#this is a rare case of determination and following through

[anditendshowyoudexpect]

boy have i come a long way from crying over Sprawlopolis on cold November nights

[diejager]

Please, I need a continuation of the story of !kidnapper Krueger and Nikto! Please!!

New Neighbours Cw: DARKFIC, DUB-CON/NON-CON, obsession, non-con touching, condescension, manhandling, tell me if I missed any. Wc: 1k Boy, it been a fat minute since I wrote that small Drabble.

There was a knock at the door, three blunt and powerful hits of sturdy knuckles shaking your door with how strong - you presumed - the person was. Dropping whatever you were working on, you walked to the door and peering through the peep hole, shocked to see the familiar black and khaki fabrics of your new neighbour. You’ve seen them once or twice in the month between their first move and today, the grizzly look and scarred skin of a brash-toned and brutish man you came to know him as from the few times you met him. He would stare at you, wide, owlish gazes that left you shuddering from the gleam in his brown eyes, a deep-seated darkness as he… appraised you. 

He called himself Sebastian, presenting himself one night when you were stumbling home from a tiring day at work, stopping to help you up the stairs since his door was right across from you. You thought he lived alone, but was surprised to see another man, covered from head to toe in black and army green, hiding any identifiable feather apart from his pale, blue eyes and his broad shoulders, big and bulky even in his skin tight clothes. Sebastian’s roommate had only stared at you, unblinking and unmoving, seconds spent gazing at your anxious and uncomfortable form, messing with your sleeve while Sebastian helped you moved the bags to your kitchen table. 

If you thought Sebastian the weird one, then Nikto - he was spoken for - was the odd one, a fierce man that only knew how to stare silently to upset whatever and whoever he was glaring at. You only saw him once, and that was a blurry and tired view of him from the open doorway across yours when Sebastian was helping you. You had little to go on for him, being more familiar to his roommate and occasionally exchanging a few words when you crossed path —though rarely, the seemingly never left their home.

“Hey, Sebastian,” you tilted your head in greeting, opening your door only wide enough to pop your head out and kept a hand firmly wrapped around the knob in case he did something. You’d always been cautious, and Sebastian and Niktowere suspicious men, “How can I help you?”

“Ja, I need help with something,” his soft, yet brash tone made his accent more apparent, something small but attractive despite your apprehension towards him, “A woman’s touch.”

A woman’s touch? You didn’t know what he meant exactly, but when you looked down to his thick and crooked fingers - perhaps from his work, broken and reset too many times that it started to heal crooked - you could guess what he implied. Your fingers were smaller, lither than his with fat on your knuckles and smaller palms, it made working through small and complex affairs easier. Despite your understanding, you grew uneasy, squinting at him from the safety of your door, but Sebastian was nothing if not determined. So you nodded, excusing yourself to change your clothes from a small top and shorts for a t-shirt and sweatpants before you met him at his entrance, locking your door behind you.

This was your first look into the world they lived in, a bare and minimalist home, scantly decorated apart from the few vests and- was that a gun? And knives littering the kitchen counter with other dangerous items… Seemingly aware of your fright, Sebastian explained how he and Nikto were private contractors, working for a PMC, a private military company, and that they were just on leave, but would always be ready for a call back. Shaking off your paranoia, you followed him deeper into the kitchen, seeing the machinery littered on the table and beside it sat Nikto, ramrod and tense in his seat.

“женщина,” he growled out, his voice so raspy and low that you wondered if it hurt to speak a single word. [Woman]

“Nikto,” you returned, following Sebastian to the table and ignoring Nikto’s wide stare, his vacant eyes and lingering gaze, roving over your body and obsessively admiring you like a hunter would, “Is this what you needed help with?”

Sebastian showed you what he needed, explaining where each small piece went into the box, guiding you around the confusion machinery while Nikto watched, a sentinel in his own flat. You were so engrossed into fixing this small box, brows pinched with concentration get this thing fixed as quick as possible to return to the safety of your apartment, that you missed Nikto’s silent stalk towards you, his broad and silent figure looming over your unsuspecting form until a rough hand gripped your hip. 

You jumped, dropping the box and turned your head to gawk at Nikto, looking back at his - still - vacant eyes and wide and hungry glint. Frowning at him, you sunk your fingers into his hand, trying to move an unmovable wall that pushed himself against you, backing you into the table until he bent you over the now broken box you were first invited to fix. You struggled against Nikto, growling out a warning and clawed at his covered forearms, but it only riled him up. Sebastian stood and watched with a perverted eagerness as Nikto rutted against you, holding you down by the nape, scruffing you like you would a misbehaving dog. 

“Get off me!” You yowled, reaching back with your arms, trying to elbow a man you knew you wouldn’t be able to forcefully remove with how built and big he was, “Get off me, Nikto!”

“Shut up,” you could hear his bared teeth, the cold and condescending tone of his rasp, sliding his knee between your kicking legs, your feet arbitrarily hitting the air, “Stop struggling and listen.”

A low rumble left the man before you, your glare meeting the Austrian who found this situation funny, his chuckle slow and mirthful, finding enjoyment in your useless struggle and hissing. 

“I would listen to him, Schnuckel, ” he lowered himself to show the eagerness in his dark eyes, a cruel smirk curling the corners of his lips and a teasing tilt of his head, “Be good for us, nicht?”

You shouldn’t have accepted to help him, you should have listened to your gut feeling, but you have no one else to blame expect yourself.

Taglist: @sae1kie @yeoldedumbslut @bvxygriimes @distracteddragoness @konigsblog @im-making-an-effort @daisychainsinknots @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @danielle143 @tuttifuckinfruttifriday @notspiders @brokenpieces-72 @petwifed @randominstake @hayleybarnesx @shironasumi @sparky--bunny @bloobewy @cod-z @sweetnanah @aldis-nuts @evolutionarry @kaoyamamegami @cassiecasluciluce

[themultifandomgal]

Could you do an established relationship jay halstead x petite reader? She’s in the fbi, has a PhD, and is quite young. (She’s like 25-27) She’s shy and pretty innocent. Jay introduces her to the unit. When they meet her they don’t see how she’s an fbi agent. Then the fbi takes over a scene and she’s a total badass. Jay is proud and he’s like that’s my girl.

Jay Halstead- My Girl

I absolutely loved this idea! I had so much fun writing this one. I hope you enjoy!

No one knew about Jays girlfriend, in fact everyone thought he was single. So when Jay arrived at Molly’s with a petite woman on his arm, everyone was shocked to say the least, even more so when Will gave her a hug and the pair looked like they have known each other for a while. The noise of conversation and clinking of glasses filled the air as they made their way to a table in the corner. It was a Friday night, a rare occasion for Jay and his colleagues to be out all together.

As they sat down, Erin, his partner, was the first of Jays coworkers to greet the couple

“Im so happy you could come. Who is this lovely lady, Jay?" she asked, her tone laced with curiosity.

Jay smiled proudly and replied, "This is YN. My girlfriend. She works for the FBI." YN, who was naturally shy and reserved, gave a polite nod but said nothing. Erin's eyes widened in surprise, she looks over to Jay shock written all over her face

“Oh wow you’ve kept her quiet Jay” Jay just shrugs in response.

Through the evening the drinks flow, but YN continues to stay quiet, just observing the space around her

“So FBI huh? You seem too quiet and innocent for that line of work”

YN simply smiled and shrugged, used to this reaction from people who underestimated her based on her demeanor. She was well aware of her ability to blend in and appear unassuming, a skill that served her well in her line of work. She knew that her quiet nature was one of her greatest assets, allowing her observer others and gather crucial information for her cases. As the night went on YN and Jay finished up the evening and headed off back home.

YN sat in her car, staring at the building in front of her. It’s been 2 weeks since she met Jays coworkers and now she’s been asked to help the intelligence unit with a tough case. She steps out of the car and strode confidently towards the entrance, her gun hidden securely in its holster.

As she entered the building, she was greeted by the sight of her boyfriend Jay and his boss Voight, both standing in the lobby, waiting for her

“YN thank you so much for coming” Voight says holding out his hand. Immediately YN takes his hand in hers, shaking his hand

“No problem, happy to help”

“Please follow us” Voight takes YN to the bullpen where the rest of their coworkers are standing around a bulletin board

“You all remember YN” Jay says first

“She’s joining us on this case” voight tells everyone who greets the girl

“So what do you know so far?” YN says getting straight into the case

“We know that Doms father owned a huge farm down state. When she died Dom inherited 30 million” Antonio hands over the case file to YN who takes a look at all the information at hand “he took out 10 million 2 days before he went missing” YN looks up at the team

“Did anyone actually see him though?”

“Taking the money out?” Jay asks

“At all”

“What are you saying?” Erin frowns

“I dont think he’s missing. Did you get the autopsy report on the mum?”

“No, she died of natural causes” Antonio crosses his arms

“Are you positive on that? I want to see an autopsy report somethings just not adding up”

unwavering, her determination driving her to catch the criminal at any cost.

YN got what she needed, the autopsy report showed that Doms mum did not die of natural causes, in fact she was poisoned slowly over time. YNs theory of dom not being missing made him their first suspect.

As they neared the location where Dom was believed to be hiding, YN's instincts kicked in. With a nod to Jay, she signaled that it was time to make their move.

They burst into the building, guns drawn. YN's training kicked in

“On the floor, now!” YN shouts pointing her gun at Dom “keep your hands where we can see them”

In a matter of moments, Dom was apprehended. Jay and the rest of his team watch the girl they once thought of as quiet become this confident woman. Jay watches on, feeling a sense of pride and love. That’s his girl who he’s extremely proud of.

[adventuringblind]

Breathe For Me

LandOscar x Reader

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Angst

Dialouge: "It's okay, you can rest. We've got you. Just Breathe."

Summary: Marks on your soulmates skin appear on yours. Oscar and Lando hope they find whoever it is before they run out of time.

Warnings: SELF-HARM, Alcohol, scars, blood, panic attacks,

Notes: This is Part of my 1000 follower event. Feel free to click the link and throw me a request!

Masterlist

It's not every day you meet your soulmate. It's certainly not rare, but it also isn't an everyday event and is supposed to only happen once. If you're Lando Norris, then you get to go through it twice.

Originally he thought only one. I mean, maybe his souldmate is just clumsy. That is not the case however, because Lando has more scars, cuts, bumps, and bruises then anyone else he knows. He would be fine with it if he wasn't on national television all the time.

Max and Charles were lucky and found each other in Karting. Max had a bruise on his face from his dad and showed up to the race with it still getting darker. Charles had one to match. Now they're happily in love and the public doesn't now (is what they tell themselves).

So Lando finds himself stuck in between a soulmate who bruises every occasionally and on who gets scrapes nearly every day. He feels for whoever the first is because Lando is clumsy and is always running into things. Between himself and whoever the latter is, he probably is already exasperated.

Aside from his family, Carlos is the first person to notice. He double checks nothing is happening in Lando's own life that is causing all the marks. He assures happily that he's clumsy and the two soul mates certainly don't help.

Lando has heard of people carving names and addresses into their arms to find their destined partner. He lets it happen naturally. It's supposed destiny and who is he to rush it?

Daniel admits to an extreme worry of Lando. The older driver kept a close eye on him and Lando has to reassure him non-stop that he's clumsy, but it's not that bad.

He soon realizes that it's not the bruises Daniel is worried about, it's the scars. When his sweatshirt sleeves roll up the red lines are visible. It's something he's gotten used to over the past couple of years, but he dosen't think about it when he's not being filmed.

They cover a good amount of space on his body. Biceps, collarbone, thighs, stomach, and shins. It wasn't that bad until 2021 when it got significantly worse. It's stressing him out if he's being honest with himself.

He's is pieces when Daniel tells him he's losing his seat. No other driver lined up yet. Another teammate gone.

Daniel reassures him that Oscar looks like he'll make a good teammate. Lando is skeptical. Oscar is younger and a rookie.

The first time he meets Oscar is at the MTC. They shake hands, two sets of sleeves role up and Lando can't help but stare.

They match. Their wrists are completely identical.

They don't talk about it until a while later after spending the off season getting to know each other. They determined in Febuary they would be really close friends. It obviously escalated and now Charlotte keeps tell him to make it less obvious.

He's nit afraid to say he's weak for Oscar. A calm in his storm of emotions. The one person who can get him to actually rationalize his anxious thoughts.

In 2023, three rookies came to the grid. One of them being a female driver for alphatauri and a good friend of Oscar's. She then consequently became a friend of Lando's.

Which would be so terrible if Lando didn't know for a fact she's hiding something. She's shy and closed off to everybody unless it's him or Oscar. Mostly because he's forced his way under her skin.

"There is something about her, Osc. I can feel it in my bones."

"Are you sure it's not the cup of milk you downed getting to your head?"

"Rude!"

Oddly enough, it's max who approaches them about her later. He'd gotten to know her through media things and race weekends and often asked Lando about her or vice versa.

He pulls Oscar and him aside early one morning in the paddock. Oscar is still half asleep and Lando doesn't know what's happened until Max slides their sleeves up.

The ones they decided to wear to the cameras didn't pick up the fresh scar close to their elbow on their forearms. Completely identical to each other.

"You said you have another soulmate right?"

"Yes?"

"I think I might know who it is."

This is how Lando and Oscar find themselves in front of her hotel room door after the race. A DNF that wasn't her fault had ended her race early. Max had been about to go get her himself, but Lando and Oscar had said they would. If Max is right then they have a higher chance of getting through to the female driver.

Max sent them with the key card he has to her room. The one he forced her to give after he found her last night with a blade in her hand.

They knock out of curtosey first. No answer, as expected, but at least they tried. Maybe She’s asleep? Lando knows that’s probably not the case but he really doesn’t want to and see what is most likely happening. If the sting on his thigh says anything, it’s definitely not sleep.

Oscar keys the door open and hesitantly steps inside. Lando follows right on his heels. The lights are off and he would probably think it was empty if it weren’t for the visible blob of blankets in the corner that’s sobbing violently. to close to hyperventilation for Lando’s liking. He takes immediate action and pulls her out of the blankets.

Immediately, he keeps her body from curling in on itself so her chest is open and can get air easier. Oscar manages to find a lamp switch. She’s a wreck. So incredibly broken that Lando doesn’t know where to start.

“Breathe.” Is all he can come up with. "It's okay, you can rest. We've got you. Just Breathe."

Somehow he coax’s her to sleep. Him and Oscar combined manage to get her to bed, wrestle her shoes off, and bandage what they could see without removing clothing.

Oscar practically forces Lando into the be with her and he takes the floor. He’d said he’d take the floor with him, but Oscar claimed that Lando is the lighter sleeper and would know if she moved at all. Curse his soulmate and his logical thinking.

She manages to sleep until five in the morning. This time she just cries and huddles closer into Lando.

“I’m sorry you have to see me in such a state… I didn’t know you were stopping by.”

Lando maneuvers then int a sitting position. He then takes a pillow and throw it at his lover on the floor. Oscar stirs and groans.

“Must you.”

“Yes, It’s funny.”

Oscar makes his way up onto the bed and looks immediately like he’s going to fall asleep. Lando consequently throws another pillow at him.

“You should know something…” Lando starts. He doesn’t finish because the word are not doing what he needs them to. They jumble on his head and he can’t figure out where to start.

He’s entirely to grateful for Oscars presence. “Max thinks that the three of us are soulmates.”

Lando was thinking it would be like the first. Realization followed by smiles and laughs. This is not that. Instead it’s panic. She defends into the depths of her mind as she studies the match scars, even revealing her own identical one.

The pain, embarrassment and shame are written all over her features. She’s mumbling through some kind of an apology.

“Breathe.” He repeats. He says it over and over again until it’s all her own mind can hear.

Oscar looks gutted and lost. He’d helped Lando through many panic attacks, but this is completely different.

“I didn’t think I would ever find you. The doctors had tried to cut me off because it was a mistake since there were two. They said I wasn’t supposed to have one.”

Are the two boys shocked? A tad. Why would a doctor do that?

Lando doesn’t get time to ask as she pulls out a bottle of medication from the drawer in the nightstand. It’s stuff he’s heard of, but never actually seen. “This has been suppressed to sever the connection, but it hasn’t worked. They said to take it in higher doses at smaller intervals until it stops.”

She pops open the lid and pours a couple into her hands. Thank goodness for quick reflexes because Lando goes to get the ones in her hands, and Oscar goes for the bottle. She's too focused on Lando to notice the Aussie who manages to swipe it from her.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Didn't feel relevant."

"But this is incredibly dangerous! I've heard most people who do it end up -" Oh. It dawns on him why she's doing this to herself. The connection between them was already rough for her. She had been trying to 'fix' it like her doctors said. Had been told her entire life that the people who are fated to lover her unconditionally won't because she is nothing to them.

"How long have you been taking the meds?" Oscar's voice is so careful. The Brit would love to swoon, but it feels impolite at the moment.

"Years. They've tried everything. Put me on different kinds and change the dosage."

"Thirteen?" Lando whisper asks. His voice was barely audible. The small nod from the female confirms it. That's when the first scars arrived.

Lando places his hands on either side of her teary face. "You are not a mistake. You have never been a mistake. We've been aching for you. Scared maybe one day there wouldn't be any more marks and the implications of it. I've wanted nothing more than to tell you for years that you are loved and wanted."

He didn't even notice his own tears. Everything is just so overwhelming at the moment. They came so unexpectedly that it almost startled him. Screw Oscar and his ability to be amazing emotional support. The hand on Lando's knee is the only thing keeping him grounded.

