#THE POTENTIAL IS RIGHT THERE IT'S SO CLOSE

[vifilms]

❝ FWB!ABBY HEADCANONS ❞

word count: 2k+

content warning. eighteen+, minors dni, strap!sex, scissorcity, just a lot of p*rn written out, but omgee i'm writing foir abby again? am i returning home? me saying that when all my long fics are about a certain pink-haired butch.

masterlist.

fwb!abby who is a star-athlete, potentially a hockey player because c’mon, look at her. it starts right before the end of last season. there used to be a trio, three girls who grew up together, forever inseparable. but with a nasty fall out of abby’s break up with your best friend — you picked a side. not that anyone would believe you, but it was innocent. purely innocent.

fwb!abby who keeps you close throughout the breakup, she leans on you when she emotionally breaks, when she doesn’t want to be alone; you’re right there for her. ready to help her in whatever way you can. maybe it was naive of you to expect it to be nothing more and it’s exactly how you end up here — abby’s hand shoves down your skirt as she presses you against the locker room right after the most important game of the season. it could be how good your ass looked in the soft fabric, she couldn’t help herself. 

“mhm, how long have you been thinking about this?” gently, abby asks. “pretty girl, wanna have your fill so bad, huh?” 

all she does is tease. it’s all abby wants to do, pull those god-given moans from your lips and your whines are nothing but a symphony to her ears. but all of this is very wrong. in your bones, with every pint of blood pumping to your veins, it feels like something forbidden. even if you aren’t friends anymore, even if she hates you for siding with abby, you can’t help but love the way she strokes your puffy lips with a flick of her wrist. 

you groan as she slips a single finger inside you, whining at the welcomed intrusion. abby knows this is a slippery slope as much as you, maybe even more. it’s not lost on her what would happen if anyone were to find out, but especially your ex-best friend were to find out you loved getting fucked by her ex. 

“shut up and fuck me, yeah? you don't need to know any of that—” you shriek as she slips another inside you, effectively stretching you out as she pumps your slick, back into you as it drips over her fingers like fresh honey. 

“what was that, princess?” abby tilts her head to the side as she presses on your clit with the pad of her thumb. 

“nothing, i—” 

“hm, right. i guess the rumors are true.” 

“what rumors?” 

abby doesn’t provide any response as she fucks you into the stars, each thrust of her fingers effectively shutting you up from saying anything else. as you cry out for a release, she places deliberate kisses along your neck, her hot breath swarms goosebumps along your skin as your hips buck into her body. 

“heard a few…one from your roommate in particular.” 

oh fuck. 

the little shit knows. 

“what did you, f-fuck, hear?” abby chuckles when you can’t keep your thoughts straight. you’re close and she knows it as well when she presses her lip to your ear, it’s intentional, the cocky little shit knows just what you like. 

the first time she’s touched you and you’re already melting in her warm and needy hands. 

the sultry tone in her voice will haunt you whenever you sleep, you’ll see her in your dreams, those taunting pair of blues, the scarred cheek you love but she hates. when she says the words you fear, for some reason it sends you over the edge. 

“i heard you like moaning my name when you get yourself off, so why don’t you put on a show for me, princess?” 

fwb!abby who thinks about you, slumped against the lockers trying to catch your breath. the mantras of her name don’t leave her mind, how pathetic did it make her she couldn’t stop thinking of you. how you couldn’t escape her mind, even during practice, those stupid whimpers wouldn’t leave her. her mind can’t escape that night, the endorphins pounding her skull as she fucked you into oblivion. the secret you held close to your heart raw and exposed as you released over her pumping fingers — it all felt a little too real. a little too perfect. 

fwb!abby who tries to play it cool whenever you’re around. abby knows it’s her best shot of forgetting what happened, slipping back into normalcy. but what she doesn’t expect? how jealous she feels when she sees you chatting up one of her teammates. she suspects you might be doing the same, trying to find a distraction, anything and anyone to stop your mind from thinking of it. it’s the secret she holds close to her as she deciphers on why her blood couldn’t seem to stop boiling. she hadn’t been this possessed, the need for her sweet salvations to be found on each roll of her tongue. it’s agony as she watches you leave with them, but she just sips on her beer, calling it night at the same time as you. but her sheets will be ice while yours will be kept especially warm. 

the first thought entering your mind, this isn’t as good. she doesn’t touch you the way abby did, fuck, this girl’s mouth is eager to devour you, every drop not being wasted but you just pretend it’s abby. even if you feel slimy, a bit dirty, but it gets you where you need to be. 

when you ride the plastic cock, invisioning abby holding your hips, guiding them as you slide down and fuck yourself, chasing the high she gave you just a few weeks ago but you see golden-waves flowing on your navy-blue cotton sheets. your mind drifts to how the blue in the sheets would bring out abby’s eyes, how she might look up at you while you fuck her like it’s your right to. 

as if she belongs to you. 

the more you think of her, the easier it becomes to find your release, it comes to you quickly as you moan; you chase the high. but it still doesn’t feel as good as last time — not when you don’t have her whispering in your ear. telling you just how much you need it, whispering your dirty secrets like an oath. a string for her to pull, only one tug needed until you come apart for her like it’s the only purpose you have in life; you’re just here to please abby anderson. 

fwb!abby who doesn’t see you for a week straight. you’re avoiding her with all of you might. even going as far as missing one of her games which you never do. it pisses her off to no end and the final straw is her teammate talking about how much the two of you can’t stop fucking. yeah, god, she’s so perfect. sweetest i've ever tasted. it’s said in passing, quietly to one of her friends, not meant for abby. slamming the locker form, she sets her sights on you. she’s ending whatever the fuck this is. 

the knock on your door is harsh, spinning you out of your thoughts as you open the door to find her completely outraged. abby might as well be a bull with her nostrils flared, puffing out smoke as she only sees through a tunnel vision of red. you know why she’s upset, and you’re sure she’s heard about just who you have been spending your time with, making this all the more messy. 

“ashton? fucking ashton?” abby burls straight past the entrance, shoulder checking you in the process. 

“why does it matter if it’s her? or anyone? why do you care all of a sudden?” you go back to cleaning, as if you don’t have a very enraged woman standing in front of you. you try not to think of her sweet vanilla scent mixed with mahogany. the way she filled you up perfectly. 

“i don’t care.” abby nods as she showcases a bitter smirk. 

fwb!abby who has you pinned against the wall with her strong frame, pelvis pressed against hers, still sweaty from practice as she has you pinned against the wall. you’re not sure who kissed first, who grabbed the other closer, but she has you turned around, fingers plunging knuckle deep as she reminds you of that night. writhing against her as she whispers in her ear, “next time you crawl in her bed, remember this, when she’s failing to make you come apart. remember how easy it is for me.” 

fwb!abby who brings you back to her apartment. her lips pull the air from your lungs, suffocating you but lighting you ablaze. like a lioness when she paws at you, nearly ripping your closes to shreds with the claws she has buried in you so deep. abby is cocky about it as you pull off her clothes just the same, desperate, needy — with a angelic glint in your eyes she’ll have nightmares about. 

“princess, it will stay between us. alright?” abby groans as her baby blue dildo slips inside you. watching her defined abdomen clenched as she pushes, fully tilted inside you. “promise.”  

another secret to holster, keeping close enough to keep but not close enough where it would seep into your skin, surely to infect whatever she so craved to do. you expect everything to be a little rough, a means to an end — just a way for the both of you to fuck this out of your system — but abby’s delicate. doing her best not to completely lose it. 

you feel full as she hesitates to move, watching your face contort in divine pleasure, the way you try to move your hips, but her hands keep you in place for a moment longer. 

“baby, please, shit i need your—” a groan leaves your mouth as abby moves, thrusting her cock inside you. 

“yeah, you need it, princess?” 

it feels condescending, the stupid pet name is being thrown at you as a way to incite raw need, to instill such a primal emotion, and you feel it stirring the pits of your stomach. with each heartbeat, your chest flutters. 

your mind shuts off, all the worries that infect your mind like a disease, every reason that tells you this is a god-awful, terrifyingly horrible idea. there’s too many webs, you’re bound to be trapped up in her, with no way to come out of it. it’s the only truth settled within your soul but then she’s fucking you. it’s hard but slow. 

she’s taking her time, building you up so she has you right towards the edge. all you do is wrap your legs around her, bringing her close to you, her temple kissing yours as she loses herself inside you. it’s all more than you expected, quiet whimpers echo in her bedroom, her sanctuary she’s coaxed you into. 

“you look so hot taking my cock, pretty girl. fuck, it’s like it was made just for you but i have an appetite for something else.” 

you whimper as abby removes herself and the harness secured on her hips, until you feel her blonde bush and aching lips slide over yours. the woman above you can’t help but chuckle as your eyes roll back into your skull, a leg thrown over her toned shoulder as she slides perfectly against you. 

“you—” you gasp as she pushes her hips faster, you have no choice but to buck against her. “a-abs, oh shit, oh my fucking god.” 

quickly, you’re losing it as abby is being loud. “right in front of me all this time, fuck!” 

almost comes across as animalistic as she grunts, fucking your faster than anyone ever has, you’re so close when she grips your chin, demanding you to open. sliding her fingers inside of your mouth as you suck off your cum. effectively shutting you up in the process. 

“yeah, it’s too much, huh? are you sure you can take it, princess?” you nod your head as one thrust sends you over the end, your body twitching as you come. she soothes you through it, whispering your name over and over in your ear and it goes straight to your cunt. it’s too much but she eventually stops but you still feel her against you. everything becomes sticky and warm. 

the blunt of her nails begin to scrape lightly over the skin of your abdomen, enjoying how much your body twitches. you’re sensitive and abby chuckles.

“whenever you wanna fuck princess, just give me a call.” and after, she whispers so quietly you almost miss it, “i’ll gladly make this pussy mine any day of the week.”

[omgfangirlland]

The Shadows That Nurture 7

Ch 8 is done, working on Ch9 so here is ch7! Enjoy and check the end notes for a bit of explanation(?) 🫠

The action is starting soon- I'm buzzing with the need to finally get into the Viltrumite plot but it still will take a bit, haste spoils the work, and all that.

Masterlist || First || previous<< Chapter 7 >>next

In the week that it took to get all documents done and over with, you and the Graysons grew closer and closer, specifically you and your brother, both of you seemed to sink your claws into each other, acting more like twins in sync than an older and younger sibling duo.

If Mark wanted to go somewhere and Nolan wasn’t around. You’d fly him there, if you wanted something and were too shy or nervous to ask his parents for it, he’d ask for it and give it to you later. And, while you both had bedrooms, every other night there was a sleepover in the others one room, always ending up with you two sleeping under a pillow fort, being kids, having fun.

You loved Debbie, and Nolan was okay even when he was clingy and talking nonsense about training you to conquer words. You were quite sure he was joking, the face he made right after saying things like that reassured you that wasn’t quite what he wanted to say- or it wasn’t how he felt anymore.

It was easy to see that you preferred Debbie, no matter how much Nolan tried to spend time with you, or how close you were to Mark, your priority was always Debbie. You weren’t calling her mom, it felt too soon for you, you weren’t ready, but you were a mama’s girl. You were the first to greet her, the first to offer to help her cook and clean, the first to go shopping with her, even the first to shyly ask her to paint your nails or to just spend time together.

It was so long since you went physically into a shop, even after leaving the Waynes you stuck to online shopping, and the first time you did it was with Debra, your hand shaking in hers as you stuck close to her, quieter than usual. The traffic of the store clearly made you nervous, so the woman made sure to always have a reassuring hand on you if she couldn’t hold your hand. With time you didn’t need to hold onto her anymore. Debbie almost cried when she realized that soon you wouldn’t need her at all.

And then the discussion of school came up. You could have lied, told them that you haven’t gone to school since your mom died- but you didn’t want to be like Bruce, all secrets and lies, you were already keeping quite the secret by not telling them about who your biological father is. So, you told them everything about you skipping grades, showing the diplomas and online school you’ve still worked on.

Neither of the adults seemed happy about you being stuck with online class, and honestly, neither were you. When your question about maybe joining the same grade as Markus, to keep close to him and meet other children your age, seemed to make both as happy as you were when they approved.

Now, it was easy to get you in, you even met William, Mark’s friend, but keeping yourself from correcting the teachers was another thing. You understood to a degree that the curriculum was different, that you were still kids and maybe learning about genocides wasn’t ideal- but when so many of your peers are willing to throw slurs left and right like 4Chan degenerates you were sure they could take the reality of what actually happened in history.  

Then the math teacher accused you of having an answer book, of cheating, of using a calculator when you were told not to- you may have snapped and yelled at him to give you an equation, any equation that was taught in the older grades, and if you could complete it in front of everyone, on the board, he’ll have to shut up about you.

That’s how you ended up seeing the principal, not because of your outburst, but because the teacher decided you were wasting your potential sitting around with the others when you could be in a grade that fulfilled your needs and developed you further. The principal agreed, and he was tired of the other teachers complaining, so you and your guardians were given an option of either taking a test to assess what grade you should be put in- or expulsion due to the many complaints against you.

You took the test. That way you could at least still be in the same building as Mark, and could still socialize, even if the idea of the older kids made you anxious- the high school themed movies didn’t help your expectations. The girls that you hung around in your new class, however, were quite nice, saw you as a little sister, including you in their study sessions and girl talk, braiding your hair. The boys mostly ignored you, and in return you ignored them. It was nice.

Debbie always worried about the older kids, and while Nolan did too, he was more enthusiastic about you being in school for one year instead of the other 4 or 5, after all, surely, you’ll want to help dad with hero work instead of going to college… Right?... Well, no. Your sight was set on the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, their art programs making you go rabid with need- so many options, so many possibilities, you couldn’t decide on what you wanted to apply for. If you had eternity on your side, you’d apply for all of them, not like Bruce will need the money.

The year you spent at school, actually at school, was as fun as it was exhausting. You never realized how much energy it takes to wake up at a specific hour every day, to socialize, to take tests with about 30 other students- It sometimes overstimulated you, making you miss online schooling to a degree. Still, you found solace in your visual arts class.

The teacher loved you, not many other students were that interested in drawing, let alone actually learning and painting on canvases. So, you coming in with sheets of paper as tall as you were, with paints and canvases, with charcoal and markers- oh she could almost cry of happiness. She wasn’t a mean teacher, or eccentric like in the movies, but she wasn’t a pushover either. If you wanted a grade in her classroom, you had better have something to show for it, and you had plenty.

While the others had a theme to follow due to them not taking the class for love of the arts but because they thought it would be easy work, she gave you freedom, so you took it. Your first drawings were of Lady Gotham, racking your brain to remember the stories the kids told you every night of her, not wanting to forget them or where you came from. Your teacher didn’t comment on the small figures you sometimes added sitting on her shoulder.

While you stuck to painting her statue in classes, your sketchbook was full of the many variants of her, everyone seemed to see a loved one in her face, but the only common thing was the long hair tied into a nice Edwardian or Victorian crown-bun, and her dark grey, fancy dress and pale, clawed hands.

If you were to ask the teacher which one was her favorite, she’d say it was your depiction of Death in the first painting you did in her class. It also depicted Morpheus, both of them standing over a bundled-up child trying to find some warmth in the corner of an alley as the God-like entities melted with the shadows, though the one of Persephone lounging with Cerberus and Hades was a close second. To her it was poetic, to you, it was a reality you didn’t want to duel on for any longer.

Time has never flown this fast for you, it was like you blinked and the year was over, finals and graduation looming close. You’ve grown closer to the Graysons, slipped once or twice and even called Debbie “mom”, got quite comfortable being close to Nolan, fell asleep on him a few times as he made for a nice furnace after training, and you and Mark were as inseparable as ever.

This was everything you wanted, more than you could ever dream of. Your eyes sparkled in tempo with the shines of the stars as you lied on your back on the roof. You missed your friends in Gotham, there will always be love for them in your heart- but this isn’t something you’ll be willing to give up without a fight, not when you were getting more and more powerful with each month.

