#i didn't edit it to gender neutral

[wobiwan]

just out of curiosity...

[lowpolybread]

“At least I think I do”

OK KO: Professor Venomous + “How to Be a Heartbreaker” by MARINA

[needsleepcoffee]

[risquemargay]

this is partly because i'm curious and partly so i can use it for my linguistics homework

*by this i mean, is it used to refer to women/girls/fem. presenting people MOSTLY/USUALLY

**again, this is in MOST cases. obviously if someone is trying to be hurtful, it will be negative. do you find it negative in the most common way you see it used

no nuance option because i need you to choose. feel free to elaborate in the notes

extra points if you give me your personal definition of tumblrina

[draconym]

About two years ago someone interviewed me for a book and stopped responding to my emails after I read a draft and mentioned that I use they/them pronouns. I assumed she stopped responding because she didn't understand or agree with the use of They as a gender neutral singular. It felt disappointing to think she might have just decided not to include the chapter she interviewed me for, but I reminded myself that a lot of people haven't ever been asked to use gender neutral terms before and they simply don't know how to respond to the request, reasonable though it may be.

Then the other day I received a reply from the author, who said she had been editing her manuscript and was very apologetic about the delay in publishing and she used the right name instead of my birth name (which had been given to her by my employer). So. Sometimes nice things can happen.

[v4mpyyr-exe]

DONT LIKE, REBLOG

so people who do this may see it.

The growing problem of "they" for trans people

Something I've noticed growing more common in my life recently has been people using exclusively "they" when referring to binary trans people who don't use "they"

Why is this a problem?

Using "they" when referring to someone when you don't know is seen as "better" in a lot of spaces now, which I can agree with as you don't know what their actual pronouns are. The problem I've noticed is that when meeting a trans person, a lot of people seem to default to "they" even after being told what pronouns they actually prefer. This can be for a lot of reasons, but the most common ones I hear are "I didn't want to assume" and "its not misgendering, they is neutral!"

Example situation

Person A meets person B, a trans woman. A doesn't know B's pronouns and so refers to B as "they." B corrects A, saying she prefers "she," but A continues to say "they" because its gender neutral. However, A does not do the same to cis women.

Do you see the problem now?

The use of exclusively "they" on trans people but not cis people, no matter your excuse, shows that you don't really see them as what they identify as and is quite transphobic since you're literally ignoring their identity and not seeing them as how they want to be seen.

"Okay, what should I do?"

Simple, just ask them their pronouns and then ACTUALLY USE THEM!! If he says he, DONT USE EXCLUSIVELY THEY! If she says she, DONT USE EXCLUSIVELY THEY! If they say they, well. yeah, use they, obviously. If xe say neopronouns and you don't know how to use those, just ask! If any part of someone's identity confuses you, just fucking ask them instead of assuming, for the love of god, and once they tell you, don't ignore what they said.

That's all. Just please stop calling people who don't use "they" by that.

Edit:

I got this comment and thought I should clarify and add on some MORE things you should avoid doing now that this post has aged a bit, and I've had more time to think!

Please do not attack this person, i dont think they meant it in any bad way

Clarification on the term 'misgendering'

While yes, 'gender' does not directly tell you someones pronouns or what terms they're comfortable with, but misgendering doesn't only mean calling a man a woman or a woman a man. Misgendering is usually thought to only mean using a trans person's assigned sexs' pronouns or deadnaming, but it's actually more than just that, it includes what terms you use for them, how you group them, and what societal expectations you put onto them based on their assigned sex, not just their gender.

Other things you should avoid

* These DO NOT apply to every situation! These are just general rules UNTIL YOU KNOW THE PERSON, then do what they ask

Calling all gender non-conforming people 'it' (again..not. universal.)

Deadnaming, obviously

Using gendered pronouns for a non-conforming person

Arguing with someone over the validity of their identity

Automatically introducing someone as trans

Assuming someone is out to other family or friends

Using incorrectly gendered terms, including when referring to a group

Exclusively using gender neutral terms/compliments

[ozzgin]

I'm the anon who asked if your requests are open and i got busy assignments + presentations that i almost forgot about the request but now i remembered and it's based on my dream i saw that night..

How about a vampire who lost his relic (presumably a ring) and reader happens find it and tries it on, now the vampire is all panicking because guess what? That was a betrothal relic and it has binded the vampire's soul with the one of reader. They can't pull it out/take it of.. oh well, now they are stuck and obviously the vampire hates the idea of being stuck with a pesky human but hey they are kinda stupid..? How tf they tripped on thin air? Or how they are still alive even after being food poisoned 5 times a month? Vampire is now babysitter for his human *sighs * what has he gotten himself in..

(Please add yandere elements later on, my brain stoopid but i want a hot Victorian era vampire being obsessed with me ^^ muah!)

(I'm sorry this is so lengthy TT)

Yandere! Vampire x Reader

Featuring a ridiculously lucky Reader who constantly manages to escape a Vampire's assassination attempts. Did someone order a supernatural edition of enemies to lovers?

Content: gender neutral reader, obsessive behavior, mentions of stalking, romcom

[Monster masterlist] [Original works masterlist]

"Are you alright, (Y/N)?" your friends gasp in unison, eyes fixated on the fallen ceramic pot that scarcely missed you, now laying shattered at your feet. You laugh reassuringly and wave your hand in dismissal. "It's the fifth time it happens today. Maybe there's a storm coming?"

From within the shadows, menacing eyes glowing red follow your movements. "Damn it!" The mysterious man curses under his breath. He stares enviously at the bulky ring on your finger. The ring bearing his Family signet, where part of his very soul resides. It has stayed with him for centuries, and somehow, to his utmost shame, he lost it. By the time he rushed back to retrieve it, you were carelessly sliding it down your finger. He wanted to strangle the life out of you right then and there, but he felt it: the immediate surge of contractual power, dominating his will and holding him back from breaking your bones. "It's a little tacky, isn't it?" your friend remarked. You nodded in agreement and tried to remove it, but the metal band tightened around your skin, painfully constricting your digit. It was stuck. It was too late.

Now he has to rely on cheap trickeries like this one. Sure, he may not be able to directly plunge his fangs into your neck, but the bonding curse does not shield you from "accidents", you see. It would be a real shame if that flower pot was to land straight into your head, ending you instantly and thus breaking the connection with him. Except you simply refuse to die. A mystery, a paradox, one that enrages him to no end. It's almost as if the ring is bringing you fortune at the cost of his misery.

"Have you had any luck removing that ugly thing?" the person standing next to you mentions. The vampire lord grits his teeth at the blasphemous words. This is what's become of him: a deceitful buffoon, having to sit and listen to his inheritance being mocked relentlessly. He holds back the urge of shouting that thousands have bled to death in order to forge that magnificence. "Not at all", you respond idly. "I tried taking it to a jeweler, and she said she could try to cut it, but she ended up having a heart attack right in the middle of it. She didn't even look that old, maybe it runs in her family?"

Unbelievable. The thought of reclaiming his relic haunts every second of his day, to the point he's become your shadow. Stalking your every move, your every breath, observing his prey and waiting for an opportunity to strike. He can already picture that pathetic face of yours, twisting in pain, begging for-...huh. Well, look at that, you're reading one of his favorite books. Perhaps you do have a little taste, after all. It won't save you from your terrible fate, but he might skip the prolonged torture.

There's plenty of quotes out there about knowing your enemy in order to guarantee your victory, though one might wonder where the limit of such knowledge resides. Or what counts as useful to begin with. The vampire lord is presently wondering about this very aspect, as he mouths your coffee order from a distance. Less sugar, huh? You did mention losing your sweet tooth. He shakes his head indignantly. Absolutely not! The throb of his heart is fueled by raw hatred and nothing else. One of days he will savour your demise.

Your ridiculous luck might just end today. You've taken a shortcut on your way back home, and didn't expect a shady, burly man to block your exit. A perverted grin stains his face as he approaches you, twiddling with his pocket knife. "Alone at this hour?" You frown and try to find a way out, but the man suddenly begins to heave and convulse before your eyes, grasping at his chest as the skin shrivels and dries. He collapses at your feet, body wilted as if it's been emptied of its vitality. The Vampire Lord clicks his tongue.

To think he'd rush to rescue his sworn enemy, a pitiful mortal like you. He didn't even get the chance to consider the aftermath. You stare at the stranger, confused but observant. Pale skin, crimson eyes, unnaturally sharp canines...and the fact he just drained a living being into a bloodless corpse: everything hints to one possibility. "Are you by any chance a vampire?" you find yourself mumbling. "You must've graduated from Harvard with those deduction skills", he responds sarcastically.

Everything else unfolds in a haze. Wasn't he planning to kill you and retrieve his ring? When the hell did he offer to walk you home to avoid more creeps? Why is he twirling his hair sheepishly whenever you praise his demonic powers? Oh, but it gets worse: why did he suddenly feel the urge to kiss you before returning to his cursed lair? Why did he accept your invitation to spend the night at your place instead? One moment ago, he was doing his best to curse you off this Earth. Now he's tugging stray strands of hair away from your blushing, whining face, asking you if it hurts. Damned human.

"How did you know I like this? Have you been stalking me?" you joke, nudging your undead boyfriend and setting the gift aside. "More or less", he confesses with a yawn. He recalls all that time spent dutifully spying on your oblivious self. "You know, a human like you shouldn't be able to dodge death like that." He turns to you and scans your features. Then, abruptly embarrassed, he ruffles your hair to block you from noticing his blush. "I suppose my failure was the better outcome. It's not too bad, having you around."

[ink-n-shadow]

i saw this post about types "talking you through your orgasms" and i had to discuss the types that the 141 men would be. i couldn't stop myself

TALKING YOU THROUGH IT

𝜗𝜚 the one about how the CoD men talk you through your orgasms

𝜗𝜚 characters: john price, kyle "gaz" garrick, john "soap" mactavish, simon "ghost" riley (reader is gender neutral) 𝜗𝜚 cw: smut (minors—DNI), praise kink, dirty talk, slightly mean!simon, unedited 𝜗𝜚 a/n: lmk how we feel about the slightly different format (i'm still making edits but)

john price is definitely cooing softly in your ear about just how pretty you look, just how sweet your hole looks stretched out on three of his thick fingers, just how beautiful you look with drool slicking down your chin and unshed tears clinging to your lashes. “fuck, jus’ look at ya, doll—so fuckin’ pretty all split open on my hand, yeah? no, don't close yer thighs when ya come—wanna see how pretty y'look when ya tighten up 'round my fingers." doesn’t stop praising you or blabbering on about how pretty you look even after his softening cock slips out from between your thighs, his spend tricking out of your used hole and your tearstained face hidden away in the crook of his neck.

kyle garrick is the giggling kind, nose buried deep in the hair at your temple and his lips curled up into a smarmy grin as the rough pads of his fingers glide across the slick, molten flesh of your arousal with practiced ease. "feels good, yeah? got your legs just right tremblin', 'nd I've barely even started, sweetheart. shhh, shhh—'m only teasin', baby. tell me how good it feels." and he's totally the type to make you keep talking as he bullies his fingers into your heat, stopping every single time your words jumble together and your whiny moans begin to overpower your coherence. "keep talkin'—y'don't want me to stop, do you? s'what i thought—go on, then. what were you saying about my fingers hitting something just right?"

johnny mactavish is the condescending kind, azure eyes focusing on the way your eyes slowly cross as another orgasm ravages your nerve-endings and makes a scoff fall from his lips. "again, birdie? dinnae think y'had it in ya—how many's tha'? three, right?" but he's not slowling the pace of his thick fingers as they continue practically carving out your insides, fingertips mashing against that one spot that had your brain melting out your ears and moans slipping off your tongue. even the kiss he leaves against your forehead seems condescending, a knowing grin on his face as he feels your gooey insides gripping onto his fingers tighter. "yeah, tha's right—gimme a fourth. y'can do it, birdie—then i'll fuck my cock into ya, i promise."

simon riley is the (sometimes, not all the time) degrading kind, honeyed eyes meeting yours in the mirror in front of your bed as he forces you to watch the way his fingers disappear between your slick thighs. "look at tha', pet—greedy fuckin' hole, innit? already got three fingers 'nd you're practically beggin' for more, huh?" you would've answered him if he hadn't have stuffed your underwear between your lips, your eyes fighting to stay opened as your toes begin curling in the impending crest of your high—only for simon to rip his fingers from your fluttering hole, instead shoving the lube-covered fingers into your mouth until his middle finger brushes the back of your throat and the underwear slips out amongst the gagging. "didn't say y'could cum, did i? no (shaking your head for you with his fingers still buried in the back of your throat), don't think i did. knew you were a greedy lil thing—c'mere, be a good pet and suck me off."

©️ ink-n-shadow 2024

do not copy, plagiarize, steal, borrow, or repost any of my work without my expressed permission

[nmn-yty]

— ๋࣭ ⭑࿐ leaning on you ˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷

read other parts first!!! : part 1 — part 2

pairing: lee know x reader

summary: you somehow managed to cross the line with your bunny, can it be pleasurable for the both of you?

tags: 「NSFW! 18+ only! smut | hybrid!lee know | referring to lee know as minho | hybrid wanting to mate | needy!lee know makes a return | humping/thighjob | nipple play | unprotected sex (i dont condone!) | anal | orgasms for both^^ | cuddles are here i promise | reader has no gender」

word count: 2.5k

a/n: hello! i severely apologize to all of you who have been waiting for this part to come out :( ive been struggling to find time to continue to write, and the motivation with it... but here it is! seriously... i can't explain how much i appreciate all of the love you guys have given to my stories♡ im so happy you guys love bunny lee know so much! i also wanted to keep this as neutral as possible regarding the reader (hence the anal) but you can switch it out in your imagination! (i wanted to have all readers to be able to enjoy!) also this is my first smut story being uploaded... i hope you guys have a good read><!!!~

(special shoutout to @omgsecretsecret for helping me edit this part♡)

+ stylized lowercase, missing punctuation (not done on purpose), and minimal revisions

"so do bunnies like you experience everything a human should?"

you didn't know why your mind was drifting towards this direction. for as long as you had minho in your house, you were sure your relationship would be 100% platonic. he was adorable as hell, eased your mind whenever any worries came to you, and was always there by your side. did that give you clearance to make a move on him? you didn't want to ruin the perfect relationship you two had, but you have needs, and you were wondering if he had the ability to share those same needs.

minho paused for a moment, sitting oddly still while you sat above him. you were sitting on the edge of your bed, playing with his hair while he sat on the floor with his head leaning against the mattress. his head was almost at a distance where you could press your thighs against each side of his face, but you resisted enough so the lingering thoughts of teasing him went away.

he turned around briefly to face you, "what do you mean by 'everything'?"

your face began to flush after you realized how insensitive your question could've been.

"not to pry or anything but... aren't bunnies known for... having a high sex drive?" you spat out quickly before your confidence faded away.

his eyes widened, this is the first time youve seen him this shocked at your words. he was too shocked to even reply to you, not that he had anything ready in his mind. you could feel his presence tense up and you wanted to steer clear of whatever dirty path your mind seemed to wander on. he didn't say anything and just turned back around, finally leaning into your thigh. he wrapped one arm around your leg, feeling your cool skin calming down his burning face. having him so close to you when you wanted to run away in shame felt strange. you were always used to being close to minho, but the sudden affection, especially after that moment, was out of place. your leg started to warm up because of his face. starting to relax a bit, you realized that it wasn't the right time to head across that line.

you smiled and started to play with his hair again, looping each little section around your finger into curls. they eventually sprung back to its natural shape once you let go. minho loved this time with you, when all you did was leave your worries for that day and focused on him. it was his favorite thing to do while being with you. he still carried the thought in his mind, 'maybe something would happen during my need for mating'. only time could tell the new moments you two would experience together.

during the late night, you and minho were cuddling in bed. it wasn't strange for the both of you anymore. you knew that minho felt more comfortable knowing that you kept him safe. cuddling with him was the least you could do to comfort him.

this night felt different though. the question you asked earlier felt like a reach into unwanted territories. you wanted him to expand on his feelings, but at the end of the day he was a shy bunny who got flustered easier than you thought.

unsure of your next thoughts, you closed your eyes and tried your best to go to sleep as soon as you could. feeling rustling from behind you, minho's presence inched closer to you. the movement didn't stop, you could feel him shaking now. was it too cold in the room? you stayed as still as possible, trying to make out the noise coming from him. he was whimpering softly, almost like he needed something desperately.

"m-minho?"

you turned around to face him, tears were welling up in his eyes. he was clearly distraught about something but you had no clue what happened. your heart sank, was it because of the invasive conversation from earlier?

he sniffed softly, trying to make out words but ultimately getting choked up.

"i... i need..."

his eyes glanced down to the bottom half of his body. tentatively scanning his body as to what he was trying to point out, the last and most obvious thing you noticed was a slight twitch coming from his crotch, the cloth sticking up as well.

'fuck... is this really happening?' you thought to yourself. you managed to repress and bury all the inappropriate thoughts you had about minho, but he was about to fuel it once again. his face was as pink as ever, in desperate need for your warm touch.

"is this what i think it is?"

"mating tendencies... yeah... i-ive never experienced it while being human, i dont know if it will feel the same. but i r-really need..."

he was huffing between words, stuttering as well.

"let me think for a second."

you turned facing away from him. rubbing your thighs together, trying to hold back the good aching feeling rising within, you couldn't help but panic for a second. would you help him out because he's in pain and needs to relieve himself? how would this moment affect your relationship moving forward? would it be a normal occurrence, or only during his need to mate? would it be better to just ignore it and try hold on to whatever you two had going on when you first met?

your rushing thoughts were interrupted by something warm, sticky, and hard. something poking at your thighs, trying to squeeze itself in between.

you couldn't help but let out a small yelp. that feeling began to rise in you. there was no way things were going back to how they used to be. the movement kept progressing, you glanced down in front of yourself to find the head of minho's cock against your thighs. you wanted nothing more than to take him, take his body, and pleasure the both of you were bound to have.

"minho please.." you reached down towards his cock, ready to progress. he misunderstood and took it as you wanting to stop. he pulled away, hesitantly, already missing the softness of your thighs.

"mm sorry... i j-just need.."

"hey," you turned around slightly to grab his face. you flashed him a small grin, making sure he didn't feel guilty for acting this way around you. "it's okay."

a tear started to stream down one side of his face. your reassurance made him slide himself back in between your thighs. you wondered how it was possible for it to feel so good on your bare skin. you had shorts on but it all of a sudden became more hot under the blankets. your thighs were coated in a thin layer of his precum. he gripped onto your body for a better stroke pattern.

sweet little moans erupted from behind you. minho was the one engulfing your body with his tall stature against you. however, you felt like you were in charge at the moment. letting your sweet bunny try and cum from your body was more than enough for you to start to get horny yourself.

slipping a hand under your shirt, you began to play with your nipples slowly. you shut your eyes and leaned more into minho's chest, hoping that he wouldn't catch you in the act. sweet little huffs turned into loud groans, he was in a trance and he hadn't even started to properly explore your body. he had ultimately noticed you leaning more into him, even arching your back. he wanted you to feel comfortable and not worry as much about trying to relieve yourself on your own. although you were the one trying to help him, he wanted to be the one to help you with your release too.

