Author Babe.....🥺 Your Angst.....has Feed Me Well😭

Petty Competition (Kageyama x Reader)

*GIF not mine*

Summary: After you get a new pet in your home, Kageyama can’t help but feel a little neglected after a while. It’s all Snickers’ fault.

A/N: Thank you all so much for 400 followers! I’m so glad so many people like my stuff! Here’s a funny little imagine I got an idea for from this prompt by @otpdisaster​ once again. I hope you guys like it! Thanks again!

Word count: 1078

        Kageyama has never been the best of friends with your new pet Snickers. 

        “Hey YN-”

        “Woof!” 

        “Shut the fuck up!”

        Snickers was an innocent golden retriever puppy, but your boyfriend just knew his father was Satan, and he was bred in the seventh depth of hell. 

        “Tobio, he hasn’t done anything, just leave him be,” you would scold before allowing the dog to shamble up into your lap. Innocent, my ass, Kageyama would think while watching you pet him. Ever since you got the dog, he took up all your attention, all your time. Well, on the other hand, it’s not like your boyfriend needed constant affection but… oh fuck it, who was he kidding. He was jealous over a damn puppy. 

        “He’s glaring at me, look!” Kageyama points an accusing finger and sneers at the dog, who returns the look before tucking its head back into your lap. With a raised brow, you shake your head at your boyfriend and scratch behind Snickers’ ears. 

        “Stop being so ridiculous, babe,” you roll your eyes before lowering your face to the inhabitant of your lap. “You’re not evil, are you?” You smile widely at the sight of his tail wagging rapidly while he pants in your face. “Oh no you’re not, no you’re not! You’re a good boy!”

        Kageyama narrows his eyes at the gut-churning scene before him and glances away with a scoff. The demon spawn currently reveling in all your love looks over and makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like snort all the while trying to lick your face. 

        “YN, did you hear that?!” Kageyama jumps up from his seat and waggles his finger at the pet, “That smug bastard just laughed at me!” You ignore him in favor of lifting your puppy in the air and hugging him close to your chest. The love fest currently happening on the sofa across from him lasts for quite a while, and your boyfriend can only stew in his own anger in the meantime. Then, finally he comes up with a distraction technique. It was perfect!

        “Love.” You perk up at the nickname. It’s only used on rare occasions, when Kageyama is nearly dying inside from a lack of affection. Right now, he feels pretty desperate. Desperate enough to whip out that trump card, at least. “How about we watch a movie, hmm?” His eyes are dark, and the synthetic smile on his face evokes a chill down your spine. 

        “Umm, okay,” you gulp and slowly set down your dog, who lightly whines at the action. Kageyama smirks, only chipping at the tip of the revenge iceberg. “What movie?” Your voice is tight, but you’re not exactly as nervous as you sound. He can tell by the way you bite your lip. 

        “You choose, love.” His whisper warms the pit of your stomach, and you nod as if in a trance. 

        “Okay,” you repeat, getting up and turning to leave the room. Snickers pops right up and begins to follow you, only for you to usher him back. 

        “Stay here, boy,” you pat the top of his soft, fuzzy head, “I’ll be quick.” With a smile at your dog and a blush at Kageyama’s parting wink, you exit your living room in search of the night’s entertainment. 

        Now, it wasn’t often that your boyfriend had a day off practice to spend the night with you, so he had to make every second count. A movie was the perfect opportunity to soak up all the love you could provide. At least, that always used to be the case before you adopted the leech. He couldn’t remember the last time you ran your fingers through his hair instead of Snickers’ while he relaxed on your lap. 

        “You’re not winning this,” he hisses at the snarling scoundrel on your carpet, lifting up out of his seat to reinforce his glare. 

        “Woof!” The dog bites back, plopping his rump down directly in front of Kageyama’s feet and staring back up at him with endless, black pupils. “Woof, woof!” 

        “Woof, yourself!” Kageyama barks back, baring his teeth threateningly. Snickers’ rears back on his paws and lifts his butt into the air, shaking his behind anxiously while he growls. 

        “Woof, woof!”

        “Woof, woof to you too!” The resident human in the room slips off his armchair and drops onto the ground, crossing his legs and engaging in a completely justified, but overall nonsensical, argument. 

        “Ruff!”

        “Ruff you, you furry fuck!” 

        Snickers huffs in his face and barks louder, splashing dog drool every which way. Kageyama gags at the feeling and frantically wipes it away while jeering at the sac of fur.

        “Eww! Gross, you lumpy bastard!”

        “Woof!” Snickers places his paws into the volleyball player’s lap and yelps in his face. In return, the boy bonks his forehead against the dog’s own and returns the shout. 

        Five minutes pass. Nothing changes. 

        “Ruff! Ruff, ruff!” the puppy rumbles. 

        “Right back at you, you son of a bitch!” Kageyama grumbles back, his tone deep and frustrated. He presses his face closer into Snickers’ soft snoot. “You fluffy-faced, attention-stealing piece of-”

        “What the hell are you two doing?” Both rivals stand at attention at the sound of your voice, separating and spinning to face you. Your face is scrunched up in utter confusion at the happenings on your living room floor. The skin under your eye twitches and a vein in your forehead pops. Snickers is the first to act, barking excitedly and hopping up to meet you. The joy is short-lived, as your beloved ball of fluff is flung back onto the sofa cushions as Kageyama scrambles up and tackles you in a tight squeeze.

        Tucking his face into your neck, he grumbles, “It all went to shit the second you wanted a dog.” You giggle and rub his toned back up and down, tensing when he presses a flurry small kisses to your collarbone. 

