#Good is in '' because it's not exactly the best but he's trying
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diagonal-queen · 6 hours ago
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im basically back so i'm doing this even though nobody will read it lol (i dont even blame you because look at all that TEXT)
Do you have a good relationship with your parents? not really i guess? it's complicated so imma just say nah
Who did you last say “I love you” to? i think to my dog lol
Do you regret anything? i regret writing rpf as a kid 💀 i also regret smacking my little brother's butt to discipline him as a kid. it goes against my stance of 'don't hit children' that i have today and i do feel real bad about it, i just emulated the parenting techniques i knew at that age.
Are you insecure? HELLA lmao
What is your relationship status? single as FUCK boiiiiiiiiiii
How do you want to die? peacefully and in my sleep with my puppies laying next to me
What did you last eat? right now i'm eating crackers
Played any sports? used to be a bit of a discus prodigy as a kid, and was also not a half-bad sprinter. i danced from 2-12 as well and also enjoyed chess. nowadays i don't play any sports
Do you bite your nails? i do on occasion but i try not to
When was your last physical fight? i've never been in one. maybe with my sister when we were kids? idk
Do you like someone? kind of? if that makes sense
Have you ever stayed up 48 hours? no. but i've tried for sure lol
Do you hate anyone at the moment? yeah, but by now it's a dormant hate that just lingers
Do you miss someone? is it possible to miss someone you haven't met irl before?
Have any pets? two doggos!
How exactly are you feeling at the moment? neutral, but like a 6/10
Ever made out in the bathroom? i mean a lot of people pee in the woods right so technically yeah
Are you scared of spiders? i'm desensitised mostly, like if i see one i won't kill it (unless i KNOW it's dangerous). if the spider is on me it's a different story
Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? i literally always think about this lol. there's so much i wish i could change but at the same time, even though i don't like myself, i don't think i deserve to be put through all that again
Where was the last place you snogged someone? the gay bar
What are your plans for this weekend? moving lol
Do you want to have kids? How many? i would usually say 'i'm 20 i'm too young to consider it yet' but one of my classmates from highschool has a baby already so i don't know man T-T
Do you have piercings? How many? just on my ears
What is/are/were your best subject(s)? english and legal studies in highschool, and psychology now.
Do you miss anyone from your past? i reminisce but don't miss
What are you craving right now? a warm brownie would be great
Have you ever broken someone’s heart? HE said i did, i don't believe him, but even if i did he deserved it (trust me on this one. he deserved it.)
Have you ever been cheated on? not that i'm aware of, but i wouldn't be surprised if i was
Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry? not that i'm aware of. i hope not??
What’s irritating you right now? the heat. i'm not having a hot girl summer at all T-T
Does somebody love you? i hope so
What is your favourite color? i like baby and dusty pink. and lilac
Do you have trust issues? i'm pretty sure
Who/what was your last dream about? last night i dreamt that i was in a relationship with pt4 jotaro. he was quiet, gentle and loving. this is weird because i am female
Who was the last person you cried in front of? i think my mother? if not then probably my bestie
Do you give out second chances too easily? yes, sadly
Is it easier to forgive or forget? it's hard for me to forgive someone if they don't at least apologise. so i guess forget
Is this year the best year of your life? it's february, but like hopefully yeah!
How old were you when you had your first kiss? sweet 16
Have you ever walked outside completely naked? no T-T
Favourite food? fried chicken, one specific chocolate cake, yellow nectarines and sushi
Do you believe everything happens for a reason? not in the way others do
What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night? watched scott cramer
Is cheating ever okay? usually i'd say no. but there are rare instances where i reckon it's not necessarily a bad thing (as bad as that might sound)
Are you mean? i don't think so
How many people have you fist fought? none?? T-T
Do you believe in true love? yes
Favourite weather? dark and overcast (not raining), cool but not cold
Do you like the snow? i've only been in snow once and it was a good time. but i got ice in my eye during a snowball fight and it scarred me a little bit
Do you wanna get married? for sure i do! i know most people think of marriage culture as outdated and heteronormative (which i fully understand) but i do want to be a bride one day. i'd love that
Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby? hm...when a girl does it i don't mind but when a boy does it it feels a little icky IM SORRY </3
What makes you happy? clowns, stuffed toys, colourful soap, poofy sleeves, tbh i'm really a six year old at heart and a lot of things make me happy
Would you change your name? okay so i wouldn't legally change my first name (i don't often like when people besides my family use it, but it's rare and pretty so i wanna keep it), but i would like to make Dia my legal alias that would be so sick. i would for sure change my last name though that shit boring asf
Would it be hard to kiss the last person you kissed? no. i'd kiss her again she was nice
Your best friend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? i'd marry and adopt kittens with you @jesterph0bic
Do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around? refer to question 55
Who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to? my brother (hbd btw)
Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? my sister
Do you believe in soulmates? yes but not in the traditional way
Is there anyone you would die for? yes
70 horrible questions ... Fuck it
01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents? 02: Who did you last say “I love you” to? 03: Do you regret anything? 04: Are you insecure? 05: What is your relationship status? 06: How do you want to die? 07: What did you last eat? 08: Played any sports? 09: Do you bite your nails? 10: When was your last physical fight? 11: Do you like someone? 12: Have you ever stayed up 48 hours? 13: Do you hate anyone at the moment? 14: Do you miss someone? 15: Have any pets? 16: How exactly are you feeling at the moment? 17: Ever made out in the bathroom? 18: Are you scared of spiders? 19: Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? 20: Where was the last place you snogged someone? 21: What are your plans for this weekend? 22: Do you want to have kids? How many? 23: Do you have piercings? How many? 24: What is/are/were your best subject(s)? 25: Do you miss anyone from your past? 26: What are you craving right now? 27: Have you ever broken someone’s heart? 28: Have you ever been cheated on? 29: Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry? 30: What’s irritating you right now? 31: Does somebody love you? 32: What is your favourite color? 33: Do you have trust issues? 34: Who/what was your last dream about? 35: Who was the last person you cried in front of? 36: Do you give out second chances too easily? 37: Is it easier to forgive or forget? 38: Is this year the best year of your life? 39: How old were you when you had your first kiss? 40: Have you ever walked outside completely naked? 51: Favourite food? 52: Do you believe everything happens for a reason? 53: What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night? 54: Is cheating ever okay? 55: Are you mean? 56: How many people have you fist fought? 57: Do you believe in true love? 58: Favourite weather? 59: Do you like the snow? 60: Do you wanna get married? 61: Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby? 62: What makes you happy? 63: Would you change your name? 64: Would it be hard to kiss the last person you kissed? 65: Your best friend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? 66: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around? 67: Who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to? 68: Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? 69: Do you believe in soulmates? 70: Is there anyone you would die for?
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lnfours · 2 days ago
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focal point ☆ chapter 5 | l.n
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summary: oh damn, never seen that color blue…
warnings: art student!reader, best friend/college student!oscar, college student!lando, slight enemies to lovers!au, slight grumpy x sunshine, some more filler (IM SORRY ITS FOR THE PLOT!!!!!), fluff (EEKK!!!!), subtle foreshadowing, unedited as fuck, and hints at a strained family relationship (trauma!!)
message from jordan: hi everyone! long time no see, huh? 😅 i'm so sorry for being mia and for not updating this series in so long, i decided to take a small break from almost all socials. but don't worry, we're back and better than ever <3 as always, thank you for being so patient with me. i hope this chapter is worth the wait!! see you soon, for real this time :) - p.s i hope you enjoy that taylor swift reference in the summary, cause, iykyk 🙂‍↕️
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“hellloooo earth to oscar!”
it was no use. this was the third time he had unintentionally interrupted your conversation to respond to a text. all while doing so with a giddy smile, one you had never seen light up his face quite like this one did.
you had come over right after class, the two of you agreeing to hang out and catch up. it had been a while since it had just been the two of you hanging out, the inevitable busy schedules really hitting hard during your last semester. you missed your best friend.
missed meaning past tense. because although he was your best friend, right now, you wanted to snap his neck.
"oscar jack piastri!"
"oh- sorry," he mumbled the same apology for the third time this afternoon, "sorry, i was just texting someone. it's nothing, what were we talking about?"
you gave him a blank stare, "were you texting your secret girlfriend?"
you noticed the way his eyes widened a little upon mentioning the word ‘girlfriend’, "okay, one, she's not my girlfriend. and two, no. i was texting max."
and for the four years you've known oscar piastri, you could always tell when he was lying. and this time, he was lying right to your face.
you decided to play along with his game, letting him think he won this time. so you hummed, nodding your head, "okay, fine, if you say so."
"i'm sorry," he apologized again, locking his phone and placing it face down on the kitchen counter, "you have my full attention now, promise. what were you saying?"
"i was telling you about last week."
"right, with lando and the diner thing, right?" he asked and you hummed, taking a piece of popcorn from the bowl in between the two of you, "wait a minute, how'd you go from hating his guts and it being unbearable to be within 5 feet of him to 'oh my god he took me to breakfast'?"
"you know that party lily practically dragged me to?" when he nodded you spoke again, "apparently i really suck at beer pong and he helped me back to the apartment and helped lily take care of me. it was really sweet, actually."
he smiled softly before letting out a quiet snort, "sorry, just never thought i'd hear you say the words 'lando' and 'sweet' in the same sentence."
"i'm serious!" you sighed, pouting ever so slightly.
"no, i know!" he laughed softly, "it's just... you're just now finding out what i've been trying to tell you for the longest time? that he's actually a really good dude?"
you bit down on your lower lip softly, "i didn't really give him a chance, huh?"
"not really, no," he chuckled softly, "but it's okay. he didn't exactly help out his own case either, in all honesty."
you nodded in agreement, the front door to the apartment creaking open. you both turned to see lando kicking off his shoes, placing his keys on the hook by the door.
he smiled at you and oscar, "hey,"
"hey," oscar smiled, answering for you as well as you took in his appearance. messy curls, tight black t-shirt, grey sweatpants, duffel bag on his shoulder and a soft glow on his skin, you could tell he had just gotten back from the gym.
arms. biceps. veins. god, you should probably speak before you embarrass yourself...
it was too late though, he had already seen the way your eyes traveled over his body. he decided to put the mental note in the back of his mind for now, instead checking the watch on his wrist.
"oh shit, i didn't mean to keep you waiting, y/n."
you tapped your phone screen, looking at the time. it was 4:35, just five minutes passed when you said you'd meet up. it really wasn't a big deal. you didn't even know it had gotten that late already.
"no, no, it's fine. didn't even notice, if i'm honest," you smiled and he sent you a smile back. oscar watched the two of you like a tennis match, cheekily grinning at the counter.
"i have some of those papers you had me work on the other day, they're in my room if you wanna..."
"oh- yeah! yeah, sure," you smiled, grabbing your things as oscar silently laughed at the way you acted around his roommate. how you were unintentionally tripping and stumbling over your own feet and your words, how lovestruck you became.
you followed lando to his room, placing your things down and taking a seat on the edge of his bed as he looked through his closet for a change of clothes, "i'm just gonna shower real quick, make yourself at home, though."
you smiled, nodding his way as he closed the door behind him. after all this time, you had never thought you'd see the other side of this door. his room was slightly messy, due to his busy schedule and his active lifestyle. posters of cars and, seemingly, his favorite video games hanging on the walls. the bookshelf that sat in the corner of the room was littered with different textbooks at the bottom and little die cast models of his favorite cars, along with a few formula one cars that you had recognized. the top shelf stood out the most to you, though.
a picture frame of him and who you had assumed to be his family. a family photo taken during christmas, all of them dressed in matching pajamas. a big happy family.
the photo, for whatever reason, brought tears to your eyes. a smile on your face as you sniffled quietly, putting the photo frame back down on it's designated shelf.
the door opened, causing you to turn around as he closed the door behind him, "sorry, i figured you'd prefer if i didn't smell like a guy's locker-room."
you laughed softly, wiping away the small tear that came from your eye, "god, yeah,"
"hey," he said, sitting down on the bed beside you, immediately disregarding the notebook he was grabbing beforehand, "what's wrong? you okay?"
you nodded, waving a hand dismissively, "yeah, yeah, i'm fine. i just- for whatever reason, when i looked at that picture of you and your family it just uhm..."
he patiently waited for you to finish your sentence, "it just brought back some feelings that i wish it hadn't, that's all."
"fuck, i'm so sorry," he said.
"no, no," you shook your head, "you don't have to apologize, if anything i should be the one who's apologizing."
"you don't have to apologize for having emotions."
you smiled softly, feeling another tear fall from the corner of your eye. this time, he gently brought his hand up to your face, his thumb brushing over your cheek as he wiped it away.
the action made you breathless, as if the way he was looking into your eyes hadn't already. a mysterious color you couldn't quite put your finger on. it was a mix between blue, green and grey.
whatever it was, it was gorgeous and captivating at the same time.
you cleared your throat, the two of you moving away from the gap that had slowly been closing. your fingers untwisting themselves from his, you growing flushed at the fact that you had, at some point, interlocked your fingers with his unknowingly.
"sorry," you mumbled softly.
"'m sorry," he said at the same time. you both shared a soft and awkward chuckle before he grabbed his notebook from behind him.
"so, i had a few questions about chapter 15."
"go on," you said, studying his side profile as he explained the areas he was having trouble with. pretty tanned skin littered with freckles and moles, curls that perfectly kissed the skin on the back of his neck and his forehead.
the sentence lily had said to you last week repeating itself into your brain:
“...and it’s not like i don’t see the way he looks at you. he definitely is feeling something he doesn’t want to show just yet,”
oh, fuck.
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solxamber · 6 hours ago
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Trash Novel Chronicles: My Knight is Too Loyal || Sebek Zigvolt
You wake up as the villainess in a novel that had to be written as a joke. The heroine is trying to ruin your life, but if you refuse to acknowledge her, then it’s not happening. Right? …Right??
It doesn't help that your knight, Sebek, is annoyingly endearing.
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You were finally done.
After a grueling week of unpacking, assembling furniture that came with instructions written in an eldritch language, and resisting the urge to commit arson when you realized your kitchen had exactly one electrical outlet, your new apartment was finally livable. Spacious, well-lit, and with an actual window that didn’t face another building? A true luxury.
With a sigh of contentment, you set your trusty roomba loose to clean up the dust bunnies while you kicked back with your favorite pastime—reading an absolutely garbage webnovel.
This particular one had come highly recommended in the “so bad it’s good” category, and hoo boy, did it deliver.
The plot, as far as you could tell, was this:
Prince Malleus (overpowered second male lead) was best friends with the villainess (actually cool).
Sebek, loyal knight, was also sworn to protect the villainess. He liked her. They were childhood friends. He was ride or die for her.
Enter the heroine, who spawned out of nowhere, latched onto Malleus, and immediately decided that she needed Sebek’s loyalty so she could get closer to him.
She then proceeded to sabotage the villainess at every turn, and somehow no one thought this was weird.
The villainess, kept fighting back—until she got poisoned on Sebek’s watch.
Sebek, devastated, exiled himself in disgrace.
And then the Duke of the North (where did he come from???) married the heroine.
You had to put your phone down because you were WHEEZING.
How. HOW???
How was this woman out here killing the prince's best friend and still pulling a wedding out of it?? Who was writing this? Why did Sebek go into self-imposed exile when the obvious answer was to punt the heroine into the sun???
You wiped a tear from your eye, clutching your stomach. "Exiled himself in disgrace—oh my god, bro, what are you doing—"
Feeling the desperate need for a snack to recover from this literary war crime, you got up and made your way to the kitchen.
At that moment, your roomba—your once-trusted ally in the battle against dust—made a choice.
It bumped into the precariously stacked pile of moving boxes you had yet to sort through.
You turned just in time to see your doom.
A full avalanche of books, kitchenware, and your entire collection of novelty mugs came crashing down on you.
Your last thought before the world faded to black?
"Should’ve never trusted a roomba."
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There were several ways you expected to wake up. A soft ray of sunlight filtering through your curtains? Sure. The soothing sound of birds chirping? Ideal. Maybe even a hangover if past-you made bad decisions? Understandable.
What you did not expect was to be jolted out of unconsciousness by the auditory equivalent of an angry airhorn.
“LORD MALLEUS, SHE'S STILL UNCONSCIOUS—PERHAPS SHE HAS FALLEN INTO AN ETERNAL SLUMBER FROM WHICH SHE WILL NEVER—!!!”
“Sebek,” another voice interrupted, eerily calm in comparison. “It will be fine.”
Sebek?
Like. The Sebek?
Your eyes snapped open like a possessed doll in a horror movie, and standing in front of you were none other than—drumroll please—Malleus Draconia and Sebek Zigvolt, looking like they had been ripped straight out of that godawful webnovel.
Sebek was vibrating with fury, looking a split second away from detonating like a nuclear warhead. Malleus, meanwhile, seemed vaguely relieved that you were awake.
Your brain struggled to reboot.
You looked down. Fancy dress? Check. Lace gloves? Check. Suspiciously villainous vibes? Check.
Oh no.
OH NO.
You were the villainess.
Malleus, in his infinite patience, took your absolutely deranged expression as a cue to explain, “The heroine tripped you, and you lost consciousness.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
You covered your face with your hands. “So now I have to deal with that dumbass?”
Sebek immediately whipped out his glove, preparing to slap someone into another dimension. “THIS INSOLENCE CANNOT STAND. I SHALL CHALLENGE HER TO A DUEL AND—”
“Sebek, no.”
“—VANQUISH HER FOR DARING TO—”
“Sebek. Put the glove down.”
“—BESMIRCH YOUR HONOR, MY LADY—”
“Sebek. No.”
Malleus, amused, simply observed as if watching an entertaining stage play. Probably because his solution would be to turn the heroine into a very apologetic pile of ashes.
Sebek begrudgingly reabsorbed his rage (for now), but he was still seething.
Malleus, after ensuring you were probably not about to die, excused himself and left the room. Sebek remained, arms crossed, radiating enough protective energy to function as a personal bodyguard and a security alarm.
You sighed, rubbing your temples. “Sebek, from now on, I’m just going to ignore her.”
Sebek visibly short-circuited.
“You—you're just going to let this blatant disrespect slide???”
“Yes.”
“But—”
“Yes.”
He looked like he had been personally betrayed by the laws of honor and decency, but after a long moment, he reluctantly agreed. Probably because you had the final say in this.
As soon as he left the room, you immediately face-planted into your pillow and let out the most guttural, despairing scream of your life.
Then, with great suffering, you dragged yourself up, because it was officially time to make a game plan to survive this absolute trash novel.
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You did not want to go to this tea party.
In fact, if given the choice between enduring this or being launched via medieval trebuchet into the ocean, you would’ve chosen the ocean. At least drowning would’ve been fast.
But no. Your father insisted.
Something about “maintaining your standing,” and “showing the nobility that you are still strong,” and “not letting some lowborn upstart make a fool of you.”
As if the heroine had any power over you besides the supernatural ability to generate plot conveniences. As if you weren’t already suffering enough in this stupid novel, trying to survive a romance plotline with all the grace of a cat thrown into a bathtub.
And thus, you found yourself seated at an expensive table, sipping lukewarm tea, pretending to be interested in whatever the hell the noble ladies were talking about while resisting the urge to flip the entire table over and walk out.
To make matters worse, Sebek was having an existential crisis.
Not that he’d admit it, of course. But the way he was standing, practically vibrating with tension, scanning the tea party like a very aggressive meerkat—yeah. It was bad.
Sebek was on edge.
At any given moment, his gaze would dart from one thing to another, as if expecting a chandelier to drop on your head, a poisoned biscuit to be slipped onto your plate, or a rogue assassin to emerge from the hedges wielding a butter knife.
You finally had enough.
Turning toward him, you gripped his shoulders. Firmly.
“Sebek.”
His eyes snapped to you.
“Buddy.” You gave him a little shake. “Friend. You need to chill.”
“I AM PERFECTLY COMPOSED—”
Shake, shake. “Sebek. Chill.”
Sebek blinked. For the first time in history, he shut his mouth.
And then—oddly enough—you saw pink.
Like, an actual blush. A faint, barely-there dusting of color across his cheeks, the kind you’d associate with a lovestruck noble maiden, not a half-fae knight who could probably break your spine with his bare hands.
For a moment, you wondered if he was overheating. Should you dunk him in ice water?
But miraculously, Sebek actually calmed down.
At least, he stopped looking like he was about to tackle a waiter for breathing too close to you. That was progress.
And just when you thought you could finally coast through the rest of this miserable tea party in peace—
You saw her.
The Heroine.
She was across the garden, standing under a carefully curated arrangement of roses, twirling a delicate teacup in her dainty hands, looking exactly as picturesque as a main character should.
And she was batting her eyelashes at Sebek.
Like a lot.
Like some kind of malfunctioning Victorian doll trying to send Morse code with her eyelids.
Sebek, for his part, was slowly backing away. It was clear he wanted nothing to do with her.
Unfortunately, his retreat only seemed to embolden the heroine further. As if she had mistaken his disgust for shyness.
Sebek Zigzagged.
She Zigzagged.
Sebek took a sharp left.
She matched him, too fast, like an NPC with broken pathing.
And that’s when you decided enough was enough.
With the most subtle movement possible, you lifted a hand and motioned for him to come to you.
Sebek sprinted.
Like, full-speed, knocking over at least one butler in the process sprinted. By the time he reached you, he was breathing hard, eyes wide like he had just escaped something truly horrifying.
“Sebek,” you said, voice casual, “Stick by my side.”
"UNDERSTOOD," he immediately responded, standing directly next to you like a sentient stone wall.
And thus began the worst tea party of the heroine’s life.
For months, the heroine had followed the same battle strategy.
She’d make small, calculated jabs at you—little insults hidden under layers of fake concern, “Oh, you look rather pale today, are you unwell?” or “That color looks so… unique on you! Not many would be bold enough to wear it!”
The old villainess would always take the bait.
She’d snap back, argue, cause a scene. And in the process, the heroine would look like the poor, innocent victim just trying her best to be kind.
But you?
You ignored her.
And that? That was unacceptable.
The first attempt was a comment about your shoes.
She tilted her head, voice sickly sweet. “Oh, those shoes are… interesting. Are they custom-made?”
You blinked.
That was it. Just blinked.
Nothing more.
Then, without breaking eye contact, you turned to Sebek and pointed at the cake.
"Sebek, do you want some cake?"
“OF COURSE—”
The heroine twitched.
The second attempt was a jab at your hair.
She giggled, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear, voice dripping with faux innocence. “Oh dear, your hair looks a little tangled today! Perhaps you should try this new serum I discovered—”
You did not react.
Instead, you casually picked up a sugar cube, inspected it like it was the most fascinating thing in existence, and dropped it into your tea.
Then you slowly turned away.
Like she was scenery.
Like she was part of the background.
The heroine’s eye twitched.
Then came the third and final straw.
She physically stood in your path.
Like, full-on NPC blocking a hallway in a video game levels of obstructive.
Waiting.
Wanting you to react.
You did not.
You simply stepped to the left and walked around her.
As if she were a particularly annoying potted plant.
That was it.
That was the moment.
The moment she realized you were not playing her game.
And she SNAPPED.
In a last-ditch effort, she actually grabbed at your dress like a cranky toddler in a tantrum. Unfortunately for her, you were faster.
With all the grace of a trained assassin, you sidestepped her so effortlessly that she nearly tripped forward. For one horrifying second, she flailed—arms windmilling—before catching herself.
Then, with a furious huff, she turned bright red, grabbed her skirts, and stormed out of the tea party.
Absolutely. Defeated.
The entire garden was dead silent.
Then, softly, Sebek cleared his throat.
“…Does this mean I can have another slice of cake?”
You took a victorious sip of your tea.
+1 point for you.
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This was a mistake. A grave, sweaty mistake.
Sebek, in all his knightly wisdom, had decided that you needed to learn self-defense. That was fine in theory. In practice?
You were dying.
It had started simple—stance, grip, footwork. Except your stance was wobbly, your grip was weak, and your footwork consisted of tripping over absolutely nothing .
Sebek, ever the determined instructor, refused to give up on you.
“Again!” he barked, adjusting your posture for the hundredth time. “You must hold the blade firmly!”
You tried. You really did. But the moment he stepped back, the sword dipped dangerously in your grasp like it was actively trying to escape you.
Sebek sighed through his nose. “You need to engage your core!”
“Sebek,” you panted, struggling to lift the sword back up. “I have a core. It just doesn’t want to engage.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose like a disappointed tutor watching their pupil fail basic math.
“Again.”
You half-heartedly swung the sword. It wobbled like a particularly useless noodle.
Sebek looked physically pained.
After several more embarrassing attempts—including a particularly tragic one where you almost dropped the sword on your own foot—you finally gave up.
You collapsed onto the ground, dramatically splaying out in the dirt like a knight who had perished not in battle, but in sheer spiritual defeat.
“I can’t do this,” you groaned, flopping an arm over your face. “I’m not built for the knight life.”
Sebek’s shadow loomed over you, exasperated. “You’re giving up already?”
“Yes.”
“Unacceptable. A true warrior never surrenders!”
“Well, I’m not a warrior, Sebek. I am a delicate aristocrat. My hobbies include drinking tea and not getting stabbed.”
Sebek crossed his arms, preparing to argue—but before he could launch into a speech about honor and duty and the sacred art of not dying, you simply muttered:
“That’s why you have to be my knight forever.”
The complaints instantly stopped.
Sebek didn’t say a word.
You assumed he had accepted your logic.
You didn’t see the way his back straightened slightly, or the way his expression softened into something oddly pleased. You definitely didn’t catch the way a smug, satisfied little smile flickered across his face—like a knight who had just secured his lifelong oath without even trying.
Instead, you remained on the ground, still dramatically sprawled out, waiting for him to launch into another lecture.
But nothing came.
“…Sebek?”
“Hmph.” He turned, suddenly far too content to argue. “If that is the case, then I suppose there’s no need to force you into training.”
You squinted up at him. “Wait. That’s it? You’re giving up?”
“I am merely accepting my duty,” he said smoothly. “After all, a knight must always protect their charge.”
You stared.
Suspicious.
Sebek was never this agreeable.
But, ultimately, you were too tired to question it.
With a sigh of relief, you let yourself fully relax into the grass, already looking forward to a nap.
Meanwhile, Sebek stood guard over you, looking far too smug for someone who had just lost an argument.
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This was supposed to be a normal afternoon.
A nice, quiet, peaceful moment of watching Sebek ride his horse like he was leading an army into battle while Silver sat on his, perfectly relaxed, looking like the human embodiment of a soft exhale.
Meanwhile, to your right, Malleus and Lilia were having a debate that was growing increasingly unhinged.
"I'm telling you, Malleus," Lilia said with the confidence of a man who had never once been stopped from committing a crime. "If you want someone, you simply steal them away! That’s romance!"
Malleus, who had the power to obliterate reality with a flick of his wrist, rubbed his temples like a deeply tired office worker. "Lilia, that is not romance. That is abduction."
Lilia waved him off like he was swatting at a fly. "Semantics."
You turned your head just in time to see Malleus pinching the bridge of his nose, which was deeply funny because what did he even have to be stressed about? He was practically untouchable. And yet, somehow, Lilia was succeeding in emotionally exhausting him.
You had no idea how to contribute to this conversation, so you simply accepted that your afternoon would be full of crimes against logic.
But then Lilia’s sharp, ancient gaze zeroed in on you like a sniper locking onto a target.
"So," he said smoothly, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Have you decided who you'll take to the ball?"
You blinked.
The ball? Oh. Right. That was a thing.
You mulled it over for a second, tapping your fingers against your knee.
Logically, Sebek was already glued to your side at all times. He was practically your own personal security alarm, complete with flashing lights, blaring sirens, and the sheer, undying volume of a man who had never whispered in his entire life.
Taking him would be easy.
"I'll probably take Sebek," you said casually.
There was a beat of silence.
Then—
Lilia’s smile widened.
Not just any smile. A knowing smile. The kind that said, I have seen civilizations rise and fall, and yet nothing amuses me more than whatever is about to happen next.
Malleus, previously neutral, now looked deeply, deeply intrigued.
You squinted at them. "Why are you both looking at me like I'm a stray dog that just solved a math problem?"
Before you could demand answers, Sebek and Silver came back.
And Lilia—menace incarnate—immediately turned to Sebek and declared, with the utmost delight:
"Sebek! You've been chosen as their escort for the ball!"
Silver looked politely interested. Sebek—
Sebek crashed.
Like he hit an invisible wall.
For a second, he just stood there, expression frozen in a mix of shock, honor, and the sheer terror of being handed a social situation he wasn’t prepared for.
Then, in a grand act of buffering, he stiffened, clenched his fists, and proclaimed with all the force of a man declaring war:
"OF COURSE! AS YOUR LOYAL KNIGHT, IT IS ONLY NATURAL THAT I ACCOMPANY YOU!"
