#this will haunt my notifications forever

[codacontainmentbreach]

[tontos-kratt]

why is this still getting likes how do y'all find it??

Wild Kratts but it's sibling violence???? 🥺🥺🥺

[navybrat817]

For the dialogue prompts, how about our Bucky with 17. "I can't lose you, baby. I've already lost too much." ? Please and thanks wonderful Miss Navy!!!

Some Days

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Summary: Bucky gets scared some days that he'll lose you.

Word Count: Over 500

Warnings: Mild sexual content, slight angst, slight feels (it's me), Bucky Barnes (he's a warning, okay?).

A/N: An overprotective prompt ficlet that could turn into more. Nat, I hope you like it ❤️ Not beta read and written on my phone, so any and all mistakes are my own. Please follow @navybrat817-sideblog for new fics and notifications. Comments, reblogs, feedback are loved and appreciated!

Bucky took you right to bed when he came home safely from his recent mission. Some days he needed to forget the weight of the unfair burdens he carried. As many times as he was unwillingly wiped, he would forever remember the horrors. The nightmares served as a reminder. He didn’t want to let them consume him.

He would drown in sorrow if he did.

“One more, baby,” he ordered gruffly, thrusting deep and helping you ride out your orgasm. “Give me one more.”

Some days forgetting meant taking you until he had his fill. He still had your hand above your head, your fingers laced together as he stretched his body over yours. He pulled another orgasm from you before he filled you to the brim. Pinned beneath him, you remembered that you belonged to him. And he’d never forget that he had someone worth fighting for.

Someone worth protecting.

“Talk to me,” you urged, focusing on him through the fog of pleasure.

“I get scared some days,” he whispered, still buried inside you.

“You? Scared?” You asked, touching his cheek. Like always, he leaned into your hand. Where one of you went, the other followed. “I find that hard to believe.”

“It's true. Because some days I wake up and I worry when you're not there beside me,” he said, his voice as gentle as his kisses. “I can't breathe properly until I see your face or hear your voice.”

The wonderful ache between your thighs was a contrast to the one in your heart at his stormy gaze. Ghosts haunted the man you loved, but you would find ways to chase them away. “I don’t want you to worry. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere.”

“My job is dangerous and I’m not always here,” he reminded you. There was always the chance that he’d never come home to you. But wasn’t life in general unpredictable? “I have enemies.”

“I know. And I know how to protect myself. You taught me, remember?” You pointed out. He made sure you knew how to fight. “And I'm still not going anywhere, Bucky.”

You gasped when he shifted his hips, his weight settling over you. “I can't lose you, baby,” he said, his eyes so intense that you nearly shrank under his gaze. But you weren’t afraid of how much he loved you because you loved him just as strongly. “I've already lost too much.”

Bucky Barnes lost almost everything. Time. Family. Autonomy. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t deserve it.

He deserved love and you’d be there to give it to him.

“You won’t lose me,” you whispered.

He sighed, your words like a balm to an invisible wound. “Still love me?”

“Always,” you promised, pulling him down for a tender kiss.

Bucky was home and you would wake up beside him in the morning, but life was unpredictable. Someone would try to take you away soon. Someone with a grudge against the man who captured your heart.

And that someone would soon discover that messing with Bucky’s girl was a death wish.

Who do we think is dumb enough to go after Bucky's girl? Love and thanks for reading! ❤️

Masterlist ⚓ Bucky Barnes Masterlist ⚓ Ko-Fi

[sweetenerobert]

𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐎𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖

DAY FOUR OF HAUNTED HOEDOWN

oberyn martell x male!reader

genre: enemies to lovers, MINORS DNI, modern au

prompt: cuckhold au + "i can't stop thinking about how perfect we would be together." "crawl to me"

summary: trying to think of ways to get back at your boyfriend for cheating on you; the result is you having sex with your nemesis, oberyn martell, in front of him

warnings: infidelity, cocky!oberyn, breeding kink, dirty talking, fingering, edging, mild praising kink, male masturbation, use of a vibrator, unprotected p in a, oral sex, spitting, handjob, cuckolding kink! (forced cuckholding ;)), no use of y/n

word count: 5.0k

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a/n: dividers by @saradika

a/n: I FORGOT ABOUT THIS! SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER! SCHOOL TOOK OVER MY LIFE, consider this a Christmas gift, that's been in my drafts for months

The noises played in your head like a neverending record. The moans, the yelps. The squeaking, your boyfriend’s voice – all those noises played in your head. You came home early from work, noticed your boyfriend was also home, and didn’t think of it. That’s when you went upstairs and made a dreadful discovery. You saw your boyfriend fucking someone else – a woman, in your bed. And you hated yourself that you stayed at your door, knowing that it would make your stomach churn and twist with each moan escaping her lips.

You’d left right before your boyfriend had cum – not wanting to bear with that, you went and acted like you weren’t there. You had driven to your favorite coffee shop and ordered a coffee, and you’d been sitting next to the large floor-to-ceiling window ever since. You often kept glancing at other people and noticing groups of friends and couples, and you wanted to cry; seeing the couples reminded you a lot of you and your boyfriend until your gaze landed on Oberyn Martell.

You and Oberyn weren’t the closest bunch – you practically despised him, and he enjoyed making your life hell on earth at work. The both of you worked together, and you loved your job but despised Oberyn – and hated that stupid nickname he gave you: Dove.

You drove your gaze back to the window, hoping he didn’t see you. Your curiosity got the best of you as you slowly glanced toward Oberyn’s position, and you saw him glancing at you – quickly looking back at the window, shaking your leg, hoping he didn’t see you.

