#but. as much as it could be in there for his situation I think its in there

[creamecafe]

hii could u write something for Dae-ho set in the mingle game and its basically just him protecting reader and always keeping them at his side. 🫶🫶🫶

"As long as I'm here, no one can hurt you"

Summary: What the request says

Pairing: Dae-Ho x GN!Reader (No pronouns used)

Warnings: fluff, comfort, pining

Word Count:

Author's Note: Thank you so much for requesting. I hope you enjoy!

Want a request for a Squid Game character like this one? Check out my latest post, read my request guidelines and send a request!

Read on Wattpad & AO3 here

It's a miracle that you have made it to the third game. You were sure you were going to die in the second game, but thanks to the team you had, you were more than determined to still stay alive

Out of all them, there was one that you kept looking at. Dae-Ho. You couldn't help but find him cute. This certainly wasn't the place to have feelings as you could die before telling him.

It was the same for Dae-Ho, trying to make sure everyone is ok and that the team survives. But it was something with you.

He felt safe with you, and wanted to protect you. Even if it meant giving his life for you.

The announcement for the third game came, you were worried, but wanted it to be over it. Dae-Ho noticed you being anxious and asked if you okay

"Are you okay?"

You stopped zoning out and looked at him with your heart pounding.

"What? Y-yes I'm ok thank you." Nodding trying to reassure yourself.

"I think this might be the last game I play in." You chuckled knowing deep inside you dreaded the idea

"Hey look at me."

You did as he said. "Don't say that, you have us."

He held out your hand to hold it. You looked at it and hesitated putting your hand out but you held it. A tight squeeze was given but not too rough. It was a sign of reassuring.

He gives you a smile and you did too not of full happiness but someone is here to care about you.

All of you guys were called for the game. You got up and stayed close to Dae-Ho. He looked back at you and nodded. You did the same.

It was the same, climbing up those colorful but dreading stairs to the next game. Every minute or two, Dae-Ho made sure you were right behind him.

You finally reached the game and saw a carousel in the middle with horses and so many doors of different bright colors for a Pre-K setting.

"Welcome to your third game." The woman's voice from the previous games you heard came on the speakers.

"The game you will be playing is Mingle. Let me repeat. The game you will be playing is Mingle."

Turning your head to look at Dae-Ho, he's already looking at you.

You quickly look away not to make the situation worse. He didn't want to make you uncomfortable as well.

"All players, please step onto the center platform. When the game starts, the platform will begin to rotate, you will hear a number. You must form groups of that size, go into the rooms, and close the door within 30 seconds."

"Oh this game? We used to play something similar on school trips. We formed groups by hugging." Jung-bae exclaimed.

"Yeah. Instead of hugging, we go into those rooms" Dae-Ho mentioned.

"If the number is bigger than six, we'll get the additional people we need." Gi-Hun

And if it's less than that? You thought in your mind

"But what if it's smaller than five? Like three or four

You turned your head to Dae-Ho. It's like he read your mind exactly.

"No matter what happens, don't panic. Let's stay calm," Young-il nods. "We'll make it out together. Here."

Those words echoing in your mind, there wasn't enough time to doubt if your group would stick with you.

You've seen how quickly people are to turn against each other especially in the Red Light, Green Light.

But you're more than determined to stay alive, just to see Dae-Ho's face every chance you get.

Young-il puts the back side of hand out to form a truce. One by one, everyone is putting their hands on top of each other. You were the last one.

"Y/N. Are you in?" Gi-Hun asks.

Dae-Ho looks at you with worry in his eyes. You had no choice and no knowledge of trusting others in this game, so you put your hand out on top.

Dae-Ho becomes relieved at this.

"One, two, three. Victory at all costs."

Sighing at this with relief, you guys begin to spread out. The carousel is starting to spin

People scream out in fear. Lights go out and the light in the middle where horses out lights ups and music plays.

Children are singing about holding hands and ringing around.

Dae-Ho holds your hand lightly. He grazes your hand with his thumb. You don't look at him, as you fear you'll die doing so.

It suddenly stops. The number is 9. People are running out frantically pairing in groups of 9. Dae-Ho doesn't let go of your hand.

"We need 3 more." You said. Your group ran looking for 3 more.

A old lady, her son and another woman goes up to you guys.

"Are you guys 3?" Young-il asks

"Yes we're." The old lady nods frantically.

"Quickly we got to get into a room" Gi Hun exclaims

Your feet were starting to move, but the grip of Dae-Ho holding your hand made you move even faster.

All of you guys rushed into a room and closed the door. The room was filled with heavy breaths. There was a click on the lock meaning that the room was closed and nobody can get in or out.

Right now, you have never been more grateful to be alive in playing a game

It wasn't long before you heard gunshots, and it was safe to assume it was those who didn't pair up or get into rooms in time.

Now that you're safe, you look at Dae-Ho and he does too.

"Is everyone ok?" Dae-Ho asks

There was a lot of yes. That answer might change throughout the game seeing how long each of us might last.

The door lock clicked and you guys were allowed to come out. There were bodies on the floors and blood splattered. "Take off your mind off those bodies or you'll be one of them" Your mind was telling yourself.

"We got this" Dae-Ho talks to you

"We do" You smiled. Don't know how many smiles it will take to keep going, but you're ready to prove his point.

The game started again and the carousel spins. You hold out to Dae-Ho's hand.

Now the number was 4. Young-il grabs Jung-Bae and goes to find two more people. That's left Gi-Hun, Jun-Hee, Dae-Ho and you left.

There was no time to waste. All four you ran to a room and locked yourself in. Gi-Hun was looking around for Young-il. You pulled him back in.

The gunshots came again. The lesser the number, the more likely people will betray each other.

How long this game will last, you don't know. All you know is that you have people here to help you. Even if it's just one person, it makes all the difference.

The doors clicked and it was time for another round. The panic and adrenaline of it all keeps coming back. But Dae-Ho is making sure you're by his side, even if he may die in the game as well.

Six the group was. Dae-Ho said you and him were going to go and find another group. Luckily you did and you managed to still be alive locked in a room.

Now it all came down to the very last game. There were less people than the game started. You wanted to finish this for once and for all. While the carousel was spinning and music playing, you place yourself in movement ready to run and holding Dae-Ho's hand.

"2" The voice said.

It felt like time was going slow once it announced the number. Everybody is rushing to get into a room. Time's running out.

You felt a hand pull you back and you fell to the ground. Dae-Ho heard your scream and saw someone trying to stop you from going into a room. Someone else was already in the room that you guys were planning to go into.

Dae-Ho could go into the room and that would already make it two. But he's made it too far to leave you.

He ran and punched the guy that pushed you. He put you back on your feet and dragged the other guy out. He slammed the door shut and the timer just came to zero. The guy on the other side begs and bangs on the door.

A pink guard shoots him and the noises stop.

"Are you ok?" Dae-Ho rushes to you.

Still shaken at what happened, at the fact you almost died if it wasn't for him to save you, you nodded.

"Yes I am. Thank you."

There was a moment of silence between you too as you were catching your breaths.

The door clicked and you both came out.

"Y/N! Dae-Ho!" Both of your names were being called

Gi-Hun, Young-il, Jung-Bae and Jun-Hee run up to you guys and you all hug each other.

"I'm so glad you guys are ok." Jun-Hee smiles

You're also relieved that everyone else is fine and made it out alive. You could return back to the dorms.

Walking down back the stairs and into the dorms, everyone was mostly silent but some talked.

You ran up and tapped Dae-Ho on the shoulder.

"Hey Dae-Ho?"

"Yes Y/N?"

"You could have gone into the room where the other guy before you dragged him out, why didn't you?"

Dae-Ho took a pause before responding.

"I have lost many people when I was a marine, seen people get killed in front of me. I can't let it happen to you."

He starts to become close to you but not too close.

"As long as I'm still alive, I'll make sure you're fine. That's a promise I tend to keep Y/N."

Those words stuck with you. You could die in the next game, but right here at this moment is a reason to keep going.

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[solxamber]

Hi, there (again)

I came up with another idea for another request, if it's not too much trouble I would like to request:

Dorm: Diasomnia Indicator: #9: "Why am I jealous if you're not even mine?" Genre: Romance with a lil Hurt/Comfort.

Take your time and without pressure. thanks <3

love the prompt, the potential for yearning is insane

Jealousy Jealousy || Sebek Zigvolt

For the Holiday Event! || Prompt: "Why am I jealous when you're not even mine?" ; Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Sebek's jaw clenched as he spotted you perched on Jack's back, your arms loosely draped around the wolf beastman’s shoulders. Jack’s usual stoic expression remained in place as he carried you, clearly unfazed.

“Jack, I’m fine, really,” you insisted weakly, though the limp in your step earlier said otherwise.

Jack shook his head. “No way. You’re injured. Stop squirming, you’ll just make it worse.”

Sebek’s eyes narrowed at the scene. He knew—knew—Jack was just being practical. Jack was reliable, loyal, and hardly someone to take advantage of the situation. But knowing that didn’t quell the fire raging in Sebek's chest, an ache so unfamiliar it made his throat tighten.

Before he could stop himself, he stormed over, his boots clacking sharply against the ground. “Jack Howl! Release them at once!”

Jack turned his head, mildly surprised. “Why? They’re hurt.”

Sebek drew himself up, as proud and haughty as always. “It’s a knight’s duty to care for the injured! I will take over from here!”

Jack raised an eyebrow but ultimately shrugged. “If you say so.” He gently set you down, and before you could protest, Sebek crouched and offered his back.

“Climb on,” he ordered, his tone brooking no argument.

“Sebek, really, it’s—”

“Climb on,” he repeated, more firmly this time, his eyes meeting yours with a startling intensity.

With a resigned sigh, you obeyed, wrapping your arms around his shoulders. Despite the awkward start, Sebek’s grip was steady, his movements careful as he carried you to the infirmary.

After ensuring you received proper treatment, he stood by the door, watching you with a storm brewing in his gaze. You tilted your head, puzzled. “Sebek? Are you okay?”

His fists clenched at his sides, and finally, the dam broke. “Why?” he blurted out, his voice wavering slightly. “Why am I jealous when you’re not even mine?”

The room fell silent. Your heart skipped a beat, the words hanging in the air like an unsolved mystery.

“Sebek…” you began cautiously.

He turned his face away, cheeks tinged pink as he continued, “I… I know Jack meant no harm, and I know you were hurt, but… seeing you like that—seeing someone else take care of you—it… it burned.” He laughed bitterly, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t understand it at first, but now… I think I do.”

You stared at him, your heart aching at his vulnerability. “Do you like me?”

Sebek stiffened, his wide eyes darting to yours. “I—yes,” he admitted, his voice dropping to a soft murmur. “I like you more than I thought I could. More than I probably should.”

A smile tugged at your lips as you stood on your slightly bandaged foot and closed the distance between you. “You know,” you said, cupping his face gently, “there’s a really simple solution to this problem.”

He blinked, utterly lost. “What solution?”

You leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. His breath hitched, his hands instinctively flying to your waist to steady you.

“Be mine,” you whispered against his lips. “And I’ll be yours too.”

Sebek’s world tilted on its axis. For once, he was rendered completely speechless, staring at you like you’d just handed him the moon. Slowly, his lips curved into a rare, radiant smile.

“Then… I’m yours,” he said, his voice soft yet resolute. He pulled you into another kiss, this one firmer, filled with the unspoken promise that he would treasure you with every fiber of his being.

And as he held you close, the ache in his chest melted away, replaced by a warmth that only you could bring.