Your hands moved in a similar manner to Atom Eve’s over your day clothes while you got up, making them shine a bright neon green, the color diming down and revealing pajamas once you set foot back in your bedroom.

You’ve learned- you know better now. You’re more than willing to eliminate any threat before they get the chance to do so, to take another loved one from you.

Tag list: @bat1212 @trashlanternfish360 @shycreatorreview @syrooo @a-lurking-fae @alittletiredcry @kittzu @plsfckmedxddy @blackhood1229 @nxdxsworld @leeiasure @dandelion-delusion @lovebug-apple @sillysealsies @tsxukikami

Notes: The green color of her powers is more a nod to the Lazarus water, it can be easily changed in y'alls mind but I think it's an important tiny detail. The reader's powers developed, but she still uses other's heroes moves to use them. And Nolan's training and words have felt a mark on batsis.

Hope I'm not forgetting anything else- 😬

[keferon]

Does Shockwave ever have conflicting thoughts about the legacy he’s left behind? Because on the one hand, it must be one of the main things (in addition to Orion) protecting his students and everything he tried to build for them. But on the other hand, given Shockwave believes he’s been cursed by Primus and doesn’t know exactly when that line was crossed — would he see leaving a legacy as a potential risk to anyone that might associate too closely with that legacy or follow in his footsteps as well?

Oh he has SO MANY conflicting thoughts and feelings. Because. It doesn’t even matter if he was right or wrong when he started the Academy, what matters is that Primus punished him for it. And punished really fucking hard. So he has to keep living and wondering if what he was doing actually helped those kids or doomed them to the same fate as his? There’s a new mech being a director of the Academy right. Are they gonna end up suffering just like he does? And Orion who literally shared the same beliefs and goals? Is he in real fucking danger now because he listened to Shockwave and trusted him?

[kisses4themissus]

before mr & mrs... | Hwang In-ho x Reader

word count: 4.1k a/n: so tell me whatcha all think of their backstory pls pairing: hwang in-ho x fem!reader !! not proof-read properly !!

Masterlist | more of this couple

“Have you seen player 132?” il-nam asked you, he sat in his armchair, watching players drop to their deaths.

You didn’t look up from your binder you had filled of game ideas. “No, i haven't; i’ve not paid much attention to any of them really.” You said honestly, walking over to il-nam and handed him your latest sketch of a game concept. 

“He has potential, he didn’t hesitate to kill his teammate; it’s like someone i know all over again” He chuckled as you gave him a unimpressed look. “I was left with the bitch of my team, of course i was going to take the chance to take her head.” You sighed, sitting down beside il-nam in your own chair.

“We could use him.” il-nam pointed to the man on the screen, you looked up and studied the man on screen. He was very handsome, he was also very set on winning these games for his wife.

You bit your lip as he laughed along with other players, you turned back to il-nam. “Tomorrow i’ll start preparing the room for the VIPs..” You informed the host before excusing yourself to the office of files. Once the door was shut you went through files for the news players to find more out about player 132.

You had brought the files with you to your bedroom and read up on the player as you settled in for bed. It had been disappointing when you saw he had entered the games for is wife and unborn child; to pay for her liver transplant. You had turned to your walkie talkie on your nightstand and switched to another channel.

“Get me as much info as you can on player 132’s wife.” You spoke into the walkie talkie and immediately got a confirmation by the recruiter; a close friend of yours, who you had grown close while you both worked for il-nam as workers.

“Right away, game planner..” 

- - - - - - - -

Days later, you watched from the control room as another game was played as you planned it, you watched with a big grin.

“Chipper as always..” The recruiter chuckled as he walked into the vip room with a file in hand. “Always a pleasure seeing you, now hand it over!” You smirked at your friend and held your hand out which he took with his free hand and kissed the back, making you chuckle at his flirty advances.

“Now, I believe you requested these.” He handed you the files, a squeal left your mouth as you opened the file up and began reading over the report. Your eyes quickly ran over the page as you finally landed on the words you had secretly hoped would be there. “I have to show il-nam!” You closed the file and kissed the recruiter on his cheek before patting the other side. “I love you!” You squealed as you exited the control room and walked to il-nam’s penthouse.

You scanned your badge you had clipped to your shirt and was granted access. You knocked on the old man’s room door. “Come in.” He sighed out, fidgeting with his tie. “I have news about your possible winner!” You handed over the folder, he took it and read over the report and sighed before walking over to his tv and shuffled through the cameras to show the players eating their breakfast.

“He’ll be even more convinced to join you if his whole reason for winning this game is dead.” You pointed out, sitting on the arm of the chair. 

il-nam nodded and grinned at you. “Good job, finding this.” 

You bowed your head in thanks. You looked down at your watch and checked the time. “VIPs should be landing here in the next hour, sir.” you informed, getting up from the arm and walked to a cabinet he had in his penthouse, you unlocked the cabinet and pulled out his gold bedazzled owl mask, he would wear in front of the VIPs. 

“I assume you haven’t seen your gift?” il-nam asked, a small smile on his face. You tilted your head confused. “You got me a gift?” You questioned, the old man nodded at you. “Your gift is on your bed.” 

With that you left off to your level that was your space, you quickly walked into your room and squealed as a white 3D matte mask laid on your bed. You picked it up and smiled at it. 

“For my brilliant gameplanner.” - Host

You noticed the coat that laid on the back of your vanity chair. You looked around your bedroom for your outfit for the VIPs.

- - - - - - - -

You sighed as you pulled off your gloves as you walked to the elevators, you scanned your badge and pressed your floor.

It was another year of sadistic games you had planned out. You quickly placed your things away. As you hung up your clothes you heard the faint call from your walkie talkie you had left on your kitchen table. You sighed and walked to the kitchen and picked up.

“Gameplanner, the host is requesting you to his penthouse.” A manager called out, you answered briefly, grabbing your white mask and game binder, before walking to the elevators. You pressed il-nam’s floor which was the highest on the panel. You sighed, as the elevator stopped, the doors opened to show the recruiter; he smiled at you as he entered.

“Gameplanner.” He greeted, taking your hand and bring it to his lips. “Recruiter!” You smiled back. “il-nam called you up too?” He asked, pressing il-nam’s floor. “Yep, probably wants to discuss players and games..” You guessed.

As elevators opened to show il-nam’s house. You both walked into the penthouse and walked to his living room where he sat, someone with him, their back to you both.

“You called?” You asked, the old man smiled as he motioned for the other person. “This is our newest member.” The stranger stood up and faced you both. You and the recruiter recognized the man in front of you. “Ah, player 132! I’m glad you’ve taken il-nam’s offer.” The recruiter smiled at the man, holding out his hand.

The ex-player shook his hand. “The salesman, wouldn’t have made it here if you didn't give me that card.” He charmingly smiled.

il-nam chuckled at the two before turning towards you, “In-ho, this is our game planner, she’s also a former winner of the games; player 033.” In-ho raised an eyebrow as you held a blank face and stuck out your hand and firmly shook his. “Nice to meet you.” You greeted, taking you hand back and held closely to your binder.

“What will be his job exactly?” The recruiter questioned, you both looked as il-nam smiled at you three. “In-ho will help out with the staff, more specifically the soldiers, you see he’s a former cop!” il-nam explained, making you and the recruiter raise your brows at the job.

“Oh, il-nam i have the layout of games this year!” You perked up and opened your binder, in-ho watched as you flipped to a page and laid it down on the table for all to see.

In-ho read over the pages, he watched as you smiled at il-nam’s praises. You had been the sadist, who created the monstrous games, many players had threaten to kill you if they had gotten out of the game. “Impressive work.” In-ho complimented.

“Thank you!” You nodded before turning to il-nam. “I need to go unpack my things but just have the workers return it to me.” You smiled at the old man before excusing yourself back to your floor.

- - - - - - - -

It had been weird for another person to be in the control room with you. You had placed in-ho on cameras while you watched the players in their dorm, teams had begin to form liked you hoped. “How long have you worked for the host?” In-ho questioned as you both watched players bond. 

“Three years ago, I was offered after I had won, didn’t even get to play the final game, killed the girl in the dorm after she tried to suffocate me in my sleep.” you explained, tapping on the board in font of you. Several camera footage popped up on the screens.

“You know, a lot of players curse you out for creating such terror.” His words made you chuckle. “I’ve heard, you get used to it after one game.” You smiled at him for the first time. In-ho stared at you, a small smile on his face. You quickly dropped the smile and cleared your throat.

“I need to go figure out the lighting for one of the games, excuse me..” You brushed past in-ho and walked out of the control room.

- - - - - - - -

In-ho watched carefully as you and il-nam watched players fight for their lives, you had a content smile while the concept worked perfectly; your walkie talkie crackled on the kitchen table, you popped up and walked over with a smile as a deep voice went through.

“Wonderful work as always gameplanner.” The recruiter compliment, making you chuckle before walking to the hall to continue talking without disrupting the game.

In-ho turned to il-nam who watch the games with glee. “Are they together?” He asked, making il-nam turned to him confused.

“The recruiter and the planner, i mean.” In-ho clarified, il-nam glanced back at you and noticed how happy you were and shrugged.

“They’ve been close since they both started working for me, who’s to know…they might even be married?” Il-nam guessed, thinking back to how you both always threw flirty glances and even affection every time you had been around each other. 

In-ho nodded and sat back in his chair, his mind drifting off into what your relationship could be with the recruiter.

A few minutes had passed and you walked back to your chair, a smile still on your face. “Sorry gentlemen, the recruiter was just giving feedback!” You bowed your head to the pair apologetically, il-nam smiled and wave you off.

As you all watched the game finish, il-nam had gotten up and walked to his bedroom for the night, leaving you and in-ho alone in the penthouse. You both ad began to pick up, you collected the drink glasses while in-ho stacked the paperwork in order. A peaceful silence fell over the room, the sound of glass lightly clinking and the water running filled the background. 

“So, is he your husband?” In-ho questioned, handing you another glass. You glanced over, confused. “Who?” You tiled your head.

“The recruiter, i mean you both seem close.” In-ho watched as you chuckled, setting the freshly washed cups in the drying rack. “And be mrs recruiter?” You smiled and laughed a bit.

“Never, i only humor him, when we were workers together I had a massive crush on him.” You turned to in-ho grinning. “Why do you ask?” You raised a brow, hoping he’d confess.

“Nothing, il-nam wanted to know what were you both exactly.” He lied, you sighed and nodded. “Make sense, il-nam always tried pushing us together, he told us many, many years ago he saw the recruiter as a younger son who couldn’t see the pretty girl in front of him.” You chuckled at the memory, making in-ho nod, he quietly took in your relaxed features.

“Why did you join the games?” In-ho questioned, quickly noticing how you tensed up for a second before responding. “My situation wasn’t perfect, forced to marry some older guy for money; said guy didn’t earn money legally.” You paused, your memories coming back, you paused holding onto the sink. “He was nice and loving to me at first, then one day I had found out the truth of his source of income, he threated to kill me if i ever said anything.” You paused.

In-ho watched as you avoided his gaze and continued to look at the glass cup. “Turns out there was a rat in his little group, they all thought it was me…I think you know what happened next, I had nothing, so i got offered to play the games, won and divorced the asshole once i had gotten out.” You finished explaining. In-ho went to talk but you cut him off.

You quickly dried your hands before turing to in-ho. “I need to go to bed, goodnight in-ho.” You nodded and excused yourself to the elevators.

- - - - - - - -

The next morning, the VIPs would arrive, you had prepared everything to be perfect. In-ho sighed as he walked into the luxury room, you stood in the middle, directing the waiters.

“Ah, in-ho perfect timing!” You smiled and walked over to him. “What do you think?” You grinned, showing off your newest game idea, the room had been decorated like the outdoors, an adult sized playground filled the area, other playground toys littered around. ”What game is it?” In-ho asked, confused to the playground. 

“The floor’s lava.” You smirked and pressed a button on the control panel, the floor had begin to pull back, the playground structures stood tall, in-ho smirked as it would drop players to their deaths. He grinned and nodded at you. “Amazing!” He chuckled as you pressed the button once more and the floor moved back into place.

“Thank you.” You smiled, looking at in-ho. You both stared at each other with admiration; In-ho cleared his throat and excused himself to the control room, you nodded and watched as he walked out of the room. You sighed, placing a hand on your forehead, it was foolish to think he’d move on from his wife that fast.

“Troubles?” Il-nam questioned, walking into the room. You shook your head and sat down on the nearest sofa. “It’s nothing.” You tried to dismiss, il-nam chuckled and sat down beside you. “You have this look where it isn’t, now what is it?” The old man smiled, comfortingly at you. With a sigh you turned to il-nam. “I thought in-ho and I would be closer by now, I mean we both work around each other constantly, ask each other for everything; I mean he got me to open up about my first marriage.” You sighed, placing your head in your hands.

Il-nam chuckled and patted your back. “Seems i have a new blind daughter?” 

At his words you picked up your head and looked at il-nam confused. “What do you mean?” you questioned. The old man just chuckled at you.

“He looks at you with much more then admiration.” Il-nam smiled at you. The old man quickly got up from the couch and helped you up before turning to the entrance. “The VIPs should be here anytime now; go get ready.”

You nodded at il-nam and got up to go get dressed.

- - - - - - - -

The soft clicks of your heels filled the control room, you walked over to the control panel and watched as the players began to wake up. You silently looked over the monitors before turning back to the elevator doors. You stopped as in-ho walked into the room, a black matte 3D mask on him.

“Looks nice.” You complimented, he bowed his head, in thanks. “Now i’m official.” He joked, making you smile, you leaned over and fixed his collar which had flipped up due to the mask. “Now you look perfect.” You sighed, smiling at in-ho under your mask.

- - - - - - - -

Another year of twisted children’s games had arrived, you were excited as always. You sat in the limo as il-nam had his driver pick you up from your small apartment. “Are we heading straight to the island?” You questioned, digging through your bag for your binder. “Actually, we have another to pick up.” Il-nam smiled at your confused look.

The limo pulled up in front of a small convenience store with apartments above, you hadn’t looked up from your binder, too busy making notes for the games that were to be played that year. The limo door opened and quickly shut.

“Good evening.” In-ho greeted. You looked up from your binder and smiled at in-ho’s appearance. His hair was now combed back, his eyebags had disappeared; he seemed more put together then he did the previous year. “In-ho.” You greeted, in-ho scooted closer to you in the limo, leaving il-nam by himself on the opposite side, the old man smiled and sipped his champagne.

You tried to focus back on your notes while in-ho and il-nam went over their time apart, you had listened as il-nam and in-ho talked about the newest players.

“The recruiter told me this year is a good batch.” You chimed in, flipping the binder page, viewing the photos il-nam had sent to you as the workers built the stage for the games. Both the other men nodded at your words and began talking over the workers.

You watched as the limo loaded onto the boat, you sighed. Laying back in your sleep you slowly drifted off as the distance sound of the waves hit your ears.

In-ho leaned back a bit, a glass of whiskey in his hand. Il-nam chuckled as your head slowly reached in-ho’s shoulder, “I suggest we need cameras in the-!” In-ho stopped himself as your head laid on his shoulder, he quickly fixed your head to be comfortable before leaning back further.

“You two are cute together.” Il-nam grinned, finishing off his glass before placing it in the cup holder. In-ho smiled bashfully, lookin over to see you peacefully asleep; you had stressed over the games to even properly sleep.

“I don’t think she sees us like that.” In-ho sighed out, il-nam laughed at his words. 

“You both are blind; she hasn’t looked at anyone with that look since she was a circle worker.” Il-nam confessed, both men watched as you fidgeted in your sleep but soon stopped as in-ho wrapped and arm around your shoulder to bring you in closer.

“You think so?” 

“Oh i know it.”

- - - - - - - -

The three all stood in the control room as the players photos popped up under your feet. You nodded as the board began to fill up. As you paced the board; you stopped as a familiar face posed right below your heel.

“Gameplanner?” In-ho asked, noticing your reaction to a player, he looked down confused at the player and took note of the number before ushing you to the control panel to fix the game’s lighting.

