#if they wanted to go with the ‘save someone from your home planet’ stuff

[folkloristico]

I have mixed feelings about this because thinking about it, I find the way fairies can gain Enchantix kinda… dumb? Don’t get me wrong, I love Enchantix, its popularity within the fandom is 100% deserved in my opinion—the aesthetic, the songs, everything about it is gold—but the way it’s obtained? Not so much.

Now, Bloom’s situation is peculiar. It doesn’t happen every day that a whole planet gets swept out of existence with no one left (though I find it hard to believe there wasn’t a single inhabitant from Domino who wasn’t on the planet when it got “destroyed”), you could say the issue of being the last of your kind is close to non-existent. But what if a fairy never gets the chance to save a person from her world? Does she just wait for a person from her home planet to be in danger?

Theoretically speaking, I like the idea of Bloom obtaining Enchantix through willpower. I dare say Bloom is the one who puts the more work in as she goes to Pyros to train. Of course, it’s undeniable that the other Winx showed a great amount of courage and altruism, but it’s rather convenient that these situations of danger presented themselves when the girls needed to upgrade their powers. What if they didn’t get the chance to? What if a fairy isn’t “lucky” enough to find herself in this situation, ever?

Back to Bloom, it’s fair to recognize that Enchantix wasn’t exactly handed to her on a plate as she had to work for it both through mental and physical training. But then again, the established rules are broken just for her. The way I see it, it’s an attempt at making her look more unique and special compared to others. Now, as much as I wish we got more from the Domino storyline instead of being basically tossed aside after season 3 to only be addressed in the movies, I think they stressed too much the “last of her people” situation by creating unnecessary drama.

In the end Bloom still manages to get her Enchantix, but it’s uncomplete. Again, unfair. But still—what was the point of that? She’s supposed to gain it full power when she manages to save her birth parents, but she doesn’t really do that, does she? In SotLK, it’s Sky fulfilling the prophecy. After that, the big drama surrounding Enchantix feels like a waste of time considering Enchantix is never acknowledged again as it’s replaced shortly after with Believix in season 4.

So yeah, I actually like the way Bloom gains her Enchantix, but something about the general context of it just doesn’t make much sense to me.

[silverflqmes]

Do you have any hcs for yandere Sephiroth? 👀

໒⦂ ‘𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄’ 𝐇𝐂𝐒.

notes. hi hi so uh i don’t do yandere stuff, it’s not a topic i’m super comfortable with writing ( as mentioned in my rules ) but i will provide a more subtle, toned down version if that’s okay instead :’)

genre. angst + suggestive

tw. possessive behavior, implied manipulation, jealousy

disclaimer. there is a visible flip in the headcanons from pre nibleheim sephiroth to post — which takes on a darker approach. if it’s not something you are comfortable with reading, then don’t.

sephiroth x gn!reader.

⌗ as a person who dealt with the loss of those he allowed into his life, having brought his walls down for them.. i do think sephiroth might have developed a bit of overprotective behavior — which honestly, is expected..

⌗ he doesn’t want to lose you or for any harm to come your way. whether losing you refers to death.. or to someone else — he doesn’t want any of that to come to fruition.

⌗ everything in life he cherished has been taken from him and you are not about to be one of them..

⌗ normally he’s as cool as a pickle if you’re talking to someone else, but there’s this aura emitting from him.. one look at sephiroth and the innocent bystander is practically shaking in their boots.

⌗ you of course — would be confused as hell on this.. i mean when sephiroth pulls you closer, you just assume he wants proximity..

⌗ until you go home, that is, and he’s just holding you without any means of letting go.. it’s silly, watching that subtle, yet visible pout of his and the furrow to his brows and all is understood

⌗ piece of you by shawn mendes tbh that is where my brain is rn

⌗ sometimes it’s a little more than an inescapable hug and turns into a storm of kisses — perhaps even a mark or few would be left in his wake.. but nothing that makes you uncomfortable cuz he doesn’t want to hurt or force you into anything. consent!!

⌗ while he has selfish desires and would prefer to have you all to himself, he values boundaries and freedom — it’s something he wasn’t given and he isn’t about to take that away from you, too.

⌗ but if you were trying to get a reaction out of him by PURPOSELY trying to make him jealous.. good LUCK walking in the morning are the only words i have for you LMAO

⌗ there is after care tho trust and it’s all part of the plan because he gets to have you stay over and spend time with him<3 which — despite your grumbles — you are more than happy to do<3

⌗ now uh, post nibelheim sephiroth.. he is a different case cuz he’s under the influence of jenova cells — which are obviously making him do some wild stuff..

⌗ following the concept that you would have said cells opens up the opportunity to mess with you a bit, as a means of getting you to execute his whims. kinda like he does with cloud..

⌗ he’s aware you’re trying to take him back and save him from what he’s become, and uses that to his advantage. you would do anything for him, wouldn’t you?

⌗ slowly, he would isolate you from your companions — they want him gone, anyway, but you don’t. you couldn’t sit with the idea of your lover being gone, even in spite of all he had done.

⌗ you told yourself it wasn’t him, and it was true, it wasn’t. for that.. you wished to continue your attempts at saving him, even if it was a descent into madness..

⌗ gradually, you are succumbing to his words, allowing them to reshape the view you had made for yourself.

⌗ he was right, anyway. the humans who blindly believed in shinra- were the ones that gave the company the power and means of further destroying the planet for their glory. sephiroth was right in almost every way to execute the goals he made for himself.

⌗ he only ever appeared briefly to you, his caresses leaving enough of a linger to leave you touch starved — yearning for contact.

⌗ the one winged angel only whispered soon in that velvety tone of his, a reassurance of the reunion that would be upon you both in time.

⌗ but at times, you pressed, pleading for just another second — minute or few of his time.. and with that desperation in your voice, the expression that crosses your features, how could he refuse you?

⌗ he would spare his precious time and entertain you a moment longer, indulging just a bit in you, and himself, of course. but once more leaving you lingering, longing for more.

notes. not one for writing yandere oriented content, so i hope this was okay and fulfilling enough since i watered it down quite a bit :’) just not super comfy associating him with the qualities of a yandere..

↳ return to main masterlist . request rules . send an ask

[jaylver]

CASINO LOVE AFFAIR — P.JS

SYNOPSIS: Hunting supernatural beings is not your passion at all. But somehow, you were always inevitably tied to it. To make your grudge against it deeper, someone had to drag you along a bumpy ride. Who was it? The man that broke into your house in the middle of the night to convince you to join him to save his lost brother in Sin City, Vegas. Jay had one chance to save his brother, and another one chance to rekindle something that was lost between you and him. All in that one casino.

PAIRINGS: supernatural hunter!jay x supernatural hunter afab!reader

GENRE: frenemies (with benefits) to lovers, supernatural au, inspired by tv series "supernatural", jay is based off "dean winchester", romance, angst, action

WARNING(S): profanities, drinking, mentions of death/murder, violence, suggestive content (no smut), slightly possessive jay, demons, possessions

WC: 11k

AUTHOR'S NOTE: specially dedicated to my supernatural enthusiasts, especially to my dean girlies (gn) who loves jay! rest assured, there's going to be hoon ver (based off sammy) <3 i hope you'll love this one as much as i enjoyed writing it, please leave feedbacks!!

masterlist | © jaylver 2023

In this world, accidents and tragedies were recurring happenings, but what people didn't understand was the fact that neither were coincidences. You heard that right, it might sound insanely crazy, but the supernatural exists. 

There were two types of people on planet Earth. Ones that were blessed with obliviousness, unaware that the local murder case wasn't just a simple serial killer on the loose. Then, there's the ones that were rather cursed with the ability of hunting, knowing the real truths behind tragedies and solving said supernatural cases. They were known as hunters.

No, not the hunters that chase after deers with a gun, but rather chasing after demons, vampires and much more freaky stuff with more than just a single gun.

You were, unfortunately, part of the small percentage of hunters that were tasked to hunt supernatural beings and protect others. You never wanted this life, you despised it, the constant fear constantly followed. It was your father who dragged you into this, being a hunter himself, it was natural he had to train you to become one as well. 

You were an only child, so it was no surprise your father ended up dragging you along to hunts and let's say the amount of therapy wasn't enough to heal the traumas you've witnessed and experienced. Dread was the feeling you carried up until your 20s, tired of this life and craving the normal college life of an ordinary being, but then that was when everything changed. Your father was killed. 

You guessed it, freak accident with a vampire. Fantastic. Just to make things even more complicated, the infamous Park brothers turned up at your front door pretending to be police officers, doing their usual investigation, or rather identity fraud. What they didn't know was that you knew who they were, so they were eventually busted. You still accepted their help either way, finding the vampires and bringing your father to justice.

That all happened a few years ago, constantly staying in contact with the Park brothers while they travelled around hunting and you stayed home merrily, occasionally meeting if they were in town. Mostly, the best you could repay them was at least some help in information. You were glad to finally start afresh, getting a new job and shopping for new furniture. You thought this was it, time to settle down and put everything in the past.

But, you spoke too soon.

You were a light sleeper. From the years of your father's gruelling training, you learnt to listen for any weird noses during the night, and it surely did help. You could barely sleep, hearing odd creaks as your adrenaline increased, imagining the scenario where you had to reach for the iron knife under your bed. 

Creak. Creak. Creak.

The faint footstep got closer and louder, reaching your side of the bed, standing right beside you and stopped eventually. You sensed a figure, this wasn't good. Demon? Vampire? Your hand slowly travelled down to the spot of your knife, eyes shut tight and heart beating crazily. In the count of three, strike.

One … two … three—

"Woah, woah, woah, easy there tiger,"

Your hand reacted first, thrusting the knife forward without your eyes open, but once the voice travelled into your ears and your mind turned, you opened your eyes in an instant.

This was worse than a demon. 

"Jay?"

One of the Park brothers happened to be standing in the middle of your bedroom. At three in the morning. Were you going to question how he got in? Maybe later.

"Y/N," he saluted back at you, a noticeable grin on his face despite the darkness, but you remained impassive, a wary look on your face and your hold on the knife didn't relax.

“Hold on,” you said, scrambling out of bed, scepticism clear in your voice, your stance unchanged as you held tight onto the knife. “Are you really Jay?”

Jay tilted his head, an eyebrow raised. "You're seriously doubting me? Right now?"

"Hey, I'm a hunter, you're a hunter, we both know this is basic caution,"

"Alright," he threw his hands up, giving in. "Quiz me,"

"Where's my birthmark?"

"You're seriously asking this—?"

"You've forgotten it?" You stared accusingly at him, the knife in your hand was dangerously close to him and he was clearly aware of that too. "You're the only person who knows this," you narrowed your gaze.

"It's been ages since the last time we fucked—"

"Can you not bring that up?"

"Fine. On your back," he answered, his eyes flickering between you and the knife. 

"Where?"

"That specific?" He whined, but once he saw you were, in fact, not kidding, he cleared his throat. "Lower back, on the right, almost at the side. It's a small birthmark that is shaped like a heart,"

You blinked. Thankful it wasn't some creature disguised as him, but also churning in slight rage that he was here. Look, you and Jay had … some interesting history. No bad blood was caused from it, but it had affected your ties with him, which explained why he was the lesser favourite brother to you. He was never going to know that though.

Just for old times sake and also not seeing him for months, you threw the knife onto the bed, engulfing him into a hug. "Gods, you're alive,"

He chuckled, his hand rubbing your back. "Of course I am. Doubting my skills now?"

"Jay, you literally died and came back before," you pulled away, staring pointedly at him.

"That was the past, this is the present," he waved it off, coughing awkwardly and you rolled your eyes. You switched on your table lamp, taking a small bottle from your bedside drawer and handing it to him.

"What's this? Complimentary water for guests?" 

"Holy water, if you count that as complimentary,"

"You're kidding. I passed your quiz,"

"I'm trying to be sure there's no hidden demon inside your body, okay?" You raised the small bottle to eye level. "Drink up,"

"Fine," Jay gritted, snatching the bottle from your hand, chugging half of it down. No demon, thankfully. "See?"

"Just wanted to confirm," you tossed the bottle back into the drawer, turning to face him with a quizzical stare. "Now, are you going to tell me why you've broken into my house in the middle of the night?"

"Breaking in? Pft," 

"Jay," you said flatly, a stern look gazing back at him. "What are you doing here?"

Jay clenched his jaw, seemingly rethinking his words in his mind, calculatingly picking the right ones to make sure you wouldn't explode. "I need help,"

"No,"

"What?" He was taken aback by your bluntness. "You always helped us,"

"Busting into my house at 3 AM doesn't sound like your usual need for my help. You want me to do something more hands-on, don't you?"

Jay was silent. You got him there.

"Jay, I am always here for help. You do know I literally commit illegal things just to dig up information for you two right? But that's the most I'll do and the least I can do for you, I swore I wouldn't go back into hunting,"

"But this one's important,"

"You have Sunghoon to help you anyway,"

"He's gone," 

The next few sentences you had in mind died in your throat. The other Park brother was missing? There was no way this happened. They were skilled hunters, what went wrong?

Jay cleared his throat, shoving his hands into his jean pockets, noticing your obvious shock. "Look, that's why I'm here. Hoon's gone, poof, missing. One second he was at the motel and the next when I got back, he's gone. I should've never left,"

"Any ideas what it could've been?"

"No," he shook his head, frustration laced in the way he had his eyebrows furrowed. 

"How are we supposed to find him? Jay, I'm no sorcerer or a crossroad demon that can summon him up. I could be as equally lost as you are,"

He ran his hands through his hair, heaving a deep and heavy sigh. "I don't know either. I'm fucked, okay? I don't have anyone else to find but you, and there's no one that knows Hoon as much as I do but you,"

"How do I know I can trust you this time?" You mindlessly let the words slip out, referring to the incident that caused the slight crack between you two, its effect remained even after.

"I told you I'm sorry already, Y/N," he said softly, catching on your innuendo at once. 

It was the last time you went on an actual hunt with the Park brothers when it happened. Crazy monsters and demon ladies were nothing too big for you three, but the moment a human was involved, the hunt became vulnerable. 

A part of you wanted to save the innocent man even though he was long gone and already affected by the creature, turning wild gradually. Being the rash and impulsive person Jay was, he demanded to kill the man at once, Sunghoon trying to calm him down while you fought back. 

It was a stupid argument, you were emotional and he was aggressive, Sunghoon trying to be neutral and diffusing the tension, but failed. In the end, a cure was found but Jay had already killed the man. Even though you were able to save the others, a part of you continued to seethe with anger.

'Too emotional' was what Jay called you. Storming away was the only thing you could muster in that moment, and it took a few days before he showed up at your front door apologising with a bouquet of flowers. Were you fully satisfied? Not really. Did things change? Definitely.

As for now, you pondered thoughtfully. Despite your valiant efforts of escaping the supernatural part of your past, you knew it was imminent it would come back, just not like this. Sunghoon was a nice guy, he and his brother helped you and your family before, and some part of you wanted to do the same. You swore you didn't want to hunt with the Park brothers after that incident, and it seemed that you had no choice but to eat your words. You were going to regret your decision, you know so.

"Okay," it came out more of a whisper, which made Jay lean in closer, an eyebrow raised.

"What?"

"Okay, fine, I'll go with you to find Sunghoon. Don't make me go back on my word," 

"Right, right," Jay said rather excitedly, his eyes beaming. "Gods, how did I manage to get the Y/N L/N to hunt with me? I am a lucky man,"

"Don't test your luck," you took the iron knife from your bed and pointed it at him, earning a sleazy eye roll from the latter.

"You still have your gears with you?" He glanced around your room, not a single weapon in sight, only messy heaps of clothes.

"Duh," your hand reached for the bottom of your pillow, pulling out another blade, made purely from iron, perfect for killing supernatural beings. "When are we leaving?"

"Best before day break,"

"So … roadtrip?"

"You bet."

Begrudgingly, you shoved some clothes into a small carry on, packing guns, knives, blades, salt. Yes, salt, sodium. It might seem weird but salt literally saves lives, literally. An insignificant kitchen ingredient held a significant role by protecting people from spirits attack. Rock salts were used as ammunition as well to ward spirits off for a short time. Insane, right?

Jay helped you fit your bags into the trunk of his Chevrolet Impala, one that he has been driving almost forever. Among your bags, there were a shit ton of weapons, quite messily scattered around, some stuck on the trunk door. It was certainly a rich collection. 

“Hop in, dollface. Be my guest,”

You rolled your eyes as Jay opened the car door for you. He was still the same old Jay. Promiscuous, teasing, haughty, but you supposed that was the charming point of him. You remembered the insides of the car as clear as day when you got in, almost felt like it was just yesterday when you were in it.

“Where to?” you turned to look over at Jay who had just slammed the car door shut, his hands on the wheel, a cheshire grin pulled at his lips.

“Vegas,” he flashed you a toothy smirk, but you could only mirror his expression with an unamused one. 

“Sin city? You’re kidding. Why on earth are we heading there—God, Jay, don’t tell me you developed some gambling addiction—”

“No! For fuck’s sake,” Jay pulled the car to start, the headlights brightened the dark street at once. Well, goodbye to your home, you hoped you would make it back alive. “It was where Hoonie and I had our last hunt, the place he went missing, and funny thing, the hunt is incomplete,”

“So, you’re telling me you drove all the way to my house from Vegas in the middle of an unfinished hunt just because Sunghoon’s gone,”

“‘Just because’? Y/N, it’s life or death!”

“I’m not saying this isn’t important!” you bite back, sleep deprivation wasn’t helping your increased agitation. “Didn’t this happen before? One of you goes missing and the other solves the case and finds each other? What’s so big this time?”

“This did happen,” Jay sighed, the bags under his eyes obvious despite the darkness surrounding you, the tuned down rock music played faintly on the radio. “I went lost, got captured by some psycho killer, whatever, but it was traceable, it always was, but this time … something’s different and it’s definitely not only a psycho killer, it’s something stronger, darker,” 

“Jolly. A demon,” you wondered aloud, Jay humming in agreement. “Mind telling me what hunt you and Sunghoon were on in Vegas before his disappearance?”

“Saw on the news about deaths in a casino, so Hoon and I decided to check it out, and guess what we found? Sulphur,” demons tend to leave sulphur around, finding sulphur basically indicated a demon’s presence, pretty basic information.

“A demon on massacre duties in a casino? I feel like this one is out for money, something to do with his greed and desire,” you speculated, unsurprised as these were common occurrences.

