⟢ Much to no one’s surprise, you fall first and Ayn falls harder. He’s got that typical black cat personality that makes approaching him difficult, let alone becoming close with him. Due to his lack of experience, Ayn doesn’t even consider a romantic relationship with you at first. It takes time to melt past his aloof forefront but once you do, he develops the biggest soft spot for you. Not that he’ll outright tell you, of course. This is Ayn we’re talking about. Once you show him you’re trustworthy and enjoy spending time with him, he’ll slowly but surely fall for you. He’ll do anything for you once you’ve reached this point.
⟢ Clarence also has a lack of experience with relationships and he’s got quite the busy schedule, so you fall first and he falls much harder. Not that Clarence has ever been against romantic relationships but he’s a practical and very busy man. His schedule is always packed to the brim with activities even in the evenings. He has no time to even think about a girlfriend or a relationship. That is, until you come into the picture. He’s calculated so when it comes to future partners, he takes into account if things will last long term. He doesn’t rush into things because of this. But somehow, you manage to wriggle your way into his heart and eventually, he’s clearing his schedule for you, mindlessly bringing you up in conversations with his family and Luca, getting flustered around you… What? He laughed when he found out that his friend Luca had a girlfriend but now? He’s got no room to judge when he’s this hopelessly in love with you.
You fall first and harder:
⟢ You fall first and harder for Cael. Cael made an agreement years back and has since been assigned your caretaker. That role, however, does not require any emotional connection. He’s simply fulfilling a promise he made way back when. Of course, things change over time. You gradually fall for him but his view of love and feelings is quite jaded so he hesitates to grow closer to you emotionally. As someone from the Empire, emotions and love are a foreign concept. You start being more vulnerable with him though, and he starts to notice differences within himself. Could it be love? It takes a while for him to accept that it is, but when he does he loves you quietly. He doesn’t push himself onto you but cares and protects you.
He fell first, you fell harder:
⟢ Lars is the heir to the Feinz Group, so it’s naturally expected of him to settle eventually but by no means is he in any rush to do so. He’s much more of a go with the flow and spontaneous guy, so when he sees you when he’s not looking for love, he feels as though cupid just struck him with an arrow. He finds you adorable and incredibly hardworking when he finds out about your art. Again, he’s not one to rush things, so he admires from the sidelines. He’ll tease and give you a nickname but will only make a move when things feel right. He’s the most supportive boyfriend you could ever ask for, so you fall harder by just a smidge.
He fell first and harder:
⟢ Believe in love at first sight or not, Alkaid falls for you the very minute he sees you and falls much harder. Not in a superficial way, but genuinely. He is attracted to your kindness at first and wants to get to know you better from there. As soon as he does, he falls for you hard. Getting to know you more makes his feelings for you grow stronger and whether you reciprocate his feelings or not, he’ll always have love for you. It’s as though he’s already dedicated a spot in his heart for you and no matter what happens, he’ll just want you to be happy. He is a lovesick man and the epitome of a yearner.
Lovebrush Chronicles: Jealousy Dynamics (Reader vs. Him)
Modern
Ayn Alwyn x Reader
Reader: 30% | Ayn: 80%
Black cat energy. Ayn Alwyn feels jealousy as easily and as quickly as he gets sweet-tooth cravings.
Since you are entirely used to people fawning over Ayn—from his music-brainwashed fans on Harp Island to his everyday admirers—you rarely feel genuinely jealous when someone catches his attention. You just experience a brief pang or two here and there.
Ayn, on the other hand, is certainly not used to losing the spotlight—and he is especially not used to having your attention stolen away from him. In the first place, he isn't exactly generous with sharing you. When he gets jealous, he will silently brood and act coldly, giving you incredibly obvious signs that he is annoyed, though he refuses to bring it up first. He will keep up the frosty act until you make the first move, using sweets or cake as an appeasement.
The Fix: He will stubbornly make you feed him the treats yourself.
Alkaid McGrath x Reader
Reader: 70% | Alkaid: 70%
Completely balanced and deeply empathetic. Both you and Alkaid feel the exact same amount of jealousy and display it in remarkably similar ways.
Thanks to his gentle, helpful personality, Alkaid’s popularity at the academy is exceptionally high. As much as you are glad to have such a warm, kindhearted, attractive man as your boyfriend, you still occasionally battle a strong sense of possessiveness.
Alkaid feels that exact same wave of jealousy and possessiveness when someone else manages to completely steal your attention, especially if they are helping you with something he can't provide. However, he instantly feels guilty about his own envy; he internally chastises himself, reminding his heart that you are your own person and don't belong to him.
