#and that’s basically why he thought we were in the same time zone

[save-the-villainous-cat]

Mmmm. Babg

Heyyy pretty boy~

[kaysungshine]

Redamancy ['red-a-man-sE] noun ;a love returned in full

Part II out now!

{ Pairing } - idol!bangchan x staff!afab.reader (with a hint of bestfriend!jisung?)

{ Genre } - NSFW, the trifecta (s/a/f), frenimies to friends to lovers? idk but we'll get there in the end

{ Synopsis } - Han Jisung is your new bestie & technical colleague, of course you befriended the rest of his members. Group nights became a tradition, & tonight involves liquor and drinking games for the first time. Truth or drink?

{ WC } - 6.7k

{ Warnings & tags } - 18+ MDNI, NSFW, smut, angst, fluff, drinking, breath play (choking), swearing, dry humping, use of 'babygirl', mention of wet dream, talk of edging, talk of domming, talk of choking, talk of exhibitionism, all of ot8 is suggestive af when they drink, reader and jisung are PLATONIC I promise they're just touchy, they're all giggly drunks so overuse of laughing chuckling and giggling, chan is kinda dumb in this he just... is in denial land but we'll find out more about that later, unrealistic work scenarios, unrealistic dorm setup? idk lol

{ Disclaimer } - This work is in no way associated with the actual skz, and is a fictional piece. I DO NOT own Stray Kids, this fic is just influenced by them!

{ A/N } - Okay I know I took forever to post & this intro is hella long & I'm sorry! Once again, I will say this is my first skz fic. I come from the world of AO3 & dramione. I am out of my comfort zone lol. First time posting stories on tumblr too! So if I missed anything please let me know <3 there will be a part 2, I've already started writing it! The plot is weak af, but gimme a few more stories and I'll find my groove. Promise! Unbeta'd, be gentle with me ♡

It was supposed to be a relatively chill Saturday night, so you were excited. You just got off work, and had arrived at Jisung's. He swung the door open smiling and pulled you inside, into an immediate hug. Everyone said their greetings, and then Jisung went immediately to whining.

"Finally, what kept you so late?"

You took your shoes, mask, sunglasses, and hat off, letting your curls fall down your back. Then you unzipped your sweatshirt, shrugging it off your shoulders and exposing your fitted white tee. You gave your jacket and bag to Ji so he could put them away. You always arrived in 'disguise', in baggy clothing so that no one suspected anything. Though you thought it was ridiculous. It doesn't matter how baggy the sweat pants or hoodie is, there's no hiding the curve of your ass.

You were a content editor at JYPE, and had become really good friends with Han Jisung. Friendships between idols and staff certainly aren't forbidden, in fact they're encouraged to an extent... as long as no lines are crossed. But it's pretty much an ignored rule. Anyways, you were a small 'behind-the-scenes' employee, not a manager or assistant or makeup artist. Not anyone directly involved with any idols. No one off the street knew who you were. Still, over the last almost year or so, you and him became besties. You frequently shared meals together at work, had sleepovers, you even went camping. You were basically glued to each other. It could easily be taken the wrong way by the media and fans. Hell, it gets taken the wrong way by co-workers, other idols, and even his group members. Although they've mostly accepted that's not the case. It's a given with the way you two act though.

Your relationship is definitely platonic, confirming pretty early on that neither of you felt anything more than friendly love for each other. But you both love teasing the other suggestively. You suppose that's partly why you two got so close so quickly. Your personalities are so similar, it's like you share the same singular brain cell sometimes.

"Editing, per usual." You finally reply with a sigh, "We had to cut A LOT out of nexz's new video. They're so high energy, they slip up a lot, especially with the swearing, but nothing we can't handle."

"Gotta love kids." Chan snorts while sipping a beer.

You smile awkwardly in response and look around the room. Everyone is here, all with their preferred beverages, and chatting away or scrolling.

Ji comes back with a drink for you, he knows you're partial to tequila and always keeps it on deck. Normally, you spend every weekend you can together, which sometimes is not as often as either of you would like. Sometimes you'd both head back to your place, and just have all nighters, binge watching anime and gorging yourselves on junk food. More recently, like tonight, you get invited over to hang with him and the rest of the boys.

It usually results in a few drinks and a movie, or talk about work. Sometimes you just play music and talk and vibe, or try to cook food together when you get the munchies... Which more than likely results in Minho taking over because he just can't help himself. However the nights play out, they're always fun, and you're gradually getting closer to the rest of the members too. Although no one can compare to the bond you have with your Jiji.

"I don't wanna watch a movie tonight, my eyes hurt too much." He starts complaining.

"Poor baby." You tease and run your fingers through his hair, laughing.

"When are you two just going to come out with the fact that you're in love?" Seungmin asks.

You roll your eyes, "When dwaekki's fly."

"I can easily make that happen." Changbin laughs.

"We could play a game?" Felix suggests, already looking flushed from the alcohol.

Jeongin gets excited, "Let's do a drinking game! It's been a while."

"I don't believe I've ever played a drinking game with y'all."

Hyunjin hums, "Mm, you haven't. Mostly because we get crazy, we've never brought up the idea."

This piqued your interest, "More crazy than I've already seen? I don't think that's possible."

Minho chimes in this time, "You forget we're a group of men sometimes, I swear. Mix alcohol and suggestive games, it definitely gets 'crazier' than you've seen, inappropriately crazy."

You level him with a smirk, "I'm down."

"That's my y/n!" Ji says, while pulling you to sit in his lap, "Fearless."

You giggle and lean into him while Minho just narrows his eyes at you and purses his lips. Something tells you he's up to something, but you're ready for any challenge.

"Fine. Then we'll play something easy, truth or drink. If someone refuses to answer, they drink. Whoever finishes their drink first loses." Minho says.

"What does the loser have to do?" You ask.

"Pay for everyone's lunch every day for a month!" Changbin says.

"Deal." You say. 

You're an open book, Ji knows this. There's no question you won't answer.

Everyone is up now, getting new drinks & refills before the game starts. You can't help but notice that Chan didn't get up, he looks a little nervous for some reason. He was always the most worried about you being around so much. In the beginning it definitely came across like he didn't like you. Now you know that's not the case... you think. He tolerates you now to say the least. You couldn't blame him too much, he was just protective of his boys. You actually found it incredibly sweet, or maybe it's just that stupid soft spot you have for him.

He always tried to keep you at arms length from the group. Not wanting anyone to get too close to you. Until Jisung put him in his place, as best he could anyways.

You were in Ji's lap, watching Spirited Away. He was drawing imaginary lines and shapes on your back, while you rested your head on his shoulder, facing the tv. His head was resting on top of yours as well, and a blanket covered you both.

Chan walked in seeing this, and nearly had a stroke. He said we were being inappropriate. And specifically made it a point to tell you to be more professional as a member of the staff. Short version: know your fucking place, you're overstepping. 

You scoffed at him, prepared to confront him about his growing disdain towards you. Let him know he's the one being inappropriate, downright childish. But Ji nudged you onto the couch and got to him first.

It was kind of cute watching him standing there, ears becoming red and getting in Chan's face. Cute in the way that it was like a maltese puppy trying to stand up to a doberman. Then he proceeded to yell at him about how he was way out of line. Saying he was being flat out disrespectful and that he was done with the ridiculous way he has been acting about you. The last thing he said was that he didn't know what got into him, and that he'd never seen this side of Chan before. 

Chan was silent, looking intensely into Jisungs eyes. But he never backed down, so Chan poked his tongue to his cheek, then retreated to his room for the whole night. You had to scoop Ji off the floor right afterwards. He had let his knees buckle, and fell to the floor once Chan was gone. Citing that he wasn't sure he was going to live through the night to see the morning sun. Typical dramatic fashion for your best friend. But you soothed him, fluffing up his ego about 'defending your honor'. His words, not yours.

As that night went on though, the tiniest bit of worry coursed through you. Chan hadn't come back out. Not even when the other members came home, trying to knock on his door to greet him. Or when the food was ready to be served, you had even given knocking a try. Only after Hyunjin begged you to, because 'He already doesn't take care of himself. He needs to eat.' No, you didn't see him again that night until you had already walked out the front door. He slipped out behind you shortly after, grabbing you by the wrist and stopping you. 

You thought he was going to continue the argument for a moment, but no, he was apologizing. Not much more was said afterwards, but his apology was genuine and heartfelt, so you accepted it. You two ended up hugging it out, and thank goodness no one saw that, because it was incredibly cringeworthy. He had no more major issues after that. But he was still unexplainably awkward around you, but it's not like you were any better. You two simply didn't know how to interact with each other for longer than 30 seconds. And that was pushing it. You suspected that might not ever go away. He likes to keep his walls high and strong, and you're stubborn at times.

But of course,  despite that stubbornness. You developed some sort of feelings towards him. Feelings you refused to acknowledge, well tried to refuse. You would push those feelings down deep within your heart, put them in a little box, and tape it shut trying to forget it's there. There was no need to pine over the man, he had stay to do that for him, and who knows who else in his life. Somehow that box always ended up ripped open again.

There was never a reason to act on these feelings. Not to mention, you think you'd be breaking SO MANY rules. Putting your job, his job, hell everyone's job at risk. Or worse, making a fool of yourself when he would downright reject you.

You keep watching him, now he's shaking his leg up and down, seeming agitated. Maybe he just doesn't want everyone getting into a vulnerable state of mind while playing? Maybe he's worried somebody will say or do something wrong? That someone will cross a line, as he loves to say?

Trying to ease his negative feelings, and extend yet another olive branch. You toss a throw pillow at him, hitting him in the chest and pulling him out of his thoughts.

He looks at you, eyebrows wrinkled in confusion, and you just chuckle nervously at him saying, "Don't worry, it's like Vegas. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

"God how fuckin' corny was that?" Ji teases you, poking your side making you giggle more.

To your relief, Chan is laughing with you, and shaking his head, "I just want them to behave."

"Oh relax, we're all grown. We're all friends. So we'll get to know each other more intimately, big whoop." You shrug.

"Mmm..." He replied, before raising his voice so everyone could hear him, "Whatever is spoken about tonight, doesn't leave this room."

"I swear you're the one with anxiety sometimes, not me." Ji mumbles.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... dad." Hyunjin says as he sits next to you and Ji.

"As if that announcement even had to be made, I swear, and you wonder why we call you old." Seungmin comments.

Once everyone is settled in with their drinks, Minho directs Chan to start the game.

"Jisung, when was the last time you cried?"

He laughed, "You're trying to embarrass me because you know it was this morning, but I am confident and secure in the fact that I am a sensitive man."

He said the last bit with his hand over his heart, and his eyes closed, effectively making everyone chuckle.

"My poor baby, why were you crying?" You question teasingly.

"Please don't bring it up, he'll start blubbering all over again. Stupid, sad, dog rescue videos." Seungmin mumbles.

"Minho!" Ji shouts, pointing at him dramatically, "This question is for you. If you had to kiss someone in this room on the cheek, who would it be?"

"Hyunjin." He said bluntly, making you and everyone else laugh while Hyune just rolled his eyes.

"Would you kiss me back?" He asked him, eyes full of hope and bottom lip jutted out and pouting, trying to act cute. And succeeding, honestly.

Hyunjin acted like he was pondering the question, but ultimately was the first to take a sip from his glass, "I decline to answer."

He looked to you next, a suggestive smirk on his face, making you the next victim, "Y/niiieee..."

"Oi, be respectful." Chan scolds immediately, not liking the look at all.

"All I was going to do was repeat the question!" He said defensively, "Y/n, if you had to choose, who would you kiss on the cheek?"

You tried hard to keep your eyes from trailing over to Chan, a tingly feeling spreading across your skin at the mere thought of innocently kissing his cheek. Instead you chose the easy answer, because it wasn't a lie. You'd also kiss your best friend on the cheek any time.

"My Jiji of course," And you took his face in one hand, squeezing his cheeks between your middle finger and thumb, and plant a loud smooch on each of them, "he probably only asked because he wanted one anyways."

He just chuckles, letting you baby him and Seungmin fake gags.

"Minnieee..." You pause trying to come up with a question, "when you dye your hair next, what color would you want?"

"Green, my entire head green."

"That would look interesting." You laugh.

You all go 'round in circles for a few rounds, completely forgetting about the rules of the game. Having now finished your glasses from casually sipping throughout the game, most of you have switched to occasional shots. You're starting to feel warm and tipsy. Of course the more you all drank, the more the questions started to get more... amorous. Which is exactly how you all assumed this game would go. No wonder Chan was so anxious.

However looking over to him now, he's definitely having a good time. Like every other person, he loosens up while drinking, but tonight he seems even more so.

"Y/n," Chan starts with a sly look making your skin buzz again. Among all of you, he is 100% the most inebriated right now, "when was your first kiss?"

"Yah! He tells us to be respectful, but look how he is after a few drinks!" Changbin yells laughing.

Chan loses it, "You're right Binnie, you don't have to answer or drink." He says in between fits of squeaky laughter. 

You think you could listen to him laugh all day.

You shake your head and snort, "I've answered worse questions playing this game before. I was 13 when I had my first kiss."

Hyunjin nearly spits his drink out, because again, no one is drinking just as punishment anymore, "13?!"

"Well, yeah, it's a pretty normal age in America... I think..." you started to blush, "why, how old were you?" you ask Hyunjin.

He hesitates, but eventually he spoke, "I was 18."

The rest chime in saying they were also 18 or 19. With the exception of Felix who said he was 16.

Without even thinking you start to say, "Aaah, see I was 18 when I-" and you're abruptly stopped with Ji's hand slapping over your mouth.

Your eyes go wide, caught off guard, but understanding as you almost blurted out unnecessary information. Nothing that Ji hadn't known obviously, it's just that everyone else doesn't really know you on that level. 

"Jagi, you only had to answer the one question, adding extra info, that's not how you play the gaaaaame." He says in a sing-song voice, "Hyunjin it's your turn to ask someone."

"No no no no! What was she going to say?" Chan chuckles.

When you looked at him, he winked at you, and you had to stop yourself from going limp in Ji's arms. He knew damn well what you were going to say. Why is he teasing, no torturing you like this?

You peel Ji's hand off your mouth to respond "It's not your turn, you'll have to wait to ask me that."

The group starts laughing and shouting, teasing Chan who is ignoring it all, just staring at you with curious eyes and his tongue in his cheek. Does he know how hot he looks doing that?

"Okay, so then I'll ask you. What were you going to say?" Hyunjin asks calmly, trying to fight the smile off his face.

You pour yet another shot, and knock it back thinking, what the hell, "I was going to say I was 18 when I first hooked up with a man."

Some members looked surprised, the game taking an obvious turn. However Hyunjin, Felix, and Chan started laughing again.

"I knew that's what you were going to say." Felix slurred. 

"Yeah I was definitely teasing you on that, because I knew." Chan followed.

"Mmm, well judging from the shocked faces of everyone else, you two seem to be the only psychics." You try to joke, wanting the attention off of you suddenly.

"No, don't get us wrong, not all of us are as innocent as you think." Seungmin says defensively.

"Oh really now?" You respond, one brow quirking up.

Seungmin just turned red, and sat back in his seat. To which Chan started laughing, yet again. He's a giggly drunk, and you love it.

"Don't tease my puppy, babe." Ji slurred, trying to reach his arm to console Seungmin, but ultimately failing.

"I mean I was 18 too, with the same girl I first kissed." Hyunjin shrugged.

"But what do you mean 'to a man'?" Jeongin asked with a shit eating grin on his face. 

You promptly turned into a tomato, and started choking on air.

"You're not that slow pabo, obviously it means she's been with women too." Ji says, rather loudly and speaking freely, all while patting your back.

You're quiet. It's not like it's a secret, you've never hidden your sexuality. But it never came up in conversation with anyone here, except Jisung.

Wanting to ease the tone, Felix speaks up, "Well I was 18 when I first hooked up with a dude."

"I was 21, but everyone already knows that story." Ji slurred.

The whole conversation triggers another group laughing fit. Except for Chan, who is looking at you with those dark eyes again. And... is he blushing? Or is that the alcohol? He eventually snaps out of whatever daze he was in, and slowly smiles at you reassuringly.

You mentally kick yourself for getting your hopes up, of course he couldn't ever think of you like that. You're imagining things.

"But then, how old were you when you first hooked up with a girl?" Jeongin asked again, genuinely curious.

"A lot younger than 18..." You trailed off laughing, "I'll just say in high school."

"The air is different outside of Korea." Changbin says suddenly, sounding thoughtful.

Hyunjin nearly collapsed laughing, slapping Minho on the knee repeatedly, despite the glare he was shooting him.

"Well I just answered a bunch of questions in a row so that means I get to ask two people a question. And the second person I ask gets the next turn." You say, making up new rules. 

"So... Chan." He looks at you with his eyebrows raised and you just smirk, knowing you're trying to get back at him, "How old were YOU when you lost your virginity?"

He gulps and looks around at the group before answering, "I... was 18."

"Chan-hyung, you never answered us when we would ask you! Why answer her?" Jisung whines.

"I honestly don't know, maybe it's the liquor. None of you ever asked me drunk." He starts giggling.

"Okay so question 2... Binnie!" He gulps and looks at you with wide eyes, "Are you more of a boob guy?" You say grabbing your own, not even really thinking about it, "Or an ass guy?"

Changbin started laughing and answered, "Definitely ass, but I appreciate boobs too, equality."

"I am just learning so much about my fellow members lately." Seungmin whispers.

"Is that a bad thing?" You giggle.

"Not at all, it feels strangely comforting, letting loose like this." He replies and smiles softly at me, "It's been a while."

"It's freeing!" Jeongin yells abruptly, throwing his hands in the air.

