#I likely didn’t phrase much of this well

[shomatoriashi]

01/28/25; 05:41pm

{ drabbles / headcanons }

[ when they call you because they miss you ]

featuring: sylus, zayne, xavier, rafayel, caleb

you were settled at your desk, simply typing away on your laptop when you heard your phone go off from beside you. curiosity paints your expression when you look down to see your lover’s name flashing across the screen.

with a wide grin on your face, you answer your phone, “well hello, mr. sylus.”

you take a moment to bask in his rich chuckles, “well hello, little dove. i see that you’ve picked up the phone within a single ring. did you miss me that much?”

letting out a hum in response, you playfully spin around in your office chair, “you could say that. or maybe i was just bored at work.”

you shiver when sylus lets out a soft coo of your name. “my poor kitten, left to her own devices while stuck at work. perhaps i can help with mitigating your boredom?”

“yes! a thousand times yes!” you nearly jump out of your seat in response, since you really could go for a nice and refreshing date with your beloved, “but i am curious as to why you called me so suddenly. i thought the leader of onychinus would have been stuck in a meeting at this hour.”

you listen to his laughter once more, “perhaps i too, was feeling bored at work and wished to… hear the sound of your voice. try not to miss me as much as i miss you, kitten. i’ll pick you up after work and shall see you soon.”

after that single phrase, sylus hangs up the call, leaving you grinning like a fool as you fought back the urge to further twirl around in your seat.

you were in the middle of washing the dishes when you heard the sound of your phone going off in the distance. shutting off the faucet, you dry your hands on a towel and made a dash toward your phone settled on the coffee table, recognizing the name as you picked up the call immediately.

“zayne! hello…” you couldn’t hide your soft giggles, leaning into your phone to hear him better, “is everything alright?”

“of course, dear, everything is fine. i just got out of surgery, and it went well.” zayne trails off, and you swore you could picture him running his hands across his locks of hair. you smile once more and ask, “well, that’s good. is there anything you needed from me? did you forget something at the house that you needed me to bring?”

“no, of course not. everything’s fine, dear.”

you look at the time and bite down on your bottom lip, “you’re an awfully busy man, dr. zayne, and i just wanted to make sure that you didn’t need me to bring something to your office, hence why you called.”

“do i need a reason to hear your voice?”

you shiver upon hearing his admission, feeling the heat settle against your cheeks while allowing your smile to widen even further, “hehe, no… you don’t need a reason to hear my voice. i quite like hearing your voice, too.”

an amused chuckle was heard coming from the other line, “then it’s settled. i can take the rest of the day off, and i’d like to spend it with you, honey. would you like to go see a movie with me and have dinner later on?”

“of course! i-i’ll go ahead and get ready!” you bask in zayne’s laughter, following his silent urge to get ready as he begins his trek back home to you.

with your plans confirmed with zayne, you hang up the phone and prepared for your much needed date with zayne.

you were simply settled within the comfort of your bed, watching a movie on your phone when a sudden call breaks you out of your immersion. seeing your boyfriend’s name, you answer his call with a breathless, “hello?”

you nearly melt upon hearing xavier’s sweet whisper within your ear, “hey, i just wanted to call and check on you.”

“aw, that’s sweet of you.” you cling to your favorite bunbun plush while smiling into the phone. “but aren’t you on a mission right now?”

there was a few beats of silence on the other end, followed by the sound of xavier clearing his throat, “i am on a mission, but it’s been a few days since i’ve last seen you, and i miss hearing your voice.”

you nearly squeal into the plush at how cute xavier sounded, and you could practically see the pout on his face. “hehe, i’ve missed you, too…” feeling playful, you then proceed to ask, “are you pouting right now, xavi?”

you hear another series of coughs on the other end, with xavier spouting off denials before eventually caving in, “okay, maybe i was pouting a little bit.”

you were grinning into the phone while telling him, “how about when you come back home, we spend the day in together and have a movie marathon on the couch? and you can take all the naps you want, too.”

you bask in the sounds of xavier’s gentle laughter, detecting the happiness in his voice when he tells you, “that sounds like the perfect plan, i can’t wait to see you again.”

a few minutes later, you said your goodbyes to your boyfriend, allowing him to get back to work, but not before hearing him say to you, “wait for my return, okay? i’ll be thinking of you always.”

you felt a little sad at the fact that your boyfriend was away promoting his latest exhibit in another country-

but alas, due to your conflicting work schedules, you had to remain back at home while supporting rafayel from the sidelines. as you head back home for the day, a sudden call stops you from entering your car. extracting your phone out of your purse, you smile upon seeing rafayel’s nickname flash across the screen.

“hello hello, my little goober.”

“hey, i am not your goober! i’m a famous artist that you love and adore.” you giggle on the other line, already picturing rafayel’s pouting face and puffed cheeks, his gorgeous eyes filled with a playful indignation at your teasing.

you continue to softly laugh at your beloved, getting into your car while starting the engine, “and you also happen to be a little bit of a spoiled brat as well.”

“yeah, but i’m your spoiled brat.” rafayel admits with an amused chuckle, making you smile in response. “how’s your exhibit doing?”

“ugh, it’s utterly boring without you here, princess. honestly, i should have brought you with me.”

you were about to remind him about how you had to work, only to stop speaking when rafayel continues explaining, “but i guess i’ll just have to make do with calling you, just to hear your voice.”

“aw rafe, you missed my voice?”

the artist lets out a scoff on the other end, “of course i do. i miss everything about you, princess.”

before you could reply, you heard a deep voice on the other line, with rafayel letting out a sigh, “sorry princess, some people are waiting to interview me, and i can’t turn them down. i’ll call you later, before you go to sleep, so wait for me?”

“of course, rafe. i’ll always wait for you.”

you giggle once more upon hearing him blowing you kisses through the phone, “drive safely back home!” he tells you before hanging up the call, leaving you smiling as warmth was felt coursing through your veins.

you had to go back home after spending two weeks at skyhaven with caleb. despite how you wanted to stay with him much longer, you had already used up your vacation days at work and had to return.

currently, you were on your lunch break, simply munching on a sandwich when your phone begins to ring. you put down your food and smile upon seeing caleb’s name across your screen, answering his call within a mere few seconds.

“caleb? hello… how are you doing?”

“terrible.” was his simple answer, yet you could picture the smile in his voice.

“aw, and why are you feeling terrible?”

“because i miss you so much already.”

your heart melts upon hearing his confession, making you sigh as you tell him, “of course. i miss you so much, too. even though we spent a whole two weeks together.”

“exactly. see, that’s why i always knew you were the perfect girl for me. we just… feel so strongly about each other. i don’t like being away from you for even a second.” you giggle a bit at his admission, “i feel… flattered that the colonel could feel so strongly about little ol’ me.”

caleb grumbles a bit at your teasing, and you swore you could picture the light dust of pink settled across his defined cheekbones. “of course, you mean everything to me…” he trails off for a moment before letting out a chuckle, “that’s why, this time i’m going to spend some time at your place. i took a total of three weeks off, just so i can come and see you.”

you frown a bit while clutching your phone tighter against your ear. this was strange, but why did it sound like caleb was getting louder and louder, with a bit of an echo heard on the other line?

“you can’t tell me that you haven’t missed me, too.” you gasp, finally noticing the tall figure that was seen from your periphery. trailing your gaze upwards, you recognized his signature jacket and boyish grin, immediately hanging up the phone before jumping into caleb’s arms.

he laughs, fully embracing you now by wrapping his arms around your frame while giving your cheek an audible kiss. “i’m here, pipsqueak.”

and you couldn’t be happier at seeing your beloved colonel again, ready to spend your days basking in the warmth of his embrace.

end notes: some fluff to destress and keep me awake 😭 my meds have been making me feel sleepier than usual so i’m writing and posting this to stay awake 🥹

all stories are written by rei; please do not repost, plagiarize, or translate my works!!

[xmads-omensx]

Dating a British girl

Pairing: Noah Sebastian X Reader

Content Warnings: swearing, fluff

Tags: @shayeanna-ashlie @alwaysfightforwhoyouare @supersquirrel1996 @dontwantthemoney @tosoundlessdarkistare @collisionofyourkissmakesitsohard @klutzy-kay24 @heyyoplayer @lacy1986 @collidewiththesav @kenjipepsi1 @follow-me-down-to-wonderland @chey-h @thisbicc @fadingangelwisp @heyyoplayer @dsireland86 @missduffsblog @overmydeadbodysblog @dominuslunae @littlebear423 @blade-dressed-in-red @rumoured-whispers @kait16xo @eclipseeetop @xxkittenkissesxx @theanarchymuse95 @blackveilomens @lilgarbitch @lil-garbitch

Yes this is hella self-indulgent... so self-indulgent in fact that this will be very Northern / Geordie based so apologies in advance my loves <3

This was also inspired by the event of last night for those who were involved in the complete insanity (i love you guys)

The way you spoke was a little bit of a culture shock for Noah, especially with the phrases and sayings that came out of your mouth.

You often had to explain what things meant to him.

Like that “tea” was in fact “dinner” as well as being the beverage.

Or that “pudding” was “desert” and not a type of desert.