The Fix: For both of you, the resolution is incredibly quick and easy. Simple acknowledgment and a burst of doting, undivided attention make you both instantly forget the whole thing. He will just quietly lace his fingers with yours and hold your hand tightly.
Lars Rorschach x Reader
Reader: 40% | Lars: 70–80%
Mercurial and dramatic. Lars’s jealousy isn't stable, fluctuating wildly just like his playful temperament.
Being completely used to having your admiration and regularly seeking your full attention, it hurts Lars far more than he would ever be willing to admit when you give that attention to someone else—especially if you look comfortable and personal while doing it. You feel flashes of jealousy too, but it’s an emotion you have come to accept and manage when dating such a confident, effortlessly charismatic man.
Your boyfriend, on the other hand, acts like an absolute child when he's jealous. He will either entirely ignore you until you are forced to acknowledge his dramatic silence, or he will confidently step right in and interrupt whatever conversation you're having. Once he successfully gets rid of the person who dared to hold your attention instead of him, he will seamlessly act like absolutely nothing went wrong.
The Fix: He will confidently pull you aside later and demanding a kiss to fully make up for it.
Clarence Clayden x Reader
Reader: 90% | Clarence: 30%
Deep, logical security versus high-stakes longing.
It is incredibly hard not to get jealous when your boyfriend is both devastatingly handsome and utterly dependable to everyone around him. Clarence already barely finds time to spend with you because he is constantly dedicated to one task or another, endlessly extending his duties as the student council president. Because of this, when he does finally secure free time to spend with you, you don't take it lightly when a third party tries to steal that precious time away.
Clarence, conversely, finds it quite difficult to get genuinely jealous. He rarely experiences possessiveness, easily evaluating any situation for objectively what it is. He is profoundly reassured by his complete trust in your relationship; logically, if you didn't just have eyes for him, you wouldn't be dating him. It sometimes annoys you how you seem to be the only one getting jealous and possessive over time, but Clarence actually secretly enjoys seeing you like that. To him, your jealousy is further logical proof of your undeniable attraction to him. He never intentionally pushes your buttons, though, always prioritizing your absolute comfort first and foremost.
The Fix: He will quietly ask you later if you were disturbed by the interruption and will sincerely apologize for putting you through that stress.
Cael Anselm x Reader
Reader: 50% | Cael: 50%
A subtle, calculated chess game of teasing and pushing buttons.
You are entirely used to Cael doting on you, but you're also used to him giving you a necessary, firm push when needed. Furthermore, you routinely see massive amounts of attention drawn to him as Emerald, plus his gorgeous hair and striking presence. You try your hardest not to let it get under your skin, determined to always appear mature and collected in front of him.
Unfortunately for you, it is incredibly easy for Cael to tell exactly when you're jealous. And he will absolutely push it, deliberately drawing out his interaction with the other person as much as he can. He knows exactly how to soothe you later anyway, and he finds it incredibly endearing to see real-time proof of your feelings via your cute, pouting face.
On the flip side, it is incredibly hard to tell when Cael himself gets jealous. Like many things, he hides his envy flawlessly behind a perfect mask—until you purposely push his limits. When he finally snaps, he lets his anger slip just enough to forcefully break up your interaction with a tight, unyielding smile.
The Fix: You will both endlessly tease each other about it later to make up for it. You are both secretly glad to see the other person get jealous for you, smoothly putting the envy behind you once the air is cleared.
au - magic/knight!alkaid | can i ask: do you love me?
By a series of accidents involving love potions and cookies, you end up with a boyfriend.
k, fluff + one (1) background relationship, mentions of angst, accidental usage of love potions, reader is mc, series: none
WHEN IT COMES TO THE morality of love potions, there is usually no universally-agreed upon answer, in large part due to the sheer variance in what, exactly, constitutes such a thing.
The law, however, is as full of loopholes as it can be—as long as it doesn't seem to talk, walk, or act like a drug capable of inducing others to fall in love with you, it isn't. And so, if such a thing were to ever find its way into someone's food, it technically wouldn't be a crime.
Then where, you wonder, does the present situation fall under?
With horror twisting your lips into a grimace, you gaze silently at the empty tray of cookies, sat upon the table unsuspectingly. No crumbs remain on its surface, though that speaks more to the character of the man who accidentally devoured them than any skill on your part. Alkaid has always been like this, even when your delicious cookies were nothing more than chunks of coal.
Despite the conclusions you manage to draw so easily, a question—one qualified enough to be called idiotic—slips out of you.
"Did you…" You swallow the lump in your throat. "Did you eat all of these cookies?"
