#and to just be not listened to and dismissed.

[imheretoreadafic]

I really love the concept of Tim hiding in small spaces randomly, and his family just completely accepting this as normal behavior.

Like,

Dick, mid conversation with Wally, grabs a cookie from his plate and reaches behind the couch, sticking his arm down there and pulls it up with no cookie. He doesn't falter once in his conversation.

Wally blinks in confusion a few times and then carefully asks, "Did you just... put a cookie behind the couch?"

Dick blinks as well. "Tim is behind there." He said like that should be obvious.

"What?! Dude, has he been listening to our conversation??"

"Nah, he's got his headphones on." Dick says dismissively.

Tim reaches his hand up and taps Dick on the shoulder to get his attention and then mimes writing. Dick hands him a pen.

"This happens all the time, doesn't it?" Wally asked, amused.

Dick snorts and nods. "Are you really surprised? I mean, I hang upside down when i need to think, Damian cuts things, Jason shoots things, Bruce broods. Tim hides."

Wally laughs. "Fair enough, man."

Or,

Mid Justice League meeting, Bruce looks under the desk he's at, grunts and motions to the side of his head. Then, he grumbles "Notepad." A second passes, he straightens up and starts scribbling something onto a notepad.

"What the hell just happened?" Hal asks bluntly.

"Red Robin is under there." Clark says immediately, used to this whole thing.

"Okay... Is there, like, a reason for that?"

Bruce grunts, and Clark says, "He likes it under there."

"Ooookkaayyyy then."

[jackabbbot]

pairing: jack abbot x doctor!reader

summary: even when looking after your patients, you want to make sure jack is okay.

note: i wrote this on my phone whilst rewatching ep 12 and drinking every time im squeamish. its short. i’ve not read this back.

‘what does that even mean?’ jack looks at you, shaking his head. he shuffles his gait between his legs and you grab his hand. it’s big and strong, dwarfing your own hand.

‘it’s doesn’t matter,’ you say, shaking your head as you guide him towards a seat. pulling the stool towards you with your foot, you gently usher him down. ‘is it your hips or your leg?’

‘it’s nothing,’ he dismisses, trying to stand back up but your hand on his shoulder keeps him down. ‘i need to get back to work.’

aware of how long you’ve been touching him, you gently bring your hand away. at the very least, you want to preserve a small resemblance of professionalism at work, of all places.

‘you’re behind on your charting, anyway,’ bridget says, her eyebrow raised as she taps the computer in front of your husband. ‘sit down, and listen to your poor wife, for once.’

shooting her an appreciative look, you grab a tablet and look up at the screen. south 16 has a patient whose labs have come back. you take the case, having been one not touched since shift change.

‘hello,’ you introduce yourself to the patient, keeping just a sliver of curtain open. it allows you to keep an eye on your favourite attending. ‘your labs have just come back and your blood alcohol has returned to normal. this is great news as it means you can be discharged soon.’

‘thank fuck for that,’ the girl says, grabbing her phone. ‘and, it’s fucking dead, what the fuck. do you have a charger?’

‘yeah, i should do, let me check,’ you look down at the tablet and make a few notes. ‘okay, so your mom is on the way and i’ll come back if i’ve got a charger.’

‘great, i can’t wait to get out of this fucking place,’ she rolls her eyes and throws herself back on the bed. ‘it’s just a fucking nightmare. i just fell.’

‘your blood alcohol was 0.3. we have to make sure you’re sober before we let you go. in better news, though, that’s all we need to do before you need to go. your previous doctor has already gone through the care instructions for the cast.’

you make your way back into the er and jack has already left the seat. shooting a look to bridget, she just shakes her head and shrugs her shoulders.

‘hey, could you let me know when the patient in south 12’s mum gets here?’ you ask, finishing the last of your charting. she nods and the charge phone goes off.

you do a quick round to look for jack, knowing that there is someone coming in soon. he’s in the staff room, prosthetic off of his leg and is massaging it.

‘you okay, love?’ you ask, gently touching his shoulder. there aren’t that many people in the er as of yet so taking a little time isn’t particularly detrimental to anybody. ‘are you in pain?’

‘it’s okay,’ he shakes his head and tries to grab the prosthetic but you stop him. crouching down, you cup jack’s face in your hand.

‘it’s not okay. i know you say it’s almost constant but we have a moment. take a moment, please,’ you beg, taking over massaging his leg. he lets out a hiss and you brace jack’s head against your shoulder. ‘let me look after you for once.’

‘you always look after me,’ he starts, voice raspy. he points a finger at his heart. ‘you look after me here. all the time.’

he’s so sincere it makes your heart clench in your chest. your eyes well up just the slightest and you squeeze his hand, unable to say anything else.

you look deep into his beautiful hazel eyes and press a chaste kiss to his lips. it’s enough for now. it’s too much for work but far too little to truly express how you feel about him.

‘the charge phone went off before i came looking for you,’ you say, breaking the silence. ‘you can stay here and i’ll deal with it or someone else can.’

‘sweetheart, i’m fine,’ jack protests, kissing your knuckles. ‘i’ll be out in a minute.’

[growth-opportunities]

AMBROSIA MILL, AZ - The Rainbow Mayhem Music Festival lived up to its name over the weekend as chaos erupted in the middle of one of its performances. In this case, the mass confusion wasn't the result of a pyrotechnic effect gone awry or overzealous fans going out of control. In fact, very few of the festivals visitors were there to see Earth Chronicle perform. The thumping bass and crackling electronic sounds that thumped from the speakers overall failed to seriously impress their audience, but the debut of a brand new, as of yet unnamed, song would surely turn the audience in their favor.

Approximately two minutes into the six minute song, several women in the audience began to feel discomfort in their clothing. By the four minute mark, a singular voice rang out, now determined to belong to one Jessica Ramirez of Sioux Falls, South Dakota: "Holy [expletive]! My [breasts] are growing!" It is easy to dismiss an individual experience, but the fact that it was now shared caused similar, affirming eruptions from many of the other women in the audience.

"At first, I thought it was just the heat that was making me uncomfortable," explained Anne Peters, a concert goer who had traveled from Vermont to be there. Her outfit was not unlike many of those who had attended the festival, except now the pearl-covered bikini seemed several sizes too small. At many points throughout the interview, she was forced to adjust them to make sure everything was covered. "But then, as soon as I heard that voice, I looked down and saw what was actually happening to me."

As her alarm faded, Peters found herself surprisingly satisfied with what had happened to her. "I mean, I left for the concert a C cup and now I must be, I dunno, twice as big? Maybe even three times? I came to this concert to get over my ex and now they're gonna be so mad when they see this! Screaming, crying, throwing up, all of it!"

An investigation from our colleagues at KDBG that the event ultimately stemmed from a random audio sample the band had used to form the baseline of the song. Front-man Lawrence 'Lawman' Pearson said that the sample, simply titled BE112, was sourced from a audio library which the band had purchased a license to use. Pearson claimed that he was unaware of the subliminals (very low frequency tones, related to hypnotic suggestion) that were mixed into the track. "...[In-house engineer, Laxmi Reynolds] must have listened to that song fifty times a day when we were producing the song, and I don't remember her growing at all!" Reynolds did not return KDBG's request for comment.

It is now believed that the intense sound system of the festival amplified the subliminal effect, which caused those in attendance to gain, on average, six inches to their bust before the song was interrupted.

A settlement was reached with Roy G Biv, LLC to cover damages to the concert equipment during the chaos. No one in the audience has attempted to bring charges against the band.

As of the time of writing, the remaining four concerts in Earth Chronicle's tour have completely sold out. According to statement put out by Visionary Ink Records, they are looking into adding more cities to the tour to meet the needs of the Earth Chronicle's "growing fanbase." The record label did not return our request for further comment.

[starconstruction]

Inescapable.

Yandere Minjeong x Reader (SFW)

a very quick little thing (<1000 words)

It all happened so quickly.

You were simply sitting at the bar in a booth, essentially babysitting your friends. That was your job, you'd show up, watch your friends till they found someone to get lucky with and then you'd go home to sleep.

You were happy with that arrangement.

But that wasn't what was happening tonight, your friends had all long disappeared. But you couldn't go, there was a girl with you, she just sat there and started talking. You couldn't lie she was pretty, so pretty. The way her dress hugged onto her, blonde hair curled at the edges.

But you didn't want to be here, you wanted to go to bed, though you listened and replied to every word she said with intent. Nodding and replying with what she wanted. You learned a lot about her, she was called Minjeong, she really liked cats, she liked whiskey, she knew a lot about you. Wait what? She said that casually, any information you tried to share was met with a "I already knew that."

She smiled sweet, like the grenadine on the drink you sipped, suddenly worrying about it. Her confessions freaking you out. "Relax, I didn't spike it." She got closer, leaning over the booth table. "I don't need to, you will come with me regardless." She growled, she was freaking you out. But looking around, nobody seemed to care, all far too engrossed in their own conversations to care about what looked like someone getting lucky.

"Errr, I think I'm going to go." You tried to dismiss yourself. She pulled you down quickly, looking at you as her expression shifted to one of anger.

"Sit your ass down. We aren't leaving yet." Her words filled you with dread as she took another sip.

"You are creeping me out, thanks for the drink but I really need to go." You insisted, looking for an out. Minjeong's hand forced you to look at her. Her lips forcing themself on yours, the taste of whiskey filling your mouth. You were panicking, trying to push her off, but she was firm, insistent. Doing things on her pace.

"One thing you should realize is I'm in control, not you. You are mine and if you want your family to live, I'd stop trying to leave." Her threats made your eyes widen, the way she said those words. She wasn't joking, not even close. You nodded, getting a smile, "That's a good little cutie. But you make me want to take you to your new home, so let's go." She got up, discreetly pulling you towards the door. Hands holding you close, to everyone else you looked lucky. But you were freaking out, what do you do? what could you possibly do?

You tried to tug away, but Minjeong tightened like a snake, squeezing down on your hand. "Did you forget what I said? Last chance to comply..." She warned, primal dread washed over you. Freezing up, failing yourself. "Give me your phone, now." You were quick to hand it over, expecting her to pocket it, but she didn't.

Minjeong threw the device into the ground, stomping it into several pieces and kicking it into the pile of rubble outside the bar. "Shame the cameras are off." She chuckled, now directly in front of her car, throwing you into the back seat. She climbed in, locking you in, completely trapped.

You started to hyperventilate, chest tightening, this couldn't be happening, no no no! Minjeong's expression was calm, inching closer to your trembling body. Her hand feeling like venom.

You did it before you could think.

You slapped her cheek.

The sound rang out the enclosed space, but there was no where to run as her eyes darkened. She wasn't going to show mercy, hands grabbing your neck. Looking at you with a devilish expression, she squeezed, oxygen being constricted, no longer able to breathe, head throbbing for oxygen. "Listen Y/N, I'm getting this close to snapping. To everyone else I've seen you talk to you are so nice! I've been watching for years! I expect that same respect, you will not disobey me honey." She let you go, letting the oxygen rush back to your body, taking long puffs until you recovered.

"I demand an apology, now." She commanded. Pushing you back against the car window, tinted black. Nobody was coming to save you.

"N-No, just let me go... I promise I won't tell, it's not too late." You tried to reason, but she didn't bite.

"Nope. Apologize." She repeated, but you couldn't, wouldn't. Her coldness digging daggers into your eyes, but there was an obvious possession in them. Like you were her world.

"No, I didn't do anything..." You were meek, soft spoken, she wasn't happy with that answer.

Minjeong pulled her phone out her jacket, flicking through rapidly until turning it to you.

A picture of your niece, only 3, sleeping. What the fuck?

"I said, apologize. Unless you want something to happen to her?" She had a sadistic grin, relishing in your horror.

"I'm - I'm sorry. So sorry Minjeong." Your words made her smile, putting her phone away.

"It's okay, we all make mistakes." She buckled you in, "Let's get you to your forever home." Minjeong climbed into the driver's seat.

She had you trapped, physically and mentally.

[forestshadow-wolf]

The recruits are gathered in the seperate lab building on base, there is a lab in the main building but it's smaller and hasn't got everything they need and is frankly more dangerous to be in with several recruits who don't want to listen. And soap leaves for a few minutes to grab some things he needs for a demonstration, which he will show before setting the 'kids' to do it themselves, he'd been working on some percussive equipment just before lessons were supposed to start and hadn't quite finished so he'd left it on 'his' desk (it wasn't considered unstable), and he assumed that the recruits could be mature adults for a few minutes and would not go rummaging at his things. He had assumed wrong. Because he's walking back into the lab to see three of the recruits gathered (grabbing/touching/holding) around the [insert percussive weapon/explosive] he'd been working on. And he goes "DO NOT TOUCH THAT! PUT THAT DOWN!" And the recruits keep leering at the scrap of wire and metal as soap rushes forward, depositing his box of materials on a table he passes. Something was shifted or touched in a way that set the device off. Soap, in the unfortunate line of fire, takes the impact in the face. Immediately his head snaps back, and his ears ring, and for a split second his vision goes white before it starts to fade back in. It takes a second for the pain to hit. But it does. And it packs a punch. He stumbles back with the impact, and nearly again with the pain, it blooms behind his eyes and unreachably deep in his ears, but he steadies himself. His voice, as loud as he makes it (and he is making it loud) is barely audible to himself as he tears into the recruits and sends them to Price for reprimand and punishment, and the other he dismisses quickly. He's almost no longer dizzy even with only the few minutes it took for the lab to empty. Still hearing himself more in his head than in his ears, he seeks his Lieutenant out. Says nothing about the incident, And for a whopping 20 minute he gets away with it. Until Soap looks away, and he only hears Ghost's muffled accent. Unbeknownst to him, Ghost is asking him for his opinion of some thing or another.

