#i would say i want to protect him but i don’t think he needs protecting

[kiss-me-muchoo]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐬𝐬 || 𝐢𝐧-𝐡𝐨 / 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝟎𝟎𝟏 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

summary_ short scenes of how in-ho thought he didn’t care about you, but he realized he actually did after seeing you almost overdose for doing drugs with Thanos and Namgyu.

warnings_ AGE GAP! (not specified), lots of restroom scenes lol, protective! in-ho, mild brat!reader, brat tamer!in-ho, reader ingests Thanos’ pills, blood, angst, fluff, slight canon divergence, NOT PROOFREAD

Notes_ I wish I had added more details to this one but I have been busy and I’m slightly drunk rn, sorry

♫ ♪ the worst playlist 4 lee byung-hun

✰ Index (+ fics here)

ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

Ride or die, you heard once.

Even when you think you have it all, there’s still more to get.

Five days ago you were partying hard at some elite club, three days ago some asshole tried to poison you and now you were playing Korean children's games to death.

Player 153, you got. The green tracksuit unintentionally made your eyes highlight, as you had noticed the first time you visited the restrooms.

You knew what and where you were getting into. After all, your father was more than a big sponsor of the games. He wanted you to marry an asshole, and you flew away. He tried to kill you, the only option left was death or death. It was dramatic, but sadly the truth. Nobody was waiting for you outside of the deadly games.

Your gelish nails were surviving the whole thing. The bright burnt orange color matched the dress of the big doll of the first game. The cheeky asshole of Thanos befriended you because of that. Then you met Nam-gyu and there was some odd connection.

It never occurred to you that you would be recognized. Even when you were the only foreigner in the games of that year.

It was on your way back to bed when you met him.

Hwang In-ho melted into the crowds of players, ready to assume the role of player 001. He was alert to every single movement and was trying to hear everything that was said when he heard some annoying voices.

“And did you see how that asshole started screaming? Dude that was crazy!” When In-ho turned, he saw the mediocre rapper with purple hair shouting and moving like a little kid through the maze of pink stairs at his other assholes friends.

“STOP!” Namgyu mocked player 456, making Thanos initiate a horrendous rap verse about the first game.

And then a female laugh joined them.

“Say he’s telling the truth, Wouldn’t that be crazy?” In-ho gently dodged some people to get closer, and he ended up walking literally behind you.

All he could see was the back of a short woman, with nice legs and an attractive silhouette; In-ho almost rolled his eyes at the thought, already feeling stressed because he had lost sight of Gi-hun.

“You’re already on a trip, y/n-su” Thanos took you and Namgyu by the shoulders and the three of you started cackling like idiots.

Player 153, y/n….

In-ho couldn’t remember who exactly was said player. But there was something about your name that resulted oddly familiar to him. You were definitely a foreigner.

In-ho was almost convinced there was no report of a foreign player being recruited.

A bad omen settled in him.

…

The cold lights of the room make your head feel disoriented, but it’s an appealing feeling since you feel like you are lying in a big puffy cloud. Instead, you are actually laying your head in Nam-gyu’s lap while Thanos is seated on the other side of the bed, whispering and gossiping about the players.

“That fucking asshole over there is not going to last,” he said pointing at an old man who looked like he was in shock after the first game. And it’s not like you were insensible but everyone with a number embroidered on their tracksuit was supposed to read the agreement policies before playing. “Just look at him”

“More money for us!” Nam-gyu adds.

You didn’t need the money, you just wanted to make your father angry, to escape, to feel the rush of something that wasn’t running away while living in neglect.

“Nam-nam, don’t be like that!” You say, chuckling and nudging him in the stomach. He joins you and then Thanos and is just the three of you high as fuck. “I need a cig…”

“Me fucking too” Thanos agrees then looks back at the crowds. When he sees Lee Myung-gi, you know it’s over, Thanos will likely go to argue and Nam-gyu would follow and subsequently you.

And indeed, that’s exactly what happened.

You roll your eyes, following the pair to the other side of the room.

“Guys! Leave him alone. He’ll likely die in the next game…” you argue, trying to get their attention. But the males are so invested in their stupid fight and you are so disoriented thanks to the drugs that you don’t see a man coming to separate them.

You only see the number 001 in the green jacket and soon the man ends up punching your friends.

“Hey, stop!” You try to interfere but it’s useless.

That’s when you identify the man, it was the man who outcasted the votes in favor of keeping playing.

“ENOUGH!” You yell, loud enough to stop the fight.

The man turns to look a you and he finally sees your face.

In-ho’s face turned pale. It couldn’t be you, it made no sense.

But he remembered very well the family portrait of your family resting in your father’s office in London.

You miss the way he sees you because you hurry to tend to your friends.

‘Fucking asshole…” In-house hears you whispering as you help Thanos and Nam-gyu to stand up.

In-ho felt himself getting extremely curious and irritated. Now his plans would get more complicated.

…

It’s almost time for lights out when every player is allowed to use the restrooms before bed. In-ho finally made contact with Gi-hun and he felt slightly under control of the situation. But you were still on his to-do list. So he rushed to wait the moment you separated from your assholes companions.

And when you started moving away with a bunch of female players, he made his move.

He grabbed from the forearm and ushered you to walk a few steps away, both of you passed to pink guards and let him yank you inside an empty hallway, near the stairs maze.

He heard you mumbling curses and trying to go back until In-ho lost his patience and pushed you against the wall.

“How did you get here?” He harshly asks, making you gasp at the sudden pressure in your forearm.

“Who the fuck are you?” You ask, trying to get out of the man’s grasp. “Let me go!”

You are pushed inside the restroom and you are about to yell but you finally face your captor.

Player 001, is a handsome old man. Still, you didn’t know who the fuck he was and what he had to do with you.

“How did you get here?” He repeats his initial question, looking extremely serious.

“Who the fuck are you?” His grip softened but the pressure remained, keeping you between him and the wall.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” His English is very good, but it isn’t his pronunciation that makes you almost gasp in surprise.

You can his tired eyes, fine nose, his hair. The vague memory of your father meeting with a man in your home, talking about expenses and finances, gives you enough answers.

“Congratulations, frontman. You just exposed yourself to me…” he seemed surprised, but hid it very quickly.

“You are no threat to me. Now speak…” He wasn’t expecting you to take very long to discover who he was given his approach to you.

“I met your salesman. He was very cute…”

“He must have recognized you. He wouldn’t give you a card…”

Your father was more than a generous sponsor. The island was also to his name. Everyone knew your name and who you were despite never being seen. For your father, it had been a disappointment your arrival. He always wished for an heir. And you resented him for that. You were useless to his eyes, an heir with no regard.

“He wasn’t as smart as you thought he was, dear. One glimpse of my cunt and I had him twirled around my finger…” his eyes lock with yours in a deep gaze, he wasn’t happy. “I miss him. I wish he wasn’t dead…”

“You think this is a game?” You chuckle, looking around the empty restroom.

“I think it is…” your finger points around the room. “I won’t tell a soul anything about you. Promise, Mr. Young-il”

“Listen because I won’t repeat myself. You’ll have no special treatment. If you mess this up, you die like everyone else” he says, leaning closer, intimidating you. But you don’t flinch. “It really is true that money can’t buy happiness, right?”

“Dying in the middle of this horror is better than dying at the hands of my own father” In-ho almost pitted you. He wasn’t a good person but there was still humanity inside him. You were not innocent, but you were so full of life, you were gorgeous. And he couldn’t believe your father despised you so much.

“I don’t care. Just don’t interfere with my task…” he says, looking you up and down before letting you go and urging you to get out of the restroom.

He said you wouldn’t get any special treatment. But he already felt feeling doubtful.

…

You can’t sleep. It’s completely dark and you can hear soft snores. The memory of you playing ddakji and seeing player 001 cheering for you repeated over and over in your head.

He was the leader. He knew your father and yet, it seemed like he was trying to protect you. So many questions popped into your mind, almost making it impossible for you to conceal sleep.

And suddenly, a hand touched your hip bone.

You scream but the hand covers your mouth.

“Come with me…” you know his voice. The frontman disguised as 001 was right there next to you.

Maybe your questions were about to be answered.

Carefully, you take the hand he offered you and follow him outside.

There are only two pink guards, everything else is empty.

It was unclear if it was day or night. The bright hallways changed from purple to bubblegum pink and then, green.

“Where are we going?” You ask, feeling your hand starting to sweat, but he doesn’t leave the embrace.

“To take a breath…” he simply says.

At the end of the green hallway, he opens a door and it’s dark, barely illuminated by warm bulbs. Is a stair and when you reach the end, it leads to the outside.

“I always forget this is under the island,” you say, out of breath, looking at the beautiful fawn and the sun peaking.

You don’t see the way the man beside you is looking in awe at you.

He doesn’t even know how invested he was in you.

“Why are you such a burden for your father?” He went straight to the point.

“He wanted a boy, I was born a girl” you admit, looking at the barely visible sea in the distance. “The only thing I could’ve been useful for him was to marry another wealthy man. But I refused…”

“That’s why you entered the games?” You nod, walking through the dirt and grass.

The sunrise was just starting, with orange, pink, and yellow, it was a beautiful sight that almost made you forget where you were.

“Don’t do anything stupid, other than what you already did. If you do, I won’t be able to protect you…”

“I appreciate your concern for my safety” you admit, locking your eyes with his. “But my life is not a priority for me anymore, Mr. Young-il,” you say and he almost smiled at you mocking him.

“In-ho…” he says.

“What?”

“My real name is In-ho” You couldn’t deny his revelation surprised you. “Young-il is just a facade”

You weren’t expecting him to trust you enough to share that. But once again, you were surprised.

“You really think you can keep 456 in place?” You ask him incredulously. “Prevent the voting to withdraw the games and convince my father to leave me alone?”

“I can negotiate with your father so he can leave you alone” Your eyes snap open at his words.

“No. You must know what he’s capable of” he smirks, eyeing you briefly before returning to look at the sunset.

“Don’t tell me you are growing fond of me” You turn to look at him and it’s your turn to smirk.

He meets your eyes and for some reason, you don’t erase the smile on your face.

“Never, Mr. Young-il” Your mocking is obvious, making him smile as he admires your profile. “I’d love to stay here, but we must go back before the music starts playing…”

When you turn to look at him, you see he had been eyeing you previously, making you unconsciously blush. Thankfully it was still dark enough to cover your embarrassment.

He nods and walks past you.

And there’s an odd feeling lingering in the air. Both of you conclude it’s odd but pleasing.

…

A carrousel, How bad it could go?

You are locking arms with Se-mi, your only female friend. Thanos, Nam-gyu, and Min-su are a little far away from you.

“Are you nervous?” She asks.

“Not really. And you?” She shrugs, looking around.

When you turn back, you see In-ho and other players talking around. He spots you and tells you to move away, probably to talk.

“Let me see if I can see some clue around, to give us an advantage” Se-mi nods, walking away.

You move close to the door where many players are still entering the room and soon In-house joins you.

“Run as fast as you can, it doesn’t if you end up alone in a room,” he says whispering in your ear.

“That would be cheating” you whisper back, checking around if Thanos and Namgyu were looking, but they weren’t.

“Then stick around me, especially if pairs are announced…” you know what he means. Thanos and Namgyu had been loyal to you. But they would likely team up and leave you alone at any time. “Okay”

He nods at you and watches you go back with Se-mi and Thanos.

“Pick your pill,” Thanos says smiling at you, handing his pendant and taking a pill for himself.

That’s the last thing you remember. Vague flashes of you running with your friends. And then you saw In-ho grabbing your hand and urging you to get inside a room. You believe he killed a man.

You don’t know what is happening. Each step you take makes you feel more and more dizzy. Your head feels heavy and the memory of you laughing in the male restrooms only to fade into the image of Thanos lying dead while Nam-gyu looks as shocked and under the effects of the drugs as you. A man accidentally pushing you and blood covering your hand after touching your arm.

You could still hear the mess inside the room. You cursed being the only woman inside there. And you somehow feel pity for Thanos. Making you realize nobody deserved to die inside the damn island.

One of the pink guards opened the door for you but could not recall it. A lot of people started looking at you.

“Young woman, What the hell happened inside the male restroom?” Player 100 asks you impatiently, but you don’t even look at him, you can’t hear him. “I’m talking to you, little brat!”

Gi-hun points at you and the group turns to see the scene. It’s In-ho the first one to step up, slowly walking towards you.

He hears Player 100 yelling at you and he cringes.

“It’s enough!” In-ho yells back in the distance.

Your hair is a mess, there’s blood all over your tracksuit. Your jacket is in your hand, barely grasping it, making an irritating sound with the zipper against the floor.

And your arm is bleeding.

Before In-ho can reach you, you faint.

A lot of people gasp and he runs towards you.

“BRING A DOCTOR!” he ordered to the pair of pink guards standing in a door.

They hesitated a couple of seconds, then quietly left. Nobody would know it was because player 001 was their leader. Everyone thought it was because someone was hurt outside of a game.

“What happened?” Gi-hun asked, kneeling beside In-ho. Both tried tapping in your cheeks but you seemed to be extremely disoriented.

People started gathering around and In-ho was tremendously trying not to look panicked.

“Hypotension and low blood pressure,” Jun-hee says, standing right next to Gi-hun and holding her belly. Gi-hun and In-ho turn to look at her.

“I took two semesters of nursing training,” the young woman says, trying to see the wound in your arm. “She needs stitches and something sugary or an IV”

In-ho takes your jacket and makes an improvised tourniquet in your arm, he breathes carefully, moving your head slowly, hoping to see you regaining consciousness.

The pink guards arrive and take you away, indicating no one else can follow.

Soon a crowd enters the room making a bloody mess.

…

You open your eyes, and every single thing you look at is green. Green like the room leading outside that In-house took you. The bed, the blanket covering your lower body, the little couch. Everything is green.

“Where did you get the drugs?” You almost jump, startled. A hand of yours ends on top of your chest and the heart rate monitor indicates an increase in your beatings.

“You’re safe here” In-ho is there, seated next to you. “But you kept doing stupid things outside…”

You stand your arm and see the stitches and dry blood. Your head throbs but it isn’t as bad as you thought it would be.

“The drugs were from… Thanos” You can’t believe he’s dead. Half of you expected him to leave and get out alive.

“You were so close to overdosing” he failed to not sound worried.

“Don’t tell me you are growing fond of me” You say the same thing he told you two nights ago, but he doesn’t smile. “I’m not playing, y/n”

“I’m sorry” you admit, looking at your hands. Finally feeling the weight of your actions.

“I’m convinced Seong Gi-hun will try to lead a rebellion” the man beside you adds, trying to soothe the tension. “He will try to stop the games”

“And would it be so bad? To end the games?” You ask surprising him. “There’s enough money to disappear from the country”

In-ho had thought about it but never did anything to make it true. However, now that had been growing fond of you, he could see himself running away. Almost…

“I would… but I can’t” You only nod, ignoring the tiny ache in your heart. You start trying to seat and he helps you.

You point at your dirty tracksuit and In-ho hands it, helping you to stand up at the same time.

