#no seriously. this is so much and we just kept going

[inknopewetrust]

𝐁𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲

Summary: The BAU finds themselves in the slammer with no memory of the night before and unbelieving cops not realizing that you all are truly FBI Agents… not just hungover liars looking for bail.

[BAU Team & Reader; slight implications of Hotch x Reader, Reid x Reader] [WC: 2k]

Warnings: questioning on drugs, not to be taken too seriously. It’s a fluff piece—fluff!! This is just a lil fic.

Quick Links: Masterlist

You’re not really sure how you ended up there.

Sitting, knees pulled to your chest and head in your hands, the concrete floor of the jail cell was much more rough than you anticipated it being. Jail.

Your head pounded at the thought but it could have been the flickering light above or the incessant task your friends had taken on—attempting to convince the officers that this was one giant, completely absurd, mistake.

“Oh, officer, please,” Penelope’s distressed whine carried farther the longer the hangover sat. “I really want to go home.”

“We were just at the bar. We didn’t have anything to do with that—“

“Christ,” the officer mumbled and cut off Emily’s supportive inclusion on Penelope’s behalf. “You are the chattiest people I’ve ever had in the box.”

You wished they just stop doing that, chatting. There was a rave happening every time you lifted your head; a consistent thrum of a heartbeat stressing the sides of your temples and you’d kill, hypothetically, for an Advil or two right about now.

And against your better judgement, your kept on thinking: how the hell did you end up here?

There was no real remembering the situation. All you really knew is that it started early, after a case in Utah had brought you all back at a reasonable hour but also wore each soul thin. The break was suggested by Derek in an attempt to lighten the mood and the only one who decided against it had been Rossi because he said he had “better things to do then spend extra time with all of you.”

He meant it affectionately, you thought.

But that break had led you all to a hole-in-the-wall bar on the southwest side of Arlington not far from the airport and it had quickly devolved from memory to imagination when you drank your second vodka soda of the night.

And maybe everything wouldn’t be a big deal if it was just a few of you; some variation of Penelope, Emily, JJ, Derek, or Spencer but the kicker lay with Hotch. He made all of you realize that this wasn’t some late night rouse to forget woes, but probably something a little worse. But hey, at least you all experienced it together, right?

It was the leader’s disheveled appearance that raised the flags high. No sign of a tie, his jacket’s pocket square ripped to the point where it hung downwards, and Aaron Hotchner was missing a shoe. A shoe.

“Listen,” he was as calm as he always was. “You’ve got the wrong people. We’re FBI, not criminals.”

It sounded so unconvincing. Yet you’d heard it all night. Reid tried it, Penelope tried it, and none of the officers even budged to go to a computer and check it out. To make matters worse, there were no sign of your badges because as you’d been frisked outside of the bar, the arresting officers had taken them as “fake identification and possible impersonation of federal employees.”

You weren’t under the belief that all types of law enforcement were brainless but these cops were.

After one last plead, Aaron backed away from the bars and sighed with his hands on his hips. You lifted your head with a squint.

“Shit,” Derek mumbled from his spot beside Penelope on the cot. “You look like shit.”

You gave him a forced, dazzling smile. “Thank you. You’re a real charmer, you know that, Morgan?”

“Muscles doesn’t know what he’s saying.” Penelope brushed off his commentary.

Derek laughed and winced as the contraction of his stomach reminded him of the food he needed and the drinks his body wished to reject. “Goddamn.”

“I’ll try Rossi again,” Aaron informed. “It’s almost five-thirty.”

“Maybe he had a hot date.” JJ smiled from beside you on the floor and Emily sat next to her. Spencer was situated at the end of the cot with his head resting cooly on two of the metal cell bars.

“I don’t want to think about Dave on a hot date,” you scoffed. “I don’t want to think about anything other than what the hell happened. I can’t… I can’t piece any of it together.”

“Then let’s backtrack.” Aaron, still amusingly unorganized, tried his best to help retrace steps. “What’s the first thing we remember?”

“When we landed, I asked if we could get drinks. We took two cars—Spencer should’ve had the keys.” Derek looked down at Spencer’s mop of a head.

“I did have the keys.”

“When we got there, Emily found us a table in the back… near that… stage, thing, that the bar had. It had a good view of the bar and everyone in it,” Penelope informed.

“Hotch and JJ got the first round. It was… three vodka sodas, two whiskey’s, and a mojito.”

“That’s only six drinks?” You told Emily who was racking her brain for the other beverage.

“I didn’t drink at first,” Spencer said. “I had a stomach ache, remember?” No. “From that Korean place we stopped at before we left.”

“I told you the tuna was a bad idea,” you muttered.

“At some point, Penelope and Derek got up to go dance and I went with you to the bar to get round two.” Aaron looked at you expectantly.

“That’s where it goes… fuzzy for me.”

“I thought you went to the bar with Spencer,” JJ turned her head to look at you. “I think you were flirting with each other because lover boy couldn’t stop blushing so hard. You were as red as a balloon.”

Spencer’s body went rigid and eyes had gone wide. Your mouth dropped open slightly; a shake of your head told her that maybe she was wrong.

“No,” Penelope pointed accusingly. “I think it was Hotch. I swear I remember looking away because I didn’t want to be talked to by HR. He had his hand in her back pocket! It was something out of a book!”

Aaron shook his head, eyes closing and a hand wiping over this face in confusion.

“I think,” he clarified, “that that’s all besides the point.”

“I barely remember any of it. Maybe a fight?” Emily tried. “I can hear the sounds of broken glass and yelling but their faces are blank.”

“The cut on Derek’s face might be a testament to that.”

“I don’t know why they’d keep us in here together if we’re the culprits,” Spencer concluded.

You all hummed in agreement.

It was a poor tactic on the departments behalf. If you were the causes of the disturbance, whatever it had been, then keeping you all together in the same holding cell would have allowed you plentiful time to corroborate an alibi.

“Do you think…” Penelope gasped dramatically. “Do you think we were drugged? You know, like they were in those Hangover movies?”

“Garcia, you do know that happens in real life too?” Spencer asked her.

“Yeah, I mean… but this is kind of like the movie? Seven friends all livin’ it up,” you would not consider going out for drinks on a Thursday night ‘livin’ it up.’ “And then bam! Someone slipped us a little something.”

“Or we just got really fucking drunk,” Emily laughed. “Why does everything have to be so dramatic?”

“I’m just saying it could be that. It doesn’t mean it is.”

A part of you thinks Penelope was a little excited to live out a a Hangover fantasy.

“Can you try Rossi again?” Derek implored Aaron and laid back on the firm non-mattress.

Aaron went to the bars and signaled for the officer who begrudgingly walked over again. He let Aaron out and without his shoe, he went to the phone and dialed the one emergency contact everyone had.

And the one who certainly had the money to bail everyone out.

“Rossi” Dave’s voice was static.

“It’s Hotch.”

“What do you want? It’s like, five.”

“It’s five-thirty,” Aaron corrected him. “And we have a situation.”

“Where?”

“Arlington Police Station.”

“I’ll meet up there in twenty.”

Dave barely pulled the receiver from his ear when he heard Aaron’s voice call out: “we need bail money.”

In the darkness of his bedroom, Dave scowled. “What do you mean ‘bail money’? Who needs it? You?”

“All of us—we’re all here.”

“What’s you do?”

Aaron sighed. “That’s the problem. We can’t seem to place anything after eight. There might have been a fight, we don’t know. But they took our badges and have us on impersonating federal employee suspicion—but they haven’t booked us yet.”

“Jesus.”

There was a lull and then, “we’d appreciate it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Dave dismissed. “I’ll be there in twenty.”

The team sat in a long silence while the clock ticked toward Rossi’s arrival.

The evening’s events hadn’t unveiled themselves completely but it rose an awkward air around the few of you who were the subjects of a line crossing, or blurring, without realizing it. It was too gawky for the prying eyes of gossipers who simply loved to get under the skin of the people they loved most.

You caught Spencer and Aaron’s eyes one too many times in the twenty minutes that passed by.

The officer who initially locked you up had been the one to raise his keys to the cell doors and a hefty bag landed at the closest set of feet which happened to be Spencer’s.

“You’re free to go.”

“Finally,” Penelope shouted. “So you do believe us then? That are badges aren’t fake?”

The cop shrugged. “You met bail. Doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. We took pictures of your badges and we will be checking them with the database.”

“You do that,” Aaron grabbed the bag from the door and pushed by the officer.

The others were quick to follow but JJ linked arms with you as you exited.

“So,” she drew out. “Spencer… Hotch… that must be a story there.”

“Oh God,” you laughed at her grin. “Maybe I don’t even want to know.” The two of you walked to the doors and became blinded by the sunlight beginning to break the early air.

Dave stood like a father angry at his children. But he wavered briefly, eying his entire squad in disappointment as each lined up along the sidewalk outside the station. The state you were all in made the anger subside into amusement.

The ripped clothes, the missing shoe, the mascara trails, chipped nails and a missing earring.

“So,” he breathed out. “We might have a case on our hands.”

A/N: I literally just needed to get this off my chest so I can write my more angsty fics 😂 but you CANNOT tell me that the only person that’d be able to bail any of them out isn’t Rossi. He’s the only one.

Also, I didn’t proof it yet.

[frostiexavier]

⎯⎯ ୨ Spill Your Guts ୧ ⎯⎯

☆ pic credits: unknown, found on pinterest ☆

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

ੈ♡ summary: You introduce Caleb to your friends at the hunters association over a group dinner. You end up drinking a bit too much and saying more than you should.

ੈ♡ warnings: fluff, consuming of alcohol, drunk mc, sober caleb, mc and caleb both confess, mc gets embarrassed, idk sorry if i missed anything

ੈ♡ word count: 4.7k

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

You: What time is your train supposed to arrive?

You text Caleb, you have to pick him up from the train station later.

Caleb: 5:30pm sharp :) I’ll see you then pips, can’t wait!

You smile and lock your phone, placing it face down on your desk as you focus back on finishing your reports.

“Were you texting Caleb?”, Tara asked me and I nod, confirming her question.

“I can’t wait to meet him and see why you have been talking about him nonstop since we met”, she says poking fun at you.

“Guys seriously don’t mention anything to him”, you say to Tara and Simone. They both look at each other then at you.

“We may like to tease you but we won’t out that you are head of heels for him”, Simone winks at you. You roll your eyes and try to focus on your work and not their teasing.

You can’t lie to yourself or them, you have had a crush on Caleb for as long as you have known him. But he never showed any interest in you so you just go with the flow. You don’t want your feelings to ruin the friendship you both had so you kept it to yourself. You didn’t want to lose him.

“He could like you back, you never know”, Simone says while finishing her reports.

“You guys he calls me pipsqueak, that's the most childish and friendzone nickname there is.”, you say and they take a moment to meet your gaze.

“Well we will get a good idea tonight at dinner”, Tara says and quickly types away at her keyboard, trying to finish her report on time. After some time Tara speaks up again.

“It’s 5 o’clock let's go friends”, Tara says as she stands, going to clock out. You and Simone follow suit after logging out of your computers for the day.

“We will get a table at the grill, text us when you guys are on your way”, Simone says and you nod.

“Okay, he said his train should arrive at 5:30 so it shouldn’t take us too long”, you smile at them and they nod. Once you all clock out and take the elevator to the ground floor, you wave your temporary goodbyes. You start your car and head to the train station to pick up Caleb.

Once you arrive at the train station you notice it's very busy. You park the car and walk down to the terminals. Multiple people are walking around on their phones or waiting for the next train to arrive. You look around to see if Caleb is waiting for you anywhere but you don’t see him. His train should have arrived by now. You go to text him but a familiar voice breaks your concentration.

“Hey Pipsqueak”, you hear Caleb’s voice from behind you. You turn around and he is lightly jogging toward you with his suitcase in one hand and his jacket in the other. He is wearing a long sleeved shirt with a zipper down the middle and what seems to be a strap connecting his arm, across his chest to his other arm. He is also wearing blue jeans and black sneakers, a typical Caleb outfit. Even though its typical, he still looks as handsome as always.

As he finally makes his way to you he sits his jacket on top of his luggage and embraces you in a hug. You wrap your arms around his shoulders and he lifts you up for a few seconds hugging you tightly and letting you down with a grunt.

“I’ve missed you”, he says, patting your head. He is smiling ear to ear. You try not to blush from his sudden embrace.

“I’ve missed you too Caleb! We can catch up on the way to the grill.”, you smile and he nods, following you to your car.

“Wait, let me hold your hand so I don’t get lost. There are a lot of people around ya know?”, he says and you quickly grab his hand. You both make it around the crowds of people saying your “excuse me’s” and “pardon me’s”.

Once you reach your car you let go of Caleb's hand. You help him get his things settled in the trunk, he closes the trunk with a single hand. You take your place in the driver’s seat as he takes the passenger side.

“I have to text Simone that we are on the way”, you say, pulling your phone out of your pocket and texting her.

“Who are we meeting again, sorry it slipped my mind”, he says and you look up at him.

“Tara and Simone, they are my friends at the association, remember?”, you say and he nods, remembering their names.

“Oh okay, so no one else? Just two girls?”, he asks and you roll your eyes at him.

“Yes Caleb, I only have two friends other than you. You don’t have to rub it in that I’m a loser”, you say starting the engine.

“I’m not inferring that pipsqueak, just relieved it's not guys I’m meeting”, he says, placing his elbow by the passenger window and placing a finger on his chin as he looks at you. You raise your eyebrow and pull out of your parking spot.

“Guys? You mean like men?”, you ask him with a chuckle and he replies in a serious tone.

“Yeah like a boyfriend or something, but you would have told me about that right?”, he asks, waiting for you to respond, he hopes it's a quick answer.

“I think you would know if I were talking to a guy waaayyy before I would make someone my boyfriend. Way to add salt to the wound Caleb”, you say and he lightly chuckles.

“You’re right, sorry”, he laughs and you shake your head in a playful way. You both converse about his travels in the deep space tunnel and how he is happy he has some time off to visit you in linkon.

Soon enough you both arrive at a bar & grill joint in downtown linkon. You walk in and see Simone waving her hand in the back corner of the restaurant. You point at the table and Caleb follows suit. You both reach the table, Tara and Simone stand up to greet you both.

“Caleb this is Tara and Simone, guys this is Caleb”, you introduce them. Caleb smiles and hugs them both and introduces himself. Simone and Tara smile and hug him back briefly before greeting him with a small “hi”.

“It’s nice to meet you guys. If you don’t mind I am going to wash my hands real quick. Pips you know what I like so you can order for me if they take our order before I get back”, he smiles and you nod, taking a seat across from Tara. Caleb leaves to wash the germs of the train away and you meet the gnawing gazes of Simone and Tara.

“Oh god he’s hot and like I mean, hot hot. Why didn’t you tell us he looked like that?”, Simone says and your eyes grow wide.

“Seriously Y/N! He has the prettiest purple eyes I have ever seen and the hug! He is so charming!”, Tara squeals, putting her hands up to her mouth.

“Guys please chill. Remember we are just friends, nothing more”, you say as they look at each other with a questioning and disbelieving look.

“We’ll see about that”, Tara smirks and you give her a glare.

“Here he comes”, Simone says and they both immediately shut up about him.

“Sorry about that, what’d I miss?”, he says taking a seat next to you and across from Simone.

“We were just talking about how you guys are so close, she told us how you both met as kids but you guys seem closer than friends”, Simone says with a hint of mischief in her words. You give her a small glare and she avoids your gaze, looking at Caleb for his response.

“Well we have known each other so long, I guess it’s only natural for us to be so close. She’s my best friend”, he smiles looking over at you and back to the girls.

“Didn’t people think you two were dating like in highschool because you were so close? I could only imagine the rumors”, Tara asks tilting her head at Caleb. You can’t believe them, you want to melt in your seat. Your face was heating up at these daunting questions.

“Yeah it's funny actually, pipsqueak here helped me stay away from girls’ attention by pretending to be my girlfriend a couple times.”, he laughs and pokes your cheek. They both look at you with wide eyes.

“You never told us that” , Tara says in disbelief. You nod slowly and look at them. You shy your face away, a little embarrassed since you enjoyed pretending to be his girlfriend, even if it wasn’t real.

“It was just to wean off the several girls that wanted Caleb’s attention in school. It wasn’t a big deal”, you say, the darkened lighting in the atmosphere around you hides the embarrassment that's obviously plastered on your face.

“Why pretend you were dating? Why not give those girls a chance?”, Simone asks Caleb and you can sense his body stiffen, he looks down at the table before deciding what to say.

“I was focusing on my studies and basketball at the time. I didn’t have time to date if I wanted to be accepted into the DAA”, he says and Simone nods slowly, his answer being valid. She opens her mouth to ask another question but is interrupted by the waiter.

“Hey guys, sorry to interrupt but I’ll be taking care of you lovely people tonight. Can I get some drinks or apps started for you?”, the young waiter asks the table. You mentally thank him before they could ask Caleb anymore embarrassing questions.

“I’ll have the grillhouse burger with fries and a craft beer please”, Simone says and the waiter nods while writing her order down with pen and paper.

“Oh I’ll have the same!” Tara smiles and the waiter smiles back.

“And for you two?”, he asks, looking between you and Caleb.

“I’ll have water and she will have a strawberry lemonade.”, Caleb says, ordering drinks for the both of you.

“Do you want to share chicken wings like we normally do?”, Caleb asks looking at you. You nod and he orders that as well as fries on the side.

“Actually could I also get a beer please?”, you ask the waiter and he nods, writing your order down as well.

“Will that be all?”, everyone nods and the waiter takes the menus from the table. He then leaves to place the order. After his departure, Caleb immediately turns towards you.

“Since when do you drink beer?”, he asks with a raised eyebrow.