Once you heard a chair screech in front of you, you knew it was undeniably Oberyn sitting in front of you. You could feel his penetrable gaze traveling on you. This feeling of sadness turned into a feeling of annoyance, and you were ready to thrash at Oberyn.

You could hear an exhale escape Oberyn’s lips, and you just wanted to bash his skull in with the coffee mug in front of you. “Hey, Dove, fancy meeting you in a place like this.”

“Fuck off,” You spat.

Oberyn whistles. “Feisty, aren’t we, dove?”

“I’m not in the mood to play Oberyn. I’ve had a rough day,” You announced.

Obeyn crosses his leg to rest on his other leg as he studies you. He could see your face written with distress and sadness written all over it. Something had made you look the way you did, and he didn't know about it.

“What’s wrong, Dove?”

“You, you're bothering me when I want to be alone,” You exclaimed loudly. Noticing people had turned their heads, looking back at you and Oberyn.

“Please, just leave me alone.”

Oberyn had a scowl slowly coming on his face; his jaw had tightened. You’ve never seen Oberyn mad before — he’d enjoy making you annoyed, but you’ve never really been angry.

“What happened.” it came out more of a statement from Oberyn than a question — a command more than concern.

“And you care because?” You question, turning your head to him.

“Anything that makes my dove mad doesn't deserve to live.” His tone made a chill travel down your spine, and your heart stop for a split second. You didn't want to answer him. If anything, you wanted Oberyn to leave and forget he ever saw you here. But, you knew he was persistent, and he wouldn't go anytime soon unless you told him what happened.

“It’s been like ten minutes, and I’m already going to tell the person I hate the most my business,” You huff a breath as you rub your hand across your forehead.

You slide your hand from your forehead — connecting with your thigh, making a twahp sound on impact.

“I’ve been having a rough afternoon,” You shrug. “Came home to find the supposed love of my life, fucking some woman, and you know what sucks? I stayed.” Oberyn looks shocked by your statement but doesn’t show it. “Yeah, I stayed and listened to everything. Did I get off on it? Hell no. I hated everything. I left before it could get any worse.”

You intertwine your fingers — a knuckle placed on the tip of your nose. A sniffle escapes your nose, reminding yourself of the terrible events that happened minutes prior. Your tear ducts felt heavy, and your nose felt congested. A tear slid down your cheek as you placed your palms on the table, and your head felt heavy.

Glancing at the wooden table, you felt your head get picked up — seeing Oberyn's finger pick your head, and you could see the concern on his face; his thumb wipes the tear slowly crawling down your face.

"Dove, you shouldn't cry over someone like that. You shouldn't cry at all. You're too perfect.” “Oberyn smirks, caressing your cheek. You slowly push Oberyn’s hand away from you and glance at the window again, trying to avoid any eye contact with Oberyn.

“Dove, look at me.”

You shook your head like a stubborn child. “Dove, I need you to look at me so you can listen to what I will say.”

“I can listen to you like this.” You shrug.

Oberyn was getting annoyed now — which would’ve been the first time, only if you saw his face. Oberyn fixes his legs to be next to each other and outstretches one of them to reach you. His foot made contact with your crotch — rubbing his foot along the print in your pants. You yelped in retaliation — looking at Oberyn. “What are you doing?”

“Getting your attention, and now that I have it. I need to ask you something.” Oberyn states, placing his legs in their original position.

You cross your arms and huff a breath. “What?”

“What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, he obviously can't get away with this.”

“What exactly am I supposed to do?” You question.

“I don't know, kick him out?” You shrug. “It's the only thing I can think of.”

“That’s all?” Oberyn questions.

“You can come up with the most creative insults you can throw at me, but when it comes to your scumbag boyfriend, you’re fucked?”

“Well, what do you have in mind, evil genius?”

“I’ve heard the best way to get over someone is to get under someone,” Oberyn smirks.

You shoot an eyebrow up and look at Oberyn with an annoyed look.

“Is that what you want me to do? Sleep with someone to get back at him? What is this, high school?”

“Not just anyone.”

“Then, who do you suggest?” You shrug and cross your arms.

Oberyn points at himself with a smug look on his face. You look at him with an annoyed look on your face. “Please tell me you’re kidding,” You spat.

“C’mom, I’m the best option.”

“Ethan, the homeless guy down the street, is a better option than you.”

“You know me—” Oberyn started.

“I despise you — and I hear the stories about you; you're a player — a playboy. I shouldn't get involved with someone like that.”

You’ve been aware of Oberyn’s “activities” for a while, ever since one of your Co-workers ranted about him to you — one of the many reasons you hate him. He was known for leaving people hanging after quote, “giving them the night of their life.” It frankly made you want to barf hearing anything involving having sex with Oberyn.

“Look, you’re one of the last people I want to hurt, but I want to see this scumbag crumble, knowing he lost someone as perfect as you.” Oberyn started.

You couldn't tell if he was messing with you or being genuinely serious, but all you knew was heat rose to your face.

“But, I promise. I won't hurt you. I want to see your ex suffer a little bit.”

“You promise this will work?” You question.

Oberyn places a hand over his heart. “Cross my heart, and hope to die.”

“Hopefully,” You scoff.

“But, you have to give me a week.”

“Give you a week for what?” You asked.

“Ah Ah Ah, it's a surprise,” Oberyn smirks.

“I hate surprises,” You grumble, crossing your arms.

“C’mom dove. You’ll like this one.”

“One week,” you firmly spoke. “That’s all I’m giving you.”