        “Oh c’mon, it looks like you two were bonding when I first came in-”

        “Never!”

        “Woof!”

hey! are all requests open or just some? i just want to make sure before i send in something :))

All requests are open, go nuts!

He is either obsessive or delusional

Oooh both are possible. Honestly, I could see yandere Bokuto fretting over you and constantly asking you if you’re okay and if you’ve eaten enough.

On the other hand, I could also see him walking straight up to you and hugging you until you can’t breathe while you’re all like “uhh, what’s your name again?”

Ngl tho, he’d probably kidnap you under the claims that he wants to keep you safe

Explosive Antics (Genos x Reader)

*GIF not mine*

Summary: After playing a cheating prank on your boyfriend with a rather loud, raunchy video, Genos decides to take his frustration out on the laptop that tricked him. 

A/N: Short little oneshot of Genos’ s/o pranking him with a porn vid. Another prank for the series, hope y’all like it! (PS: thanks so much for the support recently!)

Word count: 769

        Genos was always tightly wound. He rarely smiled, barely went outside without Saitama, and always kept things short and simple when it came to romantic gestures. Flowers here and there, forehead kisses occasionally, and maybe once he had actually made out with you. Maybe. You were growing impatient, and you wanted to fuck with him, just really grind his gears to see if you could get a reaction out of him. 

        Snickering to yourself, you search on the website for the longest, loudest video imaginable while your phone buzzes.

Cyborg babe <3: I’ll be over in two minutes. 

        He would let himself in. You had given him a key months ago. The timing was perfect too. You played the video, flinching at the pornographic moans that suddenly arose, and cranked up the volume as high and realistic as possible. 

        “Oh, this is gonna be good,” you snicker to yourself, rubbing your hands together maniacally with wide, mischievous eyes. Closing the door to your room, you tried to ignore how uncomfortable the screams and grunts erupting from your laptop made you feel, and you hole up in your bathroom across the hall.

        Just as you shut the door, the main one to your apartment opens. 

        “YN!” Genos announces loudly, entering your home and locking it behind him. “I brought you lunch....” He hears them. The moans. God, how you wish you could see his face! You’re shivering with excitement and pressing your ear against the door. 

        “Oh my God!” You whisper to yourself, biting your lip anxiously. “This is gonna be so good!” With your hand on the doorknob, you wait for Genos to move and scrunch up your face eagerly. 

        “YN?” He questions aloud once more, voice quieter this time.

        Heavy footfalls trail closer and closer to your door and you hold in a breath, waiting for your bedroom to open. 

        “YN, what are you doing?” he whispers outside your door. His tone has dropped, and for the first time since you’ve known him you think he falters. The creaking of the handle squeaks as he slowly enters and freezes at the sight before him. It’s at this time you can’t wait any longer and bust out of the bathroom, pushing into your bedroom and staring at Genos’ blank face. The video still plays while you observe his face, totally flabbergasted at his nonexistent reaction. 

        Oh, come on!

        Your laptop rattles on the bed with its volume while sounds of passion echo around the room. Your face grows red with embarrassment while you wait for him to speak up. You stand side by side while his dark eyes are still locked on the screen.

        “Well,” you pipe up from beside him, drawing closer to his tense form, “did I get you-” In an instant, a wave of heat smacks you in the face as your laptop explodes into a million sizzling pieces on your bed, Genos lowering his arm slowly after. 

        Your jaw drops at the sight while your boyfriend remains silent, listening to the crackles of the dying flames on your blankets. Plastic and glass chunks are splayed everywhere across your room. With hair blasted away from your face, your eyes grow to the size of dinner plates as you stare at the ruination.

        “What. The. Hell.” You seethe slowly, fingers twitching at your sides. One firm, metallic hand wraps around your shoulders as Genos twists to pull you into his embrace. He’s hard but warm, and even though he’s not the most comfortable hugger in the world, you cherish his holds every time he’s willing to give one to you. Except for now.

        “Dude! You just kablooeyed my homework!” You try to wiggle away to observe the wreckage once more but he grips you tighter, halting your movements. The smell of smoke once drifting through your nostrils exchanges with Genos’ personal scent, fresh laundry and clean metal, as your face is forced into his solid chest.

        Huffing out a sigh, you give in and wrap your arms around him, patting his back gently.

        “Your prank was ineffective,” he monotonously mumbles into your hair. You scoff and hold him closer, reluctantly reveling in the heat he gives off. 

       “Yeah, tell that to my incinerated laptop.”

Yandere bokuto the boy that will pull out the emo face every time he feels like he’s not getting enough cuddles

Agsjdjsk another one about his cuddles, and y’all are both right. One day, I imagine he’ll come home just whining and whining about not getting to hold you, even though you’re busy with work or smth.

“YNNN.” Add on a lip pout, but you still shake your head no. He huffs and whimpers and rubs his face against yours, but you don’t budge.

“Bokuto, I can’t. This is really important.”

That’s what sets him off. One second, you’re peacefully typing at your desk, the next you’re being shoved into the mattress, Bokuto’s muscular form trapping you against the sheets. His eyes are furious, any innocence abandoned at your words.

“I’m more important, YN. I am.”

Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra Masterlist

☔ = Angst

🌦️ = Angst to Fluff

💥 = Crack

☀️ = Fluff

💋 = Smut

🖤 = Yandere

🔔 = Request

🟪Imagines🟪

Sokka:

■  Baby Fever 🔔💋☀️

You were great with kids, and it just so happens that your husband Sokka wants to give you a few of his own.

