#after they have all gotten to a place where they are all somewhat on similar pages individually

[sakuravalelp]

Don't eat anything else - Part 2 - DP X DC

Previous part

Masterpost

This is the only chapter where I'll tag people. Please, if you want to follow the story from this point on, follow the master post :).

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

"You both should stop eating the food." Came Babs voice through the comms. "Danny asked Tim to not eat anything else. We suspect the food may content poison."

Bruce subtly shared a look with Cass before returning to nodding at Masters' proud rambling about his latest contract. They had both stopped eating long ago. The soup was good; Masters’ words about Danny being a good cook weren’t a lie. However, Bruce couldn’t identify the chunks of meat in the soup.

He initially thought it was pork, though the texture seemed somewhat similar to veal. By the fourth piece of meat he ate, he could confidently say he didn't recognize it. When he looked at Cass, he saw her using her spoon to play with one of the pieces of meat on the edge of the plate, a frown hidden behind her polite smile. He was sure then that the meat couldn't be one they had tasted before.

Bruce has tasted every kind of meat that should be available to Masters. He has even tasted exotic meats that Masters would probably never encounter, having represented humanity in intergalactic meetings as Batman. Not being able to identify the meat discouraged Bruce from eating more, and it seemed to have had the same effect on Cass. They had kept their food mostly untouched, using the excuse of waiting for Tim and Danny to return before eating. It was a good call; the meat being poisoned could be the reason it was unrecognizable.

"If any of you feel any symptoms, turn off your comm." None of them made a move to do so, and after a couple of minutes Babs continued, "I'll call Bruce in 10 minutes to create an excuse for you guys to leave."

Bruce would have liked to think that they had not yet consumed enough poison for it to affect them, but there's always the possibility of it being a delayed-effect poison. If Masters' plan with the poison was to kill them, then a delayed-effect poison would allow Masters to avoid being immediately connected to their deaths.

However, Masters shouldn’t have a reason to kill Bruce Wayne and his wards. Unless the man had discovered that they were investigating his contracts, which Bruce doubted. It was more likely that the poison was some sort of chemical restraint or chemical submissive, which would explain why Masters' contracts always seemed to end ridiculously in his favor. It would be easy to make such deals with someone who was drugged to be more agreeable with you.

Not that Bruce would be willing to take the risk to find out, especially with Cass having also ingested the tainted meat. He was glad he had brought the poison antidote kit with him. Despite this, Bruce wasn't sure about cutting the visit short, at least not for all of them. Tim had been gone with Danny for a while now, and if Danny had informed Tim about the food, they were probably exchanging information at the moment. Maybe Tim was in the process of offering Danny help, and Bruce didn't want to interrupt that.

"Renovations will be starting next week, and I'm sure the place will end up being quite popular," Masters finally finished his rambling.

"It sure sounds like it will. You certainly got yourself a great deal with Kensington, Mr. Masters. I'm curious, what is your negotiation method?" Bruce asked, hoping to gather more information.

Masters had been surprisingly adept at avoiding any conversation about the negotiations themselves, always sidetracking the discussion or giving half-answers. Drugs in the food was a good hypothesis and would be the best outcome for them, as such substances usually shouldn’t take too long to get out of their system.

Yet, it didn't explain how Masters' business partners seemed to stay committed to their contracts long after they were made. The furthest they had gotten from them was confusion about how they had reached the point where they accepted the contract's conditions. However, they all seemed convinced they had gotten the best outcome possible, despite obviously getting the short end of the stick.

It pointed to something besides drug usage. Maybe Masters got blackmail material from them while they were drugged? It would be easier to draw conclusions if Masters had even the smallest slip about it.

Masters smiled, taking a sip from his wine. "Ah, it takes years of practice, Wayne. It isn't something one can learn in a day, and only those with the capacity can master it," he said. Then, before Bruce could ask any follow-up questions, he continued, "Now, Daniel and young Mr. Drake sure seem to be taking their time."

"Oh, that doesn't surprise me," Bruce said, shaking his head with a fond smile, playing farther into his "Brucie" persona while lamenting the lost opportunities to get more leads on what Masters was doing. "They're around the same age. Surely they got distracted talking about whatever is of interest to kids their age these days."

"I would be glad if my godson got along so well with your son, Mr. Wayne," Masters said with a practiced smile, though a hint of calculation flickered in his eyes. He gestured vaguely with his wine glass, his tone deceptively sympathetic. "The loss of his family hasn't been easy for him, and building a connection with someone like Mr. Drake could be beneficial. However, it is quite rude to leave the guests waiting. As his guardian, I must address this. I’ll go search for them." Masters stated, standing up from his seat.

Luckily, Bruce didn't need to interject to stop Masters from interrupting his son's conversation with Danny, since the two boys appeared by the door as if summoned by Masters' comment. Danny visibly tensed the moment he spotted Masters standing in his place.

"Daniel, it's good you're finally back. I was about to go search for you," Masters said, throwing Danny a stern look.

Danny opened his mouth, probably about to apologize for the wait, but Tim beat him to it.

"So sorry, Mr. Masters. I had to take a shower before changing clothes."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Mr. Drake," Masters said as he looked Tim up and down, evaluating if what Tim was saying was true. His eyes lingered on Tim's wet hair for a moment, and the tension in his eyes relaxed a bit. "It is Daniel's fault for throwing the soup on you. Now, shall we continue with the dinner?" Masters sat once more on his chair.

"Should—" Danny started, slightly stuttering when Masters' eyes returned to him. "Should I serve new portions? Since the ones on the table are probably cold by now?" the intensity of Masters gaze increased with every word Danny said. In response, Danny lowered his gaze to the floor, and shifted nervously.

Danny's voice was way too small by the end of his sentence, but Bruce could sense some hidden urgency in his tone. Remembering that Danny was the one who had warned them about the food, Bruce could infer that he was trying to further prevent them from eating it. It gave Bruce the impression that Masters had also caught onto that fact, given how tense the man was.

He was grateful for the kid doing their best to protect them, but lamented putting them in a position where they had to risk confronting their abuser. Bruce really hoped Tim had convinced Danny to leave with them. It shouldn't be difficult to create a reasonable invitation for Danny after Masters' comment about how he was isolating himself.

"Good idea," Cass said with a gentle smile directed at Danny before Masters could make any move.

Masters' eyes narrowed slightly, but then he nodded. "Very well. Daniel, go ahead."

As Danny hurried to the kitchen, Bruce shared a subtle glance with Tim, who was retaking his seat beside Cass. Unfortunately, instead of the nod indicating that they could get Danny to leave with them if they created the opportunity, Tim just shrugged. It wasn't the sign for Danny refusing help, but the one for things being more complicated than they seemed. Bruce sighed, and before Danny returned from the kitchen, his phone rang. He excused himself to answer Babs' call, lamenting not being able to take Danny with them.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Bruce came back from his brief call with Babs with a worried face that Cass knew wasn't the one he made when actual "family emergencies" happened. It was exagerated and dramatic, it screamed "something terrible had happened," and was perfect for this kind of situations. Bruce quickly ushered Cass and Tim out, apologizing to Masters for the hasty departure. They barely had time to say goodbye to Danny, who had hurried back from the kitchen after Masters had shouted about seeing off the guests.

Cass noticed a subtle shift in Danny’s demeanor as they prepared to leave. His shoulders dropped slightly, and there was a fleeting look of relief in his eyes. However, that relief was overshadowed by the palpable fear that clung to him; his tense posture betrayed the anxiety he was trying to hide. It was hard to leave him behind, and Cass almost ran back when she caught sight of Vlad’s possessive hand on Danny’s shoulder and his venomous, angry eyes as she was walking out the door.

As soon as they were in the car, Tim immediately began checking the vehicle and himself for hidden microphones, with Bruce and Cass following his lead with little more than a raised eyebrow. Tim’s decision to search for bugs made sense once he explained that Danny’s room had been bugged,

"Honestly, Danny's so careful with his actions and words everywhere, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole property is bugged."

The drive back to the house they had rented was tense, the atmosphere in the car thick with unspoken concerns. Tim decided to use the ride home to update them on what he had seen. In turn, Bruce spoke about the dinner with Masters, detailing their regrettable failure to extract any additional information from the man. The evening ultimately boiled down to the suspicion that the food had been poisoned. Cass remained silent, not feeling up to talking.

She had her doubts about the food being poisoned; even if the poison hadn't shown any symptoms, her past training should have allowed her to identify it if she had consumed it. It seemed unlikely that Masters possessed a poison so sophisticated that she couldn’t detect it, and the thought only deepened her unease. She though back to how their hosts acted at the start of the dinner.

Danny looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. His eyes darted nervously between them and Masters, his hands trembling slightly as he served the food. The guilt and fear radiating from him were almost palpable, as if he believed he was committing an unforgivable sin by offering them the meal.

Masters, however, didn’t seem like he was planning to poison them. He behaved more like Damian’s classmates had when they once tried to trick him into eating non-vegan food at a gala. His smile was too easy, his gestures too casual, like someone who thought they were pulling off a harmless but cruel prank. It felt like he was purposely feeding them something he knew was outside their comfort zone and ethical beliefs, testing their reactions with a detached amusement.

From the very beginning, Cass had felt a deep discomfort about the food. The way Masters and Danny acted around it had set off her internal alarms. When she took the first bite of the meat, something immediately felt off. The texture was unfamiliar, and the taste was oddly unsettling—not in a way that clearly indicated poison, but in a manner that was subtly disturbing, she didn't know what she was eating. It made her skin crawl, and she couldn’t bring herself to take another bite.

The car coming to a stop in the house’s garage jolted Cass out of her thoughts. They all exited the vehicle, and Jason’s motorcycle was parked beside them as he opened the door. tightly clenched jaw. Like the rest of them, he was frustrated by their inability to take Danny with them, but he wasn’t vocalizing it because he was also worried about what they had eaten.

Once the door was opened, Bruce was ready to rush into his bedroom to get the poison antidote kit, but Jason stopped him,

"Hold on old man, I want to know what the note the kid gave Tim says. It may even say what poison was used; save us time."

"Mnn" Bruce said with a slight nod, and Tim started unfolding the paper in response.

The folded paper was as small as a pinky, but once unfolded, it revealed a full letter-sized sheet, and the text filled at least half of it. Tim skimmed the text as he usually did before reading aloud, but his face quickly drained of color. His eyes widened in horror and disgust. Instead of reading aloud, he kept running his eyes over the first line repeatedly, his gaze darting between Bruce and Cass. His jaw was clenched tightly, and he struggled to keep his composure, fighting against the bile rising in his throat. Cass couldn’t help but frown deeply, a growing sense of dread settling in as she wondered what the paper could possibly contain.

"Forgot how to read, replacement?" Jason said, his tone lacking its usual edge. He stood beside Tim, his expression a mix of uncertainty and concern, unsure whether to reach for the paper or not.

Tim takes a shudering breath, and Cass herself can't help but shift in her place, her anxiety growing, as they all wait for Tim to gain back his voice and finally read what Danny's note says.

"The meat on the food is human meat." Tim finally says with a strained voice.

There's a moment of silence in the room. Cass keeps her eyes on Tim, hoping, pleading, to find any signs that what she heard is wrong, but Tim only repeats the sentence. Her stomach churns violently as bile rises in her throat. Without effort, she sinks to the ground, her legs giving out as she begins to vomit. The pounding of her heart fills her ears, as black dots fill her sight and her hands tremble uncontrollably. She is dimly aware of Bruce doubling over beside her, and the sound of Jason hitting the wall.

She ate human meat. It may have just been a bite, but she ate human meat. The dinner had been made from human meat. Her mind recoiled at the abhorrent thought. The thought of the soup they were served makes her vomit once more. She gasps for air, her body shaking as she fights against the rising tide of revulsion, desperately trying to rid herself of the lingering taste and the horrifying realization of what they ingested. She feels Tims hand doing smalls circles in her back and realizes that tears had been falling from her face.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Danny's hands trembled as he injected himself with another dose of ectoplasm. The shaking made the syringe jab painfully as he withdrew it, causing drops of blood and ectoplasm to fall to the floor while the injury quickly healed. Ten minutes of continuous electrical shocks wasn’t the worst punishment he had received from Vlad, but it had the most severe drawbacks. His body had a harder time recovering from electrical damage than from any other kind of harm, and Vlad often exploited this weakness.

He took a deep breath as the last of the Lichenberg marks disappeared from his legs and arms, leaving only the ones he’d gotten from his death. He sat on the bathroom floor, staring at the ceiling, his legs and arms still trembling. He wasn’t sure if the tremors were from the electrical aftershocks or his own anxiety. Vlad had been furious about his little stunt with the soup and had once again reminded him that they weren't eating Danny’s friends because he was such a "compassionate guardian."

The reminder had thrown Danny into a couple of panic attacks once he was allowed to return to his room. He thanks he's advanced dissociative abilities for not having those panics attacks in front of Vlad. He doesn't wan't to know how the man would try to exploit that.

But even as his whole body trembles and aches, he doesn’t regret his decisions. This is his only chance for things to change. The Waynes are a powerful family with connections to the Justice League. While the League has not interfered with what has happened in Amity Park up till now, they might get involved if the Waynes reach out to them. It’s wishful thinking, and he’s risking a lot, but this gut-wrenching dinner has become the first glimmer of hope he’s had since his family’s death, and he’ll hold onto it with his half-life.

Once he's body stops trembling and he's head feels a bit clearer, he needs to text Sam and Tucker. He'll depend on them for this to not backfire on all denizens.

[animeyanderelover]

Can I request to you a Dazai, Gojo, Alucard and Captain (Hellsing), Tsuna and Byakuran (KHR) with an isekai'd/our world Darling, please?

Tw: Yandere themes, toxic relationship, possessive behavior, obsession, stalking, delusional behavior, clinginess, controlling behavior, blackmailing, threats, isolation, abduction

Tags: @shumidehiro @leveyani @izanami78

Isekaid into their world

Dazai Osamu

����​The one advantage you have as you stumble helplessly into this world is that the environment and the city around you belongs to a place that isn't as different as your own home, minues the people with the gifts of course. The way of living and the technology aren't anything out of the norm for you though so even if you are dropped without any preparation or knowledge into this world, you can still somewhat adjust. Still though, even if you try to blend in as good as possible, something about you always stands out and to trained eyes that will become quite obvious. It just happens to be your misfortune that Dazai is a man with eyes that perceive more than the average person on the street. From the very first glance you two shared, he knew that there was something about you as you looked at him as if you knew him. Rather intriguing. There is always such a cute aura of wariness yet simultaneous curiosity when you have him around you, the fleeting glances you give him always an indicator how you have an inner debate on whether to approach him or not. Normally the average person is easily fooled by his facade yet your nervousness is the one that tells him that you know of something you shouldn't.

🤎​How do you know if he has never met you before? You are such an oddball, even though you do not seem like a threat to him. Still, he is rather curious now and would like to find out more about you yet as he finds himself stalking you, he finds himself in a dead end. There is nothing to be found about you. No origin, no family, no past. Only the police records on how you were found one day and how you were helped to find a job and enabled to live a life by yourself. Your mouth is shut when he tries to pry for answers yet all of it doesn't stop his obsession as it instead only fuels it. There is a secret you keep and Dazai is dying to know what it is that you fret to let others find out about. He would love to be the person you trust enough to tell him what it is you are keeping to yourself. If it doesn't work though, he switches tactics by drugging you and getting your mind to finally let loose as he coaxes the secrets out of you. If you were isekaid by dying, he would start musing if something similar were to happen if he would die, although of course he would only pass away with you by his side. Who knows, maybe both of you may even become reincarnated lovers if being isekaid more than once is possible.

Alucard

🩸​Your struggles are more obvious as you essentially land on earth in the pat where supernatural creatures exist yet even despite initial problems and a silent anxiety you dwell on at night, you manage to build your life from scratch. Life is still fine after all, even if you are stranded in a world you do not belong to. All that finds an abrupt end though when you meet the man in red. There is such a raw and visceral reaction when your eyes land on his tall form as your heart is trembling. Frozen is your body as your gaze is glued to the vampire until he suddenly stops and turns around and even though his eyes are hidden behind sunglasses, you feel your heart trembling as you finally gather the strength to turn around and scurry away. Your biggest mistake was paying so much attention to him. He wonders what has gotten you so frightened as red eyes follow your form sprinting away. Alucard is rather used to the intimidation humans and even other creatures tend to feel when they meet him for the first time yet your fear was not one of natural intimidation. Those yes looked at him as if they knew him and it is that aspect that gains his interest. How would you know him?

🩸​Your hopes to outrun from the vampire king are feeble and in a way you know that yourself. Whether he is stalking you from your shadows or emerges suddenly from somewhere, Alucard is always there and when you do catch sight of him it is because he chose to let you see him. He must admit that your case is a rather intriguing one as he has done his sweet research on you yet is standing here with only a handful of information. There is nothing else about you that there was there as if you were a ghost that one day just appeared. He enjoys the little hunt though which is why he doesn't decide to take the easisest course of using hypnosis on you immediately but with his arsenal of special weapons and the crawling torment he puts you under, it is only a question of time until he discovers the precious secret you have kept hidden. Eons he has been dwelling on this planet yet he has never found a little traveler like you. A human with no special skills who was transported into another world entirely which was only a work of fiction in your own. It truly is rather amusing, although it does also mean that you probably know about his past he wouldn't have want you to know about.

Captain

🐺​Captain is a creature that acts on territorial instincts when it involves his darling as he fully embraces his side as a werewolf in such cases. Perhaps things in his mind are just warped if you were to compare it it your own view. After all he found you all by yourself, confused and left all alone. There was the urge to protect and to save you when he saw you alone back then and now he knows that he felt that way because his instincts had already considered you to be his mate back then. Whatever you used to be before he found you and from wherever you came from means nothing anymore as he would have ripped you away from anyone and anything that would have stopped him. It is all rather overwhelming for you though. You got barely time to even process anything after all before you were abducted by Captain. The constant anxiety can barely be suppressed as even the best poker face couldn't fool his high sense of smell. A scent he is very familiar with as many have trembled in front of him before yet for the first time iin centuries Captain finds himself caring about the fear of his victim. After all his mate shouldn't look at him with such frightened eyes.

🐺​As a creature of keen senses and an experienced soldier though, things won't remain hidden forever. The first few days after the secret has been discovered are the scariest as Captain goes full soldier on you. Inolequent questions and commands put you under growing pressure as he puts you through interrogation. If he senses a threat, even if it is a hypothetical one that hasn't been proven to be true yet, he is committed to remove the problem by its roots. If you have been transported already once from one world to another, there is no guarantee that it won't happen again and that is especially likely if you were randomly teleoported from your old world. If the scenario would be that you died before landing in his world, Captain would at least have the assurance that the teleportation was only triggered because of your death. Whilst he is intense yet still overall silent about it, things are very different if the Major should ever find out and he definitely will sooner or later. After all if there is even a slim chance of teleportation between different worlds existing, it is something worth investigating. You remain safe from any experiments though as Captain refuses to let anything harm you.

Gojo Satoru

🩵​It is fairly easy to somehow establish a new life in his world. Even if you are aware of the curses existing in this world and even if you know about the terrifying aspects of it all, you know that most people go through their entire life being completely oblivious to it all. The same goes for you as you aren't able to perceive Cursed Energy and for that the terrors of this world lurking around everywhere remain hidden away from you. Whether that is meant to be a relief to you or not depends on your mood on that day. Sometimes you feel a light relief that you do not have to worry yourself about the hideous and ugly aspects of it all and sometimes when your shoulders feel heavy or your paranoia gets the better of you, you fear the things that you do not see. It is perhaps a bit lonely, to know about it all without being able to tell anyone. That is until you meet Gojo. What the normal human eye cannot perceive, his Six Eyes can and so he finds himself instantly focused on you as there is something quite different to you in comparison to others. Why? Because he can't perceive you. He sees you just like everyone else sees you and what is ordinary to them is like opening a new world to Gojo.

🩵​Perhaps this is one of the main reasons why he enjoys spending so much time with you. Not only to satiate his own curiosity about you but also because spending time around you is relaxing. There are no minuscule details he sees when he looks at you and it allows him to truly focus on the moment when he is with you. He values that a lot and if it wouldn't have been for his growing obsession, he would have been able to not get too caught on why you are so different from everyone else. Things can escalate very quickly, especially once he dives into your background only to discover absolutely nothing about you. Who are you? Please tell him. His desperation is urgent if you leave him dangling for too long and his paranoia can quickly lead him to lock you away at his own place where he can protect and control you better. He won't take it very well once you are finally forced to admit your secret. Satoru has already lost Suguru after all but now there is a potential risk that there will be a literal alternative world seprarating you from him, a place that he will never be able to reach if you were to be teleported again. It is frightening and worst of all is that he doesn't know what he can do to keep it from happening.

Sawada Tsunayoshi

🔥​The technology in his world may be a bit more rusty in comparison to what you are used to but otherwise it is quite possible to settle down in his world. That is until you get involved with the Vongola and their business by sheer accident. In hindsight it was rather stupid to reveal that you knew one of his guards which instantly alarmed them as no ordinary citizen should know about their true identity unless you were a spy or someone who might mean trouble from them. Most of his guards and Tsunayoshi included do not go very harsh on you after your blunt mistake, something Hibari criticises them for but ultimately complies although his scorching stares are not unnoticed by you. Tsuna himself is rather friendly though as he instructs his guards that he would like to meet the person who apparently knows for some reasons all about them. He is mostly understanding as he doesn't even force you to tell him how you knew but he also makes it clear that they will have to keep an eye on you because he isn't able to fully verify who you are even if you don't strike him as a bad person. You don't complain though as it doesn't hamper significantly with your life.

🔥​The little information they have on you does heighten the distrust amongst some of the Vongola family but since you have volunteered to let yourself be watched, Tsuna decides to not do anything to force information out on you. You find him sometimes trying to pry the information out of you himself though he only chuckles when you call him out for it. Otherwise Tsunayoshi is rather kind as he even starts helping you in your life a bit if he deems it to be necessary. Honestly, he may just manage to gain your trust enough so that you admit everything to him on your own accord whilst remaining unaware that this has been secretly the plan of his. Everything he has done, he has done because he genuinely cares for you but he is also aware that you do not seem to have a person you really trust despite having obviously something you want to talk about. He has been secretly working hard to gain your trust and if it ultimately pays off, he would be rather pleased. Whilst he is rather surprised when he hears what you have to tell, he has gone through quite a few shocking news in his life before so he won't have a very dramatic reaction to it all. He would like to know though if you may teleport away again.

Byakuran

🍬​Byakuran's world is basically the futuristic dystopia you have read about in science fiction stories before. Everything is frightening and unfamiliar as you have to fear for your own life without any protection as you are still freshly stranded on this planet. If you would have had the choice though, you would have prefered the uncertainty and the loneliness over catching the eye of Byakuran himself as you are discovered by him one day when you just happen to sneak around one of his institutions. He is a rather peculiar individual as he openly invites you to join him solely because he just happens to find you interesting and for that would like to keep you close until he has figured you out, something people like Kikyo and Bluebell scold him for accordingly. Even if you were to reject him simply because you know just how bad of a person Byakuran is, you would only lit the fire that will soon transform into a burning obsession as you only stoke his curiosity. The white-haired man has no shame in patronising your time as soon as he has figured out where you reside in as he will actively seek you out from that day on to repeat his offer to you over and over again until the thread snaps and he manipulates you.

🍬​He presents you with the information he has gotten on you but it isn't that what frightens you. After all he has as good as nothing on you that he could use to blackmail you. It is rather the fact that Byakuran has started making his own theories based on the clear lack of information and your behavior that he has been observing for a while now. Some of them are disturbingly close to the truth and you can see the intrigue shining in his eyes when he gauges your reactions and notices the little twitches you do and the way you cast your eyes elsewhere when he retells you something he came up with because it is too close to what has happened for you to remain comfortable. Byakuran has already been aware that there are other versions of him existing in other worlds but to find out that there are people with similar abilities to his is rather fascinating, especially from a world that is so different than anything he has ever imagined. Whilst he shows an eager interest to figure out a way to your world, it is more to satisfy his own curiosity. You are not going back after all. No, you are going to stay in this world stuck with him for the rest of your life. You are much too interesting to disappear on him.

[harryspet]

I love rafe x reader x jj!

I had a similar idea to the previous anon, an AU where reader is Barry’s sister and in between Barry and Rafe’s schemes, Rafe and reader get friendly. And Barry tries to keep reader out of their business so she’s pretty sheltered and depends on them. And JJ is already dealing drugs with Rafe so he gets close to reader as well. And Barry gets arrested for selling drugs (or maybe Rafe and JJ framed him) and reader has no where else to go but to them! They take full advantage claiming Barry made lots of enemies (somewhat true) and reader must stay with them and never leave their side (not true) to be safe.

[warnings] dark!jj x reader x dark!rafe, reader is barry's sister, little editing 18+ READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

a/n: i started writing this idea out, enjoy :):)

word count: 1.4k

When the Chateau came into view, your blistering feet thanked you. Your legs were exposed, your white nightgown only covered half your thighs, and the underbrush from the forest had scraped your skin horribly. You’d never actually visited here, and Barry would have never allowed you, but an hour ago, he’d forced you to leave the house. 

Heart practically beating outside of your chest, you climbed up the porch, your cowboy boots stepping over empty bottles of beer. You knocked on the screen door, probably a little bit too softly, but you had no idea who was going to open the door, “Y/N?” You jumped, your head snapping to the side to find JJ Maybank lying down on an old couch. He takes off the hat that was resting over his eyes, tosses it to the side, and sits up. “What? What are you doing here?”

Your body was already shaking, and your voice started to do the same, “I-I don’t have anywhere–” You wrapped your arms around your body, holding yourself tightly, “I-I d-don’t–”

JJ, shirtless and wearing khaki shorts, crossed the porch, placing a hand on your lower back, “Hey, it’s okay,” He whispered, his tone not able to hide his concern, “Something happened to Barry?” 

You nodded, knowing your voice would just shake if you answered verbally.

“Come inside. The place is empty. John B. has been MIA for a couple of days,” JJ explains, opening the door before smoothly guiding you inside the Chateau. It’s eerily quiet, but you welcome the peaceful sound, finding it much better than the sound of Barry shouting and police sirens blaring, “Come sit, I’ll get you a glass of water.”

He moves a pile of what looks like maps, letters, and a stack of cash before patting the couch cushion. You sit down, still holding yourself to calm your nerves, and watch as he rushes off to grab a glass from the kitchen. You were appreciative – God, he had no idea how thankful you were. 

“You mind if I ask what has you hiking through the swamp this late at night?” He handed you the glass, kneeling in front of you as he began to examine your legs, “You’re lucky the mosquitos didn’t eat you all the way up, kid”

Shakily, you took a sip from the glass, “The cops, uhm, they were coming. H-He told me to go a-and …usually he tells me he’ll be back in a few days. But he was getting … he was getting all his guns out and i-it didn’t seem like … I-I just k-kept–” 

JJ’s eyes were fixed on you, his lips pressed into a thin line as he listened carefully, “Hey, I know you’re scared …I’ve been in your position so many times with my Dad. And I always ran to the Chateau too.” 

You nodded, tears beginning to fall. Gently, JJ grabbed your face, brushing the tears away with his thumb, “You’re going to be okay. I’m right here, you’re not alone.”

“What will-” You hiccupped, “What will I do?”

You couldn’t survive on your own with a tenth-grade education and your ten-dollar-an-hour coffee shop job. You were always a good kid, but you were never book smart, and Barry didn’t force you to go to school after you started flunking your classes. He’s happily taken care of you for your entire life, your parents hadn’t been in the picture since you were five and Barry was ten. You’d never gotten in trouble like Barry had, and he’d made sure of that, never involving you in his business. 

Befriending JJ was a consequence of Barry’s business, but JJ never involved you in dealing drugs either. He was someone to talk to, and he’d always come by Sunset Coffee after the morning rush and ask how your day was going. 

“Let me make a call. Maybe Rafe will have more information about what’s going down, I know he helped him with a huge shipment the other day. We’ll figure this out.”

You thought it was a good idea instantly. “T-Thank you, JJ.”

“Yeah, no problem, kid.” His smile made you forget, for a small moment, your world was crashing down. 

Rafe was around even more than JJ. He could be nice when he wanted to, although you preferred him when he wasn’t acting erratically or getting into screaming matches with your brother. Besides that, you couldn’t even count how many times he drove you home from work and kept you from having an eight-mile bike ride. 

It wasn’t long after you’d finished the glass of water, and JJ had started to clean the dripping blood from your legs, that a truck rolled into the grassy front lawn of the Chateau, “That’s Rafe,” JJ said, although it had only been about ten minutes since he hung up the phone, “He said he’d drive by your place, see what’s up.”