"let me.. please?" he said while placing his hand on top of yours, wanting to take your place on your chest. you moved your hand down in defeat, it was impossible to say no to him. his hands felt warm on your bare skin. swirling his fingers around you and occasionally pulling, your nipples hardened more and more. your breath started to get unsteady as you wanted more. shivers ran throughout your whole body.

gently breaking the contact of his cock and your thighs, you turned your whole body around to face him. you locked eyes with him and all the guilt and doubts you had in your mind about you two went away. his cock began to twitch at the loss of warmth. you suddenly placed your hand on him, slowly stroking and gliding on him, your hand becoming a sticky mess. he let out a strong huff and tilted his head back. you both were seeing stars. minho was unable to fathom that you were finally touching him, taking in all the strength to not cum right then and there. you were also shocked at how good you felt. seeing his reaction made you more comfortable and ready to move further.

grabbing your face with both hands, he placed a passionate, wet kiss on your lips. his tongue was determined and he kept moving his mouth in ways that sent you to heaven. pulling away to see your reaction, he smiled, "im still all yours, remember?" his voice just became more sexy to you than ever. you quickly locked lips with him again, smiling through it all. his lips were soft and plump from all the action, he bit the bottom of your lip to signal he needed some air. both of you sharing the same blushing expression.

he tried to drag your body back around but ultimately needed assistance. helping him out, you turned around immediately. sticking your ass out on his bare cock, you moved your hips up and down. minho was at his breaking point. he nudged his mouth near your ear, slowly dragging your shorts and underwear down. "please? let me put it in... i need to feel you.." his breath was hot and low on your ear. you were surprised you hadn't melted into a puddle yet.

you didn't say anything. you were too drunk off of the bliss feeling lingering throughout your whole body. you placed a hand on top of his that was resting on your hip. he took that as a sign to start.

not a second to waste, he lodged his entire length into your ass, letting out a deep moan into your ear. you arched your back more and almost choked up on the intense yelp you let out. he filled you up so good, it barely hurt from all the precum he was dripping with. he also took his time on the first stroke, pulling out his length so you knew how its absence would feel. you squeezed his hand, wanting more.

he slowly stroked back in, his high coming back harder this time. you felt like your heart was going to explode. his slow rhythm became more loud and sloppy, the wetness spreading throughout your bodies. syncing your moans with each pump, you instinctively rolled your tongue to hang out and pant more. you wanted this feeling to last for as long as possible.

the pace began to increase, and minho wasn't holding back on his moans. this whole time he was in his human form, but this much work was bound to make him change. you didn't notice at first, but his bunny ears appeared and drooped down, gently caressing your face. being in his hybrid form made him more bunny like, it made him go faster. the rhythm was so irresistible, it was fast but gentle, hitting you in all the right places. you felt yourself being filled with more fluid, gliding himself became easier than before.

he held onto your body even closer and tighter. minho started to felt bad about involving you in this situation, but you did want to be closer to him in this way. he wanted to make sure you felt satisfied, so he held himself back and focused the pleasure going to you. the final stretch of your rising heat and the steady rhythm snapped you out of your trance.

"s-slower, please minh-ho," you whined out. you couldn't tell, but he began to smirk at the way his name sounded in that tone. it drove him crazy, the fact that he was actually making you a complete mess. you wanted to savor this addictive feeling, but the slower strokes made your body greedy.

it all came rushing in at once, you let out one last yelp as you rode through your high. minho helped you by holding on to your shaking body.

the sight of your worn body filled himself with so much pride, he was shocked that he hadn't came yet. "did that feel good?" his voice was low and velvety in your ears again.

"y-yes," you managed to whisper out. still sensitive, you could feel him twitching around your walls, which made you choke slightly between breaths. he was trying his best not to move too much, but his body wasn't on his side.

you wanted to help him, but first you needed to recover. he moved his head to your neck, slowly sucking and kissing around to make sure you were okay. his sweet behavior was very calming, especially after the first orgasm you experienced with him.

"dont you want to cum too?" your question snapped him back to the situation at hand.

"can i?"

you nodded lazily, about to doze off at any minute. however, minho was quick to return to his rough pace, making your eyes steady again. he buried his head back onto you, acting like the shy bunny you knew too. the deeper and harder he pumped, he suddenly whispered a quick 'fuck' under his breath, pulling out of you. he grabbed his dick and painted your ass with his warm, thick cum.

it was beautiful, seeing how happy he was to finally get his first orgasm as a human. he pressed his body up against you, getting all the cum and sweat on his body as well. he didn't mind it though, he was too tired to clean up.

he looked drained, you noticed the beads of sweat all over his face and body. he was glistening with a new aura, and he looked like the most beautiful thing in the world. he still managed to give you a crooked smile, letting you know it was a good experience. you started to get flustered, even though you two just experienced the most intimate action ever.

you changed your position, letting your face sit on his chest. you buried and hid your red face from him. he gently reached up to pet your head, soothing you to sleep.

waking up to minho distanced away, you couldn't help but pull him back into a cuddle. he had quickly turned back into his bunny form to recharge from the actions that took place last night. he didn't flinch at all from the movement, he just slowed his breathing down as he was surrounded by a sudden warmth. you couldn't help but feel a little sorry about the sacrifice he took today. you pet his body slowly, kissing his head gently. you wanted to apologize for the state he was in now, but he was the one who made sure that it was okay to go through with in the first place.

♥︎taglist: @lailac13 @palindrome969 @lunathewonyoungstan @syedazarintasnim @yourlocalstayyxi @yukichan67 @qwonyoung23 @cupidcures @verynormalsstuff @leezanetheofficial @brainrotahahaha @kim-hao-han @b0os-jellfyfish @l33felix @wirwirfr @skzmylove75 @katsukis1wife @zyoopioo @katsukisloveinterest

© nmn-yty ★ 7.15.2024

[obsessivevoidkitten]

The Centaur King

Yandere Centaur King x Gender Neutral Royal Elf Reader CW: Noncon, kidnapping, massive centaur dick, belly bulge from massive centaur dick, belly bulge from massive load of cum from said massive centaur dick, general yandere behavior. Word Count: 425 (Not beta read and barely edited but I hope you all enjoy, it isn't anything special I just had a centaur craving.)

Being made the centaur ruler's prisoner. You never saw it coming. Peaceful relations had been in place between the centaur kingdom of Crestwood and the elven kingdom of Fallfeather for over 20 years. Resentment between some individuals lingered, but most people were amicable. 

You had been the royal ruler of the elves. A fair monarch who had reigned since your father had perished in the great war before the current treaties with the centaurs had been put into place. 

But the highborn horse-men were playing the long game. If they couldn't take the realm with might and magic, then it would be theirs by other means. 

They had long since gotten your court wizard Elyrifel, the most trusted advisor to the crown, to serve them in their ambitions. 

When King Farendale of the centaurs made his first nonviolent bid for dominion over the elven lands it was through a marriage proposal. Though Elyrifel pushed hard for your acceptance, you refused to hear it out. A merger of two kingdoms wasn't something done so flippantly and you had scarcely met him outside diplomatic functions. 

Though at those functions he had always given you his undivided attention. Much to your annoyance, you thought it was likely feigned to get you to accept one of his many offerings of marriage. 

But a marriage for power wasn't all King Farendale had been after. He had genuinely wanted you for years, ever since his first fell upon your elven form, and his patience had run out. Your grace, regality, and devotion to your subjects had captured his heart even easier than he had captured you.

You had gone to sleep in the safety of your chambers and had woken up in his. Elyrifel had whisked you off to the centaur's kingdom with his magic.

Farendale knew everything would have been better had you been willing. But it was clear that the willing part would just have to come later. As long as you were his to treasure and fuck silly for the rest of your days and his.

You had been forced to marry him with your close allies and friends threatened if you didn't comply in a public ceremony.

And then you were utterly his. 

King Farendale's cock slid into your conveniently stretchy and pliant elven form almost daily. The massive dick leaving a perfect stretched outline in your belly every time it was sheathed within you. His large nuts filled you until it filled your inside and bulged out your belly, dripping everywhere when he finally pulled out.

[narcissistshandler]

Hello, how are you? Can you do an imagine of Hyuk Kwon from Wind Breaker, please 🥺?

Where he dates an extremely shy and delicate reader, so naturally he thinks that when the two have sex for the first time, he will be the top, since the reader has all the stereotypes of a sub. However, the complete opposite happens and he discovers that the reader is a monster in bed who turns his brain into jelly and almost makes Hyuk pass out from fucking so much 🙃🙃

𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗘

pairing. hyuk kwon x gn reader

warnings. amab!reader, reader intended to be gender neutral, reader is kind, shy and anxious but confident in bed, reader is shorter than hyuk, top!reader, bottom!hyuk, anal fingering and anal sex, praise kink (for hyuk), coming untouched, first time bottoming

a/n. I've been anxiously waiting a request for hyuk. I wrote this in 1 hour, still without editing

"Are you okay?" Hyuk stops in front of you, blocking your line of vision. His hands cup your face, splayed across your cheeks and ears, making sure to keep your attention on him and not in the mess behind his back. You were a few inches shorter than him, which made it easy for him to take your attention away from the fight.

The underground fight club erupted in noise around the two of you, the smell of sweat and bloodlust thick in the muggy air.

Joker had left his opponent's face disfigured, a bloody pulp lying in the ring, fingers dripping red. And Hyuk didn't want you to end up vomiting on yourself at the sight. You had insisted on coming to see the fight, to give support, even though Hyuk knew you had a weak stomach, he agreed. You knew how to be insistent when you wanted to be.

You watched the whole thing with a mixture of aversion and intrigue, Hyuk's attention however did not leave your face, watching your reaction to every blow, every sound of impact and grunt of pain. And he knew when it was too much.

"Don't look at it, look at me," he said, dark eyes boring into yours. "Too much? Too much. I knew it. Come on, let's go." The opponent made futile attempts to get up, wanting to get back into the fight and Hyuk didn't want the two of you to be here to see the end of it.

He doesn't wait for your agreement before pulling you through the crowd, pushing through with cool ease, his hand firm in yours. Guiding you through the bustling bodies until you reach the fresh air outside, the normality of nightlife.

Your fingers gripped his tightly, shifting your weight from one foot to the other in an anxious display that could have been just habit, or the beginning of something worse. He pulls you close, rubbing your back, face, arms, "It's over, just look at me. Keep your eyes on me. You don't need to be afraid, I'm here. Breathe."

Hyuk was the shield between you and the world since you met. It was an instant connection that became something between a crush and an obsession. Hyuk adored you, he would do anything for you. He was fiercely protective of you, speaking for you when the words got stuck in your throat, loud and firm where you might be shy and intimidated. Cruel to anyone who tried to touch you — it had happened before and he knew it would happen again. You were too fragile for your own good.

So don't blame him for how he gags and loses his composure when you're sitting on your bed, already half naked and hard and about to actually have sex for the first time.

"Say that again?" He asks when he can finally speak again.

You look up at him from under your lashes, all flirtatious and blushing and licking your pretty lips before speaking again. Blatantly seducing him. "I-I want to t-top," you repeat.

What you said exactly was "can I be on top?" When Hyuk pushed you down on the bed and covered your body with his, hands on your hips and sliding into your pants to grab your ass. But he thought maybe he was hearing things. Did you want to top him? You? The person who didn't even have the courage to complain when their order was delivered wrong or asked for favors for fear of bothering someone? Who was always soft and submissive to him?

There wasn't a domineering bone in your body, much less a top one.

Maybe you were just saying that you wanted to get on top of him, ride him, but that wasn't what your tone said. And then, as if to leave no doubt, you repeated, more clearly: "I want to fuck you."

Hyuk feels his cheeks flush — he never blushed. You were so adorable, so beautiful. He always imagined sex with you, masturbated more than acceptable to comment on the image of being inside you — of pushing you into the mattress and stretching you on his cock and making you cry. He hated it when you cried, but these fantasies turned him on.

But now you were asking to be on top... he hadn't considered that as a possibility.

"Can I? I want to make you feel good." You wink at him, your hands moving up his thighs, caressing them and Hyuk feels his cock twitch in interest. It didn't matter the position, it was you. You did this to him. Only you.

You with your kindness and anxiety that made you almost socially awkward.

It's only when he's brought to his knees, ass shaking in the air and feeling hotter and more hyper-aware than ever before that Hyuk realizes that maybe, beneath all the sweetness, you were also a little bit manipulative. Because there was no way you wouldn't have used your bright eyes and low voice against him. You knew you were his weakness. His Achilles heel.

"Do we have to do it in this position?" He asks, fingers digging into the sheets, brow furrowed. He doesn't want to be a nag, but it doesn't feel right: being under you, being on his hands and knees for you.

"I think this might be more comfortable, but we can change it if you want."

Sweet thing you were. Hyuk pushes his face into your pillow and angles his hips according to your grip on them. "No, that's fine." If you thought it was better that way then so be it. He could deal with the embarrassment of feeling your eyes on his bare ass later.

Somewhere between you pouring lube between his cheeks and he losing his breath when the first finger sinks into his untouched interior, Hyuk realizes that he wanted to be good for you. He's out of breath in a way he never has before, sweat is already running down his back. You've barely started and he already wants to beg.

Hyuk keeps his hips high, letting out small sighs and contained moans that barely make sound when one finger turns into three and he feels the stretch in his spine. You talk him through it. "Breathe for me, Hyuk. Can you tell me if you're okay? We can stop if not. Your ass feel so tight, does it hurt? I'm putting one more in, relax, you take it so well, you looks beautiful from here."

"You're beautiful," he murmurs weakly, already losing his control. You were the beautiful one here.

As your fingers curl, hitting a spot inside him that makes him see stars, Hyuk stutters, cock hanging between his legs dripping pre-cum jumps, your voice above him calling him a "good boy", he realizes that yes, that was it. Whether he was on top or bottom, giving or receiving, he just wanted to be good. Wanted to keep you safe and well, wanted to give you pleasure, wanted to be your good boy, give you everything.

"Ugh, baby, fuck," he stutters, one hand shooting back to dig into your thigh when your fingers are gone and he’s left so empty it hurts. "P-please…"

"Are we begging now?" There's amusement in your tone, but you're not cruel, you don't mock him. Instead, Hyuk feels the pressure in his wet hole finding you lining up the tip of your cock. That alone stretches him, makes him feel it in every nerve in his body. And Hyuk realizes, not for the first time, how big you were.

Just like his jaw always ended up hurting when he gave you a blowjob, he is now hyperaware of your size, of every thick inch pushing in and in. Sinking, stretching, claiming him as yours in a way no one ever has and never would after you.

"Pretty boy, opening up for my cock, taking me like you were made for this — made for me."

And Hyuk is nodding, maybe talking, maybe just thinking about it because it's hard to get his tongue to move around in his mouth when all his brain is thinking about is how he would look stretched out and gaping open after. His virgin hole would never be the same again. He hoped not.

"You're drooling, does that feel good? I knew you'd like it," you trail off, your voice leaving him drunk, breathless and like a siren singing over him. Your hips pull back, cock sliding out and then, before Hyuk can remember how to breathe, you’re thrusting back inside. Cock plunging inside him, through the grip of his walls, balls slapping against the back of his sweaty thighs.

If he had known it would feel this good, he would have asked you to fuck him sooner. He would have masturbated to it instead of the fantasy of being inside you.

Hyuk forgets how to think, how to breathe, how to speak. He can only make sounds, his voice barely working, low and breaking with every moan and whimper. He wanted to beg, but he couldn't. His hole felt so good, everything about him felt good. His cock is hot and throbbing, bobbing in the air and it takes Hyuk a moment to realize that at some point he came, but he's still painfully hard.

You fuck him like a fucking pro and the jealous part of him wonders if there was anyone before him.

Each thrust perfectly deep and aimed at his prostate to make him bite the pillow and drool on it and push his ass back against you. You bite his back and neck, kiss him and leave hickeys, mark him as yours. Hyuk wants you to kiss him, but the height difference makes it a little difficult, yet he finds himself craning his neck back, sticking his tongue out. Kiss me. Kiss me. Kiss me. Please.

You somehow manage, lick his tongue, his disgusting saliva and murmur against his mouth as you kiss him. You look like a cherub in the light, sweaty and panting over Hyuk. "I didn't even need to touch you for you to cum, do you like it that much? Do you like how my cock fills you up? Your ass is squeezing me so hard, begging me to fill you up. Isn't that right? Don't you want your insides filled with cum so badly?"

Hyuk. Hyuk. Hyuk. You sing, while he himself has his vocabulary reduced to your name: [name], [name], [name], baby, please, [name]...

His delicate angel, with a huge, perfect cock and loving eyes, who ravaged him as if it were instinctive.

Hyuk surrenders to you. For the first time, he lets you take control and be the one to care, instead of being cared for. He tightens around you, skin tingling at your touch, the weight of your fingers on his hips, pulling him back with each thrust, abusing his prostate without mercy. Hyuk didn't want you to be merciful and you sure aren't.

The second orgasm hits him like a tsunami, Hyuk is practically bending away from your cock pushing it deeper inside him. Escaping the overstimulation. It’s too much. Hyuk would give you anything you wanted. Please don't stop. You follow him down, panting in his ear, fingers finding one of his nipples.

He'll feel this for days, he won't be able to sit down without remembering the phantom sensation of being filled by you, of what it's like to be filled with cum until it spills out. At some point, while he's delirious with pleasure, darkness comes without warning, soft as a lover, making him limp on the sheets and in your arms. But you don't have to stop there, make his body remember your touch even in the dark, mark him from the inside out. Show him what a little devil you can be under his angel.

[riza-hawks-eye]

A while back, Neil Newbon confirmed on one of his streams that Astarion is Pansexual.

So this is why it bothers me seeing fandom say things like "Astarion just feels like a gay man!" and "I just can't picture Astarion with a woman" because like... Astarion is still a queer man. It's been outright confirmed by his voice actor. And his queerness and his attraction to men isn't diminished by the fact that he can also be romanced by female characters. Repeat after me: Pansexuality is an lgbt identity in it's own right and not just gay person lite.™

And I think an important aspect to Astarion's sexuality is the fact that the writers made his relationship with both men and women part of his backstory. It's a stark contrast to Dragon Age 2 back in 2011 where Ander's past relationship with Karl was completely omitted from his dialogue if he was romance by a female Hawke. The unfortunate implications here being that bioware didn't think their female player base would still wanna romance Anders if he had past relationship with men. That to make Anders palatable to a straight-girl audience, all traces of his bisexuality had to be erased.

Astarion's Pansexuality doesn't change depending of the player's gender. The language he uses for his past lovers is gender neutral, he'll still mention relationships with men regardless of who you are playing as.

There is no "Playersexual" about it. Astarion is Pansexual. And that matters.

Edit: I was just looking over the notes of this post after having it muted for months and it really reaffirmed my decision to mute it. Some of you are posting bad takes like you're in a bad take contest. Hope you recover from the trauma of having to acknowledge bisexuals and pansexuals. - Love my bisexual ass ❤️

[mochinomnoms]

The Private (not) Thoughts of a Moray Chapter 6: I'm feeling blessed by a curse

Gender Neutral Reader x Jade Leech

Chapter 6 preview:

“Well, I mean it’s not like you share your signature spells with everyone, I mean yours is basically mind control…” Jamil bristled at your comment, making you shrink in. “...I just mean it’s not that different from you.” “I’d say it’s very different.” Azul replied, which was met with murmurs of agreement from Idia and Jamil. “No offense meant to you Prefect, but we have a right to keep our personal thoughts to ourselves, and using our signature spells on others have led to consequences. Yours does not, and I think we all deserve to know about that.” You shrank further into yourself, making yourself smaller against the couch. Clenching Riddle’s train in your hands, you tucked your feet under your legs, feeling like a child being discussed at a parent-teacher meeting. 

[wc} - 15,034

[notes] - wow took a hot sec to get this out. also this is the longest chapter yet and i still feel like it didn't come out great but im sure yall will enjoy what i have so far! also sorry for the lack of jade but i promise there's a reason lmao bare with me

Edits: thanks yuri for the tidbit about counselors I need finish chapter 6 in game lmao

[tag list] - @ghousus; @nasty-rat-goblin; @obeythehuman; @malleus-draconias-rose; @prussianengel

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Chapter 6: I'm feeling blessed by a curse

The unmistakable sound of the Magic Mirror as you entered another vision. 

