#despite there being like multiple other people in the room who should be WAY more qualified for this

[redgoldblue]

so assuming Avery is actually pregnant / doesn't early-trimester miscarry (which is not a given), there's two reasonable ways this can go, right. number one is she gets an abortion, the plotline is used to pull them all back together again, and they all have some collective hurt/comfort about it. number two, the one i would write - don't get me wrong, i'm all for women getting career-driven abortions, but hear me out - is the one where she does have the baby. under the cut bc it got long.

she goes to med school at first while pregnant - Max is right, it can be done, people in my cohort did it - and either gets lucky with the timing of the actual birth being during holidays, or just works her way to getting time off for a few weeks around it. And then... there's a baby. And you know what else there is? There's two dads (because we're 100% Mamma Mia-ing this bitch. they never find out who the bio dad is and they never seriously try. Baby comes out with Avery's exact skin tone so that's no clue.), and an entire cruise ship worth of backup babysitters. So Avery goes back to med school, and leaves the baby with Tristan and Max.

And, yes, raising a baby while also running an infirmary with a rotating cast of temporary substitute nurses filling Avery's role isn't the easiest thing they've ever done, but Robert loves fulfilling grandparent duties any time he's not on duty; Rosie gets one of those strap-on baby carriers and walks her (i don't know why i've decided the baby is a her but i have now) around the engine room pointing out parts and explaining concepts and hey, the baby never complains about her Michigan stories; Corey gets a cart and a bundle of clean sheets and pushes her down the corridors until the smell of laundry powder automatically makes her start laughing.

Max and Tristan make a pact to send Avery at least two photos a day - which ends up getting supplemented by everyone else who's with Baby - and FaceTime her most days, and whenever she gets a few days off she meets them in port. (The most expensive part of baby-raising ends up being her flights to wherever the Odyssey happens to be at the time, at least until Robert finds out and figures out a way to start paying her 'maternity leave', despite her insistence that the whole point of this is that she isn't maternity-leaving and he should probably be paying himself that and anyway, isn't she technically not an employee right now?)

And the thing is, during this time, Max and Tristan start... realising some things. Like how neither of them feel like they've lost their only partner, because they.. haven't. Like how the co-parenting's been working out better than either of them expected, because they fell instantly (minus a few minor bumps) into a shared rhythm. Like how sometimes they look at the other one holding Baby and feel like their heart's about to explode.

Also, they've both started sleeping in Max's bed. Because Baby's spent so much time sleeping in the corner of the infirmary that now if she wakes up at night and can't see both of them, she starts crying inconsolably. And obviously Max's suite is more suited to multiple inhabitants, and they're usually too damn exhausted to even remember the first time they were in this bed together.

(usually. most of the time. and when they're not, they don't make it the other's problem)

So at the end of the first year of this, the last two days of the year's last cruise have been packed with crisis after crisis after demanding patient after crisis, and as soon as they finally wave the last passenger off they hand Baby gratefully over to Robert and go crash out in Max's bed.

Avery was supposed to be meeting them on board tomorrow, but her last exam gets unexpectedly moved up by a day (believe me, med school loves to pull that kind of shit on you), so a couple hours after the passengers have gone, she shows up to surprise them. And finds Robert (a known ody3 shipper) first, who lets her take Baby with minimal captainly sulking about it, and while she rocks and kisses Baby, tells her (as a known ody3 shipper) that the two dads will be on the Pelican deck, but they're probably asleep.

Avery kinda frowns at him, but doesn't question it, and takes Baby up with her to Max's suite to find them. And they are both fast asleep, on either side of Max's bed with a space carefully preserved between them (because it's usually where Baby would be and they're both terrified of accidentally rolling onto her in the middle of the night). She's also exhausted after exams, so she crawls into it, lies on her back with Baby on top of her chest, and goes straight to sleep.

Tristan and Max wake up before her, and when they look across at each other, at Avery and Baby between them, they both simultaneously realise, oh. oh. oh, this - this three, two-and-half, four people, all together - this is it. this is the love, this is the children, this might even be the home - the second, third, fourth bucket list items to happen in this bed.

[mantisgodsdomain]

Slowly, yet painfully realizing that we're probably the exact type of person that random fandom guys would miscast as a father.

[bibluebutterfly]

Hoo boy. Now I've made it known multiple times on my blog that I LOATHE the whoobiefication of Vox, but lets get into why/how Vox is NOT a good person nor a baby that needs protecting and why he's all the better for it. Buckle up ladies and gentlemen, this will be long.

Now, why isn't Vox a good person? Easy. Because he (along with the other Vees) is supposed to be the bad guy of the story. Shocking, I know. Vox was NEVER intended to be a good person, and some of y'all just need to accept that.

Now for the long part: HOW is he not a good person?

Well, first of all, his literal introduction is an ad selling drones HE DESIGNED specifically for stalking,"peeping on the neighbors has never been more stylish"

Right off the bat, this tells us he doesn't care about people unless he can profit off them.

Which is also backed up by the point that he ADVERTISES Val and Vels "love potions" which are basically just roofies.

Again. This man ONLY cares about profit first and foremost, screw the people who can get hurt/SA'd by his products.

Next, he has a power of hypnosis which he is NOT hesitant to use. He can take away someones free will at a glance and uses that to his full advantage.

He's also very willing to give Val his lowest earners to shoot. Notice that he does so with no hesitance and no regret.

Also, (and most significantly) he's a huge, HUGE enabler. This guy has cameras EVERYWHERE, ESPECIALLY when Valentino is involved. He's got cameras in Val's room, Angels old room, at Vals corner of the club (which moves when Val does), there's NO WAY he DOESN'T know that Val is a r@pist.

And DESPITE that, he still sleeps with the man, is very likely in love with him, and oh yeah, FUNDS HIS WHOLE DEAL. The cameras Val uses are Voxtech cameras.

Val may be the one who does the dirty work but Vox willingly and knowingly makes a profit off of that. He doesn’t just know and do nothing, he actively HELPS Val out and obviously has no second thoughts nor regrets about it.

This is not a look of disgust or discontent, this is fondness. Genuine fondness. For Valentino. As a PERSON. Let that sink in.

There’s also the implications that Vox is jealous of the attention Angel gets from Val. Angel gets abused constantly by Val, Vox KNOWS, and still hates Angel because of the sheer fact that he takes up so much of Vals attention.

Not to mention the HEAVY implications that he gets off on watching people suffer.

“Well Vox can still do better than Val!!”

While I’m at it, I guess I should bring up the fact that BOTH Vox and Val are MASSIVE red flags.

With Val, aside from the obvious, he’s also a huge attention whore for Vox and isn’t afraid to break Vox’s property if Vox doesn’t pay attention to him. Yeah Vox gets frustrated with him, who wouldn’t be when their lover is throwing temper tantrums every other day?

With Vox, again, aside from the obvious, isn’t afraid to handle Val roughly when he’s mad, and literally screams about how watching his arch nemesis/obsession get the crap beat out of him is better than sex. Right in front of Val by the way. In regular circumstances, 9.98/10 that’s gonna get your ass dumped in a second.

Not to mention the mutual condescension ation towards each other.

And as much as fans (including myself admittedly) like to shit on Val for being a man child, Vox is literally no better.

Plus the explosive tempers.

Seriously. Vox LITERALLY cannot do better than Val. Vox is the only one who can put up with Vals BS and vice versa.

OH YEAH and lets not forget one last thing: VOX ALSO ABUSES HIS OWN EMPLOYEES.

This dude is scared of him, and it’s NOT because he’s worried about getting fired.

So yes. Vox is not nor HAS EVER been a good person.

And for me personally, I love that. I love that he’s entertaining yet awful. I love his dynamic with Alastor, and I love his relationship with Val even more.

If you’re wondering why I personally love Staticmoth, it’s because basic couple rules do not apply to them. They’re both toxic narcissistic red flags and therefore they can be as awful as they want to each other, and the other will simply shake it off. Yet there’s still heavy trust between the two (never being scared of each other) and they still have little moments together where they’re genuinely happy. It’s unique, and something I’ve never seen in media before.

Basically, if you liked Vox better when you thought he was a poor little baby being abused by Val, read a fan fiction. There’s a lot of them out there.

But people really just need to accept the fact that he’s an awful person. Always has been. He’s not better than Val by ANY means. He and Val are both evil pricks who deserve each other.

And guess what? LIKING AN EVIL CHARACTER DOES NOT MEAN YOU SUPPORT THEIR CHOICES. IT’S OKAY TO LIKE VOX EVEN IF HE IS EVIL.

But don’t go on saying that Vox was “ruined” as a character when all signs have always pointed to him being terrible.

[livingthedragonlife]

this is an extremely petty reason to do an analysis but i hate when people call laios a himbo, not only because it really reads as infantalization but also because it's just straight up not true.

the qualities of a himbo require you to be stupid, and that simply is not true in laios' case. for a simple example, he was able to recognize pretty much instantly that the living armors were moving in an abnormal way (coming right for them, instead of just attacking as they approach), and noticed when the Boss Armor (?) protected the shield instead of using it as a defense. he recognized the egg sac on the back, was able to exploit the instinct to protect it, and save the rest of the party with that knowledge right away.

laios is the one who's able to determine which illusions are the fakes, all by himself, with nothing but his knowledge of his party members and careful observation. laios figured out why the changeling spores act the way they do, based on nothing but observation and experience once again. laios is the one who talks marcille down from her dungeon lord rampage. laios is the one who, despite succumbing to the demon's influence himself, PLANNED FOR THAT TO HAPPEN, and gave himself a loophole that saved the entire fucking world. these are just the first things i can think of off the top of my head, if i really went back through the story, i'm positive there would be more examples of laios being knowledgeable and using that knowledge intelligently.

but let's back up. laios is called an idiot by many other characters in the story. why might that be?

well it's usually for: saying something socially inappropriate or blunt, talking about monsters (his special interest) too enthusiastically, not relating to the people around him, or not being able to understand social cues or read a room. he's even called "creepy" or "crazy" in multiple instances. when chilchuck first hears about how much laios wants to eat monsters, he calls him a psychopath. that's in the very first chapter.

the characters who call laios stupid and crazy are calling him that almost exclusively after he behaves "too autistically" around them. perhaps we are giving too much credence to the characters calling him a dumbass and should instead do some critical thinking to determine if it's true. because most of the time, they're wrong! go count the times laios is called stupid for having ideas that ultimately work.

that's not to say laios isn't funny! he's a silly guy! he straight up barks like a dog to solve problems. dungeon meshi is a comedy, so it would be kind of weird if he wasn't, but lack of intelligence is never the punchline. the fact that barking like a dog WORKS is what's funny, not that he was "stupid" to think of it in the first place.

laios is goofy. he makes silly mistakes. but that doesn't mean he's brainless. laios is not a himbo.

[reiderwriter]

🍷 Alcohol Free 🍷

Week 1 of my Playlist series! Inspired by Alcohol Free by TWICE.

Summary: You're the designated driver for half of your friends, and Spencer is the designated driver for the other half, so why do you feel so buzzed when you're around him? OR; taking every opportunity when you finally meet Spencer Reid for the first time ♡

Warnings: fluff, mentions of alcohol consumption, but reader and Spencer are both sober. A/N: Welcome to week 1 of the Playlist! I think we started with an absolute banger, and for such a fun, upbeat song with this, I had to make this a fluff (sorry to all my smut and angst enjoyed, please be patient 🫡). I hope you enjoy it! Don't forget to send me more song recs, as I'll be writing one follower chosen song fic per month 🥳

Check out my masterlist here~

“How much have you had to drink exactly, Pen?” You laugh as you watch her wobble back and forth, at her table.

“We started with champagne and wine. And then there was the cocktail round, so, a few margaritas here and there. And a mojito. Maybe a mimosa. I think a guy bought me a pint colada at the bar earlier,” her words were so sharp you almost couldn't believe she'd drank anything at all, but the fact that she said all this while swaying gently from side to side had you giggling at her antics.

“Don't forget the tequila!” Penelope's friend Emily groaned from the other side of the table then were gathered at, face already flat on the surface as if her hangover had already hit.

You'd been friends with Penelope for over a year now, so you were acquainted with all of the girls there, and had agreed to come and meet them on one of their girls nights out. You were never a big drinker though, so you offered to be the designated driver for the half of the gang that were committed to Uber-ing home.

They'd been drinking since the mid afternoon, and by the time you'd gotten off work and cleaned up for the bar, it was obvious that they were going to be a handful.

“Y/N, YOU'RE REALLY PRETTY, YOU KNOW THAT RIGHT?” JJ shouted from her seat beside you.

“Thank you, JJ, you already said that three times tonight. Maybe we should get you some water?”

“And so kind too, my princess in shining armour,” Penelope giggled.

For most people, being the only sober person on a night out was hell, but you found yourself enjoying it more and more as the years went by. Drunk women were so much like kindergarteners when they reaches a certain blood alcohol level, and you loved seeing what your usually serious and cool girlfriends would come up with.

You also wanted to make sure they stayed safe, and with the impressive list of multiple alcohols they'd just ingested, you wondered if you should be carting them off to the emergency room then and there.

“I THINK YOU'D LIKE MY FRIEND SPENCER. HE'S NERDY. YOU'D MAKE CUTE BABIES.” JJ was still shouting all of her words, despite the bar being relatively quiet and you almost did a spit take with your water as she kept on.

“Stop trying to marry Spence off, Jennifer.” Penelope giggled, over pronouncing JJ's name as if it were her first time ever using the word.

You'd heard a lot about this Spencer Reid since you'd become close with the girls at the table, and honestly, you were happy that JJ deemed you good enough for their Spencer.

From the sounds of it, all three of them nagged at him like elder sisters who found him endearingly annoying, and were fiercely protective of him. It made you curious.

“Are you seeing anyone, Y/N?” Emily asked, finally lifting her head up slightly, but in a way that made it look like it weighed 500 lbs more than usual.

“I'm not.”

“Why? You're smoking. Half the men in here have been circling your like sharks for the hour you've been here.” You laughed at that and pushed a bottle of water in Emily's direction again, encouraging her to take small sips of water.

“I'm being serious! I may be drunk beyond belief but this is a sober thought.”

“Emily, I love you, but none of these men are interested in me. I'm practically a spinster. I'm 27, I have no money and no prospects, yada yada, already a burden to my parents.”

“That was something nerdy, I know that was something nerdy, my Spencie Senses are tingling,” she quipped.

And as if right on cue, a quiet voice popped up from behind you and all the hairs on your neck stood on edge as it happened.

“It's a quote from the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie, so it's not really all that nerdy, Emily.” You turned, slightly startled in your seat as you finally met the elusive Doctor Spencer Reid.

“SPENCE!” JJ cheered, and the other girls similarly whooped at his entrance. They were overjoyed, but you were slightly overwhelmed, because not once in their descriptions of Spencer Reid had they ever told you that he was quite possibly one of the hottest men to ever grace this good Earth.