Later that night in-ho had walked to the office where all files of players and their backgrounds where kept and began to go through the computer in hopes to find the player that stunned you earlier.

Player 068, or as you knew him as your first husband. Apparently the man had been caught with his illegal money and was sentenced; once out he was attacked by loan sharks who he had grown a massive debt to, leading him to join the games.

In-ho scoffed at the photo, it was the same asshole who almost killed you. Quickly in-ho logged off and walked back to the elevators and pressed the button for your floor.

You quietly made tea in your small kitchen, you had been shook up the rest of the day, shocked to see your ex make it out of the first game. The sound of shoes came from behind you.

You turned and was surprised to see in-ho in your floor of the building. “What are you doing here?” You questioned, grabbing two mugs down from the cabinet.

“I wanted to see if you were alright after earlier, you seemed stunned.” He explained, setting down his black mask on your table, you sighed and brought him a cup of tea and sat down in front of him. “I’m sorry, seeing someone you didn’t expect to show up will do that to you…” You sipped on your chamomile tea. In-ho sighed and scooted his chair closer to you.

“He can’t do anything anymore, you have power in the control room to kill him within the first second of the next game, i’ll even tell the soldiers to have him killed in the dorm right now if you wish.” In-ho placed his hand on your knee making you breakdown as he looked at you while concern and love in his eyes.

You threw yourself into him and cried into his shoulder.

“He didn’t even suffer the way i did..” You cried, wiping your tears as they fell. In-ho shushed you and rubbed the back of your head in comfort. “It’s alright.” In-ho reassured.

- - - - - - - -

Days had passed and you were slowly getting back to your regular personality, since that night you had noticed in-ho had rarely left your side, he’d even began to sleep on your couch while you slept in your bedroom, to reassure your fear that your ex would attack you in the night.

You sighed as you peacefully laid in your bed, your room door opened giving you the perfect view of in-ho who laid propped up on your couching reading whatever book you had laying around. You played with your comforter before tugging it away from you, slipping on your slippers you walked over to the couch and tapped in-ho’s shoulder.

“Come laid down with me?” You asked, making in-ho stopped breathing, you had looked beautiful, messy bedhead, your silk pajamas, the look of love in your eyes. “Of course.” He nodded and followed as you walked into your bedroom.

He took in the decor as he got into the bed behind you, he hesitated to place his arm over your waist. You turned around to face him and smiled shyly before wrapping his arm around your waist. “Il-nam would lose it if he saw us together right now.” In-ho commented making you chuckle and nod. “He would go “i knew you two would be good together”, typical matchmaker…” You both chuckled at your impression of the old man.

In-ho moved his hand to cup the back of your head and rested it on his chest. You both peacefully fell asleep. You wished it had been a peaceful night.

You both were woken up to the sound of the managers voices coming from the walkie talkies. “Frontman? Gameplanner?” In-ho grabbed the device from your bedside and answered, you got up and grabbed your coat. 

“A player had gotten loose, we’ve trapped him in the red light field!” They informed you both. “Which player?” In-ho questioned, “Player 068 sir.” 

You watched as in-ho got up from your bed and walked to the living room and got dressed, you following behind him, your white mask in your hand. As he was on autopilot, in-ho walked to the field, his gun in hand and you following behind.

The doors opened to show the pink managers and soldiers surrounding the player. In-ho knelt down to look at the man. “Trying to leave?” He asked, his gloved hand roughly grabbing the players jaw. The man didn’t speak and just shook his head in fear of the masked man. “Did you let your ex-wife go?” In-ho asked, holding the man in a tight grip.

In-ho looked at the man with disgust under his mask, cocking his gun he stopped and turned to the crowd and found you standing behind soldiers. “Gameplanner, why don’t you get this pleasure.” In-ho stood up and held his hand out to you.

You took his hand and walked to face your ex-husband, your mask forgotten on the dirt floor. 

The man looked at you, pleading to live. “C’mon honey, remember the good times we had!” He tried to grab your coat but in-ho stomped on the man’s hand making him yell out in pain. “You bitch, having men do your dirty work!” He yelled out, without heistain you stood tall and aimed the gun.

BOOM!

You watched as his body fell back, blood spilling on the dirt. You turned to see in-ho with a unreadable look, his mask now on the ground as he glared at the body. 

“In-ho.” You watched as he turned to you and quickly wrapped you in a hug and kissed your cheeks as tear began to fall; your ex-husband was finally gone, now longer haunting your mind. “I’m here, i have you.” He reassured, you pulled back and stared at in-ho with admiration and leaned in.

In-ho chuckled and kissed your tenderly, ignoring as the pink workers and soldiers began to clean up. “I’ll alway keep you from harm.” In-ho whispered against your lips making you kiss him once more eagerly.

- - - - - - - -

Il-nam chuckled as you both stood in front of a courthouse, your marriage certificate in hands you both kissed for the photo.

“It's a good photo of you both!” The old man smiled at in-ho who chuckled at the framed photo on his desk. 

“Thank you.” In-ho thanked him before searching through paperwork.

“Gentlemen.” A smooth voice made the pair look up to see the recruiter in his suit. In-ho and il-nam shook his hand in greeting before they all dove into paperwork of the next game.

A bit had gone by before the front door to in-ho's and your shared apartment opened. You were greeted to the sight of the three men crowding over your dining table. With a chuckle you placed down your bag on the couch and watched them go over plans.

“Gameplanner.” The recruiter smiled and kissed your hand. From the corner of your eye you smirked as in-ho leaned back in his chair watching you both, but playing it as if he was stretching. “Getting close to my wife?” In-ho questioned as you both parted away from each other.

You chuckled as the recruiter fixed his tie and hair before sitting back down. “It’s only a greeting to the mrs frontman..” The recruiter tried to defend, making il-nam chuckle at the reactions.

In-ho smirked while you gave the recruiter a look of distaste, “He should be mr gameplanner, i’ve had my title longer!” You scoffed, sitting down next to your husband.

“Alright then, it was a simple greeting to mrs gameplanner.” 

You smiled at the re-wording and went back to helping il-nam with the scattered papers.

taglist girlies : @snowtargaryen @menabuser16 @azusdump @jspidey5 @annasnape7 @macnbriee @ookybatt @sasha-swftie @moonxnite @ninglovr

mr & mrs girlies: @colorwastaken @aphoenixnamed-angel @sooyasya @fries11 @lover-girl009 @skywalker0809 @fallout-girl219 @scarlettlupinblack

[noircheols]

⸺ NO ORDINARY LOVE. 𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ ִ𐙚

an anthology of love stories almost never told.

PREFACE. love has been far from perfect. you thought you would stumble upon prince charming organically. unfortunately, this is a big fat joke in the 21st century. reluctantly, you open the app store and download something you always believed were better off for finding potential enemies or friends with benefits... a dating app. it’s time to give your phone cupid’s bow and see who it hits!

PAIRINGS. svt x reader (seperate)

WARNINGS. suggestive, cursing, varies from fic to fic

SCHEDULE. every monday (i hope.)

TAGLIST. @jjjjeonww @shirebusking @shinwonderful @tokitosun @unlikelysublimekryptonite @wonkierideul @syluslittlecrows @macapunoz @paradiseoflosers @seokmn

open! please feel free to dm/reply/ask

STATUS. ONGOING!

AUTHOR'S NOTE. AAAAA i wanted to write something inspired by hinge's no ordinary love campaign. reading it was so lovely and i wanted to write something alongside the same premises. hinge if ur seeing this please dont sue me </3. THIS IDEA IS NOT MINE AT ALL simply something inspired by it. i hope you all enjoy!! peep the ugly header LMAO graphic design is my least fave thing ever as u can see. happy love month to all the losers (affectionate) who enjoy!! i hope you all find love in the people you adore, the music, food, and most importantly, yourself!!!!

NETWORKS. @kstrucknet

♡ ‎ kisses are always promises ── 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐈 𝐒𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐎𝐋

a love story for people who deserve peace of mind and torment themselves for being unable to give others the same.

LIKES : popping boba, working out, my dog kkuma, giving gifts and making them feel special, confidence

DISLIKES : lack of effort, ghosts, fries (got doxxed for this)

♡ ‎ let your habits control you ── 𝐘𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐉𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐇𝐀𝐍

a love story for people who want somebody they can be themselves without any qualms, flaws and all.

LIKES : somebody who keeps me on my toes, napping, taking photos of my pet rock, cashmere pajamas

DISLIKES : somebody who monitors my every behaviour, judgemental

♡ ‎ heaven knows i'm miserable now ── 𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐉𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐎

a love story for people who are looking for the best in people (and always end up finding the worst).

LIKES : optimism, deer print, sunsets, big smiles, playing guitar, an open heart

DISLIKES : poor manners, gaming, isn't understanding, just don't be a horrible person lol

♡ ‎ swimming fool ── 𝐖𝐄𝐍 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐇𝐔𝐈

a love story for people looking to dive head first beyond the surface of dating to understand themselves and their partner.

LIKES : exploring new possibilities but having somebody to call home, cat cafes, matcha, hmu huzz 👅👅👅

DISLIKES : misunderstands me and my humour (or chooses to), isn't on the same wavelength

♡ ‎ i don't wanna watch tv anymore ── 𝐊𝐖𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐍𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆

a love story for people who are scared to pick up their broken hearts and close themselves off from being hurt again.

LIKES : TIGERS, going to the arcade just for the dance machine, somebody to share fun memories with but also can feel safe with

DISLIKES : spicy food, pent up emotions, lack of ambition

♡ ‎ focus ── 𝐉𝐄𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐖𝐎𝐎

a love story for people who know that seeing is believing, that to be loved is to be seen, and that to believe is to love.

LIKES : hoodies, gaming (league of legends, genshin, valorant), reading, somebody to sit in silence with after a long day

DISLIKES : obnoxious, believes things revolve around them

♡ ‎ chocolate strawberries ── 𝐋𝐄𝐄 𝐉𝐈𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐍

a love story for people who put up walls and are waiting for the right person to knock them down.

LIKES : anime (jujutsu kaisen, naruto, kimi ni todoke), personal space, my personal space being invaded

DISLIKES : my personal space being invaded, physical touch

♡ ‎ keep you close ── 𝐊𝐈𝐌 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐘𝐔

a love story for people who know what they want, and knowing what you want makes you lonely.

LIKES : cooking, trying new cuisines and restaraunts, unboxing collectibles, being appreciated

DISLIKES : heights, avoidance, mess

♡ ‎ weather forecast ── 𝐋𝐄𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐎𝐊𝐌𝐈𝐍

a love story for people who worry about being too much or too little, but never enough.

LIKES : long walks at public parks, cupcake-scented things, visiting the dog shelter, rock music (fun fact i was in a band!!!)

DISLIKES : nothing!!! everybody is awesome and cool in their own way :D

♡ ‎ cloudburst ── 𝐗𝐔 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐇𝐀𝐎

a love story for people who don't appreciate what they have.

LIKES : art history, exhibitions, mala xianguo (or any other spicy food)

DISLIKES : being held back, long-term commitments, being deprived of choice, everything

♡ ‎ ‎stuck by the glue ── 𝐁𝐎𝐎 𝐒𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐊𝐖𝐀𝐍

a love story for people who are chronic people pleasers and give to the point of exhaustion.

LIKES : ballads, family, when somebody is caring and affectionate, tangerine flavoured desserts, iced americano

DISLIKES : making somebody upset, being found annoying, chan

‎ ‎♡ ‎ ‎starshy ── 𝐂𝐇𝐖𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐋

a love story for people who deserve to be taken seriously.

LIKES : visiting record stores, charli xcx, cloudy days, making personalized spotify playlists for each other

DISLIKES : dismissive, puts me down

‎ ‎♡ ‎ ‎hot n cold ── 𝐋𝐄𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍

a love story for people who make up their mind and change it the next minute.

LIKES : somebody who loves having me around, doing everything together, somebody dynamic

DISLIKES : seungkwan (DNI!!!!)

@noircheols do not copy or translate

[moistdragonfruit]

this this this this zoos are good they are also working on preservation efforts for endangered species and make sure to have a diverse gene pool to prevent in breeding!!! Look up like- zoo matchmaking they have a whole thing to pair the right animals!!

Atleast in the US the animals also aren't bought they're trained between zoos to prevent creating a market on capturing animals from thr wild and they've actually stopped grabbing certain animals from the wild unless they're endangered or smthing like that!

and zoos allow for scientists to get all up and close and personal to research the animals and potential disease which benefits both us and the animals

I love zoos so much

I should stop trying to explain to people unwilling to hear it why zoos are good and the animals they keep are happier than they are in the wild and just explain it like "would you rather live in a 5 star hotel tailored to all your specific tastes with on call room service for free forever or keep struggling to pay rent where you are now"

[et6rnalsun]

I NEED A GANGSTA

your boyfriend was like a crazy spring. he couldn't sit still, a sense of uneasiness surrounded him as he continually checked himself; under his shirt, under the waistband of his jeans, everywhere. as if he was looking for something he couldn't do without.

you huffed, crossing your arms as you leaned back in your seat, waiting impatiently for him to finally start the engine and at least go somewhere. “damn, rafe, what are you lookin’ for?” you couldn’t help but ask with as you leaned closer, tilting your head to take in his expression better. his eyes rose to meet yours, and he huffed as he ran a hand through his greasy, messy bangs. “think i forgot somethin’” he muttered, patting his pockets one last time.

“what?” you raised an eyebrow, your tone curious, a hand pressed to his arm. with a dismissive wave of his hand, he moved to start the car, but you stopped him by kneeling on the seat—blocking his hands with yours, even if smaller. “c’mon, tell me,” you whined, frowning. “what could this be? a gift for another bitch, huh?” your drama was never lacking, and in response rafe gave you a shit-eating smirk, licking his lips as his head leaned back.

“i forgot my gun,” he said, his lips moving slowly. “happy now? i didn’t tell you so you couldn’t say shit like how much i need to stop carryin’ it around, baby,” and it was the truth. you often insisted on lecturing him about how you didn’t like the fact that he had a gun right under his shirt, something he would surely and willingly hurt a potential disturber with, right before your sensitive eyes.

to that, your mouth formed a small ‘o’, as if the answer was more obvious than expected. you subsequently freed his hands, moving to take your (heavier than usual) purse and open it with a small giggle. to his utterly damned surprise, you pulled out his gun with casualness, showing it to him. you could barely hold it up properly, your manicured fingers contrasting the violent nature of the object. “i saw it on your bed and thought i’d take it,” you explained innocently, before it was urgently snatched from your hands.

“you must be crazy?” he spat out absentmindedly, checking to see if the gun was on safety. “you could have hurt yourself” rafe sighed, shaking his head in resignation.

“but it didn’t happen” you pouted a little, wrapping your arms around his neck. “come on, baby, I did it for you. appreciate it” your sweet voice was close to his ear as your glossy lips pressed against his cheek in many sticky kisses, making him roll his eyes and place the weapon back where it belonged. “i’m appreciatin’ it” he teased, a hand on your waist and the other finally turning the car key.

who would have thought you'd really keep his gun in the same bag as your $50 lip gloss, mirror, and perfume?

[delight-angelsbliss]

s2 nr 3 and 15 whit Shadow!