Your accent left him puzzled, especially when you called home and your accent became stronger as you spoke to your friends and family.

He did admittedly find your accent attractive however

Being from Newcastle, football was a big part of your life.

You glared at him whenever he called it soccer.

When he visited your family for the first time, your dad was insistent on taking him to the match, so you spent hours teaching him all the chants that he would need to know along with the players names and the general rules of the game.

He really enjoyed it, even though the fans were insane.

You even made your phone wallpaper a photo of you and Noah in the home kit as it had rapidly become your favourite photo of the two of you.

When Bad Omens toured the U.K., you became the unofficial tour guide, showing the guys around and telling them all of the best places to eat before and after shows.

The guys weren’t as used to the rapidly changing weather, especially not the ridiculous amount of wind that you got up north.

Folio even bought himself one of those god awful Adidas tracksuits that you couldn’t go ten feet in England without seeing.

You paid him good money to not wear it.

Matt was obviously sad that you didn’t get raccoons over in the U.K., but he settled for badgers.

Being British in the US was weird.

You often got asked to say certain phrases, or asked if you had ever met various celebrities, which you thought was weird.

Noah loved watching your comfort shows like Friday Night Dinner and the Inbetweeners. So much so that he had began randomly quoting moments from the shows you showed him.

The one thing that he didn’t understand was why there were so many different tea brands, and why there was warfare between people who liked different brands.

You had tried to explain but he wouldn’t listen.

You had even caught him making a fantasy Premier League team on his phone when he thought you weren’t looking.

That was your proudest moment as his girlfriend.

That was until he accidentally spilled boiling water on his finger and let out an extremely loud “BLOODY HELL!”

[stollengoods]

Chapter 10

It’s Not Me, It’s You

Myung-gi x Fem! Reader

Warnings: Cursing, Fights, and deaths.

Summary: Myung-gi finds out he is no longer the father of your child, Nam-gyu is.

————

Some people already got their food and were eating when you and Nam-gyu got back. You both stood in line holding hands and smiling at each other. You truly felt that Nam-gyu meant what he had said to you about wanting to be a father.

Once you guys got your food, you went and sat by Thanos, Se-mi, and Min-su.

“Look at the happy couple.” Se-mi remarked, scrunching her nose.

You gave her a genuine smile, before digging into your food. It was silent for a bit until Thanos spoke up, “I’d keep an eye on Myung-gi…” He looked over at him and you all did the same. He was sitting on his bed with a surly look on his face.

“I’ve been watching him since you guys left. He went in line, got his food, opened it up but hasn’t eaten it.”

“Probably can’t stomach that his girlfriend’s a whore.” Se-mi replied, with her hand propping up her chin.

You looked up at her through your eyelids, “He’s not my boyfriend.”

She smirked, “Could’ve fooled me.”

You set your food down with a clang and wiped your mouth getting up. Nam-gyu pulled you back down while Thanos gave Se-mi a look. “We talked about this, no more fighting, we’re all a team now and we need to start acting like one.”

Se-mi blew the few strands of hair in front of her face in response and rolled her eyes.

Nam-gyu turned to you, “You know if you need to go talk to him you can, I would understand.”

You looked over a Myung-gi again and sighed, “Yeah, I probably should.”

You got up and walked over to Myung-gi’s bed, he didn’t look up when you stood in front of him and even when you sat beside him on the bed.

“Myung-gi ?”

He continued starring at the floor, “Yeah ?”

“We should probably talk…”

“About ?” His voice was monotone almost robotic sounding.

“Us ?” You phrased it more like a question because you were nervous, he was kind of freaking you out.

He finally turned his head but didn’t look you in the eyes, “I don’t feel like talking.”

You starred at him for a few seconds and when he didn’t say or do anything else you got up from the bed. “Okay, well…” You sharply inhaled, “When you’re ready to talk, come find me.”

Once your back was turned to him, you felt shivers go down your spine. When you made it back over to Thanos’s group, Nam-gyu rubbed your back and asked how it went.

You blinked your eyes a couple of times, “Honestly… he was acting kind of strange.”

“I wonder why.” Se-mi mumbled, playing with her food.

“Se-mi.” Thanos warned, but you stopped him.

“No.” You said, “Since you love analyzing people, why don’t you tell us what’s going on ?”

Se-mi chuckled, “Isn’t it obvious ?”

You looked back at your ex and then back at Se-mi shaking your head.

“When things get tough for you, you have a back up plan. For Myung-gi he doesn’t think that way, to him it’s all or nothing. You have a fight with him and what do you do ? Go and hook up with the enemy, but what does he do ? He sits and thinks about what he has done wrong and tries to think of ways to fix it.”

You scoffed, “You give him waaay too much credit.”

She shrugged her shoulders, “You asked.”

————

When it was lights out, Nam-gyu asked if he could cuddle with you but you told him no for tonight in case Myung-gi wanted to come talk to you. But once you were in your bed, you had kind of wished you would’ve agreed to it because you couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness.

You woke up in the middle of the night to strobing lights and people screaming. You quickly sat up looking around, everyone was fighting, there were dead bodies on the floor and beds turned over.

Your eyes immediately went over to Nam-gyu’s bed and you saw no one there, then your eyes scanned Thanos’s bed. He was just laying there on his bed, probably hasn’t woke up yet. Your eyes then went to Myung-gi’s bed and he wasn’t there either.

Looking around for any familiar face you found Nam-gyu and Myung-gi wrestling each other on the floor over the illuminated X. You quickly ran over to them, carefully jumping around bodies on the ground and dodging people that were fighting each other.

You shoved Nam-gyu off of Myung-gi, “What the fuck are you doing ?!” You screamed over the chaos going around you.

Nam-gyu fell back on his ass, his jacket sporting patches of blood hear and there. You gasped as his furious gaze then landed on you, his eyes softening a bit.

“What’s going on ?” You screamed at him again, your eyes frantically scanning his body.

“He fucking killed Thanos !”

Your mouth was agape, not believing the words he was saying. You looked back at Myung-gi, he was sitting up now with a fork clutched in his hand. You noticed the fork and his entire arm covered in blood but you literally jumped back when you saw his face was painted in it.

Your breathing began picking up as you scrambled to your feet and ran over to Thanos’s bed. Once there it wasn’t hard to find the cause of death. His neck had 8 holes in it, meaning Myung-gi had struck him twice in his sleep.

You looked back over at them and saw that somehow Nam-gyu got the fork from Myung-gi and was charging him with it. You immediately sprinted into action, jumping off the platform back onto the floor they were on and in between the two men.

“Y/n, move.” Nam-gyu commanded.

“Nam-gyu… please don’t do this-“

Nam-gyu’s eyes were fixated on Myung-gi behind you. His arm still raised, “HE KILLED THANOS.” He barked in your face and you flinched turning your head away from him.

Nam-gyu let out a humorless laugh, “Why are you even defending this asshole ?” You looked into his eyes and noticed his pupils were enlarged.

Myung-gi rapped an arm around your lower abdomen, “Because she’s having my baby, you psychopath.”

That made him actually laugh and you felt the nerves build in your stomach again. “She didn’t tell you ?” He turned to you, “You didn’t tell him babe ?”

“Babe ?” You felt Myung-gi’s hand slip away from you and you turned around to face him. “Why is he calling you that ?”

Nam-gyu pressed him body against your back, rubbing your stomach, “C’mon baby, tell him.” He whispered, “It’s your turn to prove to me you’re ready to be a mother.”

You swallowed harshly, “I’m not pregnant with your baby…”

Myung-gi’s face scrunched in confusion, “Wha- How do you know already ? We had sex yesterday (y/n) ! I came in you-“

“She got her period.” Nam-gyu interrupted, smiling. “And then I came in her.”

“No… (y/n)- that’s not-“

“It’s true.” You said, pursing your lips while nodding your head, “the baby’s not yours anymore…”

“You son of a-“ Myung-gi swung and hit Nam-gyu in the face. Nam-gyu flew back, causing you to loose your footing and go crashing to the floor, face first. You turned to your side as you watched them, your vision going in and out.

Myung-gi swiftly yanked the fork from Nam-guy’s hand, stabbing himself in the process. He didn’t seem to notice as blood dripped from his palm onto the floor below him. Nam-guy’s nose was gushing from blood due to the punch Myung-gi gave him moments prior.

Nam-gyu charged forward and tackled Myung-gi to the ground. He began strangling him and Myung-gi stabbed him in the side of his shoulder causing Nam-gyu to recoil his arms. He reached one hand to touch the wound, giving Myung-gi the advantage to flip them over and roll on top of him.

You were crying and pleading for them to stop, most likely falling on deaf ears, due to the fact you could barely hear yourself.

Myung-gi stabbed him in his chest and you used all your strength to push your self up as the room was spinning around you, “NO !” A shriek erupted from your throat.

Nam-gyu tried kicking and shoving him off but was loosing strength as Myung-gi kept stabbing him over and over again in his heart. After about 7 stabs Nam-gyu’s body stopped fighting back completely, but Myung-gi kept going.

“STOP IT!” You stumbled over to his side and tried tugging on his sleeve to get him to stop but you were so emotionally and physically drained you didn’t have any strength to do so.

