrating sensation sent chills down your spine. A gasp mixed with a moan escaping you as you rocked your hips.

"Ah, finally paying attention to me, are you?" Toji teased, making a rather large slurping sound while sucking on your engorged bud. "Whatever you're thinking about, forget it. You focus on me right now."

Letting out a whine, your fingers entangle themselves in the demon's hair. Tugging and pulling ever so gently, watching Toji's eyes shine with lust as his nose pressed against your clit. A lewd smile forming on his face as his swirls his tongue inside your twitching hole.

"You're so warm, doll," He mumbled between your thighs, sending chills up them. "I know it can get hotter. But only if you orgasm that pretty little mind into extinction."

"Wh-Wha..? Mmgh!"

Toji's tongue flicked the hood of your clit, plunging two fingers inside your cunt. Moving them at a rather fast pace that your body wasn't used to feeling so suddenly. Twitching violently above him as your tummy formed a knot, bubbling inside of you as you whimpered loud and lewd.

"Such a pretty voice," The demon nuzzled against your heated core chuckled, scissoring his fingers and licking a stripe between your folds and tickling your hole. "I simply must visit more often if there are cute girls like you up here with the same noises in their mouths."

"T-Toji!" You cried, your back arching as your orgasm hit you suddenly and fiercely. The toilet seat underneath you creaks as you leaned back, tears filling in your eyes as you panted and rubbed them, looking down at the incubus kneeling on the floor.

"..By the rings of hell, you're so cute."

Moments later, Toji's cock was pressed firmly against your chest. Your eyes glossy and confused as you looked up at the male before you, his eyes seeming to glow under the shadows of his bangs. The green hue making a tremor of sexual desires run down your back at straight to your clit.

It throbbed and ached as a single finger from Toji's hand hooked under your top and pulled down until your breasts popped out. A satisfied coo was let out of the demon as he reached down and rubbed both thumbs over your erect nipples, his smile only ever growing at the sight.

Even though they hadn't grown much since your visit from Sukuna, you had put oil over them everyday in hopes they'd get bigger. They did, but only by a cup size..

"Such precious little tits, doll," He praised, his cockhead twitching as your soft mounds pressed against the sides. "Can't wait to fuck 'em like they're begging to."

You blushed at this, looking down as Toji pressed your hands to the sides of your breasts. His cock twitching as he slowly began to rock his hips back and forth, an aroused smile making his teeth appear to shine.

"Aah, such a good girl you are, human," He praised yet again, a pat to your head and rocking his hips faster. Toji's voice became mostly low grunts and hums of satisfaction. "Mmm, your skin is so soft and warm. Haa.. I could fuck your chest forever."

Your breath hitched as you looked down at Toji's cock head; a few beads of cum already starting to form on the slit. At the pace he was going, Toji was going to cum soon anyways, so you pressed your hands around the top and dipped your lips down to flick the pre up with your tongue.

An excited coo left the demon at this, a groan following short after as he gave a few ruts of his hips again. "Aaghh.. Gonna cum, doll!"

Your lips now kissed the tip every moment it came close in it's rapid pace, your tongue licking around every moment it could until the demonic entity gave a final moan and shot his semen all over your face.

A shocked squeak came out of your throat, making the incubus laugh at your covered face. "Hmm, you really are a little wonder, aren't you, doll?"

Minutes appear to go by as Toji starts the shower, warm water shooting from the showerhead. He pulled you into it after him, a blush on your cheeks when you bump right into his chest. It felt soft and warm pressed against your face, but rough and firm at the same time. You hadn't noticed until now the small scars that seemed to litter his skin. Even around his pink nipples, there appeared to be a few small cuts that were almost completely healed.

While you were admiring the numerous marks, Toji's hands had begun to wander across your body. Letting out a soft sigh, Toji closes the shower door behind you and drags his nails across your skin. The plush feeling of you smooshed against him was like every other sexual encounter he had, but not at the same time.

What made you so different?

"You really are like a doll, huh?" Toji questions, his smile seeming to be permanently etched into his features. "Perfect for my hands. So small, too."

He gave your ass an experimental slap, watching the fat jiggle for a moment and then still as you let out a whimper. Toji's cock twitched at this, seeing your eyes shut close as his fingers squeezed the mark.

"My, oh my," He muttered, a seductive growl to his tone. "Are you a pain slut or something? That wasn't even as hard as a real slap would be, yet your pressed against me as if I knocked the wind out of your lungs!"

"M-Mmh.." You mumbled, your sex twitching at the thought of how hard a real slap would feel. You must've become a pervert since you last seen Sukuna. "Sh-Shut up.. it's nothing!"

"Nothing, huh?"

He gave another slap, a harder one this time, making more than just a whimper escape your lips.

Toji's smile only brightened when he finally turned you around and pressed you against the wall, water running down his back and legs as he grinded his hard length between your thighs.