Warnings: Pure smut, breeding kink, dirty talk, unprotected vaginal sex, (slight??) cum play

Zuko: 

■  Hot With Envy 🔔🖤💋

After seeing you laugh with another man at his five-year reign celebration, Zuko must show you who you belong to.

Warnings: Possessive sex, dirty talk, vaginal sex

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

🟣Headcanons🟣

Mako with Dragon!Hybrid Airbender Reader 🔔🌦️

Yandere Desna and Eska Headcanons 🔔🖤

Yandere Ozai Headcanons 🔔🖤(slight 💋)

Yandere Sokka Headcanons 🔔🖤

Yandere Zuko Headcanons 🖤

here’s a request, okay so like i’ve been sad recently so how would Tsuki, Bokuto, and Kenma (separately) cheer up their s/o who’s sad, thank you :) hopefully you do it, if you don’t it’s totally cool!

Cheering Up Sad S/O (Haikyuu!! Headcanons)

*GIFs not mine*

A/N: Thank you so much for the request! Umm, and I know I’m not really qualified to help or anything, but I know one thing that always makes me feel better is laughing. Even if it’s forced, laughing always feels good to me, so maybe it’ll help you too! Anyways, hope you guys enjoy!

Word count: 802

Tsukishima Kei:

Honestly, he doesn’t take you seriously at first. 

Let’s be real, Tsukishima is shit with emotions

So he thinks you’re kind of just throwing a fit in the beginning. 

Then you start crying or just start being more quiet than usual and then he thinks oh SHIT.

He starts by standing beside you and just awkwardly patting your head.

Then he sighs and brings out the big guns, dragging you to the couch and setting you down there. 

He leaves and comes back five minutes later with popcorn, drinks and piles of blankets and he just cuddles you while watching his favorite tv show (documentary about dinos whattt)

I mean ur like crying so u can’t see the screen, right??

He’s got his lanky arms wrapped around you and you’re laying on top of him trying to steady your breathing. 

When you do, you give him a small kiss and mutter thank you before untucking your face. 

He’ll nod and then ask what you want to watch and that’ll be that. 

Basically yeah he’s gonna be extremely awkward around you cuz that’s just Tsukki.

But after he gets over his initial shock and is like “oh crap, I’m the boyfriend here, I’m the one who solves this,” he just gives you his best snuggles under the claim that he’s keeping you warm. 

“If you’re tears dry when you’re cold, then you could get hypothermia.” 

“Pshh, yeah did the T-rex tell you that?”

He’ll own up to it in the end and legitimately ask if you’re okay. You almost tear up at his sincerity but nod anyways and tackle him in a big hug once more. 

(He smiles lightly against your hair and rubs your back while enjoying the feeling of having you against him.)

Bokuto Koutarou:

Usually, you’re just as chipper as Bokuto is, so when you’re down in the dumps, he is too. 

Goes emo mode almost instantly when he notices you’re sad. 

Then he smacks himself out of it.

He carries you bridal style into a grocery store and lets you pick out your favorite snacks.

Y’all go home and he makes a whole-ass nest of blankets and pillows on the living room floor. 

Pillow Fort™

No movies or tv shows with sad scenes are allowed in this domain. Only comedies and fluff flicks.

He’ll feed you candy then beg you to feed him some too.

By the end of the night, he’s given you a massage, a bubble bath, and a cuddle to sleep.

He’s a big teddy bear, but also a solid teddy bear, so he’s a lil hard to snuggle with, but he’s warm so you don’t care. 

In the end, expect many hugs and kisses from this man, he is a very physical lover. 

And yes, the next day you will get breakfast in bed. Or brunch technically bc you both slept in till eleven.

Kozume Kenma:

This man is a listener. That’s all I gotta say.

He’ll let you vent about everything that’s been going on, and let’s be honest, there’s really nothing better than that.

He’s just about the best guy to have around when you’re sad.

If you want a hug, just ask and he’ll give you one. If you want a kiss, he’ll give you one too.

Honestly, he just wants to see you go back to being your normal happy self, so he’ll appeal to your every wish. 

I mean… that’s it.

After you’ve vented all your problems, he’ll ask what else you wanna do.

You want hugs. And that’s a fact. 

So yeah, he’ll give you hugs, and then he’ll give you his hoodie, and then he’ll give you his game and show you how to play cuz this boy is 🥺 level 100

He’s been sad before (I mean they all have but Kenma doesn’t like having a sad s/o) so he wants you to feel better as soon as possible. 

“You’re pressing the wrong buttons, YN.”

“No I’m not! This game is just STUPID!”

“YOU’RE STUP- I mean, yes the game is very stupid, yes.”

Guess who doesn’t get to touch his gameboy anymore.

By the end of the day, you’re both passed out in bed holding each other. Each of you is swaddled in his huge hoodies and cradling each other closely. 

*Next day*

“Kenma, where’s your game? I think I know how to play now.”

“I lost it.”

(Press X to Doubt)

Operation Breakup Backfires (Bakugou x Reader)

*GIF not mine*

Summary: What’s the harm of a little breakup prank? It doesn’t even work anyway….

A/N: There’s no shortage of Bakugou ideas in my brain, I swear. Also, this might be the first of a little prank “series” I’ll be writing for multiple characters, idk. It just depends if I get more ideas. Hope you enjoy!

Word count: 1236

       “I’m gonna do it.” You knew it was mean, but you really wanted to see how your explosive blondie would react. 

       “Okay, yeah that’s great,” Kirishima says, “but you know he’s gonna spontaneously combust, right?” You click your tongue. 