“I casually drink sometimes, they are drinking so why not”, you say referring to Tara and Simone, who are looking back and forth between you and Caleb. He chuckles and nods.

“Okay, I will be the designated driver then”, he chuckles and Tara looks as if she is swooning. Simone smirks at you.

After some conversations about the hunters association, the drinks and food arrive at the table. You and Caleb share your chicken wings and fries, drinking your strawberry lemonade with your meal.

After you all finish eating you sip away at your beer until you reach the end of the glass.

“Should we play never have I ever? If you have done something that someone says you have to chug your drink for 5 seconds”, Simone says. Her mischievous grin makes you feel uneasy.

“Y/N needs another beer then”, Tara says and orders another round for the table. You dread what is about to happen.

“I’ll go first, never have I ever had a crush on someone”, Tara smiles and looks between you and Caleb.

“Tara that is so tame”, Simone says as she takes a drink of her beer.

“Well it's the first one, you can’t start off crazy”, she says while taking a drink of her own beer. You follow suit taking a drink of your beer, you can feel Caleb’s eyes on you as you sip your drink for 5 seconds.

Caleb grabs his water and proceeds to drink his water for 5 seconds. You watch his adam's apple bob until he stops and sets his drink down on the table. He has never told you about a crush before. You hate the fact you immediately got jealous of the thought.

“Oh you want to play too?” Simone asks and he shrugs his shoulders.

“Sure, I don’t have alcohol but I can drink water. This is fun”, he says, moving his eyes to you with a smirk. You feel like the whole table is staring at you but Simone speaks up.

“Never have I ever lied about something to be closer to someone I like”, Simone states and she watches as you and are the only two to take a drink. Drinking for 5 seconds at a time is making the beer deplete quickly, how long are they going to torture you?

“Never have I ever been caught making out with someone I work with”, you say and Tara gasps.

“That was cruel and obviously directed toward me”, Tara takes a drink and Caleb chuckles at the banter between you both.

“Alright my turn. Never have I ever been jealous because of someone you like”, Caleb says looking briefly at the girls then focusing his gaze on you. Tara sighs and takes another drink. You don’t dare to look at Caleb as you also take another gulp. He smirks then also takes a drink of his water.

You and Tara run out of beer but she quickly orders more for you both. A couple more rounds go by like this and your head starts to feel dizzy. You feel disoriented and the grill is starting to look like a blur.

“I think they have had enough”, Simone states looking at the drunken state of you and Tara. Caleb chuckles at you both and stands up from his seat.

“I’ll pay the check, make sure she doesn’t vomit”, he says to Simone and before she could protest he walks away. She looks over at Tara and gently shakes her awake and helps her stand up. Caleb returns to the table and helps Simone get Tara to hang onto her.

“I will get us a cab and take her home. Just take good care of y/n alright?”, she says and Caleb nods looking over at you giggling with your head on the table.

“Okay, you two get home safe. It was nice to meet you both”, he smiles and Tara starts laughing.

“Bye bye pretty boy”, Tara giggles waving goodbye to Caleb and Simone grabs her hand.

“Okay that's enough let’s go, see you”, she nods at Caleb and heads for the exit of the restaurant.

“Alright come on pipsqueak, let’s get you home”, he helps you get on his back as he carries you outside to your car. You giggle as he walks towards it and opens the car door, he sets you down in the passenger seat and closes it, making sure to buckle you in first. He makes his way to the driver's side and gets in. He looks over and you continue to chuckle. He smiles and turns on the car's ignition.

“What's so funny silly girl?”, he asks as he starts to drive toward your apartment.

“You look just like my Caleb. Mister, do you know who Caleb is?”, you ask him. He laughs but decides to play along with you.

“Oh yeah I think so”, he says and you smile looking over at him.

“Caleb is amazing. He takes such good care of me, you know? I never ask him to but he just does, he is so nice”, you admit and he can’t help but admire you in your drunken state.

“Really? He sounds like a good guy”, Caleb states, taking a turn, getting closer to your apartment.

“He is such a good guy. He is sooooo smart too. He was number one in our class and he used to help me study even though it was hard to.”, you say, slightly slurring your words.

“Oh, why was that?”, he asks, pulling into your apartment complex.

“He would always look at me when I was studying. It was hard to focus because it made me nervous. Could you study when someone is looking at you like this?”, you put your elbow on the middle console, resting your chin in your hand, while batting your eyelashes at him. He parked the car and looked over at your expression. His heart could melt, you looked adorable like this with your rosy cheeks and half lidded eyes.

“I could see why it would be hard to focus”, he says admiring you and you sigh.

“Right? Who could focus like that, I blame him for my bad grades”, you say and Caleb tries to hold back his laugh. He exits the car and helps you out of the passenger seat, carrying you on his back again.

He walks with you up to your apartment and he sets you down so you can enter your passcode. You blink a few times and try to press the buttons but the light on the door turns red with each attempt.

“I can’t see it, can you type it in mister?” you ask Caleb and he agrees.

“Alright give it to me”, he says listening to you and finger ready to press the passcode in.

“It’s 0613, Calebs Birthday”, you smile and lightly chuckle. He pauses for a moment, he tilts his head and puts the code in, the door glowing green and unlocking. He grabs your arm and opens the door, helping you inside. Once inside he picks you up bridal style, he looks down at your face. You smile and wrap your arms around his neck, laying your head on his shoulder.

“Caleb is also a good cook, he makes me yummy food all the time. He makes me my favorite meals when he comes back to see me.”, you continue and he lightly smiles, carrying you to your bedroom.

“It seems you only want him to visit so he can cook you yummy meals”, he says, placing you on the bed. He proceeds to help you take off your shoes and places the duvet on top of you, sitting on the bed to tuck you in.

“No no no no, you got it all wrong”, you chuckle and Caleb smiles, pushing a few hairs out of your face.

“Okay, I’m wrong then. You should get some sleep. I will be back to check on you when you wake up”, he smiles and you grab his arm.

“Wait mister I have to tell you a secret, come here”, you say, patting the area beside you. Caleb takes his own shoes off and lays down beside you for a moment.

“What is it?”, he says, tucked another hair behind your ear.

“Okay but you have to promise you can’t tell anyone especially Caleb, promise?” you ask and Caleb is reluctant to say yes. He debates in his head whether he should agree but decides to, you won’t remember this anyways.

“Okay I promise”, he says, wrapping his pinky around your extended one. You scooch closer to him.

“I have a crush on him. I have liked him since highschool but I can’t tell him so you can’t tell him either. Remember you promised”, you say and Caleb looks at you with his widened eyes. His body freezes as you say just confessed to him.

You have liked him this whole time? Why didn’t he notice? He immediately starts to rack his brain of all the moments you both shared together to try to piece together how this is possible. He didn’t know you reciprocated his feelings and especially for this long. Your voice breaks him out of his internal panic.

“You look alot like Caleb mister, can I ask you another question?”, you ask him and Caleb blinks a few times, still in shock of your statement a few seconds ago.

“Anything”, he says, barely getting the single word out.

“Will you kiss me?” you ask, looking at Caleb's lips. He starts to panic even more. This is wrong, he shouldn’t be hearing this, not when you are drunk. He watches as you get closer and close your eyes, leaning towards him. He is frozen but his hand is able to grab your shoulder and gently push you back. His willpower is so low, he has waited so long to kiss you but not like this. He can’t give in when you are vulnerable and intoxicated, that would be wrong and he doesn’t want to take advantage of you.

“I’m sorry but you shouldn’t kiss me. You should wait to kiss Caleb instead”, he says and you whine, feeling rejected and upset.

“I can’t kiss Caleb you dummy. He doesn’t like me like that. It’s so hard being around him when all I want to do is grab his cheeks and go " mwah mwah mwah”, you say, pretending you are grabbing Caleb's face with the air and moving your lips all around in a circular motion.

Caleb’s heart feels like it is about to explode with joy. He can’t believe you have feelings for him too. He finds you so adorable and cute at the moment that it's killing him that he can’t stay. He doesn’t trust himself enough to stay, the fear of giving in to you.

“Why don’t you wait until the morning and maybe you can tell him then. I’ll even help you tell him”, he states and your eyes light up.

“Really? Mister you are so nice, okay I am going to go to sleep so it can be morning faster”, you say pulling the covers close to you and smushing your eyes together tightly. Caleb giggles and stands up.

“Goodnight pipsqueak”, he says softly, smiling while making sure you are comfortable.

“Goodnight mister”, you yawn and immediately doze off into slumber, snoring slightly.

THE NEXT MORNING

You wake up to the sun blaring in your face. Your eyelids are heavy and you can feel a pounding in your head. You groan and sit up slowly. You rub your eyes and reorient yourself to your surroundings. You were in your room with your shoes off. How did you get here? Did Caleb bring you home?

“Caleb? Are you here?”, you called out but there was no answer. Did he leave?

You grab your phone from your jean pocket, you had a text from Tara and Simone in your shared group chat.

Tara: Y/N that man is in love with you. I could see it in the way he looked at you all night. I better be invited to the wedding. Also, I hope you are feeling okay :)

Simone: I have to agree with Tara on this one. He definitely has feelings for you, send me an invite too ;)

“Whatcha looking at?” Caleb's voice breaks you away from your phone. You quickly lock it and set it on your nightstand. He is holding a bottle of water and some hangover pills in his hands. He makes his way toward you and sits beside you on the bed.

“How are you feelin’?”, he asks while handing you the pills. You take one and flush it down with a sip of water. You take a few more sips and reply.

“My head is pounding but I’m okay. I can’t remember anything after the game we played last night”, you state and Caleb’s body stiffen next to you.

“Really? You don’t remember anything?”, he asks, studying your face. You shake your head slowly and he looks down at his palms. You grab his shoulder suddenly and he meets your gaze once again.

“Why? Did I do something crazy? Did I throw up on you? I’m sorry Caleb”, you say in a worried tone. He laughs and pats your head.

“Don’t worry, you didn’t throw up on me pips”, he says softly, somewhat relieved you don’t remember.

“What did I do then? I must have done some-“, you state and then your memory floods your brain like a tsunami. Everything you said last night comes flashy back and you start to panic. Everything from your confession to forgetting it was Caleb you were talking to last night. Caleb watches as the realization hits you and he grabs your hand, pulling you out of your trance.

“Oh my god Caleb, I’m so sorry I- I didn’t want you to find out like that. Oh my god, this is so embarrassing, can you leave? I’m sorry but I can’t look at you right now”, you say, pulling away from him and hiding your face. Your cheeks are burning from embarrassment and fear. You feel like disappearing and crying. You can’t believe you let yourself get drunk and spill your guts to him.

“Hey, it's okay. Talk to me”, he says, trying to grab your arm but you jerk away.

“Caleb I can’t, I’m devestated. How can you even be here right now after that? I can’t believe I did that”, you say pathetically. Suddenly Caleb grabs your face from your hands and makes you look at him.

He looks at you for a moment, unsure what to do. But before you could move he places a kiss on your cheek. He then places one on your forehead, then your nose, then your other cheek. He pulls back to find any discomfort or disgust in your reaction but he only sees your cheeks turn a light side of red and eyes wide.

“What? Isn’t this what you said you wanted to do to me last night? Or do I need to go mwah mwah mwah too?”, he smiles and you can’t help but look at him in complete shock. Did he just kiss you?

“Sorry, I just didn’t want you to push me away. This isn’t ideal but I like you too. Actually, I’ve liked you pretty much since the first day we met. I just didn’t tell you because I didn’t think you’d like me back. I didn’t want you to think of me as weird and shut me out so I stayed quiet. I wish I had told you earlier if I would have known that you-“, he says but pauses looking at you.

“Caleb I- I don’t know what to say.”, you say, genuinely not knowing what to do with all this new information.

“Can I kiss you?” he asks, examining your features. You pause and slowly nod looking away from his face, embarrassed again.

He places one hand on the side of your face and leans in. He gently places his lips on your and moves slowly. His lips melt into yours like a perfect harmony. Your eyes flutter close as you let yourself go and enjoy the kiss. After a moment Caleb pulls away, holding himself back and making sure you are okay.

“I have waited so long to do that”, he says breathlessly.

“Caleb”, you say softly and just as breathless.

“I know it's sudden and you don’t have to agree but would you want to go on a date with me? Like a real date, as a couple”, he asks, looking between your eyes and lips.

You feel like you are in a dream, how is this happening? You want to smack yourself for getting drunk and confessing but also want ro hug yourself for doing it as well.

“I would love that”, you say and he smiles.

“Okay but be prepared. I’m going to make sure to be your first and only everything”, he says and pecks your lips once more. You blush at his comment and he stands from the bed.

“I made us some breakfast, come out when you feel up to eating okay?”, he says and you nod quickly. He leans down and places another kiss on your lips.

“Sorry, just needed one more”, he says and quickly leaves the room leaving you astonished.

Once he leaves the room you quickly grab your phone and text the group chat. They are never going to believe this.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

a/n: DID YOU GUYS SEE THE NEW CALEB MYTH TRAILER AAAAAAHHHHHHH!! I AM SCREAMING ABOUT IT!! I know I’m a Xavier girl but the way I would let this man-

Okay sorry thats too much but OMG CALEB! I’m super excited and I can’t wait to pull for them and get the new pose omg and all the free stuff like okay infold thank you for feeding us!

However, me and my fellow Xavier girlies are in a drought, ugh stay strong guys there will be more for him soon hopefully!

Anyways, this is getting too long but I hope you enjoyed the fic & I hope it didn’t suck :) Thanks for all the love on the last Zayne one <3

[powderpinkprincess]

Arrested II. [Lando Norris x reader] 16+

find part one here some of you wanted to know why exactly Y/N got herself arrested, so I went back and asked her - things take a little darker turn from here description: You finally give Lando an explanation. warnings: massive bad language, mentions of substance abuse, mentions of family abandonment

your backstory for this is the same as in Issues: Your Dad is a rally driver, and your Mom is a model. As their only child, they have always wanted you to follow their routes, so ever since your childhood you’ve been modelling. However, when you were 8, your parents got separated, and your Mom left you to live with your Dad pretty much from one day to another. You met Lando through your Dad when you were 18. Back then, you were setting unreasonably high bars for yourself in modelling, hoping to get back your Mom. After some time of dating, Lando asked you to leave that life behind and move to Monaco with him, hoping that you would finally start to heal in a new environment.

Lando was silent while you reached his car that was parked outside the police station. He unlocked the McLaren and held the door open for you, gesturing to get in. Then he got into the driver’s seat and closed to door before turning to look at you. “So, you wanna tell me what the hell was going through your head? Seriously.”

You stared back at him in stubborn silence.

He sighed. “Alright, we can play this game. It won’t lead anywhere you probably want to.” He started the engine and was ready to pull out of the parking lot when you decided to speak.

 “Originally, I wanted to break the guy’s face,” you mumbled.

Lando’s hands fell from the steering wheel as his glance snapped back at you, clear disbelief on his face. “Okay, so breaking the guy’s car was the next best thing then? Just for the record, you do realize how stupid this whole situation is, right?” he asked, starting to get worked up again. “What the hell could that guy have even done for you to react so irrationally?”

 “Well, I just as well could have burnt his house down,” you shrugged, staring out the window. “His car was his weakest point, though. Just tested the durability.”

Lando couldn’t believe his ears. Just tested the durability? This was probably one of the worst, craziest days he ever lived through. What on earth were you even on about?!

 “So destroying other people’s property seems perfectly reasonable to you?“ he asked.” “What about talking things out? Or just, I don’t know, walking away? Cause this way, it cost me a fortune to not let them put you in fucking jail! Did you even think for a second what it would be like if they did lock you up for a year?!”

His anger was only fuelling yours. You didn’t even want him to know about this at all in the first place. You didn’t want anyone to know about it. Maybe a secret arson at nighttime would’ve been a better idea. You took a deep breath.

 “Oh, for fucks sake!” you spat out. “He made a bet to destroy your whole career!”

Lando’s expression changed. You scrunched your eyes, hoping you could read his face better, but there was no use. He kept a perfect poker face.

 “Pardon me,” he said, his voice dangerously calm. “He did what?”

 “Yes, you would’ve watched the next race weekend from your laptop,” you nodded and crossed your arms.

 “How do you even know that?” Lando asked, trying to keep his cool, but you could hear the anger in his voice.

 “That’s- Besides the point,” you mumbled.

Lando couldn't help but scoff at that. “No, it's not. Answer the goddamn question. How do you know that, Y/N?”

You remained silent. The growing silence in the car was tense, and Lando's jaw was clenched tightly. He gripped the steering wheel tightly to somehow ground himself in this insane situation. “Y/N,” he pressed, “I'm waiting for an answer.”

 "I know," you whispered.

 "So you're gonna keep me in suspense?" Lando asked sarcastically. "Do I have to force it out of you, or will you just tell me what's going on?" the tone of his voice is harsher than necessary.

 "Jesus, aren't you violent," you mumbled.

Lando took a deep breath in a desperate attempt to remain calm, but his patience was running very thin. "Don't pull that card on me right now. You’ve just been arrested, and I paid a huge sum of money to bail you out, and you can't even give me a straight answer to my question.”

You clenched your jaw. “I overheard it.”

Lando’s fingers curled tighter around the steering wheel. “Where?”

You hesitated. “Does it matter?”

 “Yes, it fucking matters,” he bit out. “You don’t get to destroy a goddamn car, get arrested, and then tell me it doesn’t matter.”

You stayed quiet, and he scoffed when you didn’t answer. “Unbelievable.”

You hesitated. You didn’t want to fill him into this part. You really didn’t. But if there was one thing you knew about Lando Norris, it was that he didn’t let things go. And if it turned out later than right now, the situation would be so much worse.

 “I was there because of Dani,” you whispered.