“Splendid, That’s all I need, dove,” Oberyn winks.

You essentially had to act like you still loved your ex-boyfriend: every talk, every hug, every kiss, and every interaction you had, you had to pretend like you cared. When, in reality, you wanted nothing to do with him.

And Oberyn was being more secretive than his usual outgoing personality. It often made your skin cold thinking about it. Oberyn was never closed off or reserved — always outgoing even when work needed to be accomplished; he always had time to talk or flirt with someone.

The end of the week had come faster than expected. It made you uneasy but also ready for anything. You heard a knock on your door while pacing — waiting for Oberyn. Your breathing became rushed and nervous.

As you opened the door, an exhale became longer than you expected. Seeing Oberyn wearing a long chestnut-colored lapel coat.

"Surprised to see me, dove?"

"Yes, I thought my "boyfriend" came home earlier than expected," You breathed.

"If I had a dollar for every time I heard that —" Oberyn started.

"Oberyn," You insisted.

"Kidding, can't take a joke, can you, dove?"

You step to the side to let Oberyn in. He walks in, and you close the door behind him. "I'm about to trust you with something so vulnerable about myself, so no, I can't take a joke."

Oberyn turns to look at you and rests his hands on your shoulders. "Dove, with me, you don't have to be afraid. Your body's a temple that I'm going to respect. Don't be scared."

"What do you think I'm going to do to you?" Oberyn questions, taking his hands off your shoulders and on his hips.

You took a breath, looked at the floor, and then up at Oberyn. "With him, he treated sex like a mission to complete — a side quest before returning to the main story. But with that girl, it was like she was something important, and I don't want to feel that way again." you find yourself looking back at the floor, a tear building in your tear duct.

Oberyn lifts your chin with his finger and plants his lips on top of yours. The kiss was soft, and the feeling of Oberyn's lips on yours made your body fire up — a feeling you've never felt with your boyfriend. Backing his head from yours — finger still on your chin, a smirk on his face. "Too stunned for words, dove?"

You push his hand off your chin. "No!" You exclaim, a wave of heat rushing to your face. "You don't have that power over me."

This rush of energy was coursing through your body like a drug; you yearned for more of it.

“So, where is the bedroom, sweetheart?” Oberyn asks.

You don't answer his question and walk towards your room. Opening your room door and seeing the bed made your anger boil — for the moment. Your boyfriend made it, and you find it as a sign that everything is normal — when, in reality, it isn't.

“Quaint, your boyfriend got a drawer?”

You point the nightstand next to the bed. Oberyn takes his jacket off and places it on the foot of the bed. He drops to his knees in front of the nightstand and opens the top drawer.

“What are you doing?” You question.

“All cheating assholes have something to hide. You aren't the least bit curious?”

“No, why would I be—” You start; as you thought about it, you somehow found yourself on your knees next to Oberyn. “I get top, you get bottom.” You state.

“I’m usually the top, but you know, there is a first time for everything.”

“I will punch you in the face if you keep these innuendos up.”

Oberyn laughs as you shove him. “Let’s get to searching.”

You open the top drawer, trying to find anything. After pushing things around, you found nothing worth explaining, closing the top drawer and looking at Oberyn. “Your turn,” You shrug.

Opening the bottom drawer, you back up and stand up to your feet, lying on the wall far away from him. Your eyes travel to see Oberyn bending down and his pants accentuating his rear end. You were tempted to whistle and compliment Oberyn.

“You like what you see, Dove?”

“It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever seen,” You admit.

“It's a nice ass, thanks for noticing,” Oberyn smiles.

“It’s a little hard not to notice. Is that what girls from the office are after from you?” You question.

“Girls and guys,” Oberyn corrects. “I’m not a manwhore for just girls, Dove.”

“Well, I didn't know that,” You shrug.

“A lot of people don't know I swing for both teams.”

“You learn something new every day,” You mutter.

A thud made you look at Oberyn as he pulled a box out of the drawer. You question the image you see on the box as Oberyn just sneers. “Is that a—?”

“A vibrator? Yes, Dove. It is,” Oberyn nods.

“Why would he have—?”

“Oh shit. Do you think my ex’s used it on that girl?”

Oberyn shakes his head. “The tape’s still on it. Meaning: hasn't been opened, or he’s waiting to use it.”

Hearing that a vibrator hidden in your ex’s nightstand drawer hasn't been used was a huge relief for you in a certain way. Oberyn holds the box as he has an idea and then looks at you. “Should we use it?” Oberyn asks.

“What? I wouldn’t even know what to do with that.”

“Let me do all the work, Dove.”

“What would you even do?” You state, crossing your arms.

“That’s a surprise, but first,” Oberyn States, walking towards you. “I need you to get on your knees.”

To say you were shocked was an understatement. Your eyes wanted to pop out of your head after hearing those four words. ‘get on your knees.’ Something about hearing those words made you want to fumble on your words but be mad at the same time.

“Make me,” You smirk.

Oberyn smashes his lips against yours in a hungry kiss — surprising you. Your teeth almost clash, his tongue exploring your mouth as his hand slowly trails down your chest to your bulge. It felt hard under Oberyn’s palm — betraying your hatred for him and weakening your knees.

Your knees dented the wood under you as you broke the kiss. You see Oberyn smirking and walking to the foot of your bed — placing the box on the mattress. Seeing him slip his shoes off, hearing his belt unbuckle being undone, and seeing his pants slide off. You notice that Oberyn wasn't wearing any underwear. Your face would've exploded if you didn't contain yourself.