Prompts: "Do you think I like punishing you?! Because I don't!" + "if you run, I'll break your legs"

Warnings: This is my first time writing a yandere so it might not be the best, yandere shadow, mentions of beating and isolation, gifts that include gore, my trash grammar,

Notes: I've never written for a yandere before so this is a good chance to practice^-^ I hope you like these!! Also AGAIN there was no gender specified so these will be gender neutral with no set pronouns nor was it specified if this should be hcs or a oneshot <3

Shadow is emotionally unavailable and unstable from past trauma of losing a loved one

It was no surprise he'd do anything not to go through that again

At first your friendship with shadow the hedgehog seemed strained, he'd be cold and distant like he was with everyone else, it felt like he was purposely trying to exclude and isolate you from everyone else using the excuse that "he was uncomfortable with you"

But what you didn't notice on those cold walks home, walking back from yet another failed get together, was that he is watching every move, making sure you get home safely

Slowly yet surely flowers and letter started appearing on your door, the first one was on the first of February, the letter stated that you'd be his valentines

It didn't seem like a request, but a demand

A cold and brutal demand that left you in fear for what's to come

Like any other normal person, you when to the police, friends and family to get some help, but the police said they couldn't do anything since they're anonymous and hasn't made any big threats

Friends said you should be happy that you have a secret admirer, some family even gushing about a potential partner

That left you to fend for yourself, if course you were mad about not getting mad and he knew

Until you got small calls

You could hear strained and inconsistent breathing from the other line, they slowly started letting out small greetings

"Did you like the gift I left you?" The caller suddenly blurts out, his voice sounded rough and a few octaves lower, like he just had a coughing session

You hang up the phone, if he did leave something, you could get it to the police as evidence

When you open the door, you see a small heart box of chocolate, your fingers reach for it, gripping the top

As you open it you find flesh and other intestines

Your blood ran cold, who was this? Who did this belong to? Where did they get it? Why did they get it? Millions of questions ran through your brain before dropping the box, you close the door and run to call the police, sadly before you could reach the phone you had someone putting a cloth napkin over your mouth and nose

A gun was held to your forehead, you recognize that hand... Was it really him?

"Don't you dare, they won't believe you" Shadow said, pushing the gun against your temples, the cold metal digging into your skin as the growing fear in your eyes became for evident

Apparently evident enough for him to see...

"Do you think I like punishing you?! Because I don't! It's not my fault you tried to call the cops! If you wouldn't have been so nice and flirty to the others expect for me, this wouldn't have happened" he raised his voice with every word that sneered out of his mouth, suddenly he lets you go, instead opting to grab you in a chokehold

"It'll be fine.. You won't leave, right? If you run, I'll break your legs" of course you would run! Your hands gripped his arm that had you trapped, you bent your knees a but to lower your center of gravity before throwing him over you

A loud thud assaulted your ears, that was sign enough to start running, but before you could he grabbed your ankle, his hands digging into your skin before he pulled you down with him

There was no escaping him, he wouldn't let you go

[themultifanshipper]

Seeing your requests open seats makes me happy 🤗

Id like to put another request in whenever you can or want to! Reader x the Spaniards (Alsonso & Sainz and honorary Franco- I know he’s not Spanish) with 🟣 and somehow semi public? Honestly whatever your magic can whip up is good too

Five times Carlos was jealous of Franco. 

And one time Fernando helped him do something about it. 

Warnings: smut, anal (mxm), Jealousy, mention of alcohol, idk if yachts count as semi-public? Fernando is manipulative, he is also bisexual, kinda dom nando, sub franco,  Carlos being pathetic and Nando being a good AND BAD friend, franco gets railed, idk what else to say

Prompt list

● The first time Carlos noticed you with Franco he almost threw up in his mouth. 

Franco and you were walking into the paddock, hand in hand and looking all happy together. 

For the entire day, when Franco wasn't busy, his arm was around you. 

Or his hand was on your back, or your neck, or your hair. He apparently felt the need to touch you at all fucking times. 

Carlos wasn't entirely sure why your relationship with the Argentine made him so angry. 

He wasn't into you like that, you were close friends, and he had nothing against Franco, so his own anger confused the hell out of him. 

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Carlos had been building up the courage to finally make a move on you. 

● The second time, Carlos felt his blood boil when he caught the two of you making out behind one of the garages. 

He'd almost punched the younger man in his stupid boyish face. 

How could you let Franco rope you into doing something so stupid and reckless? 

He was a bad influence on you, and Carlos told you so but you laughed him off. 

You said you and Franco weren't serious, that you were just messing around. 

That almost made it worse in Carlos' opinion. You deserved better than that, you deserved someone more mature. 

Someone who knew to please a woman. 

Someone more like him. 

That thought made him shiver.  

● The third time he finally thought he was getting somewhere. 

 In between race weekends you chatted often, and when you had two week breaks, the opportunities to see each other multiplied.  

You could feel how distant he'd been lately, and you wanted to remedy that by inviting him to your yacht party. 

It wasn't a huge thing, just a few drivers (the ones that could make it) and a few friends. 

But the first thing he saw when he got there was Franco, with his arms wrapped around you as you danced. 

He'd been stupid to think Franco wouldn't be there, but it still pissed him off to no end every time you kissed him. 

And that little number you were wearing wasn't helping either. 

It was somewhere between lace and mesh, covering and hugging your bikini clad figure underneath. 

You'd spent the afternoon swimming with Franco, it transpired. 

The only time he smiled was when you finally gave him some attention, sitting in his lap, obviously slightly tipsy, and told him how much you enjoyed being his teammate. 

Then you pecked him on the cheek, which made his heart beat out of his chest, before going straight back to Franco. 

He scowled the rest of the night, hoping everyone could forgive him for his inexplicable sour mood. 

But there was one other person there that didn't need an explanation. He knew Carlos well enough by now to know exactly why he frowned more than he smiled nowadays. 

● “Jealous? Of him? You have got to be joking” 

Fernando levelled Carlos with a look that clearly said ‘Cut the bullshit mate’ 

They were both standing around, watching the mechanics rushing around on media day, trying to get everything ready for the next day. 

“You have been teammates for two years and you never made a move, of course she has someone else now” 

The old man was right. Damn him. 

Carlos had been attracted to you from the moment you joined the team, but had been hesitant to potentially ruin the great dynamic you had going with him. 

“I know, and it's not like I love her, I just think I could satisfy her better than that kid” 

Fernando sighed. They watched you suddenly emerge from somewhere, pursued by Franco. 

From their vantage point they couldn't hear anything, but it looked like you were having an argument. 

“Ah? Trouble in paradise?” Fernando smirked. 

Carlos hummed thoughtfully. 

He wasn't about to jump in while you and Franco were having problems, he wasn't a dog. 

But he was insanely curious about what you could possibly be angry about. 

Maybe Franco had caught feelings? Maybe he was bad at sex? Maybe you were ending the arrangement because you liked somebody else? 

A man could dream, anyway. 

He won the race on Sunday, and when you'd jumped out of your car and into his arms he felt the weight in his stomach lift, just a bit. 

But you couldn't celebrate his win with him because you had an early flight. 

The more Carlos thought about it, the more he wanted to strangle himself for not fucking you sooner.  

● By the next race, Fernando was officially sick of Carlos' behaviour. 

He'd slumped down on his driver’s room couch and ranted about how he was sure you were in love with Franco because you'd stopped paying attention to him. 

“Listen, mate” He huffed “Do you want me to talk to her? Do you want me to talk to Franco?” 

Carlos scoffed at the idea. 

“No that would make it worse. They would know you came from me” 

Fernando rolled his eyes and made his way to the door. 

“I can be very inconspicuous…” 

… 

That night, Fernando followed you home. 

Not in a creepy way, he just took an uber with you to your hotel, so that he could start a conversation and hopefully dig into some gossip. 

Or at least that's what he told you. 

His real intentions were to get you to talk about Franco, and Carlos. 

And then if he got the answers he suspected he was going to get… maybe a little something extra. 

This week, your hotel room had a minibar, which you and Fernando made full usage of during the evening. 

“So what is the deal with you and Franco? If you are dating it is not very discreet… I am surprised social media hasn't picked up on it yet” 

You laughed putting your 3rd shot of whatever concoction Fernando had created down on the smooth marble of the bar. 

“No, no! We're just having fun!” you chirped “You know, like young people do” 

You winked and Fernando raised an eyebrow at you. 

“Have more respect for your elders!” he chuckled. “But if you aren't serious, why were you fighting in the paddock the other day?” 

“Nando!” you gasped “You little gossip monger!” 

He raised his hands in surrender. “Just curious” 

“Well… if you must know, we were arguing about Carlos” 

Beautiful, he thought, he didn't even need to bring up his fellow spaniard, you were doing it for him. 

“Franco thinks Carlos hates him. Because he has this idea in his head that Carlos wants to fuck me, which is absurd, and that I want to fuck Carlos!”  

Fernando gasped. 

“No!... but… do you?” 

You seemed to hesitate at that. “Well, I wouldn't say no, he is fit. But I doubt he'd be interested” 

He chuckled. “Really? I assumed you were more interested in younger men because of Franco” 

You smirked cheekily at him. 

“Not really, I can go for slightly older men. In fact I haven't spoken to Franco in a few days now…”  

Your hand landed on Fernando's knee, and he gulped. 

"I think I need a change of pace…” 

His eyes darkened and he leaned against the counter. 

“How much older can you go?” 

“I don't know…” you purred, hand slowly making its way up his tense thigh “twenty years? Give or take” 

The look in his eyes was predatory as he glanced at your lips. 

“Good.” He rumbled “Then let me show you the benefit of experience”... 

By the time he got on his plane the next day, he had a plan. El plan to end all plans. He just wasn't sure how to set it in motion. 

● The perfect opportunity landed in his lap a week later, when you sent him a text. 

“Nanooo, how would you feel about an afternoon on my yacht? Maybe have a bit of fun ;)” 

He grinned, typing out a response immediately. 

“I am always down for some fun ;) Can I bring someone to join us?” 

You were taken aback by his request, but you agreed without much convincing, even though he refused to tell you who he was bringing because it was a surprise. 

You sure were excited though, because there was only one logical choice. Carlos.  

The reason (you suspected) Fernando wanted to talk to you that night before… well… 

The memory made your heart beat a little faster every time it crept into your mind. 

How own earth were you going to handle two of them?

When the day came, you picked out your nicest bikini and sprawled out on the deck while you waited. 

When you heard a voice call out your name, you bolted upright. 

That wasn't Fernando's voice. It was… 

“Franco?”  

He grinned, making his way over to you. 

“Ooh you look nice today!” he embraced you warmly, but you just sat there in shock. 

“You were who Fernando wanted to bring?” you asked incredulously. 

“Yes? Are you disappointed?” he seemed a bit hurt at your lack of enthusiasm. 

“No of course not! I just wasn't expecting it to be you. I’m surprised you’d want to… you know, with Fernando.” 

You giggled and he kissed your forehead affectionately. 

“I am up for anything, you know that” 

Fair enough. 

“Why don't I get us a couple of drinks while we wait for him?” he offered kindly, he knew your yacht in and out by now and you accepted. 

Your heart was beating out of your chest as you watched him jog down the steps. 

You weren't sure whether you were happy or disappointed.  

Franco and Fernando seemed like quite duo, but you'd kind of build yourself up to the idea of finally getting to fuck Carlos and… 

Well you didn't really have time to finish that thought, because suddenly Carlos was there, walking across the deck, having just come aboard. 

He quickly noticed your terrified expression and stopped in his tracks. 

“I am guessing Fernando didn't tell you I was coming…” 

Your eyes darted to the steps, up which Franco would be coming any second now. 

“No he did not” 

“Are you… are you not happy to see me?” he looked heart broken and you snapped out of your stupor to go and give him a hug. 

“Of course I am… it's just-“ 

“Listen, I told Fernando if you are not comfortable with this, we do not have to do anything. He told me you would be…” 

He trailed off, eyes fixed on Franco who was standing back on the deck with two glasses in his hands, and looking slightly confused. 

Carlos scoffed “Why is he here? I thought it was going to be the three of us?” 

Franco’s eyes narrowed at the older man. “I could ask the same, I was invited by Fernando” 

Carlos looked at you questioningly, and you looked at Franco, who looked a Carlos, and it carried on like that for several seconds, a festival of wide eyes traveling back and forth. 

“I'm gonna call him” you finally broke the silence and grabbed your phone. 

When he picked up, his smiling face took up the entire screen and he was wearing the most ostentatious sunglasses you'd ever seen. 

“Fernando what the fuck did you do?” 

He just laughed and set his phone down so that you could see he was in a car. 

“Ah, I take it the other two are already there. I’m sorry nena, I will be a few minutes late, don't let them kill each other before I get there” 

He hung up, and you just stared blankly at the screen for a minute. 

“So… what do we think his plan was?” Carlos asked warily. 

You thought back to the conversation you had with him in your hotel room. 

“Well… I'm guessing he wants me and Carlos to fuck.”  your gaze snapped towards Franco “But I'm not sure what your role is in this”

 

“Well… I will get another glass then” Franco responded, and promptly made his way back downstairs. 

“I'm sorry Carlos, I had no idea about any of this” 

He chuckled “Well I supposed it is partly my fault. I have been complaining to Fernando that I have wanted to fuck you since you joined the team” 

You choked on your spit. 

Franco didn't take long to come back and sit with you, each of you with a cold drink in hand while you waited for Fernando. 

When he did finally arrive, the three of you just stared at him, waiting for an explanation. 

“I thought we could all have some fun!” he shrugged. “Given that some of us are already… intimately acquainted” 

You blushed, avoiding his eyes. 

“And also I want to see you two finally fuck” he pointed between you and Carlos. 

Franco, who was closest to him, looked up at him shyly. 

“What about me?” 

Fernando threaded a hand through Franco's hair, pulling his head back slightly and making the younger man's breath hitch as his eyes widened. 

“You… are going to sit on my lap, hermoso, and watch them” He smiled evilly “And if you are a good boy, I might reward you” 

Franco gulped, and that image was so hot your thighs clenched together involuntarily, which caught Carlos' attention. 

“You like that idea?” he muttered, leaning close to your ear “You want me to fuck you while they watch us?” 

You nodded with a small whimper, and that was all Carlos needed to press you down onto the sun lounger and devour you. 

Almost literally, he all but attacked your neck with his greedy mouth, licking and sucking at your skin in an effort to mark you up. 

His hand made quick work of the ties on your bikini, getting you completely bare for him, and he marveled at the sight. 

He then worshipped your chest, sucking hickies into your soft flesh while his hand made its way between your legs to teasingly slip a finger inside you. 

You moaned and wrapped your legs around his waist. 

“More, Carlos.”  

He slipped another finger in and his thumb came to rub circles around your clit, sending jolts of electricity up your spine at the contact. 

He couldn't believe you were this wet already. 

It took you an embarrassingly short time to come, and Carlos groaned into your neck at the feeling of your cunt fluttering around his fingers. 

The sound of a bottle cap opening caught your attention and you looked at where Fernando was lubing up his fingers. 

What made a new wave of arousal course through you though, was that Franco was on his lap, bare from the waist down, his legs spread open by Fernando’s thighs. 

“Fucking hell” you muttered, and Carlos seemed to have the same though as he watched with an open mouth as Fernando teased Franco's rim, before pushing two fingers inside the younger man. 

The whimper he let out made your cunt throb, and you licked your lips at the sight of Franco's cock leaking precome onto the floor in front of him. 

“Look at me” Carlos muttered, and the look he was giving you made butterflies erupt in your stomach. “I have waited for this for a long time, I am going to savour it” 

His eyes were fully black, and he slid into you slowly, inch by agonising inch until his hips met yours. 

You let out a breath, and pulled him down for a sloppy kiss while he waited for you to adjust to his girth. 

You glanced to the side, to where Fernando was placing Franco over his cock, and the younger man didn't even wince when he sank down onto it. 

“Now don't move until I say so” Fernando rumbled, and the order made Carlos twitch inside you. 

He thrusted into you shallowly, figuring out the angle and pace you preferred by the amount of noise you were making. 

Thank god your yacht was docked right at the end of the marina, next to the cliff face so you weren't very visible (or audible).  

As Carlos picked up the pace, he could feel your legs trembling, so he hooked them over his shoulders to press you down harder while he bullied his cock into you. 

The new angle made you fucking melt into the lounger, it was so good. 

 

Franco was having trouble obeying Fernando's orders, the sight of you falling apart under Carlos was making him so fucking needy it hurt. 

Not to mention Fernando's cock buried inside him, stretching him out so perfectly it was keeping him on edge.

“Nando…” he whimpered “Please, I'm gonna come” 

His hips were twitching uncontrolably, and the Spaniard decided to take pity on him. 