The name alone made Lando’s expression twist into something furious and exasperated all at once. “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

Lando hated her. He hated her so much. If he had the power, he would’ve made sure you never saw her in your life ever again, but he couldn’t make that decision for you. She was your friend for some fucked up reason.

When you moved to Monaco with him, he made you promise you would never use again. He met you when you were living in London, working at a modelling agency that was ready to destroy you. It broke his heart to see how your self-confidence depended on some stupid white powder, and it infuriated him even more how accepted that was in the circle you were in. He thought he saved you by making you move to Monte Carlo with him. You found some awesome friends there, but then you met her. Dani. The walking red flag.

 “She didn’t want to go alone,” you defended quickly. “And I-”

 “And you what? Decided that walking straight into a fucking coke dealer’s place was a solid life choice?!” Lando’s voice was sharp now, his control slipping. So, was this the reason you were so much against taking that damn drug test when the officer asked you to?

He was furious, but you held your ground. “I didn’t buy anything! I just-”

 “You just what, Y/N? Just walked her in for moral support? Just sat there while she handed cash for the same crap that nearly ruined your life?!”

You bit the inside of your cheek, anger and guilt filling you at his words.

Lando laughed, but it was hollow, bitter. “Do you even hear yourself right now?”

 “I didn’t do anything,” you snapped, glaring at him.

He smacked his palm against the steering wheel in frustration. “But you went there! You put yourself in that situation, with her, with him- With the same shit that kept you hooked for over a year!”

Your chest tightened. “I was trying to look out for her.”

Lando gave you a look so sharp it could cut glass. “And who the fuck was looking out for you?”

You sucked in a breath, but no words came.

He exhaled, shaking his head. “Jesus Christ, Y/N.” His voice was quieter now, but somehow, that was worse.

You stared out the window, the weight of his disappointment heavier than anything else in the car. For a long moment, the only sound was the steady hum of the engine.

Then Lando spoke again, voice low and restrained.  His fingers tapped against the wheel in a slow, deliberate rhythm. “So, you went with Dani to buy coke. From that guy. The same guy who - on top of dealing - just so happens to have enough power to fuck me over in F1.”

You swallowed. “Yes.”

Lando nodded slowly, like he was processing just how stupid this entire situation was. “And instead of just walking away, you decided that the most rational response was to completely destroy his car.”

Your jaw clenched. “Yes.”

Silence.

Lando’s breathing had slowed. Too slow. You could see the calculations running through his head, the way he was processing every word you just said. For a long moment, he didn’t respond. His fingers were still locked around the steering wheel, his jaw so tight you thought he might break a tooth. Then, finally, he let out a humorless chuckle.

 “So, what? You thought if you keyed his car like a pissed-off ex-girlfriend, he’d suddenly fear you? That he’d back off?”

You crossed your arms. “No. I thought that if he was willing to screw you over for a bet, then maybe losing something expensive and important to him would make him think twice.”

Lando rubbed his face with a tired sigh. “Jesus, Y/N.”

You turned away, staring out the window. “I don’t regret it. I wasn’t gonna let them take everything from you, Lando.”

He sighed, shaking his head again before refocusing on the empty parking space in front of him. “You’re unbelievable.”

A long pause. Then, quietly, almost like he didn’t really want to ask, Lando said, “Do you still use sometimes?”

Your stomach twisted. “No.”

Another beat of silence.

 “Do you swear?”

You turned to look at him, his expression unreadable.

 “I swear.”

Lando nodded, exhaling slowly. “Good.”

Neither of you spoke for a while. But the silence, for once, didn’t feel so suffocating.

[ankababy]

A Home (part 20)

Part 1 Part 19

Chishiya x reader x Niragi

Let’s make impressions!

TW: BRUTALLY heavy mentions of sex, Y/N having one sided conversations. (Insert that meme with the guy talking to a wall)

Chishiya leaned against the cool concrete wall, arms crossed loosely over his chest, watching you. Beside him, Kuina shifted uncomfortably.

“Is she… seriously talking to him?” Kuina whispered, her tone low. Her eyes darted toward the figure standing across from you, towering, hood pulled low over his face, the edge of a massive sword glinting under the lights. Last Boss.

Chishiya didn’t answer. His focus stayed locked on you, standing there in all pink, sweet and soft and having so much fun.

You were talking animatedly, hands gesturing as you rambled on about… something. Chishiya was too far away to hear. But he could tell, even from here, that you were trying to befriend him.

“What the hell is she saying?” Kuina hissed.

Chishiya’s eyes narrowed slightly. “She’s talking.”

“No shit.” Kuina shot him a glare. “But what could she possibly have to say to him?”

The lounge was alive around you—people walking around, talking, laughing—but it was like there was a bubble around you and Last Boss. People gave the two of you a wide berth. Not because of you. Because of him. The hulking figure standing there, face half-hidden in the shadows of his hood, unmoving. Watching.

Chishiya’s jaw tightened.

You stood on your toes, peeking curiously at the edge of the guy’s sword. He didn’t move, just tilted his head slightly as you said something else, your tone light and casual. Then, out of nowhere, a guy passed by, holding a squirming frog in his hands.

You gasped. Reached out. Took the frog right from the guy without hesitation. He didn’t seem to care. Just kept walking.

You turned back to Last Boss, holding the frog up proudly like you’d just discovered a new species. The frog wriggled in your hands, its legs kicking at the air.

Chishiya watched. “She’s going to die.”

Kuina’s fingers twitched toward the knife at her waist. “Should we do something?”

Chishiya didn’t answer.

You kept talking, smiling softly, the frog balanced delicately between your palms. Last Boss stared. He didn’t say a word. Didn’t move. Just watched you.

Still, you kept talking. Like you weren’t alone with a man who could slice you in half without breaking a sweat. Like you weren’t terrified.

It was reckless. Stupid. Suicidal.

Chishiya couldn’t look away.

You weren’t dumb. You weren’t clueless. You knew exactly who you were talking to. And still… there you were. Smiling. Chatting. Showing off a frog.

Last Boss didn’t speak. Didn’t even nod. Just stared at you, still as a statue.

The silence stretched on.

Then, slowly, he reached out.

Chishiya’s body tensed.

His fingers hovered over the frog in your hands. You tilted your head, watching him curiously, and after a moment, you lifted the frog a little higher. Offering it to him.

He didn’t take it.

But after a long pause… he nodded. Once. Barely perceptible.

You beamed.

Kuina sucked in a sharp breath. “She’s insane.”

Chishiya didn’t respond. Couldn’t. His chest felt tight. His hands curled into fists at his sides.

Because watching you stand there, so bright, so soft, so alive…

It terrified him.

You had no idea what you were doing. No idea who you were dealing with. No idea how close you were to dying every second you spent in this place. You were soft. Fragile. Breakable.

And he couldn’t look away.

He hated it.

Hated himself.

“Chishiya.” Kuina nudged him. “Do something.”

But he couldn’t.

He just stood there. Watching. Waiting. Hoping.

Because if Last Boss so much as twitched wrong…

Chishiya wouldn’t hesitate.

This was dangerous. Bizarre. And, honestly… kind of fucking hilarious.

Last Boss? He just stood there. Silent. Unmoving. Letting you talk.

You were gesturing wildly now, holding the frog up, showing it off. The frog wriggled in your grasp, and you giggled before carefully placing it on the ground. The little creature hopped away, and you watched it go with a fond smile, like you’d just set a captive free.

Then, without warning, you did a cartwheel.

Chishiya blinked.

You landed gracefully, feet barely making a sound on the floor, then turned back to Last Boss like that was a perfectly normal thing to do. You said something—they couldn’t hear from this distance—and clapped your hands together softly, beaming at him.

Last Boss didn’t react. He just stood there, watching you from beneath his hood, sword resting heavily against his back. For a long moment, the two of you stared at each other. The silence stretched.

And then you did another cartwheel.

Chishiya let out a slow breath. His head tilted slightly, eyes narrowing. “She’s… entertaining him.”

“Entertaining him?” Kuina hissed, gripping his arm. “She’s acting like a circus performer in front of a serial killer!”

“Seems to be working.”

Kuina stared at him. “You’re joking.”

He wasn’t.

Because somehow, impossibly, you weren’t dead. In fact, Last Boss seemed… interested? Or as interested as a man like that could be. He hadn’t moved an inch, but he was watching you. Really watching you. Not like prey. Not like a threat. Just… watching.

It was fucking weird.

And then you did a third cartwheel.

Kuina made a strangled noise in the back of her throat. “Oh my god.”

Chishiya barely heard her. His eyes never left you. You were laughing softly, bright and sweet, like you weren’t inches from death. Like you belonged here.

He hated it.

Hated how calm you were. Hated how you kept smiling. Hated how your eyes sparkled under the lights.

Hated how much he wanted to keep watching you.

Kuina shifted again, nervous energy rolling off her in waves. “We should do something.”

Chishiya finally tore his gaze away from you. He glanced at Kuina, then back at Last Boss. The guy hadn’t moved. Not once. Just stood there like a statue, silently observing your little performance.

“No.” Chishiya said quietly. “Not yet.”

Kuina shot him a glare. “Not yet? She’s going to get herself killed.”

Chishiya shook his head. “He hasn’t drawn his sword.”

“So what?”

“So… she’s fine.”

Kuina looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “Fine? Are we watching the same thing?”

Chishiya didn’t answer. Because somehow, impossibly, you were fine. You were still talking. Still smiling. Still… alive. And he had no idea how.

You finally noticed them.

Chishiya saw the exact moment your eyes caught him—that little sparkle, that flicker of recognition—and he watched as your whole face lit up. You said something to Last Boss, gave a little wave, and then you were walking toward them, light on your feet, practically skipping.

“Hey!” you chirped, coming to a stop right in front of them, slightly out of breath but beaming all the same. “You guys could’ve come over, you know.”

Kuina blinked. “Uh, yeah. Sure.”

You tilted your head, confused for half a second, but brushed it off quickly. “What are you two doing over here?” You looked around. “It’s nice, right? The lights, the music… it’s kinda fun.”

Chishiya arched a brow. “Is it?”

You nodded, totally oblivious to his tone. “Mhm.” Then you glanced back over your shoulder, where Last Boss still stood. “I was just talking to… what’s his name?”

“Last Boss.” Kuina muttered.

“Yeah, him.” You turned back to them, smiling. “He’s pretty chill. He doesn’t really talk much, but that’s fine. I did most of the talking anyway.”

“Clearly.” Chishiya murmured.

You didn’t even notice the sarcasm. “He’s interesting, you know? Kinda mysterious.” You lowered your voice, leaning in slightly, like you were sharing a secret. “I think he’s just misunderstood.”

Kuina made a strangled noise in the back of her throat. “Misunderstood? He carries around a giant sword and stabs people for fun.”

“Well, yeah.” You shrugged. “But he hasn’t stabbed me.”

Chishiya exchanged a look with Kuina. She looked like she was about to lose her mind. Chishiya, on the other hand, just raised a brow.

“Yet.” he said flatly.

You huffed, crossing your arms. “He won’t.”

“Oh?” Kuina folded her arms, mimicking your stance. “And how do you know that?”

You smiled sweetly. “He let me show him a frog.”

Kuina blinked. Chishiya stared.

“I think he liked it.” you added.

They said nothing.

You rocked on your heels, humming softly. “Anyway,” you said after a moment. “what are you guys up to?”

Kuina opened her mouth, then closed it. Opened it again. Closed it again. Finally, she just turned to Chishiya. “Come on.”

You huffed but followed them without complaint, falling into step between them as they walked.

Chishiya glanced at you out of the corner of his eye.

You really were fine. Somehow. Inexplicably. Against all odds.

And he still had no idea how.

“You know,” you started, your tone light and almost sing-song as you walked between them. “I have to play today. Anyway, what was up with that guy and the frog?”

Kuina blinked. “What?”

“The guy. With the frog.” You waved a hand behind you, where Last Boss was still lurking somewhere in the shadows. “I mean, who just… carries a frog around?”

Kuina stared at you like you’d grown a second head. Chishiya barely stifled a scoff.

“No, seriously.” You turned to them, brows furrowing slightly. “Is that, like… a thing here? The frogs?”

“No.” Kuina said slowly. “It’s not a thing.”

“Oh.” You paused, thoughtful. “Weird.”

They walked in silence for all of five seconds before you gasped.

“Another frog!”

Both of them stopped in their tracks as you darted forward, crouching down to peer at the little creature sitting in the middle of the floor.

“Look!” you said, grinning as you pointed to the small, slimy thing. “What are the chances?”

“Pretty high, apparently.” Chishiya muttered.

You didn’t hear him. You were too focused on the frog, tilting your head as you examined it with a look of pure fascination.

“It’s cute.” you cooed, carefully poking the frog with your finger. It didn’t move. “A little shy, maybe.”

Chishiya sighed, long and slow, shoving his hands in his pockets. Kuina just watched you.

It was like the rest of the world didn’t even exist to you.

And that was the thing, wasn’t it? The way your mind jumped from one thing to another so effortlessly, so innocently. The way you existed—soft and sweet, light and airy—in a place like this.

It all revolved around you.

Chishiya felt it. Kuina felt it. Hell, even Niragi felt it.

Everywhere you went, you pulled people into your orbit, whether you meant to or not. It was like gravity, like inevitability. Like fate.

And it wasn’t because you were trying. No, that was what made it worse. You weren’t trying to be this way. You just… were.

You were the girl who found frogs on the floor and gasped like it was a miracle. You were the girl who talked to murderers like they were old friends. You were the girl who danced through chaos like it couldn’t touch you, like you didn’t even notice it was there.

It was maddening. It was fascinating. It was dangerous.

Because people noticed. People like Chishiya, who watched you now. People like Kuina, who felt a strange kind of warmth toward you despite the fact that you were maybe the weirdest person she’d ever met. People like Niragi, who—well. Who wanted to rip you apart and keep you whole all at once.

It was all you.

Whether you meant it or not, the world bent around you.

And none of them knew what the hell to do with that.

You turned toward them, cradling the little frog in your hands. “Look!” you beamed, holding it up for them to see. “Isn’t it cute?”

“Amazing.” Chishiya said flatly.

You didn’t seem to notice the sarcasm. Or maybe you just didn’t care. You giggled softly, brushing your thumb over the frog’s slimy back. The sound sent a strange, sharp tug through his chest. He ignored it. Or tried to.

“Seriously, though.” you went on. “What do you think it means? Two frogs in one day—that has to mean something, right?”

Chishiya barely heard you.

Because fuck, there you were again, just… being. So soft, so sweet, so untouched. Your hair was a little messy, your eyes bright with excitement, your pink lips parted ever so slightly as you babbled on about the stupid frog. And it wasn’t the frog he cared about—it was you. It was always you.

And it was driving him insane.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, fingers curling into fists. He should’ve been bored. He was bored. This place, these people, the games—it was all so predictable. But you? Wow.

He wanted you.

Not just in the way he usually wanted things—not like a game to solve or a puzzle to pick apart. No, this was different. This was wrong. This was hunger and heat and something far, far worse.

He watched the way your hands cupped the frog, so gentle, so careful, and all he could think about was how those same hands had touched him. Soft. Warm. Kind.

He was selfish. He knew that. He’d always known that. But this… this was something else entirely.

Because if he had you—and fuck, he wanted you—he wouldn’t share. Not with Niragi. Not with Kuina. Not with anyone. He’d keep you close, keep you hidden, twist you up until there was nothing left but him.

He wouldn’t even feel bad about it.

He barely noticed Kuina shifting beside him, arms crossed, her eyes flicking between the two of you. She saw it. She felt it. That pull. That gravity. The way Chishiya’s gaze clung to you like a shadow, dark and heavy and wrong.

But you? You just smiled.

“It’s a sign.” you declared softly, holding the frog a little closer to your chest. “I just know it.”

Chishiya exhaled slowly.

Yeah. It was a sign, all right.

A sign that you were going to be the death of him.

~

You spent the day with Kuina and Chishiya, which was an interesting combination. Chishiya was the human embodiment of eh. But somehow, it worked. You liked Kuina. A lot. You liked Chishiya too, even if he was infuriatingly unreadable half the time.

You talked to the frog guy again, because of course you did. He didn’t seem particularly thrilled about it, but that had never stopped you before. You had to get to the bottom of the frog thing. Why was he carrying them? Where did they come from? Did he have more? He didn’t give you any real answers, just mumbled something about “the balance of nature” before walking away.

That didn’t stop you from spotting yet another frog later in the afternoon and making a big deal about it. Chishiya had sighed so loudly you were pretty sure he gave himself a headache.

And then there was the food. You dragged them both to eat, picking at your plate while Kuina actually enjoyed her meal and Chishiya barely touched his.

At one point, you and Kuina had stumbled upon a couple of people playing some sort of card game, and you sat down to watch. Chishiya leaned against the wall, uninterested but unwilling to leave, which you secretly loved.

You talked. A lot. Kuina kept up with you, feeding into your conversations with the kind of energy that made you adore her even more. Chishiya… well, he listened. Or pretended to. But he was there, and that was enough.

And now? Now you were in a game waiting area, just lounging around, waiting for it to start. No big deal.

That was when you spotted her.

Ann.

You’d never talked to her before, not really, but that didn’t stop you from smiling and waving like you were old friends.

She barely reacted. Not that you expected her to. Not that you let that stop you.

You bounced over. “Hey! Ann, right?”

She turned her head slightly, giving you a look that screamed why are you talking to me?

You ignored it completely.

“I just wanted to say hi.” you continued, undeterred. “I’ve seen you around, but we’ve never talked! Which is crazy, right? Because we’re both here, and there’s really not that many people when you think about it, and—”

She exhaled through her nose. “Is there a point to this?”

You grinned. “No.”

She blinked, expression blank.

“I just like talking.” you added, as if that wasn’t already obvious.