When Ghost realizes, he prompted drags soap off to medical, and makes his sit still while his head gets checked.

No concussions, no obvious injuries, and his hearing is already coming back, though it may be another few hours before it's back to 100%. They did, however, send him off with a migraine reliever and instructions to return if it gets worse. And Ghost gives him a stern look, which soap knows means something along the lines of "should have gone to medical sooner or immediately. Or should gave told me. Or I shouldn't have to drad you to medical or blah blah blah"

[maladapted-druid]

UK Supreme Court Ruling - 16 Points of Clarification and Reassurance

Welcome to day 2 comrades, we survived the night and now we're going to pick up arms and fight back; what are the most effective arms you ask, seductively in my ear? KNOWLEDGE! That's right, let's look at this ruling that's so full of holes it'd make an orgy a logistical nightmare.

My job deals with legal documents and legislation so I have attempted to translate some of the ruling and clarify it for everyone, to expel the rumours and present the facts as written in all their bigoted glory. Facts are in black while my comments and opinions are in red italics.

A special thank you to Transactual and QueerAF for their resources and articles (linked at the bottom).

Also included are some of Timothy Snyder's "20 Lessons on Tyranny". Because it's fucking relevant.

The Supreme Court chose not to hear from any trans people, choosing to listen to only hate groups. This suggests anti-trans biases from the beginning. The only pro-trans source allowed was Amnesty International who affirmed that the Scottish Court's interpretation is correct, Amnesty's mention is in passing however the court notes that it is "particularly grateful" to the TERF lawyer for his input, "particularly grateful" is just a phrase but it potentially hints at further bias.

The crux of the judges "logic" seems to be that the basis of being a woman is being born that way and the basis for being trans is possessing a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). My brain literally cannot process the stupidity of this. Obviously inter-sex people are not mentioned. What about people who no longer match the definition of biological woman (i.e. cancer survivors who have had organs removed or due to health conditions) what are they protected by? If a woman has had her cervix removed for health reasons makes a sexual harassment complaint against her line manager, can it be dismissed because she, legally, isn't a woman? There are hundreds of unanswered questions and examples the court just vomitted into public with no intention of solving.

An element that the judges came to repeatedly was that if trans people were not recognised by their sex at birth then the Equality Act would be "inconsistent". For example the EA refers to 'pregnant women' but because trans women cannot get pregnant and some trans men can, by referring to women', Parliament was clearly intended 'woman' to mean 'biological female' because only 'biological females' can become pregnant. And that's it. That's fucking it. The judges decided it would be easier if women were all grouped under one category with no variation, that clarity around pregnancy was too difficult and it was best to rely on a single word written 15 years ago when inclusive language was very uncommon, let alone in halls of power.

The ruling makes zero (0) mention of Inter-Sex people. Once again Inter-Sex people have been left entirely out of the discussion and are bound by their birth certificates.

The ruling refers to "biological" and "certified" sex but doesn't define either, only suggesting that "biological" is what's on your birth certificate and that "certified" is people with a GRC. I'm not a midwife but I'm reasonably sure that babies don't come out holding a birth certificate, in fact in the UK it can take 2 weeks to get a certificate in which time decisions can be made for inter-sex babies that are not represented on the birth certificate. Additionally the court only recognises two binary sexes which is provably false. Gender is a spectrum according to every biologist who ever lived. Now that "biological" and "certified" sex are different, trans people cannot make claims based on "biological" sex, for example trans people now can't make a claim for equal pay or sexual harassment. Transgender people can now legally be forced out of the work environment and are at a higher risk of harm from others because their "certified" sex doesn't match their "biological" sex.

Single Sex Spaces have always been protected by the Equality Act. Let me say that one more time: SINGLE SEX SPACES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PROTECTED BY THE EQUALITY ACT. The law already allowed keeping transgender people out of 'single sex spaces' (which is another bullshit term we could spend an hour taking apart) which raised the question why was this case even brought forward? More and more the ruling just seems to be ideologically based with little regard for solving or clarifying anything.

Single Sex Spaces are also never defined, does a space have to be declared a 'woman only space' under the Equality Act or is it a space where one may expect to find a large number of women? It is in the ambiguity here that a lot of people will be targeted, told to get out or they're calling the police because this is a 'single sex space' even though the law never once tells us what that is.

The Gender Recognition Act (2004) is now in question because the ruling states that "trans women are men and trans men are women, with or without legal gender recognition." Theoretically the GRA now has no effect which logically follows that GRC's are in-valid. This leads nicely onto the next point:

Transgender people in public bathrooms; the ruling never once mentions toilets, bathrooms, restrooms or anything similar presumably because these are covered under 'single sex spaces'. Seeing as, in the courts view, transgender people no longer match their sex they are, theoretically, no longer allowed in public bathrooms of their sex, so transgender women should return to the mens and transgender men should return to the womens. This suggestion is unclear because, as with a lot of other things in this dogshit ruling, it is never defined or clarified. This is an excellent opportunity for solidarity if Trans Men gather or take selfies in women's bathrooms with your magnificent beards, glorious muscles and wonderful masc energy, that is, apparently, right where they want you. I have seen several claims that there is a specific ruling that forbids transgender men from entering women's public restrooms however I can find no trace of it in the text, if someone knows where it is please let me know.

The ruling has created a lot more legal questions and answered none of those it set out to. Lawyers and Lawmakers will spend the next few months and years arguing over what this means and how to interpret it, further more will the decisions of lawyers and lawmakers hold up in court when challenged? We may spend the next decade finding out. That also leads onto:

Do Not Obey In Advance (20 Lessons on Tyranny) There are a lot of unanswered questions from this ruling and, on a real life level, very little has changed at 1000 16/04 when the court read out its decision. So make sure you do not change your behaviour, hide away or surrender in advance; carry on as your beautiful glorious self and if someone challenges you tell them to sue your perfect arse because this is not a settled issue in the courts so why should you settle in advance? Fuck them. If the want us back in the closet they'll have to shove us in with a fucking bulldozer. Furthermore media organisations will take the bigoted side they always do and boil it down to the simplest point to the extent of being wrong - 'trans women banned from women's toilet's', 'trans women aren't allowed in public without identifying themselves', 'trans women never existed and were actually several queers in trench coats'. You get the idea. Dismiss these misleading headlines. Correct anyone who brings it up to you or you feel comfortable talking to. Remind them that these is no clarity and people are working very hard, every day to restore our rights. Once again, Do Not Obey In Advance.

Defend Institutions (20 Lessons on Tyranny) A fine time to remember that human rights organisiations, law projects and LGBT groups will be fighting this to the bitter end and they will need your support; please do your part for our freedom by donating to any charities or organisation you feel comfortable with, the following are just a suggestion and is not exhaustive: Stonewall - lobbying, activism. Mermaids - youth Equality Network - consultation. Transactual - adults, healthcare and legal, accurate trans news. QueerAF - news

At one point, the judgment explicitly refers to a trans woman as ‘a man who identifies as a woman’. Yeah, no, the judges were never biased at all, they totally had an open mind the whole time.

5 judges with a combined age of 338, 3 men, 2 women, know what a lesbian is better than you do. According to the ruling a lesbian "must be a [AFAB] female who is sexually oriented towards (or attracted to) [AFAB] females." Apparently the concept of sexual orientation would be "rendered meaningless" if we included trans women in relationships and that would "wrongly affect the composition of lesbians as a group." WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? THE COMPOSITION OF LESBIAN GROUPS? What do those words, in that order, even mean? And just appreciate, for a moment, that the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom doesn't believe that transgender should be allowed to enter certain types of relationships, wasn't that a hallmark of South Africa's despicable Apartheid that only certain types of people were allowed in certain relationships?

The Scottish Government is allowed to appeal this ruling however it is unclear if they will do so, they have had a change in leader since the case began and their new leader is significantly less pro-trans than the former; on top of that the Scottish Government are losing on several fronts and may want to drop this if they feel it isn't a vote winner. Because fuck standing up for human rights yeah? All that matters is winning an undemocratic popularity contest, that's where the money is. Not human decency or morality.

What about the European Court of Human Rights? We don't know how they will react to this however they have previously stated that failing to recognise a trans woman as legally a woman violated her Article 8 rights (respect for private and family life) (Goodwin vs UK). Oh look. Europe may be our salvation. Again. If only there was some kind of union we could join to protect us in the future.

According to the court's data there are about 48,000 trans man and 48,000 trans women in England and Wales (96,000), 19,990 trans people in Scotland (115, 990 UK total). Only 8,464 of those have a GRC. Which means...drum roll please... Trans people are 0.17% of the UK population and this law primarily targets 7.3% of THAT population, or 0.012% of the UK population!

Relevant Quotes -

Transactual Statement - “This ruling has no real purpose beyond ideological objection to the existence of trans people. There is no evidence of harms arising from the system of rights and protections which have been in place since 2010, only increasing hostility and hypothetical fears being leveraged to enable anti-trans discrimination."

Queeraf - By rooting misogyny in women’s ‘shared biology’, rather than our shared oppression under patriarchy, the Supreme Court relies on incredibly conservative ideas about gender as a naturalised phenomenon. In reality, trans women experience misogynistic discrimination as much as, if not more than, many other women.

@ayeforscotland - this will never be a doomerism blog.

@theinimitablefuckstormkilligan - If there's one thing I know about my fellow UK folks, it's that we're all tough as nails. So, if you're from the UK and you're trans: I believe in you. You are a powerful warrior. Your soul is a conduit for the light of love and life. You're gonna do just fine.

@on-a-lucky-tide - This isn't the end. We will fight on. We will not comply. We do not bow to fascism. We survived Section 28. We will survive this.

@isabela-merceds - trans women have existed long before those stuffy bigots sitting in a court room have. trans women will continue to exist long after they're dead and rotting in the earth.

Admiral Hackett - "Stand fast. Stand strong. Stand together."

[trashedsunsets]

Spoiled Honey

Chapter 2: Local Honey

***

Summary ~

Small towns need big personalities to compensate. If only overworked ER doctors knew that.

wc ~ 1k+

a/n ~

thank you for the love on the previous part! made my heart swell and confirmed that I wanted to do a series :) updates??? whenever I can lol. happy to answer any questions!

prev chapter

“My daddy said he’d buy me my next horse when I make him a million dollars at the store.”

It’s you, the cashier from the store, stood with your feet on the first rungs of the corral fence leaning over to look at the grazing foals.

Mrs. Talbot had convinced the men staying on her property to come to the famers market on the weekends at the edge of Main Street. Meaning that Jack had to convince Michael who was more than happy to stay in at the cozy farm property.

“You have a horse?” Robby can’t say he’s not intrigued by this girl, the pair had only just arrived at the event and she was already on them. “Of course I do, got my sweet girl Custard when I was eight.”

Soft kissy noises are heard as you call for one of the foals to come over to you, hand already extended for sniffs and pets. A curious caramel colored one makes their way over pushing their snout into your palm. Amused the men watch as you love on the baby horse cooing and rubbing the soft mane. Eventually you give your final pets to the foal then hop off the fence making your way closer to Robby and Abbot. “Alma said you boys are ER doctors. Is that true?”

“Alma?”

“Boys?”

Soft giggles leave you at their confusion. “Mrs. Talbots first name is Alma.” You stand up a little straighter sincerity taking over your face. “And I don’t mean to assume calling you both boys, I know in this day and age you should never assume. I apolog-“

“No no you’re fine. But don’t you think we’re a little too old to be called ‘boys’.” Abbot dismisses your worries with an easy hand wave. He nudges Robby lightly glancing to see if he heard that. The only response he gets is an eye roll, but there’s a smile twitching at the corners of his lips unspoken flattery at being referred to as young.

The crease in your forehead is replaced by a smile, a shrug of your shoulders before speaking again. “Well I don’t think you’re that old. I’m sure there’s some spritefulness left in you two.”

“Yes we are doctors sweetheart,” your previous question answered by Robby lights up glimmers of interest in your eyes. “and as for ‘spritefulness’ well… not so sure about that.”

“Aren’t we lucky to have such esteemed guests in our town then,” your voice is warm, inviting, but your gaze is just past them. A flicker of a frown graces your lips while one of your hands makes a discrete shooing motion by your side. Then your focus is back on the men a guiding palm extended in the direction of the market stands, “why don’t we go this way. I’ll be your own personal tour guide of all the best vendors.”

Abbot glances behind them to spot a group of girls about your age, giggling and waving at you. “You got some friends over there?”

“Uhh yeah but they can wait I see em all the time. Come on then.�� Nodding your head to the path you want to take before stalking off confidently without letting them get another word in. For whatever reason they do follow you listening as you launch into a spiel about all the different stands. You’re very knowledgeable, but curious too. Head tiled as you lean against a display of products fingers tapping lightly.

“What’s the oldest age you’ve ever operated on?” While Abbot is deciding what loaf of sourdough bread to get. “Ninety-Five.”

You mouth the number back to yourself quietly in shock. He’s chuckling as he’s exchanging money with the baker.

At the strawberry stand you’re crouched petting the owners corgi, Butterball, when you look up at Robby, “On average how many stitches do you have to give a woman after she gives birth naturally?”

He shakes his head in disbelief but the look in your eyes is so earnest he answers you truthfully instead of scolding you. A warmth in his chest at the scrunched look of pain on your face when he tells you the number.

“Have you ever performed an amputation?” The pair share a glance before Robby gives his own response before turning the questions to you. “Sweetheart what���s your favorite jelly from here?”

Your eyebrows furrow before starting to explain that the booth sells jams not jellies, then explaining the difference between the two.

You’re clearly popular as the vendors eagerly greet you by name smiling as they chat with you. Before the pair knows it they’ve picked up a couple of things mainly(all) at your insistence.