And then—before you could so much as blink—he turned on his heel and stomped off, as if he had just been given an urgent mission from Malleus himself.
The moment he was gone, you turned back to the three remaining culprits—only to find all of them looking at you like you were the underdog in a sports movie who had just pulled off a game-winning shot.
Lilia’s grin was downright diabolical.
Malleus was observing you like a scientist who had just discovered a new species.
Silver nodded, as if he had been let in on a joke you weren’t privy to.
Your eye twitched. "Okay. WHAT."
Lilia clapped you on the back like a proud father. "Oh, don’t mind us," he said airily. "We’re simply excited to see how this unfolds!"
Malleus inclined his head. "Indeed. It will be most… fascinating."
Silver hummed in agreement, eyes twinkling with something dangerously close to amusement.
You stared.
Sebek was still stomping off in the distance, probably preparing himself for battle against an imaginary threat.
Meanwhile, these three looked like they had just bet on a winning horse.
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You were so bored.
As someone who had once lived in the glorious era of internet, memes, and instant entertainment, being isekai’d into a medieval fantasy novel was actual hell.
Your choices for passing the time were:
Sitting at a tea party listening to Lady Whatever gossip about how her second cousin’s neighbor allegedly married his horse (scandalous).
Shopping, which involved pretending to care about embroidery while avoiding getting guilt-tripped into buying a hat the size of a carriage wheel.
But today? Today was different.
There was a theater performance. And you were going.
Sebek, of course, was accompanying you, because you weren’t allowed to go anywhere without your personal security system.
The two of you arrived, found your seats, and settled in as the play began.
It was a forbidden romance between a noblewoman and her loyal knight.
You squinted.
That was it? That was the forbidden part?
What, was it slightly inconvenient for them to date? Were they going to act like this was the most tragic love story of all time when the biggest obstacle was mild disapproval?
You were expecting a real problem—an ancient family feud, a cursed bloodline, maybe even a dragon kidnapping someone for fun.
But no. It was just a noble and her knight, staring deeply into each other’s eyes while the orchestra swelled dramatically.
You side-eyed Sebek, about to make a snide comment.
And that’s when you noticed. Sebek was sweating.
His jaw was clenched. His hands were gripping the arms of his seat like the very concept of upholstery had personally insulted him.
And most importantly?
He was actively avoiding looking at you.
On stage, the knight fell to one knee, passionately declaring, “My lady, I have sworn to protect you—but in truth, my heart has belonged to you from the moment we met.”
Sebek’s grip on his seat tightened.
You turned back to the stage, more confused now.
The noblewoman gasped, placing a delicate hand on her chest. “Sir Knight, I—!”
Cue dramatic embrace. Cue Sebek looking like he was experiencing an existential crisis in real time.
For the next twenty minutes, Sebek refused to so much as glance in your direction.
The show ended with a completely unnecessary death scene (the knight got stabbed protecting the noblewoman from a bandit with the world’s worst aim), and as soon as the curtains fell, Sebek practically launched himself out of his seat.
You walked out together, the evening air cool against your skin.
Sebek, still refusing to look at you, was marching forward with the kind of stiff, overly formal movements that meant his brain was short-circuiting.
You raised an eyebrow. "Are you good?"
"I am perfectly fine," he said, a little too quickly.
You shrugged, brushing it off. Sebek being Sebek. He was always like this.
You didn’t notice how his hands twitched at his sides.
Or how, for one painfully fleeting moment during the play, he had imagined what it would be like—just once—to take your hand, without the excuse of duty.
But only Sebek and the dark theater would ever know that.
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Festivals were supposed to be fun.
Supposed to be.
But for Sebek, this was nothing short of a battlefield.
The night had started normally enough. Malleus, Lilia, Silver, Sebek, and you had all arrived together, the festival in full swing around you. Lanterns glowed softly in the trees, music played from all corners of the square, and the air was thick with the smell of food—grilled meats, sweet pastries, roasted nuts. It was the perfect evening for a carefree stroll.
And then, suspiciously quickly, things took a turn.
“Ah,” Lilia suddenly said, snapping his fingers. “I just remembered—I must go investigate the historical significance of festival games.”
Silver, who had been mid-bite into a fried pastry, blinked. “What?”
Lilia was already gone.
Malleus nodded sagely. “Indeed, I must also depart. There are… matters of great importance I must attend to.”
You stared at him. “You’re about to go stare at gargoyles, aren’t you?”
Malleus did not dignify this with an answer.
Then came Silver’s turn. He at least tried to make it convincing.
“I, um—” He paused, brain clearly short-circuiting. “I have to—”
Sebek, ever the loyal soldier, stepped forward. “SILVER, WHEREVER YOU GO, WE SHALL—”
Silver immediately put a hand on Sebek’s shoulder. “No. You both stay.”
Sebek froze.
Suspicion bloomed in his sharp green eyes. “Why?”
Silver looked at you. Then back at Sebek. Then at you again. And then—like a father setting his son off into the world—he simply patted Sebek’s shoulder and said, “Have fun.”
Then he left.
Just like that, you and Sebek were alone.
You turned to Sebek, shrugged, and grabbed his hand. “Alright then! Let’s go have fun.”
Sebek ascended into a new state of panic.
One: You Held His Hand.
His hand.
Which was now holding your hand.
He was a knight. A protector. His hand had wielded swords, raised shields, sworn loyalty—
His hand had never done this.
“W-Wait, I—!”
You, completely oblivious to the fact that you were literally ruining him, simply smiled. “Come on, let’s get food first!”
And just like that, he was dragged into the festival.
Two: You Fed Him.
Sebek had prepared for many things in life.
Betrayal? Yes. Combat? Absolutely. The burden of responsibility? Without question.
But he had not prepared for you pressing a warm pastry into his hands and saying, “Try this! It’s really good.”
He stared at it like it was an enemy.
“I—this is unnecessary! I should be watching for threats, not—”
Then you, with absolutely zero hesitation, took a bite from your own pastry, hummed thoughtfully, and then just—just held it up to his mouth.
Sebek froze.
“…What,” he said, voice dangerously unstable, “are you doing?”
“Letting you try mine.”
Unacceptable.
UNACCEPTABLE.
This was wrong. You were a noble, he was your knight. His duty was to protect you, not to—to—
To have feelings.
To want things.
But you were still holding the pastry up, completely unaware of the sheer war happening in his mind.
So, with the slow hesitation of a man walking into a death trap, Sebek leaned down and took a small, precise bite.
…It was delicious.
…This was still unacceptable.
“See?” you said brightly, taking another bite yourself. “Tastes better when you share.”
Sebek almost dropped dead on the spot.
Three: The Smile.
Oh, that smile.
You were leading him from stall to stall, still holding his hand, still treating this like a perfectly normal outing and not the absolute nightmare it was for his fragile, suffering heart.
And every time you turned back to him—every time you laughed at something ridiculous, or smiled when he grumbled about stall vendors trying to scam you, or simply looked at him with that casual, easy warmth—
Something in him broke.
Not in a bad way. But absolutely in a way that would jeopardize his purpose. In the way that made him want to 1v1 the entire world just to make sure you always smiled like that.
Sebek was not meant for this.
He was a knight. A warrior. A protector.
He was not meant to look at you and wish, with every inch of his being, that he could hold your hand not because of duty, but because you wanted him to.
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The ball was going well.
Which, frankly, was a miracle.
You were three glasses of wine in, the music was pleasant, and—most importantly—there was no heroine in sight.
Malleus was at peace, sipping his drink like an ancient dragon who had finally hoarded enough gold. Lilia was across the room, very seriously trying to convince a noble to invest in bat jousting (“Picture it, my dear baron—tiny suits of armor, high-speed aerial combat, think of the prestige!”). Silver was half-asleep at the table, so still that he was practically furniture.
And Sebek? Sebek was eating with the sheer intensity of a man who had never been allowed to sit and enjoy a meal in his life.
You were basking in the rare moment of peace when—
She arrived.
The heroine waltzed in, all curls and delicate elegance, scanning the room like she owned the place.
Immediately, you activated Ignore Mode.
But then—
Then she spoke.
“I challenge you!”
You blinked.
Challenge me to what? A duel? A political debate? A staring contest??
And then, with the smuggest expression known to man, she stepped aside to reveal her new(?) knight. You choked on your drink.
Because her knight—
Looked like Sebek.
Like, exactly like Sebek.
Same height, same build, suspiciously similar armor—but the worst part?
His hair was green.
Like she had dyed it.
You nearly dropped your wine.
You turned to Sebek.
Then to knockoff Sebek.
Then to Malleus—who was so absorbed in his perfect night that he hadn’t even registered the incoming disaster.
Then back to fake Sebek.
Sebek, who had been peacefully eating his steak, suddenly froze.
“WHAT IN THE GREAT SEVEN—” His chair scraped across the floor as he stood, eyes wide with pure fury.
The heroine beamed. “My knight will prove his superiority over yours! A true battle of skill and honor!”
You were still stuck on the hair.
"DID YOU DYE THIS MAN’S HAIR GREEN?!"
Fake Sebek smirked, folding his arms. “A knight should be willing to make sacrifices for his lady.”
Sebek looked ready to commit several war crimes.
“This is an INSULT!” He stepped forward, eyes blazing, voice booming. “YOU THINK YOU CAN MATCH ME WITH A PALE IMITATION?! I—”
Oh, hell no.
You had already suffered through so much stupidity in this world. You were not about to let Sebek engage in a battle of the bootlegs just because the heroine had gone completely off the rails.
You grabbed Sebek’s arm.
He whipped around like an enraged storm god. “MY LADY, I MUST—”
“No,” you said flatly. “Not worth it.”
“But—”
“Sebek.”
“She—”
“Sebek.”
“She dares—”
“Sebek. Please.”
His jaw locked. He looked like he wanted to argue. Like he needed to argue. But then you let out a long, exhausted sigh and said,
“Just dance with me instead.”
Sebek stopped breathing.
The entire ballroom faded. The heroine? Gone. Bootleg Sebek? Who? The audience of nosy nobles? Irrelevant.
All that mattered was that you—the person he had sworn to protect, the one he had dedicated his entire being to—had just asked him to dance.
He swallowed thickly. “O-Of course.”
And so, you took his hand and led him to the ballroom floor.
Sebek was stiff at first, like he was concentrating too hard on being perfect, but as the music swelled, he relaxed into the rhythm, his movements smoother, more natural.
And as he guided you across the floor, one hand firm at your waist, the other clasping yours, Sebek couldn’t help but stare.
You were laughing softly, still tipsy, the golden chandeliers casting a warm glow on your skin. The silk of your gown shimmered as you moved, and your smile—
Gods. Your smile.
Sebek knew, without a doubt, that he would do anything to keep it on your face.
And you?
You had no idea.
Because to you, this was just a dance.
But to Sebek—
You looked like a dream come true.
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It was finally here. The moment where, according to the absolute literary war crime that was this novel, you were supposed to get poisoned, collapse dramatically, and set off a chain reaction that would end with Sebek exiling himself like a tragic Shakespearean protagonist.
Except this time?
You knew it was coming.
And you were about to flip the script so hard the author would feel it in whatever dimension they were in.
The heroine, as predictable as ever, had invited you to yet another tea party—probably hoping that by the time the poison kicked in, she'd have a perfect view of your untimely demise. You, of course, had accepted with a sweet smile and a mind full of schemes.
Now, seated at a pristine garden table with floral arrangements worth more than some small villages, you watched as she made her move. It was almost laughable how obvious she was. Her eyes flickered towards the maid as your tea was poured, the subtle anticipation in her expression so transparent you were honestly a little embarrassed for her.
You daintily lifted the cup, swirling the tea, inhaling its floral scent. Then, you pretended to take a sip.
Then, you threw yourself into the most dramatic, gut-wrenching, Oscar-worthy performance of your life.
Your body convulsed. Your hand flew to your throat. You gasped, choked, wheezed like a dying fish, and flung your arms out as if desperately grasping at the heavens themselves. You knocked over a plate. A fork clattered to the ground. A lesser noble screamed.
And then, with the grace of a Victorian woman in a corset two sizes too small, you collapsed onto the ground, limbs twitching for good measure.
Chaos erupted.
Ladies shrieked. Servants scrambled. One elderly duke fainted in the background. Even you were impressed. If this world had award shows, you would’ve already been giving an acceptance speech.
And then.
You heard it.
A chair screeching against stone. The heavy, unmistakable clang of armor.
Oh.
Oh, no.
You had made a critical miscalculation.
Sebek.
Sebek, who had been standing behind you the entire time. Sebek, who had just witnessed his charge collapse in agony.
Sebek, who was now standing over the heroine with his sword at her throat.
The entire tea party came to a screeching halt.
The heroine was frozen in terror, because Sebek wasn’t just angry—he was absolutely seething. His hands were steady, his grip unwavering, but the rage in his eyes? The barely-restrained fury crackling in the air around him? That was the look of a man seconds away from turning this entire tea party into a medieval execution.
“How dare you,” Sebek growled, his voice low and deadly, “I swear upon my honor—you will not leave this garden alive.”
You were so close to victory. So close. But no. No, Sebek had to go and initiate an actual murder.
The heroine, pale as a ghost, opened her mouth—probably to sob out some terrible excuse—but Sebek applied just the tiniest bit of pressure with his blade. A thin line of blood beaded at her neck.
The heroine whimpered.
Sebek narrowed his eyes.
Oh, he was fully committed to this.
Then, from your position on the ground, you made a small choking noise.
Sebek snapped around so fast he nearly decapitated her anyway.
His fury instantly shifted into sheer, unfiltered panic.
“My lady—!” He abandoned the heroine entirely, dropping to his knees and scooping you up into his arms as if you were seconds from death. "Stay with me!" His voice wavered, as if sheer willpower alone could force you to keep breathing. "You will not die here, I swear it!"
Okay. Maybe you should have accounted for this.
Before you could get a word in, Sebek scooped you up like a sack of potatoes and booked it inside.
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The moment he deposited you onto a chaise lounge like a damsel in distress, you sat up and gave him your best sheepish grin.
“Sebek, I—”
But Sebek did not look relieved.
Sebek looked furious.
"You mean to tell me," he began, his voice escalating, "THAT WAS A LIE?!"
You winced. “Sebek, I—”
"You were NEVER in danger?! NEVER TRULY POISONED?!" His entire body was vibrating. "YOU—"
His voice kept rising.
He was pacing now, movements erratic, his heavy boots thudding against the floor. His breathing was uneven. His hands were shaking.
Gods. Gods, you felt bad.
Before he could work himself into an early grave, you grabbed his face and pulled him close.
"Sebek," you said firmly. "Breathe."
His breath hitched.
You could feel the tension in his jaw, the way his entire being was still radiating panic and betrayal.
Slowly, his breathing evened out. His hands, still clenched at his sides, relaxed.
"I'm sorry," you murmured, thumbs brushing lightly against his cheeks. "I should have told you."
Sebek swallowed hard, staring at you like he had just walked through hell itself.
"I could never bear to lose you." His voice was raw, barely above a whisper.
And then, as if exhaling the weight of the entire world, he bowed his head slightly and said, “Forgive me for my insolence.”
Before you could even process what that meant—
His lips were on yours.
Soft, hesitant, yet utterly consuming.
It lasted one perfect moment—
And then reality kicked in.
Sebek stiffened. His eyes snapped open.
"I— I HAVE OVERSTEPPED— I APOLOGIZE—"
And then.
Sebek fled.
Full-speed.
Out the door.
Down the hall.
Possibly into another plane of existence.
You sat there, dazed, stunned, blushing so hard you were about to burst into flames.
-
You were losing your mind.
Malleus, on the other hand, was having the time of his life.
He sat there, sipping his tea with the serene patience of a man who had definitely seen this coming, while you paced back and forth in front of him, unraveling like a badly-knitted sweater.
"It was just stress!" you declared, throwing your hands in the air. "Right? I mean, high emotions, near-death experience, classic knightly panic—textbook impulse decision!"
Malleus hummed, his expression one of deep, profound amusement. "Oh?"
You pointed at him like you had just presented irrefutable evidence in a murder trial. "YES. Right?! That has to be it!"
Malleus took a slow sip of his tea. "Or…"
You froze.
Malleus paused dramatically—like he was a host on some medieval reality show about to drop a major plot twist—then said, "Perhaps he has feelings for you."
You made a noise. A noise that had never existed before, somewhere between a gasp, a wheeze, and the sound of a tea kettle violently exploding.
Malleus raised an eyebrow, watching as your soul actively left your body.
"That’s—" You flailed. Actually flailed. "That’s absurd!"
Malleus nodded sagely. "Yes. Very absurd." He took another sip of tea, his tone so dry you nearly threw something at him.
You began pacing again, hands on your head, thoughts spiraling into the abyss.
"Maybe—maybe he thinks he has feelings for me," you reasoned, grasping at straws like your life depended on it. "But really, it’s just—devotion! Yes! Classic knightly devotion! It’s not romantic, it’s duty! He admires me, respects me, honors me—"
"—Kissed you."
You choked.
Malleus was smirking now. He was actually enjoying this.
"Okay, but," you continued, desperately trying to dig yourself out of the emotional pit you had fallen into, "what if—what if it was just a slip-up? A moment of weakness? What if he didn’t mean it—?"
Malleus tilted his head. "Then why did he run away? Why did he not apologize?"
You stopped dead in your tracks.
Oh.
Oh, shit.
Because he did run away. Full speed. Maximum acceleration. Like a man who had just realized what he had done and could not face the consequences.
Your hands slowly lowered from your head.
Malleus set his teacup down with a soft clink. "I would say that is not the behavior of a man who does not have feelings for someone."
You sat down in the nearest chair, staring into the void.
Malleus observed you with quiet satisfaction.
The way you were actively short-circuiting before his eyes? The absolute catastrophic mental gymnastics you were performing to deny the obvious?
Oh, yes.
This was better than theater.
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Meanwhile, Sebek was also suffering.
And Lilia was having the best day of his life.
Sebek was pacing, marching back and forth across the room like he was preparing for battle, arms gesturing wildly as he ranted to no one in particular.
"I—I do not—I cannot—" His voice cracked slightly before he squared his shoulders, forcing himself into a state of denial so powerful it could deflect magic. "IT WAS MERELY A MOMENT OF TEMPORARY EMOTIONAL INSTABILITY!"
Lilia, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, was vibrating. His hands were clasped in front of his mouth, his entire body shaking as he barely contained his laughter. His eyes gleamed with pure, unfiltered joy.
"Ah, young love," he sighed dramatically, swaying slightly as if overcome by emotion. "So passionate! So tumultuous!" He clutched his chest. "So full of suffering!"
Sebek whirled around, offended to his very core.
"It is NOT love!" he practically roared, and Silver, who had been trying to stay calm, rubbed his temples like a tired therapist dealing with a particularly stubborn client.
"Sebek," Silver said, voice steady, soothing, rational. "You kissed her."
Sebek's eye twitched.
"It was an accident!"
Silver raised an eyebrow. "How do you accidentally kiss someone?"
Sebek flailed. "IT WAS THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT!"
"Mmhm~" Lilia hummed, practically swaying with delight.
Sebek turned to him, pointing like he was about to declare war. "STOP—STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!"
"Like what?" Lilia grinned. "Like I just witnessed the most entertaining thing to happen in centuries?"
"YES!"
Lilia cackled.
Sebek turned back to Silver, desperate for support, but Silver was already shaking his head.
"Sebek," Silver said patiently. "You’re in love."
Sebek physically recoiled. His entire soul left his body for a second before it returned, but not before his brain short-circuited.
"NO!"
"Yes," Silver said simply.
"Preposterous!" Sebek thundered, arms flailing again. "I am a knight! Her protector! I have sworn my loyalty to her! I would give my LIFE for her—!"
"Yes," Silver interrupted, nodding. "Because you love her."
Sebek froze.
His mouth opened. Then closed.
Then opened again.
Nothing came out.
Lilia, who was practically incandescent with joy, clasped his hands together and leaned in, eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Oh my," Lilia purred. "He's realizing it."
Sebek visibly malfunctioned.
His arms tensed, his jaw clenched, his brain clearly trying to override the obvious conclusion with pure willpower alone.
And then, because he had absolutely no idea what to do with himself—
Sebek turned on his heel and sprinted out of the room at full speed.
Lilia howled with laughter, throwing himself back onto the couch.
Silver simply sighed, rubbing his temples again. "You know he's going to deny this for at least another week, right?"
"Oh, let him struggle~" Lilia giggled, delighted beyond words. "This is better than theater."
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The heroine was losing her goddamn mind.
This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. She was the main character. She was supposed to triumph over adversity! She was supposed to defeat her rival, claim her rightful place at Malleus’s side, and bask in the admiration of high society as they all realized how special and wonderful she was!
And yet—
You.
You, the person who was supposed to be her greatest adversary, her foil, her dramatic counterpart—
Did. Not. Care.
Every time she tried to one-up you, every time she schemed and plotted and prepared some devastating social maneuver to put you in your place—
You ignored her.
Not even with thinly veiled contempt. Not with cold, calculated disdain. No.
You ignored her like you would ignore a particularly unimpressive rock on the side of the road.
Like a piece of furniture. Like she was a background character in her own goddamn story.
She had thrown everything at you.
She had made subtle barbs about your outfits—Oh, what a… bold choice of color. Not everyone could pull that off.
You had simply nodded and thanked her before returning to making googly eyes at your knight.
She had gone out of her way to outshine you at every event—grander gowns, more dramatic entrances, carefully curated conversations that should have drawn everyone’s attention to her.
You?
You barely registered that she was there.
She had even dyed her own knight’s hair green for fuck’s sake.
And you had just—
Ignored it.
You hadn’t even looked surprised. No scandalized gasp, no pointed glances, no passive-aggressive remark about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.
Nothing.
The absolute indifference nearly sent her into a breakdown right then and there.
But still—still—she had held out hope.
Because there was one final, tried-and-true method to defeat a villainess.
Poison.
A noblewoman’s tea party. A carefully laced cup. A gasp, a choke, a dramatic collapse.
It was foolproof.
Except—
Except you had pretended to drink it.
She hadn’t even noticed at first. She had simply sipped her tea, waiting for your inevitable demise—only to watch you pull off an Oscar worthy performance.
And now?
Now the entirety of high society hated her.
Not because they actually cared about you, no—
But because attempting to poison someone at a social gathering was just so terribly gauche.
It was uncivilized. It was desperate. It was cringe.
And worse?
She had failed.
One noblewoman had sighed, shaking her head. “Poisoning your rival? How utterly common. If she were going to do it, the least she could’ve done was be subtle.”
Another had tsked, “Imagine—spending all that effort trying to destroy someone only for them to sit back and make googly eyes at their knight instead.”
That one nearly made her explode.
Because that? That was the worst part.
Through all of this, you weren’t even fighting back.
You weren’t scheming. You weren’t plotting revenge. You weren’t even paying attention to her anymore.
No.
You were too busy pining over Sebek.
At first, she thought it was coincidence. A weird little side note in this battle.
But no.
She saw it everywhere now.
You, brushing your hand against his as he held a door open for you. You, laughing at something he said in that ridiculous, overly loud voice. You, looking at him like he was the most precious thing in existence while he continued to act like a knight-shaped golden retriever with too many feelings.
It was infuriating.
And now, after everything, after all the time and energy and sanity she had lost trying to make you engage, she woke up one morning and realized—
She had lost.
Not in some grand, cinematic battle of wits. Not in an explosive confrontation.
No.
She had lost in the most humiliating way possible.
Because you never even considered her a threat to begin with.
She had spent all this time clawing her way to the top of a rivalry that only existed in her own head.
And the person she had chosen as her nemesis had treated her with the same level of importance as a salad garnish.
It was over.
She was done.
She picked up a pen, wrote a letter, and signed it with the exhausted resignation of a woman who had fully accepted defeat.
Lady,
I give up. I’m leaving. Enjoy your ridiculous romance with your ridiculous knight.
—Heroine
Then, without any fanfare, she packed her things, walked out of her estate, and left the country.
And you?
You didn’t even notice until a servant handed you the letter over breakfast.
You blinked at it, took a bite of toast, and read the whole thing while casually sipping your tea.
Then you folded it neatly, set it aside, and promptly forgot about it.
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Sebek Zigvolt was avoiding you.
Not in the dramatic, storming-off, I-shall-never-speak-to-you-again way that some lovesick noble might after a scandalous incident at a ball. No, that would have been too easy.
Instead, he had apparently decided that the most rational way to handle his predicament was to maintain a perfect six-foot gap between the two of you at all times.
Like some sort of ridiculous, self-imposed restraining order.
You noticed it immediately, of course, because how could you not?
The first morning, you stepped into the drawing room, still slightly groggy from waking up, and found Sebek already there, standing so rigidly that he looked like he had been installed into the floorboards.
“Good morning, Sebek.”
Sebek, a man who had never once in his life failed to respond to you immediately, took a full three seconds to react, his head snapping toward you like a marionette whose strings had been yanked too hard.
“MY LADY!” he barked, far too loud for this early in the morning. “GOOD MORNING TO YOU AS WELL!”
Then, before you could say another word, he pivoted sharply and took three steps back.
Three big, deliberate, backward steps.
And then?
He stared past you.
Not at you. Past you.
Like he had suddenly developed an intense fascination with the wall.
And this? This continued.
For three. Entire. Days.
At breakfast, he sat exactly six feet away from your chair and stabbed his eggs with the precision and fury of a man attempting to exorcise a demon from his plate.
At social events, he positioned himself like some tragically lovesick ghost, haunting the edge of the room with a tormented expression, still very much guarding you but now also acting like being within arm’s reach might cause him to spontaneously combust.
Even in casual conversations, if you took a step forward?
Sebek took a step back.
And the worst part?
He was so obvious about it.
Like, if he was actually trying to be subtle, you could at least pretend it wasn’t happening. But no, this man was out here moving like an NPC whose pathfinding AI was breaking.
By the third day, you had reached your limit.
You had tolerated his weird little knightly existential crisis long enough.
So, that morning, when you saw him standing—once again—exactly six feet away, rigid as a lamppost, pointedly pretending that the tree outside the window was the most interesting thing he had ever seen in his life, you snapped.
“Sebek.”
No response.
“Sebek.”
Nothing.
You took a step forward.
Sebek immediately took a step back.
You took another step.
Sebek tried to escape.
Absolutely not.
With all the swiftness of a person completely done with this nonsense, you closed the gap, stepping right into his space, and before he could even think about scrambling backward like some flustered fawn, you grabbed his face and squished his stupid, handsome, stubborn cheeks between your hands.
Sebek made an absolutely incomprehensible noise.
“W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! THIS IS HIGHLY—!!”
He was spluttering. Stammering. Eyes darting around wildly like he was searching for an escape route despite the fact that you were holding his actual face.
“Sebek,” you said, exasperated, thumbs pressing into his cheeks as he failed spectacularly to regain any of his usual knightly composure. “Do you like me?”
Sebek, in his infinite, ridiculous wisdom, chose the absolute worst possible response.
“I—! I AM YOUR KNIGHT! TO ENTERTAIN SUCH FRIVOLITIES WOULD BE A DERELECTION OF DUTY!”
You closed your eyes, took a deep breath, and then, with the patience of someone trying to explain basic math to a particularly dense brick wall, you groaned, “Sebek, we are not in a play. Do you like me or not!?”
Sebek made a noise somewhere between a strangled honk and a dying animal.
His entire face turned so red that for a moment, you were genuinely concerned that he might be about to pass out.
Then—
He nodded.
It was tiny, barely perceptible, like he was afraid saying it too loudly would cause the heavens to smite him on the spot, but it was there.
And that was all you needed.
Before he could start raving about duty or oaths or whatever dramatic monologue he was preparing, you surged forward and kissed him.
Sebek froze.
Completely, entirely, utterly still.
For half a second, you worried that you had broken him.
But then—
Sebek kissed you back.
With the fervor of a man who had been waiting his entire life for this exact moment.
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It took thirty full minutes to convince Sebek that you were, in fact, not in a tragic, forbidden love story.
Ten minutes of him pacing, ranting about duty and propriety, gripping the air like an overdramatic stage actor monologuing in the rain.
Thirty minutes of you, standing there, patiently waiting for his brain to catch up to reality.
"Sebek," you said for the fifteenth time, arms crossed, exasperated but fond. "We are not in a Shakespearean tragedy."
Sebek opened his mouth to argue, paused, frowned, then slowly closed it.
You could see the war happening inside him. His knightly instincts were screaming about honor and responsibility, while the part of him that had just kissed you—twice now—was standing in the corner, sweating profusely.
He inhaled deeply, squared his shoulders, and nodded.