His hair was slightly curly, a mess of waves flopping into his eyes, but shorter on the sides, highlighting his sculpted jaw. He was tall, on the lean side and craning your neck to look up at him was a happy experience to say the least.

He greeted his friends and looked down to you, and you felt all the blood suddenly rush to your brain when your eyes locked. Dear God.

“Spencer, this is Y/N, my wonderful, gorgeous, single and attractive friend. Say hello, Spencer.”

“Hello,” he gladly followed the instructions Penelope gave him, and you practically giggled at the sound of his voice. Giggled.

“Hello. I'm the wonderful, gorgeous, attractive Y/N,” you waved at him slightly, but your brain wouldn't stop thumping around as you enjoyed the sight of the man.

“Penelope actually told me about you before. You're working at the indie bookstore near Café Density, right? Castle Books? I got a first edition of T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats there a few months ago.”

“You!” You gasped the word, as a garage of words fell from your mouth in a stream. “You bastard, I was saving for months to buy that thing, and three days before my paycheck I turn up and it was gone! Oh my god, how does it smell? Are the pages mustard yellow or still A little white? They never let me touch it because I almost burst into tears every time I got close.”

To your astonishment, he didn't recoil from your spitfire speech, but laughed happily.

“It's great, the illustrations are amazing. I didn't know someone else had their eye on it when I went in, I'm sorry.”

“Don't apologise for finding treasure. You'd be a horrible pirate if you did that.” You brain really wasn't connected with your mouth anymore and you resisted the urge to turn and bolt away from the discussion.

“Thank you? I'm not a pirate, but I think that was a compliment.”

“See, nerds made in heaven, JJ was right.” The panic built up again slightly and you were sure your brain was going to explode with all the heat that was flooding to your face.

“What's JJ right about?” Reid inquired, and you almost grasped your chest to stop your heart from beating out of it when he cocked his head to the side.

You hadn't had a lick of alcohol the entire night, and yet you're entire body was reacting like it was drunk on Spencer Reid.

“Oh just that you and Y/N here would make beautiful-”

“BEAUTIFUL CONVERSATIONS HAPPEN.” You quickly cut Penelope off, sending her a warning look that was less subtle than just straight up telling her to shut her mouth.

“Can we go now?” Emily dropped her head to the table again as she threw out the words, looking suddenly three shades greener than she was a moment before. “I think that last shot was the drink that broke the camel's liver, and I'm the camel.”

You passed her the water again and slowly started to help your friends gently gather their things, noticing that Spencer was doing the same.

No wonder these girls were so protective of him if this is how well he treats them. He was their coworker, but he would have absolutely been confused for a filial son for any of the three women as he helped them each.

“Where do you live, Y/N?” He asked casually as you both helped the women out of the bar and into the fresh air. “My car is a bit small, but we can throw these three in the back together and they'll mostly sleep until they get back to their homes.”

“Oh no, you don't have to do that, I can go by myself-”

“I can't let a drunk woman go home by herself, Penelope would give me hell in the morning.” This earned a few giggles from the women beside you. You thought you heard Emily mumbling “some profiler he is,” under her breath as well.

You hesitated. You should've been explaining that you hadn't had anything to drink yet, that you actually drove here yourself and that your car was likely parked right by his. You should've offered to take at least one woman off his hands for the night to share the burden of making sure your friends didn't die.

But it was true that each of the women was likely to completely pass out when they got into the car, like newborns being rocked to sleep by their mothers. And that left Spencer Reid free for conversation.

“Thank you, that would be really nice, actually,” you smiled and followed the man to his car, lugging your wonderfully buzzed friends behind you.

[backtothefanfiction]

Crushed | Peter x Reader x Harry imagine

Summary: Your boyfriend sometimes has anger problems, but this is the first time he’s ever taken it out on you. Thank the lord his best friend was there to step in.

Warnings: angst, jealousy, unintentionally angry abusive boyfriend (it’s Harry’s illness), protective friend, needle, strangling, a little bit of infidelity (it’s just one kiss)

Word Count: Maybe 1.5k-ish (wrote in app and can’t really check. Was supposed to be a quick on but…)

A/N: this is an apology story as my other longer stories still aren’t ready yet. I needed some angst and this idea just popped into my head, soooo, let’s go.

To say your boyfriend had a bit of a temper was an understatement. It was something he got from his father along with his rich kid entitlement. He wasn’t always like this. He was usually nice. He took great pride in having bagged you for a girlfriend and loved showing you off to people. However he wasn’t stupid. He knew how people looked at you when they thought he wasn’t looking.

Jealous. Your boyfriend was easily jealous. He’d catch guys looking and would be quick to remind them who you belonged to. An angry stare here, smashed glass and punch in the face there, but he’d never taken it out on you.

That was until his father died. Suddenly Harry had even more feelings than he knew how to deal with. Often multiple feelings at the same time. That and the fact he was dying. You weren’t supposed to know, but you’d overheard him talking to Peter about it. He’d been coming around a lot more since Norman had died. He was an old friend from when Harry was a kid. You thought it was good for him, he seemed a little more at ease despite the doom and gloom. You got on well with him too. He was kind and easy to talk to. He seemed to be the only guy Harry didn’t seem threatened by around you. That was until tonight.

You had all gone out for dinner. Harry had seemed off for the whole meal but you thought it was just because of his illness. Heck, maybe his anger was just another part of his illness. He was quiet and logical, all the way through the meal. He often looked between Peter and you as you spoke so easily to one another. You seemed to laugh at every single one of his jokes and Harry could have sworn he saw a particular warmth and sparkle to your eyes.

He was silent the whole cab ride home and kept shrugging you off whenever you asked him what the matter was, his fingers flexing over his knees. When Peter asked the same question he just ignored you both and looked out the window.

You had both said goodnight to Peter when you had gotten out of the car.

“You gonna be okay?” Peter quietly asked you as Harry began to make his way to the front door of the building.

“Yeah, of course.” You nodded. “Good night Peter.” You smiled before quickly following after your boyfriend.

Being in the elevator with Harry felt like being in a pressure cooker, the higher the elevator got to the penthouse, the more tight and constricting the air felt; until you reached the top and he seemingly began to explode.

You watched on as he made a beeline to his Fathers alcohol, knocking back shot of whisky after shot of whisky and shouting about Peter.

“I saw the way he looked at you…. And when he touched you….” He ranted jealously as he paced back and forth across the floor as you sat frozen on the sofa.

You watched as the veins in his neck began to bulge slowly turning a darker shade of green. He was beginning to scare you.

“Harry, maybe I should go home.” You tentatively said standing, grabbing your coat off the arm of the sofa where you had placed it and folding it over your arm.

It was like he fully remembered you were in the room. And not in a good way. His eyes were completely black as they locked onto you. “And you,” he snarled, “you like him back don’t you sweetheart. The way you giggle at his jokes and fix his clothes and-“

“Harry. Harry stop. You’re scaring me.” You tried to say as you stumbled backwards towards the door. You were trying to not make sudden movements, trying to keep your energy calm and placate him long enough to get out the door but it was no good. Harry was gone.

Your back hit a large pillar and he was on you in seconds, his hand around your throat as he began to squeeze. “Harry!” You tried to say but it was difficult with how tightly he was squeezing. You couldn’t breath, you began to make choking noises as your finger nails reached to claw at the back of his hand. “Harry.” Your voice was high pitched and raspy. “I don’t… please.”

There was a loud thud as the front door burst open, Peter rushing in and tackling Harry to the ground. You gasped as oxygen flooded your lungs and your legs gave way, your body collapsing into a heap on the floor. Tears pricked your eyes as your chest heaved, panicked coughs wracking your body. Your vision was patchy as you tried to watch Peter and Harry, wrestling on the ground.

“Harry! Harry!” Peter said as he pinned his friend to the floor. “Harry, look at me! This isn’t you! Stop it,” Harry just kept fighting though, his body writhing underneath Peter’s, but Peter didn’t budge.

“Get off me! I hate you! You’re fucking my girlfriend!”

“Harry!”

“Get off me!”

“Harry this isn’t you. I wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t do that. Harry!”

Harry’s wails were animal like.

You knew you had to do something to help. You remembered the medicine Harry was secretly keeping in his desk drawer. Your legs felt wobbly as you tried to stand, hobbling into his office in the next room. Your fingers were frantic as you opened the desk drawer and took out a vile and fresh needle. You rested your weight against the desk as you readied the shot.

“Peter. Here use this,” you said almost defeated as you made your way back into the other room.

You had no idea how Peter was able to hold down the still thrashing Harry and take the needle from you with such steady hands. Peter wasted no time in pushing the needle into one of the bulging veins in Harry’s neck, quickly administering the medicine that began to take immediate effect. Harry’s body went limp as he calmed, his eyes closing as if he was relishing in the relief. The veins in his neck seemed to settle and the green track marks began to recede.

Peter’s body collapsed to one side on the floor, removing his weight from Harry’s body. When it was evident Harry was out for the count and sleeping off his episode, the brown haired boy finally turned to you.

“Are you okay?” He asked, scrambling across the floor to where you too had collapsed, adrenaline beginning to dissipate.

You groaned slightly as you blinked away your tears and rubbed at the ghostly feeling of Harry’s fingers at your neck. “Ow.” You said hoarsely as Peter’s hands reached out and tilted your chin up and turned you in the light to get a better look at your neck.

“Yeah, that’s gonna leave a mark.” He said.

“I thought you went home.” You croaked.

“Don’t try and talk.” He said. “Come on.” He reached out for your hands and pulled you up off the floor, walking you towards the kitchen where he sat you on one of the stools. He grabbed you a glass of water and told you to take small sips while he put Harry to bed.

“Is he gonna be okay?” You asked when he came back into the room.

“I thought I told you not to try and talk.”

You simply shot him a look in response.

“He’s gonna be fine. Well, he’ll make it through the night anyway.” Implying that although Harry was alive now, Peter might just kill him himself tomorrow for what he had just done to you.

You couldn’t help but look at Peter differently then. He’d saved your life. Harry was about to strangle you to death and he’d saved your life. “Peter?”

He raised his eyebrows at you in a way that said ‘what did I tell you about trying to talk?’ But you ignored him.

“Thank you.” You said, settling for a whisper.

He gave you a small smile. “Come on. Let’s get you to a doctor and get that throat looked at.”

You quickly shook your head no, but instantly regretted it, wincing as your throat protested against the movement. “No Doctor. They’ll report it. I don’t want him getting in trouble.” You tried to say, but your voice became more strained as you tried to get the words out.

“Fine. Fine.” Peter said, raising his arms in front of you in a calming manor, trying to ease the rising panic in your eyes. “Okay. But I am taking you home. And I’m never leaving you on your own with him again.”

“Peter, what he said about-“

Peter shook his head cutting you off. “Not now.”

He wrapped his arm around you as he guided you back through the apartment. He grabbed your coat off of the floor and placed it over your shoulders, before he placed a protective hand to your back once more and lead you out the door.

******

When you got back to your parents apartment, Peter took you all the way up to the door. Your hand froze on the door handle, key halfway to the lock when you turned back to him with tears in your eyes. The reality of the night was finally sinking in. You worried at your lip before you asked, “Will you stay?”

“I uh,” he stammered, “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I mean, what would Harry say?”

“Peter please. I don’t care… I’m scared.” Your voice said vulnerably. “Please.”

His hand reached out to cup your cheek. His thumb smoothing away the tear that rolled down it. “I can’t. I wish I could but I can’t.”

“Because of Harry’s jealousy?”

“Because he’s right.”

His words stun you. They put a stop to your tears as curiosity forms inside you instead. You try to speak but he stops you.

“He’s right to be jealous.”

“Why?” Your voice is a barely audible whisper.

“Because I’m falling for you.”

You’re not sure why you do it. Maybe it’s the shock of everything. Maybe it’s because he saved your life and you feel like you owe him. Maybe it’s because you really did have feelings for him too. But you lean forward and kiss him. It’s short and sweet. Delicate.

His hand hovers at the side of your face. You know he wants more. And if it wasn’t for Harry, if it wasn’t for everything that had just happened he’d take more. But he fights it. And so do you.

You know you shouldn’t ask again, not after you just kissed him, but you are more scared to be alone right now than not say it. “Please stay. I promise I won’t do that again. Just, please don’t leave me on my own.”

He hasn’t got the heart to say no to you again. He simply gives a small nod, his hand indicating for you to open the door, a silent promise that he’d follow.

You both agreed he’d sleep on the cushioned bench under your window. You had gotten him a blanket and pillow before you crawled into bed. You both just stayed there in your positions across the room, staring at each other, you lying down, him just sat, his back leaning against the wall next to the window.

You didn’t know when you had eventually fallen asleep, but when you woke up, Peter was gone and the window had been left slightly open. Your neck felt stiff and all you wanted to do was roll over and forget everything had happened. Everything except for that kiss.

As your lips tingled and a fuzzy feeling settled into the pit of your stomach, you knew one thing for sure. Your boyfriend was a dick and you were definitely crushing on his best friend.

[recreationalfanfics]

Record of Justice: Wonder Woman! Reader HCs

I am so gay for Diana.

- Brunhilde doesn't HESITAITE to choose you as one of her champions, seeing as you're both demi-gods who come from a warrior race of women, I can see you and her honestly having a lot in common together.

- But yeah, no, Diana's whole thing is that she wants to save the world of man so even of Brunhilde didn't choose her, you would have still chosen to fight because it was your duty.

- So Wonder Woman has multiple origins: Her original one being that she was born from clay by her mother but there are versions she has a dad which kinda switches between Hades and Zeus. Zeus will be your father in this case because I genuinely like the idea of him blowing his fucking gasket when he sees you enter in the side of humanity.

- "YOU KNOW HER, YOU LOVE HER: LADIES AND GENTLEGODS, GIVE IT UP FOR THE AMAZONIAN PRINCESS AND SAVIOR OF MAN: (Y/N)!!!"

- Ares and Wonder Woman have so much beef in the comics so you and him definetly don't see eye to eye now. In fact, Ares would fight you himself if he could but like, you're also kinda scary when you're mad.

- Zeus and Poseidon are literally about to blow a fucking gasket when they see you. Zeus is more subtle as usual as he's all: "Oh, well she's always been the black sheep of the family!" but in reality, he feels deeply betrayed. Poseidon isn't surprised honestly, he genuinely believes you should have grown up with the Olympians instead of on Themyscira because then maybe you'd learn to look down on those pathetic humans instead of protecting them.

- Tbh, Poseidon does have a bit of a soft spot for you as his niece because you're the only one whose ever DARED to back talk him despite knowing his power. He wishes your mother, Hippolyta, wasn't such a stubborn woman. I can totally see moments when you're absolutely destroying Gods and Poseidon just smiling proudly at you but then quickly scowling so no one can see him.

- However the Greek Gods who explicitly still care for you are definetly Hermes, Hercules, and Aphrodite.