       “Oh c’mon, it won’t be that bad.” Crossing your arms, you relax deeper into your assigned seat while Kirishima shakes his head frantically, his palms slamming against the surface of your desk.

       “You’ve met Bakugou, right?” 

       “Yes, I’ve met my own boyfriend,” you scoff, jaw twitching. 

       “Then you know how stupid of an idea this is. The Baku-beast is gonna come out of hibernation if you do this!” Was it ever in hibernation? You shake the thought away and wave your hand dismissively. 

       “I won’t let it go that far, I promise.” Kirishima raises his brows at you.  

       “I don’t believe you. This is gonna be a nightmare,” he mutters with wide, anxious eyes. 

       “He’s not gonna hurt me!” The redhead nods. 

       “Oh, I know that. What’ll happen is he’ll take it out on the rest of us and it’ll be a bloodbath!” He nervously rubs the back of his neck while mumbling, “My throat never looks good post-Baku-strangle.” The phrase mystifies you.

       “Ok. First of all, you have a name for that?” You shake your head, baffled. “Second of all, quit being a wuss.” He grows offended at your words, holding a hand to his chest. 

       “I’m not being a wuss, I’m being logical,” he corrects you with a confident head nod. You roll your eyes at the act. Ever so discreetly, you cough out a loud “Wuss!” while mockingly covering your mouth. Kirishima hurls a withering glare at you. 

       “I am not-”

       “Shush!” You cover your lips with a finger and nod your head towards Bakugou stepping through the doorway. The redhead huffs out a breath and walks away. 

       “Mum’s the word!” you call after him.

                               ###

       The common room is empty aside from you, waiting anxiously in a chair for your boyfriend. You had texted him that you wanted to talk after school, and got a “K” in response. It was enough for you. The doors behind your chair slam open loudly and you take a deep breath before popping up and taking on a solemn face. 

       “What did you want to talk about?” Bakugou asks with pursed lips. His tone is sharp and impatient, but you’ve never heard it any differently. Sighing, you slowly approach him and bite your bottom lip, softening your eyes. 

       “I want to break up.” 

       Silence.

       Bakugou’s face doesn’t change. Not a single twitch in his body, or a widening of his eyes. He seems… unaffected.

       “No.” 

       No? No?! He just rejected your breakup, tackled it and slammed it down like a pro-wrestler before suffocating it with a pillow using one word. ‘No.’

       “Katsuki,” you lick your lips and he tenses at the action, “I just don’t think we’re working out-”

       “We exercise all the time, YN, I think we’re fine.” His voice is rough and guttural, and you notice his hands curling into fists. 

       “You know that’s not what I meant.” You drag your gaze back up to his face, giving him a pleading look and desperately trying to sell your prank.

       “I don’t care,” his jaw clenches and he narrows his vermilion eyes at you, “we’re fine.” The hiss makes you flinch as he stares you down threateningly. Oh shit, he’s fucking scary. 

       You were conflicted; you wanted to be agitated at the fact that he wouldn’t let you break up with him, even though you didn’t really want to end things with him, but you were also touched at the way he wasn’t willing to let you go. However, when his feet stomp loudly against the floor as he approaches you with dilated pupils, fear takes the lead in the race of your emotions. You stumble back at his sudden advancement.

       “Yeah, no, you’re totally right,” you hurriedly agree with him, nodding your head frantically, “I’m good, you’re good, it’s all good.” You give him finger guns and a cheesy smile but his expression never changes. You want to crawl into a hole and die just to avoid his intimidating gaze. 

       “So, um, I’m gonna go to my room now.” 

       “Okay.” With his approval of your release, you hightail it down the hall, barging into your dorm and slamming the door behind you before deflating against it. Hands pressed against your flushed cheeks, you trudge into the bathroom and stare at yourself in the mirror. 

       “What the fuck was that?” you whisper to your reflection. It doesn’t respond, thankfully. The faucet pours cold water that you splash onto your burning face. The beating in your chest is racing so fast it hurts, and you press a hand harshly against it, feeling the swift buh-bumps under your fingertips. That, what had just happened down there, was indeed a failed prank. And now you knew for a fact you were stuck with him. It’s not like you minded that but shit, he was scary! Nope. Never again. No more pranks on Bakugou. 

                              ###

       That night, as you lie in bed beside him, he slowly rolls over to face you, gently dropping an arm over your waist. 

       “Did you really mean it?” he whispers. The room is too dark to spot any emotions on his face, but his words are hesitant. Gulping loudly, you rest a hand on his cheek and throw a leg over his hips. 

       “No, it was just supposed to be a dumb prank.” At your confession, he purses his lips and you start to trace random patterns on his face to ignore your growing blush, ashamed at your actions. 

       “You could’ve just dumped water on me or something,” he gruffly responds, hand pressing into the skin of your back firmly. 

       “Y-yeah, maybe I’ll try that next time.” You look away with a nod and clear your throat. 

       “Just,” he continued, eyes intently focused on the wall to avoid your gaze as well, “don’t ever do that again. I don’t think I could handle it.” Bakugou leans his head into your touch but doesn’t say another word. 

       If you didn’t know any better, or perhaps if you didn’t love him, you would have smirked or snickered, or maybe even pointed out how abnormally gentle he was in that moment. But you weren’t cruel, and you didn’t want to lose the warmth by your side at night. Or the grip around your body during the day. Or his comforting presence every living moment. He was it for you, and you seemed to be it for him. 

       A smile grows on your face at this realization and you run your thumb over his cheek adoringly. The corner of his mouth twitches before you press a kiss against his lips and tuck your face into his chest. 