"Likely," Jay clicked his fingers, his eyebrows bunched together, a scheming look on his face. "Here's the thing, we were somewhat on the road to uncovering some truths, on who the real demon was, but that's when this happened, it's no coincidence that he probably took Hoonie,"

"Which means you still don't know who's the mastermind in that casino right now? Or where Sunghoon could possibly be?"

"No," he answered bitterly, his fingers strumming the steering wheel softly. "And I think the jackass jumps into different bodies working there each time, it's hard to trace,"

"Are we going around splashing holy water? How are we supposed to know whose body is being possessed?"

"We don't," he said plainly, and matter-of-factly, turning his face just enough for you to catch him winking at you. "But we do know he's a higher up, a man with a position, or maybe positions,"

"Guess it's our lucky day testing our fortune on catching demons and winning at casinos,"

"Looks just like the movies," 

Upon entering the state of Nevada at nightfall, you were welcomed with the blistering nightlife of Las Vegas, the bright lights blinding your sights and you couldn't help but be fascinated.

"Where are we heading?"

"Towards the hotel the man was murdered in," Jay nodded at one of the big and tall hotels ahead. "There's a famous casino in that hotel, lots of people constantly betting, rich and powerful men are frequently present,"

"A perfect spot for a money hungry demon,"

"Bingo," 

Jay parked his beloved car and was rather sad leaving it behind in a shabby parking lot. You knew he loved his car, sometimes clingy and attached, but he loved it a little too much. 

Grabbing your bags and a seperate one full of weapons, you and Jay headed into the hotel and towards the reception, where a bright young woman named Carrie was smiling back at you both.

"You're not going to make me spray holy water at her, right?" You said quietly in hopes of the receptionist not hearing it.

"I'm not stopping you," Jay passed you an unamused half grin.

"Hello! How may I assist you?" Carrie greeted enthusiastically, but frankly, none of you could reciprocate the same energy.

"We'd like to book two rooms please," Jay slid the card towards Carrie, hoping to get this over with quickly.

"Just two?" She glanced between you and Jay, a question mark basically floating above her head. "We have a 'couples exclusive' promotion though,"

You and Jay shared a look, turning back to the receptionist. "Two, please,"

"There's free access to the facilities and the buffet," Carrie continued on. "Oh—uhm—there's a jacuzzi here too,"

Jay turned to you, you stared back, a knowing look passed between one another, releasing sighs of displeasure.

"We'll take it,"

It would be an understatement to just say the hotel was fancy, it was more than fancy. High ceilings, marble floors, chandeliers, everything was almost in gold. You were able to catch a slight glimpse of the casino as you passed, and indeed, it was packed with people. Boy, you were about to have a time trying to find out who's the real imposter.

"I definitely spotted some sulphur just now," Jay shook his head, his eyes scanning the floor, walls and surroundings. "I think this one has minions here,"

"Amazing," you clicked your tongue, impatiently stalking through the soundless corridor in search of your designated room. You were dying to dive into your hotel bed. 

"Do you think we have enough?" Jay eyed the bag of weapons as you two stood outside your room, but just before you could answer, a stranger appeared next to you two, holding a keycard to the room next to yours.

"Oh, I'm sure it's enough," the stranger, a middle aged lady, laughed.

You glanced at Jay, a cautionary sign was understood. "W–what do you mean?" Jay chuckled nervously.

"Condoms? That's what you meant, right?" The lady snickered, and you were absolutely dumbfounded. "Just keep it down kids, it's not entirely soundproof here and I need sleep. It's nice meeting you guys!"

The lady slammed the door behind her, leaving you and Jay standing there like statues, a little confusion and surprise in the air. 

"Condoms," you echoed, shuddering slightly.

Jay turned to look at you, a pensive look in his gaze, eyebrows raised slightly. "Do you … unless—?" 

"Zip it," you hoisted the bags, opened the door and stormed in while Jay remained standing there, a defensive look replacing his previous one.

"Hey, I didn't even say it," he shouted from the outside, taking his bags from the floor.

"I know what you're trying to say, thank you! Now get your ass in here before I shut you out,"

"Yes, ma'am," Jay scrambled in and shut the door close, soon noticing your figure looming over the bed and was curious. "What's up?"

"There's only one bed," you glanced down at the king size bed, a heart formed from rose petals decorated it and you found it highly ridiculous. "And they made it romantic, how sweet,"

"You're kidding me," Jay ran his hand across his tired face, a weary sigh leaving his lips. "I'll take the couch,"

You stopped him there. "Dude, you're going to be hunting demons, I'm not letting you get backaches from a lousy couch,"

"There's no way you're sleeping on it either,"

You bit your lips, maybe sleeping on the same bed for a few nights wouldn't hurt, right? It certainly wasn't your first time with Jay anyway, but business was business, and this was far from being professional.

"Let's just share the same bed," 

Jay stared doubtfully at you, as if he couldn't believe those words had come out of your mouth. "You're up for that?"

"Do you think we have any other choices?" You crossed your arms, mirroring his pointed gaze.

"Touche," he nodded thoughtfully, dropping his bags to a corner. "Just don't kick me in my sleep,"

"I'll be happy to kick you now instead."

"Stop staring!"

Despite being tired and worn out, you and Jay dragged yourselves out from the room in hopes of some food and checked out the hotel and casino. 

The inside of the casino was bright and painted in gold, red themed colours. It was extremely busy and crowded, many were yelling in surprise and joy, while there were those in despair over losing. Jay, on the other hand, was too busy staring at by-passing girls to focus on the real purpose.

"What?" He hissed defensively, winking at another server and you rolled your eyes at his never changing behaviour.

"You can enjoy whatever you want after everything, okay? Not to be a killjoy but there's a demon here that took your brother,"

"Hey! I'm aware,"

"Sure," you mumbled sarcastically, looking around the table and observing people's faces, but you knew none of these normal citizens were possessed.

"Do you think we can meet the host or manager tonight?" Jay made sure to whisper that quietly, glancing around warily.

"You think one of them would be possessed?"

"The chances are high. Hoon and I went over to the dead man's house the other day, the wife told us he was close to the host, something by the name Sam? Sam Clerk?"

"Looking for me?"

You've never turned around so quick, your hand instinctively reached into your pocket for the small bottle of holy water, but Jay's hand stopped you discreetly, giving you one of his 'I got this' look.

"You're Sam Clerk?" Jay laughed awkwardly, playing it cool and casual.

The man before you was tall and seemingly in his mid 30s, his smile was wide and welcomingly, but there was a malevolent energy emitted from him. "Why yes, that's me. And you two are …?"

"I'm … Jack Williams," 

Sam glanced at you expectantly, and if you could dig yourself a grave then from the embarrassment, hoy would've. You cleared your throat, "I'm Stacy … Williams, he's my husband,"

You felt Jay's gaze on you, burning into your skin, but you ignored him and looped your arm around his. 

"Oh!" Sam clapped in surprise, a pleasant smile spread across his face. "You two must be new here, right? I've never seen you before,"

"Right, we are," Jay patted your hand, plastering on his most convincing smile. "That was why we wanted to find you! We heard how great of a host you were and wanted an introduction,"

"I'm pleased, but I'm a little busy tonight, so I can't assist you unfortunately," a flash of change in his eyes was barely noticeable, but you caught onto it. "But there's a charity ball we're holding in two days, I would love to invite you both to attend,"

"We'd love to," you said almost immediately.

Sam chuckled, nodding in satisfaction. "Great. I'll see you … then."

Without another word, he left in a dash, moving almost like a shadow. You unknowingly let out a shaky breath, feeling goosebumps rise. "His energy was so off,"

"I know," Jay was thinking hard, his mind working extra hours. "So, it's him … but there's definitely another one which we don't know, there's no way this would be so easy, and we also need to know where Hoon is,"

"I think I have an idea," you held onto his forearm, pulling him on and continued your walk around the casino. "I did some digging on the history behind this hotel and the casino, and it goes way back,"

"How long?"

"Centuries. It was built on a cursed ground, but they didn't care, and guess what? There were deaths here over those years too, unexplained ones. Weird, huh? But that's not the point. There's some hidden underground chamber somewhere here, built by someone from the olden days, and it's said to harbour bad energy,"

"Attracts demons,"

"Perfect hideout,"

"But why Hoon?" Jay scratched his head, eyebrows furrowed and increasingly frustrated.

"I mean, you guys were hunting the demons and they caught on. Plus, timing was bad, you happened to be out,"

"True," Jay sighed. "We should ask that Sam guy more stuff during that charity ball, and we should start doing some digging tomorrow,"

"I'll use my flirting skills and wiggle information off him," you grinned, nudging his side teasingly.

"You should use it on me instead," he grumbled noisily.

"No chance," you smiled sarcastically at him, pulling him towards the bar. "Let's just enjoy tonight and drink a little, I definitely need some before diving into … everything,"

"Get ready to drink until you fall, L/N,"

"Challenge accepted, Park."

The night faded into a blur, you and Jay somehow wandered off without one another, but stayed within the vicinity. You were drinking alone at the bar, the alcohol seemed like water to you, your tolerance coming strong. 

Jay was off at the side, leaning against the wall as he openly flirts with a random blonde girl. Laughing suavely, a glass of whiskey in one hand and his charming looks sweeping the blonde off her feet. 

You shouldn't be feeling this way, but you would be lying if you said you were indifferent to him and the girl. It was no surprise you and him had history, even on the intimate level, but to have feelings for him? That was something new you slowly came about to realise.

Onto your new glass of gin, Jay slid into the empty seat next to you, looking far from drunk. You forgot Jay had an alcohol tolerance that challenged yours, making him an interesting drinking partner to have on most nights. 

"What happened to the girl?" 

"What girl?" He craned his neck to stare off at the distance before turning back to look at you, his face inching closer to yours. "Blondie? Nah," he shook his head, a playful grin appearing on his handsome face. "Can't believe I'm saying this but are you perhaps … jealous?"

"Me? Jealous? Don't be ridiculous," you pushed his face away, eliciting a humorous laugh from him. 

"I think you are," Jay said in a sing-song tone under his breath. "Rest assure, sweetheart, I never fucked anyone else ever since our last night together," he winked, taking his jacket hanging from the chair and offered you his hand, which you grudgingly accepted.

"Are you sure you're not lying to me? Park Jong Seong, the man who hunts demons and loves to fuck around hasn't been bringing girls back?" 

"Don't doubt me or my feelings here," he feigned a crying face dramatically to which you pulled a face at. “You’re seriously underestimating my feelings for you,” he said, a little seriously this time, raising his eyebrows at you before letting your hands go and leading the way back to the room, making sure to turn around to check up on you from time to time. 

You were tired by the time you’ve reached your room, changing out of your outfit into a much more comfortable one while Jay did the same in another room. You would be lying if you said you weren’t nervous, it wasn’t an everyday occurrence that you slept next to a man, even if he was one you’ve shared a bed with once.

“Goodnight, Y/N,” Jay yawned as he got under the sheets, you followed suit, shifting around for a better position. Your’s and Jay’s back faced each other, a distance obvious between you two.

“Night, Jay,” you switched the lights off, the room was dark, but you were wide awake. The unfamiliar bed had you tossing and turning, but also making an effort not to bump into Jay while doing so. 

“We haven’t done this in a while,” Jay suddenly spoke into the darkness after barely ten minutes. 

You bit back a smile, wrapping your hands tighter around yourself. “Yeah, we haven’t,”

"If I have to be honest, I miss it," you couldn't see Jay's face, only picturing it as he continued on. "I miss waking up next to you,"

"Jay …" you trailed off, heart squeezing slightly. "You know we can't,"

"I know," he repeated, a beat passed. "But what if we can?"

"You said it was too dangerous, you didn't want it,"

"I didn't say I didn't want it," he was quick to retaliate. "I want it, you know I do, but this job, this life, your life, I'll be a walking supernatural attractor,"

A short moment of silence filled the space between you and him, you let out a sigh. "Whatever it is, I'm willing to drop it for you, whether it was years ago or now, I don't think my feelings have changed. But that’s for you to accept anyway,"

Jay didn’t say anything more, your tiredness eventually brought you to sleep, unaware that he was still wide awake, turning around to glance at the back of your head, head filled with thoughts of you. Jay knew that being a hunter was a dangerous job, which meant romantic relationships and commitment were two hard things to tackle, even harder than killing supernatural things. But you were different to him. A one night together somehow turned his stone heart soft. The Park Jong Seong was truthfully in love with you. You were the angel to the devil in his heart. What’s stopping him was everything around his life, his cold demeanour, his fears.

The night melted into snores and wild dreams, the sun was soon peeking out of the horizons and sunlight streamed into your room. You were awoken by your alarm blaring by the bedside, slamming it off and trying stretching your limbs, but as you said, you tried.

Jay's arm was wrapped around your waist tightly, his body pressed against your side as its weight leaned against yours. You haven't been this intimate with him for months, and it certainly sparked something in you.

"God, Jay, wake up," you tapped his arm, trying to yank it off you, but he only retaliated by hugging your body tighter and tugging you closer to him.

"5 minutes," was all he could mumble before continuing his snores.

You scoffed, giving in with no choice. Since Jay indirectly wanted a lazy morning in, you decided it was best to call room service instead. 

"Good morning, can I order some room service?" It was an awkward position with the phone against your ear, menu in your hands and a grown man's arm draped across your abdomen.

The women on the other line coughed uncomfortably. "Good morning, miss, but room service is currently unavailable. Something happened overnight …" she drifted off and your face scrunched into an expression of confusion.

"What … happened?"

"I don't know if I should be saying this—"

"I won't complain, I swear, I just want to know," you tried to be as convincing as you could, and somehow the women complied.

"A murder happened, in the casino, again," she breathed out, a pinch of disbelief in her tone. "I think it's cursed,"

Oh, you don't say.

"Is there anyone who's hurt?"

"Other than the murdered rich tycoon, no,"

Rich tycoon, as expected.

"Got it. Be safe,"

"You too."

You placed down the phone, shaking the man beside you who only let out gruff huffs of annoyance. "Hm?" 

"Don't 'hm' me, get your ass up. We've got trouble."

Dragging a five foot ten grown man out of the bed was definitely a struggle, but in the end, it worked. After spilling the information you got earlier, he seemed content with just a cup of coffee and stormed towards the crime scene at once.

As expected, the police had surrounded the area and curious bystanders were peeking in from left and right. You and Jay slipped into the crowd, making sure to scan the area as much as you could, and as expected, traces of sulphur. 

"Another one bites the dust, huh?" Jay hummed as you two roamed around the hotel aimlessly, unable to do much more but laying low since police officers were still around.

"Have you ever thought about there being more than one demon here?"

"Yeah, that guy we met with his demon minions, duh—"

"Forget about the minions, let's think about the powerful ones," you bite your lips thoughtfully. "Remember this hotel being built centuries ago?"

"Yeah?"

"Two brothers owned it. One was the head of everything while the other managed the casino mostly," you said, glancing around. "Ring a bell? I'm pretty sure the guy's just a vessel, they were the ones working here before they got possessed, the demon's in those bodies,"

"You're a genius," Jay gasped, coming to realisation as he pieced it one by one.

"Now, I think I also got a faint idea of the secret dungeon. Their office,"

"Any history lesson?"

"No, just a blind guess, but my sixth sense told me so and you know how trustable my sixth sense is,"

"It sure is," Jay nodded in agreement, proven by your skills in previous hunts. "Should we break into it?"

"Are you crazy? You're walking into hell," you knew it was no secret how impulsive he was, which explained why you were there in the first place. "I reckon we strike during the charity ball,"

"But how are we going to identify the other brother first?"

"Oh, speaking of the devil," you nodded over at the crime scene that was now a distance away. Two men appeared, one was Sam, and the other was someone you've never seen before, but strangely held a resemblance to Sam.

They possessed brothers? You're joking.

"That must be the man of the hour," Jay whistled, eyeing the two men conversing with the officers. The man was taller than Sam, older looking and had a similar friendly face to him that also seemed intimidating.

"They're leaving," the two brothers bid farewell to the officers, watching them leave before turning around and walking away themselves. Jay and his impulsiveness just had to strike again. "Let's follow them,"

"Huh?"

Before you fully register Jay's words, that fucker pulled you by the wrist and started sprinting off into the direction the demon brothers were heading. If you could sock Jay in the jaw at that moment, you would've.

"Are you trying to get us killed?" You hissed quiet enough to not blow your cover, following the brothers a short distance away as they headed towards their office.

"Trying not to, but shush, we need to hear what they're saying,"

The brother stopped just before the door to their office, you and Jay followed suit, your body almost crashing into him from the abrupt halt. Jay dragged you into a dingy closet packed with cleaning supplies, great, and there was barely any room to move, let alone take a step back, and thus you found yourself in a compromising position.

Jay glanced down at you, a smirk etched on his face. "Not our first time, huh—"

"One word and you're not making it out alive, now hush and listen," you glared at him, effectively shutting him up but failed at wiping off his smug smile.

From the other side of the door, you heard shuffling and the voice of Sam Clerck. "But John—"

Jay's eyes widened, and you knew what he meant, there was a name. 

"—the amount of killing is making this whole thing suspicious to the mortals,"

"It's annoying that you're calling me 'John'," the latter spat. 

"It's not my fault that's the name of the original bodies. Fine, Elijah, don't you think we should rest on the killings for the moment,"

"What? Elliot, here's no way we're doing that, look at the fortune we're making,"

"Mind you, we have a possible hunter captured in the office's dungeon, what are we doing with him? Oh, there's probably other hunters coming as well now that they've slowly caught onto us,"

"Brother, stop overthinking and fretting," Elijah, the presumed older brother, sighed. "We could use him as a sacrifice—"

You clamped a hand over Jay's mouth, knowing him too well that he would let out noises and maybe burst out the door, but there was no way you're letting him do either of those.

"Or just kill him. We've been treating him well with food, excluding the fact that there's no sunlight," 

"We'll see how it goes, underground or not, another killing is too risky," 

"Whatever,"

You heard the door click shut, the two brothers already entered their office. Jay licked your hand and you reacted at once, shooting him a disgusted expression and opening the door, a gush of fresh air filled your lungs and you're no longer pressed against Jay, hooray!

"You heard that? They're going to serve my brother up on a platter or just directly cook him into a meat skewer,"

You pushed Jay to move along, avoiding the risk of getting caught. "We know he's in the office now, and there's definitely a way to get him out, can you try being hopeful for once?"

"It's Hoon we're talking about, so no,"

"Look, Elijah and Elliot, they're the Vamson brothers,"

"Who?"