Masterlist

[harmonysanreads]

I KNOW WE HAVEN’T KNOWN ANYTHING ABOUT PHAINON YET (except for that cute face and yummy booba) AND I ALREADY HAVE SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT HIM.

Okay okay imagine Yandere! Phainon who loves you and cherishes your existence too much to the brink of obsession (can you blame him?). Him, being a perfect man himself still thinks that he lacks something, and that something is your devotion, your unyielding love because he deserves it, right? He deserves to have your attention and your affection after everything he has done for you.

Oh no, dear Phainon is definitely not a selfish man, he just needs your love to complete himself, to have someone that he could return to after a hard day.

That’s why I think this man will definitely love bombing you. Gifts, kisses, cuddles? Everything you want, everything you ask for. And even if you don’t even need it, he still offers it to you like the desperate puppy he is. He will spoil you rotten, and I mean it in the most respectful way. He found your smallest quirks adorable even if it’s not that special in your eyes. He reminds you to stay dehydrated and go to sleep early, he even tells you to eat healthy. That’s why after knowing him, you have never skipped another meal. And he will definitely coo softly to you whenever you feel insecure about yourself. That’s why you need him, that’s why you should rely on him. And the only thing Phainon ask for as a payback is your love, love him like the way he does to you. Please please because you’re his pretty girl and he loves you too much to even think that this is not a mutual feeling.

Can you really say no to him? To that adorable face and those sparkling blue eyes that seem to go lovesick everytime they catch a glimpse of you?

It was the fifth time this month, or was it the sixth? You couldn't be bothered to keep count anymore, the absurdity of the situation pushing you closer to questioning reality.

“You do know that it's illegal to break into a person's house?” you manage to croak out, senses strained by sickness.

“Break into your house?” he pulls out a chair to sit, the bowl of whatever he'd brought with him finding its place on the table beside your bed.

The near-dumbfounded edge to his question makes you deadpan, “You're so humorous, even when you're sick. How is it trespassing when we're in love with each other?”

You feel your fingers clutching onto your bedsheets, did he even hear you? Can he hear himself? To that, your conscience answers with a firm no. He'll only acknowledge what will suit his fancy, anything else is but you being in a ‘phase of denial’.

“I am not in love with you, how many times do I need to reiterate?” you stress, watching the twirl of the spoon as he stirs the contents in the bowl.

“Hush, I know you're just moody I didn't arrive sooner. I read it on that book you had on you on last Saturday. This is the part where I'm supposed to apologize and hold my ears, right—”

You release a heavy sigh.

You could not decide what begged the most concern : the fact that he doesn't see the problem in his behavior or how accustomed to it that you're getting.

A warm touch on your forehead startles you, another firmer grip on your arm stops you from moving away, “How are you still so energetic with this high a fever?” the candle atop the table flickers, a frown blemishes his face.

He leans in, you respond by increasing the distance. “I took medicine earlier.” you mutter, suddenly feeling like a guilty child.

“Did you? Good girl.” you don't need to look at him to picture the shine clinging at the corners of his lips. You shouldn't look at him for it'll reveal the barely held back cringe spreading across your face.

You're about to protest but a wave of dizziness halts you. Phainon notices the change, you find yourself wishing he wasn't so observant.

“But you haven't eaten, have you?” his hands act too familiar, too comfortable in touching you. You're forced to inhale as he cups your face in inspection, pretending it's for work — but you know, his greed extends too far for it to be anything but an excuse.

“I did eat.” you try to assert, he remains unconvinced.

“Are you still mad at me? If so, say it, I can apologize however you'd prefer. But please don't lie to me about matters that concern your health.” a squeeze to your cheeks, shadows fall on him.

You almost want to laugh at the worry in his eyes, at the way he behaves so much like a perfect lover. If you hadn't known better, the haze clouding your sense would've made you believe him, buy that he's being sincere.

Unfortunately for him and fortunately for you, you're just a bit more distrustful than others, just a bit more cautious than he's giving you credit for — a bit too lucid to have faith in his ‘love’ narrative.

You purse your lips, you are mad at him ; just not in the way he's deluding himself to be. As you contemplate whether to snap at him or not, he releases his grip on you in favor of scooping a spoon of the contents in the bowl, ending his path before your lips.

You turn you head away, a clear rejection. You expect him to probe again but his sigh catches you off-guard.

His finger wraps around a lock of your hair, yearning stains his eyes. “This would've never happened if you just accepted to be mine.”

You soak in his words for a second. Your left eye twitches as you realize, he completely ignored every previous piece of dialogue for his agenda.

“In your dreams.” petulance coats the statement.

To your horror, Phainon easily brings the lock of your hair to his lips, his smile widening as if he's got you exactly where he desires.

“How did you know? I do dream of you, everyday.” sparkles float around the air of his face.

You find yourself grasping at straws, how does one wake up a man who pretends to sleep? A voice in your interjects, perhaps it is for the best you cease these attempts altogether?

“Now, won't you continue to be a sweet girl and eat up?” his words are honey, his smile is blinding and oh so dreadfully, there is adoration in his face, in his every step.

It has alarm bells ringing in your head, because it doesn't make sense.

“No.” you sharply deny, pushing the spoon away again.

“Why not?” you notice just at the nick of time, there is an edge to his voice this time. A crack forming in that perfect face.

“Because I don't trust you. What if you mixed something weird in it?” that is an understatement, your distrust for the man stretches further than the food he offers.

The elders always say, if something is too good to be true, it is too good to be true. ‘Love’ is not reason enough for you to believe Phainon's apparent devotion, his benevolence. No man would squander his time and resources only to back it up with such an easy reasoning — at least, not a man like him. Even if he says it till your ears bleed — you will not believe him.

The Chrysos Heir's hum interrupts the silence, “Then, if I do this...”

Your quizzical gaze falls on him, he holds your stare and you feel a kick at your ribcage. Struggling is useless, but you try anyway ; if just to be petty, if just to drive your point across, if just to survive. He squashes your attempt with an insultingly easy grip, showing you exactly how futile it is.

His thumb parts your lips with an insistent press, joining his pointer finger in holding your mouth open next. Your nails scratch at his glove in a pitiful attempt at getting him away, his free hand holds them both captive.

His parted lips shrinking the distance is the last thing you see, before you close your eyes shut. You would breathe if your lungs hadn't given up, the increase of strength in Phainon's grip seizes you with fear, makes it feel as though your blood froze with dread. Your instincts stop kicking, accepting its place in the serpent's jaw.

You feel a sharp kick of spice on your tongue, washing through your parched throat. A force has you closing your mouth, holding it in place until the content has been swallowed.

You heave as if you reached the surface from an arduous dive at last, mind working overtime, trying to process what just took place.

A clink of the spoon as it's placed on the bowl startles you, Phainon closes his eyes, a smile nearly splits his face in two.

“That's more like it. See, it was delicious and perfectly free of questionable substances, no?”

Phainon's smile breaks into a chuckle at the astonished look on your face, you feel a twist somewhere inside at the way derision drips from its tune. But before you can observe further, you feel a swipe of his finger on your lower lip. You make the mistake of glancing at him and he utilizes your mishap to make a show of licking the residue from your lips clean.

If you were skeptical about it before, you are certain now — this man will be your doom.

SIKE.

[mcytegg]

im ngl i feel like clowns current relationship w ros in realms is the type of relationship ls kab expected/wanted from clown. like they wanted clown to be someone they could rely on to always protect them and to stick by their side always, but i dont think this type was ever possible for the two of them, even if kab had succeeded in "proving" themself like clown said he wanted them to.

like even if we ignore that it was already incredibly unlikely given the nature of lifesteal and how clown could never trust anyone on ls wholly and completely knowing they COULD betray him and try to kill him at any moment, i actually think who kab is as a person is Why they never wouldve been able team w clown like they wanted to

not bc kab has specifically done anything wrong or done anything to make clown be against teaming w them, but bc kab lacks the distinct, very specific type of open and unashamed vulnerability people like branzy and ros exhibit both in general and w clown specifically that he seems drawn to. kab is too guarded and too tricky as a person to ever be vulnerable and openly reliant on clown in a way that makes him feel the Need to take care of nd protect them.

its not as if ros and branzy are incapable in the slightest; branzy is a cunning and surprisingly revenge driven guy and ros is incredibly smart and clearly WANTS to come out of her shell to fight for herself and for the people she holds dear, but w clown specifically they are so openly and easily vulnerable w him. they will go to him for protection and if they want to explore their own bloodlust, and they make clown feel needed and valued in an incredibly specific way. like theyre basically people he can save and protect in a way nobody else can bc he IS just the strongest, and nobody else can take care of them in the way he can bc of his strengeth and bc of the softness they show w him.

and kab is just...not that type of person. they could never be someone who leaves themself as openly vulnerable and reliant on clown in the way he needs to be needed for the relationship kab wanted w him. like kab is too scared and way too paranoid abt everything that could go wrong to put themself in a position like that. they lack the open softness and sorta "damsel" vibes that clown is drawn to in branzy and ros. the thing that makes him feel so strongly abt protecting them and taking care of them.

bc ultimately, kab is someone will fight and stop at nothing survive. there will never be a situation where theyd rely on clown to help or save them without any sort of other plan, so the fact that they would never need him in the way that makes him feel the most cared for and wanted means their relationship was never going to be what kab wanted it to be. and kab seems to have realized this, at least!!! that its smt they dont have w clown, but they can get something like what they need in mane bc he WILL protect them in the way they need but theres no rose tinted glasses for kab to view mane through so their relationship is, funnily enough, much more equal than kabs relationship w clown ever was due to the way they idolized him

[circeyoru]

Love Trial _ Part 2

[Sung Jinwoo x High School Ex-Lover!Reader]

Part 1 ― Part 2 (here)

“I’m sorry. Let’s break up.”

“I understand. I wish you happiness, Hunter Sung. May your days be nothing of smiles and content.”

At the time, there wasn’t much to it, nothing that would make him take it back nor chase after your fleeting form. He, too, turned and left, returning to his work as a Hunter like usual. There was nothing personal, just that he felt like the distance and connection between you two was weaker than what he and you first had all those years ago. 

Well, the difference in your circumstances could be the reason. He was a Hunter and you were a citizen. As bad as he sounded, you two were in different worlds and you both knew it deep down. Yet both of you continued to cling to the hope and familiarity of what you two once had during the peaceful days of school and study. 

The distance felt stronger and farther when he first had the System. He put everything into growing stronger and securing his place so his family would have an easier time. He was grateful for your understanding and the space you’ve given him, but part of him wanted something more, something he can’t place. He was content with you in his corner when things were rough, he thought he was content with that.

More. More. More.

He craved for something more. Like his continuous growth in power and levels, he also wanted his relationship with you to grow. However, as he put more time into the System and its mission for his growth, he should have given you the time of day. Not that he realized until you two met up and told the other what happened recently. 

Shamefully, he kept the System and the power boost he had a secret from you and only told you about the dungeons he cleared. How he was better now and could afford things like medical bills and rent, so you didn’t need to lend him a hand. Effortlessly, you told him everything was going on with your life without many secrets he could sense; it was all so natural to you. Even the part about some colleagues asking you out.

It got him thinking. The situation between you two. Can one really call it a romantic relationship? When the two of you met up after so long, you two shared a meal and he found it hard to even share his mind and situation. There wasn’t much romantic love going on, more like close friends getting together. If people were to see the two of you on the streets, unless you two were holding hands or Jinwoo have his arm over your shoulder, you two looked more like friends.

Just friends. Maybe best friends..?