Seeing Oberyn's cock made you feel like you were in an out-of-body experience. It felt like you were shocked but didn't show it. Watching Oberyn sit at the edge of your bed, wags his pointer finger towards you — arching his finger towards him.

"Crawl to me," Oberyn commanded.

Your body had a mind as you placed your hands on the floor and slowly crawled toward Oberyn. A more giant smirk appeared on Oberyn's face as he saw you crawl closer to him. "Such a good boy, dove," Oberyn muttered.

Your face was close to Oberyn's shaft — covering your face. You wanted to make Oberyn shiver, make him feel a way you've never seen him before. Placing your tongue on his shaft, bringing your tongue to his tip and back to your mouth.

You watch Oberyn release a breath — sounding like a whistle. "Such a tease, dove."

You hoist yourself off your hands and look at Oberyn — winking at him before you take the tip of his cock in your mouth, quickly retracting away from him. Watching his hips buckle forward, you can't help but sneer. "Desperate for my mouth, Oberyn?"

"You know what you're doing, dove. It's written all over your face," Oberyn grumbled. "So why don't you do something about it," Your question sounded more of a sarcastic comment. Oberyn takes notice of that. Tracing his hand on your cheek — thumb trailing your bottom lip. "We're going to whip that attitude of yours into shape."

Holding your face, Oberyn leads your mouth towards his cock. A long exhale leaves his lips as your mouth goes down his shaft — agonizing slowly. You pick your head up as you bring your hand to the base of Oberyn’s cock and start stroking his dick as you bring your head up and down.

Oberyn leaned on his elbows and enjoyed the pleasure your mouth brought him. Apart from Oberyn being secretive for the past week. He hadn’t jerked off and slept with anyone, so the build-up of cum had been stored in his balls for the week, and Oberyn was ready to burst.

“Baby, you're so fucking perfect. I don't know what is wrong with that dumb ass.”

Removing your hands, you start to go down deeper on Oberyn’s cock as you feel the tip of his cock hit the back of your throat. Clenching his teeth together, his moans escaping his throat — through his teeth like water.

“Baby— Ah— your mouth has a grip. I could cum fucking your face right here.”

“Why don't you then?” You ask, stroking his cock. You have a one-sided grin on your face. With inhuman speed, Oberyn picks you up to your feet — planting his lips on yours as your hands find the back of his neck. The hatred between you and Oberyn vanished in this moment. His hands explored your body as he touched your pants button — undoing them and sliding your pants past your feet. “Get on the bed, Dove.”

You complied with Oberyn. Your bare knees make contact with the mattress; you watch Oberyn grab the vibrator and take it out of its package. He held the device in his hand, hitting the button. Oberyn watched it vibrate in his hand.

“Asshole already put the batteries in. Bad for him, good for us.” Oberyn crawls after you, his face close to your cock. It twitches against his breath against it. “Has he made you cum before, dove?”

You reluctantly shake your head. "Like I said, there is a first time for everything," Oberyn snickers as he lowers the vibrator on your cock. Once you made contact, your eyes snapped shut, and you arched your back and fists towards you. Oberyn places a firm palm on your navel, forcing you to stop moving. "No squirming, dove." His firm demeanor sent shivers down your spine and made your cock twitch in anticipation of what was coming.

You heard your front door close, and your eyes snapped open. You attempted to move, but Obeyrn's hand on your navel prevented you from getting up. "Ah, Ah, Ah, dove. Where do you think you're going?" "He's back. We should stop." Oberyn looked at you with annoyance. "Do you think that asswipe cared whenever you came home?"

"But, Oberyn —"

"Let me make you feel a way you haven't experienced before."

Your breathing hitched as you looked at Oberyn. "How would you make me feel?" You gritted. "Happy, loved, wanted, cared for, everything someone as perfect as you should experience."

You calmed yourself — eyes drawn away from the door and closed. Feeling yourself grip the sheets — your moans intertwining together with your breathing. You felt as if you were about to cum, and that's when you heard your bedroom door squeal open.

“What the actual fuck is going on?” You heard Issac, your “boyfriend’s” bellowing voice. You kept your eyes shut so you didn't see Oberyn turn his head.

“Ah, just the guy I’ve been wanting to see. How are you doing?” Oberyn asks. In your head, you were laughing, but in reality, you were trying so hard not to cum right now.

“How am I doing?” Issac repeats. “How do you think I feel seeing some guy — pantsless next to my boyfriend’s dick?”

Hearing Issac emphasize that he’s your boyfriend made you want to punch him in the face; you would’ve — if your legs didn't feel like jelly. Spiritually Oberyn could feel your anger rising to your cock as it shifted for a split second.

“I don't know, dove, how should your cheating-asshole boyfriend feel knowing you're feeling more pleasure than ever before?” Oberyn smirked.

“Cheating? DOVE?” Issac exclaimed. You could see Issac’s eyes pop out in your head, and when you heard his tone.

“He -hould feel fucking dumb,” You gritted. You brought your arms resting above your head as you felt yourself about to cum any second.

“I should beat your ass for putting dumb thoughts in my boyfriend's head, man — and overall being anywhere near him.”

“But you’re not.”

“And why is that?” Issac asks, cocky.

“Because you’re going to go through my jacket and see the Manila folder and its contents inside, you're going to sit yourself down in that seat in the corner and watch me fuck the hell out of your boyfriend and cum deep inside him that I get him pregnant.”

You slowly open your eyes and see Oberyn smirking at you and Issac looking shell-shocked by what he just heard. And being honest, you were shocked yourself.

“I would do what he says. He can be pretty convincing,” You breathe. Oberyn smirks.