"...Very well," he said, stiffly, as if forcing himself to accept that the universe had, in fact, allowed him to be happy.
You smirked and reached for his hand. "Great. Now come on, we’re late."
Sebek made a dying noise when you intertwined your fingers with his.
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When you arrived, Malleus, Lilia, and Silver were already gathered in the garden, basking in the afternoon sun.
The moment you and Sebek showed up—hand in hand—Lilia's entire face lit up.
"Ah-ha!" Lilia cried, delighted, spinning toward the others with a mischievous flourish. "Pay up!"
Malleus sighed, deeply, as if betrayed by fate itself. Silver grunted, reaching into his pocket.
And then, right in front of you, the two of them handed Lilia actual money.
You blinked. “Wait. What just happened?”
Lilia grinned, tucking his winnings away. “Oh, just a little wager~”
You narrowed your eyes. "What kind of wager?"
Lilia, positively glowing with mischief, said, "I bet that you two would get together sooner rather than later."
Malleus, looking far too composed for someone who had just lost a bet, adjusted his sleeves and said, "I, on the other hand, estimated that it would take at least another year."
Silver sighed. "I thought it’d take two."
You gawked. "YOU WERE TAKING BETS ON THIS?!"
Sebek was mortified.
"YOU GAMBLED ON OUR HONOR?!" he thundered, appalled, offended, visibly vibrating.
Lilia cackled. “Oh, relax, dear boy! I was simply invested in your happiness!"
Sebek looked like he wanted to die.
So, naturally, you turned toward him, leaned in, and kissed him on the cheek.
Sebek stopped yelling immediately.
You could physically see the protest die in his throat. His entire body locked up, his ears turned red, and his eyes darted away as if you had just knocked the ability to argue right out of him.
Malleus, entirely too amused, hummed. “Curious. That seems to be an effective method of silencing him.”
Lilia beamed. “Oh, I love this development.”
Silver, utterly exhausted, rubbed his temple. "I don't even know why I bother at this point."
You just laughed, perfectly content, sitting beside your knight and the people you loved.
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Masterlist
Can't believe this is the 15th part already!
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novascharms · 1 day ago
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soccer player! rafe is unable to focus on his algebra lesson cause he's so obsessed with his tutor aka his girl - mdni cause it gets nastyyy.
the tutoring session starts with good intentions. it always does.
but two minutes in, you glance over and catch him staring at you, his book forgotten in his lap, his gaze fixed on your face with a softness that makes your breath hitch. four minutes in, his fingers are tangled in your hair, the algebra completely abandoned as he leans closer, his touch distracting in the best and worst ways.
six minutes in, you’re repeating yourself, trying to get him to focus, but it’s hopeless. his attention isn’t on anything you’re saying—it’s on you. eight minutes in, he’s holding your hand, lifting it to his lips, his kisses slow and deliberate on each knuckle.
ten minutes in, algebra is a distant memory, and you’re straddling his lap, lips crashing into his in a kiss so intense, it steals the breath from your lungs.
you’re convinced there must be a scientific explanation for the way rafe can unravel you so easily. how his touch, his lips, his very presence can reduce you to a pliant, needy mess in seconds. your mind is foggy, your body weak, and melting into his without hesitation.
his hands are firm on your back, sliding down slowly as he pulls you closer, closer, until there’s no space left between your bodies. your fingers grip his shoulders as if to steady yourself, though the heat coursing through you is anything but steady.
you don’t even remember when your lips parted for him, but now you’re entirely lost in the way his tongue moves against yours, intentionally and consuming. you tug at his shirt, trying to ground yourself, but instead, the fabric only seems to fuel your need to feel more of him.
unable to resist, you nip at his bottom lip, tugging gently with your teeth. the low sound that escapes him sends a shiver down your spine, and his hands slide lower, settling firmly on your hips.
it feels practiced, the way his fingers tighten, gripping you just enough to keep you exactly where he wants you. and then he’s tugging you forward, a deliberate move that leaves no question about what’s happening between the two of you.
the thin material of your shorts does nothing to mask the sensation of the head of his cock pushing right along your clothed slit.
the move makes you gasp in pleasure, "g-god..!" you're immediately seeking more and need him to do it again. he catches on pretty quickly and without any complaint, he's got his hands on your hips and is helping you move back and forth on his lap, "mm.." you're weakly whining against his lips as you lazily rut against him, desperately chasing release.
you drive your hips against his tip, slowly grinding against it and you could cry at the fact that it couldn't go in because of your clothes. you had a half a mind to just fuck him right here but that seemed to be a line neither of you wanted to cross with your family in the house.
"i need it.." you're whining against his lips, hips bucking fiercely on his lap and he exhales sharply, hands on your hips. "you know we can't do that here.." he's struggling, squeezing your hips like he's scared to let them wander.
your stomach twists and you groan quietly without slowing your hips. the pleasure felt too good, too intense to stop. before you can actually burst into tears, rafe is shifting. "here, try this.." he moves from sitting on your bed to lying with his head on a pillow before tugging his sweats down and leaving his briefs on. his cock is straining in his briefs and without hesitation, you're reaching for it.
rafe grabs your wrist, "no." he grabs your hips and puts you right on his clothed cock and without warning, he ruts you forward on his lap.
your hips stutter at the intense pleasure and you're immediataly throwing your head back and fisting your bed sheets. "ohhh..that feels good..!" you whimper as you grind your hips onto his lap, hips moving back and forth over and over until every thing fades into the background, until all you know and all you can think of us to rut on rafe's lap and chase your release. "that's it, baby, take what you need." rafe rasps as his hands guide you and help you stay somewhat upright.
"uh uh uh uh.." your sweet, dumb moans are filling the room as you fuck yourself silly on rafe's lap and push against his cock just to feel his tip almost pushing past your slit but not quite due to your shorts blocking the passage.
rafe stuffs your mouth with his fingers as he mutters something about needing to be more quiet or whatever. you're not sure, you're too drunk on his cock, too busy rutting to listen. you only notice a couple of seconds later that rafe has unbuttoned your pyjama shirt and you're sitting there, tits bouncing with every small movement you make.
you know you're close when your eyes fill with tears and rafe starts helping you move again because you're getting all sloppy and unorganised. your vision always gets spotty during this part. it's always the vision first, then the fuzzy feeling and then you're gripping something—in this case, rafe's wrist that is right by your tit that he's fondling in his big hands.
"rafe.. rafe..!" you whine around his fingers, eyes rolling back as you sloppily rut in his lap and just a second later, your toes are curling, vision spotty and you're cumming on his lap.
you’re utterly drained, every ounce of energy spent, and your body seems to have a mind of its own as you collapse forward without a second thought. rafe, sharper and more grounded than you in the moment, shifts quickly to catch you before you crash into him. his strong arms wrap around you instinctively, steadying you as your head finds its way to his shoulder, settling there like it was always meant to.
his hand moves gently to your back, a steady presence that matches the low murmur of his voice. "you okay?" he asks, his breath brushing the shell of your ear, the warmth of it sending a delicate shiver down your spine.
you don’t bother lifting your head, instead offering a soft hum, your eyes fluttering closed as you sink into him. okay doesn’t even begin to describe it. every part of you feels light, weightless, like the world beyond this moment has dissolved entirely.
the steady beat of his heart beneath your hand anchors you, and for a fleeting second, you wonder if he knows just how safe you feel here��in his arms, pressed against him, utterly and completely at peace.
snippet from 'teach me' series
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somerandomcockroach · 1 day ago
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*sets the sofa, sits down* AND WE RIGHT AWAY START FROM THE PROWL IS AND WILL BE A MURDERED STATEMENT. GOOD AHAHAH Love how much Prowl improved in reading emotions. Orion. You ask Prowl something that he probably memorized from the book and he of course will tell you a book definition. Don't cut it with your merely "It's a massacre" Still wonder at the fact of how much functionists had to f*** up the whole situation for the beasts, who are more than capable of intelligent thinking and just different by their mode or different things that can not even appear in them in the first place, for this whole situation to appear that even the "compromise" seems like a hardly reachable option. I understand if other monsters who are, more bests than mechas. But most of them seem to be, decent, normal, minding their business, just trying to find a fuel/food, yeah, this last is easily solvable.
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Yeah, Orion, exactly, let me sit with you
Oh, here we are, Orion snaps at Prowl. Do it, he went in a different direction, the one leading to murder and blood, you know. The problems that are solved hard way are never logical ahah, good luck, Prowl *looks at Orion trying to see a glimpse of emotion from Prowl for at least his own death to crack his logic* I need a minute Orion for god's sake could you like, fake laws and give him your own written full of ponies and funsies?? You were giving him official books with laws, I'm sure a lot of written by Functionalists and you expect to break the logic that was based on it??? OH RATCHET. PROWL CAN DO NOTHING. OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAYOKA YAOKAYAOKAY. OKAY. NO ONE SAID RATCHET??? RATCHET, COULD, JUST, ARRRGHHHHHH BASTARDS ORION AND SHOCKWAVE MAXED THE "LOOK AWAY IN TIME" ABILITY BUT NO ONE TOLD RATCHET? OH YES. GETTING RID OF YOUR OWN SIGHT AND LEAVE. I BET THIS IS NOT A LOGICAL THING TO CONSIDER FOR PROWL EHEHHEHEE OH MY GOD sorry I need to sit because. Yes clean floor is an easy goal. But Prowl. You are. About to get such a big and complicated to reach goal that it is so mindblowing to now look at you and consider other golems. (Eh, sudden thought of someone getting off his artefact) Prowl. on which side you play I don't understand anymore. Are you trying to make a god out of Orion to scare functionalists by actually making good for them or what.
PROWL YOU COULD. YOU COULD COME UP WITH SUCH GREAT PLANS OF MASS MIGRATION OR AT LEAST BETTER HIDINGS FOR THEM. TRICKING ALL THE TROOPS. YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO FIGHT EVIL, NOT JOIN IT. oh, CONGRATS, your education went to the point where it became wrong! Congrats, Prowl, we are on a changing point ahah! YES IT IS HIS ARMY. HIS ARMY OF POWERFUL, MAGICAL, SAVED AND THANKFUL BEASTS WHO CAN FIGHT FOR SHOCKWAVE, AND I ACTUALLY WISH THAT THEY DID. I WISH THEY DID BEFORE IT WAS TOO LATE. PROWL CAUGHT HIS BEFORE HE EVEN STUMBLED. PROWL MAKES WRONG THINGS BUT. BUT THE FACT THAT HE ACTUALLY COVERS HIM THIS WAY NO MATTER HOW BAD IT IS. I'M SURE ORION IS NOT HAPPY. SHOCKWAVE HAS NO ONE TO COVER HIM WHERE IT COULD KILL HIM. BUT EVERYTHING AROUND HIM IS BUILT WITH GREEN WALLS THAT ARE MUCH STRONGER THAN DENSE WALLS OF BLOOD.
I have several levels of uncomfortable feelings from this part
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YOU DID NOT JUST GO TO SHOCKWAVE'S ACADEMY. THEY ARE NOT THE BEASTS YOU CAN TOUCH. EVER. OH MY FRICKING GOD OKAY HERE I CRY FOR REAL. THE SCENE OF HIM. SWORD AND BOOK. PROTECTING WITH EVERYTHING HE HAS. STANDING LIKE A MOUNTAIN AND THE PRIMUS ITSELF
THE COUNCIL WOULDN'T LET HIM DO THIS.... ..... what...... The burns are from?..
............ I just understand that. That I'm sure the way Shockwave "changed" is so many times harder and more powerful because of who he is and what he is capable of... Get Prowl, Orion nd Ratchet at one table and ask them if what they do will find a punishment from Primus.
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............
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....................... When Orion is in troubled feelings Prowl searches for Shockwave. All goals are tangled, lost and complicated. His goal became something he cannot reach no more since it evolved too hard. Oh my god I wanna see how... how that goal, something he cannot reach no more, just becomes a part of him, like a self forged motor heart of his, just to keep living. Are they... Shockwave's students?... F** THEY ARE I AM CRYING AGAIN SHIT F** YOU KEF I CANNOT NO MORE DON'T JSHDEDC AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA OKAY BREATH, COMEONE. LAST WILL. *INTENSIFIES CRYING* F*** YOUUUUUUUUUU THEY. EVERYTHING. HE LEFT EVERYTHING TO ORION. SKIDS???? THUNDERCRACKER?? OH DID ORION NEVER HOLD SHOCKWAVE'S SWORD??? or just became too weak from all the events... OH MY GOD THE SCENE OF KNEELING, THE SCENE OF THE STUDENT OF THEIR PASSED MASTER ON THE VERGE OF CRYING AND ALL THE STUDENTS OF HIS DEAR FRIEND KNEELING BEFORE HIM. I AM DEAD NO ONE TALK TO ME. PROWL LOOK. LOOK WHAT AN ILLOGICAL LONG TERM EFFORT MAKES. IT MAKES LITERALLY INEFFICIENT MIRACLE. THE MIRACLE THAT IS WORTH ALL THE PERCENTAGES. YOU DO NOT KILL AND WORK FOR IT TO BE MORE THAN ONE DAY MERCY I mean Ratchet got a boyfriend this way come on
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WEHGEHGEWFHWFEWE HELP. I imagined that Shockwave had a score system or something for Skids to actually say "Best student" as something not of a brag level SHOCKWAVE YOU SMART SWEET ROLL I LOVE YOU. HE KNEW HOW TO DO IT RIGHT. SUCK IT COUNCIL AND COUNCIL DARE YOU TO TRY TO USE IT IN YOUR ADVANTAGE.
PROWL I SWEAR TO ALL THE GODS
(side note can I kiss you for just... rotating every possible side of Prowl? Like, I am just, suddenly understood that just a thing of Prowl assuming that Shockwave could betray Orion is something so fittable for him since he considers everything but just... when you look at it from the side of coming up with it. I wouldn't??)
SHOCKWAVE WHAT DID YOU DO.
They are still not executed. So I am sure it isn't about the saving monsters thing. I think Prowl leads the idea in the right direction. I am confused though at why Shockwave turned into demon at this exact time. What was the trigger. I am leaning closer to the dark magic than betrayal anyway
THE GOD MUST BE WRONG
RIGHT DIRECTION, PROWL.
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ARE YOU... did you just... led him straight to mimics plotline....
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Part 2 of Golem!Prowl AU!
_____________________
“I hate it,” Orion sighs.
“It's understandable. But you can't change the system from the inside without becoming part of it first.”
“I was hoping I could become part of it without becoming a murderer.”
“It's okay” says Prowl ”You don't have to. That's what you have me for.”
Orion twitches.
Part 1. Next->
The fic under the cut⤵️
Orion looks...sick. Worried. Scared.
“Prowl, do you know what the Great Hunt is?”
Prowl tilts his head keeping up with the lists he received from the Council.
“Traditional raids on monsters made to consolidate control over the land holdings of regular Mechs.”
Orion rubs the bridge of his nose
“It's a massacre.”
Prowl twitches his wing.
“It is a measure of intimidation against creatures that cannot be negotiated with. Brutal, I don't deny that, but experience shows it works. The destructive activity of monsters lessens considerably if they know their actions can be followed by punishment.”
Orion stares at him. For a long time. Silently.
Tensely studying him, as if seeing him for the first time.
“You think killing them instead of finding a compromise is...right?”
Prowl thinks he must be treading on unstable ground.
“I think it works. That is all. Monsters do a lot of damage with their existence. They kill, destroy and pillage. If periodically reducing their numbers reduces their damage, it confirms the effectiveness of the strategy.”
“They just want to live. Primus' sake, they want to eat.”
Prowl sighs. More for appearances than for any real effect.
“I suppose I can't judge them for wanting to survive. It makes sense.”
Orion nods.
He looks oddly pensive.
“Ratchet keeps picking up wounded...” he stammers, apparently trying to find a suitable alternative to the word monster “...wounded beastformers. I've been to his house. It's generous, but I'm afraid of what will happen if he gets caught doing it.”
Prowl frowns
“He should have stopped.”
“You wouldn't understand.” sighs Orion ”Him. Shockwave. We want to help. To make things better. I don't need you to chide me for disobeying the rules, I need you to figure out how to change them. Ghosts and insecticons deserve freedom as much as we do.”
“But...”
Orion looks at him angrily.
“No. Whatever you're going to say in response to that. No. I know you're driven primarily by logic, but I need you to remember it well. All sentient beings deserve to live free. Do you understand? All of them. Period.”
Prowl rolls up the lists and interlocks his fingers in front of him. There are small scuffs on his thumbs and index fingers from constant writing. He occupies himself with running his fingers over them, feeling the difference in texture.
“Mech's freedom in such a case ends where someone else's hungry jaws begin. You can't expect monsters and Mechs to just coexist in peace if you give them freedom.”
“No” sighed Orion ”That's why I support Shockwave's idea with creating an academy for magically gifted Mechs. He's helping to show the world that so-called 'dark creatures' can be as civilized citizens as any Mech. He teaches them to find that compromise. We can't just expect centuries of hate and fear to be forgotten once the laws change. We must direct this process. To help the Mechs understand and accept each other. Guide them, you might say.”
Prowl feels a headache coming on, as it always does when Orion requires him to logically solve a problem the answer to which lies in the feelings rather than the intellect. He's not built for this. It irritates him.
Orion stops right in front of him and puts a hand on his shoulder.
“Tell me what you think of this. If...let's pretend for a second that my morality fiddles don't matter anymore. That the problem of Mechs and monsters coexisting is something you alone need to solve. And solve it in such a way that the outcome is optimal for us as a society. To maximize the number of happy citizens. What would you do?”
Prowl is silent for a moment.
Orion squeezes his shoulder lightly before continuing.
“'Free from my judgmental conclusions, Prowl. From the standpoint of pure logic. What should we do?”
What to do...Prowl's thought process finally finds a direct and understandable train of thought. Monsters make up a paltry few percent of the population of all living Mechs. The numbers fluctuate depending on which region is being considered of course.
In some cities, some types of monsters are considered just fancy Mechs. Some monsters have risen from the status of savages to being respectable Mechs over the course of history. Even Orion's best friend, Shockwave, could be regarded as a mystical creature in some regions due to his gift of flight.
Nevertheless. The percentage is still minuscule.
But even that tiny percentage takes a significant toll on the economy and quality of life, because just one uncontrollable creature can terrorize an entire city.
He notes the weight of Orion's hand on his shoulder. Not judgmental. Orion promised he wouldn't judge.
“I'd get rid of the monsters.”
“Oh” Orion blinks ”Locked them in cages? Chased them away? Killed them?”
Prowl twitches his wings
“Banishment will only move the problem in terms of space, and imprisonment isn't secure enough. It would make sense to get rid of the monsters. Once and for all. It wouldn't be pretty or merciful, but it would greatly improve life for everyone, at the cost of a tiny percentage of living beings who were already of no use.”
“And you believe that would be a good outcome?”
“I believe it would.”
“But you're not a Mech yourself.” Orion reminds “Would you be willing to be exterminated along with the rest of the creatures if your plan were put into action?”
Prowl tilts his head slightly. Just to make it easier to look at Orion.
“You created me to, as you put it, help you make the world a better place. Sometimes in order to improve something you have to cut out the factors that get in the way. It's simple logic.”
“You didn't answer my question” Orion points out ”How would you feel if I decided to take your advice and destroy all mystical creatures, including you?”
“I am not made to feel” straightens Prowl ”My job is to find solutions to problems. I gave you a solution.”
“You don't include yourself in the reckoning.” snorts Orion “Again. You talk as if you will never be affected by anything.”
As it should be, Prowl thinks. He's a conscientious worker and a ..seemingly law-abiding citizen. He does what he can to make Mech's lives better. Even though he may not be a Mech, he's doing the right thing. Why would something happen to him?
Orion removes his hand from his shoulder and shakes his head.
“'Alright. I've heard you. But I want to make it as clear as possible - what you suggested is immoral, cruel, and should never be implemented. Do you understand me? Never. If you want to build a better world, you cannot and will not build it on other people's deaths. Have I made myself clear enough?”
“Perfectly clear.”
“Good.”
-----------------
Ratchet looks...many words could be used to describe him.
He's standing in the center of the trial room with a lot of emotions written all over his face. But if Prowl had to describe - he'd say Ratchet practically radiates rage. Not violent. More of a powerless one.
The rage of a Mech who knows he's cornered, but refuses to even consider giving up and admitting defeat.
Prowl sits in a far dark corner, silently documenting the whole process.
The council is furious. They apparently discovered that Ratchet has been dragging wounded monsters to his house and healing them all this time.
Which is ... very much as expected from Ratchet.
Prowl wants Orion here, but both Orion and Shockwave are now on a diplomatic mission a few days away, so the only support Ratchet has is...Prowl. Who can't help in any way, so he just sits there and meticulously documents the whole process so that Orion can then be informed of every single detail.
The council doesn't look happy. They say that Ratchet is sabotaging the hunters' efforts to contain the monsters by his actions.They are angered by Ratchet's absolute determination to insist that he was doing the right thing.
Prowl would be impressed, if only Ratchet's stubbornness made sense.
It's simple math. Ratchet saves lives. Monsters take them.
Thus Ratchet's life has much, much more weight and is more valuable.
If Ratchet would just accept the Council's decision now and promise to stop curing monsters, the whole problem would be solved as efficiently as possible.
But Ratchet, of course, persists. Probably just because that's his nature.
Ratchet can also afford to be so stubborn because his skill level makes him incredibly valuable to the Council. Prowl knows for a fact that if any other medic were in Ratchet's shoes right now - they would have been sentenced to banishment or execution by now.
When Ratchet realizes exactly how the Council caught him, his rage is instantly replaced by shock.
This revelation is enough to startle him and make him back down. To nod and numbly swear that he will end his "blasphemous hobby."
Prowl carefully folds the scribbled scrolls into the case as the Council doors close behind both his and Ratchet's backs.
“Orion will be happy to know that you were prudent enough to avoid death.”
Ratchet shifts his gaze to him
“You knew? Knew they could see through our optics? Did you know they could find out anything about any Mech at any time?”
Prowl tucks his hands behind his back and nods politely
“Knowing things is my job.”
Ratchet sighs. Heavy. Exhausted. Doomed maybe.
“How does Orion deal with it...”
“Orion has a reputation with the Council. They consider him a decent, law-abiding Mech, so they see no point in keeping tabs on him.”
“Are you kidding?” Raetchet raises his eyebrows “Orion can't do everything he does and remain ‘decent’ in their eyes. He and Shockwave practically cuddle with every possible creature every day and all they get is a little reprimand????”
Prowl tilts his head
“Orion learned to look away in time. And he has me for everything else.”
Ratchet doesn't answer him. He rubs the bridge of his nose tiredly and starts to walk away.
His shoulders look oddly tense. He looks defeated, but not in the way a Mech would describe a slain turbofox. No. There is a deep-seated, angry determination.
A willingness to act dictated by desperation.
The news of the surveillance has thrown Ratchet off balance but not knocked him off his feet as the Council had hoped.
Prowl looks at his back and walks off in the opposite direction. The problems of living, feeling Mechs have always been and will always be mysterious to him.
Ratchet does what no one expects him to do.
He doesn't stage protests. He doesn't accept the verdict.
He leaves silently, taking with him only medical supplies and an old lantern.
The council is furious, turning over every stone in an attempt to find him, but all in vain.
Prowl's daily duties now include “keeping track of any possible news related to Ratchet.“
And then, no matter what he finds, report to Orion that he's found nothing.
Put on a little regular show for all concerned. Show the Mechs in the Council that Orion remains loyal and does his best to find and bring to justice any blasphemer whether it's a friend of his or not.
He is his purpose. But the more time passes, the harder it becomes for him to trace the path to the fulfillment of that purpose. He envies the golems whose only function is to scrub floors. Their lives are understandable. A clean floor is a temporary but easily attainable goal. They are happy to fulfill the goal for which they were created. And then they're happy knowing their job is done well, until the floor gets dirty again.
Prowl is walking towards his goal, but it's not getting any closer. He knows what he needs to do to get there, but the variables are constantly changing and he has to adjust his course of action each time according to new information, conditions, and Orion's opinion on them.
Politics is infinitely more complicated than mopping floors after all.
————————————
Orion doesn't turn around on him as they walk down the hall. But Prowl can physically feel the attention focused on him.
“Prowl. Did you know I was awarded today for my ''outstanding service'' by the entire Council?”
“I did not.
“They've gone through all the reports and discovered that according to the logs me and my mechs are performing excellently when it comes to eliminating mystical threats.”
“Congratulations.”
“It's funny that you feel the need to congratulate me too” Orion continues ”Because I certainly didn't give orders to eliminate anyone.”
Their pacing doesn't falter. They continue to walk calmly down the hallway as if nothing is happening. But Prowl can practically taste the increased tension.
“Prowl” says Orion “Why is the Council rewarding me for murder? And where are the Mechs they think I killed now?”
Prowl checks the scrolls. Not because he doesn't remember. Just to buy some time to formulate an answer.
“They were the inevitable casualties. I took charge of their destruction. On your behalf.”
“You know how I feel about killing.”
“I know.” nods Prowl for some reason. Why? Not that Orion can see it “I also know how the Council feels about Mechs showing suspicious activity. They would have started watching you as soon as they noticed you were letting monsters slip away from you suspiciously often.”
Orion...sounds... conflicted. He sounds struggling.
“You killed them.”
“I gave the order. As any other hunter would have done in my place.”
Orion stops so abruptly that Prowl doesn't catch the moment and bumps into his back.
“We're supposed to be better than other hunters Prowl! How can you still not grasp that concept!!!”
Orion looks furious. Prowl discreetly looks around.
Around them is a relatively empty hall. Windows covered by heavy curtains. The cleaning golems scurrying back and forth.
“I understand” he says “But let me remind you that you cannot test their trust infinitely. Your 'being better' rests on your reputation. And it's my job to make sure your reputation lives up to it.”
Orion looks at him...Prowl isn't even sure how to describe it. Usually he has to argue with Orion's logic, proving his point but this time...Orion is the one arguing with him.
It feels strange. Uncomfortable.
He's doing everything Orion wanted him to do, but for the sake of it he has to do something Orion can't stand.
Orion clenches and unclenches his fists helplessly. Rubbing the fabric of his cloak.
“Shockwave can save lives without killing anyone.”
“Shockwave is one unfortunate act away from serious consequences” shakes his head Prowl “His academy is looking more and more like his own small army every day. His students are not loyal to the Council, they are loyal to Shockwave. And the Council knows that. And will use it. And it won't be pretty when it happens.”
“No...” shakes his head Orion, not addressing anyone in particular ”No no no no no...”
Prowl can understand why Orion is upset. But he also knows he's right this time. Shockwave may look like a fine example of mercy, but he walks on the very edge of the law and any wrong move will instantly turn him from “out of the box thinker” to renegade.
The Council will come for his head and the Council will get his head because Shockwave will have nothing to prove his loyalty with.
Orion will. Prowl made sure of that.
Orion can bend the rules, can borrow the Council's trust, can do all sorts of reprehensible things. He can stumble and fall and then fall a couple more times and find that it doesn't hurt him because Prowl caught him even before he stumbled.
He did it at the cost of lives. Yes.
But Orion's life is far more valuable than the lives of monsters.
Society doesn't need monsters to become better, but society needs Orion. Monsters need Orion. Because if Orion is gone, no one else will care about his idealistic goal.
“Sometimes I forget how creepy you can be...” mutters Orion ”You're going to betray me sooner or later.”
“I could never betray you.” Prowl twitches his wing.
“You've successfully betrayed what I believe in.”
“It's fine with me if you hate me for it. As long as you are alive, safe, and can continue your quest.”
Orion falls silent.
He turns away to stare at a strip of light from a nearby window. There are beautiful, wrought iron grates that cast an intricate, curved shadow on the floor and walls.
A golem janitor hurries past them.
“I hate it,” Orion sighs.
“It's understandable. But you can't change the system from the inside without becoming part of it first.”
“I was hoping I could become part of it without becoming a murderer.”
“It's okay” says Prowl ”You don't have to. That's what you have me for.”
Orion twitches.
Shockwave falls.
Prowl isn't there to see for himself, but a lot of rumors reach him. Lots. Lots of rumors.
The Mechs say the time of the Great Hunt has come.
They say that when the hunters arrived on the Academy's doorstep, Shockwave didn't let them in.
They say. He stood in front of the gates.
With sword in one hand and the Primus Covenant in the other, and declared that his school was a sanctuary for all living beings in need of protection.
Claimed that anyone who dared set foot inside with a weapon would have to go through him.
“And they retreated!” gestures Orion frantically ”They didn't dare test him! They backed away from the walls of the Academy. I don't know how many monsters were left alive in the forests that night, but none of Shockwave's students were harmed...”