You stood instantly, and JJ followed after you as you rushed out of the front door. Rafe was climbing out of his truck when you rushed towards him, “Did you see anything?” Your pitch was raised, fear laced in your tone. That same concern you noted in JJ’s features, unexpectedly, you saw in Rafe. 

A sigh left his lips, and nervous fingers ran through his light brown hair. “I didn’t see him; they must’ve already taken him down to the station. There were at least five Kildare officers, and I saw a few special agents, too. They were grabbing stuff from the house.”

You felt yourself sink at the information just as you felt JJ’s hand on your back again. Your hand found its way to your heart, and you checked to make sure your heart wouldn’t explode out of your chest: “I-I want to see him. Maybe I can talk to him, and he can … he can tell me what’s going on.”

“They won’t let you see him yet,” Rafe added quickly. 

“It’s also one in the morning,” JJ spoke softly from behind you. 

“It wouldn’t be a good move, princess,” Rafe said, his tone soft but somehow still sharp, “The police would just take the opportunity to try and question you about whatever they’re charging him with. They’ll try to break you down and threaten you with jail time. It won’t be worth it. It’s not what Barry would want.”

“What happened?” You shook your head, not believing that was real, “H-He would’ve warned me i-if–”

“You’re right. He would’ve warned you if he knew, so he didn’t know,” Rafe started, “I warned him that these guys he was dealing with were no good. He thought he was some kind of big-shot, dealing with those cartel guys.”

“What?” You gaped, looking back and forth between the two men. You stepped away, but Rafe caught your wrist. 

“I’m sorry you’re hearing this from us, not him,” Rafe apologized.

“JJ?”

“He was starting to make a lot of enemies …” His voice trailed off like the words were painful for him to stay, “The Kook is telling the truth.”

“We’ll look after you,” Rafe said. 

“Yeah, until this all blows over. It’s gonna take a minute. We gotta, you know, assess the situation. The same guys that ratted him out might be looking for you too. And there are probably people who aren’t happy that the shit they were going to buy off of him is now in police custody.” 

“Y-You’re saying people might want to hurt m-me,” You stuttered out, JJ taking your other arm in his hand. Not only was your brother gone for who knows how long, your life was in danger. You found yourself leaning into their touch, letting them keep you balanced so you didn’t collapse. 

“No–” 

Rafe interrupted JJ. 

“We’re saying we’re going to look after you until all this blows over. We’ve both had our ups and downs with him, but he’s had our backs more than once. We owe it to him.”

“I can’t ask you to–”

This time JJ interrupted you, “Trust us. Let us take care of you, Y/N.”

It was a perfect storm, both of them coming together to save you. You didn’t have the time to ponder how exactly it happened, you only cared whether your brother would be okay, I don’t have anything–”

“We’ll spend the night here. You should get some rest. When you wake up, we’ll go to Tannyhill. Everything you need, we'll take care of it,” Rafe assured you, and JJ seemed to believe it was a good plan too.

“Yeah, come on, kid. Let's tuck you in.” Neither of them were making requests, but honestly, you didn’t want to make any decisions of your own. 

Together, your two protectors led you back to the Chateau. 

+

feel free to send smutty thoughts/ideas for this pairing or anything else rafe x reader x jj!

[cherriegyuu]

asellus australis | jww | part 1

pairing: wonwoo x f!reader genre: fluff, romance, idiots to lovers word count: 6k summary: Wonwoo couldn’t possibly be the only person living in Sydney who didn’t know how to swim, so he reluctantly says yes to the lessons his friends signed him up for. When he learns that you are his instructor, he figures learning how to swim as an adult isn’t all that embarrassing after all warnings: fear of water, mentions of drowning a/n: this is part of the @svthub 2024 world tour collab. please head there to check out other fics under this collab. if you enjoyed reading, please reblog and leave a comment, it really does mean the world to me and i would love to know your thoughts. thank you! 💕

It was the kids' laughter that brought your mind out of its newest daydream. It was hard to keep yourself focused on what was happening right in front of you rather than on what had already happened. It was a new feeling and so completely out of character for you. 

A couple of weeks had gone by since you attended a certain party, one you didn’t want to go to. You were too tired from the week and there was a little hint of emotional exhaustion to put yourself through a situation where everything would eventually turn out to be too much. 

It had been so easy to find a quiet place further in at the back, away from all the people and their noisiness. There was only so much music and chatter you could block out just by standing away though.

You sipped your drink, something sweet and fruity Kira had gotten you before drifting off to wherever she wanted to go. It was somewhat frustrating to have gone there because of her and having her pull away from you the second you got there. But at the same time, you understood why she did it. Whoever her new crush was, he was at the party, which meant that she saw an opportunity. Kira was never one to be at a party by herself, and unfortunately, Nina had a better excuse to not be there than “I’m tired”, so you had to be the one to tag along. Though it wasn’t entirely too bad, it was a little boring. 

And then he showed up. 

You had never seen him before, which considering that you didn’t know a single person at the party wasn’t surprising at all. You knew Kira and maybe a couple of others in passing. You made a mental note to ask her how she found out at that party. 

There was no way for you to look away from him. It was like there was this spotlight on him, just on him, making everyone else around pale. 

Somehow he had ended up by your side, claiming to also be running away from his friends and the noise. 

“This isn’t really my scene,” he said “I don’t even know how they managed to drag me out here, to be honest”

You blushed a little when he looked at you, a smile wide on his face. It was enough to make your heart skip a beat. 

“I’m Wonwoo”, his hand stretched out while his left one adjusted the glasses in his nose. 

“Hi”

You let your hand be wrapped by his. You had never felt quite that shy before while meeting someone. Usually, you were the talkative one. 

“I wasn’t supposed to come out tonight” you admitted “but I’m kind of glad I did”

Was that possibly crossing a line? You weren’t sure, it probably was but early that morning you read that you should be more open to relationships in whichever format they came from, the reason why you didn’t even try to stop Kira from dragging to the party. 

A long time had gone by since you felt anything similar while talking to someone — especially since using the word talking seemed to be a little much considering you had barely exchanged a few words. Wonwoo had your undivided attention from the moment he walked in. 

Wonwoo simply smiled at you again and looked up at the sky. The sun had long set and in its place the most beautiful full moon lit up the sky, accompanied by the countless shining stars. 

“There’s so many stars tonight,” you said and almost kicked yourself for it. 

It was probably the worst way you could have started a conversation with a guy. You half expected him to answer you at all, a nod or a hm, at best. 

“Did you know,” his words were almost shy, his delicious low voice dropping even lower, almost as if he was telling you a secret “that the stars have colors?”

His voice was so quiet while he spoke, his eyes still focused on the sky above. Wonwoo clasped his hands together, his knuckles turning white while he put way too much strength into something that needed none.

“Really?” you looked up for a second before turning your full attention back to his profile “I thought it was just some sort of optical illusion”

He turned to you then, his full attention on you as you waited for him to speak again. It was an odd feeling, for him to have someone interested in whatever he was saying.

“Yeah, there’s a few. Blue, white, yellow, orange, and red” he made a fist between the two of you, raising a finger every time he said a different color “The color depends on the temperature and life cycle”

Maybe you didn’t mean to, or perhaps you did, but you leaned your body a little to the left, your knee touching his.

“I had no idea”

He looked at you, slightly surprised that you were suddenly so close to him but smiled at you all the same.

“You can’t see the colors when you look at the sky?” his eyebrows were slightly raised, lips in a mix of a pout and a smile. 

You pulled your bottom lip in between your teeth in hopes that it could make you stop from inching forward and pressing them against his. If you were in his place you’d probably run away screaming “crazy” at the top of your lungs”

“I mean, I can, I just didn't think the star had actual colors. I guess I just always assumed it was all silver”

Wonwoo laughed, his nose wrinkling in the most adorable way possible. 

You were talking with him for a couple of hours, the most casual kind of conversation and it was probably the most fun you had in a long time at one of those parties. Not that you didn’t have fun. Nina and Kira were always fun to be around and it was something you always said yes to, being around them. But with Wonwoo it was just a different kind of fun. Usually, when guys approach you at parties the conversations always remain the same, and it was always made to make them look larger than life. 

Wonwoo however seemed to be much more interested in talking about the sky and the moon and the stars — “did you know that the moon moves away further from the earth every year? — and while you were aware that some of it was just to prove himself as smart, you found it cute and at times, even endearing. 

He seemed somewhat passionate about what he was talking about to the point where you could just stand there and look at him without ever getting bored. His voice, low when he had first sat by your side, had gone up a few notes, maybe partially because of the music around you, but you had a feeling that it was because he was just getting excited about what he was talking about. 

“I never saw you before at one of these,” you said

Wonwoo took a long sip of his drink, you weren’t sure of what it was but it wasn’t the cheap beer that was in your cup. 

“I don’t come to these often, my friends” he pointed at where the rest of the people were and you had no real way of finding out who his friends were “finally managed to drag me out. I would have stayed at the office if they didn’t”

It was a redo of the conversation you had before but you didn’t mind in the least, not when you could feel his warm breath at the top of your cheeks as he leaned down to talk to you. Slightly, you turn your head to him and for a moment you thought about just typing your head up slightly, just enough to reach his lips. 

“What do you do for a living?”

Wonwoo cleared his throat, his eyes moving from your eyes to your lips. He did that maybe a couple of times before he finally, finally, leaned in. And it was like little bells of you started to play inside your head. It was perfect for all of two seconds, his lips pressed over yours, soft and warm, his hand at the back of your neck pulling your face closer to his before someone screamed your name at the top of their lungs. 

He pulled away from you immediately and you honestly wanted to cry. The kiss had only lasted a brief second but you didn’t want it to end.

Kira was suddenly by your side, a look of complete desperation in her eyes. 

“We have to go… Nina…”

Before she even finished her sentence you were already up. You looked at Wonwoo quickly, hoping that he could see how sorry you were when you ran out. 

Looking back you wished you could have remembered to ask for his number before you left, or for him to ask for yours. But all of it had happened way too quickly that it had never crossed.

Ever since that night had been stuck in your mind, you couldn’t stop thinking about Wonwoo or the kiss. It was like your mind was in this infinite looping playing that one moment.

“The new guy is here,” Jinah said, Laughing a little.

You looked where she was pointing and couldn't help the low laugh that escaped your lips. Three guys were walking towards you. Maybe walking was a bit too strong a word, one of them was being pushed by the other two.

“We're already here,” the shorter one said, exasperated “You just have to go there and learn”

“You know, this is a terrible idea” the one who was being pushed said.

It was as if you had been transported back to that day at the party. It was precisely the voice you wanted to hear but had no real way of hearing.

“Wonwoo?”

Your voice was one that Wonwoo didn't expect to hear any time soon, or maybe ever again. After that day when he left the party in a hurry, without giving the slightest explanation, Wonwoo was sure he would never see you again. Sydney was far from a small town and he wasn't the biggest party-goer who had ever set foot on this earth, he knew that the chances of running into you again were slim to none.

But somehow, you were right there in front of him.

He had thought many times about what he would say if he saw you again if he was that lucky. Everything that had gone through his head had seemed wrong and now that you were in a place where he could see you, nothing came to mind. It was as if he had momentarily forgotten all the words he had learned throughout his life. That all the years he had spent trapped in an educational institution hadn't taught him anything.

Ever since that night, Wonwoo couldn't stop thinking about you. It didn’t matter what he did, however, he tried to think of other things or other people and focus on work. You were always there, in the back of his mind. He had never done anything quite like that before. 

That wasn’t to say that he had never had a girlfriend. He had, a few of them throughout his life but it never happened quite that fast and it was never quite life-altering. Sure, he had met a girl once at one of the many events he attended as part of his job and she had stayed in his mind for a couple of hours, but never days like it happened with you. 

And when he started to babble about the moon and the stars, because he had gotten nervous, you didn’t seem to mind. Instead, you gave him your full attention, seemingly inserted in what he was saying. But then suddenly you were gone and he didn’t even have the chance to ask for your number or anything that he could use to find you again. 

Wonwoo had been certain that you would, somehow, be the one who got away and yet there you were, in shorts and a black swimsuit with the logo he saw outside. 

He hated the word destiny, but maybe there was some of it sprinkled in seeing you again. 

“Hi!” 

Wonwoo’s voice came out a little louder than usual, making his friends turn to him with furrowed eyebrows. Soonyoung looked utterly confused while Jihoon just did his best to suppress the laugh that was bubbling inside his chest. 

“I didn’t think I’d see you again,” you said, smiling brightly at him. 

Wonwoo was completely caught off guard when you took a step forward and wrapped your arms around his shoulder. It only lasted a second and it wasn’t enough for him to react and hug you back. 

Your cheeks had a light pink on them as you stepped back. He smiled once he noticed that your hand was balled into fists. 

“Sorry, my mom is a hugger so I just sort of hug people sometimes” you were quick to explain, waving your hands in front of yourself. 

You closed your eyes tightly, your cheeks getting even redder. Wonwoo thought that you looked cute that night at the party, but this version in front of him was much cuter. He pressed his lips together, trying not to smile too big. 

“Do I get a hug too?”

Soonyoung took a step forward, arms wide open, smile so big that Wonwoo wasn’t even sure his friend could see anything at all. Thankfully Jihoon was quick enough to pull him back and angry enough to hit him in the back of the head. 

“No…”  

You took another step back and raised your index finger at him. Your reaction alone was enough to pull an honest laugh out of Wonwoo. You seemed horrified by the idea which made him think that your earlier allegation of being a hugger was probably a lie. 

“How dense are you?” Jihoon whispered and shouted at Soonyoung. 

You lightly shook your head, maybe trying to shake off any sort of dizziness, before smiling again. 

“Which one of you is the one taking lessons?”

In the queue, Wonwoo felt two sets of hands at his back, pushing him forward. Both of his friends were holding back giggles. 

He had hated the idea of taking swimming lessons as an adult. His friends were irreducible in his learning though so he eventually just caved and did as they wanted. However, all of the cells in his body that were against it dissolved the second he saw you. Now, learning didn’t seem all that bad or all that weird. 

“Great! I need you to follow me to the back if that’s okay?” you pointed over your shoulder with your thumb “You need to fill out a form before we can get started”

Wonwoo nodded and followed you. He was naive enough to look back at his friends once and he was glad that you didn’t do the same. Jihoon was giving him a thumbs up, a weird-looking smile on his face, while Soonyoung would be screaming if he could, if not for the hand covering his mouth. 

He loved his friends, he really did, they were one of the reasons why Wonwoo even had any kind of social life, and they were there for him whenever he needed them, even if he just wanted to complain about something — Soonyoung was especially good at hating someone he had never met before just because Wonwoo complained once about said, person. 

In silence, he followed you to the back, eyes focused on your back. He had to force his eyes to stay on the back of your neck and not on the way your hips swayed deliciously from side to side while you walked. 

You sat down on one of the tables and smiled sweetly at the receptionist who handed you a sheet and a pen. You slid the paper across to Wonwoo, followed by the pen.  

“While you fill that out, I’m going to ask you a couple of questions”

Wonwoo was never that great at multitasking, so he was sure that he would either write his information down or he would talk with you. If he did do two things at once, most likely both of them would be half-assed. 

“Why are you taking swimming lessons?”

He paused writing and looked at you. It made sense that that was your first question, he would just like it if it wasn’t on the list. 

“I don’t know how to swim, so my friends thought that it was good a idea to sign me up for lessons”

You smiled and nodded at him, not a hint of judgment in your eyes. It was new. When he told people that he didn’t know how to swim people usually looked at him like he had four sets of arms, it was almost like the look one got when one heard that they could ride a bike. 

“Can you float on your back?”

He simply shook his head and kept writing his information down. It didn’t go unnoticed to Wonwoo how you pursed your lips together and tilted your head to the side. 

“Do you feel comfortable in the water at all?” you asked, slightly confused. 

Wonwoo set down the paper and pen, now fully looking at you. He wanted to avoid the conversation, yes, but he knew if there was one place he had to be honest, it was there, with you. 

“I’m not the biggest fan of water,” he said, voice low matching how his eyes were kept on the table the entire time. 

When Wonwoo was a kid, while on a trip to the beach with his parents, he was playing in the water when a wave forcefully took him away. He had tried to scream for help but instead of pushing his voice out, all he did was pull water into his lungs. According to his parents, the moment didn’t last for more than a few seconds but it was enough for him to never want to do anything with the water again.

It wasn’t a problem to be at a pool, like the one he was in, as long as his feet could touch the floor and he had enough space between where the water ended and his head. But he had never been to the beach again. Not that his friends hadn’t tried to convince him to go to the beach, just to feel the sand between his toes, they never even mentioned the idea of getting in the water. But Wonwoo refused every single time. 

Why would he go to a place that only brought him bad memories when he could simply pretend that synch place didn’t even exist in the first place? Of course, living in Sydney posed as a minor problem to that plan, but it had never stopped him before. 

And yet, somehow, he found himself in front of you, asking for swimming lessons. The fact that it was you made him somehow calmer if such a thing was even possible. 

“Can you get into the water or is that something we need to work on?” Wonwoo looked up at you, eyebrows furrowed “Some people come here and they have a rough time getting into the water, so it’s something we have to work slowly on. Is that the case with you?”

“Oh, no” he shook his head “I can get into the water just fine”

You smiled at him while you looked at his information. Wonwoo felt his insides twist a little when your smile slowly dropped. 

“Is everything okay?”

Your eyes left the paper for a second and you smiled again.

“Everything is fine” you put the paper on the table again, now fully ignoring it “Should we get started?”

“He is a cancer!” you wailed, dropping your head on the back of the couch. 

Of course, it made absolute sense that the most dreamy and perfect guy you had ever met, was a cancer. Of course! 

“What is she on about?” Kira asked, making a weird face. 

Nina simply sighed and nudged you, placing the wine glass into your hands

“It’s the guy from the party,” you said, sipping the wine “He came in today to take lessons and I saw his birthday. He’s a cancer”

Both of them nodded as if understanding what you were saying, but you knew that they couldn’t care less about it. Between the three of you, you were the only one who cared about star signs. You were always one to simply look into it once and let it go. It usually gives you a way to understand someone better. And while it could just be some harmless fun, you know yourself well enough to know that something you let get a little too much into your head. 

And you see, Wonwoo is a cancer, which in itself it’s not a real issue. Cancer men are known to be caring, loyal, and protective, all of which are great treats when you are in a relationship with someone, their groundedness is highly incompatible with Sagittarius women. They usually enjoy their time at home and are more on the introverted side. 

“Are you going to treat that as a problem?”

Nina had her eyebrow raised so high you were sure that if she pushed up a little more she’d be able to touch her hairline. 

“We are incompatible!” you cried, drinking the rest of the wine.

Both of your friends looked at you, knowing that the conversation would probably lead you to drink a little more than you needed, which in return would cause them problems. Truth be told you weren’t the best drinker out of the three of you. You were the worst of your group, to the point you avoided drinking out, but in the comfort of your home — or this case, Kira’s home — all bets were in and you could be as much of a bad drinking as you wanted to be. 

“You can’t let sun signs, moon signs, whatever it’s called, rule your relationship, babe,” Kira said, her voice sounding a lot like the one she usually used on the kids she teaches.

Kira was a kindergarten teacher, a real hero if you knew what one of those looked like

“Remember how you were over the moon after the party? You couldn’t stop talking about him and we all know that if you can’t stop talking, it also means that he was constantly in your mind as well”

Her tone was almost mocking you. The thing is your friends knew you, sometimes, better than you knew yourself.

“Do you remember Ben? He was a cancer” you said trying to prove a point, but knowing fully well that it meant nothing at all. Wonwoo and Ben couldn’t possibly be more different, even just at first glance. 

“Ben stole money from your wallet, used your card to his heart’s content, and then fled, making you pay for everything he ever bought. I’m sure Wonwoo is nothing like that”

You narrowed your eyes at her. She was defending Wonwoo a little too much. You knew Kira’s thoughts on your zodiac obsession and she was always quick to shut it down, but this time around, the way she was defending a man she had maybe seen for 5 seconds was a little suspicious.

“I agree with Kira,” Nina said, eyes still on her phone “Ben was a dick but Wonwoo might not be one. You said he was sweet at the party. Sorry I sort of ruined it for you that night”

Your friend smiled at you, her eyes a little sad. Nina had been the reason why Kira pulled you out of the party that night. She had been traveling for work and was in a car accident on the road on her way back to Sydney. She was fine, with no life-threatening wounds, but she was very nervous, understandably so. She was still insecure about being on the road again, but you were sure that she just needed a little more time. 

“It’s fine” You wrapped her shoulders with your arms, pulling her closer to you “No boy in the world is more important than you”

Your mind went back to the party and the way you felt that night, how you’d have stayed there the entire night with him unless you were pulled away — which eventually happened. Wonwoo talked about the moon and stars and you were that if he ever told you that he was the one responsible for hanging them up in the sky you would have probably believed him. 

“You’re so corny sometimes” She pushed you with her shoulder but made no real attempt to move away from you.

“You love me, so…”

“I guess the swimming lessons are much more interesting now, right?” Soonyoung teased Wonwoo.

Wonwoo simply rolled his eyes and kept his focus on the computer in front of him, making Jihoon snort by his side, which in return only made Soonyoung wine as he sat on the couch in the back of the room. Under normal circumstances, Wonwoo would probably already be home at such an hour but there were things that he needed to do if he wanted to have a truly off weekend. One when he could just focus on the lessons he was bound to have on Saturday. 

He was never one to anxiously wait for things, especially when those things had a lot to do with the water and yet there he found himself, wishing that Saturday morning came just a little faster than it usually did. 

For him, Saturdays mostly meant trying to come up with reasons as to why he wouldn’t be able to go somewhere with his friends. That was mostly Soonyoung, to be fair. His friend enjoyed being out and about, going to new places, and having new experiences. From time to time Wonwoo did too, but he liked his time alone time a little too much when it was just him and his stars. 

“It pains me to say this” Jihoon said with a sigh, almost as if he didn’t believe those words were coming out of his mouth “I agree with him. It looks a lot of fun now”

Jihoon and Soonyoung were a weird duo, that was for sure. They spent half of the time bickering like old men who have nothing else to do and the other half they were either in agreement or just pretending that the other didntdidn'tt. Somehow, it worked.

“I mean” Jihoon continued “She’s the girl from the party”

Wonwoo turned around in his chair, giving Jihoon a look with eyes wide. There was a reason why he didn’t mention you to Soonyoung, and it was quite simple: he would never hear the end of it and Soonyoung would, at the very least, contact every single person he knew at the party and ask if they knew you. His friend would stop until he found you and though seeing you again was something that he wanted, Wonwoo didn’t want to come across as someone who was desperate and maybe a little bit of a stalker. 

“What girl?”

He let his body slide down on the chair and closed his eyes. Wonwoo would never hear the end of it now with Soonyoung. 

“The party we managed to drag him to a couple of weeks ago? He met a girl there and she had to leave before he managed to ask for her number”

Another thing about the Soonyoung and Jihoon duo is that they like to gossip like teenagers. It’s the very stereotypical image of highschoolers whispering to each other in the hallways, except for the fact that they gossip about Wonwoo right in front of his face and there is nothing that he can do to just make them stop, and they haven’t been to a high school hallway in years. 

“Why didn’t I know about this?”

“Probably because you were too busy with whatever it is that makes you disappear at parties?”

The two of them exchanged a look and Wonwoo knew that they were talking without ever saying a single word. 

“So” Soonyoung turned to him again “you went to a party and talked to this girl”

“Kissed her, actually,” Jihoon said

Soonyoung’s body almost vibrated at the news and he was clapping his hands, making sounds that no human should ever be able to make. 

What is the closest emergency exit from here? Wonwoo couldn’t help but wonder. 

“This is the greatest day of my life” he laughed hysterically “You went to a party, something that on its own is already very out of character to you, you kissed a girl and now she’s your hot swimming instructor?”

He turned to Jihoon for approval, who simply nodded. 

“You should ask her out, she looked interested earlier  at the pool”

The image of you looking over his information and your smile slowly dropping came across Wonwoo’s mind and he couldn’t help but think that Soonyoung was wrong. Whatever it was that you say written there, which Wonwoo couldn’t possibly even phantom what it was considering that it was his most basic information, was enough to make you rethink something. 

“And she listed to you nerding out and still wanted to kiss you”

His mind drifted back to the night of the party. Wonwoo was certain that if you had stayed for a little longer he would have probably gotten your number and asked you out on the very next day and with some luck you would have said yes and who knew where it would go from there. 

“Oh, this just keeps getting better” Soonyoung clapped his hands.

“Again, this is very painful to say but I agree with Soonyoung, you should ask her out”

Wonwoo rolled his eyes. Jihoon talked a big game about not agreeing with Soonyoung but he always did. They were always in the same frequency of decisions and Wonwoo was usually the one who had a different opinion. 

“And maybe, who knows, she might have thought about you as much as you thought about her these past few weeks?”

Soonyoung grabbed Jihoon’s arm, his eyes wide with uncontrolled excitement.

There was something different about the way Jihoon said it as if he was in some sort of secret that Wonwoo had no idea about. Of course that was the entire purpose of a secret but it felt different. 

“If I promise to think about it, will you” Wonwoo pointed at Soonyoung “stop this weird, whatever it is?”

Surprisingly enough, the pool was mostly empty during the weekends, hence why they usually closed at noon on Saturdays. Parents usually sent their kids during the afternoons and most adults preferred either early mornings or after hours so the weekends were usually pretty low and you’d rather be anywhere else than at work but Saturdays started to look so much better once Wonwoo’s name was written on the board, right under yours. 

After the initial minor breakdown

You sat down on the edge of the pool, your feet on the water while you waited for him. With each passing second you grew more anxious, your heart beating rapidly inside your chest in anticipation of what would happen. 

A part of you expected it to be just a regular class, with normal small talk. The other part, this one much more hopeful and highly unrealistic, hoped that you could pick up where you left off the night of the party. But the truth was that you had no idea what was about to happen. You were certain that there was a secret third option that you couldn’t see or even think of. 

You turned around when there was the distant sound of a door closing and a few seconds later Wonwoo walked in, in black swim shorts and a black t-shirt, a towel on his shoulder. He smiled at you while pushing his glasses back. 

For a moment it was like you were back at the party that night and he was all that you could see again. There wasn’t anything or anyone else there but even then the space seemed to disappear.

“Hi,” he offered once he stopped next to you. 

“Hey”

You got up and walked to the other side, removing your shorts and folding them over the side of a chair. Wonwoo followed suit, dropping his towel on the chair and then taking off his glasses and shirt. It took everything in you to keep quiet and not just fully ogle him. You almost had to hit your face to make yourself remember how to breathe properly again. 

"You ready?" you said without turning to him. 

The only answer Wonwoo had to give was a small ruff, in exchange for making you chuckle. Though it was funny, it was not the ideal. 

“Listen,” you turned to him, hands on your hips “If you’re uncomfortable we can reschedule or maybe not even do this at all”

Wonwoo looked at you, his eyes going a little soft as he sat down on the edge of the pool, mimicking your early stance. His eyes were focused on the water in front of him, unblinking. 

“I’m tall enough that my head will stay above water, right?” 

“Yes, you’re good until halfway”

He nodded his head, eyes until in the water. If the situation was any different you’d have cracked a joke or anything else that could somehow lighten up the mood but there was no room for that. 

“Let’s just get this over with”

Most of the hour you spent with Wonwoo in the pool was silent. It was mostly you talking and him listening, trying — and failing — to follow your instructions. You tried to crack the occasional small talk, but he was having none of it. You couldn’t help but wonder if his lack of enthusiasm, or interest, was because he was still uncomfortable or if it was because of how you had acted when he first came by to sign up for lessons. 

It took you a few hours, and three glasses of wine, to realize that you had made a face when you saw his birthday written. And it wasn’t a nice face, you were sure you scowled at the paper. Maybe it was that moment you ruined it all between you and Wonwoo. Or maybe, he was just really unhappy. 

“Are you okay?” you asked him once again, hand on his shoulder. 

You were honestly so worried about him that it was hard to ogle him. 

“Yeah, I’m just not a big fan of water, that’s all”

This time you put both of your hands on his shoulder, turning his body fully to you.  God, he is too handsome. Forget the whole “too worried to ogle” thing. His chest, his very naked chest, was right in front of your eyes. You were only human, a human that had dreamed of the man in front of her a few too many times and none of them had been pg-13. It was fine to appreciate someone’s beauty. 

“Listen to me, you don’t need to do this, okay?”

“This is Sidney,” he said as if that was enough explanation.

The only possible reaction was to roll your eyes at him. 