- Aphrodite, being your big sister, absolutely adores you even if you two aren't on the same side. She smiles when she sees you and if she can, she will try to catch you in the hallways and pull you into a hug, meanwhile you're kinda suffocating in her bosom. She compliments you on what a strong and beautiful woman you've become, the only reason she isn't upset with you for "betraying" the family is because...well, you've always been like that. It's just nice to see you again♡

-As for Hercules, you both are Demi gods and while you acknowledge humanities faults, you welcomed him with open arms and appreciate his dedication. You two might not be bound by blood but the way you carry each other's ideals and respect and tease each other, its very clear you two have an unbreakable bond.

- Hermes adored you since you were born. Despite Themyscira's laws that men weren't allowed on the island, he was a God, and would happily come and see you to play with you. Taking on a big brother role in your life, he smiles softly as you glare at your father and he thinks you're just as cute as when you were a little toddler struggling to walk on the sandy beach coast of your island.

- As for the human side, they're all in literal wonder of you...which makes sense regarding your hero alias, but when they watched you at work: you impressed everyone while Brunhilde smiled at you and it pissed Zeus off even more when you both shook hands and sent him smug smirks on your faces.

Enemies/People Who Dislike You:

- Ares is a huge hater as I stated before, maybe you humiliated him in the past in front of Zeus, or maybe it was that one time you stole his helmet in a fight and became the New Goddess of War for a while but either way: you and him should never be in the same room together because not even the Gods can predict that disaster.

- Loki thought the rope thing was kinda hot but found out the hard way WHY it was called the Lasso of Truth. Even when he is shaped shifted, he will revert to his normal form if you ever catch him with it AND YOU ALWAYS FUCKING DO. He also can't even try and mislead you by telling you half truths because he just blurts out the truth right away. Everyone absolutely adores you for it, ngl since Loki doesn't even bother pulling tricks when you're around and when he sees you fight for humanity, he throws a huge tantrum...He still finds the rope thing hot tho...

- Zeus. He has conflicted feelings for you, he does love you but he wishes you wouldn't always go against his wishes...though he supposes thats what he gets for having your mother raise you instead of him. You show him respect but you clearly harbour bitter feelings for him betraying your trust and wanting to wipe out humanity and he understands that. It still doesn't give you the right to laugh about him with Brunhilde and he'll be sure to get you back for it.

Allies/Friends Who Trust You:

- Brunhilde is honestly a good friend of yours, I genuinely think she sees you the same way she sees Hercules but she relates to you a little more. (The Valkyries and Amazon's would have martinis on the beaches of Themyscira, fight me on that-)

- Shiva, honestly. He likes that you're strict but you can definetly be fun and silly in your own way. You honestly remind him of Rudra, who he totally tries to set you up with so because you two really have a lot in common!

- Obviously Hercules, Hermes, and Aphrodite but also: Poseidon, surprisingly...sometimes. Again, he does soften a bit when it comes to you and he wonders if you're simply stubborn and brave or stubborn and stupid. You are his favorite niece but also, the one that causes him to roll his eyes the most.

- Honestly, all of the Valkyries. When you heard about Brunhilde and her Völundr's, you knew that it was clever but also: that you couldn't just stand to let your fellow sisters in battle fall, the odds being against them. Also, the will all hug you and tackle you to the ground.

- Sasaki Kojiro is a human you take a liking too, he reminds you of a friend whose clad in all black...except he's more cheerful and happy and might have lost in life, but still: he never gives up. You admire those skills in a human and he gets all shy and flustered when you compliment him but I can totally see the both of you practicing sword fights and even moments where he beats you, which you're proud of him for doing, honestly.

- Adam. He genuinely just is the dad Zeus never was, even though you're not one of his own children, he'll fight like you are. Tbh, the only man that deserves to set foot in Themyscira and the other Amazon's would agree. Eve also gossiping with your Hippolyta in the crowd and complimenting her on raising such a wonderful daughter and they talk about mom things.

Admirers/Characters Who Have a Crush on You:

- Thor, just straight up. Since you're a fellow immortal, you two have somewhat known each other, you didn't really care much for the godly affairs so it wasn't often, but he's had the biggest crush on you. When he saw you fight so fearlessly in the crowd, those feelings came back 10 fold. Definetly wants to fight you because that's his way of flirting. Zeus and Odin 100% want to pair you two together to create an official alliance and while Thor wants you to choose him out of your own volition, he will suggest that it is a good idea.

- Jack the Ripper. HE HAS BISEXUAL PANIC BECAUSE HERCULES WAS ALREADY SOKIND TO HIM BUT YOU?? OH, YOU'RE TRULY DESERVING OF THE TITLE OF GODDESS, your color is so gorgeous; filled with such love and passion. After his battle, after he killed Hercules, he is ashamed to face you. But, amazingly, you do not look at him in disgust or shame. You kneel down and gently hold his face, you are in mourning, but you still kiss his head gently and tell him: "You fought well. Rest." and he just short circuits as you begin to carry him.

- BUDDHA, BABY. He loves how serious you are but also, that you can be pretty goofy honestly. Also loves how you stand up to Zeus constantly. Not to mention he certainly has a thing for strong women. But also, he finds your work inspiring, trying to guide humanity to a better life of enlightment. HIPPOLYTA ALSO TRYING TO SET YOU TWO UP BECAUSE SHE'S A COOL MOM AND SHE'S ALL: "You know, that Buddha has been staring at you~" and you have to be all: "MOTHER!" And he walks over to you and offers you a snack and you take it. Zeus hates him because he thinks Buddha would be a "bad influence" on you.

[mymoodwriting]

9.1k, traveling, solo vacation, heartache, comfort, stalking, manipulation, sight-seeing, dates, dizziness, losing consciousness, supernatural beings, plant manipulation, drugs, yandere themes (@starillusion13)

“Welcome to Proust House.”

You offered the three gentlemen a smile as you entered the house. It was big, and luxurious, the pictures on the internet did not do this place justice. You were so excited to be here, albeit a bit sad too.

“Is it just you?” One of the boys asked. “The reservation said it was for five?”

“Uh, yeah, yeah it was… but… things happened… so it’s just me, is that alright?”

“Of course, of course. Let me help you with your things.”

The boy took your suitcase, asking you to follow them to your room. As you walked the other two came along.

“I’m Doyoung, by the way.” The boy with your suitcase smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too. I’m y/n.”

“The other two are Jaehyun and Jungwoo. We are co-owners of this house.”

“It’s really lovely. I’m glad to be staying here.”

“And we are happy to have you. Alright, this will be your room. It is late so I presume you want to get some rest so we’ll leave you to it. Call us if you need anything.”

Doyoung assured you all your necessities were in the room, and that tomorrow he’d give you a proper tour of the house. You took your luggage from him and thanked him, all of them, wishing them a good night. Once you were alone in your room you could take it all in. This whole place was amazing and the room was no different. The sheets were soft and all the furniture looked well-cared for. You found you had a private bathroom, deciding to get ready for bed, but you still had some energy and weren’t all that sleepy. On the way in you had seen a pool area, and thought to go there. You didn’t plan for a midnight swim, but the soothing sounds of the water and staring up at the sky might help ease your mind.

“Will you be alright?”

“Huh?”

You had been sitting by the poolside when a voice suddenly startled you. It was Jaehyun, who quickly apologized for scaring you.

“I’m okay…”

“That’s good. I thought you’d be asleep by now, but perhaps you’re not tired.”

“Yeah, besides the night sky is beautiful.”

“It is. Although I’m wondering… will you really be alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“With us? Usually multiple people come to stay at Proust House, but it’s just you… will you be okay staying with the three of us here? There is no else at the moment.”

“It’s fine. That is if you’re okay with it, I understand you expected more house guests.”

“We’re alright, I just don’t want you feeling uncomfortable.”

“It’s kinda late for that.”

“Do you want to talk about it? I’m a good listener, and a stranger to you as well.” Jaehyun sat near you. “It might not be a bad idea to unburden yourself.”

“Perhaps, but it’s nothing new… I was supposed to come here with some friends and my… well I guess he’s my ex-boyfriend now.” You took a moment. “Last week I found out he was seeing one of my other friends who was meant to come on this trip too. I got upset and yelled and… no one took my side… so obviously… the trip kinda fell apart, but I didn’t want my vacation days to go to waste, and the reservation had already been made, so here I am.”

“How cruel. A wonderful woman like you should be cherished.”

You chuckled. “I guess I kept the wrong company.”

“Indeed. I’ll make sure to refund you for the others. You should have that money to spend on your vacation.”

“Ah, that would be nice.” A yawn escaped your lips. “I guess I’m finally tired.”

“I’ll escort you to your room.”

Jaehyun walked with you back to your room, wishing you a good night. Your earlier assumption was correct. The bed was very soft and cozy.

🖤

Come morning you woke to a gentle knock at your door. You heard a voice out in the hall letting you know breakfast would be served soon. Despite being sleepy you called out that you’d be down in a minute. You took a moment and then got up, looking around the room, feeling well rested. You went to the bathroom and freshen up, preparing for the day ahead and focusing on the good things. Right outside your door was the balcony to the courtyard, so as you stepped out of your room you were met with a whole new sight to enjoy. With the morning light you could see the house differently. 

It was so beautiful, and so full of life. You hadn’t noticed last night just how many plants were in the house, and how incredible it all looked. You didn’t know where the dining room was but you followed the smell of food, ultimately finding the right place. The boys all greeted you with smiles, happy to see you up. There was plenty of food on the table and they encouraged you to sit and eat. Before you could ask, Jungwoo confirmed that they had cooked it all, and kept in mind all of the allergies and dietary restrictions you noted when you first registered to stay at the house. You thanked them and ate, enjoying your meal.

“This is such a lovely home you have, what made you decide to open it up to outside guests?”

“Well, it was so beautiful we thought it best to share with others.” Doyoung commented. “I’m glad you’re already enjoying yourself.”

“Yeah. You also have a lot of plants. Sometimes it feels like I’m living in a garden.”

“That’s the other reason we invite others here.” Jungwoo mentioned. “The plants need more carbon monoxide and fertilizer.”

“What?”

“Jungwoo!” Jaehyun hit the other over the head. “Don’t make jokes like that.”

“What? I thought it was funny.” 

You did chuckle at the notion, seeing that these boys really cared for the plants in their home. After breakfast Doyoung showed you around the house, that way you could move around freely as you came and went. While getting familiar with everything you noticed a room full of flowers and other plants, curious about it.

“What do you guys do with your time? You must run some kind of business to have a place like this, or perhaps this is family wealth?”

“You have good senses. My friends and I run a business. We make perfumes.”

“Oh wow, that’s cool. I guess it also explains the variety of flowers you have here.”

“Exactly, but the flowers here are for us to enjoy. If you’re curious, I did ask Jaehyun to leave a box of our perfumes in your room, a complimentary gift.”

“What? Oh no, I don’t think I can accept that.”

“Please. It’s the least we can do to make sure you enjoy your stay.”

“Thank you.”

The tour ended when you made it back to your room, and you thanked Doyoung for his hospitality. Even if you were alone on this trip, there were still things you wanted to do, and the day was young. After getting dressed you noticed a box on your bed and opened it up, seeing three bottles of perfume inside. They each had their own label, and you decided to check them all. The scents were unique and quite lovely and you figured you should use them. So for that day you decided to try on Mood Street.

On your way out you let Jaehyun know you’d be back later, and he wished you well on your day. Then you were off. You had called a cab earlier, and were excited to venture out into the area. The sun was shining down on a happy day, and you knew what you wanted to do with your time. As you walked the streets you were greeted by many smiling faces. It seemed the people here were happy to see tourists enjoying their home, and were more than eager to recommend things you should do. Even though you were enjoying yourself, there were reminders all over of what had happened to you.

Couples were out walking together, smiling and laughing, sharing meals and making memories. You had been doing that too not so long ago, but everything had fallen apart now. Seeing all this soured your mood a bit, but then you were met with an unexpected surprise. Jungwoo had been walking down the street with flowers in hand and listening to music. When he noticed you he happily waved and approached, curious as to what kind of adventures you had been on so far. Yet he was quick to note the sadness in your eyes. You hadn’t told him directly about your current predicament, but Jaehyun had shared the information, wanting all three of them to make sure you enjoyed your time here.

“What’s wrong?”

“Huh? Nothing…”

“Hm.” Jungwoo looked around. “This is a beautiful place. Although it’s best to share these memories with someone else.”

“…”

“Come on, I know a great cafe around here.”

Before you could say anything more Jungwoo took your hand and pulled you along down the street. It was sudden, but you didn’t feel nervous or uneasy around him. He was a stranger to you, yet he felt familiar and safe. Jungwoo took you to this little place, greeting the older lady behind the counter.

“Could you hold these for a moment.”

Jungwoo handed you the flowers he had been holding, getting out his wallet and ordering, asking you what you wanted. You browsed the menu and picked something out.

“Is she your girlfriend?” The cashier asked. “She’s pretty.”

“Oh, no.” Jungwoo smiled. “She’s a guest at Proust House, but she is very pretty.”

You felt shy hearing Jungwoo’s words, trying to hide your face in the flowers. Once you got your drinks Jungwoo suggested sitting down and enjoying them. You picked a spot by the front window, able to look out at the streets and see life pass by.

“Can I ask, why did you buy flowers? You have a lot at home.”

“These flowers we don’t grow at home, and we wanted to use them for our next fragrance. There’s this lovely flower shop nearby that we go to and order with when we need some different types of flowers.”

“Ah, that’s pretty cool. How long have you been a perfumist?” 

“A couple years now.”

“So what made you take on this career?”

“I always loved how one can mix together things like flowers and herbs and so many other beautiful things to create such a wonderful scent. I honestly just started experimenting before I thought to make this into a full on business. The others had the same idea and now here we are.”

“That’s great. To take something you enjoy and make a career out of it, not to mention you share it with others.”

“Yeah. You’re wearing my perfume today.”

“Oh? Mood Street is yours?”

“Yup. What do you think?”

“I love it. The smell reminds me of my childhood.”

“Really?”

“Yup. It’ll certainly pick up my mood in the future.”

“I’m happy to hear that.”

After finishing your drink you went with Jungwoo as he showed you around to his favorite places. He certainly helped you put your worries aside and made you feel less lonely. Before you knew it the whole day had gone by and you had such a wonderful time. Jungwoo had driven out, so of course he took you back to the house. You were happy to be back, and the two others welcomed you. They had prepared dinner, and it smelled amazing. While you ate you told them of your adventures and the things you did with Jungwoo. They listened intently, really making you feel like you were with friends.

“I see you really enjoyed yourself today.”

“Yup. This place is as amazing as they say. I’m glad I came.”

“We’re happy to have you too.”

“I’m going to turn in for the night. Another busy day awaits me tomorrow. Thanks for dinner.”

“Have a good night.”