In the middle of you describing all the variety of recipes people make with rhubarb there’s a sharp whistle that catches your groups attention. A pair of young men at the leather goods stall calls your name. The men you’re with stop but you roll your eyes hard feet quickly moving intent on passing them by. “Come on darling, lemme take you out. I’ll even buy you a new dress for your collection!”

From you a hand raises in protest. “A no once is a no a million times Jeremiah.”

Mocking a wounded grip to the heart the young man is undeterred with a snarky smirk. “You’ll give in one day princess.” The boys are laughing together delighted as if making you upset was a prize.

Disapproving glares are given by both doctors as they follow your haughty strut away. Silently deciding it’s more important that you’re okay before causing problems with the locals. Unfortunately for the older men you’re pretty quick managing to put considerable distance between you. When you’re almost at the edge of the market near the last row of stalls is when you turn around. There’s a look of surprise on your face upon spotting the pair of men, they followed you. Other emotions are faster to take over though, an angry huff escaping you. Pacing back and forth with your arms crossed you look pretty pissed. “Don’t you just hate it when people don’t listen! Especially when you tell them several different times on several different occasions. Like I hate to call people stupid but I think rejection is a very simple concept!”

Robby steps up palms raised ready to defuse the situation his deep understanding eyes taking in your emotional state.

Mrs. Talbot is suddenly calling your little group over to her own stand clearly very excited the men decided to come. In an instant your demeanor changes, the pacing seizes, your posture straightens out. But your smile is a little tight as you make your way over to your neighbor. The men follow seeing no other option as you greet Mrs. Talbot waving them over. “Hi there Michael and Jack! I see you’ve met Honey Belle already!” The older woman is smoothing your hair with familiarity as a rosey heat comes to your cheeks at her words. “Alma…”

“What? I can’t compliment the prettiest girl in town?! Oh— I’ll be there one moment.” You shake your head fondly as she shuffles away to help a customer. Looking up the men’s eyes are on you with amused expressions, Abbot opens his mouth first. “Honey Belle?”

“Okay well if you haven’t noticed everyone calls me honey,” they did notice but they thought it was colloquial around here “she is the only one who calls me ‘Belle’ because she said she thinks I’m the prettiest but I told her she can’t say that. She says she’s old so she can say what she wants with her time left. We’re working on it.” Your face is slightly exasperated but there’s no lack of fondness.

“Like the princess then?” Robby questions, meanwhile Abbot is unable to hide his laughter at your predicament. Your face twists with the reaction of the second man, nose lifted in the air with displeasure.

“Yes. Like the princess.”

Nudging his partners good foot then nodding to you.

Stop upsetting the girl would you?

Is said in a glance.

Looking back to you a smile tugs Robby’s lips. “She’s got a good eye then.”

Quickly as it came your bristled demeanor dissipates at the compliment with a quick nod. “When she remembers to wear her glasses sure.”

Flinching slightly from the light swat to the back of your head as Mrs. Talbot reappears by your side. “Calling me old are you Honey?”

Grinning lazily as you glance to the side then back at the boys, a silent plea to keep a secret. “Oh nothing my dearest Alma.”

credits to @olenvasynyt for the dividers!

btw the pics at the top aren’t meant to describe readers looks, purely for vibes/setting the scene!

[shy-little-lesbian]

I’m losing my mind

Thinking about her showing me off to her friends.

“She’s so obedient! Show them baby”

Making me kneel, crawl around, do degrading tasks. Whatever she wants I obey. Then everyone laughs at me

Calling me back, telling me I did good, praising me with words and with affection

Praising me with kisses that turn into a deep make out session while everyone watches

Making me desperate til I forget they’re there and I let out a whimper

Pulling away knowing what your kisses do to me

Telling everyone “and she’s always so responsive! Are you wet right now princess?”

Nodding yes and trying to chase your retreating lips

“Please mommy” and everyone laughs again

She says “maybe later” and dismisses me

I’m just supposed to leave? After getting worked up like that? In front of everyone?!

Ofc I leave because I am a good listener

[tachiharastanacc]

Tachigin gender reveal short fic

“You’re a WHAT?!”

“I’m a woman.”

Gin didn’t think she’d ever seen Tachihara shocked before. He mostly spent his time sitting in the corner, polishing his pistols and looking grumpy. When he did have something to say, it was usually a complaint about Higuchi slacking off or Hirotsu smoking indoors.

“Does it really matter? It doesn’t change anything. I can keep up with you any day of the week.”

He almost looked…disappointed?

“Of course not! I’m just…I mean, it doesn’t matter or nothin’.”

The redhead turned away slightly. His face was a bit red.

“Is it because we’ve slept in the same bed? You don’t have to be embarrassed about sharing a bed with a-“

“It’s not fuckin’ that, ok?!”

Tachihara took a deep breath, fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. “Let’s just drop this. Like you said, it doesn’t change anything anyway.”

Black eyes narrowed as she scrutinized him. The slight shifting of his weight, the kicked puppy dog look he was so good at…curse those stupid, obnoxiously bright eyes that always seemed to…follow her…oh.

The corner of her mouth tilted up.

“Do you have a crush on me or something?”

If looks could kill, Gin would’ve been a corpse on the floor. Actually, if he wanted to kill her in general, she’d be a corpse on the floor.

Gin was strong. Fast. Silent and deadly. One of the top assassins in the port mafia. But she was also perceptive. She knew not to underestimate an enemy. Or an ally.

Tachihara had good reflexes, but he was holding back most of the time. He bitched and moaned and tattled on her to Hirotsu, but when it came down to it, he was an effective fighter. And despite how closely they worked most of the time, none of them really knew much about him.

“…oi, are you even listening?!”

His words snapped her back to reality.

“Huh?”

“Jeez, this is why you piss me off. I said that I…” he trailed off, looking away again.

Probably for the best anyway. The emotion in his eyes was always so intense.

“…I thought you were, y’know. Like me. Or whatever.”

Like him?

Her eyes flickered down to the triangle of black fabric peeking out past the collar of his shirt. Oh.

“Wait, you thought I was trans?”

“Tch. Is it really such a stretch? I mean, you use like, guy pronouns. And you bind or whatever,” he grumbled with a dismissive huff.

Despite that, the slight hurt was clear in his eyes. It made sense. He’d thought that she understood him in that sense. And though it wasn’t her fault, she couldn’t help the guilt that washed over her.

Curse those stupid eyes.

“Look, Tachihara-“

“I already said it’s fine, yeah? I’m sick of talking about this.”

He turned on his heel, stalking back to his usual corner of the weapons warehouse.

“So what? You’re ignoring me now?”

He shot her a glare over his shoulder.

“I gotta fix my left gun. The trigger is a bit sticky.”

She watched as he plopped down, aggressively fiddling with the metal. He kept glancing over at her. The steel pipes holding the florescent lights creaked above them.

“Michizō-“

“Just leave me alone.”

The light flickered slightly. And if that wasn’t a sign.

“Alright. Fine.”

Her heeled boots clicked on the ground as she walked away. One last furtive glance back revealed him still staring at her with those fucking eyes.

Then, the metal barn doors slid shut.

[relia-robot-writes]

Previously

I stood in the bathroom staring at the mirror, still covered in steam from Lilith's shower. I'd been standing there for several minutes. I could vaguely make out the shape of my new face, greenish and strange. I half-reached towards the mirror to wipe it clean so I could really see it, then let my hand fall to my side for the fifth time. I was trembling, staring at the softly glowing eyes of my reflection through the mist as it slowly cleared away. I just couldn't...

I just couldn't. I needed to, and I couldn't. Would the real me, the real Kathrine, have been braver, in my place?

"Hey," said a voice from my right, and I jumped. Kathrine stood before me, her hand half-extended to touch me. She let it fall. "It's all right. I think you look kind of cute, actually."

I looked at her, seeing her face - my old face - like it was a mirror, but really looking for the first time. Brown, curly hair, soft cheeks, full lips. Stunning blue eyes that looked both kind and worried about me. I knew that other people had found me cute, before, but I'd never quite believed it. Not really. But... Kathrine was cute. Like, cute cute. I got lost in her eyes for a moment.

She glanced towards the mirror, looking guilty. "Here, we can do it together, okay?" Her hand reached for mine, and without thinking I reached back. Hand in hand, we reached forward and wiped off the mirror.

My new face was green, dark green, circuitboard green, an image solidified by the golden wiring running its way all around my features. It was segmented into smaller plates, and I could see servos and pistons in the cracks between when I moved. My nose wasn't the skeletal hole I'd been dreading, but instead a kind of peak in the central plate with two narrow holes leading inside. Without the cartilage and fat, my new face looked smaller, things reduced in detail, like a sketch instead of a full drawing. The exceptions were my eyes - golden, with wide black irises, lit from within by some kind of status LED - and my lips. They were some kind of translucent grey silicone cushion which stretched and moved as the underlying plates shifted beneath it. In various places on the plating, more status LEDs shone in a variety of colors, blues and yellows and reds. I reached up my hand to touch my face, and could feel the ridges of the circuitry and the bumps of the LEDs just as my cheek felt the artificial softness of my fingers.

"You're beautiful," Kathrine said, looking at me through the mirror. She turned to face me, our hands still linked, and when I twisted around to face her, she placed her hand just under my chin, very gently. I gasped softly at the touch, and she carefully moved her thumb up to touch my lips. I parted them without thinking, barely daring to breathe as she rubbed her thumb along them. "They're so soft," she murmured to herself. Her face was very close. I tilted my head slightly, and she did too. My other hand went to her waist, and we drew closer together-

And then the doorbell rang. Both of us sprang away from each other, cheeks glowing in different but very similar ways. "I, uh, I better go- that's probably- I mean, it might be- uh, I'll be back," she said, looking down and away.

She spun around to go, and on impulse I grabbed her arm. She glanced back at me, and somehow I managed to stammer out, "I- I think you're really pretty, too!" She blushed harder, and made as if she was going to say something dismissive, but I cut her off. "I know! I know you don't believe it. I didn't. But you are!" I wasn't sure exactly what I looked like when I was blushing, but it felt like the room was practically on fire with how my cheeks felt. "You are."

She was left speechless. I glanced up to try to look her in the eyes, and I saw that they were wet with almost-tears. The doorbell rang again, and I let her hand go so she could wipe her eyes before answering.

---

I decided to sit at the top of the stairs and listen in on the conversation below.

"Agent Franklin, hello. Another round of questions?" Kathrine sounded tired, and her voice was still a little wobbly.

There was a brief electronic noise, and then a reserved, feminine voice said, "No, ma'am, just checking in on you after last night's assault concern. I got your message that you were safe, but you know I had to come and verify that in person."

"Well, as you can see, I'm as human as the next woman," said Kathrine. I snorted quietly.

"So you are, ma'am. As long as I'm here, can I ask you a few more questions? There's some things I want to clear up."

A sigh. "Sure, Agent Franklin. Come on in, meet my wife."

The conversation drifted into the living room where it was harder to hear. I strained my ears, but didn't dare go downstairs myself. I don't know what this mysterious agent's view of me would be, but I really didn't want to risk getting shot at again.

"Mrowp?"

I looked down and saw Drake, our orange cat (their orange cat, I was an intruder and didn't deserve him) staring at me. Hesitantly, I put out my knuckles towards him. How would he react now that I was...

He immediately bumped his tiny head into my knuckles and rubbed past them to get onto my lap. He rose up, paws landing on my shoulder, and he sniffed at my face. I held still. For a long moment, I wasn't sure what he would do; then, with a happy "Brrrowt!", he headbutted me on the cheek and curled right up in my lap, purring like a motorboat.

"Ohhhh! Tiny boy! Tiny baby boy," I crooned at him, scratching underneath his chin. I could have cried, if my tear ducts were still working. "Oh, buddy, you don't even know how much that means to me. You don't even know! Do you? Do you baby boy?" I got my other hand in behind his ears. "Ohhhhh, baby boy!"

There was a shout, and I looked up right into the bright green eyes of a woman with dark skin wearing a black suit and holding a gun in her hands. I froze, causing Drake to mrowl in protest. Kathrine was right behind her, also frozen, uncertain what to do.

"Um," I said, as the barrel of the gun held steady at the floor. "Agent Franklin, I presume?"

---

"It's vital evidence in our case!"

"She is a person and she deserves rights just as much as any of us. I won't let you take her away!"

We'd reconvened in the living room. The conversation between Agent Franklin and Kathrine had become a shouting match, but at least the gun was holstered again. I sat on the couch, making myself as small as possible. I didn't dare raise my voice - what if she saw me as just another aggressive evil robot?

"It isn't a person. That was the whole point of them," said Agent Franklin, exasperated. "You're being fooled by a trick you already know is fake. Look at it! It's not human!"

I burrowed further into myself, but Lilith snaked her hand into mine and squeezed it. Despite myself, I looked up to see her smiling at me. She turned back towards the conversation without letting go. "Agent, it doesn't matter if she's human or not. She's a part of our family now," my eyes widened as the words sank in, and I nearly missed the next part, "so if you want to claim her, you'd better come back with a warrant." I stared at her, open-mouthed, then glanced at Agent Franklin. Her face was knotted in a mix of anger and concern.

After a moment, she sighed. "Fifth one today. I keep trying to tell you people these things are dangerous, but nobody listens to me."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Kathrine sat back down, looking smug. "Ah, yes, the dangerous robotgirl, petter of cats and holder of hands."

Franklin's resigned look turned sour. "I mean it, ma'am. They may not have weapons, but they can kill just as easily as any person with the flip of a switch. It may look docile now, but what happens if its creators return?"

Kathrine's smile turned brittle. "I've told you before, Agent. We've isolated their control pathways and found ways to disable them. I turned off her receiver myself this morning. She's safe." she stood, walking to the door. "It's been nice to see you, Agent Franklin. If you have any more questions, I'm happy to answer them over the phone." She opened the door, and Agent Franklin took the hint. She nodded to Lilith and Kathrine before she left, leaving me with just a piercing look.