"Aye, my question is for you then Min. Have you ever had a wet dream?" Changbin asks.

"... what guy hasn't? Don't all guys get them?" He asks looking around.

Then you chime in again frankly, "Girls can get them too you know."

Why does it feel like you've opened pandora's box on your sex life, in every single aspect?

Ji starts laughing, nodding his head vigorously and you know where this is about to go.

"Really now?" Felix says, mimicking your exact tone from earlier, "What was it about?"

"Mmmm... it's not your turn to ask," Then you turn to Seungmin, "And if you ask me, I will absolutely drink and not answer. No way I'm explaining a sex dream right now."

Seungmin just rolls his eyes and huffs out a laugh.

"But I wanna knooooooow," Jisung whines, "You looked so cute having one last weekend, you never told me what it was about."

Everyone was watching you two closely now, waiting to hear how he knew what you looked like in that situation.

You turned around and smacked his arm, "We weren't going to mention that ever again! Remember?!" You attempt to be angry, but you can't help it and end up smiling.

"Okay, well now I'm curious since you two are bringing this up." Minho says with a glint in his eye.

"Y/n may or may not have had one when I slept over, and I woke up to her moaning and hump--"

This time it was your turn to slap a hand over his mouth, "Jiji, Sungie, my love, my sweet sweet SWEET best friend. I don't want to kill you, but I will." You say in a dulcet tone.

He raised his hands, eyes wide and nodded his head. You couldn't help but laugh, apparently you're a giggly drunk too.

Out of the corner of your eye, you swore you saw Chan adjusting himself in his pants. But then you reminded yourself that it was just wishful thinking and an alcohol induced hallucination. Horny hallucination. God you needed to get over him and under someone else. This unrequited shit wasn't for you.

"I'm so never going to drop this you know, I wanna know what the hell happened." Minho smirked at you, to which you flipped him off jokingly.

It's Seungmin's turn next, and he's just staring at Jeongin with a blank face, "Have you ever had a one night stand?"

He pauses for a moment and then finally answers, "No, I haven't."

He looked at you now, asking his question, "You know what I have to ask now, right?"

"Go ahead." You challenge, fully prepared to choke down another shot and not answer his question, and he smiles.

"What's one of your kinks?"

You were unprepared for that question. And how could you know he would ask that, these men like to fuck around with your head.

"Relax, I just wanted to see your reaction." He says before chuckling.

You glared at him for a moment, halfheartedly. They think they can just retract questions when they get scared that they went too far. Screw that, you're answering.

"I guess the most simple one I have is edging." You shrug.

"The most simple one?!" Hyunjin asked.

"What are you a masochist? Edging is the worst, feels like torture to me." Ji says.

"But the build up is so delicious, and the end result is so worth it. It's so intense." Felix chimes in, "Choking too, that can be intense." 

"Hm, breath play might actually be my favorite." You admit.

"Damn y/n." Ji says, eyeing you with a smile, "You're full of surprises, even to this day." 

You shrug again, "Everyone has different kinks... What's one of yours?" You ask him.

He ponders for a moment, "I like being dommed sometimes."

"Big surprise." Minho says and you all laugh.

"Good one though," You nod, "That's one of mine too."

"I think I'm an exhibitionist, to an extent of course." Hyunjin says next.

"That's also not a surprise." Minho replies.

You can't help but let your eyes wander over to Chan again, while everyone else is sharing different things they're into in bed. The liquor has everyone speaking loosely. But Chan doesn't seem to care about it anymore.

You find him staring right back at you, that same look in his eyes from earlier, and you feel heat spread in your stomach, and wetness starts to pool in your panties. Maybe you weren't imagining things.

But you don't notice that Ji's observing both of you in his drunken haze. Not too faded to ignore you and Chan eye-fucking each other.

Your heart starts racing the longer you hold eye contact, and you start shifting uncomfortably on his lap, before looking away and deciding to get up.

"Alright... I need some bread to soak up this alcohol, and then I need to get home because it's already 2 in the morning." You say with a shaky breath.

"Yeah, I'm wasted right now," Jeongin says and stands, "Bed's a good idea. Goodnight everyone." And he leaves to his room.

Ji grabs your wrist, preventing you from moving, "You're not going anywhere. We're all drunk, you can't drive and no one can bring you back home."

"Fiiiiiiine," You say, "but I still want bread."

"You and your bread fixation whenever you drink." Minho mumbles, heading to the kitchen anyways to grab you some.

When he comes back he hands it to you and you start munching away happily, doing a little dance.

Meanwhile, Felix is trying to tug Chan's arms to make him stand up, but he's fighting him on it and whining. Clearly he exceeded his limit tonight drinking. He probably won't even remember the looks he was giving you, you think.

"I don't wanna go to bed." Chan whines.

Felix finally succeeds in pulling him up, "C'mon mate, you definitely need to sleep this off. You'll be miserable tomorrow. Let's get you some water too, hmm?"

Chan reluctantly holds his arm, and follows him down the hall, stumbling over his own two feet along the way. You can't help but laugh at the sight.

More of the boys say goodnight and head off to their rooms, but Ji and Minho stay with you in the living room, chatting a little longer before bed.

Ji starts going through his bags, determined that you left some pajamas here from when you slept over previously, and he kept them in a bag to give back to you. He pulls out the nightie, that you honestly forgot you brought here. But you see why you didn't ever wear it at the time. It's dark green, spaghetti straps and has lace along the bust line. It also has slits on each side of your thigh, and only covers you to the middle of your thighs. Your go to sleepware was always nighties or large tees, they're comfortable and sometimes you get hot at night. Mix in the fact that you were drinking tonight? You're already feeling overheated. But wearing this?

"Jiiiiiii, don't you have any t-shirts I can wear?" You whine.

He's already under the covers, fighting sleep, "Sorry babe... haven't done laundry... Nothing clean..."

You whine again before taking it and heading across the hall into one of the bathrooms. It was this or sleep in your sweats, and that idea sounded entirely too suffocating to you.

You slip the nightie on and brush your teeth with your designated toothbrush you had there. Jisungs idea, after you had too much tequila one night and he diligently held your hair back as you got sick.

You sigh as you're leaving, and make your way towards Ji's room. Before you reach the door though, Chan walks out of his room. He's in a black tank top, and red boxer briefs... your eyes immediately trail down and go wide. His outline clear as day. But you change your view quickly, hopefully before he notices.

It doesn't help though, now all you're doing is eyeing his arms, the muscles cut throughout them. The veins that trail all the way down to his hands. God, his hands... What wouldn't you let those hands do to you...

He scratches the back of his head, and the movement snaps you out of your gaze. You find him staring back at you for a second before answering, "Sorry, I'll just..."

You start to shake your head, "No, no. No reason to apologize." You chuckle and start shifting on your feet. You feel the skirt of your nightie swaying with you. It opened the slit wider, and Chan immediately looked down at your exposed thigh. He inhaled quietly, sucking in air through his nose.

Any other day, you'd be scrambling to cover yourself. Feeling insecure and too bare. You don't know if it was the liquor in you, but tonight? Being on display? It turned you on.

You clenched your thighs together, almost involuntarily, and Chan didn't miss that.

Time seemed to be moving too slow. He stepped towards you, nearly closing the gap between you. He's only inches away, and looking down on you. His eyes have that dark, smoldery look again. He raised his hand and brushed the curls off your face and behind your ear. When he rests his palm against your cheek, your eyes flutter shut and you lean into his touch. It's so warm, and comforting. As if it was always meant for you.

When you open your eyes, you can clearly see the lust in his is only growing. He's not holding it back anymore, biting his lip as he stares at you. You almost whimper in anticipation.

"This is your opportunity to walk away if you're not okay with me kissing you." He says lowly.

You closed your eyes, and his lips met yours. The first few seconds were sweet and soft. Almost too innocent for the heat of the moment, but then he deepened it. He was pulling you by the waist into him, running his hands down and resting them on your ass. You could easily feel how hard he was for you, even through the thin fabrics. This time you let the whimper out, and he swiped his tongue along your bottom lip before sucking it into his mouth. When you tried to do the same, he didn't give you the chance. Instead he slipped his tongue in. It was like he was lost in desire, and greedy for more. You couldn't help it when your arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer.

He groaned and started backing you into the wall, his lips never leaving yours. He grabbed your thighs in each hand, and hoisted you up, slotting himself between them. Your legs naturally wrapped around him, and he started rocking his length against you. His pace was achingly slow, but still delicious.

You moaned and slipped a hand up to the nape of his neck, grabbing a fistful of hair. He breaks the kiss and throws his head back with his eyes closed. He half hisses, half groans, and you can't help but rock your hips against him harder, hoping to hear more. He grips your thigh tighter, and leans down to press a quick kiss to your neck, before licking and sucking on it. He's meeting each roll of your hips with rough thrusts. And even clothed, you feel how perfectly he's rubbing your clit.

Your head is so clouded with need. Need to be touched. Need to touch him. Need to feel him inside of you. You don't even think twice when he glides his hand up your stomach, and over your breasts. He gives one a light squeeze before moving up to wrap his fingers around your neck, and your brain loses all sense for a moment.

He's just resting his hand there, but you wish he'd do more. You're not sure if this man knows just how pliant you are for him right now.

Then he brings his lips to your ear and whispers, "Can I touch you?"

His warm breath gives you chills, and you nod your head as best as you can. But that doesn't suffice him, he stops his movements against you and his grip around your throat tightens. You think you could probably get off on it if he tightens his fingers just a bit more, but he doesn't, instead he says, "I'm going to need words, babygirl."

Your hips buck into him, and you breathe out a quiet "Yes. Please..."

With that, he yanks your face closer to his by your neck. He's squeezing ever so slightly tighter around your throat. He bites your lip and you groan. But he's quick to silence you with his tongue.

Letting go, he trailed his hand back down your body and to your core. Slowly he started to rub you through the thin lace. You were so sensitive, that when he found your clit and pressed a circle into it. You couldn't help but breathe out his name. He pushed your panties to the side, and when he felt you for the first time you felt him smile against your lips.

"Babygirl... fuck, you're so wet for me." 

And as he whispered that, he slipped a finger in you. He set a steady pace, dragging against your walls with a curl. Each pump hitting your sweet spot, and the heel of his hand creating delightful friction against your swollen bud. His breathing was heavy in your ear, breaking through all your helpless whimpering. When he added a second finger, you couldn't hold back anymore.

"Chan..." You moaned louder this time, while simultaneously letting your head drop against the wall with a thud.

He pulled his lips off of you, eyes wide when he met yours. He started blinking as if he was coming back to reality. When he looked into your eyes again, he looked startled.

"What's wrong?" You pant, feeling hot and dizzy, wishing he would keep moving his hands.

Instead, he quickly slips his fingers out of you, and sets your feet on the floor. Then he backs away.

"I'm sorry, y/n... I don't know what came over me, that was incredibly inappropriate and out of character." Chan mumbled.

Your heart sinks, as you feel the sting of rejection. Tears threatened to well in your eyes, and you immediately felt the oncoming headache from holding them back. You shouldn't feel so emotional and upset. This was all spur of the moment. But you do, you feel devastated.

Regardless, you clear your throat, "I understand." You force an unsettling chuckle out, when a sob threatens to escape instead.

He puts on a blank face that feels so cold, and responds with "Don't forget to drink some water, stay hydrated... I'll be heading to bed now, you should too."

All you really want to say is don't leave, because you want to finish what was started. Because you've wanted this for so long. Because the box you kept away in the depths of your heart had ripped open once again. And all the languished emotions were here, front and center, aching to bear it all to him. To let him see. Confess. But that would be selfish, he's clearly uncomfortable with it all. He probably regrets it. An alcohol induced affair. In his eyes, a complete mistake. 

So instead you say, "Okay."

Because that's all you can muster before the tears start to fall. You turn away,  going back to facing Ji's door. 

"Goodnight y/n... Sleep well." He says, and puts a tentative hand on your shoulder.

You shrug it off, and escape to Ji's bedroom. To your surprise he's sitting up in bed, and ushering you come to him with his arms open and bottom lip pouted out.

You run to him, a bit dramatically and fall a part in his arms. But you can't help it, you sealed these emotions away for too long. You were too hurt at the moment to even try pushing them back down.

Jisung is your life saver, he's comforting you, rubbing his fingers on your scalp and rocking you back and forth to try and calm you. He gives you time before you have to explain why exactly you're having a melt down.

"Chan's an idiot." He finally says.

And you lean back to look at him, confused on how quickly he's put two and two together.

"Well you weren't exactly quiet. Between your exaggerated moans and his animalistic grunting right outside my door, of course I heard it." He rolled his eyes jokingly and that earned a laugh from you.

You smacked him lightly, "I was lost in the moment... don't judge me."

"Jagi..." He says, and wipes the tears from your cheeks with his thumbs, "You've liked him for so much longer than a moment."

Your heart starts pounding faster again. How could he know that. It's the one thing you've kept from him, from everyone, hell you even denied it to yourself for as long as possible. Was it that obvious? Who else knows? You go to speak, fear written across your face.

"No. You were not obvious, in fact you're an amazing actor. I'm sure none of the other members noticed, and definitely no one else at work knew." He answers before you can even get words out.

You nod slowly, "So then, how'd you know?"

He smiled proudly, "I'm a people watcher, I see all."

You smack him again, a little harder this time.

"Alright, alright, but I really did see all the looks you'd give him when no one else was watching... I know what longing looks like, and..." he trailed off.

You knew that wasn't all, "And?"

"Aaaaand... maybe that night you had that wet dream. You were moaning his name while humping the pillow..."

"You never told me that!" You shoved your head into your hands, distraught.

"Well I didn't want to embarrass you! I honestly didn't think you looked at any of us that way until then. Like I said, a good actor. I figured you'd tell me when you were ready to."

You sighed, "I'm sorry. It's just a stupid crush, it'll pass."

"You're grown, you don't have to apologize to anyone for liking someone. But y/n," He cupped your cheek forcing you to look at him again, "this isn't just a simple crush, is it?"

With that question, you felt the tears spilling all over again. He pulled you to lay down with him, holding you tight against him and letting you cry it all out. Somewhere between his low humming, and your quiet weeping, you fell asleep.

When you blink the sleep away from your eyes the next morning, you're still entangled with Ji. He's literally wrapped around you like a koala.

You snort out a laugh and go to check the time on your phone. 7:30 am, entirely too early. You decide to try and fall back asleep, but last night's events rush back to you. Dread fills your chest, and your fight or flight kicks in. You're trying to gently escape Ji's hold, and not hyperventilate. The latter is more difficult but, since that man can sleep through anything, you were able to succeed.

You get changed back into your clothes, and leave a note for him saying that you're leaving and you'll text him when you get home. You can't bear to face Chan, let alone anyone else who might've heard you two last night. So you decide to skip out on the usual coffee and breakfast routine. You all have that tradition after a drunken night, but you know Ji will cover for you with everyone anyways.

You're rushing down the hall, wanting to grab your things and head for the door. Panic is starting to bubble over, and you're haphazardly covering yourself up to be unnoticeable. As you're slipping the mask over your face, a voice stops you.

"Morning... don't you want to stay for breakfast?"

You can't bring yourself to look at Chan, those words only setting the box of emotions in your heart on fire. You know he only means it in the way that it is an unbroken tradition. No matter how sick one of you gets, group breakfast is a must for recuperation. No one has skipped it in the months you've been doing it. We all take care of each other. But the idea makes your mouth bitter, because you wish it was just you two. Alone. Making breakfast the morning after earth shattering sex. And the fact he doesn't mean it in that way in the slightest makes tears prick back into your eyes.

Yes, you know you're being petty. You should stick it through for your friends. Take a page from Chan and act like nothing ever happened. You just can't find it inside you to care, you need to go home and lick your wounds before facing anyone here again. Call it childish, but you didn't care.

You're struggling to find words and just blurt out, "No thanks." And rush out the door, heading to the safety of your car.

You left Chan standing there. Unbeknownst to you, hurting just as much.

Special thank you to @jeonginsleftcheek who encouraged me through finishing this! I had finished it, and then accidentally deleted the entire ending. But in turn, that was a good thing I think... because now there'll be a part 2! If you'd like to be added to a taglist, let me know and I'll start one! Feedback is always cherished, but be gentle pleeeeeeeease ♡

[cybergoth1]

beyond the cowl | prologue | batfamily x isekaide!reader

masterlist | chapter 01.

synopsis: ❛❛you're just a normal twenty-one-year old girl trying to navigate life with a shitty job and a useless degree. life isn't easy, and between expensive therapy sessions and the constant feeling of failure, you suddenly wake up in a body that wasn't yours, with a past that wasn't yours. now, in another dimension, you're dealing with the fact that you're a crucial part of the caped crusade that shaped bruce wayne's life. you're the second robin, the former girl wonder, and the vigilant gotham needed so much.❞

warnings/tags: swearing. reader being emotionally immature bc we love toxic women. no beta we die like jason todd. reader really needs her lexapro. alfred being a sweetheart in the end (pls lets pretend bane never killed him).

Sometimes you felt like they had lied to you. Straight to your face. Your friends, your family and your professors. 

They all made you believe that something important was out there, just waiting for you. They patted your back while you poured out your insecurities like the self-doubting idiot you are, and with the most convincing tone, told you that the world was your oyster. That opportunities are everywhere.

They said you shouldn't be that worried about getting a job. You still have plenty of time after graduating. Right? 

Right.

Their nice words turned out to be useless the moment you stepped out of college. Your dreams and expectations were shattered during your first month sending out resumes to every single company and agency you could find. And then, before you knew it, eight months had passed without you landing a decent job. The endless rejection emails and mounting bills started to make you lose sleep as you spent countless nights tossing and turning in your single bed.