Alkaid chuckles, smiling warmly. "Of course. They were as delicious as always."
On the topic of love potions, sweet in taste as they are, they tend to be amber in color. Sugar turned into caramel, or honey gleaming in the sunlight, as your friend once described it. A treat perfectly suited to her tastes.
Food dye is what brings out the pink hue oft associated with love, and the association is such that there are those who believe that love potions in any other color are simply…
Defective.
It was this same association that led Ehlonna—who came to you in tears, her once-in-a-lifetime request as much a paradox of selfishness and selflessness as she herself was—to request a more natural approach. As the soon-to-be Princess of Leighton, even so much as a hint that a love potion existed in her possession could not only be damaging to her reputation, but would incite needless worry in her brother and father.
Her brother who has just inhaled a plate full of cookies made accidentally with the love potion you crafted for her.
You don't scream. For one, you can't scream, but it is a near thing. The devil whispers in your ear, isn't this a good thing? And it takes a frightening amount of time for your conscience to talk you down.
This is why you don't play around with love potions.
"That's good." An awkward smile. An even more awkward silence. "And you feel okay? They didn't taste…funny?"
The love of your life laughs again. You think it's deserved, a little. A lot. It takes the embarrassing sting off the joke that is your current existence. How does one accidentally put a love potion in a batch of cookies? They run out of sugar and attempt to make due with honey.
How does one mistake a love potion for honey? They put it in an inconspicuous jar and wake up to bake at three in the morning. All because of a nightmare, one as equally like to come true as the opposite, where the groom looked suspiciously like the man in front of you and a blob of colors substituted as the bride.
"Have more faith in your baking," he says gently, holding his teacup to his lips.
On average, knights are not the best at holding their own against magic of any sort. But Alkaid bucks the trend by being startlingly difficult to hex, which, by all accounts, should bode well for him.
Except for the fact that he did, in fact, succumb to the last potion you tested on him. Trust, after all, is a powerful thing. It knocked him out for a week, and when he woke up, it was to the sight of your inconsolable form at his bedside. Even his own family wasn't half as concerned, though his father did advise against using him as a test subject in the future.
"I do," you say numbly, resting your arm atop the chair. Soon enough, it is your entire body that the wooden dining chair—one older than even you—must support. "I really do…"
His amused smile fades, making way for an expression full of concern. Setting the teacup down, he asks, "Has something happened?"
You exhale.
Ordinarily, you would confess everything to him. But everything entails secrets that are not yours to give away. Like the part about Ehlonna nearly taking a lover, for one. How the prospect of marrying for duty terrifies her enough that she would sooner numb herself to the world. How the love of her life vanished at the start of the month, the only proof of his existence being the whispers of the townsfolk and the songs the children sing.
So, you play around with the truth instead, to the best of your ability.
"I think…" You slip onto the seat in front of you with a sigh and a careful bite of your lip. "I think I poured a truth serum into those cookies. It's not where I keep it anymore."
But no one said it'd be a good lie.
His eyebrows nearly disappear under his bangs. You've always appreciated the siblings' willingness to go along with whatever excuses you offer them. Call it gullibility, as some people do, but you think it veers on blind faith.
Whatever questions he has sit on the tip of his tongue—then he swallows them back down and places a hand over his forehead. Gently moving the tray to the side, you lean in close, upper body crossing half the table as you wait your turn.
Alkaid has always made note of your hands. How they often run cold, instead of warm. The telltale increase in body temperature that results from love potions, then, could be obfuscated by that fact.
Frustration knits your eyebrows together. Pinching the bridge of your nose, you ask:
"Do you feel like telling me anything?"
"Not particularly," he answers, looking concerned. For you, you suspect. Then, he takes your hands and squeezes them gently. "It's been a long time since that day. It isn't out of the realm of possibility that I've gained some resistance since then."
Your expression tells him all you'd like him to know. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility—if he was anyone else. You'd love to give him some other potion to prove your point, but you can't risk him getting knocked out before the delegation for the Kingdom of Leighton comes knocking on Eden's door for their new princess.
Which is…
Two days from now.
You feel yourself breaking into cold sweat again. The potion takes a month to make.
And Ehlonna is nice. Ehlonna is understanding. Ehlonna is your best friend, and with love troubles of her own under her belt, she will surely understand your circumstances. There's nothing to forgive, her saintly voice echoes in your mind.
On her part, sure.
On your part? Absolutely not.
The smile on your lips grows forced. At the same time, Alkaid reaches out and brushes your bangs out of your face—and you'd love to draw conclusions, but he's always been like this.