Kathrine closed the door behind her, stood there for a moment, then collapsed onto the floor. "Holy shit," she breathed. "I thought for sure I was gonna get myself arrested. Fuck."

I drew further back into the couch and let out a shuddering breath. "I thought I was going to get scrapped."

I felt Lilith's hand leave mine and I folded my arms over my knees. Of course she'd want to comfort her real wife. It made sense. My breathing hastened, beginning to shudder, until I felt the couch jerk as someone dropped onto it, leaning against me. A moment later, a blanket was draped over the two of us, and I opened my eyes to see Lilith leaning down to hug Kathrine and I together. She squeezed us tightly and said, "You both did great. Stay there and be cozy for a minute. I'll make us some tea."

Still shivering from nerves, our hands found each other and squeezed tight under the blanket.

[pe4cht3a]

˙ . equals˙—

stalker!killua, aged up

cw: slight smut (at the end :b)

── .✦ a/n: i finally wrote for kil like after a month so settle down killua girlie’s, heres food. this is gna be a long one as a way of me saying thanks for your guys’ support and patience (⸝⸝´ ꒳ `⸝⸝)

side note, i rec to read this while listening to Angel by Massive Attack !!

the mere sight of you churned something in him.

killua adored the heavenly spectacle of you, and only you.

stalking. thats the adequate and most accurate term possible for whatever the hell killua has been imposing on you for the past month.

whenever the school bell rung in remembrance of the fact dismissal was apparent, and huge bodies of students rushed out of the school entrance gate, relieved and delighted to be freed from the dreary arms of academics and socialising. that was the time killua found himself awaiting patiently at the side of the school gate on the outer side walk.

the wary silverette had added this specific activity to his daily schedule for some time now. it was only a matter of time before your pleasing self would exit out the school gate, heading back home by walking.

that was the exact moment that killua would immediately drop whatever he was doing and focus his mind on one single thing. you, watching you, following you, breathing in you, and just absorbing the whole entirety of your existence.

it was not just after school however. even during school hours on campus, the quick-minded albino had his own ways on how to catch glimpses of you or watch you from afar, as regular.

purposefully checking the class timetables posted up on the bulletin board in the hall, just so he could memorise your schedule and what classes he had in common with you. picking the table in the cafeteria with the best view of you in sight, and forcing gon to sit there with him just so he could watch you during lunch. oh, and how he would constantly be grateful that his locker was so close by to yours… so he could steal small peeks of you every morning when you swung by your locker for books and your necessities.

however, physical stalking of you was not yet enough to satiate his hunger for you.

constantly keeping an eye on your social media’s was also a favourite of killua’s. inspecting your instagram photos and stories in a headache inducing amount every day. discovering your spotify account just so he could dig out whatever music you were into, and check it out for himself. perhaps even how he would go as far as stalking all your friends and families social’s just to figure out every last bit of you.

killua was irrevocably obsessed with you.

afternoon prevailed as school had ended, killua stood outside the school gate once more this average afternoon, his back casually leaning onto a lamppost on the outer sidewalk of the gate. hands shoved into his jacket pockets as he turned his head around in every direction, waiting for your presence patiently.

soon enough, you glided out the school gate alone, routinely. you immediately crossed the road and travelled to the opposite side of the school entrance, before making a left turn, starting to make your way home. unsurprisingly, the albino was already beginning to pick up his steps as he attentively stuck his eyes on you and your every movement, despite you just walking home as you do every day.

the albino cautiously shifted his weight around when he walked, meticulously shushing his footsteps as his eyes focused on your familiar figure, trailing after you from afar, from a good distance.

as you were journeying back to your house in front of him, killua began to inspect every single part of you.

he felt your outfit today was enticingly cute, the way your skirt swayed with your hips when you walked was such a turn on. killua also was very much enchanted by the way your hair would bounce up and down every time you took a step. the way you consistently held onto your tote bag strap, only ended up causing him to start daydreaming and imagine you wrapping your arm around his… one day.

there was just no words left to describe his insatiable need for you.

although the silverette ended up pretty caught up in the sheer thrill of being able to observe you and indulge in informations of you that he dug up with no repercussions… after a month, killua couldn’t help but start to internally question.

how is she that unaware?

after awhile, it seemed as if you were almost purposefully luring him in. how come every single time killua followed you on the journey home… you never once bothered to glance back behind you or even look around? are you truly that air-headed? if you are, you are absolutely fucking hilarious then.

there was just something unexplainably odd about you, that killua only realised after he got over the high of going unnoticed for so long while stalking you.

today, killua reminded himself that he will pay EXTRA attention to your behaviour.

as you journeyed home in front of him, the albino could feel himself narrowing his eyes as he observed you.

fuck, you were so pretty.. and looked so dumb as well.

killua watched as he felt himself getting more and more riled up internally at just how little awareness you paid to your surroundings and yourself when you walked alone. you were stressing this man out so bad he almost wanted to just leap out of obscurity just to warn you, “for the love of god, PLEASE be more careful”.

he wondered to himself as his jaw clenched, about just how such a delicate-looking and unwary girl like you has survived this long from living with such little suspicion to this rotten world.

killua could feel himself biting down on his bottom lip as he watched you walking around with such a carefree spirit.

as you finally reached your house, killua began to slow down his tracks as he started to watch you unlock and enter your front door, standing from a further distance this time.

usually, the albino would just turn away and be on his own way after witnessing you shutting your front door, but today he stood still in his place for some time… in deep thought.

how come every time she enters her door and closes it, she never bothers to look back out even once?

your whole head and figure will always immediately be enveloped into your home, without one bit of the urge to turn your head around to peer out to the outside world, not even for one last moment.

killua remained in the position he watched you from, pondering on your character and odd behaviour.

after around 5 minutes, the albino finally turned around and slowly started to make his way back to his own house… still in deep consideration of everything.

perhaps, he didn’t know you as well as he thought. sure, kil knew all the information regarding you as a person, that he stalked out but… what about your personal ideals and living life as an actual individual of your own? hmm, that could need some more time to figure out fully.

a weakness of killua’s was that he almost always, regarded himself as the utmost smart and capable in situations when other people were involved.

as the silverette walked further and further away from his beloved’s house, he was so shrouded in his own comfort that he always failed once and once again to realise that… every single day after he turned his back to your house, eyes would peer out the small gap between the curtain and the window beside the front door.

your gaze followed killua’s minimising figure as he walked away, your breath heavy and intense. your eyes wide and clear, full of focus and yet, lack of control at the same time.

your focus was solely placed on the pale figure who was just following you back home a minute ago, your lack of control was on the fact you had no care for anything else in the world anymore except him, and only him.

right before killua’s silhouette was about to be fully gone, you hurriedly pulled out your phone and snapped a picture of his back profile, just slightly from behind the curtain.

a minuscule giggle soon slipped out your lips as you began to use your fingers to zoom in and out of the picture you just took of killua, getting a proper look at him. you feel your knees getting weak from kneeling down on the hard floor to peek out the window for so long.

“damn, he really is clueless.” you smile to yourself as you held your phone up against your chest.

killua laid in bed as evening approached, scrolling on his phone mindlessly. after going on tiktok for some time, he abruptly sat up in bed as he began to direct his attention to his social media platforms. it was now the time that the albino would consistently be bound to go online, to stalk and scroll through your social media accounts on every platform you were on.

as killua was staring at an instagram selfie of you that you posted a few weeks ago, admiring you as usual. his sapphire eyes soon lit up in delight as a small gasp escaped his lips.

he had just received a notification that you posted a new photo on instagram.

like flash, killua immediately pressed on the notification soon after snapping out of his little trance.

right as the notification directed him to your new post, killua could feel his eyes widening and himself choking violently.

in your newly posted photo, you stood in front of your bathroom mirror as you held up your phone for a mirror selfie, showing off your impressive appearance and quite… alluring outfit.

after recovering from choking and his initial reaction, killua immediately dived into zooming and inspecting you in the picture.

in your mirror selfie, you had your free hand placed on your hip as your leopard print bra peeped out of your body-hugging white tank top, low rise jeans revealing your silver belly button piercing.

he was fully aware that his mouth was left agape and eyes shot wide once again, but whatever he was staring at right now was definitely worth that reaction.

the albino can’t seem to scroll or turn away from your picture, killua stared at you for so long it felt like the image of you in that picture was now burned into his memory.

killua couldn’t tell whether he should be thanking the heavens for getting so lucky to see you like this today, or curse them for bestowing this chance that only now caused him to be extremely frustrated… with the fact he couldn’t feel you or be with you in reality.

well, at least not yet.

of course, unaware to killua, all the way back at your place, you were silently sitting in bed as well as you smirked at a specific notification that popped up on your phone, right after posting your very much stimulating selfie.

kil.zol liked your post!

after a prolonged time of you staring at that one notification, you soon shut off your phone, placing it onto your nightstand gently, as you smiled yourself to sleep.

as killua felt his brain practically becoming mush at just how much he stared at your mirror selfie, he eventually realised he had to stop or else he’ll probably lose his mind.

the silverette soon huffed out a heavy and deep sigh, right before he tossed his phone onto the opposite side of his bed. tucking himself into bed as he quietly grumbled to himself, extremely annoyed at the fact he couldn’t do or say anything about his feelings towards you currently.

the following morning didn’t seem out of the ordinary at first.

killua unlocked and swung open his locker door as he stood in front of it, picking out his books for the subjects of the day. right as he shut the locker door, he felt a presence right beside him… a familiar one.

it was you, standing right beside him, looking at him cheerfully. this alone caused the albino to almost scream out loud from shock and absolutely wrecked his nerves.

“THE FUCK-“

“hi?..”

“oh.. uh- ‘m sorry.”

“no worries!”

another shock to killua was that you seemed rather unfazed by his intense reaction at your presence, you just faced him as you awaited him to calm down, politely.

the rhythm of his beating heart paced up abnormally fast, as he felt himself unknowing on what to say to you after that small apology for his outburst.

killua could feel himself struggling to even form a proper thought as you continued to look up at him, unbothered.

“soo.. we have english together for first class right?”

“umm.. yeah, we do.”

“cool! wanna walk to class together then? i always see you go alone!”

“y-yeah.. sure.”

as the albino facepalmed himself internally for stuttering and was now cussing himself out in his mind for looking so goddamn awkward, you just simply flashed him a bright smile as you jumped up slightly before exclaiming.

“anyways, lets go!”

you glided past killua’s shoulder, almost as if you knew he would just follow you, no questions asked.

who are you kidding? of course he’d follow you, he always does.

as you two walked to english class, killua soon hastily ran up and reached to be beside you in the hall… hoping to be side by side with you on this small travel to english class.

as you two made your way to english, it was rather quiet between you guys but you occasionally looked beside you to flash killua a small smile.

unsurprisingly, it sure caused a few knots in killua’s stomach and as well as him contemplating whether his brain was frying up or if this was just “the nerves” from being so close to his crush stalking target.

you and killua soon entered through the doors of english class, only to both be stumped and standing still at the entrance.

the separate seats you two usually sat at, was now preoccupied by other people today.

you can hear yourself grunt slightly in dissatisfaction, but you soon adapted fast and turned behind to face the pale boy.

“uh.. it seems we both are seatless today!”

“guess so..”

“well, i spot two empty seats at the back. wanna sit together today?”

as you asked that question, you blinked curiously, anticipating killua’s answer.

the silverette felt himself choking on his words as he felt a surge of excitement rushing through his veins.

“sure…”

as you heard killua’s positive response, you gave him another wide smile before turning around on your heel to make your way to the back of the class.

as you turned around to walk off, killua couldn’t help himself but take a quick whiff of your scent that travelled through the air. the fragrance of your fruity perfume and the smell of your hair intoxicating his senses, you felt like a drug to him.

you and killua both were rather silent, as you two attempted to listen to class.

for killua, he could feel his self control slipping every single second as he watched you from the corner of his eye. gosh, the way you can just do practically nothing would still enchant him.

unbeknownst to killua, you were feeling just as… if not more ecstatic at this opportunity.

you were using all your strength to hold yourself together, if you didn’t, you’d probably be trembling from thrill and sheer happiness.

outwardly, you two seemed like two classmates that had nothing much going on, barely even friends. however, internally, you and killua both equally yearned endlessly for one another.