“Please…” You sobbed into his arm, “Please, baby, stop it…”

You felt his arm stop moving, you looked at his face and he was staring right back at you. His eyes making contact with yours but looking right through you.

He turned back to grab the fork out of his chest before stabbing him in the throat. Your eyes enlarged as you watched him. Part of you already knew that Nam-gyu wouldn’t survive his injuries but Myung-gi wanted to make sure he didn’t.

“Don’t ever call me that again.” He monotoned, as he got up, dropping the fork and walking away.

You scrambled over to Nam-gyu’s side, his eye lids wide open, starring at the ceiling. Your shaky hands patted his hair as tears fell from your eyes onto his face. You buried your head in his neck, his freshly new wound wetting the ends of your hair.

You hadn’t noticed the pink guards come in until one of them ripped you off of Nam-gyu. They placed a small machine next to his throat, when it blinked red one of them spoke into the walkie talkie to report a death.

You screamed, launching yourself forward to hold onto him. ‘They can’t take him away.’ You thought, your head laying on him as you cried into his chest.

That was until you felt something hard hit your head, it made your body bend backwards, the last thing you saw was the end of the guards gun as he smacked you in the forehead with it making everything go black.

The End.

[t00tsmcgee]

Rook as a Companion Banter Episode two: Bellara

Part 1 (Neve) | Part 2 (Bellara) | Part 3 (Davrin) |

Banter written with my Rook in mind <- Link to his own post if you want to read more about him!

-

Bellara: “You seem sad, Calais.” Calais: “Just Cal is fine, Bellara.” Bellara: “Oh, right. You seem sad, Cal.” Calais: “Yeah.” Bellara: “Is it because of everything that’s happening?” Calais: “It’s not the only reason, but it doesn’t help.” Bellara: “When I was sad Cyrian always asked me silly questions to cheer me up. Like, what happens if you get scared half to death twice?” Calais: “You know, he was on to something there.” Bellara: *chuckle*

Bellara: “Is it true cannibals don’t eat clowns because they taste funny?” Calais: *laughing* “Ugh!”

Calais: “Why aren’t blueberries blue?” Bellara: “They are! In a certain light anyway.” Calais: “Bella.” Bellara: “Oh, were you doing the silly question thing?” Calais: “Trying to anyway. Not very successfully judging by your reaction.” Bellara: “Yeah, still needs work. But you’ll get there.”

Calais: “Are the good things that come to those who wait the leftovers of those who didn’t wait?” Bellara: “Wow, that one’s deep.”

Calais: “If a fork was made of gold would it still be considered silverware?” Bellara: “I think you’d just call it cutlery.” Calais: “You’re really cramping my style.” Bellara: *laughing*

Calais: “Why does it take 10 minutes to cook rice?” Bellara: “Does it? I thought it took at least 15!” Lucanis: *disgusted noise* “This explains so much about that risotto you made the other day.”

Bellara: “Why is it called a pair of pants, when there’s only one bit of clothing involved?” Calais: “That’s what I’ve been saying!”

Calais: “I’m sorry about your brother, Bella.” Bellara: “Yeah, me too.” Calais: “We’ll find a way to help him. I know we will.” Bellara: “I hope you’re right.”

Calais: “If you tied buttered toast to a cat and dropped it, what would happen?” Bellara: “You’d never do that to a cat.” Calais: “No, you’re right. I’m just upset my buttered toast dropped this morning.” Bellara: “It was a heavy blow for us all.” Calais: “I might never recover.”

Bellara: “What was it like, growing up in the Necropolis?” Calais: “It was idyllic, I suppose. Vorgoth did the best he could to raise me as normally as possible. But my gift set me apart. It was hard to make friends.” Bellara: “Why?” Calais: “When you can peer into the veil and speak with spirits as if they were standing next to you, it gives you a leg up in a place like that.” Bellara: “Oh, leg, because of your leg thing?” Calais: “No, leg because that’s the turn of phrase.” Bellara: “Is it? Oh, right. I got them mixed up again. Sorry, I didn’t mean to be insensitive.” Calais: “That’s alright, you weren’t.” Bellara: “Does it hurt? Your leg?” Calais: “Yeah, all the time. Every day.” Bellara: “How do you cope with it?” Calais: “I have salves, and an elfroot tea that helps. Tastes like ass though.” Bellara: “Could you get a brace made, to help with the pain and the walking?” Calais: “I had one made, but I never wear it. The thing is more uncomfortable than the pain my leg causes me anyway.”

Bellara: “I heard you play piano the other night, in your room.” Calais: “And here I was, thinking I had a nice moment to myself.” Bellara: “You're very good. I stood and listened until you stopped playing.” Calais: “Thank you. And yeah, I fell asleep eventually.” Bellara: “You play until you fall asleep?” Calais: “On hard days.”

Bellara: “Will you play piano for me some time?” Calais: “I don’t do well with an audience.” Bellara: *deflated* “Oh..” Calais: “But, for you, I’ll try.” Bellara: *excited gasp* “Thank you!”

Bellara: *Humming song* Calais: *chuckling* “Liked that one, did you?” Bellara: “Oh, yes! You’re a very good piano player, and that song was so catchy. I keep hearing it in my head.” Rook: “Now I’m curious.” Bellara: “Cal played me a few songs last night, to help me get to sleep. But they were so good they kept me awake because I wanted to listen to them.” Calais: “Yeah, missed the mark on that.” Rook: “But it seems you’ve found a captive audience at least.” Calais: *chuckles* “Yeah. Who knows, maybe I’ll play in front of the team at some point.” Bellara: *excited noises* Calais: “No promises!”

[thehereticdiaries]

Dead Man Walking: Chapter Six

Summary: Hongjoong, Wooyoung, and Jeongin leave on the recon mission, only to uncover the depth of the other group's cruelty

Warnings: HEAVY heavy topics this chapter, extremely vague description of SA, violence, mentioned cannibalism (cus what's a zombie au without the token cannibal group), fun teasing moments sprinkled in between the bad stuff

Series Masterlist

Hyunjin sat in total boredom for two more days, complaining for the entirety of the second day. The group could only do so much to keep him occupied since everyone had jobs to do to prepare for the recon mission. The plan was set in motion, starting with Jisung and Changbin raiding a nearby hunting shop. All of the weapons had been picked over already, but that’s not what they came for. No, they left with three bags of clothes, face paint, binoculars, and water pouches. Everything the recon group would need to stay camouflaged and alert.

Felix and Wooyoung were currently entertaining Hyunjin with some card games. You had, thankfully, given him permission to sit up a few hours after he woke up. Wooyoung’s attempt to peek at Hyunjin’s cards was interrupted by you entering the room with the lighter and sewing kit in hand.

“I think you’ve been patient enough,” you teased while setting your supplies on the desk. “I just need to put a few stitches in, then I’ll have someone carry you to the main room.”

“Yes! Finally,” Hyunjin beamed, throwing his cards at Felix. 

“Don’t thank me yet, this is gonna hurt like a bitch,” you warned him with a slight grimace. “Wooyoung, will you hold the lighter for me again?” Rather than answering, he grabbed the lighter from the desk. You went through the same cleaning process that you did for San. Once you were done, Wooyoung left to grab one of the others.

“You wanna hold my hand?” Felix offered when he noticed the color drain from the older boy’s face. Hyunjin nodded frantically, yanking the blonde forward to squeeze his forearm and bicep.

“Okay, I’m starting now. I’ll try to be quick.” Hyunjin yelped as the sewing needle pierced his skin. His eyes clamped shut and he hid his face behind Felix's arm. Luckily, the wound was on the smaller side, so it didn’t take long to finish the stitches. 

“I hear you need my services?” Changbin joked as he and Wooyoung entered your office. You snorted, quickly hiding it with a cough.

“I don’t think you should phrase it like that, Bin,” you advised while wrapping Hyunjin’s thigh in bandages. He winked when you turned to look at him. You flushed bright pink, busying yourself with cleaning your desk. “J-just take him to the main room.”

“Yes ma’am.” He scooped Hyunjin up and promptly left the room, leaving you with Felix and Wooyoung. They stared at you with devious smirks while you did your best to ignore them.

“Y/NNNN,” Wooyoung sang, drawing out the last syllable of your name. You looked up and nearly bumped foreheads with him. Felix snickered behind his hand when you jumped back, cheeks now a deep red. “You’re blushing, sweetheart.”

“No I’m not.”

“You are though,” Felix chimed in, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth. You glared at the blonde, but it only made them smile wider.

“You get flustered easily.” Wooyoung trailed his eyes over you, purposefully going slow and obvious. “It’s cute.”

“Shut up!” You squeaked, skirting around the two boys to escape down the hall. 

“You think we went too far?” Felix nudged the older boy with his shoulder. Wooyoung grinned wickedly.

“Absolutely not. In fact, I think we should tell the others exactly what makes her blush,” he responded with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“You’re having a little too much fun with this.”

“Hey, we all feel the same. Might as well make it a group effort.” Felix rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t disagree. 

“Yeah, might as well.”

Another week went by before Hongjoong and Chan decided the recon group was ready to go. You waited by the door of the maintenance room, letting the boys wish the run group luck. After a few minutes, only you, Chan, and the run group remained. 