You turn your head — eyes strained from closing them. Issac rummages through Oberyn’s coat and sees the Manila folder he quietly dreaded. Sitting in the corner, he opened it, and the look on his face made it seem he got caught in a big lie. “Do you want to tell him, or should I? I don't mind either,” Oberyn shrugs.

“How did you get these?” Issac seethed.

“Okay,” Oberyn starts, ignoring the question. “Dove, what he’s looking at are photographs of himself and the girl he’s been cheating on you with — going on dates, going out, the whole nine yards.”

You wanted to scream, but the pleasure Oberyn delivered you on a silver platter brought you into overdrive, so you stayed mute.

“Fuck, Obeyrn. Your intense,” You spoke between clenched teeth.

“You close, baby?”

You nod. “I’m about to cum,” You exclaimed.

Your body wanted to give way, just to feel the immense pleasure you've yearned for.

Until Oberyn retracted the vibrator away from you, you looked like a deer in headlights while Oberyn had a shit-eating grin on his face. “W-what are you doing?”

Oberyn shrugs and looks at you. “Making you squirm.” His hands are firm against your inner thighs — feeling his nails press into you, his mouth slips onto your cock, and you arch your back in satisfaction. With Oberyn's mouth going slow on your cock, a rush came through your entire body. On the brink of cumming -- Oberyn cupping your balls in his hand, you wanted your cum to shoot down his throat.

Bearing your teeth, you grip the sheets again, glancing at Issac. He was pissed, but that made you want to cum even harder. "Hurt, doesn't it? Watching the love of your life enjoy someone else."

"Baby, it didn't mean--"

"Save it," You sucked in a breath. "Save it for someone who cares."

"Fuck, Oberyn. I'm close."

Oberyn takes his mouth off your cock; you watch your cock twitch on your navel, seeing precum leak from the tip. "Can I please cum, Oberyn? Please, it feels so good." You beg.

Oberyn shakes his head. "Not yet, baby.” Oberyn looks around and sees the look of despair written on Issac’s face — Oberyn’s cock twitching in retaliation. “Don’t be sad, Issac. Come on, sit right next to your boyfriend, and you’ll feel all better,” Oberyn smirked.

“Fuck off,” Issac spat.

Oberyn sucks in an inhale through his teeth and tsks at Issac. “Come on, don't be a poor sport; go ahead,” Oberyn nods to the open spot.

Issac reluctantly gets up and sits next to you. The look on his face read anger but was hidden by despair underneath it all. He was mad at you and Oberyn but angry and sad at himself.

“Come on, we don't have to do this. I mean, you already made your point with this whole “show” you’re putting on,” Issac argues.

“Oh, then I must haven't made it more explicit,” Oberyn nods.

Oberyn slides the tip of his cock slowly inside you. A sharp exhale. “Fuck, Oberyn. You could’ve warned me,” You groaned.

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Your hands dig into Oberyn’s shoulders, making crescent moons etched onto his skin. His thrusts start slow and gradually pick up the pace. Your moans bounce off your bedroom walls. “You like hearing those moans, Issac? Having to hear them off someone else cock?” Oberyn breathes.

Issac can't help but stare at your face with each pump Oberyn was pushing into you. He knows that enjoying each thrust Oberyn delivers. Issac couldn’t tell if he was pissed off or sad at the moment.

“C’mon, you love that cock, don't you, Dove.” Oberyn grunts.

You nod, snapping your eyes shut again. “Fuck, Yes. I love it so much, You whine.

“Your cock is so fucking amazing.”

“That’s it, dove.”

“You see, Issac, this is how you treat art. You treat it with the love and respect it deserves.”

Hearing Oberyn refer to you as art made your cock dribble with precum. Inhaling a breath through your teeth. Oberyn’s hips quicken, and you can't help but snap your eyes open.

“Ugh! Fuck! Oberyn! You’re so fucking big.”

You couldn't if you said that to praise Oberyn or piss off Issav, but overall, you were stating the truth. You haven't felt this good during sex in such a long time. Oberyn loved the moans, the yelps, and the cries that escaped your mouth.

Oberyn’s hands slide on your cheek as he trails your bottom lip with his thumb. Looking into your eyes, he plants his lips onto yours as his thrusts start to slow down, and your nostrils breathe out air of relief.

As Oberyn backs up from your face, he looks up to Issac, seeing the sadness ride his face but then quickly to anger as he sees Oberyn’s face staring at him.

“Dove,” Oberyn breathes, backing his hips from you. “Turn around for me, I want to see that perfect ass.”

You happily obliged as you got on all fours, your feet dangling off the edge of the bed. His cock pressed up into your ass, but you could also feel it lift off of you. Oberyn spits again, and this time you don't pay any attention to it until you feel Oberyn’s cock gently glide in. You take a long, deep breath in.

“Damn, dove, I can barely fit it in,” Oberyn growled. “You’re so fucking tight.”

Oberyn’s cock was slowly and brutally stretching you out, relishing every inch of your insides. Oberyn’s thrust began slowly as his thighs slammed into your ass, but his hips had other ideas. Oberyn’s gradual thrusts grew more intense, yet you were smitten with the whole thing. Your moans would not stay on your lips, and as you advanced, Oberyn’s cock would slip out of you with every clap.

“Fuck, you’re intense, Oberyn,” You breathe.

“You haven't seen nothing yet, dove.” Oberyn teases you by sliding his cock between your ass cheeks. "You want this dick... right, dove?" Oberyn sneers, looking at Issac.

“You want your worst enemy to get you pregnant?”