Prowl listens with a healthy dose of wariness
“The Council wouldn't just let him do that.”
Orion begins nervously winding circles around the room.
“You're right, you're right. You're right now and you were right back then. They're going to bring him before the Court by tomorrow, and...”
“There's no chance of that ending well,...is there?" Prowl finishes his thought.
Orion looks pained
“They'll be going through everything he's been up to. Every forged document, every enrolled Mech who by all criteria should be considered a monster. Every time he sheltered them from the Council instead of destroying them. They'll realize what he's been doing and they won't like it at all.”
Prowl...trying to sound reassuring.
“Shockwave has tremendous support from his Academy. There's a chance the Council will be afraid of invoking their wrath and won't judge Shockwave too harshly.”
Orion continues to walk in circles
“You think so?”
“There is a good chance.”
Prowl finds Orion in Sickbay. Which is very disturbing and wrong, because Orion was supposed to be at the Trial. Supporting Shockwave and begging the Council to relent.
But Orion is in Sick Bay. When he shouldn't be.
And he's covered in ugly dark burns. From something Prowl can't recognize.
This is all wrong. It's all--
“What happened at the trial?”
Orion sounds. Startled.
“There was no Trial.”
“What?”
Orion sounds as if something inside him has cracked. In every sense of the phrase.
“The Trial hasn't even had time to begin. He...” Orion clutches his trembling fingers, hoping to still them, but it has no tangible effect. His shoulders are trembling.
He looks like his whole body could be torn apart with one careless touch. “They asked him if he would plead guilty to aiding and abetting dark creatures. All they had time to ask was if he realized he was wrong.”
An uncomfortable, prickly feeling settles in Prowl's mind.
"And?”
Orion squeezes his fingers so hard the creaking of hinges becomes audible.
“It...I...Prowl, his very spark began to ooze dark magic. It was horrible, it was like.. it was eating him from the inside. The entire courtroom became darker than night, many Mechs got burned. I've never seen anything like this before! He..It.. started attacking Mechs and destroying everything...it was like it went crazy...it attacked me and I had to...Prowl I had to fight it! I didn't...I'd heard about it happening but I believed until the last minute that I wouldn't have to face it...”
Gears of chaotic detail fall into place in Prowl's mind.
“Shockwave...turned into a demon...?”
Orion nods shakily
“The Council didn't even have a chance to sentence him or spare him or even sort out what happened.....
He stated that he did not consider himself guilty for what he had done and...Primus was the one who made the judgment before anyone else could...”
That's... terrifying really. For a number of reasons. Losing a close friend is awful, being subjected to such merciless punishment is awful, but also...
What sends a chill down Prowl's back is the moral implication that such punishment carries.
Orion, as if reading his thoughts, raises his gaze to him
“Is what we are doing...wrong? I don't...does Primus think helping monsters is worthy of punishment?”
Now that's a really reasonable question.
Shockwave would say that Primus is merciful and would never condemn a Mech for an act of kindness. But Shockwave ended up being condemned.
Ratchet would say that he doesn't care about Primus' opinion because Primus isn't real. But Ratchet isn't here.
Prowl wants to say that it doesn't matter whether or not Primus thinks they're wrong, what matters is that he can at any moment force his justice on any living spark, so his concept of right has to become Orion's too, or else he's doomed. But Orion is definitely in no state to have a philosophical argument. He looks shattered and Prowl almost instinctively is about to go and find Shockwave, but remembers that option is no longer available.
He's not made for this. Shockwave has always been the one to cheer Orion up on a bad day. Not Prowl, no. Prowl isn't sure what to do so he just sits down next to him and gently places a hand on Orion's shoulder. The one where he can't see the burns, so it shouldn't hurt.
“I don't. I'm used to always relying on your point of view as a reference for what's right and what's wrong.”
“I know” runs a shaky hand over his face Orion “But it's not like I'm perfect. I try, god, I try but just like with the logical part - my vision isn't flawless. Have I been...wrong all this time? Trying to disrupt Primus' intended vision? Maybe what I've been trying to fix never needed fixing. Maybe it's just me being so stupid and not understanding things maybe...???”
Orion cuts himself off mid sentence, realizing that he's started raising his voice and waving his arms around again. He sits back down on the medical bed and curls back up into a miserable ball.
“What should I do....”
“I don't know,” Prowl repeats awkwardly.
He is his goal. But his goal ..doesn't exist anymore?
He doesn't know where to put himself.
Golems are made to fulfill requests. But Orion's request system has been evolving and complicating for so long that Prowl can't tell where its boundaries are anymore.
He feels lost.
——————————
Orion stops cold.
“What...”
Prowl, standing at his right hand looks equally puzzled.
They are in a spacious courtyard bordering directly on the Council building. It's a very beautiful, open and spacious place because it was originally built with large crowds of Mechs in mind. There's wide walkways, a massive circular plaza with fountains and statues.
And right now, it's filled to the brim with Mechs, most of whom Prowl is seeing for the first time. They're all wearing knight armor and carrying weapons, however still kept in their scabbards.
They look like a small army. A very, very diverse army, Prowl realizes. Because there are almost no regular Mechs among them.
Orion looks... distraught.
Mechs? Monsters? A few knights separate and come closer, bowing their heads respectfully.
“Orion Pax.”
There is so much grief and disbelief in Orion's eyes that it physically hurts to look at him.
When he begins to speak his voice sounds hoarse, like someone has poured sand down his throat.
“What...what are you doing here...?”
The knight standing in front of everyone ceremoniously places his palm on his spark.
“We are here to fulfill the last will of our mentor and your friend. Shockwave has decreed in his last will that in the event of his death his legacy must pass to you and those of us who wish to carry on his work must publicly pledge our allegiance to your will.”
Orion clutches his hands together to keep them from starting to shake again.
“But...I was there. I...your mentor was slain by my hands...how can you..."
"It doesn't matter. Everything that was his is now yours." smiles the knight sadly "We will make sure his legacy lives on. And even if the Academy falls - you can always count on us."
At the same time as he finishes speaking, the knight in blue armor drops to one knee, pulling Shockwave's sword from its sheath and holding it out respectfully to Orion... who looks like he's about to start crying.
He dazedly accepts the sword, twitching in surprise when it turns out to be heavier than expected and probably tries to say something, but all that comes out is a short sorrowful sigh.
He just.
Clutches the sword to his chest, watching in disbelief as all the arriving mechs get down on one knee following the blue knight. There aren't that many mechs, but at this point - they seem to rival the sea.
Prowl knows some of them. Many of them made their way to Shockwave after Orion found them. There's the harpy over there who nearly ripped Orion's head off the first time they met. A few ghosts he can remember the faces of but doesn't know the names. He'd had a long argument with Orion that day, trying to convince him that he shouldn't take their word for it when they promised to make it up to him.
And now they're all here. In beautiful new armor. Executing their mentor's last will and testament.
Just like regular Mechs, only a little eccentric looking.
The crowd of hunters that has come to find out what's going on looks as speechless and dumbfounded as Orion.
" What" Orion also gets down on one knee to be on the same level as the knight "what's your name?"
Prowl squints warily from behind Orion's shoulder. The blue mech looks normal, but to be honest, there's no way someone coming out of the Shockwave Academy is going to be an normal plain mech. There has to be a catch somewhere.
"My name is Skids," smiles the knight shyly. "I am...was...Shockwave's best student."
"You are very brave Skids" smiles Orion sorrowfully "I promise to do my best to take care of Shockwave's legacy. And you."
Orion drops his head on the table tiredly.
"This is crazy..."
Prowl pulls an important document from under Orion's head
"It's also quite devious. Shockwave told them specifically to swear to you where all comers can see it. So there's no way for the Council to accuse you of purposely swaying an army of monsters to your side. Everyone saw that this gift was given by force. Now you have many allies with unique skills who are loyal to you and the Council won't try to take them away because they are firmly convinced that you are loyal to the Council."
Prowl examines the document for damage before setting it aside.
"It is..."
"Shockwave gave you an opportunity."
"And I don't know what to do with it!" raises his head Orion "Shockwave was smarter than me and made a lot of plans in case of...I don't know...anything?? I didn't...Prowl. We've been down this path for so long and I was always sure there would be something good at the end of it. Or at least better than it is now..."
Orion rubs his chin and shakes his head awkwardly
"...But if there's only the wrath of Primus and endless darkness at the end...I can't ask anyone to follow me there. I'm not sure if I can keep going myself..."
He sighs helplessly
"I'm not even sure if that even matters."
"The chance that Shockwave would try to use you in some way was about twenty-eight percent."
Orion twitches
"What?"
"I understand that you're hurt by his...fate." Says Prowl "But have you considered the possibility that Shockwave was being punished for betraying you rather than the Council?"
Orion doesn't even answer at first. Just looks at him dazed and bitter.
"Prowl...no. He couldn't have."
"I'm just speculating" shrugs Prowl "Shockwave was punished but as far as I know God didn't bother to name the exact charge. We don't know one hundred percent what exactly caused his...sentence. He may have betrayed the Council's ideas, or he may have betrayed yours."
They both just exist in silence for a while. Processing the information.
"If...and I mean if!!! If Shockwave was convicted of harboring monsters, then everything we've been doing all this time can be considered useless blasphemy..." says Orion slowly "...but if he was punished for something else..."
"...then that would mean there's nothing wrong with your idea." finishes Prowl.
Orion frowns
"It would also mean that Shockwave lied to me..."
Prowl nods. The situation is ugly no matter which way you look at it.
Shockwave, as Prowl knows him, would hardly have framed Orion, but Mechs tend to go to great lengths to avoid execution.
If Shockwave had shifted some of the blame to Orion then, it would have partially saved him. Was that what he was going to do? Was this what Primus had stopped him from doing?
Orion's finials twitch slowly
"I don't know Prowl. I don't know what to do. I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of my fantasies."
Orion is hard to read, but right now he's an open book.
Prowl tilts his head
"You're scared."
Orion looks. Defeated. Crumpled.
Discolored.
" I am."
Prowl can't work with that. He's used to solving logical problems and making lists and strategies.
He doesn't know how to get someone to stop being scared.
"Is there anything I can do for you?"
"I don't know." mutters Orion "I don't know, I have no idea. It's too much...All these new knights, this whole council situation and now you're also saying that the mech I treasured the most could actually be a liar and...just leave me alone."
"But..."
"Just go away!" shakes his head Orion "Go find something else to do, find a hobby, I don't know! Get out of my head and out of my personal life!"
Prowl nods silently.
Places a couple papers in their places and silently walks out the door.
Gestures a greeting to some mech passing by.
And is completely unsure of what to do with himself.
Orion's too stunned by everything that's happened to give him a clear purpose. And without a purpose, he...he's gone.
He continues to stand by the closed door.
A thought runs obsessively through his mind.
If Shockwave was sentenced for something no one knew about, then punishing him the moment of that trial was a truly terrible decision and even worse timing.
But if Shockwave was sentenced for helping monsters...Prowl isn't sure why his mind resists the idea.
Maybe he's not being objective because he shares Orion's views and aspirations.
Maybe because he has looked at the entire square filled with dangerous monsters and has seen nothing but sorrow and respect in them.
The idea comes naturally.
Then God must be wrong.
He looks at the cleaning golems again. He envies them.
They are peace and contentment.
They are a clear and simple goal.
Probably the biggest stress that happens to them is random mechs passing by and interfering with their cleaning.
And then there's Prowl, standing by with no meaning or purpose and wishing he could throw something heavy because the one who gets in his way is an indefinable force of nature and a complex system of values and beliefs created by millions of years of cultural development....
But Primus can't stop him, can he?
Prowl is not alive. He has no emotion so that his intentions can be categorized as evil, but more importantly he has no spark so that its magic can turn him into a demon.
He is his purpose. His purpose is his god. And Primus stands in his way.
He turns around and walks away.
933 notes · View notes
rizzanon · 4 hours ago
Text
Batdad brainrot
a bruce wayne and daughter! reader oneshot | m.list
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Summary: your estranged father tries to connect with you in ways you didn’t expect him to
The argument had started as something small.
Bruce didn’t even remember what it was about. A minor disagreement, an offhand comment, something inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. It shouldn’t have escalated.
But it had.
And now, you weren’t speaking to him.
Well—not exactly. You weren’t avoiding him outright. You still responded when necessary, still showed up when he called, still acknowledged his presence. But it was different.
It was distant.
Mechanical.
Gone were the casual conversations, the random observations you used to share just to fill the silence. Gone were the moments when you’d tell him about something you found interesting, even when you knew he probably wouldn’t have much to say in response. Gone were the little efforts you made to connect—because no matter how much he had failed to meet you halfway, you had always tried.
And now you weren’t.
At first, Bruce Wayne had told himself it didn’t matter. That it was fine. He wasn’t someone who needed constant conversation, who thrived on interaction. He was used to silence. Preferred it, even.
But this wasn’t silence.
This was absence.
And it made something in him itch with discomfort.
Because suddenly, the manor felt empty in a way it never had before.
Bruce had never been good at fixing things that weren’t tangible.
A broken bone could be set. A wound could be stitched. A case could be solved, an enemy could be defeated, a mission could be completed. But this? This was different. There was no direct solution, no simple fix.
And he hated that.
Because every time Bruce saw you, he saw the way your shoulders stiffened. The way your expression remained carefully neutral, the way you answered only when necessary. The way you no longer sought him out, no longer attempted to start conversations, no longer tried—and the worst part was knowing that it was his fault.
He had spent so much time thinking he was protecting you by keeping his distance, by not indulging in sentimentality, by maintaining the walls he had built so carefully over the years. But all he had done was push you away.
And now, he was left with nothing but silence.
He thought about it more than he wanted to admit.
During patrol, during Justice League meetings, even when reviewing case files in the Batcave, his mind kept drifting back to the argument. Kept replaying it over and over, picking apart every word, every moment, trying to pinpoint the exact second he had gone wrong.
Bruce had always believed himself to be a man who thrived in silence. It was in silence that he observed, that he planned, that he found control.
But now, this silence—your silence—was unbearable.
He hadn’t realized just how much you filled the manor with your presence until it was gone. The absent chatter, the missing quips at the dinner table, the lack of commentary whenever you sat next to him in the Batcave, pretending to work while obviously keeping him company. You were avoiding him. Not just in passing, but with intent. And Bruce wasn’t used to that.
Bruce Wayne was many things, but when it came to being a father, he was painfully aware that he wasn’t the best. And now, that awareness was staring him in the face every time you walked past him without a word.
He didn’t realize how lost in thought he was until he felt someone watching him.
Bruce glanced up from the Batcomputer, already knowing who it was before he saw him.
Dick was leaning against the cave’s stone wall, arms crossed, brow raised. He had that look on his face—the one that meant he had been standing there for a while, the one that meant he was waiting for Bruce to acknowledge him first.
Bruce exhaled slowly. “Something you need?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Dick said, pushing off the wall and walking toward him. “You’ve been staring at the same screen for the past twenty minutes. Either you’re trying to solve the world’s hardest crime, or you’re brooding.”
Bruce frowned. “I don’t brood.”
Dick snorted. “Right. And Gotham is a peaceful city with low crime rates.”
Bruce ignored that.
There was a beat of silence before Dick leaned against the Batcomputer, tilting his head slightly. “So? What’s up?”
Bruce hesitated.
For a moment, he considered brushing it off. Telling him it was nothing. That he was just tired, or distracted, or caught up in work. But even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew Dick wouldn’t buy it.
And… maybe a part of him didn’t want to brush it off.
So, with some reluctance, he told him.
And by the time he was done, Dick was looking at him like he was the biggest idiot in the world.
“So, let me get this straight,” Dick said, arms crossed as he leaned against the Batcomputer. “You and (Name) got into an argument. She’s now giving you the silent treatment. And you’re freaking out.”
Bruce gave him a look. “I’m not—”
“Bruce,” he said slowly, “do you hear yourself right now?”
Bruce frowned. “…Yes?”
Dick exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face. “You’re overthinking this.”
“I’m aware that’s what I do.”
“Yeah, with cases. Not with your daughter.”
Bruce didn’t respond, but the way his jaw tightened must have said enough, because Dick sighed and shook his head.
“There you go again,” he muttered. “Overanalyzing, scrutinizing, looking for some grand strategy when there isn’t one. She’s not you, Bruce. She doesn’t think like you, doesn’t work like you. So stop putting on the whole ‘Bruce Wayne’ act and trying to figure this out like it’s just another mission. Instead of thinking about how you would approach this, think about how she would.”
Bruce went still.
And just like that, his mind started turning again.
But this time, it wasn’t in the way he usually did.
This time, he wasn’t analyzing things from his own perspective—he was trying to see it from yours.
And that… changed things.
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Over the next few days, Bruce found himself researching in a way he never had before.
He had read entire psychological profiles on some of the most complex minds in history. He had deciphered alien languages. He had cracked codes that entire intelligence agencies had failed to solve.
And yet nothing—nothing—prepared him for this.
It started with subtle observations. He paid closer attention to the things you watched, the things you laughed at, the things you scrolled through on your phone. He noted the words and phrases you used, the memes you sent in group chats (not that he snooped—he just happened to see them in passing), the trends you occasionally mentioned in conversation with your brothers and sister.
Then came the actual research.
Bruce Wayne was a detective. A strategist. A man who could crack the most encrypted codes, uncover the deepest secrets, solve the most impossible mysteries.
So surely, surely, understanding Gen Z slang couldn’t be that difficult.
He was wrong.
At first, it was just simple terminology. He started with the basics—words like “rizz,” “mid,” “slay,” and “delulu.” But then he found himself spiraling into deeper territory, encountering phrases that made absolutely no logical sense. “Ate and left no crumbs”? “Touching grass”? “Gyatt”?
What the hell was a “skibidi toilet”? Why was “no cap” a thing? Why did “mid” sound like an insult? What was the difference between “based” and “cringe”? Why did some of these phrases feel like they were meant to be grammatically incorrect?
He had never felt older in his entire life.
But Bruce wasn’t deterred. If anything, the confusion only made him more determined.
So, he studied. He took notes. He tried to analyze sentence structures, context, and usage patterns. He even ventured onto TikTok, only to be immediately bombarded with an overwhelming amount of fast-paced videos, most of which he did not understand.
But he persisted.
His first attempt at incorporating this newfound knowledge into conversation came during dinner.
The table was mostly silent—just the occasional clink of silverware, the occasional page turn from Tim’s book, the occasional soft exhale from Cassandra.
You were sitting across from Bruce, scrolling through your phone, expression unreadable.
And Bruce, in a desperate attempt to bridge the gap that had grown between you, cleared his throat and said, “So… I hear that a lot of things are… bussin’ nowadays.”
The silence that followed was deafening.
Tim looked up from his book, squinting in suspicion. Damian paused mid-bite, staring as if Bruce had grown a second head.
And you?
You just slowly lifted your eyes from your phone, staring at your father with the most deadpan, unreadable expression he had ever seen.
“…What?” you asked flatly.
Bruce maintained his composure. “I was simply acknowledging that many things these days are… as you would say, based….?”
Your stare somehow became more bewildered.
“Father,” Damian said, voice wary. “Are you feeling unwell?”
Tim looked vaguely concerned. “Did you hit your head during patrol?”
Bruce frowned. “No. I—”
But before he could even attempt to recover, you sighed, shook your head, and went right back to your phone.
Bruce realized, then and there, that his first attempt had been a complete failure
So, he regrouped.
His second attempt happened in the Batcave.
You had come downstairs to grab something, and that’s when you saw it—Bruce sitting at the Batcomputer, scrolling.
At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Until you got closer.
And realized that your father was—oh god—scrolling through TikTok.
“…Dad.” you said slowly.
Bruce stiffened.
When he turned, there was a brief moment where he looked like he was debating whether or not to close the tab. But then, after a second of hesitation, he exhaled and faced you fully.
“There’s something I wanted to ask you,” he said seriously.
You raised a brow. “Okay?”
Bruce turned back to the screen.
“Why,” he starts, “do so many of these… influencers believe that Batman is an alpha male?”
You blinked.
He gestured toward the screen, where a video was paused on some random guy in sunglasses talking about “how Batman embodies the peak sigma mindset.”
“They claim that I—he—operates on some kind of grindset mentality,” Bruce continued, sounding vaguely irritated. “That the reason Batman fights crime is due to some misguided sense of superiority rather than a moral obligation. Some of them even say he ‘gives off major red pill energy.’”
You cringed.
Bruce’s frown deepened. “I don’t even know what that means.”
“Oh my god,” you muttered, pinching the bridge of your nose. “B, please stop scrolling on that side of TikTok.”
“I didn’t intend to,” Bruce said. “It just happened to appear on my feed while I was doing research.”
“…Research?”
“For… communication purposes.”
Your eyes narrowed. “What kind of communication purposes?”
Bruce hesitated.
And then, in what was possibly the most botched attempt at Gen Z slang to ever exist, he slowly said, “I’m just trying to… get that W… and not be an L father. No cap.”
Silence.
Pure, unfiltered, incomprehensible silence.
You stared at him, utterly speechless.
Bruce held your gaze, waiting.
Tim, who had just entered the cave, immediately turned around and left.
It took a full ten seconds for you to finally find your voice.
“…What the actual fuck did you just say?”
“Language.”
You were baffled. Was your father hearing what he was saying??
Before you could respond, an alert suddenly blared through the Batcomputer, signaling an Arkham breakout.
And just like that, he was saved by the bell.
Bruce quickly turned back to the screen, scanning the situation, already shifting into mission mode. But before he left, he spared you one last glance.
And, in what was perhaps his most disastrous attempt yet, he said,
“Stay woke.”
Then, without another word, he swept out of the cave.
Leaving you standing there, completely and utterly at a loss for words.
You had no idea what the hell just happened.
And honestly? You weren’t sure you wanted to know.
But the next day, Bruce made one last attempt.
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Bruce Wayne had faced some of the most dangerous criminals in the world. He had been thrown through walls, stabbed, shot at, and even died once (technically). He had outmaneuvered gods, masterminds, and creatures of the night.
And yet, standing outside your bedroom door, debating whether or not to knock, he found himself hesitating.
This was ridiculous.
He shouldn’t feel hesitant about this. He was your father. He had faced literal apocalypses without flinching—why was it so difficult to face you?
Was it because of his failed attempts at getting through to you these past few days?
Probably.
But he had committed to this. He wasn’t going to back down now.
So he took a deep breath, steeled himself, and knocked on your door.
A pause.
Then—“Come in.”
He opened the door, stepping inside with careful, measured movements. His eyes swept over the room instinctively, cataloging every detail—your posture, your expression, the way your fingers curled slightly where they rested on your crossed arms.
You were stiff, but not defensive. Guarded, but not hostile.
Not angry. Not anymore.
But you were distant. And that was worse.
Bruce had always relied on presence—on being there, on the sheer weight of existence as a means of maintaining connection. But now he understood that presence wasn’t the same as attention.
He hadn’t given you that. Not the way you had given it to him. Not the way you deserved.
Bruce cleared his throat, trying to find the words. “I…. would like to formally apologize for being the… goat of bad parenting. That was not very…. rizz of me.”
You blinked.
What?
A slow, deliberate blink, your expression frozen in something between shock and utter disbelief.
Bruce noted the way your brows twitched slightly, the way your lips parted just enough to indicate that you had words but were currently incapable of forming them.
Good. That meant you were listening.
He continued, tone steady. “I have, in fact, been caught in 4K being a cringe father. And that’s on me. Major L.”
The silence that followed was excruciating.
You tilted your head ever so slightly, like you were trying to determine if this was some elaborate joke.
Maybe it did seem like that to you.
Bruce pressed forward. “No cap, I have been acting incredibly mid. Probably even giga-mid.”
Still silence.
The twitch in your eye was microscopic but noticeable. The corner of your mouth jerked—barely, almost imperceptibly, but Bruce caught it.
He nodded, as if steeling himself, mentally adjusting his approach. “This whole situation has been, dare I say… a ratio.”
That was what did it.
You snorted.
A small sound, abrupt, barely audible—but it was real.
Encouraging. He could work with this.
“I have realized,” he said solemnly, “that I have been lacking fatherly rizz. A skill issue, if you will.”
Your entire body curled inward as you let out a strangled, disbelieving laugh, hands flying to cover your face as if that would somehow make this entire situation less insane.
Bruce analyzed every detail—the way your shoulders shook, the way your hands trembled slightly as you pressed them against your face, the way you leaned just a fraction forward, no longer so closed off.
Progress.
Finally, gasping for breath, you looked at him with pure horror. “Dad. Please tell me you’re not serious.”
“I am always serious,” Bruce said gravely. “This is an earnest attempt at slayful parenting.”
You made a sound that could only be described as a dying gremlin noise.
Bruce noted the way you hunched further over, like your body was physically rejecting what was happening, and yet—you were still laughing.
You peeked up again, eyes shining with barely restrained mirth. “Dad, what the hell are you saying?”
He furrowed his brows. “Am I not eating right now?”
You lost it again.
Bruce waited patiently as you continued to laugh into your hands.
Finally, wiping at your eyes, you shook your head. “Oh my god, Dad. What is this. Did Alfred put you up to this?”
“No,” Bruce said. “This was all Dick’s idea, somewhat.”
“Of course it was,” you groaned, still grinning. “I knew he was behind this somehow.”
Bruce hesitated, then walked over, sitting at the edge of your bed.
He saw it in the way you met his eyes, in the way your posture was looser, in the way you were actually looking at him now, rather than through him.
“I’m sorry.”
Your smile dimmed, just slightly. “…For what?”
“For the argument, for not listening. And for not being as emotionally available as I should be.”
You searched his face.
Bruce let you.
You studied him, guarded again. But then—softer, you asked, “Why are you trying now?”
“Because you tried first,” Bruce admitted. “And I never met you halfway.”
That got you.
He saw it in the flicker of your expression, in the way your fingers twitched slightly, in the way your gaze softened just enough for him to catch it.
Then, after a long moment, you huffed. “…Is that why you were acting so weird these past few days?”
Bruce nodded. “I will admit… it was incredibly painful.”
You laughed again, but it was softer now. Easier.
Bruce felt something in his chest loosen.
You sighed, stretching your arms behind your head. “…Fine. I forgive you. But please—never say fatherly rizz again.”
Bruce placed a hand on his chest. “I make no promises.”
You groaned dramatically, flopping onto your bed.
But you were smiling.
And for Bruce, that was more than enough.
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literally based off my parents trying to act like they understand gen z slang infront of me and my sister LOL 😭 hope you guys enjoyed this 🫶
taglist (open): @k1arar3 @kingshitonly @rainnyydaysworld @ceridwyn3 @darkfaethedestroyer @blueiones @strwberryglass @lithiumval @thephantomdanny @eli-mayhaveatencats @rockyeatrock @dreaming-of-the-reality @shirp-collector-of-fixations @gneepgnorpsneepsnorp @skerbablo | ask to be added <3
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lazysoulwriter · 3 days ago
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Between the Lenses and the Track -Charles Leclerc.
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hes so....
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The first time you met Charles Leclerc, it wasn’t exactly glamorous. You were adjusting your camera settings in the Ferrari garage, focused on the telemetry screens reflecting off your lens, when a hand suddenly appeared in your frame, waving dramatically. You lowered your camera just in time to see Charles grinning at you.
“Got the shot?” he asked, playful as ever.
“Ruined it, actually,” you deadpanned, tilting your head. “You owe me a better one.”
From that day on, Charles made it his mission to provide you with ‘better’ shots—though most of them consisted of him making faces, posing ridiculously, or sending you exaggerated winks through your lens. It became a running joke between you two, a small part of your routine in the fast-paced world of Formula 1.
But somewhere along the way, your dynamic began to make headlines.
'Charles Leclerc’s Mystery Woman—Just a Photographer or Something More?’
'Flirty Glances in the Paddock—What’s Going On Between Ferrari’s Golden Boy and F1’s Shutter Queen?’
It was ridiculous. You were just friends, but neither of you ever bothered correcting the assumptions. If anything, Charles found it hilarious.
“Should we address the rumors?” you asked once, scrolling through yet another speculative article.
“I think we should fuel them,” he smirked. “Keep them on their toes.”
So, the flirting turned into an unspoken game. Post-race interviews? Charles would sneak in a comment about how he only pushes for pole position because he knows you get the best shots from there. Press conferences? If you were nearby, he’d find a way to mention your name. Once, he even called you his ‘good luck charm’ on live television, winking directly at your camera.
The fans ate it up.
It was harmless, right?
Until it wasn’t.
It happened in the backstage area of a Grand Prix weekend. The session had ended, and most of the paddock was clearing out. You were sorting through the hundreds of pictures on your camera when you heard footsteps approaching.
“Busy as always,” Charles teased, leaning against the table beside you.