“Who gives a fuck where we are in the globe? Do you go to the beach? The pool? Boats? Loves to be on airplanes who happen to fly across oceans?” when his answer to all of your questions was no you shook his shoulders a little bit “Then you have no reason to learn how to swim. Right now you’re just torturing yourself”

Wonwoo sighed and nodded, but he still looked sort of weird, if you were one to tell considering how little you knew him. You raised your eyebrows at him, hoping that it was enough to get him to talk. 

“It’s just…” he seemed to struggle to get the words out “I want to see you again”

This time you didn’t even try to suppress your smile or the butterflies in your stomach.

“You could ask for my number and ask me on a date, you know?”

taglist: @wonwooz1-blog, @ryuwonieebae, @sobun1est, @mirtaspace, @ho34gojo, @feat-sun , @wonvsmile , @belladaises , @mhlsymlysn, @swinterr , @immabecreepin , @uniq-tastic , @miriamxsworld , @aaniag , @byunparklimchoi , @k-drama-adict, @maiamorrrrrrrrrr, @yeeyoo0206, @tomodachiii, @ignoretheskies , @roguesthetic , @sofix-hc7 , @scarlet789 , @pluviophile-xxx , @moonlightgleric, @r6njunlv, @mixling-blog , @cinnamongirl127, @haowonbins , @valgracia , @slut4donghyuck , @manutuankim , @shuabby1994 , @anthropologymajorkpopmultistan , @sukiscones, @plumings, @shuasdrafts , @aaa-sia , @bouclesdefeu , @dreambloomout, @hyangg11, @maewhore , @blurr3db3rry, @sea-moon-star , @roguesthetic , @writingbarnes , @strawberryroseee , @lovely-ficsfor-me, @lixisoul99, @jjeongddol , @whoa-jo , @poiibbtt , @seokqt , @itsmeaudrieee, @palmsugr , @hyneyedfiz , @babybae-shisui , @wmewtew

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[akutasoda]

Hey, I want request Aventurine with Noelle reader.

Imagine the trailblazer use Noelle reader to get Aventurine home.

Stelle/ Caelus: “Aventurine, I have your little sister.. please come home”

Noelle reader being held by Stelle/ Caelus: “I think it won’t work—“

*Insert Astral train door open with yellow glow..*

Aventurine pop out from train: “My little sister? Where is she?”

I think some achievements for them

Aventurine/ Noelle reader in battle will achieve “The gambler and his little maid”

Or Aventurine/ Topaz/ Ratio/ Noelle reader will achieve “Here come the IPC”

a jewel and a maid

synopsis - when he meets someone who reminds him all too much of a familiar familial feeling

includes - aventurine

warnings - gn!reader, fluff, slight crack, maybe ooc, found family kinda?, wc - 655

a/n: i love the achievements!!

the IPC wasn't exactly the best place to work but they were somewhat tolerable - more so for thise fortunate enough to be valued and given higher positions. you're position was so so to say the least, you had been assinged to work under someone of similar level to P47 which wasn't that bad compared to some others. you didn't exactly have high expectations but you'd still try and apply yourself to the best of your abilities, maybe then your job would be easier.

it was extremely fortunate for you to be placed under aventurine's sector within the stonehearts. it's not like he really needed many people working under him or that he wanted them to but he wouldn't really have room to argue when diamond himself arranged it. over a surprisingly short period of time, you had proven yourself to be quite the valuable member of the IPC - despite you not really vying for their attention, you just wanted to do your job and lay low.

aventurine recognised this and he didn't exactly blame you. normally your kind of skill would easily be swooped up by the IPC and used to their advantage, not yours. he too once had been snatched by the IPC, fortunately he managed to weasel something out of them in return. so you both were quite content to continue on as is, to which you were thankful.

during your time working with aventurine, you naturally had become much closer than simple colleagues. you two acted as if you'd known eachother for years. although you didn't exactly act much differently, still content to simply do your job, but aventurine became noticeably more friendlier. he acted much more cordial with you, more favourable and you did appreciate the familiarity.

when he caught himself actually acting so familiar with you, he stopped. he'd never really gotten so close and comfortable with someone before - well there were a few exceptions but with you, it felt more familial than a friendship of such. it had been an extremely long time since he had felt as such and it admittedly scared him a little.

however as even more time passed, it became much more natural for each of you to see the other in a much more familial way. again, it still felt odd to him but atleast he knew he could come sround to it eventually. for now, he could only look after you as if you were a sister to him.

---✩

'i don't think this will work-' you tried voicing your concerns but you were shushed by the trailblazer.

'you might want to listen to them' dan heng tried to interject but it seems that his words also fell upon the deaf ears of trailblazer - or they more likely just ignored him.

the only response either of you got was the trailblazer opting to pick you up and hold you toward the express doors with a declaration 'please! come home! look who's waiting with us!'

this time it was march to look rather concerned over at the trailblazer before adding 'i have to agree, i don't think this will work...' she looked at you with pity as the trailblazer practically triumphed you in the air.

right before you could get another word in and ask to be put down, everyone stopped and stared at the gilden light that emerged from the door. the trailblazer held you out even more in a desperate final plea as 'please' repeatedly fell from their lips.

not too long after, the express doors slammed open and a rather excited, maybe franctic, aventurine became present. despite the trailblazers excitement, aventurine ran straight to you to.

taglist - @little-miss-chaoss, @frankiesteinn

[badwitch-if]

OG DEMO + AU DEMO

**a note about the demo that won the vote**

Magic is all too real and witches reign supreme.

This is a story of excess & indulgence. Luxury & depravity. Lust & love. Horror & debauchery. 

But mostly it's a story of rediscovering your inner witch. 

Bad Witch is set in a matriarchal, gothic universe eerily similar to our own, where magic runs the world. And at its core, it is a love letter to the incredibly strong and vibrant friendships that we forge in our youth, and how they ultimately shape the people we become.

Witxhes dominate the upper echelons of society, and magic has seeped into every facet of day-to-day life, for witches and humans alike. Humans were relegated to a lower class of living and as witches tend to be quite opulent & over indulgent [and more often than not revelling in their own personal vices], the bougie Season of the Witch began. Witching Society flourished and quickly overtook over the world, trickling down to influence even those without magic.

SO WILL YOU BE A BAD WITCH, OR A GOOD WITCH?

You were born to one of the most ancient and thus, important witching families; the only child of a famous mother and an even more infamous grandmother. Your ancestors were among the very first witches to lead the revolution, desperate to create a world where their children would never again die by human hands.

Your childhood was rather lonely and spent under the tutelage of the worlds best witches and academics, whilst your mother did her best to ignore your existence whenever it didn’t directly benefit her. And so years later you would often joke that your life really began once you were accepted into Ariadne Academy, the premiere school for exceptionally gifted Witxhes.

You were placed in a coven with eight of your peers; girls and boys who would quickly become your family, until it was almost like you couldn’t remember a time before them. They shared your all-consuming hunger for magic and knowledge and experiences, traits that made your coven [nicknamed the Silverlakers] an unstoppable force within the Demonhall arena. Everything was going so perfectly until it suddenly burned down around you, leaving your coven a husk of its former self.

Aaand this is currently where the stories splinter off.

OG DEMO — In the OG demo, your coven is still somewhat intact. MC’s feelings towards them may or may not have changed, but on the whole, the Silverlakers are still functioning as the overachieving badasses they were at the academy. They’re still your best friends, your soulmates, your lovers. You love them and they most definitely love you — it’s just one big lovefest. 

As a master alchemist you tediously work through trials of your newest potion while still coasting off the success of your last serum, the wildly popular Moon Juice. The story focuses on the unnaturally strong bond that exists between the remaining Silverlakers, and the powerful magic you’ve wrought because of that. The incredibly deep but complicated friendships that you built are maintained to this day, and still just as co-dependent... or have they been making you feel stifled or claustrophobic? 

You can choose how your relationship with Ash progressed post-breakup. Was it messy and dramatic, or did you keep going back to them, again and again? Have you and Ori been just the bestest friends all this time, or have things gotten a bit awkward?

AU DEMO — In the AU demo, your coven was broken following the loss of one of your own. You all went your own ways and everything that you shared was left by the wayside. You’ve spent the better part of a decade running away from your Silver Lake family, the only real home you ever knew. But now, against all of your better judgements, your returning to York. Only for a few days, of course. A couple weeks, tops. 

You haven’t returned since you absconded after graduation, when you used a somewhat controversial but entirely contrived excuse for your disappearance. And as if The Fates themselves had seen to it, you once again find yourself thrown together with the other witches formerly known as Silverlakers. Their reactions to your return are not at all what you had expected, and you’re left second-guessing what actually happened all those years ago.

No matter how deep of a rift was left between your coven, Ori was the one who really refused to give up on you. In their very unique way, they practically strong-armed you into maintaining some kind of contact. Of all your former covenmates, you are hands down closest to Ori. Your breakup with Ash, no matter how it was done, was shocking and cut deep. You can choose whether to stand by your past actions or try to make amends with your first love. 

Both the OG & AU stories will feature opportunities to reconnect with: the former childhood friend turned academy rival; as well as the young professor from your university years. And despite their shorter and more mysterious descriptions, they are both main RO’s, along with Ash & Ori.

Will you try to repair the broken connections plaguing your coven, or forge a brand new path? Will you decide to confront the nightmares of your past face on in the Demonhall arena, or continue to ignore the literal demons that chase you?

TW/CW: violent & horrific imagery; explicit language; explicit sex scenes (with options to fade to black); misandry (within context of the story); mentions of blood/gore; child abuse (past tense against MC); very questionable magic usage; frequent scenes where NPCs are intoxicated, under the spell of drugs or magic, as well as just as many options for MC to imbibe; elder abuse; voluntary magical torture

~ Fully customisable character — you can currently play as a woman, man, or non-binary person; straight, gay, or bisexual. Customise your character's personality, style and how they reacted in major moments of their life leading up to present events,

~ Choose how to react to your current coven dynamics — fight to save your soulmates & strengthen your long-established bonds, or play around on greener pastures with other witches

~Experience the Witch's Journey through the Major Arcana – but will your MC make it to the final tarot reading?

~ Meet your familiar and decide which form it takes, with your familiar's animal impacting the story

~ Set up a cozy, witchy corner to call your own! A few options include a reclaimed lighthouse, luxurious penthouse in the sky, and a secluded cabin in the woods

~ Continue to cross sexual conquests off your list of Lovers to Bed, or get serious and pursue a more serious connection. There are currently 4.5 love interests [all gender variable] as well as an optional poly route. I'm also considering bringing back a character who was cut from the OG story... TBD!

~ Decide what happened to MC's relationship with Ash, in the years since graduation. Have they drifted apart while leading separate lives, or have they been on-and-off for the better part of a decade?

~ Get answers & closure by chasing down ghosts from your past. Give yourself over to the demons in your past, or fight to find a balance between your life and the monsters at the gate.

~ Explore the ever-changing hellscapes of Demonhall and confront your demons, or keep those traumatic memories in the past where they belong

~ But above all else, choose which path your character takes going forward. Chase your dreams and loves, or turn your back, light it up & watch the world burn around you.

During your time at Ariadne Academy, rumours swirled nonstop about your coven.

You got along too well.

You loved each other too hard.

Some people said you were a bunch of weirdos, while others whispered [a little too loudly] that all of your parents had conspired together, bribing the Witches Council to put you all together in one coven. But back then you couldn't give a shit about anyone or anything outside your Silver Lake home.

You found your first love within your coven, as well as seven other soulmates. And for a long time, that was all you needed.

☆ Elijah Akos {m}

☆ Suki Aoki {f}

♡ Aisling Casablanca {f} // Asher Casablanca {m}

♡ Oriana Helyr {f} // Orion Helyr {m}

☆ Belladonna Humphrey {f}

☆ Endora Stills {f}

☆ Hazel Trout {f} — Deceased

☆ Bren Wylder {nb}

The grandiose and horrifying Demonhall is a favourite pastime for Witches young and old. Two opposing covens enter the arena (or as it's lovingly called by fans, the Demon Dome) and are sealed inside. Usually a timer is set for 6 hours, but some exhibition games run a 'last Witch standing' simulator, that can go on for days. 

At the core of every Demonhall arena lies it's true power, a demonstone. The crystalized heart of a demon powers and creates unique and dangerous environments for covens to progress through. Whether it's a futuristic, neon playground; the dilapidated ruins of Titans; or a much too lifelike version of the floor is lava, each unique setting has been randomly and lovingly crafted by the demonstone. 

Just as each demon is unique and come with their specific set of baggage challenges, so do their corresponding arenas. Some are more manipulative in luring you into their traps, while others don't waste time in throwing everything they've got at you.

The object of the game, quite simply, is to challenge & toss opposing witches out of the match, using whatever spells & curses, or hexes & charms you keep in your arsenal. All while avoiding the real terror of the Demonhall, the demon itself.

For over a decade, your life revolved around Demonhall. You were the Lead for your coven, meaning you often bore the brunt of whatever the demonstone was hurtling at you. Your Silver Lake coven dominated the amateur Demonhall circuit for the better part of a decade. You and your covemates were elevated to a level of celebrity that few others at Ariadne Academy could relate to, as you were splashed across dozens of magazine covers before you were 18.

You planned your life around your obsession and love of the game, and as your graduation approached, you fielded dozens of offers to play for top-tier professional teams. But then... the unexpected happened during a match and you lost a member of your coven.

☆The First Love☆ ...& Ash's playlist

Aisling Casablanca {f} // Asher Casablanca {m}, 31

Ash was your first love. You dated for several years during your time at Ariadne Academy. You grew up together in your Silver Lake cottage and soon after you met, you found it hard to deny your teenage crush. 

You bonded over a mutual (rather mad) obsession with Demonhall, and it didn't take long for that bond to translate onto the arena. The Silver Lake Demonhall coven dominated the competition, thanks in large part to the connection you shared with Ash.

You made plans together to follow your passions after graduation, and even courted the interest of several top-tier professional clubs. They wanted you both, and were willing to restructure their teams around you & Ash.

But life happened, and you surprised everyone when you suddenly broke things off with Ash and the Demonhall teams. Instead you followed a secondary love and traveled across the world in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries. 

In the decade that you've been working out in the field, Ash has been named Demonhall MVP for three years in a row. Their legions of adoring fans have only multiplied. Is there room for you in their life nowadays, or is it truly too late?

☆The Best Friend☆ ...& Ori's playlist

Oriana Helyr {f} // Orion Helyr {m}, 30

Ori has been your longest and closest friend. No matter what your relationship was like with the rest of the coven, you could always count on Ori having your back. And sometimes being a shoulder to cry on, during the rockier parts of your relationship with Ash. In a way, it's always felt like the three of you had your own kind of connection, but at times, that could put Ori in the middle of your shit with Ash.

Ori is a highly sought after Master Architect, one of only two in the country. They’re instrumental to the buildings integrity and the future success of it’s residences. Ori often spends weeks onsite, crafting intricate enchantments around the bones of the structure, ensuring not only structural safety but doing everything in their power to position them for prosperity.

There's never been any fronts or facades with Ori, just transparent (sometimes brutal) honesty. You've never had to pretend around them and you might even be your truest self when you're with them. And then the two of you would stay up all night, talking and watching movies, and polishing off copious amounts of alcohol. In fact, many of those nights ended up serving as inspiration for your new experimental potion, a cure-all hangover draught.

In the years since the academy, Ori has tracked you down across the globe too many times to count. It always seemed like they had some magical way of knowing when your life was going to shit and they'd spontaneously turn up with boxes of wine & chocolate, immediately taking over your kitchen to cook up something utterly delicious

☆The Lifelong Rival☆ ...& Poe's playlist

Viridian ‘Poe’ Black {f/m}, 31

Poe was one of your very first friends, long before the academy. Your mothers ran in the same high society circles and so you were often left to your own devices. For Poe that usually meant running off into the woods to scout for berries and beasts, or tirelessly watching or reading up on anything to do with Demonhall. And in fact decades later, you've still never met anyone as obsessed with the game as them. Even as a kid, Poe was haughty and overtly snobby; they always knew exactly what and who they liked, and rarely strayed outside the lines.

But for some reason or another, you were someone they happily tolerated and actually seemed to like. Much to their delight their Demonhall fanaticism eventually infected you as well, and you spent countless hours debating the various forms, methods, and positions of the beautiful but deadly game. The two of you would often daydream about your future life at Ariadne Academy, and their eyes lit up with unabashed glee when they spoke of how together, you would bring about a new era of Demonhall. But then came the week before coven placements. And even after all of their extensive testing, you & Poe weren't placed together.

After that Poe very rarely spoke to you and altogether stopped responding to your many messages over the years, and just like that, the delicate friendship you once shared was snuffed out. And while they'd always been sarcastic and biting, that had rarely been directed towards you. Until you were put in competition, both academically and in the Demonhall arena, and then you were introduced to an entirely different side of Poe. The one that knew your weaknesses and just when to exploit them, who seemed to take a particular happiness from your defeat.

☆The One That Got Away☆

Julia St. James {f} // Julian St. James {m}

Jules is the youngest of nine children and grew up in Bilbao, Spain. They were generally spoiled as a child, doted on by all of their siblings, aunts and uncles. They could never want for tutors or toys or courtiers, but it was all rather tiresome.

They would later travel the continent as a young apprentice of a new philosophy, but they were never alone; always in the company of their cousins, Vix and Maz. Jules developed a deep appreciation for the fine arts and very delicious things during this time away from home.

Jules has now perfected the balancing act, living in both worlds. They work tirelessly as a professor of Theological Witchcraft but lately they've been feeling the pull to leave the classroom and get back out into the world.

☆ ... ☆

[echo-and-dust]

now that my brain has somewhat unscrambled itself i have gotten most of my thoughts in order about season 3.

and the first thing i will say is: i loved it.

while it was gutwrenching and polarizing in some ways and i feel that i am entitled to financial compensation for what its done to my mental health, i loved this season for pretty much almost everything it did.

i cannot fault people for having issues with much of the characterization and plot choices made—that’s been the trend during the entire run of the show after all, and imo it’s a testament to the phenomenal way it generates nuance—but i wanted to share my feelings on the recurring opinions i’ve seen about some of these things.

first, i do not blame simon at all for the things he said in the final scene. he’s a child who has been receiving endless verbal and physical harassment on top of all the trauma he is still trying to heal from. he just watched his boyfriend lash out in anger and hurt—while not at him, but it must’ve been a close resemblance of how he might’ve seen micke act. at least, that's what i thought, though i've seen others say otherwise.

and yes, wille is not micke, but just because wille’s source of outbursts is different from micke’s doesn’t mean simon is wrong in drawing similarities. at least he's finally getting a true glimpse into what wille has had to deal with. i've honestly grown to like that they didn't have simon immediately comfort him though; wille's mental illness is not his fault, but it is his responsibility, and instead of pushing a message of unhealthy co-dependence, the show has simon be honest: "but i see that everything hurts you and that hurts me too." and to me, that's so important.

plus, it doesn't make their love any less genuine. wille is a victim of the circumstances; he is not evil, and he is not undeserving of simon. he just has a lot of growing and healing to do, a lot of unlearning and exposure therapy because he's still blinded by privilege even when he tries not to be.

speaking of, i have so many thoughts about wille that i feel like i need to save for its own separate post, but to sum them up: i'll still defend him with my life, and he needs to get the fuck away from that institution.

also, the fact that the responsibility of controlling simon's media decisions was placed solely on wille confused me at first like—why wouldn't they get a professional to give him proper media training?

then i realized, this could be the royal court's way of sabotaging their relationship. they knew that making wille the one to tell simon what he can and cannot say or post would create distance and animosity between them. despite the ramifications of simon's behavior on social media, it seems they still thought it best to have his boyfriend be the one to try to mold him into the system. because they knew that's how they could get rid of him. in conclusion, fuck the royal court (we been knew but still).

one of the standouts this season was their transparency regarding the show's politics. it not only works well with the show's arc (wilmon is public, everything's out in the open now and there's nothing to hide), but also it felt necessary at a time where censorship has been rapidly gaining momentum. it felt so refreshing for these characters to talk so openly about racial discrimination and queerphobia and class disparities, forcing both character and viewer to acknowledge that they exist and you should feel uncomfortable about it.

i don't think i can add much more to what was already said about it—most of the fandom is more eloquent and observant than i am anyway—i just wanted to reinforce how important this season is to myself and the story even with how controversial it is to fans right now. a lot of people may disagree with me and that's fine.

[thesharktanksdriver]

Determination (Platonic)

Part 1 Part 3 Shanks beast pirates

Tagged: @peachsuka28 @emptynessinmyworld @badluckinfrench @j-s-l-m @tigerfang-rage @madokamagicaa @rymtea

Please give some suggestions of others y/n has met on their journey in the comments. I wanna see who else people want them to befriend/meet

I plan to later on do an entire thing for marineford. Be prepared for that and more stuff about y/n’s devil fruit

Once again this is non linear. Partially cause it’s easier that way and cause y/n has lived so long that their memories are kinda jumbled/they don’t really perceive time anymore (I kinda focused on that in this)

At some point in your eternal journey you began to write down your adventures into a small notebook

It’s leather bound with bright lettering on the front

A custom clasp in the shape of a star to keep the soft yellowed pages tight together

Sometimes you read it when out at sea with nothing to do but letting the wind guide your way to place of new and old

Before tucking it away into the pocket of Roger’s coat

Old ink of a dark navy blue stands out on the paper

Stark against the light yellow

With your feet dipped in the salty water of the place you called paradise you pull it out once more

Content in relaying over memories and people you’d once met

Let’s see who we have in store for today

Sengoku

Waking up on Marineford of all places after dying was certainly not on your list of islands you wanted to visit

An island dyed white and blue with golden accents sprinkled throughout the crowds of marines that walk through the area

The headquarters sat at the very top, loud and proud on the crescent moon shaped island

Honestly you very much contemplated just jumping into the sea to end up somewhere else

But as you stood at the very edge of the bay , leaning a bit forwards as the sapphire blue waves crash against the old stone walls

A hand grasps your shoulder

Turning around your met with the sight of a marine you had vaguely remembered Garp talking about

Sengoku, the Buddha

Your eyes trail upwards past his face to the pelican sat atop his marine hat

It stares down at you as does the marine who looks at you with concern

Especially since he sees no fear in your eyes along with contemplation

You had seriously thought about jumping into the sea all Willy nilly

It wasn’t even accounting the fact you may have a devil fruit

He quite literally drags you into the base, you don’t really complain since he gives you crackers

Similar ones to Garps favourites though a different brand

He sits you down, trying to get as much information out of you

It…isn’t successful

Your just chilling in his office, eating, looking around and giving the vaguest answers ever

Like he asks you about the island your from and you respond “a summer island a long ways from here. A place where fruit is plentiful and the corrupt hands of society do not touch” or some shit

He’s too stressed to deal with that type of shit so he doesn’t push further

Garp has been in his ass as of late along with the fact he’s worried about Rosinante

So his solution is to for now allow you to work as a delivery person for letters and documents

You actually quite enjoy it

Meanwhile this poor man is stressing over the fact that there is seemingly zero leads to any parents?

He’s just gotten somewhat unclear reports about a child on a raft drifting from island to island

Someone who reportedly has a track record of befriending the most unlikely of people

His migraines are getting worse at this point

You come to like the somewhat stern marine, oftentimes talking to him once done delivering letters and such around base

Most conversations are on ethics, morality and life

It’s odd but the way you talk about it seems as if your a weathered person who had seen more than the eye can see

Something in him leads him to feel as if your older than you looked

And then you somehow end up doing the most child-like thing and that feeling momentarily goes away

It’s weird and conflicting

But something he comes to get used to

In a lot of ways you remind him of his adoptive son

You have his smile and kindness that you extend to others even if they had sneered at you in the halls

The energy to complete a job no matter how big or small

A pension for somehow ending up in some sort of danger, though now it’s not from having two left feet

It’s from a lack of spacial awareness and not having any care for your safety

You’d think after such a long time seemingly on your own there would be some sort of fight or flight instinct

But from what he could observe there was absolutely none

It leaves him scared

He grew to care for you

See you as someone he’d take in within a heartbeat

But despite that and the offers he gives you of a home with fresh meals and someone who would care for you

You decline every time

Your tired from going to place to place yet you decline all offers of a stable life

A child should want some sort of stability, yet you throw that to the wind

He supposes that your burning determination and self sufficiency are good factors but a child your age shouldn’t have that

You should be carefree and going on a whim

But instead as he looks in your eyes he sees the tired visage of someone who had long lost their innocence to the world despite the laid back nature you show

It’s sad, it leaves him sometimes awake wondering what exactly you had been through

Maybe it was marines, it would explain your apprehension at first around him

Hair standing on end despite the lax facade you put up

Eyes looking at him with caution like a frightened and cornered cat. Calculating how to best go about the situation

The way in which you discuss with him about justice and what it meant

He digs more and finds scraps of nothing

Meanwhile as all that happened you were blissfully unaware of his spiral of worries

Just focusing on your job as you memorized the headquarters and marine procedures

You had nothing else to do plus it could come in handy

Along with that you befriend some of the few decent marines

One of which you spend quite a lot of time with despite Sengoku complaining about the smoke smell that hangs off your uniform…and the second hand smoking risk

Not like it can kill you quick so you don’t really care

You listen in on a lot of juicy marine rumours

There is quite a surprising amount of it

Despite your comfortable happiness here it’s merely an afterthought

You know you can’t stay here long

It feels as if it betrays Roger and the many other pirates you had found yourself in the company of

You desire freedom and marines are in direct opposition of that

But with this experience you find growth in your views

Marines weren’t all bad. They served the purpose of keeping order, something naturally needed in the world

But they are overstepping, wanting entire control when there needs to be a balance of both order and chaos to keep things in line

Plus you met a few that you’d otherwise consider good people in a system they thought would do good

You can’t fault them for that, not when so many sought out with good intentions

Secretly you prepare your leave, your boat already having washed up in the bay a few week back

Your not sure why but it always seemed to show up where you were

Maybe another aspect of your devil fruit? You don’t know it’s full capabilities but don’t question it

You’d rather let life do what it does best and put things in order if the stars align

At this point your prepared to leave but hold out for a bit longer for Sengoku’s sake

But then you delivered to him a letter whilst he was having a meeting with a fellow marine

Even before you enter the room you can recognize Garp’s boisterous laughter

Despite his now more apparent age from time he’s still eccentric and buzzing with excitement

As you enter the room you keep your head down and caps brim tilted as to shadow your face

Sengoku notices this but doesn’t voice it aloud as Garp laughs about something

He barely gets a image of you before your out the office

Heading to the small room designated as your own as you write a letter saying goodbye

You can’t stay, can’t risk it

Sengoku arrives a couple hours later completely exhausted from Garps usual rambling

He’s not sure how someone can go from business to about his grandsons

He has your dinner in hand, apparently you never showed up at the mess hall

His voice and knocks are responded with silence

Worry gnaws away at him, the feeling of something being wrong apparent more than ever

the door creaks open and your not there

What he’s met with is an open window with sheets cascading down the wall and a note

He runs to the pier despite knowing your not there

It’s there he takes time to actually read the note

A thank you but an explanation about how you must leave. Head off towards yet another adventure in the grand world you called home

Tears cascade down his cheeks as he reads it

They do not get better when it tells him that you would always remember his kindness

And that he taught you something valuable to viewing the world

Heading back to his office he thinks back to his son once more

Something finally coming to mind

He swears he remembers Rosinante mentioning someone similar to you as a childhood friend

The only person him and his brother had as children

He shoo’s off that thought though

They were dead

His son watched that firsthand

But because of that he knows that Rosinante would want to know of you

He takes the picture he took of you in the delivery uniform and placed it in a letter

He’d have his son look into perhaps finding you

Or at least extending a helping hand if he hand found you adrift at sea

He’d stash away the reminders of your stay lest he get an earful from Garp

Speaking of which, the idiot hero of the people seemed more alert for some reason. Just saying he was on the look out for an old friend…odd

Kid pirates

They find your ship as your drifting at sea

You were fishing at the time, passing the time plus trying to get some potential food

And then you see this giant ship pull up near yours

Your not really scared though a bit surprised cause you recognized that Jolly Roger

You’d heard a lot about this crew, but you didn’t know who was the captain

Seems like your question will be answered

Staring down from the side of the ship is someone with fiery red hot hair and someone wearing a mask with an equally wild mane of golden locks

For some reason though the red head looks familiar

Extremely…ohhhh you knew him

Oh shit you knew him when he was a kid

And now he’s grown up (you’d hadn’t even realized it’s been that long) and your still as young as you were back then

With no possible explanation to write you off as a different person

Shit-

Before you can do anything your lifted out from your ship via a metal bracelet on your arm made of wire and screw

