#Tune in next time to see why I decided this was his character in this game now.

[marauder-misprint]

hello there! i was binging your works, i couldn’t find a character list or guidlines so i was wondering if you wrote for regulus as well?

if so can i request for a whimsical!reader (slytherin preferably) who has collections of ‘weird’ things like she a pandora are besties and they wander around often and reader just collects pretty rocks, flowers, bug wings

if you dont write for regulus i’ll be prefectly happy with any of the other marauder of your choice! thank you, youre lovely have a wonderful morning/evening/night!

Hi! Thank you for this request! ❤︎ My first Reggie request 🥹

Not sure if I captured Whimsical!reader as well as some other writers do, but alas! The more I write, the better I get, right?

And I will work on writing request guidelines soon ❤︎

A fancy rock

Regulus Black x Whimsical!reader

1.5k words

cw: fluff

Regulus was sitting on an armchair by the fire in the common room when you entered with Pandora. The two of you were talking in low voices. Excited voices, but low enough that your words were indiscernible. You two had been off somewhere, doing something, as you tended to do. All of your mutual friends unanimously decided to stop keeping tabs on you. Your activities never made sense to them and you rarely went out without Pandora, so at least you had backup in case something were to happen.

You approached the chair Regulus was sitting in, but he didn’t notice. After your original arrival back into the common room, he returned to reading his book. 

“Regulus,” you said in a singsong voice.

He looked up at you through his eyelashes. You held out a smooth rock. It was opaque with a warm, dark grey color. He took it in his hand and you smiled.

“Thank you,” he said, although he wasn’t exactly sure why you were giving him a rock, but your smile made him feel warm inside so who was he to deny your gift. 

You went back to Pandora, who was waiting for you outside of the girls’ dorms. Once you were gone, Evan and Barty leaned forward to see what you had given him.

“Well, what is it?” Barty asked and Regulus held it up.

“A rock.”

“Lemme see,” Evan said, plucking it from Regulus’ hand and holding it up to the light. “Not a rock. Crystal.”

Regulus laughed through his nose. “Fancy rock.”

“I mean, essentially. Looks like quartz,” Evan said, tossing the crystal back to Regulus. 

“Cool?” 

“Dora has a few of that color. Think it wards off evil or some shit.”

“Wards of evil? What does that mean?” Barty asked as he reached for the crystal himself.

Regulus slid the crystal into his pocket, ignoring Barty. 

“Doesn’t matter. I’m protected from evil and you’re not.”

Barty leaned even further toward Regulus, almost falling out of his seat as he tried to get to Regulus’ pocket. However, as soon as he brushed against the material of Regulus’ pants, Barty yelped and pulled his hand back. 

Regulus laughed. “Ha! It works!”

Evan joined his laughter, discreetly tucking his wand back into his own pocket. He grew up with Pandora and had learned a few tricks of the trade. And you seemed to fall right in step with his twin. 

---

The next time that Regulus ran into you, you were taking up an entire table in the common room. He ran his fingers over the crystal that you gave yesterday; he had kept it in his pocket. He stood next to the table for a minute without saying anything. He just observed you and listened to you hum a bright tune. You, seeing him approach through your periphery, continued your task at hand: pressing flowers in a journal. 

“Feeling alright?” Regulus asked.

“Quite well, thank you.” 

“Thought you might be sick. Haven’t seen you since lunch.”

You shrug, turning a page in the journal and reaching for another flower. “I decided a walk would be good for me. Certainly more so than History of Magic.”

Regulus chuckled as he pulled up a chair and sat down next to you.

“Are you admitting skipping class to a prefect?” he asked, his tone more teasing than accusatory. 

You tilted your head and gave him your sweetest smile. 

“Can I show you something else I found while I was out?” you offer.

He nodded and you reached for a small box that you had placed off to the side. You opened the clasp. The seemingly sprung to life, different drawers and panels opening to create a much larger containment system. After putting that in front of Regulus, you took out a secondary journal and flipped to the pages you needed.

Regulus inspected some of the compartments of the storage contraption. One drawer had an assortment of rocks and crystals, which he assumed had various properties like the stormy quartz he had in his pocket. 

“Oh, um, it’s this compartment, actually,” you said, pointing higher in the compartment. 

You opened the small door and tiers of preserved bugs and various bug wings popped out. Then you tapped the edge of one of the tiers with your wand. The wings began to flutter, filling the air with a subtle buzz. 

“Fascinating, isn’t it?” you said, voice dripping with awe. 

“You collect all of these?”

“Mostly. Pandora’s found some of them.” You point to a silvery blue wing. “That’s one she gave me a few weeks ago. And-” You place the secondary journal in front of Regulus. “-she said that Evan will help me identify some of the ones I don’t know.”

You pause to let Regulus look over the notes. It’s less of a jumble of identification and more of a detailed catalog. 

“I know that Evan’s more of the bug guy. But I know you like to read and was curious if you’d read anything about any of these…” 

Regulus scanned the list, frowning.

“‘Fraid not… I’m sorry.” He looked up to see that you were also frowning. “But, I mean, I can see if I can find anything? If you’d like.”

Your face suddenly brightened, your previous smile returning.

“Oh, would you? I love Pandora, don’t get me wrong, but her brother… He can be a bit… off putting? I’d much rather work with you.” 

Regulus steeled his expression, trying to not show how much that tidbit of information affected him. He cleared his throat loudly.

“Then maybe you’d consider attending the classes we have together?” 

“Okay, but if I did that, I wouldn’t have all of this,” you said, gesturing to the dozens of flowers still laying on the table. “It’s very tedious.” 

Regulus clicked his tongue. “Let me help you. An extra set of hands will make it go faster, and then we can go over my notes. And if anyone asks, you were sick. Too sick for Binns, but not sick enough for Pomfrey.”

“Deal,” you said. 

---

To Regulus’ delight, you stopped skipping class as much to collect whatever you were looking for at the time. At least, you stopped skipping the classes you had with him. After a few sessions of flower pressing, bug wing preserving and bug infodumping, you invited Regulus to go on one of your walks with you. 

Before heading too far down the path you’d selected, you collected some sweetgrass to braid as you walked. 

“Are we looking for anything particular?” Regulus asked as you bent down to pick up a purple-looking stone. 

You hummed noncommittal. “Just whatever catches your eye.” You held up the stone. “Amethyst.” 

You placed the crystal into your bag and started to weave your strands of sweetgrass. Regulus shoved his hands into his pockets. He tried to watch the ground, to see if he found anything pretty that you might like, but he found himself watching you time and time again. 

“What’s the braid for?” he asked. He didn’t mind the quiet of nature, but he liked hearing you talk about your interests more.

“It has a few. It can be used for healing, especially if burned. It can represent a connection to Mother Nature. The braid itself… when it’s for me, I like to think of it as the entwining of mind, body and spirit. But the stands can really represent different aspects of the human condition.”

“The human condition?”

“Yeah. You know, kindness, honesty, respect, humility, courage, love.”

You went quiet as you tied off the end of the braid. Then you held it out for Regulus. 

“It’s for you.”

He took it and inspected it. 

“So, when it’s for someone else, what do the strands represent?” 

You avoided looking at Regulus as you said, “Kindness, respect, love. Or at least, that’s what it is for you.”

“For me…” he muttered as he gently tucked it into his pocket. “So you’re giving me kindness and protecting me from evils… And asking me to read about bugs for you…”

“I told you, I like spending time with you more than Evan.”

Regulus chuckled lightly. “I don’t think you need to say ‘more than Evan.’ Or am I overthinking this?”

“No… I do like spending time with you.” 

He reached out for your hand and you didn’t pull away. 

“I’ve noticed you don’t invite Pandora to come with when you invite me.”

“Three can be a crowd.”

“Or,” he said, “you like spending alone time with me. And you wouldn’t be alone in that.”

“Oh,” you breathed softly.

“Oh!” Regulus exclaimed, dropping your hand to bend down and pick up a yellow stone. “Is this something?” 

Your eyes went wide, telling Regulus that it was something.

“Citrine!”

“What does it do?”

“It helps attract love and happiness.”

Regulus looked at you with a soft expression that you hadn’t seen on his face before.

“I don’t need a fancy rock to help me find that. You’re right here.”

[vintagestarlight]

High Stakes

Pairing: Aaric Graycastle x reader

Summary: You are the unfortunate target of a bet between Aaric and Ridoc

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1.5k

Author's Note: My first ever Fourth Wing fic!! Not sure how I feel about this one but I hope I captured Aaric's personality well :)

Thank you to everyone who voted in the poll! This is my first time writing in forever so this may not be my best work lol but I already have some work done on a few more fics so stay tuned! If you have anything you want to see with the Fourth Wing characters don't hesitate to send in a request💞

***As always beware of typos and comments, likes, and reblogs are always appreciated!***

The mess hall buzzed with the usual chatter, clinking dishes, and boisterous laughter. Aaric sat across from Ridoc, who was looking particularly frustrated. Ridoc slouched, absentmindedly pushing his food around on his plate and sighing. "What's the matter with you?" Aaric asked, glancing up from his own plate and trying to decide whether or not he actually cared. Ridoc sighed dramatically, dropping his fork with a clink. "I had this one rider practically in the palm of my hand. She was cute as hell too. But she rejected me! Me!" Ridoc exclaimed. "Can you believe that?" Ridoc placed his elbow in the table and rested his chin on his hand. "I don't really know what to say...I've never been turned down," Aaric continued to eat his food, deciding he actually wasn't that interested in Ridoc being unable to have some unfortunate girl spend the night in his bed. Ridoc picked up his head and peered at Aaric. "Really?" He asked, with a mixture of disbelief and genuine curiosity. "You've never been turned down? How the hell do you manage that?"

Aaric replied, "I guess I just know how the game works," he said, a small smirk appearing briefly on his face. Ridoc scoffed, unimpressed. "I have game okay? And you're telling me you could hook up with any rider in here if you wanted to?" He continued. "If I wanted," Aaric said in a bored tone. Ridoc leaned forward on his elbows, his eyes narrowing with a competitive glint. "Prove it then," he said. Aaric raised an eyebrow, amusement starting to dance in his eyes. "Like a challenge?"

Ridoc smirked. "Yeah. You think you can walk up to any rider, charm them, and convince them to come to your room tonight? Prove it. If you win, I'll do your morning drills for a week no questions asked. But if you lose, you have to admit your game is weak and I'll make sure everyone knows it," Ridoc proposed. Aaric stared at Ridoc for a moment, considering his challenge. "Fine," Aaric finally said, his signature smirk on full display. "So who's it going to be? Pick someone with a backbone not one of your usual targets," Ridoc clarified. Aaric scanned the room, trying to pick the perfect rider to win the bet.

His eyes landed on you, sitting in a corner with a book in your lap clearly not interested in impressing anyone. He had seen you around before carrying yourself with a no-nonsense kind of confidence. He had been wanting to ask you out for weeks. "That one," he said, gesturing to where you sat alone. "Her? She's not impressed by anyone. She turns down anyone who's tried to get with her," Ridoc explained. "That's exactly why I'm picking her. No one else will be as satisfying to impress," Aaric pushed his plate away and got up from the table. "Fine. But you can't just pull all the cocky shit you usually do. She has to be genuinely impressed. If she comes to your room tonight, you win," replied Ridoc. "Enjoy your last few days of sleep Gamlyn," Aaric threw over his shoulder as he smoothed down his sleeves with practiced ease and adopted that casual confidence he was so good at.

Aaric sauntered over to where you sat, enjoying your book. "Mind if I join?" A voice asked you. You didn't respond immediately and instead looked up from your book to see Aaric Graycastle standing next to you, flashing you a smile. "I guess," you nodded. "But I'm not really one for small talk," you continued, returning your attention to the book in front of you. Aaric slid into the empty space on the bench next to you. "That's okay I don't enjoy small talk either," He leaned in closer, looking intently at you. "I'm Aaric by the way," his voice was lower and softer. "You didn't have to sit so close there's plenty of space," you remarked, noticing his thighs practically up against yours. Was it horrible you didn't actually mind? "And I know who you are Graycastle. We have classes together and our squads spar each other," you replied, flipping the page in your book. "Have you been watching me?" He teased. "You know, this is starting to feel like small talk," you said dryly. "Oh come on," he said, scooting even closer if that was even possible. "I've been wanting to talk with you for a while now... you're different," he went on. "Really that's all you've got Graycastle? I'm different?" You shook your head. "Not your best opener,"

Aaric merely chuckled, not allowing himself to be discouraged. Even he had to admit that wasn't his best. "Okay fair enough let me try again," he said. "I like how you value your independence, how you don't get caught up in the drama here. That's pretty rare especially for a school like this," Your gaze shifted slightly, curiosity creeping in. "Do you still think you can actually impress me?" You asked, closing your book. His grin grew impossibly wide. "I'm just getting started honey,"

Time passed and Aaric threw everything he had at you. His witty remarks, usual charm, and effortless confidence; but nothing seemed to work. You didn't seem to be interested in the usual ways that allowed him to charm girls into his bed. You simply sat there, barely listening to him, practically bored with his attempts. This is was so much harder than he had expected. He chanced a glance at Ridoc, who sat there watching the exchange with a smug smile on his face. "Listen, not that I haven't enjoyed our little conversation," you started sarcastically. "But I have to go," you started to stand up to make a hasty exit but Aaric grabbed your arm. There's no way he could let Ridoc win. "Okay wait," he begged. "Why?" You asked, but you sat back down and he loosened his grip on your arm but didn't let go. "The truth is my friend and I have a bet; I bet I could get you to come to my room tonight and if you came by I won," he confessed. "I really like you and the bet was an excuse to come talk to you," he went on.

You were silent for a moment and Aaric wondered briefly if he just made the biggest ass out of himself. "What do you get if you win?" You asked finally. "My friend does my morning drills for a week," replied Aaric. A small smile tugged at the corner of your lips. "And if you lost?" "I have to admit my game isn't as good as I claim it is and Gamyln makes sure everyone else knows it," he said, a little hesitant. "If you liked me so much, why did it have to take a bet for you to come talk to me?" You had to admit you were curious. "Because....you always seemed so uninterested and you turned down everyone who tried asking you out. I just didn't want to be shot down like the rest," he explained. "I didn't think Aaric Graycastle was scared of talking to any girl," you said, an authentic smile blooming on your face. "Just you," he confessed in a soft voice. Your expression changed and you gazed at him.

You had a small crush on him since you first saw him in Battle Brief but you knew he was with a new girl every week so you didn't bother entertaining those feelings; despite the fact they continued to grow. Could he be serious about liking you? "Alright Graycastle," you told him. "Alright?" He asked in a confused tone. "I'll come to your room. But I'm only coming so you can win the bet nothing else," you made a point. Aaric smiled at you but it was different this time; it wasn't his cocky grin he put on all the time it was a genuine smile and it made your stomach flip. "Really?" He asked. You nodded before standing up. "But next time, don't talk to me because of some silly bet," You said with a small smile. "Next time?" He questioned. Were you really going to give him a next time? He wondered. "Just talk to me," you told him before picking your book up and walking away.

"Goodnight Aaric," you said, reaching for his doorknob. Aaric felt felt a sense of a disappointment that you were leaving. The two of you had talked for hours and he enjoyed getting to know you. "Maybe I should adjust my shirt or something," you paused before opening the door. "Make it believable," you went on. "Maybe," he said opening the door for you and standing so close you could smell the mint on his breath mixed with his cologne. It made you want to bury your face in his neck. "But this might work a little better," he murmured, tucking a piece of your hair behind your ear. He leaned close, pausing only to look at you, making sure you weren't uncomfortable. You nodded, letting him know it was okay. He placed his lips over yours, one of his hands squeezing your waist. "Goodnight y/n," he whispered after pulling apart. You gave him a smile and turned to leave. Aaric watched you turn the corner and his eyes found Ridoc's, who was at the end of the hallway, gaping at him. Aaric smirked and closed his door, already looking forward to talking to you again.

[cerisahh]

can i request tdlosk jealous headcanons ?