       “I won’t leave you. Ever.” He smiles into your hair.

        “Good, ‘cause I’m not letting you go.” 

       Yeah, your prank kind of backfired. But hearing him say that made it all worth it.

In the Black Widow’s Nest (Henry Creel x Reader) 🕷️Chapter 1🕷️

*GIF not mine*

Summary: 

Prince Henry of the Creel Dynasty is finally in search of a wife, and in the spirit of courtship, King Victor has invited young royalty from all neighboring kingdoms to vie for his hand. But with so much royalty introduces the need for many more maids in the castle than usual.

Enter: You.

You're nothing but a servant in his home, an intruder in his prized library, and an utter nuisance in his mind. But then you survive his attack, and in an unexpected way nonetheless. That makes you... interesting. 

You've caught his eye---congratulations! Now, you must deal with the consequences of loving a heartless prince in a world where far worse things lurk in the castle than dirty garderobes.

A/N: All i ask is that u imagine henry creel’s evil face on jace wayland’s body that’s it that’s all u gotta do, the fic will do the rest. this may or may not be a series, i do have a few ideas for it (but let it be known begging will not speed up the process). one final comment: henry creel hot. Hope you enjoy!

Word count: 4328

Amongst the cobwebs, the dust, and the black widows, in the abandoned royal library surrounded by the scent of mildew and what once was and is no longer, a pair of eyes watched your every move. Like two frozen fingers poking into the back of your skull, the gaze ran chills down your spine and tightened the muscles in your shoulder blades.

Every move you made was stiff. Despite the season outside being spring, winter had found perpetuity within the four towering walls. There were no windows nor any lit chandeliers; the only light was provided by the brass candlestick that had been forced into your hand before you were thrown into the library, with the promise of being released after ten hours or at the the sight of one hundred spotless, unblemished bookshelves—whichever came first. 

Decidedly, you had three hours left. 

The candle was almost completely diminished to a pool of wax, and the flame on its wick had long weakened and begun flickering. You suspected one last breeze would leave you in complete darkness and at the mercy of whomever was watching you from the shadows. No matter how many times you weaved in and out of the bookshelves that stood at twice your height, five parallel rows of grimy mahogany stacked with fading leather spines, you could not escape the unmistakable feeling. 

This person had not made a sound when they had entered the room. There were no new footsteps tracked in the dust layered on the floor aside from yours, and you had not even heard the twin doors creak open as they had when you entered. You couldn’t hear them over your own breathing and certainly not over the pounding of your heart. 

With every precarious flick of your feather duster over the worn titles, the clouds of your efforts mingled with those of your own exhales. You kept your gaze low, eyes focused on only the task in front of you with the hope—artificial hope—that if you did not disturb them with your own attention, they would eventually remove theirs from you. 

Time trudged by as you shifted from bookshelf to bookshelf, the clogs on your feet scraping the hardwood floors. You kept a wooden chair in tow, collected from one of the tables arranged in the center of the room, and dragged it in closer to the nearest bookshelf, clambering atop the seat and lifting onto your toes to dust the top row of books. The cobwebs were thickest here, spiders having been left to their lonesome far too long and creating their own colony. 

You could barely reach and dusted blindly, allowing the length of the feathers to do most of the work as you ignored the cramps festering throughout your calves. A soft gust of wind floated past and tousled the flyaways at your brow, and as you purse your lips to blow them back and out of your lashes, the room flickered and fell into darkness. 

The candle had finally gone out. 

You squinted and hissed a curse under your breath, your gaze snapping to the outline of the table, where you could barely make out the bowl of wax and nothing more. Just my luck, you thought as you withdrew your feather duster from the bookshelf top. You would have to retrieve a new taper from one of the maids’ closets, though you sincerely doubted the head maid would be all too pleased with your explanation.

Excuses, excuses, you could imagine her barking at you, ire swirling in her small, black eyes. Candles don’t just go out on their own.

“She’ll probably just set my hand on fire and lock me back in here,” you grumbled, huffing as you grabbed the backing of your chair to dismount. A faint tickle on the back of your hand drew your attention. “Hell will freeze over before she—”

Spider.

You yelped, a blasphemy falling from your lips as your clogs slipped on the polished wood seat. Your back hit the ground first, a pained shock shooting from your tailbone up to where your head smacked against the ground with the whiplash of your fall. 

White sparkles lit up your vision, and you sputtered out a cough, not bothering to blink them away. An ache throbbed at your lower back, pulsing at the same wavelength as the ringing in your ears and drawing a groan from your lips. An odd smarting festered up your spine, not unlike a chill. 

Carefully, you slumped back, your head resting against the hard floor and your legs straightening out. You didn’t want to get back up; you didn’t want to move. For a few moments, you let the pain overcome you while you wheezed for breath, choking on the dust that had become unsettled by your fall. It rose and hung in the dark air around you, blurred and wavering with your heartbeat. 

For a few moments, you forgot that someone had been watching you. 

And you certainly didn’t want to know where the spider had wound up. 

The smallest vibration of light footsteps trembled underneath your fingertips, and a sharp pain shot through your skull. Light, blinding and bright and excruciatingly insistent, is all you can see when the vibration stops and some glowing form hinges over you. 

“Not dead,” are the words you think you hear, husked in a monotonous, low gravel and feeding into the loud hum in your head. It’s muffled between the blood pounding in your ears and the hazy confusion that had begun to fog over your mind. 

“Not yet, at least.”