She made a low, unimpressed sound in the back of her throat. But you didn’t let her coldness get to you. You never did. You didn’t let Ann go. Not because you were clinging—no, you weren’t desperate. You just liked talking to people, and you liked figuring them out. Ann was interesting, so that meant she had to deal with you now. That was just how it worked.

“You don’t talk much, huh?” you mused, tilting your head as you watched her.

“I talk enough.” she said simply.

“I just like knowing people.” you said, completely sincere, no walls, no hesitation. “Like, actually knowing them. Not just their names, or what games they’ve won, or how scary they look with a gun. I like the small things. What kind of music do they like? What’s their favorite color? Do they like cats or dogs? That kind of thing.”

Ann arched a brow. “You think that matters here?”

“Yes.” Your answer was immediate. Firm. “I think it matters anywhere. We’re still people.”

She watched you, eyes calculating.

Most people didn’t know what to do when you were like this—so open, so completely without any kind of armor. No hesitation. No caution. Just you.

It unsettled some. Amused others.

Ann? She was amused.

And intrigued.

Ann might’ve been steel, sharp and unyielding, but you weren’t scared of sharp things. You never had been.

You leaned in a little as you smiled up at her. “So… cats or dogs?”

“Cats.” She just wanted this to end.

“Oh, good choice.”

“Why?”

“I mean, dogs are cute and all, but cats? Cats choose you. You can’t just win them over with food or attention like dogs. You have to actually be someone they want.” You tilted your head at her. “You seem like a cat person.”

Ann hummed, as if considering that. “And what kind of person do you think you are?”

You grinned. “I think I’m more of a…” You paused, thinking. “I don’t know. I don’t mind being a cat or a dog. I’d just want someone to want me back.”

That told her a lot about you.

Something in Ann’s expression shifted—subtle, barely noticeable, but it was there. A small flicker of something.

But before she could say anything else, the room suddenly dimmed, and the monitor on the wall flashed to life. The tension in the air changed immediately. Conversations died down. People straightened. You exhaled, keeping your expression even. You were used to this part by now.

GAME: FRACTURE

DIFFICULTY: SIX OF SPADES

RULES:

The game area is a multi-story building with rooms connected by glass bridges.

Players must move through the building by crossing the bridges to reach checkpoints.

Some bridges are sturdy. Others will shatter under pressure.

Players who fall will be eliminated.

The goal is to reach the final checkpoint before time runs out.

You glanced at Ann. “Well. That sounds fun.”

She didn’t look at you. “You have an interesting definition of fun.”

You shrugged, smiling despite yourself. “You know me.”

Ann let out a soft breath that could’ve almost been a laugh, then turned her attention back to the monitor.

The doors to the game area unlocked with a sharp click, and just like that,

GAME START.

You didn’t rush like the others. You turned to Ann first. “Ready?”

She gave you a flat look. “Are you?”

You grinned. “Not even a little bit.”

She didn’t say anything, just started walking toward the open doors. You followed immediately, keeping close but not crowding her.

The game area was a massive, open space with steel walls and exposed beams. The floors were staggered at different levels, connected only by glass bridges—some thick, some so thin you swore you could see them tremble under the air conditioning.

People hesitated, muttering amongst themselves. Testing bridges with tentative steps.

Ann barely paused. Her eyes moved, scanning the layout. Within seconds, she had already mapped out the best possible path.

You, on the other hand, were looking at her.

“Damn.” you murmured. “You’re really good at this, huh?”

She didn’t acknowledge the compliment. “We should move before the others figure it out.”

But you weren’t done.

“I knew you were smart, but it’s kinda crazy seeing it up close.”

That made her pause—just barely. Her gaze flicked to you, and for a moment, she looked at you like you were something strange.

Not in a bad way. Not in a threatening way. Just… strange.

Because she wasn’t used to this.

She was used to people being cautious of her. People wanting something from her. People playing games within the game itself.

But you? You were just looking at her like she was good. Like you genuinely, sincerely, fully admired her.

She didn’t know what to do with that.

“Come on.” she said shortly, turning back toward the bridges. “Stay close.”

You grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

The first bridge held steady beneath her weight.

You waited half a beat before stepping forward yourself, careful to match her path exactly.

Ann was methodical. Her mind worked in quick calculations—weight distribution, balance, potential weak points. She barely hesitated before moving forward again.

But you?

You were something else entirely.

You moved with complete trust.

Not in the game. Not in yourself.

But in her.

The game moved forward, and so did the two of you. Ann was precise. Sharp. She didn’t waste time or movement, every step controlled. You? You followed her lead, but your focus wasn’t just on the game.

It was on her.

“How are you so cool?” you asked, eyes wide with something like genuine wonder.

Ann didn’t acknowledge the question. She kept moving, kept scanning the environment, kept making decisions faster than anyone else around you.

But you weren’t discouraged.

“No, really. You’re like… wow. It’s kinda unfair.”

“Focus.” she said. Not harshly, not impatiently—just flatly, like she couldn’t believe you had the energy to be saying all of this mid-game.

“I am focused.” you defended, stepping exactly where she did, careful not to throw off the balance of the glass bridge beneath you. “I’m focused on you.”

That made her pause. Just for a fraction of a second. Just a flicker of hesitation before she moved again.

Interesting.

You grinned to yourself.

“You’re, like, the most intimidating person here.” you continued. “It’s impressive. You just look at people, and they shut up.”

Ann said nothing.

You looked up at her—because yeah, she was taller than you, and from this angle, the dim lighting and the sharp cut of her jaw made her look even more unreal.

And god, she was so serious.

“Hey.”

Still no answer, but you caught the way her fingers twitched at her side.

“You’re kinda amazing, you know that?”

Ann let out a slow breath through her nose. “You talk too much.”

“I don’t.”

“You do.”

You grinned. “Well, you don’t talk enough. So I think we balance each other out.”

Nothing.

But she didn’t tell you to shut up.

Progress.

The game pressed on, and you kept moving together, but you never stopped being… you. Always looking up at her, always following her lead, always complimenting her without hesitation or self-consciousness.

It was like you didn’t have walls.

Like you didn’t know how to be anything other than completely open, completely sincere, completely you.

And Ann—cold, logical, self-reliant Ann—had no idea what to do with that.

“Okay, but seriously,” you said, voice hushed but still filled with that soft, persistent warmth. “do you ever, like… get scared? At all?”

Ann’s eyes flickered toward you, only for a second, before she focused ahead again. “Fear isn’t useful.”

You hummed, tilting your head. “I think it is. Sometimes. I mean… it tells you when you care about something.”

Ann didn’t answer.

Not surprising.

You smiled, completely undeterred, and kept going, your gaze constantly shifting between her and the path ahead. The bridges were nerve-wracking, their glass surfaces barely visible under the glow of the game’s lights.

A sudden, sharp scream tore through the air. A shattering sound. Then the gut-wrenching, undeniable thud of a body hitting the floor far below.

Someone had fallen.

Your breath hitched.

Your hands shot out, fingers curling around the first solid thing in reach.

Ann.

You grabbed onto her arm, gripping tight, eyes wide and startled as you processed what had just happened. You felt her, felt her warmth, the solid muscle beneath the smooth fabric of her shirt.

Ann… didn’t move. Didn’t shake you off. Didn’t pull away. She just stood there, gaze still fixed ahead, like she was assessing the situation.

But something in her shifted.

You, with all your softness, with all your open sincerity—you had reached for her in that moment of fear. Her.

Not the rail, not the bridge itself.

Her.

Your fingers clutched the fabric of her sleeve. “Sorry.” you murmured, voice quieter now. “I just—”

“It’s fine.” she cut in.

And it was.

More than fine.

You swallowed, staring at her, then at the empty space where someone had just been a moment ago. Your grip loosened, but you didn’t completely let go.

Ann finally glanced down at you. “Are you okay?”

The words were flat, simple, but the fact that she asked—

You looked up at her, searching her face, then smiled. A little weaker than before, a little shaken, but still warm.

“Yeah.”

You didn’t let go of her immediately—not fully. Even when you started moving again, even when your fingers uncurled from her sleeve, there was still that presence, that ghost of contact, like your warmth had lingered.

Ann didn’t comment on it. She just moved forward, calculated and steady, gaze sweeping across the bridges ahead, analyzing every detail. You followed, but your mind was turning now, thinking—really thinking—not just about the game, but about her.

It had only been a little while, but you had started to piece together how she thought.

Ann was logic. Pure, precise logic. No room for hesitation, no room for unnecessary emotions. Everything she did had a reason. And yet, that didn’t mean she didn’t care. She just… expressed it differently.

You watched her carefully, the way her eyes scanned the glass before stepping forward. The way she noted the small details—the slight reflections, the thickness of the glass panels, the structure itself.

Then, like a light turning on, it clicked.

“Oh.” you murmured, stepping carefully beside her. “You’re checking for distortions.”

Ann didn’t react outwardly, but you knew she had heard you.

“The glass isn’t all the same.” you continued, voice quieter, as if working through the thought aloud. “The way it reflects the light—it’s different depending on how strong it is.”

Finally, she glanced at you. Just a flicker. Just a fraction of a second. But that was all you needed.

A smile tugged at your lips. “Am I right?”

Ann exhaled softly, more like a quiet sigh than anything else. “Yes.”

You beamed. And then—because you couldn’t help yourself—you kept going.

“But the lights in here aren’t perfect.” you mused. “They’re artificial, and depending on the angle, they might not hit every panel the same way. So you’re not just looking at distortions. You’re—” You paused, thinking, then brightened. “You’re also watching for how they react under weight, aren’t you?”

Ann didn’t answer immediately.

Not because you were wrong.

But because you were right.

You tilted your head, waiting for her response. “Right?”

Ann’s gaze was unreadable. “You’re observant.”

That was as close to praise as you figured you’d get from her.

And you grinned. “Thanks! I try.”

Ann studied you for a moment longer before stepping forward onto the next panel, seamlessly continuing. “The method isn’t foolproof.” she said, as if picking up where you left off. “But it’s better than relying on pure chance.”

You nodded, keeping pace. “That makes sense. And I guess if you had enough time, you could check for tiny fractures too.”

Ann didn’t say anything to that. But she didn’t disagree.

You glanced at her again, thoughtful.

People probably assumed Ann was all cold, no emotion, no feeling. But that wasn’t true. She felt—she just didn’t waste time expressing it in ways most people understood.

But you were starting to understand.

“You know,” you said, stepping carefully. “I think people get you wrong.”

Ann didn’t look at you, but her head tilted slightly, just a fraction, like she was acknowledging your words.

“You’re not cold.” you continued, a little softer now. “You just don’t see the point in unnecessary things.”

Ann still didn’t answer, but she didn’t correct you either. And to you, that was confirmation enough.

~

Chishiya saw you first.

It wasn’t hard. Even in a crowd of tanned skin, wet bikinis, and neon lights reflecting off the pool, you stood out.

The pink helped, obviously. But it wasn’t just the color. It was you.

The way you tilted your head, listening so intently. The way your hands moved when you talked, expressive, alive. The way you smiled at whoever the fuck that guy was—Akira, apparently.

Chishiya had seen him before. Some guy who hovered around the beach, talkative, a little too friendly, but not an idiot.

And now, he was here.

With you.

And Chishiya felt—

His fingers curled slightly.

He didn’t like this.

That was the simplest way to put it, but it wasn’t the whole truth.

The whole truth was that he had gotten used to you. Not just your presence, but the idea of you. The knowledge that when you talked to someone, it was usually him. That when you smiled, it was at him. That when you laughed, when you leaned close, when you asked questions, when you—

It had been him.

And now, it wasn’t.

His mind worked fast, analyzing, processing. And he knew—he knew—that you weren’t his. That you weren’t anyone’s. That you could do whatever you wanted, talk to whoever you wanted, smile at whoever you wanted.

But knowing that didn’t change the fact that he hated it.

Because for the first time, really realizing it, Chishiya wanted to be the only one.

It wasn’t just possessiveness, though there was definitely that. It was more than that.

It was that you had wormed your way under his skin so completely, so effortlessly, that he hadn’t even realized until now. You were his person. The one who turned to him, who saw him. And now, sitting at that bar with someone else, laughing, swirling your drink in your hand—

Chishiya exhaled through his nose, slow and controlled.

Kuina, standing next to him, finally noticed what had his attention.

“Oh.” she said, following his gaze. Then, dryly, “That guy again.”

Chishiya didn’t answer.

Kuina shot him a glance, raising an eyebrow. “You good?”

“Perfect.” he said, tone flat.

She snorted. “Yeah. Sure.”

But she didn’t press it. Because she knew him well enough to recognize when he was keeping things to himself.

And right now, Chishiya wanted to keep this to himself.

Because the feelings crawling up his throat, settling in his chest, clenching his jaw—he didn’t even know what to do with them.

Meanwhile, at the bar—

“You know,” Akira said. “I never got your name.”

You blinked, drink halfway to your lips, then let out a soft laugh. “Oh, yeah. I guess not.”

He tilted his head. “Gonna tell me?”

You grinned. “Y/N.”

Akira exhaled a small chuckle. “Pretty.”

The truth was, you had a tendency to be a little all over the place. One second, you were talking about something deep and philosophical, the next, you were pointing at a frog on the ground. Some people didn’t know what to do with that.

Akira didn’t seem to mind, though.

“You really just talk to everyone, huh?” he mused, swirling his drink in his glass. “I saw you earlier with, uh… what’s his name? That Last Boss guy?”

“Oh, yeah.” you said, perking up. “He’s cool.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm.” You took a sip of your drink. “We had a good conversation.”

Akira leaned back against the bar, watching you. “So, how’d you end up here?”

You considered that for a moment. “Same way as everyone else, I guess.”

“Yeah, but.” He gestured. “You don’t act like everyone else.”

You just smiled. “Maybe that’s a good thing.”

Akira let out a small huff of laughter. “Yeah. Maybe it is.”

And from across the pool, Chishiya watched.

“So, what do you do outside of this?” Akira’s voice was smooth, casual, easy. He leaned against the bar, forearm resting on the counter, head tilted toward you, curious. So curious about you.

You hummed, twirling the straw in your drink. “Outside of this? You mean, before all of this?”

“Yeah.” he said. “Back in the real world. What’s your deal?”

You glanced up at him, considering. Akira was easy to talk to. He wasn’t pushy, didn’t demand things from you. He had a kind face, expressive eyes. When he spoke to you, it felt like he was actually listening—not waiting for his turn to talk, not trying to pick you apart.

That was rare.

“I don’t know.” you admitted with a small smile. “I had a nice life, I guess.”

“Nice how?”

“Nice as in… peaceful,” you mused. “Nothing crazy, nothing wild. Just… comfortable.”

Akira gave a small nod. “Sounds good.”

You exhaled softly, tapping your nails against the side of your glass. “Yeah.”

Akira didn’t press. He didn’t ask for more than you were willing to give.

And that was why you kept talking.

“I liked pretty things.” you said, voice light, thoughtful. “Nice clothes, good food, pretty places. I liked the little things.”

Akira’s lips quirked slightly. “You seem like the type.”

You huffed a quiet laugh. “Do I?”

“Mhm.” He glanced at your drink, your nails, the way you carried yourself. “You’ve got that vibe.”

You raised an eyebrow. “What vibe?”

“The kind that likes nice things.” he said simply.

You smiled. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No.” he said. “Not at all.”

It was nice. He was nice.

And Chishiya fucking hated it.

He couldn’t hear your conversation, but he could see it. The way you leaned in slightly, the way you laughed, the way you looked so… comfortable.

That guy wasn’t like Chishiya.

And he wasn’t like fucking Niragi, either.

That guy was soft-spoken, patient, the kind of person people liked being around.

He didn’t seem like the type to get attached and possessive like Niragi, or cold and detached like Chishiya. He was the in between, the kind of person who could talk to you for hours without a hidden motive.

Chishiya wasn’t sure if he hated him or the fact that you might like him.

Because what if you did?

What if you switched him up?

Chishiya was a horrible person. He knew that. He didn’t need anyone to tell him. He had always been selfish, allways putting himself first. He wasn’t a good person, and he never pretended to be.

But you didn’t seem to mind that.

That was what had drawn him in—the fact that you saw him, and didn’t flinch away.

But what if you did mind?

What if you got tired of him?

What if one day, you looked at him and realized you didn’t want him around?

Chishiya had never cared about that kind of thing before. People were disposable. People came and went.

But you—

He inhaled slowly, pressing his tongue against the inside of his cheek.

He wasn’t stupid. He knew what this was.

It was jealousy.

A sharp, ugly thing curling in his chest.

And he fucking hated it.

As you sat at the bar with Akira, still twirling your straw idly, something caught your attention from across the pool. A familiar presence. Two, actually.

Chishiya and Kuina.

You smiled.

Turning back to Akira, you tilted your head. “I’m gonna head out.” you said easily.

His eyebrows twitched slightly—just a fraction, but you caught it. He wasn’t happy about that.

“Already?” He kept his voice light, but there was something underlying it. Something almost disappointed.

“Yeah.” you said, setting your drink down. “I’ll see you around, though.”

Akira watched you for a beat, then exhaled through his nose, giving you a small, accepting nod. “Alright.” he said. “See you.”

You slid off the stool and left him there.

And the moment you reached Chishiya and Kuina, your entire demeanor softened. You beamed at them, stepping up without hesitation.

“There you guys are.” you said, reaching out to touch Kuina’s arm lightly in greeting before shifting your attention to Chishiya. He was still watching you, gaze heavy, but you didn’t let it bother you.

Instead, you gave him that same sweet, sincere smile—the one that had always thrown him off, the one that made his stomach feel weird.

“Miss me?” you teased lightly.

Kuina let out a small huff, shaking her head. “You really just talk to everyone, huh?”

You turned to her with a grin. “Of course. You never know who might be interesting.”

Chishiya scoffed quietly. “And was he?”