You nod your head, almost begging for Oberyn to fuck you. “Yes, I do.” Oberyn notices your begging tone as he shrugs his shoulders and slides his cock inside you.

Oberyn’s thrusts get hotter, more powerful, and more animalistic. It was like something that you never experienced in ever. Your enemy making you feel this way and letting you enjoy the moment with him was something you didn't know you needed.

"I can't stop thinking about how perfect we would be together,” Oberyn grunts, glancing at Isaac shooting a wink.

"Damn, Oberyn. I'm about to cum,” You ignored Oberyn’s statement.

"Cum for me, dove," it sounded like a command more than a statement. Your cock throbs, and you exclaim your moans as stings of cum hit the sheets below you.

“Fuck, Dove. I’m going to cum,” Oberyn gritted his teeth. As Oberyn’s hips keep going back and forth into you, you grip the sheets under you as you hear Oberyn’s sudden groans and feel his cum swim inside you.

“See, that’s how you treat someone as amazing as dove here.”

“I see you enjoyed your little show so why don't we —”

“Get out,” You breathe.

“What?” Issac questions.

“I want you out of my house, all your shit gone by Thursday. I never want to see you again,” You state.

Issac can't believe what he’s hearing even though he was expecting it, as he expected a slap to the face. “Where— where will I go?”

“I don't fucking care, anywhere but here.”

Issac suddenly stands up, Manila folder in his hand, and storms out of your bedroom, slamming the door.

“You okay, dove?”

You nod. “I feel great. Thank you.”

Oberyn brings his palm to his chest and acts fake shocked. “Did you just say thank you to me?”

“Don’t make me regret it,” You snapped.

Even though you were both covered in sweat, Oberyn couldn't get enough of you when his lips connected with yours, his tongue slipping into your mouth as his hand hooks under your arm onto your chest.

“You are the best sex I’ve ever had,” Oberyn admitted.

“That needs to be on a shirt; I need that in recording.”

“You’re suchan oddity.”

“You love it,” You smile.

“Yeah, I do.”

[ginxyy]

Bloody Valentine

I know I've got to go but I might just miss the flight i can't stay forever, let's play pretend And treat this night like it'll happen again You'll be my bloody valentine tonight

The air was thick with the scent of summer; it lingered on your skin like a favorite perfume, sweet and intoxicating. Your recent tour had taken you far and wide, but with each stop, your heart had been tugged in an unexpected direction, one that led straight to him—Wonwoo. It wasn’t official, not yet, but what had begun as casual meetings in quaint cafes and whispered secrets under starlit skies had bloomed into something more profound and exhilarating.

You had fallen head over heels for him, that quiet boy who wore his heart on the sleeve of his vintage band T-shirts. His dark, thoughtful eyes often danced with mischief as he laughed, and those rare moments where he let his guard down made your own heart flutter like the pages of a well-loved novel. Those evenings spent curled up in dimly lit rooms, sharing dreams and tastes in music, ignited a flame within you that felt both frightening and freeing.

As the golden hues of summer began to fade into the crispness of autumn, you found yourself grappling with the reality of your departure. Soon, life would pull you back into its chaotic rhythm, and you’d be miles away from the boy who had managed to break down the walls you had built around your heart. Each day drew closer to the moment you would board that plane, yet thoughts of him lingered like unpicked petals scattered on a sidewalk.

In a fit of inspiration and an ache in your heart, you decided to channel your feelings into something tangible. You reached for your electric guitar, the one that had been your companion through countless late-night jam sessions. As you strummed a few chords, the haunting melody of “Bloody Valentine” by MGK wrapped around you like a haunting embrace. It was a perfect way to encapsulate the bittersweet nature of your emotions.

After recording the video, you uploaded it to Instagram with a single, simple caption: "Even if the time we shared was limited, my love was true." There was something bold about putting your feelings out into the world, a testament to everything you’d experienced together, even if it felt impossibly fleeting. The last notes of the song resonated in your ears as you hit ‘post,’ a mix of anxiety and hope flooding through your veins.

As the hours passed, you tried to shake off the whispers of worry that fluttered at the back of your mind. What if he didn’t see it? What if he brushed it off like so many others had done? But in that quiet space of your heart, you knew—he would understand. He had to.

Moments later, your phone buzzed in a flurry. A comment from Wonwoo. Your heart raced as you opened the notification. “I saw your post. I’ll meet you at the airport.” Just five words, but wrapped in them was everything you wanted to hear and yet feared. Would this be it? The final goodbye wrapped in the hope of ‘I will see you again’?

Your heart thudded in your chest as you packed the last of your things, anxiety mingling with excitement. The airport loomed ahead, sprawling and bustling with life, yet all you could focus on was him. The thought that it might be the last time you saw him sent ripples of sadness curling in your stomach under the surface of uncertainty.

As you stepped through the automatic doors, the world outside blurred into a backdrop. You scanned the crowded terminal, heart racing as you fought against the tide of travelers. There he was, standing by the barrier, looking as striking as the first day you laid eyes on him. His hair slightly tousled in the summer breeze, he looked like art made tangible, and just like that, a sense of calm washed over you amidst the storm of emotions swirling in your heart.

“Wonwoo,” you breathed, and the space between you vanished as he wrapped his arms around you in a rush of warmth. Your body instinctively molded against his, heart hammering against your ribs. It felt as though all the music swirling in the air paused for just a moment, as if time had graced you with a second chance.

“I saw your video,” he murmured, pulling back slightly to meet your gaze. His eyes were intense, darkened by the weight of things left unsaid. “I rushed over when I did. I couldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye properly.”