“Seong Gi-hun will try to disarm the guards. If they are lucky they’ll succeed. Probably will recruit players to advance. You will volunteer and grab a gun” he sounds very serious, saying each word delicately as if he was scared you wouldn’t pay attention. “I know you can shoot and have good aiming. Your family used to take you to hunt deer in Scotland…”

“Damn well, you really know everything about me…” he rolled his eyes, making you realize he was indeed being serious. But his soft touch makes you feel weak. “Help me take off this thing, please”

“I’m not playing, y/n. That’s the only way I will be able to get you out of this if things turn against us. That’s the only way to save you…”

Your heart beats faster, and your hands feel numb. Even worse when you turn around and he untangles the laces in your patient gown. Your naked body flashes him and it takes all his strength to not touch you.

You take his vulnerability to ask what you had been trying to hide from yourself.

“Tell me why…” you say with your eyes lost, knowing he was staring at your soul. “Say those three words I’m desperately thinking and I’ll do anything you ask me to”

In-ho sighs, throwing his head back, he looks at his own feet, wondering what he should say.

You grow disappointed at his silence. And when you’re ready to leave, he stops you.

“I lov-“

You kiss him. You kiss him so deeply that it takes him by surprise.

His hands don’t know where to go but even with your eyes closed, you grab them and place them in your hips.

Soon, he takes control, just like you expected. Of course, he had to have experience. His lips expertly move against yours, and then his tongue perfectly melts with yours, leaving you made a mess.

“You didn’t let me say the three words…” he says, whispering in your lips as you pant for air.

“I thought you weren’t saying anything. It took me by surprise…” you admit, offering him a shy smile that he tries to mimic.

He wasn’t completely evil. He still had some humanity inside of him. He was conscious of his feelings and knew he wanted to protect you, to know you better, and see you alive, outside of the island.

“In-ho…”

“Hmm?” He asks as you lay your head on his chest. “Don’t hurt them…”

“That’s not on me, darling” Your wounded hand caresses his cheek and it makes him close his eyes. “Please, In-ho”

“You are going to go back with me. If Gi-hun succeeds, I won’t be able to protect you from this side of the island” he explains. “You’ll take a gun and stick with me. You don’t move away from me. You heard me?”

You nod, accepting his strong gaze on you.

“Promise me, y/n”

“I swear I’ll stick to you, In-ho,” you say, kissing him again. “I promise”

______________________

Salesman Valentine’s Day fic coming next Friday <3

[theoreticallybread]

i genuinely believe that if not for bruce, dick and steph are the ONLY batkids that would have taken up crimefighting.

dick’s entire origin story is filled with rage and despair, he watched his parents fall to their deaths and learned that they had been brutally murdered because of something that wasn’t even their fault! his pure rage fueled his creation of robin. even if bruce hadn’t taken him in, i can tell you that he would have gone after his parents’ killer himself, and probably wouldn’t have stopped trying to rid gotham of crime even as he matured and grew a sense of empathy towards all victims. dick was already the angry robin, it only makes sense that he would have done something even without the cape.

no matter what anyone else says, jason was NOT violent. he loved being robin with all his heart because it gave him magic. it is clear to me that he hated the thought of harming innocent people especially through his time at ma gunn’s place because of his resistance to the thought of being turned into a hurting machine like the other boys. and yet as soon as bruce takes him in, he becomes just that: a child soldier. if bruce had not taken jason in, i think he would have been much happier. he knows that the deaths of his mother and father, while tragic, are not something he needs to avenge, and all he looks for afterwards is food and a roof over his head. he is not a character built on revenge, he is introduced to the concept by bruce when he is trained to defeat evil with his fist rather than his words. jason would have been an amazing teacher if he wasn’t red hood, and he would be able to help people in crime alley just the same, by providing support and a good foundation for them to accomplish things.

tim drake did not want to be robin. the only reason he ever became robin was because he needed to protect everyone who faced the wrath of an angry bruce. he is an observant person and he noticed how much harder bruce was hitting after jason’s death. he knew that bruce needed someone else out there with him to stabilize him and prevent him from doing something he’d regret. tim tried to get dick to fill that role, but when he refused tim took it upon himself instead. he’s responsible like that. tim drake most likely would’ve been a successful businessman if he wasn’t a cape because of his smarts and ability to read people.

steph is the only other robin i believe would have still worn a cape if not for bruce. she found out about her father’s wrongdoings and immediately her sense of justice told her that she needed to stop this from happening. she would be unable to stop herself from trying to protect innocent people with or without bruce, just because of her absolute need to do the right thing.

cassandra and damian are similar in the fact that they were raised as human weapons and weren’t allowed to be their own individual people. i firmly believe that they would have managed to break free of their oppressors even without bruce’s existence for talia to rely on in regards to damian. after so much time spent fighting and being used, i think they would have tried to find an identity outside of this. they probably would’ve have ended up as similar people to the ones they are with bruce in the picture, but i doubt that they would have continued to fight as much outside of absolute necessity because of the bad memories surrounding it. if they did fight, it would be in self defense and for themselves, not in accordance with what someone else wanted them to do.

duke is complicated, because while he does have a great sense of justice and is also a meta, i don’t think he would have continued to pursue the path of a vigilante for very long. i haven’t read a ton of stuff with duke, but i think i can safely say that he would have taken a step back from everything to support himself and take care of his parents after what the joker did to them. he probably would have taken up a career that involved aiding people in a more peaceful way, similar to jason.

anywho thanks for coming to my ted talk :)

[nosyp]

May you do yandere platonic gi hun team season 2 with young adult reader who is really sick and joined the game to pay for her sickness. The reader coughs blood sometimes and can barley even stand up or walk. When she eats she needs 2x the amount but she stills feel insecure

Last squid game thing before idek.. and im not sure who you classify as gi hun team

General Dynamics

The team quickly notices your fragile condition. How you struggle to stand, your frequent coughing fits, and how you need more food than others but hesitate to take it.

At first, they assume you’re weak and might slow them down, but the moment they learn you joined the games to pay for your medical treatment, their obsession locks in.

They become a tight circle of overprotective guardians, refusing to let you do anything remotely dangerous.

If anyone tries to pick on you for being sick, they’re met with an immediate and brutal response.

Seong Gi-hun

The most emotionally invested in keeping you safe. He sees you as a kid who should’ve never been in the Games.

Constantly fretting over you, even for small things. "Are you cold? Do you need to sit down? Here, take my jacket."

If you ever cough up blood, he goes full panic mode, holding your shoulders and looking around helplessly.

“You shouldn’t be here! Damn it, this isn’t right…”. The guilt of seeing you suffer eats him alive.

Tries to bargain with other players to get you extra food or an easier role in the games.

If he ever thinks you’re in danger of being eliminated, he’d sacrifice himself for you without hesitation.

Young-il

Takes the role of your bodyguard, making sure no one gets too close.

If a game requires physical activity, he will insist on doing your part while making it look like a team decision.

“Stay back. I’ll handle it.” is his becomes his default response for everything.

If you collapse from exhaustion, he picks you up and carries you without hesitation.

He rarely speaks, but his presence alone makes sure you’re never in danger.

Jang Geum-ja

Acts like an overbearing mother figure, completely disregarding your independence.

Forces you to eat more, making sure you get double portions (whether by persuasion or stealing).

If you ever say, "I don’t want to be a burden," she immediately shuts you down.

“A burden? Don’t be ridiculous. If anything, we should be grateful to have you.”

Uses mind games to ensure you never think about sacrificing yourself for others.

Cho Hyun-ju

The most blatantly aggressive about keeping you safe.

Anyone who so much as breathes wrong near you is getting punched.

She glares at you if you try to argue that you can handle things yourself.

"Shut up and let us take care of you." → She refuses to take ‘no’ for an answer.

Will physically pull you back if you try to exert yourself too much.

Bak Yong-sik

Surprisingly gentle with you compared to how he treats others.

Always checking your temperature and forcing you to rest, even if it means risking their position.

Would rather take a loss in the game than watch you push yourself too hard.

If you ever cough up blood, he’s the first to panic and starts yelling for help.

“You need to stop. I mean it. You’re gonna kill yourself at this rate.”

Kim Junhee

The softest in the group but equally obsessed.

Holds your hand when you feel weak and always stays by your side.

Tries to make you laugh, distracting you from the horror of the games.

Whispers sweet reassurances even when things seem hopeless.

“It’s okay. We’ll get through this together. You don’t have to do this alone.”

If You Try to Leave the Group...

Absolutely not happening. They physically stop you from going anywhere.

If you insist, they gaslight you into staying.

“You’re safer with us. The others won’t protect you like we do.”

They don’t care if you think they’re overbearing—you’re staying with them, period.

[wingsdippedingold]

My rapid fire ACOTAR hot takes that y’all will hate:

I pray the pros don’t find this

I don’t ship Elriel or Elucien because I ship Elain with singleness and just traveling Prythian to learn about different plants and then settling down somewhere to become an apothecary. Is she aromantic and suffering from comphet in my head? You’ll never know

Nesta would not have eaten Lucien alive, I think she’d be tentative at first but then realize he’s not a threat to her then grow to enjoy his presence. They could have had a great romance that actually helped her grow as a person, unlike Nessian.

Nessian is a mutually destructive relationship. Cassian is too insecure to date someone who he thinks looks down at him. Nesta needs an emotionally supportive partner.

There was ZERO need to actively SA Feyre publicly to make her look subservient or as if she had a “claim” laid on her. The reasoning is weak, and SJM an Rhysand fans need to admit that they only defend it because they thought it was sexy, or because they self-insert and can’t make Rhysand actually look bad.

Tamlin isn’t a bad leader, but it doesn’t suit him. He’s much more of a people person than someone who would like to be removed from them and working on laws and politics.

Tamlin should be walking around the SC as they rebuild and see a woman directing townspeople on how to do so. Tamlin would admire her for being able to connect with people but also being able to govern well. They would have a romance and that woman would eventually become a lady and help Tamlin govern because she wants to make a difference and is good at that stuff. They eventually get married 💥

Canon Elain is my least favorite Archeron. I think she’s manipulative and worse than Nesta in her cabin behavior because she wasn’t upfront about it. She let Feyre think she was useless and kind, to later only throw her under the bus. Nesta is the one who went to the wall for Feyre, and Elain didn’t gaf about Nesta caring for her the second is stopped benefitting her. Elain even acknowledges all that Feyre did for them, and yet she still didn’t do anything

BUT to append to that, I totally get why she’s that way. It’s her only means of survival because since childhood she was treated as a doll with noice of her own. She can’t be upfront like Nesta because she won’t get taken seriously, so her only way to get what she wants is to manipulate people and use her niceness as a mask.

Nesta and Feyre have a closer relationship than Nesta and Elain solely because they were constantly arguing. Nesta “favored” Elain, but it was still distant, but she actively watched Feyre and treated her like a whole person even if it was poorly. I think this is also exemplified in their appearance. Feyre and Nesta look very similar, while Elain doesn’t look like them as much.

You can’t argue that Feyre’s childhood was traumatizing (it was) but then say that it had no negative effects on her development and ability to socialize.

Feyre is NOT good at reading people despite what y’all like to argue. She can barely read Nesta, a woman she’s known for 20 years.

She suffers from hubris and has a savior complex. For example, when the debtors came to cripple her father she notes that they only left after SHE cried and soiled herself. In her perspective she will always be the hero because that’s how she makes herself fell good.

Arguable my hottest take: I don’t think Nesta and Feyre had a power imbalance in the cottage to make their relationship abusive. In fact, I think Feyre held more power over Nesta, Nesta just didn’t acknowledge it/was mean so it didn’t seem like it. Feyre was their father’s favorite, was the breadwinner, and technically dictated whether they would get to eat. Feyre held control over her family’s survival, even if she didn’t want it, and they all knew this. It is specifically why Elain sucked up to her (a character know to jump to whoever has the most power at the moment and would protect her the most)

Feyre doesn’t act how she wants to, but rather as she thinks a good person would. She doesn’t want to hunt, but she does so because she thinks she has to. Many of her acts are “selfless” but are often shallow. She also thinks everyone wants to the helped the same way she would want to be.

To add to this, she doesn’t love her sisters. She doesn’t love them for who they are, but because of proximity. She even says to Nesta when trying to get her to come to solstice “but you’re my sister”

Feyre did not know love and it did not know her, and thus made her latch on to whoever gave her affection and she deemed as her own savior (Tamlin and Rhysand). Should she finally ever feel suffocated by Rhysand (though he has ensured she won’t), I wouldn’t doubt that she would run to another.

Feyre has 0 healthy relationships. ZILCH

By adulthood, Feyre’s illiteracy is no one’s fault but her own. As a child she didn’t want to ask Nesta, but she didn’t ask Elain or her father either. Even then they fell into poverty at like 9 and she still didn’t learn much so that doesn’t make sense. She refused Tamlin’s help and Rhysand literally had to force her to learn.

Rhysand’s character makes 0 sense when you consider her upbringing, family, friends, personality, and powers, and is just a product of SJM trying to write the morally grey ultimate love interest.

I’m on the fence about him being a master manipulator towards Feyre and the IC. I doubt Sarah meant for him to come off like that, but if he actually was it would be a masterful story and make his character feel more cohesive.

HOWEVER, if he was a manipulator I don’t think it would be that impressive for him to manipulate Feyre. She is naive and new to the world of fae, and she switches her opinions like night and day. She would be the perfect target. Again, this comes about from her upbringing and her own hubris.

The series should stuck to being a trilogy. Insert it drags on and makes new problems that aren’t even properly addressed

This was not rapid I fear

[waifuoftomonori]

Okay, I’ve answered most of these in other posts already, but I’ll go ahead and answer the ones I haven’t. (I’m not sure if this is the usual way to do this, but I doubt anyone’s gonna send me asks and I want to answer the questions anyway.) 1. N/A - no other fictional character brings me nearly as much joy, comfort, or lust as Tomonori of Scarlet Fate

2. Well, when I was a kid, I had a major crush on Farid from Inkheart, if that counts. I haven’t read those books in ages, so he is no longer a blorbo for me, and considering he’s a kid, I don’t know if he would still be if I reread those books. I feel like I might sympathize more with the author, or maybe even get a crush on— what was his name, Dustfinger?— the grown-up thief. …Anyway, due to that combined with the portrayal of certain characters in The Thief Lord, I blame Cornelia Funke for my lifelong obsession with rogues.

3. see my post about the moment of blorbo-ization

4. I have to pick just one? Oh, man. Okay, as impressive and sexy as Tomonori’s composure in the face of various threats is, from a snarling beefy monk to various gods/demons who want to end the world, my favorite thing about him has to be the world-altering potential of his unspoken but deeply passionate love for Shiki. This man was equally willing to cause the apocalypse or save the world for her. That is a choice he canonically laid at her feet. I’ve seen “I’ll end the world in your name / out of love for you” a few times before, and I’ve seen “I’ll save the world for you / because you’re in it” a few times, but this might be the first and only time I’ve seen a character who’s absolutely willing to do either. Who puts his personal opinion of whether the world should continue or end secondary to the opinion of the person he loves, even when he has the power to do either, and gives her that choice instead. That might be the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen a character do in fiction.

5. Do I dislike anything about him? Other than things the writers didn’t fully explain, like whoever decided the role he should play in Gentoka’s route, no. It’s not that I think he’s flawless, but his pettiness and stubbornness and (only sometimes necessary) secretive tendencies and all of that are endearing to me.