They don't let her go until Max comes to get her. She's flying to do some filming with him. Neither of the males want to let her go, so they don’t. They end up flying with her since McLaren hasn’t filled their schedules.

But then they don’t leave. They spend every moment possible reminding her she is loved. That they want her. That nothing between them is a mistake.

Soon the scars start to fade.

But have no fear, Lando is clumsy enough to make up for it.

[inkspiredwriting]

A Not-So-Normal Day

Five Hargreeves x Fem!reader

Warnings: none

Five Hargreeves was determined to have a normal day. After the chaos of time travel, apocalypses, and his family’s constant drama, he and his wife, Y/N, deserved some peace and quiet. He had planned a simple day for them: breakfast at their favorite café, a walk in the park, and a quiet evening at home. It was supposed to be perfect.

But the Hargreeves family had other plans.

The day started promisingly enough. Five and Y/N walked hand in hand to the café, the morning sun casting a warm glow over the city. They found a cozy corner table and ordered their usual: pancakes for Y/N and coffee for Five. As they waited for their food, Five felt a rare sense of calm.

Then the door to the café burst open, and Klaus strolled in, wearing a flamboyant feathered hat and a neon pink jacket. “Hey, lovebirds!” he called out, drawing the attention of everyone in the café.

Five groaned inwardly. “Klaus, what are you doing here?”

Klaus slid into the booth next to Y/N, completely ignoring Five’s annoyed expression. “Just thought I’d join you two for breakfast. I mean, what’s a normal day without a bit of family bonding?”

Y/N stifled a laugh as Five glared at his brother. “We were kind of hoping for some alone time, Klaus.”

Klaus waved a hand dismissively. “Nonsense! Besides, I bring entertainment.” He pulled out a deck of tarot cards and began shuffling them dramatically.

Despite Five’s protests, Klaus stayed for the entire breakfast, regaling them with absurd stories and giving impromptu tarot readings to the waitstaff. By the time they left the café, Five’s hopes for a quiet morning were thoroughly dashed.

Next, they headed to the park. Five hoped for a peaceful walk, maybe a chance to sit by the lake and enjoy the tranquility. They found a secluded bench and sat down, Five finally beginning to relax.

“Maybe we’ll actually get some peace now,” Y/N said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Five smiled. “Let’s hope so.”

Just as they were starting to enjoy the moment, a soccer ball came flying out of nowhere, landing at their feet. They looked up to see Luther and Diego jogging over, both dressed in athletic gear.

“Hey, Five! Y/N!” Luther called out. “We need an extra player for our game. Wanna join?”

Five’s expression hardened. “No, Luther, we’re trying to have a quiet day.”

Diego shrugged. “Come on, it’ll be fun. Just one game.”

Before Five could protest, Y/N nudged him playfully. “Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to join them for a bit. It might be fun.”

Reluctantly, Five agreed, and what was supposed to be a quick game turned into an intense match. Luther and Diego’s competitive nature took over, and soon they were diving for the ball and arguing over every point. Y/N cheered them on from the sidelines, laughing at their antics.

By the time the game was over, Five was exhausted. He and Y/N decided to head home, hoping to salvage what was left of their day. They walked back to their apartment, fingers entwined, sharing quiet laughter about the unexpected turn of events.

As they approached their building, they noticed a familiar figure sitting on the steps. It was Viktor, holding a violin case and looking sheepish.

“Viktor?” Five said, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

Viktor stood up, smiling apologetically. “I heard you guys were having a normal day and thought you might like some music.”

Y/N grinned. “That sounds lovely, Viktor.”

They all went up to the apartment, where Viktor played a beautiful, calming melody that filled the space with warmth. For a moment, Five felt the peace he had been longing for.

But just as Viktor finished his piece, Allison burst through the door, followed by a trail of paparazzi. “Sorry, I couldn’t shake them!” she exclaimed, slamming the door shut.

Five buried his face in his hands. “Why can’t we just have one normal day?”

Y/N laughed, wrapping her arms around him. “Maybe this is our normal, Five. Chaos and all.”

Five sighed, but a smile tugged at his lips. “I guess you’re right.”

As the day came to an end, Five and Y/N sat on the couch, surrounded by his siblings. It wasn’t the quiet, peaceful day he had planned, but it was filled with laughter, love, and the unique madness that only the Hargreeves family could bring.

And in the midst of it all, Five realized that maybe, just maybe, this was exactly the kind of normal he needed.

[problemchildtm]

Demolition

Derek Morgan x bau!reader

Angst/fluff~ 1.9k words

Warnings: Attachment issues, mentions of childhood trauma, bullying, self deprecating thoughts, suffering in silence (none specific), barely proofread, as always lmk if there’s more

A/n: My attempt at @reiderwriter ‘s 5K challenge. I started with one idea in mind then it kinda spiraled so this is the result. I’m still learning about writing so bear with me. This was so fun and congrats on 5K!!!!

Prompts: Grumpy x sunshine, Oh. OH, idiots in love maybe idk???

“She didn’t understand why, but faced with those decaying buildings and straggled grasses, she was nothing but a child who had never truly lived.”

Offputting, standoffish, rude: all words used to describe your demeanor and/or personality. A combination of these and more have run through your head for so long they’ve become a backtrack to your innermost thoughts. Though these were common sentiments thrown in your direction, you had little confidence in them. The words were hurled by people who would never truly know you nor make it past the walls you’ve so carefully created. No one has succeeded or even tried to climb the barriers until Derek Morgan. You’ve been with the Bau for a little over two years and while the majority of the team learned to accept your cold demeanor, Derek continues his attempt to coax you out of your shell. It’s not like you’re hostile, you just don’t go out of your way to be nice. Rather than converse and joke with the team you sit by yourself in silence. You speak when spoken to and refuse to drag out conversations or engage in small talk. The behavior was disheartening but necessary for your survival. Each action had an intention and they all boiled down to being averse to attachments. Small talk led to hangouts, hangouts led to friendships, friendships led to attachments, and attachments always led to heartbreak. Never once has an attachment left you feeling fulfilled. You’d been a witness to this fact a plethora of times and were determined to prevent the effects happening to you. It took some time but almost everyone eventually gave up their missions to get to know you. Almost everyone.

Derek Morgan was sickengly sweet to you. Every morning he insisted on making your first cup of coffee and every morning a note was left on that cup. Affirmations like “Good things are coming your way” or “You are a priority.” Honestly, it sounded straight out of a fortune cookie. It was dorky and inefficient yet you found yourself keeping every note. Not because you enjoyed them or found comfort in them or anything it would just be rude to throw it away. Right? Right. And it didn’t end with the notes. He’d personally drop off the note-adorned coffee and try to strike up a conversation. You’d always give a polite thank you and that was it. Well, there was one time you actually engaged with him and you swore he never smiled that hard before. Both the smile and conversation seemed to last the whole day and the ones following. His incessant need to speak and be around you should’ve annoyed you to no end but it almost made you open up. Almost. The second you felt the reins attached to your defense mechanisms loosen you immediately tightened them. They were there for a reason and somehow Derek Morgan made you want to loosen them. Under no circumstances would you give in. So, for the foreseeable future, you’d suffer in silence and suppress the urge to be unconditionally yourself in his presence.

You persisted in rejecting Derek’s attempts to get closer to you and it hurt. Why did it hurt? Unfortunately Fortunately, the upcoming case gave you no time to think about that one. Walking into the conference room, you never expected the image on the screen. It was a map of a familiar area, aka your hometown. Clearly, hiding a rare emotion in a room of profilers was futile because every single one of them asked if you were okay- even Garcia. Frozen in shock you could only muster up “hometown.” The answer seemed to appease them but you could sense the pity floating around the room. Derek gently grabbed your hand and led you to the seat beside him, grounding you. The gesture was followed by the signature Derek Morgan smile that was reserved for you. In return, you offered a small smile back and got into the case. His lingering eyes and overall concern went unnoticed by the object of his affections but caught the eye of every other person in that room. Thankfully the case was as straightforward as serial killers can be. It appeared to be cut-and-dry but everyone knew not to assume. Hypotheses and ideas were thrown back and forth between team members but you could only focus on the possibilities plaguing your mind. Taking notice of your unnaturally frightened air Derek carefully approached. “Wanna tell me what’s going through that pretty little head of yours?” Truthfully you didn’t know how to respond. What wasn’t going through your head more like? Understanding you couldn’t keep everything to yourself for the good of the case you started small. “A lot. I haven’t been there since I was sixteen and I wasn’t exactly well-liked.” Hanging on to your every word Derek continued, “Why not?” This time you didn’t respond, just kept staring out of the window. He was getting too close. You were getting too close. That wasn’t enough for him but he wouldn’t dare invade your boundaries; he cared too much to sacrifice the little progress he’s made. Before slipping on his headphones he remarked, “You don’t have to tell me but at least know I’m here and judgment-free.” This was going to be a long case.

The first few days were spent compiling evidence and chasing bodies as the case wasn’t as simple as previously thought. Each minute spent there was pulling at you. It felt like your body was constantly on fire, the only thing cooling you off being scribbles on a paper cup. The messages were less generic and more heartfelt. Unlike other mornings Derek backed off, giving you space to process your thoughts and notes. You missed the near-constant chatter and focused all your energy on the case, hoping it would return once on to the next. After a while, you had a lead. With Reid’s help the geographical profile was done and right in the center was a park you frequented as a kid. Maybe less than a park and more like a grass field surrounded by office buildings but tomato tomato. Hotch assigned you and Morgan to check it out so that’s what you went off to do. Should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy. He looked over and smiled. “You gonna tell me the significance of this patch of grass or do I have to profile it out of you?” Rolling your eyes you relented. There was no point in dragging it. “I grew up poor and the local park charged entry. Every poor kid in the area would come here.” The look of shock on his face wasn’t missed despite his efforts to conceal it. “I’ve never heard of a park charging kids to play is that even legal?” “Unfortunately for you, I am not Reid and cannot give you an answer.” you chuckled. That was the first time he heard you laugh in any capacity and he was so determined to hear it again. “You should laugh more, it’s adorable.” Adorable? You’ve been called a lot of names in your life: by your parents, peers, teachers, superiors, you name it. Adorable has never been one of them. You spent a couple of seconds analyzing him. “You think I’m adorable?” At the end of your sentence, that smile reappeared. “Incredibly. Especially when you try not to smile at my jokes.” He said playfully. Dumbfounded, the only retort you had was honesty. “I don’t smile much anymore. I want to but I can’t.” “Why not?” As much as you wanted the conversation to continue, you couldn’t help but notice how different your childhood hotspot looked. While his eyes were still on you you jumped out of the SUV and took in your surroundings. It smelt different. Years ago it smelt like wonder. As hopeless as it sounds the area smelt like wonder. It felt like an entirely different reality. One you could escape to when things at home and school were bad and that was often if not continuously. It no longer felt like that. It felt cold, bare even. The childlike wonder was gone, the hope was gone, your escape was gone. Suddenly your eyes began to well with tears and the floodgates opened. "You didn't understand why, but faced with those decaying buildings and straggling grasses, you were nothing but a child who had never lived." The emotions overwhelmed every sense and the brass reality hit like a truck. All the walls, all the precautions stopped you from ever truly living. You clung onto that escape and depended on it, perpetually remaining the child that needed to come here to truly live. You wanted to be more open, you wanted to have friends and relationships, you wanted to be better.

Everything came to a head when Derek rushed over to you, frantically asking if you were okay. He’s never seen you cry. Before today he’s never seen you be anything other than complacent. The past fifteen minutes have been the most amount of emotions he’s seen from you and he didn’t know what to do or how to help. Worried, he stuck to a bearhug and a mantra: “You’re okay, you’re safe, come back to me please.” He was practically begging after five minutes. In between breaths, you managed to get out a strangled “Why do you like me? Why haven’t you given up on me?” You were still crying but Derek knew he needed to act. He pulled away and softly wiped your tears, forcing you to look at him. “I need you to copy my breathing baby, can you do that?” It took some time but you were able to get your breathing under control, the tears not so much. Silence took over the two of you until he spoke up. “Why would I give up on you? Everyone suffers differently. You choose silence and that’s okay, the only thing I can do is be a shoulder for you to cry on if you choose it. I haven’t given up because I want you to be happy.” He paused, gathering his next thoughts. “I like you because you’re unapologetically you. You try to detach yourself and not care but you’re not great at it. I know you sneak Garcia’s favorite snacks into her lair and don’t think I’m oblivious to you being the one to listen to Reid’s ramblings when the rest of us tune him out.” You interrupted him. “You guys should stop doing that by the way it’s mean” For the first time in what felt like forever he laughed. “See that’s what I mean. You hide behind a grumpy exterior but you’re so much more than that, and that’s one of the many reasons I like you.” You just stared at him. You couldn’t remember the last time someone spoke to you like that, let alone the last time someone saw beyond your gruff exterior. You started to apologize for the breakdown but he quickly nipped that, explaining how you don’t need to feel sorry. You felt safe for once. The cold feeling dissipated and was replaced by an unfamiliar warmth. The tears stopped and you were hyperfocused on the way the man in front of you met your eyes. The silence that hung over you felt like normalcy that only lasted a second before Derek spoke up. “If it wasn’t clear baby I like you.” You looked up at him confused. “I know you just told me that.” A dopey smile spread across his face as he answered. “No, I like you and want to take you out on a date.” Oh. OH. You smiled. A real, toothy, dopey smile that matched his. “I’d like that.” The walls began chipping away.

It would take time and resources to completely demolish them but for the first time you were excited for the demolition.

[bamdelune]

tears of the condemned .𖥔 ݁ ˖ neuvillette x reader

summary ➜ The Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale rarely ever made errors in its judgement, suitable persecution befalling those on the other side of the law. The Iudex of Fontaine was well-aware and familiar with that fact but the Oratrice's final verdict cause his judgement to go sideways, because it involved you.

warnings/tags/notes ➜ the summary is a warning in itself, angst [i never payed much attention to neuvillette but seeing a few fics about him got me to write this heheuehe + info and events might be canon-divergent because i haven't unlocked fontaine yet but hey, i tried my best 🤓☝️]

Neuvillette truly did not understand why so many people sought out Fontanian hearings, as if watching the accused and the persecution go back and forth was an amusing routine incorporated in their daily lives. To the citizens, it seemed like hearings were an elaborate play that they could watch for entertainment instead of a catalyst to serve righteousness. The Chief Justice certainly did not have a taste for it, especially when the audience was filled with hushed chatter about the case today: your case; surprise, you do not play the part of the persecution but you are the accused.

Murder, both you and Neuvillette found it impossible to believe you could committ such an act but as the Iudex, he must learn not to let this cloud his judgement; Neuvillette must not his doubts pass the verdict instead of rationality.

"The evidence presented by the plaintiff shows us that there is no concrete reason to convict the defendant," His eyes catch your form relax, even by just a bit from his statement. "However, as practice, the final verdict will be determined by the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale." Silence fills the Opera Epiclese as the mechanism moves between the scales.

Neuvillette's skin goes cold when the Oratrice has decided your fate.

Guilty.

Gasps erupt inside the opera and your expression is filled with dumbfoundedness. This was not the first time this happened but he's learned to trust the Oratrice's judgement over his own.

But can he truly put aside his bias if it meant getting you out of this predicament? Can he truly cross the law, the one aspect that founded everything that he has done so far.

Your voice rips out from the silence, riddled with desperation as you plead out to him.

"That's—that's not true at all! Monsieur Neuvillette, there must be some kind of mistake!"

Neuvillette clenches his fists, head straining from the thoughts that ran through his mind. He knew there was a mistake, he knew that the Oratrice can go against his own verdict but he's conflicted. Should he let you off scot-free or send you to the depths of Fortress of Merop—

"The judgement of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale is the final verdict of the court. We have no choice but to follow through with it. Please take the suspect into custody," his mouth opens before he could even think about anything else. Neuvillette swallows thickly, seeing the defeated look on your face—as if the stale silence of the courthouse gave way to the sounds of your heart shattering into tiny pieces; the heart that he had promised to take care of so sincerely every day and the heart he swore to never toss away.

The Fortress is a place meant for solitude, for the convicted to reflect on their actions but all you could think of was how dark and scary it was in your cell. It was clean for the most part, that you were thankful for but other than that, all sense of time seemed to blur. It was lonely, but being falsely arrested like this by your beloved helped you feel lonelier. You felt empty, almost numb like a hollow glass that threatened to break with a push that was enough to break and Neuvillette crossing your trust like that was the trigger.

Footsteps resound through the corridor outside your place, your head lifts to see him.

"Why are you here?" Neuvillette seems to almost wince at how your voice sounded so... colorless, deprived of the life he's grown to love. You never intended it to come out that way but being in here rarely gave you the privilege of human interactions, "Are you going to set me free, monsieur?"

The Chief Justice opens and closes his mouth, clearly conflicted on what he was going to say next, because what could you say to your (assumingly former) lover whom you just convicted of a murder in front of the public?

"No," he replies, like he's still in court. You dryly chuckle at his response. "Have you come to reprimand me then? That must be it right? The lover of the Iudex of Fontaine, condemned to a life behind bars at the hands of her own beloved, thst must sound terrible to you, yes? Does a number to your honorable image to the people," Your tone gradually turned more bitter at each word knowing the fact that he could've saved you, or at the very least kept you anywhere but here until the evidence and verdict lined up in agreement.