That’s why he did what he did without remorse. Without realizing his fault. Without realizing the heartbreak he gave you.

Jinwoo thought it was fine to just downgrade you to the status of ‘friends’ instead of staying loyal as your romantic partner. Instead of even trying to revive this distant and strained relationship.

When Cha Hae-In appeared in the picture, he thought ‘This is love’, so he pursued it. A unique bond and connection unlike any other. He was slow to it, but it was worth it, he thought. There was that skip in his heart and minor butterflies in his stomach, so it had to be, right?

A date with Hae-In in the amusement park proved otherwise.

“What a coincidence. Didn’t expect to see you two here.” Choi Jong-In smiled while coming over with an ice cream cone and cup in his hands. “On a date?”

“Guildmaster.” Hae-In bowed his head in respect, though one could notice the blush on her face. “What are you doing here?”

“A causal outing with a friend of mine.” Jong-In answered. He raised his hands to gesture at the icy treat. “Was put on ice cream duty cause I flinched during a roller coaster ride.”

Hae-In laughed, “How does anyone notice that? They’d have to be staring at you the whole time.”

Jong-In nodded along with a smile, “You’re right; this friend of mine really was doing that the entire time, only cause staring at me was better than the ride and wanting free ice cream. I’m happy to oblige either way.”

“Jong-In! What’s taking you so long?!”

The familiar voice made Jinwoo’s head snap over to the side. There you were, walking through the crowd, panting a bit from a suspected run and dodging other people. He did notice a mid-freeze from you, but you continued to walk in his direction.

“Speak of the devil.” Jong-In chuckled and met you halfway, “Slow down, I’m not going anywhere.”

You glared at the fire mage and snatched the ice cream cup, “I’m scared my ice cream would melt! I didn’t care about you!”

“Ouch.” Jong-In playfully acted hurt.

You looked over Jong-In’s shoulder to see Jinwoo and Hae-In. You nodded your head in their direction and greeted them, “Hunter Sung and Hunter Cha. It’s good to see you.”

“Likewise.” Hae-In nodded, while Jinwoo only managed to nod without a word of exchange.

There was silence in the air, Jinwoo can’t help but stare at you, making you nudge closer to Jong-In’s side. A flame burned in his chest at your actions. He didn’t fail to notice how you tugged at Jong-In’s sleeve before the fire mage spoke up, “Well, it’s about time we head our way. Have a good time you two.”

Ironically, this time when you turned and left him, he wanted to chase after you. Just as he took one step and his lips parted, a weight on his arm grounded him. He looked down to see Hae-In shily smiling up at him. “Do you want to try what they did? Sounds fun!”

Right, you have had the best ideas to light up your times together. You can turn dull activities to something worthwhile.

“Let’s.”

As time passed, he found himself longing for your presence more and more. He’d see you while it was Hae-In he was spending his time with, scroll through your past chats with him (he’d see you online and offline from other chats presumably), and even hesitate to call you from time to time. He was always able to stop himself from actually calling you or texting you at the last second, swiftly coming to a sense of guilt. 

Then he buried himself in fights. Dungeons, worldly events, extra quests from the System. Anything to keep himself and his mind off of you, to remind himself why he said those words to you in the first place. It was his Hunter role that made things different, so he thought he’d be happier while attaching himself with a talented Hunter like Hae-In. However, in the end, all he only managed to do was foster more and more guilt and ache from his decision to be apart from you.

His blasted mind kept going back to the scene of you with Jong-In. He did know of your friendship with the man, that you had met him during your college days, an experience that he had to cut short due to his urgent need for money. Thinking back, why you didn’t first break up with him to go to Jong-In was a miracle. Since he was a lowly E-Rank and Jong-In was a successful S-Rank.

What a fool he was to give you up just like that.

He made attempts to see you again; the least he could do was treat you as a friend when he was such a heartbreaker. Through the eyes of his Shadows, he searched for you. Yet, every time, you were busy with your work or you were with some friends of yours. It looked as though you were well off without him, while he was wallowing in his own self-created sorrow. Your smiles without him was like a stab in his heart time and time again. Why did you stay with him when you were far better without him?

Silently, he sent his Shadows to protect you from any dangers. Call it a sixth sense or something, there was this uncanniness of you always glaring in the direction of where his Shadows were, as if you could tell he was looking at you and when.

.

.

.

“Will you allow me to call you mine?” Jinwoo asked the big question on his knee while you stared at him with your hands covering your mouth, obviously hiding a gasp. 

! NOTIFICATION

[WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESTART THE WORLD?]

YES NO

Words wouldn’t form and your eyes started to water. The only thing you managed to do was nod your head repeatedly, showing him that dazzling smile of yours and the echo of your laughter surrounded him.

! NOTIFICATION

[WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESTART THE WORLD?]

YES NO

Jinwoo rose to hug you. His arms opened and reached for you, yet the moment you were within arm’s reach, you faded to nothing. The smile on his face and the giddy feeling in his chest all disappeared like it was never there, replaced with an ache in his heart.

Jinwoo’s hand clenched as he stared at the spot where you once were. Imprinting into his mind that that was a reality he should have made come true and not here. “I know that all of this is an illusion…”

.

.

.

When the war was won and the Monarch of Destruction was no more, he had kneeled down in exhaustion. His mind hallucinated that you would be there to hug him. His ear would be against your chest as you would hug his head to close to you, you had always used your own heartbeat as his calming music after the deadly raids. It was the most melodic tune he had ever heard in his life. It would be fast initially, then slowed down to soft beats that his heart would follow. 

Of course, he’d never have the luxury of that anymore.

If only he had one more chance. “Just once more.” If only he hadn’t been so stupid to make that mistake. Your presence, your voice, your heart, your smile, your love. He could have it all again. If only he had a chance to start over. “Could I use the Cup of Reincarnation just once more?”

Soon. He’ll see you again.

.

.

.

My nightmare is over, and now, I’m with my younger sister, my mother who’s healthy, and my father who didn’t disappear. I was given the last chance to set everything right. I won’t lose this opportunity. I can now rewrite the future that is to come. But, just for a little… Isn’t it okay for me to just treasure this peace that I’m feeling? As a reward for myself.

He knew his duty and he knew when he’d meet you. High school was the fated time and place where the two of you left in love and started going out. This time, he’d fall in love with you and cherish you. Only you. Without the whole thing with gates and Hunters, he wouldn’t have to leave you to attend college. This time, he could attend college with you. By your side.

First. He has to deal with the Monarchs.

.

.

.

Jinwoo stayed seated as he stared at the melting buckles of ice cream he left untouched. The sweetness from the cold dessert had lost its flavour. To be thrown away after one’s purpose is fulfilled was a terrible feeling. Was this for you left when you were abandoned by him all that time ago? He hated this feeling and he hated himself for not realizing it sooner.

Just then he turned his head to the side, the glass showed the streets outside and the people that crowded it because of the giant gate he made for his return. His eyes weren’t mistaken. It had to be. There you stood, a younger form from what he recalled, but definitely you. You were staring at the ice cream shop’s menu with a thinking face before looking down to your phone and started moving once more.

He practically leapt out of his seat and ran to the doors. He saw your back disappear into the crowd and the call of your name from someone, someone he didn’t think would be there with you. Then you were gone again. He could have sent his Shadows to search for you or follow you, but it wasn’t a meeting that would do him much favour. In time, he’d meet you in high school. 

To wait a while longer then…

Manhwa Scene Used (just in case any of you wanna re-read): 161 (illusion with Reader), 179 (Jinwoo’s return & ice-cream shop)

Note: A bit longer, but it's cause Jinwoo's POV is bits and pieces since he needed to balance his depression and saving the world. You know, hero/MC stuff.

This got dragged on for posting cause I got annoyed with the people asking when/where's part 2 when there are responses above theirs already. Please just check before you ask something. It's not that hard, guys...

Part 3 in the works, no promises on when it'll be out

𝕮𝖎𝖗𝖈𝖊 𝖄.

My Works: MASTERLIST

Taglist: @my-arietta @mydearestbeloved @skylar896 @o-qi-shisme @the-dumber-scaramouche @mochinon-yah @waka-babe @ditmemay1234 @mangooes @cottonbeeeeeeee @gurlie919

[thekitsandthekats]

i wonder if people understand that to hate haley is to really really misunderstand aaron.

like, im not trying to make this about him but i think stories are so intertwined because obviously they are.

haley and aaron were highshool sweethearts! he said he fell in love with her after watching her rehearse. haley must've felt something too for them to be together, then to be together that long! she's been with him through law school, through being a prosecutor, through being on S.W.A.T, through FBI training and all the years working up to being the Unit Chief of the BAU. she's been right there with him!

they have jack and there is her happy family, the peaceful idyllic life dreams are made of, but of course aaron keeps working, he's always traveling to situations where he could die at any moment. that's hard, guys. to know that your husband could go to work and not come back, every single day. haley is an incredibly strong and loyal person and determined to keep her family together. but all of that is difficult in the face of aarons job. she knows that he loves her and jack, she knows that he's a good father but she also knows he's bound to duty, to his job, to saving eveyone he can. when she leaves its not because the love wasn't there but because she couldn't do it anymore. and there's strength in that too.

to leave the love of your life, the father of your children, someone you've been with through so much, since you were a teenager. do yall understand how difficult that must've been.

and even after she leaves, she still sends aaron videos of jack and little updates on his life. i always think of the end scene in seven seconds when aaron asks to see jack even though he's sleeping. haley stares at him for a beat before she says yes and ive always thought that she must see something on his face. a kind of look that means he's just come back from a difficult case and needs the reassurance of his family. so, of course she says yes.

the reason i say to hate haley is to misunderstand aaron is because her death broke him in unimaginable ways. the guilt must eat at him, killing him everyday. do you understand how important family is to aaron. he tells rossi once that he did everything for his family, that before the divorce he tried his hardest in everything. and to have haley be murdered because of her connection to him, because foyet used her as a tool to get to him.

he loved her with everything in him, and haley loved him just the same. to not respect her position in his life, is you doing a disservice to yourself. theirq story is heartbreaking gold.

im honestly tired of all the criminal minds fans dismissing haleys death. like that woman is strong. she knew damn well in that moment she was going to die but her kid was right there so she held herself together until her last final moments, so idc if “she cheated” or whatever bullshit yall try and use to hate on her — she was such an understanding wife and an amazing mother and im tired of yall shitting on her when you wouldn’t be able to handle half the shit she went through.

and i can now breathe!

[ur-local-wizard]

A Lucky Christmas

A seemingly innocent and thoughtful gift turns out to have an unexpected surprise.

heheh more fluff! (Can you tell its my fav to write?), love triangle, lots of impulsivity, slight(?) drugging, mattheo and theo being absolutely whipped, mattheo riddle x fem!reader, theo nott x fem!reder

w/c: 1k

masterlist

a/n: so sorry this took forever to post! got sick and barely got time to sleep between puking sessions, much less write.... ANYWAY, shout out to @leona-hawthorne for proof reading for me!

Mattheo didn’t know how he got himself into this situation. He knew he and Y/n were staying at Hogwarts for Christmas. He stayed at school simply to avoid his father, but she refused to give her reason why she decided to stay. The whole thing was weird, especially because she usually looked forward to going home and spending time with her family. 

A few days into break, Y/n wanted to help the house elves decorate the Great Hall, and somehow she and her irresistible smile got him to come with her. So imagine his surprise when Theo, of all people, walks into the hall, ready to help her out too. Mattheo didn’t even know that the Italian was staying as well. Did she ask him to help too?