6. Uh, I don’t know. The writer in me would be dying to show him my fanfiction and ask, “How would you act if you were in this situation?” or “Is this something you think you would say? How would you change it?” about a million places in the work, but as a person I think that might make him uncomfortable, especially if it came out of nowhere. I do “talk to him” a lot in my journals, and my version of him answers back. We’ve had whole conversations. He can’t seem to stop calling me “Shiki” though; it feels incredibly awkward to have him use my real name for some reason.

7. There’s a fandom other than me? Like, a fandom with collective opinions and stuff? I had no idea.

8. Introvert who’s learned how to read people and interact with them in formal contexts out of necessity. He’ll paste on a smile and say all the right things in public, but if given the choice he’d rather be at home reading.

9. calm, devious, romantic

10. If he’s trying to protect me, yes, absolutely. If that’s not a guarantee and Shiki and Akifusa also exist in this world (mostly Shiki, he’s not quite as protective of Akifusa, who to be fair doesn’t need it from physical threats as much), then I’ll trust him to protect me as long as it doesn’t interfere with their lives or safety.

11. Yup. So many fanfics. Still writing them, in fact.

12. Yeah, my mom, dad, and stepdad all know about him and the extent of my obsession with him. I’d probably gush about him to my brothers more if they were home more often or showed even a trace of interest.

13. Anything I could feasibly see him doing? No. But then I guess if he committed an act that would severely change my opinion of him, he wouldn’t be the same character, would he? So maybe that’s the whole point of the question. …Uh, sorry for clarifying all that. I guess if he raped someone, that would change things.

14. Again: there’s a fandom? Never had that problem. But even if I did, I don’t think I would distance myself from the character, just from the other people. Or if I’d grown close with them, I’d just ask them to stop talking about the character with me, and I’d do the same with them. We’re allowed to have different opinions, but I shouldn’t have to hear them dissing my favorite character if I don’t want to, and I’d hope they would respect that as my friends.

15. Big fandom problems, not mine.

16. Define “canonically”.

17. Hell no. Look, not all writers are sadists who want to see characters suffer. When I do make him suffer, it’s because the story compels me to, or else there wouldn’t be interesting conflict for him (and usually Shiki and/or Akifusa as well) to eventually overcome.

18. Yes. With Shiki and Akifusa, as is doubtless abundantly clear by this point.

19. Short, smartass, scheming, morally complex men who are passionately in love with one woman for the vast majority of their lives. (Or man; I wouldn’t mind reading a gay version of this, I just haven’t found one yet.) Alternate type: thieves, rogues, bandits, cutpurses, pickpockets, footpads, maybe assassins in extreme cases. If the two “types” are combined in one character, so much the better. Also, on a list of fictional characters I find attractive, 4 of the… 20-ish have red eyes, and two of those four are ostensibly human.

20. N/A. …Or, I guess, no. Depending on how one defines “blorbo”. I have favorite characters (and ships) from other works of media, characters and ships of whom I prefer to read fanfiction over fanfiction of any other characters or ships, but I don’t get excited about them the same way I do about Tomonori.

21. N/A

22. I don’t know. I want to say yes, but if he were real I’d feel uncomfortable writing fanfiction about him, since I don’t do RPF. And although I adored him as a character in canon, I think it was through the fanfiction I wrote after that I grew to love him and all his many facets on a deeper level. But I guess if he were real, he’d be dead since he lived in the Heian era, so maybe I wouldn’t have that problem. But I dunno, then I’d have to do even more historical research, and that’s just a pain in the ass. I’d probably still admire him, though.

23. He’s a victim of 1. Gentoka’s route; 2. not appearing in the CD Drama official art that showed the 5 “main” love interests shirtless but apparently Tomonori didn’t matter enough to the writers for that; 3. not getting a nice yukata in the summer festival stories despite the fact that fuckin’ Akifusa got one and from goddess lady’s perspective I would think Tomonori would seem more important and thus more deserving of one, but again, apparently the writers and/or artists didn’t care enough about Tomonori for that; 4. not getting any additional “autumn” stories; and 5. not getting a sequel story. …If anyone does happen to have information that the people in charge of Scarlet Fate released extra bonus stories and/or official art of him wearing anything other than that kimono (or the school uniform for the high school AU CD Drama, but that doesn’t count because it’s not canon and they did it wrong anyway, Shiki should obviously have been childhood friends with Akifusa and Tomonori too, not just some rando girl they instantly crushed on at first sight— leave that to the other love interests)— please let me know, and let me know where I can read or see it.

24. hmmm. I don’t want to change anything. But if I had to? Let’s make him even shorter. Like, 5’0” or something. Even shorter than Shiki.

25. I’m pretty sure they used him in the Scarlet Fate+ app to introduce the player to the game, but of course at that time I didn’t realize who he was. How did I first discover that app? I was playing a bunch of similar otome at the time— well, similar in the sense that you’d spend some version of stamina to read stories for free 5 times a day, or you could pay once to gain access to the full story. I think I gave up on Scarlet Fate+ because it’s really not the kind of story that’s ideally read in small fragments like that, but later I returned to the paid version, bought it, and thoroughly enjoyed Akifusa’s route. (After reading Gentoka’s, which was kinda meh— and I have the problem with it I mentioned above, although I didn’t have that problem at the time because Gentoka’s route is lacking in Tomonori lore so I didn’t have the full context— but helped me realize Shiki’s a badass, and I liked it enough that I wanted to read about other characters. …Anyway, I read Akifusa’s next because Akifusa made me laugh, and I’ve found that’s usually a good sign I’ll enjoy an otome character’s route. Often that character will end up being my favorite. In this case, I fell in love with his best friend instead. Sorry, Akifusa. Look on the bright side, you’re one of the characters I ship with him.) 26. Definitely not. This sounds terrible to admit now, but at the time I thought he was just a tutorial character who they only included because he had a pretty face. Even after you get to see little hints of his personality in the game, I still had no clue. I think the first premonition I had that he might be a more interesting character than I gave him credit for was how he dealt with the “trolley problem” in Akifusa’s route. Possibly.

27. Of course I want more people to know about him. It’s tiring having to explain who he is every time. I joked about making an informational PowerPoint once, but I might seriously consider doing that.

28. Yes. Not for any reason to do with Tomonori specifically, but I have been attacked online for the mere fact that he is a fictional character and I’m obsessing over him. I think I made a post about that too.

29. I’m the only creator of fanfics about him that I know. No, my own fanfiction has not made me cry. It has moved me emotionally on occasion, but not to the point of tears.

30. It’s been six years so far. What’s another three? Sure.

BLORBO ASKS GAME

reblog if you’d like people to send you asks about your Blorbo

who’s the Blorbo that you’ve never posted about on your blog?

who was your first ever Blorbo, who was your childhood Blorbo, and are they still your Blorbo?

was there any specific point / any specific moment that suddenly made this character your Blorbo, or did you slowly grow to love them more and more until they became a Blorbo to you?

what’s the thing you love the most about your Blorbo?

what’s the thing you dislike the most about your Blorbo?

if you could talk to your Blorbo, what would you say to them?

what’s the one thing the fandom gets wrong about your Blorbo?

is your Blorbo an introvert or extrovert?

describe your Blorbo in 3 words

if your Blorbo were real, would you trust them with your life?

have you ever written a fanfic about your Blorbo?

do you talk to your family or in-real-life friends about your Blorbo?

is there any crime, any wrongdoing your Blorbo could commit that would make you stop loving them and remove them from your hyperfixation entirely?

have you ever distanced yourself from your Blorbo / have you ever left a fandom because people in the fandom were being too toxic?

have you ever gotten involved in ship wars?

is your Blorbo canonically alive?

do you like seeing your Blorbo suffer?

do you ship your Blorbo with any character?

when it comes to Blorbos, do you have a type?

if you have more than one Blorbo, do you love them all equally?

if your Blorbo is from a live-action media, are you also a fan of the actor who plays them?

would you still love your Blorbo if they were real?

is your Blorbo a victim of badly written script / bad plot / character assassination in the hands of canon?

if you could change one canonical thing about your Blorbo, what would it be?

how did you first discover your Blorbo?

when you first discovered your Blorbo, did you realize from that moment that they would become your Blorbo?

do you gatekeep your Blorbo? / would you want more people to know about your Blorbo?

have you ever been attacked online just because you liked your Blorbo?

has a fanfic about your Blorbo ever made you cry?

do you think this character will still be your Blorbo three years from now on?

[fanfics-i-find-here]

Do I Know You? Part 12

Synopsis: You send Jason home, but he’s still worried about you.

Note: Last filler chapter for a minute. Reader and Jason have lost all sense of what normal platonic touching is but it’s fine.

Masterlist

Jason did stay another night. He had offered to sleep on the couch this time, claiming your bed was too small for the both of you. You had just rolled your eyes and said he would be sleeping in your bed with you, claiming that it would be like a sleepover (it gave you more sense of security if he was close). Secretly, he was grateful for your insistence. He hadn’t slept the night before, like at all. He spent the night next to you worried something else would happen, despite knowing nothing would. You seemed worried about the same thing, mumbling in your sleep, face scrunching and relaxing randomly. You woke a few times, a terrible look of terror on your features. But Jason was there. He’d pull you close, petting your hair and murmuring to you about how you were safe, and you would drift back off into a fitful sleep. He’s not sure you even remember it.

He had checked in with the family first thing in the morning after he found his phone full of spammed text messages and phone calls. Mostly from Steph, shockingly. She seemed extremely concerned about you like you were friends. That’s when she told him that she had also been visiting you at work, a kinship forming from there. She’s not just yours Jason, you have to share, she had messaged in complaint. He scoffed at the statement but conceded with keeping everyone posted after that. He had one text from Bruce. We need to talk. No doubt about how the news was broadcasting that Red Hood was back in his murder phase.

After you had woken up, you looked worse for wear but less terrified. He enjoyed having you close, it seemed you need it just like him. You would relax against him, and he would stare at you, like a creep. You seemed less fitful in your sleep on the couch. He kept his touch on you, your legs, for your peace of mind, not his. At least that’s what he told himself. Jason liked taking care of people, it's why he protected Crime Alley and the surrounding areas the way he did. It’s what he’s known since he was young, with his mom. She was so out of it most of the time, what else could he do but take care of her? He likes to think that his mom (the one he rarely met when she wasn’t hyped up on drugs) would have liked you.

At the close of the evening, only 7 o’clock, you dragged him to your room and shuffled into your bed, apologizing that you didn’t have any clothes that would fit him more comfortably to sleep. He shook off the notion and settled on top of the covers like the night before. You were on your side watching.

“You know you can sleep under the covers. I won't mind,” especially because you won't do anything. You add mentally because if Jason wanted something sexual from you, he would’ve taken it last night when you were barely conscious of what was happening around you. You want him to be comfortable while you keep him trapped in your home.

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, Sweetheart.” He crosses his arms as he settles on his back against his pillow. You think he almost looks like a mummy.

“Jason,” your voice is stern in a way he isn’t used to, “get under the covers.” Not a question, not an offer, but a demand. He glances over at you and finds a serious look on your face, no room for argument. It makes him smile. You had seemed out of it still throughout the day, but he was happy to see some notion of your old self showing. Your eyebrows lift like this is some challenge and who is Jason to say no to that? He shuffles under your covers, worrying briefly if he’s a blanket hog, or a bed hog simply because of his size. You don’t seem worried about it all as you curl against him like you had the night before, holding his arm and pressing your cheek against his shoulder.

Then you start talking. You complained momentarily that you should have brushed your teeth before you had gotten into bed and apologized if it smelled like the Chinese you had ordered for dinner. Then you complained that you hadn’t washed your face and done your skincare. Jason was about to offer to do it for you, but you kept going. You rambled on about the Gotham weather and how it sometimes felt bone-chillingly cold even in summer, and you thought maybe Gotham was cursed or haunted. You started talking about Jason, about how pleased you were that he liked romance movies and musicals. You would have to show him La La Land, even though that movie made you cry every time. You didn’t say why it had made you cry but you cried when you had finished The Notebook earlier in the evening, so he didn’t question it. Instead, you followed a tangent about how La La Land was a tragedy but not like Romeo and Juliet. Then you followed a tangent about Shakespeare.

The rest of the evening was like that. You would follow a random line of thought that would form into another and another. Your voice stayed soft, only speeding up and getting just a little louder if there was something that excited you before toning back down again. You would pause for a moment before going back to a thought you had left unfinished. He wondered if you were blocking, trying not to sleep out of fear of what you might find. He knew that feeling, woken up by nightmares of that stupid clown and dirt engulfing his lungs. If this gave you peace of mind, then it gave him some peace of mind. He liked your voice. The cadence of it, the way you lilted some words, and how some of them slurred as you got drowsier and drowsier. Soon enough, your pauses became longer until you stopped mid-sentence. He waited, thinking you would start back up again but after a while, you didn’t.

He glanced down at where your face was pressed to his shoulder. At some point, your hand had moved from curled around his forearm to lacing it with his hand, he can feel your fingers twitch as you sleep. Your features were relaxed, lips parted slightly, soft even breaths escaping you. He leans over and presses a too long kiss to the crown of your head; your hand tightens subconsciously in his own. Jason decides to be selfish, just for tonight. He turns on his side to face you, carefully slipping your head from his shoulder to your pillow. He pulls the covers up and over both of your shoulders. His hand slides to your back and pulls you close. His other hand lightly pressing your face to his neck and he just holds you. A sigh escapes you and your arm slithers over his own waist, hugging in your sleep. Your warmth bleeds into Jason in a way he’s not used to.

You were right about Gotham’s perpetual cold, like a ghost breathing down your neck. But here, holding you like this, the cold didn’t exist. Only warmth and deep breaths do. For the first time in years, Jason’s body genuinely relaxes. Every alarm, trained into him by Bruce, the league, and his own self-preservation, shuts off. He just focuses on your breathing. In and out, in and out, steady. He presses another kiss on your head and makes an internal promise. He would tell you the truth, sooner rather than later. He’d tell you everything, about Red Hood, about his feelings for you, even if it meant you would hate him. He was going to tell you but first, he’d wait for you to get back on your feet, back into a normal rhythm of life. With that thought and your body closed, Jason closes his eyes and falls asleep. Nightmares don’t haunt him, only you.

Jason slept the hardest he had ever slept before. You woke up before him and he didn’t even know it. You’d like to say that you got up and piddled around your apartment, but that would be a lie. When you woke up, you were still pressed against Jason. You had somehow wrapped yourself around him like a deranged koala, or a squid. One arm haphazardly tucked under his head and wrapped around his neck, shoulder aching from the placement. Your other arm was wrapped around his waist, a leg thrown over his hips. You were quick to pull your leg back, feeling it was a little promiscuous should he wake. You take the opportunity to stare at him, closer than you usually would.

For the first time since you’d known Jason his skin was smoothed over, no worried wrinkles. He was relaxed and you hadn’t realized how wound up he usually looked until this moment. Usually, he looked like he was carrying the weight of the world, and you don’t know why or what caused it. You just know that it lightens when you can get him to laugh or talk about something he enjoys. Once you had asked Steph about it, sitting at her table one slow afternoon. She said it wasn’t her story to share but that there was some serious trauma along with a mountain of familial issues that didn’t help. You understood that having been there yourself. It's why you moved to Gotham in the first place. You never asked Jason about it because he never asked you what you were doing in Gotham. Your mind comes back to keep staring at him.