"I care less about my own image, mon chéri—"

Another gasp of a laugh falls from your lips, "Don't. Don't you dare call me that if you will spit such lies in the same breath."

"Would you rather me threaten the sanctity of my title as Iudex?" Neuvillete responds right after, his tone stern and almost to a level of a scream. You would've flinched if you weren't so agitated.

"I wish you would," you mutter under your breath. You were so desperate for authentic justice to be served. Knowing the citizens of Fontaine, this incident would leave a stain on your image. No matter where you'll go, you aren't free from the scrutinizing eyes of the people. Your life will never be the same.

Neuvillette scoffs, "Do you hear yourself? Do you know what you are asking of me?" He was angry now. See, when he gets irritated, Neuvillette is never the type to aggressively express such a feeling but rather, he emits a silent aura that just unsettles you to an extent. But you have to stand your ground.

"Such a selfish request for your circumstances."

Now it's your turn to huff an exhale, hurt gnawing at your chest at every word he spoke.

"Selfish? I'm selfish for asking for justice for a horrendous act of violence both you and I know I never committed?"

Your voice almost gave out under the weight of the sting of your chest, nearly cracking as you raise your voice at him, "You know the Oratrice can make mistakes, Neuvillette—"

"The Oratrice's judgement is absolute, it does not make errors," the man interjects. A beat of silence stays.

"You never believed my words, even for a moment, didn't you?"

Neuvillette swallows, eyes somehow on your face but never on your eyes. He's hyper-aware of the fact that he's hurt you more than enough times he promised not to, never. He always promised that he wouldn't be the one to shatter your heart into tiny pieces and crush them under the soles of his feet. He was the one that vowed to stay by your side amidst the intimidating whispers that talk, talk, and talk about how you would murder an innocent citizen in cold blood. And now he knew.

He had gone back on his word.

It doesn't take him a reply before you started again. "You lied to me," you muttered.

"You're correct, I never believed you for one second," Neuvillette responds, voice low. His mouth opens before he could even think about it.

No. He always would. Over anyone and anything else.

He cringes slightly at this. The Iudex of Fontaine behind closed doors was a complex man. He is built of layers upon layers of emotional concealing, it was never a good thing for him to blatantly open up to someone—but of course, that changed because of you.

"You're foolish to think you could've slipped past the Oratrice's verdict,"

You didn't. He knew that, you did nothing wrong.

"The time has come for you to pay your dues." Neuvillette fronts.

Let me get you out of here. Neuvillette pleads

You fall silent by the tail of his words, barely getting enough courage to look him in the eye. Too much, it was all too much.

"Just—just leave, I don't want to see you," you mumble, defeated. Your eyes catch the way salty tears softly drip onto your clenched fists, wiping your face with the back of your hand. If you were alone in a lonely cell, so be it.

You hear his footsteps hesitate for a moment before they clack away, getting softer and farther with each step.

Heavy rain littered the streets of Fontaine that day.

Hydro dragon, hydro dragon, wipe the tears from your face. Hydro dragon, hydro dragon, don't cry.

© bamdelune 2023. do not repost, translate, plagiarize any of my works without permission, thank you so much! reblogs, notes, and comments are always appreciated!

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

Time for another dive into the code! This time we're doing Warm, Moderate, and Cold Cove again, but for the transition between Step 2 to 3 instead of 1 to 2.

As a refresher to those who might not remember the original post talking about how it works from Step 1 to 2:

When making certain decisions in how you interact with Cove, the game will give you either warm points or cold points. These points are calculated at the end of the step to determine whether your Cove in the following Step will be warm, moderate, or cold. If you have more cold than warm points, the game will only use the cold ones, and same for having more warm than cold points. The points not used are essentially "thrown away."

A "warm" Cove is friendlier to others and cracks more jokes, a "moderate" Cove is closest to his Step 1 self, and a "cold" Cove is quieter and more blunt. They all interact with the MC similarly, except a warm Cove is more likely to tease the MC and not be as dependent while a cold Cove is more likely to side with/cling to them. His relationships with others will still be similar regardless of whether he's "warm," "moderate," or "cold," but how he expresses himself in those relationships may be different.

The warm-to-cold variation is a spectrum that goes from Warm, Warm-Moderate, Moderate, Cold-Moderate, and Cold. There is no Warm Cove who will do Cold Cove things and vice versa. With Warm-Moderate and Cold-Moderate, the idea is that you have a mostly Warm/Cold Cove respectively but with some mild variation.

There is a variable for "moderate" points in the game's code, but it goes unused in the game itself, meaning that a moderate Cove is more of a "default." If you were to go from the start of Step 1 and immediately to the end without doing any moments, that would be the best way of getting a "moderate" Cove. Engaging in moments is more likely to make your Cove warm/cold, so if you've played the game a lot and always go through a lot of moments without using the Cove Creator to change his personality, you could get a Moderate Cove for a potentially different experience.

In terms of the rules on how to get a warm/cold Cove, it varies. If the MC calls Cove out, teases him, includes/talks about other people, and encourages Cove to be more outgoing or do new things, he's more likely to be warm. Taking Cove's side, being protective of him, speaking up for him rather than letting him do it himself, and keeping things between him and the MC is more likely to make him cold. It's not a one-size-fits-all situation though, as a shy MC could make Cove warm because he's being encouraged to defend you whereas leaving Cove all by himself could make him cold.

Regardless of whether he's Warm, Moderate, or Cold, Cove will remain a sentimental introvert who gets flustered over romance.

Cove's appearance has nothing to do with whether he's warm/moderate/cold barring the rare cases where a choice might happen to overlap with it.

In terms of new information from Step 2 to 3 specifically, I'll say right away that whether your Step 2 Cove is already warm, moderate, or cold doesn't matter nor factor into how your Step 3 Cove turns out. All that matters is how you treat him in Step 2.

In addition, the point calculation works differently. In Step 1, having no more than 11 points in either Cold or Warm will give a Moderate Cove, having 12-19 points in either Cold or Warm will give a Cold-Moderate/Warm-Moderate Cove (depending on which you have more points in), and having 20 or more points will give a fully Cold/Warm Cove.

Also, if your points are tied, the game would "flip a coin" to decide whether it will opt for the cold or warm points.

However, Step 3 has more variation (well, not technically, but we'll talk about that later), first by making it even harder to get a Moderate Cove.

You only need 5 or more points in either warm/cold points to be locked out of a fully Moderate Cove (as a fully Moderate Cove would be 0-4 points). 5-9 will get you a slightly warm/cold Cove (we'll call this Moderate-Warm and Moderate-Cold for convenience), 10-14 or 15-19 (the game does two checks for this for some reason) will get you a Warm-Moderate or Cold-Moderate Cove, and having 20 or more will get you a fully Warm/Cold Cove as before.

In the case of a tie in points, the game will not do a "coin flip" anymore and will instead default to cold points.

One odd thing I will note (this wasn't relevant in the original post where I talked about Step 1->2) is that the Cove Creator actually sets some default cold/warm points as you pick the various buttons for Cove's personality.

The button on Warm gives 20 warm points and 10 cold points (again, these cold points are "thrown away" because the game only cares about what you have more of), the button between Warm and Moderate gives 12 warm points and 6 cold points, the button on Moderate gives 6 warm points and 6 cold points, the button between Moderate and Cold gives 6 warm points and 12 cold points, and the button on Cold gives 10 warm points and 20 cold points. These are the same points applied in any step where you can use the Cove Creator to change Cove's personality.

Now, did you catch something there?

Due to how Step 3 changed how few points are needed to lock you out of Moderate Cove (only 5 or more), it's actually impossible to get a fully Moderate Cove using the Cove Creator to change his personality. It will give you 6 warm points and 6 cold points, which will default to the 6 cold points due to the "coin flip" removal, thus giving you a Moderate-Cold Cove.

You can actually test this yourself if you have a save at the Step 3 Cove Creator. Set Cove's personality to "Moderate" and skim through the intro narration until it starts talking about Cove's family, right here:

Cove's relationships with his family improved over the years. Kyra visited several times after that summer, and things became easier between the two.

He was also closer with his dad than ever before. You knew they talked more, and that helped prevent a lot of friction before it could start.

If you had a fully Moderate Cove, you would get one of two follow-up narrations depending on if your Step 2 Cove was warm/warm-moderate/cold-moderate/cold or fully moderate.

if Warm/Warm-Moderate/Cold-Moderate/Cold in Step 2:

Cove's personality, however, drifted back to how it was in the past. He was pretty blunt and not overly social, but he had plenty to say when he felt like it.

if Moderate in Step 2:

Cove's personality, however, was recognizable from the past. He was pretty blunt and not overly social, but he had plenty to say when he felt like it.

You won't get this narration if you chose Moderate from the Cove Creator. Instead, you would get one of these:

if Warm/Warm-Moderate/Moderate in Step 2:

However, Cove grew into someone no one would call 'social'. He kept to himself, usually. He cared for the few connections he did have, but didn't reach outside them.

if Cold-Moderate/Cold in Step 2:

However, Cove still wasn't what anyone could call 'social'. He kept to himself, usually. He cared for the few connections he did have, but didn't reach outside them.

I actually checked just to make absolutely certain that I was on the latest version of Our Life (1.7.1) and I am. It seems that in the process of trying to give more variation to Cove's personality (or just making Moderate more unlikely), the Cove Creator was left out of the equation. I'd be curious to know if this happens on older versions.

Further puzzling is that I was going to list multiple examples to show the difference between Warm/Warm-Moderate/Moderate-Warm and Moderate-Cold/Cold-Moderate/Cold (similar to what I did in the last post for Step 2 Cove), but the thing is that I could not find any.

I searched and scanned through the code in an attempt to call upon any instance where it would check for a Warm-Moderate/Moderate-Warm or Moderate-Cold/Cold-Moderate Cove specifically, and in every case the game considered them to be fully Warm and fully Cold respectively.

In other words, whereas in Step 2 you had Warm, Warm-Moderate, Moderate, Cold-Moderate, and Cold Cove, Step 3 seems to stick to a strict Warm/Moderate/Cold Cove with no in-betweens. If anyone has any evidence to the contrary then by all means, message/toss me an ask, but I couldn't find anything to suggest otherwise.

This also makes Moderate Cove the hardest to get since you would need to actually achieve it in-game by avoiding warm/cold points as much as possible. Even just going through the Step 2 intro and ending only, I don't even think you could avoid being locked out of Moderate Cove if you're playing on Fond/Crush.

Getting back to the topic of choices though, here are the options themselves that'll give you warm/cold points throughout Step 2:

Step 2 Intro

After Cove comes by to deliver the fruit bouquet (Fond/Crush only):

"Thank you!" [warm +1]

"Thanks." [warm +1]

"You are too cute sometimes." [cold +1]

When Jeremy is complaining about his parents:

You kept quiet. [cold +1]

"You shouldn't talk about your parents like that." [warm +1]

"Sorry. It must suck being forced to do something you don't want." [warm +1]

"We just said hello. You don't have to keep complaining at us." [cold +1]

"Calm down. You don't have to yell so much." [cold +1]

"Who peed in your cereal this morning?" [warm +1]

When Jeremy mocks Cove's eyebrows:

"What?" [no change]

"No! Cove's wavy eyebrows are so cool!" [warm +1]

"How can you say that when you've got a bowl cut?" [warm +1]

"Don't listen to him. They're really unique and special." [cold +1]

"Well, they are kind of silly." [warm +1]

"Apologize to Cove right now. You can't treat people like that." [cold +1]

(immediately following above choice):

You just rolled your eyes. [warm +1]

You crossed your arms over your chest. [cold +1]

You shook your head. [warm +1]

You patted Cove on the shoulder. [cold +1]

You lunged towards Jeremy! [no change]

You grinned at all of this. [warm +1]

When Derek points out the fruit bouquet once Jeremy is gone:

"I need to save it." [cold +1]

"Why not? Let's eat." [warm +1] {note that the skewers will change Step 3 Cove's left wristwear: pineapple or strawberry will take it off, grape will give him the black wristband, and melon will give him the chain bracelet and beaded wrap bracelet with the jewel}

When Elizabeth shows up to confront the MC over the fruit bouquet (if the MC chose to eat it with Derek and Cove):

"Sorry, Elizabeth..." [warm +1]

"Get over it." [warm +1]

"Well, the morning's been kind of a disaster!" [cold +1]

"We were hungry?" [cold +1]

"It wasn't us. A seagull came down and ate it all while we weren't looking!" [warm +1]

When Derek and Cove try to make an escape from Elizabeth:

You ran! [cold +1]

You stayed. [warm +1]

After Cove sneaks into the MC's room (Fond/Crush only):

"What are you doing?" [warm +1]

"What's up, Romeo?" [warm +1]

"This sure is a surprise, but you're always welcome here." [cold +1]

"Is everything okay? What happened?" [cold +1]

"You're lucky I didn't start screaming." [cold +1]

"Amazing. My dreams have come true." [warm +1]

(following above scene) When Cove vents about being upset over his situation with his parents:

"There's nothing wrong with feeling bad. That is hard to deal with." [cold +1]

"We can deal with this." [warm +1]

"I'm sorry, Cove. You know I'm here for you." [warm +1]

"Yeah, that's... a lot." [cold +1]

You didn't know what to say. [warm +1]

(following above scene) After Cove asks if he can stay longer in MC's room:

"You can stay tonight, but we shouldn't make a habit of this." [warm +1]

"I've got a flashlight and some cards. Are you in?" [warm +1]

"Of course. You can always stay here, Cove." [cold +1]

(following above scene) When the MC realizes that Cove has stayed the night in their room:

"Cove!" [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

○ You laughed quietly. [warm +1]

○ You laughed loudly. [cold +1]

○ "Are you okay?" [warm +1]

○ You helped him up. [cold +1]

○ "Shhh! My moms are gonna hear us." [warm +1]

You laughed out loud. [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

○ You laughed even more. [cold +1]

○ "Are you okay?" [warm +1]

○ You helped him up. [cold +1]

○ "Shhh! My moms are gonna hear us." [warm +1]

You jumped out of bed. {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

○ You whispered in his ear. [cold +1]

○ You shook his shoulder. [warm +1]

○ You poked him in the face.

○ You tugged at his hair.

○ You threw a pillow at him.

You froze. {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

○ You whispered in his ear. [cold +1]

○ You shook his shoulder. [warm +1]

○ You poked him in the face. [no change]

○ You tugged at his hair. [no change]

○ You threw a pillow at him. [no change]

(following above scene) After Cove realizes that he'd fallen asleep and tries (fails) to calm down:

"It's going to be alright." [warm +1]

"We're going to be in so much trouble!" [cold +1]

"Just calm down." [warm +1]

"Settle down, before moms hear you." [cold +1]

You didn't say anything. [warm +1]

(following above scene) As Cove is trying to sneak out back to his house:

You wished him luck. [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You rallied him to keep going. [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

You suggested he sneak out the door instead. {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You urged him to hurry up. {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

When Kyra asks the MC if they have any restaurant recommendations:

You shrugged. [cold +1] {note that this will give Step 3 Cove the spiky hair}

"Not really." [warm +1] {note that this will give Step 3 Cove the middle-parted hair}

"Sure, I have a couple of favorites." [no change]

You nodded. [no change]

When Cove is sulking near the end of the outing with Kyra:

You made a silly face at him. [warm +1]

You smiled at him. [cold +1]

You gave him a sympathetic look. [cold +1]

You flicked his straw wrapper at him. [warm +1]

You left him alone. [cold +1]

Wave

Fond/Crush routes only

When Cove asks the MC if they want to come down to the beach:

"Sure! I'll meet you there when we're done." [cold +1]

"Oh- yeah, I could do that..." [cold +1]

"Alright." [warm +1]

"I can't this time." [warm +1]

After MC meets with Cove on the beach:

"I wouldn't have missed it." [cold +1]

"Sorry you had to wait." [warm +1]

"And stay inside all day? I don't think so." [warm +1]

If the MC brought a board with them to the beach:

"Cove, I'm not that good at surfing." [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"I borrowed this board, but I don't know how to surf..." (if the MC is inexperienced at surfing) [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

"I'm ready to get in there." [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"Wanna have a competition?" (if the MC is experienced at surfing) [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"Will you give me some tips?" [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

If the MC didn't bring a board with them to the beach:

{note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"What am I supposed to do while you surf?" [cold +1]

"I'll stay here and watch you surf." [warm +1]

"I'm going to find something to do while you surf." [cold +1]

After Cove jokes about clothespins if the MC went surfing with him (not for competition) and got into a splash fight with him:

"That was terrible on any scale." [warm +1]

"Please don't." [warm +1]

"You're adorable." [cold +1]

"I'm not sure that even counts as a pun." [cold +1]

"I love it." [warm +1]

If the MC chose to stay on shore and watch Cove surf:

You continued to watch quietly. [warm +1]

You started cheering him on after a really cool wave. [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

You shouted at him to remember to pace himself. [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You did an impression of a sports announcer. {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

You made a silly face when he looked back at you. [cold +1]

(following above choice) After Cove checks on the MC:

"I've found ways to entertain myself." [cold +1]

"It's been fun." [warm +1]

"Eh, I'm just a little bored." [cold +1]

"This was totally radical, dude." [warm +1]

"I couldn't take my eyes off of you." (if Crush) [cold +1]

(following above choice) When Cove tells the MC that he likes them being there:

You teased him. [warm +1]

You smiled. [cold +1]

You looked away. [cold +1]