“Please be careful,” you pleaded while moving closer to the boys decked out in camo. “Don’t do anything stupid. Don’t let your anger make decisions for you.”

“Alright, mom, we get it,” Wooyoung groaned dramatically. You glared at him half-heartedly before pulling him into a hug. 

“I’m serious, Wooyoung.” He sighed, wrapping his arms around your waist. 

“I know. We’ll come back safe, I promise.” You clung to him for a few more seconds before moving to Jeongin. The youngest member was more than happy to return your affection, slightly lifting you off your feet while squishing you against his chest. When he released you, you patted his cheek with a mumbled ‘good luck’.

“I’m not really a hugger,” Hongjoong warned you when you turned to him. A combination of glares from the other boys and your watery eyes had his resolve crumbling. “Fine, come here.” You didn’t hesitate to attach yourself to the leader’s chest. He lazily draped his arms around you, giving you all the time you needed to put your nerves at ease.

“You know what to do,” Chan said while gingerly removing you from Hongjoong. He kept a hand on the small of your back while you nervously picked at your nails. The heavy metal door shut behind the group with a dull thud. Chris put the locks in place, then led you to join the other in the main room.

The sun was just beginning to rise when the recon group reached the woods. The quiet chatter died out the moment they stepped through the tree line. They formed a triangle, keeping about 2 meters of space between them. Hongjoong took the lead as the three of them prowled through the forest. The heat increased with every hour that passed. If it weren’t for the sparse leaves blocking some of the sunlight, the heavy, dark hunting clothes would have pushed them to heat stroke. 

Hongjoong signaled for them to stop once the sun hit the highest point in the sky. Jeongin and Wooyoung collapsed against a tree, panting heavily but silently. Thin tracks of skin broke through the green and brown face paint, washed away by sweat. Hongjoong dug through his bag and tossed protein bars and water to the two younger members. He didn’t eat, opting to scan the surrounding area between small sips of water. 

Their break didn’t last long. The younger boys barely finished their snack before Hongjoong pulled them back to their feet. Frustration built in the leader the longer their search came up empty. The group was quickly closing in on the turn-around point. They stopped again, this time to regroup before making the hike back to their base. Wooyoung doubled over, placing his hands on his knees while leaning on a tree. Jeongin paced with his face turned to the sky. 

“Okay,” Hongjoong started quietly. The sound of his voice startled the younger boys after sitting in silence for so long. “We stay for five minutes, then we get home.” Wooyoung hung his head, utterly defeated by their failure. Right as they turned to walk away, Jeongin tapped Hongjoong’s shoulder.

“Do you hear that?” The older man tilted his head, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration. Barks of laughter echoed from their left. 

“I think it’s off our course,” Wooyoung whispered, glancing nervously at the trees in the direction of the laughter. 

“I know, but we need to check.” Hongjoong placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “If it’s them, we switch to the overnight plan. Got it?” They nodded, falling back into formation with less space separating them. As luck would have it, a slight slope and a smattering of bushes gave them the perfect vantage point to observe the other group. 

Nine men circled a lone walker, prodding it with their shotguns. The walker staggered mindlessly, moving in whatever direction the men shoved it in. It tripped over its own feet and fell heavily to the ground. The men howled with laughter and shouted insults at the walker, as if it could understand them. A tenth man, slightly older than the rest, emerged from the treeline, stomping towards his companions and the walker.

“Come the fuck on, guys,” he scolded the younger men with a thick Texan accent. He stabbed the walker through the forehead, silencing its growls as it slumped to the group, fully dead once again. 

“Ughh, why’d you do that?” Wooyoung rapidly tapped Hongjoong’s shoulder at the familiar voice. “We were just havin’ some fun, Garrett.”

“Nah, you dumbasses were wasting time,” Garrett, the oldest man in the group and the obvious leader, sighed tiredly. “Let me guess, you started this. Ain’t that right, Shane?” 

“Yeah, and?” The man with the tooth necklace crossed his arms, glaring down at Garrett. The others in the group stood awkwardly to the side.

“You listen here, boy.” He smacked Shane on the side of the head. The younger man grimaced but held his tongue. “We came out here for one fuckin’ reason. Your bullshit made this run a total fuckin' failure. Stop getting distracted.”

“Yes, sir.” One look from Garrett sent the group into motion. Hongjoong motioned for them to follow. They trailed Garrett’s men, just close enough to keep them within view. The sky burned a rusty orange as the sun dipped closer to the horizon. They reached Garrett’s camp and stopped dead in their tracks. Horror spread across Jeongin and Wooyoung's faces while Hongjoong stared blankly ahead of them. This was worse than they ever could have imagined.

For a while after the recon group left, everyone else sat in a solemn silence in the main room. You sat between Yeosang and Felix in a loose fetal position, anxiously and rapidly bouncing your knees. They each set a gentle hand on your legs to stop you from shaking the floorboards. 

“Sorry,” you mumbled, tilting your head back to rest on the wall. Yeosang drooped down so he could use your shoulder as a pillow. His hand slid from your knee to your ankle, hooking his arm around your leg. Felix soothingly rubbed circles on your knee. As much as he wanted to tease you, he knew now wasn’t the time. You closed your eyes and allowed their warmth to settle your nerves, at least a little bit.

“Fuck,” Jisung cursed, jumping to his feet and startling the rest of you. “I can’t just sit here doing fuck all. Chan, can Yunho and I go up to the hardware store?”

“What? Why?” The leader lifted his head from his arms to squint at him.

“Garden supplies,” Yunho grunted as he uncurled himself from the floor. 

“Uh, yeah. Sure, just be back within an hour,” Chan agreed with a wave of his hand. 

“I’ll start cleaning out the basement while you’re gone.” You nudged Yeosang from your shoulder, earning a dramatic groan from him. “We can build when you’re back.” 

“I can help you clean,” Jongho offered. The four of you split up after leaving the office. The basement wasn’t horribly messy, but there was a build-up of dust, dead leaves, and cobwebs in every corner. 

“Are we gonna be able to grow anything down here? There’s not a lot of sunlight,” Jongho asked while surveying the room. Several slim windows lined the perimeter of the wall just under the ceiling, allowing flat beams of sunlight into the room.

“I put battery-powered growth lights on the list, so Jisung and Yunho will try to find them. If not, I think there’s still enough for shade-tolerant plants,” you explained while sweeping debris into a large dustpan. The two of you worked in a sort-of comfortable silence. You were still tense with worry, but cleaning was a welcome distraction. Time passed by in a blur, and pretty soon Jisung was shouting for you to meet them outside.

“Woah, you guys got a lot,” Jongho whistled. Yunho and Jisung managed to bring three very full carts back to the office. With nothing better to do, Minho emerged from the office to take charge of the garden set-up. You, Jongho, Jisung, and Minho carried everything downstairs while Yunho grabbed Mingi and Changbin to get the funnel connected. Getting the wide funnel bolted to the lip of the roof was easy, but getting the tubing to cooperate was another story.

“Y/N?” You looked up at a sheepish Mingi. “Can you help us?” You nodded, standing from your seat on the floor to follow the taller man. The other three could handle building a simple raised garden, especially with Minho directing. 

“Oh, shit.” You craned your neck to stare at the little window they were attempting to feed the pipe through. Whatever room this was before, it had an annoyingly high ceiling. The window was just out of reach, even for Yunho and Mingi. “What’s the plan?”

“Hop on,” Yunho grinned while crouching in front of you. 

“Excuse me?”

“Get on my shoulders.” You raised your eyebrows skeptically, but did as he instructed. Yunho held your knees and stood. You squeaked in surprise, hunching over to keep your balance. 

“You good up there?” Mingi teased, following behind Yunho as he approached the wall. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Changbin!” You called and stuck your arm out the open window. “Try swinging the tube toward me.” 

“Okay!” The clear tubing whipped around, constantly missing your hand by a hair’s width. You huffed, stretching your arm as far as possible so Changbin could hopefully see his target. Yunho held his breath when your belly pressed against the back of his head. Finally, you snatched the tube and pulled it inside. Your victory cheers were cut off by a yelp as you lost balance, tipping dangerously backward. 

“Woah!” Mingi kept you from falling with a hand to the center of your back. “Careful, you still need to anchor the tube to the windowsill.”

“Right, thanks for the save,” you sighed. Mingi’s hand left you briefly to hand you a pipe strap and screws. This time when you reached up, Yunho held tightly onto your thighs while Mingi kept you steady with one hand on your lower back and the other on your hip. You poured all of your focus into the task at hand to distract you from the warmth of their hands (and your face).

“Having fun up there?” Yeosang smirked while leaning on the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. You turned to him like a deer caught in headlights despite the fact that you weren’t doing anything wrong.

“Uhh… yes?” It was kinda fun being that tall. The three men tried and failed to suppress their laughter. You felt Yunho’s shoulders shake with the effort. You smacked the top of his head. “Hey! Don’t be mean.”

“Oh, trust me,” Yunho started, angling his head to peek up at you. “You haven’t seen mean yet, babe.”