"They're the original owners of this hotel and they got executed from murder cases. Explains why they knew the dungeon and all,"

"What do we do now?"

"Not 'now', tomorrow," you grinned, a plan brewing in mind. "We're splitting them up,"

The day consisted of you and Jay running around as inconspicuous as you could manage. The plan was slowly forming over a glass of whiskey. Jay would be onto distracting 'Sam' while you get closer to 'John', getting him to bring you back to his office and free Sunghoon by locating the dungeon.

"Must you really flirt with him?" Jay grumbled as he sipped on his glass.

"Is it your turn to be jealous now?"

"Yeah," Jay nodded straightforwardly, catching you a little off guard. "Pains me seeing you flirt with someone other than me,"

You rolled your eyes, playing it off nonchalant and casual, but internally? Your heart was doing backflips. "It's not actual flirting anyway, you dramatic ass,"

He let out a small, humorous laugh. "I know," he hummed. "But I just don't like seeing others with my girl,"

"I don't belong to you, Jay," you raised your eyebrows, playing around with your glass, heartbeat gradually increasing.

"You've been mine since the day you let me touch you," he said almost so nonchalantly that it gave you a whiplash. His words were unexpected, and it certainly stirred something in you. 

"You're insane," you scoffed, completely hiding the fact that you were secretly blushing.

He simply shrugged. "Anyway, I'd like to catch some air outside, you coming?"

"Will you be smoking?"

"I quit that shit a while ago,"

You smiled at that. "Good. But nah, you can go on without me, but come back once you're done, I don't feel safe,"

"Obviously, I'm not leaving you alone," Jay carrassed your arm slightly, a small reassuring look present in his gaze. 

"Got your gun? Knife? Weapons—?"

"Chill, Y/N, I'm only going out for a while,"

"Knowing you, you're going to get into trouble,"

Jay winked, his usual playful grin on display. "You bet,"

To prove you absolutely right, he did.

Upon returning, you felt an odd shift in Jay's energy. As much as you were in denial, you knew your sixth sense was always, forever right, gut feelings never lie.

He started off normal, but then he got all … how could you put it? Sexy? Seducing? Sensual? Definitely not Park Jong Seong's normal way of seducing someone, knowing it very well especially since you were a victim to his seductions.

You played along, pretending stupid, and it gave you enough time to deduce that he was possessed. Demons that stormed the hotel got to him in the end and you had to be the one to clean the mess up? Unbelievable. 

Now, here you were, in his lap back in your hotel room, making out. You heard that right. 

His hands tugged your hair, yours wandered his body, lips moving passionately against one another, you had to remind yourself that this WASN'T him! 

You broke the kiss, heaving slightly as you reached for the small flask on your bedside table, a plan already in your mind. "Gosh, let me take a sip, want some?"

Jay—or demon Jay—nodded at the flask in your hand with some interest. "What's in there?"

"Whiskey, your favourite," you lied cunningly through your teeth.

"I'll have some," 

You passed it to Jay, watching his every move, from him taking the flask, holding it up to his lips, to downing the contents into his mouth, then a loud scream broke out from him.

"Holy water," you clicked your tongue. "And you're so not Jay," 

You threw yourself away from him, backing away from the bed. Jay turned to you sharply, piercingly glaring at you, his eyes turned fully black, leaving no whites. Oh yeah, hundred percent possessed. 

He tried charging at you, but he then hit an invisible barrier. No matter how much he lunged and punched, he was stuck, and never escaping.

"Devil's trap, whoops," it was a precaution you took, drawing a sigil trap under the bed that was designed specially to trap demons, and there was no way out unless the circle was broken. It was great luck you got the demon twisted around your finger to have him follow you into bed. "Now, what's your business? Why are you possessing him?"

"You don't want to continue doing what you're doing here," he seethed out.

"I've got someone to save,"

He cackled with a look of disdain. "You humans are so weak minded and hero wannabes. How about you save yourself and forget about the guy? You don't know who you're dealing with or what you're even doing,"

"Oh, I don't?" You pulled the bedside table's drawer open, your trusty notebook was tucked inside and you snatched it out, showing it gloriously. "Look at this!"

"A stupid little notebook? You're not scaring me,"

"Are you sure? What if I told you there were some verses in here? You know, those types of verses, the ones that can make you go away. What if I start reciting some verses?" You taunted, your innocent smile riled him further.

"Come on then," he poked, challenging you. 

"Seriously? I'm giving you choices and time before I send you back to hell. I'm really kind,"

Jay gulped, despite all that, he remained a confident front and a cocky look. "Your stupid chantings won't work on me,"

"A low level demon like you telling me what I know and don't know? Please, save some talk and let me show you what I'm best at," you flipped open your notebook, following the usual ritual and started the latin incantations.

Jay stirred, yelling out and his body shuddered. As your chantings got louder and more aggressive, the demon from within seemed to be fighting to escape. Finally, with one last verse, Jay's mouth opened and a flight of black smoke escaped from within and dissolved back to, hopefully, hell.

"Fuck," you ran towards the bed as you saw his body going limp, getting there just in time for his body to fall into your arms heavily. "I got you, Jay, you're okay,"

"Huh?" His eyes were half opened, looking worse than a drunk. 

"Get some rest, we'll talk about this tomorrow. You need it."

"I got possessed, then we made out, and you exorcised me?"

"That was about it,"

It was the next morning, room service thankfully available now and you were having breakfast in bed with Jay as you poured over the happenings of the crazy night. Of course, Jay was having difficulties swallowing his food as he had zero recollections whatsoever, blacking out the moment the demon entered his body. 

"So … we made out?"

"Seriously? Is that the important part to you?"

"We never did for months and the demon got to do it with you? This is trippy and I'm salty," he huffed, chewing on his sunny side egg sadly. "Anyway, did the demon say anything?"

"Right, he did. Something about how we shouldn't be doing what we're doing now, like a warning I think,"

"Eh, typical demon bullshit, they always get into your minds and spit some mind boggling ass words to get you all worked up. It's nothing,"

You were unconvinced, crossing your arms nervously. "You don't actually think there's something wrong, right? Something bigger than we think?"

"Maybe, maybe not," he shrugged, uncertainty lingered in his words. "Either way, we have bigger problems. Tonight, the charity ball, saving Hoonie,"

"You're right."

Running around the streets looking for some gown to buy was harder than expected. Buying it rather than renting was a stupid choice, a dumb and expensive one. But what could you do? You're probably going to rip it up anyway. Not in that manner.

The day was soon coming to an end. Earlier on, the two of you made sure to have your bags packed and ready, dumping them into the car in advance. God knows what's happening after the event, all you knew was that you're probably not stepping foot back into the hotel room again.

"Are you done?" Jay shouted from the other room as you finished some final touch ups.

"Can you wait for a second? Jeez!"

You burst open the door, meeting Jay's gaze at once. He was dressed handsomely in a suit, a plain black suit that hugged his muscles and body in a perfect way as if it was tailored for him.

As for you, you were in a simple floor length black gown, one with two surprises: an open back and a thigh slit. You weren't a big fan but it is what it is. It was likely made out of some cheap silk and half assed production, but this happened to be your only option. 

"Fucking hell," he whistled under his breath, his eyes swept your figure from top to bottom and back to the top again to lock his gaze with yours. "Wow. You look amazing, more than amazing actually,"

He took a step, and another, until he was directly in front of you, face to face. "Is it okay if I touch you?" He whispered under his breath, something flashing in those brown irises. 

"Yeah,"

His hand slithered around your waist, tugging you forward into his chest, eyes widened as it caught you by surprise. Being this close to him had you thinking of yesterday. Despite the fact that he was possessed, it was physically still him, meaning you did kiss him, and God, he missed him and his lips.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Yesterday,"

"That demon got you hooked?"

"You're annoying. I mean, kissing you," you faltered towards the end, gradually getting flustered. 

"Would you like to recreate that?" Jay jokingly leaned in and you pushed his face away, laughing slightly.

"We don't have the time to, idiot,"

Jay shook his head, a small smile adorned his pretty features. "After all this … maybe we should talk it out. About us. Just you and I,"

"Definitely," you nodded, squeezing his shoulder lightly. "We should leave too, it's time," 

"You're right," he sighed, obvious disappointment in his voice as he glanced down at his wristwatch. "Let's go," he slowly let his hold of you go, but his hand remained around your waist as you two walked side by side.

That cheeky bastard's hands gradually travelled lower and lower as you walked, teasing you until it reached your lower back. Your head snapped over to give him a questioning glance, to which he reciprocated with a shrug.

"Hands up—" you moved his hands from your lower back back to your waist, eyes glaring at him, "—here,"

"You weren't complaining the last time we fucked,"

"Over a year back,"

"What do you say we relive that tonight, huh?"

"You're such a sleazebag. Oh, manwhore, and what else?"

"Dickhead, handsome jerk," 

"Okay, whatever you say, dickhead handsome jerk," you snickered sarcastically before dragging him towards the main area, making sure to not trip over your gown. 

The hotel was bustling with guests from all over the world, being the busiest it has been as staff ran around frantically. The night has yet to begin and people were already gambling their minds off while drinking expensive champagne served by frantic servers. 

You looked around, noticing Sam, or Elliot in actuality, conversing with someone, his brother was nowhere in sight … yet. 

"Distract him, okay?" You whispered hastily into Jay's ears as you saw the man waving over at you two, possibly coming over once he's done with the guy he's talking to. "I'll try to be within hindsight, but listen to me, if I'm not back by the two hour mark, you come to the office and find me. You have the gun, right?"

"Yeah,"

"Good. I'm going to try and get Sunghoon out, but I've only got so much,"

"I'll be there, okay? I won't leave you,"

You nodded at his words, feeling his hand squeeze your arm tightly. The anxiety was pushing past its limits and you were praying everything to run your way. The moment Sam moved over to you and Jay, you exchanged friendly greetings and pretended to be interested in whatever he's trying to yap about. As he did so, Jay slowly whisked him away, luring him for a talk over some drinks. One thing Jay's excellent at was talking, and you sure hoped his charms were enough to keep the little brother at bay.

After some more digging, you found out John, aka Elijah, mostly hung around the bar area and observed his customers. Interesting man. Lo and behold, the theories were right and he was actually there, all alone, an easy target.

"Not here to gamble?" You slid by his side casually, sitting in an empty seat just a fraction of a distance in between.

"I like to sit and observe a little," he hummed, taking a sip out of his glass. "And you are?"

"Stacy Williams,"

"I'm John Clerk,"

Ironic that you two were actually lying about yourselves to each other. 

"Owner of this place I believe?"

"It's true," he raised his glass up, quirking his eyebrows.

"Beautiful casino and hotel, by the way," you said sweetly, putting on your most convincing smile.

"Thank you," he bowed his head slightly. Not much of a conversationalist, huh? Maybe this was your time to strike. 

"Mr Clerk, I'm sorry but is there any way I can get a short rest around here? I'm feeling a little light headed and I just wish to lie down for a while,"

The man before you remained stoic, but you could tell he was internally scrambling for ideas in his mind, and you certainly didn't miss the way he gulped. To add extra pressure onto him, you started staring at him expectantly.

"Well—uhm—there's a sofa in my office," he suggested, though reluctantly.

"That'll be great if you don't mind, I'm sorry for the trouble,"

"No worries, Miss Williams," he assured. "I'll lead you there," he got off his seat and slowly took the lead, you following behind. As you gradually made your out of the vicinity, you spotted Jay, giving him a small nod before disappearing from his sight entirely.

He took the same path you and Jay had done during the time you two snuck around the demon brothers office, except this time, you would be entering into the office.

"Here you go, the sofa's all yours," he opened the door for you, leading you into his large office and pointed at the black coloured sofa in the corner. For a murderous, plotting demon, you didn't expect him or his interior to be so simple and minimal. "Would you like anything else?"

"A drink, maybe water or something refreshing will do,"

He nodded before closing the door shut, and you could tell he was worried about leaving you alone. Not because it's dangerous for you to be by yourself, but instead, he's paranoid about his typical demon doings and that dungeon.

Speaking of the dungeon, you had no idea where it was. Upon arriving, you checked for surveillance cameras, there were none thankfully, as for the dungeon you noticed nothing, even after squinting and looking around the room for some dodgy button. What a cunning demon! Time was ticking and you were racing against time.

"Wait…" you read about some theories about the whereabouts of the entrance to the dungeon, so now, you finally had the chance to test it out.

Locking the door and making up a quick lie was easy. But searching for some clues around the room wasn't. It got to a frustrating point of testing out the stupid theories where you ended up failing. There was one more for the test: the bookshelves.

Stories mentioned John being a complete book nerd, his belongings would be chucked in between books and somewhere behind the shelves, it would totally make sense the bookshelves in his office to have some hidden functions. You tried pushing it, punching it, but it wouldn't budge.

Sighing in almost defeat, you found yourself eyeing the books instead, judging the titles and spotting an odd one, reaching out for a grab. That was when everything changed. A small pull had triggered the book shelf to raise itself off of the ground and into the wall, revealing stairs going underground. Bingo.

You defied the laws of horror movies by going down the dark stairway, quietly calling out for any signs of life. Once you descended the remaining steps, you were met with dimly lit torches, chains hanging on the wall. This did look very anciently built, replicating those tacky dungeons in movies.

It was a large underground cave, so it wasn't hard to spot Sunghoon sitting in one corner, his hand chained to the wall and he himself had dozed off. 

You made your way there, your heels clicking against the hard floor but Sunghoon never woke from it. You kneeled beside him, noticing the fatigue in his expressions, looking overly worn out, attire soiled and seemingly hurt.

"Sunghoon!" You hissed, shaking him awake. There's no way you're attempting to carry him out while he's unconscious.

"Huh—what—who—" he slowly blinked, startled at the unfamiliar voice. His gaze was on you, his eyes blinking rapidly to rid of the haziness, then he finally registered that it was you talking. "Wait—Y/N?"

"You got that right. Is there a key around here?" 

"What are you doing here?"

"We have no time for that! Is there a key or not?" You hissed, trying to strain your ears in order to determine if he's returned or not. Hopefully the guests were keeping him busy in the meantime.

"There is, it's somewhere in the small cupboard there," he nodded over at said cupboard that you hadn't noticed. 

Say less, you practically jumped to your feet and bolted over to the small cupboard, pulled it open and the key was there. Tada! It was foolish that it was out in the open like that, but considering the fact they probably didn't expect anyone else to come down here, it was pretty valid.

Being the more thorough person you were, you checked the remaining drawers in case of any dangerous objects. Instead, you found some weapons here and there, so you tossed some over to Sunghoon before unlocking his chain. He winced the moment his wrist found freedom, rubbing it sorely. But there's not enough time, you need him out.

"Park, listen close to me," you tucked some of the knives into the garter belt around your thigh, handing Sunghoon one of the guns found in the drawer. "Your brother is here—"

"Jay?"

"Yes, now hush and actually listen, alright? The demon that captured you is coming back soon, and you're escaping before he does,"

"What about you?"

"I'll hold out as long as I can. Once you find Jay, tell him to come 'fetch' me or whatever excuse he could form. If shit goes sour, I don't think I can handle him alone,"

Sunghoon nodded as he took your words in carefully. There was limited time left, you needed to get out of the dungeon and shut it. 

You helped Sunghoon up and had him lean his weight into you as you guided him up the stairs. To say you were struggling and having breathing difficulties was an understatement. He better treat you to some good food for saving his ass after this.

He fell onto the sofa you were resting on earlier as you scrambled to shut the entrance by pushing the book back in. The entrance to the dungeon closed to a shut, and you breathed a sigh of relief. Now that you got Sunghoon out, there's bigger problems to face. 

"Are you able to walk?"

Sunghoon grunted, stretching and massaging his legs. "I can … I think,"

"You think?" His words weren't completely reassuring. 

"I'll manage," he gritted out, but his gaze softened. "I'm only worried about you,"

"You don't think I can handle him?"

"No, not that. You're an amazing hunter, of course, but this guy—demon—he's not some low ranking one. Not some simple exorcism can cast him back to hell,"

"I know, that's why Jay's got the gun,"

"He brought the colt along?"

The colt wasn't just a normal revolver, it was the supernatural revolver. Built to kill everything and anything. No supernatural beings were able to escape the wrath of the bullet. Who else better to use it on than some powerful demons?

"He's crazy," Sunghoon breathed out after you nodded as a response to his question. 

"He's just being careful. Plus, we do need it now anyway,"  

Sunghoon blinked, leaning back a little with an odd expression, his eyebrows furrowed. "Oh wow, did you guys…?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, you have this look and I figured something … sparked between you and him again,"

You pressed your lips into a flat line, blinking wordlessly at him. Even he could tell you and Jay were having something?

"Let's talk about this later," you patted his shoulder, nodding towards the door. "You should definitely leave now,"

Knock knock.

"Miss Williams? Are you alright? Why is the door locked?"

You met Sunghoon's gaze, and the one thing you've managed to understand in his stare was 'we're fucked'. 

"I'm—I'm not doing well," 

"What's happened? Let me in,"

"No!" You bursted out, which sounded worse than expected. "I mean, no, I got m–my period, and I'm embarrassed to come out,"

"Oh," the man on the other side of the door seemed shocked to say the least. "I'll go get you some pads, Miss Williams,"

"Thank you,"

Pressing your ears onto the door, you heard his footsteps getting further away, finally able to let out the breath you've been holding in for too long. You turned to Sunghoon, grabbing his arm.

"You know, for a demon, he's actually quite a gentleman,"

"Keeping me in his stupid dusty dungeon surely isn't a gentleman's move," he said bitterly as he got up, limping slightly. "You'll be okay, right?"

"No promises,"

"I'll be quick, I'm going to get Jay here. You saved my ass, I'm making sure I save yours," he placed a hand on your shoulder, squeezing it softly.

"I trust you," you patted his hand. "Now, go,"

Sunghoon nodded, though quite reluctantly leaving as he didn't wish to have you all alone in a demon's threshold. You exchanged a brief look with him before he slipped out of the door completely, and you prayed he made it out successfully without any complications in between.

Minutes later, you heard knocks on the door once again, which meant John was back. Bracing yourself, you turned the door open, revealing him and some pads in his hands. "Here,"

"Thanks, I'll—uh—go to the restroom,"

"You're not actually on your period, are you?" His words cut like knives, sharp and certain.

"Are you doubting my knowledge of my own body?" 

"No, I'm not," he said flatly, shutting the door behind him and stepping closer. "One thing I know for sure is that you're not welcomed here … hunter," in one blink, his eyes turned black entirely, just like the time Jay was possessed.