"Alright, why don't you ask me a question?" he proposes, half-exasperatedly. "If you've wanted to ask anything at all, now's your chance."
Do you love me?
You swallow the lump in your throat with great difficulty. "What's your favorite color?"
"Green." A lie. The answer is purple.
"What's your favorite season?"
"Summer." A lie. The answer is undetermined—his usual line is, Spring is the season flowers bloom, but Winter is the season we met.
"What's your favorite food?"
"Whatever you and Ehlonna make." A truth. He'd have to be the liar of a lifetime if it wasn't.
This back-and-forth continues for a while longer, his initial reason for visiting nearly forgotten by both of them. It's not as though they'd made any progress on coming up with a fun night for Ehlonna anyways. You'd preemptively rejected places that were sure to remind her of Yin, which left the two of you with almost no options in the nearby town.
Eventually, you run out of questions, but the soft smile on Alkaid's lips does not fade. The devil whispers in your ear, and, for some reason, he sounds a bit like Yin, Ask: do you love me?
You opt for a slightly different question. "Is there a girl you like?"
His eyebrows furrow at the question, and his lips purse. He looks a bit uncomfortable, really. But it's only for a brief moment before he smiles again.
"Yes." A statement, undetermined.
Taking a deep breath, you ask, "Is that a truth or a lie?"
"Which one would you rather it be?" he counters.
Silence engulfs the home you inherited from your mother. It's deep in the forest near Eden's capital, with enchantments cast specifically to keep it hidden from unwanted guests. If someone wants to commission you for a magical product, they must ask during your business hours, at the quaint little art store you own.
The lavender walls of the dining room seem quite intriguing, all of a sudden—even to an eye like yours, which has seen them since birth. There's a few scratches on the table from when you were a child, and the chair slats feel more uncomfortable that usual when you lean back against them.
It would be easy enough to pick the first option, you think. But if the end result is anything like your dream…
Eden—more specifically, you—can only handle one broken-hearted mage right now.
"Who is it?" you eventually spit out, to the tune of your heartbeat thrumming in your ears. Regret instantly floods your veins, but it's too late to back out. Your mother did not raise a coward, nor did she raise someone unaffected by sunk-cost.
"She's…" He pauses, seemingly at a loss for words. "Wonderful. Kind. The most beautiful woman in the world—"
You wonder if you can tune him out.
You wonder if you should.
Every little compliment functions like a dagger, repeatedly stabbing you in the heart. Even so, you count each one and wonder, Could that be me? Who else does Alkaid know who sometimes eats like a slob? You're not proud of it, but hunger often has a way of making you forgo niceties.
And it can't be his cat, either. Sparkles, despite his name, is not a girl.
"Is she sitting in front of you?" you blurt out finally, when it seems like he's about to stop. Then, to make up for your mistake, you bury your head in your hands and pray this ritual grants you invisibility.
"How'd you know?"
When you look up, Alkaid is smiling his usual gentle smile.
THERE IS A LITTLE FOOTNOTE in the banned potion's textbook that provided the recipe for this love potion. You learn about it that night, after pulling the book out of your shelf to occupy your sleepless night in a productive manner.
Half of it is written in a handwriting you've only ever seen in letters your father wrote before his untimely death—the one you modeled the curves of your alphabet after. The other half is written in your mother's handwriting, still in cursive, but with a definitive air of practicality to it, in that it would nearly be illegible to anyone else but you.
It says:
A love potion will not go into effect if the target of the ingester's affection and the first person they see are one and the same. In rare cases, with sufficient willpower, if the two people are separate, the ingester will be able to overcome its effects.
Biting your lips has no effect on your ever-growing smile. Neither does the prospect of having to tell Ehlonna about your mistake dampen your excitement about today's events.
Perhaps that makes you a bad friend. Perhaps wondering if the love potion would've failed anyway, owing to Ehlonna and her brother having an incredible willpower, makes you a bad friend too. In any case, in the following days, it ceases to matter, because your hunch about Ehlonna's fate happens to be correct.
Just not in the form you expected.
When you finally show her and her new husband the textbook—smuggling it into the manor carefully and quietly, though the Duke tends to turn a blind eye to your shenanigans—on the day after their wedding, the three of you can only laugh, as you did in the old days.
— happy (very) belated birthday to @chiefcroissantdeanbanana
Can you guys believe it’s been two years? That’s crazy! Thank you so much to this wonderful game and amazing community! I’m glad to have loved every single thing about each of the guys and interacted with different fans around the world. Let’s continue to make new memories along the way!
This drawing is my part in a 24-hour relay on Twitter! Be sure to check out all the amazing artists on there!!