You blinked at him, tilting your head. “Who?”

“The guy you were talking to.”

You shrugged. “Oh, Akira? Yeah, he’s nice.”

Chishiya’s jaw twitched. You didn’t seem to notice. Or if you did, you didn’t say anything.

Instead, you reached for Kuina’s wrist, gently tugging her along. “C’mon.” you said cheerfully. “Let’s go find something fun to do.”

Kuina chuckled, letting you pull her along, and after a beat, Chishiya followed too—silent, watching, still feeling that unfamiliar tightness in his chest.

You had left Akira for them.

And he knew it shouldn’t have mattered, but somehow, it did.

~

It was ridiculous.

You were sitting on the wet poolside floor in the middle of the party, playing some kind of gambling game with a group of guys who looked like they belonged in a biker gang.

And they were letting you play for fun.

Kuina was over your shoulder, watching as you focused on whatever the hell you were supposed to be doing, your lips pursed in concentration.

The men were big, broad-shouldered, all of them looking violent, some of them probably militants, but it was almost comical how different they were when talking to you.

One of them—huge, covered in tattoos, with scars down his arm—had been the first to invite you to play.

And now here you were, surrounded by men twice your size, all of them surprisingly patient with you as they explained the rules.

Chishiya was watching from a distance.

It was stupid how you could just walk into any situation and make it yours.

He had seen you do it over and over again. With him. With Kuina. With Niragi, somehow. With Hatter, with Last Boss of all people, and now with these guys.

It was like… the world just opened for you.

And it was infuriating how much he admired it.

You were the opposite of him in so many ways.

He observed. You engaged.

He stood back. You lived.

You sat there, on the damp tile, looking small and perfect between the looming figures around you, and the contrast was so stark it almost pissed him off.

You shouldn’t fit there. And yet, you did.

You fit everywhere.

“Alright, sweetheart.” one of the guys said, smirking as he shuffled a deck of cards in his huge hands. “You sure you remember the rules?”

You nodded eagerly, your excitement so real that it almost made Chishiya’s chest ache.

“I think so.” you said, tucking your hair behind your ear. “But I might mess up.”

Another guy, one with a deep scar across his jaw, chuckled. “That’s alright. We’ll help you out.”

Chishiya rolled his eyes.

Of course they would.

Kuina caught his expression and elbowed him lightly. “Jealous?” she teased under her breath.

Chishiya didn’t answer.

Because, yeah. He was.

And that was a hard fucking pill to swallow.

His entire life, he had been the outsider by choice. He had never wanted to fit in. Never cared for the company of others.

But then you had come along, and you made him wonder. What was it like to be you? To just exist so freely?

He watched as you furrowed your brows at the cards in front of you, your fingers tapping against the wet tile.

The man sitting across from you—the one with the tattoos—grinned. “You got this.”

Chishiya clenched his jaw.

It was ridiculous.

You weren’t his. He had no claim to you. And yet, something burned in his stomach when he watched other people give you that kind of attention.

Because he wanted to be the only one who got to see you like this.

Carefree. Open. Radiant.

You were a dream.

And he was nothing but a spectator.

You were actually good at this game. That was the worst part. Chishiya watched as you picked up on the rules faster than expected. You weren’t just playing randomly—you were reading people, thinking. Your face lit up with every little success, your laughter ringing out over the water as the men around you grew more and more impressed.

And they were impressed.

They weren’t hiding it. They were encouraging you, teasing but never mean, and somehow, despite being a tiny thing surrounded by literal criminals, you fit in.

Chishiya hated it.

Not because you were doing well. Not because you were laughing, smiling, having the time of your life.

But because every second of it was another second proving to him that he wasn’t special.

You would have been fine without him.

You would have been fine without Niragi, without Kuina, without anyone.

Because you belonged anywhere.

You were effortless in ways he would never be. You didn’t calculate. You just moved.

And people followed. They watched you, they leaned in, they liked you.

They let you in so easily.

Chishiya clenched his jaw, crossing his arms tighter over his chest.

Why the fuck was he even standing here? He should just leave. But he didn’t. He couldn’t. Because he was trapped.

And it was all your fault.

You placed your next card down with confidence, and the tattooed man across from you let out a bark of laughter, throwing his head back.

Scar-Jaw leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “You sure you’ve never played before?”

You nodded eagerly. “First time! But I kinda get it now.”

Chishiya watched you soak up their praise like sunlight.

And, god, he wanted to be the one giving it to you.

He wanted to be the one making you smile like that.

He didn’t know what the fuck was happening to him. For the first time in his life, he wanted something real.

Not just to win. Not just to survive. Not just to outsmart everyone else.

He wanted you.

And he had no idea what to do with that.

No fucking way.

There was no way Chishiya—he—was developing a crush.

Not now. Not ever.

It was beneath him.

He didn’t get crushes. He watched people get them. He analyzed them, poked holes in their logic, picked apart the ways they ruined themselves for some fleeting feeling.

But him? No. He was above that.

And yet. Yet, here he was. Standing in the wet heat of the poolside, watching you laugh with a group of men like you were one of them. Like you had always belonged here. Like you had always belonged everywhere.

And his chest was tight.

Not with annoyance. Not even with jealousy.

With something so much worse.

He wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t blind. He knew what this was.

He had seen it before, just never from this side of the fucking equation.

A crush.

God.

He could vomit.

Him? Liking someone? Wanting them?

Wanting you?

Wanting you the way Niragi did, the way that Akira guy did, the way everybody did. But it was different. Because Niragi just wanted to own you. To take, take, take. Akira wanted to impress you. To be the one who made you giggle and flutter your lashes, who got to place a hand on your waist, who got to be chosen.

But Chishiya?

He didn’t want to own you, didn’t need to impress you. He just… wanted you near. He wanted to exist in your orbit, to be the one you let close, to be the one you trusted.

And maybe that was worse. Because Niragi wanted to chain you up and keep you forever. Akira wanted to be a part of your world.

But Chishiya? He wanted to make you his. And he was no human, and you were.

He watched you throw your arms up in victory as you won another round, the men groaning but still grinning. You clapped excitedly, your legs kicking in the water, so effortlessly happy.

And Chishiya ached.

Because, fuck, he wanted to be the one making you feel that way. The one who made your eyes light up, your hands flail, your laughter bubble up from your throat like you just couldn’t help it. The one you reached for first.

And it was so fucking pathetic

Because you were just you.

And he—he was him.

Cold. Detached. Self-serving. A piece of shit with a god complex and the emotional range of a brick.

And yet, here he was.

Feeling.

Wanting.

Crushing.

“You cheating?” One man asked. The other men even laughed, backing you up immediately.

“Come on, man, she’s just good.”

“She’s kicking your ass, huh?”

“Bro’s just salty.”

You had tilted your head, blinking. “Cheating?” you repeated, not offended, just curious.

The guy shrugged. He wasn’t even mad, really. Just fucking around, maybe a little embarrassed that some pretty girl was cleaning house against men who played this shit all the time.

It wasn’t a real accusation. It wasn’t serious.

But none of that mattered.

Because before anyone could even react, before you could open your mouth to answer, before anyone could so much as breathe,

—there was a gun to the guy’s head.

And not just any gun.

Niragi’s.

Of course.

Everything froze.

The guy’s body went stiff, hands up instantly, eyes going wide with sudden, very real fear.

You just blinked again, eyes slowly dragging up from the barrel of the gun to Niragi’s face.

And—fuck—he looked insane.

He had been unpredictable lately, even for him, but now? His face was twisted, lips curled into a cruel, smug grin, but his eyes—fuck, his eyes—Chishiya knew that look. That was the look of someone who was barely keeping their head above water. Who had been drowning for a long, long time and had finally decided to drag someone else down with them.

Because Niragi had had a fucking day.

You had wrecked him earlier, torn him apart piece by fucking piece and left him to choke on the aftermath.

He had actually fucking cried in his room.

Like a child.

Because of you.

Because of your stupid, perfect little voice telling him things about himself that he didn’t even fucking know. Because of how you saw everything. Every little crack in the armor, every weak point, every old wound. And he had nothing to show for it. Nothing to take back the power you had ripped away from him.

Until now.

Now, he had a gun. Now, he was the one in control. Now, he was the one with all the fucking power.

His voice came slow, threatening. “The fuck did you just say?”

The guy swallowed, unmoving. “I—I didn’t mean—”

“I know you didn’t mean.” Niragi sneered. He pressed the gun harder against the guy’s temple, his finger twitching over the trigger, itching for an excuse.

You exhaled through your nose. Not scared, not worried, just… tired.

“Niragi.” you started, voice so sweet.

He ignored you, turning his attention to the rest of the group.

“What?!” he shouted, voice wild. His free hand lifted, waving the gun around wildly as he stepped back, sneering at the stunned faces around him.

“You motherfuckers think you can just talk to her like that?! In front of me?!”

No one answered. Because no one was stupid.

Chishiya just watched.

Niragi needed this. He needed to feel like he was in charge again, like he was the one pulling the strings, the one calling the shots.

Because you had taken that away from him.

And now, you were the only one who could fix it.

Chishiya fucking knew—that was how you worked.

The moment Niragi had stepped back, you had silently pushed yourself up to your feet. Kuina had helped you, gripping your hand tightly, but the first thing you reached for?

Chishiya.

Your other hand slipped into his without hesitation, warm and soft and real. And his body—his whole fucking soul—reacted.

His fingers curled around yours on instinct, grip firm, secure. Grounding.

Like you needed him. And—fuck—maybe you did. Maybe you were scared. Not of Niragi, maybe not even of the situation, but scared of what you might have to do.

Because it was always you, wasn’t it?

You were the one who had to fix things.

To fix Niragi.

Even after everything. Even after he had just spent an hour being the biggest piece of shit imaginable. Even after he had terrified a man for no fucking reason.

Because Niragi had a gun, but you were the one with the real power.

And Chishiya fucking hated that. Because when this was over, when Niragi finally stormed off, when things calmed down, you were still going to look at Niragi like he was worth saving.

Chishiya knew better. But he squeezed your hand anyway.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry about that.” you told them, sounding so genuinely apologetic, so sweet. “You guys okay?”

Chishiya was prepared for anything in response. Anger. Outrage. Accusations. Retaliation. But instead? The guys just… laughed. Like the whole thing had just been some ridiculous misunderstanding. Like Niragi hadn’t just been two seconds away from blowing someone’s head off.

“Shit, it’s fine.” one of them waved a hand. “Not your fault.”

“Dude’s crazy.” another added, snorting. “We know that.”

The guy who’d had the gun to his head just shook it off, rolling his shoulders like he was just stretching after a workout. “Yeah, man, whatever. I’m not mad.” He shot you a grin. “You were kinda kicking my ass, though.”

Your lips curled into a smile, eyes bright. “Aww, don’t be mad about that.” you teased. “It was just luck.”

You were so fucking nice.

It was insane. And the worst part? It worked. The guys weren’t mad at all. They were laughing, joking around, brushing it off like it was nothing.

Because you were just that fucking likable.

Just like that, everything was fine.

And Chishiya— Chishiya felt like he was losing his mind. Because if it had been him in your position? If he had been the one sitting there, playing games, just existing when Niragi showed up and started pointing guns? This wouldn’t have happened. There wouldn’t have been laughter. There wouldn’t have been a quick recovery. Because no one would have cared enough to fix it for him.

But for you?

It didn’t matter how bad things got. It didn’t matter how crazy things got.

The universe just bent for you.

People liked you.

And fuck, Chishiya could barely breathe because he was one of them. One of the pathetic, mindless idiots who let you in without a second thought.

The kind of person he had never been before.

Because before you, he hadn’t even known he had the capacity to be like this. To want someone like this. To be so fucking gone on someone like this.

And it was awful.

Because he had no control over it.

He should’ve been able to shut it down, should’ve been able to keep that part of himself locked up tight, should’ve been able to just walk away from you like he did with everyone else.

But the second you had grabbed his hand—the second you had reached for him—it was over.

He was fucking ruined.

And the worst part? You still had no idea.

“You good?” Kuina asked, scanning your face.

And you—of course you were.

Because you were you. Because somehow, no matter how chaotic the situation, no matter how insane the people around you got, you came out of it the same way you always did—untouched. Like water rolling off your skin, like none of it ever actually stuck.

“I’m fine.” you assured her, flashing a soft, easy smile, like none of this had rattled you in the slightest. And maybe it hadn’t. Maybe you had already made peace with the insanity of this place, the absolute madness that people like Niragi could just get away with.

Kuina sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Come up to my room for a bit.” she offered. “Just chill for a while, get your head straight.”

You turned your head, gaze sliding over to Chishiya, who had been unnervingly quiet since the whole ordeal. His face was as unreadable as ever, posture just as lazy, just as unaffected, but you could feel it—that tension thrumming under the surface.

And maybe that’s why you said it.

Maybe that’s why you turned to him instead, why you smiled at him instead.

“Can we go to yours?” you asked, tilting your head slightly. “I wanna see what it’s like.”

Chishiya could have said no.

He should have said no.

But the truth was, he never fucking could when it came to you.

Not when you looked at him like that, not when you made it sound so simple, like you were asking for something as natural as the sun rising in the morning. Like it never even crossed your mind that he’d refuse.

And fuck, maybe that was the real problem. That you had so much fucking faith in him, in his willingness to bend for you. That you already knew he would.

But what the fuck was he supposed to do? Tell you no? Turn you away?

He exhaled, like he wasn’t already planning to give you whatever you wanted. “If you want.” he said, casual, indifferent.

But Kuina was watching him. And she knew the truth. She saw the way he’d stiffened the second you reached for him. She saw the way he folded under your touch, under your voice, under you.

And she knew that if you asked him for the entire fucking world, he would find a way to give it to you.

And wasn’t that just fucking terrifying?

~

Chishiya’s room was fancy as fuck.

You had expected something cold, something plain, maybe even borderline clinical, because wasn’t that what he was? Unbothered, detached, logical to a fault. But no, this? This was something else.

It was big. Bigger than you’d thought. Bigger than yours, that’s for sure. The furniture was fucking amazing, the sheets weren’t the standard hotel ones, and there was even a balcony. Everything just felt… expensive. Like someone had picked out the nicest things possible and placed them in here for him.

You wandered further inside, eyes scanning everything, fingers lightly brushing over the smooth surface of the desk, the back of a leather chair, the corner of the mattress.

“Woah.” you breathed out, looking around. “You live like this?”

Kuina let out a snort from where she had already made herself comfortable, kicking her feet up on the small table near the couch. “Yeah, well, he’s an executive.”

You turned to them, eyebrows raising. “So that’s how it works? The bigger your rank, the fancier your room?”

“More or less.” Chishiya answered, tone lazy. He had taken a seat as well, slouching slightly, arms draped over the armrests like he didn’t have a single care in the world. “Executives get the best.”

Your lips pressed together in thought before you perked up again, pointing at yourself. “Then how do I have that room?”

Kuina hummed. “Niragi got it for you, right?”

You nodded.

“Then there’s your answer.”

You wrinkled your nose. “Yeah, but how? Why does he get to do that?”

Kuina huffed out a laugh. “He’s an executive too, y’know. He has a lot of pull around here.”

“Enough pull to just hand someone a fancy suite?”

Chishiya was still watching you. “For you? Apparently.”

You rolled your eyes, turning your attention back to the room, scanning over everything once more. “I don’t know, man. This whole place is weird. The way power works here, who gets what, who decides…” You trailed off, then gave a small scoff. “I mean, just look at you.”

Chishiya raised an eyebrow. “Me?”

You gestured to him, to the whole room. “Yeah. You have all of this, this,” you emphasized, waving a hand around. “and you don’t even want it.”

Kuina snorted. “That’s actually so true.”

You turned back to Chishiya, eyes narrowing slightly. “So why are you even an executive?”

There was a pause. A beat of silence before he finally answered, voice just as calm.

“Because I’m good at it.”

And you didn’t know why, but something about that response felt like the biggest fucking lie he had ever told.

“Can I check out the balcony?” you asked, already halfway to the door before Chishiya even answered.

He just waved a lazy hand, an unbothered sure escaping his lips as you slid the glass door open and stepped outside.

The moment it shut behind you, Kuina turned to him. “So.”

Chishiya didn’t look at her.

She crossed her arms. “That whole thing earlier?”

Still nothing.

“With the guys? Niragi?”

He finally glanced at her, expression the usual, but she knew better than to think he didn’t care. Chishiya always cared—just in a way no one could fucking tell unless they looked hard enough.

Kuina did.

She sighed. “That wasn’t nothing.”

“She’s fine.” Chishiya said, leaning back further, slouching with that same easy arrogance he always carried. “The guys weren’t a threat.”

“You don’t know that.”

“They didn’t lay a hand on her.”

“Doesn’t mean it couldn’t have gone bad.”

A pause. A stretch of silence between them before Kuina scoffed, shaking her head. “That whole place—people love her. They all worship her, you see that, right?”

Chishiya didn’t answer.

“It’s kind of funny.” she went on. “Big, scary men? Giving her free rounds at their gambling game? They should’ve been ripping her apart, but no, they love her.” A dry chuckle left her lips, like she almost couldn’t believe it. “You know what the crazy part is? Even Niragi—Niragi, the worst fucking person alive—he’d kill someone for her. I mean, he almost did.”

Chishiya still hadn’t said anything.

Kuina narrowed her eyes, tilting her head. “And you? What would you do for her?”

The words hung between them, thick.

“I don’t see why it matters.” Chishiya finally said, voice so calm, so smooth it almost sounded bored.

Kuina exhaled sharply through her nose, like she was biting back the urge to punch him. Instead, she leaned closer, leveling him with a look.

“She likes you, you know.”

And for the first time in the entire conversation—Chishiya’s fingers twitched.