"I'm only here for a shortstop, nothing else … Elijah," you kept your cool on the outside, but internally? You were fighting the horrors. He seemed surprised that you mentioned his actual name, but that didn't bother him.

"Oh yeah? Tell your buddies to stop coming after me,"

"How about you stop killing people?" 

Your retaliation didn't help your case as it only agitated him. With a  swift move of a hand, he had you pushed to the bookshelves, pinning you on there with an invisible force. No matter how you tried resisting it, you couldn't break free from the forceful hold.

"You won't understand. You humans don't," he seethed out, getting closer and closer. "You would be a great sacrifice as well,"

"Fuck you,"

Wrong choices of words. A force was wrapped around your throat and in the next second, it was constricting. Dying from getting choked by a demon wasn't on your list of dumb ways to die.

You swore you were seeing the lights of the afterlife until something intervened. Gunshots sounded suddenly, loud and clear and almost everywhere, a mix of shouts rang through. Chaos was happening. 

John, or Elijah, heard the commotion outside and was taken off guard from it, his hold loosening and you were able to breathe just a little bit more. His head turned back to you, then to the door, seemingly conflicted at the two troubles on hand. 

"Shit," he cursed under his breath. "For fuck's sake," he released his hold on you, resulting in you dropping to the ground in coughing fits. You take it back about him being a gentleman. "You're so dead when I come back,"

You could only glare at him and his figure as he exited through the door, but then you heard the sound of a click. No, no, no. You rushed to the door, trying to yank it open, but to your worst fears, he actually locked the door.

Jay was coming to find you, right? Doubts continuously fill your mind against your will. It pained you knowing you're stuck here all helpless, unaware whether Jay and Sunghoon were doing well or not. You could only hope for the best and not the worst.

What seemed like forever was you being trapped in this office. The books on the shelves didn't entertain you, the pictures of the actual Sam only made you sad knowing his body was being possessed by a demon. All in all, you were rotting in here. 

That was until you heard grunts and some gunshots not far away, heavy footsteps thudding down the corridor. Shouts rang through the empty and quiet surroundings, your heart thrashing wildly against your chest in anxiety. There was no mistake in what you heard next. It was your name, your name was yelled.

"Y/N!" Jay's voice was hoarse as he called for you over and over. 

"Jay?" You pounded on the door, shaking the doorknob that wouldn't budge. 

The footsteps got closer and his voice got nearer until he was eventually standing directly on the other side of the door. "Y/N? Are you there?"

"I am," you nearly sobbed, wanting to break free and escape the office. "Jay, the door's locked,"

"You've got to be kidding me. I killed that fucker and never asked for the keys," Jay pounded at the door in irritation. "Y/N, step away, I'm going to break this fucking door down," 

You got away from the door, backing away to your previous spot at the bookshelves and crouching down. After a split second, you heard a gunshot, the doorknob rattled and loosened, but that didn't take the cake. Jay grunted, having to go for busting down the door instead.

A few kicks to the door had loosened the handles, you could hear Jay putting his whole effort into busting down the door with his kicks and the way he threw his body to the door. It was almost a while before he finally knocked the door down completely, revealing a overly worn out Jay. 

He was injured, cuts on his face, arm bleeding and his fancy suit torn at some places. Despite all that, his eyes lit up the moment they landed on your figure crouched by the bookshelves. He rushed over with speed that resembled the Flash, immediately dropping down to his knees to match your position.

"Are you alright? You're not hurt right?" His hands were on your shoulder, turning you slightly to check for any visible changes. 

You didn't say anything yet, just feeling glad that he's here now, safe and sound. Almost instinctively, your arms reached out and pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tightly.

"I got you, I'm here now, nothing's going to hurt you," Jay caressed the back of your head, pressing a soft kiss on your temple. 

"I'm glad you're fine too," you slowly pulled away after a few moments, your hands cupping his cheek. "You do look really busted though,"

He scoffed, lips gradually stretched into a grin. "You'll be the one patching me up later,"

"What happened out there?"

"I killed them," he said hoarsely, his touch never leaving yours. "Little brother Elliot attacked me first after he revealed himself, then everyone ran away. I took my chance and blasted him. Sunghoon showed up not long after and that's when Elijah appeared. We managed to kill him, sent their souls back to hell,"

"That's great," 

"Did he … do anything out of line?"

"Other than choking me and saying he'll kill me? Not really," 

"He's a fucking bastard," Jay cursed, wincing slightly from the cut on his lips.

"Should we leave? The police is arriving soon, no?" You slowly got up, supporting Jay as well.

"We really should. I don't need the police on my ass again,"

"Hey guys—" Sunghoon appeared in the doorway, sweating and heaving, but once he saw the two of you together, hands around each other, his face morphed into a teasing smirk. "Am I interupting?"

You and Jay simultaneously let out a cough, facing away from one another.

"Are the polices on their way?"

"They are," Sunghoon replied hastily, ushering you two to come forward and leave the office. "I've cleaned our traces as much as I could. Now, we should just leave while people are hiding,"

"Did the bodies make it? The original Sam and John," you asked.

"No," the Park brothers answered in unison, and the three of you continued your way to the carpark in silence. It was saddening to hear that the bodies of Sam and John didn't make it, the dull atmosphere ended up befalling between you all.

"So," Jay started once you were all in the car, revving his car to a start. "Want some celebratory burgers along the way?"

"Say less."

"Ouch,"

After a long gruelling trip back to your house, Sunghoon ended up passing out in the guest room's bed, leaving you and Jay alone in the middle of your living room, where you were cleaning his injury wounds.

"I'm trying to be as gentle as I can," Your eyes flickered, wrapping his arm up and cleaning some tiny wounds. "Are you leaving after this? Go on your journey wherever supernatural cases appear like always?"

"I am," Jay said, and somewhere internally, you felt your soul crush. "But I'm staying a little longer here," 

"What?" Your mouth almost fell to the ground from the shock, unintentionally applying more pressure to the wound which made Jay wince, and you uttered a small apology, an unknowing smile forming on your lips. "You're serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be? You know how I said I wanted to have a talk after we got back, so here we are. I know our job is … complicated, but my feelings for you never changed over the years. It just took me a shit long time to come to my senses," Jay took a breath in. 

"I know I've hurt you before, and I'm going to have to gain your trust back first. But I hope you'll give me a chance, and let me bring you out on a date or two over these few days,"

"You're giving 'us' a shot?"

"I am,"

You were giddy to say the least, resisting the urge to break into the biggest, lovesick smile. "I'd really love to go out on that date with you,"

"Really?" Jay seemed like he couldn't believe you actually would agree, the evident shock in his face made you laugh.

"Yes, really, you idiot. Are you going to kiss me or something now?"

"I definitely am,"

Jay's calloused fingers wrapped around your chin softly, pulling you in and crashed his lips against yours. It wasn't your first time kissing him, but this was different. Desperation, endless pining that was bottled over the years finally burst and welled over, his lips moved against yours with so much fever and intensity, it had you going insane.

Jay pulled you into his lap, your arms falling over his shoulders for support while his hand travelled from your neck to your cheek before making its way into your hair. You could feel him smirking against your lips, his other hand moving down to your waist to tug you closer to his chest, having you totally pressed up against him.

"J–Jay," before he could take it to another level, you registered that it was your living room, and Sunghoon was in the house as well, which meant the possibility of him walking in was there. "Should we move it into … the room instead?"

Jay knew what you meant, his gaze changing almost instantly, something told you that you were in for it tonight. "Oh you're nasty," he suddenly carried you in bridal style, making you yelp out in surprise and scrambling for support.

The night was going to be long, but it didn't matter anymore now that you've got to have him for a few days and nights all to yourself. Killing supernatural beings was a headache, an ill fated string tied to you, but in the end, you couldn't deny it had brought you and Jay together again. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise after all.

taglist: @aerxz @asyleums @dimplewonie @yizhoutv

[haolovre]

“Come and save me”

“ he’ll appeard in her dream, but now also in real life, but really. is it real life?”

superman!gunwook x reader

oneshot (but if u guys want a part 2 i ‘ll make one just let me know!)

a/n:this gunwook came up my mind today. hes so ininwijwnihnwisnzj, also these stuff take hours so bear with me. This fic has a open ending so yeah

genre: - (im stupid)

word count: idk it looks short so

divider by @cafekitsune

warnings : missspelled words, bullying

masterlist

Normal day at school, you walk in and kaboom water all over you. It was common for this to happen too you and u werent even shocked about who keeps doing them, hwang wonyoung and park eunchae, the popular kids who gets there fame by bullying people. And u were so damn lucky to be one of them. People were afraid to help you, because they dont want the sams happening too themselves. You ran to the toilets to clean urself up.

After some time you came all dry out of the bathroom. Most of the students went to class already, so you hurried to your class. Luckily u were on time..

Time skip!

School is done! Lucky for you, u still have 2 hours of tutoring sessions. So u went to the library and sat somewhere. Your junior, Kim Yujin came right on time and you started on tutoring him

As the two hours went fast u two bid eachother goodbye and you went home.

You did your homework and washed up then you hurriedly turned on your tv to be on time with Boys Planet. U watched for a bit until u were sleepy.

U went to bed with a dream that the bullying will stop.

U woke up the next day, and the cycle will not end, getting bullied, tutor a junior, do homework and sleep. The schedule went on and on. You already went to a teacher asking for help, but no luck as the two bullies came from wealth.

on saterdays u would work at en park cafe, owned by the park family. The owner is friends with your mother and that is how you got the job there. Even tho its ur bully, park eunchae’s family, there much more kind than she is. Its a small business cafe but very cozy. You often worked alone there on how small the cafe was, but mostly ms park helped you.

“Alright it’s the end of the month what means you, yoon y/n get your paycheck.” Ms park gets a envelope from the cash register. “Shh don’t tell that im giving u a tip.” She puts the envelope in ur jackets pocket. “Well off u go know its getting dark.” “Alright ms park ill be going now have a great night !” as that u opened the door and waved goodbye to her. “Bye bye sweetie.” The walk from the cafe and to your house isnt far so the walk was short.

You went to take a shower, dried off and went to sleep.

the next day your teacher announced that there will be a new student. “Well class meet park gunwook your new classmate! Please sit next to yoon y/n. Yoon y/n please raise ur hand” as you looked up seeing the student. Atleast 6 ft tall, black hair but from the lighting it looked dark gray (grandpa alert) ,” hey! Im gunwook.” He smiles ��your name is yoon y/n right? Beautiful name!” “Oh yeah thank you, your name is pretty too!” You two were interrupted by the bell.

“Oh well thats the bell, what is our next class?” You quickly grabbed the schedule “math..” you answered “ in class a5”. Lets go before we get la-“ splash. Water hitted your face “HAHA! Awh poor yoon got her all wet weh weh. What are u going to do? Go cry in the washroom” hwang wonyoung great oh great. “What the hell was that! Y/n are you oke? God damn, have you gone mad” gunwook grabbed wonyoung at her collor and shoved her against a locker. “What the hell is wrong with you!” “Why do you care about her she is pathetic”

“Pathetic? You think she is pathetic? Your the pathetic one, splashing water on someone is pa.the.tic.” You were shocked. No one stood up for you ever. Wonyoung looked horrified “Well wait until my father will hear about this”

she tried to run away but gunwook’s grip was to strong. “Why are you even trying to run away? Poor y/n couldn’t so why can you?” He said in a petty tone. “I - i- u will get expelled if you keep doing this gunwook my fa-“ “im not scared of ur father.” he cutted off her sentence.

as this ‘fight’ went on u actually never paid attention to the fight. Instead u looked at his features. Gunwooks features. You didnt cared about all this for you, u only were looking at him.

ur hero with no cape

* thringgg

the bell went…

“y/n! y/n? Y/N!” You slowly woke up from your dream… “oh finally your awake its almost 7 am you need to hurry to school!” Your mom screamed at you.

You suddenly realized… it was all a dream, a dream u can only wish for it actually would happen…

You arrived at school. Surprisedly no one bullied you, nothing. What is a huge shocker. as the day went on smoothly you soon see it almost saterday.

“Well y/n my dear. You worked so hard today. My hardest worker” she patted you on the head. “Well i might also say is that someone will take over my place and will work with you!” “What? Ur retiring?” “Yeah dear i am, now let me introduce you too your new boss, park gunwook. he’s my son and..”

you didnt pay attention anymore. You heard his name. And you saw him again. But now in reality.

“Well dear here he finally is. Oh you two would make a cute couple. He is 16 so he is around your age! Also he would be joining you for class next semester! But he will be joining you next week.” next semester..? Oh yeah next week is summer break.

“Oh well nice to meet you” he smiled “park gunwook ur new boss” now he’s smilling proudly from ear to ear. “Yoon y/n” you smiled. “I hope you two will get along, you do have all summer.” Ms park winked. He chuckled.

The week started of fine. You hung alot with gunwook. Sometimes some bullying but gunwook made sure they wouldnt hurt you.

And you we’re grateful for that. Someone who stood up for you.

He protected you from the bullying.

The week went fast, no bullying just because gunwook was there. He made it stop. He might have threatened his sister and friend to stop but we like to see that

The last day working at the cafe. Well not last just before summer begins, as the shop closes in the holidays.

Gunwook is nice to work with, sometimes a bit clumsy but still helpful.

After your shift,

Summer has finally started

it has been two weeks into summer break. You and gunwook got along very well. You two have alot in common so it was easy to get along.

he often invites you to his apartment as he doesn’t live with his parents even tho he’s 16.

you two were having so much fun. And you didnt want summer to end.

you didnt want to this to end

this friendship

4 weeks into summer break. You two were still hanging out every minute that you could. You might see him as your brother on how often you see him.

You do see him getting more touchy and more cuddly the more you spend time with him.

Hands ‘accidentally’ touching.

Him not wanting to let go from a hug

Him being jealous of you hanging out with someone else, definitely if it was a boy that wasnt him.

those little things. He would always would notice.

5 weeks in summer break.

He asked you to meet at the beach. Your go to place where u confess your problems and any of that sort.

Your heart was racing. You couldn’t wait until you see him again. You two havent hung out for this week. It now a sunday. You have grown feelings for gunwook in the summer.

He was one of the people that understood you. He cared about you.

All of those thoughts sank. You saw him with another girl…

another girl. A girl that isnt you, it was hwang wonyoung

You let that sink in, him? The park gunwook that you liked, liked your bully.. hwang wonyoung

Tears running to the ground.

You ran away before he saw you. You didnt want him to see you crying. He hated seeing you cry. You quickly messaged him saying that your sick.

He answered right away. Calling you. Asking if you were oke. But you couldn’t answer the call. He shoulf be happy with another and not worry about you. The tears stained and stingt alittle but u didnt care.

He betrayed you and played your feelings. You thought he liked you, you were so sure about it.

You heard knocking on your door…

Gunwook

Gunwoom is infront of your door. “Y/n? Are you oke . Your sick, let me take care of you.” He tried calling you making sure you were oke.

You answered.. “y/n! Oh my days your oke. I was worried sic-“ “go out with your girlfriend and stop bothering me, gunwook” you hung up. Crying. Tears rolling from your eyes.

The guy you loved was two doors away from you. But he wasnt the one for you, he loved someone else…

He, helped you escape reality. Helped you with your bullying. But that was all a dream. This is reality. He wouldnt fall in love with you. He would fall in love with hwang wonyoung.

6 weeks in summer break, the last week before school started. You blocked gunwook on everything. Distance yourself from everyone. You were stuck in your room, only coming out for food and water, or going to clean yourself.

You were a mess, and all that just for a boy. Your mom was worried but let it be.

School almost started, you dont want to face him again. Not again.

A week into school, he tried to approach you many times but you just ignored him. Not wanted to get hurt again. The bullying also have stopped, you don’t know why but it did.

on friday a note was in your locker, signed with. G.W

You wanted to throw it away, but curiosity kills you. So you opened it.

Y/n, i want to talk to you. 4 pm on the roof. ps dont thow this away, please

u stood there in thought wondering if you would go….

on the other hand gunwook stood there in the corner.. seeing your reaction, but it was unreadable. He looked at the time 3:40 pm,20 minutes to see if you come and finally talk it out..

After 2 weeks no talking gunwook was going insane. Lot of thoughts going through his mind. At the beach he saw you.. he saw you with tears in your eyes, he watched as you ran away. He wantes to follow you but then that message pops up. “Im sick” those two words was enough that he was running for his life to your home. He wasnt chased or anything. Anything for you.

He is willingly to give up everything, he might also give you his whole body. Just for to stay with you. But now two weeks without and he was going insane..

4:00 pm at the school rooftop..

You came you actually came, he could hug you right now but that isnt the proper greeting someone, not right now.

“Y/n” he said with a caring voice, “how have you been?” “I have been doing fine thanks” that was a lie, you know how terrible you did after this whole situation. “Can i explain myself.. please” you heard his desperation in his voice“yeah thats the only thing why im here”

“Listen i dont like her. I brought her to de beach to give you an apology for bullying and thought that u will have a better school year with out getting bullies. Dont misunderstand think that i likes her. I dont..” you stood the frozen, not inowing what to do. He didnt likes her.. “y/n, i like you and not her..” now your mindblown first a apology and now this confession. You tried opening your mouth but nothing came out. It was too much.

How would you respond?

Was this a dream or reality?

“Gunwook i..”

[grippingbeskar]

unearthed

chapter one - matched

warnings— canon typical violence, mentions of death, loss, injury, maybe a lil trauma

a/n— and we’re back! just over a year of having this account, and the end of season three, and i’m back where i started. thirsting after the mandalorian. i’m super excited about this one, and even though i think there will be a bit of a wait between chapters i promise its because they are going to be higher quality. also, obviously there will be smut further on (come on, it’s me. of course we are going to fuck him.) so no minors please!! hope you enjoy! big thank-you to @kyberblade for beta reading and saving me from my typos i love u.

also a psa. disregard season three for this fic. it fucked up my timeline so i’m changing it. things might be a bit all over the place, but it’s just going to be what i wanna do with it HAHAH no rhyme or reason :)

[series masterlist] [next chapter] [tag list sign up]

You stared out into the never ending darkness, interspersed by twinkling hints of far away planets, all of them seeming more and more out of reach as you were shuffled out into the hall. Flanked by guards, the view from your room disappeared from sight, replaced by the familiar, safe walls of your palace. This was your life now— being shoved towards the known and away from those giant stretches of sky you longed so much for. Your duty, you say to yourself. This was the way you had to live, destined to the confines of your pre-determined universe. It is what you were born to do.

