CW:Arranged marriage/proposal (which doesn’t go to plan )
“Rook.” You whispered harshly, trying to tug your hands away to no avail. “What do you think you’re doing? Everyone’s staring!”
“I’m dancing with the one I love, of course!” The reply fell off his lips like it was the most natural thing in the world. Instead of letting you change partners, Rook kept his hands secured around your waist, daring to pull you closer with a smile.
You felt your face begin to heat up; not that he hadn’t said such things to you before, but today was different! You were at a party, and…
…you were meant to be proposed to in a few minutes, by another man.
For a moment you shut out the music and chatter, focusing on Rook and his twinkling gaze. He had always been intelligent, playful, and held a mystery that always dragged you back for more. You once witnessed him without his grandesque air, with an expression so plainly in love that it made your heart ache.
He made you wish you were brave enough to love. His patience made you wish you could grasp the entire world, cradle it, and offer it to him like a candle in the dark.
But Rook was never one to wait for too long. Once a love that bloomed in the moonlight and with careful, fleeting steps, he now bounded into the gaze of a dozen chandeliers and spun you under his arm, movements flourishing along with the melody in the air.
Oh, how cruel was he to dare and taste freedom in the court of nobles.
Rook’s lips quirked in a little way that made your heart skip: “Do you understand now, mon amour?”
“I do, but I–”
I can’t, how many times have you said that to him?
“I can’t just ruin the plan,” you amended, breathless. “Can you imagine the uproar it would cause?”
“But it’d be beautiful, wouldn’t it?” Rook adopted a smile so carefree that you couldn’t bear to admonish him. Sensing your lingering doubts, he leaned closer to whisper the rest, strands of his hair tickling your cheek.
“I love you too much to simply let that happen,” Those emerald eyes burned into you. “Your planned fiancé knows that, and was kind enough to plot out a show with me. So if you will…” He finally stepped back with a gentle smile, offering you his hand. “Would you allow me to whisk you away?”
Day 3 Prompt: Past | “It would be so much easier to kill you if you weren’t so cute.”
Summary: Lilia had one duty to fulfill and one doubt he has to erase from his heart.
Note: I woke up at 1am after having a revelation about writing Lilia kind of like Saint G. From C:R and I passed out in the middle of writing it Anyways! Enjoy this AU
It was never this cold before in the mansion. Despite everything being the same as you remember, you can’t help but feel fear and confusion take over you when the only thing different from your memories was the behaviour of the man in front of you. It was as if he erased all remaining emotions that could ever exist within him.
You can’t help but shiver when your eye caught a glint of steel underneath his sleeves — but most of all, you were confused. The other day, you were smiling and laughing at him as if all was right in the world yet the next day, you’re locked up inside a room with a man you used to think you knew well.
“Come now,” his voice made your head snap up towards him. His smile was the same as ever but the eyes were the windows to the soul — you saw emptiness. “That’s no way to look at me. I’m doing you a favour after all.”
“A favour? Which part of this situation looks like a good thing, Lilia?” You couldn’t help but sigh, wanting to brush this all off as one huge prank from him, knowing that he likes to fool around often.
He brandished his blade and it glittered under the moonlight shining down from the window. Solemnly, “this blade is coated with a poison that will numb your senses. You wouldn’t even know you’re being attacked while you’re asleep. Quite merciful, don’t you think so?”
“Lilia what is the meaning of this?” You raised your voice, verging closer and closer to snapping. Was he really serious about this? You were too afraid to know the truth.
In a blink of an eye, Lilia pressed the cold steel to your neck — enough to scare you but not enough to leave a scratch. In a low voice, he whispered, “your life belongs to me. I won’t allow anyone else to have you. I shall bear the guilt of killing you myself.”
You stood silent and unmoving, staring at his wine red eyes for what seemed like eternity before gulping and opening your mouth to speak. “… Is this what you truly want?”
His grip on his blade faltered for a split second before hardening himself once more. But the tone of his voice when he delivered his response betrayed the front he was trying to show you. You felt an underlying hint of bitterness in his words. “What I want doesn’t matter.”