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, filling the sky with the light of dusk. You took a moment to stare up at the beautiful sky, a soft smile on your face. The day really had been good despite the small bump. Even if things back home were complicated you were glad to be here, able to just focus on the present and be happy. You eventually returned to your room, getting ready for the night and getting cozy in bed. It didn’t take long for you to fall asleep, happily embracing the darkness.

🖤

The sound of birds chirping slowly pulled you from your slumber. Sunlight creeped into the room through the curtains, welcoming the new day. You didn’t need a wake up call this time, actually bumping into Doyoung as he was on his way to tell you breakfast was ready. He was pleasantly surprised to see you up and with a smile on your face. The two of you headed down to the dining room, seeing the others setting up the table.

“Good morning, did you sleep well?”

“Very much so. The bed here is super comfy.”

You didn’t eat too much in the morning as today’s plans involved trying all kinds of local cuisine and street food. You excitedly got ready for the day and then went over to the box of perfume you had. Yesterday you had tried Mood Street, so today you thought to try ?! since it would likely match your feelings that day. Another wonderful aroma filled the room, and you were good to head out. Once again you had called a cab to pick you up, heading to this brunch spot with raving reviews. Simply walking through the door made your stomach grumble despite a light breakfast. You picked out something new and something you were familiar with, wanting to make sure you still ate regardless of whether you liked the food or not.

After having your fill you went on a walk around the neighborhood, taking in how beautiful it was. There were so many plants around. Trees lined the sidewalk providing wonderful shade, and one could find different flowers on different streets. Not to mention many vines grew up and along the buildings, blooming flowers of their own and adding another level of beauty to the buildings. It honestly felt more like walking through a huge garden than some normal street. The aromas of the flora mixed with the foods around, it was divine simply to walk by. One could go on for hours and still enjoy themselves.

You stopped by a cafe for a drink, having it while you continued your walk and took pictures. You didn’t even realize it was past lunch until your stomach growled at you. It seemed you had really gotten lost in the scenery. You found a nice bench to stop at, looking through your phone to see where you’d be going for lunch. There were a few wonderful places nearby and once you had your choice down you were on your way. The place wasn’t as busy since it was past the lunch rush so you were seated and attended rather quickly. You ordered from their specials, excited to try everything you could stomach.

While you were in the middle of your meal you heard a big group of people come into the restaurant. They had a reservation and were apparently celebrating a couple’s engagement. Without meaning to you found yourself staring, realizing that was supposed to be you. Out with friends and celebrating the milestones in your lives. You finished up your meal and then headed out. The warm sun shining down on you picked up your mood a bit, and you went back to aimlessly walking the streets. 

As it got later in the evening you found an ice cream shop and stopped for a treat, staring out the window at the world passing by. It was good to be alone with yourself every once and a while. You don’t have to worry about another person and can just exist and be happy while doing things you enjoy. You zoned out for a moment and then snapped back to reality when there was a knock on the glass. You glanced over to see Jaehyun out on the street, waving at you before making his way into the shop. You were pleasantly surprised to see him, as was he.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was just around.” Jaehyun mentioned. “I saw you from across the street, but I wasn’t sure it was you until I got a closer look. How’s your day been?”

“It’s been good. I’ve walked around a lot and eaten just as much.”

“Sounds like a good day. Are you gonna head back to the house soon? Or will you be having dinner somewhere else?”

“I was planning on going to a restaurant for dinner but…”

“What?”

“I think I should just head back and eat with you guys.”

“Ah, you don’t want to be alone?”

“I… well I guess it looks weird eating alone when others aren’t…”

“Then I’ll join you.”

“Huh?”

“There’s a nice place I know around here, let’s go have dinner together.”

“I…”

“Just say yes, come on, I know you’ll love it.”

Before you could say anything more Jaehyun took your hand in his, leading you out of the little parlor and back onto the streets. The nice evening breeze brought a smile to your face, and after a moment you stared down at Jaehyun’s hand holding yours. His touch was so warm and inviting, you honestly didn’t want him to let go. The two of you went down a few blocks before coming to a stop. From outside you could see the restaurant had a cool atmosphere and soon enough you were inside.

“Table for two, please.”

“Jaehyun, so good to see you again. I see you have a date.”

“Oh, we’re not-”

“She’s pretty isn’t she?”

“Jaehyun.” You hissed in a giggle.

“What, it’s true.”

“If you could follow me, please.”

You were still trying to contain your smile, Jaehyun returning the sentiment and pulling you along. He pulled out your chair for you and then sat across from you. Once the waiter brought over the menus he began to tell you about the dishes and what was best in his opinion. When the food and drinks were decided Jaehyun asked about your day, wanting to hear about your adventures and see the pictures you had taken. You were happy to share and he was delighted to listen to you go on and on. After dinner Jaehyun suggested going on a little walk to help the food settle and bid farewell to the evening. You loved the idea and the two of you found a nice place to enjoy the sunset.

It had been a long adventurous day, and you were certainly tired. Jaehyun kept you close as you walked to the car, making sure you didn’t stumble and hurt yourself. You took a little nap on the drive back to the house, Jaehyun gently waking you and helping you to your room. He laid you down in bed, helping you out of your shoes and asking if you’d be alright. Your sleepy self assured him you were good, so he wished you a good night and left you to rest. You wanted to curl up and sleep but it was better if you got ready for bed. You took a breath and got up, properly unwinding and then getting under the covers. It had been another good day, and you happily welcomed sleep.

🖤

Since yesterday had been such a busy day you wound up sleeping in a bit, only waking when there was a knock at your door followed by footsteps. A nice aroma filled the room and you got up, squinting your eyes until your vision cleared up and you saw Doyoung with a tray of food. He set it down on the nightstand and went over to open up the blinds. Fresh air and warm sunlight filled the room, creating a wonderful atmosphere. You sat up and stretched, rubbing the sleep from your eyes as Doyoung set the tray on the bed.

“For our special guest, breakfast in bed.”

“It smells delicious. You didn’t have to do all this. I would have gotten up eventually.”

“Perhaps, but I don’t get to do this often. So, what’s your agenda for the day?”

“Hm, not so sure. Although since the weather looks so nice I think I’ll pay a visit to the local museums.”

“Really? Why don’t I accompany you.”

“That’s not necessary, I’m sure you’re busy.”

“Not today. Besides, I’d like to go with you. I can share some of the history behind certain pieces, like your personal guide.”

“That does sound fun.”

“Excellent. You finish up breakfast and let me know when you’re ready to go.”

“Alright.”

Doyoung left to let you eat in peace. You were quite excited for the day ahead, happy to know you wouldn’t be alone. After eating you got ready, trying out the last perfume bottle from the box, February to April. Once you were good to go you went down to look for Doyoung. He was out in the garden and happy to see you. He brought the car around, and then the two of you were on your way. He took care of everything so all you had to do was enjoy yourself. The two of you walked through the art gallery, sticking close to one another. Doyoung would point out certain pieces and tell you about them, giving you all the more reason to enjoy such a piece.

For lunch you merely went to the museum’s cafeteria, not wanting to leave just yet. There was still so much to see, and you wanted to get to as much as you could. The day itself was just wonderful with Doyoung. You’d share your thoughts, take pictures, and just appreciate the atmosphere. It felt like things could go on forever, but you knew it was getting late, and it would be time for dinner soon. Doyoung was on the same page as you but he had something else in mind.

“You know, it’s not that late. We could go to a nearby market and buy somethings for dinner.”

“You wanna cook?”

“I’d love to make dinner for you. I feel like a home cooked meal is the perfect way to end the day.”

“I’ve never been to a market before.”

“Then it’s settled, let’s go!”

Doyoung was very excited to take you somewhere, and you were also curious about shopping at a market. Even if it was later in the day the place still seemed to be busy with people. Doyoung had you hook your arm around his, not wanting to lose you in the crowds, and then you were off. He led the way, pointing out certain stalls and asking you if you were in the mood for anything in particular. You were more interested in seeing what he wanted to do.

“Doyoung, it’s so good to see you.”

An older woman at a stall called out to Doyoung and the two of you made your way over. She could see you were buying ingredients for dinner.

“It’s been a while. I was wondering what was keeping you away, but I see now you found yourself a pretty girl.”

“Ah, she is very pretty.” Doyoung teased you. “Although she’s just a guest at our house for now. I want to make her dinner tonight, so I brought her to the market.”

“That’s a good date idea.”

“Do you have any recommendations?”

You chatted with the woman for a while before buying some veggies and going on your way. Now that you thought about it, the boys from the house really seemed to know a lot of people in the area. Everywhere you went with them there was always someone new to greet, and everyone kept thinking you were their girlfriend. It made you shy, but also brought a smile to your face. After shopping you got some snacks and then headed home. You were excited to cook alongside Doyoung, following his instructions. Soon enough a rich aroma was filling the kitchen and you couldn’t wait to eat.

The other two peeked into the kitchen to see what was for dinner, surprised and happy to see you there. It made them all the more excited, saying they’d set the table so you could all eat as soon as you were done. You kept wanting to steal a bite here and there but Doyoung told you to be patient, lightly scolding you when he saw you trying to sneak some food. Once everything was finished you started moving pots over to the dining table, the other boys pouring drinks. Soon enough you were all seated and enjoying dinner together. You spoke of your day out in the museum and little trip to the market. Happily sharing your adventures once more.

After dinner you helped clean up the table and wash some dishes, feeling like this was a satisfying end to a good day. When you finished up with that you turned in for the night. You took a nice shower and then washed up before crawling under the sheets. You snuggled against your pillow, closing your eyes and easily drifting off into dreamland. You looked forward to what the next day would bring you.

🖤

You slowly woke from your slumber to the soft pitter-patter at your window. You didn’t know the time but your room seemed dark. You slowly got out of bed and went over to your window, pulling back the curtains and seeing that it was raining. Just to double check you stepped out of your room, being able to see the rain clearly as it fell onto the courtyard below. The scent in the air was calming, and you almost found yourself falling asleep standing up as the soft sounds of rain lulled you back to sleep.

“The forecast didn’t say anything about rain today.”

You opened your eyes to see Jungwoo walking over, a tray of food in hand. Today would be another good day for breakfast in bed.

“It’s nice though.”

“Do you plan on going out in this weather? I don’t think it’s gonna stop anytime soon.”

“No, no, I think today will just be a lazy day for me. Take a little break from all my adventures.”

“That’s for the best.”

“I’ll have breakfast and then go back to bed.”

“Sounds like a good plan. Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

“I’ll come pick up the dishes later so just leave them outside your room.”

“I will.”

“Let us know if you need anything. We won’t be going anywhere either.”

“Noted.”

Jungwoo let you get back into your room, heading off elsewhere. You had breakfast in bed, enjoying the food and staring out the window, enjoying the sounds of the rain. After eating you set the tray down outside your room and then got back into bed. With food in your belly and such relaxing sounds it was easy to fall asleep. You’d find yourself slipping in and out of consciousness, but you certainly didn’t want to get up just yet. You slept in until a little after one, still sleepy but feeling it was time to get up and do something.

It was still raining outside, but you didn’t mind. All the rain would be good for the plants out in the courtyard. It was past lunchtime so you were definitely a bit hungry. You didn’t want to bother any of the boys so you figured you’d be able to make yourself something. Although to your surprise it seems they were one step ahead. There was food in the kitchen that had been left for you. A note next to it let you know they had set it aside cause they didn’t want to wake you up to eat. You were grateful, reminding yourself to thank them later. You heated up the food and ate, making sure to clean up after yourself.

Since you had no intentions of going out you thought to explore the house. It was huge and despite being here for a few days you had only seen so little of it. You aimlessly wandered the halls, taking in all the beauty with the sounds of the rain as your background music. Art decorated the halls, and most doors were wide open, welcoming you in and really making it feel like you weren’t intruding on someone’s home. As you explored you came upon a peculiar sight, finding it rather amusing and giggling.

“Jaehyun?”

You walked past a room and then quickly did a double take. Jaehyun was sitting in a bathtub, fully clothed, while he stared out the window with a journal in hand. When he saw you he smiled, not at all embarrassed or nervous about his situation.

“Ah, you’re awake.”

“Yeah. What are you doing?”

“Just soaking in the tub. There are some flowers in here so it’s like a special type of bath.”

“And you take it fully clothed?”

“The world outside is soaked, I see no difference being the same.”

“Interesting take.”

“Why don’t you join me?”

“What?”

You weren’t entirely sure what Jaehyun was talking about, but he soon began to get out of the tub. He set his journal down and stepped onto the tile floor, getting water everywhere, but that was the least of his concern. He approached you and took your hand, leading you out into the hall. He was leaving a trail of water, but he didn’t care, and you couldn’t even ask what was going on. There was a smile on his face that brought one out of you too. Next thing you knew you were stepping outside into the courtyard, the rain coming down on you. In a matter of moments you were wet, soon completely soaked like him.

“Jaehyun!” You laughed.

“When was the last time you danced in the rain.”

Jaehyun pulled you close, wrapping an arm around your waist and spinning you around. The two of you swayed from side to side, going in circles as you danced. Things were a bit blurry, but you were enjoying yourself. It seemed like the plants around you were dancing too, and despite the rain you weren’t that cold. The moment was almost a bit surreal, like something out of a movie.

“You should stay with us.”

“What? I can’t hear you.”

“What are you doing!”

You heard a voice yell somewhere around you, and then Doyoung was pulling you away from Jaehyun. He quickly placed something over your head, shielding you from the rain.

“You’ll get sick out here, y/n.”

“It’s fine.” Jaehyun commented. “We were having fun.”

“I’m sure you were. Come on, y/n.”

Doyoung wasn’t gonna listen to the other, so he just started moving you out of the courtyard over to dryland. He led you to one of the bathrooms nearby, not commenting on the trail of water you were leaving behind. He wrapped you up in a towel, trying his best to dry you off. You found his actions very sweet.

“I’m alright, Doyoung. I didn’t mind being in the rain.”

“I know, but I don’t want you to get sick.”

“It’s fine if I…”

As you spoke it finally dawned on you why Doyoung was so worried about you. This wasn’t your house, and you were only here on vacation, getting sick is the last thing you should want.

“Sorry… I guess I forgot for a moment that I’m just your guest here. I shouldn’t burden you by falling ill, and getting sick could mean I miss my flight back home.”

“None of us have any problem with you staying. You could if you wanted to… and I wouldn’t mind babying you, but I don’t know if you’re alright with some strangers looking after you right now.”

“Ah, that’s true. Thank you for your consideration.”

“Of course. I’ll message Jungwoo so he can bring you a change of clothes.”

“Thanks. You should probably check on Jaehyun too.”

“He’s fine. Probably back in his tub.”

“He does that often?”

“Usually he’s naked, but I’m glad he took your presence into account.”

“I see.”