Kuina smirked. “Oh, yeah. I see it.” She leaned back again, shrugging. “But who knows? Maybe not for long. If you keep acting like this? Like you don’t give a shit?” She raised an eyebrow. “Then one day, maybe she won’t, either.”

And with that, she crossed her arms again, settling into the couch like nothing had happened.

Chishiya, meanwhile, was still staring at nothing.

Kuina drummed her fingers against the couch, her gaze flicking to the balcony where you stood, blissfully unaware of the conversation happening behind the glass.

Then she looked back at Chishiya.

“So.” she said, drawing out the word. “You do care.”

Chishiya let out a quiet exhale, one of those dry little almost-laughs, though there wasn’t any humor in it. “That’s what you got from all that?”

She smirked. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

He didn’t answer. Just glanced toward the balcony, the curve of your figure against the yellow lightings of the beach, the soft way you tilted your head like you were really taking it all in.

Chishiya exhaled again, heavier this time, slouching further down. His voice, when it came, was smooth, unbothered, but Kuina knew better.

“Niragi would burn this place down before he let anyone else have her.”

Kuina rolled her eyes. “No shit.”

“He’s an obsessive little bitch.” The venom in Chishiya’s voice was sharp. “Clings to things like they belong to him just because he wants them.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Sounds familiar.”

His eyes slid to hers, dark, but Kuina didn’t falter.

“Oh, relax.” she said, waving a hand. “You’re not that bad. You don’t throw tantrums.”

“No.” Chishiya murmured. “I just get what I want.”

Kuina raised her eyebrows. “And what is it that you want?”

A pause.

Then—

“Niragi dead in a ditch, preferably.”

She huffed a laugh. “Yeah, well. Join the club.”

Chishiya’s fingers tapped idly against the couch, but Kuina caught the way they curled just slightly, the way his jaw ticked.

“He’s a rabid dog.” Chishiya went on, voice deceptively calm, but Kuina could hear the underlying disgust, the way he practically spat the words out. “Completely useless unless you can point him at something and let him tear it apart.”

Kuina hummed. “You sound jealous.”

Chishiya actually let out a quiet laugh at that one. “Oh, I wouldn’t trade places with him for the world.”

“No?”

“No.” A smirk curled his lips, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I have a brain.”

“God, you hate him.”

“I hate stupid people.”

“That’s not all, though, is it?” She tilted her head. “It’s about her.”

Chishiya said nothing.

Kuina watched him. “You hate him because of her, now.”

Silence.

“He doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as her.”

Kuina blinked. For a moment, it was like she didn’t even know what to say. Then she let out a low whistle. “Wow. That’s… that’s something.”

Chishiya didn’t look at her.

Kuina leaned forward again, tapping her fingers against her knee. “So what, you gonna kill him?”

“If he gives me a reason.”

She exhaled a quiet laugh. “That’s the thing about Niragi, though. He will.”

Chishiya’s smirk was lazy, nonchalant. But Kuina saw through it. Saw the way his fingers curled just a little tighter. The way his jaw ticked again. The way he still hadn’t looked away from you.

The glass door slid open, and the warm night air carried in with it the faintest scent of you—something soft, something fresh. Something that Chishiya hated himself for noticing.

You stepped inside, stretching your arms over your head with a lazy sigh. “It’s nice out there.” you mused. “So many lights.”

Kuina nodded, but her eyes flicked to Chishiya, watching the way his posture stiffened just slightly. Just barely.

As you passed behind him, fingertips light against the back of his head, barely even a touch—

That softness. That warmth. That… thing you did to him.

It made his jaw clench.

You didn’t even notice. Didn’t think about it. You weren’t trying to get something from him, weren’t trying to manipulate. You were just like that. You were just good.

And Chishiya…Chishiya wasn’t.

You wandered the room, fingertips grazing the furniture, the edge of the nightstand, the smooth marble of the dresser. “It’s nice.” you said. “Bigger than mine.”

Kuina hummed. “Everything about Chishiya is big.”

You turned to her, raising a brow. “Oh?”

Chishiya let out a quiet exhale, unimpressed. “I will throw you off the balcony.”

Kuina grinned. “Only proving my point.”

You giggled, and it was a soft, sweet sound, a sound that should’ve meant nothing, but Chishiya’s fingers curled against his knee, nails pressing into skin.

Because of course you could just… do that. Of course you could make him feel like this without even fucking trying.

Kuina saw it all. She saw the way you looked at everything, the way you leaned into people, the way you made yourself small next to them just so they’d feel bigger. The way you cared.

The way you touched.

You were fucking magnetic.

And Chishiya was horrible.

He knew it.

Knew that if he wanted to, he could turn you into something else. He could pull at the right strings, twist you up, make you see the world his way.

And that was the thing, wasn’t it?

He wanted to.

Because Chishiya was selfish.

Chishiya was horrible.

Chishiya took.

And he knew you’d let him. Just like you let everyone. Because you were soft. You were sweet. You let people in.

Even him.

Even fucking Niragi.

And maybe that was the part that made his chest go tight, that made his head buzz with something close to rage.

Because Niragi didn’t deserve you. No one here fucking deserved you. Least of all him. And still—still, he wanted. That made him worse than anything.

Kuina saw it.

She saw you.

And she liked you.

God, she liked you.

Maybe in another world, she would’ve tried for you first.

Maybe in another world, she would’ve held your hand just a little tighter.

But this wasn’t another world. This was here. And here—here, Chishiya was the one you reached for. And that fuckass Niragi.

It was mesmerizing.

Not in the way a girl was usually mesmerizing—not just because you were pretty, not just because you had a good laugh, not just because you had that soft, pretty mouth.

It was something else. Something more.

She had never met anyone like you. No, scratch that—no one had ever met anyone like you.

Maybe that’s why everyone was so fucked over you.

It made sense now.

Because Kuina wasn’t stupid. She saw how men looked at you. How everyone looked at you. How even Chishiya, the most emotionally unavailable piece of shit she knew, was completely caught in your orbit.

And now, watching you, she realized—she got it.

You were different. You were sweet, but not fake. You were smart, but not overbearing. You were playful, but not annoying.

And you were so fucking pretty.

It was the kind of pretty that didn’t make sense. The kind that wasn’t just about your face or your body.

It was the kind of pretty that made people crazy.

She had felt it.

When you had smiled at her. When you had leaned in, touched her casually, like it was nothing.

She got it.

This—this must be what everyone else felt, too.

It made her head spin a little. Because shit. She had walked into this whole thing thinking you were just some girl, some cute, sweet thing they needed to keep an eye on. And now? Now she wasn’t sure who was watching who.

It was too much.

And Kuina knew herself well enough to know that she had to step away before she ended up like everyone else.

Before she ended up wanting you, too.

So she stood, stretching her arms over her head, feigning an easy smile.

“Think I’ll head out.” she said.

You turned to her, blinking, all soft and sweet and full of that light you carried everywhere you went. “Oh. Already?”

“Yeah.” she said. “Tired.”

And then you pouted, just a little. “Bummer. I liked having you here.”

“See you later.” she said, already moving toward the door before she did something stupid.

Before she ended up like Chishiya.

Because she saw him. She saw the way he was still sitting there, quiet, watching, thinking.

And for once—for once—Kuina didn’t push it.

She just left.

Left you alone with him.

With whatever was happening between you two.

Chishiya stood up slowly too, slow like he wasn’t thinking about anything at all. Like he wasn’t completely fucking haunted by you.

And you—of course, of course—you noticed. You always noticed. You tilted your head at him, eyes soft. “You good?”

He scoffed lightly, rolling his shoulders. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

You hummed, stepping closer. Too close. Always too close. He never moved away, though. Never told you to step back. You walked right up to him, standing face to face, tilting your head just a little as you studied him. He stayed still, watching, waiting for whatever it was you were about to say.

And then, in a voice so soft, so sweet, you asked, “Are you sure?”

He hated how much he wanted to answer you. How much he wanted to tell you the truth. That he wasn’t good. That he was never good. That he had never been good, but somehow, knowing you made it worse. Because now, for the first time in his miserable fucking life, he wanted to be.

He wanted to be good for you.

But he wasn’t.

And he never would be.

He took a slow breath, keeping his expression neutral. “You worry too much.”

You let out a soft little laugh. “And you talk too little.”

That made his mouth twitch. The corner of it, just slightly. And that—that—made you smile wider. Like you knew him. Like you knew that was the closest thing to a real reaction he would give you.

“See.” you said, voice light, playful, caring. “That’s what I like. I like when you let me in.”

He swallowed. Once. Didn’t respond. Because he couldn’t. Because fuck you. Because you shouldn’t like him. Not when he was selfish. Not when he was horrible. Not when he wanted you all to himself.

And he—he had to look away.

Because fuck.

You were rambling about something now. Something so innocent, so mundane, something so wildly separate from the fucking hellstorm happening in Chishiya’s head.

He wasn’t listening. Not really. He was watching you, though.

The way your lips moved. How they’d look wrapped around his fingers. How soft they’d feel parting under his teeth, letting him bite.

“So I think the guy had, like, two frogs? Or maybe even more? I don’t know, it was weird—”

He wanted to grab your jaw, force it open, spit in your mouth. See how much you could take. See if you’d swallow.

“I don’t get it, though. What’s the deal with the frogs?”

He wanted to wreck you. Push you onto the mattress and ruin you, make you cry, make you hurt, leave you bruised.

“Oh, but anyway—”

You were so close. You’d moved even closer without him realizing, your hands drifting up to his chest, completely casual, completely clueless.

“I don’t even think I’ve seen a frog since coming here, but then four in one day? What are the odds?”

Then, without warning, without thinking, your hands cupped his fucking chest.

You grabbed his pecs.

You didn’t even fucking hesitate.

Didn’t even realize what you were doing.

Just groped him.

Didn’t even look at him, just kept rambling, massaging his pecs like you were testing how much give they had, totally serious about it, like you were checking how much they weighed.

And fuck. It was so stupid. You were so fucking stupid. So stupid and so sweet and so funny and so bright, and it was driving him insane.

“So firm, actually.” you murmured, tilting your head. “Do you work out?”

He could pin you against the wall right now. He could put you in your fucking place.

But instead, he just stood there. Let you do it. Didn’t stop you. Because why the fuck would he?

Your hands were warm. Your eyes were bright. And fuck, fuck, fuck—you had him. And you didn’t even know it.

You reached up and patted his cheek. So soft. So sweet. Like you weren’t even aware of what you were doing to him.

Then you giggled. Light. Effortless. Like you weren’t even thinking about it. Like you hadn’t just touched him like that, like that, with all your dumb little sweetness.

You had no idea, did you? No fucking idea what was going on inside his head.

How badly he wanted to tear you apart.

How he wanted to grab you by the back of your neck and shove you to your knees. Make you open wide for him.

Would you be surprised?

Would you gasp when he slapped his cock against your tongue?

Would you cry when he held your head down, forced you to take it all, made you fucking choke on it?

You hummed, tilting your head at him, totally fucking clueless.

“I like you, Chishiya.” you said, soft and easy. Like it was nothing. Like it was just something you said. Just words. Just sweet, dangerous words.

He wanted to slap you.

Wanted to grab you by the waist, throw you onto the bed, split you in half.

Wanted to push his fingers inside you, two of them, maybe three, even more, feel how tight you were, make you sob and whimper and beg—

But no. No, no, no. Instead, he just stood there. He let you. Let you get away with it, because that’s what you did, wasn’t it? You got away with things. You got to touch him. Got to be close to him. Got to smile at him and giggle at him and soften him, just a little, just enough to drive him fucking insane. You got to say dangerous things like I like you, Chishiya and have no idea what it meant. You got to be this close to him and not even realize that he was dying over you.

You were untouchable.

And it was fucking killing him.

“I should go.” you said, voice light, a little airy, like you weren’t even thinking about it. Like this was just some casual little moment between friends. Like you weren’t standing there, so fucking close, looking up at him with those wide, gentle eyes, those hands that had touched him so easily.

You reached up again, brushing your fingers over his chin, just barely touching him, just teasing him, like you had no idea you were making his stomach feel like it was full of fire.

Then you giggled.

“Oh, you have that little double chin again.” you said, voice so innocent, so fucking pure.

You pinched it.

Like he was some cute little thing to you. Like you weren’t standing there, within reach, making him think about what you’d feel like bent over the nearest surface. What you’d sound like with his cock stuffing your mouth full. Would you still giggle then? Would you be able to keep up that stupid, sweet, naive little smile when he forced your lips open and shoved his fingers past your teeth?

Would you still look at him like that if he took what he wanted?

His jaw clenched.

Because he wasn’t taking anything.

Because you were standing here, tormenting him, getting to be soft and pretty and untouchable, and he was just standing here, fucking suffering.

You sighed. Didn’t even notice. Didn’t see the way his whole body was wound so tight he might snap. Didn’t realize that if you lingered for even a second longer, he might just lose every last bit of self-control he had left.

Didn’t even look. Of course, you didn’t. You never did.

You never looked at anything but his face. His eyes.

You never glanced lower. Never checked. Never thought to see the situation he was in.

You were flawless.

And he was—

Hard.

Throbbing.

He forced himself to breathe. To stay still. To not grab you, pull you back, make you stay.

“Goodnight, Chishiya.” you murmured, stepping back, still smiling, still soft, still fucking perfect.

And then you left.

Leaving him standing there, fists clenched, nails digging into his palms, jaw tight, body tense. Leaving him with the obvious problem in his pants. Leaving him alone, staring down at himself, at the unbearable, unforgivable evidence of what you had done to him.

He was a horrible man.

And you were everything.

~

Niragi sat on the velvet couch of the underground party, his legs spread wide, one arm draped over the back, his rifle resting between his thighs, fingers curled lazily around the barrel. The music pounded, bass rattling in his skull, the flashing lights burning into his retinas, but he barely noticed. He just sat there, head tilted back, eyes half-lidded, cigarette smoldering between his lips, and let it all blur together into nothing.

Because his mind was elsewhere.

Because you were everywhere.

Someone was touching him.

He knew that. He registered it. Some girl, drunk and messy, sprawled over him, her hands roaming, grabbing, groping. She smelled like alcohol and perfume, her breath warm against his neck as she giggled, whispered something he didn’t care enough to hear.

He let her.

Didn’t push her off. Didn’t say no. Didn’t care.

Her hand slid down his chest, nails scraping over his stomach, moving lower, pressing against his belt—

And he let her.

Because it didn’t matter.

Because it wasn’t you.

Because no matter how hard she pressed against him, no matter how eagerly she ground her hips into his lap, no matter how much she wanted him—

She wasn’t you.

She kissed his jaw, lips trailing sloppily along his cheek, up to the corner of his mouth.

He let her.

Didn’t move.

Didn’t react.

Didn’t fucking feel.

Because all he could think about was you.

You, sitting on that wet floor by the pool, playing that stupid little game with those men like you belonged there, like you belonged anywhere, and they all just let you. Let you sit there, soft and warm, smiling at them like they were worthy of it, like they deserved you.

You, sitting next to him, telling him the fucking truth. He didn’t want to think about that, but he couldn’t stop himself, because you were so… so right.

You, standing there with Chishiya after Niragi had just put a gun to someone’s head for you, holding onto him, not even looking at Niragi, not even acknowledging what he did for you, like it was nothing, like he was nothing.

And fuck—

Fuck, he hated you. Hated you for making him feel like this. Hated you for getting under his skin, crawling inside him like a sickness, an infection, something he couldn’t rip out no matter how hard he tried.

Hated you for ruining him.

Because he liked you.

So much.

So much that it made him sick.

So much that he’d rather let some drunk girl grope him, let her kiss him, let her rub herself all over him like a bitch in heat—

Than fucking deal with the fact that you weren’t here.

That you didn’t care.

That you were somewhere else, probably smiling, probably laughing, probably talking to some other guy, touching some other guy, making some other guy want to tear his own fucking skin off because he couldn’t have you.

His teeth clenched.

The girl moaned into his mouth as she kissed him, her fingers tugging at his belt, desperate, eager, ready to give him whatever he wanted—

And still.

Still, he felt nothing.

Because it wasn’t you.

It would never be you.

Niragi kissed back, not because he wanted to, not because he cared, but because it was easier than thinking. Easier than letting his mind wander back to you.

She moaned against him, her fingers tightening in his hair, nails scratching against his scalp as she shifted, straddling his lap completely now.

His hands moved on their own, sliding up her thighs, gripping hard enough to bruise, and she gasped, pressing herself against him like she needed him, like he was something worth wanting.

It was almost funny.

Almost.

Because in his head—in his head, he wasn’t here.

He was somewhere else.

With you.

Your voice echoing in his ears, that sweet way you talked, the way you said his name like it was something soft, something good. You, standing there in front of him, looking up at him with those stupid fucking eyes, so open, so honest, like you actually saw him. Like you actually cared.

Fuck.

Fuck.

His teeth sank into the girl’s bottom lip, dragging a gasp from her, and he swallowed it down like poison, like if he just took enough of it, it would kill whatever this was inside him, rip you out of his fucking chest, stop this sick fucking ache that he couldn’t get rid of.

Her hands yanked at his belt, fumbling, eager, and he let her.

Because wasn’t this what he was supposed to do?

Wasn’t this who he was?

Some heartless, disgusting fucking monster who took what he wanted and never gave a fuck about anyone else?

So why did it feel so fucking wrong?

Why did it feel like he was losing something?

Like he was breaking in real time, shattering piece by piece, and no one fucking noticed?

Because you—

You would’ve.

Would’ve noticed the way his hands trembled, would’ve seen the cracks spreading inside of him, would’ve—

Would’ve cared.

That was what made him want to fucking scream.

What made him want to burn this whole fucking place down, gun everyone down where they stood, make the whole damn world pay for the fact that you weren’t his, that you never would be.

His fingers dug into the girl’s hips, hard, too hard, and she gasped against his mouth.