FOCUS ON ME !

summary ꒱ how would tdlosk characters react if they were jealous

characters included ꒱ saiki, saiko, teruhashi

notes ꒱ hi anon! you didn’t specify which characters you wanted so i just did three for now. i did scenarios in which the characters are jealous and how they would react in each situation rather than a headcanon format - i hope you enjoy it! i may do a part two to this if anyone has any other characters they would like to see ^_^

KUSUO SAIKI

saiki, despite being the powerful psychic he is, has limited experience in basic human emotions.

not that he can’t feel them of course, it’s just hard for him to recognise it sometimes. often he’ll believe a new, unfamiliar feeling is just another drawback of his psychic abilities.

he’s sitting in class during break, tuning out the droning of his self proclaimed friends that are insistent on surrounding him at every possible turn, when the familiar lilt of your laugh filters across his mind.

you two don’t share the same class, but the sound of your laugh isn’t uncommon when around him - even though he never intentionally makes any jokes - so he just brushes it off.

until he hears toritsuka’s voice intertwined with yours. you’re actually conversing with that degenerate? what on earth would possess you to do that?

he decides to focus in on you two. toritsuka seems to be trying to invite you to a cafe after school. it’s of little consequence to saiki, he knows you won’t entertain or indulge in any of toritsuka’s perverted fantasies.

imagine how he visibly tenses when he hears you agree. kaidou sees his face and asks him if he's alright, teruhashi asks him if he's feeling ill, and nendou asks him if he needs to go do a number two.

saiki doesn't offer anyone with a response or clarification as he exits the classroom, every step wondering why he did. maybe, no, it was definitely toritsuka's voice grating on his last nerve.

he decides against paying the classroom you two are in a visit, he'll just... take a trip to this cafe after school too. to ensure toritsuka stays respectful and doesn't go getting any bright ideas about you.

he’s certain the school day has gone by faster than usual as he makes his way outside of the gates. you and toritsuka are walking together a little ahead of him.

saiki doesn't bother with his invisibility since toritsuka would be able to see him regardless, he just keeps a reasonable distance from you two.

you on the other hand, blissfully unaware there's a presence following you and toritsuka, are having a blast. you were the first person to welcome toritsuka to PK academy, and since then you've become quite friendly with each other. although, this is the first time you've hung out together after school.

the cafe he suggested going to was actually one of your favourites. saiki knew that too, he was the one that introduced you to it.

your meet-up is going well. too well for saiki's taste. surely you must know toritsuka's true nature? saiki can hear his thoughts. currently he’s wondering how your lip gloss tastes. he’s truly despicable.

any idiot would know your favourite flavour of lip gloss is cherry.

what saiki does next, he would not call sabotage, but simply an effort to save you from toritsuka. using his telekinesis, he sends a wave of vertigo to the waitress coming over with your drinks so that it’ll spill on toritsuka.

in a turn of events too quick to see with his precognition, the waitress trips over her left foot instead of her right, spilling the drinks all over you instead.

while saiki looks on, horrified, toritsuka takes the opportunity to help you try and remove the stains using a napkin. to no avail, mind you. but it gave toritsuka a perfect opportunity to, well, admire you, let’s say.

saiki is lucky the coffee jelly he ordered hasn’t come yet, as he would’ve unconsciously blown up the glass.

you excuse yourself to try and fix yourself up in the washroom. saiki sits and glowers at an unsuspecting toritsuka for a moment before deciding he's finally had enough of him.

using telepathy, he transmits a message directly to toritsuka's mind; 'someone's messing with your porno mags'.

it's almost too easy. toritsuka's eyes practically boggle out of his head and he races out of the cafe, scribbling a hasty message out for you on a napkin with the broken tip of a crayon. good riddance.

it isn't hard to pick out your voice in the cafe, given it's only mildly crowded. you've failed to remove the stain from your shirt. and it landed all over your lap too! what a shame. you'd have to wash your uniform again tonight.

you exit the bathroom with an apology on the tip of your tongue for taking so long, but the only apology that materialises is the hastily written one toritsuka has left for you on the table.

oh, you think, what was really so important that he had to ditch not even halfway through? did he get embarrassed because i looked so messy? it wasn't my fault the waitress tripped!

correct. it was saiki's. speaking of saiki, was that pink hair in the corner of your eye him? oh! it is! you guys are pretty close, so saiki shouldn't mind if you crash his solo coffee jelly date, right?

saiki finds that he wouldn't mind one bit.

METORI SAIKO

you could count on one finger that amount of times saiko has been jealous of someone.

having as much money as he does, there’s no point in being jealous when he could just, literally buy whatever, or whoever he wanted.

i imagine the first time he feels jealousy when regarding you would be on your birthday. stay with me here.

from the moment you wake up to the evening, he's treated you to a multitude of very expensive activities. perhaps you two take a private helicopter tour over japan, or he surprises you with a meet and greet with your idol, i definitely see him spending hours in an exclusive boutique to get you an array of new outfits.

the point is, there's no limit to what he can get you. his wealth is unfathomable, and you're treated like a princess for the entire day.

he, of course, throws you a lavish party in the evening. friends, family, and famous people attend in equal proportions. soon enough, it's time for the gift opening.

a large majority of the party goers have departed as the hours have rolled on, only your close family and your closest friends remain now.

you open saiko's gifts first, a smorgasbord of one of a kind jewellery pieces, practically a new closet's worth of designer outfits, bags, shoes and accessories, and even an exotic pet you had mentioned briefly in passing.

your appreciation and affection for him is evident as you plant a kiss on his cheek, thanking him for your gifts and for the adventure filled day he planned out for you.

saiko waves it off, exclaiming 'only the best' would ever be enough for you.

you go through everyone else's gifts then, saiko has no doubt that his were the best gifts you had received all night. these plebians couldn't even dream of topping it. not that they even could, considering the price of everything he had bought was more than they would ever see in their lifetime.

you're opening up kuboyasu's gift eventually, who is rubbing his neck with an air of nervousness as he explains your gift - a colourful and funky pair of butterfly earrings.

saiko thinks they're the ugliest things on the planet. they're nothing compared to the jewellery he gifted you earlier. much too gaudy and cheap looking. they can't have cost much at all.

so why on earth are you squealing at them like they're the finest things you've ever seen? you instantly put them on and marvel at them in the mirror, thanking kuboyasu profusely for such a thoughtful gift.

kuboyasu explains that he saw them at a market stall and thought of you and your affinity for butterflies so he had to get them for your birthday.

oh please, saiko thinks, any fool would know she likes butterflies. i got her a pair of sapphire encrusted butterfly earrings too. so what's the big deal with four eyes' gift?

as to not ruin your birthday, saiko wisely keeps his mouth shut for the remainder of the gathering. it's only when everybody goes home later in the night does he say anything.

you're both sat in the centre of the grandeur when he asks you if he liked your birthday. you, of course, give him a resounding yes and chatter about your favourite parts of the day. but all saiko can think about is those damn butterflies that are still in your ears.

you notice him staring at them and touch them with your finger, "it was so thoughtful for kuboyasu to gift these to me, don't you think?"

saiko bristles at his name and harrumphs, "they're certainly an... acquired taste". he softens a little when he notices your expression. "i don't understand. you seemed to like his gift a lot more than you liked mine. were they not up to your standards?"

it takes a moment for you to understand what he's saying but when you do you almost sigh at him, "oh, metori. you silly silly man."

you assure him that you adored the gifts he gave you more than anything, who wouldn't? your outward reaction at kuboyasu's gift was due to the fact it was so unique and unexpected - with it being the first gift you'd received from one of your new friends, and the fact that you didn't even know that he knew you like butterflies, so it was a surprise getting that from him.

ah, he thinks, your reaction was more surprise than anything! his jealousy burns little brighter than a flame now, content with the revelation and the confirmation that you didn't like four eyes more than him. it was a ridiculous notion in the first place. nobody could compare to him.

although he does take it into consideration for your next birthday, he still goes all out with expensive gifts, but he takes more care into choosing some authentic, personal presents for you as well.

KOKOMI TERUHASHI

you're a childhood friend of hers, only recently having moved back to japan. to your luck, your parents secured a job relatively close to PK academy, so you get enrolled there.

teruhashi is so excited to see you again, it’s been a few years since your last meet-up, so she has lots of gossip to catch you up with.

you two walk to school together, filling each other in on various things that have happened in your lives since you saw each other last.

you notice pretty quickly that kokomi is still as popular as ever. even just on the way to school people have been gawking at the two of you - and at least three in the last two minutes have offered you a ride to school. one guy even offered to give you his car.

skilfully avoiding the adoring masses, you two end up at school early as you’d both planned, giving teruhashi ample time to show you around a little before classes start. you’re in her class of course, after a few strings had been pulled on her end.

it doesn’t take long before you get swarmed again, having barely seen any of your new school at all. boys, and even some girls of every year crowd the two of you, asking teruhashi how she is, what she thinks of the weather, if she needs anything - one boy even asks her if she wishes to be carried to class.

ah, nothing much has changed then.

until their attention switches to you after teruhashi introduces you to them. you bow politely to the crowd. best to make a good first impression with the people that are infatuated with your best friend. you’ll probably spend most of your time in this school seeing them anyway.

“woah, it makes sense that teruhashi would surround herself with someone just as attractive as her!”

“our goddess and her disciple!”

‘what a pain. another teruhashi to deal with.’

you feel a little overwhelmed with all the crowding but try and make the most of it by introducing yourself politely.

despite your outward peaceful expression, you’re internally freaking out with all the attention on you. sure, you were aware you were attractive to a point. but these kids can’t all be that obsessed with physical appearance can they?!

the answer is; yes they are. you’re suffocated by questions and compressed by a wall of bodies. where did you come from? why did you decide to come back to japan? how long have you been friends with teruhashi? do you want an escort to class?

it’s actually dizzying. you’ve a newfound respect for kokomi’s willpower - not only having the patience to deal with these people, but also having the willpower to not verbally assault them.

teruhashi has been trying to quell the excitement since it started to small avail. her perfect facade showing cracks as her practiced smiles twitch with every ounce of attention on you.

not that she hates other people having attention on them! well, maybe a little - but not you! you’re probably one of the only people she could stand to receive attention over her. but all she can think about is how they’re taking you away from her.

how dare they! she thinks, outwardly maintaining a perfectly polite demeanour. how dare these nobodies get in our way. sure, we’re gorgeous but that doesn’t give you the right to crowd us! and to top it off you’re making it so i can’t even finish catching up with them! what do you people know about them, huh? at this rate we won’t even get to class on time - i’m putting an end to this!

all teruhashi has to do is clear her throat and the entire corridor is silent, aside from a couple students who don’t care at all moving around the congregation that’s formed around the both of you.

“i’m sorry everyone, but we have to get going to class,” a chorus of sighs and aww’s fills the air, “thank you so much for giving my friend a PK welcome, everyone has been so accommodating! have a good day, everybody!”

her dismissal, soft but firm, causes the crowd to disperse. holy shit, it’s like she had these people under mind control. you were glad for it though, that wasn’t a great experience for you.

kokomi’s cheerful presence after the fact makes up for it though, and you barely notice that she’s walking closer with you than before.

your first day goes by with no more hiccups, you almost get a repeat of the crowd at the school gates but with a flowery goodbye from kokomi to the masses, you’re off without a hitch.

you stifle a grin as you leave the love drunk boys at the gates, “kokomi, you have that school wrapped around your little finger! i don’t know whether to be jealous or impressed!”

she pretends to be flustered and waves you off with a blush. you’ve barely brushed the surface of her influence and power.

[shizuturnspages]

Oh right, Albedo unlike the other yandere, I don't think I can keep child reader khaenri'ah locked up forever and have her as a rat experiment, I think that sooner or later people will find out the truth and they won't sit idly by.

I think that Albedo would definitely have a consequence unlike the other yandere.

I can imagine a scenario where klee tells others about reader and kaeya (other characters like diluc, venti,rosario, Jean, more) would take reader away from Albedo.

Once they analyze and interrogate the reader, they discover the drugs and other things

I think that reader would have a happy ending in this yandere route

A Light in the Snow

Synopsis: When Klee innocently mentions a mysterious child hidden away in Dragonspine, Jean and the Knights of Favonius uncover a chilling truth—Albedo has been secretly experimenting on a Khaenri'ahn child, claiming they are a danger to humanity. A daring rescue mission ensues, revealing the child's harrowing past and uncertain future. With no records of their existence and nowhere to call home, Mondstadt must decide: Is this child truly a threat, or just another lost soul searching for safety? Word Count: 1.6k Author's Notes: Damn, this one was thrilling to write. The child has suffered a lot, and I'm glad that they finally get the freedom they deserve. Also, with this one, I'm officially ending Albedo's part of the Last Child of Khaenri'ah series

The day was bright and warm in Mondstadt, a stark contrast to the shadow that had begun to form within the walls of the Favonius Headquarters. The knights moved with their usual purpose, but there was an odd weight in the air, something unseen yet present—an unsettling tension that would soon break into something far greater.

And it all began with Klee.

The tiny Spark Knight bounced into Jean’s office, humming a tune as she fiddled with one of her many hand-crafted bombs. Jean, ever the diligent Acting Grandmaster, barely looked up from the endless stack of paperwork on her desk.

“Klee,” Jean said without glancing up. “What did we say about bringing explosives into my office?”

Klee quickly hid the tiny device behind her back. “I-it’s not a bomb! It’s a… surprise! But that’s not why I’m here, promise!”

Jean finally set down her quill, sighing. “Then what is it?”

Klee hesitated for a moment, shifting on her feet before finally blurting out, “Did you know Albedo has a little friend?”

Jean blinked. “A friend?”

Klee nodded eagerly. “Uh-huh! A tiny friend! Like me! They stay with him all the time in Dragonspine. But he doesn’t let them come out and play with anyone.”

Jean furrowed her brows. “I wasn’t aware Albedo had taken on an apprentice.”

“He didn’t!” Klee puffed out her cheeks. “They’re not his apprentice. They’re just there!”

Jean frowned at the vague answer. “Klee, what do you mean by that?”

Klee rocked back and forth on her heels before lowering her voice. “I think they’re sad…”

Jean felt a strange sense of unease settle in her chest. Klee was innocent, but she was also observant in ways people often overlooked.

“…Why do you think that?” Jean asked carefully.

“Because whenever I visit Albedo, I hear them crying,” Klee whispered. “They don’t talk to me, but sometimes I see them staring out the window. They never come outside.”

Jean sat up straighter in her seat, the unease in her chest growing sharper.

“You’ve seen them?”

Klee nodded rapidly. “Yup! But only when Albedo isn’t looking! One time, I left some food for them, but the next day, it was gone, and Albedo told me not to ask about it.”

Jean’s fingers curled slightly against her desk.

This wasn’t right.

Albedo was always reserved, but he was never secretive. He never hid things from the Knights.

Yet here was Klee, unknowingly revealing something that should not exist.

Something—someone—was being hidden in Dragonspine.

“Klee,” Jean said carefully. “Do you know their name?”

Klee shook her head. “Nope… but I heard Albedo call them ‘subject.’”

Subject.

A cold chill ran down Jean’s spine.

That wasn’t the way someone referred to an apprentice. Or a friend. Or even an ordinary person.

That was a test subject.

Someone being experimented on.

Jean stood up so fast her chair scraped against the wooden floor. “Klee, where exactly in Dragonspine did you see them?”

Klee fidgeted. “In Albedo’s camp… but sometimes, he takes them somewhere else! He said it’s secret.”

Jean’s eyes darkened. “I see.”

Something was very, very wrong here.

Albedo was one of the most trusted members of the Knights of Favonius. If he was doing something behind their backs—something immoral—she needed to know immediately.

Jean walked around her desk, placing a firm hand on Klee’s shoulder. “Klee, I need you to promise me something. You cannot tell Albedo we spoke about this, alright?”

Klee frowned. “But why—?”

“Please,” Jean insisted. “It’s very important.”

Klee hesitated, then slowly nodded. “O-okay…”

Jean gave her a gentle smile before standing up straight. She needed to act fast.

If Albedo was hiding a child in Dragonspine—a child that wasn’t supposed to be there—

Then the Knights of Favonius had a serious problem.

And Jean intended to find out the truth.

Jean’s hands remained steady as she wrote out the urgent summons, but her mind was a whirlwind of tension.

If Klee was right—if Albedo truly was hiding a child in Dragonspine—then she couldn’t afford to wait. A child, all alone in the frozen mountains, being kept out of sight… Jean didn’t even want to think about what that implied.

She pressed the wax seal onto the letter and turned to the guards outside her office. “Summon Kaeya, Eula, Rosaria, and our best knights immediately. Also…” She hesitated for only a second before adding, “Send word to Dawn Winery. Tell Diluc we need him.”

The guards exchanged wary glances. Jean didn’t blame them. Diluc’s relationship with the Knights was… complicated.

But this wasn’t about politics. It was about saving an innocent child.

And she knew that, if nothing else, Diluc would never stand by while a child was suffering.

An Hour Later

The dimly lit war room was filled with an unusual tension. The knights Jean had summoned stood in a semi-circle, awaiting her explanation.

Kaeya leaned against a desk, arms crossed, expression unreadable. “Jean, what’s all this?”

Eula stood at attention, gripping the hilt of her sword. “You wouldn’t call us like this unless something serious was happening.”