Curtesy of Kid all those years ago who stares at you with a mixture of confusion, shock and anger

His crew is watching with batted breath wondering what he’ll do

“I’m guessing you want an explanation”

“No shit”

“Captain let’s take this someplace private”

With that the two take you to his workshop, a place similar to the one he had growing up

Yet it’s now not just a shack

Around the room there’s metal scraps and almost completed projects scattered around

It smells of iron, rust, determination, stubbornness and oil

All of which you’d come to associate with the red haired captain you now sit across from

And of killer who you now recognized despite the mask

You don’t have much of a choice to tell the truth

Especially since you know for a fact both would be able to tell if your lying

Kid is angry, perhaps not at you but for the circumstances of your life

It’s no wonder that even as children you were a bit odd

Staring off into space as you’d say some weird cryptic shit

But it also explains the sadness as well

The few times he caught you silently mourning something or someone in the dead of night

His anger fades though and becomes something else when you mention you didn’t know the years had flown by and he was grown up now

It scares him

You hadn’t realized the large passage of time from when you left that one night to now

When you admit that your even a bit shaken and confused but shrug it off

That really fucking terrified him especially when you begin to recount some of what you’d done in that time

For so long he and Killer assumed you died but perhaps you had something worse than that

You’d lived through so much

Through bloodshed and war

Through loss and grief

Countless deaths of not only the people you’d formed a connection with but yourself

Pain was now a meer concept to you

He sees how strong you are (and he heavily respects that) but at the same time how close you are to the breaking point

When Kid cares for someone it’s akin to molten steel

It’s burning brightly and protectively forming a hard barrier towards it and danger

There are a few people he’d ever stick his neck out for to protect (that being his crew and Killer)

And one of them is you, the only other person in his childhood that ever stood through thick and thin with him

By god will he ever admit it through words but with actions

And his actions are subtle as hell to those who don’t know him

On deck as his crew are rowdy he makes sure to keep out and eye for you, especially considering how your prime bumping into material for being so short

Luckily for him though your usually on someone’s shoulders or being playfully tossed around

Despite how clashing the rest of the crew’s personalities are from your own you fit in. Your calmness allowing you to go with the flow of their escapades

It’s not really surprising to him, but there are a few of the crew who comment about it

There were a lot of ways to describe you but he thought the best was the eye of the storm

A peace and calm within the swirling winds of danger and chaos

Bringing a calm breeze and momentary warmth

It’s easy for him to notice but his men are more content

Happy as you indulge in games with them or give a break from the hecticality of life at sea

This is of course all good and nice but Kid is somewhat huffy when you spend too much time with them

When this happens killer usually gives you a signal so you go spend time before kid ends up destroying something

One of his favourite pastimes with you is having you help with his tinkering

Sitting in a small chair made of metal and scrap as he works diligently

During these times he doesn’t talk, just listens as you tell stories or stay silent with him

It’s therapeutic in some way

Especially since the only background noise is the clanking of metal

Sometimes you ask about his devil fruit power and he shows off

Making you oh and ah about the versatility of what he can do

It makes something in him swell with pride especially since you look at him with awe

Just as he did as a kid when you told stories of pirates

During the late nights in which his crew are asleep you both talk

He digs deeper into your stories and gets madder and madder when more and more of your life is exposed

Most of your responses when hearing the truth is pity but his is anger

A weird but validating reaction that makes your long died out anger ignite a little

He lets you punch, scratch and scream to let it all out. Encouraging you to do so

Sometimes you swear you can see a brightly shining star in him. His determination for something that burns like a furnace used to heat up metal to bend to his whim

Killer is much like kid in the fact that he’s worried about and cares but he goes about it a much different way

He’s the only voice of reason on this ship

And he’s honestly glad to have someone else who’s level headed

As much as he loves his captain and crew it can kinda get annoying sometimes when he’s the only responsible person

Your at least not jumping to set the ship on fire every 3 minutes unlike some people

Hearing your situation now makes a lot of sense when thinking back to when he and Kid where young

There were a lot of inconsistencies and things that didn’t make sense

But now they do on the fact you were a seemingly immortal traveler

It makes him upset like Kid though

Your situation wasn’t fair

Your life wasn’t the dream your once made it out to be

Sure there are moments of happiness dispersed through the cold harsh waters but it took you dying in horrible ways to get there

You didn’t see that but you felt it’s affects

The occasional times he’d have you help cooking and then you’d blank out

Be stuck in your mind till he snaps you out of it and you explained how you were once eaten

It’s terrifyingly eye opening to how the world treats someone like you

A kind and calm soul who only wants freedom amongst the waves

Yet though they are sometimes treated with kindness there is also cruelty

Like Kid it leaves him angry

Upset on how you let yourself be treated in such a way along with brushing it off

Not only that but it’s also concerning

How you endure the worst things he could imagine yet it seems to be an afterthought

Until he finds you in the middle of the night staring out at the darkness with a certain look in your eye

There’s not much he nor Kid can do but he promises himself he’d try

Try for your sake to actually value yourself

Killer on the ship is the cook amung other duties as well, but cooking is his favourite

He has you help out as a second pair of hands

To be honest he doesn’t trust anyone else on the ship to cook without accidentally (or purposefully) poisoning someone so he usually does it alone

It’s the only time of peace on this madhouse that he calls of home

And it’s nice he gets to share it with someone

He assigns small tasks for you to do on the account your still a kid (despite how much you protest and say your literally older than him)

Cutting vegetables, grabbing ingredients, taste testing and stirring are your main priorities

But occasionally he has you help with other things as long as he can keep a close eye on you

He knows for a fact if you hurt yourself you wouldn’t tell him and brush it off

And by god he doesn’t need you to die of something stupid just cause you didn’t care to tell him

Unlike Kid he’s not afraid to verbally give affection

It’s just in private moments that he prefers it

Soft thank you’s and moments in which he admits he had missed having you around

The logical side of him knows he and Kid can’t convince you to stay but the emotional side tries anyways

Showing you how happy you could be if you stayed here

How the crew saw you as their own

How much safer you’d be rather than just drifting from place to place

It’s a loosing battle but one he tries anyways cause he cares

And he knows Kid cares despite the fact he tries to deny it

Cause Killer knows Kid

Seen how the red haired captain had been more motivated as of late

How much happier he is

The fact that when you bring up leaving the red haired captain locks himself in his workshop for the night to try and distract himself

He wishes you’d see how much you affected people, affected them

Cause despite what you thought of yourself your able to do the impossible

You leave a real impact on those you’d met even if it was for a short time

The crew sometimes pester him for answers on how he and Kid already knew you but he doesn’t budge

That’s a private matter that only you could disclose if you so wanted to

But for now he just says you were friends beforehand which gets some confusion

Speaking of the crew, he watches as you interact with them

Quickly somehow worming your way into their hearts as you did his

Watches as you play poker and they teach you how to cheat at the game or sing shanties while they drink

He may or may not have gave a few a good knock on the head for letting you take a few sips

(Kid hides the fact he gave you some as well)

He carry’s you off to bed and sneaks you some sweats he snagged at a port

Even allows you to brush and braid his hair in private

Kid once walked in and laughed his ass off about killer going soft

And then the two had a playful fight

Meanwhile you sat there laughing

It was like old times

As always you eventually leave but not before the crew throws a large party in your honour (and partially to drink the feelings away)

Before you set off again kid gifts you a bracelet made by him and a small piece of paper

To always find them if you needed their help

You smile and set off, not knowing how the crew stares with ignorant hope you’d turn around

Crocodile

Your not sure how but somehow you ended up in a desert with absolutely no idea of what island this was

Naturally you decided to lay in the sand and wait to die so you’d wake up somewhere else

But a few hours into that a shadow obscures the harsh sun that had been glaring at you for hours

A man, black slicked hair and elegant clothes with a golden hook for a hand

Beside him is another man, what you assumed to be a bodyguard of sorts

“Hi what desert is this?. I’d like to know where exactly I am before I die”

Yeah they definitely didn’t expect that for an answer

But with what you said you seemed to intrigue the hooked man

“Alabasta. What are you doing out here in the first place alone kid?”

“Woke up here. Was waiting to die”

Admittedly crocodile was just gonna save you as to make his imagine of being the hero of this country even better but now you’ve really got him interested

Even Daz was somewhat surprised and intrigued by your comment and lax attitude towards death (even your own)

So as he takes you back to the city, taking in the fame that came with it, he decides to “look after you” until your parents come to claim you

As any kind Samaritan would do

Your calling bullshit on that but amuse his words anyways

At his casino he talks to you as he does paperwork and take mysterious calls you leave the room for

While your curious you respect his privacy which he seems to appreciate

Crocodile is a peculiar man

Someone of specific interests and a golden viper-like tongue that leads to fools eating out the palm of his hand

You can see that though, quite easily actually

Eyes looking past the hand he holds out to the hook he hides behind his back and goons just behind the corner

He honestly applauds that you see it

In his words your “a smart kid.” Which you assume is something he doesn’t say often

Much like an oasis in the scathing sands of the desert

Your conversations with him are much more personable rather than focusing on his clearly defined goals and plans

That isn’t your business to divulge in, but his character is up to your judgment

He’s obviously not a good person but half of the people you’d called friends were criminals and killers alike

Sure some had morals but there’s still a stated fact that they had taken lives in pursuit of their goals

Roger included

You’d be a hypocrite to think otherwise

Talks often involve subjects of death and the goal of freedom

And what freedom meant in this world that was quickly having it taken away

Crocodile is tinged by death much like the lingering smell of his cigars

It follows him like a plague, like sand stuck to your clothes after getting wet

Yet despite that it’s a clearly interesting topic to him especially since you disregard your own safety

He’d seen it in the desert and at his casino where you nearly got shot by an angry patron

You don’t care about your own death

But when it comes to others it’s a different story

It’s interesting to him

Why were you so selfless in the fact you’d carelessly throw your life away for someone else’s

In this world it’s one only won by the selfish

He’s a prime example of that

At his core he knows he’s selfish, his goal is an example of that fact

Yet despite how foolish it is to not be selfish…with you it’s admirable

You don’t have some sunny and innocent view on the matter. You know it’s a loosing game yet you pursue it anyways

Perhaps it’s more foolish in that way but you don’t care

Not when you have the freedom to choose and make those choices anyways

Freedom matters to you more than words can describe and he relates

It is freedom that let him make the course of his own destiny

Changing who he once was to the person he is now

Now comfortable in his own skin and confident in his abilities and identity

Perhaps it’s cause you had your freedom taken away at some point but you relate in some way

Not having the choice in a matter and suffering due to it

He doesn’t go into full detail on the matter but you have a knowing look in your eye and a semblance of deep respect because of it

It makes a part of him feel light and airy

Despite all the clearly scummy aspects of himself that are as clear as day to your eyes….you respect him

Some still deeply insecure part of him curls up at that and wants to cry

You respected him

That’s something he’d always wanted

It’s not motivated by fear and greed but true respect for the hardships he’d been through to get here

Worry curls up in his gut, swirling and violent like the sands storms he creates

Shit, he’s attached

What’s worse is that you’d wormed your way into the others hearts as well

Even Daz has to admit you grew on him

Your a lot like a cancerous sore. Growing and spreading to a new part of the body

Yet he can’t will himself to cut you off

And neither does his inner circle

It complicates things but at this point he accepts it after a brief moment of reflection and thought

He hadn’t thought of trying to find your parents and had the posters taken down

Now fully intending to keep you as his own

He doesn’t ask you on the matter, just slowly begins the process

Decorating your room to your preference

….which was very hard considering you didn’t have one and settled for the bare minimum most of the time

Yeah it’s a bit of a challenge especially since your beginning to catch on real quick

It’s kinda easy to tell when someone goes from “I’m keeping you around for entertainment” to “I’m keeping you around as my kid now”

While you appreciate the offer and effort you don’t particularly like your freedom being impeded upon

“You know that’s hypocritical right?”

“Yes but when have pirates ever been people of their word?”

“Touché…but I’m still not happy about this”

As this happens he begins to dig deeper to who you are

Intent on figuring out if you had parents and if he could perhaps…get “custody” to put it broadly

But that becomes a challenge when there’s seemingly nothing about you except for vague whispers across the sea

A legend

A story

A song

It’s old, going back to the days of Roger and references to before that as well

A tale of a star that never really died

It’s forgotten to many but to a few it still lives on

And he has the vaguest idea from the description in the song that it’s you

But for awhile it’s a mere speculation

Until you end up dying in front of him from a deal gone wrong

Despite the fact you knew the bullet would pass through his body you instinctually throw yourself in front of him

The bullet piercing your chest

A deafening silence filling the moment between him and his inner circle of baroque works

And then chaos

Their swiftly dealt with, the perpetrator personally having their body liquids drained within mere moments

And then he’s at your side as Bentham does their best to stop the bleeding

Despite the fact your bleeding with a piece of led stuck in your chest your unfazed

Shrugging it off as “pain is a concept to me at this point”

It makes him angry, sad and determined all at the same time

Angry at the fact you must’ve experienced so much pain that something like this is nothing to you

Sadness that you’ve went through this before

And determination to stop it from happening again. To have the ability to protect you

“Let it be known that when you come back I’ll be looking for you”

“So you know?”

“Had some connections…found an old story but you just confirmed it”

You giggle lightly at that, not even wincing as you cough up some blood with your laughter

They all watch as your eyes fade of their light and then after that your body breaks into sparkling dust

Crocodile is a selfish man, one driven by ambition and greed

It’s funny you think he’d let go someone he considered to be a diamond in the rubble

One that shone as bright as a star in the sky

He extinguishes his cigar under his boot, grasping the small bits of starlight in his hand before it slips through his fingers like sand

He chuckles, how ironic

In the world populated by the greedy he intends to be king

And a king guards his treasure especially something that is as priceless as you are in this world

“Watch out kid. You’ve gotten me attached and there’s no undoing that now”

Boa Hancock

For a brief time you had spent a couple months or so as a celestial dragon’s slave

It was by complete accident that you were kidnapped and subsequently sold

But in that time you’d come to learn more of the politics of the world

Specifically the inequality of rules for nobles from the world government

You don’t spend much time as a slave but it’s torturous

Permanently scaring your mind with the pain of being branded as property

Seen as an object that can be broken

In your time there though you remember 3 girls

That time is a blur in your mind but you remember giving your limited food to them

The group being taken aback by the kindness as you explained you’d be fine

It went on like that for awhile

You never got their names but you gave them yours

They were sisters, the one with black hair being the oldest of the trio

It was a friendship made out of desperation

Of knowing that none of you were alone

The eldest of the group is one day forced to kill you for the pleasure of the sick bastard who had branded you all

She’s sobbing

He’ll kill her sisters if she doesn’t

You tell her it’s ok, that she must do what she can to survive and keep them alive

That death didn’t scare you

Her devil fruit turns you to stone within an instant but not from romantic love

It’s from the love of a friend

Of someone who’d cared for her and her sisters enough to give up your own for them

For her to keep them safe

The statue crumbles and she’s left sobbing

Gold floats from the grey dust that scatters around her

She thinks back to some of your last words

She had to be strong for her sisters

Make sure they get out of here lest your sacrifice be in vain

She’d be strong so she can protect

Just as you protected her and them from a violent fate

Even through the scar isn’t there anymore you scratch at your back

Remembering the pain of that seal

You can’t remember who the symbol belongs to anymore

Other than then being some type of royal

The cycle begins again

Smoker

You met him during your brief time at marineford

One of the only Marines whom you found to actually be good

Not just seeing things as simply black and white good and bad

Sure, he had a job to do and accomplish but he at least had a sense of morally grey justice

A well weighted scale so one side is not preferred over the other

It’s because of him that the smell of lingering smoke now leaves a sense of comfort to you

Admitting this to him makes the rather gruff man go completely red

Much like the lot end of those cigars that he loves so much

Despite how own duties he’d help you deliver things at the base

Having his smoke help carry letters across the island within minutes as to give you a small break

Speaking of which, he basically forces you to have mandatory breaks from work

Oftentimes literally dragging you off to go get something to eat

You have the feeling he has a soft spot for kids but vehemently denies that fact

(The way he buys you ice cream and lets you sit on his shoulder says otherwise but ok)

Another thing supports this fact is that he grows quite concerned at your complete disregard for your safety

The man has a panic attack every time you make an odd comment about “do you think I’d die from this height or shatter my legs” and “could you theoretically give people cancer or kill them via smoke blockage in the lungs?”

You can’t convince him that you had a happy childhood before this

Sengoku not being able to find your parents makes this thought worse

You didn’t know him for very long but you hope to one day run into home again

Charlotte LinLin

Somehow you ended up at an orphanage after someone found you asleep and adrift at sea

It most cases this would’ve been a blessing

To you it was an annoyance as they left you at a place for the abandoned and mourning

A reminder of where you might have ended up if you haven’t ate your fruit

Hadn’t taken the reigns of fate in your hands and steered it towards the endless blue sea

Immediately you want to leave the moment you can, especially since you get off vibes from “mother caramel”

That woman is up to something real bad

You can feel it deep in your bones

But you end up staying when you meet a peculiar girl

She’s young but not little, she towers over you like a giant

Puffy pink hair kept in two buns and freckles cheeks paired with a large toothy smile

She’s an interesting character, so like always you end up staying

Her name is Linlin, someone with monstrous power yet is innocent to a frightening degree

She has a kind heart yet doesn’t realize her strength

Something you try to help her with

Linlin is ecstatic to have you as a friend especially since you don’t seem out off by her size

You stay by her side, more specifically on her shoulder and tell her stories that make her eyes widen in curiosity

Telling stories of other races, showing her that the other children who aren’t human aren’t needing to be fixed like she initially thought

Their all perfect

She’s still a little confused but she gets the gist of it

Another thing she doesn’t get is discrimination and thinks it’s stupid

She expresses a dream of a place where everyone can live in peace

It’s a beautiful dream but one that is far fetched, yet you can’t help but tell her to go for it

Because there’s no harm in trying

Mother Caramel seemingly assigns you as Linlin’s impulse control

Seemingly since your the only one who can actually make her listen when she’s blind from rage

As much as you don’t like the old woman, she’s got a point

Linlin is a hurricane if made angry and you’re the key into keeping it at peace

She seems to note that to herself for some greater reason

In the end you didn’t know Linlin for very long but she seemed to hold you in such a high regard she deemed you her “bestest friend!”

It’s nice

But like all things they come to and end

But surprisingly it’s by her own hand

At her 6th birthday everyone had come together to make her sweets knowing she loved anything sugary

She was in tears, grin so wide you thought it was big as the red line

She ate and ate

Until there was no cake left

But like in those blind rages she didn’t see

She didn’t see there was nothing left

Didn’t notice what she now began to eat was the rest of the children sitting nearby

Mother caramel

And finally you

Eventually she woke up, finding herself alone and confused

Glitter flowing up into the sky

Years later you hear about some island meant to be a utopia for all people

It reminds you of that little pink haired girl

But that can’t be, you heard the pirate behind it was a maniac

That couldn’t be the innocent girl you met and became friends with

…how did you die that time again?

All the deaths have merged together or you can’t remember which death went where

For all you know the one where you got eaten was that one

But that can’t be

From what you remember Linlin was kind if not naive

She couldn’t

Wouldn’t

The cycle begins again

Katakuri

For awhile you stayed at an island that specialized in baked goods

And that served as a calling for the famous pirate known as “big mom” and her children

The island was not yet under their…”protection” but was being negotiated with as of when you visited

And on that island you found yourself at a bakery buying sweets to your hearts content

Specifically donuts

The one where we’re apparently particularly good

And honestly it’s been awhile since you’d treated yourself to a good meal

Soooo you splurged a bit and bought them all

And that leads to an odd meeting when you run into the giant of a man with a pink tattoo and fur lined scarf covering the bottom half of his face

The chefs cower as they tell him that their all out of the sweet treat

Despite the evident frown he doesn’t look as if he’s about to trash the place like the chefs are making it seem

He simply seems disappointed and a bit sour

Despite how everyone is clearly afraid of him you poke his arm making him look at you

“We can share if you’d like. I don’t mind”

From the mortified looks of everyone in the room it’s evident everyone is half expecting him to flat out obliterate you on the spot

But much to their surprise he seem to think it over

“If you see me eating I’ll kill you”

“Aight, that’s fine with me. We can eat back to back, then I won’t see you”

The bakery is left silent as you leave with the pirate

They prey your alright

Just as your promised you eat back to back. He creates a small house of mochi as you put down the donut box and you both eat

It’s peaceful and nice

He half expects for you to turn around but you don’t

You don’t even seem to consider it as you happily eat and engage in small conversations

It’s odd being asked such mundane things like “how was your day?” And “what do you do for a living?”

Let alone by someone who isn’t currently shaking in fear

….it’s nice

You let him have the last donut much to his surprise

He enjoyed this much more than he thought he would

So he comes up with an ultimatum

“I’ll be too busy to buy them before they sell out…would you be willing to buy them and then we do what we did today?”

“Sounds fun to me.”

He leaves with a warm feeling in his chest

Not even his siblings treated him in such a relaxed manner…it was refreshing

The next day ticks by and he finds himself awaiting for the meeting to be over

He stops himself from tapping his foot but his irritation occasionally seeps out

It goes to help speed up conversation though and then he’s free

Like the day prior you both meet at the same place

He insists on paying you back but you refuse

It’s confusing but he doesn’t make a comment about it

In the grande scheme if things this is such a small thing but it begins to mean the world to him

He’s only intended to stay here for a week yet he dreads that final day

So much so that he finishes business early

When you go to the shop you find that their already sold out much to your displeasure

You go to tell the sweet toothed man you befriended and find him already with the confectionery

You eat back to back once more for the last time

Enjoying the donuts that bring him momentary relaxation and relief from the pressure to be the prefect son

The perfect big brother

It’s nice

And for once he feels as if he was his true self around someone

You hear him cry but don’t turn around out of respect for him

Instead you just offer him more food and gently pat his arm

A small “thank you” falls from his mouth and you smile

You thank him in return for the pleasant company

He wonders if this is what is mother experienced when having her “bestest friend” all those years ago

The one story that him and all his siblings had heard growing up

About someone much like yourself

He leaves the island with a smile beneath his scarf and a noticeable better mood

His siblings ponder about what happened but he doesn’t speak a work of it

This was a treasure he’d like to keep to himself

For some reason his mother has a knowing look

Btw wanted to thank you all for liking this so far. I was honestly kinda scared to actually post for one piece but I’m glad people are enjoying my content for it. I recently got into the show and wanted to write about it cause I love it so much.

[chxrryhxrt]

The library - Lucius Malfoy x Female Reader

Synopsis: You have a slight crush Lucius Malfoy, finding yourself easily flustered whenever he is near. When this starts to bring you unwanted attention, who will stand up for you?

Warnings: none, just slight angst and fluffy stuff at the end

This is just a short little one-shot that I wrote a few years back for my first request. I posted it on my old account but am just in the process of moving all my work over here!

Sighing, you flicked through the charms book laid out in front of you, landing on page 83. You shuffled through a few more pages and paused, frowning down at it.

“This is the right page, isn’t it?” you asked, turning the textbook to show your friend, “Because I could’ve sworn Binns said revision for muffliato was on this page, not self-defense charms.”

Glancing up at you, her eyebrows scrunched together as she reached out to pick up the book, bringing it closer to her bespectacled face, inspecting it. 

“Y/n, this is the wrong textbook, you absolute billywig. We’re doing standard charms, this,” she stated, waving the book in your face, “is an introduction to charms book.”

“Oh Merlin, how did I manage that?”

She snorted, “They do look pretty similar I guess, except the one you want is almost twice the size.”

You looked away and laughed dryly, taking the book back, “It’s an easier mistake to make than you’d think. I’m going to go find the other one, I’ll be back in a bit.”

You untucked your chair from the table, trudging through the towers of bookshelves to the section where you had gotten the previous book. Sliding it back into the shelf, you stared around at the masses of similar-looking novels - all worn down shades of brown and thoroughly used. Who on earth thought it was a good idea to make them look practically identical?

After scouring almost every shelf for what felt like hours, you gave up, deciding to ask the librarian if they knew where to find it before the library closed up - which on reflection - you should've done in the first place. Hastily, you raced off around the corner, sending piles of books flying. Without this book, there was no way you’d be able to revise for your upcoming exams, let alone pass them.

As you approached the entrance, you saw a girl from your charms class, Beth, deep in conversation with Lucius; the boy you were absolutely head over heels for. With his smooth blonde hair and shimmering blue eyes, you couldn't be blamed - almost any girl would give up their soul for a chance with him.

You noticed that he happened to be holding a copy of 'Standard charms and spells' - exactly what you had been searching for. Hesitantly, you began to walk up to them, your heels scuffing the stone floor with each step and heart knocking against your ribs.

When you got closer, he turned to look at you, a small smile forming.

"Hi, Lucius," you started, fiddling with your fingers, twisting them into strange positions, "I noticed that you have the charms book I've been looking for, and I was just,  uh, wondering if I could maybe, like, borrow it?" As he opened his mouth to reply, you spluttered out a mess of words, which sounded somewhat like an apology for interrupting his prior conversation. At that, there was a subtle flash of an obscure emotion across his features. You felt fairly confident that it was pity.

"Oh, no please don't apologise, I was actually just coming to put it back, but," he paused, his eyes flicking to look at Beth briefly, "I bumped into Beth an-"

"And he's said he's giving the book to me, but don't stress yourself, he wouldn't have given it to someone like you, even if you’d asked before me."

You flinched slightly at the sudden abrasive tone, bottom lip tucking between your teeth as your body froze up.

You stared at both of them for a moment, then scurried away back to where you'd been sat before.

As you retreated, you felt a pair of eyes on your back, no doubt judging you. Thoughts clouded your mind in embarrassment, what if Lucius found that funny? What if they are both doubled over behind you, laughing? You tried tirelessly to shake these worries from your mind as you headed back to the comfort of your friend.

When you got to the table, it seemed as though your friend had left already, as all her stuff was packed up and gone, but honestly you couldn't be mad at her, you had been gone for at least an hour.

So, you started grabbing all your stuff: your quill, parchment, inkpot and wand, and shoved them all into your satchel hurriedly.

You went to turn and sling your bag over your shoulder but found Beth standing behind you, in your way.

"Sorry, Beth, I really have to go, can you move over a bit?" you asked, chewing the side of your cheek.

"It's really obvious you know." she claimed, staring you dead in the eyes.

"What?"

"You always blush and stutter when he talks to you. It's not like he's interested in you, you know? He's a Malfoy, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. You're nowhere near as respected as him. In fact, hardly anyone even knows who you are."

With every word, your eyes glossed over more and more, tears welling up, on the verge of pouring down your face. You couldn't think of anything to say, she was right and that was what hurt, Lucius would never be interested in you.

Beth stepped towards you, trapping you between the table and her body.

"Just the other day, I heard him talking about you, I'm only saying this because thought you deserve to know. But he said that you're nothing but a desperate wh-"

"Beth," A loud, assertive voice came from behind a bookshelf, revealing Lucius as he walked over to you both, "Step away from her now."

When she stayed put, he wasted no time in pulling his wand out and pointing it at her. "Move. now." He growled out, stepping forwards and pressing the wand to her neck.

Her breathing sped up and she said nothing, but moved backwards, freeing you from her grasp.

"Now leave us, and do not speak to her that way again," he said, moving to your side, "Do you understand me?"

She murmured a quick yes and snatched up her wand, sprinting out of the library.

Lucius turned to face you, expression full of regret, his hand coming up to gently stroke you cheek. "I am so so sorry, love. I would have helped you sooner, had I known she was going to do that."

"It's okay, but what she was saying, wa-"

He hushed you, cupping your jaw, "None of it was true, sweetheart. For the record, I can definitely like someone as perfect and as lovely as you. In fact, how could I not?"

You beamed, looking up at him and then at his lips, "Can I?"

"Of course you can,” He replied, placing his hand on the back of your head and pulling you slowly into a kiss.

He pulled away, pupils filled with adoration, his warm hand grasping yours, "Now, how about we go to the common room, and I help you with this charms work, hm?"

[soobrat]

one way; cbg

part i | part ii | part iii

🖊️⇝ pairing; afab!reader x beomgyu

🖊️⇝ word count; 17.3k

🖊️⇝ genre; enemies 2 lovers, smut, & angst

🖊️⇝synopsis; things have gotten much more complicated in a relationship that spawned from simplicity

🖊️⇝ warnings; thoughts of suicide and murder, brief descriptions of gore, PIV, balls in mouth, lots of kissing, not super smut heavy, manipulation, betrayal, descriptions of depression, assault (the usual), passionate sex, the l bomb

📜⇝ aw man, this is very BITTERsweet. Idk how I feel about this. Ask me in a week and I'll either love or hate it. I didn't go into part one expecting to flesh out their relationship, so please forgive me if this long awaited finale doesn't reach your expectations. I am happy to finally say it's finished though!!