You felt heavy, fighting to open your eyelids from the sweet embrace of sleep. 

The light filtering through the lavender drapes stung your eyes as you grumbled, turning around as the surrounding arms tightened and brought you closer to him. 

You felt a grumble vibrate through his chest as you dug your face into the spot above his heart. The soft beating was soothing as you finally looked up, reaching to tuck a dark strand of hair behind his left ear. 

A gold eye opened, sleepy and sweet as it looked at you full of fondness.

A tender, “Good morning, my love,” was accompanied by the sound of you leaving the mirror.

A loud thud and a pain against the side of your head abruptly awoke you from your sleep, the cool wood flooring of the room providing little comfort to the dull pain against your forehead. 

You needed to sweep and mop, the floor was covered in Grim’s fur and dirt.

“What the fuck?” Ace was mumbling as he bolted up from the bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Deuce also woke up, much more abruptly and panicked, pushing the sleeping bag off around him and throwing his fists up and as he blearily looked around. 

“Wa happen? Who’s here, I can fight!” Deuce grunted as Ace threw a pillow at his face. 

“Nothing happened, (name) fell off the bed.” Ace yawned, crawling over to peer at you over the edge of the mattress as you pushed yourself off the floor. “You had a bad dream again? Ha, baby.”

Ace always had a big mouth, but he meant well. You wanna talk about it? He just had trouble vocalizing it. 

You sighed, crawling back up the bed and curled into the body pillow between you and Ace. Grim was still peacefully sleeping on top of it as he made a small ‘murrrph?’ sound from being ruffled. 

“Wait, did you and Grim have a nightmare again?” Deuce’s voice was filled with urgency as he crawled over to you three, settling at the end of the bed. He stretched his legs out, tangling with yours and Ace’s, as he looked at Grim with confusion. 

“He’s still sleeping though…you okay (name)?”

A sigh left your mouth as you nodded. “Yeah, I’m…it’s just a weird dream, freaked me out.”

Another, longer sigh made the two share a glance as your dark-haired friend leaned in closer. 

“Was it like, you turned into a chicken and hatched from an egg but were like a weird half chicken and half human thing and got bullied by your chicken siblings?” Deuce looked so earnest as he continued. “I’ve had one of those before.”

You and Ace stared at Deuce for nearly a full, silent minute, as said man shifted uncomfortably. 

“Dude, I don’t know what all that means, but I think you should talk to, like, a dream therapist or something.” Ace let out a disgruntled grunt as Deuce grabbed his own pillow and started smacking him with it. 

“Shut. Up. Ace. (name). Had. A. Bad. Dream!” With each word, Deuce smacked the pillow harder and harder against Ace until he finally covered Ace’s entire body with his own, the unruly shuffling pushing against the bed and pillows until Grim finally woke up with a startle. 

“Hey! What’s the deal!” Grim whined, moving into your arms and settling in like a cat with its owner. “I was having such a good dream too!” 

“Oh? Maybe you two weren’t sharing one this time? (name) had a bad dream.” Ace mumbled, the pillow muffling his speech until he managed to shove his head out between Deuce’s hands and the fabric.

“Finally,! Can barely breathe. Anyways!” Ace chirped, managing to kick Deuce with his free leg. “What got you all scared? Couldn’t have been too bad, right?”

You didn’t scream this time, either. Neither of you.

You winced, Ace’s frowning as he murmured a soft sorry. Deuce looked between you two confused, but gestured for you to speak. 

“It’s okay, you can tell us.”

“It wasn’t bad…just weird?” You scratched Grim’s head as you continued. “I think it was another premonition, I could hear and feel myself going through the mirror again, but it’s been a while since I had one of those.”

The back of Grim’s neck was rumbling as he sleepily stretched into your hands. “It was like I was in the vision itself, ‘stead of watching it like a movie.”

A flash of gold flashed through your mind as you felt your cheeks warm. 

No! No, it’s fine!

“It’s fine, I was just surprised! Nothing to worry about!”

Ace and Deuce shared a look, before looking back at you worryingly. 

“You sure? You know what time of year it is, right?” We all do.

Deuce’s mind flashed with visions of Riddle and Leona, covered in black, inky slop and towering, monstrous beings feeding on their misery and rage. 

Are you sure you’re okay?

“You haven’t had a vision since…you know.” Ace thinned his lips, eyes darting between you and Grim. “Since you and Grim…”

“I’m fine! It wasn’t scary or anything, I promise. I’m fine.” You waved your hands exasperatedly, tossing Grim into Ace’s arms as you kicked Ace’s sheets off and stretched. 

The cold wooden floor shocked some sleep from your bones as you felt your spine pop rather satisfyingly. 

“Grim was even having a pleasant dream, weren’t you?” 

Grim perked up, letting out a squeal that sounded a bit like a purr. 

“Yeah! I was eating this real nice plate of tuna, really expensive too! I think one of the look-a-like brothers was serving it to me.” 

You nodded absentmindedly, walking over to your dresser and grabbing yours and Grim’s dorm uniform, tossing the clothes at the bed. Heading to the bathroom, you left the door slightly ajar to listen to Ace and Deuce as they spoke quietly amongst themselves. 

Grim had taken to the snack drawer in your dresser, where he’d begged you to save some of his favorite tuna, which you easily gave in. But Ace and Deuce stayed on the bed, murmuring. You tried to focus between their thoughts and the words coming out of their mouths, but all you could really make out was a general sense of worry. 

It didn’t help that most of the student body and faculty also had a general feeling of dread and anxiety. The freshman weren’t privy to it, but everyone else was steering clear of, or carefully treading around Riddle as of late. You even heard from Jack that Ruggie had been texting Leona nonstop as the anniversary came up, but got short responses. 

You know why they were worried, you were one of the people at the forefront of both overblots. Intricately involved back then, and it’s like you still are that small, magicless human in a foreign world. 

 “Ow, ow, ow!” You winced, soap getting in your eye while washing your face. “Damn it!”

“Yoo! Prefect! You okay?” Ace’s casual voice had a slight twinge at the end, like he was actively hiding his worry. “Need my help?”

No dying on my watch, and not in the bathroom. You can die somewhere more dignified.

“I’m not dying! God, I just got soap in my eye!” You snatched the hand towel off the rack, dark blue like Deuce’s hair when the sun shone just right. “I’m not a baby! Don’t baby me!”

Stomping out of the bathroom and snatching your clothes, you winced at the barrage of concerned thoughts and worry coming from your friends. 

“Aw come on, I was joking, you know me!” It’s not my fault that it’s that time of year.

We just worry about you, magic or not, you’re still our same old (name). You know?

Deuce gave you a reassuring smile, faltering as you huffed, gesturing for them to turn around as you changed. It was hard to stay angry, your mind was flooded with their memories of you bruised and covered in cuts from thorns.

“I can take care of myself, you know?” You turned back around, clipping your cape around your shoulders and adjusting the clasps. “It’s not like I was the only one that got hurt those days, you guys did too.”

Yeah, but… “You had a real bad reaction after all the overblots, like you were allergic or something.” Ace shivered as you saw a memory flash through his mind.

A few of them, actually. 

One your back covered in hives and Azul’s sucker marks. Another of you choking and sneezing from Leona’s dust. Red and burning scratches from Riddle and his thorns . An awful rash and blisters from Vil’s poisons that covered your face for weeks. Jamil’s snakes and their bites giving you an itchy, swelling bump on your legs that took four rounds of medication and potions to go away. They weren’t around for the reactions you got from Idia, something they were still angry at you for, but Deuce’s imagination ran wild with the stories of you wheezing and heaving to breathe.

And that’s not even to mention the effects that Malleus’s blot had on you.

“I don’t know man, I think it’s natural that we’re all a bit on edge this time of year.” Ace shrugged, grabbing Grim by his scruff and tossing him over to you mid-chewing. “Anyways, you should go head out, you still need to take your potion and head to the nurse.”

You caught Grim as he yelped, growling at Ace, who responded by sticking out his tongue.

“Watch it! You almost ruffled my bow!” Grim whined with pout and still full mouth.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, you still need to put your own uniform on too.” You held Grim against your hip as you reached for Grim’s own vest and cape. The little direbeast excitedly snatched the clothes out of your grasp, attempting to slip it on with the elegance of a toddler. 

Eh? Why is this so hard without thumbs!

You giggled, watching Grim struggle to pull the buttons closed as you leaned down to fold the hem of your pants. Looking up, you noticed Deuce helping a struggling Ace with painting on his heart. Ace’s eyes were shut as his face got redder, while Deuce grabbed his chin to steady his face. Deuce was more focused on keeping a steady hand than he was with Ace’s reddening blush, his tongue sticking out almost cutely. 

Mmm?

Deuce finally backed away, sighing in self-satisfaction as he turned back around to put the makeup away. Ace relaxed, watching Deuce for a bit before making eye contact with you. 

He froze, refusing to blink, as if blinking would set you off. 

“…Since when have you struggled with painting your heart? You’d never let me paint it for you, and I always ask!” You whined, poking at his forehead. 

Shut the fuck up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!!

“Oh! Ace has been struggling to paint his heart on for a while, he got carpal tunnel from basketball practice over the summer.” Deuce helpfully piped up, grabbing his own black makeup paint and heading to the bathroom. 

“He’s been having me do it for him, since I got steady hands and everything from working on my blastcyle!” 

“I didn’t even know you could get carpal tunnel from playing basketball…can you even?”

I swear to the fucking Red Queen if you don’t shut up…

“Oi! I thought I told you, you’re running late! You still need to take your potion too! Go! I’m not having Riddle blame me for making you late!” Ace got up to chase you and Grim out, the latter finally clipping his cap around his shoulders. 

“Aha! Wait, eek!” Grim yelped as he bolted on all fours, Ace stomping behind him as he grabbed your magic pen and arm to shove you out. 

“Off you go! Brats.” Text us after your check-up….Brat.

“Hey! Who are you calling a brat? You’re the brat!” you laughed despite Ace’s words, waving as he flipped you off and closed the door. 

The hallway was empty, the entirety of the dorm downstairs from the sounds in the kitchen and lounge. And from the raised voices, you were willing to bet that someone had said the wrong thing to the wrong person. 

Suddenly there was a loud crashing sound of pots, pans, and glass that made you dart down the stairs with Grim close to your heels. 

“Ah! What are they doing to our dorm!” Grim squeezed through the bannister gaps to jump off the stairs and on his feet like a cat, rushing into the kitchen as you finally made your way down. 

“Hey! What did I tell you about touching my cooking!” Yaqub’s voice was very irritated, borderline squawking. 

You’d only heard stories about his irritable nature, mostly from Jamil and a particularly distraught Kalim. Honestly, you thought they might have been exaggerating, since he was always mild mannered around you. 

“It’s too red! I’m making sure that it won’t be too spicy for the dorm, not everyone can handle—”

“That’s tomato sauce you idiot! Damnit Wynfred!”

Granted, Wynfred tended to get under people’s skin with a particularly nonchalant, blissful unawareness. 

You whipped into the kitchen to the sight of Yaqub towering over Wynfred with a wooden spoon ready to swat. The latter was looking into the pan with a bag of sugar in his hands like he’d just dropped an ounce, instead of half the bag into the sauce.

“Oh, well, I’m sure you can just start over, I’ll help!”

Yaqub puffed up, the top feathers of his head perking straight up along with a lump in his shoulders. Just how feathery is he?

“If I’d wanted your help in the first place, I would've asked! I should beat you—”

Yaqub froze as he darted his eyes at you, making Wynfred turn and brighten with a pink flush. Until Yaqub elbowed him, making him hide the sugar behind his back and straighten. Both of them gave you polite smiles and leaned in close, like they were close friends and hadn’t just been arguing a moment ago. 

“Hello Housewarden, how are you? We were just preparing breakfast for everyone, and just happened to run into a hiccup.” Yaqub always spoke to you in a soft, polite voice, which seemed off from his stature. 

“And I was helping! Like a great vice-housewarden!” Wynfred chirped, yelping at a foot stomping on his right. “I mean! I was just being nice.”

Pendejo…

Ow, my big toe…

You blinked at the two, as Grim ruffled up in offense. 

“Hey! You got a vice-housewarden right here! I’ve told you don’t go thinking you can replace me, yer startin’ to annoy me!”

Yaqub snorted as Grim padded closer to Wynfred to further chastise, as much as the little guy could, while the redhead looked off to the side with mild annoyance. 

“Housewarden (name), here.” Yaqub had managed to sneak next to you, making you jump in surprise as he smirked in amusement. 

“Housewarden Jamil told me that you needed a drink every morning for your, uh, condition?”

Cringing, you smiled and took the mug from his hands, noting the same smell of coffee that you’d had with Kalim sometimes. 

“...Is this from Scarabia’s kitchen? It smells like the fancy stuff that Kalim drinks sometimes.”

“Mmmm, maybe?” Yaqub gave you a wry grin and gestured to a smaller cup on the counter. “I was just told to help ya out, so might as well take advantage of Kalim’s surplus.”

Not like the spoiled brat will notice. 

You smiled shakily and reached into your pocket for your last, lavender colored vial. Pouring a few drops into your cup and doing the same to Grim’s, you tenderly sipped the sweetened, smooth liquid.

“Grim, drink.” Stopping mid-stomp, Grim turned and noticed his cup, sighing and hopping up the counter. 

Ugh, remember I want to choose the flavor today.

You smiled and leaned against the counter to sip on your drink, waiting for Riddle to come by for you. It was close to the time he agreed to pick you up, and knowing him he would be at your door 5 minutes early. 

“Enjoy my dear Housewarden!” Wynfred chirped, waving as he walked past to the lounge area, where a group of voices steadily grew in volume. “Don’t worry, I’ll quiet them down, and will also watch over the dorm! I am an excellent leader after all!”

And an excellent date! “Also, I’m still waiting on your response regarding our outing—”

“Wow, I think I hear Silas eating another bug, better go check that!” Yaqub promptly shoved Wynfred out of the kitchen, though you could make out mutterings of “stupid!” and “don’t stress them out!”

It had been a trend lately to walk eggshells around you. The new students in Ramshackle were still keeping you busy, but with the dates of Riddle and Leona’s overblots looming over the student body’s head, you were fairly certain they were all told to be careful around you. 

Wynfred, maybe a mix of trying to be genuinely helpful and trying to gain your favor, had taken over most of your duties, albeit to your mild irritation. 

It wasn’t that you disliked the help, and to be honest, most of your work was delegating the tasks that Crowley had given to you and Grim the year before, and spreading it amongst the freshmen. Wynfred just stepped on your toes when he did. 

Still, these past two weeks had been the most stress-free since starting the year, to the point that you were even able to spend a night with Ace and Deuce. Normally they’d come to your place…but someone had been spreading rumors about you three being closer than your average friends. 

These sorts of rumors were around last year as well, pushed to the background with the more drastic events that occurred, but you never minded. At least, not until you heard some unpleasant thoughts from a certain someone. 

You sighed, thinking about your interactions as of late. Jade had been rather…clingy? Attached? Hovering? You suppose that’s the best way to put it, though he hardly ever touched you. 

No, he was always respectful in that regard, which you did appreciate. But he was always hovering over you when he had an excuse to. Even outside of class and dorm meetings between you and Azul, Jade found a way to be around, even if it was just a fleeting glance and hello. 

To no surprise to you, he seemed to have an uncanny ability to tell when Wynfred was alone with you, interrupting him mid-conversation to ask for your assistance with the Octavinelle students in your care. Which, considering they were extremely organized and easy to work with (mostly), was unnecessary. 

Though, you think that had more to do with Wynfred not being able to read a room and talking on and on with just about everyone he meets. And with him being in the same club as Jade, he was just an overflowing well, full of information for Jade to pick at. 

Like his schedule, his attempts to speak to confirm your ‘date’, or the times the dorm is left under Grim’s ‘care’ while you did your club duties.  

All of your freshmen were aware that your club would meet on Sundays in the afternoon to study the ruins and gargoyles on campus. Suddenly, the Mountain Lovers Club was also meeting on Sunday afternoons. And they just happened to be in the same ruins as you, which was strange considering that the ruins weren’t in the mountain range around NRC.

He’d also taken to “mysteriously” showing up every time Wynfred was getting ready to ask you out again. It had happened at least 3 times since the incident at the lake, each time Wynfred would attempt ‘asking for your hand’, in his own words. Jade would suddenly appear and either ask Wynfred if he’d completed his club tasks, which the latter complained about often, or whisk you away to meet with Azul about your Halloween agreement. 

Based on Azul’s thoughts, he was getting annoyed at Jade’s sudden appointments, but he never let it show and seemed to like planning the carnival themed food stalls with you, at least the money it’d make anyway. 

If you didn’t realize how much of a blabbermouth Wynfred was, and the prominence of gossiping amongst Pomefiore students, you’d suspect that Jade could also read minds.

There were some times that his ‘attentiveness’ was actually quite nice.

Like how you almost always forgot to grab breakfast in the morning, opting for something to drink. Suddenly, you’d mysteriously find a breakfast pastry with an unsigned note in familiar handwriting at your desk in the homeroom. 

If you found yourself studying extra long in the library, you would leave your table for the restroom and come back to an open book with a note pointing to a section related to your current class module.

You had to admit, though, your favorite thing he’d been doing for you was asking for your ‘help’ in potions. Jade didn’t really need help, not with Riddle and Yev in your group, but it was nice being the one he’d always ask first. 

Even for simple things, like what notes he missed, could you help him with measuring the herbs, and even just asking for you to explain the instructions Yev liked to spitfire. 

He didn’t need your help, not really. He was more than capable of asking Crewel for missed notes, or checking the instructions for measuring certain herbs, or having Yev repeat himself. You could hear him think that too, but…it was almost flattering how much he just loved hearing your voice. Jade liked having you help him, and you liked to pretend that you were actually useful for once. 

Could be worse, I suppose.

You heard a knock at the front door, listening as one of your students opened the door and greeted the new arrival. 

“Prefect?” You leaned over to look past the doorway to see Riddle standing at the entry, dressed in all his queenly glamor. “Housewarden Riddle is here for you.”

“Hey Riddle! Let me finish my coffee real quick!”

“Alright, quickly then.” He nodded and gave you a pleasant smile. We wouldn’t want to be late.

Gesturing for Grim to finish his drink, you took big gulps, ever so slightly burning the inside your mouth. Huffing the hot air out of your mouth and waving Grim along, you jogged over to the front door and waved out to the lounge. 

“Bye everyone, I will be back from the meeting later. Please don’t set the place on fire!”

You heard an echo of ‘okays’ and ‘yessirs’, with a singular ‘no promises’ with a loud smack and yelp making you stifle a snort. 

Riddle was patiently waiting by the stairs, watching the sky until he heard you close the door, turning to you with a smile. 

“Still on time, good. I was worried that the two would give you trouble.”

You clicked your tongue waving your wave dismissively. “Nah, they’ve been super helpful, you should give them more credit.

Riddle gave you a doubtful look as you too made your way to the castle. 

“I mean it!”

“Of course, whatever you say.”

Pushing Riddle with your shoulder, you giggled as Grim jumped on your back and took his place on your shoulder. 

“Oh shush! Should we start heading to the infirmary? Goethel called everyone in for something important, right?”

Riddle nodded leading the way as he hummed to himself. 

Walking with Riddle was always nice. He was quiet, both physically and mentally, which was an odd thing to say now that you really thought about it. But it was nice, as being with him meant that his thoughts were more…organized? 

Hmm, is that the best way to explain it?

You noticed that being around some of your friends was less mentally taxing on your telepathy. Riddle, unlike Kalim for example, was always straight to the point and clear. His thoughts rarely, if ever, jumped around from what he’d been focusing on. Jamil and Jack were the same, so being around them was actually quite soothing. Even Jade tended to have a one track mind, even when focusing on you. 