You get distracted staring at his lips longer than you’d like to admit, following the soft curve and pout there. Your thumb gently swipes over the small scar there absentmindedly, your hand already on his face without you realizing it. You feel a puff of air against your thumb, and you freeze as Jason’s forehead crinkles for a moment before relaxing again. God, you were such a loser. Staring at him while he slept, touching his lips. You needed to get a grip, and it was not going to happen in this bed. You take your time to peel out of his hold, his grip on you stronger than you anticipated. You pause once your feet are on the ground, letting him reorient himself until he stops moving. Bodily functions are taken care of in the bathroom, and you move to the kitchen starting the kettle on the stove for some tea. You stand there staring at the kettle while you wait, ignoring the headache forming behind your eyes.

A surge of upset overtakes you as you set two mugs on the counter with your usual tea. With a moment alone, with your tea, you think about Red Hood. You know it's dumb, but you still feel right to be mad at him. Between the kidnapping, which was his fault, and his abandonment, you understand now that he couldn’t have stayed, you think that anger is valid. But now, two days later, he hadn’t checked on you at least. You know Jason had been here but there was no note or any sign that he had been on your fire escape. You’ll admit to waking up, sneaking out of bed, and standing by the window waiting. It wasn’t for long, ten minutes, because you could cold without the space heater sleeping in your bed. He never showed himself.  You thought he cared but now you were questioning everything about your strange friendship with the vigilante.

“Tea?” a deep voice says. Your entire body flinches and for a brief moment you wonder if you’d summoned Red Hood by thinking about him but when you turn, you find Jason with a guilty look on his face.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” You press your hand to your chest, trying to make your heart slow down.

“You're so quiet.” You say with a deep breath. You know you were kind of lost in thought but you heard the usual sounds of your apartment easily. The creaking of the fire escape, the whistle of air from the window that’s not sealed right, and the whine of the ceiling fan. You hadn’t heard Jason moving at all.

“Part of the job.” He says with a shrug. You nod even though that doesn’t really make sense. What do security systems have to do with being quiet? The kettle starts to whistle. You turn off the heat and decide to ignore your usual tea habit for some hot chocolate. You put the box back into the cabinet and swap it for the box of hot chocolate. Once the hot chocolate is made you bring the mugs to the island. Jason is giving you a curious look.

“Oh, I’m sorry I should’ve asked if you want tea instead.” You say guiltily. He shakes his head.

“It’s okay, I like hot chocolate.” He takes the mug. He doesn’t drink it just yet only looks at you in that analyzing way.

“Why do you do that?” you ask, curiosity getting the better of you.

“Do what?” he responds confused.

“Look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Jason,” you say sternly. You think he knows exactly what you're talking about it. He innocently shrugs and picks up the mug. You see the start of a smirk as he brings the mug to his lips. You roll your eyes.

“Whatever.” You round the island to look at the papers left on your dining table, and you hear Jason shift in his seat.

“Why do you have a cup of water on your window seal?” He questions. Your brows for furrow and you look up to see the cup he’s talking about. The real reason you had crawled out of bed in the middle of the night was because you were thirsty. You’d stood by the window while you sipped on it.

“I was thirsty in the middle of the night.” You leave it at that. You hear him move and then see him out of the corner of your eye moving towards the window. He pauses and looks at your window locks for a minute before picking up the glass.

“You should’ve woken me up I would have gotten it for you.” He walks past you taking it to the kitchen.

“I’m not helpless you know.” Honestly, in your half-asleep state, you had forgotten Jason was there until you were climbing back into bed, snuggling up against him.  He’s standing next to you again when he speaks next, voice soft.

“I know you’re not, but it doesn't hurt to let someone take care of you.”

You don’t look up from you skimming of the papers, but you feel a warmth in your chest.

“Next time I need a glass of water and you’re in my bed; I’ll be sure to wake you.” You say with a hint of a smile.

Jason's heart does a little jump at your statement. He knows you're being facetious about it but the idea that you would let him stay in your bed again… It’s a nice thought, especially if it is under different circumstances. You look up from your skimming and meet his eye with a small smile.  You look over his face.

“You should go home.” You say softly. Jason's internal jumping falls to the ground. So, you don’t want him here?  You must see the confusion on his face because you put down papers you were reading to hold his face. You tip his head this way and that as your thumb swipes just above his jawline.

“You're growing a beard,” you finally say, “Not that I think it would be a bad look for you, I just assume you don’t like it.”  Jason's own hand comes to feel at his skin. You were right, a coarse stubble where his hand is. Jason wants to laugh at your statement. The few times he hadn’t shaved consistently, usually on a long mission with the outlaws, his alleged beard would grow out patchy and uneven. Not a good look like you apparently think. He had complained about it one time to Bruce (it was a weird family bonding activity that was unrelated to the conversation) and Bruce had said it was because Jason was still young, that in a few years it would even out. Jason feels your hands leave his face and he tamps down the urge to pull them back. Your smile sweetly at him making it easier to reign himself in.

“I can’t keep you hostage forever.” You add. Jason does laugh at that; two days is hardly forever. You could keep him for a month and he wouldn’t complain.

“Are you sure?” he asks, and you roll your eyes at him. He hadn’t asked how you were feeling today but he got the feeling you might kick him if he did. You seem to be in higher spirits but your apparent venture in the middle of the night worried him. The window was unlocked, and it had to be because of you. He had checked every lock in your apartment before he let you drag him to your room the night before. The window had been locked. Nothing was out of place in the apartment, so not a break-in. Red Hood was him and he was already there, so that wasn’t it either. You were the only option left. He didn’t tell you that though.

“You know, I have lived my entire life without you. I think I’ll be fine for a couple of days. Besides, you’ve been wearing the same clothes for two days.” He glances at his current apparel. You had good reason to be concerned about that. They were part of his Red Hood suit and he’s thankful you hadn’t made a connection yet. Black cargo pants and a black T-shirt. His armor and guns dropped at the garage he got the car from. His clothes weren’t exactly clean when he picked you up at the warehouse, already sweaty from a few hours of patrol. And now two days later, yea, he should go home.

“Fine, if you're kicking me out, I’ll leave.” You blink at him in disbelief, and a smirk works its way onto his lips.

“I am not kicking you out.” You say defiantly. Jason rolls his tongue between his teeth to keep from laughing. He puts his hands up in defense.

“Okay, okay, you’re not kicking me out, but I leave you alone. You let me know if you need anything, anything at all, okay?” he says. Your eyes widen and you shake your head.

“No, not yet.”

“What?”

“Stay til lunch” you pause, eye imploring, “Please.” Jason understands now.

“You don’t have to say please, sweetheart. I’ll stay for lunch.” You seem pleased with his response, nodding with a contented smile. The morning proceeds with you cajoling him into another movie and by noon you were both quietly eating leftover Chinese from the night before.

“You’ll call me if you need something, right?” Jason asks around some sweet and sour chicken. You’re sitting at the island together, your ankle hooked around his.

“You know, I think you’d make a great dad.” You say, while picking through your food for the perfect broccoli. Your statement throws Jason off-kilter and must show on his face because when you look up you laugh at him.

“I will let you know if I need anything, please don’t worry about me. I get the feeling it might drive you crazy.” Jason’s mind is still running through what you meant by your previous statement. A great dad? Was there a purpose in that statement? Were you thinking about him like that? He checks back in registering what you just said.

“You're right about that.” Which is why he already had a plan ready for when he left your apartment. He’s positive that the only reason you’re asking him to leave is because you feel guilty and that you're still not ready to be alone. So, he was going to make sure you weren’t alone. The rest of lunch is spent quietly, feet randomly kicking at each other under the island. He attempts to wash the silverware you’d used but you stopped him, threatening to stab him with your fork. You drop the fork before he can concede in the battle of the dishes. A haunted look crosses your face for just a second before you hide it with a smile and start to shuffle him out your door.

Jason knew that look in an instant, he did not want to leave you alone for any amount of time. But he didn’t want you to feel bad about keeping him here. You help him collect his things which amounted to just his phone. You do a quick scan of the hooks by your door, clearly searching for a coat he hadn’t worn when he picked you up. A worried crease shows between your brows when your eyes settle on the Red Hood jacket next to the shock blanket. You glance between Jason and the jacket and just for a second he wonders if you know. You’re smart, he wouldn't be surprised if you did, but then you shake your head and pull him into a hug.

He’s a little startled but not as much as he would have been last week. The past two days of constantly touching each other in some manner made it easier for him to relax in your touch. His arms easily circle around your shoulders as he presses a kiss to the crown of your head without thinking. A pleased hum escapes you and you squeeze him a little tighter. You pull away just enough to see his face.

“Thank you for everything, Jason, really.” He nods and watches your eyes; you look like you’re struggling with something, and he waits to see if you’ll talk about it. After a few seconds of nothing, his hands moves. One squeezes at your shoulder and the other tucks some hair behind your ear, hand resting on your cheek. You lean into it just slightly.

“If you need anything-” he starts, and you cut him off with a shake of your head.

“I’ll call you. Stop worrying about me and go take care of yourself.” you pull out his hold and all he wants to do is drag you back. He stares at you, and you give him an insistent look back.

“I don’t want to kick you out, but I will if I have to.” You say with a dramatic huff. Jason laughs at the picture that conjures.

“Alright, I’m gone,” he unlocks your door and with one foot out he turns back and adds, “but if you need-”

“Get out of my apartment!” You demand with a giggled screech. He grins at you and finally shuts the door. He waits, listening for you to lock it. Once you had he heads down the hallway to the elevator, pulling out his phone. In the elevator, he hits Steph’s contact. It rings for a few seconds and then loud voice rings through the speaker.

“Is she bored of you yet? I wanna see her.” Jason pulls the phone away from his ear with a wince. He doesn’t answer her question.

“I need you to come stay with her.”

“So, she is bored of you.” She exclaims

“Stephanie”

“Jason”

He huffs, “Please”

The line is silent for a minute and Jason wonders if the call dropped in the elevator when the doors slide open, and he steps out.

“You’re really worried about her, aren’t you?” she asks, quieter than normal. He wasn’t ready to have this conversation.

“Stephanie, will you come stay with her? She doesn’t need to be alone.”

“Does she know you’re asking?” Jason sighs already tired of this back and forth as he pulls a ticket off of the parked borrowed car. (Bruce’s Problem)

“No, and she’s not going to find out I asked.” He tells her.

“I’m going to bring Cass with me.”

“Steph” Jason grumbles as he slides into the car.

“It would be weird if it was just me showing up at her apartment, trust me. It’ll be a girl's night.”

Jason sighs again, “Just promise to take care of her?”

“Promise. This going to be so much fun!” Steph must end the call cause the line goes dead. Jason wonders for a moment if this is a good idea, but he doesn’t have a lot of options and you didn’t need to be alone.

Additional note: Shout out to the lovely person that talked about Jason actually getting good sleep. I loved it and I think its going to become a reoccurring thing for both of them. The next chapter is all Steph and Cass and some conversations about the family our girl has not had with Jason. She is going to basically be adopted into the family, it’ll be great. Thank you for reading. Please comment!! The good, the bad, and the ugly are all welcomed.

Tag List: @little-miss-naill, @nikilolo787, @joonunivrs, @uzxotic, @qardasngan, @stormz369,  @g4bbi3xx, @iwatobiswimbros, @the-lonely-flute, @elz-xo, @gone-batty-fics, @princessesgarden, @notfckincreative, @love-theangel, @feyres-fireheart, @penguimlover23, @herodedicatedblog

[tricoloreddango]

Yandere Mydei forcing reader to fight him for their freedom / violence elements and threats / Mydei is overprotective but he generally sucks

Sparring with Mydei has never been easy yet it was battling him that has reached a cruel force of nightmarish experience.

You weren’t necessarily a weakling in terms of average human performance, yet no matter how strong you could have been, there would always have been a gap in agility and strength between you two—something Mydei didn’t hesitate to spill out for you everyday, deeming you as weak against Amphoreus. He wasn’t going easy on you during this fight either.

“Come on, great warrior. Didn’t you say you’ll win today?” Mydei taunted, you just few steps away; not enough to feel any resemblance of safety.

The words and your current state were making you panic as you were quickly catching up with the extent of how little you had left. You were already seriously bruised up, but it was your stamina and exhaustion being depleted at this point that made winning seem impossible. You couldn’t lift up your weapon anymore, let alone swing it at him. Your combat didn’t last that long, but Mydei was ruthless and made you like this sooner than you wanted.

And the loss was going to be a great gamble and sacrifice. Mydei had never truly given you much of a choice—you were forced to fight him, a deal he had enforced on you after your continuous rejection of his offer of protection. His prize? You’ll give in to him and said ‘blessing’. Should you win… he’ll leave you alone, something you desperately craved after him constantly forcing himself into your life—hence why you agreed to fight him in his place; no matter how foolish the idea was considering what you’ll have to give and the fact winning was unlikely.

But as mentioned, agreeing didn’t mean it was a choice for you.

Being deprived of options lied in the fact he’s been forcing you to stay leashed to him prior the fight, something you should have been able to decide or reject as a natural right of a person. You could have only tried to get away then, using the offered deal— deal made using your false hope he’ll let you go if you win, with him knowing it was a wishful thinking in eyes of his prowess. The win was just about solidifying your place behind him, where your protests no longer would have to be acknowledged, nor your struggle—since he would win fairly and you said yes to the challenge. Your oppressor would no longer have to limit himself in keeping you in his grasp, a caged bird you were soon to become; exchanging your freedom for safety only suffocating you.

“No… I can still…” you replied, all through heavy breathing; moaning in pain each inhale brought.

Mydei’s eyes narrowed at your words, further provoking his anger. You were truly irresponsible to force yourself to fight instead of just conceding and avoiding unnecessary harm to your body.

“Your stubbornness will bring you nowhere. Give up,” he hissed, his voice raising in its volume.

He was charging at you once again, his armor claw glove soon to be piercing through your body. You tried to move but your legs finally gave up on you, and you could have only close your eyes to avoid seeing the splash of blood and your flesh being torn apart.

You were met with none. What brought you back to open your eyes was his voice, making your stomach drop from its triumphal pitch. “Finally.”

You were given just a few seconds to process the fact you’ve just lost and about to become caged in his life as you were being lifted up, your feet dangling in the air, before manhandled over his shoulder, both sides of your body hanging over it.

When Mydei felt wetness on his back, he scoffed, “Warriors don’t cry. If you do, you are too weak just as I have told you. I’m done with your ungrateful misbehavior and you refusing to see your need for me.”

His grip tightened on you, ignoring your cry of pain from abrasions being provoked. Guilt was reserved for the times you were listening to him, as he was having enough of you constantly putting yourself in danger. Fighting enemies you survived but ended with injuries.

“I’ll break your legs if you try to run away again, since everything I tell you falls on deaf ears.”

[yujisdreamgirl]

Love and Lies

satoru gojo x reader

cw: drunk confessions, angst(?)

“how many times are you gonna do this, hm?” gojo grunts, carrying dragging a drunk you back to your place.

you mutter something inaudibly, gojo paying no mind to it as he focuses on getting you safely home.

“no.”

“no?” he turns to you confused.

“i dun wann go home..too lonely.”

gojo’s gaze softens, although his playful smirk still appears.