30 minutes soon pass in english, not much has occurred between you two throughout that. although, you did occasionally flash him a couple of sweet smiles when there were a few times it became way too apparent that this guy was on the verge of hyperventilating. well, at least now you know whose the more well-composed one between the two of you…

as class proceeded on, killua eventually became way too bored with noting down the different types of essay formats so he decided to just start going on his phone. whatever, he’s sitting at the back today, so who would even notice? also because he was just so damn exhausted from being so nervous around you.

you continued to feign an attentive behaviour in class, facing your head towards the board and the lesson. of course, you were secretly constantly sneaking glances at killua, who was sitting beside you.

after a few moments of going through his phone, killua placed his phone onto his table, as he leaned down to pick up a pen he dropped.

right as the albino leaned down, he immediately jolted up and turned to your direction.

shit. killua had left his phone unlocked, and placed right beside your desk.

to killua’s horror, it was too late. you already had your head down and staring at his home-screen’s wallpaper.

when you had realised killua left his phone unlocked and unattended beside you, you curiously turned and glanced down.

killua’s wallpaper was a picture of you, that you yourself had posted online some time ago.

the albino was frozen in place as he had his body facing you, deep blue eyes flooding with fear and anxiety, face paralysed with shock and words unable to come out of his mouth. he gripped onto the edge of his desk and the other hand held onto his chair, as he struggled to even come up with an excuse to save himself.

what was he supposed to say now? you guys barely knew each other! well- he knew a shit ton about you, but not through knowing you personally. killua’s mind ran around with every possibility possible, that could stem from this situation.

will you think he’s a creep?

will you say nothing?

will you be freaked out and get mad?

will you be afraid and never talk to him again?

right as all those panic-worthy scenarios swirled through his brain, he was abruptly interrupted from his anxiety.

you looked up at him directly, staring into his quivering eyes. you could practically feel the intense emotions radiating off of him. as you glanced up into his blue eyes, killua couldn’t help but feel distracted by the close proximity you two were now sharing… despite the unideal situation that was now happening.

after around 2 minutes of you two silently staring at each other, you slowly reclined back into your seat and directed yourself back into listening to class, seemingly as if nothing happened…?

as you turned your head back towards the board, without saying a word or any confrontation towards basically killua being a creep about you, you just decided to say nothing.

since that is exactly what would mess with him, and you knew that perfectly well.

as you started acting like nothing happened, killua was still jaw-dropped and eyes fixed onto you… bamboozled by how you can just ignore that and act so calm.

soon, the school bell rung, english had now finally ended.

as killua heard the bell ringing, he almost jumped up in surprise. he was now extremely JUMPY…

right as everyone in class began to pack up and move out, killua hastily shoved all his belongings into his back and immediately walked out, without even a glance back or a goodbye to you.

you were packing up as well, when killua suddenly left so abruptly. however, you just continued to act unbothered, until he had left the room fully.

as killua had finally escaped out english class, you soon stopped whatever you were doing and turned all your attention onto the doorway of the classroom, the exact same doorway that killua had ran out of.

you just simply glued your eyes on that doorway, silently laughing to yourself on just how stupid the guy you like is.

as killua rushed out of the classroom, he sped through the hall until he reached his next class, but before he entered his next class, the silverette leaned his back onto the wall behind him, desperately trying to catch his breath as he tilted his head up. the albino seriously wanted to just jump out a window and never face you again…

once lunch time had come, you were sitting at your usual table with your usual huge group of friends. chatting and joking around with them, your table was lively and chirpy as you ate lunch with your friends in the cafeteria. you appeared to be the average high-school girl who was into socialising and hanging around lots of friends, you didn’t seem to be out of the ordinary in any way.

across the cafeteria, a specific pair of sharp sapphire eyes were stuck onto you.

killua pushed his food around on his plate with his fork while staring up past gon’s shoulder at you on the opposite side of the room. gon couldn’t help but get worrisome about him as he sat opposite the albino at their lunch table.

“you alright killua?…”

“yeah.. just- just.. tired.”

the ravenette soon realised that something was definitely up with killua… but he would never admit it or talk about it, well he does open up after things calm down or when he finally cools down himself but its clear currently, that killua is still not over whatever he’s stuck on.

as killua forced food into his mouth, he could feel himself getting more and more irritated as he watched you from afar.

truth is, the albino was only growing annoyed due to the fact he felt like you’ll always be out of his reach. the one thing killua wanted more than anything right now was to just walk up to you and press his lips onto yours. killua could hear your giggle ringing in his ear, you seem to be interacting with friends as regular… you seem completely unbothered.

worse, now he felt like he ruined any future prospects of you two getting along naturally… c’mon, you found out how much of a creep is about you.

killua could not fret enough on just how nervous he was about you now.

as always, the silverette remained oblivious to the fact you’re aware of every single action he made. including him staring at you from across the cafeteria.

its simply hilarious just how caught up he is in his own world about you, that he never got to make the full realisation of just how obsessed you were towards him either… although, he soon will eventually.

its out of your abilities to prevent killua from seeing the truth. he himself already started having his own suspicions, and just when they started rising up, you acted blind to the fact you witnessed him being secretly obsessive towards you.

this afternoon, killua didn’t follow you home for the first time ever since he started stalking you.

the albino was simply too on edge and paranoid after what happened with you today in the morning, so killua just decided to immediately dash home, not waiting for you outside the gate as usual.

killua certainly feels slightly guilty for not following after you today, but the events of this morning kept replaying in his head repeatedly… causing him to feel too nervous to even attempt to go after you.

as you step out the school gate, you instantly feel the absence of your presence. however, you do not stop to check, you just continue on your way home. although of course, you do feel quite disappointed since you do actually enjoy him watching you.

as you reach home, you enter through the front door, shutting it behind you. once you heard the door click shut, you soon press your back onto the door, sliding down onto the floor slowly.

you finally let loose in the comfort of your own home. you’re sat down on the floor, at the dimly lit entrance of your home as you began to release all your excitement and happiness. giggling to yourself like a madwoman as you loudly exclaim “yes!” repeatedly.

you soon quiet down as you pull out your phone from your pocket, still sitting down on the floor with your back pressed against the front door. you immediately start going on social media and other platforms to start cyberstalking through all the information available online about killua. although its not the first time you ever stalked killua online…

on the other line, killua eventually arrived home as he released a deep breath, held in for some time by tension and and anxiety. the silverette heads up to his room as soon as he finished collecting himself, flopping onto his bed facedown once he shut his bedroom door behind him. killua buries his pale face into his pillow as he continues to go crazy with his racing and torturous thoughts.

as midnight soon greeted all, killua laid tucked in bed, struggling with falling asleep.

the room was silent, and dimly lit, as the only light source in the whole room was only the peering moonlight that shone in from the window opposing the bed, gleaming onto killua’s bed, and his face… causing even more disturbance to his already struggling slumber.

the albino could only hear the faint sounds of his breathing, and his bedsheets rustling softly when he tossed and turned restlessly, every few minutes. there was simply no way killua could feel fine and rest well, especially with everything going on in his mind about you. as the night went on, killua could feel cold sweat starting to trickle down his face as he began to have his haunting realisations about you.

“how is she able to act like nothing happened?”

“theres no way she can’t sense the truth, she’s got to be purposefully putting on an act.”

“did she ever.. notice me at all?”

“yeah, she definitely knows… no, she ALWAYS knew.”

“i must’ve… underestimated her way too much.”

“dang, this bitch is weird as fuck.”

killua began to seriously consider if whether his own obsession had been used against him. he was so caught up in his daydreams about you, that he never noticed that you may perhaps have been looking back at him. the silverette began to feel his brain dying as he went on pondering about every single question possible, through the restless night. why did you lead him to believe be was going unnoticed, and letting his behaviour continue onwards?

those swirling and questioning thoughts didn’t just wander in killua’s mind that day, they eventually consumed him as a whole. killua began to turn concerningly paranoid and on-guard everywhere he went and every second of the day.

it had been a week since the situation of you discovering your picture as killua’s phone’s wallpaper. you went on with feigning ignorance and going forward with your life as usual, as if nothing had happened between you two whatsoever. unsurprisingly, this deeply disturbed killua even more as time went on and you still had remained quiet and did not approach killua at all in any way.

the albino arrived at school, feeling rather wary as he had been for the past week. killua soon arrived at his locker in the hall, desperately attempting to not look at you in any way as you were standing in front of your own locker, nearby his. he was just praying that you didn’t notice he had arrived, as you seemed pretty occupied with picking out your books for the day.

killua could sense his breathing becoming shaky and his limbs weak, as he continued to stare into the abyss of books in his locker while trying his hardest to ignore your presence that was close by. as the silverette took a well-needed deep breath, killua couldn’t help but feel as if there were eyes on him from a nearby distance.

at this point, was he going insane or is there actually someone watching him?

after shoving his books into his backpack with trembly hands, killua hastily shut his locker door, causing a roaring but brief sound. once he locked his locker and pulled out the key, killua walked off in an instant. not even bothering to take his sweet time as he used to, to be close to you.

as you were scanning the timetable you had stuck onto the inner of your locker door, you heard killua’s footsteps scurrying off. you pouted to yourself as your eyes remained on the timetable, you felt pretty bummed by killua’s behaviour for the past week.

he wasn’t purposefully slowing down his movements anymore or stalling time at his locker these mornings, it was clear to you that killua no longer wanted to be near you physically anymore, these days. you would whine about it but then… it would openly reveal the fact you do pay close attention to killua. gosh… it was way better back when he was clueless and stupid! now you barely caught sight of him nowadays, as he’s always hiding away.

what a shame. you revelled in the chilling sensation you felt whenever he had those sharp blue eyes glued onto you, watching your every movement and decision. it made you feel better about yourself too, as it meant that you weren’t the only abnormally obsessed one in this unspoken mutuality.

a true shame, as this sent of some alarms in your brain. this isn’t great, he seems to be catching a grip of everything quickly nowadays. you had to do something about killua, and fast.

the school day proceeded on as normal, however, killua was not so normal. to be fair, neither of you were ever really normal.

in the afternoon, killua and you shared a french language class… which caused a great deal of distress to the albino as he sat through it, feeling very much anxious as he constantly stared at you from the back of the class, whilst you sat at the front row. the albino barely payed any mind to the lesson as he was fully fixated on you, the more killua looked, the more he couldn’t stop himself. despite everything going on in his mind, you were still gorgeous and entrancing. killua almost felt as if, you were doing this on purpose.

you wanted him to look at you, didn’t you?

you were aware of killua’s staring, you could practically feel his paranoia radiating from all the way at the front of the class. however, like what you usually do, you just continued to play the act that you had no idea what was happening. something you felt pretty superior about between the you and killua, was that you were much better at feigning your demeanour and mood compared to him.

you were so going to make him regret underestimating you soon.

french class was nearing its end in a little while, as the teacher spoke up.

“y/n, would you be a dear and assist me in taking this pile of the students books to my library? thank you.”

the silverette’s head shot up to the teacher, and back towards you as he heard the french teacher directing you to bring everyone’s books to her office.

you nodded your head obediently, and agreed sweetly as you began to get up from your seat to pick up the bunches of books from the teacher’s table into your arms, before walking out of the class to head to the teacher’s office.

as you stepped out the classroom, killua started to feel even more and more uneasy.

the beam on your face dropped as soon as the door clicked shut behind you. you placed the stack of books promptly onto the teachers desk as you darted your gaze around the office, cautiously and swiftly. once you rested your alert, knowing no ones coming in soon and there aren’t any camera’s around the room, you immediately darted your attention back to the stack of books.

you go into a frenzy as you hastily go through each and one of the labels of the books in the stack, scouting out for the one book with the name “killua zoldyck” plastered on the front. you eventually discover it, releasing a small and relieved gasp as you carefully pull it out of the pile.

as you slip killua’s book into your hands, you excitedly start to flip through the pages of it. a grin that’s unable to be suppressed creeps onto your lips as you meticulously analyse and read killua’s handwriting. you scoff faintly, feeling amused by killua’s little doodles and drawings of cats and stars on his pages.

you soon shut his book as it soon hits you that you should probably go back to class. you lightly and slightly glide your finger tips over the section where killua’s name is written, on the front cover of his book.

back at class, the albino intentionally slows his breathing down as he’s starting to get exhausted from just how rapid his heartbeat has been. killua runs his hand through his sweat-embedded silver locks, shutting his eyes as he dreads your return from the teacher’s office.

this was genuinely so terrifying for killua. he was so very much now anxious, from just the sight of you. yet, he also felt endless craving for you arise even more than before, from the lack of attention and time he’s been spending on you compared to back then. the silverette had the desperation of wanting to just tug on his own hair from this anguish and deep frustration. is this what it feels to fear the same person you hopelessly adore?

right before your return, killua braced himself internally as he made the rash but well-needed decision to fulfil his own personal curiosity and anxiousness.

killua was going to sneak into your room as soon as you’re away from home, to search through and dig for any sort of information or material he needed to justify… the way you are and whatever the fuck was currently even going on.

the school bell rung, as students began to flock out of the campus and back home joyfully.

as you were walking through the school, towards the gate, your mind was still focused on how to deal with killua.

as you reached the gate, you headed out of it, silently noticing that after awhile… killua was awaiting you at the side of the gate, like how he used to before he became aware of the truth about you.

you could barely contain a smirk as you crossed the road to the other side, knowing that killua will eventually trail after behind you. however, instead of taking your usual route and turn to your house, you ended up heading the direction on the other end. which of course, surprised killua as he was still eyeing you from beside the school gate.

the albino raises an eyebrow in confusion as he begins to pick up his step, following after you from behind. killua didn’t even care anymore if whether you knew he was behind you or not, he was just so bewildered by you.

as you walked more and more, it was clear that you were in the direction heading towards the local mall. maybe you were in need of new clothes?.. or you simply wanted to stroll around? should killua really trust you, in this moment? or should he turn around and dart towards your house while you’re “out”?

killua’s heartbeat began to pace up again, as he felt his pale palms turning sweaty and damp. the albino trailed after you for a little while more, just to be sure of himself. sight of the mall soon came into view, as you continued to walk closer towards it.

as soon as that moment hit, killua knew this was the moment. even if you weren’t out of the house for long, you’ll definitely take some time to reach home by walking. the silverette hastily turned around and gave into his temptation.

killua’s breathing became ragged as he ran hurriedly and dashed towards your house. determined to figure you out, no matter the consequences.

once you sense killua’s presence disappearing, you snapped your head around to witness him running off. holy shit, is he actually about to do what you guess he’s going to do?

you knew this guy way too well, especially from all that stalking you did on killua. he was seriously now getting on your last nerve, does he seriously think he’ll get to flip through your room that easily? no way in hell.

you weren’t going to let killua off this time, you were dead set on catching him in the act. you were going to teach this idiot a lesson for underestimating you this entire time.

as soon as you watched killua’s figure run off further and further away, you immediately began to pick up your own pace as well, as you rushed for the second route that lead to your house.

as you sprinted back home, you had only one thought on your mind while you felt yourself huffing for air.