However, being around Kalim, Floyd, even Sebek and Epel at times, caused you to grow a headache. There were too many sounds, too many different topics jumping around. Even being around Deuce sometimes caused a migraine. It got worse when you were in a crowd too. 

But being around J—Riddle! Being around Riddle isn’t like that! He’s nice, calm, and quiet. Most of the time anyways. 

You shook your head, flapping your hands like you were trying to shake something off as you sped up after Riddle. Thankfully, with most of the student body in bed still, the walk was peaceful and short. You just really hated all the stairs, all three stories of them, to get to the infirmary. 

It was surprisingly empty in the room when you entered, only Ortho cleaning up his equipment with a sanitizing spray. Your friend brightened as you waved, cheerfully zooming over with an urgency. 

“Prefect! Hi!” Ortho scooped you up underneath your arms, bringing you into a spine crushing hug before setting you back down, the whirl of his fans betraying his excitement. 

“I missed you during your last check in! I tried reading your files to make sure nothing new happened, but Ms. Goethel got mad at me for snooping.”

You really liked Ortho, he was like a cute little brother. Which, seeing how Idia programmed him in the first place, was expected. What was a bit surprising was how he almost spoke to himself internally. 

How am I meant to help if I can’t stay updated with everyone’s medical condition—

—cause not everyone wants to have their private information shared! Duh! What are you a dummy—

—No! I’m just concerned! Idia might not be friends with all of them, but I like them! Especially the Prefect and Vil! 

That doesn’t mean you can be in their business, remember what happened when we snooped in the headmage’s files?

You watched Ortho’s hair and lights briefly flash red and him shuddering, as much as a technomantic could anyway. Instead, he turned to Riddle and gestured to him to follow. 

“Come on Riddle! I’ll do you first, the others are waiting in Ms. Goethel’s office!” Ortho floated towards a bed with a privacy curtain covering it. “Prefect, I’ll do you after! Please take a seat, it won’t take long!”

You hummed in response, sitting in the waiting area of the infirmary with Grim hopping into your lap. He curled into you, wrapping his tail so tightly that he looked like a little ball. 

Mmm, I don’t like Ortho doing these. Reminds me of that stupid isle…

You sighed, scratching behind his ears as you felt him purr and relax. 

“It’s okay, I’ll go first and you can watch, ‘kay?”

Grim made a small ‘okay’ noise as he nodded, pressing his head against your hand. Rubbing your thumb over his forehead in a circular motion, you felt him relax and dig his front paws into your thighs as he gently kneaded into you. 

He’d had nightmares after his time at the Isle of Woe for weeks, though they’d become less common, Grim would still get them from time to time. 

I want something fancy for dinner tonight! To make up for gettin’ all poked and pinched!

Grim’s ears perked as he jumped up and pawed at your chest. 

“Ask Hornton to take us to the Mostro Lounge! I want to eat crab and that fancy cav-eee-ar thing that people always talk about!”

You snorted, “Do you mean caviar?”  

“Whatever it is, ask Hornton to buy it for us!” Grim huffed and started drooling as you made out his little daydreams of fancy caviar on crackers and shrimp cocktails. 

“Okaaay, but I don’t think you’ll like it.” You laughed, patting his head again as you started scrolling through Magicam. 

Hmm, Cater posted another pic of himself at a cafe…Ruggie and Epel in their club…oh, Azul posted a sneak peak of the new menu, nice.

You raised your eyebrows in surprise at a familiar logo and pair in the campus’s woods. 

“As the Mountain Lovers Club, we do much more than hiking! Our club members sometimes cook their findings as well! Look at how delicious these foraged plants look!”

Wynfred’s red curls and dark green eyes were just barely visible in the corner of the selfie as in the background, Jade tended to what looked like some mushrooms and spring onions on a campfire grill gate. 

A smile grew on your features at the scene. It seemed that this was the work that Jade had put him to that he’d been complaining about. Social media seemed to come natural to him though, maybe you should connect him with Cater?

“Prefect? Riddle is done, you can come over now.”

You looked up and saw Riddle and Ortho pop out from behind the privacy curtain, Riddle looking rather relieved. 

Nothing out of the ordinary. No additional stress with the normal day to day things…No blot, no blot. No blot this time…

Riddle looked up at you and gave you a nod. “I’ll be heading to the office now, I’ll let the others know that you’ll be there shortly.”

“Okay, thanks.” you nodded back, gathering Grim up in your arms and heading to Ortho, who was hovering patiently. 

“I’ll be quick! Let me do a quick physical and then I just need to measure your stress levels and magic accumulation!” 

Grim’s claws dug into your skin at that, an unpleasant rumbling vibrating through his chest. You patted his head again to calm your friend. 

You placed Grim next to you on the bed, patting his head as you let Ortho take your basic measurements: weight, height, heart rate, blood pressure. Rather normal things that you’d experienced back home. But Ortho’s yellow eyes going white and presumably scanning your body was not, neither was him offering his hand out for you to place your wand in. 

“Here.” Sighing, you watched as a blue light glowed from his hand, scanning down your wand before focusing in on the light violet gemstone. 

“You should get a housewarden staff, I tried getting Idia to use the Ignihyde one, but he thought it made him look geeky.” You and Ortho shared a giggle as he went silent while uploading the results of your physical to presumably your medical file. 

You stayed silent as he did, fidgeting with the skin around your nails. 

“Hmm, based on the data I acquired from your stone, you have an unusually high rate of blot accumulation. Normally it would pile up, but it seems it’s being reduced by your daily potion.”

Ortho handed back your wand with his brows furrowed. 

“Still, it’s at a much higher rate than the others. Maybe due to your body not being originally suited to magic? I’ll let Nurse Goethel know.”

A tugging on the back of your vest caught your attention as you looked back at Grim, who was holding onto you with droopy ears. 

“Is that bad?”

You smiled reassuringly and scratched the top of his head. 

“It’s not ideal, but I’m sure if it was really bad, Ortho would get the nurse, right?”

Looking at Ortho for reassurance, your friend nodded and gave you a perky thumbs up.

“Right! Besides Grim, you should be a lot more worried about yourself! Your blot accumulation has still been super unpredictable, speaking of which.”

Ortho turned to look at Grim and cheerfully continued

“Nurse Goethel says that she will do your exam, so you can wait here.” Ortho produced a star shaped sticker from his chest panel and stuck it to your forehead with glee. “Prefect! You can go to the office with the others.”

Yay! Finally got someone!

Grim stiffened and scrunched up his lips.

Huh? No! I don’t wanna be alone! “My henchhuman needs to be with me at all times! They’re my servant!”

Grim stood on the bed and puffed up his chest, though you could feel the anxiety radiating off him. 

“It’s okay Grim, I’ll just be down the hall if you need me.” You patted his head again, which Grim relaxed into and plopped back down on the bed. “Okay? Just have Ortho come get me.”

Hmph! “I’m the Great Grim! I don’t need anyone!” You better mean that…

Grim sat back down the bed and curled his tail inward towards him, hugging it to himself as he huffed and turned his head away from you. 

You gave Ortho an apologetic smile and made your way out of the main infirmary and to the hallway. 

It was empty, this branch of the castle usually was on the weekends due to it mostly containing the professors’ offices and general administrative wings. Still, it was a nice change of pace to the usually busy halls and bouncing thoughts of the student body. 

Though, you didn’t have to walk far as Nurse Goethel’s office was right next to the infirmary. The closer you got to the door, you could make out Riddle’s voice talking to the others in the room.

Ah, I wonder if he’s telling them about everything that’s been happening this year. That sounds nice, wonder what he’s talking about, maybe my new dorm members? Oh, maybe about Halloween, they’re allowed to come visit during the fair right?

You smiled at the thought of showing off Ramshackle to Malleus, all decked out in amusement park and clown themed decorations. 

Yeah, I bet he’s telling them that I’ve been doing a great job as a housewarden!

A smile still on your face, you opened the door to the office to see everyone attentively listening to Riddle. 

“I am worried about how they’re dealing with it, psychics as a whole are rare, and their telepathy seems to be a source of distress. So I’m hoping that one of us has a family history of psychics that we can refer to—OW!”

Riddle yelped as you, with rather impressive accuracy mind you, threw a decorative stress ball that was on the shelf near you, right at his head. 

It was the shock that got Riddle rather than actually being hurt, but he still clutched his head at the spot you hit. 

“Prefect! What is wrong with—”

“How dare you!”

You cherished your friendship with Riddle, maybe as much as you did with Ace and Deuce. He was the first person overblot and did disparage you at first, yes. But he was also one of the first people to take you under his wing. He treated you more like another housewarden and student, rather than just Grim’s babysitter or the magicless human. 

He was aware that you were more fragile to magic compared to the other students, but he never coddled you before. He was there when you cried about missing home, about feeling inadequate in the foreign school system, about your frustration with Grim at times.

You were never sure why Riddle took such a liking to you. Perhaps it was because he liked having a friend that would attentively listen to him list all 810 of the Queen of Heart’s rules. Or that you would distract Floyd long enough for him to escape, and then meet again later and giggle about it. 

Or maybe it was because you didn’t really know about him and his reputation as a tyrant, only your very brief brush with it. To you, he was just Riddle, the redheaded guy with a bit of a temper, a friend. 

Riddle was a very good friend, one you could credit to your ability to skip a potionology grade. A wonderful friend, Riddle was. 

But right now, Riddle was pissing you off.

The two of you stared each other down as the other 6 in the room watched on in various levels of amusement and concern. 

You thought you’d been doing a swell job, especially regarding your telepathy. Sure, you had some problems here or there, and certain people caused certain issues, but overall you were having a grand time learning your magic on your own time. 

You thought he did too, seeing as he didn’t mention anything about the telepathy after finding out. In fact, he didn’t even acknowledge it, not like how Ace, Deuce, and Grim would. 

They’d speak through their thoughts, or think silly things to make you laugh in class, or they (Grim, usually) would beg you to give them a hint on the in-class assignments. 

But Riddle didn’t do any of that, he just kept going on like nothing had changed. Even his thoughts remained the same, though they were never anything strange or out of character for him. You thought that he had confidence in you and your new ability. And that was a nice sentiment, or it was. 

So yes, you were quite pissed off at him for implying that you weren’t able handle your magic yourself.

“Riddle! What the heck” You hissed, rushing over to him and sputtering as you hovered your fists over him, deciding whether or not you should just shake the jitters out, or start lightly hitting him.

“Now, Child of Man, there’s no need to get violent.”

Your darling horned friend decided for you, a sudden influx of amusement filling you as Malleus came from behind you. He tenderly grabbed at your hands and pulled you to sit back between him and Riddle in the love seat nestled in the corner of the nurse’s office.

Malleus chuckled, beaming as you shoved yourself into his side to put as much space between you and Riddle as possible. You’d managed to curl yourself into a little ball into Malleus’s side as you stuck your tongue out at Riddle.

Ah, amusing. Malleus hummed, briefly pausing before resuming his pats on the top of your head, chuckling as you moved his arm to hug you like a shield against Riddle. Riddle looked less than amused at the situation, crossing his arms as he stared back at your angry face.

“Don’t be so dramatic, Prefect.” Riddle huffed, though for some reason you could just feel the guilt radiating from him. That outburst was completely unnecessary. 

“Ugh!” You let out a scoff, bring the hood of your cape up and over your head, tugging down to cover your face. 

“You’re the one sharing my business with others, you know I haven’t told anyone else!” Voice muffled, you felt your face burning in frustration. “What gives you the right? You didn’t even ask!”

That weird feeling of guilt was growing as Malleus pulled your hood back, so that your face was visible once again. Everyone was staring at you now, making you shift uncomfortably. 

Aw. They look like they want to cry…

I guess they didn’t want that shared?

Riddle looked as upset as you were, maybe even guiltier than you felt…or was that you feeling that?

Why am I feeling guilty? 

Ah, I’m sorry, Prefect…

Malleus gave you another reassuring pat on your head, a new sense of calm enveloping your body

Is that…Malleus’s..?

“I’m sure Rosehearts had good intentions, you’re still getting used to your magic after all.”  Malleus chuckled as you pouted, a new sense of amusement now warming your body. 

Oh, he finds this funny. Hmph.

Slipping under his arms to slide off the small couch and onto the floor, you sighed and crossed your arms. An image of you looking like a petulant child crossed your mind and you snapped your head up to dart between the others in the room. 

Vil and Idia took the chairs in front of the nurse’s desk, though the former had turned it to face everyone, presumably to speak face-to-face. Idia was curled into his chair, which he hadn’t bothered to turn, but sat in it sideways so he could look at everyone from the corner of his eyes. Azul was sitting on an upholstered bench on the wall next to Idia, legs crossed and hands politely crossed over the top of his staff. 

Jamil was leaning in the corner of the room near Vil and Leona, who was sitting with his eyes closed on the windowsill. Jamil was fidgeting with the snake staff in his hand, watching you with a neutral expression. 

Heh, they kinda look like Najima as a kid. 

“Precisely!” Riddle chimed back in, leaning down to pull at your cheek as you grumbled. “Reading another’s mind is mentally and magically taxing, you’re not used to magic like us.”

“Are you for reals? Like not just psychic but actual, full on mind reading? What the hell?!” Idia screeched, horrified at the idea. Though, seeing how he was a self-proclaimed otaku, and the sort of shows he might be into, you weren’t surprised that he didn’t like the idea. 

Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it! Don’t think about the weird incest reincarnation subplot It’s not my fault the manga started going weird! I just thought it was a cute idol story!

Idia curled into the seat again and practically demanded, “How long have they had it?!”

Blinking slowly, you could feel your face going warm in embarrassment, matching Idia’s own reddening cheeks. In fact…in your cheeks as well…and your hair felt hot, like it was on fire. 

“If you’re wondering if I could hear you during your breakdown last year, no, I couldn’t. Happened a bit after I got magic.” You sighed while Idia relaxed, and you felt yourself do the same.

Thank Hades! I do not want—wait a fucking second. 

Idia darted his head back at you and glared, wrapping his arms around his head protectively. “You’re doing it right now, aren’t you! Get out of my head, you FREAK!”

“Idia! Don’t you chastise them like that” Riddle started yelling at Idia, before you interrupted him with a snarky reply. 

“Freak? Says the guy with fire hair, that’s freaky even for here!” You had a sudden burst of energy as you crawled over to Idia to start poking at him as you continued. “I’m an alien, I have an excuse, what’s yours?”

Are you serious—ugh nevermind, you two just go at it. 

“Alien does not mean from another dimension.” Idia said, giving you a blank stare. “You’re not from another planet, you’re from a whole other universe.”

“Same difference.”

“It’s not!” Idia scoffed. He was much more comfortable with you and the others by now, though it might be due to how much you all liked to prod at him over the summer. 

“Ya-huh.”

“Nuh-huh!”

“Ya-huh!”

The two of you continued to bicker, Riddle, Vil, Jamil, and Azul watching in a mix of disapproval and mild amusement. Malleus, just darted his gaze between the two of you, much like watching a game of tennis. He was thoroughly entertained as he leaned over to Riddle. 

“Is this how humans normally interact with their friends?” Malleus asked, Riddle jumping slightly as if he forgot Malleus was even there. “My Child of Man never interacts with me like that.”

Riddle sighed as he shrugged. “It depends, they’ve always been very adaptable with everyone around them. I think the Prefect just likes to press Idia’s buttons, ever since he took us and Grim to S.T.Y.X.”

“Hey!” Idia yelled, immediately shrinking down as he realized just how loud he was being. “I mean…it wasn’t me who sent the Charon bots after you…I just ended up taking over for a bit.”

Suddenly, a wave of annoyance with a touch of amusement filled your body. 

“And then you immediately overblotted.” Leona finally spoke up, his tail swishing quickly as he shifted in his seat, eyes still closed. “Now both of you shut it. Been tryin’ to take a nap.”

Too damn loud, go back to being a shut in Radish Sprout. Leona frowned, his tail stilling as he opened an eye to look at you. “I can tell you’re listening. Stop it.” 

You jumped, as did the others, minus Malleus. Sharing a look of confusion with Riddle as your eyes met, you turned back to question Leona. 

“You can tell? How?”

“I am also wondering.” Riddle stated in kind, scooting forward in his seat. “I could only tell because of Ace’s big mouth, and from little slips of the tongue with the Prefect.”

Malleus hummed, crossing his arms and holding his finger to his chin as he tapped. 

“It feels…a bit like when someone’s eyes are on you, but you’re unsure from where. Much like the feeling of Hunt’s eyes on me.” Vil pinched his nose at that as Malleus continued. “Kingscholar, what is it like for you?”

Leona’s ear flicked, tail swishing faster, much like Lucius when he got annoyed from Idia’s pestering. 

“It’s like a certain someone being annoying, poking and prodding at you with their pencil.” Leona smirked as you gasped. He put his hand out as you crawled over to him, holding out by your forehead as you swatted at him playfully, suddenly giddy.

“I’m not annoying!” You growled, though you started giggling as Leona’s tail swiped at your neck, tickling you. “Gah! Stop! That tickles!!”

Good. You could practically hear his chuckle. 

“Too bad, now stop. Tryin’ to nap before Nurse Goethel comes in.” Leona gave you a final shove, making you fall on your behind as he sighed against the window. 

“Oof! Fine, fine!” You laid on the ground, spreading your limbs and staring at the ceiling. 

Your emotions felt like they were bouncing all over the place. At one moment, you were flooded with anxiety, another with embarrassment. Next it was amusement, then annoyance, and now you suddenly felt exhausted, like your hair was being tugged in a million different directions. 

“Can you really tell?” you tilted your head up to flit your gaze between Malleus and Leona. “No one else has said anything.”

Malleus nodded while Leona hummed in an affirmative sound.

Perhaps the others can too? Malleus’s voice echoed through your mind the same time as Leona’s, the latter almost shoving in. 

You should freak out the Octopunk, he looks like he’s gonna puke. 

You looked back at Leona, noticing a small smirk at the end of his lips, and decided to take a peek at Azul leaning against the desk next to Idia. True to his word, Azul was wide-eyed and biting on his lip, his thoughts running a mile per minute. 

Oh Neptune, they’ve heard everything. But it’s recent, right? So nothing embarrassing…but still.

Azul furrowed his brow, glancing at you as he froze at making eye contact with you. Your heart froze in what you think was panic.

“...Azul.”

“Prefect.” He replied bluntly, refusing to break your gaze with him. 

“You, uh, sounding a little concerned?”

The others looked over at his direction, Leona looking particularly amused. 

“Oh? Does the Octopunk got secrets still? I thought I got them all out of you last year, maybe I need to bring up that old picture—”

“No you don’t!” Azul raised his voice, nearly going shrill, as he cleared his throat and looked away bashfully. His face was tinted a lilac shade. “I am just concerned about the privacy of my customers, many of my surviving contracts are rather private, you know.”

You don’t get to know about any more of my personal business… Azul’s eyes lit up. That sudden feeling of panic quickly morphed into smugness. 

Prefect~ You two made eye contact again, the others’ teasing questions about Azul’s thoughts becoming background noise. If you mention anything about what you just heard, then Jade might just happen to hear about your little…invasion of privacy.

Now you were positive that feeling of panic was genuinely your own. 

“Come on Prefect, what’s got the shady asshole all tight-lipped.” Jamil was smirking as he noticed you pale. “Oh? Did he say something? Don’t be shy, share with the group. Sharing is caring, you know?”

You shook your head and got up to stretch, facing Riddle and Malleus as you did, both looking amused. Riddle had an inkling of what Azul might have suggested, as the image of Jade popped up briefly. 

Malleus was a bit more confused, though he was musing about what Azul could have on you that would keep you tight-lipped. 