“pffft, you just wanna be in my sheets.”

he winces as you hit his head hard, “ow! i didn’t mean it like that, baby! i know you love my soft, $700 king sized bed.”

“you’re stupid..”

“i’m already helping your drunk ass yet you still bully me? ugh, you wound me.” gojo chuckles, putting his hand on his heart as he gasps dramatically.

after an uncomfortable length of silence and carrying you home, you spoke up.

“‘m sorry..”

gojo raises his eyebrow, “i know you are. you don’t think straight when you’re drunk, it’s okay.”

“i just.. haven’t been feeling well lately”

“…so you think drowning yourself in alcohol would make things better?” he sighs. “you’re lucky i’m here to take care of ya.”

you sigh guiltily, knowing he’s right. “yeah..”

when you get to his apartment, you immediately flop onto his bed—no hesitation, no questions asked.

gojo smiles as he gazes at you softly.

“alright, pretty girl. let’s get you comfy.”

he sits you up under the blanket, taking note of you tear stained cheeks.

“baby, what’s wrong?” he says as he wipes your tears away.

“i just- i don’t know what to do, satoru..” you sniffle.

“what do you mean you don’t know what to do?” he asks with a gentle tone, “you could start by taking more care of yourself. you don’t need to drink away your problems. not when i’m here at least.”

you wipe your tears aggressively, words caught up in your throat. “how can i do that when all my problems root from the people i can talk to?”

he pauses. his eyebrows furrow with concern, gently rubbing your arms as comfort.

“you’re.. afraid to talk about how you feel, huh?” you nod. he knows that feeling all too well. he’s given his all to protect you, that he forgot about this aspect of your well-being.

“hey, it’s okay!” he desperately tries to sound optimistic. “you don’t have to feel pressured, but you know you can always talk to me, right?”

a frown casts upon your face, “not when it’s about you.”

what?

panic stirs within gojo. what had he done for you to resort to alcohol? did he do something to greatly offend you? he knows he annoys you too much, but that’s just because you’re his best friend!

“what.. did i do something?”

when you don’t reply, your eyes half lidded and posture hunched over, gojo thinks he’s done the unspeakable. the kind of action that could make you write a whole book about it.

“..i like you.” your face lights up with sadness, a look clinging onto a thread of desperation.

a shiver ran down gojo’s soul. how could this happen? not even his six eyes could predict this.

you take gojo’s silence as an unspoken rejection, the disbelief in his eyes saying everything. “i’m sorry,”

gojo’s expression softens, taking a moment to gather his thoughts and slightly pulling his comforting hands away from your arms.

“hey, don’t apologise. there’s nothing to be sorry about, you just.. took me by surprise, that’s all.”

you look up at him, eyes glistening with tears.

“you.. what do you feel?”

he sighs, a mixture of longing and contemplation cast upon his face.

“i don’t know. i care about you, a lot more than i care to admit.” he chuckles, “you’re my best friend but i.. i haven’t really allowed myself to consider anything more than that.”

oh.

that was the cherry on top.

he panics, scrambling to find the words to ensure things don’t stay awkward between you two.

“look, it’s not that i haven’t thought about it before. you know, the possibility of us being more than friends” he gulps. “i just don’t want to ruin everything we have and what we’ve been through together.”

your heart aches, you can’t help but look away from the man you love.

“but you won’t.. how would you?”

“I don’t know,” he admits honestly. “i guess.. i’m just afraid that if things go wrong between us, it would change what we have now. i don’t want to risk losing our friendship if things don’t work out romantically.”

he has a point, but what good does it cause you? pining over your best friend, only to hear that he feels the same way but also doesn’t because he’s too stuck over your friendship? it’s all too complicated for your intoxicated mind.

“but… i also can’t ignore what you just said,” he says, looking into your eyes. “you said you like me, i.. i can’t just disregard that. it’s just a lot to process, especially in your current state. i want to be sure you really mean what you said.”

you choke on your silent sobs, muttering out a soft “i do mean it..”

“i believe you..” he says, his voice filled with a touch of vulnerability. “but… let’s talk about this more when you’re sober, okay? i don’t want us making any rash decisions and conversations right now, not when we’re both this emotional and vulnerable.”

you nod apprehensively, allowing yourself to sink into the comfy bed sheets.

“we’ll talk more in the morning, okay? i’ll be here when you wake up.”

and just like that, the door closes and all that fills the air is tension and unspoken truths.

mixed signals go crazy🫨🫨

[infiniteeight8]

Stephen is desperate for Tony to love him back, to the point that he uses his knowledge of Tony to manipulate him into a relationship. (Potentially manipulates things so Tony and Pepper break up? Or this could be after that?) After all, he knows he'll treat Tony right, what does it matter how they get to this point. The ends justify the means, right?

I love this prompt so much. 😃 So much potential here. *rubs hands together*

This is a “they won on Titan” AU. So Pepper and Tony are, prior to this fic, engaged. I did a google for how long Pepper has known Tony and landed on almost 20 years, since she says she’s been curating his art collection for ten years in Iron Man 2 (2010) and Infinity War happens in 2018.

-

Stephen knows the instant Tony lands on the Sanctum’s doorstep. By the time the armor is retracted and the Sanctum’s doors have swung open for him, Stephen is already halfway down the stairs. Tony stalks into the foyer and the doors quickly close behind him. A protective gesture, Stephen’s connection to the Sanctum tells him. “Tony. Is everything okay?”

“The wedding’s off,” Tony says shortly. He starts pacing.

Stephen’s heart lifts. “I’m sorry,” he says carefully. 

Tony snorts. “Don’t be. I’m the one who called it off. Pepper’s probably still trying to call me.”

“What happened?” Stephen positions himself so that Tony will pass close to him on his traverses of the foyer, but doesn’t try to stop him.

“I took your advice,” Tony says, “and talked to Pepper about DUM-E and U. About what they would need if something happened to me.”

“I take it that didn’t go well.” It never had in any of the futures Stephen had seen. 

“Understatement of the year.” Tony raises his hands and scrubs them through his hair. “Pepper has known me for nearly twenty years. She was around when DUM-E literally saved my life! She’s known him and U almost as long. How can she not get it? How did I not realize that she doesn’t get it?”

“If you explained—”

“No,” Tony cuts him off, as Stephen knew he would. There’s a line to tread here; Stephen can’t risk making Tony feel defensive of Pepper. “If she doesn’t get it after all this time, she never will. And frankly, after what she said, I’m not interested in giving her the chance.”

Stephen winces. “That bad?”

Tony stops pacing and turns to face Stephen. “She said, and I quote, “Tony, I know you’re attached to these things, but this is really too far. They’re machines, not children.’”

Stephen lets himself look as appalled as he feels. That was one of the more extreme options. “She called them things?”

Tony barks a harsh laugh. “Yeah. And when I told her that I made them and they have thoughts and personalities of their own and that as far as I’m concerned that does make them my kids, she asked if I’d thought about having real kids. Like we weren’t even talking about the bots anymore, like that conversation was over.”

“I’m sorry, Tony,” Stephen says gently. “I can’t imagine how anyone could meet either DUM-E or U and not understand that they’re people.”

“Me neither,” Tony deflates. “But I’m starting to think that you and I are two of a kind there. I mean, did the other wizards recognize Levi?” Tony waggles his fingers in belated greeting and Levi waved a corner at him. 

“The Ancient One once called Levi ‘fickle’,” Stephen says dryly.

“Yeah, no, she clearly didn’t understand them at all,” Tony agrees. He sighs and takes a heavy seat on the Sanctum’s steps. “I thought I was finally going to get my happily ever after, you know?”

Stephen sits beside him. “Would the kind of white picket fence life that Pepper wanted really have made you happy?” he asks. It actually had, in some of those futures. But Tony could be just as happy, often happier, living a different life with Stephen.

“I don’t know,” Tony says. “But I was willing to try.”

Levi flares out and wraps around Tony’s shoulders, giving him a kind of hug where Stephen can’t, not quite yet. And if the action pulls Tony against Stephen for a moment or two, well, so much the better. Levi has been on board with Stephen’s plan from the beginning.

Tony laughs and pats the fold of cloak curled around him. “Thanks, Levi.” He turns to Stephen, almost close enough to kiss. They aren’t there yet, but Stephen can’t help thinking about it. Tony goes on, oblivious. “Want to come hang out with the bots with me? I’m feeling the need for some quality time.”

Stephen smiles. “I’d love to.” 

Everything is going exactly as planned.

[etherealrin]

Hey! Love your works, it's really nice to read them and I just love your style💖, may I request an isagi x reader but the reader is kaiser's little sibling? It sounds fun ☺️

⋆｡˚꩜ a comprehensive tutorial on how to piss off michael kaiser in his penthouse; by yoichi isagi.

yoichi isagi just wants to hang out with you...but your brother is making it quite uncomfortable

warnings: slight violent descriptions (as a joke), michael kaiser gives you no privacy, one mention of google translated german // wc: 957

note: i was giggling the entire time writing this LMAOO imo such a funny dynamic, the rivalry goes crazy.

your bubbly laughs that echo through the penthouse allow isagi to relax, just a little bit. the environment is new to him, and he’s afraid that the smallest slip-up will result in his head being chopped off by one of the rather large, menacing butcher knives lined against the marble kitchen walls.

but what’s even more threatening is the way kaiser is glaring at him, blue gaze more piercing than any dagger.

“micha, you’re making yoi uncomfortable,” you begin, shooting the blonde haired man your own look of annoyance. you turn your attention away from the mixing bowl in front of you to interlace your fingers with yoichi’s, trying to offer him some comfort. isagi wonders if theres nervous sweat on them.

“he’s in my penthouse, with my sibling? am i meant to leave him unattended, to let this donkey roam around with free will?” kaiser huffs, arms crossing.

yikes, was he in a mood today.

“you’re calling my boyfriend a donkey?” yeah, you were ready to throw hands right there.

isagi had practically jumped for joy when you’d invited him over to bake cookies. he somehow managed to forget that you were rival’s little sibling, and that your house was technically also michael’s—of course he would own a penthouse with a city view. michael was an oddly protective elder brother, or maybe his rivalry with yoichi just ran that deeply; was it not enough for isagi to steal the soccer ball on court? did he have to steal michael’s bloodline too?

“go, um, read a psychology book or something,” you say, wanting to get your brother off the scene. “hang out with ness! i’m sure he’d love to!”

yoichi nods his head hurriedly in agreement.

“you think you two are getting rid of me that easily? that’s-“ your brother is cut off mid-scoff, his phone ringing loudly and persistently. you snicker, knowing that you were about to win.

“was zum teufel,” michael spits, picking up the line.

“no, ness, i’m busy…what? you seriously can’t drive yourself? can’t i…uh….i guess you’re right,” he seems to be arguing with ness, going back and forth.

“you two lucky idiots are getting your wish,” michael snaps as he hangs up, hurrying out the door. before it closes, a warning: “isagi, if you try anything, i’ll screw you over before you can blink twice.”

“yeah yeah, shitty rose.” yoichi’s ego gets the best of him. great, now he’d been rude to your brother in front of you!

but you don’t seem to mind, maybe you didn’t care, humming softly as you add chocolate chips to the mix.

"you need to move out," yoichi doesn't think he can visit you if this is how your brother was going to be.

“hmmm, could be worse. what if we made s’mores cookies?” you reply excitedly.

“the ones with marshmallows?”

“yep! i think i have them somewhere,” you pull him into your startling large pantry. the size is almost that of a grocery aisle, and it’s stocked with an insane amount of protein powder—likely your brother’s doing—but you find the small package of the fluffy white sweets tucked away in a corner.

except, you can’t quite get to it, the nook being far above your head.

“let me,” yoichi says, reaching up. he has to be on the tips of his toes, curse michael kaiser for being so damn tall!

as yoichi fumbles above you for a bit, he doesn’t notice the odd position he’s forced you into, your back flush against the shelves. you’re not that much shorter than him, but he’s gripping onto your shoulder for support, and the proximity makes you flustered. he smells good, crisp and clean, a hint of citrus in the mix.

with a small flop, the bag finally comes crashing down, along with yoichi’s balance. he lets out a startled yelp, hurriedly latching onto your other shoulder.

oh.

you blink, fazed by his deep aquamarine eyes, and the way that your noses are practically touching. his breath is ticklish, irregular from the earlier struggle, and a cherry red blush painted across his entire face.

you’re both too scared to move, stuck in the haze, should you move? closer? maybe further?

it’s like that for an agonizingly long second—still—until yoichi chooses for the both of you, his fingertips make contact with your jaw and they’re warm, hot like the kiss he suddenly pulls you into.

you’re far too eager to reciprocate, hands finding their way into his soft dark locks. the cookie batter stays neglected on the sleek white countertop, both of you distracted and lost in another world.

when your lungs threaten to implode from lack of air, that’s when you pull away, gasping softly.

your boyfriend’s face is ten times redder now.

“sorry, i- i should’ve asked first,” yoichi stammers, flustered and unable to meet your eyes.

“it’s fine, i like you when you’re confident, yoi,” you smile, twisting a strand of his hair.

you fail to notice how the front door had opened, and you’re greeted with michael kaiser standing in the hallway, gawking at the two of you.

“why’s he in my pantry?” michael’s pissed now. “of all damn places, could you two not make out in the middle of my protein powder? seriously, that is gross. i won’t be able to drink that shit now!”

“oops,” you giggle. “you’re just upset that you don’t have someone.” your brother lets out an indignant huff, ready to start hell as he marches closer. you’re still snickering.

unfortunately, yoichi cannot find any of this nearly as funny as you do—no, he’s already thinking about the hell your brother’s going to give him during the game tomorrow, convinced that both of the kaisers would be the death of him.

a/n: michael says "what the hell" in german, i just wanted to make it diverse idk. like genuinely isagi is lucky if he makes it through the week dating a kaiser sibling...kaiser is not giving his blessing for the wedding LMFAO

masterlist!

[4lexnilsen]

“a monster.   oh,  boo-hoo,  i’m a monster now because i don’t do as you say.”   daddy would be here if he only knew she needed him.   she simply didn’t have the time to send him an S-O-S.   he rolls his eyes,  biting the comment back when these dark brown eyes flicker up to meet his with an emotion that he can’t quite decipher…   rage?   betrayal?   train of thought lost on him as she delivers a mike tyson worthy punch,  nearly making him trip.   his hand immediately flies up to touch the sore spot,  the thick fabric of his puffer jacket served as a cushion,  an additional layer of protection,  but his muscles are still burning underneath.   nerve endings on fire.   his eyes well up with unwanted tears.   “what the fuck’s that for?!   i was just trying to make you look presentable.   right now you could pass for pennywise’s little sister,”   he sneers,  rubbing his arm and blinking away his tears.   “stop it,”   he mocks in a high-pitched voice,  shaking his head because she’s just too dramatic.   he hasn’t done anything to her.   