“Unlike some people, I actually work,” you quipped without looking up.
“Ouch,” he placed a hand over his chest, mock-offended. “And here I was about to invite you to dinner as a thank-you for all the flattering angles.”
You rolled your eyes but smiled. “Flattering? You make my job harder with all those stupid faces.”
“I give you personality,” he defended.
You turned to him, shaking your head with amusement. It was always like this—effortless teasing, easy chemistry. But then his gaze lingered just a little too long, his smirk fading into something softer, something more intent.
Your breath caught.
It was just Charles. Your Charles. The same guy who made dumb jokes and dramatically posed every time he saw your camera pointed his way. But suddenly, standing here in the quiet, the air between you had shifted. It felt heavier. Loaded.
His fingers brushed against yours, barely a touch, but enough to make your skin burn.
“Careful,” you murmured, trying to keep the teasing tone, but your voice came out weaker than intended. “The media’s watching even when they’re not.”
He chuckled, low and knowing. “Let them watch.”
And then he kissed you.
It wasn’t playful, wasn’t a joke or another inside reference to keep up the act. It was slow, deliberate, like he was waiting for you to pull away. But you didn’t.
You let yourself melt into it, into the warmth of his lips, the way his hand came up to cup the side of your face like he’d wanted to do it for longer than he’d ever admit.
When you finally pulled back, your heart was hammering. Charles, however, just grinned.
“So,” he said, voice still low. “Should we fuel the rumors some more?”
You laughed, breathless. “I think we just did.”
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globaloppaaa · 10 hours ago
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how do we feel about boynextdoor having cuteness aggression :ppp
oh i KNOW they’re hiding it fr. thank you so much for requesting! i love little chats with my anons :))
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warnings: none i believe!
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leehan really does try to keep it undercover, and i think he does the best job at it? he can be really calm in most public situations, but when you two are alone? ohhh that’s a whole different challenge, because now he has you all to himself. he’ll slowly start to break, giving you quick, snarky remarks so that hopefully you won’t notice the blush creeping up on his face. but if you place his face in your palms and straight up ask him what’s wrong, he’s a stuttering mess.
“you’re always puffing your cheeks like that y/n, do you only get like this for me?”
(he’s silently combusting inside.)
jaehyun is not your strongest soldier. anywhere and anytime he is with you he just erupts into this fit of coo’s and pouts. he really can’t control it. try walking past him and watch the way his eyes widen as they linger on you, then his fingers start to tremor, then he’s pursing his lips trying to keep in how cute you look wearing his clothes… before you can even ask why his head looks like it’s about to explode, there he goes!
“oh my god look at you. how could you do this to me??”
“im wearing your shirt? didnt you ask me to-”
“i can’t take it anymore!”
sungho is another one who tries veryyy hard to keep his cool. he’s actually super sensitive about his and your feelings, which makes him attentive to your every move, but he feels so embarrassed ogling at you 24/7, so he mainly tries to find any kind of distraction to keep himself off of you. It’s hardest for him to keep it in when he hasn’t seen you in a while though, he’ll do his best but trust his hugs will be tighter and his kisses just a bit more feverish.
he scoops you into his arms, entangling you in such a strong embrace that you find it hard to exhale when he finally lets you go.
“sungie did you miss me that much?”
“you have no idea.”
taesan is gonna try to be soo nonchalant about it, but his inner romantic is screaming and clawing at his skin. forget him maintaining his dignity during any kind of conflict with you. the way your eyebrows furrow, and how you pout your lip for only him to see, oh and if you put your hands on your hips? hes a goner. can’t even remember what the initial argument was for because now he’s enamored. absolutely has to squish your cheek or squeeze you physically to get the frustration out.
“baby, you can’t keep doing this to me.”
“doing what?”
“there you go again, i said stop it!”
riwoo is like, totally natural about it? i feel like cute things are just a regular part of his daily life, and he’s always appreciated those softer, cuter moments with you. rather than getting aggressive he just basks in the cuteness with you. is NOT afraid to tell you you’re cute, because how could he try to lie? when riwoo sees something cute he just HAS to have it. though he does say it so often that you have to question what exactly is so cute to him, do you ever get an answer? nope.
“aww look at you!”
“riwoo baby you’re doing it again.”
“i can’t help it, look at you!”
woonhak is like, the worst person to keep collected about this. he gets overly expressive and dramatic when he’s talking to anyone, so when he’s talking to you up close and your big doe eyes have his full attention, it’s 10x worse. as soon as the rage hits he’s already making a fool of himself. He’s fighting it so hard in hopes it’ll help the agression subside, but he doesn’t realize he’s practically yelling over his own thoughts and laughing ridiculously to try and cover the thumps of his heartbeat.
“woonhak is everything ok?”
“YEAH YEAH ITS SO GOOD, YOU JUST LOOK SO GREAT TODAY. IS IT HOT IN HERE OR IS IT JUST ME-“
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beomiracles · 2 days ago
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𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 TAPE 02
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𝓓𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝓔𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐘 ⸝⸝ Moving rapidly through your career as one of the leading female investigators, you never once encountered a case you couldn't crack. Though you never expected for your past mistakes to come back and haunt you in the form of an ex lover, accused of murder. ⸝⸝
𝓹airings criminal!beomgyu x detective!reader 𝔀arnings drinking, kissing, red flag beomgyu but what's new, references to them hooking up, descriptions of blood/gore/murder, surprisingly little warnings for such a long tape, but it's just... vibes through and through I can't explain it okay?
📼 THE TAPE RECORDINGS
𝓣𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝓢𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 contains dark themes portraying unhealthy and toxic relationships and substance abuse. reader discretion is advised ! — this story is partly told in flashbacks, beware of timestamps as past/present are mixed throughout the story.
#serene adds ✎.. heh, this one's a mouthful, but that's only because it's the original 02 and 03 merged heh, plus my own fleshed out version of course. hmm, I really like this part though, a personal favourite :3 absolutely would cry if I got to hear ur thoughts on it !!
[ ▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။| TAPE 02 ] — Red Lipstick Stains recording length: 9.8k
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📼 — PRESENT TIME ; February 19th 2024
“Is everything alright?” 
Kai’s light voice slices through the dark clouds looming over your head and your gaze snaps up to meet his. “You’ve barely touched your food”, he says as he motions toward your still full plate. You follow his line of sight, heaving a small sigh as you prop your head on one of your hands. 
“Not feeling particularly hungry today I suppose”, You mumble as you push said food around leisurely with your fork. It was kind of Kai to offer you lunch like this, your junior often did his best in trying to please his colleagues, sometimes you wondered if Kai ever gave himself credit for his hard work. 
Kai puts his own fork down as he swallows. His big brown eyes search yours, much to no avail as you keep them trained to your plate with a displeased frown. He clears his throat, “Does it have anything to do with your new case this morning?” He asks the question hesitantly, like he was afraid of stepping on a nerve he wasn’t supposed to. 
Finally, you lift your gaze to look at him. Pulling your bottom lip between your teeth, you ponder your next words carefully. It wasn’t like you didn’t trust Kai, but Yeonjun had made it clear that what you were doing was technically against policy. Besides, Kai had never been one to keep secrets, especially not when pressured into confessings, which he more than often was. 
“Partly..” You slowly admit, “But for the most part I’m just tired, it’s been a long week as is.” You give a weak shrug as you reach for your glass, sipping on your water unenthusiastically. Kai, on the other hand, doesn't seem convinced as he studies you with a small frown. Still, he seems to respect your boundaries and doesn’t try to pry further. 
You give him a faint smile, “Sorry, I’m not exactly good company right now.” But your junior quickly shakes his head, immediately objecting. — “You’re always great company, noona.” Both the compliment and the formality makes your smile widen, Kai really was adorable. 
“You’re great company too, Huening.” 
He blushes furiously at that as he quickly occupies himself with his own food. You liked spending time with Kai, he was easygoing, despite his somewhat awkward compliments. The atmosphere always felt light when he was around. The restaurant he’d taken you to was small and quaint, situated just across the park. And though the flowers had yet to bloom and the treetops remained naked, you found it a beautiful sight. 
Beomgyu had rarely taken you out to restaurants. In fact, he’d rarely taken you out at all, anywhere besides those clubs and dark hotel rooms at least. Back then you failed to see the issue with that, but then again, there were a lot of things you had disregarded in better judgement of Choi Beomgyu. 
⸝⸝ 
📼 — March 31st 2022 
Three days was actually an awfully long time when you waited for something. And it felt even longer when you didn’t know if what you waited for would ever come. In fact, these past three days had felt like three years. — 72 excruciatingly long hours without Beomgyu, and for every single one of those hours, you had not stopped thinking about him. 
On your way to class, in class, at work, at home, with Kayla. Oh. That’s right. You had yet to tell your friend about your quickie out in the alleway. It was better that way, or at least so you thought. She would only scold you for going against her words... But what if they had been said out of jealousy? You shouldn’t take them too seriously, right? 
Sex wouldn’t kill you. — But it would definitely get you addicted. 
This newfound abstinence somehow grew with each passing day. You thought you would’ve moved on by now, forgotten him, just like he’d forgotten you. It was obvious that what had transpired between the two of you three days ago had merely been an exchange of pleasure. Beomgyu hadn’t as much as looked back when you parted ways, neither had he given you his number, or taken yours. 
It was a one time thing, no strings attached, literally. Perhaps his nonchalance after sharing such an intimate moment should’ve been your first warning. 
Briefly you wondered if things would’ve turned out differently, had you taken a cab home that night and forgot about the alluring stranger. But there was no changing the past, and now you were to live with this decision, for as long as you could remember.
It was late, well past midnight on a Tuesday night when your otherwise dry phone chimed with a notification. The bright screen illuminates your dark bedroom, and your attention diverts from the coursebook in your lap and over to the small device. With a perplexed frown, you reach for it. As you squint against the near blinding brightness, you find an unfamiliar number on screen.
The sender had left one message. An address and a time. 
2am.. And in an area you did not recognize. A small and uneasy feeling settling within the pits of your stomach as you re-read the text over and over. Despite every reasonable sense in your body practically screaming for you to block whoever this was and forget about it, you can’t seem to find it in you. 
Instead your shaky fingers begin to type out a reply. 
“Who is this?”
Message not delivered. Huh? Why wouldn’t it let you… Something was wrong, very wrong. But despite your inner turmoil, the winning side ends up being the one that forces you out of bed as you stumble toward your dresser. — The sender had left no signature, yet you were almost certain of its source. A small sense of hope surges through you, and it is what compels you to go through with this utterly idiotic decision. 
Your arms wrap around your skimpily dressed body. Spring has yet to take hold on the biting frost that still lingered. With urgent steps, you scurry through the narrow alleyway. The light of your phone screen illuminated your way amongst the unfamiliar buildings and the further you got from the main street, the heavier your heart grew. Had this been a mistake? What if someone was luring you out here to kill you? 
Finally, there’s light. But it is not the warm and comforting glow of the usual streetlights. No, this is a purple, almost pinkish hue. It paints the brick walls around in a soft sheen. Your pulse quickens as you near the entrance of what you assumed to be another nightclub. It was strange.. You hadn’t heard of this one, nor was it anywhere to be found online. 
There’s a man by the doorway. You find your gaze lingering by his broad shoulders, his thick arms looking ready to rip through the tight shirt he wore. Your breath hitches in your throat when you catch a glimpse of the multiple tattoos of different symbolism covering his veiny forearms. Did he not get cold? 
The bouncer looks down at you, for he was tall as a skyscraper, and raises a brow. “You lost?” He asks, his voice is gruff, carrying a mocking tone as he watches you expectantly. — Nervously you shift on the spot, your mouth opening and closing repeatedly as you fumble for words. “I uh…” 
He chuckles, the sound echoing through the alleyway as he throws his head back. “It’s alright - What you’re looking for is probably down the street and to your right.” He nods in said direction, a smug grin stretching across his lip when his gaze falls on you once more. — “It’s more, your style”, he slowly adds. 
You can’t help the offended frown that flashed across your face. Your style? Sure you wouldn’t argue over the fact that this was unlike anything you’d usually do. But this was just insulting. How dare he speak to you like that, how dare he… — Oh but who were you kidding? You looked nothing like those who would spend half their awake time here. 
What were you even thinking, coming here, all alone no less? There was no way you would be let inside. — Such a waste of time. 
With a heavy sigh, you readjust your grip on the small handbag you’d brought, turning on your heel as you prepare to leave, when suddenly, a voice calls for you. It’s familiar, much so that it makes your stomach flip as you freeze up. Beomgyu. — Slowly glancing over your shoulder, your eyes lock with his dark ones. 
Beomgyu pushes past the bouncer who immediately gives a quick bow and steps aside. “Dollface”, he exhales, the nickname still sticking as he wraps an arm around your waist, making the hairs on the back of your neck stand. “You made it.” 
You can barely protest as he pulls you to his side, your bodies clashing against one another as he heads for the entrance he’d just emerged from. Upon passing the bouncer you think you might hear him whisper something to the man under his breath, though you remain unsure of what exactly transpired between the two. 
Given your not-so-broad expertise of clubs, you would say that at first glance, this place was no different. But as Beomgyu leads you through the crowded dance floor you slowly begin to realize that this was something entirely new. — This whole place felt almost exquisite, and the people here seemed aware of it. 
There was no bar, instead drinks were being served by the many waiters pacing the outlines of the main floor, all of them wearing the same black uniform. Large, velvet clad booths line the walls, and you expect Beomgyu to take you to one of them. — His gaze, however, seems fixed on the large staircase on the other side of the room. 
Quickly you notice the lingering glances you receive. Well, the lingering glances he receives. All eyes seemed to be on him as Beomgyu swerves his way through the crowd. Did he know these people? Did they know him? They have to, given the way they all stepped aside when he passed. 
You, on the other hand, were barely spared as much as a quick look, apart from a nasty scowl delivered by one of the many hooker-looking women. — What made Beomgyu so special here? 
Suddenly, his hand on your lower back feels heavy, like his fingers were going to sink into your skin and leave a permanent indent. If Beomgyu felt their stares, it didn’t seem to affect him in the slightest. Biting down a shudder, you keep your gaze trained ahead as you follow along, reaching the grand staircase with a sigh of relief. 
When you make it to the top, a pair of double doors are immediately swung open and you step inside. Your eyes scan the more desolate area, drinking in the expensive looking furniture, the extravagant booths and the quiet murmur of those chatting with one another. Suddenly you understood… “Isn’t this the VIP section?” 
Beomgyu huffs at your question, his lips pulling into a small smirk as he nods. “Clever girl.” 
As he steers you toward one of the larger booths, you realize that you wouldn’t be all alone. A man who looked to be in his late twenties sits by the round table, his leg propped on one knee as he swishes a drink in his hand. You did not recognize him, but had you seen him out on the streets one lonesome night, your first instinct would have been to run. 
“Duri!” Beomgyu’s exclamation carries out into the otherwise quiet but hot air and the man lifts his head as he peers in your direction. He sets his drink down, shifting in his seat when the two of you approach. — “And here I was beginning to think you had stood me up”, Duri says, a wide grin on his face. His gaze drifts to Beomgyu’s hand, still secure on your lower back. 
“Ah”, he exhales, “Now I see what kept you from me.” He sends you a not-so-subtle wink, but it didn’t feel the same way it had when Beomgyu did it. 
You clear your throat, it would be rude not to introduce yourself, right? — “Hi, uh…I..” Upon giving him a small, rather awkward wave, Duri suddenly bursts into laughter. He continues for a good thirty seconds, despite neither you or Beomgyu joining in, the latter seemingly unamused. 
“Pretty little thing you’ve got there”, Duri comments as he brings his glass to his lips, “What’s your name, love?” 
“Oh! It’s-” 
Beomgyu’s hand slithers around your waist, giving your hip a firm squeeze. “Dollface. This is my old friend, Duri.” He gestures to the man in front of you, giving him an unenthusiastic look that contradicted his previous excitement. “Duri, this is dollface.” Beomgyu doesn’t give you an opportunity to protest, his demanding grip steering you toward the booth, sliding in next to Duri as he pulls you along. 
He doesn’t seem to notice the frown on your face upon settling against the cushion. “Nice to meet you”, Duri says, eyeing you carefully over the rim of his glass. — “Uh, you too..” You shyly mumble, squeaking when Beomgyu’s hand finds place on your thigh, his cold rings stinging your bare skin. 
His free hand quickly calls a waiter over who seems to be stumbling on his feet to get to your booth faster. Beomgyu’s eyes are suddenly on you, “What d’you want, dollface?” — Taken aback, you glance between him and the waiter, biting the inside of your cheek. “I’ll have whatever you’re having.” 
Beomgyu nods, turning back to the waiter with an indifferent expression. “My usual, make it two.” — As the man scurries off, you force yourself to relax as Beomgyu and Duri indulge in a conversation regarding topics you had little knowledge of. They used words and slang you couldn’t recognize, speaking in hushed voices, as if being eavesdropped on. 
Left with your own thoughts, your mind wanders back to just a few moments prior. Why hadn’t he introduced you? Was he ashamed, but why bring you along in the first place then. Your eyes drift to Beomgyu’s hand on your thigh, his fingers moving absentmindedly over your naked skin, making light tapping motions. 
Why had he invited you here tonight? You thought it had been for easy sex, but as you sit here, your back pressed against the expensive velvet, everything felt a little too formal. Did he have an ulterior motive for bringing you out here, and if so, what? 
You could feel the heavy stares sent your way, people were always looking, as if Beomgyu was some sort of artifact. They were never really looking at you, but you somehow felt as if placed under a microscope. — It was almost thrilling in a way, sitting so close to the thing everyone in the room silently seemed to desire, for reasons you couldn’t quite understand. 
“Open up.” 
Beomgyu’s thick voice pulls you from your trail of thoughts. Startled, you blink as the cool surface of glass presses against your lips. Obliging, you let him pour the liquor into your waiting mouth. It burns your throat, yet leaves an almost sweet aftertaste. “This is good..” You murmur, taking the glass from his hand. 
The smirk on his lips only grows, “Knew you’d like it, dollface.” 
His statement makes your chest flutter and you feel your own lips pull into a small grin. “Why, you seem to know everything about me.” It was supposed to come across as a joke, friendly banter if you will. But Beomgyu’s eyes twinkle with something beyond mischief, something slightly darker, something dangerously close to lust. 
“You’d be surprised”, is all he says, leaning back against the velvet cushion as he sips on his own drink. What was that supposed to mean? 
You had almost forgotten Duri, and you jumped in your seat when he suddenly clears his throat. “Well, it seems my date for tonight has arrived.” He rises to his feet, chugging the last of his drink before setting his glass down. “Pleasure meeting you ‘dollface’..” He gives you one final glance, scoffing before walking off to join one of the girls a few booths away. 
Beomgyu doesn’t pay him any further attention, his gaze fixed on something far ahead as he mindlessly drinks. — “Who was he?” You can’t help but ask, feeling your curiosity gnawing away at you. 
“An old friend”, he simply shrugs, clearly ready to discard the matter. But you were far from satisfied with his nonchalant response. — “Then why didn’t you introduce me, if he’s an old friend I mean?” 
The small frown creasing his forehead was the first of actual expressions you’d seen on him. “I did.” He replies shortly, setting his glass down on the small table in front of you. Shaking your head, you twist in your seat to look at him fully. “Why not my name?” 
You knew your persistence was getting to him when he sighed. “What’s it to him?” He was sounding almost defensive now, his agitated response only riling you up further as you sought answers. “So? He’s your friend.” 
“Perhaps…” Beomgyu exhales, his attention now turned to Duri who was feeling up the girl he’d joined not even three minutes ago. “But not one you should be acquainted with.” — “Why?” 
Beomgyu groans, running a hand across his face tiredly. “You’re being really difficult here, sweetheart..” — “Did he do something bad?” This time you couldn’t refrain from asking, from crossing a line you knew you couldn’t return from. 
“Haven’t we all?” He counters upon emptying the last of his drink and his words sound almost solemn. You frown, “Yes but-” 
“Drop it dollface.” His voice is cold, causing a shiver to run down your spine, leaving no room for arguments as he slams his glass down on the table. You gulp as your gaze drops to the drink in your hand, its once sweet taste now sour on your tongue. Was he angry with you? You couldn’t tell, for Beomgyu’s expression remained stoic as his hand returned to your thigh. 
His answer made you certain of one thing though. Duri was someone who did things he shouldn’t. You recall Kayla’s last words about Shay, about the substance abuse, about Beomgyu. Would that mean that he also… No. Maybe he just bought from him every now and then? A small amount couldn’t be that bad right? As long as he had it under control. 
Back then you didn’t know it. But Beomgyu loved his control, more than a lot of things, more than a lot of people. — You glance up at him once more, a thousand questions prodding at your lips, you choose one. 
“How did you get my number?” 
Beomgyu groans, “Fuck dollface, you ask a lot of questions.” His free hand slides up your arm, moving to the nape of your neck as he brings your lips to his in a hot kiss. Beomgyu was good at avoiding questions, perhaps a little too good. 
That should’ve been your second warning. 
⸝⸝
📼 — PRESENT TIME ; February 19th 2024
Beomgyu had barely changed during the ten months you’d gone without seeing him. His hair was still the same pitch black, though a bit more unkempt and thinner by the ends. He had acquired dark circles under his eyes, they made his face appear more hollow. It was almost like life itself had been drained out of him. — Yet his charisma persisted, and Beomgyu took every opportunity he could grasp in order to push and prod at your buttons. 
You rarely found yourself in doubt of your own abilities. In fact, you had been outstanding amongst your peers during your months in training. And to interrogate, to break even the most coldhearted criminal with your mere words, there was an undeniable satisfaction in that. But as soon as you had stepped foot inside the room you had been trained in for so long, all confidence was lost on you. 
How could you ever see through him, through Beomgyu. For over a year you had been trying to read him. To crack him open and peer into his mind. Sure, you had been taught different techniques and methods now, you’d practiced and then practiced again. This wasn’t the same, far from it. For Beomgyu was nothing like anyone you’d ever met before. 
Just looking at him right now made your head spin. 
“What’s your relationship to the victim?” You school your voice into professionalism, into a cool and detached one. No matter how hard of a front you put up, it felt as if he could see right through it. — Beomgyu doesn’t meet your gaze, making it impossible for you to look for clues within his eyes. He twists the rings on his fingers, one by one, almost methodically. 
A smirk you knew all too well tugs across his lips. “What’s your relationship to that man?” 
Your mind goes blank, your brows raising on your forehead as you glance around. The room was empty, just like it had been for the past thirty minutes. — “Please don’t divert from the subject when we’re-” 
“The one in the doorway earlier.” He’s not giving up, and you push back a shudder when his dark eyes flicker up to yours. It was clear that he was looking for an easy entry into your head. He was searching for any kind of insecurity you might hold, he would puncture it and slither inside, just like he always did. 
You recall the afternoon’s events, thinking back to your lunch with Kai. Carelessly you had let him drop you off by the interrogation rooms. Had Beomgyu seen him? That would be your only explanation. “That was my colleague”, you say, keeping your expression stoic, even when Beomgyu’s smirk widens. 
“Really?” He drawls, and whether he kept going because the matter intrigued him, or if it was to waste time on irrelevant topics, you didn’t know. His dark eyes flicker between yours and the door which you had emerged from half an hour ago. “Didn’t look like it to me.” 
There he goes again, spewing his nonsense as he waits for you to eat from his palm. Just like you used to. He didn’t have that power over you anymore, you told yourself that. — “What you think does not matter.” Your hands reach for files in front of you as you readjust them, buying yourself some much needed time as your attention diverts to the pictures attached. 
“What? He your boyfriend or something?” 
His question comes out half a statement, half a huff. A short breath of disbelief, an almost menacing look on his face. But you’re not stupid enough not to catch the subtle tick of his jaw, the way his dark eyes narrowed, if just a little. He rocks his chair back on its hind legs, patiently waiting for your response as he tries to gauge your reaction. After everything, he still thought he had a say in anything regarding your life, regarding you. 
“He might be”, you shrug, already flipping through the files in order to avoid confronting the topic head on. It was a lie of course. He didn’t have to know that. Beomgyu had lied to you too, at one point, it had gotten hard to differentiate any of the reality that had been vowed between his lies. 
“Bullshit.” 
The sound of his cuffed hands slamming against the old metal table is deafening, the front legs of his chair hit the ground once more with an equally empowering thud. He leans forward now, even more than what was both professionally and emotionally appropriate for either of you. — Briefly you thought that Yeonjun might interrupt, and you listen for the door. But he never comes. 
You don’t flinch, not even when his hot breath tickles your face. His brows furrow, the corner of his lips twitching. “He’s not your type”, Beomgyu plainly states, the words falling from his lips are so close that you could practically taste them on your own. — “Who says?” You quickly retort, immediately scolding yourself for letting your professionalism falter. 
Your small slip up doesn’t pass him unnoticed and Beomgyu smirks. “C’mon dollface, you forget I know everything about you.” — “Knew.” You’re quick to interrupt him, your voice sharp and almost snappy. “You knew everything about me.” 
“People change Beomgyu, I changed.” Your professionalism was slipping at a dangerous rate. You didn’t care. The satisfaction of hearing those very words leave your own two lips was far more enticing than the policy you had to follow. 
Beomgyu’s expression remains unfazed, his brows slightly raised on his forehead as he watches you with calculating eyes. His tongue swipes across his bottom lip mindlessly. Ring clad fingers tapping against the metal table rhythmically, mimicking the tick of a clock, the sound ringing in your ears. You swallow, forcing your breathing to remain regulated as you place your files down. “Let’s hold here for today.” 
The screech of your chair against the stone floor pierces the air as you stand up. Dusting off your pants, you intend to not spare him as much as a second glance when you head for the door. The cool handle sends a small spark of electricity through your palm as you grip it tight. But before you get the chance to turn it and step outside, Beomgyu speaks; 
“Is red his favorite color too?” 
Your body feels ice cold, your heart catching in your throat and your eyes widening as you gaze ahead. “What?” You echo as you slowly turn to face him. He chuckles, but the laugh holds no warmth. Not until his dark eyes fall on your lips do you realize what he’s talking about. Without being able to stop yourself, your fingers reach up to touch the fresh coat of paint you’d applied after lunch. 
The red lipstick that you had accidentally brought along this morning, the one you were supposed to get rid of. It had been but a mere coincidence right… The way it had presented itself so nicely on your dresser earlier that day. 
Beomgyu smirks, his fingers coming to a halt on the metal of the table in front of him. “You still look fucking irresistible in it”, he says, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth. 
You look away, not wanting to face him a second longer. It was torturous, everything about him was. It instantly reminded you of why you had walked away all those months ago, of why you had tried so hard to forget him, to bury him within the depths of your mind, somewhere unattainable. 
“My boyfriend thinks so too.” It’s all you say before quickly turning on your heel and swinging the door open. Your heart pounds in your chest as you step outside. Slamming the door shut behind you with a loud thud, you lean against it as you try to compose yourself. 
Fuck, he still made you dizzy. 
That night turned into a sleepless one. Spent going through the remnants of Beomgyu, the pieces of him you still carried. Many times you’d been at war with yourself. One side argued that you should rid yourself of him completely, start anew, in a reality without him. The other side, the one that felt more than it thought, desperately clung onto him, in every way it could. That side made you replay every single memory shared with him, the good and the bad ones, it made you cry deep into the night and it made you scream in frustration and anger. Yet it always seemed to win. 
You turn the lipstick in your hands, fingers gliding against the smooth tube. It had come in a small box, wrapped in gold and tied with a red bow. Your hands had trembled as you undid the ribbon, and Beomgyu had been watching you intently. — You could still feel the weight of his hand on your lower back, the other one caressing your thighs swung over his lap. 
When you had plucked the lid, revealing the shiny artifact, your eyes had widened. Your lips parted delicately as you glanced between the lipstick and him. “I… Beomgyu this is…” You had barely been able to finish your sentence, too astonished by the gift before you. 
“Try it.” He exhales, his breath warm against the side of your face. With a small nod of your head you screwed the bottom of the tube, revealing the deep red lipstick. The cosmetic melted across your lips like butter, and you carefully spread an even layer, painfully aware of his eyes on you. 
Gently smacking your lips once, you turn to Beomgyu, shy gaze meeting his hungry one. His thumb brushed along your chin, swiping away any excess product. “Now you look like a real doll”, he’d murmured, knuckles caressing your heated cheeks. 
“I’ll wear it”, you had whispered as you leaned into his touch. And Beomgyu had hummed, a soft sound of approval as he’d pressed his lips against your freshly painted ones. 
“Good, red is my favorite color.” 