“Carlos!” he called “bring her over here so she can suck him off” 

The two of you crawled over without hesitation, and Franco was manhandled onto his knees with Fernando behind him. 

The first lick against Franco's angry, leaking tip made him sob out a whine and you promptly took him down as far as you could go. 

Carlos resumed his earlier pace, and stared at the way Franco's eyes rolled into the back of his skull. 

Fernando held him in place and thrusted into him at a brutal pace while you sucked him off diligently. 

Suddenly his body clenched and he threw his head back in pleasure. 

“Fuck- Mierda… Puta ma-“ 

Carlos couldn't hold himself back at the obscene sight in front of him, Fernando fucking into Franco like an animal, while you swallowed his cum like a good girl. 

A few more thrusts and he was spilling inside you as well, panting hard as he curled over you and wrapped an arm around your middle to ground himself after that intense wave of pleasure. 

Fernando wasn't far behind, coming inside Franco with a low groan while the Argentine let out a breathless whimper at the feeling of being filled up. 

Carlos thought he looked almost ethereal, glowing in the sunset with his lips bitten raw and his utterly fucked out expression. 

The thought almost made his cock twitch back to life.

 

Maybe there could be some room in his bed to explore some more with you and Franco by his side…

[whencyclopedia]

Eyewitness Accounts of the Holocaust

The Holocaust was the murder of 6 million Jewish people by the SS, Gestapo, and other organisations of Nazi Germany and its allies in the years prior to and through the Second World War (1939-45). Innocent men, women, and children were shot in mass executions, or, if not too young or too old, they were sent to labour camps where they worked until they could do so no longer. The ultimate fate of millions was to die in the gas chambers of extermination camps like Auschwitz in occupied Poland.

In this article, accounts are presented by those who witnessed the Holocaust genocide firsthand, both its victims and those involved in its execution who were obliged to give evidence in, for example, the post-war Nuremberg trials of 1945-6.

Unburied Corpses, Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp

Wislon-Oakes - Imperial War Museums (CC BY-NC-SA)

The Nazis & the Jews

Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) established himself as the dictator of Nazi Germany in 1933, and he identified Jewish people as the main enemy of the state. Based on dubious and inconsistent racial theory as propounded by such Nazi figures as Alfred Rosenberg (1893-1946), Hitler and the Nazi Party began a propaganda campaign against German Jews, which presented them as an inferior race who were holding Germany back from achieving its full economic potential.

Hitler wanted to remove all Jews from German territory, but the first step was to identify who exactly was a Jew. The 1935 Nuremberg Laws loosely identified Jews since even having a single Jewish grandparent placed an individual in that category. A series of 'solutions' to what Hitler called the "Jewish problem" were rolled out, such as encouraging emigration and persecuting Jewish business owners. Jews were then attacked in such pogroms as the Kristallnacht of November 1938. Next, Jews were rounded up and obliged to live in segregated areas such as ghettos in cities or in concentration camps. Jews were deprived of citizenship and other basic rights.

From 1942, the Nazis began what was secretly described as the 'Final Solution', that is the plan to murder all European Jews. Jews were transported to labour camps where they worked on state projects until they died from disease, extreme malnutrition, or physical exhaustion. Other Jews, and those who could no longer work or were too young or too old to work, were transported directly to death camps like the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex in occupied Poland where they were killed in gas chambers and their remains were communally cremated. Jews were not the only victims since the Nazis also targeted Romani people, Communists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Freemasons, homosexuals, political rivals, prisoners of war, and those with physical or mental disabilities, amongst others. In addition, hundreds of thousands more victims were murdered in mass executions in occupied territories during the Second World War by mobile killing squads known as Einsatzgruppen. The Jews made up by far the majority of those killed, and it is estimated that 6 million died in what is today called the Holocaust. The sheer scale of the Nazis' programme means that determining the precise number of victims is not possible.

Arrested Jews, Baden-Baden

Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-86686-0008 (CC BY-SA)

Hugh Greene, a British newspaper journalist, recalls what he saw of the Kristallnacht in 1938:

I was in Berlin at that time and saw some pretty revolting sights – the destruction of Jewish shops, Jews being arrested and led away, the police standing by while the gangs destroyed the shops and even groups of well-dressed women cheering.

(Holmes, 42)

Avraham Aviel, a Polish Jew and survivor of a mass execution, gives the following account of his experience in May 1942:

We were all brought close to the cemetery at a distance of eighty to a hundred metres from a long, deep pit. Once again everybody was made to kneel. There was no possibility of lifting one's head. I sat more or less in the centre of the town people. I looked in front of me and saw the long pit then maybe groups of twenty, thirty people led to the edge of the pit, undressed probably so that they should not take their valuables with them. They were brought to the edge of the pit where they were shot and fell into the pit, one on top of another.

(Holmes, 319)

An anonymous survivor from a ghetto massacre in Lviv, Ukraine, in August 1942 gives the following description of its aftermath:

I went with my mother to the office of the Jewish community regarding an apartment and there in the light breeze, dangled the corpses of the hanged, their faces blue, their heads tilted backward, their tongues blackened and stretched out. Luxury cars raced in from the center of the city, German civilians with their wives and children came to see the sensational spectacle, and, as was their custom, the visitors enthusiastically photographed the scene. Afterwards the Ukrainians and Poles arrived by with greater modesty.

(Fiedländer, 436)

Nazi Classification of Jewish People

VolksVeritas (CC BY-SA)

Rivka Yoselevska, a Polish Jew, describes her experience and that of her family in the Hansovic ghetto massacre in August 1943:

Some of the younger ones I got out naked covered with blood…I was still alive. Where should I go? What should I do?

(Holmes, 320-1)

The SS lieutenant-colonel Adolf Eichmann (1906-1962), in charge of the Final Solution's transportation requirements, here lies to Jews to make sure they do not create trouble as they are transported by train from a ghetto to the concentration camps:

Jews: You have nothing to worry about. We want only the best for you. You'll leave here shortly and be sent to very fine places indeed. You will work there, your wives will stay at home, and your children will go to school. You will have wonderful lives.

(Bascomb, 6)

The death camps were deliberately located in remote Poland to provide the Final Solution project more secrecy. Rudolf Höss (1901-1947), a camp commandant at Auschwitz, stated:

We were required to carry out these exterminations in secrecy, but of course the foul and nauseating stench from the continuous burning of bodies permeated the entire area and all of the people living in the surrounding communities knew that exterminations were going on at Auschwitz.

(Neville, 49)

New Arrivals at Auschwitz

Bernard Walter (Public Domain)

The typical conditions of the train journeys to the camps are described here by Avraham Kochav, an Auschwitz survivor:

There were twenty to twenty-five cars in every train…I heard terrible cries. I saw how people attack other people so as to have a place to stand, how people push each other so that they could stand somewhere or so that they could have air for breathing. It was terribly, terribly stifling. The first to faint were the children, women, old men, they all fell down like flies.

(Holmes, 332)

Zygmunt Klukowski, a Polish hospital director, describes the train journeys for Jewish people sent to the Belzec extermination camp in occupied Poland:

On the way to Belzec the Jews experience many terrible things. They are aware of what will happen to them. Some try to fight back. At the railroad station in Szczebrzeszyn a young woman gave away a gold ring in exchange for a glass of water for her dying child. In Lublin people witnessed small children being thrown through windows of speeding trains. Many people are shot before reaching Belzec.

(Friedländer, 358)

Yaacov Silberstein, a Jewish teenager, describes his arrival at Auschwitz in October 1942:

When we arrived we saw how the Jews were running to the electrified fence. There they stuck. They were tired of life; they could not continue in this fashion.

(Holmes, 330)

Dr Lucie Adelsberger, a prisoner of Auschwitz, describes the processing of new arrivals destined for the labour camps:

We undressed, had our hair cut – no actually our heads were shaved to stubble; then came the showers and finally the tattoos. This was where they confiscated the very last vestiges of our belongings; nothing remained…no written document that could have identified us, no picture, no written message from a loved one. Our past was cut off, erased…

(Cesarini, 656)

Aerial View of Auschwitz

South African Air Force (Public Domain)

Bernd Naumann, a survivor from the Birkenau camp, describes the prevalence of rats in the camp:

They gnawed not only at corpses but also at the seriously sick. I have pictures showing women near death being bitten by rats.

(Neville, 50)

Seweryna Smaglewska, a prisoner in the Birkenau women's camp, describes the living conditions there:

There were no roads, no paths between the blocks. In the depths of these dark dens, in bunks like multi-storied cages, the feeble light of a candle burning here or there flickered over naked, emaciated figures curled up, blue from the cold, bent over a pile of filthy rags, holding their shaved heads in their hands, picking out an insect with their scraggly fingers and smashing it on the edge of the bunk – that is what the barracks looked like in 1942.

(Cesarini, 528)

The SS, which managed the camps, made sure there was a hierarchy amongst the prisoners such as trustees who survived a little longer than the rest by being 'favoured' with certain duties such as burning the bodies in the crematoriums or beating other prisoners. SS Lance Corporal Richard Bock, a guard at Auschwitz-Birkenau, recalls:

A block chief would call out the kapo very fiercely, 'Kapo, come here.' The kapo came over and – boom – he hit the kapo in the face so hard that he fell over…And then he said, 'Kapo, can't you beat them any better than that?' And the kapo ran off and grabbed a club to beat up the prisoner squad quite indiscriminately. 'Kapo, come over here,' he shouted again. The kapo came and he said, 'Finish them off,' and then he went off again and he finished the prisoners off, he beat them to death…a kapo had to beat and club to save his own life.

(Holmes, 325)

Luggage of Auschwitz Victims

Jorge Láscar (CC BY)

Those meant for the gas chambers were often unaware of their fate. Bock describes the procedure that he witnessed with a colleague called Holbinger who was responsible for the Zyklon B tins that would produce the lethal gas:

…the new arrivals had to get undressed, and then the order came, 'Prepare for disinfection'. There were enormous piles of clothing…Lots of them hid their children under the clothes and covered them up and then they shouted, 'Get ready' and they all went out, they had to run naked approximately twenty yards from the hall across to Bunker One. There were two doors standing open and they went in there and when a certain number had gone inside they shut the doors. That happened about three times, and every time Holbinger had to go out to his ambulance and they took out a sort of tin – he and one of his block chiefs – and then he climbed up the ladder and at the top there was a round hole and he opened the little round door and held the tin there and shook it and then he shut the little door again. Then a fearful screaming started up and approximately after about ten minutes it slowly went quiet…They opened the door…then a blue haze came out. I looked in and I saw a pyramid. They had all climbed up on top of each other…They were all tangled, they had to tug and pull very hard to disentangle all these people.

(Holmes, 334-5)

Dov Paisikowic, a Russian-Jewish survivor of Auschwitz, was part of the team responsible for taking bodies out of the chambers, removing valuables such as rings and gold teeth, and then taking the corpses to the crematoria. He recalls:

…the doors were suddenly opened to the gas chambers. People, naked people, started falling out. We were all frightened, no one dared ask what it all was. We were immediately taken to the other side of this house and there we saw hell on this earth – large piles of dead people, and people dragging these dead to a long pit, about thirty metres in length and ten metres in width. There was a huge fire there, with tree trunks. On the other side fat was being taken out of this pit with a bucket.

(Holmes, 335)

Thousands of detainees in the camps were subjected to unnecessary and often horrific medical operations and experiments. One of the most infamous SS doctors was Josef Mengele (1911-1979), who performed all kinds of macabre operations at Auschwitz. Mengele was, though, only one part of a large SS medical team, which operated in many different camps. Dr Franz Blaha, a Czech detainee at the Dachau concentration camp, was obliged to work in this area of Nazi terror, specifically performing autopsies. Blaha reported:

From the middle of 1941 to the end of 1942 some 500 operations on healthy prisoners were performed. These were for the instructions of the SS medical students and doctors and included operations on the stomach, gall bladder and throat. These were performed by students and doctors of only two years' training, although they were very dangerous and difficult….Many prisoners died on the operating table and many others from later complications…These persons were never volunteers but were forced to submit to such acts.

(MacDonald, 59)

Auschwitz Bunks

Bookofblue (CC BY-SA)

Hertha Beese, a Berlin housewife and underground resistance worker, recalls that, unlike the general public, the resistance network was more informed about the camps. She states:

We knew that the concentration camps existed. We also knew where they existed, for example Oranienburg just outside Berlin. We sometimes knew which of our friends were there and we also knew of the cruelties in them right from the beginning.

(Holmes, 315)

Anthony Eden (1897-1977), British Foreign Secretary during WWII, notes:

…as the war progressed some horrifying reports began to come out. At first it was very difficult to assess their accuracy and they were so horrible it was hard to believe they could be true.

(Holmes, 314)

Wynford Vaughn-Thomas, a British journalist, recalls the conditions of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany when it was liberated in 1945:

In the huts typhoid, everything, had broken out and you couldn't hear yourself speak for the death rattle. There were people lying on top of each other, sick, vomiting, withered bodies crawling on their hands and knees…It was sealed off in this dark north German plain and you felt you'd reached the cesspit of the human mind.

(Holmes, 337)

Mass Grave, Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp

H. Oakes-Imperial War Museums (Public Domain)

The British Lieutenant Colonel J. A. D. Johnson described what he saw when he arrived at Bergen-Belsen:

The prisoners were a dense mass of emaciated apathetic scarecrows huddled together in wooden huts, and in many cases without beds or blankets, and in some cases without any clothing whatsoever…There were thousands of emaciated corpses in various stages of decomposition lying unburied. Sanitation was to all intents and purposes nonexistent.

(Cesarini, 759)

Hans Stark, Gestapo staff member at Auschwitz, stated, like so many others, that he had merely been following orders:

I took part in the murder of many people…I believed in the Führer, I wanted to serve my people. Today I know that this idea was false. I regret the mistakes of my past, but I cannot undo them.

(Neville, 57)

Rabbi Frankforter, who died in the Holocaust, which Jewish people often call the Shoah or Ha-Shoah in Hebrew, gave this last wish to survivor Yaacov Silberstein:

You are still young and you will remain alive. I have only one request for you that you should never let people forget. Tell everyone what they did to us at this small camp, in Buchenwald. Wherever you go tell this, also to your children so that they should pass it on. To remember and not to forget.

(Holmes, 339)

Continue reading...

[reborn-readings]

Messages of hope for spring 2025

Tip Jar | Masterlist | Personal Readings

Hello hello! Quite the past month we've had. With everything going on in the world, I thought I'd ask the spirits to relay some specific messages to inspire hope as the cold yields and life starts to return to begin the cycle anew. These messages will be pertinent to the months of March, April, and May of 2025. Pick whichever pile calls out to you!

This is a group reading, so take what resonates and leave the rest. Don't force anything if it does not fit. Remember that the future is not set in stone and that other potential paths exist depending on your movement through the course of time.

Pile 1 (Top Left)

Five of Spring | Ten of Cups | Epona | Break Free 

Maybe in your past you’ve experienced a battleground. Something very serious, somewhere where you couldn’t be yourself and had to live up to an extreme expectation or be punished for it. I see authority as a running theme in your life, too, maybe a string of relationships or jobs in which you felt there were a definite leader or boss and (whether yourself or others) and you were comfortable that way. Spring is bringing a different kind of dynamic to you; a fight where no one gets hurt, a relationship where no one is more responsible than the other, an opportunity to climb up to an ideal that you’ve had your whole life. Watch for the moments when you find people teasing and joking in a way that could seem hurtful from the outside but you know it’s just their humor. When this moment comes, you will know that you’ve broken free of what hurt you in the past. 