“i was just trying to help you,  you priss!”   he says loudly,  laughing when she grabs a fistful of his sweater and pulls him down to her level.   it’s only when she takes a hold of his other arm,  moving so fast that he can’t even react before it’s too late,  that he shuts up.   giggles turning into screams of pain.   electric current racing through his arm,  radiating from his wrist all the way up to his shoulder.   he begins to squirm and considers stepping on her foot to make her let go,  but she’s loosening up.   this time,  he just stays quiet,  rubbing his abused limb and glaring at her.   fucking bitch.   she could have broken his arm.   “you think you can just threaten me?”   he feigns confidence to save what’s left of his pride,  even if deep down he’s pretty intimidated.   “i’ll say what i want and we’ll see who gets to keep their teeth.”   what if he said that she’d been sleeping around with him?   yeah,  okay,  harry might try to punch him,  but he’s not really all that scared of harry…   besides,  something tells him that ugly boar would direct his anger at her rather than him.

lingering beside the raven-haired girl’s side as she lunges at one of harry’s idiot friends next,  alex can’t help but lift his brows and whistle at the revelation.   harry leaving with another woman?   what a surprise!   his arm is still burning,  joints sore where she’d twisted them,  and he should feel no compassion towards her but…   suddenly,  it all begins to make sense.   so harry really is cheating on her.   must be why she assumes she’s doing sarah a favor by exposing his behavior.   must be why she thinks he’s incapable of staying faithful.   it makes his heart feel all weird,  heavy and fluttery at the same way.   his stomach twisting when he catches a glimpse of her expression.   “give me that,”   he grumbles,  unceremoniously slipping his hand into the pocket of her coat,  pulling out her car keys.   it might be her father’s car,  but he refuses to trust her to get them to wherever harry’s having his fun at safely.   he’s not letting her drive.   “hey,  you!”   he calls out after the guy,  whatever his name is.   “where’d he go?   where can we find harry?   her father has some really urgent message to pass on to him.   it really can’t wait till tomorrow,”   he fibs,  unsure why he’s still here,  trying to help helena uncover her boyfriend’s infidelity when he should be on his way back home.   he doesn’t even have to say anything,  looks like their relationship’s about to get flushed down the drain.   there’s his payback.   too bad it doesn’t taste so sweet,  after all.

"is daddy here, right now, helping me deal with a monster? no." the raven haired girl snaps, eyes immediately become widened at gravity or alex's strength yanking her back. as if that wasn't enough to get her blood pressure sky rocketing– the material of his shirt is roughly digging into her skin causing her face to hurt and burn that she's shoving away with a quick turn of her face. at this point, believing he's trying to suffocate her. her fist balling, SLAMMING it into his bicep once they're inside the lounge blaring loud pop music that he's dragging her into by her arm. "STOP IT," yelling over top of it, eyes serious and angry as she seethes and stares up at him, "i'm not your rag doll you can just SHOVE around," hand clutches onto his shirt, yanking him down here. other hand grabbing his hand that's wrapped around her small arm and twisting his backwards, pressing hard on that sensitive pressure point she knows where to dig her thumb into thanks to a lot of time put into self defense to bring a lot of pain, "put your hands on me one more time and i will snap your wrist like a twig." it's already been thought about, no one else would've hesitated this long and she shouldn't even do so now after he had the audacity to put his grimy hands on her like that and jerk her backwards by her coat. "it would do you better to keep your mouth shut." still twisting hard, teeth gritting, "harry's not going to believe you anyway and if you open your mouth... you might lose a few teeth." when she rams her fist in his jaw, that's not a threat, that's a promise.

"hey helena! what are you doing heree?" a drunken slur of one of harry's friends gets her attention, having her quickly spinning on her heel. "wait. you are helena..." the blond points out and causes her confusion, "yeah?" what does that mean exactly? "oh, that's weird." he chuckles, holding his drink in hand, "why's that weird?" she questions, to which she earns hesitation before he finally comes back and blurts, "beee-cause. harry just left. some time ago. can't 'member... with another dark haired girl. juss' like you?" that causes her heart to drop, feeling the heaviness of it SINKING deep into the pits of her belly. "what do you mean? when?" then he pretends he didn't just unload that on her and starts to turn, to which helena reaches out and yanks her next victim by the shirt for the second time tonight, "when?" she demands this time. "ohhh jee-sus, okaay. okay. umm," swallowing, harry's going to kick his ass now, trying to squirm out of his feisty girlfriend's grip. her hands just grip TIGHTER. "ten! ten minutes ago but don't tell 'im okay? don'ttt." letting his shirt go now, he runs off and she's left silent with mixed emotion creasing her brows. calculating what to do next. after one more second of thought, taking her phone out of her jacket, contemplating if she should call, text or... another option.

[cinnamqnx]

# 𝐏𝐋𝐔𝐆 ! ⋮ ( ʚɞ )

── .✦

summary. keigo takami (hawks) as your plug

warnings. drug use (weed), alcohol use, swearing

♡ you meet hawks from a mutual friend, wanting to find a dealer after only getting/smoking weed from friends

♡ they recommend ‘hawks’, he goes to the same college as you but you’ve never actually spoken to him. he’s sort of like the college plug

♡ the first time he meets you, he finds you so adorable. your awkwardness when asking him what you’re after pulls a small smile on his face

♡ after that, you’ve kinda been on his radar

♡ definitely makes you pay less than what he actually charges

♡ even gives you pre rolls to save you the trouble, and this man knows how to roll

♡ over time you gradually get closer to him, seeing him at parties every weekend, regularly going to him for weed, it was inevitable

♡ i also feel like he doesn’t really fw many people, so he always had time for you

♡ lets you call him keigo, even though he usually prefers that people call him hawks and only letting close friends call him his real name

♡ sorta becomes your personal guard dog at parties 😭

♡ always grabbing you water when he thinks you’ve drank way too much and ordering you an uber home

♡ if he hasn’t really drank, he’ll drive you home after taking you to some fast food place and eating in his car (he’s lowkey panicking when he sees you whip out any sauce)

♡ refuses to give you anything stronger than weed

♡ “nah, i don’t really want you on the hard shit.”

♡ doesn’t want you ending up addicted or ruining your life for drugs and always gives you lectures about it, even if it’s unprovoked

♡ he’s just veryyyyy protective when it comes to you

♡ i also feel like dabi would also be some type of dealer, and him and keigo have this little rivalry going on

♡ warns you to stay away from him, i feel like he’d go crazy if he saw dabi speak to you or even look at you

♡ everyone around you is confused whether you’re actually together or not because of how you act together

♡ however, keigo has a reputation for sleeping around, just doing his own thing, so it’s definitely thrown you off getting involved with him in that way

♡ even though he hasn’t really been entertaining anyone since you both got closer

♡ but he’s scared to fuck things up with you so he doesn’t say anything

♡ you don’t really know what you’d refer to him as in your life either, but you’re glad to have him around at least

♡ this man is always paying for you

♡ whether you need your nails doing, hair or you just need some more clothes, keigo always is the one paying for you

♡ also always buying you food, whenever you both smoke together and you get the munchies he’s ordering food for a family of eight

♡ you always tell him he doesn’t need to, but he’s more than happy to do it, something about your grateful smile has his heart pounding

♡ you start noticing problems when keigo starts showing his jealousy towards men you’re talking to

♡ you haven’t had chance to actually date any of them, since they’re either scared off by keigo or don’t want to get involved since they can clearly sense the tension between you both

♡ now, keigo has no real reason to be jealous, you’re not his girlfriend after all

♡ but when he sees you grinding and being way too close to this one guy for his liking, he snaps

♡ in his head, it was justified, you were acting different since you got involved with him and keigo had no choice but to step back from you despite how difficult it was for him

♡ he’d had enough

♡ storming over to the two of you and throwing his drink in his face, a fight broke out immediately, the frat brothers rushing to break them apart before keigo grabs your wrist

♡ “why the fuck would you do that? you know i like him.”, you yell at him after he had dragged you outside

♡ “he isn’t good for you, y/n!”

♡ “you don’t even know that! we haven’t spoken in days, like, you’ve been distancing yourself and acting weird for weeks, and now you wanna punch the guy i’m talking to? what the fuck-”

♡ “yeah, cause i fucking like you. bro- how have you not seen how badly i’ve been wanting you for months?”

♡ after hearing that, you swear your heart stops, and suddenly the thoughts of the guy you was with disintegrated

[shizuturnspages]

somewhat of a self-indulgent request but i've gotta ask... i've always seen characters like thoma and kaveh as 'softer' yanderes (still yandere, but it'd be somewhat doable actually being with them imo), and i was wondering how they'd react in a relationship with a more assertive reader that tends to take the initiative ie. being the one to ask them out and stuff like that. i just think it'd be cute in a way and i wanted to ask for yandere thoma and kaveh with an assertive s/o??? separate ofc.

Flustered Devotion

Synopsis: Soft, but still possessive. They’re not as overbearing as some, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less obsessed with you. Pairings: Yan! Thoma x Reader, Yan! Kaveh x Reader

Yandere Thoma– The Devoted Protector

Reaction to an Assertive Darling:

❥ Thoma isn’t used to someone else taking the lead. He’s naturally accommodating, always considering others’ needs before his own. So when you confidently ask him out, he’s stunned.

❥ “Oh! I—uh—wow, I was actually planning to ask you myself, but… you beat me to it.” His usual charm falters for a second before he recovers, his warm smile returning.

❥ He’s so touched that you chose him, that you want him. It fuels his already deep devotion—now that he knows you’re willing to chase after him, he has to make sure he never loses you.

How It Affects His Yandere Tendencies:

❥ Thoma is protective to the point of paranoia. He’s the type to cook for you, clean up after you, make sure your home is safe—except now, it’s a little too much.

❥ If you go somewhere dangerous, he insists on accompanying you. “Just to be safe, okay? It would kill me if something happened to you.” His smile never fades, but his grip on your wrist tightens slightly.

❥ Your assertiveness makes him so happy, but it also makes him nervous—because what if one day, you take the initiative to leave him? He has to make sure that never happens.

Flustered Moments:

❥ The first time you initiate a kiss? Thoma malfunctions. His face is completely red, ears burning, hands frozen in midair. “You— you— just kissed me?”

❥ He melts when you grab his chin and make him look at you. He’s so used to handling others with care, but you’re handling him, and he’s weak for it.

❥ If you call him yours? Forget it. He’s gone. His whole soul belongs to you now.

Yandere Kaveh– The Overbearing Romantic

Reaction to an Assertive Darling:

❥ Kaveh lives for romance, but he always imagined himself as the one making grand declarations of love. When you ask him out? He’s speechless.

❥ “You—wait—me? You’re serious? You actually want to date me?” He’s so flustered that he has to sit down. It’s not that he thinks he’s unworthy—he just wasn’t expecting it!

❥ The idea that you’re confident enough to pursue him drives him absolutely wild. He loves that you know what you want. It makes him even more obsessed, because it means he has to be good enough for you.

How It Affects His Yandere Tendencies:

❥ Kaveh is already overbearing as a yandere, and this just makes him worse. Since you’re the assertive type, he assumes that means you’ll leave if he doesn’t give you every reason to stay.

❥ He’s constantly trying to prove himself. He dotes on you so much—building things for you, making sure your home is perfect, always fussing over your comfort.

❥ If you so much as mention another person too fondly, he gets dramatic. “Oh, I see! You’re already growing tired of me, aren’t you? You deserve someone better, don’t you?” (He’s baiting you to reassure him.)

Flustered Moments:

❥ The first time you grab his face and say, "You're mine, Kaveh," he actually chokes on air. His entire brain short-circuits.

❥ He thrives when you assert dominance. If you tug him into a kiss? If you push him against a wall? If you tell him exactly what you want? Yeah, his knees buckle.

❥ The moment you take his chin in your hand and whisper something sweet, he’s clutching onto you for dear life. “Oh, you’re dangerous,” he murmurs, a shiver running through him. “Please—keep ruining me like this.”

[didyoulookforme]

Omg you’re actually the sweetest :((( I don’t have any crazy good ideas at the moment but I think just a some cute fluff with young bf matty would be super sweet, maybe getting comforted by him while sick? <3

class is about to start, and matty’s already in his seat, one foot tapping against the floor, half-listening to hann talking his ear off about some new guitar he wants to get. what surprises him is that she’s not here yet. she’s always the first one in, books already out, ready to get started because she’s probably the only person who actually enjoys being here. but the bell rings, and she’s still not in her seat.

when she finally walks in, his stomach instantly drops because he knows something’s wrong. he can tell by the way she’s holding her books too tight to her chest. she doesn’t look at anyone, just stares at the floor, shoulders drawn in trying to make herself smaller. when she drops into the seat next to him, she finally glances over, and his heart stammers because her eyes are red and glassy.

he immediately mouths “what’s wrong?” but she just shakes her head, barely whispering, “i’ll tell you later.”

he doesn’t hear a single word of the lesson. the class drags as he keeps sneaking glances at her, mind racing through every possibility of what could’ve happened. in the two years he’s known her, he’s grown stupidly protective. he really, really likes her—not that he can ever say that out loud. not when she has a boyfriend.

or had.

because when he comes over to her house after school, he finds out the fucking jerk broke up with her the previous night. just ended it out of nowhere. and that’s part of why she’s been so quiet, so sad. that, and the fact that she’s got her period that morning is making it the worst day on earth for her :(

matty doesn’t really know how to make her feel better. he wishes he did, wishes there was something he could do to make the tears stop, to ease the way she keeps wincing and curling further into herself as if trying to disappear. it fucking sucks watching her like this and knowing there’s nothing he can do to take it away.

he hates it even more because he loves hearing her laugh. loves the way she talks his ear off about a million things at once, even if he can only keep up with half of it. and right now, she’s the quietest he’s ever seen her, barely looking at him, face blotchy from crying and wrapped up in a blanket.

so he does the only thing he can do and tries to make her laugh.

“d’you think he cried after?"

“what?”

“like, do you reckon he went home, looked in the mirror, and just sobbed? maybe even, i dunno, played some sad music. dramatically stared out the window, whispered your name.”

that catches her off guard. she blinks at him, and for a second, he thinks it’s not going to work but then she lets out this small, breathy huff, something close to a laugh, and he full on grins because that’s all the encouragement he needs.

he launches into every possible scenario of how miserable her ex must be right now. maybe he’s lying in bed, regretting everything. maybe he’s stress-eating a whole bag of crisps. maybe he’s writing poetry about her, except he’s an idiot and probably can’t even rhyme properly. the thought which makes matty beam because he’s obviously written songs about her and he is over the moon whenever she says she likes one of them. <3

eventually, she’s fully laughing, and the relief matty feels is immense. she starts yapping about something or the other, and for a moment, it almost feels normal again. until she suddenly winces, curling in on herself with a muttered fuck, pressing a hand to her stomach. because, cramps. right.

matty watches helplessly for another second before standing up and heading downstairs.

because she shares (almost) everything with him, he knows she loves tea when she’s upset, so he makes his way down to the kitchen. it’s cute how at home he is, filling the kettle, grabbing mugs, pulling together a snack plate and sandwich without even thinking. he’s just waiting for the water to boil when her mum walks in and he immediately freezes.

"matty, sweetheart. what are you up to?"

"uh—making tea. and, uh, snacks."

"so she told you what happened, then?"