"Let me show you how wet 'nothing' got you, doll," Toji chuckled, his fingers dipping down to play with your twitching clit. "Ah, look at that. You're wetter than ever, huh?"

Your breath hitches as Toji's lips press against the back of your neck, a coo leaving you as they begin peppering small kisses. It was so comforting and arousing at the same time, feeling his fingers swirl around your clit before pushing themselves inside you. Moaning, hearing it create a small echo in the bathroom, you squeezed and massaged Toji's fingers.

Curling and pumping his fingers, Toji's tail lifted and coiled around your thigh, squeezing slightly. "Fuck, I can't wait anymore. I want to be inside and claim you already!"

"M-Mmnn..!" You mewled, looking back and watching as Toji's head hung. His fingers pulling from your insides until you felt his tip rub against your lips.

"Haa.. been a little while since I've last done something like this," He announced, a laugh leaving him as he pushed the tip inside. "But I know fully well that I can 'knock your socks off', as you humans say."

Although the joke was cute, you couldn't laugh as much as croak when Toji's tip became more than just the tip. Feeling him bury his length inside you, stretching more than you had ever felt before. There was a newfound ache deep inside you to, much like when you felt Sukuna's member inside you for the first time.

It was exciting to feel again, if you were honest.

"Finally, I'm deep inside that pussy," Toji sighed, his hand slapping your bruised ass again. "Does it feel good, good girl?"

"Y-Yes!" You whined, your legs shaking as you felt Toji's cock knocking on your wombs entrance. It was so deep inside, it was surprising you could take so much. "S-So much.. It's too deep, Toji!"

The incubus laughed at your cries, grabbing ahold of your hips and thrusting forward into your soft hole. A sob was let out by you, feeling Toji's cock practically splitting you in half. Already your mind was blank, your pussy squelching as Toji started to move.

His hips jutting against you quickly, his pelvis and balls slapping your ass and clit perfectly. Why must he have to search for so long just to fuck when you were here summoning demons?

Honestly, you were so tight and warm, Toji would've sworn you were a virgin before he came along!

"C'mon, keep screaming my name like a good girl!" He said, rutting his cock into your pussy as his hands wandered.

His body loomed over yours as his hands ran up your tummy, feeling his cock bulging inside it until he reached your tits. Squeezing and massaging them as he continued to pummel himself into your sex. So sweet and warm, he didn't even think about leaving.

"Such a good pussy ya got, girlie," Toji groaned in your ear, making a shiver run down your spine. "Gotta mark you up so no one touches it ever again, yeah?"

"A-Aah!" Your throat already felt like it was sore from moaning too much, feeling your ass slowly becoming raw as it slapped against his pelvic bone.

With every thrust, every squeeze, Toji could tell you were getting closer. A coo to your tone as you mewled and whimpered, rubbing your bulging tummy as he continued to ruin and destroy it. How could you think when he was fucking you so good?

"Gonna cum yet, pretty girl?" His voice sneered, a chuckle following as soon as you answered with a nod. "Wow, so dumb you can't speak? I must be really doing a number on you, eh?"

You couldn't answer, another orgasm threatening to wash over you, Toji's fingers reaching down and rubbing around your clit. "Are you gonna deny me an orgasm, doll? God, you really are a brat!"

With a cry, you came just as Toji pinched your clit, feeling your pussy constrict and tighten. Pushing him over the edge as he pulled out and released his load on your back. Panting breaths and sweaty bodies, that's what you and Toji were now.

Surprising you missed this kind of thing, just having sex.

"You're such a good girl for taking so much cock," Toji praised once again, your cheeks burning as he pet your head. "Wanna wash up before I go, so stay with me until then."

"What?" You questioned, looking up at the jet black haired demon. "Stay?"

"Yes, stay!"

"Why?"

There was a delay in speaking until a sudden burn manifested on your lower tummy, making you sob. The burning wasn't all bad, but it did hurt to a degree. What was this?

"There ya go," Toji said, reaching around and rubbing the area the burn was now dissipating from. "Got a cute little demonic marking! Quite suits you actually, never felt the need to use it til now though."

You looked down, whimpering at the sight of the mark. "What does that mean?"

"I've just marked you, sweet thing. You're mine now, and no one else it allowed to fuck or touch you as long as that's there."

Sucking in a breath, you looked down and rubbed the new tattoo-like marking. "Oh.."

Then, did Sukuna put one on you, too?

It was over an hour later when Toji actually left, leaving you in your living room where the summoning had taken place to clean up. So Sukuna had marked you to? Where was it? He didn't burn any kind of symbol into your skin like Toji did.

Was Sukuna unable to mark you?

Whatever the reason, it slipped your mind the moment you rested your head on your pillow and fell asleep. Little did you know, that there was someone that had watched the whole thing, and was intent on fixing it and shaking the sin from within you..