A moment later there was a knock and Jungwoo made his presence known. He set down some clothes for you and Doyoung stepped out to let you get changed. He said he’d make you some tea to warm up, so you should come by the kitchen once you were in some dry clothes. You thanked him again and then you were given some privacy. As you dried yourself off and changed you couldn’t help the smile on your face. Dancing in the rain had been wonderful, and not something you thought you’d do while on vacation.

Once you were all good you laid out your wet clothes in the empty tub and made your way to the kitchen. There you found Doyoung and Jungwoo. They were both glad to see you all dry and Doyoung poured you a cup of tea. The warmth of the cup certainly felt nice, and you gave it a moment before taking a sip. You really did need this, adding to the comfiness and happiness of the moment. Jungwoo asked if you had fun, and you nodded gleefully. You kinda felt like a child while you were out in the rain. Thinking back, you weren’t sure you had ever done that before.

“It was really fun.”

“Well, hopefully you don’t get sick.” Doyoung commented. “Our medicine cabinet is right here. If you need anything please just grab it, you don’t have to ask.”

“Thanks.”

“You know what you should do before you go.” Jungwoo mentioned. “You should come with me while I do deliveries.”

“Deliveries?”

“The people around here do buy our perfumes, so it’s fun to go around and deliver them.”

“Yeah, that does sound awesome. I’d love to go with you.”

“Cool. We don’t leave until after breakfast, but I can wait up if you want to sleep in.”

“I’ll try not to.”

After tea you decided to join the two in their theater room to watch some TV and wind down before dinner. You leaned against Doyoung’s shoulder at one point, lightly dozing off. Neither disturbed you and let you take a nap, enjoying the TV and watching you sleep. Doyoung gently moved your head over to Jungwoo, excusing himself to start dinner. Jungwoo was more than happy to keep you company until you woke up on your own or dinner was ready. It wound up being the latter.

You were a bit sad you didn’t get to help with dinner, but the boys assured you it was alright. You were technically their guest more than anything, so they should take care of you. Dinner was wonderful as always, and you were excited for your outing with Jungwoo, still, you had to sleep first. You had a little trouble with it but were ultimately able to fall asleep. Since you didn’t want to drag you set an alarm. You beat Doyoung from giving you your wake up call, and the two of you went down to the dining room together. After breakfast you got dressed and were soon out with Jungwoo.

“So we have a few stops to make, but they are all over the place.”

“I don’t mind being out all day with you.”

“That’s good to know. We can make some stops along the way if you see anything you’d like.”

“I’ll let you know.”

This was like your first day here, except you moved with purpose. You could still enjoy the scenery and get some street food, but you were always on the move. You saw that the boxes of perfume were just like the one you had been gifted. The design was simple, yet elegant. For the most part the boxes were left on people’s doorsteps after knocking. Jungwoo assured you the area was peaceful and no one would steal it. Besides delivering you did put up a few flyers, their own local way to advertise themselves and let people know about their latest products. It was a little old fashioned but nice.

The day went by rather fast, but you were happy every moment. By the time the sun was setting you returned back to the house. Jungwoo took you up to the rooftop garden, tending to his plants and where the two of you could enjoy the sunset. It was a wonderful day to end your day, that is until dinner came around. Doyoung told you that they had prepared a special dessert for you. A sort of traditional dish from the area that you had to try at least once while you were here. It was delicious, as expected, there was even this cute little edible flower. You cleaned up after dinner, telling the others you’d be heading to bed. They all wished you a good night.

Tomorrow was your last day before your flight home. It was a little sad that you had to return back to your old life, but you enjoyed your stay here. As you walked over to your room you stopped to notice the plants. It seemed the vines had grown a lot as they were now curled around the balcony. You stared out into the courtyard, definitely seeing more life in the plants after a delightful shower. As you made it to your room you suddenly felt a little dizzy. You grabbed the doorknob but didn’t have the strength to turn it.

You wound up collapsing to the floor. The world was spinning and you tried to call out for someone, but you didn’t have the strength. Black was starting to fill your vision and you felt some footsteps shake the ground. You couldn’t make out the face of whoever found you, but you were at least glad to know someone was there. You felt some hands on you, but then everything faded to black.

🖤

You felt sunlight on your face as you began to regain consciousness. You peeked one of your eyes open, seeing the glass door wide open, letting in the sun and a gentle breeze. It felt nice on your skin, but then you realized you weren’t in your room, and you weren’t alone. A groan beneath the covers next to you drew your attention, and then you saw Doyoung. You yelled, a bit startled, and nearly fell out of bed, but Doyoung managed to grab you. Even if you were awake, there was only a moment of clarity before you felt uneasy.

“Be careful, you still need to rest and get some sun.”

“What… what happened…”

“You just fainted for a bit, too much excitement I suppose.”

“Oh… then why…”

“I didn’t want to leave you alone after that. Sorry if this is strange.”

“I understand… thank you, and sorry for troubling you.”

“It’s no trouble at all. We just want to make sure you’re alright. I’ll go get you some breakfast, you stay in bed.”

“Okay.”

You closed your eyes and went back to resting, wanting to enjoy the sunlight. You drifted off for a moment before Doyoung returned, breakfast tray in hand. It was a light breakfast but satisfying nonetheless. Doyoung let you sleep some more, saying he’d come by to check on you later. You wound up sleeping until noon, waking up on your own and getting out of bed. You stepped out onto the balcony, basking in the warm light. There was something so nice about the day, and you did feel better than earlier. You stayed out there for a long while until Doyoung returned to check on you.

“I see you’re finally awake. How do you feel?”

“Better.”

“That’s good. It’s best if you stay home today, I need to keep an eye on you.”

“Hm…”

“I know your flight is tomorrow, so this is surely not how you wanted to spend your last day but I assure you it’ll be good.”

“I’ll keep you to that.”

Even if half the day was already gone there were still things to keep you busy with. You went with Doyoung to his work area. It was a room you hadn’t been to before. There were flowers and herbs and spices, and so much more all over the place. The table at the center had a bunch of equipment, and you could see certain liquids in some beakers.

“So you really just work from home.”

“Yup. We work our own hours and don’t have to worry about any sort of commute.”

“This looks amazing.”

“I do have some perfumes I need to work on, but since you’ll be with me today-”

“You want me to help?”

“Oh no, it’s alright. I thought perhaps you’d want to try and make your own perfume.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I can teach you the basics, and you have a lot of variety to work with.”

“That sounds awesome.”

Doyoung helped you set up in your own little station, talking to you about how to build a perfume. You were excited to try and he gave you some time to experiment. He worked quietly in his own area, and you’d occasionally sneak a glance at him. He looked so focused on his work, you could see he really liked what he did. A moment later the door opened and Jaehyun came in. He was clearly looking for Doyoung but stopped when he noticed you and smiled.

“Hello, how are you feeling?”

“Better.”

“You got plenty of sun?”

“Yeah.” You chuckled. “It’s a really sunny day.”

“That’s good. You been drinking plenty of water?”

“Uh, I had some earlier.”

“I’ll get you some then. I’ll be right back.”

“I’m really okay guys.”

“I know, but still.”

Jaehyun left as quickly as he came and you were rather amused. You were up and on your feet, not that sick anymore, but they seemed to be insistent on taking care of you. A moment later Jaehyun returned with some water for you and some snacks.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Jaehyun stuck around and helped you with your perfume, letting Doyoung work in peace. He was very patient with you and gave his opinions on the scents you were choosing. You had figured out what you wanted to do, so he helped you set everything up. Now you just had to be patient.

“Will it be ready by the time I leave tomorrow?”

“It’s already that time?”

“Yeah, I have a flight in the afternoon, but I should be at the airport in the morning, just to be safe.”

“I see. Well don’t worry about that. Everything will work out.”

“Good.”

“Jungwoo went out to do some errands, but he’ll be back shortly, we should all go out tonight.”

“That’s not a good idea.” Doyoung mentioned. “It’s best that she stays home.”

“One night won’t kill her.”

“Let’s not test that. There will be plenty of times in the future to go out.”

“But tonight’s my last night…” You mumbled. “I’m sorry I got sick…”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant…” Doyoung sighed. “Fine, let’s go out tonight and celebrate.”

“Yes!”

Jaehyun took your hand and led you elsewhere in the house. If you were going out you’d need something nice to wear. You hadn’t really packed anything like that, but Jaehyun had the perfect solution. He took you to this room, almost like a walk-in closet, with lots of clothes, for both men and women.

“Wow… this is awesome.”

“This place is wonderful so we thought of having some fancier clothes for guests. You can choose whatever you like.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

You were excited by all the dresses around, eagerly taking them in and asking Jaehyun for his opinions. In the end you picked a dress of your favorite color, going off to get dressed and ready. A night out with friends, that’s all you had really wanted from this trip. It may not be with the people you originally had in mind, but you knew you’d have a wonderful time nonetheless. Once you were ready you waited out in the courtyard for a while, Jaehyun coming to collect you, dressed nicely as well. You met up with the other two, Jungwoo stepping out of the car to open the door for you. The car was perfect for four, and you sat in the back with Jaehyun, while Doyoung drove and Jungwoo sat in the front.

Soon enough you were on the road, Jungwoo and Jaehyun eagerly telling you about restaurants and things to do. They were talking as if today wasn’t your last night here, or with them, which you honestly didn’t mind. Even though you had only known them for a short while you felt like you had become close. You certainly wanted to return sometime in the future. Eventually you arrived at this fancy restaurant, being seated up on a balcony area where you could enjoy the skyline with your meal. They boys encouraged you to have whatever you wanted and not to worry about the prices. Not that the menu showed any.

Dinner was nice with the cool breeze and delicious food. Dessert was just as good, and to end the night you all decided to go for a drive. All the lights were beautiful, and you got to see the area in a whole new way. Just sitting there with your eyes closed and feeling the breeze was enough for you. Leaving you oblivious to the fond looks the boys gave you. As it got quiet you returned home, the boys taking you up to the rooftop to enjoy the moon and some drinks, nothing alcoholic since you were all winding down. It was so peaceful and relaxing, you found yourself dozing off, leaning against Jungwoo’s shoulder.

“We should probably put her to bed.” Doyoung mentioned. 

“Can she sleep with me?” Jungwoo asked.

“No. Let her sleep in her own bed tonight.”

Jaehyun volunteered to take you to your room, gently picking you up in his arms and taking you down. He politely undressed you so you could sleep well, tucking you into the sheets. He admired your sleeping form for a moment before placing a soft kiss on your head.

“Sweet dreams.”

🖤

“My flight!”

You jolted awake when you suddenly remembered what day it was. Your phone was on the nightstand, off, so your alarm hadn’t gone off. You were quickly out of bed and scrambling to get your things. The plan was to pack last night and take a nap before leaving, not actually sleeping. As you finished loading your suitcase you remembered your wet clothes from the other day that were likely still downstairs. You grabbed your things and made your way down, turning on your phone in the process. When you saw the time you felt a bit of relief, you could still make it with a few moments to spare.

Although as you were walking through the first floor you suddenly tripped over something and collapsed. You looked back to see what had knocked you down, only to find a vine curled around your leg. The sight was odd, but there were plants all over the house. You sighed, figuring you just weren’t paying attention and rushing. You sat up and reached down to remove the vine only to see it move and coil up further on your leg. Panic overtook you and you started yanking on it, only for the grip to get tighter. You screamed, trying to move away only for another vine to come from nowhere and grab your arm.

You began to struggle against the two, but more appeared, restraining you, and then you were being dragged somewhere. You continued to scream until a vine wrapped around your throat, forcing you to quiet down in order to breathe. Next thing you knew you were in the courtyard, countless vines wrapping around your limbs and pulling them all taut. The vine around your throat loosened up but one was quickly covering your mouth to keep you from making noise. You tried to think, to figure out what to do, but your options were very limited. Any little move you made just caused the vines to tighten their grip, and restrict you even more.

“Y/n?”

You looked over to see Doyoung rushing over to you. The vines quickly let you go and placed you on the ground. Soon enough you were in Doyoung’s arms, holding him close.

“It’s okay, you’re okay.”

“I… what just…”

“Sh, you don’t have to be scared, they just didn’t want you to sneak away.”

“… what?”

“It’s early, they were just worried. Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”

“No, no, I have to catch my flight.”

“You’re not leaving.”

“Huh?”

“You can’t leave. It’s already been decided.”

“What are you talking about?” You pushed Doyoung away. “My flight is today and-”

“I said you’re not leaving.”

You suddenly felt a vine wrap around your wrist, pulling you back and forcing you onto your back. In the blink of an eye you were restrained again, but it wasn’t as intense as before.

“Doyoung, help me!”

“If you have plans to leave, then I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

“What? Doyoung!”

Nothing made sense in the moment, but you were being consumed by panic once again. Something was very wrong here, something had likely been wrong for a while now, but you hadn’t noticed.

“Why would you want to leave? Our home is perfect for you.”

“I have my own home, my own life, to get back to! This-”

“Is where you belong. You can’t really leave now even if you wanted to.”

“What!?”

Doyoung moved closer to you, and the vines moved to restrain your arms behind your back, lifting you up to meet Doyoung’s gaze. You squirmed for a bit until a vine wrapped around your throat as a warning. Doyoung watched you for a moment, reaching to gently caress your cheek but you flinched.

“I said you don’t have to be scared. We’re not gonna hurt you.”

“Let me go!”

“I can’t do that.”

Doyoung revealed a knife, cutting his wrist and revealing something unexpected. Instead of blood gushing out this pink sticky substance spilled out. Even if nothing around you made sense, something was starting to dawn on you.

“… you… you’re not human… are you…?”

“I’m better.”

“… why… why-”

“And so are you.”

Your arm was suddenly yanked up closer to Doyoung. He gently grabbed it and pressed the knife against your wrist, creating a small cut. You watched as a similar pink liquid bloomed from your injury. A chill ran down your spine, making you feel so cold.

“… what… did you do to me…?”

“It was completely painless, and a success.”

“… when did you… was this always your plan!?”

“No, no, we were expecting you and your friends, but when you showed up alone, well, we just wanted to look after you. Although as you traveled around by yourself we knew you weren’t happy, so we did our best to cheer you up. You deserve better than to be abandoned by your friends, don’t you think?”

“But this-”

“Is a gift.”

“I don’t want it! Take it back!”

“I won’t be doing that. I can’t anyway.”

“Then why! You could have asked-”

“Would you have believed us? Would you have said yes? Darling, we all saw the truth. You weren’t in a good place right now to do what was best for yourself, so we took the initiative. Doesn’t it all sound so lovely? To stay here with us.”

“I… I… no, no, what you’re doing, what you did, is wrong! I won’t accept this!”

“Hm, that’s alright. Things are still changing so you might not fully understand right now. You should go back to sleep.”

Doyoung placed a soft kiss over your open wound, and you watched as it closed up. Then he took in a deep breath of your scent, a smile on his face.

“You always had a lovely scent, now it’s just magnificent.”

Next thing you knew flowers were blooming on the vines, their scent sweet and intoxicating, making the world around you blur. After a moment the vines released you and you fell into Doyoung’s embrace. For some reason he was so warm, and you snuggled up against him.