When Cove imitates Jeremy (if the MC chose to go with him to the park):

"Ha ha." [warm +1]

"Don't scare me like that! One Jeremy is enough." [cold +1]

"That's not really nice. Funny, but not nice." [warm +1]

"You don't have to tease him." [warm +1]

"Ugh, parents don't know anything." [cold +1]

(following above) After the conversation with Cove starts winding down:

"We better get home." [warm +1]

"I wish days were longer." [cold +1]

You chose not to say anything. [warm +1]

Growing

When the MC greets Cove when he arrives at their house (Fond/Crush only):

With a wave. [cold +1]

With a low five. [warm +1]

With a nudge to the shoulder. [cold +1]

With a noogie. [warm +1]

With a hug. [cold +1]

After Cove explains why he's come over (Fond/Crush only):

You thought that was really sweet. [warm +1]

"How'd you know I was doing nothing? Maybe I had plans." [warm +1]

You nodded. That made sense to you. [cold +1]

"I was thinking the exact same thing." [warm +1]

When Cove admits that he hasn't eaten: (Fond/Crush only):

"Yeah, I get like that sometimes too." [no change]

"You should really eat properly." [no change]

"You didn't eat at all? Then you gotta have something now!" [cold +1]

"Great! We can eat lunch together." [warm +1]

During the second pause of tic-tac-toe or hangman when Cove complains about feeling stuck to the floor:

"I'll have to charge you rent then." [warm +1]

"You can be my new roomie if you want." [cold +1]

"Looks like we'll both be stuck here forever then. I'm sticky too." [warm +1]

"No way. I'll peel you off if I have to." [cold +1]

You just smiled at his whining. [cold +1]

During the third pause of tic-tac-toe or hangman when Cove wonders where the game's name came from:

"Maybe they named it that because people played it with tics and tacks."/'"Maybe it's what they had instead of real court trials back then." [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"I've always wondered about that..." [warm +1]

"I'll have to look it up later." [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

"It's a really old game. No one's sure where the name came from." [cold +1]

After the MC played tic-tac-toe with Cove (Indifferent/Fond):

You laughed along with Cove. [warm +1]

"Well, you should've taken the challenge more seriously." [warm +1]

"You're the one who wanted to play in the first place." [cold +1]

"I'm still the winner and you're the loser!" (if the MC won) [warm +1]

"I let you win, actually." (if Cove won) [cold +1]

You shook your head at him. [cold +1]

After the MC's initial reaction to Cove's hangman phrase (Crush only):

You didn't say anything. [cold +1]

"No, you're cute!" [cold +1]

"...Thank you." [cold +1]

"I can't believe you!" [warm +1]

"Damn, Cove." [warm +1]

You just let out a small squeak. [warm +1]

(following above choice):

"I really think you're cute. Seriously." [warm +1]

"Did you mean it? Do you really think I'm cute?" [cold +1]

You didn't say anything. [warm +1]

After Cove talks about how he thinks their talk about romance has been good (Fond/Crush only):

"I think so too." [cold +1]

You shrugged. [cold +1]

"It was awkward." [cold +1]

"The conversation had a mind of its own." [warm +1]

You just nodded quietly. [warm +1]

After Cove comments that he loves it out on the poppy hill (Fond/Crush only):

"I do too." [no change]

"You do? That's surprising," you said jokingly. [warm +1]

"Your opinion sure has changed since you were first on this hill." [warm +1]

You quietly enjoyed the moment. [cold +1]

After Cove says that he's glad to have met the MC (Fond/Crush only):

You blushed at the statement. [warm +1]

"I feel the same." [warm +1]

"That's so nice of you to say." [warm +1]

You smiled silently. [cold +1]

"You're being too sweet!" [cold +1]

"You're special to me, Cove." [cold +1]

Family

After Cove comes into the home and notes the awkwardness (if the MC stayed with their moms):

You laughed. [warm +1]

You wiped your eyes. [warm +1]

You smiled at him. [cold +1]

You shook your head in answer. [cold +1]

When the MC can talk to Cove about what happened, if the MC stayed with their moms (Fond/Crush only):

"There's a lot going on right now." [warm +1]

"It's nothing..." [cold +1]

You didn't speak to him. [cold +1]

"I needed to talk to you." (if the MC visited Cove) [warm +1]

"Thank you for coming... I'm glad you're here." (if the MC went to their room or outside) [cold +1]

"My parents are dead!" (if the MC asked about their adoption story) [warm +1]

(following after above choice)

"You don't have to do this." [cold +1]

"I'm okay..." [warm +1]

You closed the distance and hugged him." (only if Cove did not hug the MC; this happens if the MC doesn't have enough "touch points") [no change]

You started to cry. [warm +1]

You took a step back from him. [cold +1]

If the MC is participating in Lee's idea and Cove comments on it (Fond/Crush only):

"Thanks." [warm +1]

"I was pretty good, huh?" [warm +1]

You blushed and said nothing. [cold +1]

"Luckily we had a crowd who's easily impressed." [cold +1]

Dinner

When Cove asks the MC the first time if they want to come over for dinner:

"Yeah, I'll go." [cold +1]

"I can't." [no change]

You kept listening. [warm +1]

When Cove asks the MC the second time if they want to come over for dinner:

"Yeah, I can come." [warm +1]

"I'll have to ask my moms and get back to you." [cold +1]

"No, I can't make it."

○ "Sorry." [no change]

○ "Alright, I'll go." [cold +1]

"Why am I the only one invited? Or did you mean the whole family?"

○ "I can't. Sorry." [warm +1]

○ "Alright, I'll go." [warm +1]

After the MC looks around Cove's room (only if they haven't been in Cove's room before):

"Are you trying to make your own beach with all this sand?" [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"It's nice." [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

"Thanks for letting me come over." [warm +1]

You weren't sure what to do. [cold +1]

When the MC chooses where to sit/not to sit and Cove raises his eyebrows at them (Crush only):

You were nervous about that. [warm +1]

You smiled comfortingly at him. [cold +1]

You chuckled over it. [warm +1]

You felt very charmed by his reaction. [cold +1]

(following immediately after above choice):

You only shrugged back. [warm +1]

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." [cold +1]

"You're like an open book, you know that?" [cold +1]

"You're such a sweet guy, Cove." [warm +1]

"You're adorable!" [cold +1]

When Cove asks if the MC wants to name a fish (Fond/Crush only):

"Yeah, I do!" [warm +1]

"Can I?" [cold +1]

"No thanks." {note that this will give Cove the thin rectangular blue glasses}

When the MC has the opportunity to ask if they can name a fish (Indifferent only):

"Can I name a fish?" [warm +1]

You kept quiet. [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove the thin rectangular blue glasses}

When Cove comments on how it seems unfair that the MC can't have pets at their house:

"Right? My moms can be strict over the weirdest things sometimes!" [warm +1]

"I don't mind it too much." [no change]

"I get it." [cold +1]

After Cove talks about how humiliating the deal was for him (if MC told Cove about the deal in Step 1):

"I'm really sorry about what happened, Cove." [cold +1]

"Then I'm sorry, since I'm gonna bring it up forever." [cold +1]

"Yeah, I get why that'd be embarrassing." [warm +1]

You laughed. [warm +1]

You stayed quiet. [no change]

if the MC has either told Cove about the deal in Sandcastle or did not bring up the deal now in Dinner

When the MC is given the opportunity to question Cove on why they're there:

"Is there a reason they wanted me to come over tonight?" [warm +1]

You kept quiet. [no change]

After Mr. Holden thanks the MC for coming:

You thanked Cove's parents back for inviting you. [no change]

You didn't say anything to that. [no change]

You just felt awkward about the situation. [cold +1]

When there's a lull in conversation during dinner:

You brought up your own topic of conversation. [cold +1]

You left coming up with a conversation topic to them. [warm +1]

After Cove is denied having an immediate sleepover with the MC (Fond/Crush only):

You gave him some words of encouragement. [cold +1]

You patted him on the back. [cold +1]

"Pst, I'll sneak the phone into my room tonight." [warm +1]

"Hey, you could always sneak into my room again." [warm +1]

You pouted about it too. [cold +1]

if the MC chose to tell Cove about the deal here in Dinner instead of anything else

After Cove storms out of the room:

You immediately followed after Cove. [cold +1]

You just stood there. [warm +1]

After Cove and the MC head to the MC's living room:

"Are you okay?" [warm +1]

"What do you want to do now?" [warm +1]

"I'm really sorry Cove." [cold +1]

"You did the right thing by leaving." [cold +1]

"Do you want to be doing this?" [cold +1]

You said nothing. [warm +1]

After the MC listens to Cove vent about his dad's behavior:

You continued to listen quietly. [warm +1]

"I'm sorry you have to deal with all that." [warm +1]

"You're right, that's terrible." [cold +1]

"It could be worse." [cold +1]

"Even if it didn't go well, your dad's only trying to make you happy." [cold +1]

When Cove laments the idea that he might not've been friends with the MC due to his dad (Fond/Crush only):

You stepped forward and rested a hand on his shoulder. [cold +1]

You hugged him. [warm +1]

You smiled reassuringly. [warm +1]

You wiped his tears. [cold +1]

(following immediately after above choice):

"I'm really glad we got to be friends." [warm +1]

"Please don't cry." [warm +1]

"Hey, don't worry about it. Alright?" [warm +1]

You didn't need to say anything. [cold +1]

"I wouldn't have let anything your dad -or anyone else- did mess things up." [cold +1]

After Cove insults his dad's inability to make people happy:

"I'm really sorry." [cold +1]

"You don't actually mean what you're saying." [cold +1]

"Do you hate your dad?" [warm +1]

"I'm here for you." (Fond/Crush only) [cold +1]

You felt bad that things were so hard for Cove and his dad. [warm +1]

You didn't say anything. [cold +1]

(following after above choice):

"What about your fish?" [cold +1]

"I remember that day, when it happened." [warm +1]

(following after above choice):

"Your dad still needs to stop being so forceful, though." [cold +1]

"You might feel better than you do if you tried to make up with your dad." [warm +1]

"You guys really need to learn how to communicate." [warm +1]

"I'll be on your side no matter what you do about your dad." (Fond/Crush only) [cold +1]

You stayed quiet. [no change]

When the MC is deciding what they can do for Cove to help him:

"Do you want me to turn the TV on?" [cold +1]

"Do you want something to eat? Or drink?" [cold +1]

You listened to whatever he wanted to say. [warm +1]

You stayed with him silently. [warm +1]

Road Trip

After Elizabeth teases Cove and the MC about getting married:

You told her to cut it out already. [cold +1]

"Cove has a point. It wasn't a great comment." [warm +1]

"I'll marry you, Cove." [warm +1]

You ignored Elizabeth. [cold +1]

You were embarrassed. [warm +1]

"I'll marry Cove on the same day Shiloh's mom marries Cove's dad." (if the MC joked about Cove's dad marrying Shiloh's mom in Long Day) [cold +1]

When the MC takes a good look at Cove wearing a jacket (Crush only):

You averted your gaze from him entirely. [warm +1]

"Yeah, don't worry about it." [no change]

"You look good - in the jacket. That's all..." (if Nervous) [cold +1]

"That looks nice on you." (if Relaxed) [warm +1]

"You just look so good right now." (if Direct) [warm +1]

"Yeah. Everything is really good." [no change]

You nodded while saying nothing. [no change]

After Cove panics and says "Nothing!" if the MC asks what he likes seeing others wear (Fond/Crush only):

That was funny. [warm +1]

You paid it no mind. [no change]

(following above choice):

It was a topic that made him uncomfortable, so you let it go. [cold +1]

You had a little fun and that was enough. You changed the subject. [no change]

"You're not very good at these conversations, are you?" [no change]

"I swear I won't make fun of you." [warm +1]

"I just thought it would be fun to talk about..." [cold +1]

(following above choice) After Cove admits he likes seeing people wear ankle bracelets:

"Thanks for answering." [warm +1]

"I like them too." [no change]

"Huh, out of everything in the world, you picked that." [no change]

"So you think they're sexy?" [cold +1]

When the MC is in the loft and sees that Cove is still awake (Fond/Crush only):

You grinned back at him. [cold +1]

You made a silly face. [no change]

You waved at him. [warm +1]

When Cove laments his actions sleeping over if Sleepover happened and if the MC invited him up to the loft (Fond/Crush only):

You encouraged him. [warm +1]

You comforted him. [cold +1]

You teased him. [no change]

When Cove starts getting nervous after the MC has invited him up to the loft (Crush only):

You were feeling the nervousness too. [warm +1]

You felt comfortable being so close to him. [no change]

His reaction made you happy. [cold +1]

(following above choice):

You laid there silently. [no change]

You tried to ease things with conversation. [no change]

You nudged closer to him. [warm +1]

You touched his free arm lightly. [cold +1]

(following above choice, only if the MC chose to try and kiss Cove):

You laughed. [warm +1]

You just tried to check on him. [cold +1]

Mall

When the MC notices Cove and Derek in conversation:

You decided to keep listening. [no change]

You decided to join in with the conversation. [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You couldn't resist teasing the boys." (if Relaxed/Direct) [cold +1]

When Kyra gives Cove the passenger seat:

You decided to stick up for Cove. [cold +1]

You decided to jokingly complain at the special treatment. [warm +1]

You were fine with that. [warm +1]

You kept quiet. [cold +1]

After Kyra leaves, leaving the MC and their group alone:

You were happy about it. Talk about an amazing opportunity! [warm +1]

You felt unsure about the situation. Was this really ok? [warm +1]

You felt okay about the situation. [cold +1]

You were unhappy about it. This was not what you'd had in mind. [cold +1]

If the MC hasn't brought money to the mall (meaning the others will offer to pay):

You accepted their offers readily. [cold +1]

You'd let them know if you really needed it. [warm +1]

You rejected the offer right up front. [warm +1]

If the MC asks Cove for a sip of his smoothie (Fond only):

You pushed a little more. [no change]

You jokingly begged him. [cold +1]

You waited for him to decide on his own. [warm +1]

If the MC asks Cove for a sip of his smoothie (Crush only):

You decided to let it go. [cold +1]

You teased him. [warm +1]

You reassured him. [no change]

After Derek races off to check out the ride-on machines:

You thought his idea was childish. [cold +1]

You wanted to ride too. [no change]

You didn't care one way or another. [no change]

You stayed quiet about it. [warm +1]

Once the MC gives Cove the windchime (if they chose to get one for him):

You talked about how he seemed to want it. [warm +1]

You suggested that the chime simply made you think of him. [cold +1]

You explained that since his family did kind things for yours, you wanted to return the favor. / You explained that Cove had given you gifts and you wanted to get him something in return. [cold +1]

You didn't know what to say. / You didn't know what to say now. [warm +1]

Birthday

While the MC waits for activities to start:

You tried to chat with the people around. [warm +1]

You just talked with Cove. [cold +1]

You found a quiet spot to sit. [warm +1]

You just stood around where you were. [cold +1]

When the activities begin and Cove wonders what's going to happen:

You shrugged. [cold +1]

You scanned the area to make a guess. [cold +1]

You made a joke about something that wasn't going to happen. [warm +1]

If the MC wins pin the tail on the donkey:

You were humble about it. [cold +1]

You felt bashful over winning. [warm +1]

You reveled in the win. [warm +1]

(following above choice):

You offered to share the candy with Cove. [cold +1]

You kept the prize for yourself. [warm +1]

If Cove wins pin the tail on the donkey:

{note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You congratulated Cove. [cold +1]

You were disappointed you didn't win. [warm +1]

You were really impressed with his win. [warm +1]

You shrugged the game off. [cold +1]

You teased Cove. [warm +1]

"You looked cute." [warm +1]

(following after above choice):

You asked if he'd be willing to share the prize. [warm +1]

You didn't ask. [cold +1]

If neither the MC nor Cove won pin the tail on the donkey:

You were also disappointed. [cold +1]

"It was a good game." [warm +1]

You shrugged it off. [cold +1]

You teased him. [warm +1]

If the MC chooses to wear a crown/headband:

"I'm a party animal now." [warm +1]

"It does look very good on me, thanks." [no change]

"I don't know why I'm doing this." [cold +1]

When Cove asks the MC if he looks weird wearing the party hat (if the MC encouraged Cove to wear one):

"You look great, Cove." [warm +1]

"It's completely perfect." [cold +1]

"It looks silly." [warm +1]

You just giggled. [cold +1]

You shrugged. [cold +1]

You shook your head no. [warm +1]

After Cove does a taste test of one of the gummy bears (if the MC agreed to partner up with him):

"You should've waited." [warm +1]

You tried one for yourself. [cold +1]

"What did it taste like?" [no change]

(following above scene) If the MC failed to catch the gummy bear due to casually trying to catch it while also not having any athletic points:

You felt bummed at losing. [warm +1]

You jokingly blamed Cove for blowing it. [warm +1]

You just laughed. [cold +1]

You shrugged it off. [no change]

You bent down to eat the candy anyways. [cold +1]

If the MC makes it to the final round of the gummy bear toss, noticing Cove's determination:

You were charmed by his attitude. [warm +1]

You equally wanted to win. [no change]

You didn't want to let him down. [cold +1]

You thought this was kinda funny. [cold +1]

You felt nervous under the pressure. [warm +1]

If the MC wins the gummy bear toss with Cove (by either Cove being any level of sporty - points accumulated during Step 2 itself don't count - or the MC having accrued enough athletic points during Step 2):

You high-fived Cove. [warm +1]

You put an arm around Cove. [cold +1]

You jumped into a hug. [warm +1]

You ruffled Cove's hair. [cold +1]

You nudged him in a friendly way. [cold +1]

You smiled at him. [warm +1]

(following above choice):

"Nice catch!" [cold +1]

"Woo!" [warm +1]

"We demolished the competition." [no change]

When Miranda offers to launch someone in the bounce house (Cove will ask to be launched if the MC turns her down):

"Ok, launch me." [cold +1]

"Not me!" [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"I'd rather just watch." [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

You remained silent. [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

After Cove starts making sounds with the noise maker:

You asked Cove to stop. [warm +1]

You started blowing on your own noise maker. [cold +1]

You blew your noise maker back at Cove. [cold +1]

You were amused by Cove's antics.