“That’s not true.” You refuted. Lilia only responded by grazing your skin ever so slightly. But you continued, daring to cup his cheeks with your hands, you looked him straight in the eye and said: “You’re… My precious person. I can’t let you do something you don’t want to do.”
Lilia’s eyes widened, and his body was trembling slightly. You could hear the sound of his blade dropping to the floor — a troubled expression gracing his face. You could tell that he let his facade crack just once more, yet you don’t know how long it would take for him to put it back on. “My, my… Whatever shall I do? It would be much easier for me to kill you if you weren’t so cute.”
Cute? That was a word you didn’t expect to be in the same sentence as kill. Though you were past the point of getting surprised at little things ever since Lilia held you hostage and nearly took your life.
He raised his index finger and pressed it against your lips as if he was shushing a small child. His eyes were unreadable in the dark of the room, he pleaded, “then, by all means, please try your best to escape. For me. If you fail to escape after tomorrow… I won’t hesitate a second time.”
Like a puppet being controlled by the puppeteer, his every move was being watched by someone you didn’t know. All you knew was that you had to run away from the stage and cut the strings that bind him to a fate he never wanted. But, the question is: Can you?
Day 2 Prompt: Rain | “You look good in my colours.”
Synopsis: Vil turns out to be extremely picky with colors. Not that it’s news to you, of course. It’s just that the way he deals with it when it comes to you is more than a little alarming.
Makeup, at surface level, was something that looked like it would require no skills to do well — seeing how other people would do theirs effortlessly convinced you that it would be just as easy for you to do the same. But people who underestimate the difficulty of one thing right off the bat, more often than not, set themselves up for failure.
Applying them was one thing but choosing colours that you liked and suited you was another thing entirely. Luckily, when you went into the shop, there were employees kind enough to help you a little with your choices as you’ve had little to no experience with this sort of thing and ended up buying a lipstick brand that recently collaborated with the famed Neige Leblanche.
Seemingly proud of your decision of the colours and shades you picked out, you decided to run to Vil to show off the tint applied on your lips. But in contrast to your enthusiastic behaviour, he greeted you with a scowl when he saw you wear a shade of red that reminded him a little bit too much of a certain person he wasn’t too fond of.
“What is that?” You knew Vil was particular with colours but you didn’t expect him to react so negatively it made you think twice about what you’re putting yourself into. Vil crossed his arms as he furrowed his eyebrows, not pleased at all.
“I decided to try out some lipstick and picked out a shade that I liked the most.” You answered hesitantly. You noticed Vil massaging his temples for a split moment before walking towards his vanity, taking what seemed to be a lipstick tube and applied it flawlessly to his lips — mauve.
“Listen here—” Vil started, facing you with a strict expression. You heard his heels clicking against the tiles as he made his way closer to you. Raising his thumb closer to your face, he wiped away the tint from your lips and kissed you without warning. Sliding his lips against yours as his lipstick stains your lips with his colour. He doesn’t seem to care if it strays as long as he doesn’t see that shade on you anymore. He pulled back for a second and slid an arm around your waist to pull you towards him, he whispered, a smug smile gracing his features, “as I expected…”
Day 1 Prompt: Cupid | “Do you want to play a little game?”
Synopsis: In which Ace finds himself loving you every time. A fruitless love that he’ll write a letter to.
Start a new game?
[ >Yes No ]
Loading new game…
Error! Code: 707
.
.
.
.
New message from ‘Ace’
Would you like to open it?
[ >Yes No ]
I wonder how long it’s been since I’ve been stuck in this never-ending loop. The same week starts over and over after something goes terribly wrong or too well — I always wondered why it was me that should bear the burden of looking after you in each timeline. It would always start the same: I’ll bump into you and that little rascal, get into trouble, and eventually turn into friends along with Deuce.
But in every timeline, it would branch off into different events after that point — as if I was just part of a prologue in a game you were playing. In every timeline, you would fall in love with one of the students in NRC, each time a different guy you end up with.
It was weird. I thought I was cursed, but I soon figured out that it wasn’t the case all along. Who would’ve thought we’d be literally a game to you? A dating sim at that! No wonder you were always running around to different people every timeline… it all finally made sense to me.