“Good girl, just another flower in my garden.”

“Doyoung? What are you doing up so early?”

Jungwoo walked into the courtyard as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. It took him a moment to register you in Doyoung’s arms. Although you could barely make out the voices around you.

“What’s going on? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Just up early and trying to leave.”

“Ah, right, her flight was today.”

“Not that she was going to take it.”

“Right. Are you going to take her back to your room?”

“I suppose, she shouldn’t be alone going forward. Why are you up though? It’s my turn to make breakfast.”

“The plants were bugging me to get up.”

“Me too.” Jaehyun yawned as he entered the courtyard. “They said y/n was escaping, but I see they handled it.”

“As if they’d let her leave.” Doyoung commented. “They liked her from the start.”

“Since you’re making breakfast I’ll take her to my room.”

“What?” Jungwoo questioned. “I was here first!”

“But I called dibs.”

“Ya, you both can take her and keep her company. I’ll bring breakfast to the room when I’m done.” 

“I like that.”

Jungwoo summoned a vine over, a flower blooming on it that he plucked. He knelt down in front of you, but you couldn’t really make out his blurry face. He softly pet your head before gently grabbing your chin and forcing your mouth open, placing the flower past your lips. A sweet taste hit your tongue, melting so fast and making you feel way more relaxed. You closed your eyes, already feeling like you were floating and drifting off into darkness. It wasn’t long before you were swallowed up by sleep.

“She’s so cute.” Jaehyun mentioned. “She’ll like it here.”

Jaehyun took you into his arms, Jungwoo happily following him. Doyoung watched them all go off, a pleasant smile on his face.

“My beautiful flowers.”

[jade-len]

bad svsss fanfic/au idea: random marriage/guidance counselor transmigrates into PIDW, sees the absolute mess of lord luo bingge and his harem, goes "jesus fucking christ", and makes bank.

and like. they're probably not even that good of a counselor. it's just that people lack any sense when it comes to bingge, and since he's the emperor, that means pretty much everyone. also because therapy doesn't exist. i'll give them some credit though, whatever they hell they're doing works.

now, while sqq and sqh are having a grand ol' time in SVSSS with their husbands, this random, average counselor has to deal with being in the care of lord luo bingge. no wife beam. no anything. all they have is some basic empathy and common sense people just tend to lack in here for some reason.

it's even worse considering the fact that they've arrived after luo bingge completed his plan and became the hailed demon emperor. now, while they've never full on read the entire thing, they've heard enough from a close friend who has kept up with it to know the main character is the literal embodiment of the cycle of abuse and heavy unresolved issues. like, it got to the point where they started to unironically use luo bingge as an example of how to not deal with conflicts and trauma.

really, how could people like bingge? seriously, it's just another edge lord main character with way too many glamorized issues and abuse. red flag! (hey, who the hell is peerless cucumber and why does he keep defending binghe? lord, have mercy on these impressionable young men...)

so, after being kidnapped taken in by bingge and his wives after the bunch claimed that they were a "wise man" or whatever (all they did was offer some basic relationship advice to some poor woman, who turned out to be ning yingying, who told the other wives, and it just spiraled from there), they were deemed "special" and given their personal office and a room! hey, better than being on the streets in this god forsaken hentai-ish world, i guess.

quickly, a routine was established. one that, especially, consisted of luo bingge outright ignoring them. which, they weren't complaining about!

wake up, eat, meet with multiple of the wives, spend their hard earned money on delicious delicacies, meet with more wives, sleep, repeat. the most interaction they had with the demon emperor was him ordering them around, but even then, that was uncommon. it was, surprisingly, easy to fall into the rhythm of this undoubtedly odd life. you're upset that lord luo hasn't spent much time with you? maybe you can ask! the other wives are being annoying? remove yourself from the situation. you're upset that lord luo has so many other wives? oohhh... yeah. uhm.

luo binghe only tolerated them, they knew that. and they're sure that, if not for multiple of his wives insisting on keeping them, they'd be dead for even daring to be so "intimate" with them. a little bit of a shock, if they do say so themself. like, insecure much (something that they'll probably never get used to is the fact that bingge built an entire little village for his wives, though)?

but that's not the most shocking thing, oh, no.

it's this.

"i- i tried.. i tried to take the.. hiic-- other.. other shizun w-with me.." lord luo binghe, the powerful, almighty demon emperor, trembles and sobs. "b-but he! he wanted to-- s-stay with that.. stupid, inferior version of my- hic- self.."

despite the mountain of gold they're getting paid in, is it really enough to deal with this? probably not. will they get killed for witnessing luo binghe's vulnerability? perhaps. is he a dictator, the embodiment of the cycle of abuse, and a crazily vengeful bastard? definitely.

"it's-- s' not.." his voice breaks. something else inside of them probably does, too. "..n-not, hiic- fair."

should they feel bad? they shouldn't. he's hurt much too many people. isn't it a little late? can he even be redeemed? because, they are absolutely not here to try and "fix" him.

and yet.

"can you breathe, lord luo? deep breaths, don't focus on anything else but me, okay? i'll do it with you too. can you do that for me? there, there. you're doing a very good job, do you know that? here, when i'm upset, sometimes i like to do something called, '5-4-3-2-1'. i promise it'll help, binghe. would you like for me to do this one with you too?"

they can't help but think about a small, lonely boy on qing jing peak.

. . .

after that, bingbing slowly starts to come around and develop an actual bond! cool!! he just,,, can't believe only his wives were granted the "wisdom". how foolish was he?

"i know i'm only a mere human, but i can tell that lord luo is... masking things. you can put that away for now, okay? i promise, everything you say here will be confidential information, and it'll never leak... no no there's no enemy spies here-"

"i'm not even going to question this. you go back there right now and deal with it yourself if you cannot respect me or the other clients. aka, your wives."

"no, it's not stupid. this is how people help themself, and it's okay if you want to do it. as long as it doesn't hurt you or anybody. it helps, and that's all that matters."

"oh? one of your wife confronted to you about it? i'm glad to hear that, she's doing well, i see. i'm also happy that you're listening too, really."

"yes, and when something like that happens, you--- no- don't pull out xin mo now. what did we say about that? good job."

"here, can i touch your hands, binghe? there we go. when you're unsteady, you feel the need to pick at your skin, correct? well, let's try a few different things to keep those hands busy! it must be quite stressful being an emperor. how about we start with crocheting! it's quite popular back at my hometown."

"your mother sounds like a wonderful woman, lord luo. hey, how about you take a small break and visit her, okay? you want me to come with you? of course, it'd be an honor."

and thus, the story of the poor transmigrator counselor continues on with luo bingge added to their schedule!! this could be read as romantic or platonic lol. but i was thinking of this as luo bingge obtaining his first actual friend. it takes a long while due to bingge's... bingge-ness, but eventually it all works out lmao

[random-and-average]

Yandere Miguel O'Hara with a Duplicating!S/O (via Yellow Cosmic Stone)

If anyone has seen that one clip from Kid Cosmic where Papa G is building, then you'll understand why I came up with this idea. Plus, the Papa G Stomp goes hard. On another note, I'm still trying to find a way to make Shadow Wizard Money Gang S/O exist. Shadow Spider Money Gang, perhaps?

TW: mentions of the following: NSFW, stalking, and murder

The mere existence of said stone is enough to give the Spider-Man a migraine

Will it disrupt the canon? Where the hell do they even come from? The fact that it's the yellow cosmic stone instead of the cosmic stone implies that there are multiple in existence, so where are the rest of them? Will those stones disrupt the canon?

After all, if one stone is able to give you the incredibly powerful ability of duplication, who knows what these other stones are capable of!

You will be interrogated about how the stone came into your possession, there's no doubt about that

From then on, Miguel will have two goals: preserve the spider-verse and contain all the stones (as he considers them to be "anomalies")

Lyla will for sure be working day and night to determine the true nature of these cosmic stones

He will try to take the yellow cosmic stone from you as well

Depending on how much you enjoy your power of duplication, he won't be getting it anytime soon though

Now, what he thinks of you depends on your reaction to his affection, so let's get into that!

Against It:

To put it bluntly, you're a pain in Miguel's ass. He still loves you though despite that

You will be kept in his room or be monitored by him or a person he trusts (like Lego Spider-Man)

He'll also look into ways to neutralize your power if he isn't able to take the stone from you

Should you escape from him, he'll order any iteration of you to be brought back to him with minimal damage

(I generally headcanon Miguel to be gentle with his S/O, regardless of their situation, and would only hurt them unless it's absolutely necessary, even then he'll try not to hurt them too much)

Since the guy has "observed" (*cough* *cough* he monitored and stalked you *cough* *cough*) you in the past, it doesn't take long for him to realize the difference between the real you and your clones: the real you wears the stone in the form of a ring

After that revelation, any clones of yours start to serve a different purpose while he and a specific group of Spider-People search for the real you

Should the clone be extremely submissive, Miguel would "experiment" with it before ultimately killing it as humanely as possible

(This is how he discovers his breeding kink as well as how arousing you can be when you're in an apron, among other things)

Should the clone be extremely rebellious, he will rough it up a bit, but not enough to make it disappear, and let it go to deliver a message to you: "Stop being childish and come back to me, mi amor. I only want what's best for you."

However, if the clone strikes a perfect balance between the two, he'll essentially air his grievances onto it and kill it afterwards

"Cariño, why do you do this to me? I love you so much, yet you continually refuse me. Don't you know that I will do anything for you? I will destroy hundreds of universes if it means you will stay with me."

"Uh, excuse me?"

Miguel does not feel any guilt towards killing your clones, by the way

To him, they're just imposters or cheap imitations that can't compare to the real you

Though he will never admit it, he does resent them to an extent

They're your clones, literal duplicates of you, yet they fail to recreate that je ne sais quoi that makes you you and instead dare to degrade your smile and your presence

Miguel only loves you, not some fake

And he doesn't know how long he can last without the true you in his life again.

Fine With It:

You're definitely granted a lot more freedom if you're fine with or reciprocates his love, such as being allowed to roam the base

Although, you're still not allowed to use the stone unless you absolutely have to

However, he'll (begrudgingly) let it slide if you use your duplicates to help around the base or even his dimension

Unknowingly, this makes some other Spider-People, as well as some civilians, yandere for you, but Miguel ensures that they know their place (Plus, that's a story for another time)

Don't think that your good deeds aren't rewarded though since he'll definitely reward you with whatever you want afterwards

However, helping him on missions is a definitive "no," and that's non-negotiable

I think, regardless of what powers you have, Miguel would never put you in danger by having you help on missions

He cannot bear to lose you. He wants you safe and that means staying back in his dimension

[dilxcc]

you and me ᡣ𐭩 byun baekhyun

fluff, mentions of exo members, established relationshio, secret relationship, grammatical error

idol!baekhyun x reader

a/n this will be the first ever fanfiction that i will write for the fandom ;) i hope its good. likes, comments, reblogs and feedbacks are highly appreciated <3

"hyung, did you see that?" sehun whispered to suho, his eyes not leaving the smiling baekhyun. for the past few minutes, baekhyun had been smiling like an idiot. sehun thought that his smile looks silly. because he looked like someone who's in love.

the other members joined in and watched him discreetly (obviously). the constant glances that they threw however, goes by unnoticed. they wondered what he was doing that got him so engrossed at the phone's screen.

they took note, eyes met whenever they see baekhyung chuckling or blushing slightly. everything was going well until suddenly, chanyeol gave up. "okay, what's so interesting to the point that you're smiling at your phone like an idiot?" chanyeol huffed.

caught off guard, he immediately turned his phone off and put it away. "n-nothing! it was just a funny youtube video," he quickly looked away. "if it's a funny video, then why won't you show it to us?" xiumin butts in. he quickly got up from his seat. "you guys are nosy," he feigned annoyance. they knew that he didn't actually mean it.

because they could see the way his ears turned red as he walked away.

"who do you think is it?" sehun asked, looking at his hyung impatiently. "maybe it was the female idol that he met at the last award show?" suho inquire. "hmm... maybe,"

.

baekhyun plopped down on his bed, slightly out of breath despite only walking back to his room. his bandmates suspicion made his heart beats fast. he tried as hard as he can to keep you a secret. but then again. why would he need to keep you a secret? it wasn't like he's doing anything wrong. he likes you and you like him too.

the constant buzz from his phone snapped him out of his thoughts. he looked at the notification and realized that you left him multiple text. he smiled slightly, realizing that you were probably worried as he didn't say anything before turning his phone off earlier.

you

baek? are you okay?

where are you?

is everything alright?

hello???

:(

baekhyunie

sorry

the others were with me

i think they know :(

i'm sorry

you

let's call.

it's easier to talk

he quickly picked up the call and smiled. "hey," he greeted you nervously. "hey," you greeted him back and get comfortable in your bed. "i don't mind, you know?" you started.

slightly confused, he asked you what you had meant. "i don't mind if people know," you continued, your voice trembling slightly because of the nerve. "in fact, i would like it better if i could show the world that i'm dating you. it's a flex you know?" you hit your lip, trying to suppress your smile.

he was speechless for a moment. before he let out a small chuckle. "i thought it was just me. turns out i was being nervous for no reason," he smiled, turning on his side to get more comfortable. "do you think we should tease the fans?" he asked in a mischievous tone. "as long as you're with me, i don't mind,"

.

after a few more days of hiding his relationship with you, he was finally ready to tell his bandmates. they were his family after all. they deserve to know.

"oh, we kinda figured it out already," chanyeol shrugged while jongin's mouth were agaped. "huh? you've got a girlfriend?! when???"

the others took turn to tease jongin for being clueless. baekhyun were relieved to see that his bandmates were accepting of his relationship. he wasn't actually worried that they won't accept you. because they would, no matter what.

baekhyun took you out on a date after that. both of you weren't exactly hiding your faces. he was only wearing a cap. and you too. all the while holding each others hand as you walked around in public.

you could smell the videos and pictures that would be up online by now and rumors about you two being together. it was exactly what you had wanted, so you didn't mind.

"i heard that there was a great cafe around here. i want to take you there," he said softly, squeezing your hand slightly. "let's go then," you smiled.

.

you take your seat by the window after ordering your coffee. "the pastries look so good..." you groaned. "why didn't you order them?" he asked softly, his hand holding yours on top of the table. "i'm on a diet. it's because of our next concert," you pouted. "well, i'll treat you to it. and you can't reject it," he smirked.

"it's fine if you treat yourself once in a while. i know that you haven't been eating anything sweet for a while now," he said softly as the waiter put the pastry in front of you. "i promise i won't tell anyone," he smiled cheekily.

you snorted before taking a bite of the cream puff. "it's really good..." you groaned.

as the two of you enjoy your date, you didn't even notice the constant shuttering noise from a camera.

after your date, both of you took a walk at the park. it was already dark and there was only the two of you. his hand were clasps with yours, not willing to let you go just yet. you walked side by side in silence. it wasn't because he doesn't want to talk to you. it was just that there was no words to say. and it was fine. the silence were comfortable. it engulf you with warmness and aware of his every movement.

and both of you were already happy with that. despite the fact that the internet had been filled with pictures of you two out on a date. you didn't mind. as long as you have each other. that was enough.