"yeah. her ex is a proper idiot."

her mum actually laughs. “that he is.”

he grins brightly at that, then hesitates before scratching the back of his neck, asking if there is a hot water bottle. and she just points to a cabinet, still smiling.

matty finishes getting everything, ready to head back but not before he thanks her mum. she makes a mental note to ask her daughter again why she doesn’t date matty instead.

when matty gets back to her room, she’s still curled up, barely moving, and it tugs at something deep in his chest. she doesn’t even look up until he sits beside her, nudging gently. “sit up, yeah? have some tea. it’ll help.” she sighs but shifts just enough to take the mug, her fingers wrapping around the warmth. he hands her the hot water bottle next, and she mutters a small, “thank you,” tucking it under her stomach. he watches her for a second, then leans back on his palms. “anything you wanna watch?” he already knows the answer—one of those cheesy, girly shows she’s seen a hundred times but can never resist, and honestly, if it gets her mind off the pain, he’ll watch it a hundred more.

and that’s how they end up sitting on her bed, backs against the headboard, sharing the food matty put together while she talks nonstop about the drama unfolding on screen. he nods along, pretending to follow, but honestly, he has no fucking clue what’s going on. every now and then, he tries to ask a question—y’know, engage—but she just rolls her eyes and goes, “you don’t listen, do you?” which, okay, fair. he mutters a small “you’re annoying,” but really, he’s more than happy. because if she’s rolling her eyes, if she’s talking his ear off again, it means she’s feeling a little better. and he honestly loves when she’s snarky with him, even if he’d never admit it out loud lol.

after a few episodes, she goes to shower, and when she comes back, matty is just dumbfounded by how pretty she looks in her own space. not that he’s ever not in awe of her, but there’s something different about seeing her so unguarded, completely herself. then she changes her top right in front of him, and he barely has time to react before she’s standing there in just her bra, casually digging through her drawers for pyjamas. “i’m still here, y’know?” she just shrugs, “matty, you’ve seen me in a swimsuit. this is no different.” “it is different.” “how so?” he opens his mouth, but nothing comes out, because he has no real answer. he forces himself to focus on a crack in the ceiling, acting unbothered, but his heart is racing so fast it’s almost painful.

now it’s getting late, and unfortunately, matty has to head home. he can’t stay too long, not when he doesn’t want her parents to get mad at him. but as he starts gathering his things, she mentions how she doesn’t wanna be alone. and of course, the darling that he is, he can’t just leave after that. not when she’s had a shit day, not when he doesn’t really want to go either. so there’s no real convincing needed. he literally walks out the front door, waves goodbye to her parents as they thank him for keeping her company, and immediately turns right back around, heading to her window to climb back in, like he’s done many times before at this point. and just like all those times, he still stumbles in way louder than someone trying to sneak into his best friend’s house should.

with the need to be quiet, they settle on the floor, backs against her bed, sharing her earbuds as music plays from her ipod. they take turns choosing songs, and matty can’t help but grin whenever she picks something he knows she got from him. and he can’t help but blush when he notices the matty / dlid <3 in the artists’ list where she keeps all the songs and demos he’s sent her. they sit like that for over an hour, letting the music fill the spaces where words aren’t needed, until it’s clear she’s exhausted. she climbs into bed while matty goes to her closet, pulling out the pillow and blanket he always uses when he crashes here. but before he can set up on the floor, she asks if he can sleep with her. “you don’t have to,” she adds quickly. “i’d just… like the company.” matty swallows, heart knocking against his ribs painfully fast, and somehow nods before shoving the extra bedding back into the closet.

from that moment, everything moves in slow motion. matty walks over, lying down beside her, not really sure where to put his arms, too aware of every inch of space between them. but then she makes the decision for him—curling into his side, resting her head and arm against his chest. they’re both a little hesitant at first, but then it just fits. he exhales before wrapping an arm around her waist, only for her to giggle because it tickles. he stiffens, mutters an apology, but she just shakes her head. “it’s okay.” once they settle, she tilts her head up, eyes soft in the dim light. “thanks for being here. even when i’m too much.” matty just gives her a gentle squeeze, assuring that he’ll always be there for her.

it’s not long before she falls asleep on him, her breathing slow and steady, completely tucked into his side. matty should sleep too, but he doesn’t. he tells himself he’ll stay awake as long as possible just to make sure she’s okay. but really, it’s mostly to soak in every single second of this, the warmth of her pressed against him, the way she instinctively curled closer in her sleep. it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to him, and there’s no way in hell he’s letting himself miss a moment of it. and if it means losing a little sleep, he doesn’t mind. <3

[lillaydee]

The Unlucky One Part 3

Joel Miller (No Outbreak AU) / F Reader

When it comes to love, Lady Luck seems to have lost your address. After being left at the altar without so much of an explanation, you decided love is no longer something you are interested in. Not even meeting an unlucky-in-love-himself Mr. Grump could change your mind.

Right?

Let me know if you want to be tagged, or if you want to be removed from the tag list.

WARNINGS: Protective Joel (The Last of Us), Good Parent Joel (The Last of Us), Soft Joel (The Last of Us), Joel is Bad at Feelings (The Last of Us), Joel Needs a Hug (The Last of Us), Hurt Joel (The Last of Us), Grumpy Joel (The Last of Us), Jealousy, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Idiots in Love, unlucky in love, Child Abandonment, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Alternate Universe - No Cordyceps Outbreak (The Last of Us)

@peelieblue, @vickie5446, @harriedandharassed, @lovefreylove @martuxduckling @kikookii

SERIES MASTER LIST

Part 2

---

When you got to your room, Maria came bounding towards you, looking a bit guilty. “Why didn’t you tell me you felt like going out? I wouldn’t have said yes to Tommy.”

“I want you to have fun, you goose. You’re on holiday. I, on the other hand, needed a reason not to think about being dumped, so…” you lifted the many, many, many filled bags you had brought back with you.

“Ooh!” she squealed, looking far too excited to help you with your shopping. She cooed at the souvenirs, asking you if you could take her with you the next time you go. She blabbered on about random stuff as you changed, following you around the suite, even talking at you through the semi closed bathroom door as you peed and showered, all the while with a strange smile on her face. It was all a bit odd. Finally, you sat in front of her and asked her point blank – what’s going on, Maria?

“Well, Tommy’s brother didn’t join us. I heard he went out today. And he sent a picture of some fried rice to Tommy, the place looked suspiciously like the place you sent the soupy thing from. You have something to tell me?” she couldn’t even keep her face straight.

“No.”

“Oh, come on… it’s me… you were out with him, weren’t you?”

“No, I wasn’t. We were at the same place. But I was not ‘with him’. We just happened to eat in the same restaurant. Different tables.”

“Oh…” she said, looking a bit defeated.

“I don’t even know the guy’s name, Maria. He’s just someone I happened to share a dinner table with yesterday, and a car with today.”

“You know, I can ask Tommy about him, make sure he’s not a loon? Do you know his name? Does he know yours?” You rolled your eyes at her. “He’s so good looking, though. And so quiet. You know what they say about the quiet ones…”

“Maria…”

“I’m not asking you to do anything crazy… maybe, hang out with him a bit. He might help distract you from everything. And you know, we have like five more days here. Who knows?”

“Maria, I love you, but… less than a week ago, I was supposed to get married to who I thought was the love of my life. I still don’t know what happened. I haven’t even heard from him. And you saw how his family left. They were furious. I don’t even have the slightest comprehension of what it was that I did wrong. No one would tell me anything. I’m so lost it’s insane. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I am on what was supposed to be my honeymoon. Heck, I don’t even know if I’m single now. He ghosted me. I have no idea if he got cold feet, or he just needed more time, or he’s completely done with me. Am I even single? I don’t even know that! I don’t want this whole thing to come back and haunt me.”

She watched as you ranted, a clear sadness written all over her face. She got up after a while and called someone on the room phone, ordered food for the room and the two of you had a slumber party, watching movie after movie. At one point, you asked her why she was spending her vacation in the room with you. She should go have some fun with her long-haired southerner, while she still could.

“Nah babes,” she said, tucking your hair behind your ears, “You’re my ride or die, I’m staying here because you need me here right now. He can wait.”

“What if I need you here all the way ‘til we have to leave?”

“Then see you whenever, Tommy. Been nice knowing you!” she said, tipping an invisible hat at the door, earning her a kiss and a hug from you.

Really, at this point, you had no idea what you would’ve done if she hadn’t agreed to come with you on this trip.

The two of you talked over the TV, argued about who’s right and wrong in the movies, laughed ‘til you both couldn’t see, and cried in each other’s arms until both of you fell asleep, far too early for a holiday.

You were awaken by the pinging on your phone.

3.45am.

Andrew.

You sat up so quickly Maria woke up from your movement. Her confusion quickly turned to concern at your expression.

You had been texting or calling him multiple times since the wedding. Begging him to call you, text you back, at least let you know why. You deserved that at least. It felt like you sent him hundreds of texts those first three days. He blocked you. You used your Dad’s, Franks, Maria’s, his family’s phones to text him, Kyle texted him on your behalf, Ethan too, they all got blocked as well. You were so confused.

You were a great partner, you treated him like a fucking king. You paid your half of the mortgage and bills, despite only free lancing, you had a job that kept you busy, sometimes busier than him when certain times of the year came, and still, the meals in the house was all your doing, be it ordering or cooking, you ironed his clothes for him, gave him massages at night, scheduled his appointments for him, you even packed his fucking lunches. And he ghosted you without an explanation. You were not even worth that to him.

By the third day, when his family left in a huff for whatever reason, you got the picture. He believed you had wronged him in a huge manner, and his family believed him. If he had simply gotten cold feet, they wouldn’t have been that angry at you. His sweet, sweet mother wouldn’t have practically ripped the heirloom ring that was on your finger. His father wouldn’t have spat at your Dad, calling him a failure of a man, unable to even raise a daughter right. Even if his sister seemed apologetic and looked a bit sorry to leave you like that, she didn’t have the power to say anything, seeing as everyone else was so determined to get out of there as soon as they could.

But without a definite answer from him, you hoped.

So you decided not to harass him anymore, believing that he would get back to you when he was ready. You packed your bags and left for Bali that evening, thinking that you would call him when you came back, and God knows you needed a vacation after the whiplash that was your supposed wedding day. Surely, he would’ve cooled off by then. And if he hadn’t, you had to believe that when the time was right, he would let you know. And when you had more information, the two of you could work out the details of where your relationship would go from there.

Surely?

But his text, that single text he sent you on the third day on what was supposed to be your honeymoon, was not what you expected at all.

“Having fun in Bali with that very single friend of yours? Don’t think I don’t know what you guys are up to. I know she would’ve persuaded you to fuck someone by now. I should’ve known. You didn’t even try hard to reach me, or find me, did you? Three days? That’s all the trying I deserve from you? Well, looks like I’m right about you. This is all the confirmation I need. I want you out of the house before the end of next week. I’ll even make the process easier for you. Hope he was worth it. Goodbye.”

Maria pursed her lips together reading the text. Your insides felt cold. Hollow. You were having a hard time digesting what you had just read.

So there was a supposed man he thought you were involved with. Who? And he ghosted you. Blocked you. And suddenly he was the wronged one? He was the one who wasn’t being coaxed enough? Begged to enough? It’s your fault now? For trying to give him some space?

Who was this guy? This was not the Andrew you fell in love with.

Maria’s hand on your shoulder snapped you back to reality. “You okay?” she asked.

You nodded, jumping a little when the room phone rang. Your wake up call for the hike. You got out of bed to get ready, Maria asking you where you were going.

It was a mark of how serious your face looked at that point that she didn’t even make any sly remarks about you going for an early morning hike with the Grump. She walked you to the elevator, hugging you tight, telling you to call her if you need anything. You just nodded at her as the doors closed.

**********

When you got to the lobby, the Grump was already there, staring at his phone. Something was off with his demeanour, you could tell, even from the back. He seemed bothered, saddened, hardened. You had an accidental glimpse at what he was looking at, an Insta Story of a… party? When he realized you were passing him, he quickly turned the phone off and joined you to wait for Pak Rahman, who was due any minute.

“Morning,” he greeted.

“Morning.”

And then the two of you were just quiet. Each in your own thoughts. Even as Pak Rahman pulled up, the two of you quietly greeted him and got in, buckled up and the ride went smoothly without any small talks from the two of you. It was as if the two of you knew to leave each other alone, mulling in your own worries, and completely understood the unspoken assignment.

After a short 30 minutes’ drive, probably so due to the lack of traffic, Pak Rahman pulled up at a small parking lot in a small village. There were maybe another car or two there, but no tourist busses. He gave both of you a hiking stick and a head torch, asking the two of you to stay close to him. He was casually dressed in his slacks and some sandals, a simple bag slung on his shoulders, while you and the Grump looked like typical tourists, complete with hats and boots and gloves, not to mention backpacks laden with bottled water, snacks and towels.

The trail was not a difficult one, it wasn’t even a long one, maybe 30 minutes of steady incline, but even before sunrise, the humidity got to you and the Grump. Pak Rahman was patient, waiting for the two of you to catch up, hardly out of breath as you and the Grump were steadily breathing heavier and heavier as you went along. The Grump stayed with you, offering you a helping arm every now and again, asking you if you were okay once or twice, but other than that, he was quiet.

When you got to the top, you each took a spot of your own, away from each other, drinking from your bottles, waiting for the sunrise. You didn’t have to wait long, before you could even finish that second bottle, the sky lightened, the black turned to deep, dark blue, before turning greenish, then yellowish, tinged with the slightest of pink, before the orange hues of sunrise blossomed from the horizon, clear and unobstructed from the top of that small hill.

It was magnificent.

It was so quiet up there you could almost hear the sun say hello.

So quiet, your thoughts soon became so loud, you couldn’t ignore them.

You could’ve been here with him. The man you thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with. Suddenly, you realized that you didn’t know how he would react to this. You had no knowledge of what this man’s preference would have been. Would he have enjoyed this? He didn’t even want to walk the farmer’s market with you. You always went alone. He went with you once, but the sight of the crowd made him change his mind, and he waited in the car for you instead.

Your holidays had been in cities. But when discussing the honeymoon, he asked you to surprise him, which in turn, surprised you. So you chose Bali, going all out to make it the best honeymoon you could have. Now that you thought about it, he might not even like Bali. He didn’t even want to go to your Dad’s beach house. When you did, he stayed at the house.

So why the fuck did you choose Bali?

God, did you even know him?

Suddenly you felt stupid. You actually thought you were happy. You thought he was the man of your dreams. It took that text this morning, those cruel words from him for your rose-coloured glasses to come off. Cause while you thought you were happy, he thought you were with someone else. And he was so shady about the whole thing you didn’t even know who he was talking about, what evidence he had.

You didn’t have that many friends. The happy life you thought you had was his – his friends, his family. And now, when you go back home, you would be alone. None of the gang you used to hang out with had contacted you since the wedding. You had no idea if they knew the whole story, but if they did, they clearly believed him and was taking his side, or if they didn’t, they didn’t care enough about you in the first place to check on you.

And right now, you couldn’t decide which was worse.

You were brought out of your own thoughts when you were having trouble breathing. You were practically sobbing, alone by the tree you had chosen to hide yourself from others. The sun had come out now, the view so glorious, you decided to put Andrew and your failed attempt at happiness at the back of your mind for now and enjoy yourself. Not like you were going to come back anytime soon. You wiped your face clean, finished your water, and got up to see the Grump doing the same from his chosen tree.

Like yours, his face told a story. His eyes were red, his face rather splotchy. You handed him a wet wipe, which he gratefully accepted, thanking you, before cleaning his own face and finishing his water.

“You okay?” you asked him, tentative in your tone, unsure if he wanted you to notice his state of mind.