Pile 2 (Top Middle)

Six of Spring | Rx Death | Persephone | Friendship 

Celebration. That’s the first word that comes to mind. And if you read it (or said it out loud) and instantly saw a flash of a specific celebration, then the spirits want you to know that that result is almost certain. I get the feeling that you will be publicly recognized and lauded for something that you did not expect, some part of your hidden or shadow self that you hid for fear of shame. It is something that lacks grace. Something like…having spoken up even if your words could have been interpreted wrongly or rudely, but people saw past the words to your idea and they loved it. Even if the idea itself is dark, you have been sharing that, and you will see the results of that soon enough in a glorious event that may welcome unexpected friends. I get the feeling that this will happen earlier for you than the other piles, late February or early March. 

Pile 3 (Top Right)

Strength | Rx The Emperor | Hina | Mother Healing 

Right off the bat, I can tell that this message will be one that is harder to grasp for you, and you may need to look hard and close for it. I see a few specific images that all interplay in your life: you father, your church, your mother. You have a very unique way of approaching gender, something that the mainstream culture around frowns upon. Your femininity and spirituality cross in ways that seem unseemly. Maybe you don’t know how to reconcile the two? This is something that you should be thinking about more. I just got the image of a crown of thorns in my head; know that you are the master of this beast.  I can’t articulate everything that you’re going to come to learn and realize for yourself; I suppose the only message I have for you is to know that you have the inner strength to guide you through this. 

Pile 4 (Bottom Left)

Seven of Summer | Rx King of Cups | Rhiannon | Simplify Your Life 

Winter brings clutter with it. We shut ourselves up in our homes with what we have and wait, letting go of nothing since we know on an instinctual level that we cannot simply go out and replace what we lose. However, this clutter, whether it takes the form of actual, physical clutter, mental baggage, or just too many decisions to make, results in us feeling overwhelmed. Your emotions may feel difficult to track down, but addressing their causes will help. Spring is going to see you cleaning up those aspects of your life. I see the word ‘king’ a lot, so don’t be afraid to lean into your masculine power. The world is beautiful; try to remember to once in a while look beyond the clutter in your path to see what you’re working toward. Once you see your goal, each individual step will feel both simple and momentous! 

Pile 5 (Bottom Middle)

Nine of Summer | Nine of Wands | Demeter | You’re Being Helped 

Go around the back way. That’s the first message that I got. Are you being blocked from your wishes being fulfilled? There’s always another way, you know. Demeter didn’t bow down when Hades took her daughter; she went on strike, withholding her gifts from the world until they addressed her plight. You, too, are going to find an unorthodox method of bypassing what stands in your way. The spirits are not the ones putting up the barrier, they are the ones helping to guide you to your prize. Your Cinderella story is waiting; not just rags to riches, but also finding out that you have a Fairy Godmother on your side who’s willing to bend the rules for you. After all, some rules are unjust and meant to be broken. Don’t go doing anything crazy or rush so much you trip yourself, but keep your eyes open for your opportunity. 

Pile 6 (Bottom Right)

King of Spring | King of Swords | White Shell Woman | Self-Employment 

Where do I begin, Pile 6?! This spring, you are going to see the perfect union between your passion and your mind. You are someone with a lot of gifts to give, and to make sure that you play your role this upcoming spring, the spirits are going to fill your baskets to the point of overflow to show you how generous you can be. Though I can sense that you just want some alone time, and trust me, you’ll get it. You will find that people flock to you, seeing you as a skilled leader and wanting to support what you support. Relish being alive! Look around you at all the things growing! You have so much to look forward to.

If this was helpful to you, please consider donating or expanding on your message in one of my readings! 🩷

Dividers by @/saradika-graphics

[nalyra-dreaming]

Rolin has talked about barely scratching the surface of what Sam can do, and how he set the bar so high back then he was unbeatable.

I love that, do you happen to have where he said those two things?

Sure :)

The "scratching the surface" quote is from here:

“Sam worked really hard for two years as a supporting actor, and I think Jacob is very excited to do the same thing for him, and put Sam front and center,” Jones tells EW. “We’ve just scratched the surface with Sam, who’s an incredible actor.”

The other statement was in the season one podcast episode 8 (it's comments between Mark Johnson and Rolin Jones):

“On Jacob's side, it's this sort of genuine warmth, kindness, humanity. You were like, okay, for a character who's going to make a number of questionable choices, how do you make them want to loan? And on Sam, I saw his face and I said, no fucking way. No fucking way. That guy, this chiseled, stupid, chiseled, you know, and his fit, his locks and his dreamy eyes, I was like, no, no, no, no. And then I pressed play. And he really knew how big we were going to go. It was wildly specific and subtle. It was in his voice, right? There was something a little Jeff Bridges star man about it that I was like, oh, this guy feels like an alien and he feels other than us. They both won the audition. That's basically what happened. Although I'll tell you, here's a dirty secret. Ready for this? Sam bought this piece of technology that you can do a push in close up right when the seed is getting a little juicy. And I just started laughing my ass off. I was like, oh my God, this guy wants this so hard. “You called me the first time you had seen Sam and you were just so excited about the potential of this guy. And you basically said he's going to be next to impossible to beat. And sure enough, nobody could really touch him. But you, from the very first time you saw his audition, you were pretty convinced that we had our Lestat.”

Source:

[paladinsbrainrot]

hello just wanted to say I think you’re really cool and I love your art!! I also LOVE romike too, super excited for their dynamic in s5

I’d love to hear your thoughts on them and if you have any predictions/theories/things you’d like to see with them next season :]

OHHHHH MY GOD thank you this is such an amazing question !!!! so sorry it took me so long to answer however i have very many Thoughts™

the idea of robin and mike being friends is soooo dear to me you don't even understand. romike has been on my mind since before s4 even came out #Tbh I just think that they are so similar and tethered and it's just so shocking that they haven't properly interacted yet!!!

obviously I think romike first came to fruition through the idea that robin would act like a gay mentor to mike and kind of guide him to realize his feelings for will, but they're so much more than this mentor/mentee relationship. not only would it be an interesting dynamic to explore as they have barely interacted, but they are literally both Anxiety As A Person and their personalities would compliment each other so well. mike's reluctance to open up to people & robin's willingness to ramble to anyone she meets? sign me up. both are bottling up their emotions in totally different ways. i would live for them awkwardly bumping into each other and mike finding her annoying at first but then realizing she is literally his carbon copy and that they are so much more alike than he first thought. (I would argue that they are literally madwheeler 2.0 sans the bitchiness.) them both bonding over the fact that they have trouble expressing their emotions and that they feel like outsiders????? them both realizing they are stuck in the same boat and using each other as an outlet to open up (+ it would be way easier for them to talk about these things because they aren't super close)????? hEllooooo duffers Are u seeing this?????? their dynamic would be so interesting if they don't write it I'm going to have to do it myself.

as for general predictions/theories..... oh boy I have Lots!!!!

I think that the writers are leaning more towards a rowill focus than a romike one this season so I don't think we will see as much as them as I would hope for. BUT this post gives me the idea that we will get a bunch of romikewill scenes on the farm with maybe a dash of one-on-one romike content sprinkled in there for the wellbeing of the people (the people being me and the other two romike fans on this app). as much as I love romike I think will and robin are the characters who Need to talk to each other the most because they're both still closeted. though as I said before I pray that the duffers will realize the potential that romike has as well 🙏

so I've basically done a whole lot of rambling and haven't even answered your question so I'm just gonna get straight to what I want for them this szn if this were my perfect world 🎉

I have this one recurring dream that mainly only exists because of a fic I wrote an extremely long time ago but basicalllyyy the essence of it was that mike and el were in this weird phase in their relationship where they were distant, awkward, and were almost uncomfortable around each other? so mike, incredibly frustrated and fed up with this, starts acting moody and withdrawn from everyone else. also bc this is s5 lets just add the fact that his sister is missing, he just got beat up by the school bullies, and maybe he and will got into the painting fight or something. so just imagine mike being almost reclusive and reserved on the farm set. maybe robin notices his lack of exuberance (that's probably not the right word but whatever) and decides to take matters into her own hands. she asks what his deal is and if he's doing all right with everything going on. mike pretends he's super annoyed by her because of all the questions she asks him but maybe she makes some offhand remark about how they're stuck on this stupid farm and it'll only get worse if he keeps acting like this. (and also, they have bigger issues to worry about!) so mike, quickly realizing that robin is literally the only person on this farm that is there for him to talk to, opens up to her a little reluctantly about everything going on with him. it's important that this is a slow process and that he doesn't dump everything on her at once. maybe he says that he doesn't know what he's doing with his and el's relationship and how will's not talking to him and that he feels he keeps screwing things up with the people he cares about the most. insert moment of robin being robin and clearing up the air, relieving the tension off mike's shoulders, and also giving him some very valuable advice!! obviously there's much more here to explore upon but the general gist of it is that they become much closer after this. robin learns that she can open up to mike too, about how some "person" that she's interested in is giving her mixed signals and how she is actually very scared about the end of the world but feels like she has to deflect everything with humour. they learn they are able to confide in each other and boom romike world domination!!!

I kind of what them to be like a mix of steve & robin and mike & nancy and mike & max, if that makes sense. like steve and robin's closeness, mike and nancy's worry about each other, and mike and max's bickering and (loving) malice. Idk mike is very irritable and snarky and robin is very direct and straightforward and also very tentative so I think their dynamic would just feel natural and compliment each of their personalities!!

I also think their dynamic could be veryyy beneficial to discovering the key to destroying vecna once and for all !!! these two are arguably the smartest characters on the show and work in very like minded ways. robin figured out when blue meets yellow in the west (cough) and that music is the key to getting out of vecna's mindscapes. mike has had wayyy too many clutch moments during the show that I can't mention here otherwise this post would get too long, but you get the point. putting both of their brains together might help our characters figure out how to end this battle. this script that maya hawke posted a while back that features both of mike and robin's names makes me very hopeful that this will be a possibility in s5. (potential st5 spoilers incoming ->) my current running Theory is that mike and robin discover that the military or hnl (is it still running in s5? idk) are running experiments on kids again and use the mccorkle farm and subsequent tunnels underneath to help the kids escape. (mayhaps this is how derek ends up on the farm after being spotted with the military??? idk.)

I am trying not to get my hopes up about robin and mike being spotted at hawkins lab together (potentially with el and will too 👀) but I have a feeling that this is related to whatever was going on in the tunnels. I have No Clue about what is going down at hawkins lab but one can only hope that they are there because the gang realized they needed two of the smartest people as well as the two strongest/most powerful to figure out the situation with the gates. great minds think alike or something like that!!!

this is more leaning towards romikewill territory but Idk I would just liveeeee for a scene of robin picking up on the labyrinthine circumstance that is will & mike's relationship and teasing mike about it !!! and in return I would like a Lot of mike teasing robin about vickie. I think (key word Think) vickie is on the farm with them so I need lots of scenes of robin not so subtly flirting with vickie and vickie flirting back and giggling like a maniac and mike noticing out of the corner of his eye and smiling. i want him to go up to robin later and just whisper shout that vickie is soooo into her. something similar happening with byler and robin noticing would also be very plausible. i just think it would be so sweet for mike and robin to see themselves in their friends and the people around them to help guide them towards their self-acceptance arcs, and learn that there is some hope for them after all ☹️ the only thing I don't want to see is only one of them being used just to further the romantic advances in the other's story. like I don't want the only reason robin interacts with will and mike in s5 to be to help guide byler towards e/o or for mike to do the same thing with rovickie!! it's important that they both realize that having queer friends is just as significant, and that they both are able to confide in each other about their struggles and worries, whether it's about their relationship or not.

there was also this one leak from early 2024 (another leak warning if you haven't clicked off this post already) that stated that mike and robin had a few scenes together because mike was worried about will, and robin was worried about vickie, and bonded because of this. I think this is a much more plausible way for them to start talking to each other than that scenario I mentioned earlier lol. I really hope that vickie is related to derek or the turnbows in some capacity; it would make her such less of a random character and also give robin a reason to be worried about her (and would also tie into them helping derek escape and the fact that he's on the farm with the rest of them). romike confiding in each other about the fact that they feel like they are useless/can't save the people they love AUGHHHH give it to me now . (edit: the leak is mentioned somewhere in this post you just may have to dig for it)

this post is very long and a total incoherent ramble so I am Very sorry but unfortunately I will never be normal about romike a day in my life. @willelworld (my lovely fellow romike enthusiast!) made a very great point in this post that I would like to end off with because it just sums up what is so perfect about them:

I really hope that my favourite adhd losers will be able to bond over their social incompetencies and sexualities and suppressed emotions and so much more in st5!!!! they just have such best friend material so I hope the duffers do not waste this absolute perfect opportunity to write a queerplatonic friendship ^_^

[kawaiijohn]

Observant Vessel Danny au 😍🥹

A Body that is No Longer His

Rating: T

Content warnings: Danny gets kidnapped and used. Themes of abuse in general. Dehumanization (referring to Danny as an 'it' despite that NOT being his pronouns SMH)

Summary: In which Danny becomes a vessel for the Observants; not of his own free will, but to save his own skin.

This has been sitting in my inbox for like three years, I'm so sorry. I hope you enjoy @modordracena

Read on Ao3 and give me comments?

---

“I didn’t even do anything! Not this time!!” 

Danny yells as Clockwork blocks his small form partially– their cape acting as a shield between him and the very angry horde of Observants who had chased him to Long Now from his school.

“You are a dangerous Liminal entity operating without a proper overseer!” One of the eyeballs responds.

“We have allowed your shenanigans to ensue for far too long– you are dangerous!” Another of the eyeballs adds.

“Gentleghosts, please. Come into my foyer and take a seat– surely we can talk this out civilly without needing to yell at a mere ghost child?” Clockwork deflects as chairs appear between them and the Observants. Danny can tell the Ancient is seething internally and barely keeping calm at the moment.

The lead Observant, taller and with a larger amulet around its head, floats forward, vanishing the furniture between it and Clockwork with a wave of its hand. 

“A mere ghost child? Clockwork, you must think us blind! You have defied our orders several times over to take  proper responsibility for this abomination long enough!” 

Clockwork hisses through their teeth and guards Danny more thoroughly, painfully gripping the boy’s arm to shove him deeper under their cape.

“Proper responsibility? Forcing compliance through manipulation is not responsibility! It teaches nothing of what Daniel needs to learn, and only instills obedience through fear, compliance through domination! It is cruel and unusual to put a child through abuse to prevent what may happen some day in the far future–”

The head Observant waves its hand and Clockwork becomes silent– their mouth moving before they fall resigned at attempting to speak. It approaches the duo with a darkened eye.

“We have seen enough potential futures to know that the Liminal child will lead the Realms to ruin– should it not be guided with a firm hand, which you continually refuse to supply. Your hands-off  ‘ teaching ’ strategy is nowhere near enough to prevent such compounding tragedy! Either you can rescind your guardianship by choice, or we can take the Liminal by force to do with it as we see fit.”

Clockwork glowers at the eyeball and looks down at Danny– their face torn by a level of emotion he normally never sees in the ancient. They mouth an apology silently before hugging Danny tightly and relinquishing their hold on him. Danny blinks in confusion before Clockwork prostrates themself before the Observants.

“Clockwork? What are you–”

Suddenly sound returns to the Ancient with a wave of the lead Observant’s hand– gears that had been silenced suddenly coming to life with a soft tik-tok accompanied by the sensation of sand sliding between his fingers.

“Do not End him– please. I beg of you. He is only a boy– Please, I can’t lose someone else , great Observers.” Clockwork begs with more emotion in their voice than Danny has ever thought possible– tears of sand fall from their red eyes as their gloved hands scrape against the floor. “Please–”

“Oh our dearest Clockwork, we know it to be hard to do the right thing when it comes to the things we care for–” The lead Observant floats ominously towards Danny, who tries to futilely back away. “– but sometimes a guardian needs to find something more suitable for their charge, lest permanent damage be done.”

Danny watches in horror as a clawed, green palm closes in on his vision, before everything goes black.

---

“So why haven’t you guys like… wasted me yet?” Danny asks from the hanging cage of his cell. His feet dangle through the gaps as he is displayed like a prize songbird in the middle of the Council of Eyes– an apt name for a fuckton of Observants. “It’d probably be easier than arguing for a million years.”