But it wasn’t you.

It wasn’t you.

It would never be you.

And he—he hated himself for it.

All he could think about was you.

If it were you on his lap instead. If it were your hands on his body, your lips parting against his, your breath mixing with his. If it were you whispering in his ear, saying his name, teasing him, dragging this out just to watch him suffer.

And fuck, he would suffer for you. Would let you ruin him, let you turn him into something even more pathetic than he already was.

He should be enjoying this.

But she wasn’t you.

And that was the fucking problem.

His head lolled back against the couch, jaw clenched so tight it ached, eyes flicking up toward the ceiling as she kissed down his neck, sloppy, messy, leaving spit-slick trails against his skin. Her hands were insistent, moving lower, pulling at his belt, slipping inside, but—

It was all wrong.

Too rough. Too forceful.

Not soft. Not warm. Not you.

Fuck, he’d let you do anything to him. Anything you wanted.

If you wanted to drag your hands over his skin, trace those soft little fingers along his stomach, toy with the hem of his pants, he’d let you. Let you take your time, let you tease, let you touch.

You could slap him across the face and he’d thank you.

Could dig your nails into his skin, scratch him up, ruin him, and he’d beg for more.

You could sit yourself right in his lap, put those pretty little hands on his shoulders, lean in real close and whisper in that sweet fucking voice—

“Niragi.”

He shuddered.

The girl didn’t notice.

Didn’t notice how fucking tense he was, how his mind wasn’t even here, wasn’t focused on her, wasn’t focused on this.

Because his brain was rotten, absolutely fucking rotting with you.

And he was sick.

Sick because he didn’t just want your body.

He wanted your attention.

Wanted you to look at him, only him, wanted to hear you say his name again, wanted you to see him, really fucking see him, not just as the violent bastard everyone else saw but as something else, something softer, something more.

And he was weak for you.

Pathetically, disgustingly weak.

Because you were right.

You were always fucking right.

He was nothing.

Nothing without you.

Nothing to you.

And yet, he still wanted you.

Like an idiot.

Like a fucking loser.

He needed you.

More than anything.

More than the power he waved around. More than the gun in his hand. More than the control he pretended he had.

And that was the worst part. That was the part that made him feel sick. Because it was you who had all the control now. You, who probably didn’t even fucking know what you were doing to him. You, who could fucking break him if you wanted to.

And this girl—this random, meaningless girl, grinding against him, trying to pull something real out of him—she didn’t even fucking matter.

Nothing did.

Nothing except you.

That made him want to die.

❤︎︎ @lizntstoptalking @cherryheairt @fiction-fantasy-folks @monkey4lifer @psychicyouthfox @so-dramatic1 @mypsychoticlove @unhinged-sorcerer @rattymess @mocchii-writes @adanfore @scarlet703 @fluentgoddess @maxinehufflepuffprincess @onyxmango @bluerthanvelvet444 @risingofjupiter @enhasrii @potato-vagina @cherryyserenade @l5byrinth @soaplickerrr @sillyenemyarcade @miellette @sk1ndx0

[sylusonychinus]

The Adventures of Rose at Daddy's Work

Rose’s POV

The day started with Jaden being a big, boring lump on the couch. He was sick, sneezing and sniffling so much that Mommy wouldn’t let him leave his blanket fort. She gave him juice, soup, and a million tissues, which was a lot of fuss for someone who just had a cold.

Meanwhile, I stood in the middle of the living room with my backpack, bouncing on my toes like a spring. I was ready for the best day ever.

“Mommy, are you sure Jaden doesn’t want to come? I mean, he’s gonna miss out on all the fun,” I said, looking at my twin brother, who was all wrapped up like a burrito.

Jaden sniffled. “I don’t care about your fun. I’m tired.”

I smirked. “Well, too bad for you, trumpet boy. I’m going on an adventure!”

“Rose,” Mommy said with a laugh, “leave your brother alone. Go get your shoes; Daddy’s waiting.”

I squealed and ran to the door, where Daddy stood in his pilot uniform, looking so cool and important. His shiny hat made him look like he was in charge of everything in the world.

“Ready, Co-Captain Rose?” Daddy asked, crouching down to fix my backpack strap.

“Yes, sir!” I said, saluting him with both hands. “I’m gonna be the best co-captain you’ve ever had!”

Daddy chuckled. “I have no doubt. Say goodbye to Mommy and Jaden.”

“Bye, Mommy! Bye, Jaden! Don’t miss me too much!” I yelled, waving dramatically as Daddy and I headed out the door.

“Don’t get lost!” Jaden called after me, but I just stuck my tongue out at him.

—

The Airport Adventure

When we got to the airport, I felt like I’d stepped into a whole new world. People rushed around pulling suitcases, there were big windows where you could see planes outside, and everything smelled like coffee and airplanes (whatever airplanes smell like).

“Daddy, are we going to fly the biggest plane today?” I asked, holding his hand as we walked through the terminal.

“Not the biggest one, but it’s pretty big,” Daddy said, smiling down at me.

“Can I drive it?” I asked, grinning up at him.

“Not today,” he said with a laugh, “but you can help me press some buttons in the cockpit.”

“Yes!” I cheered, skipping next to him.

As we walked, people kept stopping to say hi to Daddy.

“Captain Xia, is this your little helper for the day?” one lady asked, smiling at me.

“Yes, this is Rose,” Daddy said, putting his hand on my shoulder. “She’s my co-pilot.”

I puffed out my chest proudly. “I’m the best co-pilot!”

The lady laughed. “I believe it. Have fun today, Rose!”

“I will!” I said, waving as we kept walking.

—

Inside the Plane

When we got to the plane, it was huge. The seats went on forever, and the cockpit was like something out of a space movie. There were buttons, levers, and screens everywhere.

“Whoa,” I whispered, climbing into the co-pilot’s seat. “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Daddy sat down next to me in the pilot’s seat. “Alright, Co-Captain Rose, your job is to help me make sure everything is ready for takeoff. Think you can handle that?”

“Yes, sir!” I said, saluting him again.

“Good,” he said, pointing to a button. “This one turns on the cockpit lights. Go ahead and press it.”

I pressed the button, and the lights came on.

“Whoa,” I said again. “I’m a genius.”

Daddy laughed. “You sure are. Now, let’s check the controls.”

I leaned forward, pretending to inspect the buttons. “Everything looks good, Captain Daddy,” I said seriously.

“Excellent work, Co-Captain Rose,” he said, giving me a thumbs-up.

I spent the next hour pretending to fly the plane while Daddy got everything ready. I even got to talk into the little microphone, pretending to make announcements.

“This is your Co-Captain Rose speaking,” I said in my most official voice. “Please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for the most awesome flight ever!”

Daddy laughed so hard, he had to cover his mouth.

—

Back on the Ground

By the time we got back home, I was so tired. Being a co-captain was a lot of work, but it was also the most fun I’d ever had.

“Mommy, guess what?” I said as soon as we walked in the door. “I helped Daddy fly the plane! And I made an announcement! Everyone listened to me because I was in charge!”

Mommy smiled, pulling me into a hug. “It sounds like you had an exciting day, sweetheart.”

“It was the best day,” I said, yawning.

“Next time, I’m going,” Jaden said from the couch, his voice still all stuffy.

“Maybe,” Daddy said, ruffling his hair. “But Rose set the bar pretty high.”

“That’s because I’m the best co-captain,” I said, climbing onto the couch next to Jaden. “But don’t worry, Jaden. You can be the second-best.”

Jaden glared at me, but I just giggled.

As Mommy brought over snacks and Daddy sat down to tell us a story about his next flight, I couldn’t help but feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Life couldn’t get better than this.

A/N: rose is always this energetic :3 Taglist from the series :3

@jinwoosbabyboo @kithyyy @mcdepressed290 @nezuswritingdesk @elegantdeerlady @yuuuumii @duhgurl @lumieresdreams @bidisasterforevermore @i-messed-up-big-time

@that-one-scoundrel @justpassingdontworry @ansbobcar @nagireos @auriuswolve @bookworm1999 @sickleddreamer @heeknow @blcknebula @astudyoftimeywimeystuff @lumieresdreams @melonssoup @zaynessbeloved @roscpctals99 @snowdynasty

[jianghushenanigans]

In defence of Shan Gudao

I can hear what you’re thinking. “Shan Gudao??? What the fuck is wrong with you???”

In my defence. Well. People defend the actions of villains who have done much worse with less valid motivations.

Look at him. He's crying. (Granted he's about to throw his son in a murder pit but still.)

TO CLARIFY I am not denying that Shan Gudao did things that are bad. He’s in general not a great guy. I’m just saying that a lot of what he does is reasonably understandable given everything that happens to him. This is very tongue-in-cheek and should only be taken as seriously as you want to. But also I’d kill for more fics/meta/etc that dealt with Shan Gudao as a 3D character with complex motivations (Which he can be!!!!! If you try hard enough!!!!!)

Warning: here be spoilers. (Obviously)

Things that Shan Gudao does that are Not Good: abandoning his preganant not-girlfriend; bullying a disabled child; joining the evil foreigners; not dying even when he said he did; killing his shifu; and throwing his son in a murder pit.

Abandoning his not-girlfriend and unborn child

To begin: casual sex is not a crime. Sleeping with the girl who won’t stop following you around and is clearly has a crush on you a bit of a dick move, but the first thing Shan Gudao actually says to He Xiaolan, as per the flash back, is something along the lines of ‘you’re bad at martial arts and should go home’. He’s not her keeper, he’s not her babysitter, he’s not her lover. She falls in love with him – because she’s into negging, apparently – but they don’t actually have any sort of two-sided relationship going on at any point.

(And honestly who can blame her for falling in love. The man looks like this. He should never have grown that moustache.)

He Xiaolan returned to Tianji Manor ‘heartbroken and pregnant’. But, notably, she didn’t actually tell Shan Gudao about Fang Duobing. He didn’t know his son even existed. This screams, ‘he finally agreed to sleep with her after she kept following him around, and when he still didn’t return her feelings after that she realised it was over and finally gave up’. He didn’t abandon her: she left him. If she left him because he didn’t return her feelings, this… isn’t really his fault? The most he could be blamed for is not communicating his feelings but honestly we don’t get to see much of them at all and what we do hear about them suggests that He Xiaolan was the one doing the chasing and he wasn’t encouraging her.

Sidebar: I’m aro + ace and the idea of blaming Shan Gudao for not returning He Xiaolan’s feelings makes me feel kinda ill. To clarify I am not blaming He Xiaolan in this situation either. It’s fucky for everyone involved.

Also, Shan Gudao did not grow up with healthy relationships to model. We don’t know much about his upbringing other than that he was living on the streets until he was around 12 or 15 or however the timeline works when Qi Mushan found Li Xiangyi, and even if we did know about that, he doesn’t remember it. The only ‘romantic’ relationship he has actually ever seen is whatever the hell was going on between Qi Mushan and Qin Po. He might not have even recognised that He Xiaolan actually had romantic feelings about him, because his only example was a couple who used their two disciples as a way of fighting each other.

And finally regarding this point: eight years after Fang Duobing is born, when Shan Gudao finds out that he does in fact have a son, he wants to take him with him. This is not the move of someone who willingly abandoned his pregnant not-girlfriend. Obviously he does change his mind when he actually meets Fang Duobing, which leads us to…

Bullying his disabled eight year old son

Yeah this one’s pretty indefensible, other than the fact that Shan Gudao never had a father/uncle/shifu/parental figure who ever said anything nice to him either so he didn’t really know any better. This is a reason but not a justification. Stop being an arsehole to the child.

Joining Feng Qing and the Nanyin rebels and attempting to take the throne

Picture, for a moment, that you woke up with no memories in some guy’s house, and he says he’s your shifu now, and this 5 year old who says you’re his older brother. And then your shifu begins training you and it’s not only immediately obvious that this 5 year old is better than you at martial arts, but also your shifu does not like you and does not want you in his house and only took you in because of this child who he thinks is the best thing that ever happened to him. And you grow up and this child continues to show you up in every way and gets lots of praise for it and your shifu thinks you’re such a burden to train he gives you to his wife so they can use the children as a way to compete with each other.

And then you leave home and some guy sees this token which is literally the only thing you own that you had with you when you woke up with no memories, and says ‘You’re important. You’re the person we’ve been looking for all this time. We want you with us. You deserve the world’.

Like, I’m sorry. Who wouldn’t say yes in this situation? Shan Gudao, neglected and ignored and alone in the jianghu, was ripe to be groomed for this sort of thing. Why wouldn’t he get swept up in the daze of finally being someone that mattered to someone other than a child?

As far as literally everyone other than his shifu and shiniang are aware, Feng Qing is telling him the truth. But because they didn’t bother to tell even Li Xiangyi about this, let alone the other boy they didn’t even want, there was literally no way anyone could have known any better.

And the truth is, the descendant of Consort Xuan/Nanyin heir did have a right to the throne by blood in a way that the present Emperor of Da Xi very much did not. And how would Nanyin get the throne back if not by a coup? If the heroes had been the ‘true heirs’ to a throne then the coup would have been presented as a good thing to do. But I digress.

Joining Feng Qing and attempting to claim the throne he was led to believe was rightfully his actually makes sense given everything we know about Shan Gudao. They gave him a family and a home in a way that the dysfunctional shit going on on Yunyin Mountain never managed to provide.

Faking his own death

Technically not really a crime. Yeah Li Xiangyi got a bit sad about it but then we wouldn’t have got to see Cheng Yi weeping as he cradled his shixiong’s corpse in his arms. So really, we should all be thanking Shan Gudao for his totally normal and rational plans.

Killing his shifu

This is, technically, the worst crime that Shan Gudao actually commits. This being said. Looking at it from Shan Gudao’s point of view, Qi Mushan deserved it actually. I have already ranted about the fucked up way Qi Mushan and Qin Po raised their disciples and especially Shan Gudao and there’s no need to rehash all of it. But there are always a few extra things I have to say about Shan Gudao and his fuck-ass shifu.

At the end when Shan Gudao is, unsurprisingly, having a massive breakdown about how everything he has been told and made part of his personality for the past twenty years has all be a lie, Li Lianhua says ‘no one was ever competing with you’. And to an extent this is true. Li Xiangyi was not competing with him, from his point of view: they were just training together. But Qi Mushan and Qin Po were competing with him each other using him. For Li Xiangyi, the younger child, the always-victor, this had the effect of bolstering his pride and arrogance, but being young (and proud and arrogant) he wouldn’t necessarily have noticed anything else about it. For Shan Gudao, who was forced to always compete with this child he could never beat, who was the tool that meant Qin Po would never be able to win? No wonder this fucked him up immensely.

When Qin Po finally decides to bother telling Li Lianhua about his heritage, she looks at Shan Gudao and LAUGHS at him and says ‘do you really think you were a nobleman from Nanyin? You were just a little beggar Qi Mushan and I took from a group of beggars’. Like wow, I can’t believe you have delusions of grandeur despite the fact that everyone in a position to know anything about you either refused to tell you anything or genuinely believed what they told you to be true. You pathetic beggar child. You should have known your place.

He should have killed her also xoxox

Throwing Fang Duobing into his torture-dungeon-pit-thing

This was also reasonably uncalled for. He’s not a particularly great dad. Do we blame this on the fact that Fang Duobing, like everyone else, chose Li Xiangyi over Shan Gudao? (If so that’s definitely on Shan Gudao, no wonder he didn’t pick you, stop bullying children) Or do we blame this, once again, on his shifu and shiniang using him as a tool to fight each other with? I will choose the latter for the sake of making a point.

ONE FINAL NOTE

Shan Gudao was looking after Li Xiangxian and Li Xiangyi on the streets. This child in episode 30, who is buying food for Li Xiangyi,

is the same as this child in episode 39, who is Shan Gudao.

He’s not someone who was inherently incredibly selfish. He wouldn’t have wasted his own resources on taking care of an unrelated child otherwise. He got an illness that gave him a brain injury bad enough that he forgot his entire past, and then was raised in competition with Li Xiangyi, however much Li Xiangyi was unaware of it.

In conclusion: everything is Qi Mushan’s fault. Thank you for coming to my TED talk

[misaneeragoni]

Gamer Doflamingo

I don't know what exactly it was that possessed me that went like TOXIC ASSHOLE GAMER DOFLAMINGO. DRAW; DRAW, DRAWWWWWW!!!! but it was a thing and so as you do, I listened to the voices.

Once I was done drawing it, more and more ideas kept popping into my head about it, please enjoy this Gamer Doflamingo AU:

(Content warning: Very toxic, sexist, derogatory, your average league of legends experience)

Since this guy discovered multiplayer games, countless hundreds to thousands of individuals have suffered to him. Companies tried to shadow ban him multiple times but he keeps popping up with new VPNs (his stream viewers want to see just how toxic he'll get, after all.)

He knows every slur in the book and boy does he use them frequently.

He's the sort of creep that will address every female gamer in the room as "baby girl" and will demand to be called "daddy" in turn.

He does elo boosting in return for nudes. Which he then sells on the black market (without anyone's consent, of course). This is how his black market empire started.

When he was younger he was mostly into the "your mom" flame, but he's evolved to be so much worse ever since then.

If somebody pisses him off sufficiently he'll ddox them and host a livestream where he burns the house of the respective person down. His catchphrase for this is "taking flame seriously"

His first channel was called 69xXDonquixoteFamilyXx69 on DofTube (his own platform, none other would be good enough for somebody as incredibly as him) but after he killed his father he changed to "ReformedJoker"

He does consider himself "reformed" and has a few account names referencing tyler1 and L9

When playing games with his associates / "friends", he won't hold back on being toxic towards them either. Vergo's totally into it (Doflamingo being aware of this) and I don't even want to disturb you with the details on how freaky those two get with that.