You licked your lips, eyes fluttering closed, then open, then closed again. “What?” you mumbled breathlessly. 

The glowing form dims, gradually painted by an orange hue. When metal thuds on wood, you guess it must be a candle joining your pool of wax on the table, and before long the presence hovers over you again. Tree sap swarms where the scent of mildewed books had been lingering, and, in a cruel twist of fate, you hazard a guess that this is one of the courtiers the head maid had shrilled about avoiding at all costs. 

Or worse—a member of the royal family. 

But how? And why? None of them would ever idle about in a damp, endlessly cold library. The smell bordered on revolting, half of the volumes were wrinkled and illegible, and you couldn’t walk two steps inside without grime caking your face and clothes. Not to mention, the spiders. Disgusting, horrid spiders. 

Black widows, if the head maid was to be believed. 

The wintry library would never be home to festivities of the upper class, not even the occasional unsolicited rendezvous. There were dining rooms and bedrooms and poor, innocent gardens for all the horrific things they did to one another; entire wings dedicated to the sybaritic tendencies of royalty. 

But this man before you—oh, how otherworldly he was. 

You could believe that he had been the one watching you with how his eyes pierced you in this moment, a being such as him the only one capable of having a tangible effect with a single glance. 

You took in his sharp cheekbones, the soft slope of his nose, his slate blue eyes. His face was haloed by mussed, golden hair, and two pale pink lips set against each other as a look of disinterest with ease. His entire appearance, from his lithe figure to the way his eyes dragged over you, exuded a superiority that had been trained to perfection. 

Staring at him felt like drinking a sweet wine, far too indulgent and alluring to ever be truly satiated, and yet you know all too well it would be condemning to keep on as you are. You know this man has a rank heavens above yours; his skin, tanned and unblemished, has never felt the dust and dirt that encompasses you every day, and his body has never held your scars.

In your muddled daze, you imagined barreling headfirst into damnation for acquainting with this handsome being. Whether he be a marquess or a lord or, God forbid, even a duke, being seen in such close quarters with him was strictly forbidden, especially with the royal prince’s season for courting beginning in a week. 

And then you felt yourself spiraling—you imagined him curling over you, his deft fingers sliding underneath your nape, tracing the curve of your scalp and feeling for injury. You imagined his eyes warming pleasantly as he found you safe and unharmed. You imagined he gave a damn. 

But he didn’t. He never would. 

His hands fell to his hips, the loosely fitted, half-unbuttoned white tunic he donned exposing more toned skin while he glowered down at you.

He certainly wasn’t going to wax poetic about your welfare. 

“No blood.” His head tilted to one side slightly, blond tufts of hair following suit. “And thankfully no mess. I’d have hated to invite yet another servant in here, even if it was to drag your body out.”

A shiver tore through your spine, and you had the most horrible feeling that if you died somehow in this moment, no one would bat an eye—especially not the man before you.

His voice had that regal lilt, the one you could have never gained in your small village outside of the castle. You’d only ever heard it on a few of the higher-ranking maids—certainly none of the girls you had been hired with had such accents either—as well as some passing royalty on your first few days of traipsing the castle with a guide. His voice was deep and raspy, as though he spent his days either growling out orders or not speaking at all. You wonder if that was how he found it so easy to watch you mutely.

Feeling entirely too vulnerable, supine as you were, you brace your hands against the floor and writhe your way into a sitting position, head swimming with vertigo. Bile rises in your throat, and you press your eyes closed, tight, waiting out the wave. The idea that dragging your gaze away from him had played a part in the nausea tickles the back of your mind. 

He watches, seeming somewhat interested, as you struggle.

Once, in your small village, a wolf had snuck into the farmer’s fields. You remember watching from your doorway that morning, the sun barely risen, as the wolf tackled a single lamb and began eating it alive. 

The blood coated its paws and muzzle. Bones crackled with the snapping jaws. Even after the lamb had stopped squealing, the hunger in the wolf’s eyes never quite seemed satiated. 

Something in the man’s and the wolf’s gazes made them indistinguishable to you in that moment. 

The cruel sneers and jeering laughs of the royals you’d seen so far could only contain so much antagonism. This man was cut from a different cloth. 

His body, all relaxed muscles and agile limbs, had a vigorous, agitated thing running within the veins of his arms, sleeves rolled to the elbows; the cruelty in his mien was something you had only ever encountered in wild animals. 

Panic chills the sweat on your brow. Laboriously, you wrench one hand on a bookshelf, hoisting yourself up despite the blaring pain climbing up your spine, and onto your feet. You can feel the weakness in your knees the second you try to take another step, the defiant outcry of your mind and body as you try to move, but the man is so close. The warning sirens in your mind wail. 

A hand grapples around your free wrist, insistent and rigid. 

“Stop.”

You flinch, and your first instinct is to twist away and run. His grip is iron-tight, though, and without much resistance, he spins you back to face him. Frantically, your eyes once more swallow up his bronze, toned skin in the shadows of his candle, waiting for a strike. 

In return, the weight of his gaze bows your shoulders, fostering an urge to find a corner and curl up until you can’t anymore. Something you can scarcely identify flickers through his blue eyes. He’s staring at your wrist, locked in his, and then he’s staring at you, his lips tight and his face hard as stone. Like before, you can feel him searching you, taking note of your every move. 

He’s scrutinizing you like a bug, uncertain of just how and in what way to crush you under his heel. It’s the way he had when his gaze was all you knew about him, and you have no trouble imagining yourself splatting underneath his boot. 

But a sound rings in the distance, drawing your attention away from him entirely. 