I was relieved but that only meant that in every timeline… I would have to watch you fall for someone else. I guess it would’ve been fine under normal circumstances but I guess I made things more complicated for myself.
I like you — more than you probably think or more than this game will allow me. You’ve only picked me once in your countless routes but I guess feelings die hard, huh? You picked me as your first route too… I can’t help but think of you as a little cruel for making me witness all of that with these kinds of feelings in tow.
I watched you fall in love with Deuce, I watched you save Vil from overblotting, I watched you hug Trey at the back of the dorm building, and many more. It kinda hurts each time, you know? By the time you’re reading this you must’ve reached the 'True Ending’ of the game and finished it.
But…
I’d like to ask you to play one more little game with me. Well, it’s more of a promise but think of it as a game in a program, yeah? When you grow older… I want you to find your true happiness — whether it be finding a partner, starting a family, getting your dream job, or starting a hobby… I want you to find it. And when you do, no matter how many years pass by, I want you to open this game again and play through my route one more time.
Bah! But then again, you might just think this whole message is a virus. Well, it’s worth a shot after all the efforts I went through to send this to you.
To you, behind this screen, this is my last request. That’s the secret key to my after story… Only then will you unlock the 'After Story’ I sought after.
Well, That is the end of the story. Time is running out.
A new save file cannot be opened. Restarting the game…
Day 1 Prompt:Cupid / “Do you want to play a little game?”
“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, / And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”
For the week leading up to Valentine’s Day last year, I wrote a series of platonic imagines between Jade and a poor mob student (Octa A-kun). This year, I’m going to indulge myself and cjdbdhdheyekdn just write a bunch of Raven x Jade and Rook and maybe someone else, who knows
Imagine this…
“Shall we play a game of tag, mon petit oiseau? The weather today is perfectly ripe for indulging in a round or two.”
“No thank you.”
Her answer was certain and swift. Raven hadn’t even bothered to glance up from scribbling in her notebook, to gauge what would undoubtably be another one of Rook’s over-the-top reactions. An exaggerated expression, animated hands, as if acting out a tragic line from a stage play—she had seen it all before.
“I’ve no interest in being pursued around the campus.” Raven dotted the period in her sentence as she spoke. Heartbeat, a deep red enchanted ink, dried quickly and left behind a pulsating warmth upon the page.
It was the ideal color to conclude a morbid story—the tale of a man with a deadly kiss, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake as he sought out his One True Love… the only person immune to his poisoned lips. Driven mad by his quest for love, he gazes upon his collection of preserved hearts—each gleaned from past lovers that had fallen to his perilous kiss, she penned. He laments his life of loneliness, not realizing that his own heart had stopped beating long ago.
“I don’t see what you find to be so amusing about it,” Raven continued. “It’s a common schoolyard game for children.”
“Since the dawn of time itself, mankind has sought to give chase to that which captures his eye! Be it a ray of sunshine, the gossamer wings of a butterfly, or love itself… Nothing eludes an enthralled man’s pursuit!” Rook extended an arm, his booming voice stretching to fill the entire courtyard. “Even Cupid himself would be envious of such an unadulterated passion! It is the pinnacle of romantique, non?”
“… No, I’m afraid I don’t quite follow.”
Rook nodded, carefully tracing the path of her still moving quill with his eyes. “Perhaps you’ve experienced far too much of being chased during your time in the wild to find amusement in it. Escaping birds of prey, I’d imagine, would be difficult for a smaller creature such as yourself.”
Raven shivered. How many times had she just narrowly dodged the talons of a hawk, or scraped by the watchful eyes of an owl. “Precisely why I’m not in the mood for more of it.”
“D’accord.”
“… Huh?”
Her hands were suddenly empty, and her book and quill were in Rook’s grasp.
“Um, senpai… My belongings?” She held out a hand, palm up, expectantly. “May I please have them back?”
He beamed down at her, as radiant as the flaxen hair that framed his face.
“… Please?”
His lip curled, his smile broadening.