“Yet…?” Once his words were processed in your mind, you turned wide-eyed to Mingi and Yeosang for help. They, of course, offered nothing but sly grins. You shook your head and finished screwing in the strap. “Done, you can let me down now.”

“Hmm, what if I don’t want to?”

“Yunho,” you whined, covering your face with your hands. He relented when Yeosang tapped his arm, crouching down to set you back on your feet. With that, you managed to get through the rest of the day without worrying yourself sick. Unfortunately, you weren’t going to have a very restful night knowing that three of your group members were still out in the woods. 

Everyone was cranky the next morning. It would seem that no one slept well last night, unsurprisingly. After a silent, anxious breakfast, you brought San into your office to remove his stitches. 

“Finally,” he huffed and sat on your desk/exam table. You rolled your eyes with a small shake of your head.

“Don’t forget you still need to take it easy until it’s fully healed,” you reminded him while cleaning a tiny pair of sewing scissors with an alcohol prep pad. “So no going on runs or doing any heavy lifting, okay?”

“Can I at least put a shirt on?”

“Yes, as long as it’s a button-up.” You scrunched your eyebrows in concentration as you snipped the first stitch. He grimaced at the odd feeling, thankful that it wasn’t painful. 

“Sorry.” You paused to tilt your head at San.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Cus I’ll be covered up. You won’t be able to ogle me anymore,” he smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. You gasped loudly at his accusation.

“I do not-!” You scoffed, returning to the stitches while mumbling to yourself. “God, what is with you guys? We get a garden built and suddenly everyone’s a flirt.” San dissolved into cackles, obviously having heard your rant. You removed the rest of the thread and wiped down the healing cut. The fact that it didn’t get infected was a minor miracle in your eyes. Suddenly, Felix barrelled into your office, making you scream and jump into San.

“They’re back!” You immediately sprinted down the hall and into the maintenance room. Minho, Seonghwa, and Yeosang comforted Wooyoung and Jeongin, who both looked pale and distraught. Chan and Hongjoong talked in hushed voices on the other side of the room. You didn’t hesitate in wrapping the two younger boys in a hug, first Jeongin, then Wooyoung. Their hands trembled against your shoulders as they used your body heat to ground themselves. After giving them each a quick once-over for injuries, you rushed to the other side of the room and attached yourself to Hongjoong. He didn’t protest this time. One of his arms stayed limp at his side, but his other hand reached up to cradle the back of your head.

“What happened?” You asked against his chest.

“It’s worse than we thought,” Hongjoong sighed heavily. Your fingers tightened around his shirt. “Fuck, I don’t even know where to start.”

“How many of them?” Chan asked, stepping closer to rest a hand on your lower back.

“At least 25 or 30. There could be more, they had a lot of tents set up.” Hongjoong glanced warily at you. “And… that doesn’t include the captives.”

“They have captives?! What’s their set-up?” Chan continued his questioning. 

“They had maybe 10 women and 5 men chained to posts. There was a couple, not much older than us, that the group was messing with. They, fuck,” Hongjoong swallowed the bile that rose in the back of his throat. “They made him watch while they, uh, forced themselves on her.”

“Jesus, fuck,” the eldest cursed. You froze, hardly even breathing, at the thought of what would’ve happened if Emma and Grace hadn’t fought back. Hongjoong’s free arm wrapped around your shoulders as the tears began to fall. “What did they do with the man?”

“I’m not totally sure. I turned us around right after they slit his throat. Wooyoung and Jeongin didn’t need to see any more of that. But I think they dragged him to a hook to bleed him out.”

“Why would they need to do that? He was already dead.” Chan asked while pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

“To butcher him,” you realized with horrified disgust. Chan inhaled sharply while Hongjoong dropped his chin to rest on your head.

“Oh my fucking god, they’re fucking cannibals.” Luckily, only Minho and Seonghwa remained in the room.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Seonghwa groaned, pacing the room with his hands on his head. 

“Shit. Shit!” Minho hissed and kicked one of the shelves, rattling the weapons that sat on it. 

“We have no choice, we have to–”

“We’re not doing anything today,” Chan interrupted his co-leader. “We’ll have a meeting tomorrow. Right now, everyone get some rest. We’re gonna need the strength.” You reluctantly let go of Hongjoong, following the four eldest to the main room to sit in an exhausted silence with the others.

Permanent Taglist: @furfoxsake22 @babygirlskz98 @miniverse-zen @holly-here @corgilover20 @eastjonowhere @bookswillfindyouaway

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[getaapologist]

The Tension and the Terror................Part III

Pairing: Emperor Geta x OFC (extremely loosely, character is named but otherwise not described besides hair length in a later part)

Summary: The games officially begin. Macrinus furthers his plot, and Letha gets to witness the Emperors in their element. Geta can keep a secret.

Warnings: Reference to Letha's Voyeurism if you squint, 18+ only

Word Count: 2.1k (next part should make up the difference)

Part 3 of 13?

[ Part II ]

Series Masterlist

A/N: I love writing Macrinus. I just think he's fun. Even though we hate him, a lot. Geta is fun too. I hope you enjoy a bit from his perspective here. One latin phrase here, "Dei bene vertant" is close to "may the gods make (circumstances good) for you," or so I understand. I wanted something like "Good luck!" Also, I HC that Geta has a shortened version of Caracalla's name that he uses sometimes. Anyways, thanks for reading!

“Not much of a bodyguard, abandoning your post,” Macrinus chuckled, his spirits high. He sat on the edge of the bed in her cell where she still laid, tossing a pear up into the air and catching it, again and again, his jewelry clinking together as if in protest. He had brought her back last night, not uttering a word more to her about her disappearance, merely asking for the dress back before disappearing into his chambers.

“What’s got you smiling this morning?” she asked, avoiding his attempt to weasel information out of her. “The winnings?” She knew better.

“It wasn’t about the money, my dear Letha. It is about power and control.”

“So, a debt of two thousand gold denarii is not enough.”

“Not for what I hope to accomplish.”

He wasn’t pushing her on her disappearance, so maybe he didn’t know who she had been with. A relief, to be sure. Still, it would only take one conversation with the indebted senator and he’d get his answers. She couldn’t begin to predict his reaction once he knew.

“Yesterday paved the way to the hill. I received word today that I’m invited to attend the games. As an honored guest of the Emperors, no less.”

Letha wondered if she played any role in this invitation. Surely not. Part of her felt bad for keeping her interactions with Geta from him, but a larger part of her saw his manipulations and scheming and knew he’d drown her in a river if it put him even one step closer to his goals. She didn’t enjoy being someone else’s pawn, even if it got her what she wanted. Or what she thought she wanted.

“How long will I be stuck in here, at the mercy of your men?”

“Well, it would be about… ten days or so. But where I go, so does my bodyguard,” he winked. “I still have use for you, Letha.” With that, he stood. “Go and see Hyacinthia. She’ll help you get scrubbed up. I’m heading up early.”

He got up and strode out. She got to her feet and approached Viggo who waited just outside, cuffs and chains ready to be applied. Macrinus’s voice echoed down the corridor. “No chains, Viggo.”

Viggo seemed reluctant and she couldn’t exactly blame him. He had never done anything to her himself, but he had seen the aftermath of others that couldn’t keep their eyes or their hands to themselves. So he viewed her as a caged animal, as he should. It was better that they feared her a little.

“Get moving, princess,” he spat, gesturing to the baths.

The roaring of the crowd drowned out everything else. The city, its people, clamored for blood. They called for the gladiators elevated to household names through their bloody work in the arena. They were eager to witness inarguable power. They preferred to keep danger out of reach, the reality of it confined to this oval as if it were a play, instead of calling it what it truly was. Brutalism, propped up by religion. If there truly were gods, she didn’t think they’d be sitting here right now.

The tone of the crowd changed. Letha heard their footsteps before she could turn her head to lay eyes on them. The twins. The difference in height and build was staggering now that they were dressed in lighter clothing, an attempt to weather the heat that settled over the sand below.

She revisited her mantra to quell the way her blood reacted to the sight of Geta.

He is a monster.

And yet nothing he had done to her seemed to match that sentiment. Perhaps today would be different. She desperately needed the discouragement. Anything to bring her back to how she thought of him just a couple of days ago. The way she reacted at the sight of him filled her with shame. What would her brother have to say about the way her intestines coiled up at every glance, like a bundle of snakes had been sewn into her gut?

Macrinus sat beside her, stoic, his eyes scanning the other occupants of the Emperor’s box. The twins were taking their seats upon ornate chairs, wide enough for two, conversing quietly with each other, Caracalla’s excitement obvious. Geta mirrored his gleeful smile and she forced herself to look away, lest Macrinus catch her staring. 

She had a job to do.

A few other senators took up seats near the back of the private box, and Thraex plopped down in a seat across the aisle from where she and Macrinus sat. Thraex clearly had seen better days. Letha supposed the reminder this morning of his existing debt to Macrinus had sat in his gut like spoiled fish, even though he readily agreed to plunge ever deeper into despair by potentially doubling his losses. She figured he thought this would be his salvation. One good win would ease all his troubles.

“Dei bene vertant, senator,” Macrinus grinned. Thraex offered a muttered returned wish with a short smile before he was saved by Caracalla turning in his seat, peering over the back of his chair to inspect the occupants of their royal box. 