“you think you can beat me? fuck off.”

unbeknownst to killua, your sheer determination ended up helping you reach your house before he did. you swung open your front door with the last ounce of energy you had in you, travelling up into your bedroom carefully as you wanted to make it appear you had never touched your room since leaving in the morning.

only a minute later, killua eventually arrived at your house. the silverette was panting for his life, as he recovered from that run. he soon travelled to the side of your house and somehow climbed up onto the ledge of your window.

as you silently positioned yourself still in the corner beside your bedroom window, sounds of rustling and sounds of another human breathing outside your window soon reach you from the other side. what the hell? killua really was breaking into your room! you felt a jumble of emotions as you anticipated his intrusion. you felt pretty irritated but at the same time, you couldn’t resist but feel unexplainably charmed, and even turned on by the fact he was breaking into your room.

the glass panes flew to the sides, as the window unlatched open with a miniature creak. you remained in the corner, as a pale figure rolled in chaotically, a thumping sound occurring as killua hit the floor once he climbed into your room. the silverette fell right beside you as you stood in the corner right beside him. however, killua completely overlooked your presence due to the darkness of your unlit room and you practically sticking to the wall.

your eyes were strictly fixated onto killua as you watched him recovering from his dramatic entrance, frantically trying to catch his breath as he laid facedown on your bedroom floor, fists clenched as he began to push himself up onto his knees.

an indifferent and blank expression overtakes your face as you narrow your eyes slowly, awaiting the moment that killua finally full grips the truth.

the albino raises his head as he pulls himself up onto his feet, eyes squinting and darting around your room as he soon noticed your bedroom walls. killua’s sapphire eyes widened with a tremble as he identified what was wrong with your room.

pictures of killua himself, that he never even knew existed bombarded and covered your bedroom walls at every inch possible.

killua could feel an undeniable chill run down his spine as his eyes continued to be held wide in shock. the albino turned his around left and right, unable to believe what he was now standing in the middle of. as killua glanced further at all the hundreds of photos of him on your walls, he also came to the horrifying conclusion that all these pictures were snapped when he was unaware and consistently either from behind him or from a side distance.

killua’s knees felt wobbly and weak, as his heart began to feel like it’ll burst out of his chest. how was he supposed to pull it together currently? not even he had his walls plastered with your photos… there were so much of them that it seemed as if you stalking him could’ve been a full time job to you.

the silverette was frozen in where he stood. unfortunately for killua, the surprises for him had not ended just yet.

“i hope you don’t mind.”

those monotone words spoken out of apparently no where, except possibly from the darkness that shrouded killua, provoked almost a heart attack from him. the poor boy nearly jumped out of his own skin from your sudden chime, causing him to whip his head around.

the mere sight of you in that shady corner could’ve easily spooked the life out of someone, which it did to killua. however, in that moment where he stared at you speechless, he was more surprised at himself rather than at you. as he figured that, in reality, he thoroughly enjoyed all the mental and physical distress you were causing him.

the way you made him feel was as if you were the one singular person who had all control over him. of course, he was scared out of his mind due to your insanity but, there was something so damn attractive and magnetic about it at the same time. it seemed as if, killua worshipped the idea of you taunting him, as long as it was you.

right as killua was about to respond to you, he was abruptly interrupted by a sly smirk being flashed to him as you raised out of the corner you stood in, pacing towards him swiftly.

the silverette felt a sharp blow to his head as his head hit the floor, a wave of pitch blackness and the feeling of soon hit killua as he took notice of the situation way too late. you had just knocked him out with your bare fist.

after some few hours passed, dusk had now announced itself.

you’re sat down on the floor, beside your bed as you patiently but ecstatically stare at killua whose unconscious, tucked in your bed. fortunately for you, your eyebrows raise in anticipation as you spot killua’s eyes beginning to flutter.

the albino slowly but gradually stirs awake as he groggily opens his eyes, blinking senselessly. killua soon comes back to his senses as he notices he’s in someone else’s bed. he sits up frantically, only to be freaked out once more by the wall opposite the bed, drowned out by pictures of him.

killua could feel his heartbeat starting to pace up once more as he flickered his eyes around the room, he eventually looks down beside the bed. your curious but amused eyes soon meet with his anxious and worrisome ones. despite the fact you were sitting down on the floor, killua felt as if he was the one who was helplessly at your mercy.

you speak up, breaking the silence as soon as killua’s eyes fell onto you.

“how was your sleep?”

“it was.. fine.”

a small smile curls onto your lips as you hear killua say he slept fine, disregarding the elephant in the room… the fact he broke in and you knocked him out.

the silverette’s head and heart were both racing rapidly, and so was his craving for you. sure, he was still slightly spooked but he had to admit, he loved the way your eyes glanced up at him from below the bed. made him feel as if you were all his, and he was all yours in return.

at the same time, his self-awareness rose up and he questioned himself internally on whether it was twisted for him to be into you and your unconventional character. unsurprisingly, killua just brushed it off as he simply doesn’t care. its you, so anything is fine.

you soon stand up from the floor, now looming over killua whose still sat in your bed, his eyes not faltering off of you even once. killua flinches lightly from you taking a sudden seat down onto the bed, right beside him.

despite the immense fear clouding killua’s mind, he realised that theres nothing left to lose anymore. the albino gradually raised his head up, to face you as you looked on at his face from beside him.

“did you really have to.. do that? it hurt like hell.”

you didn’t respond at once, you just blinked slowly at him in an indirect response for “yes, it was necessary”.

killua glared back at you with a helplessly annoyed and pitiful expression as he held in a pout.

“don’t act like as if you’re any better, killua. you know you have the same problems as well”

the albino involuntarily frowns as he’s suddenly jabbed by you with that snarky, yet truthful of a comment. killua tightened his fists above the blanket that laid upon his lap, as he felt his palms moistening with sweat. head turning down back to the bed, as he can’t deny the fact that he’s just as shameless and devious.

“what? cat got your tongue? too afraid to admit that you’re just as messed up?”

you roll your eyes, in a slightly bitchy manner as you scoff disbelievingly.

the silverette went on with staring down at the blanket, uneasily feeling as if he was being picked apart under your gaze and sharp words.

after what felt like some time passed, the eerie room was still in silence as killua continued to keep his eyes away from yours. you tilt your head to the side in an anticipating manner, as you narrow your eyes at the sight of your crush immersed by anxiety and shame.

you soon grimace dramatically at killua, as you sigh heavily right before releasing another provoking comment once again.

“seriously?.. you can’t be acting all scared after following me too!”

“it’s not the same thing!”

“yeah right! you’re just too pussy to admit you’re a creep…”

“you’re one to talk.”

“hey! don’t act like as if you don’t trail me home every day or stare at me from behind in class!”

“so what if i do all that? at least i don’t have walls and walls of pictures of you!”

at this point, throughout the two of you bickering and whining, you and killua are now extremely physically close in proximity as you feel yourself leaning into him. narrowing your eyes and furrowing your eyebrows as you challenge killua.

nothing could’ve prepared killua for what you did next. you abruptly lunged into killua as you grab onto both his wrists, pressing him down into your bed as you climb onto him.

a ferocious rush of excitement, embarrassment and satisfaction soon washed over killua all at once, as you pinned him down beneath yourself. his chest heaving up and down as killua felt his chest tightening up, unable to process you.

killua’s flickering eyes gaze onto yours as you connect the eye contact, looking back into his huge blue’s with a playfully teasing regard.

before you two could even get assurance from each other, you and killua’s lips both collided onto one another’s. finally, shutting down the mental, and physical gap you and killua shared for so long.

you can sense a pleasing warmth spread down towards the tips of your fingers, as you released killua’s wrists from your grasp, proceeding to sensually entangle your fingers into his fluffy hair while you kissed him hungrily.

you soon felt your back arch in a natural response to the sensation and delicious sound of killua moaning into the kiss you two were now both sharing so passionately.

the silverette is so lost in being entangled with your body, completely overwhelming his senses as he savoured the taste of your plump lips. you eventually experience both of killua’s hands being brought up to your waist, his fingers enveloping your sides as he held onto you, almost as if his life depended on it.

as the kiss between you and killua deepened, developing into a filthier and messier embrace as killua pulled you closer into him by your waist.

you can practically taste the neediness from killua’s lips and tongue alone, you can’t help but subtly sink your nails into his scalp as you continue to allow him to whimper into your mouth vulnerably.

the countless surges of pleasure flowing in you, lead you to whisper in between sloppy kisses. barely able to pull away from killua’s lips as he’ll just immediately push you back into the kiss.

“so so… obsessed with.. you-”

you feel a small gasp released into your mouth from killua as a chill ran down his spine from your gratifying acknowledgment.

the albino’s eyes shot open as he experienced you smiling against his lips mid-kiss. just the simple physical sensation of you curling your lips upwards, caused killua to tighten his hold on you. it now felt as if his fingers were now basically embedded into your skin.

one of killua’s hands snaked up from your side, all the way up into your hair. a whimper escaping out of you as he teasingly tugged on your hair from behind.

the silverette soon panted in between the suffocatingly addictive make out session, his voice coming out ragged and breathless as his eyelids struggled to remain agape.

“you must’ve.. had f-fun watching… me.”

a confident and confirming hum was soon heard by killua as you responded back with your sweet trill vibrating into his mouth.

you giggled softly as you went on with killua devouring you.

“you have no clue just.. how m..much i know about you.”

killua’s head felt like it was spinning as he moaned desperately into your mouth, wanting and needing more of you. you could basically demand anything right now and killua would at once, submit and obey you. he’d been silently obsessed with you for such awhile that whatever he was experiencing with you currently, felt like a fever dream.

the albino attempted to sound confident and sure as he pulled away slightly from the kiss, only for his words to come out meek and ridiculously needy.

“p-prove it…”

you nod your head slowly in agreement to his demand, beginning to list out facts you’re aware of about killua through your meticulous stalking of him. however, you had to do that while unable to fully pull yourself apart from killua, as he simply did not allow that.

“mm.. july 7th, your birthday. you have.. 4 siblings… which i know everything about. you love chocolate… a-and stalk me a hell lot..”

as soon as you finished revealing your knowledges, killua almost immediately pushed you entirely into him by your hair and waist as he kept on moaning uncontrollably. the silverette was barely able to respond properly to you in between the aggressive kisses you two shared.

“f-fuck… keep going.. i need you.”

you oblige as you become amused after realising that killua is turned on by the fact that you’re so unconventionally obsessed and into him.

“mhm… you’re a cat person.. you hate your mother. y-you’ve been close with gon.. since elementary, and your favourite bands are… deftones and pierce the veil.”

killua groaned into your mouth weakly once you brought up his relationship with his mum, pulling away slightly but regretting it immediately as he soon dived back into kissing you again. you break off the kiss reluctantly as you huff and pant to catch your breath…

“it’s only fair if you return the same favour.”

the albino whimpered gently in response as he slammed his lips back onto yours, resembling a starving creature. killua tried his best to form his thoughts as he began to mutter breathlessly as he felt you breathing against his face.

“i know your birthday too… y-you always.. always get an 88% on tests. your f-favourite drink is… sprite.. mmm… you have a weird fear of microwaves..”

you bit killua’s lip teasingly as you moaned a satisfied hum, the silverette shuddering as he felt a sharp and painful sensation embracing his lips.

this went on back and forth endlessly throughout the night, whilst you two melted into one another together.

you and the silverette were both just as obsessed and wired wrongly this whole entire time despite the countless unspoken competitiveness energy you guys shared.

killua and you were equals in the very end, equally unconventional and fanatical.

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

We've only just begun (a Mon-el introspective? Idk dont ask me) (Rhea's wedding plans succeed)

Mon-el jolts from his misery when the door to his cell clicks open, and shoots to his feet when he sees Lena Luthor on the other side. He blinks in surprise.

"How...?"

Lena flashes an access key, apparently palmed from some soldier's gauntlet. Her smirk is flat and humorless. "You should really have a talk with your guards."

Mon-el scowls. "They're not *my*--"

"Whatever," comes the dismissive retort. "Coming?"

Mon-el is certainly not staying. But he's not about to let Lena Luthor take the lead, either. He overtakes her brisk pace in a jog, and though she huffs with derision, she thankfully doesn't protest. Kara's heroics have rubbed off on him enough to know that if Lena got hurt while he lagged behind... well. The less said about that, the better.

Mon-el manages to take out the few guards they run into on the way to the nearest transmat pad, but their disappearance is noticed just as Lena swipes the access key across the final sensor keeping them from their escape.

A siren blares, echoing in the empty corridor. Closing themselves in the transmat chamber is no better-- there the pulsing wail of the alarm presses close around them, even as Lena surges towards the control panel.

"Damn it!" she curses, fingers flying over the control board. "Shit!"

"They shut it down remotely?" Mon-el guesses correctly. Lena glares at the console. "We're trapped then."

"Maybe not!" Lena shouts over the klaxon. "If I can--"

The door opens behind them, admitting a squadron of guards who swiftly spill into the room. Mon-el smoothly disarms one, then floors another with a strike to his sternum. He knows all he can do to aid their escape is to buy Lena time--

Three guards pile on him at once, driving him to the ground. In moments he's restrained in manacles and pinned to the floor with a knee digging sharply into his back.

"Step back!" a guard barks at Lena, aggression plain in his posture.

Lena ignores him, jaw tight as she focuses on her task. In horror, Mon-el watches the guard level his staff weapon at Lena, preparing to fire.

"Step back!" the guard bellows again.

Again, Lena ignores him, even when the weapon at her back whines with a building electrical charge. Mon-el twists against the guard pinning him, to no avail. Finally, he sags.

"Lena," is all he says.

At the sound of his voice, Lena's fingers pause. Then her eyes close for a long moment, lips thinning into a tense line. Finally, she lifts her hands from the controls, and steps back.