Ringing. Ringing like church bells. Ringing like the clang of the metal clapper striking tarnished ocher and rust. The kingdom’s clock tower made the same sound. 

A chime, maybe.

Or a knell. 

But you were almost positive that sound couldn’t be heard so far away, crammed deeply within the towering castle walls. Especially at its volume. 

It chimes again, and you slam both hands to your ears, heart pounding. It’s deafening. You can’t breathe, and you can barely see, still tangled up in the man’s eyes. They’ve grown so cold and strike you so much harder your teeth begin to chatter. 

“No,” you whisper, though you’re not quite sure what you’re protesting. “Please.”

His pale lips turn red as he smirks, and every angle of his face sharpens into focus. The room fades into black and white. Musty bindings and rotting pages no longer invade your nostrils. It’s like your brain is shutting off each sense one by one so you can take in more of him. 

And you can’t seem to look away. 

No. 

By the third chime, you can barely feel the pain that had been radiating through your body, and the release is almost blissful. Beckoning. You’re swathed up in the tranquility, ears stuffed with cotton and head buzzing in the silence. When your whole body starts rocking back and forth, waiting for another agonizing chime, your knees begin to feel like rubber, suddenly too malleable to stand upon.

A fourth chime, earsplitting. 

They buckle. 

You snap your hands forward in a panic, yelping when you stumble.

All your senses return as fast as the pinch of a needle. Blood roars in your ears, and soreness floods your every limb. It’s like trying to squeeze into clothes that have become too small and completely ripping the seams—all the sights, the smells, the feelings overload your brain too quickly, causing it to swell and split open. 

Your only lifeline is a radiating source of heat, and you cling to it so hard you're half afraid you might smother it. But when your embrace tightens, so too does your grip on reality. You can almost unscramble your own thoughts again—all the curse words you’ve ever known combined with prayers to the heavens above. Giving yourself into refuge becomes second nature, and you burrow further into the cradle of warmth.

A jolt runs up and down your back, and your skull feels cracked in two. 

But the eerie quiet of the library registers anyway. The chiming is gone. 

Blissful silence remains, only occasionally pierced by your gasping breaths. You want to nuzzle deeper, the warmth firm and solid, as the simmering underneath your skin wanes, yet there seems to be no space left that your form hasn’t already curled into.

“What just happened?” Your voice wavers, and it echoes back so loudly that you flinch. 

You can’t see a thing. The dim outlines of the room fuzz and blend, and if you weren’t standing on your own two feet, you wouldn’t have been able to tell up from down. But the chill still nips at your skin. The library hasn’t changed. Nothing’s changed but you. 

But there’s no explanation for the bell-ringing, the sensory overload. It must have all been in your head; it feels like any second now, your ears are going to pop and reality will flood back in. You’re alive. But whatever had just happened was as close to death as you could have imagined—

A breath away from becoming nothing. 

So what stopped it?

Even more—what started it?

The questions slipped your mind the second you heard the library door creak. The pitiful sound allowed the entrance of sunlight directed by the hallway’s window, and the stiffness of your bones crackled at the thought of even more warmth. You felt half-thawed and left for dead, save for the fount of heat caught in your white-knuckled grasp. 

You went still. 

Heat. 

Heat in the library. 

That had to have been one of the most preposterous realities you had imagined since you had first stepped foot in here seven hours ago—and you had raked through your mental fantasies quite thoroughly in that time. 

Carefully, as though jaws might snap at you from the darkness, you withdrew your arms from the motionless frame and craned your head upward. 

Dear God. 

The man was even more beautiful when washed in distant sunlight. Heart-wrenchingly so. More alluring when his hair glowed golden, combed back waves ending neatly at his nape. More potent when his gaze speared yours, his arms limp at his sides, elbows brushing the backs of your hands at his waist. 

Terribly heady.

Five seconds passed before you caught on to your ill deed, and his white tunic fluttered from the speed at which you pulled away from him. When his slender fingers twitched in tandem, you could only assume that, had you waited another second, he would have grasped your wrists so tightly the bones would have snapped. 

How could you? Oh God, this was it. It’s all over. 

You’re seized under his watchful eye, his face washed over with rage, or vexation, or downright disgust at your entirely-too-close, worthy-of-execution contact. 

Certainly, it could not be the wonder you had initially thought it was. 

That was just not possible. 

Impossible. 

Maybe. 

“YN!” 

You jump when the library’s twin doors slammed open, a crotchety, accented voice rattling against the shelves. The clomping of two clogs no different than yours—though, possibly better polished—thunder towards the pair of you, located by your and his candlesticks, stained brass and glossy gold sitting side by side on the oak center table. 

The head maid—Miss Miriam Swinebottom, which, in your humble opinion, was evidence that fate did in fact understand the concept of justice—was a woman of an angular, acidic countenance. Two beady eyes sunk deep into her skull like snakes nestled within a tumbleweed, and she had the capacity for two emotions: disappointment and fury. With a distaste for all things insouciant, the skeletal woman wielded the newly hired maids like an army of rats; she sent all of you scuttling over every inch of the castle and cleaning until your bodies were slow and stiff as though submerged in deep water. 

And you had no doubt that, the second that gaze fell upon you, she was out for blood. The terror that began pulsing in every nerve was no different than when you had first noticed the foreboding air around the blond man. You were not going to get out of this without a scratch. 

Miss Miriam took in you first, but not for long. Soon enough, both of you, as one incriminating sight, were being ascertained. 

You knew what she saw. 

One of her new maids, no better than the grime beneath her shoe, inches away from a royal. 