“Thraex, I never got to thank you for your wonderful party,” he spoke, his voice easygoing and free of hidden nuance. “Have you brought your best today?”

Thraex put on a mask of love for his Emperor, his smile reaching his eyes this time. “Of course, your majesty, and I have even brought some gifts, they await you back at the palace.”

“Gifts?! Do you hear that brother?”

At Caracalla’s summoning, Geta turned in his seat, following his brother’s gaze to Thraex, bypassing Letha entirely. She shouldn’t be surprised. She was a fool if she expected any of that night’s events to have impacted him. She was a tiny blip, an aberration. One of many, insignificant. When he could quite literally have his pick of anyone, it surely wouldn’t be her name spilling from his lips. 

He looked good today. Wearing gold, still dressed in contrast to his twin. He seemed tired, not as enthralled at the idea of gifts as his brother was. “How generous of you, Thraex,” he offered, turning back around to watch as the stage below was being set for a bloody battle.

“Excuse him, Thraex, he’s lost all his manners this morning. If he loses even a moment of his beauty rest, he’s just so difficult–”

“‘Calla, please,” Geta begged, his fingers pressed to his temples. 

Macrinus turned, his eyebrows lifted in slight amusement out of view of the Emperors, a look saved for only her. “Volatile, indeed,” he commented.

Before Letha could ponder further what could’ve affected him so, the crowd roared as men were let into the oval, armed with various weapons, wearing odd bits of armor, appearing as a ragtag group. “Do not forget about your task, Letha,” Macrinus warned, eyes fixed on the men below. 

“Here? Now?” she inquired, glancing around at the guards stationed at the box entrance, and on the sides, blocking the Emperors’ subjects from climbing over to exact any kind of revenge. 

“No. But tonight, at dinner, I need you on your best behavior.” His stare was deadly serious. No joking around. This was important to him. She couldn’t afford to mess it up.

“I understand,” she nodded, reminded of the moment he decided to include her in his plans. His warning. She’d have done anything then to be protected from the vultures that followed her around ever since being collected from the floor of her house. She’d lashed out at anyone that even looked at her, diverting her sorrow into rage towards those that took her family from her. 

The general should have killed her. But he didn’t. He had paved the path to this. Macrinus saw in her a tool, to be used and discarded when it broke or his purpose was achieved. She held no illusions of how Macrinus felt towards her. It was indifference, in its purest form. The act was his smiles, his gentle touches, his teasing, almost fatherly. Whether he thought she believed it didn’t matter either.

She should assume anyone could be a threat and treat them as such, the Praetorians included. The twins may somehow still have the loyalty of the commanding officer, but that didn’t mean all of the rank and file agreed. And for some, the promise of enough coin could steer their morals any which way.

Her concerns for Geta and his sour mood melted away, and she stopped looking over to try to catch a glimpse of his face as he watched the fighting below, Caracalla cheering loudly at every drop of spilled blood on the sand until Thraex’s assembled side lay dead. 

Thraex stood and left the box before anyone could speak comfortingly to him about the losses he’d suffered. They wouldn’t know the breadth of them.

Macrinus just smiled to himself, reclining in his seat, his leg brushing against Letha’s.

“How much is it up to now, Macrinus?” she asked, trying to distract herself from Geta as he rose to his feet, about to leave the box. 

“By my low born math, it must be about six?” he grinned, his arm stretching along the top of their bench seat, his fingers righting the dress where it sat atop her shoulder, lingering. 

“You aren’t done with him yet.”

“No, not yet. I don’t think we’ve reached the groveling stage,” he laughed.

Letha laughed with him, completely missing the way Geta’s eyes lifted at the sound, realizing for the first time that she was present.

Geta watched the way Macrinus’s jeweled fingers pulled at the fabric covering Letha’s shoulder. The closeness of the two of them sparked a flicker of jealousy in him, an emotion he wasn’t used to having to manage. If he was ever jealous, truly jealous, he could simply lay claim to whatever it was for himself. It usually paled in comparison to what he’d built up in his mind, but it never mattered. The possession of it was enough.

“Snap out of it.” Caracalla giggled at Geta’s expense before nudging his brother aside so he could climb the stairs up to the exit, eager to get his hands on Thraex’s promised gifts. 

The very source of his ire and frustration had been sitting just over his shoulder. He’d been too in his own head to even realize it. Before he could stop himself, coach himself on a better approach, Geta moved, words tumbling from his lips. “Macrinus, I do hope to see you at dinner this evening. We must toast to your barbarians.”

Letha’s eyes widened slightly as she was drawn out of her laughter and up to Geta’s practiced look of interest. Not in her, but in the dinner party. He was plenty interested in her. She looked a lot like she had that night, almost fearful of him. It warmed his blood.

“I am looking forward to it, Emperor, I greatly appreciate the hospitality,” Macrinus praised, gesturing at the confines of the royal box.

Geta smiled. “I thought you would.” He looked over at her, seeing some recognition there. He had hoped Macrinus’s other lady would still be indisposed with her fictional illness. His gamble had paid off. Perhaps she hadn’t told Macrinus of their encounter. What would she have said? ‘Macrinus, I watched Geta lie with a concubine.’ Though not fully, he reminded himself. He would’ve asked more of Lyra, but then he caught Letha’s stare. As if he’d been bewitched, he sent Lyra away early. Letha’s gaze was as strong as the fabled gorgon’s. 

Still, best not to give up their little secret. Anything to keep Macrinus bringing her around. “And this is?”

“Oh, yes, of course. This is Letha, your majesty,” Macrinus introduced her. She bowed to him, all mirth gone from her face. 

“Ah, Letha, well, please, what’s ours is yours. Do enjoy yourselves this evening, as our esteemed guests, both of you.” Geta knew he was looking too long at her, Macrinus wasn’t a stupid man. But some part of him didn’t care to keep up appearances. She had distracted him without even being in the room. He could enjoy this. 

One last lingering glance her way and he moved on, climbing the steps with renewed vigor, a smile tugging at his lips. For the first time in a long time, Geta felt a shiver travel down his spine at the thrill of pursuit. What he would do if he got his hands on her, he didn’t know. But it didn’t matter. The possession of her would be enough.

[ Part IV ]

[wintericekit]

Okay, this is my first actual post but I want to say a theory I have. I was watching the Michaela Laws stream where she shows her friends Epic the musical, and I noticed how they were talking about Eurylochus and I noticed something.

It is well known that Eurylochus and Odysseus swap roles during the Luck Runs Out reprise in Mutiny, but I now have a theory or head cannon. We all see how Odysseus experienced the underworld, how it made him realize he needed to become a monster, and we all know how up until that point Eurylochus has been shown to be willing to sacrifice the crew to save the majority of them. This is why people see him as a hypocrite in Mutiny.

But why does everyone think Odysseus was the only one who saw the dead crew? What if Eurylochus did as well?

My head cannon now is that Eurylochus saw the dead crew mates aswell. But instead of it being an Oh, I must become a monster and ruthless to get home realization like it was for Odysseus, it was a different realization. A realization that they had already lost so many people.

Maybe Eurylochus realized just how many people died already, and how he almost let more die as well. How he was about to leave some of the crew with Circe as pigs. It would have made him realize he didn’t want anyone else dead, and explain his sudden change and why he was so mad at Odysseus sacrificing six of the crew. If he just realized he almost lead to other crew mates dying and that he didn’t want anyone else to die, it would make sense for him to feel so mad and betrayed at how quickly Odysseus let them die after they just saw everyone else who died on their voyage.

I’m not sure, this is mostly me trying to just say my current head cannon and theory.

[kacievvbbbb]

I think it’s interesting how as time goes on Zoro kind of becomes more and more like mihawk in some ways whether that’s just because if you spend time with someone for 2 years you’re bound to pick up their habits or a deliberate attempt to emulate him is a conversation for another time. And Mihawk and Zoro where already pretty similar at the start so it’s a little hard to notice now.

But yeah whether unconsciously or consciously Zoro is becoming a bit more like Mihawk and it’s interesting to think that while this means maturing in some ways (he’s swordsmanship for one but he’s also just quieter much more assured of himself) it also means deaging in some others.

Despite their significant age gap and general dispositions, when it comes down to it Zoro is just a lot more emotionally mature and developed than Mihawk is. And a big part of why is because he found something larger than himself to devote his life too, hell Mihawk himself even kind of acknowledges this when he agrees to take Zoro on as a student when Zoro begs for the sake of his captain and crew. He acknowledges that putting aside his own ego and dreams for the sake of someone else isn’t something he can do and sees it as a fault in himself and a strength in Zoro.

Mihawk may be outwardly mature and his skills defiently did not stagnant but I’d wager that Mentally Mihawk is still stuck at the same age he was when he took over the title of world’s strongest swordsman. Honestly maybe even younger. And it isn’t until training Zoro, letting Perona stay with him, for probably the first time in his life taking charge of lives outside his own did he finally unarrest his development.

If Zoro is purposely trying to emulate Hawkeyes, which it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was that’s who he’s trying to be Afterall, then it would honestly set him back emotionally because fundamentally as he is now Mihawk’s attitude doesn’t work in a crew. It’s too singular, too abrasive. And while that abrasiveness can be useful in Zoro’s role as Luffy’s first mate sometimes it makes him a little too callous a little too apathetic, like with his disregard for Luffy’s sadness over vegapunk.