___

To Be Continued..

a/n:: i missed toji a little so i decided to write for him, and I hope you guys enjoyed! I think I'll be getting back to posting soon, if not on a regular again. I've got this started very late, I apologize on that, and this is going to be as daily as possible I hope. I will also hold on putting labels.

Request Warnings: You may send in asks and requests for fluffy and smut episodes for NNN! Anyone and anything! (If I do not know the character/anime I will let you know and I hope to not disappoint.)

Have a wonderful day/night and I hope to see you next time!

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tokiro07 · 7 months

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Undead Unluck ch.180 thoughts

[You're Back! And Your Front - You're Both Here!]

(Contents: Fuuko analysis)

After over a year completely absent from the story, Andy has finally returned!!! Sort of. This one's just a clone, but it's still his consciousness, so we can't go so far as to say he's a fake or anything like that, it just means that he's not back permanently just yet. Sadly, he'll be gone before we know it, probably by the end of next chapter or the following depending on how quickly a "minute" passes

While that is the most exciting part of this week's chapter, though, I have already talked about it in a separate post, and thematically it contributes very little to the chapter as a whole, so it doesn't give me much to chew on right now

But you know who does? Fuuko. Fuuko continues to be one of the best protagonists I've ever read if for no other reason than because she is constantly growing. In fact, this chapter gives us two instances of her immense capacity for growth, one retroactive and one current

First, I want to talk about her surgical skills. Upon seeing Fuuko's proficiency with a scalpel, Rip notes that it took him ten years to get that good, to which Fuuko replies that everyone has their own set of talents - it took her 100 years to get to that level. We know that Fuuko's been kicking around this loop for 200+ years now, but aside from getting in on the ground floor of the fossil fuel economy and flirting with old martial arts masters, we don't really know how Fuuko spent most of her time. This revelation makes it clear that she wasn't just twiddling her thumbs and waiting for everything to fall into place, she was using her time to learn everything she might need to know going forward. She couldn't rely on being lucky enough that someone would know how to perform Leila's surgery aside from Rip, she had to be the one who could do it just in case. It was difficult, obviously, but that didn't matter - she had to do it, and when you have a potentially infinite lifetime, something being a "waste of time" isn't a valid excuse anymore

Compare this to when Fuuko was instructed to write a manga to get close to Anno Un in ch.37 - immediately she tried to get out of it, declaring that there was too big of a gap between reading and writing for her to be able to succeed. It didn't take a ton of convincing to change her mind, obviously, but she still needed to know that Andy was at her back and had the skills necessary to cover for her before she was willing to take even so much as the first step. This time, though, she had nobody. She had to do everything all alone, with no safety nets or guarantees, and she was able to turn those anxieties into the motivation she needed to succeed

It's also interesting that this means that she's taken the same basic path as Andy this time around: when Andy learned he was immortal, he started dabbling in various skills, such as hairdressing and manga authorship. However, whereas Andy was just aimlessly picking up skills to kill the boredom, Fuuko used her time wisely to plan out every eventuality along her 200-year path

I will say it's not exactly fair to say that it took Fuuko ten times as long as Rip to learn how to perform surgery, though - if she took 100 years, she must have started 100+ years ago. How different was medical knowledge and technology between 1800 and 1915? What tools do we have now that they couldn't have had? Society moves as fast as its tech will allow, so obviously someone working with outdated materials is going to learn that much slower, especially if she's trying to learn modern techniques

Not only has Fuuko shown her growth as an individual, though, she's also shown her growth as a leader. In accidentally triggering Unluck on Rip (with the same level of affection as she had for Andy when she first kissed him, I might add!), Fuuko summons a meteor that she knows will destroy the hospital. The last time this sort of accident happened was at the end of the Buroja Conflict in ch.153 when she inadvertently dropped Disc on Nico. At the time, she was paralyzed with guilt and fear, crying from the knowledge that she's not only killed one of her best friends, but possibly everyone who matters to her, and she can't do anything about it. What snapped her out of it was the reassurance from her friends that this was not an inescapable tragedy, but a problem to be solved by everyone working together - all she had to do was give the order

This time, Fuuko still knew that what was coming was terrible and was afraid of the outcome, but instead of wallowing in guilt, she jumped into action, figuring out the best course of action for everyone involved near instantly. Of course, she still didn't have the solution totally figured out, but she was able to create a plan on the fly because she didn't need any reminders that everyone present was strong enough to come together and save the day so long as they have strong enough leadership to unify them

But of course, Tozuka wasn't going to let Fuuko get away with simply minimizing casualities, he was always going to give her a definitive way out that would bolster her courage to the max. With Andy's return, all of Fuuko's anxieties are washed away, and the path to the goal has become clear as day - all she has to do is give the order

#undead unluck #fouryearsandananime #4y1a reviews

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amethystunarmed · 6 months

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It Can't Be Undone Chapter 2

Word Count: 4,795 Chapter 1 Ao3 Link Detailed CW on AO3

When he realized what the Lords were asking Steph to do, Peter hadn't thought it was much of a choice. If it was him or Steph, it wasn't going to be Steph. And part of it made sense, didn't it? He and Richie and Ruth were a unit. Ted called them pack animals, and stopped bothering to ask if they were coming over when he picked up Peter from school. They were inseparable.