Perhaps an embarrassing picture? But my human is never embarrassed, they’re quite delightful. What is it, my friend? Do you want me to stop him? I will if you ask. 

You shook your head and answered, “No Hornton, you don’t gotta do anything to him.”

“He doesn’t have to do what?” Azul asked panickedly, a similar sense of foreign panic filling you as well, looking between you and Malleus with concern. 

Ah he’s scared…I guess that’s to be expected with Mal. 

You forgot that Malleus was technically someone to be feared. It was hard to fear someone who you watched cry over a brain freeze after eating ice cream too fast at 3am on a Tuesday evening outside Ramshackle. 

 “Tch, why are you scared of the damn lizard.” Leona grumbled as snuck up behind you, crossing his arms over your head and leaning his entire weight against you. “Doing that’s only going to make his ego bigger.”

“Are you really one to talk, Leona?” Vil chuckled, frowning as he noticed you buckling. “I think you’re a bit heavy for them.”

Leona’s chest vibrated as he made a rumbling sound, lifting a bit of his weight off you to sit back down, letting you rest lean against him.

Whatever, you don’t mind, do you herbivore? You can say something if you do. 

You remained silent as each person separated into a mini-group, conversing amongst each other. Vil and Jamil were quietly conversing as Jamil looked in the cupboard Nurse Goethel kept her medicinal herbs in. 

Azul was quietly observing Idia play a game on his phone, the latter turning it slightly towards Azul. Riddle was catching up with Leona as you struggled to stay upright, updating him with how the Spelldrive team was doing. 

Though he pretended not to care, you could hear his thoughts. He was pleased, though, he smacked his tail against your leg each time you listened in too closely. 

Malleus was the only one that kept to himself, humming a lullaby that he taught you not too long ago. He seemed content. 

You turned your attention to one of the potted herbs hanging on the windowsill you and Leona were next to. It was swaying from the breeze entering the cracks of the window, you hadn’t even noticed that Leona had the window opened. 

The pot was carrying Rosarian lavender, similar to one of the varieties on Earth. Divus and Goethel had both praised lavender as a versatile herb for both nonmagical and magical uses. 

Not only was it used for cooking, in cocktails, and as a tea, but as a core ingredient for nearly every magical protection and antiblot potion, but was both soothing and healing as a medicinal. Even Vil was particularly fond of using skin products that included lavender as a core ingredient. 

You thought the smell was pleasant. It was very floral, earthy, but it was light and sweet. It reminded you of Jade, as you could always smell something green and earthy on him every time he leaned in too close during class. You also thought about the light purple magic stone on his pen, and the scarf against his skin. The lighting of the lounge against his cheeks ever since you’d been coming to Octavinelle more often to organize the details for your dorms’ Halloween collaboration. 

Hmm?

You also thought about the way it tasted in the drinks you’ve had over the last few months. How it made your coffee sweet, but your hot chocolate earthy. How much Grim whined about the taste every morning you took the potion with him. You pretend to dislike the taste, so he wouldn’t feel silly about it. 

The soft knock from the office door drew everyone’s attention, as it cracked open for a tall, pale woman to step in and close it behind her. 

It was no mistake, based on the dark red and gold nurse’s army dress and the black scrubs under the skirt, along with a name tag. 

A. Goethel, N.P.M., Nurse Practitioner Mage

Nurse Amara Goethel herself. 

“You know I could hear you all raising your voices earlier, I am meant to be completing an examination, not checking in on you.”

Goethel was a beautiful woman, her long dark brown curls tied back into a low ponytail, though she had a thick strand of white curls on her bangs. Despite this, she had a beautiful, narrow face with high cheekbones and hooked nose, so beautiful that it rivaled even the most ethereal models you’ve seen with Vil. Her face didn’t make her narrow eyes and strict gaze any less intimidating, though.

You felt yourself shiver at the sudden combination of fear, delight, and worry that enveloped your body. 

“Prince Leona Kingscholar,” You felt the man freeze at the growl in her voice. “You get off them right this second. Straighten up, I know you can be a proper gentleman.”

You made an ‘oof’ sound, stumbling as Leona quickly and smoothly stood up. From the corner of your eye, you could see the others do the same, even Idia took off his hood and went upright in his seat. 

“Yes ma’am,” Leona replied, albeit gruffly and with a disgruntled tone. He reminded you of a chastised toddler. He shifted on the windowsill again, sitting straight this time though. You decided to sit between Malleus and Riddle again, curling in and fidgeting with the train on Riddle’s dorm uniform. 

His eyes darted to you briefly. Don’t wrinkle it. You nodded. 

Goethel clicked her tongue, making her way over to Vil. “I know every single student of mine has the ability to be a gentleman, yet you all drive me insane helping you get to that point.” 

She reached out for a polite hug, the two of them sharing a greeting kiss on each cheek. 

“Hello Vil, my darling! It’s been too long!” Goethel had an almost musical sound to her voice as she chirped. “Later, you’ll just have to catch me up on how you’ve been doing at your internship.”

“Of course, Nurse Goethel.” Vil hummed, smiling fondly. “Anything for you.”

Nurse Goethel let Vil go and moved to shuffling through her desk, smoothing out her clothes as she did. 

“Now, I know that you’re taking valuable time out of your duties as interns and housewardens, especially with the Spelldrive Tournament coming up, so I appreciate you taking the time to come and meet me.”

“Well, you mentioned it was important, something about our blot preventative potions, yes?” Azul spoke up. 

Goethel nodded, reaching for a small stack of files from her drawer. Each had your names written on the tab, along with the words ‘BLOT RISK’ next to them. 

“Yes. As we found over the summer, you all are at higher risk for rapid blot accumulation due to your previous overblots and trauma. Along with the particularly…stressful year you had, we’ve been looking for more ways to decrease your risk of overblotting again.”

If only we had properly funded counselors, Crowley. You could just hear the hiss in her thoughts as she shuffled through the paperwork. She paused at yours and Grim’s files for a moment, tapping at it with fingertips. Poor things…especially you two.

“The headmage made the research project official in September. And we’ve had some interest from a few different parties and companies.”

Idia snorted and mumbled, “Like S.T.Y.X.”

“Well, officially Jupiter Enterprises, but yes.” Goethel picked up another manilla folder as she continued. “But one was of surprising interest: Empress Apothecaries.”

You noticed Vil perk up, furrowing his eyebrows. Isn’t that Yev’s…wait. Vil suddenly glared at you, snapping his fingers in your direction. 

“Stop that! Having you poke around feels strange…”

Before he continued, Vil closed his mouth as Goethel looked over to him and raised her brow. She studied him for a moment, before looking towards you. 

“My love, leave dear Riddle’s clothing alone. Fidgeting is unbecoming.” She spoke softly to you, a gentle smile on her face. 

A nervous chuckle left your throat. “Sorry, nervous habit.” 

Tch, totally not fair that Ms. Goethel has her favorites. You could just imagine the annoyed look on his face, but Idia was looking at his hands, which were also fidgeting with his sweater. If I bounce my leg or pick at my hands, it’s “unbecoming” and “yOu’Re oF a hIGh StAtUS fAAAmIlY, Idia Shroud”. But if youuuu do it, it’s “my loooove~” and—HEY. STOP THAT PREFECT!

The flames on his head briefly turned brighter as he frowned, rubbing at his temples. 

“That does feel weird…” he mumbled, loud enough that Goethel turned her attention to him. She studied Idia for a moment, making the poor man freeze in fear.

“Relax, Idia.” She murmured, resting her chin on her folded hands. “What feels weird, was something missed on the exam?”

Idia’s face slowly started turning red and he shook his head, briefly glancing at you before looking down at his hands. 

Goethel’s gaze remained on him, before flitting over to you. Her brown eyes 

“Darling, explain.”

You bowed your head, looking up at Goethel with a guilty expression. 

“You know how after graduation last year, I talked to Crowley and you about my ‘condition’?”

Goethel raised her brows, still watching you like a cat with a mouse. 

“The one he requested you keep to yourself? You told them?”

“Well, I told Ace and Deuce…” You pouted, gesturing your head to Riddle. “Riddle noticed, and he told the others.”

Wait, Prefect you were supposed to keep it secret? Riddle sighed, rubbing his forehead in a frustration you could just see and feel radiating off him. Are you kidding me?

“Ah, I see.” Clicking her tongue, Goethel shook her head in exasperation, but smiled. “Well, considering the nature of your magic, it’s probably for the best that the people in this room are aware.” 

Goethel reached into her pocket, pulling out a vibrating phone and tapping it. Looking at it, she remained quiet as she stood back up, slipping all but Grim’s files back in her cabinet. You heard a click of a lock as she tapped it with the end of her wand. 

“Grim is almost done with the rest of his check in, I need to go back and make sure everything is okay.” She slipped pass Idia and Azul, briefly patting the former’s head as she did. “Ortho’s been very through as a student nurse, you should be proud Idia.”

You could feel something soft and soothing fill your head and Idia’s thoughts, a pleasant warmth growing until you felt warmth wrapping around you like a warm blanket coming out of a dryer.

“I’ll be back and we will discuss, now please behave yourselves.” 

With a click of her heels and the shutting of the door, your group remained silent, like they were waiting to be sure she was gone before speaking. 

“...So do all the faculty know?” You shifted uncomfortably as Jamil started speaking, the red feather in his hair following his movements. “It’s not surprising the headmage told you to keep it secret, psychics are rare and highly sought after by governments and royals.”

He tapped a finger to his chin, huffing as he continued. “I’ve heard stories about children being taken by soldiers once they showed signs of premonition, but Crowley probably cares less about that and more about using you for himself.”

You cringed at that, making a face at Jamil. “Well, I’m not super good at the premonition parts anyway, my dreams are more jumbled than anything.”

“That’s true,” Vil let out a soft chuckle as he nodded in agreement. “I remember when you tried to explain the dreams to Rook and I last spring, it sounded more like you were retelling a fairy tale than giving warnings of dark times.”

A memory of you, waving your hands around and using Epel like a prop in a play flashed through your mind, along with a sense of fond amusement. 

“Personally,” Jamil interrupted, looking (and feeling, you think) rather apprehensive. “I don’t like the idea that someone can listen into my head. Something as invasive as that should have been shared.”

“Well, I mean it’s not like you share your signature spells with everyone, I mean yours is basically mind control…” Jamil bristled at your comment, making you shrink in. “...I just mean it’s not that different from you.”

“I’d say it’s very different.” Azul replied, which was met with murmurs of agreement from Idia and Jamil. “No offense meant to you Prefect, but we have a right to keep our personal thoughts to ourselves, and using our signature spells on others have led to consequences. Yours does not, and I think we all deserve to know about that.”

You shrank further into yourself, making yourself smaller against the couch. Clenching Riddle’s train in your hands, you tucked your feet under your legs, feeling like a child being discussed at a parent-teacher meeting. 

Leona snorted at the others, stifling a laugh. “Are you so insecure that you’re afraid of the lil’ Herbivore of all people? You know, the one that you three,” he waved a finger at Azul, Jamil, and Riddle as he continued, “are supposed to look after?”

Pathetic, they couldn’t even harm a fly. Not a backbone in that entire body. 

A small offended noise made its way out of your throat as you started to fidget again with Riddle’s train.

He wasn’t necessarily wrong, but it just reminded you how most of the students viewed you: the helpless Prefect with the trouble making direbeast. 

Someone who needed to be cared for, to be watched over, to be tended to like a child that knows no better. 

I get that they worry…that they feel bad…but I can take care of myself. 

You felt Riddle’s hand cover your own, clenching his train tightly in your grasp. He gave you a squeeze as he narrowed his eyes at Leona. 

Yeah, yeah! Riddle knows it! He’s known me longer than anyone else in this room, he knows!

“I care for the Prefect immensely, as such I’ve done my duty to my friend and more, before anyone else here, I helped them!” Riddle spoke with a firmness that made your heart sink. 

“They’ve done well and have had nothing to worry about with my guidance, I’ve taken responsibility for my actions.” He wrinkled his nose as he snarked, “Unlike some of us.”

Irresponsible! An irresponsible shirk!

Leona stood abruptly, his foot stomping and tail whipping. His ears were pinned to his head as he growled, “You want to say something, Rosehearts? Then say it.”

Self-righteous little prick! 

Riddle stood as Leona did, his hand ripping out of your grasp as he raised his head at the other man. 

“All I’m saying is that some of us have taken effort and time to actually care for our friend, unlike some of us who dropped them the moment they could—”

“They ain’t a baby and I’m not a babysitter!” You uptight brat! “Besides, just because I don’t coddle them doesn’t mean I don’t do my part. I’m only doing what’s required, nothing more!”

Vil scoffed and shushed the two as their voices rose. “Can you two please quiet down? I refuse to be scolded because you can’t behave yourselves. And don’t lump me in with him, Riddle. I do my part.”

Someone here has to make sure they actually know how to take care of themselves—

Idia let out a snort, causing Vil to glare at him as his flames burned brighter in embarrassment. 

“What? What in the world could you possibly have to say? You’re here as well, after all that talk about working with Jupiter Enterprises, and yet you got stuck here due to what your magic did to them. And you don’t even do anything to make up for it!”

“Eh? Says the guy sending makeup and fancy skin lotions! How’s that supposed to help?”

Make them too pretty to cry? Ridiculous!

A pain shot up the side of your head as different voices started to pile up in your mind and ears. The overlapping sounds felt like pins being driven against your temples and between your eyes, like they were begging to burst from your skin and bleed out for space. 

“It’s self-care! Not just making them pretty!” N͈̉oT̐͞ t̜̽H͎A̋ͨt͒ ȳ̛̚Ö́u ẁ͎́ơ̧̓UlD͉͢ K̽n̮̙ͮOW̛̼!ͤͤ́

Fuck! My head!!

The saliva in your mouth turned hot and the back of your throat feeling uneasy, like something was trying to slither out of your stomach. 

“I do have to say, getting the Pr͎̀͞ë͇́̋f̰̒̐ẹcṭ’s͈ a̋b̵͆iͮͨlḭ̙͈t̆̓ïȩ̫s͎ͤ under control is more co_̷̶n̲̋c͗er̟̜͒n̒͊̌iͧn͕̦̮g͔ than—”

Shut up! I gotta—T̤Ḣ͎̥͌e̼̩̩͎̋͞ͅ p̴̡̯͙OͯͮU͓͑́́̚nD̨ͫ̉ͫ͟I͔̓̕͡ͅŃ̮̿g̷̹͇̙̔̔! IT WON’T STOP!

The thrumming against your head grew harsher and harsher, that putrid taste of bile growing along with the sounds. With the pressure—what was that pressure growing in the room? 

O̳͚̽h͕̝͎̞̓̌ͮ p̋l̲̻͒ẹ̭̻ͬ͌̉͢a͙͎̜ͪ͋ͅse̫̔̑.̱̫͈͌͒ “Under control? Maybe under your thumb—”

Child of man?

_ M̠ͦal̘? ṀÅ͜L̵̬͋L̺̞E͈̮͗U͕͖̲S̰̱ͥ!͙ M̸͐̒A̶ͤK͆E I̮̅͜T͑ S̶̸̶̝̦ͯ̃ͯ͌̏͞Ţ̧͖͇ͧͧͧO̝̯P̢̡̝̖͒̓ͮ͠ 

“Don’t impͩͅl̊y̢͍ t́hin̺̒g̱s̵ͤ,̢ͪ Jamil, and you’re one to tal_̈k̨̩͡,̳ͮ͘ especially with your s̨̓i͛g͐̐n̑ͤa̓tṵré̪ s̴̨̬͍̜̳͖̃̀̕p̑̈ͯ͡_eļ̼̯ͣ͊̐ͮ͑̅̈́l.”

Are you a͒̀l̈r͡ig͆̔̽h̵̀t̰̄̃?

IͨT͓ H̖͓Ṳ̀ͮR͕̈́ͥT͗́̕S̮͑ M̠̔Y̘̗͊ H̫EAͬͪ͞D̯̂ I̛͇T̈͛ H̡̚U̗RṰ͐S̩͈̽ AG̬A̧̟I͉̺N̍̏!͈͋  

“Look who’s talking now! I should c̱hop͛ yoͬ̈u up into a s̵̐̈́e̲a̔̕fó̷̘o̡̓ḑ͡—”̄

I̓ͬ́ CA͔Ñ͕ Fͦ E̜ E̡̢̙ L͔̊_ Ȅ̪ V E͓̓̃ R Y T H̗̲ͮ I͉ͤ̇ N̪̝ͣ G 

“̈ȘͮH̎ͅŰ͢͜T͂̅̾ U̵͜P!̞”͊ͫ̐

A piercing, high pitched sound rang through all your ears, like someone rang a whistle straight into them, as everyone cringed in pain. As you clutched your head and collapsed on the ground, an inky, black liquid leaving your mouth along with the bile you puked out. 

“(NAME)!” You think you heard Malleus yelling your name, but it merged with a bombarge of thoughts and cries from everyone else. Frankly, you couldn’t tell what was in your head and what was actually being spoken. 

Two hands moved your hair out of your face, holding it back as someone else used a cold, wet cloth to wipe your mouth clean. As you blinked your eyes open (when did I close them?), a purple light was radiating from your left, you think it was Vil’s magic. 

“Is that blot with their puke? I thought the potion was supposed to reduce blot?”

“It is, it is for me anyways.” 

You’re pretty sure it was Riddle who was holding the cloth to your face while Malleus was holding your hair back and hovering a protective arm around your midsection.

“No matter, they feel feverish, we should help them cool down.”

“Should I call Goethel over?”

A loud, resounding “NO!” made you flinch again, another hand reaching over to cast a cooling spell to soothe you. 

“Ahem.” The bickering immediately quieted, an unamused Goethel at the doorway, with Grim and Othro peeking behind her, looked at the panicked group over you. “Are you all quite done?”

Stutting over as a force to be reckoned with, each man quickly backed away to give her space, all except for Malleus who remained holding you. 

“Draconia, lift their head for me.” You felt a slender hand gently push your chin up as Goethel pressed the tip of her wand against your forehead. 

It was warm. Like the sun itself was covering you in a blanket. 

“Take deep breaths.” That’s it my dear. “Hear my voice.” Focus on my thoughts.

Memories flashed through your head. Two little girls, one with black hair and the other with golden. A tall woman covered in intricate tattoos and piercings warmly smiling. One of a younger VIl with longer, braided hair eagerly watching as Goethel stirred a cauldron and spoke in soft, sweet tones. 

That’s it, it’s safe. You’re safe. “Let’s get some water in you. Gentlemen, could one of you grab the water bottle in my bag? It’s under my desk.”

You heard some shuffling around, Malleus helping you back up onto the couch behind you. Finally opening your eyes, you saw Riddle holding a water bottle up to you, hands hovering as you took it and chugged down as much cold water as you could in one go. 

“S-slow down! You’ll choke.”

Ignoring your friend, you continued drinking as much as you could, water spilling from the corners of your mouth, until you could crush the plastic between your hands. 

Finally taking a breath and feeling clear air in your lungs, you opened your arms for a teary-eyed Grim, who’d been inching closer and closer to your feet. 

(Name)...

He obliged, hopping into your arms and pressed the top of his head against your chin. 

“I noticed something was wrong when Grim suddenly started coughing blot. Now what in the world did you seven do to them?”’

An immediate cry amongst the group made you flinch, voices overlapping once again. 

“Quiet.” 

Like soldiers hearing a command from their superior, everyone immediately shut their mouths, watching Goethel and holding their breaths as if she’d be set off. 

“Now, one at a time, Vil.” She nodded at the blonde who nodded back. “What happened?”

“We were all having a bit of a…’friendly’ argument when the Prefect suddenly dropped and started throwing up…blot of all things.”