The words sent a shiver through you. There was urgency in his tone, an undertone of desperation that mirrored your own. “I didn’t want to make it harder,” you replied, your voice softer than a whisper, “but there’s so much I wish I could say.”

“Then say it,” he urged, taking a step closer. “We don’t need to part like this, love. I want you to know that you’ve made this summer unforgettable for me. Even if it feels short, I’ll always carry this with me.”

The sincerity in his words hung between you like the music of your favorite song, reverberating through your very core. You both knew time wasn’t on your side, yet the connection you had forged felt significant an echo that would carry you through the distance.

“I fell in love with you,” you admitted, feeling the weight of truth lifted from your heart. “I wish I could stay, just one more night one more chance to create memories wrapped in the rhythm of our laughter.”

“Then let’s make a promise,” he said, his voice low and filled with emotion. “This isn’t goodbye forever. We will find a way. You’ll see I’ll never forget you. Not now, not ever.”

“And I’ll always carry you with me,” you promised, the reality of your fleeting time intertwining with a glimmer of hope. As you held him tightly, feeling the rhythm of his heartbeat against your own, a part of you knew that, even amidst the distance, you would find a way to let your love shine through the darkness.

“Take care of yourself, won’t you?” he murmured, as if afraid that the moment would slip away like sand through clasped fingers.

With a bittersweet smile, you nodded. “And you, too. Until we meet again, Wonwoo.”

As you stepped back, the world buzzed back into existence, but in that fleeting encapsulation of love and longing, you both remained suspended for just a moment longer, hearts echoing the promise you both silently made. Love, after all, was a melody that transcended distance. And you were both determined to let it play on, no matter how long the wait.

[clavissionary-position]

Emma: He said, "Leave me alone."

Emma: But he followed me home.

Emma: He sleeps on my bed.

Emma: He makes me buy tomes.

Azel: That's a god-awful poem.

Emma: It's a poem about an awful god :)

Azel: (pinches her cheeks) First—medical compensation for putting me through that poem. Second—you'd freeze at night if I didn't hold you.

Emma: I have blankets.

Azel: I have to be your blanket because someone keeps kicking them to the foot of the bed. To the floor. All the way into the hall that one time. It's a wonder you're a functioning adult.

Emma: Azel. You're the one kicking stuff off at night.

Azel: I have to hold you or you'll get kicked off the bed.

Emma: I get sweaty!

Azel: [polite voice] You should refrain from having sinful thoughts about God.

Emma: I don't...! Stop hugging me so tightly when you do it.

Azel: It's not a hug. It's whatever a blanket does. Hold. Cover. Completely platonic. Soft but unfeeling.

Emma: Just admit that you love me.

Azel: I'm sleepy. Let's finish this conversation in our dreams.

Emma: We are in our dreams.

Azel: So we are.

Azel: It's great how no matter how many times I pinch you, you never seem to wake. I could keep you here forever if I wanted.

Emma: Your pinches are brutal. I'll die at this rate and then I'll haunt you forever.

Azel: Don't you dare...!

Emma: Die or haunt you?

Azel: Die, obviously!

Azel: (grumbles) ...I'll just charge you a haunting tax.

Emma: That's not a thing.

Azel: None of the things I charge you are "a thing", but that hasn't stopped me.

Emma: If you love me enough to keep me here forever, then you definitely wouldn't mind me haunting you forever.

Azel: I don't mind anything that brings me money.

Emma: I won't have any actual money to pay your so-called haunting tax.

Azel: Then you'll have to give me something else. Like a promise. To never, ever die.

Emma: (smiles) A god of all people should know I can't promise something like that.

Emma: But I can keep writing odes to you.

Azel: Please die at your earliest convenience.

*post notifs are muted

[wystiix]

talk to me, please

❥ pairing: venti x gn!reader ❥ synopsis: Venti anxiously waits for a text from you to the point where he overthinks and nearly spirals into madness—will you please just fucking reply already? ❥ cw: crack, attempt at humour (kms), fluff maybe?? not proof-read so some stuff may not make sense lmao ❥ additional tags: lowkey kinda revolves around texting, venti's perspective, no pronouns for reader, modern setting, venti is a humanities major cuz i said so, does this count as socmed??? idk someone tell me i need to sleep it's 2am ❥ word count: 955 ❥ notes: bonjour hi hello kumusta. my foot is fucking asleep and my leg feels numb and my back hurts and i'm tired an it's 2am i have school i need to stop. okay so for context i was texting this girl and she wasn't replying so i went crazy, and then i thought "wait i could write a fic about this" and here we are. it was actually kinda fun writing this HAHAHAHAHA but i had to rush it cuz i have other stuff to do so uh it may be a bit quick. (see end notes after reading cuz i said so /j)

The clock ticked. It had been three hours. Venti stared at his phone, impatiently waiting for you just please, please, please reply.

Try to distract yourself, one may say, and mark these fucking words, he did.

He tried everything. From listening to music to doing the dishes, to cleaning his room. Oh, but that was not all.

For the past few hours, he reorganised his notes, desk and playlist, walked at least twenty laps around his dorm, ate all his snacks from the pantry like a fatass, cleaned up his closet and planned what he was going to wear a week from now, learned a new song on his guitar and even counted every single one of his ceiling and wall tiles.

There were exactly 146 tiles in his dorm. That number now forever haunts him.

Practically exhausted from being way too productive than he usually was, he slumped down on his bed and opened the app he used to text you. There was still no reply.

Venti buried his face into his pillow, letting out a groan of frustration.