So doesn't it make sense he would follow them here, too?

As he waits there, on his knees, breath illuminated by the stadium lights, he wonders if one of the Lords in Black will wear him, the next time they're summoned.

Probably the yellow bastard.

“I’m ready,” he tells Steph, even though he isn’t.

The gun goes off and Peter doesn't die and for a moment, Peter feels disappointed. Then Max Jägerman is breaking his fucking arm and he doesn't have time to feel anything.

~~~

All in all, Max was having a pretty good day. He was pounding nerds to his heart's content, had Steph and her pet dweeb cowering at his mercy, and Grace Chasity finally realized just what she was missing out on. Which is why he is more than a little peeved when another fucking ghost shows up.

“Shitlips?” Max snarls, “ How you fuck did you get here? And what the fuck are you wearing?” Max woke up in the clothes he died in, but clearly Richie isn't bound by the same restriction. He's got green hair instead of blue and is wearing the $5 crown from last year's prom, but Max is 90% sure it's him.

“What did you just-” Shitlips hisses, then he stops and looks down at himself. “Oh. Will you look at that? I forgot what I was wearing.” He giggles, a wheezy, hitching laugh that Max has never heard from him before. A chill goes down Max's spine, and he feels uneasy in a way he hasn't since he woke up beside his dismembered corpse.

He thought originally that Shitlips was wearing one of his dorky cartoon outfits, the ones Max has pummeled him for wearing every Halloween since the 3rd grade, but looking at him, that seems less and less likely. He's pretty sure even Shitlips wouldn't shell out for contacts that made his eyes glow. That even with all those lame dances he's practiced in the cafeteria, he can't make his fingers bend like that .

“Shitlips?” He asks again, this time much more confused. What the fuck is happening?

“Actually, this is perfect,” the Lipschitz copy says with a grin, like Max hadn't spoken. “I can't imagine a better way to illustrate my point, Maxiepoo. You've been running around making quite the claims, haven't you? You said you were a god...” He pouts, and pats Max's head. “You don't know the meaning of the word.”

Max wrenches away from the touch. “I don't know what's gotten into you, but I beat your ass once, and I'll do it again!”

Max goes to punch him, but something grabs his hand. Fucking Flemwad , with gaudy glasses and long, highlighted hair, is holding him back. She has one hand clamped around his wrist, so tight his bones grind together. Max can feel bruises blooming under her hold. She giggles as he yanks against her hold. He had been able to easily throw her around the theater, like a toddler with a ragdoll. Now it feels like he's in the grip of a marble statue.

“What the fuck?” He moves to grab her with his other hand, but another hand clamps tight around him. Mayor Lauter isn't even looking at him, instead he is examining his fingernails.

Two more hands clamp around his ankles, and Max looks down to see the woman from the limo and the nerdy prude from the Waylon place, in blinding pink and neon yellow. They smile up at him with raucous, toothy grins. Their fingers burn where they touch him, so cold his skin cracks with neurotic black burns. Max thrashes, but he can feel their touch burrowing deep inside him, digging into the core of what he is now.

He knows, instinctively, in a way that took the place of breathing, that there is a well of power in him. It keeps him moving, grows with every nerd he guts, propels him like a shark. It is everything he is.

And he can feel these... Monsters draining it.

“W-what are you?”

Richie Lipschitz grins with bright, manic eyes. He takes Max's chin between his fingers and forces Max to look at him. “Look at what you did to us, Maxie!”

Blood soaks Richie's front, turning the green sweater a dark red. Richie reaches down and tries to rub it away, but green fur sprouts on his skin from wherever the blood touches. Richie opens his mouth, screaming like he had when Max had first descended upon him, only water floods from his mouth. It keeps opening, wider and wider, until there is a crack and tentacles pour forth, thousands of them, squirming and writhing and lapping at Max's face and arms.

He tries to lean away, but the tentacles push him to face Ruth Fleming. A spotlight illuminates her as the bottom half of her torso separates, where Max tore her in half. He remembers how her intestines fell out and he had laughed as they painted the stage. Now, eyes gush from the cavern in her abdomen, purple irises all locked on Max. They blink at him, blood and viscera eyelids his only reprieve from their stares.

There is a metal thunk, and Max turns to see a shovel embedded in Mayor Lauter's skull. With his free hand, he reaches up and tugs the tool loose. With a musical tinkling, shimmering blue shards fall from the wound and Max can see an endless black abyss inside of his head. Max can tell, intrinsically, that he is looking into the vastness of space, and that there are no stars, there are no planets, that he is entirely, singularly, alone. The two halves of Mayor Lauter’s face smile at him. Blue ooze swells up from the wound like crude oil from a well, and it dribbles down his front.

There is a wet splat, and warm, thick liquid splashes up Max's shin. A heavy weight rests against his shoe, and even before he looks down, Max knows the red headed woman's head is going to be staring blankly up at him. What he doesn't expect is the endless rows of serrated teeth lining the esophagus of her headless body. It leans forward and gnaws at his leg. Thick, viscous drool drips down his leg and even at a distance, Max can smell its breath reeking of rotten meat.

There is a sharp pain in his left foot. The man from the Waylon Place slams his head against Max's foot over and over, the same way Max had slammed his head into the rotting floorboards. His skull shattered the same way then, too. Only, instead of lying there, limp and gelatinous, the wet mess of flesh and brain sits up. It reaches a hand up to peel bits of skull away, like it is peeling a hard boiled egg, to reveal the bloody yellow head of a goat. It bleats at Max.

“W-what the actual fuck,” Max gasps.

The creatures laugh at him, wet and braying and metallic.

“Surely a god would understand,” the mass of tentacles coos. Bright, spotlight eyes illuminate Max, coating him in slimy green light.

The thing that never was Richie just smiles.

“You're in my world now, bitch!”