Riddle spoke up next to you, though he spoke softly, like you would spook like one of his hedgehogs. 

“It seemed that the more, ah, aggressive our conversation got, the more sick the Prefect became. I’m not sure what exactly—”

“The other’s magic fluctuated as their emotions grew, it had an adverse effect on them.”

The others looked at Malleus in surprise and a bit in awe, you think you heard Jamil whisper to Azul, “he can sense that?” Though Leona snorted. 

“Obviously, no surprise the rest of you couldn’t sense it.”

You finally looked up at the group, furrowing your eyebrows in confusion.

“What are you…”

“A mage’s magic is connected to their emotions and mental state.” Goethel sighed as she patted your head, walking to sit at her desk. “Your magic is especially sensitive to other’s emotional state, hyper-empathetic if you will. Bring these seven in, and you have even more for your magic to source.”

You’re just permanently stuck being interconnected to them.

Lacing her hands together and resting her chin on top, Goethel gave all of you a weary look. 

“As we’ve seen it, the current blot preventative is just that, a preventative. Most of you have had minimal blot production, but you also produce far more than safe when stressed, especially compared to the average mage.”

Far more? But we’ve been doing so well!

“W-what do you mean far more? I thought we were doing well?” Idia looked sick at the thought of overblotting again, though the others didn’t look too hot either.

Goethel looked off to the side with a sad look as she explained. “You do, for the most part. But the trauma of the events has left a permanent scar on your brain. Combined with the fact that the overblots practically happened one after the other, the PTSD keeps you all at a constant state of fight or flight.”

You felt both of your friends next to you tense, a sense of overwhelming dread, not your own, filling your senses.

“You either produce little blot, or far too much of it. The issue with the current potion is that it only removes excess blot for everyday use. Say that something happens that requires significantly more magic and energy, you’d be at an increased risk of a much more deadly overblot.”

Silence. All of you looked down to the ground, Goethel’s words leaving a bleak feeling in the air. As your group processed her words, Goethel took the opportunity to bring her files back up from the cabinet and filter through her papers. 

“With this in mind, we may have a solution to not just reduce your overall blot at the end of the day, but also gradually reduce the amount you produce.”

Goethel gestured for Ortho to come forward, offering him a small stack of papers. As she continued speaking, Ortho handed a sheet to each of you. 

“Something to help bring the hormones in your brain back to balance. And something to help (Name) manage the massive influx of magic they receive through the day.”

Perking up, you eagerly took the paper from Ortho and moved Grim higher in your arms to read the large font at the top of the page: 

EMPRESS APOTHECARIES MEMO: Night Raven College Blot Preventative Project TOPIC: Arcanoexcreta Regulator PROJECT LEAD: Yev Quispe  

“Huh, I didn’t know Yev was—”

“Oh no, absolutely NOT!” You jumped, both from the sudden urgency in your veins and from Vil’s raised voice. 

“I must protest, I was Yev’s housewarden for a single year and the sheer lack of care and foresight of his ‘experiments’ that one year—it could only bode danger for us, especially for the Prefect!”

Vil’s memories of a younger Yev leaving an alchemy room on fire, an explosion in one, Yev covered in hot pink sludge in another, and a last one of Yev giving some random Pomefiore student a pink, unlabeled vial. Vil’s dread filled your own body as the student screamed in pain as their bones and skin snapped and conformed until they were turned into a...llama? Yev only shrugged until Vil came up to him and smacked his forehead.

Goethel sighed, getting up and waving her wand to bring forth a cauldron at the corner of the office, her cabinets opening and pouring different ingredients in. You recognized them for the materials needed for your usual preventative potion. 

“Yev also has made significant progress in the project, and as heir of Empress Apothecaries, he’s made the most donations towards research.” 

No doubt to have the most say in how the project goes. Still…

“As experimental as Mr. Quispe is, I’ve taken a look at what he’s been playing with, and it has promise. I really suggest that you all just have faith. What do you say my dear (Name)?”

Surprised filled your features as you looked at her expectant face, waiting for your answer.

Yev’s a bit of a jerk, but he’s pretty talented in potionology….

“I think it might be worth a try, I’m not opposed to it—”

Riddle scoffed, “Of course you do. Prefect, I care for you but you have no sense of danger.” He flinched at the glare Malleus turned to give him.

Still, he gave Malleus a defiant look and continued. 

“Am I wrong? They’ve had barely a full year of magical education, and during that year they’ve simply gone with what others have said. Can’t blame them for that, but still.”

What did Cater say once, you ‘go with the flow’.

Riddle wasn’t wrong, you tend to go with whatever others told you to do. It comes with the territory of not being from this world. 

The others were fully aware of this fact. At least, they were now. Riddle and Malleus were the only ones that you had explicitly told of the fact. The others had inklings, but never had confirmations until later on. 

You suppose that’s why they tended to take the lead on things regarding you and anything magic related. Even now, when you were a proven mage, they spoke on your behalf. 

You weren’t sure how you felt about that. 

“I agree with Riddle. Are you positive this is a good idea? Not that I’m doubting your decisions, Nurse Goethel!” 

Jamil rapidly backtracked at the look Goethel gave him as he questioned her. 

“It’s just that, well it’s really experimental, and we’ve all been doing fine on the current blot preventive potion…I don’t see a need to change it.”

The others nodded in agreement, each of them sitting in their respective seats as they waited for Goethel to finish making the latest batch of potion. The lavender buds on the window sill matched the purple color and floral scent of the potion.

“Besides that, Yev’s potion is for a class project, is it not?” Vil piped up, moving over to assist Goethel, like it came naturally to him. “Leave it at that, then. We’ve been doing just fine with the current preventative, it’s already highly experimental as it is…”

The room jumped as Goethel flicked her wrist, making the cupboard slam harsher than usual, turning to narrow her gaze at the 8 of you. 

The rest of you curled into yourselves, Leona especially avoided her gaze, images of his sister-in-law with a similar look floating in his head. Except for Idia, who decided that focusing on his phone and earbuds in hand was ideal. 

He also went with the flow like you, though that was more so he wouldn’t be bothered. 

“Are you doubting my abilities, Mr. Viper? Mr. Rosehearts? Mr. Schoenheit?” Goethel hissed through gritted teeth. She’d always been stricter on the others than you.

“Did I not take you under my wing since your first year? Did I not mentor you? Did I not give you access to my stock of poisons and herbs? And yet, you are doubting my abilities? My insight? My medical expertise?”

Vil shook his head and smiled politely. “Of course not, Nurse Goethel, it was a slip of the tongue. I completely trust you and your expertise, I just meant that these types of potions aren’t necessarily something I’d trust a student with making.”

Goethel relaxed, gesturing for Vil to help her at the cauldron. He followed, quickly and easily following in her steps with no words exchanged. 

“While it’s true that he is using it as part of the potionology project that dear Riddle and (Name) are in, I think having the two of them observe and report back to me would counter any concerns that I’d normally have.”

It was fluid, hypnotic, almost dance-like as the two worked around each other. Hands exchanging vials, the wave of a maroon-stoned wand, the soft mutterings of a spell. Even a soft glowing aura was leaving their hands as they worked. 

A reminder of just how much more powerful, adept, they were compared to you. 

“I understand, but do you really think I’d give you any potion without checking it myself? What a ridiculous notion.”

The rest of you relaxed again as she preoccupied herself with her potion making. She had a box full of empty vials labeled with each of your names floating from her closet to the table, though Malleus and Idia had bigger vials than the rest of you.

“What have you guys been taking with yours?” You’d taken to sitting criss-cross on the floor, Grim settled on your lap while Malleus remained behind you on the couch.. 

“Tea, a herbal one before I go to bed.” Riddle answered first, settling back into his seat. “The flavor matches best.”

“Water, myself.” Vil went second, handing Goethel different times as she made her batch. Jamil nodded along Vil and made a comment. 

“Same, it’s best to take medications with water anyways.” 

“Sure, sure, but have you had it with a charged lemonade? I could chug those forever” Idia sighed, his thoughts filled with the image of some cafe’s large pink lemonade. “I can’t believe they’re discontinuing it…”

“Didn’t 3 people die because of how high the caffeine content is in those?” Leona replied, ear flicking in your group’s direction as he watched the few students walking around outside. 

“Ya, but it’s not my problem that they’re too dumb to realize that their stats just can’t handle the lemonade. There’s a label on it for a reason. Besides, they had like 5 in one sitting, I only had three!”

“How do you not have a heart condition, Idia?” Jamil sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Instead, he decided to turn to you instead and ask, “What about you, Prefect? Malleus? What do you two take.”

Malleus grew a small, soft smile, gesturing to you. “My Child of Man comes up with different combinations, and we try them together to see what is best. We’ve been doing mostly espresso-based drinks as of late, I have to say though it’s not my favorite…”

The others looked a mix of surprise and mild amusement. Each of them certainly had their own opinions. 

How sweet, I never imagined Malleus having such a soft spot for the Prefect. 

Aw, that’s quite cute, I understand what Rook was saying about you two being a sweet match. 

Ew, with the lizard? Seriously? I know you’re listening. Herbivore: get better standards.

Damn. I thought he’d be lonely forever, just like meeee…F-M-L…

I’m surprised that Malleus never came after us for how we treated you Prefect, did you sugarcoat the fact that I launched you to your death in the desert? I don’t know if I should be thankful or concerned. 

However, Azul’s thoughts were preoccupied with other concerns. You thought it would be about a certain eel, you were expecting it, actually. Instead, a pink-haired, lanky boy popped into your head. 

Ugh, now that I’m really thinking about it… Dammit Aspen! Do you even realize the trouble you’re probably bringing to yourself? Are you lying to me when you say everything is fine at Ramshackle? You must be, there’s no way the Prefect isn’t upset, I know how you are! I know what you think! How am I supposed to protect my little brother if he’s too stubborn to tell me anything!?

You could just feel the anxiety radiating off him as different scenarios of Aspen getting bullied and picked on by the other student in Ramshackle ran through his head like a train wreck. 

Suddenly, like he’d been poked by a hot metal stick, Azul snapped up to glare at you. 

ACK! Stop it! You’re making my brain itch, how do you even—just stop listening!

You made a popping sound with your lips, looking back down at Grim to scratch at his forehead. 

“Mmm, can we still get that cav-ee-ar later with Hornton?”

Malleus looked at you in curiosity as you leaned over to murmur to him.

“Grim wants me to ask you to buy us fancy food from the Mostro Lounge. We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Malleus smiled and gave a soft caress to the back of your head. 

“Is that what you’d like?”

Shrugging, you opened your mouth to reply when Goethel suddenly cleared her throat. Looking at her, she’d already separated the potion into the various vials, now all floating above her head. 

“It’s done. You’ll return in one month once again for your next batch. Hopefully by then, we can choose a select few of you to test the new potion. Once you’ve checked that you’ve received all 30 doses, you can leave.”

The group of you all eagerly grabbed your vials, some like Leona and Idia just taking them and leaving, while Riddle, Vil, and Jamil all double-checked to ensure they had the correct amount.

Azul, surprisingly, also left without checking the count. You saw an image of Jade, looking fondly at some sort of flower in a makeshift greenhouse, flash through your mind as he bolted out of the room at surprising speed. 

Child of Man. “Here.” Malleus grabbed your attention by holding your share of the potions in his left hand, gesturing for you to take them. 

“I already counted for you. Now I believe you were wanting to eat at Ashengrotto’s establishment, correct?”

Getting up with an eager Grim squirming in your arms, now chattering about fancy fish and drinks, you smiled and shrugged. 

“Yes they do! Henchhuman wants fancy food, right? Right?!”

Cav-ee-ar! Sashimi! Crab and lobster! Gimme all of it!

“Ah, if you don’t mind Hornton, I’m happy with whatever.”

Malleus tilted his head at you and smirked, chuckling to himself as he offered an arm for you to grab. 

“Then we shall get lunch, if not to at least sate your beastie’s appetite.”

Grim cheered as he pranced out of the office, not unlike a kitten. You and Malleus followed in a comfortable silence as you made your way to the Hall of Mirrors.

You sighed leaning against Malleus’s side as you two walked. It was now midday, so most students were in their rooms relaxing and eating lunch, leaving you three to take a private walk. 

“Are you alright, my Child of Man?” Malleus murmured, titling his head as his eyes wandered over your form. “You seem tired, are you sure you’re dealing with your magic adequately?”

Nodding, you looped your arm around his left, swinging it back and forth. He let you, his arms going slack as he chuckled to himself.

Silly human. 

“You like that I’m silly, it’s why you keep me around~” You teased, giggling as he suddenly moved you to twirl in front of him. “Besides, I’m handling everything just fine.”

Even just now? A memory from just a moment ago of you hunched over on the ground as Malleus watched in horror as puke mixed with blot made you sick. You think you could feel Malleus’s panic from the memory as well. 

“Ugh, can you think of something else? The memory makes me feel sick…did you feel sick when I did that?”

Malleus frowned, looking away guiltily at Grim, who was far enough ahead of you guys happily prancing down the path that he couldn’t hear you two. 

I apologize. “You’ve always been particularly empathetic, I forget that translated rather harshly into your magic.” 

You wrinkled your nose at that. “Yeah, it’s weird feeling feelings that aren’t my own. Only happens when all of you are with me though.”

Hmm, that’s something I suppose. “Better than having you get overwhelmed everyday. Are the three young ones good at being mentors to you? You seem rather close to Rosehearts.”

“Yeah!” You smiled, giggling as you saw Grim tapping his food impatiently at the Octavinelle mirror. “He’s a bit overbearing sometimes, but overall he means well.”

Good, as long as they are taking care of you. It’s the least they can do. 

“Horns…” You clicked your tongue, finally entering the mirror and into the dorm’s waters. The bubble was larger than usual, accommodating Malleus’s tall stature. “I’m not a child you know…you would sneak away from Silver and Sebek all the time so I don’t know why you also think I need to be taken care of like one!”

“Nyah! Yeah! My henchhuman only needs me!” Grim proudly puffed up his chest jumping back onto his usual spot on your shoulder. 

“Of course, that’s not what we really mean, my Child of Man.” Malleus pouted, following you to the entrance of the lounge where a random Octavinelle student was working at host. 

Your friend seemed oblivious to the other student’s awe and fear on his face as they rapidly gathered two menus. 

“I just want to feel secure that we all do our part to ensure your success in our world.” To repent…

You opened your mouth to retort, but you were interrupted by a familiar clearing of the throat. 

“Prefect! Grim! Malleus! How wonderful for me that you all decided to drop by!” Azul had a big smile on his face, though you could tell it seemed strained. 

He took the menus from the worker’s hands, waving them away which they were more than happy to do. 

“I was just going to call for you, my dear (Name). Shall I have Floyd take the other two to your table while you and I go to my office to discuss certain, personal matters?”

Grim bristled on your shoulder, sticking a tongue out at Azul, then yelping as Floyd suddenly popped out from behind Azul with a grin. 

EEP!

“Heya Baby Seal! Let’s take you and Sea Slug to a real nice table, the boss gotta talk to Shrimpy for a bit.” Floyd giggled as he took the menus from Azul’s hand, strutting over with his signature lazy grin. 

Malleus hummed, narrowing his eyes at the other two as Grim did his best to hide behind you. 

“I’d rather spend my short amount of time here with my friend, perhaps we can join you?”

Is it something that can wait, Child of Man?

“I’d rather meet with them one-on-one, it’s about a particularly…personal matter. Wouldn’t you say, Little Pearl?”

An image of Jade once again popped into your mind as Azul gave you a polite smile.

“Well? I’m sure you understand, it won’t take long at all.”

Huffing, you gestured for Malleus to go as you handed him a whiny Grim, who’d taken to digging his claws into your cape. 

“It’s fine Hornton, I’ll try to be quick, just get me some water.”

Alright. He nodded, as Grim cried out. 

“Noooooo! Don’t let them anemone you like me! Stay strong henchhuman!”

You felt bad hearing Grim’s cries, but focused on following Azul, who remained rather quiet, only audibly though. 

Now that I know for sure you can hear me, please be calm. I’d rather not have a rampaging dragon in my restaurant due to a misconstructed reaction. 

Huffing once again, you crossed your arms as Azul opened the door to his office and gestured for you to enter with a flourish of his arm.

You took your usual seat on the right side couch, closest to the desk as Azul took his own seat. Taking his overcoat off and gently folding it over the chair, along with his scarf and hat on his desk, Azul heavily sighed. 

Crossing his fingers together and resting his chin on top, Azul finally spoke.

“Now, (Name), let us talk about our mutual friend, yes?”

comments and reblogs appreciated 🩷

[un-unavoidableanxiousball]

Excuse me, Mr. Loaf Man?

Masterlist²

Rating: Mature

Fandom: Squid Game

Pairing: platonic: Salesman x Reader,

Characters: Salesman, Reader, background homeless people, parents - mom and dad,

Tags: gn!child!Reader, compassionate!Salesman, still unhinged!Salesman, abusive parents, angst, fluff, comfort, 2nd person POV, Reader's POV, alternating POV, 3rd person POV, Salesman's POV, Reader is a single child, obsessed!Salesman,

Warnings: spousal abuse(implied), child abuse, starvation, force feeding, yelling, child negligence, vomiting (mention), Reader is locked in a closet as punishment, cuss word(s) (I think)

Summary: 10 year old Reader prefers spending their time in a park. They can keep themself entertained. Sometimes they see a man walking around, talking with homeless people. After a couple of times, they decide to approach him.

Word count: 6075

Acronyms: (y/n) - your name, (f/n) - father's name, (m/n) - mother's name

A/N: Pretty sure there's dubious pacing; mind any possible grammatical errors or accidental shift of Reader's gender.. Tell me if I missed a tag; I'm weird and I can't write

A/N: I was the one that made the childish drawing above on my tablet. Just for this fanfic. I just edited it a little to look like it's a child showing it (hands are from google). I tried to make reader neutral looking but I couldn't manage. But it's the thought that counts. Don't copy without tagging me.

Reader's POV

You make your way to the nearby park, again. You sort of can't wait, you hope that the kind man will be there today as well. For days you've been bracing yourself how to approach him.

On days when your mom can't immediately pick you up from school, — tuesdays, thursdays and fridays — you learned to keep yourself busy. Your favorite place is at the park. Nobody bothers you there. And one day you saw a man in a suit with bags in each hand. He went up to every homeless man and woman handing out something. You couldn't see it from so far away. No one looks at homeless people. But he does, so he must be kind.

If he's willing to talk to them then maybe he'll talk to you too? No one really likes you either. You don't have any friends. And dad certainly thinks of you as too revolting to look at.

After that day you went to the park every time mom runs late. Keeping an eye out for him. He wasn't always there. But you felt better after getting a glance of him. Also you kept shortening the distance from which you were watching him.

But now you are ready. You didn't have to wait long after arriving. You basically rush up to him and before you can chicken out you speak. "Excuse me, sir…?"

He turns to look at you, his expression a little irritated and curious at being interrupted. A raised eyebrow and a short "Yes?" is enough to make you continue.

"What do you have in those bags, sir?" you ask tilting your head.

He considers you for a moment then he opens one bag, curtly replying "Bread."

You feel your eyes widening at the amount of packaged loaves. Is that what he always offers others? You look up at him eagerly, "Can I have one, please?"

To your astonishment he agrees and lets you take it. "Gamsahabnida, sir." [Thank you, sir] With that you rush back to your spot on the bench.

You happily eat while you see him going through every person. After the last man, he then walks and stops in the centre of the pavement. He does something you didn't see before nor expect. He empties both bags to the ground, bread lands on the ground. And when a man crouching, reaches for one. He stomps on it.

"I gave you a chance, and you made your choice." His voice is loud enough for you to clearly hear what he's saying. "I'm not the one who threw these away." He points to the ground, "It's you, ladies and gentlemen."