You didn’t remind Beomgyu of anyone. Maybe before you started having sex, that’s why he was so sure. He felt like he was experiencing deja vu from how similar you were to those groupies. Just awkward, quirky, and harmless. You’re only here to do your job and just happened to become friends with this celebrity. The romantic feelings that developed, oh those are to be expected. Of course you fell in love! But if another handsome, famous fella came around and was willing… that love is suddenly conditional.

But then you were letting Beomgyu bite your lip and rip your clothes off, you were shoving your tongue down his throat and letting him fuck you in every conceivable position. While still remaining kind and loyal to Soobin.

You were even open about the things Beomgyu did to you. You didn’t care how it made you look or if it would scare the others off. You didn’t present it as this passionate sexy moment, but the clumsy and somewhat comical situation it was. You were comfortable with them. Letting them see the real you even if it wasn’t exactly attractive. Maybe Beomgyu was wrong about you.

Then he’d catch these glimpses. Moments where he really saw Hyesoo in you. Everyone would be laughing and then suddenly you’d bring up a recent accomplishment of Soobin’s. It seemed weird to shift mid-conversation to boost him up. But when Beomgyu looked around, no one else saw anything wrong with it. He was hyper analyzing you and he was trying to stop. It was hard not to think about Hyesoo period, but with a new woman cozied up in their dorm it was even harder.

When you’d hit Soobin’s arm while laughing, buy only him snacks and drinks, laugh at his jokes harder than anyone else, fall asleep with your head on his shoulder. No matter how much he tried to stop himself, he couldn’t stop thinking you were buttering him up. Locking him in.

Here he was, staying up until 5 am dwelling on every thought that enters his brain. He lays stagnant in your bed, staring at the ceiling but really at nothing at all. His head flops to the side and he catches a glimpse of your peaceful expression. His eyes track down to your arms curled around his bicep. He looks back up at the ceiling with a lengthy sigh. 

He needs to leave.

It started with him staying a little longer to eat up the food in your fridge. You staying to chat with some of the guys. Him staying to help clean up the vase that fell and shattered during your ministrations. You staying to clean yourself off and mentioning that maybe he should bring by a few spare items of clothing in case he wants to shower at your place. Now both of you have clothes at the other’s house and he’s spending the night.

He could dwell on everything he should or shouldn’t be doing right now or he could stop fighting how the warmth of your presence is lulling him to sleep.

-🖊️⇝

Beomgyu wakes up in the absence of your warmth. If his memory serves him correctly, you’re off to practice by now. He can’t help feeling pathetic as everyone rushes off to their duties while he lounges around. He only has one month left of his suspension before he’s back on the grind. He wants to just enjoy it, but the loneliness of it all after years of constantly being surrounded by hoards of people was undeniably crushing. The people he does see are usually rushing around before leaving him in an empty house.

He slumps out of your room and is hit with the scent of freshly made toast. He spots you in the kitchen, rushing around with a piece of toast dangling from your teeth. Upon seeing Beomgyu your eyes widen, brows raising as you prompt him.

“D’you like butter on your toast? Actually, don’t say anything, I’m doing it.” Your speech is muffled until you take a bite and set the piece down. When Beomgyu finally reaches the kitchen he sees you sloppily slathering butter onto two extra pieces of toast. You place them on a small plate before pushing it toward him. You quickly steal another bite of your toast before scowling at him. “You better not leave a mess for me to clean up.”

Once you finish chewing you’re still maintaining eye contact with Beomgyu. He stares intently, and you wonder if he’s still groggy from just waking up. Then his eyes break away to the state of your hair. He gives another second of thought before sweeping the unruly strands into place.

“You’re going outside, where people will see you.” He tsks.

“Said people should mind their business.” You punctuate by tearing off a chunk of your toast, maintaining eye contact pointedly. You throw the matching jacket to your sweatpants over your shoulder. “Lock my door before you leave!”

As the door shuts, the sound echoing through the now empty apartment, Beomgyu feels hyper aware of how much empty space surrounds him where he stands. The loneliness looms over him, a reminder no matter where he goes. He may joke around, but Beomgyu tries not to whine about his problems. It feels especially inappropriate since you were in this same situation, bound to this apartment with a suddenly empty schedule. But for you, you weren’t sure if you were getting fired or worse, getting stuck in the dungeon for years with no end in sight. 

He thinks about that the entire time he stays within your walls. Where you stood, sat, and lied in limbo. From the couch, he glances over at the spot he found you lying in the day after you wrecked your house. A dark, malicious feeling crawls up his spine and he squirms. Staying in your house was already confusing for him, but with this feeling of what… guilt? He had nothing to feel guilty over. He was protecting his members.

Either way, it was overwhelming. He leaves your home, locking it on the way out. His dorm had his things. He can play video games all day until his eyes dry out. It was undeniably unfulfilling, despite it being what he craved since his trainee years. It felt as empty as his home.

He intentionally has his headphones only over one ear so he can hear when the door clicks open. It’s too quiet to be more than one member. Whatever, he’ll take what he can get. He leaves the game lobby, throwing his headphones off and rushing out of his room. When his eyes are met with blonde hair he stops in his tracks. Soobin silently regards him, not sparing him an ounce of emotion as he makes his way to the fridge. He grabs a soda, pops it open, and throws it back. Beomgyu waits patiently, he needs the interaction and Soobin has to give up this silent treatment at some point.

Soobin empties the can and tosses it, a silent conflict bleeding through his indifference to Beomgyu’s presence. Both men stand in silence, Beomgyu surveying each twitch in Soobin’s expression.

Soobin grits his teeth, hoping if he squeezes hard enough this aggravating feeling flaring up will pass. “You know what really pisses me off?” He snaps once he fails.

The relief he expected doesn’t come. There’s a pang of anxiety creeping up his spine in its place. “That I’m mean to your friend-”

“That I have a feeling this is all about that situation you refuse to talk about.” Soobin immediately shoots down his quip, sparing none of his valuable time for Beomgyu’s antics. Soobin finds that new trials and tribulations rear their ugly head just when he thought he’d gotten used to them. Recently Beomgyu has been one huge trial. He hasn’t been a good leader when dealing with this but Beomgyu is also his friend and roommate. Is he not allowed to just be upset by the actions of someone so close to him? Physically and emotionally?

When he looks over at Beomgyu it’s clear from the look on his face that he’s still not going to engage. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. Letting out a lengthy sigh, he decides it’s time to abandon his personal grievances for now.

“You slept over at her house?”

Finally, it felt like someone was clamping their hands around his throat. “What, are you jealous or something?” He melts back into his usual self.

“I’m your leader.” Why does he even remind him anymore? It’s becoming increasingly apparent that the title means nothing to him.

“Yeah, you love reminding me of that fact when it’s convenient but it doesn’t apply here.” Getting his fill of interaction, he leaves the kitchen in favor of the living room. “It’s none of your business.”

“It became my business when you got in trouble. You’re on suspension, Beomgyu.” Yet again reminding him of something he clearly doesn’t care about. At least, he thinks he doesn’t until Beomgyu stops. His back is turned toward Soobin but he can still tell that it got to him.

Beomgyu no longer feels isolated but he does feel trapped again. Like the exits are too far away for him to escape and he’s forced to face this. “I don’t blame you for not speaking to the therapist they provide us with the risk of your confessions being reported, but if you tell me what’s going on we can figure this out. I’m also your friend, Beomgyu. You can talk to me.” He says softly, jumping at the chance of an opening.

This is the same guy he would laugh with until it physically hurt but he still couldn’t stop. The one who’d sneak him extra food as trainees. He’s a lovable dork who has proved on so very many occasions that he cares about each and every one of his members. Beomgyu can see it, he can feel it whipping around in the air. Soobin is right and he’s being stubborn again. It’s like the walls are closing in and pushing him closer to Soobin’s hurt but hopeful eyes. Beomgyu shuts his own.

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

Before Beomgyu can see the full transition of his expression he whips around, making his way to his room.

“Really? You’re still gonna pretend nothing is wrong?!” Soobin’s increase in volume is ignored as Beomgyu slams the door behind him.

-🖊️⇝

Tomorrow is Beomgyu’s last day in suspension. Yeonjun proposed they throw a party, just another excuse for Yeonjun to party. He invites anyone whose schedule is free which turns out to be a surprising amount of people. Friendly Yeonjun knows pretty much everyone in this generation and some from previous ones. This once empty building waiting to be bought was filled wall to wall with idols, models, and actors. 

Everyone notable in Beomgyu’s life saw the suspension as a no-touch subject that dampened the mood, except for you of course, the delightful person you are. Here? People are coming up to him with a tone that can only be described as vengeful.

“HYBE seems like such tight asses. You guys should ditch that place and come sign with KQ.” Hongjoong delivers a solid pat to Beomgyu’s back as he guides him to the stacked liquor table. “Let’s forget about all of that tonight.” Hongjoong messily pours two shots, either from having too many already or from sheer excitement to let loose. He hands Beomgyu one before raising his into the air. “To freedom!”

It’s almost surreal. The music feels like it swells as reality starts to dawn on him. His containment is soon to be over and he is completely surrounded by people. Things were finally gonna start looking up again.

“To freedom!” 

They both knock back their shots and submerge themselves back into the crowd of people with refreshed energy. His first instinct was to find you for some celebratory cum dumping, maybe fuck you into the wall of one of these fancy port-o-potties.

“Hey.” 

The voice leads Beomgyu’s eyes to a pair of sultry eyes and plump lips curved into a flirty smile. She was a perfect ten with a rack sitting pretty, the round, soft spheres of her cleavage taunting his already horny brain. Jisun was always a nice piece of eye candy. “Catch up to me,” She gestures to the shot in her hand, “and then let’s play.”

-🖊️⇝

Beomgyu is strange. He clearly still holds some resentment toward you, or at least skepticism, but he’s still around a lot. And you are too, which feels like poking the tiger. If he suddenly decides he still hates you he can rat you out with proof this time. You did blackmail the man. But this is just easier. Being strict and clear about your relationship was exhausting. Sometimes you don’t want to journey right back home after getting your back blown out.

All it would take was one joke from Beomgyu about you being clingy and you would’ve snapped back to the strict rules. Then he spent the night over your house and you felt a little at ease.

That meant you could finally have a sleepover at their dorm, staying up all night with Soobin watching scary movies and then being too scared to sleep. It also didn’t hurt having something warm to snuggle up to. The strangest part? Beomgyu seemed to be easing up. He stopped giving you that look as much, as if he’s trying to catch you scheming.

The party was much needed, and judging by the vibe of literally everyone else around you, all the partygoers would agree. There’s this overwhelming sense of relief and it’s intoxicating. Nobody can be as relieved as Beomgyu, wherever he is. You keep an eye out for him, in case he wants to monkey around in some pocket of the building. 

“Hey!!” Soobin grabs your shoulder to stop you as he maneuvers around you. “There you are!”

“And here you are! I can’t believe you’re here and not at home watching anime!” You lean a little closer for him to hear over the music.

“I know! I decided I could try and blow off some steam since I pretty much have the day off tomorrow.”

“Pretty much?” You ask, curious if a monthly diet and exercise report was a company-wide event.

“We’re having a meeting before Beomgyu is reinstated. They said it’d be a small one but I’m still blowing off steam in advance.”

“Yikes. Let’s get some drinks in your system.” You guide him to the alcohol like a nurse escorting a frail patient.

All four of you were downing shots like your life depended on it on opposite sides of the bar. Beomgyu was caught up far before you and Soobin drank your stress away, so away he went. Jisun was whisked to whatever private area they stumbled across first. The spacious storage closet behind the first door he opened seemed like stumbling across the gates of heaven. With a swift turn, he flashes Jisun a smirk and pulls her in. 

“Have you seen Beomgyu yet?” You probe, trying to look casual and not let your genuine inquiry slip through. You’re realizing the longer you’ve gone without seeing him today that you may crave more than just a quickie. A flash of his signature smirk passes through your mind and your stomach fills with a joyous warmth. You find yourself smiling. You quickly drop the smile, peering at Soobin as he stares at the ceiling.

“Not yet. I decided not to look for him and just let him relax. This party is for him after all.” He speaks quietly and you can tell there’s a lot more going unsaid. “For all we know he might not be here.” You laugh, having to force it as this feeling you can’t– or won’t– describe dawns on you. Soobin sighs, not able to shake the conflict in his head.

“I don’t know what’s going on with this man. I don’t know how to get him to talk about it-” He stops, raising his hands as if the gesture will help him conjure his thoughts. He shuts his mouth, dropping his hands in favor of grabbing a shot and downing it. “Has he said anything to you? About anything bothering him?”

“To me? Yeah, that’s not really how our relationship works.” You shake your head, tossing your own shot back to try and dull the emotions begging to be unpacked. Is something bothering him? When is something not bothering him? Now that you think about it, you haven’t seen goofy Beomgyu with your own eyes. You’ve just heard about his harmless mischief through the grapevine. “Loveable brat” is how you overheard Chaewon describe him. You didn’t really get either descriptor at first. More like “punchable asshole”. Without the constant screaming and threatening to ruin the other’s career, you suppose you’re getting close to seeing that side of him. The night before he slept over you shared a kiss that was simple. So simple it was loaded. There was no lust behind it, just a tender gesture with no follow up. Just you waking up holding him. And him holding you. 

“Did something happen?” You ask before chewing on your nail.

“Around when we first debuted. I haven’t thought about it in years because he refuses to talk about it. I really don’t think this is just about him wanting to protect us.” Soobin shoves his shot glass away, seemingly giving up on that method since it doesn’t appear to be working.

“Boy, aren’t you glad you got stuck with these guys?” You laugh and he lets one out as well, though unintentionally. He shakes his head, straightening his face. “No, I am. I really am. I’m lucky.” He knows you’re joking, but it doesn’t settle well when he remembers how he’s been acting. Beomgyu’s supposed leader giving him the silent treatment like a child or a frustrated lover. He sighs, letting out another laugh. This time it’s dry, expressing contempt for himself.

“I’m not really in the mood for a party anymore.”

Beomgyu did not ruin your career but he did ruin the mood for both of you and he wasn’t even there. You echoed his sentiments and he convinces you to come over. It wasn’t very hard, seeing as you could both use the company. There are no other members home yet so you didn’t have to share the blanket. You had it wrapped around the both of you like a cocoon as you tortured him with a scary movie. 

“We could’ve been watching The Bad Guys and-” Soobin wails loudly right beside your ear at the world’s most poorly set up jumpscare making you jerk away from him. He clings to you but you pry him off immediately.

“Are you not ashamed? A baby could sit through this.” You deride, shoving him away again when he tries to lean into you. “You’re so mean!” He erupts after trying to grab onto you a third time.

“No, you’re just a pussy.”

Soobin stands from the couch and snatches the remote from the other side of you. He pauses the movie, ignoring your protesting. “Since when were you so comfortable with disrespecting me?” He scolds playfully, setting his hands on his hips. “Last I remember, I was still your senior.”

“Would you rather I kiss your ass like before?” You cock your head to the side with a raise of your eyebrow, speaking about your former crush for the first time to him outside of the initial awkward phase after the rooftop mishap. He finally collects himself, fighting through his shock. He sits back beside you, keeping his eyes on you as he wraps the blanket back around you.

“I like this version of you much better.” He admits quietly, eyes genuine as they gaze into yours. You breathe a small laugh.

“Don’t tell me you’ve got a crush now, Choi.” You reply at the same volume. The atmosphere felt a lot more volatile suddenly, it was as if you both were close to triggering something.

“You’re getting ahead of yourself.” His eyes leave yours, giving you a little time to breathe. “I am turned on, though.”

Your pussy clenches hard, feeling a vortex of pleasure swirl in your stomach. You suck in a breath subconsciously as your eyes become glued to how his tongue skits over his bottom lip. He must be wetting them in an attempt to maintain their softness, unlike Beomgyu who bites at them until they’re utterly ruined. Kind of like he’s doing now back at the party. He just needs some way to cope with the pulsing need overwhelming him when he needs to empty his balls. With two handfuls of Jisun’s tits, he gets a similar feeling. His teeth dig and tug at his poor bottom lip. Better it be his lip than her soft skin. He needs to remember this isn’t you he’s playing with.

Fuck, if it were you he’d sink his nails in until you yelped. Feeling his cock jump at the sound and ache at the thought of you loving the pain as much as he loves inflicting it. That delicious look in your eye exposing how much you want to absolutely ruin him in a way no one has before.

But the look you give Soobin gives Soobin pause. He raises his eyebrows before leaning back, letting his head fall back onto the couch. “You don’t still have a crush on me, do you?”

His eyes are like hot fudge drizzling over a mound of ice cream, melting every inch it touches. Still, something nags at you. You need something inside you and you need it bad… but this should be affecting you much more. “I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

His eyes dip lower, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth. Nag nag nag. It’s just dick, you tell yourself. You just need some hard sex and this feeling will go away. You grab Soobin by his shirt and pull him on top of you. He happily engulfs you with his large body, caging you in as he devours your lips. They’re still slick with his own spit. They squish and slide against yours and your body ignites. You wrap your legs around him and push his bulge into your core. He groans and you grin against his mouth. So vocal.

Beomgyu would say the same about Jisun, except it wouldn’t be praise. It’s just noise with no rhyme or reason. She’s not reacting to the curl of his fingers inside her, her moans don't correspond with the clench of her walls, there’s no sign she’s being caught off guard by anything he’s doing. Just. Noise.

Everything about her just dissolves into meaningless blobs of nothing. His fingers sloshing inside a wet cavern, his hands squeezing doughy flesh, and his lips brushing against mindless flaps that omit noise constantly. It quickly becomes mind-numbing and he can feel himself going limp. If you were here instead, you’d gasp when he pushed his fingertips into your bundle of nerves. Not meaning to dig your fingers into his shoulders but not being able to help how your body naturally reacts. You don’t want to whimper when he sucks on that sweet spot on your neck but you just can’t help it.

He can feel himself get hard again, his fingers curling and pushing into Jisun’s heat fluidly with you vivid behind his clenched lids. Where are you? He’s suddenly pulled out of the heated moment he’s sharing as the question pops into his mind. If he searched for you, could he be inside you right now instead? Jisun’s noises pull him from his thoughts. How pathetic would it be for him to scramble out of the closet, pussy juice still on his middle and ring finger as he looks for you with his eyes wide like a puppy? First he cuddles you and spends the night at your house and then you see him like that? His eyes snap open.

He grunts, pumping his fingers with more vigor. He has a warm hole for tonight. There’s always tomorrow. That frustrating feeling of the intoxicating warmth leaving his groin as you dissipate from his mind is back and he chases it again. The image of Jisun’s exaggerated expressions flicker away behind his fluttering lids before his mind projects your face twitching to keep your bliss hidden. Pleasure so strong that even the raging flames of hatred can’t burn it away. 

A penis entering a vagina was something you were taught was reserved for the pinnacle of love. When you were old enough you were promised tender touches and emotions so deep and complex they would bring you to tears. You and Beomgyu were swept up into the limelight long before you could get a chance to naturally build up such a relationship and experience such a transcendental feeling. Instead, the two of you bastardized the act with one night stands and relationships built on flimsy foundations only to come crashing down from neglect or simply not knowing who was under your sacred roof. How could you not? There’s no time, too much stress, and too much at stake. 

So you fuck and fuck until the act becomes something so unrecognizable that you come out the other end. Letting someone tear at your flesh and tamper with your spirit as they touch you the way someone you love should. Yet here you are with someone who would treat you right, someone who you longed for for so long, someone who holds you like you’re porcelain with passion still flowing through every action. You should be falling head over heels again. Your crush should be flooding back with crashing waves wrecking everything in its wake until nothing is left but your undying need for Soobin. But no. He mouths your neck as he thrusts shallowing, checking in to make sure he’s not hurting you. 

Everyone who taught you about how sex would feel were right about one thing. You were brought to tears. 

“Beomgyu.” You blubber shamefully, gritting your teeth before hiccupping. You fail to suppress it. Everything becomes a blur as tears stream down your face. The self-pity numbs you beyond repair.

Your name leaving Beomgyu’s lips doesn’t feel real. He only realizes what he’s done after Jisun’s warmth is gone. He opens his eyes and she has moved as far away from him as she possibly can in the confined space. Her angry words don’t register as she fixes herself and storms out, brushing his shoulder on her way. Once he was old enough, Beomgyu was taught a little differently. His father would wait until his mother left the room to get filthy about it, wiggling his eyebrows. His friends would boast and fantasize lewdly in the back of the classroom about it. The pinnacle of sex was supposed to be casual with beautiful women. The only hate sex guys his age fantasized about were low-stakes scenarios you only see in porn. What the two of you had? No one with any ounce of self-preservation would touch this with a ten foot pole. They’d call you “psycho”, block your number, and avoid you like the plague.

Not daydream about you while experiencing a man’s definition of the pinnacle of sex. 

-🖊️⇝

Soobin is a saint. He waited patiently for you to calm down, holding you and rubbing your back. He didn’t complain about his lack of finishing once and didn’t make you feel awkward. He just giggled at your swollen face after you finished. You sat quietly on the couch, staring at whatever movie had auto-played.

“You guys are very similar, you know?”

The urge to start crying again chokes you and you swallow it down. “Soobin, that's a horrible thing to say.” You sigh.

He laughs loudly, trying to stifle his overflowing amusement after seeing your eyes get glassy again. “That’s why you hate each other so much I think.” He says once the humor subsides.

“I hate him because he was horrible to me.” You correct, unable to suppress the annoyance flaring up at his ignorant assumption.

“He was horrible to you, right?” He looks over at you, looking back at the tv once he sees your stone-like expression. “But you still resent each other despite you guys not being at each other’s throats for about a month now.”

“Because I’m wary. He’s wary. We both are constantly remembering something horrible we did to one another.” You suck in a breath, ready to vent about all the ways he’s scarred your skin with proof, but which ones were the ones you encouraged? It didn’t feel appropriate to lie or guess no matter how much you wanted to. Fuck, you wanted to scream about Beomgyu and how much you should hate him. You whimper, resting your face in your hands. “What’s wrong with me?”

Soobin doesn’t answer, leaving you with your own thoughts. You find yourself appreciating the silence.

“Do you love him?”

Numb and hollow… yet throbbing and infected. The space between the skin of your forehead and the bone of your skull felt like it was swimming with complicated activity as your brain echoed the devastating question. Not because the answer was yes but because it had to be answered at all. You raise your head slowly from shaking hands before standing from the couch.

“I’m going to sleep.”

-🖊️⇝

Waking up that morning for both of you was somehow more loaded than waking up in each other’s arms. You couldn’t be with each other or away. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t simple anymore and the complication of it all was starting to get exhausting. You slip from beneath Soobin’s arm, careful not to wake him. Beomgyu trudges out of his bed, feet plodding heavily toward his door. Both doors close simultaneously with a dull, echoing thud, neither noticing the other as you both stand in silence. It’s only when you start to move that Beomgyu notices you. His chest rises slightly with a small gasp. There you are.

“You didn’t tell me you were coming.”

For a second your eyes meet his and there’s a flicker of something that excites him. You straighten up. “I was with Soobin.”

“But you could’ve been with me.” Beomgyu can feel himself get worked up at just the thought of something that actually gets him going. 

“Believe it or not,” You draw nearer and Beomgyu’s eyes are locked onto your lips as they part. You lean in and the warmth of your proximity ceases his breathing “he kept me company.” 

It felt like slow motion when you pulled away and winked at Beomgyu. A gesture that should’ve been harmless and maybe even cute made Beomgyu feel like hot curdled liquid was crawling down his throat.

Once you pull back Beomgyu’s expression hardens. His eyes prick you like needles. “What?”

His tone and glare make you flinch. Your smirk flickers away. This is usually how it starts, but a part of you just wanted to cut out all the bullshit and get to the part where he makes you scream his name. But the look in his eye… something’s different. Something’s wrong. 

“I-I had a little fun with Soobin. It didn’t really go far though because I…” You choke on your words, feeling your heart throb when he tore his eyes away. He couldn’t read your mind but you couldn’t stop yourself from believing he somehow sniffed out the pitiful truth. 

Beomgyu laughs dryly and each moment without proper words made you feel like screaming. Beomgyu flexes his hands, avoiding your eyes while he cracks his knuckles. He balls them into tight fists before staring at you with a level of fury that makes your blood run cold. “I fucking knew it.”

The words struggle to leave his lips as if they had to pass through a filter of his growing disdain for you. Quiet, yet still piercing enough to get you stammering. “Y-you can’t be serious. You’re not seriously talking about what I think you are right now are you?!”

And just like that the two of you are back to square one. Everything that happened in the last two months, hell, the last 48 hours feel like they mean nothing. Why would they? It’s Beomgyu’s fault for letting things get the way they are. Beomgyu feels this nauseating sensation curdle in his stomach and it’s strong. So strong it forces a lie out of him. 

“I’m just trying to protect my members. God– is that a crime or something? Why am I the bad guy? You’re not gonna get away with using us like toys. Maybe you’ll have better luck whoring around Enhypen.” He spits out the words, hating the way they taste. This is your guys’ dynamic, right? Now you’ll start throwing things and screaming at him. 

But nothing comes and Beomgyu realizes he hasn’t been looking at you. At what point he looked away again, he wasn’t sure, but he couldn’t get himself to make eye contact again. The lack of response clouds his lungs, a stabbing pain screaming in his temples.

After the silence suffocates him to near death he finally manages to look at you. He has to muster all his strength, but he does. And you’re crying. His body feels hollow. No arousal or sadistic pleasure is derived from this. He can’t even feign it.

Still, the silence won’t let up and as if to punish him, his body won’t let him look away. As if two hands are holding his head in place and as a sinister voice hisses in his ears.

LOOK AT WHAT YOU’VE DONE.

How much time passes, he’s not sure. Enough time for him to realize how much chaos and stress he’s caused to his leader, his members, his company, and to an innocent person with an innocent crush.

More tears well and skit from your cheekbones straight to the carpet beneath both your feet. Darkening the fabric. The words you’ve been choking on finally release, though they sound frail and strangled. “Beomgyu. I don’t know how else to get through to you. I care about Soobin. Fuck…” You don’t attempt to wipe the tears away or cease them in any way. Your head falls as if your neck can no longer support it. “I was starting to care about you.” 

Hostile would be putting it lightly. The activity in your brain and heart is like a dozen hornet’s nests being shaken and preparing to erupt, one for each emotion reaching its peak. You grit your teeth so hard you think they’ll crumble under the pressure.

“You wanna know something? The only person hurting someone by turning on them is you.” You hate the implications this leaves but your thoughts and emotions are on overdrive and you need to leave before it gets any uglier. “I’ll respect your wishes. Friends aren’t worth dealing with this, I’d rather be alone. Just promise me you won’t involve my career in your bullshit this time.”

As you storm away, barely able to look that man in the eye you realize this. This is what you were wary of the entire time. It wasn’t him ruining your career or biting you until he draws blood or turning your friends against you. It was this feeling you were experiencing. Pain so deep you’d almost call it heartbreak. However, it wasn’t earned from time spent with someone who cherished you and made you feel like you were worth something. All this heartache…

You let him do unspeakable things to you. You let him hurt you in ways you would’ve never let anyone else. You welcomed it.

In an alternate reality, you’d be kicked out of your company, stuck with a damning reputation, and banned from the only true friends you had. The man who would’ve caused all that turmoil in your life, with the intent to cause that harm, is the same one who your heart is aching for. 

-🖊️⇝

The curtains across the room have become blurry blobs of color after being stuck staring in that direction for what felt like too long. You had to start, if you’re late sending this video in then there will be another crack. You manage to squeeze your eyes shut and jump start your brain once again from its brief hiatus.

The inhale you suck in shudders beyond your control. The more time that passes with that song out in the open for anyone to hear, the less you can hide your anxiety. You hold your breath until it hurts before blowing out a rushed gust of wind. You’re stagnant again, and before your brain can shut down for one more sweet break you force a smile and hit record.

“Hello precious moonbeams!~ I hope you’re all doing well. Thank you for all the support on Strawberry Jam. I was so worried!” You pout. “It’s a bit of a weird song, right? It’s very different from Laude so I was scared you guys wouldn’t like it. But… wow. The support is…” Sincerity bleeds through as you reflect on traversing your favorite store and then hearing your voice through the speakers.