Rosaria, standing slightly apart from the others, flicked her crimson gaze toward Jean. She looked relaxed, but Jean knew better. She wouldn’t have called Rosaria unless she needed someone with both unmatched combat skills and sharp instincts.

“I’ll get straight to the point,” Jean began. “Klee came to me earlier today. She told me that Albedo has a child hidden away in Dragonspine.”

The reaction was instant.

Kaeya’s fingers stilled where they tapped idly on his arm.

Eula’s eyes narrowed.

Rosaria’s expression darkened. “A child? In Dragonspine?”

Jean nodded. “From what Klee described, this child never leaves, never interacts with anyone else, and Albedo refers to them as his ‘subject.’”

A heavy silence followed.

Kaeya was the first to break it. “You think he’s experimenting on them?” His voice was casual, but there was an underlying sharpness to it.

Jean hesitated. “I don’t know. But we can’t ignore this. If there’s even a chance this child is in danger, we have to intervene.”

Eula folded her arms. “We’re retrieving them, then?”

Jean nodded. “With or without Albedo’s cooperation.”

Rosaria exhaled through her nose. “And if he resists?”

Jean’s stomach tightened. She didn’t want to think about that, but she had to be prepared. “Then we do what’s necessary.”

Before anyone could say more, Klee, who had been sitting off to the side, suddenly perked up.

“Oh! I almost forgot something!”

Everyone turned to her.

Klee tilted her head in thought. “The little friend looks kind of like Kaeya!”

Kaeya froze.

Rosaria and Eula turned to him with questioning looks.

Jean furrowed her brows. “Klee, what do you mean?”

Klee swung her legs. “They have the same eyes! Not exactly, but close! And their face is a little different, but their skin is the same, too!”

Jean felt a strange chill settle over her. Slowly, she turned to Kaeya.

His usual smirk was still there, but it was too still. Too careful.

“…Kaeya?” she asked, watching him closely.

His gaze flickered, and for the first time, she saw something calculating in his expression.

“Interesting,” he murmured to himself.

Jean’s grip on her sword tightened. “Do you know something about this child?”

Kaeya’s smile widened a fraction. “No. But now I really want to meet them.”

Jean didn’t press further, but a sense of unease curled in her gut. Kaeya was hiding something.

But right now, there was a bigger priority.

“We move at dawn,” Jean declared. “Prepare for harsh conditions. We’re retrieving this child and bringing them back to Mondstadt.”

Eula nodded sharply. “Understood.”

Rosaria hummed in agreement, though her gaze lingered on Kaeya for a moment longer.

Kaeya just grinned.

Jean took a steady breath.

There was just one more thing left to do.

Diluc Ragnvindr had no interest in the affairs of the Knights of Favonius.

So when a Favonius messenger arrived at his doorstep, he almost ignored them.

Until he read the letter.

“… A child?”

His grip on the parchment tightened. A child being experimented on?

For all his disdain toward the Knights, Diluc had never been one to stand by while an innocent suffered.

His blood simmered as he read Jean’s urgent request.

She was asking for his help.

Not as a Knight. Not as the owner of Dawn Winery.

As a fighter.

As someone who wouldn’t hesitate to do what needed to be done.

His jaw clenched.

Then, without another word, he grabbed his coat.

If Albedo was guilty…

He’d make sure he regretted it.

The wind howled across Dragonspine’s peaks, its icy breath curling through the knights’ cloaks as they advanced toward Albedo’s secluded laboratory. The cold was relentless, biting at their skin and numbing their fingers. But Jean, Kaeya, Eula, Rosaria, and Diluc didn’t falter.

Their mission was clear: Find the child. Bring them to safety.

And if Albedo resisted?

Jean hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

The entrance to Albedo’s laboratory was a heavy wooden door set into the mountainside, reinforced with intricate alchemical sigils. But as they approached, something strange happened—

The door was already open.

Jean exchanged wary glances with the others before stepping inside, sword at the ready.

The air was thick with the scent of alchemical ingredients—herbs, minerals, something metallic. The room was well-lit despite the lack of windows, glowing with eerie, golden light from the transmutation circles carved into the walls.

And at the center of the room stood Albedo.

His pale skin was even more ghostly under the artificial light. His hands were folded behind his back, his face utterly void of emotion.

He wasn’t alarmed.

He wasn’t surprised.

He just stood there, waiting.

“…I didn’t think Klee would tell you,” he murmured after a long silence.

Jean kept her sword raised. “Then you understand why we’re here.”

Albedo tilted his head slightly, as if considering her words. Then, with an almost resigned sigh, he gestured toward the far side of the room.

“You should see for yourselves.”

Jean hesitated for only a second before stepping forward—

And then she saw the child.

Strapped to an operating table, wrists and ankles bound with reinforced restraints. Thin, frail, with tangled hair that might have once been a rich color but had since faded to something dull. Their breathing was shallow, their eyelids barely flickering.

And the bandages.

Bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around their arms and neck. Small puncture wounds littered their skin, as if endless blood samples had been taken. Their fingers twitched slightly, barely conscious.

Kaeya sucked in a sharp breath.

Eula’s hands clenched into fists.

Rosaria muttered something under her breath.

But Diluc?

Diluc burned.

His vision flared, his flames casting violent shadows across the walls.

“What the hell is this, Albedo?” His voice was low, dangerous.

Jean took a step closer to the child, inspecting them with a sinking feeling in her gut.

“…What have you done?”

Albedo didn’t even flinch. “I did what had to be done. That child is a threat to humanity.”

Jean turned on him, fury flashing in her usually calm eyes. “A child. A child, Albedo. Drugged. Restrained. Bleeding. What kind of threat could justify this?”

Albedo’s eyes, usually so unreadable, darkened. “You don’t understand. Their body is unstable. Their very existence defies the natural order. If they are left unchecked, they could—”

“Enough.”

It was Kaeya who spoke.

He had moved past the others, stepping closer to the child. His gloved hand hovered over their face for a moment before he pulled back, his gaze distant.

“…You said they were a threat,” he murmured, voice eerily calm. “But you never said what they were.”

Jean hesitated.

Kaeya wasn’t looking at Albedo anymore.

He was looking at the child.

And for the first time, she saw something strange in his expression.

Something recognition.

Something familiar.

But now wasn’t the time for questions.

Jean turned to the others. “Cut them loose. Now.”

Rosaria stepped forward, slicing through the restraints with practiced ease. The child barely reacted, their head lolling weakly to the side.

Jean took a careful step forward. “We’re here to take you somewhere safe.”

The child didn’t respond. Didn’t move. Their eyes flicked toward Albedo.

Albedo remained unreadable. “They don’t trust easily.”

Kaeya stepped forward next, crouching slightly to their level. “That’s understandable,” he murmured. “You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”

Still, no response.

Jean motioned for Eula and Rosaria to stay alert as she turned back to Albedo. “Step aside.”

For a moment, it seemed like Albedo would refuse.

Then, without a word, he did.

The child blinked, surprised.

Jean took the opportunity to extend a hand toward them. “Come with us.”

There was a long silence.

Then, slowly, hesitantly, the child reached out.

Their small fingers barely brushed Jean’s gloved hand before—

The ground beneath them trembled.

A sudden burst of energy crackled through the air, a swirling mix of abyssal energy and something… unnatural. It came from the child.

They gasped, eyes wide, as their own power flared out of control.

Kaeya cursed under his breath. “Jean—!”

Jean reacted instantly, grabbing the child and pulling them into her arms as Eula and Rosaria moved to contain the energy. It dissipated quickly, leaving behind only a chilling silence.

The child clung to Jean’s coat, trembling slightly.

Jean tightened her hold. “It’s alright. You’re safe.”

Albedo observed quietly. “I told you.”

Jean shot him a sharp glare. “That doesn’t justify keeping them locked away.”

Albedo didn’t respond.

Jean lifted them carefully into her arms.

They were light. Too light.

She turned back to Albedo. “You’re under arrest.”

Albedo didn’t resist as Eula and Rosaria stepped forward, binding his wrists.

He only sighed, as if disappointed.

“I suppose this was inevitable.”

Jean didn’t respond.

She turned toward the exit, the child limp in her arms, and led them out into the cold.

Barbara had worked tirelessly, checking for signs of permanent damage, cleansing any remaining toxins from the child's system. The bandages had been replaced, and their breathing was steady, but they still hadn’t woken up.

Jean sat beside the bed, watching over them.

Kaeya stood near the window, looking out over the city, his expression unreadable.

Rosaria and Eula had left to inform the Grand Master of their findings.

And Diluc?

Diluc hadn’t said a word since they returned.

He stood by the door, arms crossed, silent and seething.

Barbara sighed as she finally stepped back from the child. “They’ll live,” she murmured. “But… I don’t know how long it will take for them to recover.”

Jean nodded. “Thank you, Barbara.”

Barbara hesitated. “Jean… What happens now? They don’t have a family, or records. Where will they go?”

Jean looked down at the child’s sleeping face.

She didn’t have an answer.

But before she could speak, Kaeya turned from the window.

“I’ll take them.”

Jean blinked. “Kaeya—”

“They’ll stay with me.” His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.

And when Jean looked into his eyes, she knew.

He knew something.

Something he wasn’t telling them.

But right now, that didn’t matter.

Right now, all that mattered was that the child was safe.

Jean studied Kaeya for a long moment before nodding.

“…Alright,” she murmured, a small, relieved smile tugging at her lips.

The child stirred slightly, shifting under the soft blankets, their breathing calm. Safe. Warm. For the first time in what was likely years, they weren’t cold, hurting, or alone.

Barbara tucked the blankets more securely around them, humming softly under her breath. Kaeya pulled up a chair beside the bed, a rare gentleness in his usually sharp gaze. Even Diluc, though still silent, exhaled slowly, some of the tension in his shoulders easing.

Outside, the bells of Mondstadt chimed softly in the distance, signaling the hour. The city was alive, glowing under the moonlight, filled with warmth and safety.

And for the first time in a long, long while—

So were they.

[alchemistc]

The thing is I understand why there are people who hate this decision, and I don't begrudge anyone for being angry, sad, upset - ready to fucking leave because they feel betrayed by the narrative. Personally I think that Tim decided that in order to make the show fresh and new he needed to break the rule that has kept people tuned in to this show for a long time: Firefam doesn't die got tossed after 8 seasons because Tim wanted to shock the audience and generate intense conversations.

Well it fucking worked.

He isolated every character in those final moments to tell us all nothing is safe or sacred.

He killed off Bobby to tell us no one is safe. Like. If we get down to brass tacks that's his reason.

That's definitely a betrayal of the show of yore, and I cannot blame a single person, GA or fandom, for deciding that that is the moment to tune out.

I hate that Peter didn't want to leave. I hate that.

But I do also see the merit in portraying that immense grief, that loss so Big it feels like you can never fully recover. Bobby was bigger than himself, so much to do many people, and I think most people have someone like that in their lives. So I see the merit in losing him.

In the overarching build of 9-1-1 I can see why Tim decided to melt down a single toy soldier in his sandbox just to figure out how the dynamics of his other toys changes. These are his playthings.

The thing is he's not in the writers room every second dealing with the fallout. He's not on set every day with the actors who also have to grieve the smaller but still significant loss of not having Peter around anymore. He's not out here with the audience day to day listening to the impact certain characters have on a personal level.

Do I still want to see where this is going? Absolutely, grief and loss and healing are all sandboxes I like to play in myself. How do you live a life when a piece of your soul has gone missing? How do you move on from a sacrifice that changes the entire world around you? Will you ever be able to see the colors of a sunset or the sky or the ground he's now under the same way?

That's interesting to explore.

But it's also devastating. Bobby was a presence, a weight, that will still sit heavy on so many shoulders for a long long time. And while Peter found a way to draw meaning from it - the reality of the job he's portraying, the fact that these public servants put their lives on the line every day and sometimes they lose them - it doesn't feel like Tim gave it the same thought. He just wanted shock and awe and despair.

He got it. At whatever cost.

I guess what I'm saying is give people some fucking grace to decide for themselves whether or not they're moving forward with the show. This has been so polarizing and it's been rough for all of us in different and sometimes diametrically opposed ways.

I'm the idiot who tuned in live for the first time in months specifically to have my heart broken, because that's a storyline that compels me. It's the same fucked up reason I'm watching TLOU with bated breath.

Not everyone ticks the same way, and I fully understand and empathize with those of you finding this to be an empty hollow loss.

All this to say if this is it for you, I'll miss seeing your icons in the tags and I'll try my damndest to tag things appropriately so you don't have to see that shit and hope that one day we stumble across another fandom together.

And if you're staying, I just hope you're prepared for the next time Tim decides he needs to Shake Things Up.

[obs3ssedd]

; after breaking up with dabi, he doesn’t take It too lightly, and decides to claim what’s his again.

❣︎ — 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 finally started watch mha again. and l forgot how FINE most of these characters are 😩 but I lowkey got lazy at the end so I apologize:( but next story is going to be about shigaraki!.

this is for all my dabi fan girls 🫡.

— DABI was extremely manipulative. during and after the relationship. during, It had there rough moments, always arguing, jealousy, cussing each other out etc etc bit despite those bad moments you guys had happy ones too. always cuddling each other, kissing, in general being love birds that made the league gag in disgust. though the relationship was a bit toxic..it did take you some time to build up the courage to break up with him. why? well because you loved him, so much that it hurt. you would assume he was like this because of his trauma but at the same not. you couldn’t lie to yourself and say you don’t miss him because fuck you do,

the day when you got the courage to break up the relationship dabi thought you would come running back but after 6 months going onto 7..he was slowly getting Irritated. can’t lie, you felt relieved but also lonely not going home everyday to see his pretty face already there waiting for you. but during the whole time he stalked you throughout the six months, seen you've gotten a new job as a secretary at a office building with a nice paying rate, you live In a nice neighborhood now, and even got yourself a new play thing. he hated It. hated seeing you with another man that’s not him. the day you ran into him and started fucking around was the day you signed an unbreakable contract.

when your shift had ended for the day you said bye to all your coworkers making your way home. It wasn't as busy considering It's a friday night and everyone was home resting, walking freely making your way down the street. you hummed a small tune, five minutes going by making It to your door step, unlocking the door entering your home. you turned around to lock your door, dropping your bag next to where your shoes were going to go to the kitchen before you felt a warm hand on the back of your neck with a body pressing behind you, "you're still unaware around your surroundings huh?." that voice..your hands clenched together with wide eyes, no. It couldn't?. "you miss me doll?." he chuckled hearing a small gasp, you were defenseless. against him you were a dove In a hawks grip. you swallowed that giant lump In your throat, fists clenching together "what do you want." he could hear the snarl In your voice only chuckling, flipping you around harshly pinning you against the door. facing him. those blue teal eyes..haven't seen those since you've last seen him.

still attractive as ever.

he smirked seeing you eye him, trying so hard to look at him with hate but knowing you? you were easy to see through, you missed him but trying so hard to deny It. "you want me to be honest or lie to you?." you furrowed your eyebrows glaring at him. "like you've never lied to me before.." you spat, dabi raised a brow shrugging, "but you've always fell for It dove. you used to listen to everything I said to you, lie or not." your nails digged Into your palm remembering those memories, the deep memories you wanna keep locked away, "what're you getting at dabi." he hummed. "I've been watching you dove. got a new job at an office building as a secretary, moved Into a nice place..even got yourself a little boyfriend huh?." this bastard still hasn't changed a bit. you tsked. "and what If I did? that's non of your busin —!.” you choked on a gasp getting cut off from your sentence feeling his hand on your throat squeezing It but not hard enough to close your air pipe, just enough to shut you up. your eyes widened. those bright teal eyes were now darkened and serious. a look he gave you when you broke up with him. "just to get this clear doll, the day you slept around with me was the day you signed an unbreakable contract." — he leaned closer towards your ear leaving shivers to run up your spine, "you're mine and no matter how much you try to deny it baby It’s all a lie."

you wanted to argue back but..

seeing that look on your face proved him right. he chuckled moving his hand to your cheek placing his thumb on the bottom of your lip slightly opening It leaning In close, “wanna know something sweetheart?.” you grumbled. but he was going to say It anyways, “those nights where you would finger your little hole, I watched It all.” seeing your reaction he hummed, “every night I can practically hear your needy moans..legs spread open with your fingers deep In your pussy. wishing, It was me instead. Isn’t that right?.” whenever you got hot and bothered thinking too much Into the past this is the result of that, you admit. you did wish It was him Instead, of your useless fingers. the guy— ur boyfriend that fucks you everytime couldn’t provide your needs like dabi could. and you guessed you could see he realized that seeing his face. dabi laughed with a scoff, “bastard can’t even fuck you right can he?.” you groaned feeling his other hand slide between your thighs, dabi chuckled leaning in, “I’ll treat you right, bet you’re so pent up huh?.” without saying much more he placed his lips against yours. you hated how much effect he has on you.. the moment he kissed you, you kissed him back missing the way he used to touch you like this, dabi smirked Into the kiss, picking you up by your thighs whimpering In his mouth. "see?." he teased pulling back from your mouth placing you on the bed going to take off his shirt, you snarled bucking your hips up with a small moan. “shut the fuck up and jus’ fuck me already you bastard..” dabi threw his shirt off to the side going to unbuckle his pants looking at you with a lustful gaze tilting his head to the side, “trust me baby.”