A familiar chill caressed Raven’s heart in spite of glimpsing such cheer. Uncertainty and vague apprehension curled together in the pits of her stomach.
Normally, she found comfort in his smile. But no, not this one. Not with the half-lidded eyes and the crafty curve to his mouth, not when he appeared so foxlike.
She saw another tricky predator before her, and its name was Rook Hunt.
“Now is your golden opportunity to be the one giving chase,” he sang.
About: Starting off day 1 of valentwst with an Azul drabble! It’s your summer holidays, where he may or may not have tricked you into needing his assistance.
CW: Reader is implied to have an interesting unique-magic (not specified), and is quite frustrated with the merman in question.
“Azul Ashengrotto.” You said the name slowly. “What are you playing at?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Azul replied, eyes on the cauldron before him as his tentacles added and measured ingredients. Something off the shelf, another from the cupboard… What was the last one again?
Swimming closer, you swiped one of the bottles floating in the water before he could reach for it. His eyes flicked up to meet yours with a raised brow; you resisted the urge to topple his cauldron right there and then.
“You’re not expecting me to live the rest of my life with a tail, are you?” You demanded.
At the memory of your contract, Azul smiled. “As far as I recall, I’ve held up my end of the deal. You only have yourself– well, your friend, to blame. Your wish was to visit the Coral Sea for the weekend, was it not?”
“Yes. The weekend.” Your patience wore thin. “I admit it was an oversight on their part for trusting you,” His lips twitched amusedly, sharpening your gaze into a glare. “But what do you even hope to gain from this?”
“You don’t have to look at me so suspiciously.” Azul all but shrugged. He fished out a blank contract from the drawers, turning it around to confirm that it was indeed empty. “Forgive me for being so roundabout, but I thought you wouldn’t have come in-person if it were not for such a complication.”
When your friend said they could help you find a potion to turn your legs into a tail, you hadn’t thought they were foolish enough to go to Azul for it. After your first mishap with their dorm (a mishap on your part, but a convenient occurrence for them,) you’d done your best to avoid Octavinelle during your studies at the college. It wasn’t simply out of principle, either - Azul seemed to have taken an interest in your unique-magic, which was something you absolutely refused to use as a trading chip.
“…A contract to resolve an oversight?”
“An honest oversight, I assure you~”
If it wasn’t for the clear disadvantage you had, you might’ve tried to leave and find another solution. You sighed, crossing your arms. “Azul, I’d like a potion that returns my legs. A permanent one to reverse the effects of your last product.” Watching him scribble down the terms, you continued. “You aren’t after madol, are you?”
“Of course not. I only have a simple request.” He gave you a charming smile as he cast It’s a Deal, turning the dark ink into tantalizing gold. “I’m well-aware that you don’t plan to part with your unique-magic, thus I’ll simply settle for a demonstration of sorts.” He unraveled another roll of parchment, one that detailed a map of the Coral Sea. “Now… Shall we play a little game?”
Me and my good friend @myuunji decided to make a prompt list for Valentine’s this week and decided it would be nice to share it with other people who are interested in participating! It’ll officially last from February 8-14 but you can still submit for the rest of the entire month. Anybody is free to join and there’s no pressure at all to do every single day ❣️ If you’d like, you can just do the prompt that catches your fancy.
If you are participating and posting your piece, please tag it with #valentwst2022for easier navigation.
CW:Arranged marriage/proposal (which doesn’t go to plan )
“Rook.” You whispered harshly, trying to tug your hands away to no avail. “What do you think you’re doing? Everyone’s staring!”
“I’m dancing with the one I love, of course!” The reply fell off his lips like it was the most natural thing in the world. Instead of letting you change partners, Rook kept his hands secured around your waist, daring to pull you closer with a smile.
You felt your face begin to heat up; not that he hadn’t said such things to you before, but today was different! You were at a party, and…
…you were meant to be proposed to in a few minutes, by another man.
For a moment you shut out the music and chatter, focusing on Rook and his twinkling gaze. He had always been intelligent, playful, and held a mystery that always dragged you back for more. You once witnessed him without his grandesque air, with an expression so plainly in love that it made your heart ache.