“Pierce me, Bruise me, keep going until you see strawberry jam”

Your blood runs cold, and your eyes snap up as if you’re being caught saying something you didn’t mean to be publicized. A couple of passersby whisper or stare or gasp. You run out of the store.

Before you can get too sincere you force the smile back in place. “It’s overwhelming. Seriously.” Your eyes get glassy and you chew on your lip. “Thank you.”

All the cracks that have reared their ugly head so far have been mostly forgotten because of the overnight success of your first comeback. Your debut was deemed a flop in comparison to your colleagues, so this was absolutely necessary. It was mandatory. You finally feel like you’re making progress digging out of this deep hole. 

There are signs your company still doesn’t fully trust you.

The first big sign was the debut delays. You were sure they were going to cancel it and that they saw you as a risk. The cracks were treacherous. Then you debuted and the reception was lukewarm. You sat in limbo for days, reading negative comments until your head span. A piece chips off revealing an inky black abyss. 

Then you heard your comeback song. Instead of classy and subdued like your debut, this song was hard to swallow. It was asymmetrical and loud. It was raunchy.

“What do you think?”

You sat in silence, jaw dropped open, a truck sized lump in your throat. You could hear the sound of cracking. But why? This song was a clear hit. You could hear another idol performing it well. 

But it’s yours.

“Ready to record?”

You nod, hoping that will become true with time.

The track plays and your fears ease a bit. You bob your head to the beat. Everything goes fine until the same lyrics that struggle to come out of your mouth approach. You power through. You need this.

“I should hate it but I don’t”

This will be a hit, you can get through this. 

You continue powering through but the dread builds and builds. You hate this line, you hate it so much. Your breath gets caught in your throat right before it’s time and you know you’re about to choke.

“Can’t promise I won’t cry but I…” You sigh and drop your head. You already knew it was coming when they ask you to do it again.

“Can’t promise I won’t cry but I-I know that you like that…”

CRACK

The producer slides his headphones off with a chuckle. “I know. It’s weird, right?” He winces as if he’s mirroring your assumed feelings on the matter. He’s half right. It’s obscene and you hate it. You hate it so much.

“I’m sorry, let’s go again.”

The track replaying is like a death march. Your throat bobs, doing little to refresh your throat that feels like it’s filled with cactus needles and glass.

“Can’t promise I won’t cry but I know that you like that-”

The line processes in your mind and you connect it to the past despite avoiding doing so as if your life depends on it. You reflect on all the times he’s brought you to tears. How hot they felt rushing from your eyes after you frustratingly kissed him for the first time. How helpless and pathetic you felt crying as he restrained your wrists, only to spray you in his seed mockingly. And most frustratingly of all, you crying while revealing that you actually cared about him after he did exactly what you knew he would.

CRACK

The calls of your name are muffled as flashes of his face refuse to leave. You grit your teeth, feeling a frightening level of rage familiarly build up inside you. “I hate him.”

You rush out of the recording booth, mortified as tears stream down your face. He’s done it again. He isn’t even here and he’s done it again. If he could see you right now he’d probably smile. It would probably brighten his day. And you welcomed that monster into your bed.

You’re all the way back home once you realize what you’ve done. The producer is probably calling your manager who is calling the CEO about how much of a pain in the ass you are. You need to get yourself together quickly and get back there. You run to your bathroom and look in the mirror. You plant your shaky hands on the sink

“I’m…”

Your voice wavers. Your resolve dissipates as you stare at the cracks that have transferred to your very visage. A shard dangles where your eye resides before falling away. Again, the black nothingness is left behind and you’ve already forgotten what your face normally looks like.

Your phone starts to buzz and you slowly fade back to reality.

-🖊️⇝

“I have no clue who that is. Why can’t we collab with a Korean artist?” Beomgyu mutters. Soobin grits his teeth and elbows him. He rolls his eyes despite the instant regret. It takes only a minute of fading into the background as the other guys engage in productive conversation for the guilt to fully bloom. On one couch there were four employees and one temperamental child.

No matter where he goes he feels this way. The guys don’t bring girls to the dorm anymore. If they go out to see one, they nervously lie about it and rush out of the door. 

Anytime they bring up a memory tainted with you, Beomgyu is greeted with shocked silence and finds four panicked eyes on him like they’re afraid they’ve poked a tiger.

All those posters, cardboard cutouts, and billboards that are fucking everywhere are like land mines. To anyone else it would be comical to watch four grown, big ass men tiptoeing around a mall like one wrong step will blow their leg clean off.

And the song.

Beomgyu… he is really trying to get better. If he didn’t attempt to, Soobin would probably choke him out. He’s been very patient, but anyone in his shoes would be exasperated. When they’re in public or in a meeting and Beomgyu is being a menace is one thing, Soobin lets him know then and there that he’s serious.

However, when they’re alone, it’s strangely peaceful. He asks Beomgyu about his day and his mental and emotional state. He hasn’t brought you up for a while now. Tomorrow will make 6 months.

Tomorrow comes, Beomgyu’s indifference is slipping. While everyone else walked on eggshells, Beomgyu coasted through the situation like nothing happened. But somehow, the fact that the boys are becoming more accustomed to not bringing you up is bothering him. He only sees you through screens or your likeness plastered on paper or cardboard. 

The last time you physically entered his vision was during your goodbye stage of your debut promotions. It was a brief glimpse but it was enough to show you weren’t doing well. It was an image burned into his memory. None of the photo shoots could replace it. Even longer before that was the last time the two of you made physical contact. The feeling of holding you in your bed is long gone. Everything about you feels like a ghost now.

“Here he is!” Beomgyu looks up from his phone he wasn’t really looking at anyway to see Soobin walking over with some girl. Beomgyu slides down his mask to present the girl with a tight smile and bow.

“This is Jiwon from Cherry Bullet.” 

“Hello.” Jiwon bows with a bright smile and somehow the common gesture illustrates just how efficient of a person she is. He has no clue what a cherry bullet is but something tells him she’s a stellar idol. But why was she talking to him? Beomgyu looks up at Soobin’s phony wide smile before getting distracted by the rest of his members frantically trying to stop what’s happening. Yeonjun tugs Soobin to the side, jaw jutting forward as he grits something out Beomgyu can’t quite decipher.

“I’ve heard people refer to you as a video game protagonist.” Beomgyu’s attention is ripped away from his members as Jiwon speaks again with a little more hesitance this time. What, does she think he’s a ticking time bomb too?

“What?”

“Your visuals.” She clarifies, seeming a little more relaxed now. “Now that I see you in real life I can say I see it too. I didn’t know before but I think that’s my style.” She looks down, still appearing resolute despite the shy action. 

“I don’t usually do things like this, I value my job and image, but I was just so curious about you. I felt a bit weird asking Soobin to introduce me to you but…” As if she realizes she’s been having a one-sided conversation, she stops herself and looks at Beomgyu expectantly.

Every so often, Beomgyu catches wind of a rumor going around about himself. Whether it’s someone he’s cool with reporting back to him or rookies being way too loud and excitable. He supposes every idol experiences this, and most likely they’re as indifferent as he is. He’s a former thug, he’s gay, he’s fucking an executive, and the biggest one:

He’s a womanizer. 

That one sometimes goes hand in hand with the thug one, but it’s mostly referring to his current idol lifestyle. He doesn’t know how it happened. He hasn’t been in a relationship since Hyesoo. He couldn’t be one if he tried. He lets his emotions get in the way. A part of him wishes it were true. Maybe he would stop craving nails raking into the flesh of his back or bite marks on his bottom lip and shoulders. Maybe he would stop waking up with soiled sheets because he has dreams about being ridden long after he’s already cum. 

Of course now he’s thinking of you, despite chatting it up with Jiwoo– or no, Ji…

You’re probably getting relief every other day with how famous you are now. If you even have the time. In that case, you’re probably locking you and some guy in dressing rooms, closets, anywhere you can get privacy for a quickie. 

But no… you’re not like that. You only let Beomgyu see the deepest, darkest parts of you because you were pushed to do so. Beomgyu’s face goes slack, staring deep into space. You hated him so much that you didn’t care about bearing the ugliest side of you to him. Gnashing your teeth with your shirt a tangled mess over your torso after you gave up on taking it off. Saying the most venomous things Beomgyu’s ever heard while milking him for all he’s got. Even after things cooled a bit, you would let him touch and taste you before you even showered. Opening the door to let him in with stains all over your shirt and leftover makeup from the day before.

“I thought about jumping off the roof at practice while I was on my break.” You had said to him after couch sex. You guys were watching Community and eating ice cream. You were just joking about one of the characters being dumb. Beomgyu had looked at you, completely bewildered.

“Isn’t this what you wanted? What you’ve been waiting for?” He asks incredulously.

You sigh dramatically.

“Yeah, but I’m so fucking hungry. My body aches and my hands shake so much I can barely hold a pen to write my own name. I made a mistake and my instructor cussed at me and called me useless.” You laughed sharply before letting your head droop over to face him. “D’you know they delayed my fucking debut again? Before I thought about offing myself I imagined slitting my manager’s throat and bludgeoning the dance instructor to death and stripping down so I could smear both their blood all over me until it covered every inch of my skin. It was so brief but so so vivid.” You rushed out the words in a crazed fashion and you looked at him with wide eyes. You smile. “Then I imagined you coming in, we had sex and then I strangled you until your eyes bulged out–” You catch your breath and look back at the tv. You looked down at your hand and groaned. Your ice cream had melted over your trembling hand.

“Fuck it–” You rush over to the trash can and chuck it before aggressively wiping off your hand with a tattered kitchen towel. You stomp over to the fridge and take out one of the multiple spoiled bags of salad mix and dump it in the trash to cover up the tossed ice cream. You throw a glance at him.

“Make sure you eat that all or cover your tracks if you throw it away.” You mutter, finding your voice wavering suddenly. You sniffle, slamming down on the couch. You refuse to look over at him as tears break free from your eyes. You feel him move closer to you on the couch and you grit your teeth. His hand curls around the column of your throat but he doesn’t apply pressure.

“I imagined killing my manager once too.”

You peer over at him, he’s looking down, his thick lashes on display. “Except I stabbed him over and over and over until he was an unrecognizable mound of mush. You’re right, it flashed by so fast. I was so sickened by it I pretended it never crossed my mind. Yet here we are…” He finally looks up with a smirk. He finally applies the pressure and you inhale a shuddering breath.

He moves his lips next to your ear, his breath fanning on it making you shiver. “Does it hurt?”

Immediately understanding what he meant you nod feverishly. 

“I’ll distract you.” He answers quickly before swinging his leg over and resting his knee on your thigh. He sits all his weight on your thigh and he squeezes your throat. He repeats it again breathily as he stares down at you wistfully. Your strangled whimpers get him straining against his jeans. 

“I-I…” You find yourself speaking against your will. No… this isn’t how this went. He squeezes again and you moan. You want to clench your thighs but his knee is pinning your leg down. You can’t think, it’s perfect. Still, you find your mouth moving. No! There were no more words exchanged after this. You fucked again and he slept over.

“I-I’m so lonely,” Your voice quivers before you begin sobbing uncontrollably. When you open your eyes and blink away your tears you see a twisted wide grin on his face. His eyes are wild. You tremble in fear, unable to speak anymore. No no no no no no no…

“I fucking knew it.”

You gasp for air, it feels like he’s crushing your windpipe.

“Just a sad, lonely, nobody coming to mooch off of us. Pitiful. You want friends? Huh?” You feel blood rushing up to your face. “Too bad. You don’t deserve love. No one fucking likes you and no one ever will. I’ll do you a favor.”

Almost as if he’s beating you to what you briefly daydreamt about, he applies his other hand and you want to scream. Your ears start ringing and you feel something warm trickle from your ears and all of a sudden there’s a bright light and a piercing noise–

You jolt up from your bed, continuing to sob like you did in your nightmare. You stumble out, nearly tripping as you reach to turn the light on. After doing so you slide down against the wall. Sobbing until your chest hurt and you had no air left in your lungs.

-🖊️⇝

There’s no doubt this song has gotten you some perverse comments and unwanted attention, but it must also get you positive attention too. He’s never seen you hang out with anyone else besides the guys but surely you have an entourage by now. Guys lining up to treat you right. Ones you wouldn’t feel are deplorable enough to casually bring up your murder fantasies to.

“Gyu?”

Jiwon has that confused tone in her voice. God, he tuned her out by accident again. 

“Are you okay? It seems like you’ve been zoning out a lot.” She sounds cautious again. Beomgyu can tell that she’s trying to avoid what might set him off. Did Soobin tell her about you? How he’s just a screaming match waiting to happen?

“To be fair, I’ve had a lot to think about recently.” Beomgyu gives her a look, he knows she’s aware of what he’s referring to. Her awareness is becoming increasingly obvious.

She sits down beside him in the other folding chair backstage. Not dissimilar to when they first met. Even more similar, he notices his members frantically whispering to each other while looking at him.

“Are you still feeling bothered by that?” Jiwon places a hand on his but it doesn’t pull his attention away. Suddenly Kai is casting a fearful look to his right. Beomgyu, already feeling something stirring in his stomach follows his eyeline. 

A pair of black docs accented with black opaque hosiery that almost stop where your red skirt starts. The skirt looks tattered, purposefully so. It’s asymmetrical and overlapped by a black, intricately designed corset top. Your hands that are running through your hair are donned in a red, loosely fitted pair of sheer gloves. Once your arms stop shielding your face and you lift your head, Beomgyu sees your mascara running. His stomach drops.

The stylist scolds you and quickly tries to fix the mess. You don’t react at all, face stone cold. Maybe you just had a bad day, Beomgyu thinks.

It’s cliche, but it never stops shocking you how blinding the stage lights are. They glint sharply, feeling like they’ve sliced your eyes. You shut them, only to quickly open them once you remember people can see you. You force a smile on your face, not caring if it looks like you have a gun to your head. This is all you have left.

The bright light nearly pricks tears back to your eyes but you hold them back just like you hold back the thoughts of the texts your parents sent you this morning. You don’t want to perform today, the last thing you want to do is sing this song that is now ruining relationships. However, now this is truly all you have left. So you flip the switch as soon as the music starts and don’t turn it off until it’s safe to cry again.

You almost melt away on your couch when a knock startles you. You race to the door, thinking it may be your manager. A part of you still expects her to scold you about something she found out. It’s been months but you still fear Beomgyu saying something. A shaking hand pulls open the door.

Myungsoo smirks lazily. Kim Myungsoo. You have to pinch yourself still, despite it being a month now since he first spoke to you. You’re used to people speaking to you first by now. You’d rather they stick around, hang out with you, but that never happens. When he came up and asked you about your song, you were positive you’d probably never see him again. A man you used to have posters of slipping right through your fingers. But then he suddenly stayed put.

“What’re you up to?” He asks before widening his smile. Your heart flutters.

“I was going to take a nap.” You say quietly, very much distracted. Him brushing some of your hair behind your ear doesn’t help.

He waits a beat as he presses his lips into a thin line. “Need help?”

Your heart drums against your rib cage, it almost hurts how much you need it. He’s been teasing you during this exciting yet excruciating month. Hinting that he wants to fuck you but never doing it. You nearly came when he put his hand on your thigh last week.

Now his hand is there again, and it takes every ounce of strength you have to not lift your hips and coax him to where it hurts. He insisted on leaving the television off so you can’t even pretend not to have your full attention on him. 

“C’mere.” He whispers, his voice so warm it melts you. You scoot over and lean your head on his shoulder. You guys stay like that and you’re content– you really are… but it’s becoming increasingly more difficult not to shove his hand down your pants. You don’t know how long it’s been but your body is screaming at you. He should’ve been inside you already, you guys should have been done with your first round actually. Your impatience gets the best of you and you look up at him. He raises his eyebrows questioningly.

“Take a nap. Isn’t that what you said you were doing?”

You laugh dryly, too annoyed to take it back or be mortified at your outward display of your sexual frustration. 

“Is something wrong?” He pouts his lips mockingly. You sit up from him but he pulls you back. 

You let out a strained sigh. “I think I need to be alone to take a nap actually.”

“What, now you’re kicking me out? Did I do something wrong?” His cutesy act is nauseating right now. It pushes you to reveal how you actually feel.

“Aren’t you building us up to be just fuck buddies? Why are you beating around the bush?” You’re desperate, but it’s more than just being horny. At the moment you have no outlet for the overwhelming amounts of anxiety and growing depression. Despite what you had with Beomgyu being… what it was, you remember a wave of serenity after it was all said and done. You bickered as you got your clothes back on but then he left and your body was noticeably less tense. 

“I never said anything about that. You know, you claim you had nothing to do with the song but I’m a little skeptical…” He traces shapes over your bare shoulder and you shrug it off with a scoff before sitting up. The annoyance was building towards being affronted, but you could feel something tingling like a spark crackling inside your stomach. It was back, a feeling you haven’t felt in quite a while. 

“Excuse me?”

“I mean,” Myungsoo shifts toward you, “you’ve been practically begging to be fucked the minute we met. You’re not as subtle as you think.” His faux sympathy melts away once he sees fire glinting in your eyes. He can’t help but smile.

“Shut your fucking mouth.” You spit before mounting his lap and devouring his lips. This is it, there’s no mistaking it. But something’s missing… 

Myungsoo sits there, barely moving his lips against yours. Your hands roam his entire body while his are still by his sides. You pull away, afraid that you were mistaken, but he’s smiling up at you. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand before coaxing you to finish.

“You want it, don’t you?”

And so you strip your shirt off, the fabric pulled away to reveal your eyes blown wide with lust. You capture his lips again and it tastes so sweet. You nearly tremble after finally breaking through that barrier that never seems to leave. You feel powerful for the first time in months as you slide your hands under his shirt. You puff out a frustrated gust of air before sliding off his lap and kneeling before him. You look up at him as you unzip his jeans. He smirks the entire time, lifting his hips to let you slide his jeans and underwear down. He exaggerates the movement of stretching his arms back and resting his hands behind his head. You falter, suddenly self conscious. 

“What’s your deal?”

He answers quickly, somehow knowing exactly what you were referring to. “I dunno… maybe I’m just not feeling it yet.” He sighs, reaching for his flaccid member and stroking it disappointedly. “Look at it, so pitiful.”

You swat his hand away, feeling challenged by his words. You start with his balls, licking in between them before circling your tongue around each one. You glance up at him and his cock twitches. His smirk flickers away briefly to revel pleasure while looking at the determination in your eyes.

You’re just so happy to finally taste someone. The way a cock feels in your hands and on your tongue, so silky and soft. So sinfully beautiful when covered in thick globs of saliva. There is truly nothing like it. But again, there was something missing.

Anywhere you and Myungsoo were together turned into a new spot for you to fuck. You’d give him the eyes which he’d ignore. Then you’d touch him. Kiss him. Whisper in his ear. None of it worked until you were pulling him somewhere secluded. Even when you were at his place or him at yours. It was like pulling teeth. But whatever, foreplay for you and Beomgyu was degrading and threatening each other. This was nothing.

It didn’t stop at foreplay, though. Throughout the entire act he’d be so smug, never reacting to anything. Only small glimpses of pleasure could be caught, but if you blinked you could miss it. You find yourself fighting for his passion. However, it remained one-sided.

-🖊️⇝

Jiwon’s ministrations were soft, almost like they weren’t there. She had a pretty pair of lips but they were like feathers against his.

“Noona…” He whispered, brushing his nose against hers.

“Hm?” She barely pecks his lips. Beomgyu inhales deeply before grabbing the back of Jiwon’s head and deepening the kiss. She makes a muffled noise of surprise but her eyes slowly flutter shut. She melts into the kiss for a few lovely seconds before forcing herself to pull away. She clears her throat before grabbing both of Beomgyu’s hands.

“Let’s take it slow, okay?” Jiwon gives him a pleading look and he only groans inwardly. It’s been a minute, and Jiwon is not a woman you come across too often. And they actually have a relationship he can brag about, someone he could see himself marrying. She’s pristine.

“Why, you didn’t like it?” He smirks and she scoffs.

“I did, but I just think it’s better for us if we don’t rush things.”

Beomgyu tries really hard to hide the cynicism threatening to rear its ugly head. Jiwon was finally not walking on eggshells around him. He thinks long and hard about what he’s going to say and panics when he thinks he’s said the wrong thing.

“Fine. But a deeper kiss won’t kill us.” Beomgyu brushes away his train of thought before smiling. 

It wasn’t long before Beomgyu and Jiwon made it official, only telling people they trusted and not risking visiting each other anywhere but their dorms. Even that takes several days of planning. 

“How does it work? We’ve never been.” Taehyun says, leaning forward in anticipation.

Jiwon takes a moment to swallow her sip of tea and to think. 

“This will be my second survival style show. I think that they’re not dissimilar to being a trainee, honestly. The ferocity of everyone around you is still there. This new one is a little less intense, though. I guess the stakes aren’t as high.” Once she finishes talking she takes another delicate sip of her tea. Beomgyu watches intently, admiring how elegant she is. It’s so effortless for her. She continues her mature conversation with his members but Beomgyu is completely checked out. There’s a lingering sour feeling prodding at him as he watches her. It makes his smile flicker away.

“Right Beomgyu?” Soobin elbows him and Beomgyu is finally broken out of his daze.

All Beomgyu’s plugs slowly enter each outlet. “Huh?”

“You were so social during our trainee days, it was hard for people to hate you.” Soobin says, making everyone chuckle.

“Even when they saw you as competition, no dice.” Yeonjun chimes in. It was fun to reminisce until it wasn’t. He was smiling again and it seemed to immediately go away the longer he thought about it. He’s been told this. That he’s unhateable. He’s too silly, a loveable brat. But you managed.

“He could never do wrong. We make a mistake and it would start a fight. Beomgyu would do the same thing and they would just brush it off.” Kai adds, and everyone laughs again except for Beomgyu who’s stuck staring in space, his water bottle static in his hands.

“That’s so true!” Someone gushes through the laughter. 

“Funny how things change, huh?”

The room goes silent as Beomgyu takes a swig from his bottle.

Jiwon looks panicked before laughing nervously. “What do you mean? I’ve never laughed this much before meeting you, and the girls love when you come over. Not to mention having four members who love you. That’s rare, you know.”  

Soobin claps before pointing at Jiwon. “That’s exactly right!”

“What else could you need?” Jiwon rubs Beomgyu’s back, making him realize that she’s not miles away from him like it feels she is. She’s right. So everything will eventually get better.

-🖊️⇝

 “Let’s go to a karaoke bar next!” Eunchae ugly laughs in excitement, already running ahead with Kazuha chasing behind her. Yunjin loops her arm with Sakura before following the younger members, engaged in a personal conversation. On instinct, Chaewon follows close by, yelling for the younger members to slow down.

The five of them have a warm dynamic that’s so enticing. Their figures growing further, soaked in the various vibrant hues of neon signs. It was like a scene out of films you watch alone on your couch. It’s right there.

Freezing as if something dawned on her, Chaewon swiftly turns around to face you.

“You coming?” She shouts.

“Ugh, she never comes. Let’s just go.” Yunjin whines dismissively. Chaewon looks conflicted as her gaze switches between you both. You stretch your mouth into a thin line. 

“I have to get home. I’ll text you.” 

Chaewon wants to protest but when she looks back at her members, they’re much farther away than she thought. Then when she looks back at you, you’re already gone.

From the corner of the bar, you send texts back and forth. Your head slips off your fist and nearly slams into the table before you stop it. Just an hour before, you were here with a group of people. The memory feels like particles of dust floating through the air that you try to clutch in your fist.

“Are you okay? I think you’ve had enough for the night. Call a cab and go home.” The stern, motherly tone of the owner doesn’t offend you at all. You don’t get to answer before she’s off sweeping the other end of the restaurant. You let your body completely slump over, resting your upper body on the table.

A tsk barely pricks at your foggy brain. “What a mess.” Myungsoo sighs.

“Take me home oppa.” You giggle with your cheek squished against the table. He raises his brow at you and you raise your arms. He groans before picking you up from the table and holding you bridal style. You rest your head against his chest, feeling tired against his warmth. You’re just about to drift off to sleep when he’s placing you into the passenger’s seat. You whine in protest but he’s already shutting the door. The gentle car ride makes your lids heavier until they shut completely.

Myungsoo picking you up again has your eyes slowly lifting open. You watch his face as he carries you. His body heat is intoxicating. You can’t stop your eyes from flickering down at his lips. You don’t want to mount him like you usually do, you feel something deeper. Maybe there was a reason he took so long to let you have him at first. 

He lets you down to unlock his door before taking you by the hand and leading you in. You’re cuddling on his bed, still unable to take your eyes off him. He’s caught you a couple times and all he does is smile. This time his eyes linger on yours before whispering for you to come closer. You’re moving as soon as he says to, connecting your lips to his hungrily. 

He smells and tastes so good. You trace your tongue over his bottom lip before pecking his mouth. He grins, letting out a warm, chesty chuckle.

“I love when you guys get like this.”

You laugh, a little confused. You peck him again. “You guys?”

He caresses the back of your neck before pulling you in for a deeper kiss. Your breath picks up as you climb on top of him, smashing your mouths together. He pulls away and whispers breathily in your ear.

“You have that twinkle in your eye. You need me. All you think of is me.” 

You shudder, grinding down on him. You trail kisses all over his neck as he continues.

“If I were to leave, you’d be devastated.”

The thought makes you whimper, nipping at his neck. He hisses. “Stop it.” You say in a tiny voice. You feel his bulge grow more prominent.

“You’d do anything to please me, make me stay.” He moans through the sentence, bucking up into you. Your heart starts thumping, and the longer this goes on the more you realize it’s not because you’re turned on. You lift from him.

“I said stop.” Your face is hot. It’s right, he’s completely correct. You want to have your hands and lips on him at all times and your heart is constantly clenched by the fear that he doesn’t really care about you.

“What? Should I make you bleed instead?” He laughs.

Your chest constricts, your breath getting caught in your throat. Your lips tremble as you quirk your jaw trying to curb the anger bubbling up. 

“What did you just say?”

“Babe.” He sits up on his forearms. “I’m just trying to rile you up a little bit. I’m just having a little fun.” He looks you up and down, he’s getting harder underneath you.

Right… this is something you’re familiar with. Something that could lead to even a moment of serenity. But it’s never that way with him. His eyes judge you and urge you to satisfy him. He doesn’t even have to say a word and you’re scrambling to make sure he’s pleased. You’re giving your all as he lazily lies beneath you, enjoying the show. Exuding passion with nothing in return is exhausting, that exhaustion finally dawning on you.

“Well I’m not.” You say before swinging your leg back over him. You slide out of his bed and start putting your clothes back on.

“Where are you going? Come on, you don’t actually want to leave.” He barely moves, just shifting a little to the side.

“I just need a little space for the night.” You hurriedly slip into your pants, wanting to leave instead of having this conversation.

“No you don’t. You need company like you need water.” His velvety smooth voice that once coaxed you into giving your all to him is gone. What’s left is harsh yet dismissive.

“You don’t know what I need, Myungsoo.” You shoot back, throwing your shirt on the bed.

“I know, everyone knows. You’re so lonely you walk around everywhere like a lost puppy but run away whenever anyone tries to get to know you. There’s a reason you were texting me and not your friends you were just drinking with. I’m all you have. So don’t be stupid.” 

Just like that, the harsh lines in his face melt away and he’s back to smirking, patting the space beside him in the bed.

Is this what you deserve? They say you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. And he’s right. He’s so right, again. Maybe you should just sink into the warmth and turn your brain off. Turn on the switch to perform.

However, as you think, emotions build inside you. It feels like pressure behind your skull threatening to pop. Tears abruptly start gushing down your face as you grab your shirt and rush out of the door. You can’t stop the ugly noises from leaving you as you rush home in the cold night air. 

By the time you’re in your own bed, your face and head hurt from the intensity of your sobs. There are no tears left as you continue to sob. It didn’t work. You were supposed to use him as an opportunity to take away some stress but somehow it’s worse. There’s nothing you can do. You’ll just have to live with this alone. Forever.

CRACK

-🖊️⇝

“I was so close but I didn’t make it.” Jiwon sighs dejectedly. 

“I don’t know what they don’t see in you! I think you’re a great performer.” Kai laments.

“You did a great job.” Beomgyu rubs her hand and she instantly smiles. 

“Thanks. And at the end of the day I still have my group and you guys.” Everyone gushes at her response. 

Beomgyu’s mind wanders to the place it has been going frequently these days. He wonders what you’re doing. What it would be like if you were still friends with the members. If he didn’t make you cry. Would you be smiling as widely as Jiwon is even after failing?

“Look who’s lost in thought again.” Soobin pats Beomgyu’s back but he’s stuck. He’s nestled deep within thoughts of you.

“You know you could talk to us about anything, right?” Jiwon moves her hand to caress his. No. He doesn’t know this. In fact, he knows it’s not true.