“I am.”

[nabi-unveiled]

Where on the "White Knight" spectrum is Sung-hyun?

Note: There's multiple spellings of these characters' names. I just chose the ones that would cause the least confusion for me and went with it.

I really am enjoying this show, but I had begun overthinking everything and questioning Sung-hyun. It was time to revisit the facts (of ep 1 - 3). The first version of this deep dive went scene by scene and got about three miles long. So here's the condensed version (which is still too long) organized by the questions I was asking myself while watching. I still haven't watched episode 4, and I'm avoiding the tags until then so other people have likely pointed out many of these things.

It's also important to note as we go through these - Da-on is no meek mouse character. He will and DOES stand up for himself. He comes across more gentle in some ways because he is the only one mostly respecting everybody's boundaries (so far).

Side note - My re-watch made my appreciation of Da-on go through the roof. I may be questioning everyone in this show’s motives for wanting Da-on on a meta level, but I probably shouldn’t. Honestly, I’d be down bad for him too. That's a different post though.

Question #1: What attracted Sung-hyun to Da-on?

This was probably the most important question to me in terms of Sung-hyun's characterization. Was it because Da-on was vulnerable?

The answer is no. It's physical attraction first. We're actually already swooning before Da-on's father ever shows up.

Sung-hyun first shows attraction when Da-on fixes his tie. It's before Dad shows up, before Su-hyeon shows up, and before he recognizes that Da-on has any problems at all. We go straight from this to him trying to please Da-on...which brings us to the next question.

Question #2: Does Sung-hyun derive pleasure from playing the "White Knight"?

We are introduced to Sung-hyun when he's "saved" Da-on and is a bit peeved that Da-on is upset at him for saving him. He initially sees Da-on as rude. Fair. We know why Da-on is so upset, but it makes sense that Sung-hyun doesn’t get why the watch was such a big deal. Especially if he doesn't deal with those kind of $$$ watches often.

He does change his tune about this when he realizes how expensive the watch is.

Sung-hyun does do A LOT of things to help Da-on. However, none of it is malicious (seemingly) or because he wants to be the savior of the weak and vulnerable. What does the man want? Praise.

He puts it in his rules, and he directly asks for it the next day.

This is followed by him undoing the tie when Da-on doesn't really praise him about it. My current thinking - man has something akin to a praise kink rather than true white knight syndrome.

Particularly telling is that he didn't step in initially when Su-hyeon grabs Da-on in the office. He was more concerned by what it meant that Da-on had spent the night at another man's house.

He doesn't ALWAYS feel the need to rescue Da-on. In re-watching, he actually seems to delay just a bit in stepping in most times before deciding he needs to do so. He always apologizes for interfering, and Da-on consistently tells him that it's ok if he does.

Question #3: How much does Sung-hyun actually know about Da-on's situation?

Not a lot. He's heard Jae-min's name and only knows that Da-on spent the night there. He knows Da-on has problems with his dad, but he has no idea what they are at this point. Sung-hyun does tell Da-on to cry it out. That means he HAS picked up on the fact that there’s more going on that just being sick. He is also VERY well aware that Su-hyeon is a problem and potentially dangerous. (Note: Using that info to get Da-on to stay at his house can be interpreted in multiple ways - one sweet & caring, one taking advantage).

However, he has only seen small glimpses of Su-hyeon's rage. The man really has no idea just HOW much of a shitstorm Da-on is in at this point. He has bare bones information.

Question #4: Is Sung-hyun controlling Da-on?

We're now getting into the scenes that initially sent me on my spiral of overthinking.

First up - the negotiation of working together

Da-on asks for him to please let them work together. AKA - please don’t fuck with my job. Sung-hyun lays out his rules which includes daily meals, getting to know each other outside of work, sharing private information, and praising each other. Way beyond normal coworker stuff. It could seem sweet. He just wants to get to know Da-on right? But it could also seem invasive.

Except, remember he’s just been doing everything he can to piss Da-on off. He knows Da-on won’t like this. Da-on lays out his own rules, but Sung-hyun says he’ll just tell the manager they won’t work together. There’s no attempt at compromise. My way or else. Sung-hyun is the one with the power here. Da-on wants the project. In the end, Da-on capitulates. Poor boy gives up.

That said - it’s not exactly controlling behavior. He didn’t expect Da-on to agree. Sung-hyun has no way of knowing just how important the project is to Da-on, and he doesn’t know the company culture yet. He’s actually pleasantly surprised when Da-on gives in. All signs point to the fact that he was trying to get out of working with Da-on (just like he had been when it was first announced).

Once Da-on agrees, he immediately changes his tone and behavior back to Friendly Joe. If Da-on is going to try and get along, then he’ll try too. That’s the generous interpretation of that tone switch-up. There ARE other interpretations. I'm still pondering to some extent.

Second questionable scene - the movie theater hand grab

I actually don't mind Sung-hyun proposing they go to the movie. Da-on was actually the one that made the horror movie conversation go deeper at the restaurant anyways. He knew Da-on needed a distraction. Da-on still could've said no. This is where Da-on not being a meek mouse is important. Da-on DOES tell people no. Sung-hyun was obviously on a fishing expedition to find out if Da-on was dating. Fair. You need to know if your crush is taken.

However, him going straight for asking to hold Da-on's hand after the scene with Su-hyeon bothered me. Especially since Da-on didn't say yes before he grabbed his hand.

However, upon re-watching, it bothered me less. Why?

Sung-hyun is a physical person in general. He cages. Which is definitely an invasion of physical space, but....some of us actually find it very hot. 😏 Kabedon exists for a reason. The important thing here is that Da-on is not bothered by it AT ALL.

Da-on has already told him to let go of his hand before, and he did. (Him letting go is supposed to contrast Su-hyeon who DOESN'T ever let go when Da-on asks.) Da-on feels comfortable telling Sung-hyun to back off or let go. Da-on doesn't push his hand away at the movie theater.

Plus, Da-on is JUST as physical with Sung-hyun. He's the one that got physical first (tying the tie), and he's physical at other moments too PRIOR to the movie theater.

So crossing physical boundaries? Yes. (But they both do it.) Maneuvering to get his crush to notice him and get time with his crush? Yes. Controlling his crush? No. Not really. He also doesn't ALWAYS push the boundary. He drops off the congee/meds and leaves for example. Many examples (like taking him to the doctor) are just care. The man is not playing a 4D chess game unlike someone else....

Question #5: Does the series KNOW that Sung-hyun is crossing (or at least pushing) boundaries?

Short answer - No. It doesn't. He gets to be adorable with his grandma. He gets the rom-com music. He's in the light. We're supposed to be charmed that he lets go when asked since the other two do not and overlook the fact that Da-on didn't say yes. In fact, the show is really characterizing Sung-hyun's behavior as energetic puppy. It even symbolizes that he's a puppy.

When he was ignored in episode 1, he caused chaos (the petty office shenanigans) but they were largely harmless shenanigans. It's brat behavior. Annoying, but not malicious. It should be noted once again that Da-on is our actual green flag. He didn't reciprocate in the office shenanigans.

Now that he's pursuing Da-on, that puppy energy has turned into trying to please (back to praise...lol) and care for Da-on.

What the show does know? Sung-hyun is supposed to parallel Jae-min.

They both meet Da-on in the street and offer to help him.

They both "help" him.

They are both very physical and frequently touch Da-on.

They have VERY similar dialogue on MULTIPLE occasions.

They have him sleep in their bed.

They both make him toast and eggs for breakfast. (However, they only eat together at one of these homes.)

There's a mirror after he spends the night at both of their houses. Not that it will matter to most, but the mirror at Sung-hyun's house shows his FEET. IYKYK.

There's several other parallels, but basically Sung-hyun and Jae-min parallel each other in how they approach Da-on. The difference is in how they respond to Da-on when he makes a move. Both men have different motivations and they want different things for/from Da-on. For example, we see it in that Sung-hyun WILL let Da-on treat him. Sung-hyun is supposed to show what the “good”/pure-hearted version of these actions actually looks like.

Sung-hyun's confession is also meant to contrast how Da-on didn’t confess (until recently) or that Su-hyeon never confessed at all. Just like the visuals convey in that scene, it’s about being open vs being in the shadows. They are framing him as a man who takes action in the open rather than in secret.

It’ll be interesting to see if some of the themes they are alluding to — being on the same level, when is help not actually help, etc. get addressed in future episodes.

Which brings us to the choice you have to make with Sung-hyun's character.

Do you let his boundary crossing (because he does cross them) and his general physicality bother you?

Or accept that this is a 2000s makjang throwback complete with nosebleeds? He’s not unlike most male leads in earlier kdramas.

Your choice is yours alone. Personally, I’ll frame this as a throwback makjang in my mind moving forward. I'll notice the boundary crossing I'm sure. I expect that WILL continue. But... Da-on is precious. Jae-min is delicious. The set-up is fun. I'm just going to enjoy the shenanigans.

It's time to find out how this confession turned out.

[jay-m3]

Open sesame

Scenerio: Them trying to open a door for you

Male reader insert! Warning: Suggestive themes/language, Cursing, unedited

Characters: Valentino, Adam, Alastor, Lucifer, and Vox

Valentino

Satisfaction buzzes through Vals' skin. The warmth of your body next to him added to the dopamine that has coursed through his body.

The hum of the limo that your both in relaxes your spent body. Like a lullaby, making you dazed. It didn't help that Vals' limo has inbuilt L.E.D lights that gave off a purple glow. Along with the music playing in the background. Thankfully, the little quickie was finished in time as the limo parked.

Val looks down at you, breathing out the smoke that he dragged in, making the scene more serene.

"You keep getting better and better with that tongue of yours, cariño. Let's continue this inside."

He grabs your wrist to pull you along while he pulls on the handle-

The door doesn't budge.

Furrowing his eyebrows, he tries again, anger sizzling through his sated state.

"Este estupido. Unlock the fucking door! I don't have all day!" He yells out to the driver who immediately unlocks the door with an apology.

"I swear to god! I'm going to kill your whole fucking family." Val seeths out quickly getting out and slamming the door on your face, stomping away.

Adam

Adam walks with an arm around your shoulder, slurping on a slurpee. Eyes wondering around as he leans on you to guide him to a store while you talk about the drama between two of his exorcist girls' break up. Usually he's all ears and put in his own input. Might even put himself into the drama when he sees them and 'help' out. He loves his girls, truly but he says the wrong things most times.

Thankfully you're there to actually help him to help them.

"-we should get those matching couple jackets."

He tunes in when he hears you talking about the jackets that you both saw the passing day. The jackets that he was thinking about through the whole walk. He actually digs it, a little flashy but cool.

"Yeah, we should get it in two colors." He shrugs nonchalantly as he pulls away from you to pull the door-

"Shit." He mutters out as he pushes this time-

"What the-" He continues to push and pull the door, "fuck!"

You watch him for a minute, waiting for him to realize on his own but as seconds pass by watching him struggle...

"Adam." He looks over at you to see you pointing at a sign that was taped to the door at eye level with him-

"It's fucking closed!...in heaven?!?!"

Alastor

As you and Alastor walk down the sidewalk, you can't help but side eye him. You've been thinking of how much Alastor was a gentleman.

For example, everytime he greets you, he takes your hand in his and presses a light kiss on top of your hand. Pulls out chairs for you when you're about to sit down. Even now, he is walking on the side of the sidewalk next to the road while you're safe from whatever impact may occur from the streets.

It's not like you hate it but these displays kind of makes you feel that your not giving him enough. Especially as a man, you also want to provide the feelings of safety and worthiness that he has caused inside you.

Why not start now?

"Is something on your mind darling?" Alastor asks as he can feel your gaze on him.

"No. It's nothing. Just-" As Rosie's store stands in front of you both, you quickly maneuver yourself next to Alastor, opening the door so he won't get a chance to do so for you-

"I'm so sorry!" You whisper yelled out, not trying to gain anyone's attention to see that you had hit Alastor with the door.

Lucifer

Today is special for you and Lucifer. Today marks the day of when you two have met each other! So you both decided to go out and have some fun in Lu Lu World.

It was so much fun! It's actually your first time visiting the place and Lucifer hasn't been to the theme park in a while so you both are looking around with awe in your eyes.

Memories of the place, Lucifer easily takes you around the park with non existence passes, getting on every ride without waiting in line.

Of course there are small changes that Lucifer raises an eyebrow at but all in all, Lucifer gives out a proud smile at his work that is giving you so much joy.

"Maybe we should take a break from rides. I want to buy the same shirt that family had on. Oh, and get a funnel cake too." You exclaim, mouth watering at the prospect of the sweet food.

"I know the closest store that provides merchandise and behind it there's food stalls that definitely sells funnel cake, along with candy apple and ice cream. We should also get a bag of pop-" You watch as Lucifer rambles off excitedly, a slight hop in his step as he nears the door of the shop, pushing-

You snort loudly as he slams face first into the door. Apparently, they changed the push doors to pull.

Vox

Vox sighs out a deep breath once he sees the many people waiting for you both outside of the building where he's getting interviewed. It's been a while of being behind screen by other entertainment businesses that isn't owned by him.

Usually he'll decline offers by them, not wanting other businesses use him for clout. But this one, this one happens to be increasing in viewership. Even the parts of hell that his own hasn't reached out. All he needs is a little screen time before 'persuading' them to watch his own shows.

He looks over at you who came with him for appearance. He can't just go in without someone handsomely pretty trailing behind.

"Let's get this over with." He mumbles out as he gets out of the car.

Flashes and shouts all around made you flinch back slightly, not used to the attention. Thankfully, that went all towards Vox as he steps in front of you with a big smile on his screen. You follow behind him as you put on your own smile.

"-no, not really."

You can barely hear Vox and what question that he has answered was probably important for him to even entertain. Plus he doesn't have to continue as he's finally to the door-

He doesn't loose his smile as the door doesn't budge. He tries again-

You notice how he's pulling on the door and the beginning of furrowed eyebrows. So you quickly hook your arm in his and you use your body weight to push him forward, like dominoes, he leans forward until the door opens. Successfully not being noticed by the paparazzi.

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: The Hanker

Debut: Hank for Hunka

Uh-oh! The Hankwatch is going off, and you know what that means!

The Hanker is a cultural icon, dare I say phenomenon, to such a degree that I'm surprised we've never covered him before. Everyone remembers tuning into Cartoon Network and meeting him through the TV special "Big Woods Blues"–originally a Tom & Jerry short, the sudden closure of the Van Beuren studios meant they had to find a new star to, in their words, "crave that cheddar." Luckily, while passing through a delicatessen, Fred Barbera saw the most lovely blob of cheese, and decided to make a character based off that; the rest, is history!

The rest, is history!

It was a surprisingly formula compared to other cereal mascots: instead of starting with stealing cereal or saving it, each one would begin with children eating junk food in a field, only for the Hankwatch to start chiming offscreen. Everyone remembers the sound it would make, less like a pocket watch and more like the droning noise of an old church bell: DING. DONG. DING. DONG. DING. DONG. DING.

Every time the watch would ring, we'd laugh and laugh at the kids who had to 'feed' the Hankerer; the only way to do that, of course, was by eating a hunk of cheese themself. While the Hunkwatch was almost always offscreen, I always had a particular fascination, however, with the ones that did pan to the Hunkerwatch, but everyone remembers what happens to the kids in those commercials.

The rules seemed simple to play at first. Whenever the Hungrier chimed his tune ("I hanker for a hunk of the slab, a slice [...] I hanker for a hunk of cheese"), you and your friends scrambled to eat as much cheese as possible until you were the last one remaining. Promoting a healthy diet, it's easy to see why he rose to the top of iconic animated film stars!

But I think we can all agree the "wagon wheel challenge" commercials were always the most intriguing. He'd demand a wagon for his wheel so he could finally get wed, but each wheel would be absent until the kid ate an entire wheel of cheese. What was particularly peculiar was how the cheese started out moldy to the point of almost rotten, yet seemed to become lively and good as new again as the kid ate more and more; the kid itself, meanwhile, greatly decomposed. It was especially strange watching it happen to someone right next to you, but they'd always refuse your help, so, nothing you can do, y'know?