○ You blew your noise maker back at Cove. [cold +1]

○ You told him to cut it out. [warm +1]

○ You jokingly tried to get away. [warm +1]

After Jeremy bullies either Cove, the MC, or both of them:

You poured your drink on Jeremy. [cold +1]

You pushed Jeremy. [cold +1]

You punched Jeremy in the face. [cold +1]

You drowned out his words with your noise maker. [warm +1]

You stood still, shocked. [warm +1]

You teared up. [warm +1]

(immediately following above choice):

"You're a dick!" [warm +1]

"You're ruining someone's birthday." [warm +1]

"I'm gonna find your parents and tell them what's going on." [warm +1]

"Don't say anything like that ever again!" [cold +1]

You laughed at his reaction. [cold +1]

You said nothing. [cold +1]

If the MC chose to retaliate (pour their drink on, push, punch, or swear) at Jeremy:

You shrugged. [no change]

"He deserved it." [cold +1]

You felt a little bad about it... [warm +1]

You were still mad at what happened. [warm +1]

"Do you think it was too much?" [cold +1]

If the MC did anything else in response to Jeremy:

You agreed Jeremy is totally nuts. [cold +1]

You wished that you had done something more. [warm +1]

You hoped that you would never see him again. [cold +1]

You weren't sure how to feel. [no change]

You were just happy Jeremy was gone. [cold +1]

You felt sad that he was so mean. [warm +1]

If the MC did not eat both the ice cream and cake, leading to Cove offering to take whatever's left (Fond/Crush only):

You slid your plate over. [cold +1]

You shook your head and kept your plate. [no change]

When Cove starts mashing his cake into his ice cream:

You raised your eyebrow. [cold +1]

You told him you do the same thing. [cold +1]

You thought it looked gross. [cold +1]

"I've never done that, but I want to now." [warm +1]

You didn't react. [warm +1]

After Cove and the MC reminisce on the ice cream cups (if Barbecue happened; Fond/Crush only):

You offered him a bite of your dessert." (if the MC is having dessert at all and did not slide their plate to Cove if they were only having one of the desserts) [warm +1]

You held up your fork and offered a bite of your dessert to him." (if the MC is having dessert at all and did slide their plate to Cove) [cold +1]

You asked him if you could have a bite of his dessert. [warm +1]

You smiled about the memory to yourself. [no change]

(following above choice) If MC asked/offered dessert and told Cove they were serious about it (Crush only):

"It's fine, Cove. I get it." [warm +1]

"Don't want to get my cooties, huh?" [warm +1]

"Different how? In what way?" (if the MC shared their ice cream with Cove in Barbecue) [cold +1]

You were a little down at his refusal. [cold +1]

After Cove confirms with Miranda that she didn't know what happened with Jeremy:

You got up and started bouncing again. [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

You laid back and closed your eyes to rest. [warm +1]

You changed the subject. [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You told her about the ordeal. [warm +1]

Summerwork

After Cove thanks the MC for listening to him:

"Anytime." [cold +1]

"It's cool." [warm +1]

"You are welcome." [no change]

"Don't make a habit of it." [no change]

When Cove offers to check his own bag for the MC's homework (Fond/Crush only):

"Good idea." [cold +1]

"I don't want to." [warm +1]

"Alright..." [warm +1]

"It's not gonna be there." [cold +1]

Escapade

As the MC sees Cove spit out a watermelon seed into a bush (Fond/Crush only):

You shook your head in disapproval. [warm +1]

"Ew!" [cold +1]

You did the same and spat a seed into the bushes. [cold +1]

"I bet I can spit a seed farther than you." [warm +1]

(following above choice) When Cove asks if it's bad to have another slice):

You bumped him with your shoulder. [warm +1]

Unable to resist, you knocked the mostly finished slice out of his hand. [cold +1]

You smiled at him. [warm +1]

"No, it's alright." [cold +1]

"It's definitely bad." [warm +1]

You sighed affectionately. [cold +1]

After Cove leaves to go inside after the sunshower (Indifferent only):

You stayed outside to dry off. [warm +1]

You went inside. [cold +1]

When Cove offers to let the MC come inside his house to dry off (Fond/Crush only):

"Thanks, let's do that." [cold +1]

"You're the sweetest guy I know." [warm +1]

"I don't wanna cause trouble." [warm +1]

"I'm fine." [cold +1]

After Kyra opens the windows and turns up the radio:

You laughed and enjoyed the event. [warm +1]

You jokingly complained about the situation. [cold +1]

You were not a fan of this stunt. [cold +1]

You danced in your seat to the music. [warm +1]

As Cove panics over the papers flying out the window:

Amused, you helped. [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You helped frantically. [cold +1]

You watched him struggle, entertained. [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

When Cove complains about feeling tricked by Kyra:

You sided with Cove. [cold +1]

You sided with Kyra. [warm +1]

You stayed quiet. [warm +1]

After Kyra talks about catching a movie and Cove points out that he doesn't have any shoes:

"You should always bring shoes when you're going out." [cold +1] {note that this will give Step 3 Cove the blue swimming trunks}

"I'm not wearing any either." [warm +1] {note that this will give Step 3 Cove the blue swimming trunks if you follow up with "I don't know" or the pink swimming trunks with "We can't"/"It doesn't matter"}

"It doesn't matter." [warm +1] {note that this will give Step 3 Cove the pink swimming trunks}

As Cove shifts awkwardly while waiting for Kyra to buy tickets:

You offered him your shoes." (if the MC is wearing shoes) [warm +1]

Still, you consoled him. [cold +1]

You teased him over it. [warm +1]

You complained with him. [cold +1]

You kept quiet. [no change]

If the MC chose to leave the theater early with Cove:

"Thanks for leaving, Cove." [warm +1]

"I'm sorry we had to go." [warm +1]

"You're a really good friend." (if Fond/Crush) [cold +1]

"You're a good guy." (if Indifferent) [cold +1]

You hugged him." (if Fond/Crush) [cold +1]

You just wanted to stay quiet. [warm +1]

After Cove explains to the MC why he thinks Kyra took he and the MC out for their escapade:

"Are you having a good time with your mom around?" [warm +1]

"Okay. I get it." [cold +1]

"She shouldn't have made me be a part of it." [warm +1]

You nodded in understanding. [warm +1]

"She's giving you a taste of your own medicine." [cold +1]

You said nothing. [no change]

When the MC recalls how Cove ran away when they were kids (if Runaway happened):

You kept that thought to yourself. [no change]

You whispered about it to Cove. [warm +1]

○ You decided to inform Kyra. [cold +1]

○ You nodded and kept the secret. [no change]

You said it out loud. [cold +1]

(following above choice if the MC told Kyra about Cove running away):

You laughed. [cold +1]

You felt extremely embarrassed." (if "You said it out loud" was chosen from above) [warm +1]

You apologized to Cove. [warm +1]

You didn't feel like this was a big deal. [cold +1]

When Cove offers to talk to the MC's moms over Kyra keeping MC later than expected (Fond/Crush only):

"Thank you." [cold +1]

"Thanks, I might need it." [warm +1]

"I'm just glad we're heading back now." [warm +1]

"This was worth it even if they get mad." [cold +1]

You nodded. [warm +1]

(following above scene if the MC borrowed Cove's shirt) After Cove tells the MC to keep his shirt:

"Thanks." [warm +1]

"You're the best." [cold +1]

Secretly, you had hoped to not have to give it back. [warm +1]

"Good. You weren't gonna get it back no matter what." [cold +1]

You were at a loss over this. [warm +1]

Soiree

(obviously, all Soiree points require that the MC ask Cove to the soiree)

After Cove nods in response to the MC asking him out on a real date (Crush only):

"Yay!" [warm +1]

"Really?" [cold +1]

You exhaled deeply. [warm +1]

"Thank you!" [cold +1]

"You're welcome." [no change]

(following above choice) after Pamela teases Cove about treating the MC well:

"You're making him uncomfortable!" [cold +1]

"Stop embarrassing me." [warm +1]

"You don't have to worry." [warm +1]

"You don't have to worry. Cove's definitely going to be good to me." [cold +1]

"Come on Cove, what kind of answer was that?" [warm +1]

When the moms ask the MC when Cove is going to arrive:

"He's getting here at seven." [warm +1]

"Soon. Probably." [warm +1]

"I'm not sure." [warm +1]

"I'm picking him up from his place." [cold +1]

"I'll go get him!" [cold +1]

When Kyra asks the MC if they want her to call Cove for them (if the MC went to pick up Cove for the soiree):

"That would be great, thanks." [warm +1]

"It's alright. I can wait." [cold +1]

"Can I go check?" [no change]

You went over to Cove's room to check yourself. (Fond/Crush only) [no change]

After Cove compliments the MC's look:

"You're looking good, too." [warm +1]

"I wish I could say the same to you." [warm +1]

"What is that you're wearing?" [cold +1]

"You look wonderful." [cold +1]

After the MC's initial response to Cove giving them a flower (Fond/Crush only):

"You didn't need to do this, Cove." [warm +1]

"I'm sorry I didn't get you anything." [cold +1]

"Thank you, Cove." [no change]

"I still like this one 'cause it's from you." (if the MC told Cove that they didn't like the flower) [warm +1]

You left the conversation there. [no change]

"You're so wonderful." [cold +1]

After Cove asks if it's fine to eat if the MC chose to go have food with him:

"Yeah. I only like these parties because of the free food." [warm +1]

"I knew you'd come just for the free food." [cold +1]

"Yep. I wonder what they'll have this time?" [no change]

"No one will mind. Really." [cold +1]

You simply nodded. [warm +1]

When the MC chooses to ask Cove for a dance:

{note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"So... would you like to dance, maybe?" [warm +1]

"Hey, Cove. Let's dance." [cold +1]

"Cove, can I have the pleasure of your company on the dance floor?" [warm +1]

"C'mon, it's time to dance." [no change]

"I'd like to dance. With you. If that's okay?" [cold +1]

When Cove comments on his obligation to dance if the MC asks him to dance and asked him earlier to be their practice date (Fond only):

"That's right." [warm +1]

"You don't have to." [cold +1]

"I guess?" [cold +1]

"Only if you want to." [warm +1]

"Thanks." [no change]

After Cove steps out of sync with the music if the MC asked him to dance (Fond/Crush only):

"We should have stuck to the Hokey Pokey." [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

"It's okay." [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"Dancing is harder than I thought." [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

"I'm signing you up for dancing lessons." [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

You quietly took a break. [warm +1]

Once Cove walks off to sit at a table (Indifferent only):

"Uh, Cove? Are you alright?" [cold +1]

"What's wrong?" [warm +1]

"Are you gonna get up soon?" [no change]

You didn't say anything. [no change]

(following above scene if MC chose to stay with Cove):

"What's wrong?" [warm +1]

"Feeling tired?" [cold +1]

"Are you sick?" [cold +1]

"What's up?" [no change]

"For what?" [warm +1]

After Cove walks away from the soiree (Fond/Crush only):

"Are you alright? And why are we here?" [cold +1]

"What's wrong?" [warm +1]

"Why'd you drag us out here?" [no change]

"Look at us, breaking the rules." [no change]

You didn't say anything. [no change]

(following above choice after the MC stays with Cove and he explains that he feels ready to go home):

"To your home planet?" [warm +1]

"Don't try running that far." [cold +1]

You kept quiet. [no change]

"I'm sorry you're not having fun anymore." [warm +1]

"Should I get my moms?" [cold +1]

Step 2 - Ending

If the MC wants to wear anklets for Cove (Fond/Crush only):

You put one ankle bracelet on. [cold +1]

You decided to wear several anklets." (if the MC owns multiple anklets) [warm +1]

You didn't wear one. [no change]

While the MC is waiting for Cove to arrive (Fond/Crush only):

It would only be polite to get the door for Cove. You went downstairs to wait. [cold +1]

You couldn't wait to see Cove, so you went downstairs to meet him when he arrived. [cold +1]

Cove knew your house well enough. You could lounge in your room to wait for him. [warm +1]

As Cove is talking about how he can't believe his mother is already leaving (Fond/Crush only):

"Yeah." [no change]

You nodded. [no change]

"She'll be back." [warm +1]

"Time's going by so fast." [cold +1]

After Cove notices the MC if they chose to wear an anklet/multiple anklets (Fond only):

"What do you mean?" [cold +1]

"Sorry." [cold +1]

"It's not about you." [warm +1]

You kept your mouth shut. [warm +1]

After Cove notices the MC if they chose to wear an anklet/multiple anklets (Crush only):

"Does it look good?" [warm +1]

You stayed quiet yourself. [warm +1]

"Sorry..." [cold +1]

"What's the problem, Cove?" [cold +1]

(following above choice):

"Yes." [cold +1]

"No." [warm +1]

"Maybe." [warm +1]

"I don't know what you're talking about?" [cold +1]

You shrugged. [no change]

If the MC chooses to confess to Cove with words (Crush only):

"I know you're crushing on me and I feel the same about you." [warm +1]

"I like you Cove. I really, really like you!" [cold +1]

"I... I have a crush on you." [warm +1]

"You're pretty and wonderful and the best person I know! I like you so much." [cold +1]

It was just too difficult to get the words out, no matter how much you wanted to. [no change]

(following above choice if MC didn't back out of confessing):

"I don't know, either." [warm +1]

"You don't have to do anything." [cold +1]

"You could tell me how you feel." [cold +1]

"Calm down." [warm +1]

You laughed. [no change]

You shrugged. [no change]

If the MC confesses to Cove by kissing without caution (Crush only):

"Was that alright?" [warm +1]

"Um, are you okay?" [cold +1]

"Surprise!" [warm +1]

"I really like you Cove." [cold +1]

"I'm sorry." [cold +1]

You couldn't say anything. [warm +1]

If the MC confesses to Cove by kissing cautiously and Cove apologizes (Crush only):

"It's okay." [cold +1]

You laughed. [warm +1]

You began to cry. [warm +1]

You were annoyed. [cold +1]

"I'll survive. Probably." [warm +1]

If the MC confesses to Cove by asking for a kiss (Crush only):

"Because I want to right now." [warm +1]

"I don't know." [warm +1]

"I don't wanna wait any longer." [cold +1]

"Why not?" [cold +1]

You couldn't answer. [cold +1]

If the MC tried to kiss Cove in Road Trip, leading to Cove bringing it up himself in their room (Crush only):

"How about a do-over?" [cold +1]

"Do you want to try again?" [warm +1]

You silently returned his gaze. [cold +1]

You smiled reassuringly. [warm +1]

When Cove points out how them getting into a relationship would make things different (Crush only):

"Things don't have to be different." [cold +1]

"I pretty much imagined you'd react like this." (if the MC didn't try to kiss Cove in Road Trip) [warm +1]

"This is hard for me." [warm +1]

"Should we find a crystal ball for answers?" [cold +1]

After Cove starts freaking out after sharing a kiss with the MC (Crush only):

You were full of nerves. [warm +1]

His reaction was really cute. [warm +1]

You thought his fluster was funny. [cold +1]

It worried you that he was so frantic. [cold +1]

(following above choice) After Cove calms down (provided the MC didn't verbally confess):

You smiled at him. [cold +1]

You hugged him. [warm +1]

"I like you, too." [cold +1]

You breathed a sigh of relief. [warm +1]

"I like you even more!" [cold +1]

After Cove points out that he and the MC's parents will probably take issue with their romantic relationship (Crush only):

"It's not fair." [warm +1]

"I wish we were older." [cold +1]

"It's okay." [cold +1]

"It doesn't matter, though. We like each other and that's what's important." [warm +1]

You didn't know what to say. [cold +1]

After Cove hesitates before crossing the street, anxious about his mom leaving (Fond/Crush only):

You smiled at him reassuringly. [cold +1]

You gave his back a pat. [cold +1]

You rested your hand on his arm. [warm +1]

"This isn't the last time you'll ever see her." [warm +1]

When Derek starts fantasizing about doing a show on the shopping street:

You thought it was a great idea and wanted to be a part of it. [warm +1]

You felt he could try this idea on his own. [cold +1]

You thought Derek needed to abandon that bad idea, stat. [warm +1]

You gave a look to the other two. [cold +1]

After Cove, Derek, and Elizabeth start speculating about the misprinted globe:

You wanted to side with Cove. {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You backed up Derek. [no change]

You agreed with your sister. [no change]

"No, it's Australia." [warm +1]

You stayed out of it. [cold +1]

When the MC, Derek, and Cove spot Jeremy:

You stood there, shocked. [warm +1]

You glared at Jeremy. [cold +1]

You waved at Jeremy. [cold +1]

You decided to smile at Jeremy. [warm +1]

You looked away. [warm +1]

If the MC mentioned the realization that they probably won't see Jeremy again once summer ends:

"Good riddance." [cold +1]

"I think I might wanna see him again, sometime." [cold +1]

"Maybe he'll become nicer in the future." [warm +1]

"I'm happy it's over." [warm +1]

You stayed quiet. [warm +1]

If the MC chose to chase after Jeremy (if Birthday happened):

"Good riddance." [cold +1]

You tried to apologize for how you acted last time." (if the MC retaliated against Jeremy in Birthday) [warm +1]

"I just thought it'd be nice to say bye." [warm +1]

"Don't come back." [warm +1]

"I wish we could've really gotten to know each other." [cold +1]

You didn't say anything. [cold +1]

If the MC admitted to the families that they confessed to/kissed Cove (Crush only):

You were also feeling extremely, extremely embarrassed. [warm +1]

You felt bad for putting him in this situation. [cold +1]

You felt good for telling your friends and family something so important. [warm +1]

You didn't know how to feel anymore. [warm +1]

You were annoyed at the others for making Cove more nervous. [cold +1]

After the families tease Cove for not having manners like Derek:

"Manners-smanners." [cold +1]

"Who cares? I don't think it's that big of a deal." [warm +1]

You teased Cove for his bad habit. [warm +1]

You complimented Derek on his politeness. [cold +1]

You joked that Derek was basically an adult. [warm +1]

You kept quiet and took a bite of food. [warm +1]

If the MC chose to go outside after Cove to the poppy hill:

"You really should go to sleep." [warm +1]

"I know how you feel." [cold +1]

"I feel good." [warm +1]

"I hope you feel better." [cold +1]

You shrugged back. [warm +1]

You nodded. [cold +1]

(following above if Cove does an action that he claims is doing what the MC does):

"You do that all the time too." [warm +1]

"So do you, Cove!" [cold +1]

You were stunned he noticed enough to take note of it. [cold +1]

"I don't do it that much." [warm +1]

Not being able to argue with his assessment, you accepted it. [warm +1]

You felt bashful about his joke. [cold +1]

After Cove climbs up to the MC's window in his wetsuit to ask if they want to go to the beach with him (Fond/Crush only):

"Always." [cold +1]

"Here we go again..." [warm +1]

"It's way too early, Cove." [warm +1]

"You're crazy." [cold +1]

"Cove. You're so cute." [warm +1]

You gave a decisive nod. [cold +1]

Hope that helps, or at least is interesting in some form~

This one was a real doozy, not just because of having more chances than in Step 1 to give Cove warm/cold points but I really thought I was going crazy with the whole Moderate situation.