“Why do you think she was crying that day?” Beomgyu doesn’t look up but the table goes quiet. The tension is lathered thick over the air. Jiwon laughs nervously.

“Wait, Beomgyu weren’t you just talking about–” Jiwon attempts to change the topic.

“You would think she’d be really happy right now.” He continues. 

“Let’s not talk about this–” Jiwon tries but Beomgyu turns toward her.

“Didn’t you say I could talk to you guys about anything?”

“But Beomgyu… talking about her is only going to make you more upset.” Jiwon lowers her voice, going back to how cautious she was when they first met.

“Do I look upset? You guys are the ones acting like there’s a gun to your heads when she’s brought up.” Beomgyu resumes eating while everyone else is still frozen.

“Gyu. It’s because you should let go of her. It’ll be better for you.” Her hand that was once soothing on his now felt like an owner trying to calm their dog after someone knocked on the door. 

“You don’t know what’s better for me.” Beomgyu grumbles.

Soobin stands abruptly. “Beomgyu, can we talk in the kitchen?”

“Gladly.” Beomgyu immediately follows the taller male out the dining room and down the hall. Before Soobin could start scolding him he had things to get off his chest first.

“Why did you introduce me to her in the first place?”

“She asked to meet you. She was interested.” Soobin expresses annoyedly.

“I’m sure plenty of girls have done that, why did you decide to do so for her.” Beomgyu probes.

“Because I knew her and trusted her.”

“Trusted her to be able to handle a project.” Beomgyu rushes out. And before Soobin can deny anything he’s rushing toward him with a finger pointed at his face. “I don’t need to be fixed.”

Soobin sighs, uneasy about how this conversation may go. 

“You’re not broken, you’re hurt. Everyone gets hurt, Beomgyu. There’s nothing wrong with accepting help. We’re just trying to help you move on-”

“I don’t want to move on! You guys were so fucking anal about how I treated her and now you just pretend she doesn’t exist?” Beomgyu shouts furiously.

Soobin decides it’s better to just rip off the bandaid. There's no changing the truth. 

“She’s gone. It’s been half a year and she’s made no attempt to reach out to any of us. It’s clear that part of our lives is over. Beomgyu, you need to focus on yourself right now. We can get through this together.” Soobin tries to coax a reasonable reaction out of Beomgyu but it doesn’t seem to be working. He’s only getting more worked up.

“Stop. Stop.” Beomgyu shoves his hands into his hair before gritting his teeth. “I’m so sick of everyone shoving me under a telescope. At least she never pried.”

“Are you insinuating that what you guys had was anything remotely healthy? Continuously hanging around someone who you despise that much isn’t good for either of you. I saw the marks all over her body.”

Beomgyu sees red, he’s grabbing Soobin’s collar before he could think it through.

“You shut your fucking mouth. You don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know her like I do.” Beomgyu shoves him away, his glare hot like lava as he walks out of the room. Heading toward his bedroom he doesn’t see Jiwon on the other side of the doorway. She bites her fist as a tear trickles down her cheek. 

“When’s Beomgyu coming over next?” Mao asks, switching to kneel on the couch toward a stone faced Jiwon. Jiwon takes in a quick breath, checking one last time if this is the right move.

“I don’t think he is.”

Mao and the other girls in the room all make a noise in surprise and crowd around Jiwon on the couch. “What the hell happened?” Haeyoon asked incredulously.

Jiwon lets out a small derisive laugh to pair with a tiny smirk as she drops her head. “He’s hung up over his ex.”

The girls all switch between comforting her and cursing him. 

“Who’s the ex?” Chaerin asks angrily.

Jiwon thinks on it again. Fuck it.

“Do you know that song Strawberry Jam?”

-🖊️⇝

Something is unresolved. That much is clear as you both lay in your own rooms, tear stains on each of your pillows. And as long as it stays unresolved, you both will be unable to be loved. 

You’ve denied four invitations to hang out with Chaewon, and you’re surprised she still asks. This month is a free schedule for you to rest after your song promotions are over.

Beomgyu either plays video games until his eyes are dry or lies in bed scrolling through social media. His members pop in to give him food.

Your stomach twists painfully as you watch tv in bed. The colors dance around blurrily as your eyes start to water again.

A month didn’t feel like a month, but you lost track of your days so it makes sense when your manager comes into your room. 

“What’s that smell? Get up and take a shower. We’re going to go over this month’s schedule.” She shuts the door, trusting that you’ll follow orders. Even she used to be kinder to you. What’s the use of attempting to start relationships when they don’t work out. Even your own parents don’t talk to you anymore. You laugh hoarsely. The laughing grows louder and louder until you’re cackling.

You cackle in the shower as well. Is this what happens after you’ve cried so much tears don’t come out anymore?

Beomgyu regretted chasing away Jiwon the minute he did it. She had a similar hurt expression to you when he yelled at her to get out of his room. Look at how each of his relationships ended. Why the hell would Hyesoo stay with a guy like him. Beomgyu’s lip quivers before he’s crying into his pillow again.

You both carry out what’s scheduled for you numbly, so checked out neither of you can add anything valuable to any conversation. 

“Remember how you signed up to be an MC? Well you got accepted! You can continue submitting songs for your next comeback but this should be your priority for now.” One of the women at the table inform you. Fuck, you did do that, didn’t you.

It turns out it’s pretty easy. Just smile and read your lines. It’s much easier to turn your MC switch on, it seems. You had even gotten comfortable with it. Your co-MC is friendly. Formal, but friendly. Everything was working out.

You lift up your cue card in the silence of your empty room.

“And here’s TXT with their new comeback...” Your enthusiasm wanes when you think about standing in a room with him again.

CRACK

It’ll be fine, just flip the switch.

You can feel that he’s there, everyone can feel the tension. The you that was involved with him is switched off right now. Right now you’re conducting an interview. 

Beomgyu slowly fades to the background as you watch the other members, remembering the good memories you had together. Soobin does most of the talking which makes your chest unwittingly constrict. After this you’ll be all alone again.

The makeup artist finally gets done touching up your makeup and you get a moment to stew. Only a short moment as the other MC approaches. 

“Hey, are you okay?” 

The simple question forces your switch off. The two of you made eye contact at the end of the interview, and for some reason a whirlwind of emotions threatened to escape you. You’re not okay.

“It’s just, I know you have a past with Beomgyu.”

“Yeah–” You look up at him as your brain fog slowly dissipates. “What did you say?”

“I heard that you wrote Strawberry Jam about him and I…”

Everything silently shatters, the pieces remaining all clattering to the floor.

“Look at the back of her neck.” You whip your head around to see two idols whispering before looking shocked and scurrying away. You send a shaky hand to the back of your neck to cover it. Doing so makes your sleeve drop and reveal scratches on your arm. You begin hyperventilating as you scan your surroundings. Multiple people, staff, idols, everybody is whispering and looking at you. You block out the other MC yelling after you as you run out of the room.

Was it Myungsoo? Was he retaliating because you left him? You never mentioned Beomgyu though. No… it could only be one person. Tears stream down your face as you hunt for their dressing room. You pass a mirror on the way and get stuck staring at your void of a face. Only a pair of reddened, crazed eyes stare back. You refocus on your hunt and finally find their door. You swing it open and rush toward Beomgyu in a frenzy.

As you enter, everything around Beomgyu is a blur. The staff looking shocked, Yeonjun and Soobin jumping up to restrain you. And you. Your makeup is completely ruined with a look of utter fury on your face as you cock your hand back before striking him across the face. Time goes back to normal as the staff gasp. Beomgyu places a hand over his stinging flesh. It prickles, burning through his numbness. The initial impact of the slap was like a crack of lightning striking him. He feels a blur of emotions threatening to pour out.

“Why the fuck would you do that?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Yeonjun and Soobin had successfully restrained you but you thrash to get free. You curse and swipe at Beomgyu, yelling incoherently. Beomgyu slowly stands up and approaches you. Taehyun has to join and hold each arm when Beomgyu is in reaching distance.

“Let me go!” You shriek like a raging animal, trying to rip yourself free. You kick at him, your heels striking his shins and sending a piercing bout of pain up his legs.

“What the fuck are you doing?! Get away from her!” Soobin yells.

“Let her go.” Beomgyu yells over the commotion.

“What?! Why would–” Yeonjun starts but Soobin lets go.

“Just do it. Let him have her.” Soobin spits, scowling at the younger male whose eyes are still trained on you. Taehyun and Yeonjun let you go and you immediately slap him again.

“You just couldn’t help trying to ruin my career again? Do you really hate me that much after I gave you what you wanted?” You whisper shakily, your eyes wild as they take him in.

“Beomgyu… what did you do?” Kai’s voice is weak behind him.

Beomgyu takes your arm and pulls you out of the room. You yell for him to let you go and strike his arm. Each hit is like a jolt of clarity for Beomgyu, the pain an afterthought. He pulls you into an empty room where you begin banging your fists against his chest. He stumbles backward, slamming you against the door and shutting it. 

He restrains your arms, squeezing them to keep them steady as you thrash again. “Why?! What else do you want?!”

“What did I do, he asked.” Beomgyu laughed. He throws his head against the door and laughs harder. You look on in utter disbelief.

“Is this funny to you?”

“What’s funny is that I didn’t do anything and somehow shit has still hit the fan. My members are questioning me again, you’re fucking hitting me again.” The amusement Beomgyu was expressing earlier is completely gone as he starts his rant.

“You told everyone that my song was about us!” 

“I didn’t!” He shouts back.

“Then who did Beomgyu?!”

“I’m not the only person who knew about us.” Beomgyu yanks you closer by your arms. You finally manage to free your arms and you drive a finger into his chest.

“But you are the only person who has proven to be malicious enough to do something like this.”

“How do you know it’s not one of your friends? You’re all big and famous now, maybe you shouldn’t go around telling anyone your secrets.”

“I don’t have any friends anymore, Beomgyu!” You shout, your voice cracking as a lone tear rolls down your cheek. “Remember? You drove me away from my only friends. I didn’t go “whoring around Enhypen”. I have no one.” The last of the sentence shreds your throat. You run your hands over your face before pointing at him again. “I’m going through enough and you choose to fuck with me. This is all I have Beomgyu!” You pound both your fists against his chest and again you’re moving in slow motion. He can see it in your eyes. In how hard you clench your teeth. He can feel it each time you strike him.

“Why would you do it?” You sob.

“Slap me.”

You gape at him, chest rising and falling violently as you make up for the amount of air you lost. 

Beomgyu is the one getting riled up now. “Do it. Slap me. Fucking do it–”

You strike him hard enough that the corner of his mouth splits. 

“Do it again.”

Your hand is impacting his cheek as soon as his sentence ends. 

“Again.”

You’re both breathing frantically as you slap him again and another time before he can even ask. He grabs your forearm and yanks you closer. “Do it. I know what you want. Fucking ruin me.”

You grab his face and pull his mouth to smash against yours. He lifts you up and you immediately wrap your legs around him. The taste of his tongue, his blood, it lights you up. All your emotions come flooding out as you grip his shirt and tear it apart. Your noses bump harshly against each other as he repositions you against the wall.

You can barely act on your urges with how intense Beomgyu’s actions are. Every ounce of passion you exude is given back to you tenfold. Within moments of letting you down you are both bare for each other.

Beomgyu’s skin being exposed is perfect for your nails dying to sink into it. You reach your arms under his that cage against the wall and slowly rake your fingernails down his back. He winces, letting out small noises of pain. The anger and sadness inside you has hit its peak. You’re so fucking angry, but the pained look on his face hurts.

You want to do something about your anger, but you still retract your hands and sink against the wall. Beomgyu looks at you confused before drawing closer. You shy away from him, whimpering as the bitter truth sets in.

Beomgyu didn’t force you to stop talking to Soobin. Beomgyu didn’t force you to ghost your friends. Beomgyu isn’t the cause of your loneliness. 

It’s you.

He reaches out to touch you but you push him away. His saddened eyes make you ache which in turn makes you more angry. But you can no longer bring yourself to hit him. A surge of rage sends your own hand across your face. The sting is distracting, it’s something. You strike your other cheek harder and Beomgyu stops you before you can do it again. 

“No.” He takes your hand and pulls it near his face. Your eyes follow your hand as it closes in on him. 

“Hit me.”

Your eyes move slowly towards his lips as they form the words, then up to his dark, big eyes. They’re swarming with depth and emotion. You take in his entire face, reddened by your hand. Lips swollen from your mouth. Hair tousled in the chaos. You see him.

You thought tears would be a rare occurrence by now, but there goes another, skitting from your cheekbone to the floor. You smile bitterly.

“I can’t.”

The gleam of your tears brings life to your otherwise tired eyes. He wants to question why, to wallow in self pity with his own delusional reasoning. But no, in your face is all the answers he needs. The same reason he hasn’t hurt you once this entire time. You sigh, letting your head fall, your eyes darkening as they close.

“I don’t know what else to do.” You express weakly.

Seeing you tremble silently makes his previous attempts to pin his resentment on you seem absurd. Beomgyu lets go of your hand.

“I don’t either.”

It’s like clarity washes over the both of you at the same time as you both take in your surroundings. Assess the situation. You shake your head.

“Then what are we doing here?” You brush past him in pursuit of your clothing, pick up each article scattered around the room. 

“It’s just like we said. We don’t know what else to do.” He says behind you.

You slow your collection as you let his words sink in. You’ve exhausted every other option. Therapy, rough sex, songwriting, diaries, crying. Then you feel his warmth behind you. Your eyes ease closed as you melt into him. Your mind goes blank and for the first time in a long time, it’s not out of force or sheer exhaustion. Both of you relax into one another. You’d have to go out eventually, explain yourself and face scrutiny. Risk people’s opinions of you degrading. There’s nothing to worry about here. You’ve already seen the worst of each other. There’s nothing to guard in fear.

You turn around to face him. He looks different. Softer. Unintimidating. He could say the same for you. You climb on top of him, shivering as his member brushes against your mound. Your lips meld together like softening butter. They glide, becoming slick with the other’s saliva. 

He glides his nose up the side of your face as he slips inside you. Both of your mouths hang agape as he slots all the way in. He’s buried deep inside you, no space left unfilled. The two of you substitute kissing for pressing your heads together, feeling every part of the other's skin. You trail your tongue across his jaw before kissing up to his ear. Every sense is filled with Beomgyu to the point where you can’t think of anything else. His makeup, his cologne, his body wash, his deodorant, his lotion, his taste, his touch, him, him, him. Your heart swells as he showers you with as much attention as you give him and then some.

Your hips move in unison, grinding together. Once you kiss again there’s no longer any space in between. Disconnecting sends slightly louder pants and moans into the air as you both start moving faster. You’ve never heard him moan like this. It’s so unrestrained and vulnerable, exposing his eagerness just as much as his hands squeezing your ass does. 

You find you feel full in more ways than one right now. He saw you at your ugliest and he’s still here right now holding you like he never plans to let go. As if reading your thoughts, he clutches you even closer. You feel a light, bubbly laugh float from your chest as your legs start to tingle. You gasp as you climax with a stutter of your hips. Your movements slow ‘til they’ve almost ceased as you drowsily rest your forehead on his. The two of you rock back and forth in the only clean circle of the room amongst the chaos.

A moment of serenity is all the two of you are granted when you hear a knock at the door. Soobin comes in, looking disappointed as he regards you both.

“Are you done? Everyone’s looking for you.”

-🖊️⇝

Beomgyu got an earful for disappearing that day. You could’ve gotten into an ungodly amount of trouble if the other MC didn’t stick up for you. He felt responsible and was beyond apologetic. You forgave him, of course. He did nothing wrong. Also, you've come to terms with the fact that you know you have nothing to do with that song. It's someone else's demo you got paid to perform. It doesn't define you.

“Hey, are you coming?” Chaewon asks. You go to answer but notice a couple of conflicted looks from her members. A quick thought that you “better not annoy them” crosses your mind. You imagine tagging along and making things awkward and it makes you wince.

“No, I-”

“Come on.” Yunjin says dismissively and pulls you by the arm to follow them to their next location. 

You sit stiffly on the couch, clapping along to Eunchae’s loud singing as everyone around you cheers.

She concludes with two bows and a loud ‘thank you’ into the microphone. 

“Go ahead and pick who’s next.” Yunjin yells gleefully. You’re too distracted to realize Yunjin’s hand is hovering over you with her finger extended down.

“Hmm…” Eunchae pretends to think about it for a comically short amount of time before yelling out your name. Your confusion is cut short by a cheering Yunjin and Chaewon pushing you toward the screen. She hands you the mic which you take hesitantly. Once they're seated again they initiate a chant.

“Sing! Sing! Sing! Sing!”

Your brain does the honors of going over all of the embarrassing ways this could play out. Regardless of that, you’re already singing. It’s either that or running out the door, and the latter would take much more effort and explaining. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?

You finish to cheers and applause and you bow in response.

-🖊️⇝

Things in the dorm have gone back to being tense. Soobin isn’t giving Beomgyu the silent treatment this time, but it’s clear he’s disappointed. Everyone is under the impression that they hooked up again only to go back to hating each other. Mostly because you haven’t come over yet. Beomgyu was giving it some time, but now he’s ready.

“Stop acting weird.” He sighs, rubbing his nose bridge. “I did have sex with her. No, the song isn’t about me. We don’t hate each other. You guys can stop tiptoeing around me now.”

The members visibly untense, but only to express confusion.

“Where is she then?” Soobin speaks up, casting a stern look his way.

“Why does her being here matter?” Beomgyu finally gets to ask.

“Remember when you called me naive for having faith in her?” Soobin grits his teeth. “After all that she’s still-”

You cautiously click open the door, slowly revealing your apologetic expression. “I was going to wait but I didn’t…” You stop when you see the hardened look on Soobin’s face upon seeing you. “H-hello everyone.”

Kai stands up and marches over to give you a crushing hug. The gesture makes your heart flutter.

“You didn’t even call.” He pouts.

“I’m sorry.” You squeeze out. Taehyun and Yeonjun come next. Taehyun gives you a side hug while Yeonjun pats your back.

“Welcome back.” Yeonjun says with a wide smile.

The moment is interrupted by Soobin walking out of the living room into his own and slamming the door. You immediately follow after him, an action that Beomgyu watches carefully. Of course he notices a sharp pain in his chest, but he sits with it. Studies it. You could be chasing after him to reveal your true feelings and this time he may accept. He doesn’t want that. It even makes him a little bitter, but he can’t stop you. He can say whatever ugly words come to his mind to try and scare you away, but this time they may not work. And you’re not doing anything wrong. Him cuddling with you and drifting off to sleep in your bed doesn’t mean you’re dating. Moreover, you’re not Hyesoo. He’s seen every part of you by now. Regardless of everything, he’ll still be happy to have you in his life.

“You have sex with me and then never show your face again? Do you know how that feels?” Soobin explains desperately with tears springing to his eyes. “I knew the sex was meaningless, that was the whole point, but for you to up and leave afterward like I was just some random guy really sucks.”

“I-I didn’t want to leave, Soobin. I was too mortified to show my face again.”

“Because that’s what you guys being together does! You break down each other and then turn to breaking down those around you just trying to help. It’s selfish for you to waltz back in here like everything is back to normal.”

“It’s not.” You state confidently. “Everything is very, very different now. I can’t go into public spaces without being recognized, I have more people around me than ever before, and Beomgyu and I don’t hate each other anymore. You said it yourself, we’re similar and we wreck everything around us. We do it to ourselves. Beomgyu realizes it now and I certainly do. I don’t want things to go back to normal, because that version of me is gone.” The more you speak, the easier the words come. You smile hopefully at Soobin.

“I’m moving on with or without you, but I’d really love it if you entered this new chapter with me.”

You grab both of Soobin’s hands as his head droops. He’s silent for what feels like decades passing you by. Then he squeezes your hands.

Epilogue 🖊️⇝

Chaewon: you should apologize.

You pass the phone to Beomgyu in the midst of his “advice”. He crosses one arm over his chest as he reads the very short text for an inappropriate amount of time.

“But you didn’t know, right?”

“That doesn’t mean I’m not in the wrong.” You groan, snatching your phone back. He snatches it right back and starts texting. 

“Hey!” You go to take your phone back but he leans away further and further until his body is caging the phone against the couch. You climb over him and bite his shoulder but he just laughs as the text is sent. You frantically snatch your phone back and look in horror.

You: tomorrow at my house 6pm;’2[21

“What the fuck! Beomgyu!” You shriek.

“You didn’t know, therefore you didn’t intentionally do anything wrong. But you did hurt Kazuha’s feelings and the members are very mad at you.” He explains calmly, smacking on his food. 

“Thanks for reminding me of my unfortunate situation.” You deadpan.

“You were worried they think you're a horrible person. Boom–” He motions at your phone with his sandwich. “You can fix that. You’re worried you’re actually a horrible person, but you had no intentions of hurting anyone.”

“Yeah but you weren’t there. The way I said it was so insensitive in context and the look on Zuha’s face,” You whimper and hide your face in your hands.

“You didn’t hurt her on purpose.” The finality in Beomgyu’s voice makes you look up at him. His face is serious. “I’m certain of it. Now come here.” He pats his lap and you’re eagerly scooting over to lay your head on his lap. He sighs.

“You idiot.” He brushes away the tear falling down your face. “Why don’t you listen to me?”

“Hurting someone as sweet as her is pure evil.” You whisper.

“I don’t have to know you to say that an evil person wouldn’t be this remorseful. But knowing you, you’re not the type of person to go into an exchange ready to hurt an innocent person. You’re the type of person who sits quietly thinking about what you could say that will make people laugh the loudest and smile the brightest. I’m very sure that’s what you were thinking that day as well.” He voices his thoughts as he strokes your hair, stroking your cheek with his thumb. He looks down to meet your gaze and you feel the singe of a fire starting in your heart. He smiles lazily and it's the cherry on top of the artwork that is his face. 

You slowly lean up before capturing his lips. It’s slow, tender, loaded. Kissing him after all the chaos feels like lying in a field of dandelions, the seeds breaking away and dancing in the wind. His skin feels like the warm hug of sunlight. His voice is like birds singing. You pull away and look at him in awe. He seems to be mirroring your feelings if his drunken expression is anything to go by. He shuts his mouth and brushes the back of his hand against your cheek.

“You’re kissing me outside of us having sex?” Beomgyu sports exaggerated shock and presses his palm to your forehead. His antics force a giggle out of you. “Are you sick?!”

You swipe his hand away, unable to ignore the burning light in your chest as you look at him and he silently looks back. You lean in and kiss him one last time before risking it all once you realize what this feeling is.

“I think I love you.” You whisper, looking desperately at his face to catch anything unsavory. His smile drops, looking genuinely shocked this time. He grabs your face and pecks your lips over and over before moving to the other parts of your face until you're stuck in a fit of laughter. He pulls away with adoration in his eyes.

“I loved you first.”

[critter-ghosting-some-tricks]

Maybe ghost trick spoils ahead but heres a post for @alto-tenure's prompt "Lynne and Memry swap with Jowd and Cabanela AU" given for @fyeahghosttrick's Ghost Swap 2024

I’ll be completely honest here- I did NOT expect this prompt to make my brain pop off but when I read through the prompts the first time I hesitated on this one to think for a second about “how would that work?” And boom- my first ghost-swap entry, my first attempt even vaguely trying to emanate another artstyle in a long time and a multitude of files. Enjoy it though, obviously. 

Anywhere here’s my thoughts on this version:

I’m well aware of the fact that it’s possible that the prompt meant to simply swap Memry and Lynne with Cabanela and Jowd cleanly and not change the story much but my brain couldn’t figure it out or get that version to care. 

So first things first is who I swapped with who. As you can see I put Lynne in Jowd’s place and Memry in Cabanela’s place. At first I wasn’t sure about it because it’s hard to imagine Lynne as depressed as Jowd is but it just makes sense to me. I mean- Jowd is Lynne’s hero, Lynne and Jowd already share many similarities due to this and Lynne would still be a target for Yomiel. Mostly, though, the decision was made because of the similarities I realized Memry and Cabanela have- namely determination and how weirdly others view them. 

As for other characters and story beats I admit I had a very tricky time deciding who the new Lynne would be (while Memry could admittedly be replaced by any rooky detective. However I think I have something I’m somewhat happy with where it’s basically that the revenge and Temsik plot gets delayed for some reason (including the part about Alma) and a different Kamila attraction ends up killing Jowd and Lynne is the one to walk in and turn herself in. She (very foolishly) connects the mysterious fortune to the mysterious death that happened to the man that kidnapped her. Cabanela leaves the industry (or takes a break from it at least) after Jowd dies and ends up working with Pigeon man for some reason. Then he maybe takes over when Pigeon man moves away? I’m not sure where Cabanela would really be tbh but that makes some sense to me at least. That or he does just swap with Memry and is lower than he ever would have been in the social ladder because of taking a break and losing drive without Jowd.

 When the night of the game takes place I’m still not entirely sure who takes Lynne’s place but I think it would be neat if it was Alma, trying to make sure the actual killer of her husband gets caught when she doesn’t think Lynne did it (plus then the Lynne character and Kamila still live together). Also, before Jowd’s death Kamila and Kynne grow close faster than canonly so that her absence allows them to still care for each other so deeply. Lynne managed to become Kamila’s hero at that time and basically a daughter to Alma as well as Jowd. To be fair there’s also longer for them to have known eachother since, as previously stated, it all would have to occur later so that Memry and Lynne could have been close detective partners before Jowd dies. 

But why would Yomiel still go to frame Alma for murdering him when she wasn’t at the park and Jowd is dead? Well, I think he would think that having Alma and Lynne in jail would make Jowd roll in his grave. 

Or alternatively Kamila could be the new Lynne and Alma is on some sort of work trip and Amalie really is kidnapped but I don’t like that and Yomiel framing her would still just be to hurt Lynne and Jowd’s spirit. 

But anyways, other than that plot is very similar to the normal game. Memry (who would have also gotten close to Alma and/or Kamila through Lynne and working on her case+ working with Cabanela /pigeon man) rises the ranks and takes the path of the white coat because she knows that Lynne never would have killed the person she looked up to and loved so much. Lynne learns to paint and eventually learns to actually blame herself for things that aren’t her fault. They reunite outside of the prison and learn about what really happened from the Justice Minister. Lynne, Missile, Sissle and Yomiel go back in time and fix everything. You know the drill. 

A few small but specific things that I imagine changing are

Memry rollerskates everywhere instead of dancing and people remark about how nobody “gets from place to place” the way she does and she’s seen as an “odd girl”. 

Bugs are used more frequently in the plot and in how Memry rises through the ranks and figures stuff like point X out. 

Lynne doesn’t paint portraits but is more abstract. She also doesn’t remember what Yomiel looks like, just his colors and voice. 

Lynne is just as adored by everyone who talks about her as Jowd is so that doesn’t change but instead of people calling her their hero, words such as “she was always such a ray of sunshine in the force” are used. 

And maybe I’ll think of more but for now that’s all I feel like writing on it that I don’t think are covered by the art. Thanks for dealing with this rambling- I hope you enjoy my take on this prompt!

[acourtofthought]

I just had an interesting anon, where they asked exactly how Lucien might be able to help Elain train her Seer powers.

It's a valid question because, as they appear to be rare, there doesn't seem to be anyone that can teach Elain in the way Rhys and Cassian taught Feyre and Nesta how to fight. It would have been nice had we gotten any mention that the IC was trying to locate someone who might be able to help her, especially after she volunteered to try and reacquaint herself with her powers, but since they all just decided to keep on living without bothering themselves with that.....

I do think Helion's library is an obvious solution for her, a place to research everything they can find on Seers throughout the ages. But maybe Day Court actually has it's own Seers........

Doesn't it seem odd that both Helion and Lucien seem to share powers somewhat similar to Elain?

Lucien knew ahead of time that Cassian was about to knock because he "sensed" someone.

Helion was able to locate Feyre when even Rhys had no idea she was missing at first (just as Elain was able to locate the Suriel when Feyre could not).

I definitely think Day Court will be the place that Elain and Lucien will go in order to get answers on her Seer powers, powers that they might have a little bit of knowledge on themselves.

[hero-tech]

twst housewardens with a kuudere yuu?

Kuudere Yuu & Housewardens

This was a lot of characters to write for at once but I managed to write a little blurb for all of them ! Naturally because of how many characters, I couldn't expand on them too much, but I hope these are accurate enough to the character trope ! I'm rather unfamiliar with it, actually :" Content under read more since it's a long post !