⸝⸝
📼 — April 10th 2022 
Beomgyu was difficult. Not in the sense where he was vague. Because whenever the two of you saw one another it would always lead to sex, he would make sure of that. Naturally you thought it was a mutual benefit situation going on. It wasn’t something you were opposed to, even if the idea hadn’t enticed you before. He was just… different. 
It would always go the same way. He sent you an address and a time, you showed up. It was a simple deal, one that had occurred without either of you confirming it out loud. For each instance he would use a different number, an untraceable one. At first you’d tried to show disinterest in the matter, to act like it didn’t bother you. But the truth was it did, a lot. 
Usually it’d be a club, never the same as the last, and he would make sure to get you alone as quickly as he could. Tonight was different, tonight he’d booked a hotel room, just for the two of you. And in the darkness, where only the sounds of your panting breaths lingered once he’d pulled out, you suddenly found your thoughts wandering. 
Usually you’d pass out quickly, feeling oddly comforted in his warm embrace. But tonight you’re wide awake. He is too, for his fingers draw lazy patterns on your naked hip. You swallow, blinking twice as you try to push the images from your head, biting back the questions waiting on your tongue. You didn’t want to ruin this moment, it felt fragile, like one misstep could shatter the entire thing. 
Yet the aftermath of your orgasm still surged within the depths of your stomach. It gave you confidence you usually lacked. Craning your neck, you turn your face to peer up at him. Still unable to make out his expression in the dark, you hesitate, if only for a second before asking the one question that had been on your mind for nearly two weeks. 
“Why won’t you give me your number?” 
Your words felt deafening, like church bells ringing through the air a quiet Sunday morning. Beomgyu doesn't answer, his chest rising and falling under your cheek as his fingers stop on your hip. Had you overstepped? No, this was a perfectly reasonable question. So what was the problem? 
Beomgyu heaves a sigh, the huff of air blowing over the top of your head. “Don’t got one”, he replies, his voice echoing through the hotel room. 
Confused, you lift your head as you squint toward him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 
He shrugs, “Means I don’t got one.” 
You bite the inside of your cheek, hesitating. “Then how am I supposed to contact you?” Once the questions started spilling from your lips it seemed impossible to stop. You could tell he was getting annoyed by the second. — “You’re not”, he firmly states. His words manage to kill any lingering lust and warmth, the room suddenly felt cold. 
It was then, in that moment, that you realized that your relationship with Beomgyu was nothing more than a casual and mutual exchange of pleasure. You should’ve known that, suppose part of you always had, but his statement made it all the more clear. With a solemn expression you stare up at the ceiling, quietly mulling over his words. 
Sometimes it felt as if Beomgyu was made of ice. It was nearly impossible to get close, and even when you did, there was a thick layer concealing him. Nothing you said seemed to get him to melt, and anything regarding his personal life was kept stored deep within the cold. 
Beneath you Beomgyu shifts and you soon feel the warmth of his body disappear as he climbs out of bed. He doesn’t bother turning on the light but you can hear him pulling his clothes back on as he prepares to leave. — With a quiet kiss to your forehead he says, “I’ll text you.” And with that he was gone. 
It was the first time he’d left before you fell asleep. 
⸝⸝
📼 — April 17th 2022 
Days went by after that, and you didn’t hear from Beomgyu once. And when a whole week had passed since your night at the hotel, you were beginning to think that perhaps you never would. But if it was one thing you would come to learn about him, it was that you never had him where you thought you did. 
You were halfway through your morning lecture when you got his notification. A new number, a new address, just like usual. The relief and excitement that immediately flooded your senses should have been concerning. Did you long for him much so that even a simple text could get you worked up? It was almost as if you had become addicted. Everytime the unknown number flashed across your screen you knew that you would be getting your next fix. 
Anticipation flowed through your veins and you hurriedly stashed your books in your bag as soon as your professor finished talking. There was little time to waste. You walk with quick and fast paced strides, ignoring any of your classmates that tried to approach, all with friendly smiles on their faces. Any other day but today, you thought. Because today was about him. 
You reach the parking lot, all the way to your car and with your hand on the handle, a small tap to your shoulder makes you freeze. Twisting around on the spot, your eyes widen as they land on your slightly panting classmate.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry Taehyun, I didn’t realize you were..” 
Your classmate waves a dismissing hand, shaking his head as he catches his breath. “It’s alright”, Taehyun clears his throat, a small grin spreading across his face. Taehyun was perhaps the only friend you had made during your time spent studying criminal justice. He was easy to talk to, and made your courses somewhat easier. You would often partner up for group projects, and this time around was no different. 
“I was wondering if you’re free tonight, for our project y’know..” He mumbles as he scratches the back of his neck sheepishly. Biting the inside of your cheek, you glance between your waiting classmate and the phone still gripped tightly in your hand. — You were supposed to meet Beomgyu tonight. 
Then again, was it really such a good idea to put your own personal needs and pleasure above your important studies, not to mention Taehyun’s as well? Beomgyu had seemingly little care for your own schedule, yet you were breaking your back trying to be there at his every beck and call. — Your eyes meet Taehyun’s hopeful ones, and in that moment you can’t bring yourself to tell him no. Fact is he had actually asked you like a decent human being, rather than sending a simple text from what could only be a burner phone. 
“If you’re not free we can totally reschedule..” — “Does 6:30 work for you?” 
Taehyun blinks, seemingly taken aback before quickly nodding, “Sure!” 
Perhaps this was just what you needed, a little distraction. Part of you wondered what would happen when you didn’t show up tonight, another part didn’t want to find out. 
⸝⸝
Your afternoon was spent like most, cleaning tables at the restaurant in which you worked part time. The hours didn’t pay a lot, but it was enough to get you through the month as you balance your studies. Having hit off with both the owners and their son, you often found yourself staying for dinner or even getting sent home leftovers from the day. Their kindness was remarkable and you made sure to work hard in order to repay them. 
It was nearing the end of your shift, the restaurant was fairly vacant and you had all but much to do. Upon clearing the last table, the doorbell suddenly chimed, announcing the arrival of new customers. Instinctively you turn to greet them — only to freeze in your tracks as your eyes fall on the small party of men. They were all dressed head to toe in black, some even wearing sunglasses despite the early spring season. 
The man by the very front caught your eye and your heart leapt out of your chest when you connected his face with a name. 
“You got any tables for five?” Duri’s booming voice sounds through the painstakingly empty room. He sounded nothing like the playful and almost flirtatious Duri you had met a couple of weeks ago. You nod, “This way”, you say, trying your best to swallow down the lump in your throat as you lead them toward a secluded table by the corner. 
Upon handing them the menu, your gaze keeps flickering back to Duri. He had yet to show any signs of recognition and you were starting to think that perhaps he hadn’t recognized you at all. A temporary sense of relief washes over you, one that would quickly be disrupted as you begin taking orders. You save him for last, turning to him with the most friendly smile you could muster. 
Duri remains quiet, a sly smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. It didn't remind you of Beomgyu in the slightest, this man felt almost disgusting in a way. “Surprise me”, he then says before slamming the menu book shut. 
It isn’t until the kitchen doors fall shut behind you that you breathe out the tension you had allowed to build up during the past five minutes. What were the odds? Of all the restaurants why did he… You shake your head, dragging a tired hand down your face as you stifle a groan. — If he had recognized you, why didn’t he say something? 
You glance down to the notepad in your hand, their orders scribbled down hastily as you hurried to get away from them. The word “surprise” seems taunting as your eyes linger on the messy ink. A small frown tugs on your brows and you quietly tap the paper as an idea enters your mind. 
When bringing their food back out, you make sure to place Duri’s plate last, a rather strategic mood on your part. Your hands have an undeniable tremble to them as you tuck the folded note under the porcelain, making sure it peeks out just enough for him to see, and him only. Everyone else seems oblivious as they indulge in their meals, not paying you any mind even when you linger by their table for longer than needed. 
Duri on the other hand has noticed the piece of paper. He pulls it out between his middle and index finger, shooting you a questioning glance to which you subtly shake your head. Then he chuckles, the sound building deep within his chest as he shoves the note in his pocket. — You breathe out a heavy sigh of relief. 
With a quick bow you murmur a quiet, “Enjoy”, before turning on your heel and darting back to the kitchen. But before you make it to the large doors does his booming voice make you falter. “Thanks for the food, dollface.” 
⸝⸝
Takeout boxes and empty bottles of soju crowd the small coffee table in Taehyun’s living room. Perched on his old sofa, you and your classmate find yourselves engrossed in schoolwork, just like you had been for the past four hours. Time seemed to have little concept when spent in the presence of Taehyun and you found yourself having a lot more fun than you’d originally intended. 
Together you had been assigned to try and solve one of the many cold cases piling up at the office. It was a thrilling concept, it was something real and not fabricated by your professor for once. Using the little evidence there was, you and Taehyun play through the tape recordings of the few suspects interrogated. 
“Wait, play this part back.” Taehyun mumbles as he reaches for the record player. “Doesn't the ex-boyfriend sound suspicious here? You can clearly hear it in the way his voice breaks.” With his finger on the device, he increases the volume as he plays the tape back. You lean forward, your hands on your knees as you listen to the piece of audio. 
“I dunno..” You shrug, giving him a playful smile, “He sounds just like you.” Taehyun snorts, “As if.” Though he’s unable to refrain from grinning when he catches your giggle. 
“We haven’t played that one yet”, you point toward another cassette and your partner nods in agreement as he reaches for it. “Promise you won’t get scared?” He teases, to which you give his shoulder a push. 
Spending time with Taehyun was freeing, it was easy. But despite that, your subconscious kept wandering back to Beomgyu. A nervous feeling bubbled within your stomach, making your heart beat just a little faster at the thought of him. He’d occupied your mind for weeks now, holding your thoughts hostage and keeping you from focusing on what actually mattered. It was unfair, did he think about you like you thought about him? Hardly. 
And after slipping Duri that note, you could only hope he would receive the news of your changed plans. Would he be angry with you, or would he just not continue to see you at all. Not being able to directly contact him gnawed at you — for you wanted nothing more than to dial a quicker number and hear his voice on the other line, as pathetic as it might sound. 
Suppose it was a good thing after all. Had you had his number you probably wouldn’t be able to refrain from texting him. Yet you felt completely powerless like this, as if he was holding the strings and you were simply dancing along, just like he wanted you to. 
A small, shameful part of you felt jealous. What if he’d called someone else. Surely you weren’t the only woman he saw. But you were still special. He never saw those girls again, they were temporary, so you told yourself. Not you though, you weren’t temporary. You were someone he would call for, over and over again, you were special. 
“What do you think it’s going to be like?” Taehyun’s voice suddenly interrupts and you blink as you glance toward him. “Sorry what?” You dumbfoundedly ask, embarrassed over having spaced out like that. But your classmate only smiles, that stupidly warm and comforting smile of his. — “What do you think it’s going to be like? Out there I mean, when we finally make it.” 
You purse your lips, you had never really thought about it like that. Sure, you had known for a long time that you wanted to be someone who did good, someone who served justice and spoke for those who couldn’t. But you had never actually stopped to think of what it would be like when you were actually out there. 
You send Taehyun a lopsided grin, “I think it’s going to be awesome.” 
⸝⸝
📼 — PRESENT TIME ; February 20th 2024
The sound of car doors slamming shut echo throughout the narrow alleyway. Upon stepping out the distinctive smell of sewage water invades your senses. Yeonjun, too, makes a face of disgust as he steps out beside you. “Fucking hell”, he mutters as he pinches the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses further up in the process.
The area was run down, yet nothing out of the ordinary. A small apartment complex loomed before you. The building was covered in graffiti and a multitude of its windows had been broken, making you assume that rent stayed on the cheaper end. — You didn’t have to stop and ask what kind of people lived here, you were far too familiar with the setting. Perhaps that was why you felt comfortable with taking the lead as you approached the small stone-staircase leading to the front door. 
Bright yellow tape highlights the door concealing the crime scene, reading out the words ‘DO NOT CROSS’ in bold text. Pushing said tape aside, you rummage your pockets for the set of keys you’d been provided. The old wooden door makes a squeaking side upon being opened as it slowly reveals the tiny flat. 
The sewage smell outside had been a mere foretaste of what was to come, and as the stench of dried blood hit you had to refrain from gagging. Behind you, Yeonjun remains silent as he lets you venture inside first, obviously interested in seeing your take on the scene. And while such a thing would’ve usually honored you, it somehow felt more like a curse today. 
It’s dark inside the apartment. The windows were boarded up in order to divert any unwanted attention and the air had become humid due to the confined space, in turn only increasing the sickly sweet and rotten smell of human blood. 
You mimic your senior’s actions of bringing out a flashlight, flicking it on before pointing it out before you. The frontdoor had led into an all but spacious hallway, following it took you to a tiny living room. — Something about crime scenes always makes you feel a melancholic sense of nostalgia. Whatever scene you were currently witnessing had been the last thing someone else ever had. It was a place where they had taken their very last breath, a time capsule, forever frozen in time. 
Chaos has spread through the open area, and instead of stumbling across a huge pool of blood, you find that it’s everywhere. It covers the coffee table, some having dripped down onto the fluffy carpet beneath. The couch is stained, as are the walls leading out into the bedroom. 
“They fought”, Yeonjun suddenly comments as he squats down by the sofa. He points his flashlight in the direction of the torn pillows, the indent of what had undoubtedly been a knife remaining. “He seems to have put up a hell of a fight”, you murmur as you gaze along the bloody handprints across the lower regions of the walls. 
Your senior hums, “They started in the kitchen”, he gets up and turns toward the archway. You follow him inside the small room, your curiosity at its peak. “How do you know?” You wonder to which Yeonjun pulls out a plastic bag from the large backpack he carried. Your brows rise on your forehead as you survey the bloody knife concealed inside. 
“This”, he says before motioning toward the sets of knives on the countertop and your gaze falls on the empty spot. — “Whoever killed Park Baekhyun attempted it with this knife, which they got from here.” 
Yeonjun gestures toward the entirety of the space as he continues, “Besides, this room is far less blood stained than the living room, meaning the fight most likely erupted here and then progressed outside as the victim tried to flee.” — As you take in the state of the kitchen you realize that he’s right. While the room was certainly messy, with piles of unwashed dishes in the sink as well as old takeout boxes, it never appeared to hold any signs of direct trauma. 
You follow him back into the living room as Yeonjun continues to piece together the events of that night. “The victim used pillows to defend himself”, he pointed toward the torn cushions whose feathers lay scattered across the couch. Then he frowns, “He got hit, and badly.” — Your gaze follows the heavy trail of blood leading toward the bedroom. 
“It’s strange”, Yeonjun mutters under his breath. You can’t help but ask, “What is?” 
Your senior motions toward the handprints covering the lower walls, “He couldn’t walk.” 
Admittedly you didn’t quite understand what that had to do with the matter. So what if he couldn’t walk, his fate was sealed either way, no? But Yeonjun obviously saw something you didn’t. His abilities to tell as much from the situation intrigued you greatly, and you were eager to learn his ways. 
As you approach the doorway leading to the bedroom he says, “The autopsy showed a wound on his right leg. Now, presuming that to be the reason he couldn’t walk he would have to have been crawling, using the walls to push himself forward, that would explain the handprints.” Yeonjun points to the dried blood on the cream white walls and you follow his line of sight. “This would have given the offender a great view of his throat, yet he didn’t kill him here.” 
You frown, why not kill him if he had the opportunity? Why waste time like that unless… “He enjoyed the hunt.” Yeonjun firmly states as he stops on the threshold leading into the bedroom. With a quick glance down the hallway, his eyes linger on the front door. “But why aim for the bedroom and not the way out?” 
“Could there be something important here?” You chime in, rocking back and forth on your heels as you eagerly peek over your seniors shoulder and into the bedroom. Yeonjun nods, “Perhaps.” 
The room itself remains untouched, almost neat if not for the unmade bed and dirty laundry scattered around. Though the struggle of Park Baekhyun remains evident on the floor, a thick and heavy trail of blood dragging past the foot of the bed and into the joint bathroom. 
A queasy feeling settles within your stomach as you approach. Out of all the rooms in the apartment, this somehow felt darker. The air was thicker, the scent of blood stronger and the lingering feeling of death almost crushing. — Once a pearly white, now covered in red was the bathroom. And as soon as you stepped inside, you knew that this was where the victim had taken his last dying breath. 
The mirror, broken into a million tiny pieces, lay scattered across the floor like pieces of an unsolved puzzle. The sink had several large cracks in it, you guessed from banging something or someone against it. 
Worst was the bathtub. Filled to the brim with murky red water, the shower curtains ripped off their hangers, likely a panicked response or one out of pure rage. Bloody hand and finger prints adorn the edge of the tub. — Yeonjun sighs next to you, “Victim’s cause of death was asphyxiation”, he points toward the water, “He drowned.” 
It was then your heart sank as reality finally settled in. This could all be Beomgyu’s doing. At first it had felt surreal, seeing him after so many months. Finding out that he was the prime suspect of this case. You had managed to downplay the whole thing, you had denied, no refused to believe that the man you thought to have loved could have done something like this. It was a reality you had been dying for longer than you wanted to admit. 
But as you see the blood, the way the victim had clung to life until the very end. And Beomgyu had taken that from him. He had taken it without any remorse. And you’d watched the grin playing on his lips when you read the case files, you’d heard the smugness in his voice. He was proud of himself, of what he had done. 
You felt sick to your stomach. A hand clasped over your mouth, you shake your head. The room suddenly felt small, its walls closing in on you, shoving the cold hard truth in your face. 
Beomgyu had killed someone. 
⸝⸝
📼 — April 18th 2022 
You ended up staying over at Taehyun’s place that night, and the next morning you carpooled to school. It was easy to forget when you were with him, and class proved to be just as good of a distraction. Before you knew it 9am had turned into 12pm and you soon found yourself walking out of the lecture hall. 
Kayla was supposed to pick you up as your own car had been left at home. Your eyes scan the parking lot for her familiar little car, but in typical Kayla fashion she was probably running late. Deciding to just wait her out, you approach one of the nearby benches. — The spring day is a surprisingly warm one, a gentle breeze soothing over your face as you pull up your phone in order to try and reach your friend. 
You’ve barely made it down to the letter K in your contact list when someone suddenly takes the seat next to you on the bench. Your thumb hovers above Kayla’s name and your body grows rigid as you bite your tongue. You did not have to turn your head to know who it was, for the ring clad fingers that intertwine over his lap tells you everything you need to know. 
Beomgyu quietly hums next to you and you feel your blood go cold. His presence is both invasive and unsettling, and his silence certainly wasn’t helping. How did he know what university you attended — more importantly, why was he here? Because Beomgyu never asked to meet unless he wanted something, and you had never seen him like this, outside and in broad daylight. It terrified you. 
Daring a small glance in his direction, your eyes fall on the dark attire he wore. He gazes ahead as he watches your classmates pass with an almost bored expression on his face. Try as you might but there was no telling if he was angry with you or not. Had he not gotten your message and was that why he was here? Or had he gotten it and that was why he was here? 
You anxiously chew on the inside of your cheek, keeping your attention intently fixed on your phone in your hands. The thick silence seemed to drag on forever and you wondered when Kayla might show up, she would be far from pleased when she saw who you were chit-chatting with. 
“Criminal justice?” Beomgyu finally asks, his voice matching the monotone expression on his face. You give a small, almost unnoticeable nod. 
Beomgyu scoffs next to you as he leans back against the hard wood of the bench. He rolls his thumbs over one another, not bothering to glance in your direction. “I’m sure you’ll make a great little detective, dollface.” 
You couldn’t tell if he was being genuine or not, either way you decide against asking. Instead you fiddle with the elastic of your phone case as you await his next words. Your eyes met with a few whom you recognized from your lectures, most just gave awkward smiles, while others attention lingered on Beomgyu. It was safe to say that he stood out amongst the crowd. 
“You were busy yesterday.” He states and you suddenly remember your last conversation, the one which had ended on anything but a good note. — “School project..” You quietly murmur, choosing to leave Taehyun out of the equation. 
“Studies are important”, Beomgyu hums, and it seems as though he’s ready to drop the subject again. But of course you had to go and ruin it. “Did you… Get my message?” The question had been prodding at your mind since yesterday afternoon, and your voice is but a mere whisper as the words leave your lips. 
Beomgyu’s expression flashes with something you can’t quite place. It wasn’t fury but it highlighted his strong distaste for the topic. “Thought I told you not to acquaint yourself with Duri.” He sounds stern, and you felt like you were being scolded. Naturally your gaze drops to the ground and you swallow a gulp. “I know… But there was no other way for me to contact you.” 
“Because you shouldn’t.” He suddenly snaps, his tone teetering on annoyed. Suddenly your conversation begins to feel much like your last. The fear of him walking off on you resurfaces and it felt almost too much to bear. Perhaps that was why you had so abruptly turned in your seat to look at him fully. The action makes him tilt his head in your direction. “But that’s unfair.” 
“How am I supposed to just be available, what if something comes up? How would you know?” You were bordering on sounding whiny, but you couldn’t find it in you to care. Beomgyu raises a brow as he looks at you. You can’t tell if he’s considering your words or holding back laughter, but soon he smirks. “If you’re not available then you’re not.” He says it like it’s the simplest thing in the world, when reality it’s far from it. 
You frown, “Then what about you?” — He shakes his head, “You worry ‘bout yourself, dollface.” 
Your lips part in objection, but before the protest can slip, you hinder yourself. A bitter realization washes over you as you understand what he’d meant. Worry about yourself… Who were you kidding, he wouldn’t have to wait long for another girl to come along if you happened to be unavailable. How naive of you to think that what the two of you had was anything but causal, he’d already proven you that time and time again. 
Now you just looked like an idiot for trying to compromise with him. You bite your lip as you avoid his gaze, wanting to be anywhere but in front of him right now. And it’s almost as if he’s reading your mind because in no less than ten seconds does he rise from his seat. — This was it, he was leaving you again, just like he had that night, and there was nothing you could do to stop him. 
You watch as he makes his way across the parking lot with his hands in his pocket. Once he makes it halfway across does he turn to look at you. The smirk stretching across his face made your heart leap. “You comin’ or not, dollface?”
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stxrsniolo · 1 day ago
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ㅤִㅤㅤ ݁ ꉂ vitamin 'c' for cuddles ᴖ ֽ ㅤᷭ
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ㅤ﹙ 𝟑𝟑𝟑 ﹚ㅤּㅤㅤ˻ㅤaegan is typingㅤ˺⠀⠀gather round, for what you're about to read is as soft as a feather's touch: it's fluff, my lovelies, where hearts swell and smiles are sure to bloom. enjoy the warmth.
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chris knew y/n had been battling some dark clouds lately, and he wasn't about to let her weather the storm alone, so he showed up at her door, a smile on his face and a plan to inject some joy into her day, even if it meant being a little extra.
they settled into the couch, the comforting chaos of spongebob squarepants filling the room, a show that had always been their shared escape. they were tangled up together, a cozy mess of limbs and blankets, with chris's fingers weaving through her hair, his touch like a soothing balm. he was all about the physical affection, mimitos, as she called them, always hungry for touch, for closeness. as spongebob's laughter echoed, chris leaned in, his breath warm against her ear. "you're the best part of my day, even if you're having a bad one," he whispered, his voice a mix of goofiness and sincerity. y/n paused the show, the silence suddenly intimate. she turned to him, her eyes meeting his, and what followed was like a scene from a romantic comedy, but with more heart: chris, ever the clingy one, couldn't resist pulling her even closer, his arms wrapping around her like he was trying to meld them into one. "see, i knew pausing spongebob would lead to something good," he said with a grin, his eyes sparkling with mischief. their kisses started off sweet, each one a gentle reminder of their bond. "you taste like happiness," chris murmured, his lips barely leaving hers before diving back in for another kiss, this one a bit longer, savoring the moment. y/n laughed softly against his mouth, the sound like music to him. "only because you're here making me feel it," she replied, her fingers tracing patterns on his back. chris was all about the affection; his hands roamed, not with any intent other than to feel close to her; he loved grabbing her butt, not just because he was an ass guy, but because it was a playful, grounding touch for him, a way to anchor himself in their shared warmth. "this," he said, giving her a gentle squeeze, "is my happy place." their kisses varied, some long and languid, where they could feel each other's heartbeat through their lips, others quick and playful, like they were stealing moments from time itself. chris would pepper her face with tiny kisses, each one a little declaration of his love, his need for her. "you know i'm like a puppy, right? i need all the cuddles," he said, his voice a playful whine, his body shifting so he could nuzzle into her neck, inhaling her scent like it was his favorite thing in the world. y/n smiled, her hand coming up to stroke his hair, knowing full well how touch-starved he could be. "i know, and i'm here for all the cuddles you need," she said, her voice full of affection. they continued like this, their kisses a language of comfort, of love, each one a testament to their bond.
chris would occasionally make a silly comment, something about how kissing was scientifically proven to make you live longer, or how he was just making sure she got her daily dose of vitamin 'c' for 'cuddles'. their laughter mingled with the kisses, the room filled with an energy that was all theirs, a bubble of love and goofiness where nothing else mattered.
chris, with his clingy, affectionate nature, was exactly what y/n needed, turning a gloomy day into one of warmth, laughter, and the sweetest kind of love.
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onceonafullmoon · 2 days ago
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And they were roomates
Sae x GN! Reader
Arranged Marriage AU, slightly suggestive at the end, fluff, typed out in like an hour so it might be ass
Sae’s charming, in a typical book stereotypic way, his blunt, chilling demeanor, he’s like something out of a billionaire romance novel you’d pick up, but he’s also not. He watches Crayon Shin-chan, he cracks jokes (though sometimes you can’t tell if he’s serious or not), and he’s a massive weirdo (he finds the strangest things intriguing, an example being his choices of friends). And maybe that’s why you found yourself falling for him, because he’s a complete dork at times despite everything about his initial impression screaming otherwise.
Your relationship with Sae has always been quite stiff, but it’s not something you ever really minded when you thought about it.
Arranged marriages aren’t exactly supposed to be considered the prime of romance, but you haven’t really gone into this thinking that it would be some sort of romantasy book. At best, it’s a slightly awkward roommate situation with a healthy dose of boring that you’d find in any dorm situation.
The only difference is that you share a bed with a pillow between the two of you, (for your comfort more than his, you suppose he wouldn’t care either way) and the fact that his parents and yours will occasionally pester the two of you about your marital relations.
But other than that, it’s the standard roommate situation. Adjusting to each others schedules (he goes for runs at ungodly hours in the morning), setting rules (you’re not allowed to hog the shower in the evenings) and occasional roommate bonding activities (you and him have movie nights, and you strongly uphold the idea that Taxi Driver is a shit movie), it’s normal.
But you notice that lately, things have skewed slightly, you find yourself a bit too eager to see him when he comes home from  practices, discover yourself taking over for the cooking when you know he’ll be late, looking forward to hanging out with him. You notice that nowadays you don’t even bother to put the pillow down between the two of you when you go to bed.
It takes you a good while to realize, but you know that deep in your heart it was obvious. You have a crush on your husband.
And it’d be so silly of you to pursue that, these lingering feelings of affection, when you know he’s only in it for familial obligations, but still, you can’t help but fall for him.
Sae’s charming, in a typical book stereotypic way, his blunt, chilling demeanor, he’s like something out of a billionaire romance novel you’d pick up, but he’s also not. He watches Crayon Shin-chan, he cracks jokes (though sometimes you can’t tell if he’s serious or not), and he’s a massive weirdo (he finds the strangest things intriguing, an example being his choices of friends). And maybe that’s why you found yourself falling for him, because he’s a complete dork at times despite everything about his initial impression screaming otherwise.
Anyway, it all comes to a head one night as the both of you are baking in the kitchen, your hands and clothes stained with flour as you set to work rolling out the dough for cinnamon rolls, him being occupied with the creating the batter for the pumpkin bar recipe you showed him (you knew he wouldn’t eat any of your baked goods on the account of his diet, so you compromised with this). It’s simple and domestic, and you can’t help the way your heart races slightly in your chest as you try to focus on the way you carefully push your rolling pin across the expanse of the tan dough.
You’ve been absentmindedly chatting for sometime when suddenly the topic of your marriage is brought up, and you laugh as you tell him that you weren’t exactly sure what marriage would be, but you didn’t expect it to be like this.
“Is it worse or better?” Sae asks, pouring the batter into the tray carefully, using his spatula to maneuver the liquid out.
You pause to consider this as you reach over for your brown sugar and cinnamon mixture to spread over the dough. 
“It’s not worse than what I thought the worst case scenario would be, but it’s not better than the best case scenario.” You answer, looking at him with a slight smile.
He looks up at you then, mildly curious as he sets his bowl down, the batter spread out evenly in the pan in a way that’s so infuriatingly perfect compared to your slightly clumpy spread and speaks, his cool tone betraying nothing of his own feelings on the matter.