This girl just has the two of them wrapped around her little finger, and she’s so oblivious to that fact that it’s almost infuriating. 

So now, the three are scurrying around the huge room, hanging tinsel and putting ornaments on the huge tree. Y/n is occupied with draping garland made of popcorn and cranberries across the evergreen’s branches, with the help of some house elves. Mattheo and Theo got stuck with the job of sorting through old ornaments, with the instructions to throw away any broken baubles they might find. However, a wooden one caught Mattheo’s eye. It was engraved with y/n’s favorite flower, and it was just the perfect gift to give to the girl. 

“Psst, Theo,” the brunette hissed, looking around to make sure no one else was within ear shot. Theo turned around, an eyebrow raised. He hummed inquisitively. “You think we can give this to Y/n? She would like this, right?” Mattheo asked, passing the trinket. “You’re better at all the sentimental stuff than me.”

Theo inspected the ornament, nodding. “I think she would. Good find.” He nudged the brunette’s shoulder before waving a house elf over. 

The elf assured the two boys that they never use the ornament anyways, and so Theo shoved it in his pocket. “I’ll go put this in our dorm. We’re almost done here anyway, so you guys shouldn’t miss me much. If Y/n asks, just tell her that I’ll see her at dinner, yeah?” 

Mattheo noded, and the rest of the time spent decorating flew by. He ended up regretting his decision to help, solely because he didn’t get many chances to be with Y/n. He figured the elves must’ve loved torturing him.

By the time Mattheo got back to his dorm, Theo was pacing around. The Italian had the wooden trinket in his hand, holding it in a vice-like grip. 

“You good?” Mattheo asked him, to which Theo responded, “Yeah. Fine. Just jittery. Where's Y/n?”

The brunette gave him a questioning look, but responded nonetheless. “Don’t know for sure, but I would assume her dorm. She said she was tired when we left.” Theo nodded in response, and set the ornament he was holding down, quickly racing out of the shared space. He looked jittery and oddly excited, uncharacteristic of the Italian. 

However, Mattheo decided to shrug it off. He picked up the trinket, turning it over in his hands to examine it. This compulsive curiosity began to morph into a full-blown exploration, his mind focused on the girl this gift was meant for. Suddenly, an abrupt wave of confidence washed over him, making him feel unusually warm and tingly. 

He set the bauble down, eyes flitting toward the door. Maybe he would go and talk to Y/n too, just to have a little chat. Or better yet, he could admit how he feels. He’s had a thing for her for forever, his mind never failing to wander to more romantic places when in her presence. 

His feet moved on his own, carrying him through the castle and to her dorm; and before he knew it, his fist was knocking on her door. It swung open, and he was greeted by a fond smile spreading on her lips when she saw him. He stepped inside, and wasn’t surprised when he saw Theo standing in the room as well.

“Are you here for what I think you are?” Mattheo asked the other boy, to which Theo nodded. “Mhm. I just told her I love her.” 

The other boy’s bluntness surprised Mattheo a bit, since indelicate and direct comments were usually the brunette’s forte. It must just be an odd day. 

“Well,” Mattheo gently took Y/n’s hand, getting her attention, “I feel the same way about you that Theo does. I love you, darling. You’ve been such a bright light in my life.”

Her eyes went wide with surprise, and she went still. Mouth floundering a bit, the girl struggled to form a response. The boys noticed and chuckled, Theo reassuring her. “I'm not sure about Mattheo, but I know I’m not going to make you choose. I just want a chance.” 

Mattheo nodded in agreement. “God no, I wouldn’t dream of putting you through that stress.” Y/n relaxed a bit at that comment, but she was still a bit weary, due to their odd and overly impulsive behavior. 

“You guys are always a bit reckless, Mattheo especially.” She gives him a little nudge. “But what’s up with you two?” 

They both shrug. “Dunno. Just got you this present, which made me think about you a ton. I guess thinking about you so much made me want to tell you?” Theo guesses. “I felt the same way. Hey- did you get that weird rush when you held it too?” Mattheo queried, now invested. 

“Weird rush? What, was it laced with liquid luck?” Y/n asks with a laugh, albeit a slightly apprehensive one. Her comment earned shocked looks from the boys, quickly followed by laughter. 

“That’s it! I didn’t think much of the weird giddiness, though I should have,” Theo said between laughs.

“Nor of the sudden rush of confidence,” Mattheo agrees, his shoulders shaking with amusement. “We should get her a new gift, huh?” 

Theo nodded in agreement, and the group laughed about it for a while. The boys certainly didn’t hear the end of their accidental potion mishap for quite some time, Y/n teasing them about it relentlessly.

Thank you all for your patience while I've been sick! I'm not too happy with this, but I needed to get it out lollll <3

tag list: @ilovejamespottersomuch @mattyriddlesbitch @valenftcrush @sturniolover13 @paankhaleyaaar @thereeallink

©ur-local-wizard translating, republishing, copying, or claiming my work as yours is not permitted. all my work belongs to me and me only. thank you!

[unacknowledgeable]

Uhm, hey!

I love your serial killer reader so so much, and I just want to say that it just scratches that itch in my brain.

Though, I feel like commissioners Gordon could be a yandere of a sort. He’s obsessed with the killer and finding this person, willing to break any law to find evidence, to risk his own morals to get a clue. And if he finds out its reader???

Well, I’ll be kinda like a Hannibal and will situation, but platonic. Like, reader now has their sight on this man, curious on how he’ll play the game, and Gordon is too obsessed not to play.

Anyway, could I be 🔎? Thanks for reading!!

Oh anon, anon anon anon, big kith for you (to transfer the worms, obviously) I told myself i would take a BREAK, but you, you, I'm bouncing off the walls bc of you

Y’know I actually have a spreadsheet with all of the batfams ages? when certain events happen, motivations, etc, now I gotta add gordon too, goodness me.

I honestly haven't watched Hannibal QwQ haha, would you believe me if I said most of the media I consume is actually feel good kids cartoons….? 

BUT I have been wanting to watch it so I watched the first few episodes before replying to this, because I gotta be informed y’know? admittedly i find there's a lot of disconnect between the correlating characters, but this is a wonderful jumping off point!

ANYWAY, I have actually been trying to think of a way to give the MC more of a life outside of angst with the batfam and, well, you know, murdering people. and this? This is so fun. I think the MC would probably know Gordon through Barbara (obviously), but that's not how they met. He was there, the night your mother died, arriving on the scene to find something he had hoped he wouldn't have found again, not after the first time. A small, 8 year old child, orphaned in a single night.

 Admittedly, that's where the similarities ended.  Where Bruce lost his parents in a back alley of Gotham, you lost yours within your own home. Where two gunshots marked the Wayne couple, your mother was bludgeoned . Where Bruce had wept, blood on his shoes as he gripped his parents bodies, pleading and fighting to hold on, you sat outside, waiting for police to arrive, not a drop of blood on you. 

Getting you to answer questions was like pulling teeth, all they could gather was that your mother had sent you to bed and you later woke up to find her body in the kitchen, having already been dead for several hours. They figured it was a robbery gone wrong, which would explain the killer not knowing another person was in the house, having fled the scene as soon as possible. But that didn't explain why on earth you didn't wake up to what was obviously a loud struggle, there was simply no way. 

The blood results very quickly answered that question and sparked hundreds more. Your mother had been microdosing your food with sleeping pills, all found within the apartment under her name. Either she didn't want to deal with putting you to bed or wanted to make sure you stayed there throughout the night. The fact that you were even still conscious was kinda a miracle. Gordon seriously wished that had been the biggest surprise from those damned tests. Because it turned out his earlier comparisons with Bruce Wayne were far more accurate then he ever would have guessed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's not exactly a stretch to assume Gordan kept some kind a of contact with you after everything is settled, he’s done it before, dudes literally one of Bruce's best friends 

He sees you at charity galas a lot, and after catching you trying to sneak alcohol from one of the tables? He appoints himself as your chaperone for any galas you both happen to attend from there on out, which is quite a few of them over the years

You'd have been a lot more annoyed with him if he hadn't allowed you to ramble and talk non-stop throughout the whole event (he was a distraction, like the alcohol, at least this distraction is legal)

This continues on even when your older, when he no longer has any legal need to herd you away from the drink tables, it's just habit now, and you hate breaking habits

While your connection with Bruce can get you many places, it's your connection with the Commissioner that basically guarantees you a position in the coroner's office

yeah, they work in the coroner's office as a mortuary assistant heheheeh  

It's not really suspicious either, Gordon had been well aware of your goal for the job for many years (long before you started making the bodies yourself)

So now, not only do you have near unlimited access to all the case files the bats have on you, you also had access to what the police knew (it's mostly the same stuff, but you had to cover all your bases, god you're just like your father)

There was some sort of irony, performing autopsies on the people you killed, but you don't care to look for it, more focused on destroying any bits of evidence you can

Gordon is no stranger to giving out confidential police info, hell he has a glorified flashlight built specifically to call the bat and just hand him case files, ON TOP OF THE POLICE STATION!!

You often work similar hours, so you let him talk and talk and talk at length about how fucking weird this serial killer in particular is

Unlike with the batfam, reader literally gets a front row seat to Gordon's descent into obsession

You'd seen him with almost every other criminal case that popped up during your time spent around the police department, so you caught on pretty quickly that this was was no normal case to him anymore

He was obsessive, rattling on about the motives and habits of this killer, talking like he knew them personally (oh the ironyyyy) and at first? It weirded you the fuck out.

Not the behavior in general, but that it was essentially focused solely on you, you kept him up at night, kept him guessing, wondering when you’ll strike next, how brutal will it be, more or less than usual?

At first you're like “oh okay, ummmm…. you good buddy? I'm not sure you're all there yourself actually”

You'd just never felt so seen, at least, not by someone still living

Now, Gordon's obsession isn't based on nothing, when I said he found the way SK!reader operated weird asf, I meant it, this man is utterly baffled by it

Normally, when crime scenes are as brutal as yours, its personal, they know the person they've murdered and they hold so much rage in their heart that they can't help but try to cause as much damage to the victim as possible

These crimes also only ever happen once. Not dozens and dozens of times, committed by the same person, it is always so insanely messy that it's easy to pinpoint the who, how and why. Open and shut cases really, just another Tuesday

But when he looks closer? It feels…. Sterile, Methodical, Planned out, scripted, like hitting replay on a particularly interesting scene in a show

This? This has all the showy, over-exaggerated nature of Gotham's greatest rogues, down to the last detail, to the last drop of blood. but it's missing the rogue

It has all of the signs of an attention seeking psychopath, but none of the drive to follow through. To take your rightful credit

Normally such a passionate crime would have someone of equal magnitude behind it. The Joker and his killing Jokes, Ivy and her Eco-terrorism, Bane and his hulking demeanor, Two-face and his double standards-

The point is, there's always a show before the Finale, but with you? He only gets a glimpse at the film before the end credits roll. 

It’s like you're diverting where your real motivations lie, like this is you holding back.

 It’s driving him up a wall

 Your really not making this easy for him, ever your fathers child

Besides that, I'm gonna end this with a few interesting points I thought of that are more difficult to go into more detail rn

Reader is pretty okay with hanging out with Gordon mostly to be petty to Barbara

Of the mindset of “oh, you want my dad? Fine, your dad's mine now. Y oink-”

Later, this'll be a pretty big blow to Bruce's ego, bc like, that's his best friend, so how can he really be upset that Gordon stepped up where he failed? Won’t stop him from being mopey about it though.