Unseasoned in the ways of the castle, naive to the new problem you’ve just sprouted, a true simpleton for what you’ve done. You. 

You, with unsteady eyes and flushed cheeks, his shirt unbuttoned, blond hair tousled. 

Fresh meat. 

Dead meat. 

And you hadn’t even done anything. 

You stumble back another step and hesitate to make an excuse. Words, you’d learned, were no better than handing Miss Miriam a switch. Best stay silent and pray for mercy.

Or, rather, for a quick recovery. 

Curiosity slips out of your hands, and you sneak a glance at the man. 

He’s wicked all over again. Somewhat unimpressed by the turn of events, he appears, but the emotion mingles with a strong sense of antagonism no nobility can seem to restrain. You’re only half-glad looks can’t kill. Miss Miriam would be worse off than six feet deep by now. 

To your surprise, she does not snatch you away with promises of a beating. She doesn’t get a step closer. 

Instead, the head maid folds into a low curtsy, then rises back up, bowing her head. “Your Highness.”

You tense at her actions, mind falling blank. 

No. He couldn’t be. 

Your Highness? Your Highness?

But as his gaze trails away from her and back to you, his face abruptly void, you can only stagger back another step, knees giving way into a curtsy as you copy Miss Miriam.

Waiting.

He is.

His Royal Highness, Crown Prince of the Creel Dynasty.

And here you had been, none the wiser, completely ignorant to the danger you’d just placed yourself in. 

For a long, excruciating moment, nothing happens. He does not touch you, nor does he move. The only sound filling the room is bated breath and whispering winds. 

Prince Henry. The prized catch of all the kingdoms. Aristocracy who’d never even scoff at a servant like you were here to court him. 

And you’d been so close—you could still feel the ghost of his warmth under your fingertips. 

A huff perks your ears, but you bite your tongue, waiting. He moves, one slow footstep at a time, nearing you with his polished, leather boots. You watch them as they grow closer. 

You watch them as they hesitate in front of you.

And then you watch them as they pass, each thump of leather against hardwood further and further away until there’s no doubt he has left the library. 

The older maid hitches a second longer before she rises, spitting your name like bile. “YN.” Her footsteps thunder toward you, and you barely have time to straighten before she has an iron grip on your upper arm, hauling you out of the room. 

“You had such a simple task. Clean the library and get out.” She grits her teeth, eyes flaring. “No one has used it in a decade, and yet what do I find but a dusty library and you. You, whoring yourself around the prince. And you said you weren’t a wench before I hired you.”

  She leads you down the castle’s marble hallways, dim from the setting sun yet well-lit by the sconces lining the walls. No matter how much you stumble and grunt, she drags you after her into the servants’ wing, swiftly finding the maids’ hall and barging you through the doorway. 

The room falls silent when the door slams shut, and while no crowd gathers, you are certainly the center of attention to the maids awaiting attending dinner. Stomachs are rumbling, but you have no doubt they would rather feast their eyes on this spectacle first. 

Tears pinch at the bridge of your nose. You can’t cry; you didn’t want to be one of the maids that cried. Those that did were in the latter half of the new hires who were younger than you. And you weren’t a little girl anymore. 

No crying. 

But, oh, you were scared when Miss Miriam paraded you in front of the others, hissing warnings and threats of punishment for girls who did what you had done. 

“-traipsing herself around in front of a most respected royal.” Black, burning eyes latch back onto you. “Tell me, YN, what did you think would happen?”

You flinch. 

There’s no point in looking to others for help. You don’t know them well enough to have friends. It’s been three days, and only one name has stuck. 

But you know it’s a sea of pity, disappointment, and nervous movement flowing back and forth. 

“It,” your voice cracks, and you pause, blinking rapidly. Another older maid, same regal accent, same strict demeanor, same gaze hissing you deserve this you deserve this you deserve this, approaches from behind. “It was an accident—”

You reel back into her waiting arms with a yelp. A stinging burn lances at your cheek, and if you hadn’t seen Miss Miriam’s bony hand fall back to her side, you would have thought she’d slashed open your cheek with an average kitchen knife. 

A seasoned backhand. Was there anything worse?

Miss Miriam stepped back, her appearance leaning more towards irate than strictly furious. She turned away from you, searching the walls of the dormitory. Though you had never seen it before, it hung on the wall with a single nail and a small, looped string on the handle.

A riding crop, yet you had the distinct feeling it had never been used on horses before. 

“No,” you plead when swift fingers begin untying your garment backing. “Please, it—it was an accident!” You try to yank away, but the crop swings at your head. When you lurch back, the fingers resume and Miss Miriam simply tilts her head. 

Dread claws up your throat. The edges of your vision begin contracting with your heart beat, while a shrill voice in your head begins screaming to run, to get out, to escape. Cold air assaults your bare back, and when you feel the tears begin to fall, the maid spins you around, presenting the stripped canvas of flesh to the others. 

“Let this be a lesson to you all, girls,” Miss Miriam announces. “This is not a whorehouse. You are not here to prostitute yourselves to royalty. You will not even look at them.” Her voice directs towards you, “They will certainly not look at you.”

You scream when the crop comes down, the white walls blurring, and the skin of your back wails at the betrayal. 

The tears don’t stop for hours.

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I binged read your whole masterlist ❤️😆 I can only say you are a great writer 😍😊 I enjoyed all of your stories ☺️🤗

*Furiously googles how to send hugs over internet*

Anskdjnd you actually took the time to do that??🥺💜 Honest to God, thank you so much and I’m glad you enjoyed my stuff🥰💖