“And what would have been your best case scenario?”
You’re tempted to respond comically, an image of an Adonis with a heart of gold and the charisma of a prince flitting through your mind, your imaginary husband having both the ability to lead a university lecture and yet somehow also only listen to you during arguments, but you shrug and decide to be honest. 
“I think my best case scenario would have had a bit more romance.” You say, starting in on carefully rolling up your dough. 
“Not that we aren’t madly attracted to each other.” You add on as an afterthought, a slightly bitter smile on your face as you consider your own one sided secret infatuation. “Which reminds me, when exactly are you going to fall in love with me?”
You can already see his reaction, the blank look he’ll give you when you bother him too much with your jokes, a dry scoff leaving his lips as he stares at you with a disbelieving demeanor, probably paired with an eye roll if he’s feeling particularly catty.
“I already have.” He says instead, making you pause in your actions, your dough half rolled as you look up at him.
You can’t usually tell when Sae is joking, it’s true, but you can tell when he’s really serious about something, the way his body shifts to face you as he begins to talk, even the slow smooth candace of his tone, but the most important give away is the way his eyes narrow slightly, the green in them becoming even more piercing.
For a moment, you’re stuck there, frozen in place as the implications of the words really start to sink in, awe struck by the realization that what you wanted, what was something so close, yet so impossibly far away, was right there in your grasp.
And then the oven beeps, and the world resumes motion as you watch him absentmindedly put the tray inside, clueless to how you’re feeling as he shuts the door in place.
“I’ll be back later then, I’m going to shower.” He says, and you can’t tell if you’re still breathing. 
It must be nice being emotionally dense you think, but as you see a hint of a smirk on his face you realize that you might be wrong about his sensitivity towards emotions.
“You should be more firm with your boundaries starting now though.” He says over his shoulder. “I’ve got needs too and I won’t be able to hold back if you keep forgetting to put that pillow down.”
The words echo in your mind as you look after him as he leaves, your dough half rolled into a tube as you struggle to process what just took place. Eventually, you manage to form a single thought as you stand there, face flushed.
Asshole.
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sirhamburrger · 3 days ago
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worth it - m. kaiser x f!reader in which you decide to give it another shot with with each other.
tags/cw: exes to lovers, crack (see original req ask) || wc: 1k-ish (i have gone insane)
courtesy of kai’s cat café! - 150 followers event café menu || order progress asks closed.
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michael kaiser is convinced his life is 100% a joke. there’s no other explanation for why he’s currently sitting in a dimly lit, overpriced restaurant, waiting for a blind date that his best friend, ness, had insisted he go on.
it'll be fun, ness had said. you haven't dated since her, so just give it a shot.
michael doesn’t do blind dates, doesn’t do serious relationships, and he certainly doesn’t do surprises - which is precisely why he’d refused ness’s ridiculous proposition at first. but between his friend’s relentless nagging and his own begrudging admission that his love life had the excitement of a damp sock, he had caved eventually.
and now, as he swirls the wine in his glass like some kind of brooding movie villain, he wonders if this is the universe’s idea of a cruel prank.
because the person who just walked through the restaurant doors - the person he's meant to be on a blind date with - is none other than you.
michael nearly chokes on his drink at the first glimpse he gets of you. you don’t see him at first, distracted as you scan the restaurant, looking for whoever your own meddling friend had set you up with. when your eyes land on him, your entire body stiffens, and he watches as you cycle through the five stages of grief in record time.
he knows exactly what you're thinking, because he’s thinking the exact same -
out of all the people in the world, why you?
your relationship had ended on less-than-great terms. there had been yelling, multiple dramatic exits and even more dramatic re-entrances, and at one point, if he recalls correctly, a very unnecessary but satisfyingly cinematic slow clap. it had been over a year since the breakup, and though time was supposed to heal all wounds, he wasn’t sure if it applied to two people as ridiculously petty as the both of you.
you take a deep breath and approach the table, walking like someone being led to their inevitable doom. “this is a joke, right?” you say, pulling out the chair with a familiar enthusiasm - the enthusiasm with which one might do the dishes, maybe.
michael leans back in his chair, trying to appear nonchalant even though he’s nothing but. you look good, infuriatingly so.
“trust me, if i were trying to pull a prank, it’d be something a lot more elaborate than this.”
you sigh, shoulders slumping. “so, what? our friends thought it would be hilarious to set us up?”
“looks that way.”
silence stretches between you, heavy with the weight of tense, withering stares and poor life choices, and michael, for all his arrogance, finds himself at a rare loss for words. he should say something clever, maybe. something that would put him back in control of this bizarre situation. instead, he blurts out, “you look... less mad than i expected.”
you blink. “i just got here. give it a minute.”
a beat of silence. then, against all odds, you both snort at the same time.
somehow, you make it through the meal without either of you throwing your drinks in the other’s face. the conversation starts awkward, progresses to dangerous levels of sarcastic, and before long, you’re both swapping old inside jokes, complete with exaggerated impressions of each other. by the time dessert arrives, you’re laughing so hard you nearly snort crème brûlée out of your nose.
reality seems to hit the two of you, then, turning the sweetness of the custard bitter on your tongues.
you poke at your half-eaten dessert with your fork, your voice quieter when you finally speak again.
“do you ever wonder if we could’ve done things differently?”
he pauses, fork halfway to his mouth. he should brush it off, throw out some cocky remark. but instead, he casts his pride aside, sets his fork down and meets your gaze.
“yeah,” he admits. “i do.”
you nod as if you expected that answer. “at least we know our friends are absolutely useless.”
he scoffs. “truly the worst.”
the check arrives, and the night reaches its fated conclusion. you both step outside, the cool air nipping at your skin. for a moment, neither of you move, standing there like two characters in a sitcom finale that never got renewed.
finally, you exhale, pulling your coat tighter. “well. goodbye, kaiser.”
something in his chest tightens at the way you say it. he forces a smirk, shoving his hands into his pockets. “see you around, liebling.”
you roll your eyes at the old pet name but don’t comment. instead, you turn and walk away, down the block. the night seems to swallow you up in seconds.
he watches you go, exhaling. he should turn around and walk the other way. should go home, pretend this night never happened.
but then, just as you reach the corner, you stop.
you hesitate.
and then, as if it takes every ounce of courage you have, you turn back around.
“kaiser.”
he’s already moving before you say anything else, crossing the distance between you with the same reckless abandon he’s always had. you open your mouth, maybe to say something witty, maybe to say nothing at all, but he doesn’t give you the chance.
because before he can overthink it, before either of you can change your minds, he cups your face in his hands and kisses you.
it’s not perfect. it’s a little clumsy, and more a little desperate. but when you kiss him back, fingers tangling in the fabric of his jacket, he swears it might be the best decision he’s made in a long, long time. and when you finally pull away, breathless and a little stunned, you stare at him like you can’t quite believe what just happened.
michael grins, cocky and familiar and maybe just a little hopeful.
“so,” he murmurs, brushing a strand of hair from your face. “think our friends would find it hilarious if we gave this another shot?”
you laugh, shaking your head. “they’d be insufferable.”
he hums, tilting his head. “worth it, though?”
you pretend to consider it, but you both already know the answer.
“yeah,” you whisper, smiling giddily. “worth it.”
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scream4toji · 15 hours ago
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okok underground cage fighter toji all bloodied up *deeply inhales* i’ve been thinking of this for AGES. going to see him at a fight and watching him and then smut afterwards??? 👀
Bare-Knuckle Figher Toji x naive f. reader
(warning: Smut, +18 only nsfw, sex, unprotected sex, mention of blood, mention of act of exhibitionism, some grammatical errors- was rushing)
2.2k
It was the brawl of the year. A crowd had gathered to witness Toji Fushiguro bare-knuckle his way to the top, cementing his reputation in the underground scene. This was your first time attending one of these illegal fights. Watching people beat each other bloody, only to get stitched up by some quack doctor and thrown back into the cage like bait meat, had never appealed to you. But when your friends offered an extra ticket, it felt better than staying home and mindlessly flipping through channels.
What you didn't expect was for you to blend in with the crowd and start cheering. Throwing fists in the air every time HE landed a punch on his opponent. Each shout from the audience felt like an extra shot of adrenaline pumping through your body. Your eyes were dilated to take in the bloody scene, capturing each moment, mesmerized by the man who was fighting for his life. It wasn't the fight sucking you in. It was HIM.
And as you got closer to the cage, your fingers curled around the metallic wires, your heart racing to the rhythm of the chants ‘TOJI TOJI TOJi’ and your eyes locked for a brief moment.
In that brief moment, you notice his dull green eyes had faded. He received a heavy blow to the side of his face, and his handsome face was suddenly covered in blood from a busted nose and lip. All because he got distracted for a split second. Of course, you blamed yourself. But maybe he wasn't looking at you? Maybe it was someone else in the crowd he had captured with his gaze and allured them towards his heart. Yeah….why the hell would he be staring at you? Someone who wasn't really interested in this illegal barbaric sport yet you could watch him brawl for hours. You already planned to look up his Instagram and watch his training videos.
Luckily, a bloody lip and nose did not seem to affect Toji. For some reason, he caught a second wind and was landing punches with a newfound desire to win. He felt revived and perhaps the bloody face woke him up from his daze because he won the match and the crowd cheered frantically. The frenzy was unreal. And soon you were pushed to the back of the horde as everyone frantically moved ahead to get a good look at their champion. Eventually, he was out of your sight and your grasp. That was the end of your short-lived fantasy.
—————-
You were waiting outside for your Uber. It was a cold winter night and you didn't exactly dress weather-appropriate. You were told it would be hot and suffocating in the basement of the bar and so you wore a skirt and a tank top. Luckily you had a hoodie to shield your upper body from the cold air. But your legs felt like stiff rods.
It was 11pm and the post-match party was fully underway. More people were dropping by to attend the party. You had work tomorrow so it was best to wrap up your little nightly adventure and head home, with a new interest at heart. His bloodied-up face flashed before your eyes and how your eyes met for a brief moment. That split second spoke volumes. It was enough for you to fall for him.
But you will never see him again. This was a one-night experience because it was really hard to get tickets for illicit events.
Your phone dings. Your Uber is here. As you step forward to get into the Toyota Camry, someone else steps forward and proceeds to open the door. You look up and notice a large muscular man in a hoodie trying to steal your ride. You glance at your phone to confirm the licence plate before you make your next move.
“Hey Excuse me! This is my ride!”, you explain with a bit of attitude in your voice.
The man turned around and you barely got a glimpse of his features under the hood but you recognized him immediately! From this day forth you will always recognize him.
It was the fighter who captured your heart. Toji Fushiguro. Your heart quivered and your knees were about to buckle. His face was patched up good. Tissues stuffed up his bloody nose and a steri-strip on the side of his lip that was sure to leave a scar.
“Ya sure bout that?”, he asked while opening the car door for himself. You also noticed his bandaged-up knuckles and taped wrist.
“Um ya. But that's ok. I’ll call another”. Your tone was quick to change.
“Nah… ya paid for this one. I thought it was a taxi”, he said and was about to step back from the car but stopped when his manager walked out of the building.
“Hey Toji. Can’t have ya staying the night on your own. You just got a damn good concussion and need monitoring”, his manager, Shiu, explained.
Shiu looked at you and then back at Toji and then back at you. Of course he misunderstood the situation. “Unless you picked up a fine date and plan to spend the night together”, Shiu continued.
Toji wasn't ready to be lectured. He rests his hand across your shoulder and begins to lead you towards the Uber. “Just play along”, he whispered once he got you into the car and slid in beside you. He looked out at Shiu and gave him a ‘happy mom?’ look and his manager just gave him the middle finger and walked away.
It happened all so fast. Your heart was pounding and his arm was still casually resting on your back. Toji could most definitely feel your intense heart racing. The car began its journey towards its destination, your house.
“Sorry doll. He can be such a pain ‘n the ass”, he spoke, his voice muffling out the thumping of your heartbeat.
“It's alright”. That was all you could manage to say. You opened your mouth several times but would quickly seal your lips back up.
“So ya live ‘round here?”, he asked while lowering the hood of his hoodie as he felt he was safe to expose himself.
“Yeah. 10-minute drive. You?”, you stupidly ask. As if a famous guy engaging in illegal activities would reveal his whereabouts.
“Out in the country with the cows. So….”, there was a long pause from him as he stared at you. You looked up at him and a bright blush spread across your cheeks from his intense gaze. “I saw ya watchin’ my match earlier. You like fights?”
“Um no…” you replied, unable to even process what he just asked. Your nervous brain fog was kicking in.
“Well you sure were into it. You like to see me fight?”, he asked again, trying to understand you.
“Ya”. Again you just stared at him, honest with your answers but also not giving much for him to work with.
“Is that so”, he chuckled. He realized his nostrils were still stuffed with bloody tissues. He removed them quickly and tossed them out of the window. “So you gonna take care of me?”, he asked.
“Pardon?” His question pulled you out of the star-struck daze.
“Take care of me? Can't be left alone, remember? Got hit in the head too many times”, he poked the side of his forehead with the index finger.
“Oh!” Why couldn’t you string up a decent sentence?
“Oh? Gonna take that as a no?”, he tried to confirm. Your nervous behaviour was quite endearing in his eyes.
“No. Yes. I mean….”, you try to get the words out but no matter how you answered him, you were defeated by your own tongue.
Toji chuckled and shifted in the car seat so his thigh was rubbing against your bare legs. “Ya got 5 more minutes to decide doll. Or else I gotta order me another ride”, he whispered into your ear, his patched-up hand resting on your thigh under your skirt, his intentions became clear.
————-
You tried to offer him some tea or a meal but he refused. He was only interested in one meal, you. He sat on the couch, his eyes watching you closely, studying your every move. That had become a habit as a fighter, watching people how they moved and predicting their next series of maneuvers.
You sit beside him, a TV remote in one hand and you start fidgeting with the channels. It may feel like you were acting like a nervous child but could he blame you? This was the first time you ever brought in a random stranger into your house whom you just met for barely 10 minutes and all you knew was his name, his occupation and the name of his manager. For all you know, he could be a killer or hitman on the side. One thing was for certain, you came to realize you had a knack for bloodied-up muscular men who can fight a good fight.
He noticed you side-eyeing him from time to time. He pulled off his hoodie to reveal his toned muscular body, the tight compression clothing fully displaying his assets. He leaned back into the couch with his heavy arm resting on the back of the couch, behind you.
You give him some more side eyes, your thighs now rubbing against each other to ease off the burning heat. Of course any subtle movements and he would be quick to notice.
“Gettin’ a little hot down there?”, he asked shamelessly.
Your eyes are wide in shock and you just focus straight ahead at the TV to avoid his question.
He lowers his hand down towards your thigh and you allow him to crawl under your skirt. His bandaged hands felt rough on your smooth soft skin.
He casually lifts up your skirt and leans forward and clicks his tongue. You were wearing light purple underwear and there was an obvious wet spot between your plush thighs.
“Gettin’ very hot down there”, he answered his previous question.
You could be dying from embarrassment right now but your primal urges took over and you spread open your legs to give him a better view and access. His own dick was ready to spring out but he had to make sure you were ready for it.
He humbled you. He fuck'n humbled you when he slid off the couch and onto his knees, face buried between your thighs, his tongue flicking to taste the arousal that soaked through the fabric.
Knees locked, legs stiffened, your fingers digging through his scalp. He wasn’t just a master fighter. His tongue found your harden clit and he had you cumming in no time, panties on and everything.
Your body was trembling and he lowered your panties down your thighs to watch your pussy lips flutter from the aftershocks. He hummed to himself with deep satisfaction.
He stood up to remove his hard cock from his tight pants. You kicked off your panties while watching him stroke his length, observing it grow further with each stroke. You could just make it a hobby to stare at this man stroking his veiny shaft with his patched-up beaten fists.
Toji was surprisingly gentle when he entered you. He kissed you on the lips and threw both your legs over his broad shoulders before pushing past your folds. He made sure he started off slow in case he hit a barrier of some kind. He didn’t. So he pressed in deeper until all his length disappeared and settled inside you. “Takin’ it all like a champ. Well done doll”. He grinned as your walls tightened around his length, massaging him and begging for him to move. “Ya like it rough?”, he asked, not moving because he wanted you to tell him how you liked it.
“Yes”.
“Gonna need more than a yes doll. Come on. Tell Champ Toji how ya like to be fucked”. He slid in and out just a little, teasing the end of your tunnel with a kiss from his tip. You could feel some of his precum pooling inside.
“Hard. Please go a little harder!”, you begged, the slow pace killing you. You wanted it a little rough. You wanted a taste of his raw strength that you fell so much in love with while witnessing his fight earlier.
Toji didn’t need to be told twice and his hips were already in formation and now hammering away into your greedy pussy, folding and moulding your body further into the soft cushions of the couch.
The sound of skin slapping reminded you of the bare punches he landed on his opponents. His grunts and groans behind each thrust took you back to the fight. You closed your eyes and imagined him fucking you in the cage. Instead of blood, your bodies are covered in sweat and cum. Your moans are muffled by the sound of the roaring crowd cheering you on as he has a marathon of sex in front of his fans, personally claiming you in front of them all.
Your eyes snapped wide open when he came deep inside you, his warm seed forcing you back to reality. You were back on your couch and his hips were still moving despite dumping a hefty load inside you.
“Mmm passed out there for a second doll. Ya ok?”
You just nod your head a ‘yes’.
“Good. Cause I’m just gettin’ started”.
This was not a one-nighter. No. Toji became so fond of you and your hot pussy that a month later he invited you to play out your perverted fantasy after an intense victorious fight. Whether you fancied an audience or not was left to your judgment.
61 notes · View notes
m1rotics · 21 hours ago
Text
half-hope, half-agony (stay soft, get eaten)
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pairing: necromancer!wooyoung x fem!undead!reader
word count: 5.9k
warnings: wooyoung is a warning in himself, mean dom!wooyoung, pwp, pinv, choking, pussy slapping, sadism, dacryphilia, ingesting blood (both her and wooyoung) not exactly dubcon but she does try to set boundaries but gets ignored, unhealthy attachment, power imbalance.
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your body is numb.
it's unnaturally heavy. you feel wrong like your skin doesn't fit quite right, your nerves don't feel connected to your brain. it's almost like you're stuck in space, drifting in a place you can't wrap your head around. your nakedness is secondary to what ever limbo you're stuck in.
The first thing you feel is pain. a scorching pain beneath your ribs, white lightning. like something is pressing on your chest, your heart strangled by some unknown force. the first pump of your heart is agonizing. then heat floods you, a slow process. your body is tingling, pin needles prickling at unused limbs. it's agonizing. you twitch, squirm, jerk. you uselessly scratch at the table your strapped down to.
finally, your eyes crack open.
The first thing you see is him. his smile is sharp like broken glass. he cradles your cheek, unusually cool. it feels good against your too warm skin.
he's saying something— a lot actually —words fall from his mouth faster than your brain can pick up on, and you attempt to reply, but it comes out like a drawn out groan. this causes him to stop his spew of thoughts, looking at you for a moment.
his thumb runs over your bottom lip, and he pauses, thinking. he disappears somewhere off to the side, and you try to turn your head, but your neck throbs. a warbled cry spilling out of you.
you try your best to call out for him. the words come out sloppy. your tongue is too swollen and heavy to provide any use. no matter because suddenly he's looming over you again. you let out a murmured plea– for what you do not know– and it sounds more like a wet gurgle. he chuckles as he presses something to your lips. it's cold and slick. he slides it over your lips, lets the liquid roll down the side of your cheek.
"open," you don't know how you hear it through the fog in your head, but it reverberates through you.
it takes an incredible amount of will power to force your jaw to move, but at some point you manage. he carefully pushes whatever it is into your mouth. it sits comfortably on your tongue, providing relief you hadn't realized you needed. you no longer have cotton mouth, but swallowing down the liquid collecting in your mouth proves to be a challenge, so you sputter.
your throat feels clogged, backed up, like you don't have control of the muscles there yet.
you try again, and again, and again until the liquid trickles down the back of your throat.
vaguely, you find that you recognize it as water. he's given you an ice cube. it gets easier after that. letting the ice slowly melt on your tongue while you gulp down the excess. you hadn't realized how parched you'd been. he busies himself with petting the top of your head, eyes lingering on your face for the most part but occasionally trailing along the length of your body.
when the ice is all melted, he presses his lips to yours. it's soft, tentative. his lips are plump and moving against yours. naturally, you follow his lead, letting him set the pace. his tongue drags over your bottom lip and you allow him entry without hesitation. it's odd at first, feeling his tongue against your own, flicking against the top of your mouth– warm and wet. you welcome it, tangling your tongue with your own, trying to make up for your lack of experience with enthusiasm. his teeth sink into your lip, and you can taste the iron on your tongue. the sting making you whine, but you don't want him to pull away. everything feels right like this, like you were made for him.
you're pretty sure you are. it aches when he pulls away, enough to make you want to pull him in for another.
"almost done," he says. you don't question it, you just want his mouth back on yours. instead, he cuts his thumb and holds it against your lips. you freeze, and he tuts, "c'mon, open up."
he pushes the bleeding digit past your lips, smearing it on your tongue, "suck."
he smiles when you comply, and you can't help but preen under the attention. you'd do anything if he'd smile like that forever.
you chase after him when he pulls his thumb loose, but he presses a hand to your chest, keeping you down. he leans in close, and you can feel his lips brush against yours as he speaks, "you're mine. body and soul."
You nod emphatically, but he huffs, gripping your face between his fingers, “say it.”
You have to choke out the words, “i- I’m yours, fuck— I'm yours. body and soul, whatever you want.”
they're slurred, but they're good enough for him because his smile after that is beyond ominous.
The pain after that is indescribable. searing, curling up in the pit of your chest. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. You can feel your skin splitting, somewhere on your chest, blood dripping down your sides, around the curve of your breasts. It pulses, throbs. You instinctively cry for him— for his touch, his lips, his anything—and he lets out a dark chuckle.
you don't know how long he spends watching you convulse, arching off the table trying to get to him. the relief that you don't know how you know he could provide. you simply feel it in the hollowness of your bones, something whispering your ear that he is the reprieve. that he could help you.
all you know is that when he touches you, the feeling is instantaneous. a coolness dripping down the curve of your spine, wrapping around your ribs. his hand settles over your heart, and the skin there is tender now but his touch soothes it like a balm.
gratitude spills your lips like prayer. sleep creeps into the back of your eyes, making your eyelids heavier. you whisper his praises as you drift off.
the next time consciousness comes, you're far more comfortable, somewhere soft and warm. no longer naked but instead in an oversized shirt. painless as far as you know, and your hand wanders to mindlessly rubs at your chest—over your heart. the skin there is raised and sore, but it's not too bad. however, you're confused. so confused. why are you here? why can't you remember how you got here?
you try to remember, but it's like trying to grab water, slipping through your fingers. the memory is nebulous, bits of it fading in and out, blurring into each other. yet, you could remember him so crystal clear. you remember his smile, his touch, the way his lips felt against yours. the ache in your chest worsens. your scar throbs.
you're sick with yearning. you need him. the feeling hits like a tidal wave. all encompassing, drowning you in its intensity.
it's like a missing piece, a hollowness in your chest– in your very soul. it aches like a phantom limb.
seeking him out comes instinctively. you stumble out of bed, balancing yourself on shaky legs before wobbling to the door. you wander through the halls aimlessly. it's all well decorated– he must be the homemaking type– but you don't stop to admire any of it. you keep opening doors and leaving them behind whenever the figure you're looking for is nowhere in sight. his home is vast. it takes ages to stumble into the living room, only making it because you came across stairs to the first floor, but the difference is immediate.
it's warmer than the rest of the house and coated in orange lighting from lamps, smoke curling in the air from incenses. lavender scented. beautiful artwork hung on the walls, mahogany engraved with intricate patterns. whirls and leaves. a bottle of whiskey sitting on a table next to a deep red accent chair. that's where you find him, cross-legged with a glass pressed to his lips. he dons a deep red button up with black dress pants. his silver earrings glint when they catch the light. your eyes meet and you shudder, glued to your spot in the doorway.
"lost?" he purrs. his voice rolls over you. smooth and languid. almost teasing.
you shake your head, "was looking for you."
"really," he doesn't sound surprised. he sets his cup on the table with a purposeful clink, "come closer, I don't bite."
walking to him is automatic, so you get close enough that you can inhale his cologne. sandalwood. it makes your head a bit fuzzy. you want to touch him. the urge comes like an itch you can't scratch. you ignore it to focus on what matters. he's so unbelievably pretty up close. honey-skin and wine-red lips. his eyes are dark and playful. his voice light and sugary. a rouge strand of hair sits on his forehead, the rest pulled back in a ponytail.
now that you're here, you're not sure what to say. you're not sure what you wanna ask first, what you even want to hear.
he chuckles, a bright smile tugging at plump lips at your inaction. "ah, I've been rude, haven't I?"
you don't respond.
"I'm wooyoung."
you nod, "and why am I here?”
he tilts his head, not confused, but amused, "because you're mine.”
definite, leaving no room for argument. his tone is light and carefree but it's said like a fact. indisputable.
your eyes narrow, "what?”
"you're mine. do I need to spell it out?"
"I'm...yours?"
"exactly! you're such a quick learner."
you fall hush. words fizzling out on your tongue. it's strangely not unpleasant to be called his. it's almost... nice. which brings you to another question.
"why do I want you so much?"
"why wouldn't you? a pet needs their owner. I made you, I own you. needing me is simply expected."
it's a casual omission. so possessive it makes your skin tingle, your heart speeding up an uncomfortable degree. you flush, skin turning hot. your eyes find their way to your feet. you don't know what to say, where to go from here. you have more questions left unanswered, and the most important one sits on your tongue, what does he mean by made you?
but then he's beckoning you closer with a wave, and like a moth to a flame, you follow. mindlessly, helplessly. logic filters through you like water. he tugs you into his lap and you ragdoll into him, pilant in his hold. soft as putty in his hands. he presses a kiss to your temple. your inners warm at the gesture, despite the confusion, despite the vague nature of this situation. you feel good.
being in his arms feels right.
a cold hand slips under the baggy shirt you have on, settling on bare skin. it's reminiscent of the ice he'd given you earlier, and you struggle not to shiver. casually, he runs his hand up and down your side. your skin prickles, tingles, aches at the contact, at being so close. you don't really know what to do with yourself.
he offers you no instructions, just keeps you there. like a doll, or maybe a lapdog. pretty and perfect, something to hold and pet. you find the thought less insulting than you should. he resumes what he was doing before, lifting his cup to his lips once more, takes a long sip— humming something you think you recognize but can't quite place. you can't help but squirm in his grasp, and you don't think you're being too disruptive because he doesn't say anything.
until he does.
“settle down,” it comes out light and velvety. an order wrapped in a silky bow, but it still holds immediate weight in your head– and without you realizing, he's ironed out all the tension in your muscles, the ache to move dissipating into smoke.
you can hear the smile in his voice when says, “there you go, doesn't it feel nice to be good?”
you can't help but nod. you'd agree to anything he says if he keeps talking to you like that.
his hands drop to your thighs, massaging them in his hands, “you're mine, right?”
the sound of his voice is so much closer now, and you can feel his breath brushing your skin. he licks a stripe up your neck, all the way to your ear, catching your earlobe between his teeth.
“right?”
his grip on your legs tighten, an edge in his voice that wasn't there before has you scrambling to answer.
“I am– I'm yours!”
“you're such a good pet,” he croons, and snakes his hands around your waist, pulling you closer. he kneads your waist, squeezes it so hard you think it'll bruise.
“so warm,” he hums, moving up to grope your chest. he rolls your nipples between his fingers, pinching and tugging at them, “so obedient.”
your head falls back onto his shoulder, your eyes fluttering shut, small puffs of air escaping you. for some reason, everything feels like a lot– bordering too much. it's overwhelming, it's addicting. you're spinning, whirling, twirling into a big mess of nerves and want. mushy gushy in his deft fingers. even if you're not sure what you want– you can't tell if you want him to stop or keep going, to slow down or speed up.
so you just take it. you steel yourself to endure everything he's dishing out because that's what you feel like you should do. because maybe that would make him happy, and you want to make wooyoung happy. that's all you really want.
leisurely, one of his hands trails down, past your stomach, to knock your legs open and cup your cunt through your panties. pressing his fingers against the fabric, he whispers a curse at what he finds. you're soaked, ruining the probably expensive fabric. although he doesn't seem to care.
“be good and keep your legs spread, don't you dare close them,” that’s all the warning you get before he yanks your panties to the side. plunging two fingers in your pussy with a wet squelch. his fingers are thick and long. he's in so deep, it makes you gasp, back arching off his chest.
his free hand squeezes your waist in warning.
they slide out to smear your wetness around. his finger traces from your slit to your clit, occasionally dipping a finger in. he does this until you're shaking, your eyes glazed over, lips spit-shiny. your clit throbs.