You knew this day would come. You were, as you were constantly, incessantly reminded, the last of the royal bloodline. After your parents early death, it left you as heir and sole survivor to the throne. All of your life, you had been trained for this moment, but it was something that was always so...distant. 

You used to look forward to this time in your life, where you’d get to travel the galaxy, finally earning some of that coveted freedom all the other girls in the palace talked about. You dreamed of seeing the galaxy, being unknown on an Outer Rim planet, going wherever your heart takes you. You thought you’d have time to live. But then, within the blink of an eye, you were rushed through your coronation and left to carry the burden of commanding an entire planet. It was like a rug was ripped out from underneath you, all while someone dropped a fifty pound weight over your head, all the while chiding you for stumbling over. 

In the wake of the Empire finally falling around the galaxy, planets all around the suns were scrambling— resources were scarce, trade routes were un-secure and stability was out of reach. This was the same for you, because the future of your planet was now in your hands, and you had no idea what to make of it. 

Unfortunately for you, stability in a woman’s world came in the form of a contract. Most usually, a marriage contract.

This meant, much to your dismay, an entourage of young, hopeful (and practically brainless) men arriving on your doorstep, all popping the question in hopes of securing the new Queen's hand in marriage. Your hand. You knew your planet was important and appealing, with its natural resources, expanding economy in spite of the Empire’s devastation, and an abundance of funds for all the newest technologies with the death of two of the greatest ruling minds of the time. Any leader of even a remotely nearby planet would strike on this opportunity— you know you would, if it were someone else.

The whole idea wasn’t new, but it still made your gut twist. Your parents were lucky they had something more– real love, and a home filled with the stuff of fairytales. While you knew this was rare, it made you long for that. Knowing it was real, that a connection like that could be somewhere out there for you, but you’d never reach it because you never got the chance to try... you knew you were lucky, but it didn’t stop your heart from longing for more.  You wanted someone to show you the stars, to let you be you, and not just try to win you like a prize or a notch in their belt. 

Everyone around you said this was the smart thing to do. Choose someone— anyone who would bring you what you wanted. Your planet, as fertile as it is, is not famous for its army. That was clear during the reign of the Empire, and now the New Republic was thinning their guard posts after the war, you needed manpower. You knew it was a necessity, and you wanted to keep your people safe, but to offer yourself up like a prized mare? You were a Queen, and you were planning to be a good one, with or without a husband.

As you sat on the throne, dismissing yet another suitor with a shake of your head, the collective group of your father’s– now your own Advisors groaned, and one walked up the steps, approaching you with a slightly bowed head.

“Your Majesty, if I may…” You resisted the urge to roll your eyes, only because you knew the watchful gaze of neighbouring planet leaders were on you.

“I have a feeling you will anyway.” He shook his head, quickly coming up the stairs to your side. He sighs, and you shrug at him. “What? He wasn’t my type, okay? If I’m going to sleep with the man, I should at least–”

“Your Majesty, this is the fourteenth potential match you have rejected. We are a coveted planet, but if you do not choose someone, we run the risk of having no options at all.” He says, looking down his nose at where you are strung lazily across your throne. He was still harbouring some of that anger from earlier, where you had refused to change into the giant mess of a gown the styling team had chosen for you. If the colour wasn’t enough– a pale puke green measurable to the blood of a Trandoshaan– the fabric was so expansive you would have drowned in it. You loved a pretty dress, but at least one that didn’t eat you whole.

“Would that be so bad?” You dropped your head back, and he shook his head, sighing again. 

“Yes— it would mean instability. We would be a target for neighbouring planets. We are strong, but not strong enough to be alone. The New Republic has already thinned their guards to a ghost number compared to four years ago. We cannot wait any longer. We are… vulnerable, without a strong army.”

“We can make allies without forcing me to marry one of them.”

“Of course, Your Majesty. We would never force you to do anything.” He says those words, but every syllable is laced with warning. You may be the last living member of your blood line, but no matter how important, and no matter how beloved by your people you are, there were some things that you couldn’t control.

The worst part was he was right. Sure, you could solidify alliances, but a marriage was a lock and key. If you picked the right one, your people would be safe for years to come, long after you were successful. After what you had seen of the Empire, what they had done here, and all over the galaxy, your people deserved safety. Freedom— whatever the cost.

Your love for your people would get you through this. In them, you saw your parents legacy, and the passion to build something greater than yourself. You would never trade this life for anything... but it didn’t mean you couldn’t have preferences. Just as you were going to justify why you rejected the man now sneering at you from the corner of the room, the doors burst open, and your attention is diverted to the messenger rushing in with a strange look on his face.

“Your Majesty, we’ve just received another request.” He calls, breathless. “I’m sorry to interrupt. It’s… I am not sure how to say this.”

The man is clearly nervous— avoiding your eye and instead staring at his feet. You rise off the throne and move to him, attempting a comforting smile and nodding at him. 

“It’s alright. Start at the beginning.”

“This request… It is unusual.” He swallows, and you laugh lightly.

“What is it this time? Don’t tell me the Hutts have thrown themselves into the mix.” You had nothing against them right now, but they were so… slimy. “Whoever it is, as long as they send a message in peace, they will be well received.”

“Well, that is the thing. They do not ask Your Majesty to receive them. They…”

“They don’t want to come here?” Already, you are breathing a sigh of relief. Anything to stop the constant parade of men flapping their money and stupid hair around.

“No, they ask that… they ask that you come to them.” He finishes, and your advisors are next to him in an instant, all attempting to speak over one another. You raise your eyebrows, surprised, but intrigued.

“That is an insult!” The man who challenged you before, known to you as Advisor Corell, spits at the messenger. “Her Majesty only receives guests— she does not travel unless there is cause.”

“Did they say anything else?” You ask, and the room goes quiet again as you step forward. The messenger looks uncomfortable, knowing there are still foreign diplomats in the room. “Everyone else, please go. You’ll be... informed of my decision later.”

The entire room exits quickly at the sound of your voice, all mumbling to themselves, probably still hurt over your rejection and blatant disinterest, but all you could care about was this new message.

“It’s alright. Go ahead.” You encourage. “What else did they say?”

“They asked for your hand, of course. They have a new King, and think the match would be beneficial to both sides.” A new King. Your mind buzzes, trying to think if you’d heard of any close planets going through a succession besides your own. Nothing comes to mind, but if he was new, at least this one would hopefully be closer to your age.

“A new King?” The messenger nods. “And he asked for me personally?”

“Ah... the message was not from him, Your Majesty. It was a hologram from a member of his court. A… Bo-Katan.” You had never heard the name before, but one of your advisors makes a noise of recognition and you spin to her.

“You know this name?” You ask Advisor Kaylen— probably your favourite member and the closest thing you have to a friend. She nods eagerly. “You’ve met them?”

“I have heard it before, but that would be impossible…” She fades off, and you turn back to the messenger. 

“This is the most interesting person I’ve heard of since this whole thing started. What’s impossible?” You watch the messenger's face twist, so you reach out and touch his shoulder, the contact surprising him and earning a disapproving hum from Advisor Corell. “You can tell me, just ignore him. I do.”

“Well, that’s just the thing. The planet they claim to come from has been long abandoned.” Advisor Kaylen was still muttering to herself, but you couldn’t focus on her anymore when the messenger finally spoke again. “They say they are calling from Mandalore, and that their new King has asked for you to be his Queen.”

“Stop asking me about that.” Din growled, stopping his swift movement through the makeshift repair station he’d been pulling together. “I’m not interested.”

“This isn’t just about you anymore.” The longer he spent with these Mandalorians, the more the thought of taking off with their precious Dark-Saber and leaving seemed appealing. “An alliance like this is exactly what we need. With all the repairs, we’ve run low in funds. We need resources— we need to outsource, and this is the fastest way to do it. She’s all but waving a flag for us.”

He never thought there would be a time when bounty hunting was the normalcy he craved— but standing surrounded by relics of his people long passed, discussing a potential marriage—he started to miss the reliable frame of the Razor Crest a little too much.

“Mandalore was built on the backs of our people. We can do it again, the same way.” Bo-Katan sighs, giving him a glare after removing her helmet. “Would you do this? Was this a part of your plan to re-take Mandalore?”

“They didn’t have a dwindling empire and economic crisis to deal with. If you do this, we can rebuild the way our ancestors wanted us to live. How we used to live. Welcome our family home. Isn’t that what you want?” He spins, taking two slow steps to face Bo-Katan, who stands with her helmet tucked under her arm. “To answer your question— yes. I would have. I was royalty once, and I know what this is like. And I would still do it. You might even make a friend in her, Din.”

“You aren’t suggesting friends.” To her credit, she doesn’t back down, just raises her eyebrows at him. “You are asking me to get married. You know what that means.”

“It’s not like that. Rulers marry for all kinds of reasons— and if she’s looking, it means she wants to take full advantage of this. It’s the smart thing to do. Her planet is powerful, but vulnerable. Their army numbers are small after the Empire’s attacks, and she needs what we can offer now the Rebellion is squaring off. Good, strong fighters. Besides, I’m sure you aren’t exactly all she hoped for, either. I wouldn’t be surprised if you hardly see her after the first few months.” Rolling her eyes, she turns back to the pile of spare parts they had dragged in from outside. “We’ve already sent a hologram inviting her here. If she accepts, you can discuss a potential alliance like adults. If you are still opposed, we’ll cancel it and try it your way. Until then, we have work to do.”

“Send another message. Say I’m no longer interested.” Din stands impossibly still, waiting for Bo-Katan to agree and leave before he lets out a long breath. Clearly, he’d misjudged how set on this idea she was.

“Just think about it, okay?” She turns and disappears from view, and he feels like he’s going to collapse under the pressure. Things were complicated enough— in the last month, he’d learnt his way of life was not the only way at all, inherited a saber he had little idea how to use, and dropped everything he knew to come back home— to Mandalore. To say he had enough on his plate was an understatement.

Truthfully, he had come back with one thing on his mind. The Way declared one could only truly be forgiven for their misdeeds in the living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore— and Din had a lot to be forgiven for. If there was anywhere he could start fresh, it was here, but before he could do that, he had to find the mines, currently buried under years worth of rubble and debris. The last thing he needed was to disgrace himself in yet another way— which is exactly what Bo-Katan and the other Mandalorian’s were suggesting.

He was not ready for this. Not in any way. He was not a ruler— not a born and bred leader, like Bo-Katan, and he’d never wanted to be. It might have made sense to an outsider, maybe. A new, untested ruler of a planet as economic as yours was bound to attract unwanted attention, and about the only thing Mandalore could offer right now was its ability to fight. It was the only thing it was known for.

He didn’t want to marry, though. Not for a political alliance. He didn’t think about it at all— not right now. He’d heard a few things about you by now— how your parents had passed suddenly, and how you were now being squashed into the same situation as he was, forced to play a role which you had no choice in being cast to. He felt as sorry for you as he did for himself, and he found his thoughts drifting to the Child.

Din looked around, exhausted at just the thought of getting this place into any form of working order. Spare parts to old ships scattered on the floor, and the room was painted in a light purple hue thanks to the reflection of the glass roof overhead. He stood, leaving the mess of a garage and walking back out towards the largest building in this city.

There were streets lined with cracked stone, several Mandalorians dragging and pulling equipment to replace the broken ones. They had been working hard— everyone had, including him, and the place was looking less and less like a war zone by the second. The sight made him feel easier. At least his home wouldn’t be rubble forever. Buildings were gaining foundations, others entirely rebuilt by hand. It had only been a month or two, and already this place was looking like he’d been told in the stories. Like home.

As he walked through them, he didn’t miss the stares of those who’d left their helmets behind, but at least that was familiar. Everyone stared, on every planet he went to, and even with the oddly shaped buildings, some spiralling high, others flat and long enough to park a few speeders in the front, he felt settled here. The cities were huge and spanned far into the horizon, too long to walk everywhere, so the Mandalorians had gone straight to work on the speeder parts, using them to zip around not only around this central city, but between other parts of the planet.

Finally, he began the walk up the steps of the castle. It was giant— bulky and boxed, rooms stacked on top of each other with seemingly no purpose. It was the most well conserved building on the planets surface, and it was what constituted as a home for Din. For now, at least. Either way, it was the safest place to keep Grogu during the day, and he would go wherever it was safest for him.

He could hear him before he saw him, loud chirps and gurgles coming from the throne room. One, giant looking chair was elevated by a few steps at the end of the room, and he saw a flip of green zip over Sasha’s unmasked head.

“Get down here, you gremlin.” She barked, but laughed at Grogu’s slightly worried face when he spun to a stop in mid air. It was then he finally noticed him, dropping to the ground and wandering over. “He’s been a little pain in my—“

“Patu!” Grogu chirps, and Din laughs roughly, bending down to pick him up. He holds him in front of his helmet, watching as his tiny hands reach out to grab his gloved wrists.

“Have you been causing trouble, Grogu?” He makes a little gurgle sound, like he always does when Din says his name, and he smiles under the helmet.

“Bo-Katan was looking for you.” Sasha says, putting her helmet back on. Most Mandalorian’s that lived around the capital did that when they spoke to him, now, even ones as high ranking as Sasha. Din doesn’t look up from Grogu’s giant eyes.

“She found me. And my answer is still no.” He hears her laugh, but when he looks up at her, she stops.

“She didn’t tell you?” Din turns to face her, letting the kid fiddle with something on his armour.

“Tell me what?” Unlike Bo-Katan, Sasha is a little afraid of him. Everyone is, especially since they had seen him fight with the DarkSaber when they first arrived on the planet. Since then, there had been a quiet fear, a commanding presence Din didn’t think he had earnt, but regardless it was there. She swallowed, tilting her helmet down to the floor. “Tell me.”

“The Queen replied. She accepted your invitation, and is expected to arrive within the week. She also implied, if the meeting goes well— she…”

“She what? What did she say?” Din had no idea why, but his heart was racing a mile a minute. Had she been insulted by the offer? Was she going to stage an attack?

“She said she would marry you.”

“You said I would what?” You shout at the group of advisors, all of whom look like they are about to scramble and run. And they should. “Who’s bright idea was it to send correspondence, with my name attached, without my go-ahead?! What the hell kind of advisor does that?!”

None of them so much as moved, except for Advisor Kaylen, who caught your eye, making a pointed look at Advisor Corell. You shook your head, and a bitter smile curled the ends of your mouth.

“I should have known. Corell. Get up.” He spluttered, stumbling to his feet as you dragged him up the dais, and forced him to his knees. “Was it you? Did you tell Mandalore I would accept their invitation?!”

He shakes his head. “I only said you would meet with them! Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“When I was ready!” You want to scream, but your embarrassment and nerves choke your throat. Yes, you were going to accept. Probably. Maybe a month from now... a few months, if you could stretch it. Not this week.

“This is a good thing! Now you get to go! To— to see the cursed land for yourself. To look upon its new ruler! I was only doing what I thought was best! They would have been insulted if we had rejected…and we’re running out of options.”

“The only one insulted here is me, that you truly believe I would buy any of the shit that comes out of your mouth.” He was on thin ice as it was, but your fathers words played in your head, and you saw the faces of your other Advisors in the corner of your eye.

Your father had selected this team of people because he trusted them, and for some reason, you did too. You didn’t know why, or how they were picked, but they were supposed to be the six people you could rely on. The six people who would challenge you, who wouldn’t blindly accept your decision like the rest of the planet. They were a tradition— to ensure the sanity of a ruler and the safety of a planet. You trusted them; or you would, eventually, but they would not overstep. Or at least, they shouldn’t.

“My father trusted you. It is that reason alone that I will let you continue to work underneath me, and forgive this lapse in judgment. But this is the one chance you will receive. I might not be my father, but you work for me now. If you choose to disobey me or do anything without me specifically telling you again, I will send you to Mandalore in my stead, and the King can have you in my place. We will see how far you make it in the ruins before he cuts you down.” They all scurry from the room, Advisor Corell not glancing back as he heads for the door after you drop him.

All that is left is Kaylen, who doesn’t need a title when it’s just you and her. She was a friend— perhaps your only one, so you only used her title around the other Advisors.

“That was exciting.” She says, and you flop down onto the cushioned throne, golden pillows softening the blow as she comes to lean on the armrest. “It’s been too long since we had some real palace gossip.”

“Well, hold on to that, because you might be shipping me off to marry a fish. He’s like a ghost— I couldn’t find anything on the King, and now I’m supposed to just…go?” You sigh, swinging your feet over the edge of the chair and letting your head fall into her lap. “This is insanity. This entire month has been suitor after suitor, none of them with armies strong enough to keep our planet safe. And now it’s like I don’t even have a... it all just happened so fast.”

“I know. You were right to reject them all. But this one is... it’s different.” You sit up, turning to face her.

“You think I should go?”

“Are you asking me as an Advisor, or as a friend?”

“Both.” The throne is huge, made for the large frame of your father, so she can slide right in next to you.

“Well, as your Advisor, Mandalore is famous for one thing— war. Sure, they have lost a tonne, but when they were at their peak, they were unstoppable. Feared throughout the galaxy. With our help, they could be that again. Even having the name attached to us would scare off any potential threats for a while. They are good fighters, they could teach our people ways we would never learn ourselves, and one day we could even be allies. Especially if this goes well.” She sits up when she speaks, and even though she’s only a few years older than you, she seems light years ahead. You understand why your father chose her.

“And as my friend?” She swings an arm over your shoulder.

“As your friend, I think you need this. I think that you haven’t changed a single thing about the palace since you have been crowned because you know once you do, this is real and your parents are gone. I think you know this is the right thing to do, but you’re scared, and you think that when you do this, you’ll finally be alone, and you hate that.” You’re thankful she’s not looking at you because you almost start crying as soon as she mentions your parents. “I think you know that this is different. That this could be a defining moment for you. For your reign. For the planet to come back after the Empire.”

“Why do you have to be right about everything?” You say tightly, and she helps you stand off the throne, leading you towards your bedroom through the maze of winding corridors.

“Just lucky. And, hey, don’t look so sad. Rumor has it he wears a very pretty beskar suit. All shiny and silver. You love shiny stuff.” She gestures at the hallways, all lined with golden and silver detailing. You nudge her on the shoulder and she laughs, peeling off before you open the door to your bedroom.

It was technically your parents room— the room you grew up in now vacated for your future offspring. You didn’t mind, using the room helped you feel a little bit closer to your parents. You remember all the times you’d climbed into bed with them, buried under the covers because you were afraid of the dark.