That’s why you ended up here, one year later, in a café downtown, learning the difference between a flat white and a cappuccino for a living.

You wiped down the counter for the sixth time in the past half hour, keeping an eye out for any trace of coffee left by the last customer when he spilled it all over your hands and apron. The feeling of the cloth under your fingers was the only thing grounding you as your thoughts began to spiral for the third time that day. You couldn’t even hear the annoying hiss of the espresso machine or your manager's high-pitched voice nagging at you about some shit you didn't care about.

You only lifted your head when a customer called you by your name. It was the same high school kid who always ordered a caramel macchiato. Mia or something. Your mind wandered as you pulled a shot of espresso for the new order.

You shouldn’t be here.

You shouldn't be pretending your lifetime dreams were nothing. You shouldn’t be pretending that you feel fulfilled cleaning counters and serving people who barely looked up at your face while you handed them their orders.

You heard Mia asking for extra vanilla syrup.

Shit, that was so unfair to you. You did everything right; every single thing they told you to do. You checked all the boxes.

You got a degree, unlike half of your family, who barely finished high school. You didn’t get knocked up at sixteen, unlike your mom and older sister, and you didn’t get addicted to fucking alcohol, unlike your dad. So why are you still living like this — paycheck to paycheck, unable to afford dental care, healthcare, or even the most basic stuff like a new pair of shoes.

Deep down, you know why.

Poverty is an eternal, miserable, and unbreakable cycle — you were just naïve enough to think you could overcome it with simple actions. You kept your eyes fixed on the tall iced latte in your hand while zoning out. Yeah, time for another therapy session.

“Here you go” you tried to smile while handing her the cup. Hiding your growing anxiety and negative thoughts behind your customer service voice was a skill you were slowly, but surely, building up. But you probably looked weird as fuck since she gave you an awkward smile while muttering a "thanks".

"I still don’t know how you got this job. You look like a psychopath," you heard Nate, your coworker, from behind you, holding an empty milk pitcher.

He would be a nice, solid dude if he didn't act like a middle school bully most of the time.

"Yeah?" you rolled your eyes, finally turning your body to look at him. Damn, he really needed to shave his sideburns; he looked ridiculous. "Want me to tell you what you look like?"

His red hair and weird face made him look like a distressed orangutan. A very ugly orangutan.

He just smirked at your sarcastic tone. Fucking cunt.

"Nah, I'm good".

As the rest of the shift slowly passed, you kept checking your phone over and over, waiting for that email from the agency you applied to two weeks ago. You got nothing, as usual. Nothing besides a text from your sister asking for forty dollars; she probably ran out of baby formula again.

With a loud sigh, you decided to scroll through Instagram while Nate flirted with some customers. You quickly noticed that your college friend Christine had just been promoted again. She had been working at her father's company since her sophomore year, and her longtime boyfriend, Tom, had proposed to her in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Uh, wow, that's nice—good for her.

"Congrats, babe! Oh my god, he's so lucky to have you in his life. And good luck at your new job," you send her a quick DM, like a good friend would.

And you are, objectively, a good friend. You're even congratulating her on her promotion as if she weren't a spoiled, airheaded bitch who never accomplished anything on her own. Christine had everything handed to her on a silver platter; her parents got her an amazing job at their company, then paid for her boob job, her nose job, her new car, and her apartment—the list goes on.

You watched the couple showing off the engagement ring under the Parisian sunset and felt like the most self-absorbed cunt on Earth. At this point, you're used to feeling like that, at least twice a day. You spent the rest of your shift watching her stories over and over until it was time to close.

“I’m heading out,” you said to Nate as you finally grabbed your stuff from the break room. The city felt colder than usual that time of year; you could feel your lips getting chapped every time you stepped outside, so you quickly wrapped your old yellow scarf around your neck while zipping up your jacket. The café was already empty; the other employees had left fifteen minutes earlier, leaving just the two of you to close up.

Nate barely looked at you when you said goodbye to him.

You didn't care.

During your walk to the bus stop, you looked around the dark street pretending you’re not totally shitting yourself under the dim streetlights—holding your purse tightly against your frame, like you're about to be mugged by the thin air.

In those moments of raw vulnerability and panic, the whole idea of vigilantism seemed pretty cool. People in latex or spandex you don't actually know, jumping off buildings and beating up bad guys, defending the working class and pretty girls in distress. That's pretty neat, uh?

And very unrealistic.

Once inside the bus and comfortably seated, you let your thoughts wander again. You didn't know what you were doing with your life anymore. You never did, in fact.

The beauty of the night, the cold air coming from the bus's open windows, and the lights of the buildings dancing against the dark sky managed to soothe some of your pain for a few minutes. Your legs ached after hours of standing behind the counter, you felt burns on your hands, and your feet were uncomfortably squeezed into shoes that were a size too small.

Gradually, you fell asleep leaning against the bus seat, thinking about a nice pair of shoes you saw in the mall three days ago.

The first thing you noticed while slowly waking up was how comfortable you felt. The fabric beneath your body was as soft as silk, and the scent of fresh lavender emanating from it indicated that it had been recently washed—fuck, what is this? Heaven? You whined, shoving your whole face against it and breathing in.

Yeah, that’s definitely lavender—

Wait.

Public transportation didn’t smell like lavender, last time you checked. Your whole body went rigid as a cold shiver ran down your spine.

You immediately opened your eyes.

Fuck, fuck. What the fuck is happening?

You weren't on a bus anymore, that's for sure. Jesus, where's your purse?

“Fuck!” you almost screamed in pure panic as a painful sensation spread between your ribs and stomach, burning so much it seemed to take your breath away as you tried to sit up.

You were on a bed. A king-size bed. Sitting on silk sheets.

“Oh my god, someone kidnapped me—”

You looked around the bedroom as tears immediately filled your wide eyes. Your heart raced, and your hands trembled as you tried to make sense of the unfamiliar place you had woken up in.

The growing panic and fear for your life were so overwhelming that you couldn’t even notice the beautiful, very personal decor around the room or the several photos on the walls and desk, showing your face next to people you had never seen in your entire life.

"Oh, miss, thank God you're awake" a gentle voice said — is that a british accent? — close to the bedroom's door.

That's it, you're going to be killed by a weird, rich old man, and he's going to sell your organs on the black market.

Oh God, you quietly sobbed, you've always slept on the bus on your way back home, and you've never had any problems before—

Through the tears that blurred your vision, you could finally make out the figure of a tall man slowly approaching your bed. He was holding a cup of tea and a plate with what looked like a sandwich.

A cucumber sandwich.

"It seems like you may have hit your head quite hard. And your ribs," he said, handing you the cup and placing the plate on the bedside table. The man sighed loudly. "Master Damian really needs to contain his enthusiasm during sparring sessions."

The cup shook in your left hand as you looked at him with tearful eyes. He politely pretended not to notice your desperate state or the tears in the corners of your eyes as he walked back to the door.

"Hey, Alfie, have you seen my white socks?" another voice called out, this time from the hall.

"They're still on your bedroom drawers, Master Dick."

"Oh, right, sorry."

Wait, that was Batman's butler or—

Your vision faded to black as you collapsed back onto the silk sheets.

tag-list: @rosescarlettx, @btsloveer07-blog, @rainbowstar, @xingyunny, @mikyapixie, @sheep-from-rad, @fandomly-obsessed, @migilore, @natsukicookies, @candlewitch-cryptic, @socialmess-jery, @mona1704, @dieforcoffee26, @stupouid, @astrelz, @dind1n, @cxcilla, @mimi-sanisanidiot, @ceridwyn3, @sunako50

[eirakairos]

Leader of Onychinus

After Sylus was ambushed, you chose to take the reigns in being the de facto leader of Onychinus.

A/N: This was inspired by a post I saw in Tiktok about a text message with Sylus about MC teasing him into taking over Onychinus. This is a kinda serious side of it, but I kinda let loose on this one because it is not leaving my head for days. This is the first time I'm writing about L&DS and I'm still trying to learn the lore (also my phone cannot take the game well).

Words: 3,295

Tags: A bit revenge and hurt/comfort, Sylus being incapacitated, MC being ruthless, minor violence and injury, promises being bent

Next (Sort of sequel!)

You sighed as you stared at the window where the man you cherished was bedridden. Never in your dreams would you see the powerful leader of Onychinus Sylus was this… Unconscious.

Gripping on the black coat with red streaks you are wearing, you remember the nightmare a week ago.

“Sylus!” You run as fast as your feet can drag you. You were in the medical section of the base, specifically tailored for Sylus in case of… Such dire situations happen. As you are near the room, the twins quickly shielded your path as the medical staff went to tend to the severely injured leader.

“Hey!” You said, a bit louder due to panic. “I want to see him!”

“They are working on it,” Kieran said. Both twins looked pretty banged up as well.

“What happened?!”

“It was an ambush,” Luke answered. “Boss saw this coming but it's not this… Massive,”

“I guess we have to get through all the connections and see the rats that did this,” Kieran followed. You learned from the twins that there was an orchestrated attack from rival factions. You know he has many enemies in the N109 Zone even though he rules the entire area.

“This is a high priority, but you shouldn’t be here for now. We will place you in the emergency bunker,” Kieran said.

“And why should I follow that?” You crossed your arms and gave a stern look.

“Because Boss said so,” Luke followed. “You don’t know how dire the situation is, the leader of Onychinus is incapacitated… Or presumed dead. Many would take grabs for it,”

“And it was planned by the Boss that you would be in the emergency bunker to be sent back to Linkon and not go back in the meantime,”

“What?! No!” You interjected. “Who will lead Onychinus?! Sylus would be fine… Right?” The twins only kept silent to her question, for any reassurance.

Days later, Sylus went basically into a coma to give time and heal his injuries. You thought it was this bad, you shot him when you first met him, but he just went along with it. Him being like this, it is this bad.

You know he will survive and just need to heal. But for now, the zone is currently in more chaos, as rumors were being thrown around that the leader is down and many would want to get that immense power to rule the N109 Zone.

Walking to the next business meeting, you remembered that conversation with the twins in the mansion.

“Are you mocking us or what?” Luke said upon hearing it. “We can’t do that,” Kieran said. It was two days after the attack. Sylus is stable and was kept hidden, no one but the staff, the twins and you know.

“You will, if you want Onychinus to survive,” You said.

“We gave our word to our Boss, same as yours,” Kieran said.

“He doesn’t need to know. I just need your promise in this,” You said.

“Boss will know, you know?” Luke said. “He ordered us that in a situation where Onychinus is in danger, we should return you safely in Linkon whatever it takes, whether you like it or not,”

“And you promised him that you would follow us and not look back,” Kieran followed.

“And I will once this is over,” You stood up and walked back and forth. “I’m not confident either, but I will do whatever it takes… This is important to him,”

The twins looked at each other. You know they are doubtful about this but they just kneel in front of you. Mephisto flies and surprisingly, perched on your shoulder.

“We are at your service… Boss,”

You took a deep breath after beating up the boss of one of the rival factions that attacked Onychinus. It took a while before you got used to the heavy coat and crow mask you are wearing. You pointed the gun at the boss, who is bloodied and pleading for his life. “Give up! The former Onychinus boss is dead! You can’t keep doing this-!” He screamed but stopped because of the pull of the trigger causing birds to fly away from the abandoned building, except for Mephisto who was your eyes above.

“Good work, boss,” Luke said after swinging the bat that he randomly found. “One more rat and the deed is done,” Kieran said. You nodded, but you were less verbal when using the mask. It does have the voice change capability of a man, similar to the pitch of Sylus’.

“Still can’t believe that she is far scarier and ruthless than Boss,” Luke whispered. “Can’t believe that we are finishing the entire list,”

“Boss is not usually direct to violence this much… Unlike her,” Kieran said. Both shuddered. Who would’ve thought that the person who hugs a crow plushie and banters with Mephisto can hurt, make decisions, and manage an organization like this?

“Though I must say, for her to expand Onychinus’ power more is a bonus,” Luke said. They were silent after, hoping for the former boss to wake up soon.

“Okay, one last rat for Onychinus,” Luke said as he stretched his body before Kieran chuckled and followed.

Since the event, you’ve been busy. You knew that being the leader in an organization where you control everything, is harder than it looks. You knew Sylus’ schedule was booked, you were touched to realize that he still makes time for you despite that. You missed him so much. You often visit him and be updated about his progress, which is good. It is only a week, you believe he will wake up soon.

It was also only a week since you started to plan the retaliation against the factions that did this to Sylus. Honestly, Sylus would orchestrate a much more strategic and long satisfaction for their destruction, but you are no Sylus, they almost took away the one you love and cherished the most.

You breathe through the mask as you go into a huge building with the twins.

“That text message, are you seriously interested in taking over Onychinus?” Sylus asked while you were snuggling to him. You are at the rooftop with him, watching over the little stars and the gloom of the city. “No, it is all dirty business,” you replied. “But you know, what if? You think I can take it?”

Sylus chuckled. “If you want to, you can have a test drive,”

He turned to face you. “But… If ever something happens and Onychinus goes down, go back to Linkon and never return,” You looked at him, he was serious this time.

“What do you mean? I can’t leave you behind!” You said.

“Promise me,” he said, like there is no room for argument.

“I… Okay,” You sighed and cupped his face, understanding what he meant.

Sylus' breathing changes as he has the energy to open his eyes. His wounds and bruises are gone due to his self-healing but he felt immense pain still. The medical staff saw his vitals and went to check on his status, while also sending a message to the twins about him being conscious.

You were panting as you held on your side, you could feel it throbbing in pain and the wetness in your hand. You are bleeding from an attack. The twins are preoccupied but they are thinking internally to come to your aid. Your vision felt blurry, just this one last victory, and when Sylus wakes up, he’ll see Onychinus is well, despite that you have to go back to Linkon. The life you owe him, this is not the time to repay it.

“Urgent message from the medical team: The big crow is flying.” is heard from your mask. You gasped, that is a code meaning Sylus is awake! The twins probably had heard the news, seeing them fighting more vigorously. You panted and ready the gun you have, you can’t be undone in this. He is awake and you should be too.

Sylus can hear the footsteps as the twins barge in. “Boss!” they both yelled. Sylus only hummed as he looked so much better than before. “It seemed you two went to such a fun party,”

“Well, definitely a hard, fun party!” Luke cheerily said then groaned a bit.

After giving him a report of what happened since they are monitoring Onychinus while he is gone. Sylus only hummed, he was internally surprised but processed it well. 

There was silence then…

“How is she?”

The twins looked at each other and then back at him. “She is well. She is in Linkon, as you ordered,”

“Good,”

You groaned in pain as you were resting back in Linkon. It’s been a couple of days since the last mission and you are sent back here after the medical staff bandaged your wounds. Now Sylus is awake and is back being the leader of Onychinus, your days as the de facto leader are over.

Your hand went over to the side of your torso, where the biggest damage was. You wondered how they are now, you learned he is well but you haven’t seen him since.

Your phone rang. It was Sylus.

“It has been a while, kitten,”

“Sylus…” You missed that voice so much.

“Luke and Kieran will fetch you in half an hour. Get ready,” he said.

He didn’t take the conversation longer, he is probably a lot busier than ever. Half an hour later, the cars arrive and the twins meet you as you go down.

“Nice to see you again, are you feeling good?” Luke asked. You smiled. “Of course, how has it been?” You said as you got in the car, then the twins followed. You pretended to be fine, as you were still feeling pain from the wound in your torso.

“Oh, man! We were very busy! But Onychinus is well!” he replied. You smiled more, feeling that sense of relief that all of you did the missions successfully.

After arriving in the mansion, Sylus is there waiting. He is awake and well like nothing happened. “Welcome back, sweetie,”

You ran and embraced him. He wrapped his arms around you, savoring the moment as well. He missed holding you, he had to make sure you were safe enough to return, and upon doing that, there’s so much going on.

“I missed you… So much,” You whispered. Sylus’ hand went to your back and rubbed for comfort.

“You don’t trust me that I’ll be back? You shot me before you know,” he chuckled.

“You dummy, I know you will be back! It's just… I'm worried about you… You might not wake up,”

Sylus hummed as you released your embrace. Then, he sat down with you on his lap. “So… Kitten, fill me in the details when I was gone,”

“Well, I was just waiting for you when the twins called and said you were hurt… Then… I… I was not let in the medical bay, they told me you were unconscious but are healing fast. Despite my protest, the twins dragged me back to Linkon as you ordered,”

“Surprised that you were that obedient, kitten,” Sylus said. “The twins handled it well. They told me they kept you updated and gave your inputs in the operations,” he pats your head. You nodded in agreement, despite you having done so much more than that.

“Well, how do you want to spend the day? Going outside? To the cafe? Or just like this?” He asked.

You were still feeling exhausted from the last battle and being the leader. You just wanted to feel Sylus’ presence. “Just like this for now… Just with you,” Sylus nodded and carried you in bridal style to his bed. You squeaked in surprise and quickly hid the pain from the wound on your side.

“... Are you alright?” Sylus asked.

You quickly went back to your composure. “Yeah, yeah, I was just startled,” You giggled. Sylus stared at you then continued.

Sylus and you didn’t leave the room after a couple of hours, just sleeping and cuddling together. You feel happiness when you get to be close like this to him again. ‘Despite you being the most feared and strongest out there, I would want to protect you,’ you thought.

It was a happy week before you returned back to Linkon for normal activities. You felt relieved that the entire stay, Sylus didn’t seem to notice anything unusual, you made sure of it in the plan.

A couple of days later. Your phone rang. It was the twins.

“Hey! We kinda got a situation here!” Luke said. You hear they are huffing, they seem to be running. You’re quickly on alert.