~~~

Peter takes a moment to gaze in amazement at where Max had been torn through a hole in reality. He turns to her, unable to keep the awe off his face.

“Holy shit, Grace! That was amazing!" She had saved his life. Was he indebted to Grace Chasity? Fuck, was he going to have to go to church with her now? He has no idea how he is going to explain that to Ted.

Grace looks up at him with a brilliant smile. Her shirt is still half untucked and there's grass in her mussed hair. Her lips are red and swollen and she looks the most relaxed Peter has ever seen her.

“My dad's dead,” she says brightly, and promptly bursts into tears.

“Oh shit,” Peter says frantically looking between her and Steph. Steph mouths “Do something!” at him while aggressively gesturing to Grace. Slowly, Peter reaches out and pats Grace's shoulder. “There, there...?” He trails off looking to Steph for approval. She facepalms.

She walks over to Grace, and sighs. “I still think you're fucking weird,” she says, but holds her arms open, “So this is a one time offer.”

Grace looks up from where she has her face pressed into hands. She blinks blearily at Steph, tears still cascading down her face. Then she staggers forward, falling into Steph's arms. Steph shakes with the force of Grace's sobs, tightening her hold on Grace as she screams into her chest. And then, almost impossibly, tears begin to trail down the lines of Steph's face. Slowly, first, then full hiccuping sobs. The two of them sink to the ground, fully weeping into each other's arms.

Peter doesn't know what to do, even more at a loss with two girls crying rather than just one. He swallows. Tears feel so far away. Everything feels so far away. He doesn't know how to comfort them or get them to stop or if he even should.

He kneels down, and places a hand on both their shoulders. He doesn't know what else to do.

He doesn’t know how long they sit there. Eventually, Grace and Steph catch their breath, panting and heaving under Peter’s arms, but they at least aren’t crying any longer. Peter waits for them to say something. They have planned every step of this excursion so far, and he is perfectly fine with being dragged along. But Steph and Grace don’t say anything. They just lean against each other.

It’s cold. None of them had time to grab coats and the temperature has plummeted with the setting of the sun. Peter can feel the girls shivering. So he says it.

“What do we do now?”

“I... I don't know. I don't even have anyone to call.” Steph says. “Miss Tessburger was my emergency contact if something ever happened to my dad, and...” Peter remembers the flare of red hair and the arc of blood that flew across the air. He swallows, fighting nausea at the memory of her severed throat.

Grace shakes her head as well. “I...” She stares blankly at her lap. She seems aimless, drifting aimlessly through the conversation. “I can't see my mom right now.”

So Peter ends up texting Ted. Peter doesn’t necessarily think this is the correct choice. His brother has been blowing up his phone all evening, with both texts and actual, honest to god voicemails. He is sure his message of “At the high school football field, please come get me” is not necessarily well received, given the way his phone immediately lights up with Ted’s face. Peter silences the call, and sends a thumbs up emoji when Ted texts “ill be ther in ten dont fuckin move”, and doesn’t really consider the implications of Ted showing up until his baby blue Stuedbaker pulls into the parking lot.