Kaylen was right. Corell was right, even if he was an asshole. It was selfish to not accept an offer. You hated that you couldn’t do more for your people, that all you had to offer was your arm, but if that was what you needed to do right now, you should just... suck it up. A Mandalorian, though. That was different. You knew they were feared, although scattered throughout the galaxy, and if their words were true, an entire planet of them would make you virtually impenetrable.

You couldn’t help but think about the King. Mandalorians were a confusing bunch, the few you had met, anyways. Very quiet, lethal as anything, and in your experience, solitary. Your mother had hired one years ago to collect a bounty for her, and he completed the four day job in three hours, arriving and leaving on his own, hardly talking if he didn’t have to. Why would someone like that want to be married?

Shrinking out of your outfit, you decided to try and get some sleep. If tomorrow was going to be anything like today, you’d need all the rest you could get, and for some reason, there was a racing in your heart you couldn’t settle. Maybe just nerves from the incoming visit to Mandalore tomorrow.

That had to be it. The myths, legends surrounding the cursed world— it would make anyone nervous. But it was just that. Nerves. It couldn’t be anything else.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

[jesncin]

Hello! I'm not sure if you read the Actions Comics #1074, but I wanted to get this thought out of my head. Spoilers ahead!

Clark got sent back in time when Krypton has yet to be destroyed. After saving a stranger from a malfunctioning flying bot, he was sent to Krypton Hospital and, after he was given treatment, a meal, and new set of clothes, he immediately went to place Lara and Jor-El were.

I couldn't help but think his sudden visit to Lara and Joe-El reminded me of how in some Asian countries, you could just walk into your neighbor's home, usually without a prior notice, and just...eat with them, talk with them, and other activities. I remember someone talking about how in their country, they would go to their neighbor's home so much and help them with chores like laundry, they knew the days when that neighbor does which chores and always got meal going there.

In my country, the Philippines, my grandpa's neighbors would just appear with no notice, and give my grandparents company!

Indeed, Clark did send some sort of message about his visit to that Lara received, but he immediately left from the Krypton Hospital to the place of Lara and Jor-El's, and even though the Science Council is conceited, the communal spirit must be so strong for Lara to just accept this stranger's sudden and quick request for a meeting, even though she doesn't know them.

just...something about community and how people just helping each other because they want to, which bring about an easier life and also a joyful one

Anyway! What comics have you recently read? I think Absolute Superman is out now! Have you read Absolute Superman? What do you think about it?

I gave said Action Comics issue a quick read!

It's definitely not intentional in the story, but it does serve as a nice jumping off point to thinking of Krypton as having a type of collectivist communal mindset for treating thy neighbors. Part of what fascinates me about Kryptonian worldbuilding is exploring what the idea of a doomed utopia could be like. I'd personally love to see writers pull inspiration from cultural philosophies like Gotong Royong or Bayanihan, along with challenging human structures of gender, class and spirituality. An indigenous-inspired Krypton would be phenomenal.

But as long as DC Comics continues to be a reflection of a white dominant industry, we're not going to get anything like that soon. The Action Comics story is charming enough, I like seeing Clark try out Kryptonian clothes and mention that he has a language barrier, but the white imagination can only go so far without having lived it.

I have read Absolute Superman! My feelings about it are actually pretty similar. I'm glad I wasn't excited for AbsoSupes because it sounded boring from the promos, and turns out, it (the first issue at least) was indeed dull. Something Absolute Superman shares in common with Absolute Batman is that it doesn't stand on its own. These takes rely on being contrarian (what they call "subversive") to their source material. If I didn't know anything about Superman, I'd honestly think this was a pretty generic alien superhero story.

I notice most of the people enjoying AbsoSupes are praising it because they've done 80 years of Superman homework to get all its references and recognize what it's twisting. But I think an over-reliance on expecting your audience to do reading pre-requisites to even like a story at all is weak. Absolute Wonder Woman on the other hand, is an outstanding, mythic take on the character- no homework required, just genuinely compelling characterization and storytelling.

(spoilers for Absolute Superman #1)

To bring this back to my feelings on Krypton, Superman writers and DC as a company; I think stuff like Man Of Steel, that Krypton tv show, MAWS and Absolute Superman reflect the very limits of the white imagination. New Superman writers are no longer invested in exploring Superman's origin planet as a utopia, because that's not something white people can relate to or fathom. Instead, they'd rather Krypton be a direct reflection of Earth's problems.

Kryptonians are now colonizers, classist and bigoted. Krypton is no longer the land of the future sending down their one hope to guide the imperfect people of Earth into a better tomorrow. There's no appealing contrast between Earth and Krypton anymore, and because of that- Kal El becomes an exception from Planet Colonizer. He's just some decent guy from the other equally shitty country. It's not that you can't make an interesting hero from that, but I've certainly seen that guy many times before. It's nothing new.

Kal now doesn't have a cast system and wanders around on his own, I've seen how that kind of character struggles because I've read Martian Manhunter stories. Kal talks to his suit because he's Iron Man now I guess. Kal was actually more grown up when he was on Krypton instead of a baby, so... just like Supergirl is in canon- well that's not new either. Lois Lane is a government agent here, because why have characters who occupy unique jobs like being a librarian or a journalist when you can make them yet another cop or agent? When the biggest personal experience integrated into Kal your Absolute Superman writer boasts about is how he's the first writer who is actually from Kansas to write Superman, this is what you get.

[things-arent-what-they-seem66]

Megamind Au for @fanofstuff02 Hope you like it!

You see the guy there? The one trying to grab the ray gun in mid air? That's me.

I've been having a pretty shitty week so far. I've trained a psychopath with magic powers, lied to the love of life, and got my ass beat pretty good.

But maybe I should back up a bit.

Many years ago, I escaped my dying planet with only the clothes on my back and the orphaned baby girl that I saved. It didn't us long to come to this new planet named earth.

It also didn't take us long to be introduced to the legal system there, our home was pretty much the prison for the longest time. This was how I met him, Michael or his found name The General. You know, because he was “The General” of defending forces or some shit. How fucking boring can you be?

Well I came up with a far better and way more fitting name for myself.

The Devil.

Sera walks down the hall of the prison and knocks on the glass scaring Peter. "Read on your own time. Open up." He did as he was told. Sera went to the glass and didn't see Lucifer anywhere. "Hey!"

"Boo!" Lucifer jumped out of nowhere scaring Sera. He started laughing like a crazy man as he sat in his twirling chair. He gave her a devilish smile "Good morning Sera, dear, how’s it going for you?"

Sera bristled. "I'm not-"

Lucifer interrupted. "Good news, I’m a changed man now! Ready to make a fresh start in the society as a trusteable citizen!"

The warden stifled a laugh. "You’re not as smart as you claim if you really think you’d be trustworthy! You are a fucking villain and you’ll never change and you'll never leave."

Lucifer blinked but kept his smile. "You're fun you know that?"

Sera clicked her tongue looking beyond unimpressed. "Someone sent you a little gift."

"Oh is it a duckling?"

"No." Sera deadpanned. "Oh look, it’s from The General! For you to count the every second of your 66 life sentences. Now that’s fun, never would’ve thought General would care about a piece of garbage he put in prison." She placed it on her wrist. "Oh but he does have good style. You know, I think I’ll keep this."

Lucifer grinned wider. "Can you do me a favor and tell me the time? I don’t want to be late for his huge museum opening."

Sera rolled her eyes and glances down at the watch. "Oh no, looks like you’re gonna miss it. With several thousand years." She said snidly before walking away.

Lucifer just hummed softly. "Mm, I don’t think so." He could wait, he had time. And oh boy he didn't have to wait long. The guards brought in Sera who was disguised as him. When placed in his seat, Lucifer stole the watch back.

"No you fools, he tricked us." Sera said weakly.

Lucifer grinned evilly. "You're right." He changed into Sera. "I'll always be a villian. Muwahahahaha!" Lucifer took off out of the prison.

His daughter Charlie was waiting for him in the car. "Hello there father!"

"Charlie you amazing daughter you! Good job getting me the watch sweetie." Lucifer got in the car and sped for downtown, he changed back to normal.

They had a news reporter to kidnap.

"Make sure to come on down for the General day celebrations. I'm Adam Kadmon, for 69 news." Adam gave the signal to his camera man Alastor to turn the camera off.

Alastor smiled. "And cut, that was amazing the stuff they get you to say."

Adam crossed his arms. "I wrote that piece myself Al."

"Oh, well it's amazing they let such art on the news."

Adam rolled his eyes playfully. "Good save."

Alastor places his camera in the news van. "Why don't we, uh, blow this joint?"

"Oh come on we can stay and enjoy the General day celebrations!" Adam gestured around, it was a beautiful day with clear sunny skies.

Alastor frowned and looked away. "Well if I was the General, the Devil wouldn't be Kidnapping you all the time." He started going on this long rant, Adam learned to tune him out years ago.

All Adam can do is shake his head. Yeah getting kidnapped was annoying but it also got him paid leave. What he didn't notice was the invisible window rolling down. A nozzle was aimed at Adam's face spraying him in the face. "What the-" Adam felt dizzy, he fell back as his world went dark.

Charlie grabbed him before Adam hit the ground and drove off. Lucifer smiled wide as Adam was laid across his back seat unconscious. "We met again, news reporter Adam Kadmon.~"

Adam came to a while ago tied to a chair in Lucifer's lab. He was rather annoyed. "You promised me that you’d get me ribs the last time you kidnapped me."

Lucifer sucked air through his teeth. "Sorry darling, I was in a rush you know, just escaped from prison and stuff. Would the next time be okay?" He said sweetly, honestly they spent so much time together over the years he should have food on hand for Adam.

"Would be but there won’t be a next time."

Lucifer raised a brow at him as he took a seat. "That's what you think. There will be a time after this and another after that."

Adam could only shake his head. "Why though? I don't exactly do much but sit here and look good."

Lucifer leaned back in his chair , grin never leaving. "We all have our part to play and the helpless damsel is yours."

That pissed Adam off. "Fuck you I'm not helpless. And you're not scary."

Lucifer scoffed and stood up getting closer to Adam. "Oh I’m not scary?! So you wouldn’t be scared if you saw these eyes at night?!"

Adam merely smirked. "Why would I be scared by piss yellow? I mean, I guess blood red could work, theoretically, but still." It was always fun getting under this guys skin.

Lucifer heard Charlie try to hold back a laugh. He shot her a look that made her giggles die down. "OH SO THE HORNS ARE SO NORMAL!?" He pointed to the horns protruding from his head.

Adam shrugged. "They look like you stuck two pipes on your head and then painted them red."

Lucifer felt his eye twitching, Adam was very pretty to look at but very sassy in the attitude department. "What about these?" He extended his six wings as far as he could to show them off.

Adam started laughing. "Pfft! Six poofy small wings? Scary? Are you shitting me?" He laughed a little more. "You look like you belong at a Comicon, you'll fit in with all the other short nerds."

"Excuse me!? What about these claws!" He flexed his claws close to Adams face.

The news reporter didn't flinch. "Yeah they look sharp, but they're dirty. Scariest thing there is the infection you could give someone."

Lucifer removed his hand, offended. "Hey! They are not that dirty." He started picking at his nails, sure enough some dirt was there. "You're mean for a news reporter."

Adam smiled. "Growing up on the streets hardens you like that."

Lucifer was taken aback by this, he never would have guessed that Adam had a difficult upbringing. "You grew up...?"

Adam rolled his eyes. "You heard me."

"Right." They say in silence for a long beat. "You know I also had a-"

"I don't care, man."

It was Lucifer's turn to shake his head "Wow okay, trying to have a moment."

Adam ignored him. "We have nothing in common man, you grew up in prison. My childhood may not have been perfect but it wasn't terrible." *

It made him rhinky about when his dad died. Adam didn't like to think about it. "I lived."

Lucifer hummed. "We have more in common than you think. The streets of Pentagram City are rough like prison. Just a matter of a building."

Adam blinked at him. "...... Are you a villain or a therapist?"

"I have time I can do both." He merely shrugged.

Adam groaned, he didn't have time for this. "Ugh, I wanna go home my shows on."

Lucifer looked around. What would it hurt? "I can get the tv for you if you want, we still have plenty of time."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Dad, I broke the tv last week." Charlie admitted nervously.

Lucifers jaw dropped. "Charlie! And you're just now telling me?"

Adam couldn't contain the laugh that found it's way out. "Oh, don't ever change Charlie, you're too funny."

"Thanks Adam!"

Lucifer scowled. "I'm funny!"

"Funny looking maybe."

Charlie giggled at that and earned a glare from her dad. "Sorry."

"Look here mister sassy pants." Lucifer went up and walked behind Adam and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Don't forget you're in my house, at my mercy."

Adam wasn't scared, by now he knew that Lucifer was all bark and no bite. "Oooou I'm so scared. I've been here, what? Maybe two hours? And the most you've done is touch my shoulder."

Lucifer, smirkes as he ran his hands up Adams neck to his hair, the soft brown locks tangled in his fingers before going back. He didn't miss the flinch. "Wait, are you ticklish?" Oh this was rich.

Adam scoffed. "No! Don't be dumb. Hey! Sto- HAHAHA!!"

"Awww." Charlie thought the moment was rather cute.

Lucifer chuckled. "Who's not funny now?"

"AHAHHA! NO- STILL NOT YOU! HAHAHHHHAH!" Adam laughed loudly, he was laughing so hard he was crying.

"Charlie get the camera!" Lucifer wanted to record this. Add to his collection.

"Charlie no! HAHA!"

"Charlie yes!"

Charlie grabbed the camera. "Got it!"

"STAHP!!! HAHAHA!! NO FAAAAIR HAHAHA!!"

Lucifer grinned even wider. "Evil is never fair dear." He moved to tickle Adams ribs.

The brunette howled with laughter. "NOO!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Adam tried to wiggle away from the devilish fingers tickling him. He did manage to free his right hand at some point.

Lucifer was elated, never has Adam been so much at his mercy. "HAHA! Now I’m-"

"Ah ha!" Adam reached back to touch one of Lucifer's wings.

Lucifer was stunned. "How’d you-!" He couldn't dwell on it long cause Adam's hand brushed his wing. "DON'T TOUCH-" He couldn't help the cooing sound that left his mouth. He was fucking mortified.

It was Adams turn to be stunned. "What. The fuck. Was that?"

Lucifer turned red, he was glad Adam couldn't see his face. "YOU HEARD NOTHING!!"

Adam giggled, not believing what he heard. "Awww, the big, evil, strong Devil, coos like a fucking bird!? HA!" Adam laughed a little more. "That's rich."

Lucifer would take any victory no matter how small. "Ha! You said I'm evil and strong I have that shit recorded!"

Adam thought if he rolled his eyes anymore they'd fall out if hus damn head. "Whatever man, do it again. These are actually real?" He made a move to touch them again, only for Lucifer to step out of reach.

"Yes they are real! Don't touch. Charlie be a dear and get the handcuffs the rope seems faulty."

"Don't be a baby! Can I get a bottle of water I think I cried all my fluids out." Adam asked her nicely and the girl couldn't help but comply.

"Sure Adam!"

Lucifer slapped himself on the forehead. "Charlie......" Sometimes she was a little too nice.

"Thank you, Charlie." Adam said sweetly.

Lucifer growled. "Handcuffs first!"

"You can’t keep kidnapping me if I die out of thirst right?"

"Meh."

Wow, real nice Adam thought bitterly. Charlie pranced over to them. "Here Adam! And here are the handcuffs dad!"

Adam drank the cool water as Lucifer waited impatiently so he could cuff his hands behind his back. When he was done Adam felt Lucifer click the cuffs on him, he swore it was just his imagination when he felt a clawed hand linger near his.

The sound of a timer beeping broke the moment. "OH! IT’S TIME! IT’S TIME SWEETIE!" Lucifer cheered, he was sure today was going to be the day he bested The General!

"You're such a nerd." Adam commented. Lucifer came over and placed a rag in his mouth. "Mmph!"

"Shhh." Lucifer ran a finger along Adams jawline and stopped at his chin. Adam's honey brown eyes narrowed and he spat out the rag, it hit Lucifer in the face. "Really?"

"Boo. Yes, really."

The General gasped when he saw Adam on the holographic screen. "Adam! Don't worry I'll save you from that evil monster."

Adam merely blinked, used to this. "Not in danger big guy." Lucifer and Michael bantered back and forth until Michael flew for where they were only for it to be empty. Adam braced for impact only to be confused when nothing happened. "Huh?"

Lucifer chuckled and pushed a button opening the wall. "You didn't think you were in the real observatory did you, Adam?"

Well this was a first. "Well shit."

Lucifer grinned he felt so triumphant. "OH SHIT INDEED! Get the death ray ready Charlie!"

"Death ray, readying!" She pushes a button, the death ray up in space got ready.

Lucifer projected himaelf from a hologram in the real observatory. "Over here old friend ~ In case you haven’t noticed, you fell right to my trap!"

"You can't trap justice! It's an idea, a belief, a-"

"Boring! Ugh, you're boring. And now you die! Right...... now!" Everyone blinked when nothing happened. "Charlie dear, shoot him."

"Yes dad just as soon as it's done charging."

Lucifer could not fucking believe this. "Charlie! I told you to have shit ready to go, I've told you countless times."

"Oh look your plan is failing." Adam mocked with a smirk.

"Quiet sassy!"

"Is that my contact in your phone? Sassy?"

"Maybe if you gave me your number."

"As if."

Lucifer sighed, well this was a bust. "This plan really shit the bed. Chao all!" He started to leave.

"Same time next Thursday?" Adam asked half sarcastic. Charlie came over to untie Adam.

"Titty sprinkles!"

Everyone paused. "Did he just say titty sprinkles?" Charlie asked.

Lucifer came back over. "What the fuck?"

Michael hit the walls but couldn't break them. "Fish crackers! I’M TRAPPED!"

"Oh lord. Did you hit your head while getting here or some shit? What kind of tricks are you playing?" Lucifer would nor fall for any hero tricks.

"You devilish maniac! Your dark powers finally paid off!"

"It has?" What the fuck was he playing at!?

Michael laid on the ground. "This dome- Is obviously covered with steel!"

"Yeah so?"

"Umm, dad?" Charlie pointed to the ray that was about to shoot.

"Steel.. It drains my powers..!"