In an instant, the guard seizes her by the arm and yanks her away. She gives a cry of pain as she stumbles, her bare feet scuffing against the floor.

"Careful!" Mon-el snaps, even as his own captors heave him to his feet. The guard flashes him a glare, which Mon-el meets with all the haughty authority he can muster. "The queen won't be pleased if you damage her."

The man scowls, but his grip relaxes ever so slightly. Mon-el meets Lena's eyes briefly, and finds a heady mix of irritation and despair staring back at him.

"Let's go!"

The guards march them from the room. Mon-el expects them to be escorted to the throne room, where his mother would chide them like children, but to his surprise, his escort turns back towards the cells. Lena's, however, turns the opposite direction.

"Hey!" Mon-el shouts, digging in his heels to try and maneuver back towards Lena. "Stop!"

"Mon-el!" Lena calls back, twisting desperately against the grip on her arm. She knows that separation would leave them both vulnerable. "Let me go!"

But no one listens. As the distance between them grows, Mon-el cranes his neck to look over his shoulder towards Lena, only to have his stop plummet when he sees her growing terror. Unable to do anything more, Mon-el draws on the only reassurance he has to offer.

"Supergirl will come!" he shouts to Lena, even as her captor turns them around the corner out of sight. "She's coming!"

---

Kara doesn't come. Not soon enough, anyway. He waits and hopes while he sits in his solitary cell, while he wonders if Lena was unharmed, when a pair of servants deliver a set of fresh finery to dress in.

"For your nuptials," sneers one of the two guards now posted at the cell door.

When he's dressed and finally escorted back to the throne room for the ceremony, Mon-el is relieved when Lena trails in just a few minutes later. She'd been given the same treatment, her dark gown traded for one of the richest red-- the color reserved for the very highest of rank. It is the color of Rao, and a symbol of his approval for the ceremony to come.

Lena seems defiant as she stalks towards the dais where Mon-el stands, but as Rhea commands the broadcast to begin and starts her speech, Mon-el feels Lena trembling beside him. He looks at her from the corner of his eye, and sensing his gaze, Lena looks back with apprehension in her eyes.

He hears Lena swallow thickly when Rhea orders them to face each other, and the fingers Mon-el takes in his own shake with the power of her thundering heartbeat. He wants to offer reassurance, but has none to give. This is happening, and nothing either of them can do will stop it.

A priest winds a silver ribbon around their joined hands, binding them together in the sight of Rao and his witnesses. As Rhea declares their marriage firm and final, Lena blinks, spilling a single tear down her cheek.

The broadcast ends, and Lena yanks her hands from Mon-el's the instant the ribbon is removed. She scrubs the tear away with the heel of one hand, swallowing again to steel herself as Rhea approaches.

"You performed beautifully, my dear," his mother says. She reaches out to brush Lena's cheek, who sharply pulls her head away from the touch. Rhea tsks. "Ah, well."

She turns to address them both. "I would have allowed you to spend your wedding night together, however after your little escapade, I don't trust that you won't cause trouble."

With a clap of her hands, the guards step forward once more, gripping them both tightly. Mon-el keeps his attention on Lena, watching as her gaze goes flat-- numb.

"I'm sorry," Mon-el says before Lena is dragged away, and he himself soon after. It echoes in his ears as they return him to his cell, and thunders in his head when his helplessness closes in around him.

I'm sorry.

----

Supergirl arrives a week later, after coordinating resistance against the Daxamite soldiers on the ground. When she arrives in the cell block where Mon-el waits, Kara's brow furrows in alarm.

"Where's Lena?" she demands.

"I don't know," Mon-el replies dully. "She may be in the royal wing, but I'm not--"

"Let's go."

Kara barely spares a moment to wrench the doors apart before marching away, and Mon-el is all too willing to follow. Backing Supergirl is something he can do-- now, he can finally help. He leads them to the most lavish of the court's chambers, correctly guessing that his mother had extended her the luxury of a high noble.

Within the chamber they find Lena, now changed from her red wedding gown to robes of deep purple. Between that and the way her hair is styled in the fashion of Daxam's courtiers, she looks every inch a Daxamite princess.

Lena turns from the window at their entrance. Her gaze bounces between them briefly. "Supergirl."

Kara is already closing the distance between them. Mon-el sees the way her arms lift to embrace Lena, only to redirect midway to grasp her friend by the shoulders.

"You're all right?" Supergirl asks.

Lena nods. "Yes, thank you."

Mon-el wonders if Kara can hear the distance in Lena's voice. If she does, she gives no indication as she shifts to the task at hand. "Let's get out of here."

Taking Lena by the hand, Kara guides them both from the chamber. With Supergirl as their escort, not a single guard can stop them: each one ends up crumpled at their feet, senseless or dead-- Mon-el isn't sure he wants to know which.

To his surprise, Lena slips her hand from Supergirl's after the second guard goes down, scooping up his sidearm as she follows the hero's path. The fact he hadn't thought to do the same pricks at Mon-el's pride, as does Supergirl's swift dispatch of any opponents they run into. But he keeps it to himself, aware that they are only this close to freedom because of Kara's help.

The alarms sound a few corridors away from the transmat room, and Lena's shoulders stiffen. "They'll have locked down the consoles," she says stiffly. "But if you can--"

"We don't need the consoles," Supergirl delivers with a smirk. She plucks a small fob from beneath the neck of her suit. "Different exit strategy."

At that, Lena's features spread into a conspiratorial grin, and for a moment Mon-el feels entirely out of place. Then Supergirl turns to him, nods, and cocks her head towards the end of the corridor.

"This way."

They make it to the far end of the ship without Lena having to fire a single shot. Reaching a deserted room, Kara guides them inside, then clicks the button on her fob just once. Instantly, the ship melts away, and the world coalesces around them once more into an entirely different scene.

Suddenly-- still-- attuned to Lena, Mon-el registers the moment Lena realizes where she is. Her eyes widen in surprise, scanning the icy fortress around her. In that scan, Lena's gaze lands on a tall, slender woman who must have activated the device to bring them home. In an instant, Lena's features shutter once more.

"Mother."

The woman saunters forward, and in her regal stature and haughtily bemused features, Mon-el sees his own mother. And just like with Rhea, Lena recoils when her mother reaches to touch her cheek.

The woman sighs at her reaction. "Even now, Lena?"

"Don't pretend you're here out of the goodness of your heart," Lena snaps.

"I'm here for you," her mother delivers firmly. "For my daughter."

"So you'll leave without me?"

At this, the woman frowns. "They are the reason this happened, they cannot be trusted!"

She reaches for her daughter's arm, only for Lena to wrench herself out of reach.

"*I* am the reason this happened, mother," Lena hisses. She glances guiltily towards where Kara has stiffened in surprise, but powers through. "*They* are the ones who will help me fix it."

"That's absolutely out of the question--"

"Your opinion means nothing." Lena bristles with obstinance, as though all the resistance she'd been unable to enact on the ship had found its outlet in this moment. "Now leave, so the rest of us can go home."

The woman scowls. "You're making a mistake."

"Not this time," comes Lena's firm reply, only for her mother to lift a knowing eyebrow.

"We'll see."

---

Once the woman leaves with her henchmen, Supergirl removes her cape to wrap it around Lena, whose thin gown offered little resistance to the Arctic cold. Lena accepts the gesture with a thin, shivering smile.

"Thank you."

Kara nods in reassurance. "Let's go home."

Outside a DEO helicopter waits for them with a pilot standing by. The trip feels long to Mon-el, spent in awkward silence seated between his girlfriend and his new wife.

Wife.

That means something to him, he finds. He watches Lena carefully throughout the ride, though she largely ignores him in favor of staring out the window. Supergirl, for her part, studies the both of them. The helicopter lands twenty miles from National City, not trusting the Daxamite fleet wouldn't shoot them from the sky on approach.

When they disembark, Mon-el sees Lena's look of surprise when he turns to help her down from the helicopter. But after that moment of hesitation, Lena accepts his assistance by placing her hand in his.

The last leg of their journey is spent in the back of an SUV, and Mon-el's shoulder brushes Lena's as they speed down the interstate. When the National City skyline comes into view, Lena stiffens at the columns of smoke still rising from the city. It looks like a scene from one Winn's movies, but it's not. It's real, and from the way Lena barely seems to breathe, the reality presses on her just as heavily.

They arrive at the alien bar with little fanfare. But even the quiet embraces Alex gives Kara and Winn gives Mon-el leaves Lena standing pointedly alone. Upon seeing Lena draw Supergirl's cape more securely around herself, Mon-el extricates himself from Winn's tight hug.

"Perhaps you have some clothes more comfortable?" he asks. Winn follows his gaze, seemingly only then noticing their final guest.

"Oh!" he chirps. "Yeah, of course! Hi, Miss Luthor."

Lena offers only the smallest upturn of her lips in gratitude. Her eyes flash to Mon-el, her features inscrutable in the barest of moments before she allows Winn to lead her inside. Mon-el almost follows, but lingers when Kara does. They finally embrace, and Mon-el releases some of the tension he'd been carrying with a sigh.

"Thank you," he murmurs quietly.

"I saw the broadcast," Kara says. When she pulls away, her face is creased with worry. "The wedding. Are... are you okay?"

Mon-el pauses, and realizes he doesn't quite know how to respond. For want of an answer, he deflects.

"Lena spent the most time with my mother," he says, half jokingly. "She's the one you should worry about."

Kara frowns, a wrinkle forming between her eyebrows. "I can worry about you both."

"I'm fine." As he says the words, Mon-el can feel how untrue they are. He tries again. "I'll be fine when my people have left this planet for good."

Kara's gaze searches his, but thankfully doesn't push any further. "Now that we have you both back, we might stand a chance."

---

Their chance, as Mon-el had long suspected, is entirely Lena. When Mon-el follows the team to the DEO, Lena parts ways, heading for L-Corp. That she would go to her place of business instead of her home carries a meaning Mon-el can't quite define. Perhaps it is to Lena what the throne room is to his mother: a place of power, control... both of which Mon-el is certain Lena feels the need to regain.

Even so, he's relieved when she returns just a few hours later with a plan. His heart drops when he learns that plan is to poison Earth's atmosphere with lead, but when his gaze connects with Lena's, he finds no malice. If anything, she seems reluctant to offer the plan, clearly a last resort.

"We won't need it," Supergirl declares. She is sure of two things, where Mon-el is only certain of one: Supergirl may win the Dakam-ur, but Rhea will not honor it.

For the first time in his life, Mon-el wishes he'll be wrong.

He isn't.

---

Supergirl is the one to press the button, but it's Kara who says goodbye. Her eyes are full of tears, and even as he chokes on the air in his lungs, Mon-el wants nothing more than to wipe them away.

"I'm a better person, because of you," he coughs thickly. "Kara, please..."

"I'm sorry," she whispers hoarsely. "I'm so sorry."

Mon-el shakes his head. There's nothing to forgive. Instead, he has a request of his own.

"Take care of Lena."

Kara stares at him, confusion clouding her tear-filled gaze. "What?"

"She's going to need you," Mon-el gasps. "And you'll need her in return. Let her be what I couldn't."

"Mon-el..."

"Tell her I'm sorry. Tell her... I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to be the person she needed me to be. The person you both needed me to be." He wheezes painfully, every breath a thousand knives prickling his throat and lungs. "I should have stopped the wedding. You would have."

Kara shakes her head, but Mon-el knows. Had it been Supergirl in his shoes, she would have thought of some way to thwart the ceremony.

He should have thought to challenge his mother to the Dakam-ur himself, right there on that dais.

"Don't let Lena blame herself," Mon-el continues. "And don't blame yourself either. You made the right choice."

He doubts Kara believes him now, but in time, in the months or years it takes for the ache to fade, he knows she will. It is the right choice.

His final goodbye is a wave through the shuttles window as it lifts off the ground. Pre-programmed to exit Earth's orbit as swiftly as possible, he soon loses sight of Kara as the pod lifts through the atmosphere and into the dark of space.

In that void of expanse, Mon-el knows that whatever else, the two women he leaves behind will be fine. His wife and the love of his life will find their way through, together.

[sepublic]

If I had to describe Luz’s fatal flaw, it’s that she can get caught up in her own head. In S1, this meant Luz getting carried away in her own eagerness to play out her fantasies, and not always listening to people’s criticism enough as a result. In S2, it seems like her problem is the opposite, and on a surface level it is; Luz is now being overly critical of herself. But in her self-loathing, much of which IS compounded by legit trauma which can genuinely mess up your brain and your ability to think clearly (esp at such a young age), Luz accidentally replicates that problem by not listening to what other people have to say about their support for her.

And that’s really realistic! It’s a very human oversight! There wasn’t still growth and maturing, so it makes sense to call it a day from there. But there’s an issue underneath an issue, and so Luz thinks it’s as simple, cut and dry as just learning to take the L more because nobody’s objectively spelling out the nature of her narrative arc, because in-universe there is no narrative just as there isn’t IRL. It’s all a big thing we make up and assign meaning to on some level. Luz’s lesson is a bit more complicated than her usual simpler kids’ fantasy moral due to the layers. And tbf Luz DOES learn other things, like learning to fight on her own behalf in S1. She’s managing to balance it for a bit before Luz crashes out from the overwhelming pressures in S3.

It reminds me of how in her childhood, Amity made the wrong call of not standing up for Willow when her parents dismissed her as weak, and so she attempts to overcorrect for that in Labyrinth Runners. But there, it becomes apparent that there was also an underlying issue of just not communicating with Willow and needing to correct the misconception of her as this helpless damsel, the support shouldn’t be condescending either.