“The boss is in trouble again and we have to get you back here!”

“What?! What happened?!” You yelled.

“We sent the coordinates! No time to explain! Just wear it!”

“I… I can’t do that anymore! What-!”

Your panic increases when the line suddenly cuts off. “Luke?! Kieran?!” you yelled. You didn’t think much about what to do, you got a black bag in your secret compartment. It contains the coat, the mask, and the guns. You tried to contact Sylus but there was no dial tone, nor any response. This makes you frantic as you get on your motorcycle to go to the location.

You arrived at an abandoned building, you didn't see the twins. Your big cloak flows in the air as you breathe through the crow mask. You can feel Mephisto roaming around above.

Masked men jumped and circled you. Your instincts as a boss emerged again. Gunshots and screams are heard as you are mercilessly beating them up, decreasing in numbers. When completely gone, you breathe deeply as you are satisfied with the job.

A dark projectile suddenly blasted behind you and barely dodged it in response. As you turn and point your gun, a dark red mist surrounds your wrist, stopping your control.

“What-”

From the other end of the floor, a tall man was standing. “Great work, the boss of Onychinus,” he said.

The familiar voice made you shiver. ‘Sylus?’ You were trying to process everything about what happened. ‘The twins…’ You thought as you realized. “It is amusing that the high-profile boss easily falls into a trap,” Sylus gets closer and looks down on you. Even with the mask, you can see he is not happy. You cursed, everything went so well as you would’ve thought.

“I came here to usurp the boss,” he smirked. “And claim what was mine,”

You tried to move but the dark mist started to spread around you to keep you still. You can see his hand moving towards your face. You moved, trying to get away from the grasp of the dark mist.

“Let me go!”

“Still keeping up with the facade?” He bent down to your level, smirking at you. But you can tell he is not amused. “For a boss, you look like an angry kitten,”

You felt your adrenaline drained away and despite knowing the consequences, you can’t help but feel many emotions in his reaction to finding out. He would probably cut ties with you and return you back to Linkon.

But you were surprised that strong arms circled around you and were being carried. “Let go of me!” You squirmed. Along the way, you see the twins leaning on the car in the distance. “Sorry!” They shouted as you squinted your eyes in response.

Outside was a garden, it was unkempt but peaceful. He sat on a bench with you on his lap. There was only silence between you two and the rustling leaves and chirping birds, with Mephisto roaming around as usual. Your breathing is a bit uneven, probably due to anxiety or because of the mask. You can see his hand hovering on your face, knowing where the latch is and propping it open. As he removes the crow mask, you can see his face in a much more detailed look. His expression didn’t change when he saw who was behind the mask.

“So… Leader of Onychinus… If you are so kind, can you tell me what is going on?” he said in an amusing tone. You didn’t respond, you felt your throat was stuck. His expression got more serious. “I am giving you a chance. You bended your promise,” he gazed at you, with the tone of betrayal. You looked around before looking at him again, your heart sunk with the feeling of defeat.

“I’m sorry… I just know how important Onychinus is to you,” you finally said, “I bent the promise because it would be a mess of people taking your spot. Despite you willingly giving it up, I can’t stand there and let it happen. I bent the promise because I don’t want to leave you like that. I don’t want to leave it all behind,” You said with conviction. “I don’t regret doing it… I had to do what I had to do,” You spoke and looked down. Sylus remained silent and then sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“The moment I was aware of things, I felt something was wrong. Everything felt locked into place too well,” he spoke. “As I’m going about my business, I’m hearing… Rumors about a masked boss that took over Onychinus,” he hummed. “I heard the boss was ruthless and skilled. Even the twins were surprised,” you looked at him, wondering about Luke and Kieran. 

“It wasn’t long either that I found out about them. They are adept fighters but I don’t think expanding the Onychinus and gaining more power is in their arsenal,” he chuckled. “They did confess to me as my orders supersede all, even from you,” You got sad as you got the twins in trouble.

“But I…”

“Oh, I know it's all on you, sweetie. But they do have their share,” he sneered. “Same to Mephisto, too,” Caws are heard above them. “You may delete his memory by accessing admin rights but you don’t know there is a backup memory… And I saw everything,” he smiled. 

“Especially the last mission you did,” His face switched to being more serious as he stared at you, his crimson eyes looking intense but his voice was soft.

“I almost lost you… Because of a roleplay in being a leader,” he spoke, his voice low and menacing.

“Never do this again,” Sylus said. “Without my guidance,” he continued. You blinked and looked at him, surprised.

“As I said in our text message many years ago, I have no problem with you being the new leader of Onychinus if you want to… Just not in scenarios like that, where you will risk your life more than you bargained for or… Without me,” Sylus smiled at you again. You feel relief and comfort when Sylus pats your head.

You want to get up and give a kiss on his cheek but you still feel pain on your side. Sylus held you tighter as he stood up, carrying you again and going back to the car. “Never thought a cute, vengeful kitten would eliminate all the vermin,”

“Well, the love of my life was hurt,” you said. Sylus looked at you, a bit touched and thinking about the potential you have if you took over the organization. He often pokes your anger in teasing but has to realize your vengefulness is strong to the ones you love.

“You need to rest since you are still feeling pain,” Sylus said. “But that doesn’t exempt you from my punishment,” You gasped. “Can…  Can I know what punishment is that?” You dared ask.

You felt a rumble in his chest. “You’ll see how the real boss leads, kitten,”

[brodygold]

A Game For Bros

Nate and I had always been the same: two nerds, caught up in our own world of video games, D&D, and sci-fi movies. He’d been my best friend since high school, a skinny guy with messy brown hair, always wearing some oversized t-shirt of a superhero. Me? I wasn’t much different. Shorter, stockier, and always in retro game tees. We never got into sports—couldn’t care less, really. But that Saturday, when Nate invited me over to check out a new game, we did something a bit out of our comfort zone.

“I don’t usually go for sports games,” I said as I plopped onto his worn-out couch. The game case for The Golden Army: Rise of Champions sat on the coffee table, glowing in a strange golden light. “What made you pick this one?”

Nate shrugged as he plugged in the system. “The reviews were insane, man. People say it’s super immersive, like you actually feel the game.”

“Sounds cool enough,” I muttered, grabbing a soda. “Let’s see what it’s about.”

Nate’s apartment looked the same as always—cluttered with comic books, action figures, and old consoles. The screen flashed on, bathing the room in golden light as the title appeared: The Golden Army: Rise of Champions. The graphics were sharp, but what immediately caught my attention was how detailed the avatar customization was. We both laughed as we started making characters that were basically us but... stronger, taller, more athletic.

“Man, I wish I was this ripped in real life,” I said, chuckling as I bulked up my avatar.

Nate nodded, not looking up from his controller. “Same here, dude. If only, right?”

Once the game started, though, things got weird fast. It wasn’t like any sports game I’d ever played. It was too smooth, too real. Every movement of my character felt like it was coming from me, like my body was somehow connected to the screen. Nate was feeling it too; I could tell by how focused he’d gotten.

“This feels insane,” I muttered, my fingers flying over the controller as my avatar sprinted down the field. My skin tingled, and for a second, I thought it was just adrenaline from getting into the game.

“Yeah, it’s like... I can *feel* it,” Nate said, his voice lower, more serious than usual.

What I didn’t realize was that I really *was* feeling it. I was changing. My arms, once stocky but kind of soft, were slowly growing harder, leaner, and stronger. My biceps pushed against the fabric of my t-shirt, but I didn’t notice at first. I was too absorbed in the game. Nate wasn’t paying attention either, but he was changing too. His scrawny arms were swelling, his chest growing more defined, the lines of muscle slowly becoming visible under his shirt.

My legs were thickening, my calves bulging as they hardened. Nate’s shoulders broadened as his posture straightened, more relaxed, confident. His shaggy hair started to shift, styling itself into something neater and more athletic. It suited him.

Our avatar dominated the field. Every pass, every kick felt like it was coming straight from us. By the time the match ended, I noticed my t-shirt was stretched tight against my chest, clinging to muscles I didn’t remember having. But it felt normal. Like I’d always been this way. Nate was the same. His shirt had morphed into something sleeker, a fitted gold soccer jersey. I looked down, realizing mine had changed too. I wasn’t in my retro game tee anymore—I was in a gold jersey too, my name stitched across the back.

But we didn’t freak out. We didn’t question it. Why would we? We’d always been jocks, right? That’s how we met in the first place.

“Yo, that was sick, bro!” I grinned at Nate, flexing my now-defined arms. “We totally crushed that game.”

Nate smirked, his voice deeper now, his body lean and athletic. “Hell yeah, man. No one can take us down.”

The room around us had changed too, though we didn’t notice with how invested in the game we were. Gone were the stacks of comics and games. Instead, soccer trophies lined the shelves, photos of us in our golden jerseys, posing as champions of The Golden Army. It was as if our old lives had been erased, replaced entirely by something new.

As we kept playing, our minds continued to shift. I didn’t care about D&D or sci-fi movies anymore. All I could think about was training, getting stronger, being the best. Nate, once shy and quiet, was now exuding confidence. We were athletes, teammates, brothers on and off the field.

Our bodies had finished transforming. I looked over at Nate, admiring how ripped he was now. His short hair was clean, his jawline sharp. He looked... good. Really good. The thought lingered longer than it should have, but I didn’t push it away. Why would I? We’d always been close, but now there was something else there, something that had shifted between us.

I felt my heart race as I caught him looking at me the same way, his eyes lingering on my chest, my arms. The air between us felt electric, like something was pulling us together.

“Yo, Nate,” I started, feeling my pulse quicken. “You ever feel like... there’s more between us than just the game?”

Nate turned to me, his eyes locked on mine, and for a moment, the room was silent. Then he smirked, but there was something softer in his gaze. “Yeah, bro. I’ve been feeling that too.”

It happened without thinking. I reached out, grabbing his hand, and suddenly, I was pulling him closer. Our eyes met, and before I could stop myself, I kissed him. His lips were warm, firm, and everything clicked into place. It was like this was always meant to happen. Like this was who we were supposed to be.

When we finally pulled away, both of us were breathing hard. Nate looked at me, his grin returning. “Damn, bro. That was... intense.”

“Yeah,” I replied, still catching my breath. “But I think we’ve always had this, right? Just took us a while to figure it out.”

Nate nodded, his hand still on my chest, his thumb brushing against the fabric of my jersey. “Always. And now? We’ve got everything we need.”

We leaned in again, and this time, it felt even more right. We were no longer the nerdy duo, lost in games and fantasy worlds. We were champions—alpha jocks, leaders of The Golden Army—and we had found each other. As I held Nate close, our golden jerseys shining in the light, I knew that everything was just how it should be.

“Now how about round 2, bro?”

“Oh, you’re so on bro!”

[eternalfics]

Hello! I hope you're doing well! I have a request if you don't mind. So basically, It's a Saiki x Psychic Reader where Saiki is stressed out and needs something to make him feel better so the Reader decided to massage his back. Since Saiki never really had anyone with the same strength as him, no one could really massage him. It's like that one episode in season one or two. Anyways, it's okay if you don't want to do this for any type of reason. Be safe, thank you!

saiki getting a massage from psychic!reader

a/n: I was wondering where did my request go like? ANYWAY TYSM FOR REQUESTING! please start requesting more pookie wookie 🤭 anyway you remember how I reposted that I’d do that little teasing photo (picturing saiki and reader) I’m gonna do like a little enemies to lovers kind of thing you get me? anyway I typed too much so let’s getting bloody started 😖

warnings: sneaky comments from me, toritsuka 😨

summary: saiki gets an amazing, beautiful, sensational, eye rolling massage 🥳

“no means no, y/n,” saiki said in your mind for the umpteenth time, trying to focus on what the teacher was saying even though he didn’t need too. he smart af

“oh come on! we both know you need it, especially after you used boulders to massage your shoulders.” you tried to reason with him only to be met with silence. You turn to Saiki with a confused look only to see him with a slightly flustered face.

“you just had to use clairvoyance, didn’t you?” “I always have to check up on my favourite psychic, don’t I?” you said teasingly.

more underneath:

so! 😀

saiki’s not too sure about this

i mean sure, your a psychic but you could be stupid like toritsuka and can’t control your strength like him.

saiki lays on his stomach on his bed, (you guys are at his house) slightly regretting saying yes to another psychic that he just met a few months ago.

you come in the room with a massaging oil, feeling proud that you finally got the psychic to give in to your request more like command

saiki doesn’t speak (hes secretly wondering why did he agree to this 😭). it’s not until you rub the oil between your hands, and then you start to massage him is when he lets out a soft groan.

you pause. you start to overthink, did you hurt him? does he like it? it’s only when saiki starts calling out your name that you zone in.

“why’d you stop?” saiki asked impatiently, clearly wanting you to continue. you opened your mouth to tease him but he shushed you quickly knowing that you would.

saiki’s surprised that he knows you this well even though he met you a while ago. well, he’s more of an observant person so that explains that. he wonders if you know him well too. (I know you well my pookie wookie boo 🥺)

“your lower back too?” you asked him, really just wanting to make him feel relaxed.. and safe.. and- focus y/n! “sure.”

you continued to massage saiki for a couple of minutes, thinking about if he would let other people do this to him aswell.

saiki was quiet, and you didn’t hear any thoughts so you leaned over to look at him. you were met with an adorable sight! saiki sleeping 😍. his light snores and breathing filled your ears.

unfortunately, people can’t live the easy way saiki. SMACK! you smack saiki awake and your met with an extremely pissed looking psychic.

“whats wrong with you? 😡”

“did you enjoy your massage? 😇”

“ugh..”

saiki groans but quickly gets over it because he realises has to pay you back somehow? mmm maybe a cafe coupon? a dat- nononono..

“what do you want in return?” saiki asked, his voice still a bit groggy since he just woke up. “oh nothing, you can pay me back later.” you replied calmly, happy you could be of service. these days your parents are on more business trips so your glad your not lonely 😋.

saiki gets up and immediately he feels the relief from on his back. just as he’s about to reach for the door handle,

“my turn!” 🥰

“you just said I could pay you back late-“

IM SO SOREY THIS TOOK SO LONG

[prince-liest]

Saw a post recently that rhetorically asked why authors and show writers leaving character sexuality up to interpretation is disappointing when fifteen years ago getting a statement that things were up to interpretation (as opposed to "Definitely NOT gay, you freaks!") was a blessing, and I make a point of never discoursing on the bird app, but wanted to share some thoughts on the subject here - particularly because Alastor is kind of a hot topic on this subject and I think he actually makes for a great example for my thoughts on this.

Honestly, as someone who did live through the "if you think my characters are gay then you're stupid and should die" era, I think it left me with the perspective that even if there is canon sexuality, then no matter what it is, you're free to then do whatever you want in fandom. People might call you a dick for it if you go about it in certain ways, but you're free to do it.

That said... that's not really what wanting canon confirmation is about. It's about having canon representation, especially for identities that we often don't see representation of. For example: Alastor being aromantic is "up for interpretation," and that specifically feels bad when it's explicitly been framed that way as a cop out to appease shippers (per Viv), especially when in canon you can see he's intended to be aroace based off of how Rosie talks about him.

Yes, things are better now than they were 15 years ago... but standards are higher now, too!

And in particular I think that while in 2008 or so, "It's up to interpretation!" basically meant "Yeah, they might be gay but I can't say it," nowadays the meaning has shifted. I see a lot of people chiming into any mention of aroace Alastor with this attitude of "Um, actually, he's NOT aromantic because it wasn't confirmed by Viv (even though he wasn't confirmed to NOT be aro either)," rather than the spirit of "Oh, yeah, he might be aro, that's a valid interpretation!" It actually feels very similar to seeing people go "Well, X is OBVIOUSLY straight (the default) because he wasn't confirmed to like men!"

...in 2008, haha.

Anyway, fandom always feels to me like a 'do whatever you want' zone, but I think just based off of the sheer volume and depth of genuine and heartfelt reactions people have had to Alastor as a character and his portrayal as aroace... having canon representation and seeing yourself in media you enjoy matters a great deal to many people.

I had a really emotional moment when I read my preorder of House of Hades from the Percy Jackson series back in middle school and realized that Nico di Angelo was an actual gay character in an actual real, physical book that I was holding in my hands, not "just" a headcanon from my nebulously safe online fandom spaces, for the first time ever. Similarly, people have been headcanoning various characters as ace for a long, long time, but to me it's never had the same punch to it as it being official when it comes to those kinds of feelings re: representation.

So leaving that kind of thing "up to interpretation" specifically as an alternative to providing representation to a group of people who rarely sees it is disappointing, but it's not for shipping reasons.

[bilbob963]

Hi me again, i just wanna talk about 4 things thats been hanging about well 2 things an 2 theories, ok…

1. The Suggestion box

How the f**k do the guys reach it? 🤣🤣🤣

2. Gangles mask…

Ok, im just wondering if this new mask represents alot of emotions she cant control that makes her overwhelmed, thats why shes calm with her crying mask and use to her happy mask being broken because basically its a routine shes so use too. Shes use to dealing with one emotion at time but to feel several at once can be distressing.

I also think that the mask represents her being out of her comfort zone and being round the wrong people isn’t a good mix like jax and Ragathas complaints towards her, kinda wants to make you hide away again a revert back to being invisible. Thank god for Zooble and pomni being a friend, mask or no mask…

I also clicked on about the beginning lessons like episode 2 being the glitching cubes and episode 3 being them holding their breath, well Ragatha showed Gangle how to throw a ball in the beginning… at the end after gangle leaves the restaurant, she uses the same technique to throw her mask 😊

Ok now theories…

3. The unicorn horn scene

Right we know gooseworx has joked about this for months and it actually turned out to be part of the show.