"Your weakness… Is steel? Seriously?" This was hard to believe for Lucifer. The death ray went off and the real observatory blew up, the explosion shook the ground and Lucifer was hit by a flying object which turned out to be Michaels skeleton. "FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!"

Adam couldn't believe what he was seeing, The General couldn't be dead. "Oh my god....."

Charlie came over to stand by her dad. "You....... You did it dad."

Lucifer almost didn't register the words. "I did it..... HOLY SHIT I DID IT!! THE PENTAGRAM CITY IS MINE!!" He cheered and jumped for joy. After all these years!

Adam's jaw dropped. "What the fuck just happened......."

Lucifer turned to face Adam and smirked, he walked over to him feeling ten feet tall. "THAT my dear Adam," he grabbed his chin and tilted his head up to lock eyes with him. "Is victory." He grinned wider, for the first time Adam actually looked genuinely worried.

Okay I would be pretty scared if I saw this at night, Adam thought as Lucifer's demonic glowing red and yellow eyes bore into his own sending a shiver down his spine. "W-what are you gonna do now?"

"NOT SO COCKY NOW, ARE WE?! HAHA! Oh are you scared now? Don't worry, I won't hurt you Adam." His hold on Adams chin was firm, his grin never leaving. Adam flicked his gaze away, Lucifer's eyes were too intense. "Awww are you shaking?" Was he? Adam hadn't noticed, he was too afraid.

Good, maybe now Adam would take him and his villianly seriously. "Charlie, be a dear and take Adam home. We have much planning to do."

"Yes dad." Charlie untied Adam and blind folded him and guided him out. He was so numb he didn't fight her.

It didn't take long before he was dragged to the front of his apartment building. Charlie removed the blind fold. "Sorry, we’re just so happy, can you blame us?"

Adam looked at her, still numb. "I..... Can't."

Charlie stood there little awkwardly. "So uh, see ya. Or we won’t, and also we won’t be here to kidnap you this Thursday as I guess." Adam didn't answer her. "Oh and dad made this for you. For your help all these years. We saved it for our winning day." She gave him a rubber duck, it looked like him. Charlie got back in the car and left Adam all alone.

"Oh you gotta be fucking kidding me." As he looked at the rubber duck.

What fresh Hell awaited him and the rest of the city?

[luimagines]

HI PINKY ! 🎻 Anon here ✧⁠◝⁠(⁠⁰⁠▿⁠⁰⁠)⁠◜⁠✧

My finals went overall quite well! (Except for one final but my overall grade was still fine so we're all good) I did end up having my ceiling of my room collapse though! (⁠ノ⁠｀⁠Д⁠´⁠)⁠ノ⁠彡⁠┻⁠━⁠┻ Gotta love landlords that refuse to do proper house maintenance on century old homes. So right before finals had my ceilings collapse, then had finals while stuck sleeping in the living room (to be fair the couch was comfy but the whole setup is less than ideal), and then literally the evening after my last final flew out to literal other side of the planet for college visits. So needless to say I've been rather tired recently! It's been fun though and I also got to see some family that I rarely see again so that was nice. BUT! I finally have the mental bandwidth to send in an ask again. So enough with the dramatic rambling about my life I have more ideas about the human hero reader I thought of!

So! I learned just the other day that an army captain is actually kinda low rank. (At least in the US military, can't speak to other systems) And you usually get there within like 4 years of your career as an officer. And if Wars is around 24-26ish (at least that's how old I usually imagine him since he's one of the older members of the group but not like OLD) and he would have started his time in the military as like a 17-18 year old, buddy boy would actually be behind on his career. (Stick with me this will all come together I swear!)

So I imagine human hero reader (I'm calling them hh!reader for my sanity to specify from here on out for my sanity) ended up getting pulled into the military after saving Hyrule. They really don't like being there, but the royal family of that time doesn't really give reader a choice. I'd imagine them most likely being a very low rank enlisted soldier. (If you require explanations for anything just let me know. I am more than happy to explain and understand most people haven't been raised around this stuff) But because reader didn't want to join the military in the first place and Warriors is one of the MOST wary member of the chain they would probably butt heads quite a bit. I imagine reader with an attitude of while they're usually a very nice person to be around they can hold a strong grudge and aren't afraid to tell someone if they're being an idiot. Not something that goes over well in the military. So reader probably targets at least some of that frustration to the resident military man. And something that would be rather easy to go for is that fact that he still hasn't been promoted. This would probably devolve into him telling them that they suck as a soldier until reader snaps and said they never had any choice in the matter and they storm off. Probably one of the their merry little band would go after reader. I think Sky might be best since he's a knight himself so he'd have a better idea what they were going through. Wind would also be an interesting option especially if it's after the whole "We're the same since we both made the active decision to save Hyrule!" moment. Both are good chances at bonding. Oh yeah I guess it's relevant that I see reader at an older teen age, like 16-17. Yay sibling dynamics (I say this like my only younger sibling doesn't drive me up a wall). I'll prolly add more later but I am tired. And I have a relatively early morning tomorrow.

Hope this was coherent but I actually had motivation for once so I went for it. If any clarification is needed just ask. Make sure to drink water and eat a snack! Self care is important to help prevent burnout. Have a lovely week. Good day/evening) ┌⁠|⁠o⁠^⁠▽⁠^⁠o⁠|⁠┘⁠♪ See you maybe once I've slept and ate. Bye!!

Oh, I thought you going to go the path of Reader outranking Warrior and him not being able to do anything about it. ^.^*

It reminded me of that one post for Marvel where Tony got excited because Rhodey, being Colonel, outranked Steve and could tell him what to do.

I'd imagine if Warrior pulled out the whole "you suck as a soldier" Wild would have to push back a bit because if they suck, what does that make him? He died! Hello? At least Reader had something going for them. They still won in the end with minimal loses on their side.

Wild lost everyone.

So what does Warrior actually think of him then?

[havendance]

New Comics Time!

And it's a long one this week. Lots of comics. I might poke my head in Harley Quinn or Powergirl later for completion/curiosity purposes but I wanted to talk about a lot of these now :)

Detective Comics #1090 - The flashbacks in this issue are far more interesting in my opinion that the present day which is like 'oh no, another serial killer!' While I do think that it's hilarious that Taylor is having it so Thomas Wayne saved Joe Chill's life back in the day (A plot point that would be right at home in Batman: Year Two where Bruce is busy agonizing over the fact that he's planning to kill Joe Chill with the same that killed his parents), I still can't help but be intrigued by the themes of unseen consequences of well-intended actions that he seems to be setting up. Between Thomas saving Joe Chills life, and the fact that I can't help but get shady vibes from Scarlett Martha Scott's anti-aging stuff and offer to Bruce, I'm interested is seeing where this goes

Art-wise, previously, Mikel Janin's art has always had this too-smooth feel to it that made me think of cgi or cell-shading and it just didn't work for me. This time, with him doing his own colors, there's still some of that smoothness, but he's also some texture to it that has vastly improved my enjoyment. We really are in the middle of an age of these bright, technicolor comics and I really like it.

Action Comics #1072 - I do appreciate the flashback we got to explain Mon-El this issue as someone who is not familiar with Superman lore. Kon and Kenan continue to be fun while the adventure in the Phantom Zone continues. For the backup, I continue to really love the art--especially the environment this issue. Plot wise, my curiosity about the prisoner and the nature of Kara's mission is building. I'm a little worried that the tension is getting build up too much and when we finally do get answer's it'll be a disappointment, but we shall just have to see.

Green Arrow #17 - Most of this issue is taken up by cleaning up the last of the double-agent Green Arrow plotline that I largely did not read. I did enjoy the start of Condon's run though. I liked the atmosphere it was setting up and the sniping between Ollie and Batman was very enjoyable. I am interested in seeing more of this new costume. The mask makes him look younger.

Superman #19 - Okay, the moment where both Clark and Lois ducked into the same broom closet to go out and save the day? That was cute. I think my main take-away from this issue was that I really don't know a lot of the current Superman status quo because, like, Lois Lane as the Planet's Editor in Chief? The whole Supercorp thing? Luther's amnesia. I've got nothing on any of it. Part of being a comics fan is rolling with the punches though. I'll probably keep seeing where this story goes, but I think it's also getting prone to being dropped as I wander off.

Absolute Wonder Woman #1 - This was so good. I admit, that was I was doubtful when I first heard the announcement because, I've found in my experience that Kelly Thompson writes fun comics but ones that don't necessarily grab me. I think this best thing of her's I've read, honestly. Diana as an exile! I am also obsessed with Circe being the one to raise her. "How you fall in love with a child is by raising it." It's hitting the same beats for as one of the best parts of the Messner-Loebs run which was Circe as Donna Milton and how she found herself getting drawn into Diana's orbit. The things you do, the people you surround yourself with. That matters for your character. I just loved seeing that redemption there for her.

I love what this is setting up in terms of Diana setting out to try and find who she is and what was hidden from her. There is this mission that is tying her to an origin and people she's never gotten the chance to know. It leaves me really hoping that we get to see her reunited with the Amazons at some point.

The art was also gorgeous. Bellaire's colors were knocking it out of the park as always. Those long horizontal panels I really like, but I did leave wishing I could read this on paper. I am just a little tempted to go out and start getting this in floppy form and we shall see, but also, I am spending this money of dcu infinite and trying to not buy a ton of comics weekly on top of that so I'll probably try to just hold out for the trade instead.

The Flash #14 - This is looking like it's going to be such a fun story arc. Vacation to Skartaris!--I am not the Warlord fan, but it still brings me joy. Not sure if I'm really feeling the artist for this, but the lettering continues to be top notch for this series.

Nightwing #119 - I am a fan of this creepy puppet-master type villain it looks like we're going to get. Fun archetype. I do like the setup we're getting here and the DickBabs banter is top notch. (As a side note, while I know Barbara isn't back to all of her post-crisis glory, I really do appreciate Oracle popping up everywhere in comics again especially coming from the new52). Interested in seeing where it goes!

Green Lantern: Dark #1 - Another comic I checked out because I could, and unlike the werewolf Batman one, I think this one's going to be a keepr. The fantasy vibe that this had was very fun. I like how it played with stories. I also really liked the art. It had this very nice sketchy feel to it.

The Question: All Along the Watchtower #1 - I really liked the opening sequence--that spread of the watchtower? Beautiful. That being said, there was a lot of set-up in this issue. It felt like most of the time was spent having Renee follow Wonder Woman around and have stuff explained to her. This is a new setting and this is also a lot of the introduction to the Watchtower that we're getting prior to Justice League: Unlimited #1 afaik, but I also can't help but feel that there could've been a more efficient way of getting this information across. Say, a map, or a casefile, or even Renee explaining it to the reader rather than having everything explained to her. I think what I really wanted was Renee taking more of a lead, and I hope that we do get that next issue now that all the set-up's out of the way.

All of that being said, the supporting cast is shaping up to be very fun. I was admittedly, holding out for the Huntress, but I will not complain about the Blue Beetles + Batwoman! I am looking forward to seeing how that team unfolds. Art-wise, I don't think I really have much to say, but I did really like the text-boxes that the robot guy had. Nice touch right there.

[grumfield]

Do you have any Obikin fics that you could recommend? I'm dipping my toes in the water for the first time because of the Ranwan parallels

Hehe YESSS happy to provide for a fellow ranwanist!! I actually never read fic before this ship so I’m so happy I can finally answer a fic request ask!!

I’ll give you the first three I read that really got me into the ship because of 2ha adjacent vibes!! These are good entry points I think for my beloved 2ha followers, because over the past few months most of the stuff I read has gotten more fandom-esoteric lol

All He’ll See is Me is basically the premise of 2ha condensed into a clean 35k and was my first fic-intro to the ship. Evil dark lord dies and gets sent back in time and porks his teacher, but this time, it’s in space! I’m pretty sure it’s the most popular fic in the ship tag based on kudos

haunt me then is very much a 0.5 timeline esque 7k one-shot the author describes as "he came back wrong to you, but he came back to me” featuring weird codependent willing attic wifey stuff with the shadow of the person you used ton love and still love. absolutely delicious, and is nonlinear for extra flavor.

Come Down From Your Holy Mountain is the one I credit to really launching my interest, it’s like completed at 150k where, instead of leaving Anakin to die after chopping off his limbs on a volcano planet, decides to save him and rehab him. I really loved how involved the plot was and the slow-burn development of their relationship

Also, though it’s not a fic, it may as well be so I’m suggesting it. If you decide this ship is up your alley do your self a favor and read the The Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matt Stover. Aside from being really really really phenomenally written, is literally the most yaoi a book’s ever been without being explicitly yaoi. It’s somehow even more homoerotically charged and gayngsty than any fanfiction where they have sex. I literally cannot articulate to you how fucking insane it is. It’s literally what actually drove home my obsession because I was kind of like “okay wow…this codependent one sided yaoi is actually way more insane than I ever imagined” because Matt Stover writes Obi-Wan like a repressed gay monk in love with his friend, and as a result literally every other author to write official Star Wars books involving them channeled that energy but amped up the weird to untouchable levels.

Some batshit from the novel since I need to get this across to you:

“Blade-to-blade, they were identical. After thousands of hours in lightsaber sparring, they knew each other better than brothers, more intimately than lovers; they were complementary halves of a single warrior.”

“Every day and every night [Obi-Wan] violated every principle the Jedi had taught him about staying in the present moment, about acceptance. Going over every argument, every talk, to find the key that he should have turned in order to unlock the secrets of Anakin's heart.”

‘Palpatine lifted his shoulders. "Perhaps not. Perhaps it's simply a question of whether you love Obi-Wan Kenobi more than you love your wife."’

A scene where Anakin’s wife basically calls out Obi-Wan for loving Anakin and it literally reads like someone’s wife confronting her oblivious straight husband’s “confirmed bachelor” friend when he’d thought he’d kept it a secret.

And more. On like every page to the point where I was like. What the actual fuck were you on.

Anywayssssss hope this was helpful to you LMAO!!! If anyone wants recs or to chat you’re always more than welcome to DM me to ask or talk about it lol.

[bookishdaze]

1 week left till kotpota yayyyyy

Only 1 week left till the movie, so here are last minute rapid fire theories. Let's go crazy. Let's go stupid. Some of these are ridiculous.

An explosion will cause the ocean water to rush in, and flood that underground facility Proximus is trying to get into, and Noa will be swimming for his life.

Caesar's funeral in a flashback. I actually hope this doesn't happen because of the emotional damage I will suffer, but some people have mentioned it, and I'm gullible, so I believe it 😭

Noa is not a descendant of Caesar and his mark is more symbolic of his transformation during his hero's journey. The mark will probably be considered part of ape mythology and anyone who has that mark will be considered "chosen." Something like that.

Oh, and he'll get injured on that spot to make it more noticeable.

Raka will die. Sorry bud. Being the mentor of the hero in the hero's journey tends to come with certain occupational hazards.

Mae is from an underground bunker, Fallout style. Probably not. A girl can dream though, lol.

Regardless whether she's from a bunker or not, Mae's home would've been destroyed. Maybe by Proximus? And that's why Mae knows where Proximus is taking Noa's clan?

Mae or Noa, most likely Mae though, will betray the other. It's not like I want this to happen, but I can see it happening. Maybe Mae at first will team up with Noa for protection in order for her to complete her mission, but she unexpectedly befriends Noa along the way, but her mission comes first and she needs to break that trust and THE DRAMA.

Oh, and maaaaybe some subtle romantic elements between them. No kisses or love confessions or stuff like that, considering Soona is Noa's love interest. It wouldn't be textually or explicitly romantic, but there could be tropes that could imply romance, but don't necessarily have to be interpreted as romantic. Blame Ulysse Merou, he's the one who started the trend of wanting to smooch apes. Speaking of Ulysse...

We get a reference to Ulysse Merou from the original Planet of the Apes novel by Pierre Boulle. MOVE ASIDE, GEORGE TAYLOR. We got ourselves a new astronaut in town. I would freak out in the theatre if this happened!

Noa will develop a fascination with space and the cosmos, especially after the telescope scene. He seems like he'd be a space nerd. I want him to be a space nerd. Please be a space nerd.

Noa will have to choose between saving Mae and an ape. I didn't think of this at first, but Proximus in the trailers says "You would choose a human over an ape?" So I think he will be torn making that decision. Oh god, what if he has to choose between Mae and someone else he cares about????

We get a throwback line that is a reference to a previous version of POTA. Kind of like the "TAKE YOUR STINKIN PAW OFF ME YOU DAMN DIRTY APE." This can be from either the old movies or the book, or even the Caesar trilogy.

We hear Caesar's theme in the movie. I'll be so emotional if this happens. 😭

[undeadbanjos]

A little WishShipping for the Soul.

"At least I bought us a little time." Joey stared in horror across the way. "Enough time to say what I needed to say..." Don't. Not like this. "Joey. I love you." 

"Yugi… " You can't say it back. Not like this. Not here. Not with his most prized possession around your neck. Not when you're about to lose him forever. 

"NOW AIM YOUR ATTACK AT ME!" 

"NOOO!" 

Joey shot up from his bed. Heart pounding. His alarm clock blared 4:25 in red numbers. He scrambled to his nightstand where his deck was. He thumbed through it until he found Red Eyes. 

It was really all over. 

Yugi and the Pharaoh had saved the world. 

Joey dueled him after and won. 

Everything was okay. 

Everyone was safe. 

Yugi. Was safe. 

So why was he still having this dream? Joey ran a hand through his sweaty hair and groaned. 

You haven't told him yet stupid. 

Joey felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest. This could ruin everything. 

Couldn't it? 

Yugi was his best friend. His favorite person on the planet. The one person he could always go to. 

But did that include this? 

Joey stared up at the ceiling and tried to organize his muddled thoughts. 

Worst case scenario: he lost Yugi. But would that ever happen? Yugi did say he loved him. He might've meant as a friend or a brother, but even so… that means he couldn't lose him over something silly like this… right? 

Best case scenario…. Joey shook his head. He didn't want to get his hopes up. 

At the very least… it'd get off his chest. 

Joey walked Yugi home from school every day. It used to be to protect him from bullies, but since Battle City, it was to get creeps off his back over those Egyptian God Cards. Everybody wanted a shot at the champ. 

"HEY! IT'S THAT MUTO KID!" 

"Shit." Joey put an arm around him and changed their direction. "This way." He pulled Yugi into an alley. 

"COME BACK! SHOW US THOSE GOD CARDS!" 

"You'd think this would die down a bit." Yugi puffed after a block of running. 

"'Til someone beats ya…" Joey checked behind them. One guy still was on their tail. 