Riddle

From the start, Yuu had managed to get under Riddle's skin without even trying. Every time they got mad during the time he was spiraling out of control, they'd barely react no matter how vile his tone got. Even worse, they wouldn't hold back on rudely calling him out either. In the end though, Yuu had not been wrong about the fact that he had been out of control, and he had to respect their ability to keep order in their own demeanor. As part out of respect and part out of guilt, he had started to help Yuu out with schoolwork; often aiding them in writing notes or spending time studying with them. He got used to the way they behaved- perhaps even felt a bit of endearment- But the more he found himself enjoying spending time with Yuu, the more he noticed that they were behaving differently. Their face was often flushed, and there was a more compassionate tone in their voice. Whenever he asked Ace and Deuce about it though, they said they noticed no such thing. Riddle remained puzzled about it, until one particularly busy week, where he had accidentally fallen asleep during studying with Yuu. They had placed a blanket on top of him, which had roused him awake just enough to hear their voice the moment they got close. "I love you, Riddle.." Oh.

Leona

Leona couldn't really be bothered to care much about Yuu's attitude, at first. Of course, if they decided to act all big mouthed and insult him about something it was annoying as hell, but other than that they were usually pretty quiet and minded their own business, and he couldn't say he minded the lack of drama there. Yuu had proven through their actions in helping the other students that they had guts, too- He couldn't say he minded keeping someone strong minded and quiet around his pack, so he let them hang out with him whenever they wanted to. He wouldn't really admit it, but they actually did get pretty close over time. Leona also was not stupid. He could see Yuu blushing lately when they spoke, or how they looked over at him much more often when they thought he wasn't looking. It was during one of those longing glances that he finally scoffed, a smirk playing on his face as he looked over, ready to call Yuu out over this. It had dragged on long enough for him to get bored waiting to get the chance to finally hear their feelings. "Cut it out already, pipsqueak. You have a crush on me, don't you?"

Azul

Azul knew the importance of keeping your head cool- Which is why he had thought of Yuu as potentially useful as soon as he met them. After his.. series of accidents had concluded, he had bounced back relatively quickly- and had gotten back into contact with Yuu, doing his best to get on their good side again. He had thought this had worked well since Yuu was spending time with him- But he hadn't realized how well it had worked until Yuu started to act differently towards him. He had noticed they were acting a bit softer towards him- And frankly, he started acting like he had a soft spot too according to the eels- but he still ended up surprised when they were suddenly holding onto his hand as they talked. His words slowed down and his cheeks gained colour now as well. "Y-Yuu?" They both ended up sitting in silence with red cheeks, still holding hands- Perhaps they were somewhat similar when it came to love.

Kalim

Kalim had never really read into Yuu's cold demeanor much. He just thought they might be feeling a bit shy or down, and since he knew they were rather alone at this school (and this world), he had immediately offered his company and friendship. It took a few tries, but much to Jamil's surprise eventually Yuu started hanging out at their dorm pretty often. He even started to see them laugh and show more emotions when they were hanging out alone- So he started hanging out with Yuu in private more often, assuming they were more comfortable alone. Well, as private as he was allowed to be, at least. At some point, he noticed Yuu'd do this cute thing where they'd get all red faced at something he'd do. He wanted to make Yuu happier, so he started often giving them flowers and other small gifts to get that same reaction. The happiest he got though, was when Yuu was finally overcome with emotion and confessed to him. Of course he said yes. How could he not love someone who he'd witnessed bloom open like that with him?

Vil

Yuu didn't really seem to be phased by Vil's beauty at all- He thought so, at least. To be fair, Yuu didn't seem phased by anything at all. He was confident in himself though, so it's not as if he cared much- But he still felt a bit intruiged by the Ramshakle resident. They got along well with Epel, after all- And he wanted their dorm to succeed too, so he'd start pulling Yuu into lessons meant for Epel as well, hoping it'd help the both of them better. The more they spoke though, the more Vil found them having interesting conversations- And he started inviting Yuu around more often to spend time together. Vil was an actor though, which meant he knew how to read people- But he was surprised when it started to seem like Yuu was getting a crush on him. He had thought they had not been phased by his looks- This was curious. "Yuu.. Do you think I'm beautiful?" "You are.. But I don't just mean your objective appearance, Vil.." "I know. I expect proper efforts to ask me out, though. But to not let you hold your breath- I'd say yes."

Idia

Yuu's cold and detached responses really freaked Idia out. Sure, there was never any yelling or anything else unexpected, but he could just never tell what they were thinking, which just made him trust them less to interact with. How was it that he ended up getting close to Yuu anyways? It just so happened that Yuu was a great gamer, and had found refuge in one of the online games Idia frequented. They were playing together before he found out about their identity- And he had been scared at first when he found out who he was really playing with, but at that point Yuu had apparently already felt close enough to him to just show up at his dorm to play games. And somehow he couldn't convince himself to get them to leave, so they once again grew closer instead through spending time together gaming. Before he knew it, he was even talking to them about subjects close to his heart. He could tell Yuu was more comfortable with him too, as they got rather sweet with him. Yuu would even lean against him sometimes, aond one time this was happening he couldn't help but to snicker. "You know, Yuu, you're really like a kuudere, aren't you? Acting all cold at first and then getting all cute~" It was purely a joke and while he would perhaps be hopeful in his wildest fantasies that Yuu indeed had feelings, he did not expect it- And he definitely did not expect them to quickly sit up and try to sputter out a response with a red face.

"W-wait, wait, hold on, I was just kidding! promise!"

Malleus

Malleus knew Yuu's words had been far from kind most times, but the most important thing was that the housewarden did not seem afraid of him at all- And that honestly was more than he could expect from humans per usual. So he tried to spend more time with them where possible, and found that they'd actually let them as well. He had started to harbor feelings embarrassingly fast, even if he didn't quite realize it at first- It had finally clicked when Yuu stopped acting icy around him. They'd even initiate physical contact, and at that point he knew he'd want more. He was surprised at how loving Yuu could be, while he still felt like he struggled expressing his affections in a conventional way- Instead penning his confession down in a letter, hoping he understood correctly and his love would be returned. Even if it was not, he still felt rather special, getting to see this side of Yuu.

[normspellsman]

The Sea Gives & The Sea Takes

A “Can Only Hope” Sequel pt. 1/?

pairing(s): sully family x gender neutral!reader

genre: angst

word count: 1k+

warning(s): funeral scene

word bank: eywa/great mother — goddess deity that the na’vi believe in, atokirina/woodsprite — a seed from the tree of souls that lives on pandora, tsmuktu — sibling, irayo — thank you; thanks, & ilu— aquatic creature residing on awa’atlu used for riding

note: the first installment of the “can only hope” sequels + prequels. i have some more planned regarding the other works, possibly involving a separate fic of each of the siblings visiting the reader at the tree of souls but we’ll see. i only have lo’ak’s part done. so if you have any ideas or requests for those &/or future works, please message or comment! <3

Your funeral was beautiful.

Upon hearing of your unfortunate death, the leaders of the Metkayina, Ronal and Tonowari, and the rest of their clan began to make preparations for it. The reef people had different funeral customs than the Omatikaya, but made a conscious effort to make it somewhat similar to that of your home clan. Just a little something that you could take with you onto your way to join Eywa.

Your body was delicately wrapped and placed into a giant leaf that was able to hold your weight above the water, preventing you from sinking to the bottom.

Tsireya had gotten permission from both of your parents to do your hair for the ceremony. It was a tradition of the Metkayina to do their recently passed loved ones hair before they joined the Great Mother. It was something that she wanted to do for you, especially after all you did during your time on Awa’atlu.

Each of your siblings also wanted to do something for you before you joined the Great Mother forever. Each of them had given something to you. Neteyam had replaced your armband with his, he wearing yours. Lo’ak had taken the hair piece that he always used to tie back his hair and put it in yours, asking Tsireya if she could incorporate it into your hair somehow. Kiri had wrapped her favorite necklace around your neck. And Tuk had wrapped the anklet she was making you around your right ankle, all of your favorite shells adorning the woven material. They had wanted to give a piece of themselves to you before your body officially joined Eywa, so they’d be with you for all eternity until it was their time to join you in the afterlife.

Your Mother was at the back of the leaf that held your body, helping her eldest son push it along the surface of the water as they joined the rest of the family and members of the Metkayina.

She wished she was back home. She wished she was doing all of this the only way she knew how, the Omatikaya way. Where she would sing your song chord as her Mother chanted prayers for your soul to return safely back into the arms of Eywa. Where she would experience the comfort of her people during her mourning. Where she would place an atokirina in your open grave at the base of Home Tree. Where they would hold a celebration of your life and achievements. Neytiri just wanted the comfort of her home. Of where she grew up. Of where she had given birth to you and watched you grow up. That’s all she desired.

Many faces in the crowd were damp at the sight. Not many of them knew you, but they could feel the love that the Sully family and their Olo’eyktan’s family held for you, and so they grieved over that. Over the deep, familial love that you’ll never get to experience again. Over the young life that was lost. Over the future life you’d never get to have.

Once they reached the point where they needed to, Neytiri readied herself to slide your body out from under the leaf.

But before she was completely able to, her children stopped her, wanting one more chance to see your face or touch your azure skin.

Neteyam was the first to approach you, turning around from the front of the leave that held you.

He gently touched your face, running a finger over the faintest scar that rested underneath your eye, smiling fondly at the memory that flashed in his head. Neteyam slightly bent down to rest his lips against the crown of your hair, “Rest well, ma tsmuktu,” he whispered against your azure skin, gently kissing where his lips rested upon.

He thought the whole thing was bittersweet. You had worked so hard to protect the people and your family, being successful in your tribulations. It was your job as the eldest sibling to do so. And now it was Neteyams. You passing on the baton to him. He promised to do as you did. Protect the ones you loved until your very last breath.

Then, it was Lo’ak who approached your still body.

He had glided up to the side of the leaf, putting one hand on your forearm and the other on your cheek. He shakingly smiled down at your peaceful form, almost believing that you were just asleep and not actually dead. Almost.

Lo’ak had made sure to wear every single piece of jewelry you made him over the years, there barely being any room on his forearms due to the sheer amount he was wearing. The recent you had attempted at making him was tied to his left wrist, on the hand that gently rested on your cheek. It was far from finished, the weaving pattern stopping at the middle and the beads were slightly uneven. When he entered your side of the marui and saw the bracelet you were making for him, it made him sob once more. He felt so guilty, so sad. You were no longer here to offer your comfort or to tease him. But he still felt your presence wherever he went, especially if he had one of your bracelets on.

No matter how many bracelets Lo’ak managed to pack onto his arms, he still felt the gaping hole in his heart that only your presence could fill. He doesn’t think anything on Pandora, or in the universe, could fill up the hole you left behind. You were Lo’ak’s favorite sibling, of course there was going to be a hole in your absence. He would never admit that you were his favorite sibling, but everyone knew. Everyone knew.

“Irayo, tsmuktu,” Lo’ak muttered, rubbing your forearm softly, “For everything.”.

Neytiri had decided now was the best moment to remove you from the leaf, taking you into her arms as you floated against the light current of the waves.

You were so quiet. Neytiri doesn’t think you had been more quiet in your life. Of course your lack of noise wasn’t purposeful or your doing. But she still couldn’t help but feel bothered by your silence. You were quite a fussy child, becoming even more rowdy as you grew and time went on. That’s what Neytiri loved about you. You never changed much or grew out of your childhood habits. She frowned at her realization of you being so quiet. It was a stark difference from your usual personality, making everything more real, more painful. She finds herself straining to hear your little giggle whenever you played around with the family, pretending to be asleep when you weren’t. But her sensitive ears pick up nothing, frowning at the reality that you’d never make a sound again.

Jake had glided up besides his wife, aiding her in floating your body.

Tonowari had explained to Jake the Metkayina’s funeral process and what it would entail. He and Neytiri would swim down to the bottom of the ocean, towards the glowing orange tendrils on the seafloor. The Olo’eyktan explained that once your body made contact with the tendrils, they would welcome you in a warm embrace, slowly and gently wrapping themselves around your whole body until no hint of skin was left. Finally pulling you down into itself as you became one.

To be frank, Jake was not ready to do all of this. He wanted, no needed more time with you. With his eldest. You were his first child and you’d always hold a special place in his heart, but it wouldn’t be the same anymore. There’d always be that void that followed him around. He felt as if he should’ve done more. That maybe if he didn’t run from Quaritch, you’d still be alive and breathing in his arms. Maybe if he tried harder to be a better Father, then you’d still be here.

Just as Jake and Neytiri were passing by their youngest children, Tuk stopped them, putting her forehead against your cheek, softly kissing it as she pulled away. Kiri copied her movements, running her hand through your braided hair only before pulling herself away from your body. Spider stayed where he was next to Kiri’s ilu, too afraid to approach your body and pay his respects. Not that he didn’t want to. He just didn’t know what to do at this exact moment. Everything was so confusing, especially after saving Quaritch minutes after witnessing the life leave your eyes. He didn’t even know why he did it. He had no explanation as to why. He felt out of place. Like he didn’t deserve to be present at your funeral.

“It’s time, Neytiri,” Jake softly spoke, putting his bruised hand onto his wifes delicately painted face, gently rubbing her cheekbone in hopes to comfort her. Burying your child was never an easy feat. Jake wanted to be there for his wife. Wanted to be her crutch to lean on. But, he too was barely hanging on.

Neytiri only nodded at her husband's words, taking a deep breath before diving down into the water, carrying your body in her four fingered hands.

Jake followed his wife shortly after, knots forming in his stomach as the orange glowing tendrils came into view, swaying back and forth from the current.

Placing your body onto the tendrils was something neither parent wanted to do. Watching as your body slowly floated downwards and made contact with the tendrils made Jake want to reach out to you and bring you into his chest. Watching as the tendrils started to wrap themselves around your form and practically swallow you whole made Jake want to cry out. He found himself yearning to have your own burial site, so he could go back to visit you. But this wasn’t Earth and he wasn’t back with the Omatikaya. The Metkayina did things differently and he had to respect that, even if it meant not being able to visit your grave whenever he wanted to.

From the water's surface, the remaining Sullys watched as you were swallowed by the mass of tendrils and finally became one with the Great Mother, body and spirit.

Kiri and Spider held hands as they watched. Kiri felt her eyes sting from the tears pricking at her waterline, mixing in with the seawater. Spider only blankly stared at your slowly disappearing body, swallowing the lump in his throat.

Neteyam curled in on himself as he floated there, almost copying your fetal stance you were put into in order to be wrapped in preparation for your funeral.

Lo’ak had reached out towards you, sobbing into the water as bubbles erupted from around him, water seeping into his lungs from the action.

And Tuk couldn’t bring herself to watch, instead finding comfort in watching the ilu’s float in their place.

Tsireya, Ao’nung, and Rotxo only continued to cry silent tears as they watched from afar. The glowing light of the ocean floor becoming brighter as it absorbed your body, dimming out slightly, a telltale sign that you were now with the Great Mother for all eternity.

The whole night felt surreal, even afterwards.

No one uttered a signal word in the Sully’s marui pod, sitting in silence as everyone processed what occurred only hours prior.

The sea gives and the sea takes.

The sea gave the Sully’s a new home but as a result, took a small part of them as the price.

[deadkraker]

i think you're really cool and was wondering if you had any headcanons for c!tommy or c!ranboo? theyre great (and traumatized)

OH DONT GET ME STARTED

I have a full tag for my semi-au which is basically just me smashing all my headcanons together into a canon diverge mess of a rambling,

You can find a lot of cTommy hcs there, I haven’t really talked about cranboo too much, though there are like, a few posts where he’s mentioned. So here’s some semi coherent hcs I have for him bc I actually adore him.

He 100% has a ‘comfort grassblock’ and by that I mean he just has a cube of dirt he holds when he gets stressed out. He’s odd like that.

He doesn’t really get cold, the end is naturally very chilly due to the lack of any kind of sunlight other than the faint glow of the chorus plants (a lil world building hc) so first generation endermen are naturally more durable in cold environments (a reason why he also just wears a flimsy suit when staying with ctechno and cphil)

and the reason why I call endermen “first generation” is because since the end is canonically sealed off during most of the dsmp timeline, I hc that endermen have divided to two sub categories, first generation endermen and second generation endermen, sometimes called netherborn endermen.

The first generation are the classic endermen who originate from the time when the end was still open and are endermen born in the end and thus adapted to that environment, they are the ones with green eyes. second generation endermen on the other hand are endermen born after the end was sealed off, and are usually found in the nether, they are more adapted to hot environments because of that, and also are the ones with purple eyes. cRanboo is a first generation endermen. How that is possible is a mystery since he’s so young. (Cough resurrection COUGH COUGH)

his night vision is very good, but that comes with the downside light sensitivity, he’s gotten used to the Overworld’s brightness over the years but he still sometimes gets headaches during sunny days.

He can’t teleport because he’s still just a half endermen, more specifically his ender pearl is deformed meaning that it doesn’t function as it should, he still emits particles but that is all he can do.

Sometimes when he’s stressed his body tries to teleport but he obviously can’t do so it just results in him getting very bad ‘heart burn’ as he calls it.

He doesn’t know why, but even before he met cdream, he still knew him. He tries not to think about it.

Extending on his memory issues, while he doesn’t remember a lot of stuff, he still feels emotions and sensations that his brain has connected to places, people or words.

A lot a pretty straight forward, cTubbo makes him remember the taste of honey and the smell of firewood

ctechno is the sound of clashing swords and the smell of broth

cPhil is the blisters on his hands that came from hard work and laughter

Stone walls smell like ozone and taste like blood. He doesn’t know why.

He has eyelids similar to reptiles, so he blinks side ways, it freaks everyone out lol.

His cheeks are scarred from crying.

He gets really nervous and uptight when people look at him in the eyes, bc he’s cranboo he doesn’t exactly get hostile but he does get a little snappy.

He can somewhat understand endermen, not fully but to an extent that he can have simple conversations with them. Ender is a very complex language for a very complex species, endermen’s brains work differently to humans and other species and that reflects in their language making it very hard for outsiders to learn. Most endermen see cranboo as just a child due of his kinda primitive understanding of the language, a lot of how and why’s of endermen are taught to them while growing up, so most just assume he’s just too young to fully communicate yet.

His other half is a farlander, more specifically an altered version of it that lives in my head rent free, might talk about that later.

He actually has a double circulatory system!

Uhhhh that’s some i have! I honestly could go on specially about what I hc happened to him before the smp, but I’ll save that for later when I got more ideas yada yada. I hope this was at least readable to you lol

[chaichaiiskai]

Jack hanma x male reader … you can just do wtv you feel like doing for this … this is probably gonna get ignored cz it’s just ‘jack x male reader’ but if you do .. Yk do smth, thank you 👍🏾

Gotta be honest, I don't remember jack shit about jack (pun intended) aside from his ability to not lay tf down despite getting his ass beat so--- he's very stubborn so I think I can do something with that... Ya didn't give me much to work with but I'll take the reins on this one.

Now, personally, I don't think jack would be too interested in romance since his number one goal is to beat the shit outta his father but for the sake of your request I'm just gonna feed into the fantasy and add a bit of spice. Jack's definitely gonna be ooc

Let's say this takes place a little while after he's defeated by Baki and he's a bit more humble, also he's at the heaping height of 7'11 aka 241 cm. I had no idea what to do!!!! But let's do this.

jack hanma! x male! amab! reader

warnings: amab reader, male reader, mlm, he/him pronouns, homophobes dni, overprotective behavior from jack, no smoot this time cause i wanna give jack the cuddles he deserves and male readers deserve fluff too 🥺

Working could have its downfalls and its moments of relief, especially in this special part of the city. It wasn't exactly the most rundown place, but it wasn't all that safe either. However, you chose not to let that bother you as you focused on doing your job, collecting tips, and then heading back home. Being a waiter proved to be easy enough when you weren't dealing with difficult, idiotic customers who had some kind of privilege problem, complaining about the food not being hot.

"Sir, I'm more than happy to have another meal prepared for you, it won't take too long—" Your insistent words were soon cut off by the sound of the angered man you'd been serving, slamming his fat fist onto the table. You could practically see the veins in his forehead and neck looking close to popping, his reddened face reminding you of Red from Angry birds, he even had the brows to match.

"NO! How dare you disrespect me with this fucking SLOP!" He shouted, and then moved his other hand. In a flash, and before you could brace yourself for what was to come, you grunted when a plate was tossed at you, a bloody steak and hot potatoes were thrown directly at you. Fortunately, you were able to bring your arms up to quickly cover your face, the food and plate hitting your arms before it all crashed to the floor after covering your uniform and shoes in the man's tantrums. A light burning sensation spread over your arms and elbows, but not harsh enough to call for medical care, thankfully.

"Where do you get off thinking you can get away with this, boy!?"

Before you can explain yourself, or even defend your character, perhaps even offer to refund him for the meal he seemed to have a problem with, you felt a heavy hand on your shoulder. Along with the weight, you smelt a familiar cologne, your senses being invaded with a sudden sense of comfort and relaxation. Though, the hairs on the back of your neck knew what was to come next.

Jack.

You looked up at the heap of a man and he didn't look at you, instead, he offered the cloth napkin that he had gotten from the table he'd been dining at. You took it and stepped back, starting to wipe your arms off, taking note of the remaining slight sting you felt from the hot food, you would live but you couldn't believe this guy had the audacity to lie about the food being cold. Why? Did he just want to cause problems on unsuspecting waiters and waitresses? Was it some kind of elaborate scheme to humiliate those that he deemed below him?

"And who in the fuck are you!?" The difficult customer suddenly asked, making a show of getting out of his seat to stand off with Jack even though the blond easily towered over him, but their physiques were somewhat similar. Two walls built of muscle. All that proteins seems to go somewhere.

"Just a concerned customer. You're disturbing my meal, and you're lacking manners." Jack replied, his tone calm and his features as nonchalant as ever. This seemed to anger the other man considerably, seeing how he suddenly thrusted a finger in Jack's chest, soon to be met with the sound of crunching.

He'd broken his finger.

It was his own fault for carelessly touching a man who seemed to be crafted from sheer marble and stone.

The man let out a scream, clutching his broken finger with his uninjured hand, cradling it against his chest. In response, you took another step back and watched, along with many other patrons and staff members. Jack, on the other hand, grinned and looked back at the witnesses who couldn't take their eyes away from the scene.

"You all saw who touched who first, correct? You're all my witnesses."

Before anyone could even confirm what the blond had said, he covered the entirety of the angry customer's skull with his hand and lifted him off his feet. With the swift, calculated movements of a seasoned pitcher, he pulled the man towards himself just by holding his head like an oversized baseball and tossed him forward... right through the restaurant window, much to the horror of everyone in the restaurant-- aside from Jack and you. No, you were already groaning at the idea of needing to find another job.

...

"You can't keep doing this, Jack! Do you know how many jobs I've had to resign from because of you butting into everything?! Those poor people can't even fire me because they think you'll come after them and bash their skulls in with your bare HANDS or something!!"

You exclaimed, lecturing your boyfriend on his repeated offenses when it came to protecting you and your pride at every restaurant you worked at, mostly doing waiter work. The massive man simply chuckled at your words, tossing his arm over your shoulders as he pulled you closer into his hardened side, the warmth he gave off was a nice contrast to the approaching winter night but you were still upset. The two of you were in the back of the van he had bought to accommodate his large stature, while his chauffeur drove you both to the apartment building Jack owned.

"I don't get why you need to work when I can easily take care of you. I already do, but you always insist on working. Are you planning on saving up money and leaving me or something, short stacks?"

You rolled your eyes at the pet name, wanting to ignore him for the rest of the ride, but you couldn't bite your tongue back from recanting. "No. I can't do that even if I tried because I somehow fell in love with you. But that doesn't make me want to stop from going out to work, I want to contribute. You already pay all the rest of the bills." You murmured, crossing your arms over your chest and sighing, your anger dissipating into saddened frustration as you looked down at the van's floor, frowning at the sight of your dirtied shoes.

Jack simply watched you for a few minutes, the gears in his head starting to turn about before he spoke up.

"Why can't you apply for any other job then? Do you have to be a waiter?"

"I don't know what else I'm supposed to do, Jack! It's not like jobs are just falling from the fucking sky and are ripe for the taking!"

He seemed to linger on your words, not effected in the slightest by the raise in your voice. Instead, he wanted to be a problem solver, even if he wasn't the smartest guy out there, he figured there could be something out there for you.

Before the conversation could continue, however, it was interrupted by the van parking, the backdoor opening and you climbing out, rushing out into the underground garage to head straight for the elevator so you could go up to the penthouse and bathe. Jack simply watched your retreating back, rubbing at the back of his neck before he finally climbed out after you. With a quick dismiss of his driver, he began the trek to the stairs, which he preferred to take instead of the elevator, despite living on the 20th floor. How could he even pass up on a workout? It already took a lot out of him to not try and run everywhere, but you insisted on getting a van because you didn't want his body to continue breaking down at such a fast pace. And you usually would have forced him to take the elevator with you, but you were too upset with him and grossed out by your soiled clothes to wait.

As soon as you got into your shared place, you took your shoes off and left them by the door, shuffling across the hardwood floor with your somewhat soiled socks and dropped your bag on the living room couch, making your way directly to the bathroom. Once inside, you didn't bother to shut the door behind you and headed for the shower, turning it on so that it could heat up to the proper temperature before stripping out of your clothes. You dropped the articles of clothing on the floor, knowing you'd drop them in the washer after you were done bathing, and hurried into the shower, instantly sighing in relief as the water began to shower off the stickiness of that asshole of a man's dinner from your skin.

The shower was pretty much a massive glass box, and like everything else in your home, it was meant to fit two Jacks inside of it, making it almost seem like a giant's castle with you inside of it. That was okay with you, everything was just extra comfortable, especially the shower that had sprayers behind you, in front of you, and on the ceiling, rinsing every inch of your body if you so desired. It was a great contrast to the frustration from the day. And you preferred to stop smelling like meat and potatoes.

Eventually, about halfway through your shower, Jack had finally made it inside, grunting as he kicked off his shoes haphazardly, entering and taking a brief look around. It didn't take a genius to know where you'd gone. He put on his house slippers and went further in, shoving his hands into the pockets of his dark sweats as he entered the bedroom, deciding he'd be of some help.

By the time you came out of the shower, feeling more refreshed with your head a bit clearer, a towel wrapped around your waist and another emcompassimg your wet head.

You noticed Jack first sitting on the edge of the humongous bed, and then a fresh change of clothes splayed out on the mattress beside him. "Thanks, babe."

He hummed in response, removing his phone to unlock and look through it. Whenever he held something significantly smaller in his hand, it was always amusing, no matter what mood you were in. You sighed and shook your head to keep yourself from chuckling, moving to get dressed in one of his t-shirts that drowned you in fabric (no matter what size you are), and pair of comfortable bottoms you tended to lounge around. You decided to finish drying your hair, plopping down beside him, sinking into the firm yet soft bed.

The silence was comfortable in a way, with the sounds of him tapping and you lightly scrubbing away at the moisture on your head.

"How about this?"

You paused what you were doing when he suddenly put his phone in front of your face, showing something to you. You squinted in confusion and leaned in a little to get a better look at what he was showing you. A job listing for a remote job. Immediately, you took his phone from him and looked over the requirements, the description, and everything else in-between. It was almost too good to be true. How did he find something so easily in such a short amount of time? You decided not waste anymore time to rush over to gather your laptop, carrying along his phone, and went to apply for this job as quickly as possible. Luckily, you had a little desk you often used in the bedroom tucked away in the corner nearby the closet. If you got this job then that means you'd have to make up your own office. What were the odds? If you got this job, you might not be as frustrated with Jack as you were before... Who were you kidding? Even if he didn't present this golden opportunity you wouldn't have lasted much longer being frustrated with him.

With a new sense of determination, you were quick to upload your resume along with your application and a few other things you needed, a sense of hope settling itself on your shoulders. Alongside the hands that were currently resting their, Jack peering over your shoulders, not leaning any of his weight on you as he watched you diligently type away.

"Will I get a reward if you score this job?" He finally asked after you hit 'submit' on your application. Breathing out a sigh from your nose, you tilted your head back to look up at him, bumping into his hard abdomen. "Hm... don't know. You acted pretty hasty today, knowing I could have handled it on my own... I think I should punish you."

Jack blinked in surprise for a moment, his mouth soon forming an 'o' shape, followed by a cheeky grin that spread across his face like a forest fire.

"Punish me? Kinda wanna see you try. Doubt you could do anything though." After challenging you, he removed his hands from your shoulders and crossed them over his chest, raising an eyebrow in wait.

You nodded and then pushed yourself out of your chair.

"Bet."

And with the speed of lightening, you hurried over towards the bed and flopped onto your side, immediately getting comfortable and pretending to sleep.

Jack: 🧍

"You little shit."