It's also a hit to Alfred's as well, because how hadn't he noticed you growing so close to the commissioner? He though your pulling away from him for emotional support was just you growing up, not you looking for it elsewhere 

Gordon has also gotten the closest to finding the reader out, completely by accident

It was one of those days and he was worried about your sour mood, so he figured he’d drop by your workplace, pick you up after your shift ended, and go get take out

Safe to say, he was not expecting to find you mid brawl with some random drunk in an alley only 4 blocks away from where you worked

He stepped in immediately, to your surprise and horror, but he… he checked you for damage instead of slapping you in cuffs, made sure you were okay before calling an EMT to the location, and the only questions he had asked were “Are you okay sprout?”

You thanked your lucky stars that it was the drunk who had thrown the first swing, had instigated the fight, that the camera from the corner store across the street helped solidify that it was self defense, that Gordon had shown up just before it switched to a grizzly murder, and not during.

Another side story could also be the reader getting weirdly invested in the case about them at some point, because they realized they had a copycat killer and it really pissed them off lol

[rafecamerons-national-anthem]

RESCUE GONE WRONG-RAFE CAMERON

𝕤𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕪 While exploring the marsh, you gets stuck in quicksand and Rafe is the only one around who could save you

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

The air was thick with humidity as you trekked through the marsh, the ground beneath your boots soft and treacherous. The evening was warm, and the fading light cast a golden glow over the landscape, making everything seem deceptively peaceful. The swamp’s stillness was interrupted only by the occasional croak of a frog or the rustle of the wind through the trees. You had come here to clear your head, to get away from the noise of the world, but nature had other plans.

Your foot slipped.

At first, you thought it was just the mud, the marsh trying to cling to your boot. But when your other leg followed suit, sinking deeper, the reality hit you like a cold slap, quicksand.

You struggled, panic rising as your legs sank further into the earth. The more you fought, the deeper you seemed to sink. Your heart pounded in your chest, and you could feel the weight of the mud pulling you under, heavy and unforgiving.

"Shit, shit!" You cursed, trying to move your legs, but it was useless. You were stuck.

Desperation clawed at you, but just as you started to lose hope, a voice broke through the swamp’s quiet, too calm for the situation at hand.

"You’re an idiot."

You glanced up, seeing Rafe Cameron standing a few feet away, an amused expression on his face. He was wearing his usual cocky smirk, but there was something in his eyes, something a little more alert, a little more concerned than you expected.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" you managed, your voice laced with frustration and panic.

He raised an eyebrow, stepping forward with caution. "Guess I could ask you the same thing."

“Help me!” you snapped, realizing how ridiculous you must sound, but there was no time for pride.

Rafe’s smirk faltered just slightly, his eyes narrowing as he observed the situation. “Alright, hold still. I’ll get you out.” He started to move closer, stepping carefully on the marshy ground.

You watched as he hesitated for a split second before getting closer to you, his expression unreadable. With a determined sigh, he knelt down beside you, keeping a wary eye on the quicksand.

“Don’t move too much. You’re just making it worse,” Rafe warned.

“Yeah, I know that!” you retorted, a bit more sharply than you intended, but the fear and frustration were building inside of you. “You think I’m trying to get stuck? I need you to get me out of here.”

He shot you a look, half exasperation, half amusement but then he grabbed your arm, his grip firm, and with a series of careful tugs, he managed to pull you out of the sinking sand.

Once you were back on solid ground, you fell backward, panting, adrenaline still rushing through your veins. Rafe stood over you, his hand still hovering in the air like he wasn’t sure whether he should help you up or not.

“Thanks,” you muttered, not really sure how to feel about the fact that Rafe Cameron had just saved your ass.

“Yeah, don’t get too used to it,” he said, offering a hand up after all. His voice held its usual cocky edge, but there was something almost softer in his demeanor now, something unspoken between the two of you.

You dusted yourself off, standing to your feet with a grimace, still feeling the sinking weight of the marsh in your bones. “What were you doing out here, anyway? This isn’t exactly your kind of territory.”

Rafe shrugged, looking away as he shifted uncomfortably. "Just needed some space. Same as you, I guess." His voice dropped slightly, a note of sincerity slipping through the usual bravado.

The admission took you by surprise. You hadn’t expected Rafe to actually be out here for anything other than to show off or get away from something, but there was a quiet weight to his words that made you reconsider your assumptions about him.

You glanced at him, an unspoken question hanging in the air between you.

Rafe caught your gaze, but he quickly looked away, an uncomfortable shift in his posture. “Not that it matters,” he muttered, his usual cocky mask snapping back into place. “But whatever. You’re out of the quicksand, so I guess my work here is done.”

"Yeah, thanks," you said again, your voice quieter this time. There was something different in his eyes, something more real, more raw than you’d ever seen before.

You felt it then, the tension between you, the way your shared experience had pulled something out of him, just like it had pulled something out of you. The world around you seemed to shift ever so slightly, and for the first time, Rafe didn’t seem like the untouchable Cameron heir.

Instead, he seemed...human. Vulnerable, even.

He gave a quick, dismissive nod, but the small gesture felt more sincere than anything he’d said earlier. “Don’t get stuck again.”

You stood there for a moment, watching him and despite the chaos of the situation, you found yourself with more questions than answers.

Rafe Cameron, of all people, had just saved you. And for reasons you couldn’t quite pinpoint, you knew this moment would linger far longer than either of you would be willing to admit.

Rafe’s voice broke through your thoughts, and you blinked, not quite sure if you’d heard him correctly. He turned back, that cocky smirk creeping back onto his face, though it was tinged with something more playful now.

“Now you owe me,” he said, his tone lighter than before, but still unmistakably confident.

You frowned, wiping your hands on your jeans as if you could somehow erase the awkward tension in the air. “Owe you?” you asked, raising an eyebrow. “For saving my ass?”

He shrugged nonchalantly, his gaze meeting yours with a glint of mischief. “Yep. That’s how it works. I helped you, now you owe me something.”

You crossed your arms over your chest, still not sure where this was going. “Alright, fine. What do you want?”

Rafe leaned against a nearby tree, his posture relaxed as he gave you an assessing look, as if weighing his options. His eyes locked with yours, and for a moment, it felt like he was considering something serious.

Then, just as quickly, his smirk returned, and his voice dropped into a smooth, almost teasing tone. “Go out with me. On a date.”

You stared at him, blinking in disbelief. “What?”

He raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by your shock. “A date. You know, dinner, maybe a movie. You owe me, remember?”

You let out a sharp laugh, your arms uncrossing as you took a step back. “Hell nah, Rafe. You’re a kook, I’m a pogue. Things don’t work like that. We don’t mix, man.”

He didn’t back down. Instead, his grin widened, an almost predatory glint in his eyes. “Come on. It’ll be fun. What’s the worst that could happen?”

You shook your head, trying to suppress the laugh that threatened to escape. “Are you serious right now?”

He leaned closer, taking a few steps toward you, his expression serious now, but with that same undeniable challenge in his eyes. “What’s it gonna hurt? You owe me. You can’t back out now.”

You glared at him, feeling the urge to walk away. The thought of actually going on a date with him, Rafe Cameron, the cocky heir to the Cameron fortune, seemed ridiculous. It would never work. There was no way it could work.

But then, something unexpected happened. Instead of walking away or laughing it off, you found yourself…hesitating.

You stood there for a long moment, caught in a war between your instincts and your curiosity. The ridiculousness of it all, the boldness of Rafe’s request, was part of the reason why you were so drawn to the idea, despite everything.

“Fine,” you said, surprising even yourself with your words. “I’ll go. But this better not be some stupid prank, Rafe.”

He straightened, clearly pleased by your answer, but he tried to play it cool. “It’s not a prank. I promise. Just a normal date.”

You couldn’t help but laugh again, shaking your head. “A normal date? With you? That’s rich.”

“I’m full of surprises,” he said, his tone almost too cocky, but there was something almost vulnerable hidden behind the smirk. Something that made you wonder if maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t as confident as he liked to seem.

“Yeah, I bet,” you replied, feeling the tension between you start to shift into something else. “Alright, Cameron. But this is the last time I’ll let you pull me into your world.”

Rafe’s eyes softened for a moment, his usual bravado slipping, and you caught a glimpse of something real in him, something more than just the privileged, reckless Kook everyone saw.

“You might be surprised,” he said quietly, his voice almost gentle.

You nodded, unsure of what exactly you were getting yourself into but suddenly, inexplicably curious. “Don’t make me regret this.”

Rafe grinned, his usual cocky confidence flooding back. “I’m counting on it.”

The night of the date arrived faster than you anticipated, and you found yourself standing in front of your mirror, questioning everything. Why had you agreed to this? Was it really just because of that ridiculous you owe me moment? Or was it something else? Something you weren’t ready to admit to yourself?

You wore something casual, but enough to make the evening feel like a real date, nothing too flashy, but still something that made you feel confident.

When Rafe picked you up, he was wearing a leather jacket that seemed to reflect his personality perfectly, sharp, confident, and maybe a little too cool for his own good. But there was something about his eyes, the way he looked at you, that made it impossible to ignore the connection between you two.

"Ready?" he asked, his voice smooth, almost like he was asking if you were ready for anything, anything at all.

You nodded, feeling the tension, the weird chemistry between you two swirling in the air. "Yeah, let’s go."

Dinner was surprisingly easy. It wasn’t like the chaos you expected. Sure, there was some awkwardness at first, two different worlds colliding but Rafe was surprisingly good at making you laugh, and by the time dessert rolled around, you found yourself enjoying his company in a way you hadn’t anticipated.

As the night went on, you found yourself seeing him in a different light. The cocky act was still there, but there were moments of quiet honesty, glimpses of a side of him no one else seemed to see. A side that didn’t want to live in the shadow of his family’s expectations, a side that was looking for something real.

And when he dropped you off, standing awkwardly in front of your door, there was a shift. It wasn’t just the date that had changed things; it was the fact that you were standing there, in the middle of it all, unsure what would come next, but realizing that maybe this wasn’t as ridiculous as you once thought.

“You know, you’re not as bad as I thought you’d be,” you said, the words leaving your mouth before you could stop them.

Rafe chuckled, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. “I could say the same about you, you know.”

You gave him a playful shove. “Alright, you can drop the charm now. I’ll see you later, Cameron.”

He smiled, a genuine smile, as he leaned closer. “Yeah. You’ll see me.”

And just like that, you were left standing at your door, a little shaken, a little uncertain. The night had gone differently than you expected, but one thing was clear, you weren’t quite done with Rafe Cameron yet. And that, in itself, was a terrifying thought.

But maybe, just maybe, you were starting to like the chaos that came with it.

𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥 @nicholaschavezslut69

[thewertsearch]

@krixwell asked: I think it's general theory summary o'clock. Broadly, what are your expectations for the rest of Act 5 and its ending?

I'm a little late answering this one - but hey, better late than never!

I can't predict the rest of the Act anymore, but I can try and predict the ending. Here are my predictions for what'll happen in Cascade, organized by character.

Rose & Dave

The Derse twins, who have dispatched DD together, meet Aradia at the Green Sun. The Tumor detonates as planned, but Aradia is able to save them somehow, possibly by spiriting them away with time travel...

...or, by telling them how she cheated death.

Aradia was able to resurrect herself without a backup body, from a pedestal hidden within the moon of Derse; the very moon the kids are currently piloting. Doc Scratch has already hinted that Rose might ascend on 'another quest bed somewhere', and I think this is how she - and Dave - could do it.