"Someone has already." Yugi threw back his head and laughed. 

"Yeah… well he knew firsthand what those stupid cards will do to ya." Joey grabbed Yugi's hand. "This way!" He ducked into an alley and found a fire escape. 

"There is no way I can make that jump." Yugi read his mind. 

"If I boost ya?" Joey stopped and put his hands down for Yugi to step up. 

"This is crazy." Yugi took a deep breath and took a step. Joey pushed him up and Yugi pulled the ladder down. He shimmied his way up and Joey managed to jump and pull himself up. 

"Keep climbin!" Joey pulled the escape back up. Yugi scrambled up with Joey close behind. They reached the roof, and both were out of breath. 

"This…. Is… ridiculous!" Yugi threw his hands up. "This isn't why.. I did.. Battle City… at all!" Yugi plopped on the ground and leaned back on his hands. "I didn't… want this…." 

"Hm." Joey sat next to him and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "They don't know about all that stuff though Yug." He smiled softly at him. "And cause of you… they don't have to."

"I know." Yugi huffed and hunched over. "But just because the Pharaoh likes the attention doesn't mean I do too." 

"Ey that's okay." Joey leaned back and grinned. "I'd rather keep ya to myself anyway." Joey clamped his mouth shut. 

Shit. 

He looked away, feeling his face flush. Joey shut his eyes tight. 

Stupid stupid stupid stupid. 

"I'd rather just be with you too." Yugi mumbled. Joey peeked back at him. 

"Yeah?" 

"Of course." Yugi squinted in the sun. "I'm at home with you." Joey's heart fluttered. The sun was shining through the red tips of his hair, and glinting off the blonde of his bangs. His violet eyes were sparkling. 

How could a boy be so… pretty? 

"Y-yug?" Joey's heart slammed in his chest. "Can I talk to ya about something…. That might be a little… weird?" 

"Joey, you helped me save the world from an evil ancient spirit." Yugi raised a brow at him and smiled softly. "You can talk to me about anything." 

"Right." Joey sat up and put his hands in his lap. "Um… so do you 'member how Marik like… took my mind over and I broke his control and… and you thought you were gonna die… so… so you said that…" Joey's eyes wandered back to Yugi who was starting to blush. "Um. You said you loved me." 

"Yeah." Yugi looked down in his lap. "Um. I'm… sorry. About that." 

"What? Ya mean you don't?" Panic slapped Joey for an instant. Yugi looked up and raised his hands. 

"No! No I mean I do!" He swallowed. "Um. I mean… I'm sorry I might've… overstepped." 

"No." Joey shook his head and took one of Yugi's hands. "No…. I'm glad you said it. I… I just…" He took a shaky breath. He realized he was holding his hand now and felt dizzy. "Um…" Joey was about to let go when Yugi squeezed his hand reassuringly. "I just can't stop thinking about it." 

"It was scary." 

"I thought I was gonna lose you." 

"So did I." Yugi half laughed half cried. 

"I had to save you and I couldn't let you die without…. Without tellin ya." Joey felt himself shaking. He looked into Yugi's eyes, that were widening. "I couldn't tell ya… unless I knew you were okay." 

"Tell me what? " Yugi whispered in disbelief. 

"Tell ya…" Joey looked deeper into his eyes and ignored what felt like a heart attack in his chest. "Tell ya that y-youre the person I always wanna be with. That I think of ya the second I wake up in the morning and right before I go to sleep at night. That I think about ya all the time and… and I like the person I am when I'm with ya. And… and I… I've been thinking about what it might feel like… if…" Joey looked down at Yugi's hand. He smiled at the chipped black fingernail polish. "What it might feel like if I kissed ya." Joey slowly looked back up. Yugi was stunned and looked utterly confused. "Oh god." Joey widened his eyes. "You don't love me that way." He ran a hand through his hair and laughed. "Jesus. Fuck. Okay. I think I'll jump off the buildin' now." 

"Joey no!" Yugi grabbed his arm before he could walk away. He stood up. "No… no I… I… I just never thought you'd feel… the same way." 

"The same way…" Joey sighed in relief. "So… so ya DO like me?!" Yugi laughed. Joey could see tears in his eyes. 

"Yes." 

Joey wrapped his arms around him and held him tight. 

"Thank fuckin god." Joey mumbled into his hair and pulled back. He caressed Yugi's face as he chuckled. "C-can I kiss you?" Yugi wiped a tear from his cheek and nodded. Joey leaned down and softly placed his lips on Yugi's. He felt his heart soar as Yugi wrapped his arms around his neck. Joey couldn't help but scoop him up and spin him around. He felt him smile against his lips. 

This was one memory he wouldn't mind dreaming about. 

[meadow-roses]

reblog to get an ask, you say? well. i love your sketches and doodles and have been checking your blog pretty much daily for almost three years now to see your green ember, keepers, deepwood, and shifters art. i love felix and skylar's dynamic and id love to know more about their relationship in particular!

Oh my goodness thank you 🥺😭

That means so much! I'm so glad you've enjoyed it all and you've been here 3 years????? 😭😭 Thank you,,,, 🥺🥺

Oh man there's so much for Felix and Skylar afcfhf the story has kinda built itself around these two basically since it's conception like 4 years ago. It's hard to describe it cause I can't think of any trope they slot into nicely to shorthand describe them 😂

Since I don't know how to put this concisely I'll just ramble about them under the cut lol!

So Felix is this funny guy who's super chill and casual about stuff all the time but also is so so oriented around friends. He'll meet someone and just be like "You're my new friend now I decided", which meshes with Skylar's 'loner protagonist' tendencies hilariously. Skylar's just cruising around the universe with Gigi, popping in here and there to save the day then disappear as spontaneously as he arrived under this assumption that it will always only ever be him and his brother (hair blowing dramatic in the wind(that's all he really needs, right?)). Then he meets this guy who's just as stubborn as he is that he can't seem to shake off his tail?? It doesn't matter what time or planet or dimension he goes off to, this guy's always there! It's like the universe itself is pulling this on him. He doesn't like how the guy's face lights up whenever he sees him and sometimes he says some pretty crazy stuff like "we're best friends in the future" like that would ever happen. 🙄

Meanwhile Felix is just struggling. His entire life has always been structured around "his people"- friends, neighbors, family, coworkers- anyone he can make a connection with. But now they're all gone, and worse still he can't settle in and try to make new connections, he's gotta figure out how to get home! In the midst of all this he keeps running into the same kid over and over and over again who seems to be living in this mindset that he's the only person who's really real. It starts out with him thinking "man this kid needs an adult in his life" but the more they hang out the more they develop this mutual respect for each other. Skylar may be a teenager, but also he's brave and capable and has seen so much- he's literally hundreds of years old. Felix may be a silly softie who likes following rules so much he invents his own and his hair style is super dumb, he doesn't fit the impossible standard of "manhood" Skylar's father set for him, but he is pretty brave and capable and something about how he talks about his own kids hurts somewhere deep down (though he'd never admit it) and he just WANTS to be home SOMEWHERE actually. Despite all the pretending he can't fully bury that ache.

So reluctantly, not like he'd actually admit that's what he's doing, he starts purposefully crossing paths with this crazy weirdo who's trying to map the universe (?? literally what kind of idea is that??) Skylar may be human but he hasn't lived like a human for so long it's almost like he's become some Other magic thing. ...and the more time goes on the more Felix changes too. By the time he finally finds his home he's changed so much from the (admittedly unusual) man he was before and there's no going back. And it kind of ends up that all they've got is each other who really understands what it's like... seeing all of time play out in snapshots here and there, dying a hundred deaths and watching the hundreds of lives being lived all around you.

Please please go read this comic August made :DDD (at this point Felix still doesn't know really what happened, why Skylar left home and refuses to even try to go back. So he's got as much context in this conversation as you all do. ;)

There's so much of this too that just goes unsaid in their relationship. Felix is a quiet guy and he's not great with words- especially spur of the moment- if he's gonna say something he's gotta plan out the whole "script" in advance. Skylar's got so many layers of emotional repression and is like. allergic to ever giving a straight answer to anything or talking about his feelings (yuck), but they don't need words to know how much the other one cares. You just end up with these two dudes who just... they love each other, ya know? The closest I've ever seen their dynamic get to another piece of media is Kuzco and Pacha from "The Emperor's New Groove". 😂

Anyway thanks for reading this far. As I'm sure anyone who follows this blog is aware I am insane about these guys adsfdsaf

[kingshunkawakan]

Omg baby girl I just thought of something...

It's so funny how the only way to communicate with you directly is to send you letters through the human tech so you actually get them at home. I still don't understand why you don't just reach out directly to me? It's not like you don't know exactly where I am every second!

So I just assume you don't want to talk to me. Which is fine. Whatever floats your boat:) xo

I am very impressed you implanted all those ideas in everyone's heads to think that all those 100s of chicks were you .. I honestly didn't think of that...

The cad chick totally fell for it herself but she did look the most like you so I just ask you are kind to her. She really is a good person I believe.

I hope everything is cool at home w u and the cats and I'm sorry I said the things I said when I was upset. There is no excuse. Just please know I am doing my best to learn from my mistakes and always do better. I know you believe in me so much and I just strive to believe in myself as much as you believe in me.

I strive to be as good you, as fast, as able to mange conflict, be as patient and just really alot. You really are my role model and my hero.

I didn't mean to get the wrong size outfit if that upset you at all or what I said about the gift thing. You words and songs have been my saving grace and I am still processing that magical gift of you you give me so often.

To really have done that for so long and have the world screaming those lyrics makes me want to cry. You are so incredible. Your love is so incredible baby. I love you so much (more) [alot] <same> /also\ {TOO}.

I am waiting to finish alot of things until we can run errands together and just do some normal people stuff but knowing where to go and what to do so we dont have to think about it too much ya know?

Id want you to pick out what you want (but the budget is still $19.98 plus tax! Or whatever it cost I forgot.

I wish that one day we can sit down and share our experiences and learn from each other, what has gone on on each other's sides we don't know or do and what was misunderstood or what was clear. If we never get to do that in this life I hope you know I love you so much and next life I may opt to be the girl just so I can show up at your door whenever I want and you can't come to mine without asking for an invitation and letting me think about it... you know do my nails... get a facial... have some meetings... forget to call u back blah blah blah want to be chased... tell u I can find someone else... ugh being a dude is hard on this planet when I am in love with a 👻 xo

love you so much xox

I hope you are having a good afternoon wherever you are.

[burnwater13]

A split image of Luke Skywalker standing just in front of the open blast doors on Moff Gideon's shop and Grogu touching the Mandalorian's helmet on the same bridge. Image from The Mandalorian, Season 2, Episode 8, The Rescue. Calendar from DataWorks.

Original story. Chapter 16. Grogu would like to not like a word.

Knock. Knock, knock.

Hi. It’s Grogu. Can we talk about this? This “One of your kind” thing? It’s come up a couple of times recently and I just want to shut this down once and for all. 

THIS IS MEANINGLESS.

Wow. Thanks. Much appreciated. That felt good.

Listen, we are all unique. Each of us is our own kind. Who we are and who we connect to is our choice. Not anyone else’s. I don’t care how scary or authoritative the Armorer is, she is not the boss of me. She can’t set who my kind is. Only I can. 

And for those of you in the back, I am not talking about deciding that I’m a Twi’lek. I know I’m not a Twi’lek. I don’t have ‘tails’, I’m not really tall, and contrary to popular opinion, everyone does not just fall in love with me. I’m not talking about that.

What I am talking about is that I may have been raised at the Jedi Temple. I may have been trained by many great Jedi masters. I may be able to use the Force as they trained me to. But that doesn’t mean I’m a Jedi. 

At least not any more. I was a Jedi youngling. Past tense. And not recent past either. Nope. That was over half a lifetime ago. I haven’t done the Jedi stuff since then. I had my reasons. They were all good reasons. Don’t bother trying to second guess me. I know where they hide the mythosaur.

This keeps coming up because people use imprecise language, myself included, I’m sorry to say. You see, I hate Gal Basic. I’d much rather speak my own language or Mando’a or even Iktotchi, but right now, I telling my friend, the scribe, what to write. They make choices. But those choices are something I discuss with them in one of those other languages or through the Force. That’s how we do these things.

Now, I’m pretty sure that the Armorer just wanted me to be placed with someone who could keep me safe and fed. So send me to ‘my kind’ was pretty straight forward to them. Maybe. Sorta. Actually, it wasn’t straight forward at all. You see, the Armorer knew that the Jedi had been all but wiped from the face of the galaxy. A lot like the Mandalorians. Which meant she didn’t actually want Din Djarin to give me to some random Jedi he stumbled across. Nope. 

She wanted him to take me home. To the people I am genetically similar to. My home world. Unfortunately, my home world is unknown to me or Din Djarin or anyone else either of us have even met. I can sort of understand the Armorer not knowing that. Maybe.

On the other hand, my home is well known, it’s at the center (pretty close) of the galaxy, and it’s still standing. But somehow, neither the Armorer, nor Din Djarin, ever thought that they could just put me on a passenger ship to Coruscant and call it a day. 

The Temple is still there. More or less. It was the only home I knew for a good chunk of my life. All they had to do was drop me off and I would have been fine. After all, I’m small and I knew my way around the place in a manner that no one else ever did, except maybe Masters Yoda or Yaddle. If you were looking for people like me, they were as close as you were going to get and sadly, they are both gone. One with the Force and all that. 

But the Armorer didn’t send me there. Nope. Din Djarin and I went planet hopping looking for all sorts of needles in all sorts of haystacks. I won’t say it wasn’t exciting. It was. I learned a lot. I even started using the Force again which was pretty handy. Spending time with the Mandalorian helped me see that what I actually wanted was to make my own home and select my own family. I figured that’s what the big guy wanted too or why save me from the client and Dr. Pershing to begin with? 

The two of us got along well, even though he wasn’t a fan of watching me eat frogs and I am certainly not a fan of ration packs and armor polish. But aside from those things, we are very similar. We are both honorable. We keep our word. We help our friends. We hurt people as a last resort. We’re good to critters as long as they aren’t trying to eat us or other people. We pay our debts.

Things were going pretty well until he decided to hand me over to that kid who runs the sleep away camp. I know, I know. Luke Skywalker isn’t just your average kid who grew up on a backwater planet like Tatooine and made good. He got to meet Obi-Wan Kenobi. He trained with Master Yoda. He’s related to Darth Vader. 

Uh… yeah. About that. Darth Vader is Luke’s dad. Strange huh? They were definitely the same kind. But then were they? Vader wasn’t a very nice, friendly, save you from a bunch of scary battle droids kind of guy. Luke clearly was. Vader didn’t make friends. Luke had lots of friends, surprisingly enough, given his wardrobe choices (Dad thing right? Like me and my beskar shirt?). They couldn’t be more different, but they were the same kind. From the same home world. Taught by the same masters. Yet, not really the same at all.

You see how the word just doesn’t help. They are family, for good or bad. Luke chose that. Vader chose that. All I’m really saying is that I chose Din Djarin to be part of my family and I’m not giving him up just because he’s not a Jedi. I’ve made my choice and I’m not going back to Luke’s Jedi Sleep Away Camp and you can’t make me. I have spoken (thanks Kuiil).

[rexxdjarin]

Hello, I'm starting a new tag game in order to spread some love for OCs! If you get this message take it as a chance to rant about your OCs, tell us why you love them, why you created them, their tragic past, anything and everything you'd like to share! Go nuts! Then, to continue the love, sent this to other people who need a chance to talk about their characters.

hi bby💙 im so sorry its taken me this long to get to this ask but I LOVE IT. I'm of course going to use this as an opportunity to ramble about Mari.

I'll start by disclosing some stuff about Mari that I haven't really explained much before.

Mari's parents are from the same planet that Depa Billaba and Caleb Dume/Kanan Jarrus are from. Meaning she is technically the SW equivalent of being indian/middle eastern (more on her father's side) & her mother is actually the SW equivalent of a latina woman.

Mari's mother had lived with her father on the planet (that has yet to be named i think?) and the two of them had Mari on that planet. They did not stay there long before an interplanetary conflict about 22 years before the clone war broke out destroyed their home. They became refugees who with help from the Republic Senate, namely Bail Organa's relief committees, became immigrants to the ecumenopolis that is Coruscant.

Mari herself was likely around 2 years old when they moved and she has very little memory of her life on Coruscant with her parents. They are both killed (I haven't decided how) when she's about 8 and she is on her own up until the point we see her in Unwritten.

She grows up with her friend Siviee at a special orphanage on the lower levels of Coruscant. They are pretty well taken care of, but Mari and Siviee both being rebellious little kids spend the majority of the time on the streets. They know the lower levels of Coruscant better than anyone and get into the kind of harmless trouble that little kids do.

Eventually, she kinda grows into her looks and men of all the wrong types start to notice. Though she has a solid head on her shoulders and is intelligent, she goes through relationship after relationship with shitty men who treat her poorly. She finds solace in doing the right thing to help others. That includes being a confidential informant to Senator Organa's underworld crime syndicate busting committee. Her efforts help save a lot of honest, everyday working people from having their goods stolen and communities destroyed. It's the very heart and soul of the life she knows and its this work that makes her decide to work for the Senate once she graduates from lower school. She goes through a higher education Senatorial academy with Siviee who also informed the senate at times.

Once she's graduated and in a job that actually pays her insanely well, she moves out of the orphanage and both her and Siviee live together for awhile. They both have lots of fun and party and do crazy things together in their early 20s. Mari dates/sleeps around quite a bit, but still has shitty luck with her choice of men. Still, she helps her friend get on her feet until Siviee decides that public service isn't for her. She wants to serve the people and be a cornerstone of the community and becomes a bartender/server at restaurants. Mari is once again on her own.

She is finally placed in Senator Amidala's staff and participates in her special committees centered on human rights. She moves into a surface level ridiculously expensive high rise apartment and she really comes into her own. She swears off of dating men who are no good for her and takes care of her career goals. Thats about the time we see her at 22 years old-ish at the beginning of Unwritten.

A big theme for Mari is her being someone who is deeply affected by the diasporic movement of her parents to another planet entirely and losing all connection to her original planet/culture once they die. She still visibly looks very much like her original people and wishes on the deepest level possible that she could feel as much a part of their planet/race as she looks like she is. We will see this come into play as she realizes how much the clones story resonates with her own and she relates to them on a deep level.

--

OK sorry I rambled. LMFAOOO her story is deep and rich and interesting and I'm doing a TON of research to be able to handle it correctly.