[yandereheathen]

The Boss's Plaything [18+ Ateez Yandere Hoongjoong x Fem Reader]

Paring: Yandere Hoongjoong x Fem Reader

Yandere songhwa x Reader if you squint at the end. Warnings: Yandere dark themes!! NSFW Non-con, Mentions of hurting other people, jealousy, voyeurism. Choking, knee grinding, no protection (BAD) Disclaimer: This in no way reflects any of the real Ateez members. This is my own fan content :> I also do not endorse these kind of relationships. Enjoy with your own mental heath in mind <3 Word count: 2.5k "You know what they say about Office romance."

Working for Kim Hongjoong was an experience. Long days, short deadlines, and odd requests were quite normal. However, the pay was terrific, along with the benefits. Also, you had the fortunate situation of studying and being best friends with him before his creation and rise of the Cromer Corp. You, him, and Songhwa were good friends. You and he naturally followed Hongjoong after schooling to help him with his dreams. He was ruthless but hard-working, and you knew this company was his whole life, and you wanted nothing more than to see him grow and achieve that.

So, you started your day seemingly like any other. 5:30am Two americanos, one black with extra ice for him, the further your own with cream and sugar. You liked things sweet. 

Little did you know, so did he.

You called up the elevator to his high-end apartment, going through your phone and seeing the schedule for today. Meetings, some project updates, and, of course, The Halazia Party. You and Hwa had been running ragged along with the other branch heads. Well, mostly, you had to keep Woo and San more to task than the others. 

You have gotten along very well with the other branch members. All brilliant in their rights, you always felt a little out of place. You know the lower associate whispered that you didn't quit having the background or shine they did and that you had only gotten this position due to your friendship. First, do your best to ignore those and work as hard as possible. You never wanted to bother Hongjoong with that stuff. 

You opened the door with your hip, put the coffee down at his desk, and opened the blinds, looking around his office. It was just like him. It was clean but had a carefully cultured style. Everything in the room had meaning. Small, expensive gifts were the case from investors, and his awards and degrees were also put in specific positions on the counters around the room. Only one thing was slightly out of place. You pick it up from the right side of his desk. A picture Hwa had taken of both of you in school. You were laughing at something happening on screen, and Hongjoong had a rare small smile on his face, looking up at you. Not that he didn't smile. He had the charming smile he saved for clients or investors and his "demon face" when he put someone in their place. This was a smile you didn't see often, but you caught glimpses. 

Only when looking at you.

"Y/N. I see your habit of coming in unannounced still going strong."

You smile to yourself, turning. Hongjoong was already dressed impeccably. His hair spilled black and bleached and slightly slicked back. A sly played on his lips, looking you up and down. To check if you are dressed appropriately, of course. He was so particular about fashion.

Boy, did that skirt he had bought you hug your curves.

"Yeah, well, I want to ensure you had sun and coffee for when you got in. It is a big day."

You beam at him, but he sits, taking a sip of his coffee and looking at his computer but still giving you glances.

"We do. Have you and Songhwa finalized the food, venue, and security?"

You nod and start listing off confirmations and any other information that he would need to know. Emails he needs to answer or reminders.

You worked so hard for him. Even since school, what you lacked in pure born talent you made up with hard work, determination, and empathy. He loved to see how hard you tried for him. To impress your best friend turned boss. It more than stroked his delusional ego. You were his best project, along with Cromer Corp, of course. A sweet, nervous girl, pure and so tentative. It was easy to fall for you and keep you in his clutches. Hongjoong has liked to collect things ever since he was young, whether it be things, money, or people. 

His carefully created branch members and brand. You and Songhwa are the jewels. Park Seonghwa, someone who he found was the only person to match him, a perfect right-hand man for all aspects of his business. Even the more unsavory parts that you didn't know about. Then there was you, Y/N. The sugar in this recipe. His one guilty pleasure. Something to be carefully shaped and modeled into his perfect little plaything.

Tonight, he was going to take that next step.

"I don't want to wear this. It will look silly. It looks like a collar."

You frown at Songhwa as he helps you zip up your dress. He bites his lip, eyeing the leather in your hand. He knew, of course, that Songhwa knew everything about his boss. 

Things he had helped Hongjoong with. The threats of the people who wanted to talk to you in school, then the carried-out threats on the people that threatened his friend's careful little relationship. There was one part of him. The empathetic human part that made him squirm thinking about it was the blood and screams. However, he knew he was no different. He liked the neat little world Hongjoong and Y/N had with the other members. He also would do anything to keep that peace. Even if it meant dooming you to your part in his plan.

"It is fashionable Y/N. You know he will throw a fit."

He takes it, slipping it over your neck, fixing the latch so it is tight but uncomfortable. He glances at the ceiling, a slight shine of a camera only seen by the tall man. He gives it a quick look:

"Are you watching? This is what you wanted, isn't it, Sir."

You smile, greeting the guests, trying to hide your slight annoyance. For the event, Hongjoong liked to dress you and all of the members. Typically, he had you in a simple but still conservative outfit. This was not the case. A tight red dress is lined with lace dancing around your hips and chest. The leather band with a latch in the back and a tiny hourglass charm in the front only made you feel more self-conscious. 

You took a sip of your wine in your glass, waved over by Jongho and Mingi, sitting at a far table. Both dress smartly, of course, but with their own personalities shined in. Jongho had a more straightforward, classic fitting for the head of HR, while Mingi had more colors and tight pants showing his old legs, perfect for the marketing head. You flop in the chair next to them, fanning yourself. 

"Thanks for calling me over. I need a break just for a moment before I do my rounds on the other side."

"Joong, has you rubbing around in a dress like that? he must be crazy. Minji winks at you.

You roll your eyes.

"Yea, yea, I know I look ridiculous in this. I don't know what Hongjoong is thinking."

you pick at the dress, painfully aware of any "flaws" it shows.

"I don't think that is what he meant, Y/N."

The younger man sips his drink, looking into your eyes with a ... knowing look? What was that about? 

You playfully hit him, standing up and stretching. You feel a hand sneaking around your waist, pulling you to his side; you let out a small yelp.

"There she is. I have been looking all over for you. I need help with something."

You look at the handsome face of Hongjoong. He is dressed to the nines like always in a front tye suit, the inner shirt matching your own dress, a pocket square of the same lace in his front pocket. His mouth pulled into an odd smirk, his eyes lingering below your chin. You don't haul away used to his closeness by now. Hongjoong always said he liked to be more hands-on with things.

He really did enjoy handling his "things."

"I was just taking a short break. Did the Reps from Stay Offices come yet. I know Chan and Bin said they would-"

Hongjoong ran his finger on your chin and traveled lightly with his nimble gloved fingers to the collar, tugging it ever so slightly.

"This looks good on you, Y/N. It really suits you."

Your ears got warm as you met his eye, not pulling away in embarrassment. 

"Is this some joke calling me your pet, huh? I get enough slack from the associates."

You laugh light-heartedly, but he doesn't match you playing with the small charm eyes cold.

"I told you to tell me if anyone was giving you trouble, Y/N I would handle them."

Mingei and Jogho cough, getting up and waving at you. 

"That is our cue to head out and schmooze. You both have fun~"

Mingi winks again, and Jongho looks at you slightly. Was that worry? You just brushed it off, turning back to your boss.

"It is fine. Harmless teasing, I promise I am a big girl. You don't need to take care of me so much. I am supposed to do that for you!"

You smile, holding his face and rubbing his cheek lightly. His whole body seemed to soften at your touch, but he pulled away quickly, looking around, making sure none of his business partners had seen this moment. You weren't ready yet, after all.

"Y/N. Can you come with me quickly? I need to speak to you about something."

You tilt your head, letting go and crossing your arms in front of your chest.

"Are you sure? People are still-"

"This can not wait."

You already have made him wait too long.

You walk into his office, slightly nervous. You run through your head everything that needs to be done. The food tasted and perfect, you triple-checked every guest. What could-

"You look beautiful, Y/N."

He steps forward, cornering you to his desk, putting his hand on it, boxing you in, and smiling at you.

This was a new smile, almost.

Predatory. his black eye held something more than the softness or anger. 

"Well, the dress you picked out was perfect, as always. Was this all you needed to"

He cuts you off again, pulling you by the leather collar onto his pouty lips, his other hand pulling you against him. He lets a soft moan into your mouth, a release almost as you feel his hand grope your backside and something poke your leg.

Your brain goes a mile a minute. Shock, confusion, anger, and something else mixed inside you. You try to pull away, but he grabs you harder, forcing his tongue into your mouth and mixing his saliva with yours. You continue to struggle, but it seems to only strengthen his grip. After another minute of young wreaking in your mouth, he pulls his mouth away just so slightly to gently kiss the top of your ear.

"That's a good plaything. Y/N, you were waiting for this, weren't you."

You quickly shake your head, face and ears hot.

"Hongjoong, a-are you drunk or something that's going on?"

He only laughs, his knee sliding up between your legs, rubbing the soft fabric of your clothes sex.

"Halazia can mean Hearts awakened Y/N. I chose tonight to awaken your heart and mind to your rightful place. Next to me. Forever."

He nuzzles into your neck, kissing it lightly, knee rubbing faster; you let out a whimper, hands on his chest, and you try to push away from him.

"Hongjoong, please, I don't; you are my boss. We are best friends. Let's go back to the party. You must have been drinking too much."

Hongjoong rows into your shoulder, pushing you onto his desk, the objects painfully cutting into your back. He stands between your legs, rutting into between your legs, his eyes lidded and breathing heavily.

"I don't think so, Y/N. I have let you simmer long enough. It is time for my meal. You. Are. Mine."

He rips up your dress roughly, pulling down the thin fabric of your panties. You scream, but it is cut short by another kiss. Even rougher this time mixed with whispers of.

"That's a good girl."

and 

"Look nice and wet for your Sir already, are you."

Your brain screams for him to stop, but your body heats up, enjoying the feeling of his fingers rubbing your clit gently as her ravages your mouth. He pulls away, leaving you rambling and light-headed, before undoing his pants and rubbing the top of his cock on your slit.

"How long I have waited for this day, Y/N. You have no idea. You were teasing. The frustrated night, the people I had to hurt to keep you my perfect plaything. All min now."

Before you can question him, he trusts you. Thanks to his fingers, your body was prepared, not your mind. This was Hongjoong, who you loved like a best friend whom you followed, loved, and supported your whole adult life. You had no idea he had these feelings and weren't sure you liked them. 

You fought his thrusts in vain. He was too strong, and the adrenaline of finally fucking the love of his life only boosted that his lips found your chest young, hungrily licking around your sensitive bud. You wiggle under him, trying your best not to call out in pleasure that was coming in waves from your core. He stood up, egged on by your little noises.

"That's it. You are taking me so well, Y/N. Look at how perfectly your little pussy fits around me. Take it, take me inside of you, let me fill you with all my cum. Let me fill your womb that is begging for my seed. My precious little plaything."

He closes his hand around your throat, resiting your air as he mercilessly pounds into you, the object cutting your skin. With repeated motions, he lets out a hiss as he pours inside you.

"F-fuck, that's it, take it. Take it like the good object you are."

You bite into your lip, drawing out blood. The metallic taste mixes with his taste in your mouth. as your body betrays you. His love filling your already sore and abused pussy is too much. Everything was already too much. His confession, anger, and mark on my heart, body, and soul. You could only mutter out jibberish as you lay on his desk, the picture of both of you beside your arm.

He grinds into you, taking out his phone to take another picture. He could also frame this one but keep it on his desk, and then he would have to send it to Songhwa to give him a better angle after all. He waves at the small red light his other assistant thought he didn't know about hiding on the shelf. 

"You will enjoy your new position with me, Y/N. I will make sure of it."

Author note: *Cries* this was a heck in a half I am not great with real people, but the great Kpop Yandere writers have been such an inspiration for me I wanted to try <3 Thank you for your support :> reminder my asks and requests are open!

[sl-ut]

sweet cliches

THE FRIENDZONE

pairing: college!abby anderson x fem!reader

description: y/n thinks that abby may have trapped her in the friendzone, and begins to fear that it is far too late to escape.

warnings: VERY QUICKLY AND NOT VERY WELL EDITED, light smut, anxiety, fear of unrequited feelings, reader is a needy hoe, abby is a dommy mommy, swearing

words: 2.1K

date posted: 03/08/23

more college!abby

In general, Y/n was very secure within herself. Of course, she had experienced her fair share of insecurities and would certainly like to change a few things about herself, but wasn’t that the case with all girls in their early-to-mid twenties? She didn’t think herself to be anything special; not the smartest, funniest, or prettiest girl around, but she also didn’t think that any of those things might have made her blind to the fact that her own feelings could have potentially been unrequited. Until she met Abby. 

Abby had been on her radar for around a year before they had even formally met. Y/n was fortunate enough to have had an in with a few of the girls on the cheer team, making the cut with the kind of ease that freshman were scarcely offered. For anyone around campus, it was impossible to not not know Abby’s name and face at the very least–as the school’s star athlete, she was plastered on posters, billboards, and the school’s Instagram for everyone to see, though it was even more impossible for those who were involved in the athletics department to ignore her six-foot tall frame as she barrelled down the lacrosse field, expertly weaving through the opposing team’s defence and hurling the ball into the net with frightening strength. 

It had only taken half a practice for Y/n to be completely enamoured with the upperclassman. She spent the following weeks discreetly finding out little things about her; she was from Salt Lake City, she was in her junior year of Biology with a minor in Classic Lit, and kept to herself more than Y/n would have expected from someone so popular–this, she had determined from the fact that she had only been able to find out very general details about her even from Mel and Nora, who both ran in the same friend group as Abby. 

Nora had quickly taken a liking to Y/n, referring to her almost exclusively as my freshie around their teammates. Y/n honestly did like Nora, and had become somewhat friends with her before she even laid eyes on Abby, but she couldn’t help but wish that she would introduce the two without having to ask her. Hell, she didn’t even know for sure if Abby even liked girls, especially because the only previous relationship she had heard about was with a man. She also didn’t want to let on to Nora that she was interested in her friend in fear of making her believe that she was using her in any way. So, after a long internal debate, she decided that she was going to stick it out until fate came into play. 

The moment finally came early on during Y/n’s sophomore year. A few of Nora’s friends were hosting a party to celebrate the start of the lacrosse season, and of course she would extend the invitation to her own teammates. Y/n hadn’t even expected to see Abby that night, considering that she rarely made appearances at any big parties that Y/n had been to, but the moment that Nora had waved her over to join them on the couch, she couldn’t help but pray that she wouldn’t somehow embarrass herself in front of the intimidating blonde. 

As it would turn out, Abby’s head had begun to spin the moment that Nora had introduced them, her stormy blue eyes following the outline of her back as their mutual friend dragged her away and into the crowd of the make-shift dance floor. The day that she walked into the coffee shop and noticed who was standing in front of her, her heart almost beat out of her chest. She had stood there for a few moments, figuring out how exactly she would approach her without coming off as a creep–though Y/n probably would have folded no matter how she did it. Then, after the brief, but very enlightening conversation, Abby couldn’t wait any longer and asked Nora for her number.