Every time he goes a bit too far out of line in insulting his "friends" while gaming, he'll apologize afterwards. Neither them nor him believe even for a split second that he truly means his apology, but they think it's a sign that he means well. Really he just wants them to keep playing with him so he can flame them some more.

Being the owner of DofTube, noone can take his stream down.

He has some dirt on the government (and some very effective death threats going around) so even though he's constantly burning houses down and ocassionally killing people for views, nobody really stops him. Not that they could, this man's freaking STRONG.

He's really not that good at gaming but his ego is absolutely through the roof. If you try to tell him that he sucks or even just give him advice on how to get better, you WILL be killed immediately (or hunted down if you're not in his immediate vicinity).

His stream viewers organize flash mobs that attack his critics.

In return, barely anyone is even brave enough to say anything negative about Doflamingo / his stream / the Donquixote Family

Sometimes the Donquixote Family members stream together.

Giolla has a lot of simps, which Baby 5 is quite jealous of

Baby 5 had / gets a lot of simps too but Doflamingo keeps killing them, that's his little girl to protect and god beware anyone so much as make one of the sexist remarks he himself constantly makes directed towards Baby 5

Favourite sayings:

- "go back to the kitchen"

- "hope your family dies of [disease]" (caesar is always happy to try and cook something up for Doflamingo)

- "in my country we stake these lobotomized apes"

- "sys" (string yourself - devil fruit reference, eh, could be more imaginative)

Phew! This got a little out of hand. I'm drawing on 10+ years of dealing with toxic internet strangers here, so I have a lot of resources to back this up on. Frankly some of the things I've heard I'd rather not repeat and disturb others with, even!

I'm SUPER tempted to turn this into a fanfiction, will see how that goes. So sorry that I haven't updated / written anything in a hot minute, I keep being sick and tired all the time so I'm not getting anything done :(

[glenpcwcll]

Glen confessing his feelings for Sydney was something that he had waited to do for what seemed like an eternity, and he never meant to make her feel like she had kept him from doing so. There were a lot of factors that he had to keep in mind when planning this, but the main concern was making sure that he didn't hurt her or hurt himself in the long run, either. They both had gone through so much apart and together, they went through an entire summer of rumors spreading like wildfires while trying to shut that all out and living their lives. "You never made me feel like I couldn't confess my feelings for you. That was never the case, I just wanted to make sure and tread lightly when it came to confessing this to you. We had our exes, we had rumors flying around and I had your feelings in mind, as well." In forefront Glen wanted her to feel safe, and like she could trust him and if they weren't there yet then he wanted to work on that with her. "Being scared is natural, and I get it. Because I'm also scared of getting hurt and opening myself up completely to you, but it's something that I want. I want you." Glen gently took her hand into his, intertwining their fingers. "No, I don't think we were ever just friends. Of course, what we built has a great foundation of us being friends before anything else, but I don't know...something just happened that we can't stay away from each other."

As he listened to speak, he kept his hazel hues on hers, lips pursed as he wanted her to know that he was taking her words seriously and was genuinely listening to her. It all brought so much joy to him knowing that she wanted the same thing as he did. The feelings for mutual and he wasn't crazy at all. What a sigh of relief. "A possible move to Texas in the near future, huh?" He questioned as his head coked to the side, a smirk on his lips. That was an sentence he didn't think he'd hear at least not now, but it was welcomed. "If you're thinking of doing that, then I'll make sure to spend more time in LA whenever I can, as well." If she was going to be willing to make such a big move in the future, then he wanted to make sure that she knew he'd be willing to make changes in his life as well.

With his face still being cupped by Sydney's hands, he leaned his face closer to hers placing a kiss on the tip of her nose and slowly pulled back. "Of course, only if you want to, be mine. Only mine. Be my girlfriend, Sydney."

it felt like something had shifted and sydney wasn't sure what that meant. especially since glen seemed to have something on his mind. she never wanted to ruin their friendship. though if she was being honest with herself, she knew they had never really been just friends. she found herself unable to stop herself from smiling," we didn't mean for it to happen and we won't let it happen again, right?" they had already agreed to not repeat the same patterns. she just hoped that they would be able to see more of each other. though their schedules could make it impossible to do so. she nodded slowly, giggling a bit," thank you for accepting the invitation." something felt different but she wasn't sure what it was. the light peck that he gave her made her lips curve into a soft smile. she knew that it might be cruel to admit that she had seen others in their time apart. though she wanted to be honest plus she knew that he had to have done the same. that didn't make hearing about it any easier though. all thoughts about that were forgotten when she realized what else he was saying," glen," she breathed," i never meant to make you feel like you couldn't admit how you felt and no one comes close to you for me." nothing could have prepared her for what he was saying. it seemed that it had been on his mind quite a bit. she forced herself to take a breath to try to clear her head. the blonde felt her throat tightening as she listened to what he had to say," i'll admit that i'm scared, scared i'm going to get hurt again, scared that i'll lose our friendship but we weren't ever just friends, were we?" "i want what you want," she finally admitted," i want to be there for you, to take care of you, i want to be yours." she wasn't sure what it would mean for the future but she knew that they couldn't keep pretending it wasn't there. her hands reached up to cup his face," i'll even consider a possible move to texas in the future if that is what it takes to make this work."

[schadenfreudich]

Hi!! I come to you since you're my dearest German mutual, and I've been learning German since 2020 and well, I can learn grammar and vocabulary but I wanna find more german (real german, not just textbook german yk) content to listen to and become more fluid!! I'm guessing you might know stuff like music and youtube channels and maybe podcasts and that sort of stuff-? It'd be very helpful! Thanks in advance :3

This is so much, especially music. We just listen to a lot of german music a wide variety. Sorry or you're welcome

Youtubers:

coldmirror: one of the longest existing youtubers, comedy

Spacefrogs: mostly political humor

Iblali: hasn't really been active on that channel but at least was funny

Hand of Blood: comedy and gaming, and weird costumes

Zeo: comedy, mostly speaks in understable german, mostly (Chill deine Basics has a character who speaks in a thick Bavarian accent)

der Heider: haven't actually watched him in a while, also thick Bavarian accent sometines

Klengan: talks about stuff happening on youtube, mostly, last video I remember was about Jeremy Fragrance

Tommy Toalingling: gay, as in he makes a lot of videos about queer topics, also he's gay (this could be helpful if you want to know more about queer terms in german)

Kegy: comedy and also I keep referencing him and no one gets it, also hasn't uploaded in 4 years

Malternativ: in case you want to listen to a german man scream about annoying things (he's funny, I promise)

MiiMii: really hard to describe, weird drawings

Rob Bubble: politic humor, Anti-Webvideopreis (for the worst video of the year)

Podcasts:

Brainpain (by Heider and Klengan)

einer von den Guten (having actually listened to that one, but Zeo is one of them. so it can't be bad)

nicht mehr ganz Twitter (also includes Zeo and the guy who did Iblali)

Lästerschwestern (by Rob Bubble)

I really don't listen to a lot of podcasts, but those exist and the people aren't awful in other media)

Not a podcast, but an audiobook:

Känguru-Chroniken: have you ever wanted to listen to a story about a communist kangaroo and an anarchist artist? Because this is that. It's really funny.

Music:

Comedian Harmonists: you should definitely listen to "mein kleiner grüner Kaktus" at least once. They're old and made what wikipedia calls "volkstümliche Musik"

Cro: rap/pop kinda music, I recommend "Einmal um die Welt" and "Bye Bye"

die Ärzte: punk band, have themes such as death, kink, random gay lines and anti-fascism. I recommend "Junge" and "M&F", just because they're like the most popular songs. But if you want to listen to a weirder song, I'd suggest "meine Ex(plodierte Freundin)", way too happy for the fact that he's talking about his girlfriend exploding.

Die Prinzen: A cappella, "alles nur geklaut" is very popular and the funniest song to get cover

Die toten Hosen: punk band, our syskids really like "Walkampf", maybe a little too much. "Tage wie diese" and "Altes Fieber" are quite popular. Also "zehn kleine Jägermeister", just be aware the source of "zehn kleine [word]" is racist, if you choose to look that up, not this song, just the original one.

EAV (Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung): they were an Austrian punk band, so if some words are confusing, that might just be because they're Austrian. Also "Ba-Ba Banküberfall", because it's really funny.

Falco: also Austrian, Neue Deutsche Welle, you should listen to "Rock me, Amadeus", "Egoist", "Dance Mephisto" and actually basically every song. We just really like Falco.

Glasperlenspiel: electro-pop, "geiles Leben" and "Echt" are really great, also "Traumtänzer" and "Legoschloss"

Haggefugg: medieval rock, "Daheim" and "Märchenwald"

Heldmaschine: industrial metal, sound similar to Rammstein (they have a song about that)

Herbert Grönemeyer: rock(?) singer, I recommend "Männer" and "Kinder an die Macht", also "etwas warmes" (that one's gay)

LaBrassBanda: So Bavarian they were Lederhosen in every picture, but they have an entire album they recorded in a cow barn, so I had to mention them

Mark Forster: pop, very popular, "Au Revoir" (and on that note, Sido, I guess) and "Chöre" are great

Max Giesinger: pop, "Wenn sie tanzt" is very nice

Megaherz: Neue Deutsche Härte, they have a cover of "Rock me Amadeus", and also "Schwarz = Religion" is great

Musica Immortalis: medieval music, I saw them in person, they only have 60 monthly listeners on spotify but they are so so good. Like, "Kraken" and "der Sturm", wonderful.

OOMPH!: one of the first bands under Neue Deutsche Härte, there is so much, so I'll recommend albums this time. "Des Wahnsinns Fette Beute", multiple queer songs, crossdressing, being scared of your own homosexuality and public gay sex with a sailor. Also one song about suicide. "Ritual", a lot of pain and suffering, also a song titled "TRRR - FCKN - HTLR", which does include the line "terror, ficken, Hitler" being shouted multiple times.

Reis Against The Spülmaschine: parodies, also only three songs but they're incredibly funny

Schattenmann: Neue Deutsche Härte, some quite explicitly sexual songs, but they're good. Like "Choleriker", which isn't about sex but is about violence and anger issues

Tanzwut: Neue Deutsche Härte but also medieval

The toten Crackhuren im Kofferraum: punk, all women, great, wonderful, I recommend "ich und mein Pony" and "Punkrock hat mir das Herz gebrochen"

Voxxclub: also very Bavarian, it's great 👍

Nena: Neue Deutsche Welle, especially "99 Luftballons" and "Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann"

And this is more so specific songs that were a very formative experience when we were 12-15:

"ne Leiche" by SDP, Sido (yes, it's about a corpse)

"Willst du" by Alligatoah (sounds like a love song, but it's about drugs)

"Über den Wolken" by Reinhard Mey (this one is just nice)

"Monsta" by Culcha Candela (we call it the german monsterfucker song, because that woman is a literal monster and he's like "even better!")

"Major Tom (... völlig losgelöst)" by Peter Schilling (this one's sad)

"Die Da!?" by die Fantastischen Vier

"Nur ein Wort" by Wir sind Helden (just a love song)

"Stadt" by Cassandra Steen, Adel Tawil

"Perfekte Welle" by Juli

"Vom selben Stern" by Ich + Ich

"Skandal im Sperrbezirk" by Spider Murphy Gang (be aware it's about prostitues and the language is a little outdated, but the song is good)

I don't think I have to tell you about Rammstein, but also "Mann gegen Mann" is gay

[britneyshakespeare]

Had the extremely upsetting experience of a mutual of like 6 years going off on me for occasionally making posts about supporting Harris because apparently that makes me a g n cide denier who refuses to learn and grow, with all of my views just being assumed not even from what I've told them I believe or what I've posted before, but just because I DON'T post particularly the kind of things they THINK I should be. When I pointed out how much they were just completely assuming about stuff I'd never talked to them about, I was told it doesn't matter what I do in real life or "care" about if I simply disagree with their conclusion and vote for her anyway. Like they were absolutely not sorry for the level of maliciousness they not just assumed of my character, but for some reason thought appropriate to bring directly to me before unfollowing me. No apology whatsoever for how discomforting or upsetting that might be and certainly no acknowledgment that I could disagree with them and still be a good person. I just got another even longer rant about how they fundamentally can't fuck with me because of this one thing, no matter WHAT else I do in my real life (which I pointed out that they do not know), and how I'm directly supporting fascism.

Like seriously what is it about Tumblr that makes people think they know someone based off of occasional posts? There were just such DEEP assumptions they were making of me and going off of very little or absolutely nothing. Around the time I first became mutuals with that person I used to express my personality and beliefs and talk about what was going on in my life a lot more openly, but I've significantly scaled back on doing that in many ways for many reasons. One of my major ones is privacy and the way I've had strangers outside my followers and following circles just find random things I say and dogpile me for it. I was fundamentally changed after some T Fs did that to me like 3 years ago. I also just didn't have many conversations w that person anymore (I message people in general on here like 10x less than I did circa 2018-2019, which I'm somewhat sorry about!). My point is to say I think this person felt comfortable assuming that they knew me, especially who I am in 2024 at the age of 25, much better than they actually did.

One of the specific things they accused me of was being afraid of learning and growing (because I don't perform social media activism on here like they think I should). Like AFRAID to take criticism. When again I've never received criticism from them or had to respond to any criticism on here before as pertaining to my views on... well, absolutely any of the issues they accused me of not caring about. They essentially treated it as if the only thing in the world I cared about was the US election and characterized me as the most out-of-touch liberal they could possibly imagine, because I'm not "pushing" Kamala Harris to be better (Oh?? Should I do that on here?? Does she read my blog??).

And most hypocritically what they said was that I only *sometimes* *vaguely* post pro-Harris things (I often post like 5 or fewer things in a day though?). But here's the kicker. "Because I know I'll get shit for it. And rightfully so."

Really????? Not a single person, anon or not, in my messages or in a tagged post or anything, has ever given me shit before for saying who I'm voting for. I'm actually NOT afraid of "getting shit" for that opinion, I just don't start fights with people who are anti-voting. And why should I??? I genuinely don't believe in trying to change the minds of strangers on the internet about that sort of thing. I'm just not confrontational about it; that is so not the same thing as being "afraid of getting shit." I'm not posting ENOUGH about my support for Harris, therefore I'm afraid. But therefore they can also make all these assumptions about me being their strawman for an ignorant Harris supporter.

I'm afraid of getting shit but I still post anyway? But if I weren't afraid of getting shit I'd be posting a lot more?? This is ALL based on their assumptions of what my blog *should* look like, based on what I really and truly believe. My level of posting every now and then is an accurate gauge of my feelings on complex, sensitive, global issues. Because I'm voting for the Democratic presidential candidate and I'm ok sharing pretty much just that little glimpse of myself.

I really don't think that person knows just how inappropriate and insulting that is to just say all of that to me. Like they really know what's going on in my head. Their first message began and ended with like "I'm sorry I love you I just can't take it anymore" but they clearly weren't sorry enough to try and be more respectful to me, and they didn't love me enough not to default to extremely ungenerous assumptions and attacking me based off of those instead of any actual words I've said that they take issue with.

Online radicalization is real and it's not necessarily bad because your political views can start to fall well out of the contemporary Overton window. The way you find it appropriate to treat people whose views, however common, seem to fundamentally misalign with yours... that does matter. You can't just assume the worst of everyone and then act on that in how you approach them as individuals. And then be shocked that you don't stay friends with them. You can't be confrontational with someone about an issue you've never had an honest conversation about, and then expect them to take your bad faith in them as reasonable well-meaning criticism.

I'm afraid of criticism??? I'm afraid of criticism. No I'm not. This person and I have never had an issue before where they criticized me and I got harshly defensive. It was ALL projection. The entire tone of their messages was as if all their anti-voting posts recently were somehow in communication with the occasional go-vote-for-Harris posts that I make. That's not a conversation. I don't post for your satisfaction. I don't post in "response" to my mutuals I disagree with. I just post what's on my mind, sometimes, about some things. I really again can't stress enough how baffled I am by this

[linabirb]

you know you've hit rock bottom when by the end of the session your therapist hits the head in hands pose and goes "let's. l-let's just try to stay alive for now. n-no meds we'll just focus on finding the reasons to keep you here"

[lightblueminecraftorchid]

Today was the last DND session for a three-year campaign and I am big sad :(

One of the players brought whiskey for a last toast, which was very kind of them. I had never had whiskey before. Turns out I do not like whiskey. Unsurprising.

It tastes like slightly nicer hand sanitizer.

[romy350-romyakari]

To kick off the countdown to tomorrow, i have a small rec to make but of course it will make no sense to anybody that has not a crumb of context or seen the series, like this fun little ship or probably vibe with the idea.

Of course I am talking about the shadowpeach bio parents AU fancomic

This was one of the nicer surprises i had while scouting the Lego Monkie Kid tag after being done with S5 the night I binged the whole series.

There are so many nice moments and Kyri does a lovely job handling that idea. I highly recommend giving it a read if you haven't and probably like LMK or well the idea too.

If not, probably give LMK a try. It is a neat watch.

[tearlessrain]

I've had anxiety pretty much all my life and having my fears/concerns brushed off is not a new thing for me and sometimes it's justified, but it is uniquely annoying in this case because I keep being right, repeatedly, throughout the pandemic, and people are still acting like I'm just being my panicky self and it's not as big a deal as I'm making it.

[punkrockisafulltimejob]

Bleh

[into-the-milgramverse]

I wish I could also write out something about Shidou, but like, my opinions are shaped based on combination of other people's takes, and it feels as if everyone kind of just stopped analyzing him after people figured out that his crime is related to asking the families of brain dead patients for permission to use the organs of said brain dead patients. After that, no one really went to look into his character deeper, he kinda just got boiled down to as "oh, a surgeon guy", "guy with family", "guy who takes organs", "guy who wanted to be guilty sooo bad and then got innocent twice in a row".