Gooseworx also joked about Jax having sex with an airplane at the same time as the unicorn joke sooo….

Hear me out, could this be the sex joke were gonna hear episode 6 (Jaxs episode?)

4. Jaxs episode

Ok, we saw this image before episode two but we saw alot of images that didn’t happen till 3 and 4 and some that we are yet to see… Now, what i just want to suggest, what if this is Jaxs episode?

Maybe Caine sends them back there to help with the damage fudge caused thanks to Jax (a punishment for him) but the candy citizens recognise him and declare war which is why hes being chased in this.

Pomni just panicked and ran since she was stood next to him. It could also explain how she gets stuck with him alone since she has done everyone…

Ok I’m done now, just wanted to share my thoughts. I have got a pic in mind i want to draw so will be doing that at some point this week 😁

[aezuria]

hiii i love ur writing sm!! i was wondering if u would do leo valdez x reader headcanons? ty!!!

*ੈ✎ keep your head still, i'll be your thrill

—all the small things, blink-182

content: leo valdez x reader

warnings: cursing again

librarian's annotations: the title has no connection to the hcs but it came up while i was writing this also IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER 🙏🙏🙏

super clingy i do not make the rules

oh you thought you were gonna get up and be productive?? not today!

fuck everyone else tbh

LOVEEES gossip sessions with u

hes so invested in all the drama u have

probably laying on his stomach and swinging his feet and gasping incredulously. "what!? no she did not..."

got very pouty that you did not invite him to the girls night bc he didnt want to "miss out on the tea" (lwk stealing from my own work oops)

who can blame him tbh

LOVE LOVES DANCING

loves teaching u too (even if u suck)

like imagine him holding your waist and moving you to the beat as you fumble along, his chest pressed up against your own

GOOD LORD

"forward, back, left- there you go," he murmured into your ear, looking down at your feet. you stepped on his shoes a lot more than you should've; did he ever think that his proximity was why you were messing up!?

"you suck at this, don't you?" he laughed, but twirled you around anyway.

"did you ever think you're just a shit teacher?"

"rude!"

also this man was born a star

can probably hit super high notes as if its nothing

ok so we all know how hes a genius right

oh my GOD imagine him explaining how his stuff works and using words you're sure don't even exist and he's so into it and he just sounds so SMART

intelligence is so attractive why does no one talk abt that

you wanted to watch him work on the engine, so you pulled up a stool next to him. you stared at his side, his tank top dirty with grease and sticky with sweat. how long had he been working since you got here?

you'd get mad at him for not taking a break later. right now? you were admiring the view. who wouldn't?

"hey leo?"

he hummed in response, still hyper-focused on the engine.

"how does all that work, exactly?" you were never one for machines—good thing you have a mechanic boyfriend!

he looks to you, a happy glimmer in his eyes. "you really wanna know? so basically— this part connects to that part and then..."

you don't know how long you've been zoned out, too busy staring at his perfect

"y/n?" he finally realizes you haven't been paying attention. "you with me, now?" he raises an eyebrow with a grin on his face.

"huh? what?" you straightened up, fumbling over your words. "yeah! why wouldn't i be?" you tried to act as if you weren't just ogling him seconds before.

"oh y'know.. cause you were checking me out." he winked, leaning back against the engine as he put himself on display. "i mean, you obviously couldn't help it. i mean, look at me!"

someone humble him

its not like he doesn't do the same tho

if he accidentally walks in on you he'd be like "oh my gods-! sorry!" and cover his eyes with his hands, but his fingers are parted so he could still look through. literally the 🫣 emoji

"GET OUT!"

"OKAY I'M GOING DON'T HIT ME- OW!"

he is SUPER ticklish and you WILL use this to your advantage

esp his ears

one time you touched them out of curiosity cause theyre pointer than average and he was like "eek!"

pause

"aww i didn't know you could make that sound!" you poked some more fun at him because that was adorable

"shut up!"

another time he's laying on you, ruining your plans of getting up early and being active. you tried rolling out from underneath him but his arms snake around you like a vice, squeezing a groan out of you.

"leo get off!" you tried shoving him off, but that didn't work either. he simply buried his face into your neck, mumbling a tired no.

you really had shit to do, so you resorted to the last possible tactic. "i didn't wanna have to do this..." you warned. (you so wanted to do this)

you slipped your hands under his shirt and started tickling his stomach, effectively getting him writhing off you with laughter.

"stop-! that tickles!" he tried doing the same back, but he was squirming far too much.

ok real talk now

love loves staying up late with you until its past midnight and you guys are just rambling about random topics. he's just so relaxed with you, his heart feels so full and there's no space anymore, so his bottled up emotions spill out

which is usually a closely-guarded secret because he's just the funny guy of the group, right?

what does he know about feelings? isn't it his job to just keep everyone else happy? joking about everything will take away the pain, won't it?

(it doesn't)

"i don't know, i just- feel like i don't really fit in with everyone. they all have these cool powers, and i'm just.. me." he laughed dryly, face devoid of his usual happiness as he stared at the ceiling. "sometimes, i feel like you could do so much better. but at the same time?" his voice lowered as he rolled onto his side, staring into your eyes. "i want to keep you to myself. i really, really don't want to lose you."

you were glad he finally opened up to you, but your heart ached at the way he thought of himself. how could he not see how highly everyone thought of him, especially you?

"just you? leo, you're the coolest person i know. you're so, so smart, you can fix just about anything, you're funny, you're kind, you can cook; what's not to love?" you smiled softly. you could go on and on about this man. for him to think that he was the lucky one? it was quite the opposite.

"and you don't have to worry," you whispered, cuddling closer to him and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. "i'll always be with you."

[slowlydifferentbluebird]

Dreams come true - Aespa High School AU - Day three

Hello people, part three is finally out! I know this time it needed more time to come out, but I'm starting to bring more variety on the blog. Talking about this third day things are not going so smoothly anymore for our main character, time to introduce some angst in the story🤭 Also, this time I'm using a Winter Pic because I feel she plays a big role in today story, but don't worry, all the girls have their space to "shine"

"Are you still awake, loser?", the message from Minjeong read like this, making your face scrunch in confusion. It was midnight, why did she text you at that hour? "Yup, what are you up to?", you replied, laying on the bed of your room in the darkness, illuminated just by the light of the moon, coming through the window. "Wanna skip the first lesson tomorrow?", her question left you speechless for a moment. Like, she sure was a bit naughty, but this was such a bold move from someone you exchanged the phone numbers with just few hours before. "Why?", you countered with another question, trying to obtain more informations and get more time to think about it. "Because I want to bring you to a place", she explained, making your confusion even bigger. "Don't worry, we won't get in trouble, loser", she added quickly, teasing and reassuring you at the same time. You rolled your eyes, annoyed yet amused by her push and pull. "Fuck it, let's do it!", you thought, before accepting her proposal and agreeing on the plans for the tomorrow. She wished you goodnight, leaving you alone again with your thoughts, now even more agitated, before eventually falling asleep, relieving in your dreams all the events of that second day.

At 8am, the next morning, you were leaning against the wall of the back of the school. Luckily you were able to elude Mark that day: he was extra late again so you just went school alone. You were also lucky enough to not meet none of your classmates or teachers while reaching the place. You looked at your watch again: 8.05am. Where the hell was her? If this was a prank or similar... "Waiting for someone, stranger?", the soft yet active voice of Winter reached your ears, making all your doubts disappears. "Here you are, girl, you took you time. I was starting to think you played me", you admitted, being unable to show a relieved smile. "Aww, were you that eager to see me again? I'm glad, but your girlfriend is gonna be jealous about that", the bob-haired girl teased you, caressing your arm. "Are you gonna keep to tease me and Aeri forever?", you asked, sighing and shaking your head. "Just when you or her shows me proofs of the contrary", she shrugged, smiling like a satisfied fool. "Yeah sure...however why did you picked this place as meeting point and where are you bringing me?", you inquired her, looking around, almosto check the surroundings. "How many questions, I don't remember you being this curious during lessons", she smirked and you had really the strong temptation to curse at her neverending teasing. "Just follow me and you will discover, loser", she invited you, starting to walk, getting at every step more far from the school building.

"Come, we're so close right now", Minjeong whispered. Her action make you puzzled, you walked a lot and you were pretty sure about being out of the school territory, so why was she so worried? Was is it a dangerous zone? "Alright, we're basically arrived, now do like me: squat and walk slowly, no sudden movements", she explained, keeping to whisper. Once again you followed her instructions, but all that mystery left you an uneasy feeling in the chest. The area was clearly abandoned and unkempt. The anxiety was starting to have the best on you when..."Meow!", an easily recognizable sound got your attention, making your head snap in Winter direction. "Hi babies, I'm back", Minjeong announced in a kind tone. You carefully moved next to her just to discover a whole bunch of baby kitties, meowing and looking at you two. "Are they...the reason for your request?", you asked, impressed by this side of her. "Of course, what did you expect? A date? Well...for that maybe in the future", she said with nonchalance, while opening her satchel and pulling out some milk and a couple of bowls. Without the need of saying anything more, even because her smooth answer just messed up your brain, you helped her organizing the bowls and getting sure every kitty had its meal. "How did you know about them?", you demanded, while letting one of the babies play with your fingers. "Yesterday, after school, I heard a cry and I found one of them, so I just followed him till here: they are very friendly but sadly their mother is not with them", she revealed, pouting sadly, showing you for the first time a more sensitive side. "But why me? You could have asked to any of the girls and yet you picked me", your question was sudden, lefting Winter speechless this time. You were right: she didn't even think about it till that moment. However she found the response quickly enough, she just needed a look of how much fun you were having playing with the kitties, you were so lovely and happy. "I already told you: you are different from the others...in a very positive way", her answer made your gazes met. You had not noticed before how cute she was and how much her eyes were the perfect match for her smile; at the same time Winter thought it was a lot of time she didn't feel so in tune with someone else, especially a person she had meet so recently. "Ehm...and then I can always blackmail you about the rooftop", she added at last second, as if she was trying to hide again behind her mischievous nature.

When both of you finally got in class, everyone eyes was directed to you. It was not like they were trying to make a story, but the the way you and Winter just came in laughing and teasing each other left few space to the fantasy. You coughed in embarassment and even the usual bold Winter immediately adjusted her behaviour, returning to act cold. You silently went your desk, avoding the gazes of your friends: Karina was staring blankly in your direction, Mark seemed confused af, Ning had an annoyed smirk on her face, and Giselle...you could feel her eyes burning into the back of your head and you had no the gut to turn back. Your emergency plan was to stay quiet and act like you were not there until the rest of the day. But, of course, you couldn't seriously hope about getting away with that. You barely managed to survive the next lesson just because miss Sunny arrived earlier than usual, but you were not lucky enough to go through the lunch break unscathed.

You saw Minjeong flee away the moment the bell rang, immediately followed by Karina, that seemed intentioned to tackle her or something. You didn't have time to worry about her tho. "So...what did I miss?", Mark asked, sitting on your desk, trying to convince you to spill the tea. "Not much", you vaguely answered, putting your things in the backpack in a hurry. "Why so eager to get away? Are you that hungry? Or do you just want to meet up with Winter again?", Ning, from the chair next to you inquired, going straight to the point; her body language was very accusatory, she tiny but she was leaning towards you enough to put pressure. "Nothing of all this, I just need a breath of fresh air", you justified, trying to get up, but the moment you moved, a couple of strong hands put you in your place again. "Stay seated", Giselle voice was stern, cold, irritated. "Now you're gonna tell me where the fuck you have been", Giselle ordered through her teeth, grabbing your chin and oblying you to look at her. "Oh my god, why are people making such a fuss for nothing?", you groaned in annoyance; this whole situation was getting ridicolous. Why were you even being questioned for such a silly reason. "For nothing? Are you fucking kidding me?", Gigi shouted angrily at you and that really made you snap. "What's your problem? What do you care if I skip lessons to spend time with Minjeong?", you shouted back, getting up to confront her face to face. "Calling her Minjeong...are you two already that close?", Ning instigated, an hint of bother in her tone; luckily both you and Aeri was too focused on each other to hear her. "Ning, I won't add fuel to this fire...actually guys, why don't we all chill and relax?", Mark tried to bring some peace to the discussion but it was kinda late to that; he was just glad that at that point it was just the four of you in class, everyone else was gone away. "What do I care? Did you already forget that I'm your bestfriend? Of course I got worried if you start skipping lessons since the third day, idiot", Giselle retorted, her eyes were starting to get watery because of the screams and her anger. "It happened just once, drop it...you know what? I'm done", you sighed in frustration, finally moving away from your spot and rushing out of the room, leaving behind you just the sound of someone sobbing.

You were so pissed off at your friends, why did they have to ruin a nice moment like the one of your morning? Did you need to inform them about anything in your life? Did they have the exclusivity on your persona? You were already starting to regret on moving there. You were actually so nervous after that fight that you were not even hungry. You were spiraling in your doubts and angry thoughts when..."Hey...can I join you?", you looked up to meet the kind smile of Karina, her eyes full of concern. You simply nodded, moving a little to leave some space on the bench you were sitting on. "Are you okay?", she softly asked, putting her hand over yours. "Kinda...yeah", you barely replied, conflicted on how to act: you were still angry with the world but it was not Karina fault. "Are you sure? I heard you had a big fight with Giselle", she exposed her worry, caressing the back of your hand with her thumb. It was not the first time she did that, it happened even the first day, it was oddly relaxing and you felt like your heart was being in peace again. "Yeah, it was a rough moment...actually it was the first time we have ever fought in so many years of friendship", you told her, looking at her pretty face with a ladle smile. "You know, sometimes it happens in these cases: human relationships are different online and in real life; probably you two just need to find...the right balance", Jimin suggested, offering you a comforting smile. She was not a genius in relationships and stuff like that, but she saw you in a moment of difficulty and she felt she had to comfort you somehow. "Maybe you're right...but I guess we need to resolve this mess first. What about you and Winter? Is everything alright?", you asked back, checking the situation you glimpsed before, but at that question Karina looked totally lost. "Did you two not fight? I saw you running behind her at the end of the lesson", you explained, pointing out what you have seen. "Ohhh, that! No, we simply ran to the cafeteria because today there was tiramisù on the menu", just at her reference of food, your stomach growled; furthermore you felt like a fool: of course they didn't fight, you were the only one attacked for that event.

After chatting a bit more, you and Karina parted away, she really helped you to calm down. Now you were not mad anymore, just sad, disappointed and very hungry. Despite that you decided to walk around again to clarify your thoughts. You were not feeling really good, but you thought that maybe walking would have helped you feeling better. The truth was that at every step, you felt even worse. With difficulty you went back in the building, trudging on the stairs to reach the floor where your class was. What was wrong with your body? Did the fight really disconcert you that much? "Here you are, hurry up, lessons are abou to star...wait, are you good? You are so pale", Ning walked into you at the corner of the hallway and, even if at the start she was intentioned to act in the usual irritating way, she immediately changed attituted, seeing your conditions. "Yeah...perfectly...fine...", you tried to act tough, but you were out of breath and you were sweating. "No really, is something wrong? Do you need to go to the infirmary?", the worry in her voice was obvious, probably your appearance was realy giving your hard time away; she placed an hand on your chest to stop you in your track, she did it kindly but you it feel like a strong push. "Maybe...just water...", you gave up on your facade, feeling your strenghts vanishing. "Let's go to the vending machine, I'll buy you something and...OH MY GOD!", she grabbed your arm to guide you, but right in that moment the world around you started to spin, you felt the lack of oxygen in your lungs until...everything went black. The last thing you remember was the faint voice of Ning asking for help and a cold surface hitting your cheek.

[kokoch4n3l]

˗ˏˋ the wreckage of the world ࿐ྂ “that must be so confusing for a little girl”

summary: getting high after Hinata and Takemichi's wedding was a great idea. all four of them were single as hell and what better than to get smoke the loneliness away. that is until the topic of the past comes up

pairing: baji, kazutora, chifuyu x f!oc (platonic), (kind of)izana x oc

notes: takes place during the final timeline. lol basically everything I wished to hear so this is 100% a self-insert. my life story in a fic cuz all of what happened to oc happened to me lol. written in third person

warning: recreational drug use(marijuana), alcohol use, intoxication, shotgunning, friends with benefits(Izana), suggestive talk, mentions of past abusive relationship, mentions of child abuse(kazutora), mentions of domestic abuse(kazutora's mom), mentions of vomiting, description of verbal abuse, manipulation, past toxic relationship, platonic kissing, platonic cuddling

word count: 2146

“I’m so fuckin’ single” Kazutora whines, sprawling across the floor of Baji’s bedroom 

The air is filled with odd-smelling smoke and the scent of alcohol. “This taste like shit” She mutters and takes a huge gulp of the wine straight from the bottle

“Why are you drinking it then?” Baji asks and grabs it from her and takes a chug himself 

Chifuyu on the other hand, looked on the verge of tears as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. He often looked like that lately. Ever since Hinata and Takemichi’s wedding had been confirmed he always looked like he was zoning out, dreaming. Was he sad? Maybe. He looked more relieved like he couldn’t believe what was happening. Like… Like he lived lifetimes. But that was a stupid thought so she didn’t think too much about it. Chifuyu had always been the sentimental type anyway. No doubt he’d get emotional when Takemichi was now married. She looks around at all three of them, Kazutora holding a joint, Baji taking sips straight out of the wine bottle and Chifuyu also with a joint. “You guys need to get partners” She says shaking sprawling and moving closer to Chifuyu to break him out of whatever trance he was in “This is just sad”

“Says you” Baji mutters “Single ass mother fucker"

“Fuck off” she mumbles and reaches over to Chifuyu for the joint but he moves his hand over and leans into her instead

At reflex, she parts her lips and Chifuyu’s lightly brush against hers before he exhales smoke into her mouth and she inhales, holds it and then exhales. “Fuck that was hot,” Kazutora says with a sigh, passing the joint to Baji, and trading it for the bottle “We might as well date each other”

Chifuyu laughs. “Izana won’t be too happy about that”

That catches Baji and Kazutora’s attention. “Shut the fuck up,” Baji says “no fuckin’ way!”