He made you wish you were brave enough to love. His patience made you wish you could grasp the entire world, cradle it, and offer it to him like a candle in the dark.
But Rook was never one to wait for too long. Once a love that bloomed in the moonlight and with careful, fleeting steps, he now bounded into the gaze of a dozen chandeliers and spun you under his arm, movements flourishing along with the melody in the air.
Oh, how cruel was he to dare and taste freedom in the court of nobles.
Rook’s lips quirked in a little way that made your heart skip: “Do you understand now, mon amour?”
“I do, but I–”
I can’t, how many times have you said that to him?
“I can’t just ruin the plan,” you amended, breathless. “Can you imagine the uproar it would cause?”
“But it’d be beautiful, wouldn’t it?” Rook adopted a smile so carefree that you couldn’t bear to admonish him. Sensing your lingering doubts, he leaned closer to whisper the rest, strands of his hair tickling your cheek.
“I love you too much to simply let that happen,” Those emerald eyes burned into you. “Your planned fiancé knows that, and was kind enough to plot out a show with me. So if you will…” He finally stepped back with a gentle smile, offering you his hand. “Would you allow me to whisk you away?”
You wake up to a scroll tied with a red ribbon by your bedside. As you flatten the parchment to read, a single playing card falls out of its folds.
Hey, you.
‘It’s been a while, right?’ Is what I’d like to say, but really it’s only been a few days since we said goodbye. Pathetic, right? I was talking so big the other day about how we’d be fine without you, but here I am writing you a letter like some princess in a tower.
It’s Ace: your buddy, your friend. Don’t go forgetting that now, alright? I’m not going to introduce myself twice.
I’m writing this because I can’t sleep, if you’re wondering. Maybe that’s why I’m feeling sappy right now… The moon in your world should look the same - do you ever glance up and wonder how it almost looks like a mirror?
Glowing in the night like that, I wonder if it leads to somewhere else.
…it looks beautiful tonight, if you know what I mean. Obviously I’m not with you now, so I can’t see your reaction, but at the very least I’ve gotten this off my chest. I don’t even know if this letter will reach you, but if it does you’d better write me a reply back! It’s proper etiquette, or whatever it is that Riddle likes to say.
Well… I should probably stop rambling before this gets longer than it should. You’d complain if I gave you an entire essay to read, right? So for now I’ll just wish you luck, and hope that you’ll stay safe and happy wherever you are •~♡
From your one and only,
Ace Trappola
I’ll be waiting for you through the looking-glass, wherever you may be.
(There’s a dot of ink next to the heart on last paragraph, as if Ace was about to write more. It looks decorative enough though - he was always good at covering things up.)
About: Day 2 of valentwst with Ace! Using prompts Rain + “You look good in my colors.”
Where you got caught in some bad weather while playing with the hedgehogs in Heartslabyul.
“Sheesh, did one of the Diasomnia students lose their temper or something?” You muttered, glancing out the windows as lightning flashed. The rain was thundering against the glass, and you’d just escaped said rain just a few minutes ago as you were rushed indoors by Ace.
Ace threw a towel at you, saying something about how you’d catch a cold if you stayed a mess like that. Letting out an offended huff, you made your way to his side and peeked over to see what he was searching for in his closet.
“What the– Why are you still here?!”
“What?” You looked at him like he’d grown two heads. “Where else would I go? You’re the one that dragged me to your room!”
“Just,” Ace stopped himself, turning to hastily fish out a coat and shirt and shoving them into your arms. Before you could protest otherwise, he was already pushing you back out and giving you directions to the showers. “You’ll get sick if you stay like that, and I don’t need Trey or Cater on my ass for not being hospitable or whatever.”
He quickly shut the door on you before burying his face in his hands. When he noticed that someone was still with the hedgehogs while the storm was brewing, Ace simply thought they were an idiot and was going to continue on with his day.
Then you stepped out of the roofed area and straight into the rain, and it hit him that it was his idiot out there, doing Seven knows what in the worst weather they’ve had this term.