“PETER LORENZO SPANKOFFSKI!” Peter can hear Ted's screaming through the closed car windows. His brother steps out of the car, hands on his hips, keys jingling where they dangle in his hands. “Of all the times you decide to break curfew, it's when there's a fucking serial killer on the loose? And you couldn't even text me? I had to hear from Paul of all people that you nearly got arrested, at Beanie's of all places. You absolute noodle, I am going to-”

“Ted, it wasn't like that. We were just-”

“We?”

Peter can see the moment Ted realizes who is standing next to him. The anger drains from his face, and is replaced with a wide, smug grin. Oh no.

“Holy shit, are you out here with two girls ?” Jesus Christ. Peter is going to commit fratricide.

“We weren't-”

“If you were otherwise occupied, you could have just said-”

“Ted, cut it out!”

“You were letting me fucking pace at home while you were out here getting it on with-”

“Ted, shut up !” Peter shouts, ignoring the way his voice cracks, shoving his arms down stiff at his sides with balled fists. His injured wrist screams at the movement, and he whimpers, clutching it back close to his chest.

The others shout his name. Grace and Steph both come to his shoulders, looking over him. Ted about sprints to his side.

“What the hell happened, are you hurt?”

Ted looks at them, really looks at them. Peter knows they're a mess. Their clothes are torn from the shattered car windshield. Grace is still disheveled, with grass stains on her back and hickeys across her neck. Stephanie has eyeliner running down her cheeks and cuts on her face and arms from where they were running through the woods. Peter is drenched in sweat with dirt up and down his arms from digging up the black book. His wrist is swelling where Max grabbed it and Peter can already see the yellowing lines where his fingers dug into his skin.

“What the fuck happened to you, Pete?”

“Please can we just go home?” Ted still looks hesitant and it almost breaks something in Peter. He just wants tonight to be over. “Please Teddy,” he begs. His voice cracks again and it's fucking embarrassing but he just wants to go home.

Ted runs a hand through his hair but doesn't argue. “Yeah buddy, of course.” He wraps an arm around Peter’s shoulder, patting it once. “Let's go home.” Ted looks over Steph and Grace with awkward concern. “Do you, uh, need me to call your parents?”

“My dad's dead.”

“Mine too.”

Ted's eyes widen. “Oh. Um, I'm sorry. Are you sisters?”

“No.”