“Out of all the Sano siblings you had to choose the crazy one?” Kazutora says sitting up, almost dropping the bottle “bitch I swear to god”

“Fuck off” she mutters and grabs the bottle from him “It’s nothing serious”

“Didn’t seem like nothing serious with the way he was looking at you at the wedding” Chifuyu teases as she takes a large gulp from the bottle

“Shut up I didn’t know this. You’ve been fucking holding out on us!” Baji hisses, exhaling a cloud of smoke

Their eyes are heavy and red-rimmed, movements are a bit slow. “No, I haven’t” She grumbles and kicks Baji in the thigh which wasn’t as hard as she wanted and more of a tap than an actual kick “It’s nothing serious I swear… We just… Y’know…”

“YOU GUYS ARE FUCKING?!” The three of them yell at the same time and she groans, her cheeks turning red

Her flushed cheeks were enough for them to know their assumption was right and income the questions. She and Izana started off as really more of a drunken spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. It was really an accident. But, Izana was good. Like really good— which started their whole friends-with-benefits relationship. “He’s lowkey scary though” she says trading the bottle with the joint from Chifuyu

“And you’re into that shit,” Chifuyu says rolling his eyes and taking a sip of the wine then making a face at the taste “This actually tastes like shit. Who got Rosé?”

“Fuck off I like it” Baji grumbles and grabs the bottle from him

“Doesn’t matter if I’m into that shit” She mutters and takes a drag from the joint, laying her head on Chifuyu’s lap “We’re not serious”

Chifuyu flicks her forehead and she purposely exhales onto his face. “He looks serious though” He says

“Awe fuck, does this mean no more shotgunning?” Kazutora says with a pout, exhaling a cloud of smoke

Baji kicks him. “Obviously fuckin’ not unless you want that crazy motherfucker to kill you and then us”

She groans. “I just said we aren’t serious” She grabs Chifuyu by the collar of his dress shirt and pulls him down, blowing smoke into his mouth which he gladly inhales

“Oh~ Chifuyu~. Izana’s gonna kill you now” Kazutora says teasingly while moving closer “Both of you be kissin’ the most”

“Shut up” Chifuyu grumbles and takes the joint from her “Why don’t you wanna make things serious? Sure he’s crazy but he doesn’t seem that bad unless he’s got side hoes or something”

She doesn’t say anything for a moment and just looks up at Chifuyu from where she’s lying on his lap. She doesn’t know what to say or how to say it. But maybe the alcohol and the weed-induced high was making her lose-lipped. “What if he hurts me?”

Her words make them laugh. “You think Mikey won’t beat his white-haired ass?” Baji asks her and Chifuyu and Kazutora start to laugh even harder

But when she doesn’t laugh or even smile like she usually does, they get worried. She has a distant look on her face as if she’s thinking about the past. She looks… sad. “Hey” Chifuyu says snapping his fingers in front of her face after exhaling a cloud of smoke “Has Izana ever hurt you?”

She shakes her head no. “He’s not like that… He’s nice… He’s nice to me”

Kazutora is leaning over her now as she lays in Chifuyu’s lap. “Then what was up with the question? If he’s nice to you then…”

Abuse was a sore topic for Kazutora. He got sensitive about it quickly especially since it was something he went through as a kid and what he watched his mother go through. It still affected him somewhat but he was mostly over it now. However there were times when his past would get the best of him like the other day when it looked like Draken was yelling at Emma and was about to hit her, Kazutora punched him across the face. Needless to say, the conversation after had been pretty tear-shedding (mostly from Emma and Shinichiro). “He’s nice,” She says quietly “I just… I dunno…”

“It’s not I dunno if you’re bringing it up,” Baji says and puts the bottle down, also moving closer to them “You’re clearly afraid of something”

Oh, how she hated her friends for knowing exactly what she was thinking. Baji grabs her by the shoulders and makes her sit up. Now she’s completely surrounded by the three of them. The joints were burned out, they’re high and very drunk. But maybe she needed to be a bit more drunk to finally have this conversation with them after years of running from it. “Remember back in 11th grade… we were all busy… I didn’t see you guys for months?” she asks them grabbing the bottle and taking a swing from it despite the gross taste

They all nod and wait for her to continue. “I had a boyfriend for like 9 months… I think he hated me”

They’re shocked. Clearly, they don’t know what to say. She thinks the same. Had any of her friends said the exact same sentence word for word to her she wouldn’t know what to say either. “What… what the fuck you can’t just leave it like that” Chifuyu says, his voice slightly slurring and nudges her “elaborate”

She shrugs and takes a swing from the bottle. “He wasn’t always like that. Like he didn’t always hate me… I think… He was nice and we started dating. Then 3 months in he suddenly started getting really weird. He didn’t like what I wore, how I acted, he didn’t like my hair—”

“What the— why wouldn’t he like your hair?” Baji asks clearly angry now “I love your hair. What a fuckin fucktard”

She doesn’t say anything. Chifuyu reaches his hand over and runs a hand through her curly strands and silently urges her to continue. “He-he never hit me or anything like that. He was just mean all the time… I dunno I just… He hated everything about me and I dunno why” her words start to slur as the alcohol hits “He hated me so much… I was with him for 9 months… took me 3 out of the 9 to leave him.. Was so scared…”

They don’t say anything for a moment. Kazutora reaches over and grabs her free hand. The room is now completely silent. She just sits there in the middle of them on the floor holding the wine bottle. Finally, Baji speaks up first. “Why didn’t you tell us?” He asks “We could have helped or I dunno, beat his fuckin’ ass”

She chews at her bottom lip nervously and clutches the bottle a bit tighter. “Was scared… Thought you guys would blame me… He never hit me so I thought… I thought…”

She didn’t have to say anything else for them to understand what she meant. Verbal abuse was often overlooked. Not many people considered it even to be abuse. It was sickening and clearly, she had been a victim of it. Oh how horrible the three of them felt. “Why’d you stay so long?” Kazutora asks, his voice quiet as if talking to a crying child

The bottle is pulled from her grasp so she can’t take another gulp out of it. “Um… He kept guilt-tripping me to stay… I guess I kept falling for it” she mumbles and feels ashamed of herself

They don’t know what to say. She doesn’t either. They sit in silence again for a moment till Chifuyu says “you know you didn’t deserve that right?”

She just nods. She knew it. She knew she didn’t. Although sometimes her thoughts got too loud and it did feel like it, she knew that in no world would she ever deserve to be treated that way. “Did… He ever tell you why?” Baji asks

She thinks back to the past and laughs a bit, sounding bitter. “He said I was ‘too perfect’”

They narrow their eyes and at the same time say: “What the fuck?!”

She remembers hearing it come from her ex’s mouth after they broke up. She was apparently too perfect. Perfect grades, perfect family, perfect social life, perfect friends, perfect skin, perfect hair. He hated it. He hated her and her entire existence. Hearing it after they broke up made her angry. How dare he? How fucking dare he do that for some petty reason. Her ex just wanted to be a stain in her so-called perfect life. “That motherfucker” Baji says angrily “What kind of messed up reason is that?”

“Beats me” she mutters then looks at them “We’ve broken up… It’s been years, it’s fine”

It’s clear to them that she no longer wants to talk about it. They can’t help but think that had it not been for their idea to get high and drunk after Takemichi and Hinata’s wedding this topic would have never come up and they would have never known. It’s sickening for them to think anyone could do that to their friend. Their dear friend who is the sweetest girl they knew— who dropped everything for them when they’d get hurt in their youth after stupid gang fights, who would patch them up, who would scold them, who would make them food, who would help them with their homework. Their dear friend who deserved the damn world, the sun, the moon the stars and everything after. Kazutora, Baji and Chifuyu were devastated to hear about this. They somehow end up in a cuddle pile on Baji’s queen sized bed with her somewhat in the middle. “I’m gonna be sweating in the morning” Chifuyu mutters as he is also unfortunately in the middle with her

Kazutora’s arms are wrapped tightly around her middle and her back is pressed against his chest while she’s facing Chifuyu who’s got her head on his bicep. “So uh… Did you really not tell anyone?” Baji asks, his long lanky arms going around both Chifuyu and her

“Uhh… Told Emma…” She says “She was the one that pushed me to leave him and then swore to never tell anyone”

Chifuyu presses a kiss to her forehead, her nose then a soft peck to her lips. “That’s good… At least someone knew… Wish we could have beat his ass though…”

“You think we could find him now and beat him up?” Kazutora suggest, his face pressed into her hair

“No need” she tells them

“What do you means?” Baji asks

“Mikey beat him up… Emma accidentally told him about a month after it ended and Mikey put my ex in the hospital”

“Ohhh~” they say simultaneously 

Chifuyu is gazing at her with a soft expression. He presses another chaste kiss to her lips and Kazutora reaches over her body to smack him. “Izana will rip your face off Chifuyu, no more kissing her” 

[hongswife]

✎ Give up on you.

– pairing: Joshua x Fem!Reader

– genre: One-Shot, Angst, Smut.

– warnings: Physical and verbal conflict, explicit language, sexual innuendos, mental and emotional instability.

– short synopsis: You and Joshua were born, raised, and spent most of your lives in the same place, loving each other with all your hearts. But now that he’s a Piltover officer and you’re the darling of one of Zaun’s most powerful gangs, your relationship might not be so friendly anymore...

– notes: You’re basically Jinx and Joshua is Ekko (and Caitlyn... idk, don't ask me) with a different lore because I’m obsessed with Arcane. Important to note that during the fight, they beat each other's ass, so if you don't like seeing men and women fighting, be aware. Also, I gave reader a nickname because to me it felt more natural than writing ‘y/n’ all the time. Hope you enjoy it!

– word count: 4.6K

Another night,

You were in your room, or rather, a random room, alone in the darkness, staring up at the starry sky through your glass ceiling and relaxing on your suspended bed. It was the only thing that brought you a sliver of peace, allowing your mind to drift away from the memories of a hectic day and the pain throughout your body, covered in bruises, scratches, and scars blended among your tattoos.

It had been one of those afternoons when your boss, and the only father figure in your life, had sent you on a mission, the purpose of which you'd long stopped questioning, knowing you'd never get a proper answer. At this point, you weren't even sure why you were still here, whether it was emotional dependence on the older man, the hope that your work might, by any chance, improve the world, or mere complacency. But one thing was certain: you couldn’t leave, or at least you felt that way. And you'd become quite good at ignoring reality and escaping into your fictional world, your safe zone, where things were still pleasant.

You closed your eyes, and with a long sigh, the dreamy play began…

There you were, in a flower-filled field, running in loose clothes and hearing sweet, melodious laughter behind you. At some point a tree root appeared in your path, causing you to stumble and fall among the flowers, the soft petals easing the impact against the ground, their aroma a perfect blend of rain and, somehow, the color green. Finally, the laughter drew closer, and in front of you, dimming the sunlight, was the most beautiful smile you had ever seen.

— Time to stop playing around. We need to go back home to bathe the puppies, remember? — the boy said, his gentle voice caressing your ears as he sat beside you.  

— You're only saying this because I'm winning! — was all you said, teasing him.  

And before he could react, you sprang up with a big smile on your face and started running again, still caught up in the silly game.

A genuine smile crossed your lips at the thought of this scene, and for a moment, your heart no longer felt alone in that dark, messy room.

Until a sound break the magic, a sharp, faint noise, yet distinct enough to make you open your eyes quickly, sitting up in bed to scan the room.  

— Silco? — you called your ‘father's’ name, your mind instinctively assuming it might be him, though you remained alert, as if your brain's danger detector had been triggered.  

— Bloom. — but it wasn’t an old voice that responded, and your eyes widened immediately after noticing that.  

Looking down, you saw someone climbing through one of the windows, the same boy you saw in your imagination: Joshua.

Your head began to throb, an irritating bell ringing incessantly, accompanied by a cacophony of random voices whispering things directly into your ears. You covered them with your hands, squeezing your eyes shut and curling up on the bed like a frightened hedgehog, hoping the hallucination would pass quickly, just like the others.

— Bloom? — His voice called again, muffled but audible enough to make you hunch further into the bed.  

— You're not real… You're not real… — you whispered to yourself, rocking back and forth, nails digging into your palms without even noticing. — You're not real! — this time you screamed and the sound echoed through your room.

It was impossible to tell how the man reacted, because you never bothered to pay much attention to the details of your hallucinations. But faintly, you heard him falter, followed by the noise of objects clattering to the floor, likely things he’d bumped into after hearing your voice.

— Where are you? — Joshua asked, his tone a mix of concern and curiosity.

No response came, only your shrill, irregular laugh.

You blinked a few times, almost as if you were changing masks and becoming a new character, breathing heavily as you slowly shifted positions to peek at him, like a curious child spying on Santa.

— God, this time it really looks real... — you muttered softly, and the voices in your head were quick to reply all at once.

— I am real. — Joshua's voice rose above the chaos of the voices, capturing your attention.

And once again, your laughter echoed through the room, as if it were amplified by megaphones.

— The boy savior? — you questioned, crawling across the metal beams near the ceiling. — What do I owe the honor?

— Where are you? — Joshua’s voice echoed too, but quieter than yours.

From above, you could see him glancing around, searching for any sign of you nearby. The sight made you laugh, almost sadistically, thinking that your mind was dragging you into imagining another absurd and improbable scenario.

— Who? — you asked playfully. — I can help you find her if you want.

— Bloom? Is that you? — he asked softly. — Please, come home with me.

His words reverberated in your mind, intensifying the pain to the point where you clutched the beam tighter, a strange pressure forming in your chest and a weak but irritating stomachache taking hold. The storm of emotions frustrated you more than you thought possible. And, as always, you figured the best way to end these feelings was to destroy their root cause.

— This is my home! — you shouted, fury evident in your voice.  

— No, it’s not! — he replied almost immediately. — Because I know this isn’t the kind of place that makes you comfortable enough to call it home.

Each of Joshua’s words struck like precisely aimed knives, gnawing at your heart and further fueling your anger.

— You don’t know anything about me. — Finally, you came down from your makeshift perch, leaping to the floor and landing gracefully, like a professional ballerina or a cat with its typical seven lives' confidence.  

Now, you found yourself face-to-face with the one you still refused to believe was real. The dim moonlight streaming through the large window illuminated the way his eyes widened at the sight of you. His body tensed, fists clenched tightly, and the image stirred an odd unease within you.

— Seems like you haven’t lost your taste for dramatic entrances. — Joshua murmured, his tone tinged with sadness as his gaze swept over your appearance and defiant expression.  

— And you haven’t lost your taste for trying to rescue angry animals. — a soft chuckle escaped your lips as you took slow, deliberate steps toward him, dragging your large gun on the floor with you. The scraping sound was grating, sparks flying from the metal barrel.

— I just want you to come home, please… I know this isn’t you. — Joshua took a few steps forward, extending a hand.

You felt your blood boil in your veins, your eyes welling up as your body grew even tenser. The voices and blurred images exploited your vulnerability, tormenting your mind further as you tried to focus on his deer-like brown eyes. But seeing his dilated pupils only worsened things, making the shadows behind him come alive.

“He’s so generous,” a male voice whispered in your ear. “Why would someone so good waste time on you?” a female voice added. “You know it’s your fault… No matter how much you apologize, he’ll never truly forgive you. You’re not worth it.” The words layered over each other, and even your eyeballs ached from the vividness of the shadows now. “One, two, three little pigs, walking through the woods for fun…”

— … The big bad wolf appeared and made pew, pew, pew, and the little pigs couldn’t run… — you completed the melody playing in your head, your voice revealing just how far gone you was, eyes unfocused and dull.

As you sang, your expression unreadable, your hands slowly began to lift the firearm, almost acting on their own, pointing directly at him.

Part of you, the sane part, hoped he was smart enough to leave before you pulled the trigger. But he didn’t. Instead, just like when you were younger, Joshua stayed with you even when he didn’t have to. Only this time, unlike in your fantasies, he looked at you with anguish and a hint of fear.

— Bloom… — he called out one last time, as a final attempt to convince you to listen, to convince that scared little girl he knew was still somewhere deep inside you to let herself be helped.  

— Bloom? Bloom… — you sang back, mimicking his tone. — More like Boom! — your voice carried an almost comical enthusiasm as you spoke the words.  

And indeed, ‘boom’ was the sound it made as you pulled the trigger and fired at the boy standing before you. But with sharp reflexes, Joshua managed to dodge, somehow predicting the trajectory of the colorful bullet and throwing himself to the opposite side just in time to stay safe. Then, puff, he was gone from your sight, swallowed by the darkness of the large room.

— Bloom, stop! You don’t have to do this! — he shouted from somewhere, but you couldn’t pinpoint the direction.  

— That’s not my name! — you retorted acidly, hatred dripping from your words as you turned toward the sound of faint footsteps, shooting again. — Where are you, little pig?  

This time, it was you in a desperate position, glancing around frantically, with anger etched on your furrowed eyebrows, your body trembling as much as the weapon in your hands.  

— Stop being such a fucking coward and show yourself! — your voice echoed through the room as you screamed.  

Boom! Another shot into nothingness, and your rage grew, pushing you to a breaking point where you felt like a volcano on the verge of eruption.  

— Where are yo... — your words were cut short as a little sound came from behind you.  