“We are trying to decide which fate will bring the most good to the Realms, which if you were not a C student, you would have likely remembered.” One of the eyeballs– the one with the most nasally voice– responds.

Danny groans. He shouldn’t be suggesting the Observants kill him off, but he always has a darker sense of humor when he’s stressed, sleep deprived, or bored. And currently, he’s all three.

The Council has been holding him in a Liminality absorbing cage for over a week now; keeping him trapped in his human form and bored out of his damn mind. He feels as if he’s watching the most boring episode of ghost C-Spann in the universe. Hey! Who knew ghost politics were just as boring as human ones?

“Why not use it as bait for the most violent offenders of the law?” one Observant suggests.

“And risk losing a bargaining chip on our first try!” another retorts.

“I still say we should toss it to one of the lostlands and rinse our hands of the whole thing!” a third adds.

“And what, risk time locked realms using it for themselves! It would cause utter anarchy!”

Danny scratches idly at his scalp as the eyeballs treat him like a tool or pet more than a person. The dehumanization was grating his last nerve three days ago.

“Why not just let me go? I’ll stop meddling with ghosts and stay in my own town forever!” Danny calls down to the rabble, causing them to start arguing even more when one of the Observants briefly considers it.

He wants to go home– he misses Tucker and Sam. He misses Jazz. Hell, he even misses Mr. Lancer and his book-isms more than he thought was possible.

Danny listens to the council drone on and on for what seems like hours before his eyes grow heavy and he falls asleep curled in the bottom of his cage.

Danny is awoken by the sound and feel of his gilded cage lowering to the center of the courtroom.

---

“It has been decided!” The head Observant begins, its voice booming as the other eyeballs grow silent. 

Danny swallows nervously as it begins to approach his cage with a key. “What’s been decided?” 

“Your fate, Liminal child.”

Danny feels palpable dread as the door to his prison is opened and he is grabbed by the wrist to walk to a dias in the middle of the room. “Wait- don’t I get to make a case for myself? A trial?“

“Liminals are abominations by definition–” the lead Observant answers. “You shan’t be afforded the same rights as other ghosts, as your existence itself is a crime against nature. Be glad we are not exterminating you outright.”

Danny wants to retort but the collar it clasps around his throat stings in a way he hasn’t felt since he last passed through a ghost shield in his human form. He hadn’t seen it being carried by another Observant, had no time to respond before he began to feel it working magic into his body painfully.

“Us Observants shan’t ever step foot on the material plane– the ‘ real world ’ as some more… modern ghosts refer. So what a boon it is to be handed a tool of mediation on a silver platter such as yourself, young Phantom.” The lead Observant looms over him, a smug look in its eye as it brings Danny to a kneeling position from where he’d ended up curled on the floor.

“Firstly, you are to obey our every order to the fullest of your ability. No working around the rules like that rebellious Clockwork.”

Danny feels the words wrap around his Core like a vice, choking out a gasp as it begins to hurt. 

“Wait wha-”

“Second, you must act with dignity and class when on duty– no immature gestures or words, no improper use of power or authority.”

“Stop–” Danny whines as the next command morphs into a chain around his Core, more painful than the last.

“Third, you are not to leave our sides unless ordered. We cannot have you wandering about between realms with power as dangerous as yours.”

Danny wracks out a sob as he realizes he may never see his loved ones again.

“Fourth, you are not to use your ghost form unless directly ordered by the council– you have poor control of it and it is a liability when you have displayed proper use of your Liminality in a human shape.”

Danny feels a part of him close off behind a barrier he feels snap into place. He screams out in pain and feels his limbs begin twitching. Ice forms along the ground at his feet and crawls up the prisoner’s robes he’d been dressed in. 

“Please, don’t do this– I can… I can be good, I promise!”

“And fifth– from this day forth you belong to the Council of Eyes, body and spirit.”

Danny hears the last command and feels an immaterial tether, like a leash, form between the cursed collar around his neck, and the gnarled talon of the head Observant. 

He tries to protest, but feels consciousness slipping before the world goes dark.

---

“By the power of the Council of Eyes, you are under arrest–” Danny feels his mouth move without his input. “Come quietly or forfeit your right to fair trial.”

The ghosts he’s cornered stare at him incredulously before laughing.

“What sorta game are you working at, twerp? Go back to yer parents n’ play dress up with your little friends instead of meddling in business that ain’t yours before we make ya a ghost like us.”

“Yeah, twerp– ain’t no business the living got meddlin’ with the dead!”

Danny wants to roll his eyes so bad, but the compulsions don’t allow for any sort of ‘immaturity’ while he is on duty. Jackasses. 

The duo of gangster ghosts are currently meddling with a major historical event, trying to prevent a shooting by taking the weapons from the stash hours before the timeline crucial event.

Danny himself thinks it’s fine to prevent this event– what with it being a murder and all. But the eyeballs were insistent that the best timeline requires this JFK guy being assassinated. Isn’t death supposed to be bad? Isn’t this guy a president? Why are these ghosts using unstable time portals to prevent it?

Danny tugs idly at the oversized Observer robes that dwarf his slight form. He’s certain he can’t cut an intimidating figure for any ghost, especially since he’s been forbidden from going ghost in the human realm as to not rouse suspicion.

“Come quietly or forfeit your fair trial– this is your final warning.” The words spill out of his mouth again instead of any witty banter he wishes he could actually say– the orders these eye jerks give him make everything nerve wracking and boring at the same time. 

“Oh yeah? And what do you plan on doing to us, punk–”

“Not like he can do anythin’ with them scrawny arms!”

The duo of ghosts laugh loudly at him and Danny’s eyes begin leaking tears. He was told to End these particular ghosts if they refused to come quietly, despite every ounce of protest he put up on the contrary.

“Please, I don’t want to hurt you two– just come with me and you won’t be Ended–”

One of the two slams an oversized hand into Danny’s temple and sends him reeling into the wall of the room, rattling a stack of books and making dust motes fly in the air. Being hit always hurts worse when in human form– 

Danny raises his hand, summoning a scythe made of gears and crystal. The tears in his eyes begin to turn to frost and crust over his black eyelashes as he summons his ghostly aura. The duo of ghosts look at him with fear, then renewed excitement as they realize they no longer have to hold back against a fully mortal kid. 

Danny sighs and enters a proper battle stance (not the improper ones he’d been using for a year) 

“By the power of the Council of Eyes, you are being detained. Do not resist or suffer immortal injury.”

---

“Here’s your time fugitives, Sir.” Danny treats the title like a slur as he slams the prism housing the troublemakers’ cores on the head Observant’s desk.

His boss master appraises his injuries as it vanishes the prism with a wave of its talons. Danny is bruising like a peach already. His back is sore from being slammed into a stack of something hard and angular. His hair is singed from ecto blasts he couldn’t properly dodge with limited mobility. 

His boss master seems to smile with its eye and gives Danny a condescending pat on the head, causing him to hiss when its thumb brushes against the cut on his cheek. Damn Observants trying to punish him for existing every step of the way.

“Oh Phantom, you’ve impressed me– much more cut and dry than your last mission. Maybe you’ll earn a visit from your old guardian if you keep up the work–”

Danny physically perks up at the mere tease of being offered seeing Clockwork again– he has no idea how much time has passed, but seeing someone who treats him, sees him as a person and not a thing, is something he desperately needs before he breaks again.

“Do not get overly excited– you are old enough to temper your enthusiasm, Phantom. Lest we rescind our offer prematurely.” The head Observant chuckles as if it’s a funny joke.

Danny sheepishly bows into himself. “Sorry, sir. I’ll temper myself better…”

The Observant looks at Danny as if to ask him to continue.

“I’d really get to see them if I do a better job?”

The Obersvant pauses, its expression falling into one of tired disappointment. “I do not know if you are ready to see them if you feel the need to ask a pointless question, Phantom. Do not push me like you so enjoy to.”

Danny silences himself and tries to stop the look of disappointment from overtaking his features. His attempt earns another fond chuckle from the Observant. It simply pets Danny on the head once again and coos. 

“Oh, Phantom. I was merely… joking. I simply did not know Liminals could be so… interesting. Not until you came along. Good job, Phantom. You are dismissed.”

Danny takes a quick bow before rushing off to his quarters. His heart races as he rubs tears from his eyes and tries to stifle the sniffles. 

His heart is a traitor.

Danny curls up in his bed, and if he cries himself to sleep that night, there’s nobody around to hear it.

Who would like being praised by their slaver?

A freak like him, that’s who.

[tinydefector]

Behind the Scenes 6 DC

Tim Drake x Male reader

Word count: 2.7k

Author note; Remind me to stop writing like 10k words, I've so much to edit and at this rate I cut them down into smaller chucks so it makes it easier on me to edit in my sleep deprived state. It be 12am right now and this be what I do with my life.

Warnings: swearing, Tim being Tim, family drama.

Masterlist

Prev

Next

____________

Tim hadn’t expected this.  

It had been a few days of digging, researching, and obsessing over Y/N. Every spare moment outside of his responsibilities as Red Robin, online classes and his work at Wayne Enterprises had been consumed by this mystery. 

Nothing about Y/N made sense, and Tim hated not having answers. So, during his break from the monotony of WE Appointment involving potential investors and paperwork, Tim had retreated to his favorite café after picking up his new script of medication. 

It was his favourite little hole-in-the-wall place he frequented when he felt Gotham closing in on him. It was quiet, tucked away from the chaos, and the coffee was good enough to keep him functioning through the day, despite how much the rest of his family would protest over it. Tim had been minding his own business, or that's what he would have said up until his eyes landed on Him. 

Tim’s coffee was halfway to his lips when he froze, his sharp eyes zeroing in on the man who had just walked through the door. blinking slowly as if trying to convince himself it wasn't a hallucination, of his brain playing tricks on him from fatigue, his heart skipping a beat as he watched the man from the nursery stroll into the café like it was any other day. He wore a warm jacket, a side bag over one shoulder, his posture relaxed and unassuming. 

Y/N greeted the barista with a polite smile as he placed his order. Tim’s eyes tracked his every step, He wasn’t here by coincidence—he couldn’t be. Gotham didn’t work that way.  

Or maybe Tim was just paranoid.  

Y/N didn’t seem to notice him, which was both a relief and a frustration. After grabbing his drink, he scanned the room before settling into a seat a few tables away, pulling a small stack of books from his bag, along with a well-worn notebook, and immediately got to work.  

Tim leaned back in his chair, trying to look casual as he observed. Y/N was completely absorbed in his task, scribbling notes in his notebook while flipping through the pages of a thick book on... Tim squinted. Herbology? He frowned, taking another sip of his coffee as his mind raced. What was Y/N doing here? Did he live nearby? Was this his regular spot? Or was it just a coincidence?  

Tim didn’t believe in coincidences.  

He leaned forward slightly, pretending to scroll through his phone, positioning himself so he could  keep watch of Y/N in his peripheral vision. The man looked focused, his brow furrowed as he jotted something down in his notebook. Occasionally, he would pause to flip through another book with a slight noise, his fingers tapping lightly against the pages as if he were deep in thought.  

It was strange seeing him like this so... normal. Y/N didn’t look like someone who could make Poison Ivy back down, But Tim knew better than to trust appearances. His mind wandered back to the footage. The way Y/N’s skin had shifted, the faint green leaf-like markings visible. But now that he gets a better up close look there aren't any markings on him, no leaves, little vines or anything of the sort looking like they are trying to climb out of his skin. 

Tim’s fingers itched to pull out his laptop and start working through the puzzle again, but he forced himself to stay still, sipping his coffee and pretending to relax. He couldn’t afford to draw attention to himself. Instead, he settled for watching.  

After about 15 minutes Y/ n eventually swapped over books, he reached for his drink, and he tilted his head slightly, as if sensing something. For a split second, Tim thought he’d been caught, but Y/N didn’t look up. Instead, he shifted in his seat, stretching slightly before returning to his work.  

Tim let out a quiet breath, his heart still racing. The soft scratch of pencil against paper pulled Tim’s attention back again. Y/N had closed one of his books and was now sketching something in a little art book. His lips twitched into a faint, contented smile as his pencil moved across the page with ease.  

Tim’s eyes narrowed slightly in curiosity. What was he drawing? Plants? Notes for some herbal concoction? He tried to steal a glance without being obvious, leaning slightly to the side under the guise of adjusting his coffee cup.  

Then Y/N glanced up.  

Tim froze.  

Their eyes met for the briefest of moments, and Tim’s breath hitched. He quickly looked back down at his phone, pretending he hadn’t been watching. His mind raced, his heart pounding in his chest. Had he noticed him staring? Did he recognize him from the nursery?  

But Y/N didn’t say anything. When Tim dared to glance back up a moment later, Y/N was already focused on his notebook again. His pencil moved in smooth, deliberate strokes, and that same soft smile played on his lips. He didn’t look suspicious, if anything, he looked... peaceful.  

Tim frowned slightly, his curiosity deepening. Y/N wasn’t acting like someone who had something to hide. He wasn’t glancing around nervously or watching the door like a criminal expecting to be caught. He was just... sketching.  

He tried to go back to his coffee, forcing himself to focus on anything other than the mysterious man a few tables from where he sat. But the soft scratching of the pencil was oddly distracting, pulling his attention back again and again. Y/N’s hand paused for a moment, and he tilted his head slightly, studying his notebook before glancing up again. His eyes landed on Tim once more, but this time, they lingered.  

Tim did his best not to tense up feeling the prickle of eyes on him, trying to look casual as he scrolled through his phone. He could feel Y/N’s gaze on him, warm and curious, and it took everything in him not to look back. And then, just as quickly as it had started, it was over.  

Tim glanced up out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge what had just happened. Y/N didn’t seem bothered or suspicious. In fact, there was something oddly... soft about the way he glanced up every now and then, his smile growing just a little wider before he went back to his work.  

What was he smiling about? Tim wanted to know what Y/N was drawing, what he was thinking, why he kept glancing at him. But he couldn’t risk tipping him off.  

Y/N stretched his fingers as he finished the last few details of his sketch, a satisfied smile tugging at his lips. Closing his notebook, he dated the corner of the page with a simple “Café stranger ” before taking a final mouthful of his drink. His gaze lingered on the faint etching of the face in the sketch, the soft lines capturing his focused expression and the subtle intensity that seemed to radiate from him.  

With his books and notebook neatly tucked back into his bag, Y/N made his way back to the counter. He ordered another drink, slipping one earbud in to listen to some soft music while he waited. The café was buzzing faintly now, a steady hum of conversation and the clinking of mugs filling the space. It was peaceful To everyone except Timothy Drake, he was abuzz with questions, theories and concerns. 

Once his drink was ready, Y/N grabbed it and turned toward the door, his mind already wandering to what he needed to do next. He was halfway through putting his second earbud back in when he bumped directly into someone. “Crap!” Y/N yelped, nearly dropping his drink as he stumbled back slightly. His face immediately flushed as he pulled the earbud out again. “I am so, so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going!”  

Tim, on the other hand, stood completely still, equally stunned. He hadn’t expected Y/N to bump into him when he had gotten up to head back to WE, much less to get such an up-close look at the man he’d been researching obsessively for the past week.  

“It’s... uh, no problem,” Tim finally managed, his voice a little awkward as he waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it.” he was now regretting not having a tracker or anything similar on his person, this would have been the perfect opportunity to try and plant a bug to try and find out more information. Tim would just have to remind himself to keep something on hand from now on. 

Y/N’s flustered expression deepened, and he ducked his head slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Still, sorry if I spilled anything on you.” Tim glanced down instinctively, but there was no damage to his clothes or the coffee cup in his hand. “No, really—it’s fine,” he said, his tone softening.  Y/N gave a small, sheepish smile. “Alright. Um, have a good day, then,” he said quickly, clearly eager to escape the embarrassing situation.  