But Zoro has his crew to temper that, they are honestly just too ridiculous to ever stay serious around. And try as he might to hide it Zoro is also just a silly dude who likes to be horrifically petty with his opponents. And zoro still has so much fire in him, so much he has too prove and so much he wants to protect to ever really fall into Mihawk’s apathy. Zoro has Luffy who even after they reach their dreams will probably still continue to turn the world upside down forever keeping Zoro in some kind of trouble and his life interesting.

Zoro can’t be Mihawk because even Mihawk can’t be Mihawk anymore. Being with crossguild and crossing with the Red hair pirates and the strawhats is going to change him, it has too. if Mihawk is going to live after losing his title he’s probably gonna have to become a little bit more like Zoro.

[trees-to-meet-you]

MY POOR GIRL IS LITERALLY JUST WAITING TO BE EXPELLED

[changelingeyes]

i like writing Augustus and Changeling as people who really Get each other but still occasionally talk past one another; like it is fun to write autistic misunderstanding/miscommunication as a Neutral trait instead of a Negative one, you know? just A Thing That Happens rather than the source of huge conflicts or drama

[exopelagic]

i can’t believe i managed to get fucking mono and didn’t even get it by doing anything fun

[foldingfittedsheets]

Back when I was first leaving the mattress store in 2017 I interviewed at a few places. One was Tesla, the other a jewelry store. I wasn’t a fan of Musk, but I liked the idea of electric cars and I’ve always excelled at sales so I felt like it was worth considering.

I arrived and chatted with the sales manager who said everyone started on phones before they could work their way up. I was a little wary of that as I’m not a phone person but she laughed and said, “Well, you know. We’re still just a startup, so everyone has to put in the hours.”

I stared at her in confusion. Tesla. A startup. In 2017. What???

I laughed a little and suggested that it was past that stage of growth but she doubled down and repeated it later. I remained baffled. After the interview she offered to let me talk to an employee to see how happy she was.

I readily agreed. The manager left. I asked the employee how happy she was.

She said that sometimes pay was late, that promotions were promised that didn’t manifest for months, but that overall she liked working there and cut them slack because they were still just a startup.

I stared at her. It was like listening to a cultist repeating a phrase that was in direct contradiction with reality. I wanted to ask what she thought a startup was but I just thanked her for her time.

I got offered both jobs, Tesla or jewelry. Jewelry offered four more dollars an hour. When I turned down the Tesla lady I kindly said that I didn’t feel there was as much job security in a startup.

[beloveds-embrace]

(Poly 141 x medic reader, where you might as well be the sun to them)

The phrase started as a whisper.

It drifted through the base like smoke curling around corners, impossible to pin down but impossible to ignore.

“Here comes the sun.”

It bounced off walls, passing lips in hushed tones, slipping into conversations as a half-joke, half-omen. At first, the 141 didn’t pay it much attention. Soldiers had their quirks, their superstitions- rituals to keep them sane when missions dragged too long and they smelled more blood than earth. But this one stuck.

Price furrowed his brow the first time he heard it. Ghost only tilted his head slightly, filing it away. Gaz grimaced and muttered something about troops getting weird ideas. Soap, though- he took notice.

He’d caught it more than once before a mission, said like a prayer or maybe a warning. He’d asked around, but answers were vague. “You’ll know when you see it.” That’s all they’d tell him. It irritated him to no end.

Then the mission happened.

It was supposed to be a clean extraction. A quick in-and-out, but things went sideways fast. Soap had been covering the team’s six when the ambush hit. A sharp crack split the air, followed by the searing pain in his side. He hit the ground hard, blood soaking into the dirt, a familiar, burning ache travelling through his body.

“Soap’s hit!” Gaz’s voice barked through comms, panic threading through the static.

“Pull him out!” Price ordered.

But the line fizzled and died. Soap’s world narrowed- gunfire, shouts, and the taste of copper in his mouth. He couldn’t hear the others anymore. The ground felt colder than it should have. He pressed his hand against the wound, but it was bad. Really bad.

This is it, he thought. This is where I die.

The edges of his vision blurred. He barely noticed the figure sprinting toward him until a flash of bright red and orange, a blazing fire, pierced through the smoke and haze.

Like the sun.

You hit the ground beside him, all motion and precision, your gear unlike anything he’d ever seen. Bright red and orange covered your tactical vest and helmet- colors that didn’t belong in a war zone. Colors that should’ve made you a target, a dead woman walking.

But instead, you looked like salvation.

“Stay with me, Sargeant.” You said, voice sharp and steady. You weren’t panicked- not even a little. It was comforting.

Soap stared, wide-eyed, as your hands worked quickly to stop the bleeding. He should’ve been paying attention to the pain, to the gunfire, to anything else- but he couldn’t stop looking at you.

“What the hell are ya wearing?” he rasped, because that was apparently the only thought his brain could form.

You didn’t look up. “Bright colors make it easier to spot me. Medics don’t have the luxury of hiding- we have to be seen when it counts.”

“It’s bloody ridiculous.” he muttered- and then sucked in a sharp breath as you tightened the bandage.

“Maybe,” you said, finally glancing at him. “But it got me here, didn’t it?”

Soap’s heart stumbled. Your eyes were sharp, focused- but there was something else there too, something warm. Something steady.

Here comes the sun.

It hit him all at once. That’s what the others meant. It wasn’t just the colors. It was you. The way you moved, the way your voice cut through the noise, the way you didn’t hesitate for a second.

“Stay awake, Sargeant.” You ordered, and for the first time in his life, he didn’t have a single smart remark.

Much later, he woke up in the med tent, groggy but alive, and immediately found himself staring at you again.

You were restocking supplies nearby, your bright gear an almost comical contrast to the sterile white walls. The moment you noticed him looking, you crossed the room.

“You’re awake,” you said, checking his vitals. Your voice was softer now, calm and patient. He felt like he could melt. “Good.”

“You’re real.” He blurted out before he could stop himself.

You raised an eyebrow, tilting your head. “What?”

“Thought I was hallucinating.” He gestured vaguely at your vest, a grin cracking on his lips. “I mean, look at ya.” Lovely. The sun has never looked better.

Your lips twitched, like you were holding back a smile. “I get that a lot.”

Before he could come up with anything else to say- anything remotely smooth- the tent flap opened.

Price, Ghost, and Gaz stepped in, their eyes immediately landing on you. And for once, Soap wasn’t the only one caught off guard.

Gaz blinked. “You’re… bright.”

“Easy to spot.” You said, beaming.

Ghost stared at you for a few seconds longer, peering, before he spoke. “…You’re the sun.”

Price studied you for a long moment as well, then nodded like something clicked into place with a sigh. “Makes sense.”

You, on the other hand, looked confused and unsure, tilting your head once more in the way kittens do.

Soap couldn’t stop staring. He barely even heard the others talking, answering your confusion. All he could think about was how you’d shown up when he thought he was done for- and how you’d looked like a fiery star in the vast expanse of a cold, dark sky.

You glanced at him again, eyes sharp and warm all at once, lips quirking in a delicate smile while Gaz talked with you.

Here comes the sun, he thought.

(… would it be possible to cradle the sun, such warmth, in his hands?)

Part Two

[seumyo]

KENJI SATO ✰ 10:43

“Working overtime really doesn’t suit you, Sato.” The teasing sentence made Kenji grunt in disapproval, slumping against his couch.

“Wow, I didn’t notice. Thank you for that valuable input, [Name],” he says, rolling his eyes at you. 

He can’t help the sarcastic reply. Kenji’s schedule was all over the place. His life has been all over the place ever since his return to his home country, Japan. And now he not only has to take care of himself—which, in his defense, was fairly simple when he just had to worry about himself—he has to worry about an infant Kaiju!

What a wonderful (not) icing on the cake.

“Ken is really appreciative that you made time to fulfill his request, or, shall I say, cry for help, [Name].” Mina’s familiar voice flurried from a distance, closing in to your right in a breeze. 

“Hey! It was not a cry for help—it’s more like a... Asking a friend for a favor,” Kenji says, trying to ease his brain with what’s coming out of his mouth (like it was on autopilot, scrambling to defend himself and the pride he had left).

“Uh huh. And the favor is? I don’t really think there’s anything I could do to her containment unit or any repairs that’re needed in this place.”

“I just need someone to watch over her.”

(“I just need someone to talk to” is a much fitting phrase.)

“Doesn’t Mina already do that?”

“There’s only so much a supercomputer like me can do to entertain a living being, [Name].”

On cue, Emi croons at the video of you singing on stage. A part time career of yours, because when you’re not developing new tech that boosts the economy, you might as well indulge in your hobbies. 

Kenji wouldn’t admit it, but he has a vinyl or two—or even a whole collection of them—that he considers as priceless as his one-of-a-kind sports car displayed in the basement.

“Would you look at that? She likes your singing.” 

He watches as you take a step closer to Emi, observing how she delightedly squealed at the soft melody being played on the holograms. This 20-foot-tall baby Kaiju reminded you of the time you took care of children at the daycare center.