Then we have Willow herself, who’s bullied for being weak and thinks it’s as simple as proving these people wrong, and they ARE wrong; But ultimately, it was about not defining her worth around these things, nor playing into the rules of an insincere game. Or Eda wanting to encourage freedom against the coven system, only to realize that by telling Luz to follow her uncritically, she’s ironically not giving Luz the freedom to make her own choices; Even if they could be “bad” choices, because that’s part of S3’s theme of free will. It’s about layers and nuance in the end.

In the end, if being caught in her head is Luz’s fatal flaw then in other words… She needs to engage with the reality of the world around her more, instead of being stuck in the version of things she’s cooked up in her mind. In the end, it all goes back to what Camila said in the first scene of the show, about how Luz needs to learn to distinguish fantasy from reality.

[ladymaigrey]

DD:BA Episode 9 OK... I do have more thoughts. First of all, the good things: The scene in the hospital! Call me vindictive, but I dislike Heather so much (and love Karen) that I stood up and cheered when Matt uttered Karen's name first and then proceeded to dismiss Heather because Heather just Didn't Get It. That smirk when Matt walked into his apartment and realised that Frank was there (and, of course it was Karen who called Frank! That was bleeding obvious!) The banter beforehand, the sarcasm, the flipped bird - that was everything that we all ever wanted from Matt and Frank working together. The brutality of the fight. AND the fact that Matt did not even try to interfere with Frank once Frank started killing really showed that Matt himself has lost a lot of his idealism once he pushed Bullseye off the roof. Yes, he still objects to killing a man who is no longer a threat, but not those who have guns and bullet-proof vests and a Kingpin's licence to kill. Yet Matt still has a line. And Frank pushes him towards that line... but not really. As in S2, Frank does not want Matt to become a killer. Frank is the killer. Frank is happy to kill for Matt when Matt can't. Frank is happy to be the asshole. Oh... and all those cops are dead, whether Matt wanted them dead or not. They are crispy-fried. Unfortunately, so are Matt's vinyls :( "SHOTGUN!!" Of course Matt wants to sit right next to Karen while she drives the getaway vehicle.

Frank... just wanting to spend time with Matt and Karen after a successful mission. Just a piece of human warmth in his armoury. Matt understood it (though, what's with the oat milk, Matt? Age catching up to you? You lactose intolerant now?). But Karen... I think she understood it too, but her heart and concern are for Matt. And then there is Frank's puppy face when looking at Karen. I think that's the first time we've actually seen Frank make that sort of vulnerable face. Of course he loves her (a nod to kastle fans here; this entire episode is basically one big fan service). So many karedevil scenes! One after the other. So many conversations that we wanted them to have, but had to write ourselves in fics! There they are! In-jokes and reminiscences (Avocados at law!!) Karen asking Matt about heartbeats and what he could read from them hoping that he understood her (as opposed to feeling humiliated by his insight). And Karen telling Matt that both Foggy and her recognise the "wrath and the mercy" warring inside of him, both indelible components of who he is. Lawyer and vigilante - all loved, all cherished. All supported. And Matt listened to her! He did not go diving headlong into a suicide mission. He has a direction now, and the need to save the city. But more than that. He knows he is loved, and he knows he is fully known and accepted. He is NOT ALONE. Not anymore. And now he has the beginnings of a fighting force (and a steady supply of booze courtesy of Josie, which will be needed if Jessica and Luke join the party next season!) And now, not so great things: We finally get to see Matt in the naked-butt hospital gown and we don't get even a single glimpse of his naked butt! Also. Claire isn't in the episode, which meant that she missed the "pigs must be flying in frozen hell" sight of Matt finally getting proper medical care. So, I am doubly disappointed on her behalf too. They finally sorta explained how Fisk got out of jail after S3 and... it just does not pass the sniff test at all. Even if he somehow managed to blame all the crimes of S3 on the corrupted FBI, including the surveillance room that was built in a hotel that was owned by him, there was still the issue of all the crimes from S1, which he would've still been serving the sentence for. Fisk's overreach was too much... it was too comic-book-villain. And the best thing about Fisk was always the fact that he was terrifying because of his humanity and his behind-the-scenes manipulation. But shutting off power to the whole city to trigger disorder? Telling cops to forget about due process and go shoot suspects on sight? Declaring martial law? (WTF?? He is a mayor of a city, not a state governor! Where's the Federal Government, please? Or is Trump in charge already? In which case... yeah, figures). And keeping millionaires and other 'rebels' in cages? (i.e. alive and a burden? gotta feed em, clean em, make sure they don't chit chat and plan)... that's some post-apocalyptic warlord-level bullshit. Fisk's power has gone to his head so much, he really has lost all touch with reality and became a caricature. Frank's capture by the rogue cops... That should've been a version of THIS speech:

Not some "do you think you understand my pain?" bullshit. Come on Frank, you should've been dressing them down for the being the cowardly traitors to their oaths that they are! Did you get hit on the head too many times?? Finally, Heather is really an idiot, isn't she?!

TL:DR

Episode was full of love for Matt and Karen... but very Disney in terms of the plot development and over-the-top Fisk's villain-ness.

[holograms-in-the-night]

Thinking about it, Elise's character had it all to be an "antagonist" or to be morally grey:

She had a tragic past, including the loss of beloved people to her (her parents). Their deaths affect her even 10 years after.

She had a somewhat "complicated" relationship with her father. In the game it is not directly established that she doesn't like him, but it is very clear that she holds complicated feelings about him . In the scene where she ressurects Sonic, she describes her father's plan to change time as a "sin". (also all my elise homies dislike the Duke so you get it)

Elise is lonely and sad, which is the easiest path to wake up Iblis.

Elise technically has lost everything, she lost her family and she is doomed to live a life shutting her emotions forever in order to protect her people.

When she met Sonic for the first time, she asked him "why was he saving her", implying that, people only care for her status as a princess, and she is not used to be cared for who she is. Or maybe that's my interpretation. She seemed very uninterested on Sonic in the beginning, while Sonic was flexing in front of her while killing Eggman's robots😎😎

The scene in the beginning where Elise has a vision of Iblis waking up and destroying the city, she appears flying, looking at the kingdom in a serious way. I think it's interesting that she's portrayed like that, instead of portraying her with an afraid look on her face . To me, it implies that Elise's knows that Iblis is inevitable and that there's nothing she can do other than accept such devastating fate.

I think it says a lot of her that despite all of this, Elise always stood for the good. She loves being a princess and she loves her kingdom, even if sometimes she wishes she could be just a normal girl. She has heroic traits as well, and in my opinion, is it one of the reasons why Sonic is interested in her, as Sonic himself is a hero and does good in a selfless way.

"It sounds like being a princess is not that easy"

He clearly shows admiration for Elise's strong will, and it definetly makes a contrast on Sonic's physical strenght. I think it's also interesting that in this game, Sonic helps Elise not only by rescuing her from danger, but also by listening to her, for trying to make her feel better and not judging her for having emotions that others might deem as "selfish" or "not proper from a princess". This is what makes Elise to take the right decision to blow the candle to go back in time, because thanks to him, she knows that they will always be friends even if they are apart, and that she always will make the right decision. She is princess, and Soleanna matters the most to her. She saved Soleanna and the world just like all of the other characters in her own way, by having a strong heart.

Say whatever you want about Elise "being a damsel on distress on the whole game", but narratively? Her being a princess is an important part of the plot, because is she didn't loved being a princess, if she didn't loved her people, Iblis would have destroyed the world years ago. (I do agree that the rescuing elise part could have been handled better at least on gameplay terms, but dismissing her importance as a princess to the plot and reducing her to a mere damsel in distress is so innacurate). It really takes strenght to be like that, and to be able to protect others.

[silverhairedsovereign]

Heart on Ice

!sylus birthday specials!

content: inlove!sylus, tooth-rotting fluff, wholesome, mc!reader, downbad

word count: 1,206 words

now playing: Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars

The twins never thought they'd live to see the day their fearsome, calculating boss—Sylus, of all people—fall in love. Yet there they were, watching the impossible unfold right before their eyes.

It all began subtly. At first, he had only asked them to dig up information on you—just enough to understand who you were. He claimed it was necessary for a mission. Then he asked Mesphito to follow you, for “safety reasons,” of course. He insisted, time and time again, that you were just important for the Aether Core resonance. Nothing more. But the way his tone faltered, the way his eyes lingered just a second too long when your name was mentioned... it didn’t take a genius to see the truth.

From the moment you stepped into his world, something in Sylus shifted. He still wore the title of Onychinus’ formidable leader with pride, but beneath the steel exterior, you’d awoken something tender in him. Something fragile. Something real.

At first, it was easy to miss. He was careful, always hiding his softness behind layers of professionalism. He claimed it was strategy—resonating with you was critical, after all. But gradually, as weeks turned into months, he let his guard slip. And when Luke and Kieran finally pointed it out, teasing him mercilessly behind closed doors, you had laughed it off. Why would Sylus care about you? It had to be a ploy. A trick.

But for once, you were so beautifully wrong.

Sylus, the man with unlimited power and resources, began giving you his card more frequently. When the bank flagged suspicious activity because you’d spent too much—he didn’t flinch. Not once. In fact, he seemed entertained. You’d only maxed it out when he pushed your buttons one too many times. And when you returned from your therapeutic shopping spree, you’d find him waiting by the door of his study, arms folded and a grin tugging at his lips. "Had a nice time, kitten?"

It wasn’t normal. But then again, what about Sylus ever was?

He listened when you spoke—really listened. He remembered everything. How you preferred soft sunrises over starless nights. How lilac made you feel at ease. How books gave you a sense of escape. He stored every detail away like a collector with precious gems. And when he looked at you, it wasn’t just fondness. It was reverence.

He never forced you to stay. If you wanted to leave, he'd escort you himself, his smirk never faltering, the twins always at the ready to ensure your safe return to Linkon. But no matter the distance, he stayed close. Texts. Calls. Gentle reminders not to overwork yourself. Mephisto sometimes sent to watch over you—but always dismissed if you asked. “Safety reasons,” he’d say. But you knew better.

What Sylus never said outright, he showed in the way he adored your laughter. The real one—the unfiltered, loud, joy-filled kind. The kind you'd learned to silence after being told too many times it was "too much." One day, you'd laughed just a little too hard, and instinctively tried to hide it, pressing your fingers to your lips, the sound fading away.

He noticed immediately. "What's wrong, kitten?" You waved him off with a smile. "It's nothing." But Sylus wasn’t one to be fooled. "Did you just realize I’m not that funny?" he teased, but the softness in his voice made your stomach twist with guilt. You swallowed. "I just... don’t like my laugh. People used to tell me it was obnoxious. I got used to holding it back."

You watched his expression change—not just soften, but crack. You'd never seen him so raw. He stepped closer, fingertips brushing under your chin as he tilted your face gently up to meet his eyes.

"I could listen to your laugh forever. Don’t ever hide it from me. Not when you’re with me."

From that moment on, he made it his mission to make you laugh more—louder, freer, until you learned to love that sound again too.

Even with his towering influence over the N109 Zone, Sylus made time for you. He could be in the middle of brokering a deal that would alter the fate of nations—and still drop everything the moment you walked in with a paper bag of yarn and hooks.

The twins had warned you not to disturb him. You barged in anyway.

He was mid-call when you entered, and for a split second, panic flickered in your chest. But instead of lashing out, Sylus ended the call with a smirk, walking over to you.

"You could’ve told me you were coming. I’d have cleared the whole day." You panicked. "I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were busy. I can come back tomorrow—" He shook his head with a low chuckle, taking the bag from your hands and peeking inside. "Are we knitting?" You blinked. "It’s crochet." He smiled. "Then let’s crochet."

Sylus had a way of making even the simplest moments feel like confessions of love. Compliments rolled off his tongue like honey. Small ones. Big ones. All of them genuine.

New dress? "You look breathtaking. Should’ve gotten it in every color.”

You changed your contacts? "Doesn’t matter. I’d get lost in your eyes either way.”

You did your hair? "Beautiful. As always.”

And yet, you weren’t technically together. No declarations. No labels. Just feelings growing so intense, they bled into everything you did.

Until one day, you decided you couldn’t hold it in anymore.

You’d planned to confess. But before you could, Sylus had invited you somewhere—didn’t tell you where. He made you wait in suspense, heart pounding.

When you arrived, it was a village high up in the hills. Foggy. Cool. Quiet. A café sat at the center—filled with books, paints, yarn. Everything you loved. And he’d rented the whole place, just for you.

After hours of laughter, creation, warmth—you sat with him beneath a blanket of stars on a picnic cloth. The silence was soft. Comfortable. Heavy with anticipation.

You both opened your mouths to speak at the same time. “You go first,” you whispered. "Ladies first, kitten." You hesitated. He looked at you, and something passed between you—something loud in the silence. And then, without a word more, your lips met.

It started soft. Gentle. But months of buried desire spilled into that kiss. His lips on yours, his fingers tangling with yours, his other hand wrapping around your waist, anchoring you close. When you gasped, startled by his boldness, he deepened the kiss with a hunger you didn’t expect.

You were nervous. Unsure. But he felt it, and grounded you—his warmth, his steadiness, telling you you were safe. You poured everything into that kiss. And so did he.

When you finally pulled away, breathless, he whispered: "I love you, sweetie." You buried your face in his neck, lips trembling. "I love you too, Sy."

From that night on, he never left your side.

You slept tangled together—his fingers in your hair, your hand resting over his heart. He gave you everything. Not because he had to. Because he wanted to. Because he loved you. Unapologetically. Wholly.

That’s when the twins knew, without a doubt, that their boss wasn’t just capable of love—he was utterly, desperately, beautifully in it.

Since Sylus' birthday is almost coming, I have decided to write fics just for him. Although I'm not so sure, I might get lazy.. but I'll try my best. I also got some Caleb fics coming up. Requests are still open!! [Liking and Rebloging is appreciated!] - Zane 𖹭