“you're s’wet,” he all but groans, “can't help but drip all over yourself, huh?”
embarrassed, you say, “m sorry. didn't mean too”
wooyoung hips buck up, and a low groan erupts from him, “s’okay, make a mess for me.”
he's not wrong. you are dripping, soaking his pants and coating the inside of your thighs. arousal glides out of your cunt. syrupy, thick. he pinches your clit and you jolt, thighs twitching, but they stay open. you're still being good. his hand pulls away, and you almost whine, raising your head to see where it's gone– but you don't see nor expect the wet smack when he slaps your pussy. you yelp, toes curling, your hands flying down to hold your legs in place.
you can do it, you can push through it.
“fucckkk— look at you, still trying to be good for me. trying to take it to make me happy.” you barely hear because he strikes your pussy again, harder this time and your cunt clenches around nothing, another wave of slick gushing out of you, “you'd endure anything for me.”
it's the third strike that breaks the dam, and uncontrollable sobs wreck your body– and he moans, mumbling curses, places a chaste kiss to your sweaty temple. brings his hand down again just for the fun of it, nips your neck when you let out another broken cry. three more. it's odd. the pain merging with the zap of pleasure sent through you. it's confusing. runs circles around your brain, makes you dopey and confused. tears drop off your lash line as a shriek is pulled out of you. it's all too much.
“you're so pretty when you cry,” he murmurs sweetly, “and it's all for me, all because of me.”
his hand lifts again, and you jerk, more tears roll down your cheeks. you look a mess. “no, I can't– I don't think I can't take more.”
wooyoung coos, plys your neck with sloppy kisses, “just one more. you can do that for me, one last time and I'll stop. okay?”
you fall silent, eye brows knitting together. you want to make him happy, and it's just one more. you can do that. you do another one for him.
“okay,” you whisper.
“good girl, you're making me so happy.”
it feels so slow when his hand lifts, like everything is in slow motion, your breath stills. you catch the flex of his arm, the straightening of his fingers. it speeds up again when his hand comes down. maybe, the anticipation makes it hurt more, but it knocks a gasp out of you, leaves you twitching uselessly as you let it sting. you don't scream, the air stalls in your throat, effectively choking you. your mouth hangs open.
he doesn't give you any time to settle. his fingers slipping back in your cunt with a deafening squelch. your cheeks burn, slick leaks out of you. it sounds waterlogged, like he'd splashed water around in a pool. it embarrasses you being so vulnerable, letting him feel your need materialized. you look desperate; you are desperate. he hones in on your clit, rolling it beneath his thumb. using his other hand to reach around and pinch it.
his fingers bend, curling, pressing into that spongy spot inside you, and you whimper. your hips bucking up to gain more friction, to push his fingers in deeper. your orgasm barrels at you. it's quick. snake fast. you don't even realize what hit you. you melt in his hands. you turn molten, sticky and pilant. butter in a pan. your eyes rolling so far into the back of your head, you think you catch a glimpse of the inside of it. the world crumbles away– leaving you held up by his comforting hold, and this loitering feeling of ecstacy.
in this pleasure, there is heat. very similar to the one that flooded you when your eyes first opened, but this is different. this heat feels good. it's tepid, lukewarm. like a gentle embrace, it lingers, encasing you in its comfort and its warmth. no pin-needles, only pleasure. his fingers slide out slowly, and your eyes follow the movement as he raises it past the space between your thighs, past your chest, to the wetness of his mouth.
he groans. a rolling vibrato, stemming in his chest. Indulgent, seductive. his cheeks hollow as he sucks on his fingers. it's sensual in ways you've never seen. plush lips wrapped around the soaked digits. red and plump and beautiful. he tugs them out with a pop. his smile is lazy, feline-like. coy. his eyes lazer into you.
“you taste so sweet,” he mumbles, nuzzling your cheek, “but I want to taste it from the source. you'll let me, won't you?”
it's a whispered curse; a sweet damnation. poised as a request, but he knows that you won't– more like can't– turn him down. forcing you to indulge him yet again.
meekly, you nod, swallowing down the lump in your throat. in one quick movement, your back is no longer leaning on his chest, but the chair he once occupied. it's barely warm, the only sign of his presence on it is the faint scent of his cologne. his mouth catches yours in a deep kiss. hot and hungry, his tongue presses against your front teeth, drags over to your molars. prying, probing. he nudges your tongue with his own. traces of whiskey flood your taste buds; strong. when he pulls away a string of spit connects you, breaking off when he drops to his knees.
“can't wait another second, I want you now,” he says, biting into your thigh. “need to taste you. i wanna devour you whole.”
his tongue laves over the indents left behind. a dog-like apology for his earlier transgressions. he sucks and nibbles at the rest of your unmarred skin, leaving spit and bruises in his wake. again, he sinks his teeth into the tender skin of your thigh. harder this time, and it draws blood. you gasp, eyes wide and dumb. it drips down your thigh but this time he doesn't run his tongue over it, but suckles instead. like a leech, like something parasitic.
all your questions flatline when he looks you in the eyes as he does it, and you wonder, fleetingly, if this is what he meant by devouring you. it scares you that you don't mind. in fact, it excites you. the idea of being eaten by him, of being swallowed whole. bit by bit.
you're already panting when his tongue sweeps over your cunt. his mouth latches onto your clit, ignoring the lace of your panties that act as a barrier. he groans into you, gravely, hands coming up to grip your ass, pushing you harder against his face. you throw your legs on his shoulders, and he hums in content. your hand shoots to his hair, taking a handful of it, tugging him closer. he shudders, moans. his eyes roll into the back of his head.
“taste so good, just like I knew you would,” he mumbles, muffled by your pussy, and the vibration sends ripples of pleasure through you. your thighs squeeze around his head, acting as impromptu earmuffs.
he only pulls away long enough to haphazardly drag your panties down your legs, leaving it dangling off your ankle. wordlessly diving back in between your thighs. it's different without the layer between, it's more intense this way. the pleasure turning sharp; knife-edged.
it rips through you like a hunter's blade, womb to sternum: a proper gutting.
he's messy too– slurping, smacking, and moaning into your skin. his nose bumps your clit every time he sticks his tongue deeper inside of you, fucks you on it like he's trying to dig your brain out through your cunt. his mouth finds your oversensitive, swollen clit and you keen.
“woo– it's too much,” you shrill.
your voice high and probably annoying, wooyoung's eyes are dark when they meet yours. hadal, pitch-black like coal. his eyelids at half-mast, drooping like he can barely keep them open.
he lets out a throaty growl when you attempt to dislodge him, pulling his hair and trying to squirm out of his grasp. his fingers tighten their grip, impossibly so, and you cry out in discomfort. wooyoung groans, tongue swirling around your clit.
“please, please, please,” you babble, tearing up, your bottom lip wobbling.
he doesn't let up and you know what that means. shut up and take it. there's nothing you can do besides take the assault in stride, let him take what he wants. even if it leaves you weak and trembling. you could fight him off, kick and scream, yank and tear.
but you don't.
you can't bring yourself to fight him off, so you let him take, and take, and take. you'd let him rip you asunder with only a whimper and a thank you on your bloodied tongue. he could leave you to rot, and the sick part is that you would let him. you'd let him leave you disemboweled and empty; you'd let him turn you into carrion.
happily too, but only if he smiles at you while he does it.
it's unfair, you think, how you let him dismantle and desecrate you and be okay with it. you don't understand your compliance or your incessant need for him in his entirety, and you…can't quite figure out why. it's like a dead-end. no man's land. unseen, untouched territory. you can't remember anything besides him.
still, he does a damn good job at picking you apart and cramming himself into gaping hole in your chest. he draws his tongue from taint to clit, sucks at the swollen bud like hard candy. he makes out with your cunt like he's in love with it. your hands have fallen to your side, twitching with the need to tear him away, but you've resigned yourself to his whims. as mean as they are.
his hands slide under your thighs, pushing them up, up, up until your knees touch your shoulders. they drop down to peel you open, spreading your pussy so he can reach deeper. he talks to it too, sweet murmurs and hushed praise. the words are inaudible to you, unable to be heard over the obscene noises. you're hot, too hot. a bundle of heat simmers in your tummy, almost boiling, but not there yet.
it's so close. rushing at you like wildfire, threatening to overtake you.
he doesn't stop until you're gushing on his tongue, and only after lapping it all up does he truly pull away. you can't deny, like this wooyoung is gorgeous. his cheeks flushed pink, lips shiny and swollen. the bottom half of his face is covered in you. black eyes staring up at you.
it takes him a minute to lift himself off the floor, and he practically has to wrench his gaze from your glistening cunt. he's surprisingly calm as he peers down at you, face neutral. carefully, you close your legs, putting them down so you aren't such a vulgar display. there's a bulge in his pants, you'd already known without seeing it, you'd felt it pressed against your ass moments ago when you were seated in his lap. he was big. thick. long. you see the hint of a smirk on his face when you look back up.
“are you,” you pause, sniffling, “are you done..?”
“of course not, silly girl,” he croons, tilting his head, “you're not very smart, are you?”
the words send in a tizzy, and you flush at how condescending he was being. gawking, you open your mouth to reply.
“it's okay, pet, you don't need to think when i’m here. you don't need to be smart to be good.”
the whine you let out is entirely involuntary, and you have to squeeze your legs together to attempt to relieve any of the warmth between them. your complaints snuffed out in an instant.
“jus’ wanna be good for you,” you admit and wooyoung swallows thickly.
“I know,” he rasps, words stretching like taffy, and tucks his hands under your arms raising you from his chair. he hooks an arm underneath your legs, towing you to what you assume to be his room. similar to the living room, his room is warm and spacious, and much like his home, it's well-decorated too. a painting above his large bed, deep red sheets with fluffy covers, more pillows than logically needed. an empty glass and a lamp sit on his bedside drawer. unlike the living room, his room smells like jasmine and bergamot.
it's surprisingly gentle when he sets you down on the bed; a complete juxtaposition to the dark expression on his face. you go stock-still, mannequin, glassy eyes and all. wooyoung brings his hands up to cradle your face. his eyes are dangerously dull, and he leans in slowly. his lips ghost against your skin, almost kissing it but not, then his tongue is dragging up the length of your cheek, collecting the leftover salt of your tears. you shiver, and wooyoung groans, pulling away. his hands find your waist, and push. dazed, you clumsily scramble backwards until your back hits the pillows.
“you're driving me crazy,” he says, almost mindlessly, staring at you laid out before him. you feel vulnerable, exposed like an open wound. he looks at you like a slab of meat; a feast for no one but himself. his tongue swipes over his canines; wolfish. his hands make quick work of his top, fingers fast and efficient. there's thin scars littered across his skin, but that's not what catches your eye. it’s the wobbly line that cuts down the length of his torso. old and gnarled. you ache to run your fingers along it, the feeling buzzes in the scar that notches your own chest. if he notices your staring he simply refuses to acknowledge it.
after ridding himself of his clothes, he slots himself between your legs, presses his nose to the softness of your stomach and bites. you jolt, yelping. wooyoung giggles. he creeps up, sucking at various places on your tummy, digs his blunt nails into your skin as he holds you down.
once he reaches the valley between your breasts, he trails his tongue up and past the bump of your collar bone, all the way to your neck. right to your pulse point.
you squirm, “woo, that feels weird.”
he doesn't grant you a reply. rather, you fill the tip of his dick prod your entrance. it's not painful when he pushes in, it's more of a pressure. a slight burn. you can feel yourself stretching to accommodate his length, and how incredibly deep he is inside of you. you're pelvis to pelvis now, and you have to take a moment to note how full you feel.
“god, you're so tight,” he groans, dropping his head to rest in the crook of your neck, “it's like you were made for me.”
you can't help the way joy bursts inside of you at the words. your heart bleeds, bursts, plummets out your chest with a wet splat and lands right into wooyoung's hands. the words bounce around your head, slowly warms in your chest like wax. it turns your heart all gooey and soft. wooyoung's hips leisurely draw back. then slam forward.
it jolts you forward, and an embarrassing yelp is kicked out of your throat. something between a choked whine, and a call of his name. it knocks the thoughts out of your head, leaves you dazed and dumb.
“y’so big,” you mewl, wrapping your arms around his neck. holding onto him for dear life. wooyoung pulls away, and you whimper, clearly wanting to keep him close. he ignores you. you try to pull him back down to no avail. wooyoung head ducks down, his mouth latching onto your breast. his tongue roves over your lips, circling around it. his teeth follow after, sinking into the supple flesh. you gasp, cunt quivering around his cock, nails digging into the muscles of his arms. he lifts a hand to pay your other nipple some attention, rolling it beneath the pads of his fingers, pinching and twisting.
his balls slap against your ass, and he's drilling into you so hard it almost hurts. the pleasure of it all bordering on excruciating. you're like one giant open wound; gushing, tender, and aching– and he keeps prodding, keeps pushing you to your limit.
wooyoung's hand snakes down to your clit, until his fingers are rolling quick circles over your sore clit. another orgasm hurdles at you. its speed break-neck. pleasure searing through your worn, little body. you buck like a frantic bull, hands pushing at his chest. your nails catching on his skin in your desperation, they leave behind red scratch marks on his skin.
his hand grips your waist holding you still. his hold is firm, unyielding. you couldn't squirm away if you wanted to, but you try.
“s’too much– ah,” you wail, tears reappearing in your eyes. some fall down the sides of your face, over your temples, others stick to your lash line.
“aren't you a sight for sore eyes?” he mumbles, swiping at a vagrant tear, “you're a mess. a pathetic, little mess.”
wooyoung swims in your vision, everything blurry. you can imagine him in vivid detail though, and even in your mind the picture is sinful– his tar-black eyes, the sheen of sweat on his forehead, the wicked grin you know he has right now, and that shadowy expression like he wants to rip you apart.
“slow down– fuck, please. don't have to stop, jus’ slow down,” you whine. it's a shoddy attempt at bargaining, and it fails. pitfully, at that.
wooyoung laughs, which comes out more as a loud moan than anything else. in spite of your pleading, his thrusts speed up. hips snapping into your cunt wig more fervor than before.
perhaps you're more out of it than you thought because you don't notice the hand wrapping around your throat. well, not until it's far too late and he's already wrenching the life of you.
you writhe, wriggling around. your hands tugging at his arms, his wrist, his fingers– anything you can reach.
wooyoung tsks, “quit it.”
and like the obedient pet you are, you stop. your struggle regresses to involuntary twitches, your mouth falling open in an attempt to find air.
“you'd do anything for me, huh?” he says, in sick awe, tightening his grip around your neck, “you'd let me hurt you, you'd let me kill you.”
you can't respond besides letting out choked whines, gasping for air. your chest tight. wailing and shaking, your cunt squeezing his cock. out of fear, out of pure adoration. his words ring true, and it chills you down to the bone.
you would let him kill you.
the thought sends another orgasm careening towards you. it hits hard, like a punch to the gut, like a full-on collision with an eighteen wheeler. it knocks you off kilter. the entire world spins off its axis.
wooyoung’s dick twitches, and he's panting like a wild dog. his pace going sloppy, more erratic. smooth strokes getting interrupted by the stuttering of his hips. his tightens up like a noose, unceasing and unrelenting. you try not to struggle. your hands screw up the sheets.
“you’d die for me,” he breathes, “you'd kill for me.”
he says it with a hint of marvel, sick adoration in his voice. sweet like brown sugar. an unholy glint in his eyes.
he fills you up with a staccato groan, hips stuttering, fingers twitching. his grip loosens and you sigh out of sheer relief. he doesn't remove his hand, just holds it there. like a collar, like he's staking a claim on you. the bruise left behind almost feels like a brand.
immediately, your eyes close. you're not asleep yet, simply resting a bit. you feel the bed dip, and you assume he's left. you sigh. you'll clean yourself tomorrow.
the feeling of something warm and wet brushing over the skin of your inner thigh startles you. you jump up with a start.
wooyoung looks back at you, “I don't like dirty toys, lay down and let me clean you”
you collapse back onto the bed. the bed is soaked beneath you, but it doesn't matter right now. you focus on the feeling of wooyoung wiping you down. it's relaxing. he's methodical with it, starting from the bottom and working his way up. he gets gentle around the spots he bit and your aching cunt. it's surprisingly intimate, and you'd almost describe it as heartwarming. it gives you whiplash. your head spinning at the sheer duality of the man. how hot and cold he is.
wooyoung snuggles up beside you when he's done, throws the wash towel to the side, and pulls you into his arms. he's still cold, which is odd but you don't mind. honestly, it helps cool you down. you seem to run far too hot for your own good.
“I thought you left,” you mutter, pressing yourself harder against him.
“I wouldn't,” he replies, “you're far too fun to leave alone.”
it's not the normal comfort you expected, but it's something and you drift to sleep faster having heard it.
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g0nta-g0kuhara · 2 days ago
Note
[Taken from under the cut]
"The localization definitely did change some things about the portrayal of Angie’s religion, but I would hesitate to say that they changed the overall feel or messages of Chapter 3. The original was already pretty… well, I don’t know if “atheistic” is the best term for it, but the point of Chapter 3 in the original was definitely to have a kind of clash between western and eastern religion that reached a boiling point. I don’t think any of the general negativity associated with Angie and her cult, or Korekiyo and his séances, was impacted by NISA so much as it was already there in Kodaka’s writing.
As far as I could tell when playing the localization, in fact, Korekiyo’s translator didn’t change or alter much about his dialogue. Other than the “Kiyo” nickname, I agreed with most of the choices they made (translating “Kagoinu Village” and the “Kagonoko Ritual” as the “Caged Dog Village” and “Caged Child Ritual” respectively were really good choices or a localization, in fact, since they made them easier to understand). All of the reveals that happen in the post-trial (as in, those reveals, about his sister) were adapted pretty straightforwardly from the original. Nothing was cut or altered significantly; his motives really were that messed-up.
As for Angie, the term “brainwashing” actually is a direct translation and not something altered or swayed by the localization! The term 洗脳 (“sennou”) comes up as early as Chapter 2 in both the original and the localization. I believe the first instance of it is in an optional dialogue session with Himiko on the night of Saihara’s first training session, where she mentions that she should’ve “had [Angie] undo her brainwashing sooner.” The following morning, when discussing Himiko’s magical show, Angie is pretty quick to change the subject and avoids answering any questions when she’s asked by the rest of the group what she did to Himiko.
What’s more, there seems to be a very intentional correlation between Angie’s talent and Mitarai’s. While not entirely the same, the two bear definite similarities which come to light especially if you do Angie’s FTEs. In her third FTE with Saihara (her 5th overall if you did Kaede’s), she shows Saihara a picture she was painting, only for him to lose consciousness immediately upon looking at it. When he wakes up again and asks her if there’s anything intrinsically special about the painting itself, she says she’s not sure, and that she just “creates her art exactly the way god tells her to.”
It’s pretty heavily implied (more like confirmed, in her FTEs at least) that her artwork is how she gets people to listen to her and do what she asks, both on her home island and within the religious student council she sets up. There definitely seems to be a much larger degree of free will involved with her abilities than there was with Mitarai’s, the game is pretty emphatic about the fact that she does brainwash people to go along with her ideas. The effectiveness of her brainwashing is up for debate, though; Saihara remains pretty unaffected in his FTEs with her despite her best attempts to force him to marry her, Tenko was only pretending to join the student council in order to keep an eye on Himiko, and I highly doubt Tsumugi was ever actually brainwashed because of, well, reasons.
Overall, the general feeling with Angie (in the narrative at least) seems to be that she was someone whose intentions weren’t necessarily bad, but that she still did some pretty unsavory stuff nonetheless. It’s pretty clear that she does, in fact, want the killing game to end—she’s one of the most outspoken characters of the opinion that “greed” and “desire” only lead people to commit murder, and that they’d all be better off staying within the school and making it comfortable for themselves, rather than continuing to try and escape the school.
Unlike other characters who have brought up similar plans before, like Celes, I think Angie did genuinely believe what she was saying, too. There’s an optional dialogue moment in Chapter 4 if you click on the door to Angie’s lab while exploring around the school, where Saihara pretty much outright says that he couldn’t agree with her methods, but that he does realize that she was trying to stop the killing game in her own way, then follows up with a really nice comment about how he’ll never forget her. He has similar comments for most of his classmates following their deaths in each subsequent chapter, but I thought it was a really nice touch nonetheless.
As you point out though, if there is a fault in the localization to be found, it’s in changing Angie’s god altogether from a very general, unspecific god to “Atua.” Ever since I heard about that particular localization decisions, I couldn’t agree with it for a number of reasons, not least of all that it’s extremely disrespectful, as Atua is an actual, real deity in Polynesian mythology. Adapting a real-life deity and applying it to a character whose backstory, island, and god are all deliberately undefined (and fictional) is a very bad choice all around.
Angie already suffers from a lot of bad, racist writing tropes on Kodaka’s part in the original. It’s pretty clear that since she’s both dark-skinned and a “foreigner” (and we don’t know anything regarding whether her pre-game self is actually a foreigner or not) she was designed to be the “exotic, quirky island girl” whose religions and culture teeter between baffling and downright creepy.
The portrayal of her island’s religion and customs already isn’t positive in the original game; between “blood sacrifices,” purchasing organs and children off of the internet, and the hypersexualization of both Angie and her people (she tries to take off Saihara’s clothes in the same FTE I mentioned before, and there’s a lot of talk about the people on her island “comforting” each other sexually or “sharing the bride” at weddings), it feels like Kodaka was just one step short of calling them “un-civilized,” which is… eugh.
Taking all of that messy and unsavory writing and directly correlating it with actual Polynesian culture and mythology is such an incredibly disrespectful decision, moreso when I highly doubt that Angie’s translator for the localization is Polynesian themselves or did any actual research into the subject. There was no need to slap a name onto Angie’s god in the first place—her island and culture are still entirely undefined in-game, so why NISA felt that her religion needed to be equated with a real-life one is still beyond me.
Other than the general racism though, I don’t think a lot of the rest of Angie’s dialogue was changed. There was a brief, optional line in the bonus mode when she comes to invite you for a date where her translator decided to have her say “Alola!” (which, you know, a Pokemon region based on Hawaii isn’t even the same as the Polynesian islands, but okay), but otherwise her translation was pretty faithful to the original dialogue. I think her translator didn’t have too much of a problem capturing the feeling of her character; their main problem was simply the decision to make an unnecessary correlation between Angie’s fictional, made-up religion and all its negative aspects and with actual Polynesian religion and culture.
Overall, I think a lot more of the issue stems back to Kodaka’s own racism and flawed writing, though. I don’t think he was trying to leave a message of “religion = bad, always” in Chapter 3 so much as he was just… unaware of how it might come across to others. Religion in Japan is decidedly different from religion in the west, so it’s important to remember that Kodaka was writing from a Japanese perspective, rather than an all-around western atheistic perspective. He definitely wanted a sort of clash of ideas between Angie’s very foreign, western, cult-like religion, and Korekiyo’s research into eastern culture and spirituality, but the writing got… well, very messy along the way.
This is just my take on it all, anyway! The association with Angie’s religion and “brainwashing” was definitely there in the original game, even very early on, but I do think the localization would’ve improved overall if it hadn’t bothered trying to put a real name to any of it. Thank you for asking this question by the way—it’s always good to clear this kind of stuff up, especially since all of the “Atua” changes must make it really difficult for anyone playing the localization to know how much else was or wasn’t changed in Angie’s dialogue. I hope I could clear a few things up!"
here's a question ive had since the localization came out; did the localization do anything to enforce more of an athiestic bent and put angie and shinguji in a more negative light wrt religion and spirituality (particularly angie)? or has that always been there? the whole "brainwashing" angle felt p harsh, not to mention saying angie's god outright is Atua instead of the general "my god" that the translations seemed to have. plus akamatsu seemed very internally harsh about her god in their FTEs
The localization definitely did change some things about theportrayal of Angie’s religion, but I would hesitate to say that they changedthe overall feel or messages of Chapter 3. The original was already pretty…well, I don’t know if “atheistic” is the best term for it, but the point ofChapter 3 in the original was definitely to have a kind of clash betweenwestern and eastern religion that reached a boiling point. I don’t think any ofthe general negativity associated with Angie and her cult, or Korekiyo and his séances,was impacted by NISA so much as it was already there in Kodaka’s writing.
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arabella0001 · 1 day ago
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hunter x hunter men eating you out
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characters: chrollo lucilfer, illumi zoldyck, kurapika
cn: yandere illumi, manipulative chrollo, soft yet posessive kurapika, rough kissing, oral (female receiving)
illumi
illumi will be pretty calculated in his moves, each movement purposeful, like he is mapping you out.
his thumb trace your lips lightly while his other hand grabs your cheeks, his grip secure but not too rough. his gaze piercing, unblicking.
‘you think you can escape me? no one can’
his touch would be surprising gentle, almost tender as he observes you closely. however, is because of his unwavering control.
‘you’re so…perfect for me. only me’
running his finger over your body, untill it reach almost your pussy and then back then. his fingers feels purposelful like he’s claiming every part of you.
‘i-illumi…more’ you try to rush him but you don’t stand a chance. his teasing torturous.
‘keep pushing, and you’ll see exactly what happens when you disobey me’ he cup your pussy, making you gasp.
‘but i don—‘
‘i will always have you right where i want you’ he comes closer, his lips closer to yours, you earn to taste him, feeling so bad it drives you mad.
he start coming down untill his face reach your pussy, making you shiver impatiently as his tongue dive between your folds. kissing your lips and playing with your clit, moving slowly. your hands gripping the sheets because of the pent-up arousal.
he is moving how slow and how fast he desire, gauging your reaction until you cum how many time he wants.
by the time he is down with you, you are completly at his mercy.
chrollo
chrollo tends to be composed but his calm exterior crack slightly when he feels you challenging his control.
‘i know what’s best for you, y/n. let me take care of everything’
‘chrollo i don’t wanna figh—‘
he wouldn’t let you escape easily, pinning you against the wall, enough to make you feel trapped.
‘you love me, don’t you?‘ hiz gaze so intense, flickering from your eyes to your lips
‘of course’ you whisper, your response coming from you like a script
he come closer to you ear, whispering ‘i make sure you never reget giving me your love.’ his tongue find your earlobe, making you tremble with need ‘you are everything i need’
he kiss you with a urgency, his touches rough but precise, not ouf of anger but to make sure you understand the weight of his hold on you.
he will kneel between you, a surprise looking at your face as he undress you slowly
‘c-chrollo?’
‘you want this, don’t you?’ he kiss your clother pussy, heat already formed between your legs ‘you’ve already given yourself to me’ he emphasize by pulling your panties down as he start kissing hungrly making you moan shamelessy. ‘and you’ll keep doing so’
‘chrollo—y-yes, please’ you grind on his face, your legs tremble
‘who do you belong to?’ he whispers between his licks, teasing you and kissing your thighs before returning his tongue on you
‘you. only you. always’ you say desperatly, barely controlling yourself
‘such a good girl. you’re making me pround’ as he gives you finally what you wanted, making you cum all over his face.
bonus! (mostly greenflag)
kurapika
kurapika could be quite intense. expecially after something almost happening to you or thats what he thinks so before of his concern.
at night, he will grab your arms gently but secure and look into your eyes with an intense yet loving gaze
‘you have to listen to me’ his words sharp but because he is urging you to listen to him.
‘i’m listening kura—‘
‘why do you always test me? i only want to keep you safe’ he is pushing you slowly further into your shared room.
‘i know baby, but you need to calm down—‘
‘i’m calm, y/n. i’m doing this just because i love you’ his both hands grabbing your face, making you face melt.
‘i know, kurapika. i love you too’ you try to calm him by your love that he can see in your eyes as you sit down on the bed.
seeing you like this, an idea form into his head, pushing you slowly over the bed
‘you’re my reason for everything i do’ he start kissing your neck and worshiping you with his touched, making you feel so warm and aroused
‘yes?’ you whisper to him as his eyes is glued to you, but your tongue over your lipscatching his attention, closing the distance with a desperate kiss but full of pent-up frustration at your stubbornness and a lot of desire.
you both breathing heavily after he push away.
‘i need you.’ he start kissing you from your collarbone, to between your breast and slowly reaching your belly, his hands around your wrists.
‘you’ve been so good to me. i’ll protect you, always’
his meaningful words making your heart full of emotions and the combination with his touches set your body on fire, making you already so wet because of him.
he will kiss your pussy, inside your tights, your curves and everywhere he can. licking your pussy the way you like, the way he surely knows pleasure you the most.
giving you orgasm after orgasm, purring his heart out with his tongue, making you moan his name again and again.
more hxh content here
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