He nodded a little, “You?”

You nodded.

“Ready to go?” Pak Rahman asked.

“You know any good breakfast spot?” the Grump asked him, and he happily nodded, leading the way down.

By the time you got back to the car, you felt a lot better. The Grump did too, apparently, laughing with you on the way down as he told you about the little frog that kept him company on his lap as he watched the sunrise, only realizing its presence when the sun was fully up.

“You should’ve kissed it. Maybe it was your soulmate in disguise,” you said, as he guffawed at the thought. Pretty sure it was poisonous, he said.

Breakfast was delicious, and Pak Rahman smiled as he went off to get the car, having noticed that the two of you were eating off each other’s plates as if you had done so your entire lives.

**********

On your drive back, you noticed one of the soap shops you had googled, and begged Pak Rahman to stop, only to find that the shop wasn’t open for a few more hours. We could come back later, the Grump said to you, as if it was the most natural thought to him, that the two of you would return together, and not you alone. He seemed to have clocked your thought and quickly backtracked, telling you that his brother and your friend could join you, he was sure they would like to see the town a little bit too?

And that was how the four of you ended up back at the shop after having the most amazing lunch by an actual paddy field in the middle of what passed as downtown Bali, your tummies too full to even stand straight, you and Maria were basically leaning on each other as you entered the shop. The two men went to another shop, one that sold furniture, of all things, and stayed there for quite a while.

Now that you knew you were not going back to that house, you decided that you were going to buy all the soap you wanted anyway. Maybe you’ll find another place that had an amazing bathroom, and you could fill that little bathtub Ethan got you with all these amazing smelling soaps. You took one of every colour and smell you could find, not to mention lotions and shower gels and oils. You were going to be surrounded by this nice vacation at your new home if it was the last thing you did.

When Tommy and the grump returned, they were a little taken aback by the weight of your shopping bags, Maria quickly explaining that you were a soap hound, joking how easy it was to shop for you. Soap. And you would be happy. The men dropped off your shopping with Pak Rahman before going with you and Maria to sight see a little bit, Tommy and Maria walking ahead of you and the Grump, looking very comfortable with each other.

You found a shaded spot by the beach Maria and Tommy were drawn to, the Grump sitting with you, handing you a cold bottle of water.

“I want to thank you for this morning,” he said. You looked at him, perplexed. What did he mean? “You could’ve pried, but you didn’t.”

Ah… he meant the splotchy face and the wet wipes.

“Thank you for not prying on me either,” you said. “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable in any way.”

“You didn’t,” he said, shaking his head a bit. “I didn’t make you uncomfortable, did I?”

You shook yours.

“When are you leaving?” he asked.

“Sunday.”

He nodded, “Friday,” he said, when you looked at him questioningly.

You didn’t know why, exactly, but it made you feel sad.

“I can’t be away too long. This trip was… spur of the moment. Needed to get away,” he explained. “Turns out, I couldn’t get away if I tried,” he mumbled, looking away, taking a drink from his bottle.

“I know what you mean.”

He looked at you, eyebrows raised.

“Same old, same old, came here to be free off certain things back home, but with technology… home came right with you.”

“Tell me about it.”

The two of you were quiet for a beat.

“Listen, I was wondering if you would spend some time with me tomorrow? Before I leave Friday? I have a feeling my brother and your friend are going to be busy,” he said, raising his chin at your friend, who was now busily lip locked with Tommy.

You snorted, shaking your head a little.

“Sure, why not?”

“I’m Joel, by the way, Joel Grump,” he said, offering his massive hand to you.

Why not? You were single now, right?

“Aria, Aria Grump.” You shook his hand, and the two of you said hi to each other, remarking on the similar last names, laughing as you did.

“Light dinner tonight? I’ll make the reservations,” he said.

Sure, why the hell not?

The two of you enjoyed a some light dinner at one of the bars at the hotel that night, your best friend and Tommy busy somewhere else. The bar had a live band, and seeing as it was still early, played some slow rock and old classic songs. You and Joel somehow managed to avoid talking personal life stuff, sharing music preferences and memories of your youth listening to the songs your Dads listened to.

Heck, you two were comfortable enough to sit side by side with your shoulders touching, swaying together to the gentle music, speaking into each other’s ears, his beard and moustache giving you goosebumps as he did.

Such a difference to that first night you spent with him.  

He walked you to your room, telling you he will see you at breakfast, and you closed the door realizing that you were very much looking forward to his company the next day.

**********

You woke up to a text from Maria, telling you that she was safe, was alive, and that she would see you Friday – as in, after Tommy had left. You laughed, shaking your head a little at your friend’s obvious crush on Tommy. Well, at least one of you was having a nice vacation.

You had breakfast with Joel, taking plates of different foods from the buffet, sharing them with him. You didn’t know why, but you felt very comfortable very quickly with him. He wasn’t pushy, was gentle, kind, and funny, despite your nickname for him.

Pak Rahman, reliable as ever, took you to another part of town today. You and Joel walked around, him holding the massive umbrella Pak Rahman had supplied him over your heads. You had lunch together, again, unconsciously sharing your meals together, before perusing more shops to spend your money in, him pointing out the different hand made soap shops along the way, patiently following you with a basket while you tried hard to refrain from buying everything your eyes landed on.

You found a massage spot, where they apparently gave very good foot massages. Although reluctant, Joel agreed to get one with you, cringing next to you as the tiny lady massaged his feet with powers beyond his imagination. At one point, he was so taken aback by the pressure the lady had used on him he grabbed your hand for support, his forehead sweating from pain, letting go of your hand only when the massage was over, sulking good naturedly as you laughed at him.

“Give me a break,” he pouted, “It’s my first massage ever,” he said.

“You cannot tell me that did not feel good.”

He cringed slightly, his shoulder raised, but finally conceded that his feet, which had been hurting from the hike and all the walking around Bali, did feel a lot better. But he drew a line when you suggested a head and shoulder massage, blushing a little. He shook his head as you paid for the massages, mumbling to himself that it took travelling to Bali for him to find someone convincing enough to make him try a massage, and he didn’t even get to pay for it.

The two of you spent the rest of the day enjoying each other’s company before going back to the hotel. You two actually walked into the lobby laughing, hearts light from a fabulous day spent together. Pak Rahman told Joel he would be waiting for Joel at 9.00am to take him and his brother to the airport, and for you to just call him if you needed a lift anywhere.

And just like that, your smiles were wiped off your faces, and your hearts felt heavy again. The elevator ride to your suite was quiet. You wanted to cry.

Silly woman, you didn’t even know him. He could be a psycho, for all you knew. You lived with Andrew for three years, and you had just found out how petty he could be. Let’s not delude yourself to think this Joel Grump could be any different. And with your luck, he could be gay for all you knew.

He walked you to your door, placing your shopping bags just inside.

“Well, any chance I’ll see you at breakfast?” he asked. You may have been imagining it, but there was a hopeful tone to his question.

“Maybe,” you said, nodding.

“Okay,” he said. “See you then?”

“Okay.”

And with that, he turned around and left, his own shopping bags flung over his shoulder.

**********

You stood with your head on the door for a while. You didn’t want to say goodbye to him. But what were you supposed to do? You didn’t know him from Adam. But your heart kept telling you to go to him, get his number, his last name, anything. Anything that didn’t mean goodbye tomorrow.

‘Are you crazy?’ your mind screamed at your heart. ‘You just broke up with someone. You were supposed to be on your honeymoon. And if things go bad, what then? If he knew where to find you, what the fuck were you going to do to get away from him?’

‘But he could be nice,’ your heart coaxed. ‘Not all men are bad,’ it said.

‘And mothers and sisters are supposed to be selfless and loving but look at ours. With our luck, he might break our heart tonight.’

You peeled yourself away from the door, taking the shopping bags into your room, depositing them on the bed and went in to take a shower. When you came out, clad in a bathrobe, you tipped one of the bags’ contents onto your bed, and a slew of coconut shell ashtrays and keychains fell out.

Wait a minute, you didn’t buy these.

They must be Joel’s.

You should return them.

‘But you didn’t know where his room was. Just the floor,’ your mind said.

‘There are only so many rooms on each floor. Try them all!’ your heart defended.

‘Or you could just return them to him at breakfast tomorrow. Or better yet, leave them with the reception, they’ll return them,’ your mind supplying more logical excuses for you to not give in to your heart’s desire.

Yeah, you could just go down to the lobby and ask the reception to return them to him.

So you quickly got dressed, spritzed some perfume on, you never know, you didn’t want to smell bad in the elevator, and walked out of the room.

As you entered the elevator, your finger automatically pressed his floor number. Oh well, might as well, your heart said, but you could feel your mind banging its head on the wall.

The elevator door opened, and you stepped outside, only to come face to face with Joel, who looked freshly showered, holding a shopping bag in his hand.

He looked flustered, “Erm, I took one of your bags by mistake,” he said, offering the bag to you.

“Yeah, I came to return one of yours,” you told him, offering it to him, feeling yourself turn red.

As the exchange happened, your fingers brushed, and he took a step closer to you.

Fuck he smelled so good.

Fuck, you smelled so good.

And just like that, both of you surged towards each other, shopping bags banging on your backs, lips locked, devouring each other, as he backed you to his room, growling frustratedly as he tried again and again to unlock the door with his card, to no avail.

“That’s your credit card,” you said, licking his neck.

“Fuck!” he almost screamed, producing the right card and finally opening the door.

The two of you laughed as you stumbled inside, him kicking the door shut, immediately backing you towards the bed, both shopping bags discarded on the floor.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” he asked, “I’ve never done this before, not with a practical stranger,” he continued, before asking again if you were sure.

You could only nod before your lips found his again. Fuck, he’s a good kisser. The two of you fell on his bed, hands tearing at each other’s clothes, before he stopped and looked you in the eyes. By the time he kissed you again, the urgency of the situation was gone, gentle, slow kisses took it’s place, as your hands caressed each other’s bodies, nice and slow.

‘What are you doing?’ you mind screamed.

‘Oh, lighten up, he’s hot and we’re on holiday, besides, it felt right,’ your heart protested.

Oh, fuck it. You only lived once, you thought, as his kisses moved from your lips to your neck, your eyes closed at the sensation, enjoying what would become your first one night stand.

**********

You woke up to Joel spooning you, his breaths slow and steady on your neck.

Fuck last night was amazing. You could say, without a shadow of a doubt – that was the best sex you’d ever had. 'Which one exactly? The first one, the second? The third?', your heart asked, while your mind rolled its eyes. All of them, you thought. All of them was the best sex you’d ever had, all better than the last.

You turned to face him, and he very quickly engulfed your entire body in his arms, nose unconsciously nuzzling the top of your head as he did so.

Why did you feel so comfortable with him? Took you months to be comfortable enough with Andrew to sleep with him, going back to your own rented apartment night after night to sleep. And yet, here you were, just, cozy and at home in this stranger’s arms.

And you were going to savour it.

He asked you if he could have your number last night, but you said you needed to think about it. He gave you his card, which you placed on your nightstand face down without looking at it, giving in to his caresses for round three.

His phone rang, and he quickly turned to get it off his nightstand, unaware you were awake. You saw the lit up screen in the darkened room.

It was a FaceTime request, from ‘Tess’, a picture of a beautiful, smiling woman accompanying it.

Your heart stilled. You closed your eyes, pretending to still be asleep as he got up, turning his head to look at you as he quickly extracted himself out of the bed as gently as he could, wrapping his bathrobe around his middle, answering the call as he made his way out to the balcony.

“Hi Baby,” he cooed, as he slid the balcony door closed behind him. "Yeah, I'm up. I miss you," you heard him mumble just as the door closed shut.

Fuck. He had someone waiting for him at home. A Tess. A Tess whom he missed. A Tess whom he called Baby.

You had never gotten dressed so quickly in your life. You heard him laugh with this Tess from the balcony, making your heart clench. You picked up the shopping bag, making sure it was yours, and looked at the card he gave you, still face down on the night stand, deciding to leave it.

Just as well.

You couldn’t help yourself from peeking through the slit in the curtain as his laugh became clearer and clearer, crooning a soft, delicate bye to this Baby of his, telling her he loved her. You saw a gorgeous woman on his phone screen, laughing along with him.

You couldn’t stand it anymore. You picked up your shoes and ran out, taking the stairs up to the next floor for the elevator, lest he caught up with you, feeling stupider than you had ever felt in your entire life, and that was saying something.  

‘I told you so,’ your mind chastised.

Yeah, mind, yeah, you did.

---

Part 4

[gx-gameon]

I keep thinking about Jaden and the shock therapy he went through, like it was really brushed off in the show and now that I'm thinking about it I have so many thoughts about it.

Do you think he ever had any side effects from it? Like we know he's got memory issues and problems with focusing but do you think he ever had physical issues as well? Headaches or migraines, muscle weaknesss or tremors, mild seizure like symptoms or even actual seizures. Man the possibilities are there and how I can't stop thinking about it 😭

I think about this all the time and I definitely want to play with it.

Doing a little research shows that long term side effects are rare but that’s for modern electro shock therapy. Memory loss is the big one and we see Jaden suffer from this in cannon.

Headaches are another side effect. And this is an easy one to blend into cannon. With Jaden sleeping and skipping class so much. It easily could be played that he’s having migraines and can’t keep his head up in a bright and loud classroom.

I’ve always seen him as someone with a learning disability. Just because of how much he struggles with written exams. He’s obviously a dueling prodigy and on the practical side has aced every exam given. Heck he was moved to ra yellow and then obelisk blue in the first handful of episodes because of his duel ability alone. (He chose to stay in slider to be with Syrus. Obviously the feeling was mutual….)

I think a lot of people characterized Jaden as an idiot. While he is behind on his social cues (which comes from not having a lot of friends his own age) he’s not stupid. He’s emotionally intelligent for the most part recognizing what Chazz needs in season 1 and bring his friends back from being brained controlled in season 2.

You could even take the “what’s a fiancé” line as him giving Alexis an out. Being willing to play the idiot to make the situation less awkward for them both. Or you can chalk it up to him not being around a lot of people. Either way works.

What I’m getting at is Jaden isn’t stupid. He’s just not book smart. He can’t study to save his life. And whether that’s some form of dyslexia and adhd kicking in to make him unable to pay attention to lectures or his brain being so fried from electro-shock therapy he struggles to remember things, who’s to say.

I’ve always felt like the electro-shock defiantly played a role in Jaden’s school performance. I don’t think he has short term memory loss like dory, but he struggles to recall information. When he’s dueling it’s all in the moment thinking. It’s practical. He’s physically doing it. He’s actively strategizing. But in a test where he’s trying to get his brain to remember what quick play spell card will counter act a monster summoning, he could not tell you. Not without the cards physically in front of him.

So yes I think the electr-shock therapy affected him in a lot of ways. Ways you can see in cannon. Or at least use the cannon to support the headcannon.

We will see a bit of this in the story. Especially the learning struggles and migraines.

And you’re right we could definitely play with muscle tremors and seizures. I don’t know enough about them at this moment to write them respectfully. So for right now I will probably leave them out.

But you could defiantly make this super angsty by having Jaden have seizures. Like Seto would make sure the school was prepared to deal with any students who might have seizures. Trying his best to protect Jaden when his family isn’t around. But why happens if he has one while in a major duel?