If Rose and Dave died destroying the Sun, it would almost certainly count as Heroic – but that doesn't actually matter. If the twins die on Quest Slabs, they won't die as God Tiers - they'll die as mortals, and resurrect as God Tiers. They should reincarnate safely, as the Sun collapses for good.

The Meteor Crew

To be honest, I don't think the trolls will have much of a role to play in the endgame. All the action is happening in the kids' session, and now that the Scratch has started, they can't even contact that session.

In any case, these kids are planning to follow the Green Sun's explosion to a predetermined rendezvous point. I'm not sure how they're going to get there - but Kanaya is a wielder of the Space Aspect, so maybe it's her time to shine.

...I mean, shine even more brightly than she already does.

Jack

After he absolutely kills CD, Jack is destined to travel to the troll session, but I still have no idea how. Perhaps the dimensional instability created by the Scratch will start to rip holes into other sessions, and he’ll be lured into one? Who knows.

I'm as stumped as I ever was. Only one way to find out, I guess!

John

Once he's triggered the Scratch, this kid's going to need an out. He'll need to make himself scarce in order to avoid being erased...

...or, perhaps he won’t. Perhaps, as the Heir of Breath, he’ll be able to use the Breeze to conceal himself from whatever force is destroying the session, the same way he hid his scent from Jack.

Either way, he'll probably be fine, while the same cannot be said for...

Jade

The greatest of Fs for our girl. Jade's been killed in an extremely tense situation, without leaving much hope for her resurrection before the Scratch.

The Sprites are still around, but I don’t know how they’d revive her- like, sure, Nanna has a healing beam, but I don’t think she can heal death. Plus, Jade made a Choice with Echidna to locate her Final Frog - and it seems that accepting a Choice will inevitably lead you to sacrifice your life. If Jade's death was immediately undone, would it really count as a sacrifice?

I don't want to call it too early, but... it isn't out of the question that Jade is gone for good. Especially when she's already got a replacement, waiting in the wings.

Jadesprite

I think it's genuinely possible that Jadesprite could take over Jade's role as one of the 'main' four kids.

She's about to lose her First Guardian powers, but she should still have time to fulfil Echidna's request in her realself's stead, simply by shrinking the entire session, and teleporting it to the Furthest Ring, where her allies can captchalogue it. Hell, this would be easy for her.

I really, really don't want Jade to be dead. But, well... she made a Choice.

The Endgame

Finally, we see the consequences of the Green Sun’s destruction, which I’m sure are as cataclysmic as they are unexpected. Rose realizes how badly she was played, as Scratch's full hand is finally revealed. All of Paradox Space shakes from the impact. Scratch and Snowman die, and English consumes the troll universe.

Everyone meets up on the exiled Lands, and they resolve to travel to the reset session, once it’s spawned.

Act 6?

After we're done, I’m hoping for the Guardians-as-Players to get the Hivebent treatment – by which I mean, I’m hoping Act 6 gives us the full story of the Scratched session, right from kid Nanna standing in her bedroom. It’s also possible, though, that we’ll join their session in medias res, as our protagonists' teenage parents face hitherto unknown challenges in a new Medium. I'll talk more about my specific predictions for the Guardian session in their own post, once Act 5 has fully concluded.

The adventure continues, as the kids slowly realize that English, and the Paradox Space twisted to suit his ends, is the true enemy, and they begin to make plans to confront him directly.

[noihavenosanitythanksforasking]

i cannot express how much i adore the dinner scene in 1x01. i think about it constantly. theres so much covert queercoding for mike that it literally drives me crazy.

the fact that just a bit before this we have the scene with joyce and hop where they imply that they are scared that will has been a victim of a gay hate crime. and throughout the season its implied over and over and no one really seems to give a shit. not even lucas and dustin. they care about will DEEPLY ofc but the fact that most ppl are expecting him to be dead and killed bc hes gay doesnt seem to bother them? the scene where troy is bullshitting about will in the gym they both just stand there, they dont make any move to stop him or call him out. no one does (this isnt me calling lucas and dustin bad ppl or not allys or wtv but u get the point).

mike however does give a shit. he gives QUITE A FEW shits.

in the dinner scene mike is clearly distressed about his friend. which is a perfectly heterosexual thing to do. in general. however hes not straight so its gay when he does it. ANYWAYS. he is clearly distressed about it but his entire family is completely unconcerned. nancy is preoccupied and doesnt give a shit. hollys a baby. ted is well ted. and karen. i need to talk about karen for a sec.

karen ADRESSES that she thinks something bad happened to will by telling nancy she cant go to barbs house until will is found. however she acts very dismissive of wills situation in general. im sure she was worried for him but she does it (or at least expresses it) is a very passive way. she is not focused on will being missing or what may have happened to him, just the fact that something bad happened in general to a person in hawkins.

the fact is, besides mike, karen is the only one worried at all. and shes not even close to matching mikes energy in the slightest.

when mike mentions steve, the conversation is totally derailed from will. as if it wasnt an important conversation in the first place.

nancy storms off. and ted. oh ted you son of a bitch. ted says the classic

"you see what happens"

line. and what a line it is. due to all of the references prior to this and the fact that most ppl believe that somehting bad happened to will. its not hard to see that ted is once again referring to will being hate crimed.

you see what happens when youre gay? bad things happen to you. and then everyone you care about is just inconvenienced. theyre lives are disrupted.

karen glances at ted, clearly understanding what he means. and mike does too.

"what happens when what"

hes not asking. hes angry. and you can just see the exasperation on mikes face the whole scene

why is it not weird for will to go missing. why is no one surprised that something mad happened to him. why is no one else frantic to get him back. why is no one else worried about will. why is it considered normal for this to happen. why arent ppl upset like he is. just bc ppl think will is gay? that makes it all make sense? bullshit.

mike storms downstairs and calls lucas. when trying to convince him to come look for will his argument is the fact that will took a risk to help the party when he could have protected himself. but he didnt.

mike knows what ppl think happened to will. if he just thought will was lost or something looking for him wouldnt be a risk. it would just be an opportunity to find him. but he calls it a risk. will sacrificed something to protect the party (mike) when he could have saved himself from all that suffering. but he didnt. and now mike will do the same for him.

[qoldenskies]

Yeah people pleaser Leo takes me out of fics so fast. Way faster than unbothered Donnie Or a Leo that crumbles under trauma if I'm honest

I've seen a lot of fics where his internal dialogue is so dependant heavy? And anxious about everything

That Leo would never tease Raph about his "chasm." The mere idea would make him want to vomit

Maybe they should try writing for mutant mayhem instead? Now there's an anxious, people pleasing Leo

"he would not say that" is one thing and its usually leveraged wrong. you can stomp on characters in all sorts of ways to Make Them Say That. i struggle with judging over the much deeper "he would not have that stress response" AND IN LEO'S CASE I DONT LIKE IT WHEN PEOPLE MAKE HIM FAWN LOL its pretty much the thing he does the LEAST, sucking up to people to manipulate them or going "ermmmmm why are you angry? lol" are both things that are not fawn responses at all LMFAO

actually that argument with raph in the movie is pretty much the BEST example of leo going to fight mode when he's upset about something. brushing it off and riling up raph INTENTIONALLY to derail the situation, he likes to go the long way around to make raph look unreasonable sometimes lmao. he likes to poke at them to embarrass them in order to express his disapproval, and he ESPECIALLY does it to those he's directly already antagonistic with. hell, he can even open his big mouth around the kraang in the middle of a dire situation lmao

donnie is so focused on attaining the approval of others, he is a BILLION times more likely to fawn and suck up when he feels threatened, as well as harbor a lot of anxiety about how others perceive him. leo wants to be liked, and he doesn't want to be alone, of course, but he turns a lot of inward. its about the persona he puts up, and when he's upset he'll crack down on it and put those walls up higher, usually via. lashing out in that exact way

it's literally the "im just a little guy im just a little birthday boy" response, but i think if you fucked him up enough you could make him more surprisingly focused cornered animal tbhhh and i think that's a ton more interesting interpretation of his issues. they cant psychological warefare him the same way he does them and it shows

tdlr in my opinion its like. he would not turn to desperate people pleasing when he feels his sense of self shaken or destroyed, he would double down and shut people out and potentially even refuse to accept help instead

hell, it took EVERYTHING with the kraang and all of the near death experiences in order to get him to actually reflect on himself and change in the movie. leo DOES CARE. very much, and a big reason he was so upset with raph and reacted like that is because raph used the lives of their little brothers as a point of argument, and implied he was apathetic to something like that. he HATES being seen that way!! so him actually facing how this behavior IS bad and seeing how much danger its gotten them into (especially with CJ's words in mind) is the thing that really makes him re-evaluate himself and grow.

leo pretends to have a fawn response but its very apparent that its just masquerading a deeply-rooted fight response. donnie pretends to have a fight response but its very apparent he's just masquerading a deeply-rooted fawn response. you understand.

[tigersharkapologist]

thank you for popping off I absolutely love having these discussions

You make a seriously great point on how the Septimius twins see Macrinus as the closest thing to an actual father figure they’ve ever had—tbh I didn’t even account for that at first but it makes so much sense. They see an older male individual giving them genuine advice and direction and immediately latch on and pour all of their trust into them. Which would be understandable if you yourself never felt that kind of fatherly love before.

This also implies that they have literally not even felt a smidge of fatherly love before because what Macrinus gave them was not even CLOSE to the bare minimum that a father should. They can’t even recognize it’s the bare minimum because they’ve never had anything real. They were that desperate to be given less than a fraction of what they were owed in childhood and that rat milked it all the way up the social hierarchy ladder. Im genuinely shocked how much watching Macrinus lie to them in their faces and them feeling completely safe around him honestly made my heart twist way more than I thought it would. If you’ve ever seen that image of a leopard holding a baby gazelle hostage and the baby doesnt know it’s in danger because it assumes the leopard is safe—it’s literally that same situation. Geta and Caracalla have no idea, not even a hint of distrust in this man because its the most amount of real attention they’ve been given—like ever. And you’d think one would actually be distrustful in said “care” initially, but it’s just that they’re so desperate they’re taking scraps with greedy hands.

As for Geta’s death, Caracalla does claim that it was his father’s guiding hand that caused this—but how could Caracalla know that? He was anything but Lucid during his episode, including the adjourning of the senate. I doubt Caracalla even felt anything physically during the attack—he was that lost to the throes of nuerosyphilis and what honestly looked like a ptsd attack. What if —to save his neck from Caracalla’s current line of fire— Macrinus, ever the despicable rat bastard, lied to Caracalla that his father’s spirit was the one who guided his hand, not Macrinus. What if Macrinus was the one who told Caracalla that this same spirit told Macrinus that Dondas should be first consul (as electing himself would be too obvious) and that he should be second consul. And Caracalla would believe him easy. Why? Macrinus was “comforting” him when he was alone, under the table. Macrinus obviously cares for Dondas, he said Geta was a threat to her! Macrinus must be telling the truth! After all, it’s the least he could do to reward and thank his friend for being so understanding and patient with him. Macrinus would never pass up an opportunity to manipulate Caracalla in such a vulnerable state if it meant more political power. Whatever the interpretation, Macrinus was always playing the long game. The murders of Geta and Caracalla were premeditated for months ever since Lucius was really starting to gain traction. This man had a plan and followed through till the very end. Macrinus is far too vile, calculating and cruel hearted to have added “murder the emperors and assume power” only recently.