You began to turn, already smiling triumphantly at the idea that you’d won again, one hand reloading the firearm with practiced ease. But before you could even move your shoulders fully, Joshua, with the same agility as before, grabbed your arms and twisted them behind your back, forcing the gun to drop to the ground with a loud clatter.  

— Let me go! — you screamed, writhing.  

— Not until you listen to me. — He held your wrists tighter, yet was careful to not hurt you.  

— I swear to God, if you don’t let me go, I’ll shoot you right between the eyes.  

— Wasn’t that what you were trying to do anyway? — For the first time, the man was the one letting out a slight chuckle, only fueling your fury.  

You used the mobility of your legs to stomp on one of his feet, but you knew that wouldn’t be enough, so, like an enraged horse, you kicked backward, hitting his knee. He grunted in pain, loosening his grip just enough for you to break free.  

Seeing the opportunity, you quickly scanned the ground for where the gun had fallen, but the lack of light didn’t make the task any easier. When you finally spotted it, Joshua had also, kicking it away before grabbing you again, this time by the waist.

Your uncontrolled legs attempted to kick him once more, but now he was prepared, dodging skillfully and pinning you against the wall with a force that made your chest ache.  

You were already desperate enough at the display of strength you didn’t know he had, but your heart raced even faster when you heard the sound of handcuffs being pulled from his pocket.  

Without much time to think, you acted impulsively, throwing your head back to hit his face. It hurt, of course it hurt, but judging by his groan and the way he became so disoriented that he let go of you immediately, you could tell he was in a worse state than you.

You ran across the room, crouching down to feel the cold floor in search of your gun. When you found it, you quickly grabbed it again, but with every move you made, Joshua was always two steps ahead. By the time you pointed your "friend" at him, he was already close enough to push your hand aside, grab your wrist, and twist your arm.

In response, you spun your body, landing a punch on his cheek with all your strength, then used the grip he had on your wrist as leverage to raise your leg and strike his stomach with your knee. The burning pain wasn’t enough to stop him from fighting back, moving your arm with his and forcing your own elbow to hit your inner thigh, dangerously close to your sensitive spot, causing enough discomfort to make you collapse.  

As Joshua knelt down to take your arm in his hands and pull you back up, in a reckless act, you pointed the gun upward and fired without even looking at the direction. Fortunately, the bullet didn’t hit him, instead, it shattered a window. Once again, Joshua anticipated the situation and, in a split second, spun you both away from the shower of sparkling glass, only for his good deed to backfire on him seconds later.

With the advantage of your new position, you pinned him down, grabbed him by the collar and landed another punch on his face.  

Joshua flipped you over. He looked angrier than before, his eyes narrowed with focus, his face marked by red scratches and bruises, his hair messy, and his hands firmer as he pressed you down. One hand pinned you by the chest near your neck, while the other clenched into a fist, ready to strike your face.

— Interesting… — you began, your voice raspy and breathless, your half-open eyes gleaming with mischief. — Your face… it looks just like your mother’s when it’s covered in blood. Genetics really is a thing. — you mocked.

Joshua’s fist tightened even further, the veins in his forearm becoming more pronounced as his muscles tensed.

But then, as the pain in his nose subsided and his vision cleared, he froze when his eyes locked onto yours. In the blink of an eye, the sadistic girl who had been trying to kill him seconds ago vanished. In her place was Bloom, his Bloom, the girl who loved flowers and always made sure to create the best dates in the middle of a field filled with happiness and fun little games to play.

His expression softened, and Joshua found himself blinking several times, his pupils dilating and his hands shaking from lack of strength. 

— Go on… — you whispered softly, your voice trembling, your eyes brimming with tears, no longer wild but filled with something different. — Finish it already…  I deserve it.

The tone was genuine, almost desperate, and for the first time, lucid. In that moment, Joshua realized that your mere existence caused you more torment than anyone else.  

But he couldn’t do it, couldn’t let things end this way, couldn’t be cursed to carry your blood on his hands. Slowly, still panting, Joshua lowered his hand, keeping his gaze fixed on yours as his other hand slid from your neck to your cheek, caressing your cheekbones with his thumb.  

— Come home with me. — he pleaded, tears glistening in his eyes.  

And instead of igniting your fury again, his words and the image before you made your heart ache. It was almost like your fantasy, but filled with much more pain and suffering.  

Hesitantly, your hands reached up to his cheeks, and the way he tilted his face slightly toward one of them, his eyes closed, savoring your touch, nearly made your heart burst. You stayed there, completely silent, like a frightened kitten, your lips slightly parted, your chest rising and falling erratically as you tried to process everything, unsure if it was real or just another illusion.  

— Please... — he repeated, his voice trembling, his fingers still brushing against the soft skin of your face.  

— Joshua… — you began, but the words caught in your throat as one of his tears fell onto your lips, and you tasted the torment within it.  

It was as if the tension from the fight had been replaced by something even stronger, something that made your heart race faster and sent a strange heat to your face. For the first time, you became acutely aware of everything around you, the cold breeze from the broken window, the oddly comforting texture of the carpet beneath you, and most of all, the weight of his body pressing against yours.

But you didn’t have enough time to remain immersed in all those sensations, as Joshua unexpectedly began to lean in slowly, making the world around you and the entire past no longer matter, leaving only the two of you there, pure and clear.

You could feel his warm breath mingling with yours, his hand sliding to your shoulder as his gaze alternated between your lips and your eyes, silently seeking permission. In response, you gave a slight nod, almost motionless, relaxing your eyelids as you tried to steady your own breathing.  

Despite all the pain, Joshua let a small smile escape, and without a second thought, he closed the distance between your lips in a calm, delicate kiss, tasting of the metallic tang of blood mixed with the saltiness of tears, which only made everything, in some way, even more perfect.  

The hand that had been on your shoulder slid gently down your side, almost featherlight, and rested on your waist with a certain firmness, while the other tangled in your hair. Seconds later, you were forced to part your lips slightly to catch your breath, and the action didn’t go unnoticed by Joshua, who took the opportunity to connect his tongue with yours, stimulating depraved sounds from your lips.  

He noticed when your body relaxed more beneath his, his fingers tracing the curve of your hip as if he wanted to savor every contour of your skin before moving to your thigh, pulling it so that your leg pressed against his. Then he lowered his hips, and through your clothes, you could feel the hardness of his arousal against your stomach.  

You reached down, touching him over the fabric, drawing a soft, breathy moan from his lips. The simple sound sent butterflies tumbling wildly in your stomach, instantly awakening an almost irrational desire to hear and feel more. So, you repeated the delicate movement, this time with more certainty, and in response, he broke the kiss, his half-open hungry eyes meeting yours.

He gripped your thigh tighter and leaned down again, now choosing to plant wet kisses along your neck, letting his warm breath trail against your skin, sending shivers throughout your body. Feeling encouraged, he sucked on the area near your collarbone, and a restrained moan escaped your lips.  

— You have no idea how many times I’ve dreamed about this. — he whispered in your ear, his hands raising up your body until they reached your stomach.  

You felt his large, warm palm caress the area, tracing gentle patterns with his fingertips, gradually moving higher and higher until finally slipping beneath your shirt, making direct contact with your cold bare skin.  

Your back arched in response, and he took the soft sounds you made as a clear green sign to continue. And so he did, sliding his hand further up until he cupped one of your breasts, teasing your nipple over your bra, stimulating a louder moan from you.  

— Your voice is so much prettier when you’re not threatening to kill me. — he whispered again, and without waiting for a response, kissed you with more intensity and desire, yet still gentle.  

Moments later, he moved his hand from your chest to your back, lifting your torso just enough to make it easy for him to remove your shirt, and in the blink of an eye, the old, loose fabric was gone. You felt the rough texture of the carpet prickling your skin as his nimble fingers undid your bra, and your curious eyes could only watch, almost open-mouthed, stunned by how your body reacted even to his smallest movements, wondering if, unlike you, he had the courage to draw out the same reactions you so desperately wanted to elicit from him.

All your thoughts soon vanished when you saw him lean in to take one of your breasts into his mouth, his tongue quickly covering a large area with saliva while he teased your nipple in the same way he had played with your tongue before.  

Instinctively, your hands found their way into his hair, gripping firmly the silk locks as your back arched and your eyes squeezed shut, with whiny, confused moans escaping your lips.

— Joshua… — you managed to whisper, as if it were the only word you had ever learned in your life.

Hearing your voice like that, so soft and vulnerable, completely different from earlier, he wrapped his arms tightly around your waist, hugging you as if afraid you’d escape again if he let go, even though that was the last thing you would do at that moment.  

He trailed kisses upward, leaving a few more marks on your neck, similar to the bruises you carried from past fights, but these seemed to have a different aura, or at least that’s how they felt, because they came from an act of love, not anger.  

— Come home with me, — Joshua whispered in your ear before gently biting your earlobe, one of his hands sliding down to your thigh, caressing its inner part.  

— I can’t, I… — you began to respond, but were silenced when his lips pressed against yours.  

Boldly, his hand began to slide upward, stroking your skin with his fingertips until finally reaching the waistband of your pants. Stealthily, he slipped his hand beneath the elastic that held the fabric snug against your lower belly, covering your intimacy with his palm, his thumb drawing circles on your clit while his index finger teased your entrance over your soaked panties.  

The sensation of his fingers, even through the fabric, sent another wave of shivers throughout your entire body, your muscles contracting and your hips reflexively bucking closer to his hand seeking more friction.

He smiled at your reaction, and his mind was soon flooded with obscene thoughts, fueled by the sounds you made and your body responses around his fingers. His needy eyes focused on your face, trying to capture every detail of your expressions of pleasure, savoring the sight of your pretty, gleaming eyes staring at him, your furrowed brows, and the way you bit your lower lip.

With one hand, you clutched the rolled-up sleeve of his blue uniform, nails digging into the fabric as your legs writhed, your inner walls clenching around nothing and your moans becoming more strained.

Seeing your mouth twist with a certain level of dissatisfaction, Joshua stopped the movement of his fingers, only to hook them into your panties and pull it aside, wasting no time in sliding two digits into your entrance.  

The discontent immediately faded away from your face when you felt that, and it was impossible not to throw your head back, letting out a loud moan and gripping his sleeve even tighter. Lust bubbled inside you, coursing through your veins and taking over your mind, which was devoid of coherent thoughts, this time not from madness, but from the wet sounds and moans that filled the room, taking control of your whole being.

Joshua kept circling your clit with his thumb while his other two fingers moved inside you in gentle yet firm rhythm, making you tremble and crave more, as if your life depended on it.

He closed the gap between your mouths once more, swallowing your moans like a starving man, gripping your waist with such force that you were sure it would leave more marks. At the same time, he quickened the pace of his fingers, almost as if fueled by anger with how intense his actions were.  

— You have to come home with me, — he groaned against your lips, adding a third finger and intensifying his caresses with his thumb. — Please.

You could only whimper louder, doing your best not to completely melt under his touch, every small muscle in your body contracting as that intoxicating sensation rose like water filling an empty glass, heading straight for your mind.  

— Fuck, I’m gonna come. — you practically screamed, one hand slamming against the floor and your body writhing with intensity.

If he hadn’t known the look of pleasure on your face so well, or the whiny moans escaping your lips, he might have sworn you were trying to fight him again. But no, he knew that in this situation, the best thing to do was to hold you close and drive you further into your ocean of ecstasy.

So he didn’t slow down his movements, and seconds later, the reward came, or better yet, you came, all around his fingers. Your inner walls clenched tightly, releasing even more wetness. You cursed incoherently, pressing yourself against his chest so hard you could almost feel his heartbeat, though it wasn’t as loud as his deep, heavy breathing in your ear. He clung to you just as tightly, refusing to stop thrusting his fingers into your core, leaving your mind blank and tiny golden stars sparkling in your vision from the overstimulation.

And only when he noticed that no more sounds were coming from your lips and your fingers were practically white from how hard you clutched his sleeve, did he slowly stop moving his hand.

He let it rest on you for a few seconds longer to ensure you came down from your high as gradually and comfortably as possible. Then, and only then, did he slide his fingers out, adjust your panties back into place, and give your sensitive spot a gentle, affectionate pat before withdrawing his hand from your pants.

Admiring how his fingers glistened even in the dim light of the room, Joshua wasted no time licking them clean. Once they were spotless again, he shifted slightly on the rug and lay down beside you. In a state of complete bliss and serenity, you didn’t hesitate to rest your head on his chest again, hugging him as if the rough carpet were the most comfortable bed in the world.

The two of you stayed like that for a few minutes, Joshua stroking your hair and drawing invisible patterns on your back with his fingertips, while you clung to him like a koala to a tree, not minding the coldness of his uniform buttons, and instead focusing on the sweet aroma of his perfume that reminded you of the flowers you loved so much.

— Joshua… — you whispered, your eyes closed, tightening your embrace as you spoke his name, taking a deep breath to inhale again the pleasant scent emanating from his clothes. — Are you real?

— Yes. — he replied softly. — And you?

You nodded, relaxing further into the position.  

Your true desire was to lift your head, look into his eyes, and ensure that the boy was, in fact, there, so you could engrave it into your memory before the magic ended. But you lacked the courage and didn’t feel worthy of such a privilege, so you stayed still, savoring what he was willing to give you, afraid of when it would all come to an end again.

— It… It wasn’t me who attacked Piltover Park that day, — the whisper in your voice betrayed how vulnerable you felt, making you feel pathetic but somehow stronger than ever. — I mean, I was there, but if I had known your parents were in the same place, I...

— Hey, don't… — he interrupted, closing his own eyes for a second and taking a deep breath. — You don’t need to… talk about this, not now. I know it wasn’t you who did all that.

— Even so, I feel like it's my fault, and I know I have to be better... I just don't know how.

— You know... You can start by letting me be with the only family Silco didn’t take from me. — with his index finger, he tilted your chin to make you look into his eyes. — Let me take you home, Bloom.

[amethystfairy1]

I am so sorry in advance because this is a really overthinky question for a really basic thing and I doubt that too much thought was put into it but I've been so curious about Tango (and blaze-borns in general ig) and how he works since reading TT esp, because of the burns, so I have a few questions :) [post-writing extra apology for possibly the longest ask in tumblr history, I should just make a Google doc and start sending links atp 😭]

°•~°•~°•~°•~

Just to walk you through the thought process, I tend to really, really think about little things since I zone out so much and need something to occupy my brain-time lol, so it started with the question how do the blazeborn water burns work? And that led to a slew of other questions.

The first question was "why water?" Ofc the first thought is that it's a temperature thing, as in TTSBC, super hot water doesn't have this issue. However, it's not like every room-temperature thing hurts them. So second thought was that blaze-born have something lava or fire-like just beneath their skin, with their skin acting as insulation. This makes sense, as they have an "internal flame" they can will to heat up on command, and also makes sense since there has to be some layer of insulation given that Zed describes his hands as "warm", but he's not actually being burnt, which, given that Tango can melt glass and metal after heating up, it's safe to assume even his base temperature is really hot.

I'd guesstimate 1000°c since that's about fire temp, so the skin layer has to be HELLA insulated. I also had some questions about why blazeborn even were that temperature, since, given the nether origin, there's no real evolutionary reason for netherborn in general to be able to cool enough to not hurt flesh, but I guess piglins exist... I also thought way too hard about that and started questioning how the hell (haha) blazeborn exist in the first place as they're implied to be part human to an extent... and that train of thought was left in the dust. More important questions to be had.

Anyways so I read a zedango one-shot I'm at least 75% sure was written by you, where Tango says water burns him "like lava burns [humans]". So naturally I did a ton of research as to how lava burns humans, and how burns work, and the chemistry behind it. Google, surprisingly, failed me miserably, and I had to use Google scholar and guess a ton, but I think the gist is that (and thank you Wikipedia) when fire is on stuff, the heat energy causes said stuff to turn into a vapor and make light. Human skin has a buncha oil and carbon and hydrogen and oxygen, all stuff that's great for fire. This tied into another question I had, which was "would pouring lava on the burn help?"

So first question: why does water help burns, and why does it hurt fire, and is it related. Short answer: yes. Long answer: water is REALLY GOOD at absorbing *temperature*. When water goes on fire, it basically consumes all the heat energy, making the fire die out, since, as discussed prior, fire (and lava!) work by using heat energy to make light. It helps with burns for the same reason, basically taking the temperature off of the burn. Cold water is bad for burns, though, as it doesn't absorb the temperature as well (being cold) and skin being cold is bad for the damaged tissue, and the cold constricts blood vessels trying to heal the area.

So, with this logic, should it be reversed, pouring lava on the burns would hypothetically help, since the initial problem is that the water stole all the heat, and pain is doing it's job of saying "hey, something's wrong here, stop moving so we can fix it." HOWEVER, while typing this out, I remembered something.

In TT, Tango's water burns are described as purple and bruise-like. I've been using real-life logic, but this isn't a real life earth setting. This is a minecraft setting. And what happens in minecraft when water meets lava? No, not cobblestone, that's the other way around. Obsidian. A purple rock. This means that the earlier theory that blazeborn have lava under their skin is basically confirmed. It also disputes the earlier theory that lava would help, as Tango was wrong. Water does not burn the same way lava does, it burns the same way liquid nitrogen does (which, really, makes sense).

Remember earlier about cold water closing off blood vessels? Well, in severe frostbite situations, something similar happens. The lack of bloodglow is the main problem. Safe to. Assume the lack of lava-flow would ALSO be bad. Obsidian forms when lava cools rapidly, which makes sense. Tango's under-skin layer turning to rock resembles frostbite in a lot of ways. It's hard to move, hurts a ton, and even turns purple-blue. How do you treat severe frostbite? Well, warm water does help, but using the warm water method hurts INSANELY. The recommended action is to just try to warm it up the least painful way possible and take a ton of painkillers. Now, people can dip their hands in liquid nitrogen and be fine. How? The internal heat of one's hand and insulation of their skin plus the fact that LN is hydrophobic means that the oil and moisture on your skin should keep you safe for a second or so. But pretty quickly your abysmal heat gets beaten. Now take water, which is really good at absorbing heat. Frostbite in seconds.