Being a cultural icon, it's no wonder he's leant his image to media of all sorts. The GameBoy game trilogy was always my favorite. Everyone remembers controlling him to move across sticky kitchen floors and dirty refridgerators just to find some cheese to eat, regardless of taste or quality. It taught kids a valuable lesson about eating healthy, and its consequences. The Hunter doesn't want you to stifle your diet, he wants you to be free to eat whatever cheeses you want, whenever. It was such a beautiful message.

Everyone remembers the Cheese Craze of the 90's, following Henker's revival in "Hunka Hanker," where kids were free to see him once again. They even started making commercials of him, freeing him from his original video animation hell. Each level had you climb up ladders and capture keys to rescue the princess, only for her to find out what happens when the Hankwatch goes off. When I think of that ending, I can only laugh and laugh.

Live action reboots are all the rage these days, and though his popularity has plummeted, he's expected to reappear in the live action remake of "White Cheddar Blues," where he will be portrayed in glorious organs and bones. It's said that the ending will finally reveal what happens when the last child eats the final wagon wheel, so keep an eye wagon peeled!

People take this for granted now, but it's kind of wild this boss from a seemingly one-off Mario game got to reappear so often, isn't it? He gets to have two (POPULAR!) subfranchises all to himself even! Even Bowser barely if ever gets his own games, yet this common mook does? Everyone remembers when these were new and garnered mixed attention, but you don't see anyone complaining about them anymore! Guess you can say the cheese is in their mouth now!

Initial fears that the combination of storm damage and flood waters might produce a "toxic soup" in downtown New Orleans have been downplayed by experts in environmental science. While the threat of pikauba, bergenost, and Humboldt fog is certainly increased by the contamination of the flood waters and sewage, many of the chemical companies located in or near New Orleans survived the storm without spilling dangerous contaminants in the water. Of course, care should be taken not to ingest any of the flood water.

Now, as the Hanker would say, "Ta-ta! And so long, for now!"

[4urvalidation]

A CASE OF LIMERENCE | Chapter Thirteen

PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER

A/N: Phew! Well - this is a long one. Mainly because I went insane and decided to put two chapters into one instead of splitting them like I originally planned on doing. Anyways what's done is done and what I've done is.... well - a mess. Incredibly proud of how everything turned out obviously, but things got messy in ways only a summer finale could do.

Hope y'all enjoy.

That being said, I'm going on a work trip in a little over six hours. My flight is in the early hours of the morning and doing what I do, I'm not sure just how much free time I'd have to write. I will be taking my notebook with me, just so I can jot down ideas for future scenes and dialogues whenever I can, but I don't believe any actual writing will be done. At least not until after I come back.

I'll still try my best to remain as active as possible on here. Relax reading fanfics and looking at pretty pictures as well as chatting with y'all - that is, if you'd be into that. I'd love to get to know my readers more; see what they think of ACOL so far (forever grateful to the anon who gave it this nickname) and whether they have any questions, ideas for future works or just in general.

Okay. Tuning out now because this author's note has gotten as long as this chapter. Love y'all. Thank you for reading the shit I put out.

T/W: I'm gonna be fully transparent, the smut part of this gets DARK - I'm talking borderline DUBCON so please read at your own risk. And ofc MDNI!!!!!

Mentions and slight graphic descriptions of vomiting, as well as violent unruly behavior; alcohol, drugs; sexting, implied masturbation, graphic sexual content (grinding, dirty talk, slight choking). Characters being horny and fantasizing about weird questionable things because of it.

Three am and Leni can barely fall asleep. Her mind is restless, constantly reminding her of the texts Rafe has sent her. The mysterious contents of the voice message. And the photo. Fuck, the photo - it’s the thing that’s torturing her the most; forces her entire being to itch with curiosity and robs her of much needed shuteye. Weary and frustrated, she tosses and turns - annoyed at herself for not letting Cleo sleep well, but judging by the soft sound of her even softer snoring, her friend seems to be having a good enough rest for the both of them. 

Her phone lights up just then - illuminating half of the pitch dark room and grabbing Leni’s attention for god knows what time in the past couple of hours, but unlike all those other times before, now she reaches for it immediately. 

The bright screen burns her eyes. 

A text from JJ.

Tons of texts from JJ. 

Sweet, caring and considerate JJ.

Who looks after her.

Who never has and never will do anything to scare her. 

And yet, her entire being aches to find out what Rafe said in that voice message. 

Suddenly exasperated, she storms to the bathroom, back pressed against the tightly closed door; the tips of her fingers prickling as she finally opens his text.

Leni’s throat goes dry. 

Her heart raging against her brittle ribcage. 

Swallowing, she presses play. 

“Fuck… Leni… don’t you dare ignore me again… please… baby… don’t do this to me… don’t send me shit like that and ignore me… let me make you feel good…” The sound of his rough, bated breath vibrates through the speakers of her phone and straight into her ear. Her heartbeat quickens at the rasp in his voice; the way he’s so obviously struggling… Probably - no - most likely touching himself over the fabric of those grey sweatpants. Desperate. Needy. Aching. 

Now he knows how Leni’s felt all along. 

She exhales. 

The thought of Rafe being driven mad by lust makes her weak in the knees. The thought that she’s the reason why he’s sending her all of these intense borderline whiney texts forces her legs to give out and before she knows it, Leni finds herself sliding down the door and falling straight onto the cold tiled floor. 

She presses play. 

Again and again and again. 

Closes her eyes. 

In her mind, a half naked Rafe is straining against stark white rumpled sheets; one hand clenched tightly around his phone while the other runs over his face before slowly moving towards-

No. 

With a slight quiver in her knees, Leni pushes herself off the floor. 

She’s done. 

She’s done with this.

She’s done with him.

And then her finger finds the button again. When she’s finally had her fix, Leni notices there’s a brand new message waiting for her on the bottom of the screen.

She swallows. 

That’s not true.

The only person Leni has ever enjoyed torturing is herself. But since he seems so desperate for it - there’s nothing more she wants in that moment than to show him what actual torture looks like. To burst out of that stuffy bathroom, put on her skimpiest, tightest, borderline fuck me dress and head on over to Tannyhill where he is desperately waiting for her. 

Yes, she can see it all oh so clearly now. Her dark silhouette standing still in the entrance of his large home; the upstairs bedroom, the one she never dared stepping foot in ever again beckoning her and like under some kind of spell, Leni finds herself walking towards it. An expectant Rafe waits for her inside in the dimly lit room; grey sweatpants hanging loosely on his hips as the sight of her makes that perfectly sculpted chest of his rise quickly. 

“You came.” She hears him exhale. His voice identical to the one from the voice message and he’s getting up now - slowly, slightly - just enough so she can stand there, right between his open legs. Her breath catches when his hand brushes against her bare leg; travelling lightly over her thigh, under the hem of her dress before finally stopping at her hip. 

Rafe sucks in a breath - she’s not wearing any underwear - and he grins: widely, wolfishly; like he wants to fucking eat her alive and there’s nothing more in the world Leni wants than for him to do exactly that, but that’s not what she came here for. 

She climbs on top of him, straddling his lap and he’s barely even touched yet and she’s already soaked in need. Practically dripping down her thigh, she starts riding him; fingers dancing along his chest while his ragged breathing heats the crook of her neck. He starts kissing her; leaves a trail of wet, desperate kisses all along her chest and collar bones as she moves her hips in a tantalizingly slow manner. 

“I want you. I want to be inside you.” His pleading turns her on more than she could ever imagine and Leni realizes she quite likes this version of Rafe. “Please baby, please.” Moaning, she lets him run his hands under her dress; grasping at her skin like he’s holding on for dear life and pushing her body further into his own. 

Groaning, he kisses her lips and it’s such an aggressive sound, she can almost feel it in her throat and she’s throbbing; dripping senselessly over the material of Rafe’s sweatpants but she cannot let him win. Not now. Not when she has him practically eating from her palm. Grinning, Leni pushes Rafe onto the bed. The blue in his eyes has disappeared completely and all she can see now is a pair of pitch black holes and her very own reflection looking back at her.  

“You want me?” She whispers into his ear and feels his fingers dig harder into her flesh. 

“I want you.”

“I don’t believe you.” 

Rafe’s eyes narrow, but then her fingers begin moving down his chest and he almost immediately relaxes. Teasingly, she plays with the hem of his sweatpants; his hard cock straining against the rough material. She grinds her body against it; lets it linger against the place where she wants him the most and then just as she’s about to set him free, Leni stops. 

Slides herself off of him and then finally off the bed. His haunting gaze burns holes in the back of her head and she stops - suddenly eager for one last round of taunting when suddenly, she feels herself being pulled back by her hair. Her body drops onto the mattress with a dull thump; Rafe’s perfect body hovering over her, while his fist is still wrapped tightly around her loose braid. 

“Where are you off to Sweetheart? I don’t remember telling you to leave just yet, did I?” He pushes her harder against the bed; his weight and hardness pressing into her. “Did I Elena?” She swallows, shaking her head. The corners of his lips perk up - forming that leering, shit eating smirk that instead of turning her on, suddenly has Leni recoil in fear.

Rafe moves, brushing his hips against her own and eliciting a moan from her throat that she should’ve swallowed a very long time ago. “You are such a good girl. Such a good fucking girl. I really dunno why you keep trying not to be. Is it cause you like torturing me? Do you like torturing me Elena? Cause two can play that game, but just so you know, I’m a real competitive guy.” He whispers the last sentence directly in her ear and Leni hates the way her body reacts to it. 

She’s on fire, leaking with desire and so needy and desperate for him to fill her in, she’s almost on the verge of tears. “Fuck. You.” The words scratch at her throat, propelling out of her mouth in a sound that can barely be registered as a whisper and Rafe grins; thrusts his hips even harder against her own. 

“Tell me you don’t want me. Tell me that your sweet little cunt doesn’t throb for me. Tell me and I’ll let you go.”

Their eyes meet.

Leni knees him in the stomach, but it doesn’t do anything. 

She kicks him again and again and again, but all it does is make Rafe chuckle and the low, rumbling sound makes the butterflies in the pit of her stomach flutter in fear.

Her breath catches - he’s got his hands pressed against her throat now, choking her and pushing her further deep inside the mattress, “You think it’s that easy? You think leaving me is this fucking easy? Well news flash baby, I make the rules now. I tell you when you get to leave. And if you pull this shit again, next time you wake up, it’ll be with your braid in your cunt!”

Thick, bitter tears cloud her vision, her entire body lurching forward and before she knows it, Leni has spilled her entire guts all over the bathroom floor. Slowly, she drags herself towards the toilet; the entire room echoing the awful, guttural sounds that rip from her throat.

The next time she opens her eyes, Leni’s in her bed again - last night’s thoughts only a horrible product of a very bad dream until she notices the awful taste in her mouth. Every single muscle in her body aches as she pushes herself off the bed. The place where Cleo slept is empty and she searches for her, hoping to find her friend in the bathroom, but all that’s there are remnants of Leni’s shame-filled vomiting session. And that god awful stench. 

She almost throws up again, but decides to suck it up and get rid of it all until Cleo comes back. If she comes back that is, because if Leni were to wake up to a bathroom full of sick, she too would probably be disappearing in the middle of the night.  

Except Cleo is nothing like Leni. 

Not even ten minutes later there she is - coming through the door, her face alight with a smile and her hands full of coffee and pastries. “I see you’re having a busy morning.” She chirps, gaze focused on the mop in Leni’s hands. 

“Yeah. I’m sorry you had to see all of…  this.” “No! I’m sorry! I should’ve been there! I should've been holding your hair back! (“Cle, it’s okay.”) No it’s not! I’m usually a very light sleeper. I genuinely dunno what happened to me last night, like - I slept like a literal corpse.”

The entire room smells like coffee - a nice change from the previous wafting stench she woke up to and her head throbs, from both the wine and ever encompassing guilt that comes from the way she behaved last night. Not to mention all the messages from JJ she willfully ignored and she can see it - him crying to Kie about it; sending a myriad of texts that will most likely be brought up once their shift starts today. 

Maybe she should just end things now – rip the band aid off until the wound hasn’t started festering or whatever. The last thing she wants is for JJ to hate her or have Kie break her back or worse - ruin her friendship with Sarah, Cleo and the others just because she woke up one day and decided to blow up her entire life. 

“What do you wanna do today?” Cleo asks, plopping onto the bed beside her, a half eaten croissant steadily between her fingers. 

“Die.” 

“Oh come on! You didn’t even drink that much!” 

“I know,” Leni groans, the memory of Rafe’s rumbling, borderline needy voice playing in the back of her head like some kind of a broken record. With a lump in her throat, she reaches for a cup of steaming hot coffee; burns her tongue on it and continues, “I did something bad last night.”

Silently, Cleo stares at her; brows raised so high, they’re practically reaching her hairline and that’s when Leni pulls out her phone: Rafe’s messages on full display - raunchy photo and all. She swallows the lump; her gaze steadily focused on her friend; on the way her eyes grow bigger and bigger with each passing second before, “No, no, no - don’t press… play.” 

But it’s too late. 

“Fuck… Leni… don’t you dare ignore me again… please… baby… don’t do this to me… don’t send me shit like that and ignore me… let me make you feel good…”

Leni shuts her eyes in embarrassment. Hides her face in the heels of her palms as Rafe’s labored breathing and rough whining echo across the entire room. 

“Girl.” Cleo sucks in a breath.

“I’m gonna kill myself.” 

“Girl.” 

Their eyes meet. 

Cleo’s brows have now become one with her hair. 

“It’s all I can think about.” 

“Well - let’s get you a distraction then. Let’s go out. Have fun!” 

“I can’t.” Leni cries, “I have work in like two hours.”

“Call in sick! Tell Mr. Carrera you have a migraine or something!” 

That’s not actually a bad idea. 

She texts him almost immediately and as expected his response is cold and lackluster, but Leni really doesn’t fucking care. She hates her job. She hates how bad the tips are and just how much Kie and her dad expect from her. Getting fired would be a blessing, even though she desperately needs the money for that plane ticket back home. 

“So, what are we doing today?” Cleo’s bright smile is contagious. The joy radiating from her face even more so and Leni can’t help but mimic it. 

“Polly invited me to join her and Tess at the Island Club today, but-”

“Oooh, I’ve never been there! Let’s do that.”

Leni grimaces, “I dunno, Cle. Tess and I are not exactly on best terms right now and Polly-” She sighs, memories from the day they spent together shopping on Mainland flashing before her eyes. “She posts everything on her stories. Like, literally everything.” 

“And that’s a problem because?”

“Rafe follows Polly.”

“And?”

“He’s gonna know where I am. And most likely show up.”

The corners of Cleo’s lips tug into a smirk. “Oh yeah, we definitely don’t want that happening now, do we?” 

Another rumbling sigh tears through Leni’s throat. Every single atom in her body aches to see Rafe, but she’s not sure if she’s ready to face him. Not now. Not yet. As a matter of fact, she’s not sure if she ever will be. At least not until her brain stops sticking him in the spot between lust and fear. 

“Look,” Cleo says, taking her hands into her own. “If Rafe shows up and you’re still not feeling it, we’ll just get up and leave.” Leni nods. Her friend is right. She is always so painfully right. “Don’t let this tiny power he has over you control everything you do. If you don’t wanna see him, no one is forcing you to. It’s not like you live with him.” 

Leni’s brows perk up at this. 

She smiles. 

“Speaking of,” She chirps, both out of curiosity and desperate need of a topic change, “How did that happen? You and Pope living together?” 

“Long story.” Cleo groans. “But basically, Terrance - my adoptive dad - and Mr. Heyward are old friends. When I got into ECSU, he offered I stay with his family instead of, y’know, bunk with a bunch of strangers… Which, now that I think about it, is super ironic considering how before that I’d only met Mr. Heyward twice.” 

“And Pope?”

“Pope was… ugh. He was weird and scrawny and even then super obsessed with Kie. I remember him talking my ear off about the dumbest shit like - just silly childish things and…  Okay, do you know he wants to be a coroner? (“What?”) Yeah, he wants to work with dead people when he grows up and he was telling me about it constantly! Day and night, all he talked about was how fascinated he was by it and I was like: this kid is so fucking weird. Anyways, flash forward to last year. I come home from spring break and there he is: shirt unbuttoned, braces off,  gold chain round his neck and I’m like fuck - when did I start having a crush on Pope?”

Leni laughs, “Probably when you realized he got hot.”

“But he wasn’t supposed to get hot! He was supposed to stay scrawny and awkward! Just like he was supposed to be having a crush on me! Not the other way around!” 