Fast forward two weeks, there was hardly a moment where they weren’t either hanging out, texting, or Facetiming one another. Y/n was initially feeling very certain that Abby was at the very least wanting to hook up with her; when they were together, she was constantly making up excuses to have an arm around her shoulders or a hand on her leg, and when they were apart, she was quick to text back and was always interested in what Y/n had to say. All of the signs were there, but why wasn’t Abby making a move? In other situations, Y/n would have had no issue taking the bull by the horns, but she couldn’t help but fear that Abby might have been looking for nothing more than a friend. 

But how could she only view her as a friend when she treats her like so much more? At parties, her eyes were constantly scanning the crowd for her, pushing her way through the crowd in an instant the moment that she lays her eyes on her figure. When they were together, she treated her like she was the only person in the world that mattered, and always seemed to treat her differently than she would treat her other friends. They had to be something more by this point, but she just couldn’t figure out why she was so hesitant to make a move. 

Even now, as she was tucked into her side in the comfort of Abby’s apartment, the older girl’s arm curled around her shoulders securely as she watched the television screen intently, Y/n was entirely too self conscious of the fact that this was certainly not something that platonic friends would do. She couldn’t help but watch Abby out of the corner of her eye, catching every flicker of emotion that crossed her features. The film had been on for almost an hour and a half by this point, and it was quite possibly the most boring, uneventful movie she had ever seen. 

“Something on my face, pretty?”

Y/n’s cheeks warmed with embarrassment, obviously having been caught staring despite her every effort of discretion. She shook her head quickly, turning her gaze back to the film on the screen to avoid the sky blue hues of Abby’s eyes. The bulge of her bicep clenched behind her head, nudging her to face her once again. 

“No,” she muttered, “Just thinkin’.”

“Thinking about…” Abby prompted, raising her brows with a sly smirk appearing on her perfectly pink lips. 

“Things,” Y/n shrugged, “Papers, practice,” she hesitated before adding, “You.”

“Me?”

She shrugged again, “We’re hanging out right now, of course I’m thinking about you.”

Abby was silent for a moment, “Wanna know what I’m thinking about?”

“Eating raw meat and lifting ridiculously heavy objects?” Y/n chucking, trying to diffuse the growing tension.

“Close, but not quite.” Abby snorted, “I’m thinking about how awful this movie is.”

“Really? You’re the one who put it on.”

“Yeah, well I wasn’t expecting to actually watch it.”

A lump lodged itself into Y/n’s throat at that, leaving her entirely unsure of how to respond. 

“I was thinking about you, too, but not just because we’re hanging out. I was thinking about how pretty you look, how good you smell, how much I wanna kiss you right now.” 

The words flew out of her before she even had a chance to process them. 

“Then why don’t you?”

A moment of silence passed, and Y/n was beginning to wonder if she had crossed a boundary. Perhaps there was a reason as to why she hadn’t made a move yet, something of good reason that prevented her from doing so. Then the moment was over, and the distance between their lips had closed.

Abby’s lips were softer than she had imagined, though she should have suspected as much considering that the woman was virtually inseparable from her chapstick, and they tasted faintly of some kind of melon and perhaps a touch of mint. Her movements were gentle, tentative and curious as she explored the opposing side of the boundary that she had finally crossed. Y/n finally responded, lips pursing against hers and moulding to her every movement. She was pliant to her desires, following Abby’s lead as she curved the large expanse of her palm around the base of her skull.

It was slow, but a silent understanding passed between the two women throughout the interaction. A small whine vibrated from Y/n’s throat, her body melting against Abby’s chest as she tugged her closer and into her lap, fingers sliding down to curl around her clothed thighs. Y/n’s chest heaved, leaning impossibly closer as she tucked one hand into the loose blonde strands at the nape of Abby’s neck, the other sliding down her front to feel the rigid expanse of her abs beneath the cotton of her t-shirt. 

“Mmm,” Abby mumbled against her lips, “Can’t believe I waited this long.”

Y/n ignored her, pressing her lips tighter against hers in desperation. She was almost embarrassed at how needy she had become so easily, completely malleable to Abby’s every will and growing even more desperate as Abby continued to babble on, instead turning her attention to kiss, bite, and suck at the pale skin of her muscular neck. 

“Didn’t wanna make you think I just wanted a hookup,” Abby muttered out, shuddering as Y/n’s teeth raked against her throat. “Hey, hey, you listening?” she pulled her back to look into her eyes, almost moaning at the sight of her hooded eyes, lips swollen and glistening with spit, “Jesus, you look so beautiful right now.”

Y/n whimpered, “Abs, please.”

“Listen,” Abby shook her head, cupping her cheek affectionately, “I like you. A lot. I didn’t wanna rush things, so don’t take this as a quick fling.”

Y/n nodded, pushing closer into Abby’s palm, “I won’t. Thought you were gonna friendzone me.”

“Me? Friendzone you?” Abby laughed, “Baby, how stupid do you think I am?”

Baby. 

Y/n shifted in her lap, “Abby, please. I don’t–I’m not trying to–I need–”

“Tell me what you need, baby.”

She could burst into tears at any moment, “You.”

The next ten minutes passed in a blur of movement and a flurry of discarded clothing, Y/n finding herself pressed into Abby’s sheets in nothing but her baby pink thong, the hulking figure of the lacrosse captain crouched over her having stripped down to her own boyshorts. 

“Who knew you would be such a needy little thing, huh?” Abby smirked down at her, fingers pinching at the hardened nipples of the girl that she’d been so patient to have. She chuckled as Y/n began to babble almost incoherently, “You need somethin’? Why don’t you just ask?”

“I need you, Abs,” she whined, pulling at her with all of the strength that she could muster to feel her lips against her once again. 

“Ah, ah,” the blonde tutted, “Gotta be more specific, pretty girl. What do you need?”

Y/n writhed beneath her, “Please touch me, please.”

“Well,” she grinned, “Since you asked so nicely.”

Abby kissed her lips quickly, chuckling as she chased after her with a whine of annoyance. The blonde pressed a trail of kisses down her body, taking special care to show some love to her breasts before moving even further south. 

“This what you need, baby?” Abby asked, hot breath fanning over her covered mound. “You want me to kiss your pretty little pussy?”

Y/n whined again and nodded anxiously as she wiggled her hips closer to her face. 

Abby leaned forward, leaving a long, soft kiss on her covered clit, basking in the mewling that she received in response, hooking a finger into the waistband of her panties and turning her gaze back up to the frazzled features of the girl below her before tugging them down to her ankles and diving face first into her.

“How’s this for being friendzoned?”

[writeriguess]

Five Hargreeves x female reader, where it's the day before their wedding.

The night before your wedding to Five Hargreeves was filled with a mix of excitement and anticipation. The two of you had been through so much together—time travel, apocalyptic threats, and the chaos that seemed to follow the Hargreeves family everywhere. But here you were, on the verge of something beautiful.

The evening was calm, the kind of calm that only existed before a storm—or in this case, before a wedding. You were in the cozy little cabin that had been chosen for the pre-wedding night. The air was crisp, and the stars outside twinkled like tiny promises. Inside, the fire crackled warmly in the fireplace, casting a soft glow across the room.

Five stood by the window, his silhouette outlined against the night. His usual stern expression had softened, a rare sight that made your heart swell. His suit jacket was draped over a chair, leaving him in just his shirt and tie, the top button undone for once.

You walked up behind him, wrapping your arms around his waist and resting your head against his back. He relaxed into your touch, one hand reaching back to cover yours.

“You’re really going to do this, aren’t you?” he said, his voice low and a bit teasing.

You chuckled. “Marry you? Absolutely. No second thoughts.”

He turned in your embrace, his eyes meeting yours. They were intense, as always, but tonight there was something else in them—something softer. “I’m not exactly the easiest person to be with,” he admitted, his hand coming up to cup your cheek.

You smiled, leaning into his touch. “Maybe not, but you’re worth it. We’re worth it.”

Five’s thumb brushed across your cheekbone, and for a moment, the world outside seemed to disappear. It was just the two of you, wrapped up in this perfect little bubble of time.

“I never thought I’d have this,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. “A chance at something normal, something good.”

You stood on your tiptoes, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. “Normal is overrated. I’ll take us any day.”

He smiled against your lips, the kind of smile that was rare and precious. “I love you,” he whispered, the words carrying a weight that made your heart ache in the best possible way.

“I love you too, Five,” you replied, your voice equally soft.

The night stretched on, but neither of you felt tired. You spent the hours talking, reminiscing about the wild journey that had brought you to this point. There was laughter, and even a few tears, but it all felt right. Tomorrow, you would stand in front of everyone and make your vows, but tonight was just for the two of you.

As the fire slowly died down, you found yourselves lying on the couch together, wrapped up in each other. Five’s hand was intertwined with yours, his thumb brushing over your knuckles in a steady, comforting rhythm.

“Are you ready for tomorrow?” you asked, your voice barely a murmur in the quiet room.

He looked at you, his gaze filled with a mix of love and determination. “I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life.”

You smiled, feeling a warmth spread through your chest. “Me neither.”

And with that, you drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms, knowing that whatever the future held, you’d face it together.

[blueboybot]

Ecto Infection: Part 1

Where ectoplasm acts like a sort of infection and those who had brushes with death have it worse.

The bats are no exception.

_______________

Day: 22nd

Month: June

Year: [REDACTED]

The following video you are about to watch was recorded by Dr. [REDACTED] of our research division from group Alpha which was stationed in the location Amity Park Illinois.

We at the Ghost Investigation Ward (G.I.W) advise you to know that these videos are not to be shared with any outside party unless given any permission to do so. Any Information which has been leaked without our consent will result in immediate termination.

_________

"Hello, my name is Dr. [REDACTED] and today I will be going over what me and my team have so far discovered."

*click*

"A few months ago the GIW discovered a huge spike in spectural energy emitting from a small space located in Illionois, we managed to pin down the location as Amity Park and sent troops to scout out the area to see what we could find. Upon our arrival it was clear to see that ectoplasm was abundant, further test showed that not only was it in the air but everywhere, from the water, earth, plants and even wildlife. It was clear that decontamination would not be easy but we are nothing but determined when it comes to our jobs."

*click*

"You already know this by now but ectoplasm appears in places most frequent in death or sometimes, in very rare cases, a portal will open up which it will then proceed to leak into our plane of existence."

"Under any other circumstances ectoplasm would be considered harmless but in large quantities its effects on our world could be dangerous and down right catastrophic, which brings us to the next topic."

*click*

"When large amounts of ectoplasm is introduce to an area the environment begins to warp, changing the land into something more than it should be. This also extends to any wildlife in the ecosystem. I will now show you some of the footage we have gathered."

*click*

A camera is powered on and begins recording with full charge. A small crew that consisted of three armed guards and two scientist march through the area will full caution. Leaves and twigs crunch beneath their feet, each step as careful as the next one.

The camera glitched.

The crew were now near a lake which was much bigger than it should be. A long board walk ventured out far until stopping when it was twenty steps far out. The two scientist got to work collecting sample of the water and soil, while the guards did their jobs.

After some time one of the guards broke off and began walking the board walk while the camera followed, heavy boots making the planks of wood underneath him speak against their will. His walk ended when he was on the last plank, tiltiing their head down to stare at the water.

And then they froze...

Not a single movement or sound could be heard, it was as if all noise just cease to exist. The camera got closer to where the guard was, the quality of the video getting glitchy and a bit staticky as it panned down and captured what the guard was seeing.

There. Right there in the dark waters were a dozen fish like figures, all eyes slightly glowing and looking at the guard.

With anticipation.

With hunger.

The sound of another gaurd calling to them was all that was needed to kickstart the chase.

The gaurd turned on their heel and began to ran back, the camera followed, missing the moment a dark figure leapt out of the water and chomped off an entire plank of wood.

They kept running.

They ducked as a dark shadow leapt from the side hoping to knock them down into the water.

They kept running.

They jumped into the air as jaws filled with rows of sharp needle like teeth came from below to try and take a bite.

They kept running.

All that could be heard behind them was splashed and the sound of wood breaking from whatever was in the water taking bites out of the board walk.

Eventually the guard was able to make it to land where they rejoined the rest of their party and left the area.

*click*

"As you have just witnessed ectoplasm infects the living and turns them into something monsterous. Those 'fish' were just some low leveled infected, dangerous to us still but not as dangerous as some of the other things we have encountered."

"It is important to know that just because something looks harmless you should never underestimate it, this is a lesson some members of our team had unfortunately learned a little too late."

*click*

The camera showed a different group of people, this time ten in total. Three scientist and seven guards entered a building, although the outside resembled any regular abandoned apartment the inside looked well cleaned and managed, as if people still lived here.

Somewhere along the way the group decided to spilt up with each scientist getting two guards and the remaining guards the front and back entrance.

A scream pierced through the air.

The camera which was recording the scientist inspect a strange plant captured the moment the trio jumped at the sound. They all exited the room, running downstairs only to find that both guards who were guarding the entrances were gone and all that was left were their protective armor.

Another scream tore through the air, this time coming from above where the group had just been, followed by echoes of curses before everything went silent again.

At this point it seemed the rest of them decided to leave but before they could open the door a tuft of vines covered the door. The camera panned up to a view of more vines, that hadn't been there before, now covering the ceilling.

One by one everyone was pulled into it. Yelling and screaming for help that they were never going to get.

Silence was returned to the building once again.

*click*

"That was a level two threat. When we recieved a distress signal more troops were sent out to the building and all they came back with was the drone with that recording. Despite our loses we were able to discover new knowledge about Amity. It is now known that certain buildings are alive and act as a sort of venus flytrap, crafted specifically to ensnare any human foolish enough to wander through its openings."

"The next anomoly on our list is a level–...It– Something's not– ....Oh God..."

An alarm could be heard going off, the video gltiching and audio distorting.

"It's here–..."

The video and audio continued to grow more staticky and distorted as some sort of black ooze bled from a corner of the room. It pooled onto the floor quickly, trapping the doctor who tried mercilessly to get out.

Suddenly a hand reached out of the ooze but there was no flesh covering it, it contined to pull itself out revealing its form.

A black skeleton watched the doctor struggle with no eyes.

"STAY AWAY! NOO،!"

*click*

_____________

Upcoming Chapter: The Residents

[jayburdxx]

Take Care.

Shigaraki x GN reader

CWs: pure fluff, a tiny bit of angst if you squint, swearing, blue hair shiggy, romanticizing a healthy skincare routine

Rating: E for everyone

▪︎▪︎▪︎

You joined the league later than the rest, but you held a very important role there - a medic. Despite your label as a healer, though, you were no less of an asset to the team as the rest of the members. You just had a certain.. fire in you. Brave, loyal, and fierce, but so gentle when you were tending to your team's wounds.

You tried to be the most gentle with your boss, Tomura Shigaraki.

He was.. tough to treat. He was avoidant of your touch. Scared of it, it seemed. Even the cold hearted Dabi let you wrap up gashes on his arms without much fight, but Tomura always flinched and tensed the rare times he accepted your assitance. The first few months of your presence, this was the case. But you didn't give up. That was something he liked about you. Your determination. He was still tense and twitchy, but slowly, he became much more agreeable with your care. Recently, he's even been putting aside Father to show you his face.

Today was rough for him. The stress of the last failed plan was tearing at him, and you could tell by the way he was scratching his skin raw. You were saddened everytime you watched his skin flake and trickles of blood fall from his scratch marks thoughout the day. But now that night was falling, you had managed to convince your stubborn boss to sit across from you in your makeshift medical bay in the base, the others not disturbing you.

"Your skin's been getting worse."

Father rested beside him on the metal table. You heard him grumble at your remark, followed by the sound of more itching.

You emerged from the bag you were rooting through, producing bandages and a small tube of cream. You stood and walked towards him with the tube and gauze in hand.

"I got my hands on something that'll help, though. the dryness and the itching."

"..Really?"

"Yes, really. It's just some carmine lotion, so it isn't too strong, but it should still help a lot."

Tomura eyed the tube curiously while you put it down beside him and reached for the alcohol wipes on your side table.

"This'll sting for a second."

You spoke softly once you brought the wipe to his neck and gently brushed his wounds. You felt him jolt and heard a small wince from him, but nothing more. It must have been a sensitive area. He avoided making eye contact. But that was quite usual for him, at least when it came to you. You applied the pads where they were needed and wrapped the gauze snugly around his neck to keep them in place.

"This should keep you from opening the scabs back up.."

You picked up the tube and unscrewed the cap, looking up at Shigaraki before you made your next move. It startled him when you looked into his eyes like that. Your eyes were so gentle, so different from how they looked in action. It always makes his heart skip a beat when they meet.

"Do you want to apply it yourself or should I?"

He took a moment locked onto your eyes, then he looked away and shrugged.

"You're the doctor here."

He tried to relieve some of his nervous tension by scratching, but he quickly put his hand back down when he remembered you had just covered those spots.

You smiled in acknowledgement. A very small smile, but a smile. He liked your smile. He couldn't place why. You squeezed some of the substance into your hands and reached for Shigaraki's face, but stopped.

".. It's okay if I touch you?"

He froze for moment. You had let him know beforehand so he wasn't startled, sure, but you had never explicity asked permission to touch him before. No one had. Maybe you could see how tense he was. Maybe you knew he didn't like to show his face, let alone have it touched. But whatever the reason, it made his breath hitch in his throat and a very brief, sharp wave of something foreign washing through his chest. The fact you cared enough to take his comfort into consideration. Of course, you were a doctor, that was your job.. but the way you had done it.. it was like you *valued* his comfort. His feelings.