That leaves only two questions: Why does the blazeborn skin only insulate one way? Given Tango's ability to be fine to the touch, you'd think that he's super insulated and thus protected. Easy answer? Being nether-born, there's no real reason to be immune to the cold in general. Water is literally not a thing. The second question: Why does Tango need to drink??? Easy answer; it's one of the criteria to be "alive." Need water to function. But water is completely unavailable in the nether. "They drink lava" makes no sense, as lava effectively is just hot rock. It makes sense Tango needs water, as things like... tongues, eyes, ect really need that stuff. But blazes don't, as they're fire. There's no way to get water from food, as nothing else (in the nether) has a high water content, and in ttsbc, water hurts even to drink prior to entering the mouth, but the digestive tract can handle it. Is it the human side? If so, how did Tango live in the nether so long in TT?

I was tempted to go "okay too much overthinking" at this point, but I refused to give up. So, I've determined something. A quick Google says humans need water to "regulate temperature, digest, circulate blood, salivate, and pee". How does water help with these things? It's a really really good solvent. What else is a good solvent? Basically just nail polish. Okay. New plan. Piglins exist in the nether, and they are flesh-based, organic, and pretty close to the overworld mob, well... the pig. Crazy, I know.

Anyway, [how've I not hit a character limit] that means water HAS to exist in the nether. What else proves this? BASALT! Pretty sure I watched a matpat theory that said something like this, but eh game theory is always gonna beat me to it.

Water has to exist somewhere in the nether. Where? How? I daresay, ice. In earlier versions, ice in the nether would become water. Later this was removed. However, now, ice placed in the nether will stay ice. How? Who cares, it's perfect!

Should the ice exist beneath the rocks, say under basalt or netherrack (which we can assume netherack is really good at insulation as it doesn't burn like magma in MC) people of the nether could eat that ice, which would melt without using too much of their body heat and dehydrating them like it does normal people due to the fact that their body isn't working overdrive to melt it by heating up, since theyre already more than warm enough, and it means the piglins likely just melt their ice and drink it super fast. The ice could be held by the claws, preventing burns, and BAM. Blazeborn mystery solved.

°•~°•~°•~

TL;DR? I ask too many questions and think too hard. Also, blaze born get frostbite, not burns, eat ice, and should not be thought of from an origin perspective. (Seriously, given the serious variations types of hybrids and mutants, what were people doing????)

Come back next week for my rant on Doc being our only cannon double-hybrid/mutant as a creeper goat and the implications of interspecies children and what is considered a "main" subspecies and why, as well as the consideration of a possible history of purity in breeding given the amount of people who are just one thing, how many of trait get passed down and why, weather the bird side can become more dominant in avians, how siblings can have different bird subspecies,(raven and parrot?) and why TT avians have bird legs and TTSBC ones don't!

[After consideration I'm sending this anonymously because it doesn't matter whether tumblr says there's no way to know, I think it's possible to guess who I am given... uhh... the book in your inbox]

I.

I think you're giving me a lot of credit here for thinking things through this much...I do try to think things through but this is...

WOW!

This is AWESOME! You did so much research into it and that's SO SO SO cool! I love it! I don't really have much to add too it...but I can help with that second bit! I've mentioned before, but if your parents are different subspecies, you will ALWAYS be born of one or the other. For example, if Joel and Lizzie ever had a kid in TTSBC, that kid would be either a cat hybrid or a butterfly hybrid, not both, and no mixed traits. If they had another kid, it would flip the coin again. Avians feather colors are similar coin flips based on parentage! As for why the TT avians have bird feet and the TTSBC avians don't...? Well, if you wanna deep dive on that, go for it! This whole thing was SO COOL to read! Thank you so much for reading and enjoying my AUs so much!

[sage-green-matcha]

THINGS I WISH YOU SAID - ETHAN LANDRY 💌

“Without you here, I don't know what to do with myself. I think about these things at night before I fall asleep. Things I wish you said to me” - Sabrina Carpenter

Content includes: Angst, cutie Ethan, Ethan comforting you!

<3

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Music played as you swept the floor, golden sunlight shining into your window. Particles of dust flew into your face, making you sniffle.

You were bored, to say the least. Cleaning, reading, and watching tv to try and distract yourself. Unfortunately, everything reminded you of him, picking up the trash only to find a strand of his hair. "God, that's gross" you mumbled to yourself, sweeping the floor.

"Alexa, play my main playlist" you mumbled, face planted into your pillow with books spread out around you. Your eyebrows furrowed as you heard the melody of the song, quickly sitting up. "Alexa! Take that song off my playlist" You let out a sigh, remembering the melody of the sweet song Ethan used to play for you.

Without him, you didn't know what to do with yourself. You were just bored, with nothing to do. He made something with your time, he encouraged you to go out even if he was just as scared as you were. He pushed you out of your comfort zone, and now that he was gone it's like part of you left with him.

You missed him, a lot. He was one of the only people who understood you. Your humor, style. Everything about you was always misinterpreted by everyone else. But he got you perfectly. Your friends would say he was the male version of you.

"He was just a waste of time Y/n! Seriously, get over it" Tara would laugh it off but you didn't see it that way. He was more than just a distraction. You genuinely liked him...Maybe you even loved him...?

You found yourself pacing around your room. Why would you break up with him? Why were you still thinking of him? It didn't make sense, you thought it was over. That the spark was gone. But now you realize it wasn't him. It was you.

As much as you wanted him back he probably wouldn't say the same about you. You left in a rush, watching as small tears formed in his eyes. "Why? What did I do wrong?" "Ethan- it's not you. I promise. I just...I can't do it" You shook your head, biting back your lip as it quivered. You wanted to comfort him, but you had no idea how. Plus you were the one who made him that way. He didn't want your comfort.

You were left alone to deal with your thoughts. No one was home, and you knew all your friends would hate you if you started rambling about him again. You just had to do what felt right. Was this right? No, not really. But it felt like a good spontaneous decision.

You quickly threw on your cozy cardigan, slipping on your house shoes before you basically stormed out of the apartment. You weren't paying attention as you walked, feeling yourself bump into someone harshly. "Oh shit, I'm sorry" you quickly recognized the voice, trying your best not to seem frantic. "Oh, I...Hi Y/n" "Hey...Ethan" you nodded in silence. "Where were you heading?" You found it weird that he was in your apartment building. After all, his was the one next door.

"I...well" he scratched the back of his neck, fumbling on his words. "I was gonna go see you actually" he played with his hands in his pockets, lips agape as he looked down at you. "Oh...uhm, Me too" "What?" He seemed surprised, fixing his posture a bit.

"Yea, I was just…heading to your place” Your eyes looked everywhere but his face, avoiding eye contact. “Me too…” the hallway was cold, awkward. The energy was off, but the spark felt stronger than ever.

“So should we go to mine or…?” “No it’s okay. We can go to mine I was just cleaning” you gulped as he followed behind you, clenching your phone in your hand.

Your head spun in confusion, uncomfortable with what was going on. Why was he headed to your place? Yea, he might’ve been looking for Chad and Tara but he didn’t specify it was for that. So why? For the same reasons as you?

“Sorry about the mess…” you mumbled before unlocking the door, the familiar scent of wood and vanilla filling his nose. You led him over to your room, the clean space slightly throwing him off. Your room was always a mess, he would help you clean and organize but never this organized. You had really hit rock bottom.

“So…” you played with your hands as he sat next to you on the bed. Silence filling the room. It was even worse than the hallway. It was completely quiet, Ethan trying to put together the right words. “I miss you” it just spilled out of your lips, quickly closing your mouth as you realized what you said. “You do?” You finally looked up at him, nodding slowly while chewing on your lip.

“I miss you too” “Really? Why?” Your eyebrows furrowed as you watched his expression change. “Why wouldn’t I?” “Well, 'cause I ended it. I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me anymore” he just shook his head, his hand resting over yours. “Well yea. It hurt but I still love you. I never stopped” Your lips started to tremble, holding back a sob.

He loved you? You treated him like shit. How could he love you after all that? You always felt like you never did enough. You knew there was gonna be someone better for him, someone who deserved him. “Y/n…don’t cry” his words broke you, tears spilling down your cheeks as he pulled you into a hug. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t deserve you” he held you tightly in his chest, his shirt absorbing all your tears.

“It’s okay, I promise” his hand ran through your hair, holding you like it was the last time. “I love you” your words were mumbled into his chest, but his heart heard every word clearly. “I love you too…yea? There’s no need to cry” he smiled as you pulled away. Your lips were puffy, eyelashes wet and long. You were a pretty crier, he would always tell you.

“You’re beautiful” “Shut up” his face brightened up when you smiled, wiping away your tears. “God, I missed you so much” he groaned, a laugh coming from your lips as he pulled you closer. Ethan had kissed you thousands of times, but this one was different. You could feel all of him in you, euphoria filling your body. You were on cloud 9. The sound of deep kisses and heavy breaths filled the room, all of the awkward tension disintegrating.

“Is this why you were coming over?” You questioned, positioned perfectly in his lap as he looked up at you. “Well…yea” you just shook your head with a smile, pulling him back in for another kiss.

A/n: stream emails I can’t send fwd 💪

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

okay so we know that if reader tried to be creepy towards yves about sexual stuff he would cut them off (and/or traumatize them if they went even further).

but what would happen if yves set up their perfect meet-cute, they started dating, and after a while reader tried to initiate sex. and yves is like oh, no. explains his whole thing about only doing it like once a month, and on his terms. and reader is like oh, okay! i totally respect that!

and then the next day, they sit down for dinner, and reader essentially tries to break up with him? basically just saying i don’t think this will work out between us, i’d really like a partner who i have very regular sex with even if not every day, but you’re really cool and really nice and i’d love to stay friends :)

how would yves react? i feel like he wouldn’t traumatize them because they didn’t actually do anything wrong, but he’s also been super clear about being monogamous so he doesn’t seem like the type to allow reader to pursue a sort of fwb relationship on the side? that is, if reader even wanted to have a side relationship just for sex, they might only want one relationship and need it to be both romantic and regularly sexual.

another thought that’s sort of tied to this: what if yves was dating a reader who, because they couldn’t successfully initiate sex and were told not to try ever again the one time they tried, and because yves so rarely initiates sex, started feeling really self conscious and like they aren’t worth having sex with? like even with yves being such a sweetheart and loving on them all the time, the lack of sex really gets to them and makes them feel undesirable?

sincerely, a very shy anon (who is Constantly Horny and also gets insecure)

Tw: sexual stuff, drugging

The thing is, Yves would have already known that you're seeking for a more sexually fulfilling relationship with someone. It depends on your personality, is it a must that you have to touch him in ways he wished you wouldn't? Is it a must for Yves to touch you in ways he rather not? Even with his 'interventions'? Then, Yves has no choice but to let go of the idea of being your romantic partner. It doesn't mean he will abandon you, he will assume the role of a smothering monster-in-law.

However, if he already knows the ins and outs of your body, the limits of how much he could drug you without any adverse effects, Yves wouldn't mention about sex at all. He would take it slow, letting the relationship progress until you're comfortable to discuss such proclivities or attempt to make the first move. The longer you're with Yves, the more you feel loved and spoiled by his riches and acts of services.

But... By the time you would usually feel undesirable due to a lack of sexual initiation from Yves, you would find yourself saying "yuck" to anything related to genitalia. Perhaps even feeling glad that Yves didn't see you in that light yet, dreading the day where you have to say no to him.

Hell, maybe you wouldn't even care to initiate it either, you somehow lost interest in something you used to crave badly and you don't know why. The idea of it feels... Dull, boring and maybe overbearing, it's like eating the same meal repeatedly to the point it makes you nauseous thinking about it. The thought of being horny and getting off your bed to work for that orgasm makes you go "Ugh, do I have to?"

Assuming that you masturbate to alleviate your frustrations, you suddenly find that your stimulating toys would just not do it for you anymore. Neither would your fingers, nor pornography. You just feel... Nothing. No tingles, no drive and no desire to chase that high you were once addicted to. It feels tedious as if you're doing a soul sucking chore, you would rather cuddle with Yves instead, fully clothed too with each other's hands away from the major erogenous zones.

You wouldn't notice it. The change would be so gradual that you wouldn't realize your favorite sex toy is collecting a layer of dust under your bed. The idea of Yves going anywhere near your crotch never crossed your mind, why would it? You're not interested in doing the tango with him and neither is he, and you would like to keep it that way in order to avoid the awkwardness of rejection.

You never visited your favourite erotic sites anymore and you're not yearning for that excitement, you have lost a core part of yourself and you are none the wiser.

And that's how Yves likes it; to let yourself be pampered by him in every way except one. What you don't know will never hurt you.

[bobbydagen24]

How I'd maybe change TBTs ending to try and make Bro zone less toxic.

Sorry I just had to get that meme out of my system don't take it personally I just want to keep things light hearted 😂😂😂😂

anyway I really feel like following the big argument and Poppy and Branch going off separate from Bro zone Branch should also get captured

I'd have him go down first by himself into the room where Floyd is, only to get taken by V and V before Poppy has to chance to come down from the air duct.

( remember Velvet was expecting Bro zone to come save Floyd so its not too hard to imagine she'd have a trap already prepared for when they arrived )

so afterwards she runs away after Branch tells her to realising she wouldn't be able to take V and V on by herself.

so she catches back up with Rhonda where the brothers were all going to go back to their homes since they figured Poppy and Branch would just save Floyd on their own and that they didn't want them involved anymore.

but after telling them that Branch was also captured obviously they all agree to put their petty crap to one side to go save the two youngest ( I'm not gonna write Bro zone as complete psychopaths 😂😂)

really its pretty simple this way the next handful of scenes can actually focus on the older Brothers aka the ones who frankly need the attention more than Poppy and Branch did.

since Poppy's arc was over after the scene directly following the argument so she and Branch didn't actually need any more screen time after that.

this way we can get a few more scenes of the older Brothers still struggling to work together despite their mutual goal of saving Floyd and Branch.

I'd have JD be the one to have the eureka moment of realising their family doesn't need to be perfect after overhearing Poppy

since ya know he was the one who actually had that problem making Branch have that realisation is kinda arsed backwards tbh.

I'd have one scene of Branch and Floyd being reunited only this time its while their both in separate prisons it can be nice and sweet but also have Branch nervously question him on why he never came back.

and maybe Floyd somewhat ashamed says that he went out on his own and tried to start his solo career but he failed very badly.

he wanted to prove he could maybe be his own person outside of his older brothers but he couldn't hack it and he was too embarrassed to face Branch and Grandma.

so he held off on coming back for a few years but when he did finally decide to by then the Trolls had already left so it was the same deal with JD Floyd saw the empty tree and their Grandma's empty pod.

and either thought that they were both dead or that they both had escaped together but either way he didn't think he'd ever see them again.

I'm not saying this is the perfect explanation for Floyd I'm just putting it fourth as one possible idea anyway back to Bro zone.

just before the climax I'd have one last scene briefly between JD Bruce and Clay where JD actually owns up to his wrongdoings and for causing the family to split apart with how he treated them.

and while they do say they appreciate JD finally acknowledging his behaviour they do also admit it isn't entirely on him as obviously they were just as quick to Break their family up both times.

anyway we head on to the climax this time while trapped Branch and Floyd actually get to witness their older bros all standing together to confront V and V.

and the climax can almost basically play out the same only this time after retrieving Branch's Diamond prison JD is the one who huddles everyone together to say the thing about them not needing to be perfect.

and him saying he'll step back and let someone else lead to which one of the other Bros reaction could be "" who are you? and what have you done with JD? "" lol.

anyway the Harmony goes as normal Floyd is saved as normal and after Floyd is back on his feet and Branch and Poppy have had their little moment.

then the Bro zone members have their moment with Branch and JD is the first to apologise given he feels the whole thing is his fault and he was the first one to walk away.

but Bruce and Clay and Floyd do step up to acknowledge their wrongdoings as well leaving the family altogether simply because they were angry with JD.

and also being so quick to want to walk away again in present day simply because it was easier than actually trying to deal with any of their problems and not actually taking his feelings into account.

To which Branch then does agree to give them one more chance and they promise not to let him down again.

anyway most of the ending scene with Kismet's introduction and what not can stay the same tho I would like to add in a small detail of Bro zone maybe doing something.

like they all excitedly try to go in for a big group hug beginning to playfully pull Branch in against his will only for him to look visibly uncomfortable before the bros kinda realise their mistake and backtrack.

saying sorry and that they forgot showing a bit of growth from their earlier interactions in the film and showing that they are actually trying to take things at a slower pace as per Branch's wishes.

anyway yeah that's just a few changes I'd make to the films third act to try and make it feel a little more complete as honestly having Bro zone getting captured for the third act literally does nothing

in terms of character arcs the film continued focusing on Poppy and Branch following the argument scene even tho their arcs were done Bro zone were the ones who needed that screen time.

so having them be captured and literally forced to do the Harmony in a life or death situation does nothing for their arcs nor the story overall.

it'd literally be better if they never showed up in the movie again as opposed to showing up only to be captured and then forced to compromise in order to save their own skin

and then playing happy families in the end acting like they had a complete arc and they deserved forgiveness when they really didn't.

This way the movie actually puts it on them to make the effort to fix the family rather than putting it on Branch who was ultimately the victim in the whole situation both times.