And then he starts jumping and crushing the bread. You keep nibbling on your loaf but it does nothing to calm your beating heart at the familiar sight. You know very well it's a reasonable punishment for not eating. You don't understand how they could keep denying the bread to the point that today the kind man had enough of them. You're happy you managed to get one loaf from him.

You keep your gaze down on the ground in front of you. There's still plenty of time until mom can finally drive you home.

So you decide to do your homework. You were already half-way done when lesson ended. You were putting the last touches when a shadow falls on you and your notebook. You glance up to see loaf man staring intensely at you. Does he want to sit here?

Your cheeks flush with shame, you scramble up to pack everything. "S-sorry, sir."

He grabs your wrist to stop you from packing up further. "It's fine. I don't mind." He gives you a small smile. "If I may ask… Why are you here? Where are your parents?"

You hug your exercise book to soothe yourself. "At work. Mom doesn't pick me up until later." A bit of silence passes that you break quietly. "Thank you again for the bread. It was delicious."

In softened voice and a bit slowly the man speaks, "Did I frighten you little one? Are you scared of me?"

You're pinching and rubbing the book cover in a soothing motion. You look at the ground which is when you notice he still has the paper bags but this time containing stomped on bread.

"Not really? I was a little startled when you dumped and crushed the bread… But I get it. My parents don't like it when I refuse to eat either. But usually I have to eat it when dad tells me so; even if I don't like the taste."

"Is that so?" It's told with an edge you can't pick up.

You nod your head, your grip on the book loosens.

"How old are you?"

"…ten…" Your answer is mumbled enough that the man has to lean in closer to hear it.

"You're ten?" He whispered in disbelief. He looks around as if to see if someone finds this unbelievable as well. "…and how long will it be until your mother picks you up?" His eyes jump across your face in search of something.

"It's usually 4:48 PM. Maybe minutes earlier or later. I don't mind it much. I'm a big kid."

His eyes darkened for a moment only to be swiftly replaced by softness and calmness. He sends you a charming smile. "Then you wouldn't mind my company then?"

You shake your head and that's that.

Since Mr. Loaf Man doesn't mind, you unpack again to finish the rest of your homework. He doesn't speak to you again. Just sits there, quietly observing you. After you finish every homework you had, you decide to play around. A little hide and seek. Mr. Loaf Man even played along with you! When time neared 4:30 you already have everything in your backpack and are ready to head back to your school gate. That was the moment when he offered to walk you there. He's so kind! Of course you readily agreed.

After arriving to your school, he makes sure you'll be okay alone and walks away. You only wait six minutes after that for your mom to come. You step into the car and buckle your seatbelt.

"Did you have fun at school sweetie?"

"Yes, mom. Just like always. I even got to solve an equation and write it on the board!" You say with excitement.

"That's amazing, sweetie."

...

"Mom…?" she hums, "…what's for dinner today?"

"Maybe… Baechu Guk, hmm?" You actually like it so maybe it won't be that bad today. You will lick the plate clean! And dad will be happy. It's not your favorite but at least it's not sannakji. You felt really sick after eating that. You hate it but dad makes sure you eat it everytime it's served. You can cry and scream but dad knows how to force you to swallow it. But more often than not, you throw up afterwards. And then you don't get to eat for couple days. As a way to make up for you wasting food.

Mom parks the car before your house. You quickly get out to help her carry the grocery bag. She opens the door and you make your way to the kitchen. Not before quickly taking off your shoes. In fast moves you set everything on the table and then place things in the correct cupboards (those that you can reach).

Your mom walks in, having already hung her coat. "That's okay, (y/n). I have it from here. You go to your room and do your homework, okay? Food will be ready in half an hour." She rubs your head.

"Okay mom." You go to the front door to leave your jacket on the hanger. You hurry to your room.

You only have 30 minutes to think of a gift for Mr. Loaf Man. You need to show your gratitude. It's proper.

But you don't know what he likes… A bracelet is out, he doesn't seem like the type. Besides it's more a gift for girls. A key chain? You don't know his favorite colors though, so it's out too.

A picture maybe? Nothing goes wrong there. Maybe it's a little basic… But you might be able to give him something better later on.

But you want it to look, if not good, decent enough. It has to show your gratefulness. So minutes pass as you test out different colors and positions and something always didn't sit quite right. It turns out ugly. You ended up re-doing it every time. You couldn't decide what else to draw when mom calls for dinner.

Dad already sat in his chair, his face forever frozen on expressing frustration. You join the table as mom brings food.

First portion goes to dad then mom and then to you. You wait until dad starts eating.

"(y/n), tell your dad what you managed to do today."

You nod your head, enthusiastic to share your accomplishment. Dad might be happy too. "I got to do an exercise in front of the whole class! I solved every equation correctly."

He scoffs, "What is there to be proud of? You probably forgot to do your homework."

You lower your head and focus on eating, every ounce of excitement leaving your body.

"(f/n)!"

"What?! You know I'm telling the truth! They're incompetent! Not even the top of their class." He grunts and goes back to eating.

"They're capable enough not to need help with homework. (y/n), did you manage to finish everything your teacher gave you?"

Forgetting to swallow, you answer that yes, you did. Your mother continues, "See? They did that in half an hour."

Dad growls and bangs his hand on the table. "Are you blind, (m/n)?! Did you not see what I did? How many times have I repeated myself- No talking with your mouth full! Clearly (y/n) is a useless brat! Nothing stays in that head."

You curl in on yourself further. Wishing to become invisible in this moment. But you also hurry with Baechu Guk to avoid angering him further. And because you're going to need it. As you know you can't avoid your punishment for forgetting a rule. Thankfully this time your dad decides to punish you after dinner.

Mom cleans the table while dad grips your small arm and leads you to the punishment closet. He shoves you inside. "You should know the deal. But since you're a forgetful dumbass, I'll repeat it for you." He leans closer to your face, disgust clear on his face. "You stay here as long as the number of times you broke the rules. For every disobedience is 10 more minutes. Today marks 110 minutes, congratulations. Now, quiet!" He hissed the last part. With that he slams the closet shut. You hear him lock the closet door with a key.

You're shaking all over. Alone in the darkness, dreading how long 110 minutes will feel like. You feel your tears run down your cheeks. You hope he won't forget to get you out. You won't have time to do Mr. Loaf Man that drawing otherwise… You hope that this friday he'll be there and won't mind your company again.

earlier, Salesman's POV

He's heading toward the park where most of the homeless reside. It's the latest whim of the frontman. Social experiments. As if humanity has any hope for redemption. Especially the trash. He's confident it's the fault of player 456 for this idiocy.

Arrogance seems to be a heritable trait for winners. They think of themselves as special. Player 456 with his will to put a stop to the games and player 132… well, being chosen as the next frontman and successor by the host surely went to his head.

He arrives to the park when he hears someone run in his direction. He was ready to pay them no mind. He's far more irritateable today. He keeps walking until he hears a child's voice. "Excuse me, sir…?"

Curious what a child might want from him, he turns his head to look at them. He lets out a clipped "Yes?". Though he had no intention for it to come out unkind. Apparently today the hold on his mask is far looser than he thought.

Astonishingly the child isn't deferred by his sharpness. With a tilt to their head they ask the last question he expected. Which it shouldn't have been, considering the circumstances.

"What do you have in those bags?"

He considers for a moment what to do. Ignore, not ignore, lie or not. But he sees no harm in answering truthfully. He shifts his hold to open one of the bags so the child can see inside. He says "Bread." with more stable tone, but still has some curtness to it.

He sees their eyes widen with wonder. Their mouth goes slack in shock. They look back up at him in seconds asking if they can have one.

He agrees. One package less won't interfere with overall choice of the less fortunate. There's always more than enough bread left over. Not many choose food over a lottery ticket.

They rush off after saying "Gamsahabnida, sir!". And he goes about his routine. He approaches men, among which only one chose to take the packaged bread and immediately inhaled it. The few women there are a different matter. Within the four only one chose lottery. It always seems like females are smarter in that regard. It's never enough though.

But today, there was something about their choices that kept adding fuel to his already bad mood. He stops in the front, puts down his suitcase and the bags. Then he takes one bag after the other and spills their contents to the ground. Homeless crowd moves with confused apprehension. He pays them no mind.

He feels a twitch of apathy at the quantity. This pile of bread shows exactly why natural selection is so important. Here's proof that humanity's advancement in medicine not only helped raise quality of life, but also allowed inferior genes to survive. Some characteristics should've died out a long time ago.

"Why would you throw away perfectly good food like that?" Unbelievable. The audacity of the question. Doesn't the damn hypocrite hear himself? He declined it, preferred a hopeless chance at winning lottery over nutrition.

The revolting scum reaches for the bread. The entitlement astounds him and he won't let it stand. He crushes the bread with his shoe. But he gains no satisfaction witnessing the uncomprehending expression. "I gave you a chance, and you made your choice."

It doesn't register in their microscopic brains. His voice raises: "I'm not the one who threw these away." he point at the ground to emphasize, "It's you, ladies and gentlemen."

But he observes no shift in their expressions or postures. No change. No remorse. Nothing.

Their lack of critical thinking and absolute absence of self-awareness among them drive him into a frenzy.

He stomps and jumps with fervor, squashing as many bread buns as he can. He unleashes on these packages his tightly contained frustration and anger toward this crowd, his boss and that stupid player 456.

His energy runs out fairly quickly but he feels slightly better for it.

He presses his hands against his face, applying pressure to further ground him to the present. Tries to fix his hair then straighten his spine and tucks in the tie.

He look around to see which packages survived the ordeal. He picks up each one that did and puts them back into the bag. The ungrateful vermin don't deserve good things that's clear.

He's back hiding away behind his calm and unbothered mask. He makes a move to turn around and leave when he sees them. The same child that inquired after the bread.

They're still here? Why? If they saw his actions, why do they remain around? And… are they doing homework?!

He finds himself puzzled and his feet lead him to them automatically. He can't avert his eyes from the sight. Apparently unbothered by the scene he caused just now. He stands there casting a shadow over their book.

You startle and seem in a hurry to make space for him to sit. Except… It looks like you want to get away entirely. He doesn't want that. He takes hold of your wrist to stop you.

"It's fine, I don't mind." He aims for a reassuring smile and doesn't know if he succeeds. "If I may ask… Why are you here? Where are your parents?" Why are you alone when anything tragic can happen to you at anytime?

He notes you're a little nervous or shy but aren't hostile toward him. "At work… Mom doesn't pick me up until later." How much later? He's a psychopathic man who keeps up a facade on a daily basis just to pass as normal; and even he knows it's negligent to leave someone so small and innocent without protection. Wasn't there a saying or a quote telling children should be cherished? Is society at such a low point it's acceptable nowadays? A spark of anger lights up within him, again. Your voice brings him back from his thoughts.

"Thank you again for the bread. It was delicious." Such a polite child. He notes that you still hang on that book for dear life.

He slows his words intentionally, softens his tone to not unnerve you further. "Did I frighten you, little one? Are you scared of me?"

He observes your body, hands are shaking a little, fingers twitching at the book cover.

"… My parents don't like it when I refuse to eat either. But usually I have to eat it when dad tells me so. Even if I don't like the taste."

You answer quietly, but oh. Hearing that you not only understand his actions but your dad forces you to eat something you don't enjoy. That's a brand of cruelty that he finds distasteful. Forcing anybody to anything they're unwilling to is atrocious. At least, he manipulates and twists other's perceptions until people agree by themselves. He has enough finesse to do it the correct way after all.

"Is that so?" You only nod your head. Moreover you're not as tense anymore. Maybe that's what spurs him on to ask the next question, even if it has the ability to anger him further. "How old are you?" He leans in quickly enough to hear you say ten.

T e n .

"You're ten?" He voices his disbelief so quietly he doesn't know if he made any noise. He looks to his right then left almost looking for any possible threat because this child is ten years old and alone, left to their own devices. He's breathless for a moment, because at this discovery he feels unreasonably protective. "…and how long will it be until your mother picks you up?" His eyes take every detail of your face, hoping that it won't be long. But his hopes are crushed like the bread beforehand.

"It's usually 4:48PM…" What kind of parent leaves a child alone for 3 hours?! Truly horrible one, apparently.

"…I'm a big kid." Ohh… The instinct to kill anyone who would even dare to ruin that innocence overwhelms him for a second. He harshly tugs on his control to smile pleasantly at you, "Then you wouldn't mind my company then?"

He receives a shake of your head as an answer. It's so frustratingly easy to have your trust. How come nobody took advantage of that already, he does not know. But he will try his best to keep an eye out for you from now on.

Which he'd be doing a poor job since, at some point, you seemed to have disappeared into thin air from one second to the next. He grew alarmed instantly when he didn't see you next to him. Looking around for you or possible suspects wondering how he didn't notice anyone move. That was until he heard a giggle. He whips around to see a child's shadow behind the tree. He felt instant relief, his heart slowing it's alarming rate.

Apparently someone thought it'd be a good idea to play hide and seek without telling him. And since you're not in danger…

Well… Two can play that game.

"Little one? Where have you gone to?" Another muffled giggle can be heard. "I didn't get to become friends with you properly…" He overexaggerates his sadness. "How will I play with you when I don't even know your name little flower?" He stomps his foot dramatically, childishly, "And now you're gone and we won't meet anymore. Because I don't know how to find you…"

Now those adorable giggles turn into full blown laughter. You step away from the tree and easily run to him to hug his legs.

"You're so silly! We're already friends!" He hugs back to the best of his abilities. And says with, not even faked, surprise: "Really?! I didn't know that!"

"Besides we can meet here in the park, I come here after school, most of the time."

He feels a gentle smile on his face. Being in your presence for such a short time already make him feel lighter and his world a little brighter. Such an easy happiness. "That's good."

"Yeah, also my names is (y/n)! Now you know me." You clap your hands, excited, and go to sit on the bench again.

(y/n), what a beautiful name. I'll protect you, (y/n). No harm will come to you.

He looks at his wristwatch. 4:04. Soon you're getting home. He will walk you there.

When he asks if he can, you agree, again. Turns out he could only walk you to the school gates. Your mother picking you up with a car.

He chose to depart from you, but he stayed to observe from afar. He was displeased since it looked like the mother is malnourished as well as tired. Most of the fault lies solely on your father then. She at least looks a little overworked. It's clear your parents are unfit for the responsibility of caring for a child.

Soon (y/n) will rely on him for everything. He can't wait to meet again.

Back to Reader's POV

When you were finally let out of the closet you were tired. Emotionally drained. You couldn't draw for Mr. Loaf Man now, since you didn't have any energy. You went to the bathroom almost immediately.

Now you are laying on your bed, under the comfort of your blanket and beloved plushie. You pray you'll have time to draw something tomorrow at school. You already put your crayons in your backpack. You just need time. It doesn't even matter to you how it'll turn out. But you can't, won't go empty handed.

You fall into dreamless slumber.

And so you wake up next morning and go through the motions until you're at school. Then at breaks you sit somewhere on the sidelines, using the time to draw the most standard and boring drawing ever. First you did him then yourself. Then you drew a sun in the corner. You wrote who's who just in case. On the next break you drew the green grass and lastly the blue sky.

You're happy it's friday today. That means Mr. Loaf Man and the weekend.

When your lessons end you're in a hurry and have a slight spring in your step. You're basically vibrating with anticipation. You'll head straight to the same bench as yesterday.

But when you arrive… You gasp. He's already there waiting for you. You feel a wide grin spread on your face in happiness. When he notices you, his expression lifts as well.

"Hello (y/n). We're giddy today aren't we?"

"Yes!" You nod your head quickly a couple of times, it made you dizzy. "I have something for you, Mr. Loaf Man!" His eyes widen at that. Whether it's your nickname for him or your gift you don't know. You take off your backpack and immediately open it to reach the drawing.

"I'm sorry it's not good and not pretty enough but I was in a hurry." You hand it to him. He holds it gently as if afraid of crumbling it. He looks at it for a long time in complete silence. So much so that slowly your proud smile gets smaller and smaller. "You don't like it…?" Your voice wavers slightly under your sadness. Your blurry eyes make their way from his face to focusing on his tie.

"What-?" His voice croaks as if he didn't speak for days. "I love it."

You look up at that. "Really?" His face is unguarded. His eys are shiny, one tear already ran down his left cheek. His eyebrows are twitching as if they're unsure which way to go.

"Of course, it's just… it's been… s-such a long while since I got a gift. And one so, so lovely and meaningful as well." He open his arms offering a hug. You take him up on it. His grip on you is unyielding. "Come on, don't cry. There's no need." You hoop your arms around his neck and press your face to his shoulder. He picks you up into his lap. "I appreciate your efforts behind this, alright?" is gently whispered to your ear. You choose this moment to pat his hair, in — what you hope for — is a soothing gesture. You don't know if you succeeded since he started trembling.

He doesn't let you go for a long while. But you don't either.

When both of you are back to decently presentable — and not falling apart — you break away from each other.

"I have something for you too. Nothing as thoughtful though…" He takes the grocery bag that was next to him and reaches inside. He passes to you another packaged bread. You take it and immediately dig in. You thank him for it. "Are you going to offer food to them again? Or did you already did that today?"

He looks at you then to the homeless then back to you. "No and no. I think I'll give them a week to think over their actions, hmm?" He tilts his head in askance.

But you nod your head, "Makes sense. I do that at home too. Maybe it'll work for them too."

His eyes narrow, "What do you mean?"

"When I refuse to eat, I have to. And when i waste food, usually it's after I throw up. I don't get to eat to make up for all the wasted food." You smile up at him, "That's why I like you, sir. You're very kind and fun but you're very fair. But…" You take a thoughtful expression, "I don't get it… why refuse food? They need it after all and unlike me, it's not easily available to them. It'd be really stupid if they did the same in a week."

You focus back on the man's face only to be met with an impressed and proud expression. You feel your cheeks warm up at that look.

"You're very smart and observant, little one;" his soft voice prods at your shyness, "not everyone sees it the same way you do."

When your eyes don't lift from the ground, he speaks up again. "Do you wish to stay here or go somewhere else?"

You look up at him in question.

"What? I have some ideas…"

Salesman's POV

He finds his yesterday's behavior a little ridiculous. Moreover over a child he barely knows anything about. He couldn't put his obssessive focus towards learning more. With only their name and the fact (y/n) has horrendous parents.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't pay any attention to their mother's car registration plate. At least then he'd have a starting point. At this point in time however he can look into the school. The type of students there and the staff.

It did nothing to calm his mind.

He spent his time in bed thinking of many ways to bring them closer to him. How he should go with disposing their parents when he finally learns where you live.

The following morning he wakes from restless sleep and stayed that way throughout his day. Five people he approached to recruit and each time his hand was twitching to use the pent up energy on slapping the trash.

Arriving to the park at similar time as the day before wasn't a problem. Although he automatically sits down on the same bench. Call him overeager and impatient all you want. He has enough patience to wait for you.

And waiting for you he was. He didn't even learn if you have time to come here today.

But he shouldn't have worried, he sees your small form approaching him with clear joy. The moment he notices you, he feels his mood improve. He's not even sure if he manages to contain his own happiness over your eagerness.

"Hello (y/n). We're giddy today aren't we?"

"Yes! I have something for you, Mr. Loaf Man!" His eyes widen at that. Loaf man? However did you come up with that? And did he hear correctly..? You brought something for him?

Quickly your backpack's on the ground and a paper's in your hands. He looks at the paper and his breathing stops. A drawing.

You made a drawing for him, of him and you. "I'm sorry it's not good and pretty enough but I was in a hurry." He can't tear his eyes away from it. He gingerly accepts it from you. Your hands did this. For him. You spent enough of your time thinking about him, in good light nonetheless, that you had to put your thoughts and feelings on paper. It's the most precious thing he came across in a long time.