[thatfeelinwhenyou]

KINDRED — profile 1

It’s your final year of highschool, and your only goal is to graduate top of your cohort, as usual. Except as student council president, your advisor can’t seem to leave you alone. What happens when you take Decelis Academy’s top student, their star athlete and put them in front of a camera?

❥･• yn homework club

note: they are all 19 years of age except for ni-ki (17)

Park Y/N, Decelis Academy’s top student and President of the Student Council. You have never once lost the number 1 spot throughout your time at the academy and the faculty absolutely adores you. Nothing is more important to you than excelling in your academics, as your dear mother have told you multiple times that people only remember you when you’re at the top of the pyramid. Despite your name being well known and talked about among the student body, you often keep to yourself and the exception of your inner circle. Thinking with your head rather than your heart, you have a hard time empathising with people, which explains your relatively small friendship circle. Have the most insignificant beef with Yang Jungwon, which you instigated by the way, but you’d never admit that.

Huh Yunjin, president of Decelis Academy’s theatre club and most probably the closest person to a BFF to you. Imagine Regina George but minus the unhingeness, that’s Yunjin. Despite her popularity, she’s actually a really sweet angel and would 100% drop whatever she’s doing for you. You first met in freshman year and is inseparable ever since. Her personality type enables her to empathise with you more so than others and you appreciate her for that.

Chanelle Moon, executive commitee member of the Decelis Student Council. For her, you’d imagine Janis but minus the black gothy aesthetics. Probably the most unbothered and coolest person you know (provided you don’t know much people anyways). Similar to Yunjin, she’s your ride or die and you can always count on her to literally hiss at the girls who would pick on you in the library.

Shin Ryujin, president of Y/N’s fanclub. Would literally sell her soul to hold your hand. Came to know her through Yunjin. You used to find it weird that she would openly simp for you but now you’re just used to the unhinged shit that comes out of her mouth. Despite her undying devotion, she respects your boundaries. You call Ryujin, Yunjin, and Chanelle the powerpuff girls because of how protective they are of you.

Choi Beomgyu, member of Decelis Academy’s media club and your unofficial hype boy. You got to know him after he came to the council room looking for Taehyun. The two of you clicked immediately. You were aware of your ‘poor’ interpersonal skills and he was like your personal trainer, he’d call you out for being too straightforward or that you should smile more when addressing the student body. Without even noticing, you’d go to him for advice and he’s always more than happy to help (well in exchange for your chemistry notes and answers of course).

Nishimura Riki, member of Decelis Academy’s dance club. The only member in your small clique that’s currently in their Sophomore year. Despite the age difference between him and the rest of your group, he somehow managed to wiggle his way into your inner circle even though most people would just outright ignore you. The aura and pressure of being friends with the top student wasn’t the most appealing. At dance practice is where he first met Heeseung, Jay, and Jake before subsequently meeting Sunoo, Sunghoon, and Yang Jungwon.

Kim Gyuvin, member of Decelis Academy’s media club. He used to find you scarily intimidating but that was before he actually got to know and work with you during school events. Gyuvin is like the brother you never knew you had. You also find him pretty funny, though most of the time you end up laughing at him laughing rather than the joke he tells. Oh, he also has a super ugly dog, and you never fail to tell him that.

prev | masterlist | next

♡。·˚˚· ·˚˚·。♡

authors note: ik it’s a little long 😅 but i figured it’ll make more sense if i explain their characters a little instead of just jumping straight into the smau like i did with hands on you

taglist open! send ask, comment or submit form to be added!

[sierrawitch]

Visualization for the Clairvoyantly Impaired

by autumn sierra

Assuredly, I am not the only individual that struggles with visualization in the witch community. Like some others’ experiences, I was very confused when I was told to “visualize a scene in which your spell is successful”. How does one visualize? Is there a tutorial? What is it supposed to look like? Why do I only see darkness?

After doing a bit of research, I’ve found that clairvoyant/visualization ability is actually the norm. Despite being an artist, writer, and avid reader, I just can’t do it. At least not on command. This isn’t to say I for 100% certainty have the condition known as aphantasia, but it’s very eye opening to now understand why I struggle with visualization meditation in my practice. I simply don’t have the ability.

I began to reflect on what I could do to visualize and subsequently maintain success within my spell work. It occurred to me that clairvoyance isn’t the only psychic sense we can rely on. There are many others at our disposal, it’s just that clairvoyance seems to be the most mainstream.

Clairgustance

Someone “eating with gusto” has always been a compliment to chefs. Clairgustance is the ability to taste or orally detect psychic information. It’s not the most common or widely known, but this clair does have its interesting points.

Clairsalience

Clairsalience is the ability to detect psychic information through the sense of smell. Often called “phantom smells”, detecting aromas through clairsalience arguably happens amongst even the general population quite frequently.

Clairaudience

Audiences are there to listen, just as we are the audiences to psychic messages. Clairaudience is the detection of information through sound. This means hearing voices, noises, songs, etc.

Claircognizance

Claircognizance is the ability to innately know, or have very deep insight. With this clair, intuition is at another level of intensity to the point where one could learn something without ever hearing it from another source. It may not have immediate proof, but it will eventually.

Clairsentience

Clairsentience is feeling psychic information throughout the body in various ways. These can be broken down to external effects similar to environmental change (feeling cold, hot, etc) or an internal change (tightening of the chest, migraine, etc).

Clairempathy

Being an empath is its own superpower, but clairempathy allows one to detect emotions over distance without meeting with someone in person.

Clairtangency

Clairtangency is the clair of the hands, touching and feeling objects and people while understanding their history and energy. This is similar to psychometry, but much more of an instinct than a trained skill.

My Experience

After some more reflection and experimentation, I noticed that I have experienced multiple of these clair senses: clairaudience, claircognizance, and clairsentience.

I had an instance during a (very meager) Samhain ritual a few years ago when I attempted to communicate with deceased loved ones and I experienced my strongest interaction through clairsentience. I did in fact make contact with my dog who had passed away a year prior. It was at this time that I asked her to give me a sign that she was in the room with me, and I felt goosebumps on my skin, as if she were sitting beside me and leaning against me like she always used to. I could feel the slight prickle of her short fur. The feeling grazed against my arm before it vanished, but I knew she was there. I also experience migraines and other symptoms when energies are imbalanced, so perhaps I should look further into communing with this clair sense.

Claircognizance is also something I am familiar with. My strongest experiences with claircognizance have been in instances of drastic change (think the Tower level of change). The first of these was during quarantine in the summer of 2020. The entire time I sat in my home, studying language and doing yoga, watching tv and doing whatever to keep myself entertained, there was a looming feeling of impending change that hovered over me at all times. I prophesied that my family’s lives would be forever altered in the next year, but I wasn’t sure if it would be positive or negative. Within the year, our entire dynamic fell apart, ending in homelessness, divorce, and a terrible struggle to pick up the pieces. Since then, all of my “prophesies” have been accurate in the foretelling of drastic change as it pertains to myself, my environment, and individuals around me, both positively and negatively.

Finally, clairaudience. This was the first clair sense that I had acknowledged as such, and have been able to use throughout my life. As a child, I would listen to music without external stimuli. I’ve experienced rumblings and tinkling of bells, ringing and static, voices, and most recently (with exercise) constructing my own auditory “visualizations”. As a sleep aid, I “visualize” the voice of a woman echoing inside of a room. If I could see the room it would probably be white and very large, like in Bruce Almighty when Jim Carrey meets Morgan Freeman on the 7th at 7:00. The woman sounds around 40 years old, with a Heightened RP British accent. I feel as if I would be sitting in this room as her voice approaches me, and her heels click on the polished floor and echo throughout the space. Yet all I see is black as I hear her say “So, what will we be reviewing today?” And in my thoughts I somehow silently reply with the things that made me feel negatively throughout the day. Although she hears no response, she says “I see. And how do you think that this has affected you?” And I silently reply again, to which she will say something along the lines of “Well, not everything is in your power to control”, or “Give yourself a bit more grace here”, etc. It seems I have created my own therapist, which I never thought would be remotely possible.

Although I lack clairvoyance, these 3 clair senses have been with me all the while. Since I’m most comfortable with clairaudience, perhaps further exercising those psychic muscles will help me “visualize” during spell work and not just at bedtime. This may apply to other practitioners struggling with visualization as well. Consider these senses and experiment with them to see if you also have dormant skills lying in wait for use. Research further into these phenomena and apply them to your life and your practice. You never know what you might unlock within yourself once you try.

[foressfaction]

:Ticci Toby:{A Rewrite}

WARNING:: This story contains EXTREMELY triggering topics such as Domestic/Child/Substance abuse, Death, harsh language, GORE and dissociation triggers.

This story mentions mental illnesses and disorders such as Depression, PTSD, ADHD, and Tourette's Syndrome.

!!TICS MAY BE TRIGGERING!!

Prologue

So it begins. The boy tugged on the skirt of a middle aged woman. She was his mom. Her hair was short, cut into a nice layered bob, though it had grown over time, it at one point was a pixie cut. She had diamond shaped ruby earrings on, in an attempt to look formal. Her name, it rolled off the tongue very smoothly, Connie Rogers.

"Why are there so many old people here?" The brunette boy asked. Connie's son, who's name also seemed pretty vague. Tobias Rogers.

The woman was quick to correct him, shushing him loudly while murmuring under her breath with a hint of embarrassment on her face. "Toby! Haha, I'm so sorry about him," she yearned off the stares she got from her son's odd choice of a question. And a rather rude one too. Toby had always been quite the weird kid. He said what was on his mind, whatever it was, and when he wanted to say it. Maybe the question would've been better at a funeral, or a grandma's birthday party. Do grandma's have birthday parties? Toby wouldn't know honestly. He never did meet his mom's mom. That's a funny way to put it.

The two were currently at a 'meet the teacher' day. Y'know, the day about a week before the first day of school. For Toby, he will be starting the 6th grade. To him, school has always been a joke. He barely passed 5th grade and was one point away from having to be stuck doing summer school. He had never been a people person either, especially with other kids his age.

"Are any of these people actually going to be important?" Toby asked, earning a glance from his mom. Her dark circles are more visible than ever.

"I'm sure they will be, look, that's your principal, you should probably go say hi, or....something. I have a lot of paperwork to fill out. Go have a look around, stretch your legs, we've been walking all day."

Toby made a spitting noise as if he thought that was one of the most boring things she could've said. He bared his braced teeth. Meet his principal? He didn't realize going to a different school would be so tiring. Toby eventually left her side, wandering out into the empty halls. Oh so that's why there was a big sign on the door that read 'staff only.' Not like that mattered to him, no one saw, no one had to know. Despite it being a day for his entire grade to be here, it was almost like the halls were abandoned. His mind was always a little trickster, it would make him believe something when that 'something' isn't in existence. Toby took some steps forward, then found himself walking further away from the chattering of the people from the room he was just in. His entire body felt cold, chills running up and down his broken nerves.

It was kind of eerie, not gonna lie. The only thing Toby could hear was the pitter patter on his own shoes, the same old shoes he's had for years. Honestly surprised the souls haven't torn off yet. The boy found himself turning multiple corners and met with endless hallways of lockers. He's never seen a locker before. There were thousands of them, atleast, that's what his mind was showing him. 'Did I take my medicine?' was the first thing he thought to himself as he continued down these narrow halls. He was over thinking the reason why his mom shooed him away, probably because he was a distraction, or knew he needed one. As uncanny as this felt, Toby found himself quite occupied. He had started counting the lockers, every one of them, and remembered the exact number of lockers on the 8th hallway.

That's suddenly when he saw that one part of the hallway's lights were off. It was right smack in the middle of the hallway, so why did those lights not work? Toby grew curious so he started to inch towards the area. That's when he noticed they weren't just off, but flickering a little.

He knew this feeling a little too well. That feeling of being watched, judged. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. He felt the air grow thick around him, as if gross, slimy water had just been poured onto him, soaking him to the heavy weight of being drenched. This of course actually didn't happen, but it felt like it did.

Toby turned around quickly, hearing something behind him, then again in front of him. He thought he was going to give himself whiplash from all of the darting of his head. Nothing was there though, nothing of sight, atleast. When Toby looked back to the hallway where the lights were supposedly off, he noticed they were working now. This caught him a little off guard, but as he looked closer, he could see that even further down than before, lights were off.

It was leading him further down the hallway?

Toby shook his head. "No that's not real." He whispered. "That's not r-real," he once again whispered with a little more voice. He felt that if the longer he looked, the more that feeling of tightness would increase.

Toby turned his back to the suffering lights, inching his way back to the room he was in not too long ago, with his mom. He turned the corner, only to nearly run into the frantic woman. "There you are, goodness, I thought you left this building." She spoke in a rather worried tone, taking his hand into hers, her rings were cold against his fingers. "You're really warm, are you okay? Are you sweating?"

Toby looked at her quickly, confusion sweeping him. "Am i?" He asked out while taking his free arm and wiping his forehead. Behold, bits of what felt like condensation rubbed off his skin. "Well we can forget meeting your teachers, I have your schedule here. I don't want you overheating again in all those layers, you know you can't feel temperatures to an extreme, you know this." She slightly scolded. Toby was just confused. He didn't feel too hot, he didn't know he was sweating. He does struggle with a certain disorder where he could technically place his hand on a lit stove and not feel a thing, despite his flesh melting off and severely damaging his hand. If anything it would just feel warm.

It was sad to be reminded he wasn't like the other normal kids in his grade, and certainly wasn't looking forward to another year of the constant reminders either. "I will be more aware next time." He stated, tone sounding a bit degraded.

It wasn't long before the two brunettes were on their way home. Toby was gazing out of the window, sitting in the backseat with his legs pulled up into a hug. The ride was silent, but his mom had never been too talkative after the last few months. Things weren't too good at home. Though he was going to go to a different school, they still lived in this dump of a house. Denver was a nice city, but in winters it was hard to stay warm, and in summers it was hard to stay cool. The house overall just about had it.

And the family knew that.

Toby finally broke the silence as the car hit a few road bumps. "There's exactly 286 lockers in the school." There was a moment of silence, but when he expected an answer there was nothing. "Mom?" He called out, not moving from his position but did lean his head over to try to peek into the rear view mirror that hung on the roof of the car.

He could see makeup running down her face, hands clenched onto the steering wheel tightly. If he listened closely, he could hear sniffling.

Toby knew better than to barge into questions but this time he knew the answer. He would have the same reason to cry, but lately he hadn't been able to feel much emotion at all. He, again, only saw life as a joke, nothing was real, no matter how hard he pushed away the reality. A 20 minute drive full of sniffles and awkward silence finally ended as the brown Subaru pulled into the cracked driveway to an old two story house.