Ted's eyes get impossibly wider. “Okay then.”

~~~

The car ride home is awkward. No one speaks. Ted tries to turn on the radio, but Dan and Donna start reading out an APB for Grace and Peter slams his hand on the knob so hard he thinks he cracks it. Ted shoots Peter a flabbergasted look, but Peter just closes his eyes and leans his head back. If Ted ends up taking them to the police station, Peter at least wants a nap first.

But when the car rolls to a stop, they’re in front of Ted’s dated ranch house. The sight of it almost brings Peter to tears.

“Well, we’re here,” Ted says, as he puts the car into park. “Not exactly how I imagined Peter bringing a girl home.” The joke lands a pancake flipped onto the floor. “Okay, tough crowd. Come on, let’s get you all inside.”

They walk inside the front door, and Peter is immediately struck by the fact he and Ted haven’t cleaned in awhile. The sink is full of dishes, and an array of ties hang over the back of the couch from Ted yanking them off the moment he gets home. Crumbs cover the counters and Peter can’t remember the last time one of them vacuumed. Ruth and Richie were used to mess, so Peter hadn’t even thought...

He swallows the lump in his throat.

“Steph, Grace, do you want to shower?” He suggests, desperate to have a moment to at least shove shit in a closet, “You can borrow some clothes.”

“That sounds really nice, actually,” Steph says, with a gratitude Peter isn’t sure he’s actually earned. Grace nods as well.

“Sure, do you have a swimsuit I can borrow?”

Peter balks at the question. “Um, I have trunks?”

She sighs, looking so despondent, Peter actually feels bad he can’t summon a bikini out of thin air. “I guess it doesn’t matter much now. That’ll work.”

Peter grabs a pair of swim trunks that are a little small on him, and sleep clothes for the two of them. He walks Grace to his shower, and shows Steph to Ted’s master. Once the door closes behind him, he collapses against the wall. The striped wallpaper is cool against his cheek, and he trails his fingers against the slick surface as he catches his breath.

This is fine. This is all fine. He is just having a sleepover. That is a normal high school thing to do. Nevermind the fact it is with Stephanie Lauter and Grace fucking Chasity, never mind that he’s never had a sleepover with anyone who wasn’t Ruth or Richie-

Peter slams the brakes on that thought. If he starts to think about them, or worse, their doppelgängers, he thinks he may completely lose it.

He walks back to the kitchen and finds Ted pulling a mug out of the microwave. “Oh, perfect timing!” He offers the mug to Peter. “I, uh, I made you a hot chocolate? I figured... your blood sugar.”

It's a good point. Peter hasn't thought about it all night, but he's pretty sure adrenaline is the only reason he hasn't fainted yet. But he hadn't mentioned that to Ted. His brother just... did it.

“Thanks,” Peter squeaks out. That damn lump is back in his throat.

The mug is warm. It feels nice in his hands. His fingers shake as he brings it to his lips.

It’s fucking terrible. It's lukewarm, and not mixed properly so clumps of the mix coat Peter's tongue. But Ted made it for him. Tears well up in Peter's eyes and Ted begins panicking.

“Oh Jesus, is it really that bad? Sorry, sorry, I swear I followed the instructions. We could go to- fuck, they're closed. Everything’s closed, shit. Oh!” He pulls his phone out of his pocket. “I'll call Paul, he's been smiling lately so I'm pretty sure that barista is staying over, we can get her to-

Despite himself, Peter giggles. “You cannot just call Paul at 3 AM to use his girlfriend.”

“She already hates me, there's no harm, really.” And the thing is, Peter really thinks he means it. That he would call his coworker at ass o'clock at night just to figure out how to make hot chocolate.

A sob bubbles up his throat. He sets the mug down and he throws himself at Ted. He nearly knocks him over. He's taller than Ted now, even if he's lankier. It feels wrong still, uncanny; a reflection in the mirror he doesn't recognize yet. But Ted's arms are still tight around him, still hold him as he shakes. He rubs circles across Peter's back.

“What the fuck happened, Pete?” he whispers. For a moment, Peter almost tells him everything. The Waylon Place, cutting up Max's body, the blood he can still feel under his fingernails. The Black Book, the blinding power that welled inside him, the gods wearing the faces of the dead.

But then he remembers the god in yellow, the way Mr. Chasity's face had licked his lips as he said Peter's last name.

He can see it, suddenly, with perfect clarity, like the image was beamed into his brain. Ted, with vibrant yellow hair and square pupils, holding that glowing yellow box. He can hear his brother's voice making that terrible bleating laugh. He can practically hear Tinky's voice. Isn't this a good look for Teddy Bear? Don't be jealous, I'll be sure you match!

Vomit wells in Peter's throat. No. He won't tell Ted. He'll keep his brother as far away from that bastard as possible.

Instead, he tells a half truth. “We fought the murderer. The person who killed Ruth and Richie.”

Ted sucks in a sharp breath. Despair, terror, and fury wage on his face. He takes a few deep breaths, and Peter can tell he is trying not to yell. Peter curls in on himself.

“He... He tried to kill you?” Ted asks, and Peter nods. Ted hisses another pained breath. “Okay. Alright.” His voice breaks.

Peter... Peter can't remember the last time he saw his brother cry. There's a fuzzy memory in his head, of his fat toddler fingers patting Ted's wet cheeks, but it feels more like a dream than a memory.

But for as long as Peter can really remember, Ted never really cried when he got upset. He got mad, he yelled, but he didn't cry.

So Peter doesn't know how to react when tears well in his eyes

“Why didn't you call me?”

“I... I didn't want to get you involved.”

Ted glares at him, and jams his finger into Peter’s chest. “Fuck that. If it affects you, I'm involved, okay? So enough of these disappearing acts, of you just going completely radio silent. You want me to, what? Just stay awake all hours of the night wondering if you’re dead? Wait to get a call from the fucking coroner?”

Peter feels his eyes beginning to well with tears as well. “Of course not.”

“Then fucking call me, okay?” Ted shoves his shoulder, then ruffles Peter’s hair. “If shit is happening to you, I want to know about it. Okay?”

Not trusting his voice, Peter nods.

“Good.” Ted takes a drink of his hot chocolate. He promptly spits it back out. “Fuck that's terrible, what the fuck?”

Peter is still laughing when Grace and Steph get back from their showers.

~~~

Peter may not have thought the sleeping arrangements through. The three of them stand in a half circle around Peter's bed. Grace swims in a borrowed Hatchetfield high spirit week shirt and Steph has rolled up the ankles on sweatpants Peter stole from Ted.

“I... I can sleep on the floor?” Peter offers. His full bed should have more than enough room for Steph and Grace with him out of the equation.

“Peter, you are hiding us from the police, we are not going to kick you out of your bed,” Steph tells him. She grabs a pillow, and Peter realizes his sheets are nearly ten years old and have constellations on them. He is incredibly aware of the fact they are going to start glowing the second he hits the lights. He can feel himself blushing.

“I can go and sleep on the couch-”

Peter's stomach twists at the thought of her being out of his sight. Before he can even say anything, Grace speaks up.

“I think we can all fit.”

Peter feels his jaw drop, but he can’t help it. “Um...” He stammers, “You know that this is gonna be really uh, tight, right?” Peter knows his bed can fit three people, he, Ruth, and Richie have absolutely fallen asleep watching movies in it. But usually they have to pile on top of each other like puppies, curled up in a tangle of limbs. He can’t imagine Grace Chasity of all people being comfortable with the thought.