He slowly nodded, closing his eyes and tensing in nervous antitipation. And your hands went to work on his cheeks first. Shigaraki could feel his heart fluttering. Your hands were warm, soft, and so, so gentle.. and gradually, he relaxed with a small exhale through his nose as he realized it was okay. As your warm fingers glided over his dry skin, he felt like he was in heaven. It had been so long since he felt such a careful touch. He hated that he liked this so much. The healing ointment your hands left behind made his skin tingle in a strangely nostalgic way. He could very vaguely remember this feeling, when his mother would apply his medications every morning as a child.. but before he could fully recall the memory, you stopped. He opened his eyes to find you with a worried expression. He realised he had been breathing quite heavily and shakily and was leaning into your touch.

"You ok? How does it feel?"

".. Better."

You smiled again, bigger this time. A smile of accomplishment.

"Good."

Then you took your hands away, and his skin was cold again. It disappointed him. He felt the urge to grab your wrists and place your soft palms back onto his cheeks. He could've stayed like that forever..

You glanced down at his hands, partially covered by the artist gloves you had given him to wear so he wasn't accidentally destroying things left and right. Then you looked back up at him.

"It's bad on your hands too, isn't it..?"

The mention of his hands made him twitch. He didn't want you touching his hands. He'd hurt you. He didn't want to hurt you

His face twisted.

"Why do you care so much anyway? I can do my job perfectly fine without all this fucking pampering."

He tried to scratch again, but grunted in frustration when he realised yet again he couldn't access his neck. His sudden biting words caught you a bit off guard, but you weren't phased. Shigaraki was unpredictable by nature, prone to tantrums and lashing out. You took a moment thinking about how to phrase your answer.

"Because you're my boss.. and my freind. And I care about you. And I don't like to watch you hurt yourself."

Your tone was both sincere and matter-of-fact. You weren't bothered by his sudden outburst at all. You never were. It frustrated him. No matter how much he tries to drive you away, you never fucking budge. But, deep inside, it made him love you all the more. he thought, and then he sighed.

"Why?"

"Mm.. I don't know. It's not like I can help it."

There was a tense silence for a moment as he bored his ruby eyes into you. Then he looked away. He always relented under your stare.

"... Fine..."

He grumbled his words, but he took his gloves off. You perked up. He refused to look at you, but he was still complying, and that's all you cared about. Really, he just wanted more of your touch, no matter what he had to do to get it.

"It's like you have a death wish."

"I'll be careful."

You reached for one of his hands, and carefully began massaging in the ointment. You took the opprtunity to explore. Running your fingers along all his callouses, finding spots his muscles knotted and gently pressing them. His nails were overgrown and jagged, and you thought about offering to cut them later. You noticed his fingers jerked away from you when your own got too close, even though he kept his pinkie curled up so all 5 couldn't touch you anyway.

You did the same to his other hand. By the time you were done... you noticed he was completely relaxed. Slouched on the table, head on his free hand, eyes half closed. Still alert.. but calm. The calmest you've ever seen him, actually. He hadn't gone to scratch once. You felt a little bad having to tell him it was now 2 in the morning and you both needed to get some rest.

"It's getting late. I should be heading to bed soon, tomorrow's another big day, remember?"

He jolted up from your sudden voice. He grunted softly in response, already missing your hands on his skin.

"It takes a few hours to fully soak in, so I reccomend you put it on after you shower."

He hid the extent of his dissapointment that you were implying this was only a one time thing, but you still noticed. You weren't stupid. Tomura Shigaraki, the symbol of fear, had practically been putty in your hands for the past hour.

".. You can always come to me if you need help applying it, though.. and make sure you're in here tomorrow so i can redress your bandages."

The corner of his mouth twitched into a smile after you turned away.

He could get used to this..

[radiant-reid]

Hot wife request:

A photo of Reid’s hot wife just walking down the street or grocery shopping or doing whatever goes viral online. He obviously doesn’t know cuz he doesn’t use socials. The team discusses this beautiful lady only to find out she’s Reid’s wife when she stops by with the glasses he left at home.

gosh i love how much y'all have gotten into this because me too

also, this is set with him ↓ but modern

It's not unusual for Penelope to send Morgan TikToks while the BAU is off working a case somewhere around the country. Usually, they're cute ones of puppies, other animals, or babies. Today, though, it's a video of her current favorite Tiktoker who she caught onto just as she started blowing up.

The it's.y/nnnn account now has 500 thousand followers, and Penelope might be one of her biggest fans. She found the account on one of the first videos Y/n posted, a highlight reel of her best pictures in October. From there, it transformed into her doing trends and talking about her fabulous life while maintaining a healthy balance of being real, an incredibly rare feat.

Morgan watches it immediately, understanding Penelope's next message- OH MY GOD!!!- when he recognizes the street and suburb 18th Street NW, Adams Morgan. It's a video review of a Mexican restaurant, one he and Penelope had been at a week prior.

JJ and Elle, sitting with him at the boardroom table, notice his amusement. "What is it?" JJ asks.

"Penelope's favorite TikToker lives in DC." He reports, handing over his phone so they can see the video and read Penelope's following texts voicing her excitement. "Someone find Reid so I can tell her how many people live in DC and that it's not that surprising."

"Wait, no, this is good," Elle tells him, taking the phone from JJ's hand and scrolling through some of the other videos from the creator. She's heard Penelope hyping this girl up, but she wasn't curious until now. "Do you know if she's... you know?"

Morgan laughs. "What, you're going to go and stake out the restaurant and then hit on her?" He asks.

"She's hot." Elle shrugs. "You would if you had a chance."

That offends him, and he scoffs. "I absolutely would have a chance."

"Bullshit." She calls. "She's too hot for you."

Playfully wounded, he places a hand over his chest. "I'm wounded. JJ, back me up."

JJ looks like she doesn't want to pick sides, but since he's making her, she's honest with her answer. "I mean, she is really pretty."

Determined to validate himself, he asks the next person that walks in. Unfortunately, that's Hotch who's forced to watch three videos. "Do you think she'd get with me?" Morgan questions his boss.

Hotch gives him a hardened stare. "I think you should do your work." He states firmly, in his scary tone, and takes a seat before adding his answer in a whisper. "And no, I don't."

He gives up after that, not wanting to damage his ego further, and texts Penelope that he, too, is very excited by the revelation.

Every morning, Penelope gives the three of them an update on any developments she's found out, and every morning Morgan and Elle compete about who would be able to land her. Hotch quickly bans her from misusing FBI technology to uncover any personal information about a stranger and forbids her from printing memos for everyone.

She almost faints when the Y/n gets out of the elevator one morning, having to pinch herself, take off her glasses, and put them back on to make sure she isn't dreaming or hallucinating.

When she determines she's not, she rushes over, not going to miss her chance. "Oh my gosh, you're you!" She squeals, clearly catching Y/n off guard from the way she jumps.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" Y/n asks awkwardly, hating when situations like this occur.

"Oh. Oh, no, but I'm a massive fan." Penelope gushes. "Your page is seriously my life goals. I'm Penelope."

She smiles gratefully. "Thank you so much." It feels weird for her to be recognized in public, especially when she's come to her husband's workplace.

It's then that Penelope notices the massive engagement ring on her finger next to the wedding band. "Oh my gosh, you're married?!" She asks excitedly, completely forgetting to ask a question about why an influencer is standing in the BAU. Y/n nods happily looking down at the ring. "To who?"

With near-perfect timing, Spencer walks through the glass doors and notices his wife and his colleague talking, frowning at them.

"Well, actually, to him." Y/n answers, nodding at her husband who's walking over to them.

"Hey, sweetheart." He greets her nonchalantly, coming to stand by her side and wrapping his arm around her waist. He then notices Penelope's shocked face, something he's never seen so intensely. "What's going on?"

She's practically speechless, but she doesn't need to speak when Elle, JJ, and Morgan turn up. "What's going on?" Morgan repeats the same question as Spencer, stunned like Elle is.

"Hey, I'm Y/n Reid." She introduces herself, shaking their hands.

"Wait, you have a sister?" Morgan asks. They don't look related but there's no chance in his mind that they're not dating.

Spencer completely misses the intention of the question. "No. Well, not that I know of, but I guess there's a chance I could have a half-sibling, but you'd tell me, right, Garcia?"

His wife rests her hand on his chest, signaling for him to stop while showing off her ring. "We're married."

"No shit," Elle remarks, raising her eyebrows.

Spencer's not only married, but he's married to a popular, stunning woman.

"Mhm." Spencer doesn't pick up on the looks being exchanged between the four of them as they try to work out how their relationship happened. She's model-level gorgeous, and Spencer, although they love him and know he's attractive, does not seem like he'd be her type. "I forgot my glasses." He informs them as Y/n takes them out of her handbag and gives the case to him.

"You've got to stay for lunch." JJ insists. "We have so such to ask you."

Morgan nods in agreement. "Like, if you weren't married to Pretty Boy, would you date me?"

[robin-the-enby]

Black butler Ciel with a older sister who rather spend more time reading, writing, spend time in her imagination, or her own self interests than run the company. She has her own business of running a successful book series.

Pairing: Ciel Phantomhive x older sister!reader Warnings: mentions of past trauma (not descriptive) A/N: Thank you very much for the ask and, as usual, I'm so sorry for the delay. If you don't mind, I decided to write this as headcanons. Also, the relationship between Ciel and the reader is strictly platonic. I have decided that I will not write romantic Ciel works anymore, because he's a child. And while I did have a crush on him when we were the same age, I have moved on and it would be highly inappropriate, I believe.

I think it's safe to say that you are very important to Ciel. You are his last living relative after all.

It doesn't matter if you're close or not. I don't think Ciel would appear to want to be close to anyone, even a relative. But that isn't really the case.

Now, he's definitely not clingy. He's self-sufficient, maybe a little too much. He definitelly doesn't need to rely on you.

But that doesn't mean he doesn't like to spend time with you. On the contrary. And since you are the quiet type, it makes spending time together much more comfortable for him.

He would be the type of person to do his own thing and let you do your own, just...in the same space. He could be sorting paperwork in his office, but you would be there as well, just a few meters away from him, scribbling down in a notebook on drawing in your sketchbook.

It's comfortable, it's quiet, and it means the world to him. If he looks past the age difference (and that little voice that tells him that maybe your roles should be exchanged), he almost feels normal. And that type of peace is very rare in his life, so he takes any and every chance to spend time with you like this.

It was very strange to him though, mostly at first, when he returned to the mansion. The way you are so different. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that you have no interest in the family company, or that you rather spend time in your own head than in th real world.

He does get the appeal of that, it's just that he thinks it's...foolish. He is a logical person, who always thinks ahead, to rule out any possibility of others taking advantage of him again. If he submitted to the luxury of running away from the past that still haunts him, he would achieve nothing.

But the more time he spends with you and the more he integrates himself back into the regular world (as regular as it can be for him at least), he sees that you're many things, but not foolish. Yes, you're a dreamer, perhaps a bit naive, but not stupid.

In the end, he prouds himself to be your brother. You have a great imagination and sometimes you help him more than you could imagine. If he has a case to solve, you help give him an outside look into things from a perspective he could never even imagine.

He appreciates your art as well. It would depend on your style and whether or not you were spared the torture he went through to determine how much, but he definitely appreciates it and thinks it's beautiful. If your style is a form of self presentation, translation of your shared traumas and deepest feelings, he might like it just a smidge more.

When you present the idea of publishing your own book, he is definitely on board. He likes to read your stories anyway, he can't see why others wouldn't enjoy it. He would definitely help you find the best publisher and arrange the best deal for you (with a little help from Sebastian, if needed).

When your book becomes a hit in London and the readers as well as critics start asking for a sequel, he feels proud. Proud of himself, for helping you make your dream come true, but mostly proud of you. For not conforming to expectations of others, who would assume you'd take over the Phantomhive company, but instead following your dreams and working hard to make them come true. It is that kind of strength he really admires. But of course, he knows how the world works and so he thinks his help was neccesary (and would continue to be in the future).

In the end, you have sort of a symbiotic relationship. Whenever you need anything for your work, Ciel gets it for you. Art supplies, sketchbooks, he can get you anything and you best believe it'll be in the best quality as well. He also helps you make deals with potential publishers or anyone who is interested in your work, making sure no one tries to scam you and that you get the most benefits from your labour.

In return, he asks for nothing. You already give him everything he needs from you. Your company. He gladly takes on the task of managing the family business, if it means that you can still sit by him in his study, scribbling away, as if nothing in the world had ever gone wrong.

[evolutionsvoid]

When hunting the great seas for blubber, meat and oil, there are a variety of species that whalers are eager to spot. Massive flabby beasts that are sure to fill their holds with valuable materials to be sold back on shore, and perhaps ones with some extra meat on them so that the crew can be spared of gut steaks for a few nights. You can certainly tell when one of these favored creatures are sighted, as the voices that ring out from the nest up high are filled with excitement, which soon spreads through the entire crew. They rush to their stations and ready the ship for the hunt, eager to sink their ivory harpoons into that valuable flesh. However, the vast oceans house many beasts and monsters, and there is no telling what leviathan will rear its head during a voyage. Some are sought for, others ignored, while others fill the hearts of the sea folk with dread. And in some rare cases, it can be a bit of both. This can be seen in the Harpoon Leviathans, whose presence typically creates hesitation in the most hardiest of whaling crews, as they wonder if the chance for a big payout is worth the risk of sinking to the bottom of the ocean. 

Harpoon Leviathans are sea monsters whose very image speaks of their deadliness and ferocity. When one wants to depict the dangers of the ocean in scrimshaw, you will commonly see one of these horned beasts carved into the ivory. They are certainly a sight to behold, armored scales running down their bodies, maws filled with sharp tooth and tusk, and of course that massive spike jutting from their heads. This great horn is sharp and serrated, perfect for piercing prey and causing a ton of damage going in and out. This ivory spike is connected to a muscular socket in their skull, which allows it to pivot and rotate according to the situation. Said situation is the gutting of other leviathans, using this weapon to slash open hides and pierce thick blubber. Harpoon Leviathans feed upon whales, porpoise and great serpents, going after organs to ensure a fatal wound. Prey is detected through their snout covered in vibrissae, and their sharp eye sight helps them zero in on large silhouettes. They make sure to strike fast and hit crucial weak points, and then leisurely follow the wounded beast til it bleeds out. Since they fight large leviathans like themselves, they are aggressive and determined, even more so when another beast tries to steal their kill. Their armored plating not only helps survive a hunt, but to help defend themselves from scavengers and ensuing feeding frenzies that wish to benefit from their hard work. Thus, Harpoon Leviathans are quick to anger and quick to throw down, and that massive horn is more than capable of backing up this ferocity.

Though Harpoon Leviathans come off as rage-filled beasts, there is a different side to them. They are very sociable creatures, seeking company with their own kind and even mating for life. The horn that spears prey can also be used as a signal for other Harpoon Leviathans, raising and lowering this horn like one would message with a flag. Social grooming is also a behavior seen in their pods, as individuals take turns cleaning off the bloodied horns of their fellows. When they have young, they are fiercely protective and keep close to them well until they are armed and armored enough to face the world. Harpoon Leviathans are known for good memories, being able to recognize and remember fellow beasts even after years of separation. But this also means they are more than capable of holding a grudge, which is exactly what they will do if one kills their mate or offspring.

Due to their aggression and obvious weaponry, Harpoon Leviathans are a worrisome sight for whaling ships. These beasts are always ready for a fight, be it with an attacker or competition. Unfortunately, these beasts have learned that these odd ship things are a combination of both, hunting both Harpoon Leviathans and their prey. So they are quick to fly into a rage and try to destroy whaling ships that get too close. Their bulk allows them to ram into the boats in an attempt to capsize it, while their armor helps ward off harpoons and blades. The infamous horn can pierce through hulls, but it isn't always easy to remove once stuck in. Some would think this is a good thing, as the beast is now trapped, but they would quickly realize the opposite once it starts panicking and thrashing. Tales enjoy the symbolism in a ship sinking with a drowning Harpoon Leviathan still embedded within it, a tale of two aggressors dying while locked in battle. Obviously, the folk who don't enjoy these stories are often the ones who actually have to live them. The other worry that comes with the sighting of one of these leviathans is the chance that the captain may command them to hunt it. While these beasts are certainly a threat, they are also a lucrative catch. Their meat, oil and blubber is as good as any whale, and it also adds the bonus of hardened scales and a wonderful trophy. Harpoon Leviathan horns are capable of making one rich, and there is no end to buyers eager to add it to their collection. These horns are also important to the sea folk, who often use them for scrimshaw and crafting elaborate shrines and memorials from a single huge spike. They sometimes are even used as weaponry, though too big for a single man. Whaling ships may strap one of these horns to their bow to ram into prey, or construct elaborate devices fueled by explosive whale oil or Yellow Bile to launch a powerful spear into the sides of leviathans. But of course, carrying a horn or killing one of these beasts is sure to enrage another Harpoon Leviathan, who will not stop to destroy the ship responsible. And thus the hunt and fight begins once more. Certainly there is something to be said of these two sides, who are not too different from each other, forever locked in this endless battle.

-----------------------------------------------

"Harpoon Leviathan"

Fall of Ichor needs sea beasts too!