Pivoting, shoutout to the director for actually making a villain I dislike fully in every sense of the word. I never rooted for Macrinus once. He was so wicked towards these poor boys that I just can’t help but literally feel contempt when he’s on screen. That’s some powerful character writing right there. He had zero hesitation and was SO ready to emotionally play with the fragile hearts of two seriously young men who were never given any meaningful love and attention. He was so ready to manipulate them. He didn’t even kill them mercifully he killed them in the most horrific ways possible! Good thing a point is a point and that scumbag got what was coming. Geta and Caracalla deserved so much better than the cards they were dealt.

Look at this face.

Look at how genuinely distressed Geta looks.

Not only does he have to deal with the very present reality that Caracalla—his only real family and friend—is suffering from an incurable disease, but he’s woken with a start to discover that his most trusted and prized general was plotting a coup against him. I don’t think Acacius has the heart to actually kill the young emperors—to dethrone them and put them in prison seems more his speed. But Geta doesn’t know that. For all he knows Acacius just conspired murder against his brother, as coups usually result in the murder of the head.

Geta is stressed out of his mind. He can’t trust his military, he can’t trust his senate, he can’t even feel safe in his high tower without armed Gladiators nearly killing him. He can’t even really trust the Praetorian either since their loyalty is literally based off of if they think you’re a good emperor or not, and from what we know that remains up in the air. So threats are coming at him from all sides and he feels as though he’s the only one who can truly protect his brother. There’s nothing he can really do against the conspirers, there’s nothing he can do about Caracalla’s mental descent, there’s no one he can ask for help, no one who can fix this for him. He’s on his own completely. And just when he thinks he’s received a warm helping hand, that same hand grabs his brother’s wrist and “guides” Caracalla’s knife into his jugular. Imagine how heartbroken he was in those final moments. Your new friend who you thought you could actually trust, turns the most important person in your life against you in order to brutally murder you. Wow.

Even with all the power, with all the might of Rome, Geta was powerless. Powerless against his father, powerless against his brother’s aggressive disease, powerless against the people of Rome, powerless against his own gluttony and poor choices. This man has probably never felt less safe, if he’s ever truly felt safe and at peace at all since he’s been crowned.

What a tragic character

[lancerslover]

Sibling Rivalry - Part 1

pairing: senator!john f. kennedy and bobby kennedy/reader

summary: senator jack kennedy and bobby kennedy both have an eye for you, and you can’t help but enjoy watching as they try to win your affection. but as the brothers’ competitive nature inevitably takes over, you realize you might not have as much power in the situation as you thought.

warnings: 18+, nothing super graphic yet but descriptions of dub-con and infidelity

word count: 2.4k

a/n: this fic is based on this ao3 fic i read a while ago! i definitely recommend checking it out

sorry this took so long guys 😖 i decided to just go ahead and post it even though i’m not sure how i feel about it lol so plz let me know what you think. this may or may not be the worst thing i’ve ever written.

this section of the fic is basically just a set-up for the eventual smut, which will be in part 2 if you guys want it

The hour or so you spend in Bobby’s office every evening is the only time all day you can relax. You know Bobby feels the same way. That’s part of the reason why he stays so late after the rest of his big brother’s campaign team is long gone. And since you’re his personal secretary, you feel obligated to stay with him. He’s told you before that you can go home with everyone else, that you don’t have to stay with him, but you always insist. You and he both know he could use all the help he can get as he blearily writes and re-writes strategy sheets or tallies up the daily budget in the growing darkness. And you both benefit greatly from what usually happens between you two after the day’s work is done. Your fingers massaging the stiff back of his neck, his lips warm on your skin. These methodical, intimate evenings are a welcome interlude between a long day of the raucous, back-slapping, wolf-whistling fraternity party that is Senator Jack Kennedy and the rest of his campaign team and a night full of giggly questions from your roommates about the newest juicy details of your job. Tell us one more time what it was like meeting Frank Sinatra. Is it true the senator is sleeping with his daughter’s babysitter? Is Jackie nice?

On this particular evening as you walk into Bobby’s office, having just completed the work you personally wanted to finish in order to get a headstart on the next day, you find yourself chuckling a little at the sight you’re greeted by. It’s only seven, and Bobby has already abandoned his desk for the sofa. Usually, he doesn’t take a break until closer to eight. As your eyes adjust to the dim lighting, you notice he’s leaning almost completely sideways on the armrest, his eyes closed, head slowly drooping off of the closed fist it’s propped up on. His gray-striped tie is a limp tangle on the floor. His dress shirt has been untucked from his slacks in what seems to have been a pretty violent manner—you notice that its bottom two buttons came undone in the process. His red, fuzzy lower belly is squishing out over his belt.

Just to make sure he’s not asleep, you whisper, “Bobby?”

In response, Bobby opens one eye, looks at you for a moment, then shuts it again in a playful, darting way, like he’s playing peek-a-boo with one of his hundreds of kids. Then he pats his hand on the cushion beside him, and you’re immediately starting towards him.

His office is snug, tucked in a literal corner of Senator Kennedy’s headquarters. Your only source of light as you pick your way through the towering stacks of paper all over the floor is the golden streetlamps of Boston outside the window, which look smeared now from the raindrops that streak down the glass. The only noises you hear are the scuff of your heels on the carpet and Bobby’s breath whistling faintly in and out of his nose.

Once you’ve sat down beside him and are wiggling out of your heels, he finally opens both eyes. You watch patiently as he slowly sits up and swings his heavy head to look at you. Poor thing. He gives you a soft smile, his big front teeth just barely peeking out under his lip. His fluffy hair is slightly mussed—and extra-fluffed—on the side he was just leaning on. You smile back.

“Tough day,” you say.

He blows his cheeks up with air and nods. “Yeah.” His voice is just a murmur, even though there’s really no need to be quiet since you two are the only ones left on the entire floor.

He’s been working extra late and extra hard now that the senator’s presidential election is only about a month away. This is quite an achievement, seeing as, even in the earliest days of the campaign, Bobby spent almost all day locked up in his office, tirelessly barking orders into one of the three constantly-ringing telephones on his desk or scribbling incessantly in the margins of a drafted campaign ad. Only every few hours would his door would bang open and he’d come stalking straight into the middle of where the rest of Senator Kennedy’s inner circle lounged, feet up, in a lazy haze of cigar smoke. Then Bobby would launch into a passionate explanation of whatever incompetent mistake on their part had prompted him to leave his office this time. You remember one specific afternoon when Bobby marched out, planted his hands on his hips, and said, “Alright, now, I just finished with that biography draft, and I want to know who approved it because it doesn’t do Jack justice at all. I mean, God, why mention the Addison’s?” One of the men replied, “Well, see here, that was my suggestion, Bobby. We need to get out in front of these things.” Naturally, an argument ensued. Bobby can be combative on a good day, but with the weight of the campaign largely on his shoulders, there was no way he’d be able to stop himself from spitting back a fiery retort at the other man’s condescending tone—and not to mention, he hates when men who aren’t his brothers call him “Bobby.”

As the yelling got louder and louder and all eight of Senator Kennedy’s henchmen eventually tossed their cigars aside and surged up on their feet to try their luck against Bobby’s razor-sharp Kennedy wit, Senator Kennedy himself simply observed from his desk like a Roman emperor watching his gladiators, leaning back in his chair, opening and closing his lips around his cigar. You knew better, though, than to ever let the senator’s laid-back mannerisms fool you. You clocked how his eyes were shrouded in a dark, calculating shadow, how they lingered on each of the nine men in turn. He was testing them, watching to see what they’d do, what positions they’d argue for. You could tell he was deeply focused. He never flinched or even so much as blinked as the men continued to yell and shake their fists and get closer and closer to each other’s faces. You doubted this sort of thing could be good for team morale, but you’ve accepted by now that it was Senator Kennedy’s strange, mysterious way of coming to a decision on something.

At one point during the dispute, the senator looked over at you and raised his eyebrows as if to say, Get a load of this, huh? You smirked coolly back at him, but a small shiver seared down your spine as you did. Nobody makes you nervous quite like he does. It’s sort of titillating, this power he has over you, but it’s also why, despite the senator’s movie-star smile and smooth one-liners, you’ve always felt more comfortable with Bobby.

After several minutes of watching the men yell, once he’d evidently seen enough to make whatever judgment he’d been ruminating on, Senator Kennedy stood up from his desk. The room snapped into a ringing silence.

The senator ran a hand through the little curls that framed his forehead, then nonchalantly said, “Bobby’s right.”

Another stunned beat of silence. Instinctively, you looked to Bobby, who simply sniffed and scratched his nose, seemingly as unfazed by the whole debacle as his big brother was.

One of the other men, Bobby’s brother-in-law Steve, bravely piped up, “But, Jack—”

Senator Kennedy cut him off. “It’s the presidency, gentlemen,” he told them wryly. “Don’t overthink it.” And with that, he huffed back into his chair. Then, almost as an afterthought, he pointed a long finger towards Bobby, and with a barely perceptible teasing bounce in his voice, said, “Alright, back to your corner.”

Bobby chuckled and spun on his heel towards his office. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

Bobby drops this tough, Irish-bulldog exterior around you. You’ve gotten pretty comfortable with each other in the past few weeks, ever since Bobby told Senator Kennedy that he needed his own personal secretary and that he’d chosen you for the job. This announcement, which you overheard from across the room at the little clump of secretary desks, was a bit of a surprise to you, despite the fact that it was well-known that you were the best typist in the office. It definitely wasn’t an unwelcome surprise, though. You’ve always been fond of Bobby. You think it’s sweet how he talks to you and the other girls in such an innocent, genuine way, like he’s actually interested in your secretarial skills and what you have to say instead of just your body and your face, unlike certain other members of the campaign.

It was immediately obvious, though, that your sudden closeness to Bobby agitated Senator Kennedy. Since you’re the only secretary who hasn’t slept with him yet, the senator has a particular fixation on you, and Bobby knows this well. You had to bite back a giddy smile that afternoon when you saw how the senator’s eyebrows dropped low over his face as Bobby informed him of your new job title. “Personal secretary, huh?” the senator sneered, teeth flashing. Bobby simply grinned.

Bobby and the senator were intensely, at times comically, competitive. You’ve heard them go back and forth over such trivial things as who played better in a weekend family football game or who could read the morning newspaper faster. Once Bobby made you his personal secretary, though, more and more often they’ve been going back and forth over you.

From day one of the campaign, practically, Senator Kennedy has been pursuing you relentlessly, looming over you, tugging at a loose strands of your hair as he teases you for coming in late, unashamedly eyeing the way your ass moves in your pencil skirt, saying things like, “Nothing makes my day like seeing that pretty smile of yours, sweetie.” And the longer you pretend not to notice his advances, the more relentless he is, and, admittedly, the more you find yourself wanting to drive him crazy. It’s fun for you, and honestly quite flattering, that you can get him all riled up by simply brushing against his shoulder as you drop a paper on his desk and whispering breathily in his ear, “Here you are, Senator. Anything else I can do for you?” You can’t get enough of the incredulous look that takes over his handsome, always-nonchalant face—his nostrils flaring, his eyebrows raising, his eyes firing up like a cat who caught sight of a mouse—afterward as you skitter away. On a serious note, though, you figure you’re actually doing him a service by holding out like this. The way he acts with women is absurdly arrogant. He’s like a spoiled child, always getting everything he wants. Secretaries. Call girls. Actresses. All delivered to him, pretty much, at the flick of his hand. You figure it’d be good for him to not get something he wants for once, all flirtations and teasing aside.