“I just...” he sighs. You didn’t even notice that Kenji was already beside you, offering you a canned drink. 

“How do you do it? Juggle everything?” He murmurs. “You’re the busiest person I know. Working on your thesis, performing at various concerts, taking on charity work, and whatnot. Hell, if you could run for president, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you in the elections, too.”

A quiet laugh was returned. “It’s not easy, that’s for sure. But within time, you’ll learn just what you need and what you can handle.”

“Mm. Don’t you ever just want to run away from all the responsibilities people place on your shoulders? I can barely take care of this young lady,” he chuckles, though it doesn’t hold even the slightest ounce of humor to it.

“I wish, but then I’ll remember the kids who're so happy to see me whenever I drop by,” you say. “They may be a handful at times, but you’ll be surprised to know just how smart and caring they are. How they take in their surroundings and attempt to figure out who they are. We’re all what they have. The least we could do is give them our time and love all the same.”

Kenji lets your words sink in. Simple and touching. The kind that gets the gears in his head to start twisting.

“You really are a charm with your words; did you know that?”  

“Thanks; I try my best.”

The night continues with Kenji and Emi playing baseball on a simulated field with you by the shed, cheering on from a safe distance. Kenji doesn’t remember the last time he’s been this genuinely happy after his return to Japan. It’s a refreshing feeling that he wants to get used to again. To see the baby Kaiju successfully hit the ball with a swift swing after watching after him is a sight that tugs at one’s heartstrings.

Just like a proud father.

“Come on, girl! We gotta run the bases!”

And as the two celebrate their moment of triumph, the baby Kaiju stomps toward you and giggles happily as she hoists you in the air without much warning. You took it all in you not to shriek and absolutely lose all composure, but when you’re up in the air and are being held to a bear hug like some sort of teddy bear by a Kaiju that could probably crush your bones if not careful, it’s hard to not just scream for your life.

“Oh, ok—ok. Baby, put me down gently, please,” you chuckle nervously. 

“It appears that the little one sees you as her other mother,” Mina adds.

Kenji laughs at the sight, pulling out his phone to take a picture. This is definitely a memory he’d want to remember.

“This is not funny, Kenji. Tell her to put me down.”

“Aw, is Baby not listening to her Mommy?”

“Again, not funny. This is like an out-of-the-blue co-parenting a child with you. With you being my annoying ex-husband.”

“Specific, eh?”

“Shut!”

When you’re just about to leave for the night, Kenji suggests that you sleep over. There’s a lot of spare bedrooms in their manor, he reasons. He also doesn’t understand what came over him to offer, but he doesn’t take it back.

But it could be because he’s missed you. And he’s somewhat afraid that this may be the last time you see each other in a while due to your clashing schedules.

“You’re such a girl dad, Kenji,” you tease.

“Haha, good one,” he says, rolling his eyes at you. He took a couple of blankets from the closet and placed them on the bed.

“Just saying.”

“Whatever you say, Mommy.”

“Oh hush, Daddy.”

That ringed out a laugh from him. “Bleh, that sounds so embarrassing coming from you.”

You shrugged. “Hm? Don’t you think you’re embarrassing too?”

“I’m not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Are too. I will not be going back and forth like this with you anymore, Kenji Sato. Good night!”

Kenji can’t hide the smile that appears on his face. Yeah, he definitely missed this. 

Definitely missed you.

SEUMYO © 2024. PLEASE DO NOT REPOST, PLAGIARIZE, MODIFY OR TRANSLATE.

[5sospenguinqueen]

Papaya Rules | Oscar Piastri x Driver! Reader

Summary: From on-track rivals to reluctant teammates, the trauma of team orders issued by Mclaren bond you and Oscar in a way you never expected. 

Warnings: mentions of papaya rules, swearing

Requested: Yes by @1800-love-me (a while ago. oops)

F1 Masterlist

━━━━ ༻𖥸༺ ━━━━

2023 

f1 posted a new story

itsyn_ln replied and that’s community service for piastri  → f1 girl, aren’t you supposed to be in the media pen → itsyn_ln five more minutes → i’m in no rush 

mclaren replied no time to explain but we need you to delete this before oscar sees → we need them to get along

━━━━ ༻𖥸༺ ━━━━

mclaren just posted

liked by landonorris, jackdoohan and others

mclaren breaking news mclaren f1 racing is pleased to announce that yn ln will be joining the team in 2024, alongside oscar piastri, on a multi-year contract. we cannot wait to see what she can achieve with us

33,814 comments

itsyn_ln thank you for this opportunity! now i need to figure out how to make orange look good on me 

→ mclaren everything looks good on you

username1 wait, what? she’s oscar’s public enemy #1 and now she’ll be his teammate?

oscarpiastri and this is how i find out?

→ mclaren we didn’t want to give you a chance to protest

→ pierregasly i knew before oscar did? ha! 

→ oscarpiastri don’t make me still target the pink car next year

→ itsyn_ln i’m feeling unwanted 

jackdoohan @/itsyn_ln thanks for the seat 

→ itsyn_ln i hope i kept it warm for you! 

username2 poor osc is going to have to learn to manage this oddness

→ username3 poor osc is probably more focused on having to learn not to strangle her

alpinef1team losing another driver to the sinister evil and orange team 

→ itsyn_ln at least you’ll miss me. i’m starting to think pierre lied when he said he would

→ pierregasly of course i did. you were staring straight at me without blinking

username4 don’t get me wrong, i can’t wait to see yn in a better car but i fear this was poor planning on mclaren’s part. they’re going to struggle with managing their drivers 

landonorris i’m sorry, osco. i didn’t know me leaving was going to lead to this

→ oscarpiastri you’re not forgiven. 

username5 i fear mclaren are not going to have the dream team they were expecting

→ username6 they need to prepare to see both papaya cars dnf’ing all the time next year

username7 i need that jacket! 

→ mclaren all yn merch coming soon! 

→ username8 they move fast. they’ve already got her in papaya and prepared to release her papaya merch 

━━━━ ༻𖥸༺ ━━━━

2024

mclaren just posted

liked by patriciooward, gabrielbortoleto_ and others

mclaren and it’s a papaya 1-2 what a race! a phenomenal display of teamwork from oscar and yn

55,098 comments

username9 wtf was that 

username10 i can’t decide which one of them was robbed more 

username11 so they want them to become friends but then force them to concede wins???

username12 i never want to hear the phrase ‘papaya rules’ again. idk what it means but i know it was shit

username13 the fact that neither of them have interacted with this post shows that they’re not happy with their 1-2

username14 you guys need to chill. they were coming under fire from max, and yn was faster. oscar was holding her up and if they hadn’t have switched, max could’ve had them both 

→ username15 there was two laps left. i’m sure they could’ve managed it

→ username14 did you not see all the purple sectors max was setting 

username16 i hope oscar doesn’t blame yn for this

username17 unrelated but i love how much shorter yn is than osc in this pic. they’re so cute

→ username18 they’re mortal enemies. don’t start romanticising them

→ username19 they are so enemies to lovers coded 

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oscarpiastri just posted

liked by itsyn_ln, arthur_leclerc and others

oscarpiastri enjoying a week off

44,287 comments

mclaren does this mean we’re friends again

→ oscarpiastri not yet

username1 mr piastri, sir, um, is that a WOMAN?

username2 look, it’s very nice to see that you’re alive and well but we no longer care about that because who is that in the last pic?! 

charles_leclerc son, you didn’t tell me about this 

landonorris a new teammate and a new partner. i see i’m being fully replaced

→ oscarpiastri don’t fuel the rumours about us

username3 oh so this is why twitter is freaking out

username4 the linked hands

username5 yn liked this? are they friends now??

itsyn_ln just posted

liked by mclaren, landonorris and others

itsyn_ln my boyfriend just won a grand prix, bitches! 

73,220 comments

pierregasly was this meant to be posted on the burner account??

→ itsyn_ln oh shit

→ oscarpiastri oh, sweetheart

→ charles_leclerc and everyone thought i would tell! 

itsyn_ln well, no point deleting it now. enjoy

→ username6 yn and oscar are dating?!!?

→ username7 and he calls her sweetheart?!?!?

username8 no one understands how precious these two are to me

username9 enemies to lovers come true

username10 these two were written by a wattpad user

alpinef1team sometimes we think we miss you and then you do stuff like this 

→ mclaren sure you don’t want her back 

→ username11 noooo don’t take our papaya partners away from us 

username12 i’ve only had ynoscar for five minutes but if anything happens to them, i will kill everyone

username13 they said i was crazy but i knew! i knew there was passion between their feud

landonorris and you did so good to not kiss him in front of the cameras

→ oscarpiastri she’s more annoyed that now she shouldn’t have bothered

→ itsyn_ln want to smooch you for the world to see

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requests open

coming soon; max taste part 3 and franco x driver! reader

[crackshipguardian]

Second reblog bc actually I have more thoughts

If you can't remember (cuz I've only drawn him once) my Au!Walter has a WereWolf (WereHound?) curse and he hides from everyone every full moon

To bad he can't find the words to tell little Woodie about their shared curse. Not without a way to break it