"You don't like it…?" He barely catches your voice. But when he registers the insecurity in it. He finally looks at you, however it does little, because he doesn't know when he started tearing up.

"What-?" His voice croaks from the sheer pressure of emotions. But he'll sooner kill himself than make you feel inadequate, unappreciated, unloved. "I love it." You have to know that.

"Really?" Fragile hope in your voice is enough to render his tailored armor useless. How does he explain?

"Of course, it's just…" he breathes deeply, "it's been… s-such a long while since I got a gift." Does he even remember the last time? "And one so, so lovely and meaningful as well." He needs to hold you. In this moment he craves to bring you as close as he can to his normally unfeeling heart. He open his arms in invitation.

You take him up on it too.

He grips you strongly. You can't leave him. Not when you demolished his foundation, unearthing emotions he never thought he could feel. You simply can't. He'll lose himself completely.

"Come on, don't cry. There's no need." He doesn't know if it's directed at you or himself. Your small arms wrap around his neck, your face tries to bury itself in his shoulder. He picks you up to hold onto you more comfortably. He presses his head against yours. "I appreciate your efforts behind this, alright?"

His thumb moves up and down on your back. He drowns in his overwhelming love for you. That's when he feels your hand. Your fingers going through his hair, petting him.

Here he is. A monster reduced into quivering mess. Wrapped around your little finger. You're such a devious yet innocent little marvel. You don't even do this on purpose. To have him ready and willing to bend to your every whim in no time at all.

It takes a long while for both of you to calm down and for him to regain his control. You break away from each other when you're sure neither of you won't fall apart all over again.

"I have something for you too. Nothing as thoughtful though…" He reaches next to him for the bag he nearly forgot about. Since he can't trust your parents about your nutrition, he'll take it upon himself. Three hours is a long time for you to grow hungry anyway. There's no harm in providing food. You take the bread from him and with a quick thank you start eating.

"Are you going to offer food to them again? Or did you already did that today?"

He looks at you. You never even talked to them and you're concerned for them. He looks at their pathetic figures, lying, wasting away in the sun. They're undeserving of your concern. He looks back at you and your questioning expression.

"No and no." He shakes his head, he doesn't even want to think about them much less approach. Even if he knows he'll have to at some point. "I think I'll give them a week to think over their actions, hmm?" He tilts his head in mimicry of your action yesterday.

And just like the other times, you don't question his actions nor motives. You simply nod your pretty head.

"Makes sense. I do that at home too. Maybe it'll work for them too."

His eyes narrow at that.

"What do you mean?" He can feel his shackles raising. Such a dangerous territory…

"When I refuse to eat, I have to. And when i waste food, usually it's after I throw up. I don't get to eat to make up for all the wasted food."

So not only is your father shoving food down your throat… He starves you for not holding it down as well. If he ever gets his hands on that repulsive monster, he'll make sure he suffers greatly for his sins.

Your large smile grounds him away from his plans. Even if that smile shouldn't be so wide after talking about your abuse. How did your innocence survive the ordeal?

"That's why I like you, sir. You're very kind and fun but you're very fair."

Him? Fair? Kind? He's flattered you think so, but he doesn't see it. It's probably because your childish view wasn't ruined. You never saw him do anything truly monstrous. He'll make sure you don't.

"But.. I don't get it… why refuse food? They need it after all and unlike me, it's not easily available to them. It'd be really stupid if they did the same in a week." Your pout is very cute and he'd probably focus on it for longer if not for what you said.

You intelligent and observant little creature, you make him feel emotions he didn't before. He's impressed how someone so young can be smarter than the common person. Maybe there's still hope after all. You might not have been acquaintanced for long, barely a day, but he feels pride for your astuteness. He latched onto you. You're his; his light in this dark world with deceptive roads and sharp curves covered with shadows. He'll nurture that intelligence to the best of his abilities.

He sees you blush at his attention, poor thing… You must be so unused to positive attention. He won't let it continue. With a softness he didn't know he's capable of, he voices the compliments. "You're very smart and observant, little one; not everyone sees it the same way you do."

When you still don't look up, he speaks again. This time on a different topic, away from his admiration. Baby steps.

"Do you wish to stay here or go somewhere else?" It works wonders. You look up with a question in your eyes. "What? I have some ideas…

…What do you think about ice-cream?" His suggestion makes your eyes light up with excitement. His world is a little brighter for it.

He'd take you to every shop and buy you anything you'd briefly glance at if that's how you'll look everytime. Just for a chance to see your smiles again.

After ice-cream, you spent the time by simply being in each other's company. You wanted to go back to the park and so you did, but this time to a different part of it. Far away from those hopeless causes. The time flew past just as quickly as the day before. But this time when he walked you to your school's gate and left to observe from afar. He remembered to memorise the licence plate.

He can get to know you to his heart's content. But first, home.

I feel like my brand of weirdness clashed with Salesman's diffrent kind of freak; but I don't think he's too OOC..?

I hope you liked it. <3 There are other parts I have in store, but they can act as stand alone. Tell me if you want me to write them.

There's no masterlist for Squid Game yet

[starvales]

wdym i have a head dent?!

narumi gen / gn!spouse!reader

synopsis : "narumi gen is highly respected in his own division, with every officer following him with determination and every platoon leader dyeing their hair like him as a sign of respect."

content : only crack, fluff, gender neutral reader, reader works in jakdf, a few flashbacks, a little bit more on the lore side, the word beautiful is used to describe the reader, shinonome's age is just a guess, mostly shinonome pov, narumi should have his own warning fr, vice captain and platoon leaders are tired.

words : 1.7k

a/n : you can’t convince me that this man hasn’t went out on a mission with a head dent at least once-

part two of 'a cheers to our youth'

She remembers years ago, newly turned twenty, and nervously standing in front of your desk, arms crossed behind her back, posture rigid.

This would be the first time she will be meeting you in person, rather than listening to your demands through a communicator.

Now is the time to make the best lasting first impression. To prove that she is capable of handling things much bigger than an ordinary officer.

"Thank you very much for deeming me worthy of a rank review! I will not let you down!"

"Don't thank me for something as trivial as just a chance of a promotion. I know you'll do well in the future, Shinonome. The person you really need to impress is the First Captain."

You do not look up from your paperwork, and though many will see this as quite cold and rude, she's heard from numerous people that you simply do not have the time to entertain anything or anyone else within working hours.

The fact that you even spared a one-on-one meeting with her was an honour, and Shinonome will forever respect your dedication. Unfortunately, her lips move to articulate her thoughts before she could stop herself.

"I aspire to contribute to the Defence Force as much as you and Captain Narumi, Head! Please wait for me!" She slaps a hand over her mouth.

Stopping your editing to the paper before you, you look up at her in surprise at her outburst. Shinonome is swift in attempting to correct her statement.

"Uhm...! I did not mean it in that way, Head. A-Apologies for speaking out of line. I'll commence however many push ups-"

"Hahaha!" You made no move to hide your mirth and Shinonome does not know whether to be concerned or relieved at your reaction.

She curses at herself. Dammit, well done, Rin. You definitely made a lasting first impression alright. Great, now Head is gonna see you as a clown vying for their hand.

"No need for the push ups. I appreciate your passion, Shinonome. However, I am already married, so I will have to decline." It seems that you will not let her forget this. How cruel...

Wiping a forming tear at the edge of your eye, you sigh lightheartedly. "It's a good thing that you didn't say that to your Captain or else his head would blow up bigger than it already is!"

By now, the officer is bright red at her blunder before your words catch up to her. Wait, married...? Weren't you only a year or two older than her? Is she already falling behind her peers in yet another department?!

And though she does not say her thoughts aloud this time, you seem to be able to read her befuddled face too well. You hold up your hand and lift two fingers up like a peace sign, a soft smile adorning your own face.

At that moment, Shinonome realises that you are much friendlier in person compared to when you are communicating with Captain Narumi.

During missions, it was like listening to dogs fighting.

"I am two or three years older than you, I think, If I remember reading your files correctly. I just got married really young so don't worry too much about finding love or whatnot for now. Live in the present and all that." You wave off casually.

"If I may be so bold to ask..." Shinonome only now notices the metal band that you adorn around your fourth finger and shyly looks at her own twiddling bare fingers.

"Hm? Go ahead." Your focus is still on her.

"What age did you get married?"

"Eighteen."

"?!"

You burst back into laughter when Shinonome's composed and seemingly nonchalant persona crumbles and she is left there dumbfounded.

A feint 'don't mind' playfully slips out as you excuse yourself to deliver your now finished papers and pat her shoulder on your way to the door.

Shinonome finds that you will truly not let her live down her moment in your office.

Even months later, after she was proven competent and promoted to Platoon Leader. Be it during a mission, passing each other in the corridor, or in a meeting.

("Platoon Leader Shinonome, please wait for me in my office after this." / "Shinonome, please wait for the arrival of new equipment sent over by...." / "Ah, Rin. Thanks for waiting for me, traffic was atrocious today!" All of those interactions being followed by a knowing smirk.)

Despite this, the two of you have grown closer, more casual. Dare she say that the two of you were even friends.

She learnt that you are married to the Narumi Gen and that you have known him since you were children (she had always assumed those endearments he torments you with during missions were a joke).

Learns you prefer drinking iced coffee rather than hot.

You only wear shoes you can very easily slip on.

You like to make edits to documents using a purple pen rather than the standard red.

You personalise your lab coats by stitching your initials and operator number to the cuffs (swearing her to secrecy, you tell her that you also stitch Captain Narumi's initials, but instead at the cuffs, it's hidden inside the pocket over where your heart is).

In spite of your seemingly intimidating work front, you are still very much human.

(Years down the line, Shinonome has well learnt that you were never scary, or aloof, or anything of the sort. She guesses your role in the Defence Force just forces you to seem like it, given your importance.)

Shinonome also learns that you and Narumi dye each other's hair.

"Oh, this?" You motion to the groupings of fresh silver highlights in your hair. The Platoon Leader had to deliver some documents and noticed the change and decided to compliment you on it, it fits you. She asks if you had it done professionally.

It looks really nice... maybe she would suit something similar?

"No, I didn't go to a salon. You think I have the money for that sort of thing?" Yes, yes you do, Head.

"I've been dyeing Captain Loser's hair since we were teenagers, and he decided while we were touching up his roots that it's been a while since we were matching and wouldn't leave me alone otherwise. I didn't get to sleep until two last night!"

You say it with such disdain that if she were a new recruit, she would think that you meant it.

But Shinonome knew you better than that, because you could never hide the adoration that shone through your irises, or the fondness in your smile.

Perhaps, one day, she will meet someone that would elicit the same reaction when talking about her...

"He wanted to do my hair without my help so now there's a chunk of under layer hair that's all silver instead of just highlights. If you look even closer, you might see just bleached bits that he forgot to colour! He botched it!"

She would be lying if she were to say she wasn’t jealous.

You are beautiful and intelligent and considerate and sincere. And though you are not physically strong, you show your strength in a plethora of other ways, your contributions named on newspapers displayed along your office walls are evident of that. Your strategies and tactics have led many to victory and the Eastern Defence Force is as strong as ever.

Truly, you and Narumi Gen are forces to be reckoned with and Shinonome could not be more thankful to be so in reach.

She does not realise she was staring at you for so long until you speak up.

"Ah! Would you like me to do your hair sometime?"

"Oi, Dumbass. Stop trying to act cool in front of the newbies."

Narumi, dramatically posing solemnly atop a fresh kaiju corpse, tilts his head back to face the flying drone's camera and shows off a smirk at the sound of your voice.

"Well, if it isn't my darling dearest, everything okay at Comms?" He waves lazily, but this seems to irk you more.

"You were playing Underwatch, when I told you not to, weren't you." You frame it as a statement, rather than a question.

Everyone in Operations and Officers around Narumi watches as their Captain's jaw drops to the floor, eyes bulging out of his skull.

He is quick to grab at the drone and shakes it wildly, as if it was a person he was trying to gouge information out of. The propellers are swift to turn off, you knew this kind of reaction was coming from miles away.

"Who snitched?!" His face is all up on the camera.

At this point, Narumi knew that it was of his best interest to admit the truth rather than make up excuses on the spot, especially if you used that tone.

But how could you have possibly found out? He even made sure to download a special VPN so you couldn't track his gameplay! Was it Hasegawa? It had to have been Hasegawa. Damn you, Hasegawa-

"Your galactic-sized head dent gave it away. Do you not have enough sense to at least fix it before you leave for duty?" You sigh on the other end of the mic, disappointment evident in your admonishment.

"Huh?"

The drone starts up again and Narumi is forced to let go as it turns to face ninety degrees away from him and projects a hologram of himself, but from his side.

Lo and behold, all of the Captain's hair is sticking straight up, as per usual when he is in combat, except for the areas at the centre of his skull, a clear band of hair matted down with a sheen of presumably sweat.

"Pfft, I hope the news articles capture this very flattering side of you! 'What a loser,' they'll all say." You do your best to cover up a snicker. The drone is now happily emoting like an actual person, tilting side to side as if it were someone's head, taunting him.

"NO!!" Narumi is on his knees, frantically trying to fix his hair while maniacal laughter resonates from the floating device.

From a distance, a certain Platoon Leader watches on, irked. Out of all of the people to admire for the power they bring to the Defence Force, out of all the people to strive to be like, why did it have to be these two?

[thenyoumightaswellwrestleangels]

And I will search for you (in every home I've ever made)

love is not designed for the cynical - series masterlist here

pairing: jason todd x reader (gender neutral)

length: 1.5k

genre: fluff, comfort

warnings: it's soft, it's sweet, it's about building a home

a/n: pls enjoy this I did not really edit it

Jason wakes, these days, to cracks of sunlight spilling through the edges of his blackout curtains, little beams of brightness twisting into him and covering him in something warm. By the time he rolls over, always, throwing his arm across the empty space in bed next to him, it's cold, the pillows stacked neatly and the blankets pulled up and tucked around him. 

The first time it had happened since he came back to you, it had startled him a bit too much - the realization of someone moving around him in his sleep, the feeling of waking up with things just a little bit different than they'd been when he fell asleep. Like most things these days, it was a slow, gentle process - to accept the kindness that comes with this new life of his.

He'd been awake one morning, just barely, keeping his eyes closed and his body relaxed. Crawling into bed with you in the early, barely-there light of the morning, aching from a night of stalking the streets as Redhood, he only ever gets a few hours of being with you - of feeling you roll over and curl up against him, pressing your palm against his chest to feel his steady, calming heartbeat. And then you wake fully, eventually, pulling yourself away from him slowly to rise for your own day.

But one morning he'd stayed awake, just enough to notice you - just enough to take note of how carefully you eased yourself away from him, afraid of waking him up and disturbing what little sleep he gets. Jason had felt it, then, the way you pulled the sheets and blankets up over his shoulders and the way you smoothed a hand through his hair. He'd noticed it, then, the feather-light kiss that you placed on his forehead before leaving, shutting the door behind you to keep in the quiet - to keep his little halo of peace intact.

He'd found, many hours later, that it didn't startle him so much to wake up alone with the pillows rearranged and the room not quite how he'd left it. He'd found that it felt a bit more like love, and that felt a bit more familiar than he ever realized it could.

So he finds that it's easier, on days like these, to rise slowly and let the sleep leave him in lazy waves, rolling his shoulders as he stands from the bed and tugs the sheets up, smoothing them and fluffing the pillows before pulling open the curtains. The light is jarring, of course - always, the bright shine of the city blowing over him and haloing him in a golden glow. It's abrupt, always, but he finds that it's a bit welcome these days. 

And Jason finds, on days like these, that the only thing he needs to search for is you. He wanders out through the apartment and he finds, in a startlingly comforting sort of way, that he knows you'll be here. You'll be in the kitchen making coffee, or in the living room flitting around idly, or out on the balcony on the phone. He knows that, if by some strange coincidence you're not here when he wakes up, there'll be a note left on the kitchen counter, a message scrawled in your looping, messy handwriting telling him where you are and when you'll be back.

Jason knows that you're here, even when you're out, because there's always something, just one small thing that you've left for him to remind him that he's not alone. Today, there's a box of pastries on the kitchen counter, the logo of your favourite bakery smiling at him like an old comfort, like a new routine. A hand brushes against his back and Jason finds that he doesn't start, doesn't flinch or move away from it. He just leans into it, your palm warm and smooth as it traces over his spine.

"Good morning," you murmur, and when you wrap your arms around him from behind, he lets you easily, sinking into the feeling of your hands now running across his abs as your forehead presses against his back.

"Good afternoon," Jason replies pointedly, but there's a smile that he can't quite stop as he spins in your hold, a hand coming up to cup the back of your head protectively as you press yourself against him.

"Morning for you," you point out easily, the feeling of his lips on the crown of your head a silent reassurance, a quiet comfort. "Have a croissant." Jason huffs out a laugh as you squirm out of his arms and turn toward the coffeemaker, leaving him to flip open the pastry box and poke around. 

"You working from home today?" Jason asks quietly, the coffeemaker whirring on with a gentle hum that fills the space.

"Mhm," you nod, putting a plate in front of him as he picks up a croissant from the box. "Are you… staying in today? You should sleep a bit more."

"Yea, baby, I'm with you today," he confirms, and something warms in his chest at the soft smile that you send his way. You don't respond, but you lean up to press a kiss to his cheek, knowing that he'll slouch down so that you can reach - knowing that he'll bend for you. Then you pluck the croissant from his hand, placing it on the plate before disappearing with it in hand, his coffee balanced in your other palm.

And Jason just trails after you to the living room, following the feeling of something soft, of something loving, as you sit back down on the couch, nudging his mug across the coffee table and towards him. 

"You can put some music on if you want," you say easily, and Jason thinks for a moment that maybe you haven't noticed - maybe you haven't caught on to the way he hovers in the doorway, like he's not sure how much of this is real, or how much of it is deserved. But then he blinks at you, and there's something kind and patient in your gaze that makes him want to fall to his knees and pray.

"Sure," he says gruffly, clearing his throat and moving to the record player that's tucked in the corner of the room, brushing his fingers along the spines of the vinyls as he looks through them. Some of them are old, faded and worn by years of loving touches. As he presses his fingers against the grooves, he can almost feel the familiar touch of your hands against his - worn down by your love. He'd asked you once why you don't replace the ones that have begun to tatter, and you'd smiled in a beaming way that only comes out every so often.

"Why would I?" you'd said. "It just shows which ones my faourites are - which ones are the most loved."

Now, Jason can see you from the corner of his eye - watching carefully, softly, something that feels a bit too gentle in your gaze as he reels just a bit too much from it all.

"Do you want to talk about it?" you offer as he chooses a record, low music filling the space between the two of you. He hums out something unintelligible in response, dragging himself over to sit next to you on the couch. There's photos on the wall as he passes - pictures of the two of you, of the places you've gone and the things you've seen. Signs of life, it always feels like. Signs of love. 

As Jason eases himself into the spot next to you and you throw a blanket over his lap almost instinctually, he can't help but feel the weight of it all. The weight of home.

"Nothing to talk about," he mutters, and you just hum in understanding at his gruffness. 

"Eat your croissant, then," you respond simply, and he wonders - not for the first time, how easy it is for you to build a home around the two of you. "I bought them because I know you like those ones," you continue, and he thinks, for once - in a jarring, world-tilting sort of way, that maybe he gets it. 

"I love you," he blurts out, and you look at him quizzically for a moment, moving to adjust the blanket that he's tucked under. He reaches for you like he has to, and you let him smooth a wide, warm palm over your cheek.

"I love you, too," you offer freely. "Always."

Always, Jason thinks. And it feels a bit easier, wrapped up in all of this - in something soft and warm and reassuring, to believe it. It feel a bit easier to want it.