“Well, maybe he did.” Leni says innocently and almost immediately, Cleo looks up at her - eyes wide and sparkling. “Think about it - why else would he have spent so much time talking to you about stuff he liked? He was probably trying to impress you, but you were too busy dating cool college boys.” This makes Cleo groan again except this time it’s a far more dramatic one; the kind that has her throw herself against the mountain of pillows and bury her head in them in what can only be described as sheer embarrassment. “But hey - if it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty much in the same boat as you.”

Their eyes meet. 

“Yeah. But like I said - at least you’re not living with him.”

As expected, Tess is giving her the cold shoulder; ignoring her questions and rolling her eyes everytime Leni does something as little as breathing, but at least she’s nice to Cleo. 

“You go to ECSU? No way - that’s where I’m going this fall! What’s your major?” 

“Aviation.” Cleo grins. 

“Shut up! I have my eye on Psychology, but my dad’s pressuring me into doing Sports Management instead.” Tess rolls her eyes, “Wants me to take over the family business once he retires, but I literally don’t give a fuck about sports.” 

“What are you talking about? You’ve literally won the golf state championship two years in a row.” This earns Leni a particularly icy stare from her so-called friend. Slightly defeated, she sighs, turning her attention to Polly, but Polly is too busy taking photos of her cleavage. 

And then she squeals. Slaps Leni’s shoulder so hard it actually stings, “Rafe! Rafe Cameron is here!” Her whispered shouts grab Cleo and Tess’ attention and now, all four of them are watching him saunter towards a deck chair right across from them. Topper’s right there too, but no one seems to be paying attention to him. Well, no one other than Tess. “Wanna go and say hi?” 

“Don’t be fucking stupid.” Tess replies coldly, her gaze suddenly pointed towards Leni. 

“Oh come on! You can’t be mad at him forever!” 

They go back and forth for what feels like ages - Polly with her whining and Tess with her stern headshakes and Leni… Leni is so fucking grateful for her dark shades because all she can do in that very moment is stare at the person she not so long ago swore she didn’t want to see. 

He’s not in his suit today. Instead, he’s wearing a pair of teal colored shorts and a polo that hits the ground as quickly as Leni’s guard does every time she sees him. His skin is golden; practically glistening in the hot July sun and no matter how hard she tries, she simply cannot stop herself from ogling at him. 

“God he’s so hot!” Polly takes the words right out of her mouth, “Why does he have to have a girlfriend?” 

“Girlfriend?” Cleo quickly glances over at Leni, their gazes meeting for a brief fleeting second, before turning back at Polly. 

“Yeah! Didn’t you see? He soft launched her the other day on his story! (“I… don’t follow him.”) Ohmigod, wait! I’ll show you, I took a screenshot.”

“You took a screenshot you psycho?” Tess barks.

“Yes! I had to make sure it wasn’t Sofia!” Polly exclaims all wide eyed and exasperated, before shoving her phone straight in Cleo’s face, “Here, look. She’s even wearing his blazer so they must be serious.” 

Tess rolls her eyes, “You do realize that doesn’t mean shit, right? Topper lets me wear his clothes all the time and still-”

“Won’t leave his girlfriend for you?” The tone in Polly’s voice is uncharacteristically cold. They’re glaring at one another now; the sudden silence between them - violently deafening and feeling like it might go on for ages. “We know, Tess. But this is different.” She turns to Cleo again, that unexpected iciness completely melted away, “Do you think you might know her?” 

Leni feels her friend’s glance pass through her once again, “No. Sorry.” 

“What would happen if I start telling people it’s me?” Polly chirps, sticking her tongue out, “Do y’all think that maybe then Rafe will finally text me back?”

“Yeah, with a restraining order.” Tess deadpans and Leni can’t hold it in for much longer - she guffaws. Their eyes meet just then and suddenly there’s an appreciative spark dancing behind the gaze of her now maybe-friend.

She can feel the weight of Rafe’s persistent stare even through those dark shades of his. It’s distracting; borderline bothersome and she can’t help but wonder whether others can sense it too. If Cleo, who never in her life has given two shits about him can, Tess and Polly certainly will, but the latter would most likely think all that gazing is meant for her. 

Leni sighs, slumping further into her deck chair and doing her best to ignore Rafe while the trio next to her chatter about nothing and everything. She wants to join in on the conversation, she really does, but her head is pounding and she’s far too hungover to be basking in the sun like this. Her phone is blowing up: packed with hoards of unread texts from both JJ and Kie and she wishes she could just throw it in the pool and never think about anything ever again. 

Rafe removes his sunglasses - stormy blue eyes blazing straight in her direction and Leni feels her heart skip a beat; the thousand of many he’s caused ever since she’s stepped foot on this godforsaken island and perhaps leaving isn’t such a bad idea after all. 

But what if it is? A trail of shivers run down the parts of her body Rafe’s gaze has lingered onto the most, causing that funny feeling between her thighs to spring up back again. Heart racing, she purses her lips; ignoring the rotating images of daydreams in which he does the most heinous, most godawful things to both her and her sanity and fuck-

Leni stares at the message. Feels a surge of heat rush straight into her face, painting her cheeks rosy red and making her heart beat faster than before. She tries not to let his empty words get into her head; tries to keep them away from erasing every bad thing she has ever heard about him. Tries not to fool herself into thinking he’s worth it. But then she looks at him; sees the way the corners of his lips perk into a small, gentle smile; those stormy blue eyes and wide perfect shoulders and… melts. 

Fuck. 

Her chest feels heavy; heart rabid and she turns - swiftly and in one single movement, plops herself down on her stomach. Away from the distractions. Away from Rafe’s gorgeous, sullen gaze…

She types and deletes, types and deletes at least a dozen replies, but simply can’t settle on a final response. It’s a rare thing - having someone leave her completely speechless and yet Rafe seems to be capable of doing it over and over again. 

She sighs. 

Puts her phone away and turns to the side - that way her gaze is now focused on the girls, but every now and then, the corner of her eye catches movement. Him walking around, stretching and slapping Topper’s shoulder. When the chatter dies down, she can hear his laugh - low and rumbling echo in the near distance and her heart predictably skips again. 

“Guys, I’m literally going crazy. He won’t stop staring at me!” Polly says in a whispered squeal. “Should I text him? Or should I just go over there?” 

“Please don’t go over there! Or text him! (“But, Tess!”) Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough? He doesn’t like you. Never has and never will. He just used you for sex. End of discussion.” Tess slams her back against the deck chair, covering her icy glare with a pair of dark designer shades while Polly just sits there, shaking. 

“Used me? You think Rafe used me for sex”? 

“I told you - I’m done having this conversation.”

“Why? Cause Topper does the same thing?” The uncharacteristic chill in Polly’s voice has returned, prompting a confused glance from Cleo and a shrug from Leni. They will talk about this later; tell Sarah all about the explosive fight the two had and gloat quietly, but for now they suffer silently in the awkwardness. “Face it, Tess. What you’re doing is far worse than mine. At least when I fucked Rafe I wasn’t all buddy-buddy with his girlfiend.”

“Ohmigod, how many times do I have to tell you! I am not replacing you with fucking Ruthie!”

“This is not about fucking Ruthie! It’s about you judging me and then doing the same exact things that you judge me for!” 

Tess springs up from her seat, “Pauline, I’m not judging you for sleeping with someone’s boyfriend! I’m judging you for sleeping with Rafe Cameron!” Her whispered shouts rattle in the small space separating their deck chairs, “And yeah, Topper is a piece of shit too, but at least he didn’t kick half his family out on the street! Isn’t that right Leni?” Their eyes meet and a chill runs down Leni’s entire spine. She swallows. “Isn’t that junkie is the reason why Mrs. Cameron is now slumming it in some random shed in Greece?”

What?

Every single drop of Leni’s blood goes cold. The words replay in her head in hopes of making sense, but instead, all they do is lose their meaning as she hears herself repeat the question out loud, “What?” She hears herself croak, a sudden bitterness gathering in the middle of her throat along with a large festering lump. 

“Go on. Enlighten us. Maybe if Polly hears it from your mouth, she’ll finally believe all the things Rafe did to Sarah and Mrs. Cameron when his dad died.” 

“Maybe this is not the right place to do all of… this.” Cleo’s voice echoes and even though she is right there, sitting mere inches away from Leni, for some reason she feels like she’s miles away. 

Leni swallows. 

Rose is in Greece?

She blinks. 

Her left temple is pulsating. 

She feels sick. 

Dizzy. 

“What did he do?” Polly says, quivering. “Leni, what did Rafe do to Sarah and Mrs. C?” 

“He kicked them out, you dumbass! Left them on the street! Froze all of Mrs. C’s bank accounts! She had to ask Jessica for money! Remember?” 

Of course. 

Her eyes meet Tess’. 

Of course Tess would know where Rose has been all along. Her stepmom used to work with her. They were practically attached to the hip. The closest friend Rose has had since Leni’s mom. 

Shaking, Leni jumps from her deck chair. 

How could she forget?

How could she forget that crucial fucking detail?

“Hey,” Cleo’s got her fingers gently pressed against her elbow and when their gazes meet, hers is drowning in concern, “We can leave.” 

“No.” Leni shakes her head, making herself even dizzier and puts on her shorts. “I just… I have a headache. I’m gonna go splash some water on my face.” 

“You want me to come with you?” 

“No, I’ll… I’ll be quick. I promise.” She manages a smile, but that doesn’t wipe away the worry in Cleo���s eyes. “And maybe… maybe then we can leave?” 

With her heart in her throat, Leni sprints towards the closest bathroom; grips the edges of the sink for balance and stares at her pale reflection. She looks ghastly; worse than the cadavers Pope wants to work with when he grows up and there it is again - the bile rising up her throat; that incessant need to vomit all her worries and stress away, except when she tries - nothing comes out. 

She stands there - pulsating with both sweat and panic; fingers numb from all that prickling; knees shaking; throat dry and she feels so stupid. She never should’ve come here. She should’ve listened to her mother and bought that train ticket to Paris and let Rose find someone else to use as a scapegoat. She should’ve been stuffing her mouth with croissants and reading badly written books in parks; head free and empty from Rafe Cameron and those haunting blue eyes of his. 

Yes, not having Sarah around would’ve hurt, but having her so close by and not being able to see her all the time hurts even more. 

Sighing, Leni splashes ice cold water all over her face and neck - letting its chillness sooth her. 

She’s leaving. 

She doesn’t know how and with whose money, but the moment September comes rolling in, Leni is going to board that plane and never ever look back. 

“Hey,” The sound of a familiar, rumbling voice startles her and before she knows it, Leni finds herself face to face with the only person she both wants to avoid and spend the rest of her life with. “Been looking for you.” With her breath catching, she watches the corners of Rafe’s lips tug into an easy smile as he saunters towards her, closing the distance until the only thing separating their bodies is tension. “Grab your stuff. We’re getting outta here.”

“We? Who’s we?”

“You and me.” 

Leni sighs, “Rafe-”

“There’s this really cool place on Mainland. Been meaning to take you there for ages.” She feels the tip of his thumb brush against her hand. His touch sends a shiver across her entire body; causes goosebumps to erupt on every inch of her skin as she stands there, hopelessly drowning in his gaze.  

“You need to stop.” The words tear at her throat. 

“Stop?” Rafe blinks, “Stop what?”

“Stop this.” 

“This?” 

“Yes! This. Whatever you’re trying to make happen here!”

“Whatever I’m trying to make happen here?” He nods, chuckling bitterly, “Last time I checked, you were pretty into this too.” 

“Yeah. I was… And then I found what you’ve done.” 

“What I’ve done?” 

 “Jumping Pope, bringing a gun to a party, blaming Sarah for your dad’s death… kicking Rose out in the street-”

“Look, those other things, especially the way I treated Sarah… I don’t feel good about it. Okay? I’m never gonna feel good about the shit I said and did to my sister, but I’m working on it. I’m working on it with her and I’m working on it in therapy, but Rose… that bitch deserved it.” 

“Don’t call her a bitch!”

“I’m gonna call her whatever the fuck I want, Elena!” Rafe raises his voice, his eyes wide, nostrils flaring. “For all the shit she and my dad put me through for years… for all the beatings she turned a blind eye on… I should’ve done more than just kick her out of Tannyhill. But hey… it’s nice to finally know where your loyalties lay.” 

“Where my-?” Leni scoffs, her distress suddenly replaced with cold, blind rage, “Where my loyalties lay? What the fuck is wrong with you? Of course my loyalties lay with Rose, Rafe! She’s my Godmother! (“Your Go-”) Don’t interrupt me! Don’t you dare interrupt me - cause… cause if you think that a couple of shirtless pics and calling me baby is what’s gonna get me on your side you’re dead wrong!”

Chest heaving, she watches him take a single step backwards and the sudden distance between them is killing her. It shouldn’t be; she’s supposed to revel in it or perhaps even hit the ground running and yet, there she is - standing still with her gaze permanently glued on his slightly parted lips. 

“Okay.” Rafe nods. Runs a hand through his buzzed head and the next time their eyes meet, a flicker of something alien; something borderline desperate flashes across his eyes. “Tell me, then. Tell me what I gotta do to get you on my side.”

Leni’s heart leaps inside her chest. Cartwheels between her ribs and stumbles - breaking a little. She swallows. The thumping in her left temple increases. So does the prickling in her fingertips. 

“I think it’s a little too late for that.” She whispers. 

“No!” Rafe’s voice bellows across the empty hallway, “It’s… It’s not. Ba- Leni, listen. Please.” He closes the distance again, allows for his hands to hover over her arms, waiting for her to push back and when she doesn’t - he touches her. He feels warm against her skin; comforting almost and if this were any other scenario; any other boy Leni would completely allow herself to melt in him. 

But no other boy will ever make her feel the way Rafe Cameron does. 

Never in a million fucking years. 

“I’ll tell you everything, okay? Even the shit those Pogues don’t know about. I’ll tell you everything! Just… please.” 

Leni swallows. Nods. And finally, watches as every single one of Rafe’s defenses begin to crumble right there in front of her. In a matter of seconds he’s somehow managed to turn himself into the awkward scrawny boy she met nine years ago. The one with the messy, greasy bangs and a forehead full of pimples he cleverly hid underneath all that unkempt hair. The bloodied knuckles and fading bruises. The way he never gave her or Sarah the time of day and yet there he was, constantly hovering around them. 

Rafe sighs. 

And then begins. 

He tells her about the bender. About being in such a complete shock over his dad’s death that he spent the days following it with his face pressed against the coffee table, snorting line after line and drowning himself in whatever he could find in Ward’s old liquor cabinet. He tells her about the funeral; about how he barely remembers a thing, except the fight he had with his ex; about the bottle of whiskey he threw right next to her head; about the way it shattered against the wall and had her running away from the house in tears. He tells her about the cheating; the girls and the sex he barely remembers having with any of them. About how he almost ruined his friendship with Topper and how his stupid, erratic behavior made his ex leave without even saying goodbye. 

And then… 

Then Rafe admits to hurting Rose. Admits to pushing her so hard, her entire body slammed against the neighboring wall. “But you gotta understand Leni… she grabbed me. She had her fingers in my hair the same way Ward used to. Yanked my head back so hard, she ripped pieces of it. When I went to help her off the ground, there were clumps of my hair in her fist… kicking her out… it just… it felt like the right thing to do.”

“And the gun? Why the fuck did you bring a gun at the Chateau, Rafe?”

“The Chateau?” 

“John B’s house!”

“Is that what he calls it? Y’know - never mind, I… I actually don’t remember any of it. Sofia had just left me and blocked me from everywhere and I… I just remember doing drugs. Loads of them. And then Sarah was suddenly there yelling at me about doing it in front of Wheezie and I… all I know is next thing I’m waking up at a hospital and my sister and her dumbass boyfriend are hauling my ass to rehab.”   

Leni’s heart skips a beat. 

Wheezie. 

“You did drugs in front of your baby sister?” 

“Leni… I was so fucked up, I…” 

“But you did, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” Rafe nods, his entire face basking in shame, “I did.” 

She scoffs, “And you still think Rose had to come up with some bullshit story to drag her away from you? Newsflash Rafe, people don’t need to be told you’re bad news in order to leave you!” The words leave Leni’s lips before she barely has any time to process them. Her callousness startles her, but she’s not the only one.

Right in front of her, just a mere inch away from her, Rafe blinks - looking like he’s just been slapped across the face. Suddenly filled with guilt, Leni says his name; listens as it leaves her mouth in a form of an embarrassing croak and watches as his gaze shifts from hurt to stone cold. 