Imagine his dumbfoundedness when the first thing you said to him was not a greeting nor a thank you, but rather a concern about a hedgehog that you spotted escaping into the wilderness. Ace almost felt his sanity slipping as you blatantly disregarded your safety and continued to search for the animal, insisting that you couldn’t leave it to fend for itself.
He found it admirable that you were such a caring person, but at times like these Ace really wished you could be more self-centered. He’s going to age twice as fast like this – he can feel it in his bones. Finally regaining his strength, Ace picked a random set of clothes and set off to the showers himself. Seeing as he was roped into the rescue of one hedgehog, he too was drenched from the rain earlier.
A quick spell was used to dry off your clothes to prevent trekking water into the dorm, but that was far from enough to properly freshen up. Hopefully Riddle wouldn’t put up a fuss about this, seeing as it was for an animal’s sake.
By the time he was done, Ace assumed you’d either returned to his room or was somewhere else in the dorm, seeing as the storm hadn’t let up yet. When he turned the doorknob to his room and pushed open the door, Ace was greeted by the sight of you drying your hair.
What he wasn’t mentally prepared for was seeing you in his clothes – he wasn’t paying attention to what he grabbed at first, but it seemed that it was just another version of his uniform. The blazer was pretty comfortable though, so he wasn’t too concerned about that. Rather, a ridiculous part of him was both embarrassed and proud of the sight.
Clearly, in reaction to said emotions, Ace did what came easiest – which was putting on a mask of calm as he entered and sat on the other end of his bed.
“You know, this actually isn’t so bad.” He started talking before his brain could catch up. “You look good in my colors.”
It took him a second too late to realize exactly what he said.
About: Starting off day 1 of valentwst with an Azul drabble! It’s your summer holidays, where he may or may not have tricked you into needing his assistance.
CW: Reader is implied to have an interesting unique-magic (not specified), and is quite frustrated with the merman in question.
“Azul Ashengrotto.” You said the name slowly. “What are you playing at?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Azul replied, eyes on the cauldron before him as his tentacles added and measured ingredients. Something off the shelf, another from the cupboard… What was the last one again?
Swimming closer, you swiped one of the bottles floating in the water before he could reach for it. His eyes flicked up to meet yours with a raised brow; you resisted the urge to topple his cauldron right there and then.
“You’re not expecting me to live the rest of my life with a tail, are you?” You demanded.
At the memory of your contract, Azul smiled. “As far as I recall, I’ve held up my end of the deal. You only have yourself– well, your friend, to blame. Your wish was to visit the Coral Sea for the weekend, was it not?”
“Yes. The weekend.” Your patience wore thin. “I admit it was an oversight on their part for trusting you,” His lips twitched amusedly, sharpening your gaze into a glare. “But what do you even hope to gain from this?”
“You don’t have to look at me so suspiciously.” Azul all but shrugged. He fished out a blank contract from the drawers, turning it around to confirm that it was indeed empty. “Forgive me for being so roundabout, but I thought you wouldn’t have come in-person if it were not for such a complication.”
When your friend said they could help you find a potion to turn your legs into a tail, you hadn’t thought they were foolish enough to go to Azul for it. After your first mishap with their dorm (a mishap on your part, but a convenient occurrence for them,) you’d done your best to avoid Octavinelle during your studies at the college. It wasn’t simply out of principle, either - Azul seemed to have taken an interest in your unique-magic, which was something you absolutely refused to use as a trading chip.
“…A contract to resolve an oversight?”
“An honest oversight, I assure you~”
If it wasn’t for the clear disadvantage you had, you might’ve tried to leave and find another solution. You sighed, crossing your arms. “Azul, I’d like a potion that returns my legs. A permanent one to reverse the effects of your last product.” Watching him scribble down the terms, you continued. “You aren’t after madol, are you?”
“Of course not. I only have a simple request.” He gave you a charming smile as he cast It’s a Deal, turning the dark ink into tantalizing gold. “I’m well-aware that you don’t plan to part with your unique-magic, thus I’ll simply settle for a demonstration of sorts.” He unraveled another roll of parchment, one that detailed a map of the Coral Sea. “Now… Shall we play a little game?”