The thing looked as if it was gonna fall in at any given moment. On the inside it was pretty big, still had carpet though it was old and stained, very stained.

A couple of whistles left Toby, followed by a few uncomfortable popping sounds from his neck. He had something called Tourette's Syndrome which caused the boy to jerk and tic uncontrollably. It was very uncomfortable for both him and those having to witness it. If he wasn't careful, he could accidentally hit someone, or himself. Which he does occasionally. Toby stepped out of the car to see the man standing on the porch, cigarette in hand. Seemed like he didn't see them pull into the driveway. Toby knew he did.

Toby noticed his mom left the folder of his school rules and other stuff in the car on the dashboard. He opened the door to reach in and grab it, his hand slipping with a slight tic, accidentally honking the horn, making the woman jump.

"Fuck- sorry, fuck! Sorry!" The boy jumped to coo out as he held the folder up. "Got it-"

Toby quickly closed the door to head inside, hearing the man spur something up. "Fuckin' boy." He muttered in a southern accent.

Toby paid no mind as it was something he was used to, rushing into the house and sitting the folder onto the counter, opening it and looking at all the papers. "Oh there were 287 lockers..I was off by one." He had his finger on where it stated the fact. He didn't understand why he was so fixated on the locker count. Gave him a distraction probably.

Toby moved the papers just enough to peer at his schedule, something he didn't have at his old school. "Wait mom? Why did you sign me up for public classes?"

The folder was snagged away from his hands, probably giving him a paper cut. "Stop complainin' and suck it up, it's about time you learn with other kids." The man scolded. Toby could see the vein popping from his forehead. The same shaggy blond buzz cut blanketed the man's head. His dad; he carried a name that would make anyone grimace just hearing it, Jacob Rogers. "Dad!" Toby tried to take the folder back but that only earned him a smack on the hand with the rather hard plastic outsides of the yellow folder.

Toby glared slightly as he took a deep breath.

The brunette woman strolled in, setting her bag down on the small island counter as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Look, Toby, I tried to suggest special education, but they said that it was time for you to get to know your grade better, plus wouldn't it be great to hang around people who...Actually respond when you talk to them?" She spoke out, slightly raising her voice.

"But they were nice to me," Toby added, narrowing his eyebrows, taking glances at the folder in his dad's hands. "Can i atleast see it closer? Again?" He eyed the man after asking.

"Your sister takes public classes, so can you. It's time we stop babying you, you're 13 years old for fucks sake. Act like it."

"Jacob!" Connie shouted with an offended tone. She knew the man was an asshole but she usually tried to defend her kid's opinions. Their marriage hadn't been the best lately, especially after her husband started to waste their money and abuse alcoholic substances. Speaking of which, the blonde man held a dark green bottle in his hand that wasn't clinging to Toby's school information.

The second Toby noticed that his mom saw the bottle, he knew they were about to bicker.

He just didn't want to be in the middle of that, excusing himself from where he took a seat.

Toby disappeared upstairs to one of the rooms he called his own. It wasn't much, just a carpeted floor, a dark blue rug with matching bed sheets. Completely unintentional. His shelves consisted of vintage toys he never touched, books, a lamp, and other nick nacks. He only ever kept one thing out, a stuffed cow. Why? He honestly grew an attachment to it. The poor thing was ripped up in many places, had patches on the stomach and left side of the head. It looked derpy as hell but he loved it to death.

Sometimes though when he holds it, he can't help but remember the time he 'played tug-o-war' with his dad who eventually ripped the head completely off while trying to take it from him. His only reason was because 'he was too old.' No one is too old for a comfort item.

Toby crawled onto the bed and took the cow plush into his hands and stared down at it. He gently gnawed at the inside of his cheek, a habit he developed a while ago. "Today isn't the best day, Mr. Cowbells, will you make it better? At least until Lyra gets home.." He hugged the stuffie to his chest and stared down at his sheets. It wasn't long before what he assumed would happen started up. He heard their loud voices downstairs. He knew it wasn't going to be too long until he heard thrashes and door slams.

It was like this all day, everyday.

All day, everyday.

••••••I

[vroomvroomwee]

I don't know if anyone has pointed this out yet but the entire Midnight episode from Doctor Who is e perfect example of society. I'll go by character because I can't write essays for shit and it's more fun to read this way.

Professor Hobbes: Starting with probably the more obvious one. Professor Hobbes. A white middle-aged man who's defining characteristic is his broad and unwavering knowledge of the world. Or knowledge that he thinks is correct of the world. This is a man who is so blinded by his ego that he can't see what's right in front of him, even so far as using his arrogance to cover up his fear of what is actually happening. This is a man who would rather remain in denial even in a life-threatening situation than accept that his view of the world is potentially wrong. That self-confidence burrows so deep down that it has created a self-defence mechanism for him, it's how he deals with it, how he deals with danger, by reverting back to his brilliance and intelligence and the fact he is all-knowing with a cleverness no one can match. It leads him to demean other people as well, those who dare question him... not even for one moment does he pause to think maybe they're right... something we see churches do more and more every day... The world is aflame and yet they're still in denial and have utter faith that their God (his intelligence) will save them relying on old and washed out world views that hold no water in modern society.

Dee Dee Blasco: And that leads us to Dee Dee, his apprentice. Or should we say the one who actually understands what is happening but is constantly put down by Hobbes. It is proved multiple times in the episode that her knowledge of chemistry and physics is quite vast, and at times even superior to Hobbes'. It is no coincidence that Hobbes is a white middle-aged man and Dee Dee is a young black woman who dares challenge the professors word, kind of like how the younger generations are calling out the hypocrisy of religion more and more, backing it up with solid real scientific evidence, but being repeatedly silenced, ridiculed and embarrassed for it.

Jethro Kane: Speaking of young generations, the other representative is Jethro. A young boy, a teenager, who, despite his appearance, is very highly intuitive. He might appear aloof, unserious, disinterested, and downright unremarkable. But out of everyone, he has the most accurate image of what is happening. He might be young, but he is very intelligent, despite constantly being told to shut up, that he shouldn't be speaking, that his opinion is worthless and unwanted. Treatement very similar to the treatment younger generations get from the older ones, despite more often than not being the voice of reason and getting a grasp on the real picture yet still being constantly bellitled by the older generations. "Don't be stupid, Jethro," said to him by his own mother. The ridicule eventually gets to him as well as the pressure and stress of the whole situation itself, which leads him to contemplate even murder. Eventually, in the end, he succumbs to the panick, he doesn't know what to do, and he breaks down. Not his own fault, but mostly due to the actions and the utter chaos the older generations caused around him. And that sounds awfully familiar...

Val and Biff Kane: The couple. The picture perfect representation of a loving family. Except deep down, they are selfish and rotten. Val only thinking about herself and how the Entity is stealing her voice despite everyone experiencing the same thing, not caring about anyone else and repeatedly making her voice the loudest in the room, not listening to reason and persisting her rants even though it's making the situation worse. Biff being the typical patriarchal male of the house, the first one to resort to violence and even shaming Hobbes for "not being a real man" as if murder is the logical expectation of men, as if homicide is what makes you a real man. These two are the prime example of the nuclear family who follows society's traditions on behaviour and appearance, painting themselves as the perfect example of how every couple should look, buying in all the bullshit the media is selling them, while deep down being terrible and narcissistic people. Val, going so far as to gaslight the man, she and her husband just tried to kill not even 10 seconds ago in an attempt to save her own image.

The Doctor: Now. The Doctor. The scientist. The thinker of the group. He is the spark that lights the flame. The light in a room devoid of it, that illuminates everyone's hidden and dark side. The side everyone tries to keep secret, even from themselves. The one whose kindness brings that side out and causes panick and self-inflicted chaos as they attempt to shove that darkness down and out of sight. Bringing the nastiness out of them as if they were a piece of transparent glass. And it causes absolute chaos.

The Doctor is a symbol of wisdom, common sense, and worst of all... kindness. He is the one speaking logic, speaking the obvious, showing goodness, doing the humane thing... but no one listens. Everyone around him, being in a fit of horrified panick, turns on him because they don't want to deal with their own nastiness under the pressure of potentially facing their own death.

The Entity: I was debating whether to put the Doctor and the Entity as one thesis, but I think the Entity deserves its own consideration.

To start off strongly, it is no coincidence that the show uses he/him for the Entity. He who has sinister and self-benifiting plans for the entire carriage, and he, who hides behind a woman... A queer woman might I add. He who takes the role of a woman and disguises his evil deeds as her deeds. Painting the woman as the true villain of the story. Sounds familiar...

He who first kills the mechanic and the driver, the ones who kept the whole cabin afloat and running, the ones who nobody really considers, the workforce, the ones who saved everyone, and he killed them like they were nothing. Very similar to how the workforce is treated as disposable in real life...

He who steals the scientist's voice. He who listens to what the intellect has to say, who processes it, and he who thinks of the best way he could turn the situation to serve him. He who twists the Doctors words and uses them against him, he who still uses his knowledge but who gets rid of the thinker himself. He who paints that wisdom as blasphemy and insidiousness but who uses it as a tool to serve himself. He behind the scenes. He who turns everyone against each other, provoking them to create ridiculous arguments and to cause chaos amongst themselves that works to his advantage. He who manipulates the entire scene. He who nobody can really see. He, the real villain behind it all...

The Hostess: The Hostess, who's in charge of the carriage and whose efforts to keep the calm, proved time and time again completely fruitless. The one who tried to keep everyone safe.

The one who saw the real villain and exposed him. The one who died doing so. A woman of colour, and the one who saves the day, but whose name is forgotten... the one who history won't remember... which sounds very familiar.

The situation itself brings out the worst in people. It shows what people are really like in life-threatening situations and how easily they turn on each other to save their own neck. Very much what would be the collective reaction in the real world. Neverending conflict, unyielding chaos, created for the most part by the people themselves. Fighting each other, sacrificing each other. All the while, the real villain smiles in the background...

[hoppipolla]

The basement scenes in Beyond Evil

Some quotes are from the Beyond Evil scriptbook translated by @/yeoyuo on Twitter. (link to the scriptbook in the comment section) The setting in Beyond Evil is always both significant and relevant: the reed field, Lee Dong Shik’s basement, Jae Yi’s butcher shop, the archives room, the Japanese restaurant, etc. These different places are highly symbolic — some more than others — and are essential to understand everything that is at stakes. 

With this post, I want to give you my analysis of Lee Dong Shik’s basement. 

The basement scenes are key moments of the drama for they mark crucial shifts, both in HJW and LDS’ relationship and in the plot itself. 

The native title of Beyond Evil translates to Monster in Korean (괴물). The very definition of ‘monster’ is quite complex and even its etymology hints at the many roles monsters can play in our society (and in History more generally). 

'Monster' probably derives from the Latin, monstrare, meaning 'to demonstrate', and monere, 'to warn'. Monsters, in essence, are demonstrative. They reveal, portend, show and make evident, often uncomfortably so. (source in comments) This last sentence encapsulates perfectly how Lee Dong Shik is seen by others; Han Joo Won acts as a reminder of such perception when he first arrives in Manyang and is convinced that LDS is the killer they’re looking for. Indeed, Lee Dong Shik is presented as someone demonstrative, whose agonising pain and temper earned him the nickname ‘nut job’ and the stares and distrust of most people in Manyang.  

Lee Dong Shik is said to be a monster because he was the prime suspect of a murder he did not commit. Because he became a person so visibly drenched in his own pain that it became difficult to look him in the eye. He then depicts himself as a monster — by interfering in Min Jung’s case — to make sure HJW will play his game and take the bait, because he desperately needs HJW to “bite him”. Because he needs his help to catch Jin Mook and to find the missing bodies. Because if everyone keeps being blinded by LDS’ seemingly craziness, then Han Joo Won needs to be the one to see beyond. He needs to see the bigger picture. 

The basement scenes play a huge part in making HJW see the bigger picture because so many elements of truth are revealed in LDS’ basement which makes me think… what if LDS’ basement was a means to rewrite Plato’s cave but in a more paradoxical way? Let me explain. 

The basement is a place of confrontation and its dimly lit interior makes it resemble a cave, somewhere underground with no real light. HJW and LDS discuss and make hypotheses in this place, so often that LDS even jokingly suggests that HJW should pay rent at this point since he’s always in LDS’ basement. 

What makes it a paradoxical rewriting of Plato’s cave is the fact that the truth is, in fact, found in LDS’ basement, on multiple occasions. However, in Plato’s cave, the cave is the place the philosopher needs to escape from to confront the real light, the sun’s light — i.e the truth — to eventually access the world of Ideas.

In Plato’s myth, the cave is a place in which chained prisoners stare at inverted shadows projected by the fire burning inside the cave and they take these shadows for reality. The fire in the cave represents the notion of culture which is to say, constructed beliefs (this is overly simplified but it’s just to give you an understanding). The people in Manyang are like those prisoners in the cave who are convinced that those shadows are what the real world looks like: they are convinced Lee Dong Shik is the cause of Manyang’s tragedy and doom despite the fact that many cases that took place in Manyang were dropped. The Manyang people believe in the evidence that is the guitar pick as fervently as the prisoners believe the shadows are the only reality that exists. Despite it not being enough to indict Lee Dong Shik, it still made him look like the killer for twenty-one years, to them at least. 

Just like the philosopher who decided to climb up and face the burning sun to get to the Truth, Lee Dong Shik is the one who sacrificed himself and ruined his life so that the truth could be established.

To come back to what makes this rewriting paradoxical, here are some truths that were discovered in LDS’ basement:

The posters of the missing people + the files of both Yu Yeon’s and Ju Seon’s cases (before LDS put them back into the archives room) → These enable LDS to carry out his own investigation.  

Min Jung’s fingers → LDS brings them to his basement before figuring out what to do with them. 

Lee Geum Hwa → LDS figures out the name of the victim of HJW’s sting operation during one of his confrontations with him which took place in his basement.

Yu Yeon’s body → LDS finds the body of his sister inside a wall in his basement.

Jung Je’s memories → Again, Jung Je’s memories come back to him during a heated conversation with LDS in his basement. 

However, LDS has to go up into the light, he has to leave the basement and his house to make the truth known. It is within hell that the truth emerges, but it is under the sun’s light that the truth needs to be revealed.

Thus it’s interesting to note that the big reveal — i.e the rain scene in ep 15 when HJW makes LDS listen to his audio recording — doesn’t take place in LDS’ basement but in his yard (outside and not underground). This emphasises the idea that, just like the bodies in Manyang, the truth needs to be dug out. 

Just like Lee Dong Shik and the philosopher before him, HJW became the one willing to sacrifice himself so that everyone could know who the real killer was: “I’ll be a monster, take Han Ki Hwan with me, and dive into hell when he’s reached the peak.”.