“Alright.” He dips his head, “What are you waiting for then? Leave.” His breath feels warm against her cheek; sends heat between her unexpectedly quivering thighs and leaves her lingering in his touch. For a brief moment he looks like he’s finally going to let go of her. Either that or she’ll eventually come to her senses and fuck right off, but neither seem to be doing any of that. “But before you do. I’m gonna need you to tell me something.” 

Rafe pulls back, lets his stormy gaze clash forcefully with her own and for the millionth time, Leni’s heart skips a beat. 

“What?” She whispers. Flicks her eyes towards his pink, sexy lips and then back towards those haunting blues. “What do you want me to say?”

“To tell me that you don’t want me.” The sound of his deep, rumbling voice courses through every inch of her body. “Say it, and I’ll leave you alone forever.”

Leni’s breath catches in her throat.  “I don’t…” She swallows, “I don’t want you.” 

For a moment there she thinks her response would elicit a similar reaction to the one he had mere seconds ago, but for some strange reason all her words manage to do in that moment is have a strange flicker pass through Rafe’s suddenly bright blue eyes. 

“Alright.” He nods, finally pulling away from her and she can’t help but notice the slight perk that rises in the corner of his lips. “Call me when you learn how to lie.”

PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER

[mochiotomedumplings]

analysis on sunday celestia trailer bcs getting into it is comforting. also the video is just so good now that i’m actually watching it, so much on sunday as a character (and generally an amazing cinematic work of art).

he’s just falling the entire time 😭

if we had wings made me cry bcs of how sad-hopeful it is, of trying your best to be someone else’s hope and protect them like how you had been by someone else. robin could not look away from her audience and herself, back on that first stage and the promise shared with her brother. like how she had been protected and given hope, she too would protect and become the hope of others, sharing the song that once comforted and gave her peace in moments of need (crying again).

i couldn’t not see how much sunday was like a pillar of support for her, even only as that bright-eyed boy building her first stage and sharing a dream of delivering hope and joy to everyone (their songs). but also see how sunday had already seemed to want to stay in the back supporting her instead of singing along with her - this would further be referenced in his own video - also how both robin and sunday were living lives being constantly watched by others, robin was able to escape for just a bit but sunday was only falling further until the dream was broken. but why the difference ?

sunday’s celestia trailer started with him using the harmony to question himself, almost like he had to resort to such a thing to be honest/ see his true thoughts & feelings. he is all about always keeping himself proper and “stately” - composed, orderly - due to and on top of what he was doing his whole life, being in the spotlight and leading others. as the “older brother”, the protector, the one in charge, showing his true emotions, weakness, any indication that things were not going well or he could not be counted on was almost impossible - a dereliction of duty, or just what he must not do, if he were to protect what he must.

if he had already been so “iron-fisted” as a child, so hard on himself and being “in order”, not only was this about him being manipulated at a young age but just how Early it was that he got into the order. 2.7 implied that it was aideen park when he had first enforced “order”, but it was not actively known to him back then. he must have known joining the order was a betrayal to robin, to their promise of sharing the song of harmony - i believe this was reflected by his first “fall” in the video.

sunday fell a total of three times - i will call it past, present and future. in the past segment, it started with him recounting the original dream he had with robin - the contrast of the vulnerability in his voice compared to strictness of the question & his usual measured tone was beautiful. it felt like he was just about to cry but holding back - and this would happen again. i think it reflected his guilt over what he did to robin, betraying the dream they had.

tuning into the past, we saw him walk to robin singing with the children - but he was not quite there with them, standing at a distance in slight shade. even in “paradise” he was not even next to his sister, only a supporting figure (note how he wears the family head garbs while robin wears soft casual clothes, even in his most beautiful dream he was more a protector than the one singing and bringing joy to others) (he’s playing the harmonica but it feels different from the scene of the two of them on the piano - mirroring robin leaving him after that, at some point sunday has decided he wants to support her at the back rather than sing alongside her).

then the dream turns dark - from his voice “such a small wish” we could tell just how much he had wanted to make the promise with robin come true. now that it is dark, the “light” on stage is no longer a good thing. i think it refers to reality “the shadow that looms over the dream”, perhaps the “dark side of adulthood” he had mentioned in his lines. it can be said that he’s more of an overthinker and more sensitive than robin - so many references of him crying next to robin wiping the floor with those paparazzis - and thinking back to what he said about violence and arguments and finding peace in the dreamscape, the stellaron disaster they went through, that “shadow” must have been sunday’s anxiety and/ or actual problems they faced in their childhood (robin woke up from ena’s dream bcs it was “too blissful”). what sunday did not tell robin, possibly gopher wood making use of his fears and showing him all the shortcomings of the harmony, it was enough for him to have lost the dream/ betrayed the promise: it was originally about sharing the song of the harmony, but he lost hope in the harmony (fell from the dream world made from jigsaw pieces like xipe). that was his first fall (he must have felt so much guilt all this time, which culminated into him being a “disappointment” to robin in 2.7).

i think him relegating himself to a supporting role and turning to the order were both due to sunday’s innate sense of responsibilities & protectiveness and their childhood circumstances. perhaps he would have been “wonweek” had things been different, but it’s not just one thing that’s led to the current him.

almost forgot, a darker light shone over robin and the kids - in the dark state the “light” meant bad things - representing the dangers that did/ could happen to robin. this mirrored how sunday talked about robin as one of the reasons he chose ena’s dream - it was worrying over robin that influenced why he lost faith in the harmony.

he had fallen from harmony, but had the dream changed to him ? he said he “didn’t know” - this led us to the present segment, of what led him to manifest ena’s dream in penacony. “the people in the land of dreams live in a different kind of prison” this refers to the prison of self-value he talked about in the quest, survival of the fittest. he tried to help the child, only to be bound by thorns then fell.

the thorns had been really intriguing to puzzle out, as they were in many places and all over sunday as well. we first saw them in the past scene, right after he fell - the thorns in the dream seen through the cracks of the harmony. i believe they represented the kind of prison sunday was trying to overcome with ena’s dream - the constraints, the suffering that made people unable to pursue happiness in reality. they were in the harmony’s dream, showing that sunday lost faith bcs of how the harmony’s belief of “the strong protecting the weak” had failed, where it was more “the strong oppressing the weak” and the people suffered (the thorns) if they were weak.

it was once again reflected in the present segment - sunday being shackled in chains/ thorns as penacony enemies crowded over him (strong over the weak - it seemed there’s more than one instances of sunday alluding to himself as weak/ helpless - like the previous scene when he was seen falling and “unable to protect those he loves”. it must have fuelled his desire for control and safety even more) (perhaps that’s also what he meant by “overcoming the thorns” - overcoming his past weakness of overindulging in the dream).

the enemies then pushed him into his second fall, this time falling into ena’s hands (eyes of the order). it also signified that he agreed with the plan because of the corruption he saw on penacony - manipulation or otherwise, ena’s dream had been fuelled by a desire to “save” the ppl - with absolute order, he would be able to “break” those chains and ensure happiness for all, liberating people from the prison of self-value and they would truly be happy. the thorns were about the suffering in a reality of “survival of the fittest”, the helplessness of everyone living in it.

oh all these falls… it’s just like the caged bird that fell all those times. “falling was originally just another name for flying” the parallel kinda uncanny, i guess while it could mean he considered a large part of his past as failures, that the last fall towards reality (towards tomorrow, towards the stars as mentioned in one dream jigsaw) was depicted in such a bright, positive and freeing animation next to all those flying birds meant that despite his broken wings, he was “flying” - no longer trapped in the past of a fallen bird, he too would fly/ fall like everyone will wake up to another day in the real world (the bird may fall, may not be able to fly, may not have a “future” - but still it belongs to the sky, falling or flying, it will always come back to the sky, like ppl will eventually wake up to tomorrow).

(the parallel with that passage at the end of aven’s story and not having a morrow… such foils)

the stage has many symbolism to him, but the curtain he was looking at while being questioned was the one that was covering the stellaron - it was when he opened it that we came to the future segment. when ena’s dream was enacted - we see so much of his true feelings from his voice, so unlike his usual composed self - he had been so certain of the dream coming true. the sheer hope and joy as he spoke of it, but here we have another instance of him sounding like he was about to cry but holding back. there’s a callback to the piano scene with the twins as children, but they faded away to a lone piano with no more song. then the septimus choir, and back to the empty piano again - i think just like that first scene, it showed how sad he was over the promise with robin.

the certainty with which he spoke of the paradise of the choir, the joy he seemed to exude talking about their dream coming true - was a brilliant contrast to the crack in his voice, that lonesome piano, the obvious contrast to their original dream. it showed that he was conflicted over the betrayal - he knew deep down it was no longer the same, and it hurt to not be able to keep their promise, but ena’s dream, that brief paradise had been so beautiful, had brought him so much joy that it was just like that beautiful dream we saw at the start, the one time he had sounded happy (i think the dream had given him so much reprieve from his life, imagine if he had been constantly worrying and also the stress of his job and the suffering of the people that he could not help but want to save… ena’s dream must have felt like a fix-it moment, as though the paradise they seeked had actually come).

then the breakdown of the dream. why is everyone so silent ? the voice was so harsh, so self-berating - the moment people started wanting to leave the dream, he fell into pieces (just like his boss fight, after robin started singing), once again showing how much he cared about and was affected by the happiness of the people “they aren’t laughing anymore”. then the choir members slowly turned into crows and flew away, a great cinematic moment as sunday realized the truth. this scene showed the ppl leaving the dream, the singers turning into sunday’s own crows flying away so he’s the only one left (the ppl didn’t want his paradise anymore, only he wanted to keep dreaming). it culminated into sunday being wrapped up in those very thorns he had wanted to be free from, under ena’s gaze, the irony that he was the only one left and so thoroughly gripped by such insiduous thorns and he called it the “sweet dream”. the conductor who thought he would stay awake and guide ppl to true happiness in the dream, had been the one stuck in the dream all along. the bleak color of that scene was really tragic, that all this time he was still helpless, still chained up after all. and he’s all alone.

and there’s a few snapshots of him being mired in the darkness - there’s crow feathers and hands grabbing at him, reminiscent of that image of him before the fight in 2.7 that was referring to his past titles and responsibilities in penacony - could be referring to how he himself isn’t “happy” so how can he give a song of happiness to ppl, it isn’t a true paradise. and omelas reference to how he’s the only one awake and suffering in reality. and symbolically, perhaps how he’s been the “traitor” and weighed down by what he went through over the years, suffering of the people and thorns of the order.

then the bird broke out of the cage between the harmony and the order, and the last actor left the stage, the show was over. sunday - the crow - turning almost all white again, and the conductor turning (back) into “sunday” again (the show of the past had ended, and he too had woken from the dream) (into the light, he’s finally in the light proper) (you can tell he’s more free and expressive from his wings before and after).

there’s a hole above the stage with thorns seen beyond it, i believe this was made by the bird breaking out of the enclosure that sunday was in i was cracking, he walked out from the dark like backstage or something during the why does life slumber part - the thorns look like they’re beyond the gap but they are part of the dream, stopping him from leaving.

he broke away from the thorns of the order and realized the truth of what he had done (that the order, what he did was the same as the constraints on the weak in reality), seeing the dream for what it really was (a deserted stage beyond the cage of the harmony and order in his inner mind, a dream in a dream… reminds me of omelas again, how he’s the only one trapped by the thorns to make everyone happy, and everyone left him behind).

the moment of wakening, the final question in the reminiscence and dream, why does life slumber ? then he fell from the stage into the sky of flying birds, “flying”. then he fell into a liquid world of sort, mirroring the liquid we had to be in to enter the dream. like he was falling into another world (he’s been in the dream for so long, remember how he kept working in the dreamscape) and it’s him really waking up to the real world, just like everyone else, opening his eyes to tomorrow. that even though the real world is full of unknowns and out of his control, and he can no longer “fly” - it’s a beautiful sky and he’s free, falling towards the stars.

and he’ll surely overcome the thorns - of his past, of the suffering of the world where there will always be a paradise to build. go reach the stars king 😭😭✨

[delicateartisantrash]

Sorry I had to jump in on the last convo about music. I have a few TF fics all based around music and lyrics not an advertisement but Music is a huge passion of mine.

Anyway I have a whole playlist for these specific occasions so I raise you a couple songs

-digital heroine by massive ego for the lyrics “sexually transmitted through my interface.”

-highway star by deep purple, it’s about a car but kinda can go both ways about a lover

-so Klignt Liebe by and one, one lyric is “pull my steering wheel”. But it’s clearly about doing it.

-turbo lover by Judas Priest

-heavy duty by Judas Priest

Thoughts? Comments?

(I added links for ease of music tunes for those likewise curious~! ;D)

Digital Heroine - definitely one I could see Soundwave passive aggressively playing at Beaky when he's decided she's had enough online time.

She would also absolutely play it right back at him after locking him out of his own system functions + obstructing his access to the Nemesis' control terminal.

(Beaky being the secret superpower behind Soundwave's code magic is my favorite thing ever. Like. LIKE. PHFTBAHHAA. Soundwave is GOOD but BEAKY IS THE TECH GENIUS)

Highway Star - GODS THE NOSTALGIA. I sang this song SO OFTEN as a teen and younger. I still love it. Thank you for reminding me it exists. Knockout would possibly tolerate us blaring this over his radio speakers. Soundwave would definitely blast it for us, maybe even to fuck with Knockout. (spoiler: Knockout isn't a fan of hair metal or rock of any kind in LS. this hurts my soul but it's important he's like that for Reasons:tm: I have compromised by allowing that Breakdown is so we can jam out with him)

Klignt Liebe -- I NEED SOUNDWAVE TO HEAR THIS ONE AND IT'S GONNA MAKE HIS SPARK SKIP. I don't know why I settled on this idea that Soundwave specifically loves music in all different languages but tbh it's probably just because it's easy to make sense for his character being both y'know, Soundwave and all, but also as an intelligence officer he's naturally inclined towards Knowing Other Languages And Shit.

Anyhow-- aside from the romantic message in this song in general, I think this one might just make Sounders knee's a little weak especially if he's already smitten with Butterfly by the time he hears it (he probably will be >:D), because of those little feminine gasps and moans / giggles teased into the song.

Like he'd be real into the music and then that audial soundscape detail registers as he's looking at Butterfly and-- Processor stalls. Cooling fan vents flutter open with a pomf of air. Oops.

Turbo Lover - Heh. Another song my brain goes "KNOCKOUT" but in actuality LS Knockout would hate listening to this even if he liked the lyrics on paper. Soundwave, however. Soundwave would blast this on his speakers for us -and- take us right up into the skies, and probably flash a smirk emoji for good effect. @ss-shitstorm you've corrupted me I need a hair metal themed hot date with Soundwave and I'm going to make it happen now.

Heavy Duty - ANOTHER SONG I HAVEN'T HEARD IN YEEEEEARS AND FORGOT ABOUT. Also Fuck. Fuck me fudcckjidunifweff. This song I'm stealing for GOK. Maybe LS as well but absolutely writing the next chapter of GOK with a hot bot sandwich to this.

I think this is one Megatron would enjoy playing.

[drbatsponge]

Birds of Prey #1 Review!

I'll start this review by saying that yes this review can seem it's coming kind of late given this comic is now on 17 issues, but like I do reviews of comics on my own time, lmfao, and usually I like to start the beginning of the year with some Cass comic reviews and just decided to review the #1 issues of her most recent comics, lol.

Anyways, Birds of Prey #1 is quite fun, even if it isn't the old team that we're used to, I still think Kelly Thompson manages to make us fall in love with the newer team.

The first thing I immediately took notice of when reading this comic is that Kelly remembered Sin Lance, who is a character that many Black Canary fans might know hasn't appeared for quite some time in comics, so it was nice seeing confirmation of her existence again.

The next thing I took notice of was artist Leo Romero's stunning artwork.

He's working on the Spider-Man cartoon that comes out this year, and I can definitely understand why they got him, because his designs and art style are immaculate to say the least, lol.

Kelly Thompson already proves she has a really good understanding of Cass from how Dinah describes her, so I can already say that Kelly gets the Cass pass from me, lmfao. (I mean she's very much improved as well from reading some of the later issues, so yeah a big thumbs up.)

Of course, as a Cass fan, the best thing that I enjoyed about this first issue was OBVIOUSLY the relationship between Cass and Barda.

Really great dynamic and I'm glad it's become a staple in the series.

"Small Bat" is already an affectionate term towards Cass amongst Cass fans, so you can tell that the response to pairing these two was overwhelmingly positive.

Of course I would like to address a little bit of controversy with this issue too, that being Cassandra's fight with Harley... and honestly? I kind of like it, to me it's pretty comedic and it's not like it doesn't have context within Cassandra's history, if you read DC 1st Joker/Batgirl you would know that unpredictability is a way to throw Cass off her game.