Tim watched as Y/N hurried out of the café. For a moment, Tim just stood there, his coffee forgotten in his hand as his mind replayed the interaction. But what really caught Tim off guard was Y/N’s reaction. The guy didn’t seem suspicious or guarded. If anything, he looked genuinely flustered and embarrassed, like he was just a normal person who’d accidentally bumped into someone. He didn't act the same way pickpockets do when they bump into someone, nor with the aggression that some people had towards people in suits.  

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Tim pulled out his phone and opened the family group chat.  

---

[Wayne's World Orphans, organs and Morgue] 

Tim: I just ran into him.

Dick: Ran into who?  

Jason: If this is another one of your conspiracy theories, I’m muting this chat.   

Tim: The guy from the nursery. The one Poison Ivy backed off from. The one I told you about D 

Duke: oh no your stalking again

Steph: Wait. What plant guy? Are you stalking someone again and didn't tell me ):  

Tim: I’m NOT stalking him!   

Steph: You’re totally stalking him.   

Jason: Lemme guess, he sprouted leaves and vines and tried to attack you? And now you need someone to come save you because you're out in public as Tim ‘Rich boy’ Drake. Damn you get into so much trouble these days, like those muggers from last month. 

Tim: No!, and you keep telling them where I am!!. We are getting off topic, He bumped into me at my café. Like, literally bumped into me. He apologized and looked super flustered about it.   

Duke: BRB 

Dick: oh no!! You didn't give him your full legal name did you, don't trust them they can use it! Don't follow him into circles of any sort!

Damian: what are you prattling about Richard?

Tim: Dick is convinced the guy is a Fae. 

Damian: Perhaps he is simply a meta who does not wish to draw attention to himself. Not everyone flaunts their abilities foolishly.   

Tim: that does sound more reasonable than D’s theory. Maybe, but... I don’t know. Something feels off. 

Cass: Did you talk to him?   

Tim:  Not really outside of saying it was all good after he bumped into me. I didn’t know what to say. He ran off before I could think of anything. Also realised I noe need to keep trackers and bugs in my suit so I have them on hand for when I need them. 

Steph: Smooth, Tim. Real smooth. The black phone called and said it needed you back to play a creepy guy stalking people. 

Tim: ShUt! 

_____

Tim sighed quietly to himself, standing on the sidewalk outside the café, watching as Y/N disappeared into the crowd. Part of him wanted to follow him, to see where he went, to gather more information. But he didn’t have the time—he was already cutting it close. Wayne Enterprises was calling, and no amount of caffeine could make him excited about spending the next several hours stuck in the stuffy conference room, feigning interest in board meetings when he could be doing spreadsheet, excel and word documents or his favourite finding flaws in the system or anyone trying to exploit or steal from the company. 

He adjusted his bag over his shoulder and started walking toward the Wayne Enterprises building, his phone buzzing faintly in his pocket. He glanced at it briefly, the screen lighting up with yet another email from Lucius Fox. Tim groaned quietly. “I’d rather deal with Gotham’s rogues than sit in another meeting. Why did i ever accept Bruce's offer to take over the company, I hate people”  

He thought about his apartment instead. his tiny, blissful sanctuary. Blackout curtains, a decent mattress, he liked the building, it was unassuming and the moment he wasn't wearing a suit no one knew who he was, so he enjoyed renting his little apartment in the outskirts. He’d never admit it to anyone, but the little plant Alfred had given him  was beginning to grow on Tim And he intended to win that bet of keeping it alive longer than a month to prove a point to his family. 

“Great,” he muttered to himself, crossing the street. “I’m getting attached to cacti now.”  Still, the thought of going home, even briefly, was tempting. Maybe he could sneak in a quick nap before patrol tonight. Or better yet, squeeze in some extra research on the case he had been helping Kon with. 

As he walked, he pulled out his phone again and opened the family group chat.  

---

  [Wayne's World Orphans, organs and Morgue]    

Tim: Okay, I don’t have time to follow him. I’ve got a meeting at WE in like 20 minutes.   

Steph: Booo, corporate Tim. Lame.   

Jason: Yeah, Timbers. Go sell your soul to capitalism.   

Tim: Not selling my soul. Playing my part in the child labour for Bruce.   

Jason: You're 24 numb nuts.   

Dick: So you’re skipping sleep again?   

Tim: I’ll sleep when I’m dead, or Ra’s finally gives me my spleen back, cause I can't say when pigs fly anymore or you'll put your uniform on.   

Steph: vvdhkgfjj XD 🤣🤣🤣  

Dick: I'm never going to live that down am I? 

Jason: not a fuckin chance bacon bitch. 

Duke: acab, sorry not sorry You're a bastard Richie Grayson not my brother don't know him. Can't believe I got stuck with a cop and the 1% 

Dick: :( and Here I was going to bring you two the leftover donuts, not happening, guess I'll just have to have the fattest ass in Gotham and Blüdhaven. But Tim please try and sleep. 

Tim: It’s fine, I’ll grab a nap before patrol tonight. Maybe.   

Cass: Check your cacti first.   

Tim: I will, it's doing fine.    

Jason: Wait, wait, wait. TIM has plants? Like, actual plants?   

Steph: Oh my god, you’re turning into Ivy!, wait Dick i think your right hes been enchanted by a fairy!!.   

Tim: I’M NOT!. I just have some cacti. They’re easy to take care of.   

Jason: Tim Drake. The man who forgot to eat for 36 hours because he was tracking a rogue. Has plants. That is still alive. I’m impressed.   

Steph: You’re totally projecting your weird plant-guy crush onto them.   

Tim: It’s not a crush! I’m trying to figure him out!   

Duke: hmm. That does sound like a Drake crush tho

Damian: You are obsessing over someone who may simply have a green thumb. Perhaps you should take up gardening if you are so fascinated.   

Tim: He’s not just some guy with a green thumb, Damian. I already told you. Poison Ivy just walked away from him. He's a meta of some sort.   

Jason:  When the cacti die, I’ll know it’s all over for you, you'll have both your pixie boy and Ivy after you, compost Timbers.   

Tim: They’re not going to die. I’m taking care of them.    

---

Tim slid his phone back into his pocket, shaking his head as he reached the entrance to Wayne Enterprises. The family chat was always a mixed bag of teasing and chaos, but at least it kept him grounded.  He sighed as he stepped into the elevator, the prospect of hours of meetings looming over him. At least tonight, after all the corporate nonsense and patrol, he’d have a moment to himself.  

And maybe, just maybe, he’d check on his cacti before crashing for a few hours. Only to make sure they weren’t dying, of course.

______

Let me know if you want to be added to a tag list.

[cry1ngame]

TELL ME IT'S YOU

Damian Priest

- Second post! Short lil story, Fem pov, cursing, may be a few mistakes I've glossed over, ( not super familiar with Spanish so let me know if I messed that up at all ) - ever since Damian joined Smackdown, I had to write a little something.

You avoided him like the plague after he got drafted to SmackDown. You thought you were in the clear. Judgment Day? Left behind. RAW? In the rearview. Your past challenges? A distant memory. And him? Especially him. Damian Priest. He was more than an afterthought. He had been forgotten by you. But fate, or whatever cosmic joke the universe was playing on you, had other plans. No matter how much distance you put between yourself and the past, you ended up bumping into him. Like an old bad habit. Or a song stuck in your head that you swore you hated, but deep down maybe you didn’t. Because there you were, once again in close quarters on SMACKDOWN with the one man who had a knack for getting under your skin. Just like old times on RAW. You and Damian had history. Not the kind you could neatly sum up in a sentence, either. You’d joined the RAW roster a few months back, full of fire, only to get roped into Judgment Day, Finn Balor’s crumbling faction. A rookie mistake. Literally. You were new, naive, maybe even a little reckless. The details of why you joined? Hazy at best. Maybe you thought aligning with Finn would give you an edge. Maybe you just got caught in the undertow. Either way, it was a decision that painted a giant target on your back.

Enter Damian Priest.

You expected hostility. After all, he and Finn were locked in an intense rivalry, and you? You were just another pawn on Finn’s chessboard. But Damian’s fixation wasn’t about taking you down. No, it was something else entirely. He was convinced you were better than this. That you were wasting your potential in Judgment Day. That you, someone he barely even knew, were capable of more. And that unsettled you. It wasn’t the words themselves that got under your skin, it was how right he was. He saw straight through you. It was frustrating.

"You're not like them," He had told you one night backstage, his voice low enough that only you could hear.

You rolled your eyes, adjusting your wrist tape, pretending like his words didn’t sink in deeper than they actually did. "Wow, Priest. That’s really insightful. Did you figure that out all on your own?”

He smirked, unbothered. "You know what I mean. This whole Judgment Day act? It’s not you. You’re forcing it. Me entiendes?”

You scoffed. "And you’re an expert on me now?"

He leaned in, his lips mere inches from your cheek in a barely-there kiss, close enough to steal the breath from your lungs. "I don’t need to be an expert to know when someone’s faking it.”

That was the problem. He didn’t need to know you to see you.

You thought you’d escaped all of that. That you’d finally found some peace after leaving Judgment Day behind and jumping to SmackDown. That those tangled complicated feelings would stay buried where they belonged. But there he was. Making his way down the aisle, his entrance music blaring, wearing that damn knowing smile like he had the answers to questions you hadn’t even asked yet. You were just in the ring, mid-promo, talking about your determination to win the Royal Rumble. You were fired up. And then he interrupted. Because of course he did! And as much as you wished otherwise, you had a sinking feeling that Damian Priest wasn’t just there to mess with you.

He was there because he still saw you.

You let out a slow breath, rolling your shoulders as you listened to the crowd’s surprised reaction, but you weren’t paying attention to them much. You were too busy glaring at the man walking down the ramp like he owned the place. You shifted your weight, folding your arms as he swiftly climbed into the ring. “You lost, Priest? This isn’t RAW. I was hoping we'd never do this again.”

Damian chuckled, adjusting the collar of his leather jacket. “Nah, I know exactly where I am.” He gestured around the arena. “SmackDown. Your new home. Or well, our new home. Thought I'd come check out your side of the fence.”

You scoffed, shaking your head. “Right. Because obviously you don’t have anything better to do.”

He took a step closer, tilting his head. “You tell me. I was back there listening, and I gotta say, you sounded motivated, hermosa."

You narrowed your eyes. “Because I am motivated. It's literally the Royal Rumble.”

“Mhm, I get you.” He nodded, feigning deep thought. “It's, I don't know, interesting. ‘Cause I remember a time when you had your sights set on somethin’ else entirely.”

Your stomach twisted and the crowd cooed. You weren’t going to let him pull you back into the past.

“That was a long time ago,” you said coolly into the mic.

“Como? Was it now? I don't know, it feels like yesterday.” The way he was looking at you made your pulse spike. He had a way of doing that, of making you feel like he was peeling back layers you didn’t even know you had.

“You think you know me so well,” you muttered.

“I do,” he shot back without hesitation. “And that’s what’s got you so pissed off, isn’t it?” Your jaw clenched, but before you could snap back, he continued, “You left Judgment Day because you finally figured it out. You realized you didn’t belong there.” He let the words hang in the air before adding, “But that doesn’t mean you’ve figured out where you do belong.”

Your jaw fell agape.

He leaned in just slightly, the distance between you both threatening to close. “That’s what you’re really fighting for, isn’t it? More than a Rumble win. More than a title shot. You want to prove to yourself that you made the right choice.”

You hated how much he understood. But you weren’t going to let him get the last word. Lifting your chin, you met his gaze head-on you said, “I don’t need your validation, Priest.”

He chuckled, stepping back with his hands up. “Good. ‘Cause I ain't here to give it. I’m here to see if you can back it up.”

Your brow furrowed. “What the hell does that mean?”

His smirk deepened. “It means I ain't goin’ anywhere. I guess we’ll find out if all that motivation you’re talking about is real. Or if you’re still just running.”

"Running from what, damn it?" You threw an arm up dramatically. “Go on, tell me.”

Damian didn’t answer right away. No, that would’ve been taking it easy. Instead, he let the moment hang in the air, stretching the silence just long enough to make you roll your eyes into next week’s Smackdown. Then, with that same smirk, he scratched at his upper lip and let out a deep rumbling chuckle, the kind that sent a shiver straight into your core, though you’d sooner take a chair shot than ever admit that.

“Heh.” He started pacing. “You really that dense?”

“Oh, please,” Your jaw tightened, “Enlighten me, Priest. What exactly am I running from?”

Damian stopped pacing, shaking his head. “You really want me to spell it out for you?”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.” You grumbled.

“Alright,” he said, voice low and steady. “You’re not running from Judgment Day. You’re not even running from your past mistakes. You’re running from yourself.”

You forced yourself to hold his gaze. “That’s the best you’ve got? Some dime store fortune cookie psychology?”

“Call it whatever you want, but we both know it’s true.” Damian gestured toward you with a lazy flick of his ringed fingers. “You act like you’ve got it all figured out, like you’ve moved on, but deep down? You’re still trying to prove something. To yourself.”

He picked you apart. You hated that he wasn’t wrong.

“Newsflash, Priest,” You stepped forward, closing the gap between you two again. “Everyone in this business is trying to prove something. It’s called ambition. Maybe you’ve heard of it?”

“Ambition and fear? Two different things.”

You sucked in a breath through your nose. “I’m not afraid.”

Damian raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. “No? Then why are you getting so worked up?”

You opened your mouth to fire back - only to realize you didn’t actually have an answer. Fuck him. Fuck his insight, fuck the way he had this irritating habit of making you question yourself. You huffed out a sharp incredulous laugh, because of course he’d say something like that. Because if there was one thing Damian Priest excelled at, besides South of heavin-ing people into oblivion, it was knowing exactly what buttons to press and how hard to press them. You squared your shoulders, refusing to let him see the way his words sent a shockwave through you. But he knew. You knew that he was aware. “You really piss me off. Yet, you wonder why I don't ever give you the time of day.”

“Oh, you give me the time of day, sweetheart. Every single time I walk in a room, you feel it. Just like I do.”

He’s messing with you. He’s just trying to get in your head.

So you did the only logical thing, and dismissed him with a flick of your wrist. “Cute. Real cute. But here’s the thing, Priest, I don’t run from myself. I like who I am right now and I like where I'm headed."

That earned you a full-blown laugh, deep and rich, like he actually enjoyed this ( God, he did ). “Better yet,” Damian began, dragging his tongue across his bottom lip like he was savoring the moment, like he knew exactly what he was about to do to your sanity. His eyes darkened with something unreadable, something dangerous. “How about,” he drawled, voice smooth as sin, “you stop running from me?”

Oh.

Oh, hell no.

Your entire body went rigid, heat creeping up the back of your neck. The crowd’s reaction was instant, a mix of oohs and gasps, like they’d just witnessed someone flip a match into a gasoline pit.

“I- I don’t-” you stammered, internally cursing yourself for it. Stuttering? Really? You were better than this.

“No, c’mon now.” Suddenly, Damian's voice shifted from playful to razor sharp, and you felt a jolt of adrenaline shoot through you. You stepped back instinctively, only to find him stepping forward, closing the distance between you again, even further this time. “You run from me. You just keep on running.” And there you were, caught in a bit of a dilemma. You took another step back, nearly into the ropes behind you, trying to regain some semblance of personal space, but he was having none of it. He placed a hand on your shoulder, the cool metal of his rings pressing through the fabric of your wrestling gear. It was like he was anchoring you in place, and somehow that made the whole thing worse - and also a little thrilling. He leaned in, lowering himself to your eye level, which, considering your height difference, felt like he was towering over you in a very intimate way. “Look me in the eye and tell me it’s really you who wants me to stop,” he demanded, “That it’s really you who wants me to keep my distance. Tell. Me. It’s. You.”

Your mind raced as you felt the heat rise in your cheeks. How could he be so infuriatingly accurate? Damnit, he knew exactly how to handle you, like a skilled musician plucking at the strings of your tension. Deep down, you realized you loved this as much as you "hated" it. It was the thrill of the chase, the magnetism of his confidence. It was all so maddening. Because, if you were honest with yourself, there was a part of you that was undeniably drawn to him, a part that was tired of running.