You came dangerously close to having your vow of celibacy broken at a celebratory dinner party a few months back. The senator followed you to the back hall as you were about to leave, pushed you up against the wall, and before you even knew what was happening, he stuck his hand up your dress. He’d had a little too much to drink that evening, and he was like a wild animal in that dark, empty hallway. Tearing at your stockings, practically snarling in your ear, cursing you for “driving him crazy” at the office.

“Senator,” you gasped, “please—”

“Please what?” he scoffed. “You think you can act like a little harlot all the time and nothing’s going to happen to you?”

After a moment, your inner desires took over and you gave up resisting. You spread your thighs and let him finger you. It’s not your proudest moment. You hated to let him have that little victory over you, but with the entirety of his body weight against you and his big hands holding you still, there was really no way you could’ve stopped him, even if you’d wanted to.

This game you have with Senator Kennedy has been taken to a whole new level now that you’ve actively chosen to spend almost all your time with Bobby. You can tell by the way the senator shakes his head as he watches you and Bobby walk around together, like you’re two little children misbehaving under his watch, that this is really grating on his competitive side. Bobby doesn’t help matters with the way he smirks and wiggles his eyebrows at the senator when he thinks you’re not looking. Sometimes, the senator will tease Bobby by saying things like, “Don’t you think it’s, uh, a little unfair that you’re not letting anyone else work with our best typist?” or “I’m starting to doubt whether you two are actually getting any work done. Don’t make me take Y/N away from you, Bobby. She’s just on loan, you know.” Bobby does his best to appear to be the mature one in front of you, opting to half-playfully shove the senator with his shoulder as he walks by instead of snapping back some kind of retort.

You still aren’t entirely sure what Bobby’s real motives were for picking you as his secretary, whether it had purely been about spiting the senator, or he’d genuinely admired your skills, or he’d planned to turn your evenings together into sexual rendezvous all along and he was much more like his brother than you thought.

But since, in the process of this whole thing, you’ve developed a genuine relationship with Bobby—and it’s pretty clear, you think, that he’s has bested his big brother in this little game—you suppose his pushing back against the senator has more to do with the pure competitive spirit of it all at this point than any possessiveness he might feel over you. But still, you get out such a kick out of the fact that they never fail to play right into your hand when you pit them against each other, flirting with one brother in front of the other, making flippant comments to the senator about how wonderful your evenings alone with Bobby are.

Sometimes, though, your confidence in your femme-fatale abilities wavers slightly. Almost daily, Bobby and the senator will convene at the senator’s desk for an intense, private conversation about what you originally assumed was various campaign matters, but every once in a while, you’ll glance up during one of these conversations to find them both looking at you from across the room. The senator will mutter something, and Bobby will nod, and the low sound of their confident, patronizing laughter will rumble across the office. You instantly drop your eyes back to whatever memo you’re working on, heart suddenly racing. What on earth could they be saying? And why do you have the creeping feeling that this game isn’t going to be so easy for you much longer?

thank you for reading!!

taglist:

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@melancholicstation

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@h-l-vlovesvintage

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[k20spock]

The Slay the Princess Voices as Birds

I'm not much of a voices guy but I do love biology and assigning animals to characters, so I am assigning all of the voices a bird species and explaining why I picked it. enjoy

Voice of the Hero: House sparrow

[ID: A photo of a male house sparrow perching. End ID.]

Hero is the one I struggled with the most and this bird is actually crowdsourced! It does fit though I think. Sparrows are associated with commonness and familiarity, fitting for a voice who’s always by your side. Some more modern interpretations of sparrow symbolism paint them as hardworking and honest too. I think an everyday bird/voice doing his best is perfect for Hero.

Voice of the Cheated: Seagull (No specific species in mind, but definitely a more urban species like a European herring gull)

[ID: A photo of a European herring gull with its beak open. End ID.]

Seagulls are very cheated birds. They’re considered pests for doing what they have to do to survive with their habitat severely altered by human activity and just happened to adapt better than a lot of other animals. I will forever defend seagulls. They’re also very loud, shrill, persistent birds, qualities I associate with Cheated.

Voice of the Stubborn: Cassowary

[ID: A photo of a Southern cassowary. End ID.]

Cassowaries are widely considered the most dangerous bird and while technically that’s not true (there are more recorded ostrich attacks), the reputation is not undeserved. They’re big, powerful, and can be vicious fighters capable of disembowelment and throat-slitting with their massive claws. Their name in the Biak language literally just means bird strong. 

Voice of the Cold: Northern shrike

[ID: A northern shrike perching on a branch with a dead mouse. End ID.]

By now I’m pretty sure everyone knows about shrikes but if you don’t, let me explain why I picked them for Cold with an alternate name for Northern shrikes: winter butcherbirds. Yeah shrikes are little songbirds known for impaling their prey on sticks as a convenient storage system. I picked Northern shrikes specifically because of that very Cold name, winter butcherbird, and the fact that they breed in the cold reaches of Siberia, Canada, and Alaska.

Voice of the Smitten: Albatross (again, not necessarily a specific species but if I had to pick I’d go with one of the two royal albatrosses for the name)

[ID: A photo of a Northern royal albatross in the water. End ID.]

Ok there’s so so many birds associated with romance so there’s just a plethora of things you could go with for Smitten but I went with an albatross for a few reasons. They’re known for mating for life, having elaborate courtship dances, and being extremely dedicated to their partners. Very much romance birds. They’re also birds that inhabit isolated areas, and are very naive to potential threats because they don’t live in places with natural predators. This made them easy targets for hunters and their feathers were used in garments, which makes me think of Smitten’s line about making a shawl from his feathers. The thing that really sealed the deal though is there’s also some really interesting symbolism associated with them. In literature, they’ve been used as a metaphor for a burden difficult to escape from with the phrase ‘an albatross around your neck’. This just fits so well with Happily Ever After I had to pick albatrosses.

Voice of the Skeptic: Great gray owl

[ID: A photo of a great gray owl on a branch, looking down at the viewer. End ID.]

Owls are associated with wisdom and knowledge, Skeptic is the voice who is the most determined to reason and puzzle his way out of this situation, owls aren’t actually any more intelligent than the average bird, Skeptic’s rigid thinking often prevents him from understanding their situation in a way other voices can. Besides, owls are just a bit spooky and associated with death, something I think fits with Skeptic’s gruff noir detective vibe. I’m not too picky on the exact type of owl, I just picked a great gray because I think they just look like they have Skeptic vibes. I could also easily be convinced of a little owl though, the species associated with Athena that really kickstarted owls’ association with wisdom in Europe and is also associated with death through popular legend saying its calls heralded the death of Julius Caesar. I can also understand why people would go with a crow, but I wanted to go with something different and I feel like the Narrator’s taken it already.

Voice of the Paranoid: Cockatiel

[ID: A photo of an alert wild cockatiel with a raised crest. End ID.]

This pick is one I can see people disagreeing with so let me just explain myself: cockatiels are parrots, yes, birds that don’t really fit with Paranoid’s vibe (and I gave a different parrot to another character already and I’m trying to have some variety here). However, cockatiels in my personal experience are very nervous, neurotic birds with very distinct fear responses. Namely, hissing and raising their crest. I also think it’s fun having Paranoid be a bird often kept as a pet (like what Nightmare’s planning to do!) and having him be a bird capable of mimicking speech. Perfect for repeating a mantra over and over!

Voice of the Hunted: Common pheasant

[ID: A photo of a male common pheasant. End ID.]

Pheasants are simply the birds I associate most with being hunted. They’re one of the oldest and most popular game birds in the world and their anti-predation strategies just boil down to fleeing.

Voice of the Opportunist: Common cuckoo

[ID: A photo of a common cuckoo perching on a branch. End ID.]

I am firmly against ascribing human moral values onto animal behavior, and this includes cuckoos. But like… they’re opportunists. Common cuckoos are obligate brood parasites, which means they lay their eggs in the nest of another bird, often laying eggs designed to look similar to the eggs of the host species. Once they hatch, cuckoo chicks will attempt to eliminate other eggs or hatchlings from the nest to get all the food and attention of the parents to themself. Their deception even continues to adulthood, adult cuckoos mimic the predatory sparrow hawks to ensure they aren’t attacked. Like come on. What else could Opportunist possibly be.

Voice of the Broken: Chicken

[ID: A photo of a chicken. End ID.]

I’ve got a few things in mind with this one. Firstly is that many chickens are raised for meat (which is not an inherently bad thing provided they’re treated ethically), and I think it suits Broken to be a bit of a “doomed” bird. But secondly is that chickens play a religious role in many cultures. In particular, they were a big part of Ancient Roman beliefs and practices. There was an entire chicken-based form of divination. The only other bird I can think of with as much association with religion are doves and they’re much more widely associated with peace and love which, respectfully, isn’t really Broken’s vibe, so chicken it is.

Voice of the Contrarian: Kea

[ID: A photo of a kea walking. End ID.]

The other parrot I mentioned earlier. Kea are parrots native to New Zealand known for their intelligence and love of fucking with people. They’re nicknamed “clown of the mountains” and will investigate and tear up anything which includes cars. They’ll tear up cars. For funsies. If you gave a kea a knife, I’m 100% sure it would throw it out a window.

And that's all of em! Maybe someday I'll draw designs based on these.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Death the Wolf in RotG:

So I saw some cute af art of Death/The Wolf/La Muerte having a dynamic with Bunnymund (aka Spirit of Hope/Rebirth), and made me start thinking of how Death presence could influence the story.

He's not a Guardian. His role extends far beyond that.

He is one of many death entities. But he is *The* Death that chooses to reveal himself to the Guardians and their ilk.

After Manny, he is the first spirit Jack Frost encounters. After all, when Winter blows, Death is not far behind.

Death initially appears as a normal-ish wolf to Jack. It is only when the freshly "born" winter spirit starts asking questions does Death begin standing on two feet.

Death may or may not become a bit of a mentor/father-figure to Jack. The old wolf would never admit it, but he has a soft spot for the frosty lobito. The boy brings light to the harsh quiet of Winter.

Death knows what happened to Jackson Overland Frost. He does not feel it is Jack's burden to bear the heart of his past life, though the boy would argue otherwise.

The Wind knows Death well - he travels upon her much like how Jack does. He does find it a little annoying how she feels the need to announce his presence though,

Death is seen as an unsavoury but necessary fellow by the Guardians and other nature spirits. A real mood-killer at gatherings. But they like that he's willing to bend the rules if the situation amuses him.

Pitch is terrified of Death. Death knows this. Death savours the Boogeyman's fear. Fear is after all, a logic response based in preservation of one's life.

Death knows Mother Nature very well. They are polite acquaintances. He wonders if her father knows who she truly is.

Death's greatest rival is E Aster Bunnymund. With "The Easter Bunny" being a spirit of hope, rebirth, and Springtime; Death once thought the Pooka was Eostre herself. Death enjoys teasing the life spirit with his presence, and in turn, Bunny enjoys snatching Death's targets from him. Its a double smooth-talker/tsundere dynamic.

Bunny is usually the one called upon when people experience near-deaths. Him and Death get into pretty heated arguments whenever Bunny shows up to revive a cat.

Being a canine, Death hates chocolate. Bunny knows this and will openly flaunt his confectionary skills whenever the wolf enters the Warren.

When the subject of discussion is Jack; it can sound like two parents arguing over a child. North, Sandy, and Tooth have noticed.

Death knows of the loss the Guardian of Hope has endured. He finds it admirable that the Pooka still found the hope to continue living after the loss of his people. He is curious how slippery Bunny managed to outrun all those centuries though - Tsar Luna does play favourites after all

I am seriously considering writing a fic of this crossover.