(Also it's not like Cass doesn't struggle in the fight either, Harley doesn't beat her immediately, lol.)

Overall, I really liked this new Birds of Prey comic, it has some great Cass moments and I found the other characters to be respectively handled as well, a definite recommendation from me.

Well that's my Birds of Prey #1 review!

Another happy birthday to Cass, and as always stay tuned!

[jungkoode]

I know I'm fmu jk and oc aren't obligated to each other in ANY way and I understand that completely but it feels morally wrong ( at least for me ) for nix to have sex with him just mins or hours after he slept with another girl. The characters are flawed and that's what makes it interesting....but this definitely drew the line for me.

I'll still be tuning in for kpg and the rest you decide to work on!!

Okay, sorry—I saw this in my inbox while scrolling, and I had to address it because, while opinions are totally valid, I’m not here to argue about morality—especially when the argument itself is flawed.

Nix and Jungkook have explicitly stated (in Chapter 9 and throughout) that they are not exclusive. That means they are, by mutual agreement, free to sleep with other people. This is not a matter of moral ambiguity—it’s a fact of their dynamic. Expecting them to behave as if they owe each other exclusivity when they have both agreed otherwise is not only unrealistic but also disregards the way casual, non-monogamous relationships function. They’re not in a committed relationship. They don’t owe each other emotional fidelity. They’re young, reckless, and, most importantly, traumatized people acting out their dysfunction in real time.

Which brings me to my next point—this is not just about them having sex. Reducing the scene to that alone completely misses the deeper psychological layers at play. Someone else pointed out that what’s interesting about that scene is how they erase the traces of the previous girl so easily, without a second thought. And that is where the narrative weight lies.

There are so many things happening at once in that moment:

• The fact that Jungkook normally fucks in his room, but this time, he left condoms on the coffee table. Why? Because the time he and Nix fucked, it was in the living room. He didn’t consciously register it, but he prepared for her.

• This is a man who is notoriously territorial about his space—he doesn’t let people sleep over, doesn’t let them linger. Yet here he is, absentmindedly shifting his environment in a way that accommodates her. He’s not even aware of it, because he’s got two brain cells of self-awareness, but the instinct is there.

• Nix asked him to air out the room, and he didn’t just do that—he lit a candle. A vanilla candle. One of her favorites. He wanted the house to smell good for her when she came back.

• This is about his whiny, petulant line: “I didn’t ask you to ghost me two hours, just 40 minutes.” This is about the way he keeps score, the way he feels her absence even though he’s unaware of it.

• This is about how he was hard from the morning when he saw her in those shorts, and then immediately hard again the second he sees her in the afternoon. This isn’t just sexual attraction—this is subconscious fixation.

This is not about “Jungkook slept with someone, then Nix.” It’s about the way they interact. It’s about how they process intimacy, not as something meaningful, but as something transactional—a means to an end, a coping mechanism, a temporary high that numbs what’s underneath.

Having said all of this, I beg of you to go back and really read—not just skim for plot beats, but actually focus on the psychological elements at play and the level of detail I’m injecting into every interaction. Now that I’ve given you some insights, I promise you’ll experience the story in a completely different light. Everything—everything—is intentional. The way he moves, the way she reacts, the subconscious shifts in their dynamic. The way he adjusts for her without even realizing. These are not just passing details; they are the story.

If that’s not something you enjoy reading, that’s completely fine! But I have never hidden what kind of writer I am. Trauma and psychological depth are my thing. I make it very clear in my warnings, my author’s notes, and in the writing itself. If you’re only reading at surface level, skimming past the layers I intentionally embed into every chapter, then frankly, that’s insulting to me as a writer. I don’t spell everything out because I trust my readers to engage critically with the material, to notice the subtext, the micro-behaviors, the unspoken dialogue that reveals more than what’s said. If you’re looking for straightforward narratives where characters make “good” choices and follow conventional emotional arcs, then I am not the author for you.

This is not a secret. This has never been a secret. I have stated this multiple times, in all of my works.

FMU is about deeply flawed, psychologically complex individuals who make bad decisions because that’s what trauma does to people. I don’t write morality plays. I write humans. If you don’t want to read that, that’s totally okay! But I don’t need moral policing in my inbox when my characters are intentionally, explicitly not moral paragons, and that’s been clearly stated beforehand.

That said, I do appreciate you engaging with the story and sharing your perspective. If you’re still down for KPG and my future works, great! But if you keep looking for narratives where characters always act in a way that aligns with your values, you’re going to be frustrated again. I stand by my choices as a writer, and I will always prioritize realism, depth, and nuance over making things palatable.

[bun-lapin]

Mayhem VS Mystery - Chapter 1

Summary: A mysterious letter arrives at Ramshackle and the first years assemble

Word Count: 1.2k Genre: Crack/Comedy Characters: Grim, Ace, Deuce, Jack, Ortho, Sebek, (oc) Yuna & Yuuji (intro post here) CW: swearing, halloween costumes, friendly bickering

A/N: The beginning of my first Halloween fic featuring the first years and my Yuu OCs where they pull a variety of pranks at NRC! The teachers will also get some screen time! Stay tuned~! <3

Next Part - Fic on AO3

Deuce looks over at Ace with a puzzled frown and asks, “Do you know why they wanted us to come over today? I’ve probably got at least fifty messages from them bugging me about it.”

Ace flips over the doormat in front of Ramshackle Dorm’s main entrance and picks up a small key. After unlocking and opening the door, he shrugs at Deuce and answers, “No idea. Your guess is as good as mine.”

They walk into the rundown, little building and make their way towards the lounge. Seated on the various couches and arm chairs around the room are their fellow first years: Jack, Epel, Ortho, and Sebek. Standing next to the lounge’s nondescript coffee table, Yuna, Yuuji, and Grim seem to be carefully studying a black colored envelope.

Looking up at the two Heartslabyul students, Yuna dryly remarks, “Look who decided to finally show up. Also, thanks for breaking and entering!”

Ace plants his hands on his hips and retorts, “Ya know, it’s not really breaking and entering if I used a key to get in here. You need to find a better hiding spot for that thing.”

Deuce shakes his head with a small sigh and asks, “Why did you two call us over so urgently? Did something happen?”

Yuna wordlessly holds up the black envelope for everyone to see. Opening it, she takes out a letter printed on expensive looking card stock and begins to read aloud.

“Dear residents of Ramshackle Dorm, in the week leading up to Halloween, I commission you to create as much mayhem as possible on campus. Bodily harm is not permitted but you may cause as much property damage as you'd like. The end goal of your work is to cause Night Raven College to be shut down for Halloween. In the event of your success, 10,000 thaumarks will anonymously be sent to you as a reward.”

Yuna looks up and glances over at her fellow isekai adventurer, “10,000 thaumarks? Is that a lot? What’s the conversion rate here?”

Yuuji scoffs and answers dismissively, “Ugh! Don’t ask me, I’m gay. Can’t do math.”

“Bullshit! You’re ranked second in our class, you nerd!”

Turning up his nose with a small pout, Yuuji defiantly replies, “Fine! I’m gay and I won’t do math! Happy?!”

Yuna opens her mouth to continue arguing, but Ace smoothly steps in between the two of them and put his hands up in a placating motion. “Alright! We get it! It’s a lot of money,” he says in a loud voice. Raising his eyebrows skeptically, he continues, “But why did you call so many of us here? Now that we know about this deal, you’ll all get a smaller cut of the reward.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Yuna replies, “Considering there’s only one person in Ramshackle Dorm who can use magic, I figured it’d be too difficult to spread full scale mayhem across campus. That’s why I called you, Epel, and Ortho to help us out!”

Deuce, Jack, and Sebek exchange confused glances. Politely clearing his throat, Jack gestures to the group of three and asks, “If that’s the case, what are we doing here?”

Yuuji raises his hand and answers Jack, “Actually, I’m the one who called you guys here.” Walking over to Yuna, he snatches the paper from her hands and reads the rest of the letter aloud.

“For those not wishing to cause mayhem, you may try your best to locate me, your mysterious benefactor, and hand me over to the authorities. In that unlikely event, you will still receive half of the promised money and zero risk of academic retribution."

Glancing up from the letter, Yuuji explains to the room, “I’d rather not do anything that could cause us to be kicked out of school. Especially since we’re from another world and literally have no where else to go.”

Yuna lets out a short cough that sounds like, ‘Nerd!’

Ace coughs out, ‘Fun police!’

The two of them grin mischievously and then high-five each other.

Yuuji closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. In a voice filled with barely restrained fury, he says, “Would all of the good and responsible students please follow me so that we can begin our investigation??”

Turning swiftly on his heel, he exits the room followed dutifully by Jack, Sebek, and Deuce.

After waiting for the door to softly click shut, Yuna then turns to the remaining students and claps her hands together decisively. With an excited grin, she states, “Alright! Time to put on our costumes!”

~~~

Shifting the wooden oni mask over her face, Yuna knocks on the bathroom door and calls out, “Hurry up, Epel! Everyone else is already dressed!”

Epel’s muffled voice yells back through the door, “I’m goin’ as fast as I can! Y’all just hold on to yer britches!”

Yuna tilts her head, “...Britches?”

Wearing a black and white striped sweater and a black ski mask, Ace gestures towards Yuna’s costume and asks, “While we’re waiting, care to explain what you’re supposed to be? Are you some kinda demon?”

“Close! I’m a Namahage,” Yuna replies and strikes a menacing pose, her straw cape rustling softly around her small frame. “It’s a type of demon from my world that punishes naughty or lazy children. Yuuji’s dad would sometimes dress up as one and try to scare me and Yuuji when we were little.”

Grim taps his paw against Yuna’s leg and says, “Sorry to cut the cultural lesson short, but why am I dressed as a stinkin’ toy!?” Completely covering his entire head is a fuzzy, brown teddy bear mask with an adorable expression. Covering the rest of his body, Grim wears a full-body pajama suit made of the same fuzzy, brown fabric. In fact, if it wasn’t for the extremely cranky voice coming behind the mask, Grim would be indistinguishable from a super cute teddy bear plushie.

Yuna shrugs her shoulders apologetically and answers, “Sorry, buddy! If we’re gonna get away with massive property damage, we need costumes that completely disguise who we are! And since you’re the only student on campus that’s a small, magical cat-creature with flaming ears, it’s vital we totally cover up the fact that it’s you.”

Ace gestures over towards Ortho and remarks, “That explains Ortho’s costume then. He’s probably the second-most recognizable student on campus! Ya know, with him being a robot with flaming blue hair and all?”

Completely covered by a white bed sheet with two cutout eye-holes, Ortho wiggles his hands under the sheet and says with a playful laugh, “Hey! I’m not a robot! I’m a spooky ghost~!”

Floating past the small group, the resident Ramshackle Dorm ghosts give Ortho a sidelong glance. The smallest of the ghosts whispers to the others, “I’d almost be highly offended if that costume wasn’t so darn cute!” The other two ghosts nod silently in agreement.

Finally opening the bathroom door, Epel steps out and says, “Alright! I’m done! What do ya’ll think of my bona fide scarecrow costume?” He lifts his arms, clad in a red checkered shirt and denim overalls, into a scarecrow-like pose. Over his head is a burlap sack with rough, zigzag stitches hastily sewn over two frayed eye-holes and a gaping mouth.

The group stares at Epel in silence for a few minutes.

Dropping a heavy hand on Epel’s shoulder, Yuna gives him a thumbs up and simply states, “It’s fucking terrifying.”

(To be Continued)

Next Part

[dethronetheveil]

Bet on Me- Chapter Two

Synopsis: When Freya’s band gets invited to be an opener on Bad Omen’s EU tour, she is both thrilled and extremely nervous. Meanwhile, the boys in Bad Omens decide to have some fun, specifically involving Freya and Folio. Some bets are involved and some group conspiring. What will come of Freya’s time with Folio and the boys?

Characters: OC [Freya] x Folio

Word Count: 934

Tag List: @foliosgirl , @dsireland86 , @lacy1986 , @dominuslunae , @ladyveronikawrites [let me know if you’d like to be tagged in the next part!]

Trigger Warnings: Cursing [let me know if I missed anything!]

— —

“Folio, Dude, I am begging you to stop beating on the table. Please,” Noah begged from across the tour bus.

Folio tuned back into the movement of his own fingers, realizing he had been slamming his metal spoon against the six by six “dinner table” in front of him. “Sorry guys, I think I zoned out,” he responded quickly, whilst throwing the spoon across the hardwood floor as a way to appease the guys.

“You think? You’ve been doing that shit for the past like ten minutes,” Noah responded, kicking the spoon back in Folio’s direction with a light chuckle.

“Oh no, don’t fucking kick it back towards him. You’re just giving him ammunition,” Jolly piped in, walking into the main area of the bus, emerging from the back.

Folio put his hands up in surrender, “Fine, if my drumming bothers you guys so bad, then I guess I’ll never do it again,” he responded with a playful eyebrow raise.

“Good, maybe then I can get some fucking sleep,” Nick responded from the bunks. He then emerged from the top bunk, rubbing his eyes as if on queue. He sat where the rest of the guys were congregated and ran his fingers through his hair absentmindedly.

“Dude, you’re just lucky you have the top bunk. I can feel every fucking time you move,” Folio finally responded, trying to change the subject from his drumming habits.

With a yawn and a cheeky grin, Nick just nodded. Folio looked around at the other two guys. He could tell everyone was tired, but no one wanted to concede. Folio thought it would be worth it to try and start up another conversation to try and re-energize everyone, “So, what did everyone think of the girls?”

Noah and Jolly answered in unison, “Soph is hot.” Nick just nodded in agreement, and then added, “I think G is also cute.”

Jolly chuckled and added, “I also wouldn’t mind spending some time with Luna.”

“Dude she seemed pretty into you,” Noah added, backhanding Jolly’s bicep.

Jolly let out another chuckle and then the room went silent. It was as if everyone was thinking the same thing but no one wanted to say it out loud.

Noah and Jolly let out a breath, while Nick snorted a bit, “I don’t think the blonde one liked me very much.” Once Nick said what everyone was thinking, the tense silence looming in the air dispersed.

“Dude, I don’t think she liked anyone very much,” Jolly responded.

“She’s kind of hot though,” Folio let out without even thinking. He watched as the other three guys turned their heads to look at him. He immediately regretted saying anything when Nick let out another chuckle. Folio picked up the spoon that was kicked back to him and threw it towards Nick, which did succeed in shutting him up for the time being. Folio focused his attention back towards Noah and Jolly, and he could see the gears turning in Noah’s brain.

“What, Noah?”

“What? I didn’t say anything,” Noah replied defensively, but Folio could tell he was up to something due to Noah’s wide grin growing by the second.

“Then why the fuck does your face look like that?”

“Ah, Folio, don’t stoop to insulting Noah’s face. He’s gorgeous,” Jolly said as he grabbed Noah’s chin and let out a wild laugh. The rest of the guys followed suit with laughter.

“No, man, I just had a thought,” Noah finished.

“I don’t like your ideas.”

“Well, my ideas are why we’re on this tour,” Noah responded with a lift of his eyebrows.

“Fair point. Go on.” Folio could feel the attention of Nick and Jolly and suddenly was overwhelmed with anticipation for what Noah had to say next.

“How interested are you in the top bunk?”

Folio looked at Nick, assuming Noah was referring to his, “Uhh-“

Noah cut Folio off, noticing his attention went directly to Nick, “Not his. I wouldn’t do that to Nicky. I meant mine. I don’t care.”

Folio hesitated for a moment, not sure where this was all coming from, “Okay… But what are you suggesting?”

“Well, since you think blondie is so hot, I would love to see if you can get her to go on… hmm, let’s see… three dates with you. If you can do that, the top bunk is yours.”

A chorus of laughter erupted from Jolly and Nick and Folio couldn’t help but blush slightly, tilting his head down to hide the redness in his cheeks. He looked back up to the guys, “Yo, shut the fuck up for a second. I feel like that wasn’t a lot of details. Like, what is considered a date? How much time do I have? Etcetera…”

“Okay, okay. Great questions. Let’s say a date would be spending more than an hour together. Can be literally anything you want. And you have a month, so that the top bunk will be worth your while.”

Folio stared a Noah for a moment, “And you’re being deadass fucking serious?”

“Fucking serious,” Noah responded, holding his hand out for Folio as if to sanctify this bet.

Folio’s hand wavered as he thought for a moment. On one hand, the top bunk would be nice and he did think blondie was hot. But, on the other hand she was kind of a miserable person, not to mention she didn’t seem to like him all that much. Folio weighed the pros and cons in his head for a few more seconds before he finally shook Noah’s hand with a smirk, “You’ve got yourself a deal.”