But to his immense surprise, she just nods, and then crawls into the bed. Peter turns to Stephanie, because clearly Grace has been replaced with a body double. Steph just shrugs and crawls in after her. And well, Peter really doesn’t want to sleep on the floor. He hits the lights, ignores Steph’s delighted laugh at his childhood bed linens, and joins them.

He was right, it’s a tight fit. He is pressed tightly against Steph’s side, and still feels like he is going to fall off the bed. Steph opens her arm, and Peter gladly takes the invitation. He rests his head on her chest. She is warm and soft and smells like Ted’s vanilla body wash, and for the first time since they were called into the principal’s office, something in Peter unknots. He lets himself sink into her, curling closer when she wraps her arm around him. He involuntarily sighs, content and comfortable, and Steph rewards him by running her fingers through his hair. It promptly turns off all the thoughts in his head. “Holy shit,” he whispers, without really thinking.

“Like that?” Steph asks, and he can hear the smug smile in her voice, but he still nods all the same.

“Fuck yeah...”

Part of him still expects Grace to kick up a fuss and tell them to leave room for Jesus or whatever the fuck she usually goes on about. But she is suspiciously silent. Peter is pretty sure he would be worried about it if Steph’s fingers weren't sapping up all of his brain power.

“Um, Grace, are you good?” Steph asks, and her fingers slow. Peter barely holds back a whine at the loss. “You are... pretty stiff.”

“Perfectly fine,” Grace says, sounding like she is having her fingernails ripped out. Steph sighs, sounding exasperated.

“If you are uncomfortable, we can make a pillow wall or something-”

“I’m not uncomfortable.” She doesn’t elaborate at first, staying quiet long enough that Steph begins playing with Peter’s hair again. He is nearly asleep when Grace says, “That just looks... really nice. That’s all.”

“Grace...” Steph says slowly, “Do you want to... cuddle?”

“Of course not! The wall is just digging into my back is all, and I figured, it would be an easier fit, if we were to get closer. Nothing untoward or anything.”

“Uh huh,” Steph says, breathing slowly, measured in a way that Peter has realized means she is holding back laughter. “That makes sense to me.”

“Right. So. Maybe, I could...” Grace doesn’t finish. Maybe she can’t. Peter feels Steph shift, offering her other side to Grace.

“Well? Get the fuck over here.”

Grace moves so quickly she almost headbutts Peter. “This is just for convenience, I hope that you know that.”

“Obviously,” Peter slurs, already slipping back toward sleep.

“Of course, Grace,” Steph agrees, “Now get some sleep.”

Peter doesn’t need much more encouragement after the night they’ve had. Steph and Grace’s breathing is a soothing lullaby, only a shade different from the sounds of his usual sleepovers, and he easily slips into a doze. It takes a while, longer than it normally would, for the shaking to rouse him. He blinks blearily, trying to figure out just want the fuck is happening, when he registers the sniffling. It is muffled, like someone has clamped a hand over their mouth, but it is clearly crying.

Peter initially assumes it’s Steph with the way she is shaking, but her voice is clear when she asks “Grace, what’s wrong?”

Grace doesn’t answer at first, can’t get past the tears. Peter and Steph don’t interrupt, they just wait until she says, “I had sex with Max,” and cries harder.

Steph doesn't seem to know what to say. After a moment, she asks, “And how do you feel about that?”

“It was... Good. It was really, really good. I liked it.” Grace sounds absolutely disgusted with herself. “This whole time, I have been trying to avoid these feelings and... I had sex. And it was great.” She clutches the pillow closer to her chest and sobs.

“Grace, I'm not following.”

“Don't you get it? I came up with the plan to get back at Max. I got us into the Waylon place. I killed Max. And he killed Richie and Ruth and...” She sniffles. Snot drips from her nose, and Peter grabs her a tissue from his nightstand. “And I could have... Just had sex with him and enjoyed it and maybe dated him and we could have protested homecoming together and now he's gone and none of it even matters because I gave up my virginity and we met five gods tonight and I don’t think any of them were Jesus.” She pauses for a moment, breaths heaving from the word vomit she just spewed. Then she lies back and stares at the ceiling. “My whole life has been pointless.”

“I can't say I get it,” Steph says, slowly. “Not in the same way. But like... My whole life has been dictated by my dad. Even when I went out and did what I wanted, it was stick it to him, you know? Prove he didn’t own me. And he was always calling me or having Miss Tessburger come and pick me up or... And now he's...” She swallows. “So what I'm trying to say is, I get what it is like to feel directionless.”

Peter thinks about his own life. About the absences in the room, about how his group thermodynamics project is now his sole responsibility, about the seats next to him that will be empty in every class.

“Maybe,” he says slowly, “we can find the point together.”

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