It was incredibly frustrating and it nearly drove him crazy. Were you seriously that busy? Normally you would respond within a span of seconds, a few to thirty minutes at the latest. But fucking three hours?

He couldn’t let this opportunity slip away. You both had been talking for over a week—he couldn’t afford to mess this up. 

But what if you suddenly lost interest? Oh, it felt far too early for that. Was he finally going to have that Mitski experience? Was he going to be those depressed poets who poured their hearts out through their ink on the paper when a single minor inconvenience happened to them? 

You were killing him. And it was not softly. Venti felt as if his heart was shattering into a million pieces.

Was this his destiny, his punishment for choosing to pursue such a depressing major in humanities?

How cruel the universe is.

He sighed in defeat, opening his notes app to write and exude a poetic, Shakespearean ballad about this before his phone suddenly buzzed.

Ding! You have received a new message from [Name]!

Holy shit has his fingers never moved so quickly before in his entire life, clicking on the notification faster than he could blink. Your sudden message almost gave him a heart attack, for fuck’s sake.

So much for living and breathing Shakespeare.

Oh, how his heart fluttered. A simple message, yet it had him forget about his lament just a few seconds prior and he found himself swooning, practically glazing your message as if it was the most fascinating piece of literature he had ever laid eyes on.

Venti paused, rereading your message 25 million times, unsure how to reply. Should he respond right away, or would that be too eager? He didn’t want to come off as desperate, but three hours of waiting had been excruciating. Perhaps he should wait a minute or two… No, that would be too long!

God he wanted to punch himself in the face for clicking that notification too fast, now he has to think of a response on the spot or else he’d look like an asshole.

He started to type out a response.

k, i see.

He paused, immediately deleting the message with a shake of his head. Too dry, he has to sound interested. I understand! Would you like to shift the conversation to a less taxing topic? Delete. Too formal. LMAOOO dw dw, what was it about anyway? Delete. ahh hope the essay didn’t stress u out too much!! Delete. i’m madly in love with u Delete. Had he sent that he would find the nearest cliff and leap off.

Venti sighed, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. Why was this so complicated? He wanted to sound interested, but not desperate; casual, but not indifferent. He ended up typing something simple and hitting send before he could second-guess himself again. Sometimes, being simple is the ultimate sophistication.

He fought the urge to chuck his phone across the room. Shit, was that too casual? How long were you going to reply this time?

There were immediate blinking dots.

The tension in his chest eased as he found himself giggling at your comment. He realised the way he was acting earlier was ridiculous, maybe this wasn’t so bad.

Venti felt the weight lift off his shoulders. The conversation was back on track, and he could breathe easy again. Just as he was about to put down his phone, the blinking dots appeared again, and he immediately reverted his attention back to it.

Another message.

What.

What the fuck. Was this real?

He put his phone face down, allowing everything to sink in.

What the fuck. Coffee? Tomorrow? With you? Did you just ask him out? Was this real? Was he real? Were you real?

The anxiety that lingered within slowly ebbed away as he stared at the ceiling tiles—the same tiles that haunted him earlier. However, they now seemed oddly comforting.

“Holy shit.”

Gods above, was this a blessing? Maybe his love life wasn’t so hopeless after all.

Venti’s gaze drifted to his closet, where he noticed that same outfit he intended to wear a week from now. A cozy, soft-beige sweater with a hint of cream peeked out from behind a row of neatly hung clothes, gently draping over a pair of charcoal chinos.

He grinned like an idiot, giggling and kicking his feet like a little child who just received their favourite toy. A string of “oh my god, oh my god” repeated endlessly in his head like a loop.

And for once, the silence didn’t feel so heavy.

❥ notes: hi so yes. yes i did what he did here. yes i counted my tiles, but it was my bathroom tiles instead. there are like 121 tiles in the bathroom, including the hidden ones. in this fic i just added the average number of tiles to that number which was like 25 tiles??? lowkey idk i just estimated. and yes i did plan my outfit a week from now, which is for church. yes i cleaned my room. yes i walked more than ten laps around my living room. i was restless. yes i was productive as hell. lmfao by the time i was done with the fic she replied to me so yay!! win!! also pls get the "you were killing him and it's not softly" reference i hope someone at least gets it or else i'm gonna cry myself to sleep. yeah anyways im gonna sleep gn <3

[heavens-moonlight]

𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 | 𝟬𝟰 : 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗢𝗡

𝟬𝟯 : 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 | 𝟬𝟱: 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗦 𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗦

Author’s Note: Here’s a new chapter and the next one will be up in another two weeks! It will only be downhill from here...Personally, the ending of this one is my favorite writing so far ♡

The rest of the hike back to the retreat center is done in silence, no one daring to say a word.

There was no solace found on the journey.

Near death experience.

No way to escape.

Frozen reality.

Where do you all go from here?

Without prompt, Eun-Ha had taken on the responsibility of helping Na-Hee, allowing Hyun-Ho to switch over in support of Dong-Hyun, the latter's arm thrown over the former's shoulder, exhaustion evident in every single heavy step of his.

You can't help but observe how angry your cousin is, more than you've ever seen him before, a deep scowl present on his face. It's typical for him to blame himself when he can't protect someone, and given how you and Dong-Hyun, two of the people he cared for the most nearly lost your lives, you know he's wallowing in self-blame. If the two of you really had passed, you didn't think he'd ever let himself live with that fact.

When your eyes meet, his soften immediately, the dark look on his face passing briefly from the reassurance of the small smile you send his way. You can tell even without his direct confirmation this would become one of the moments that will haunt him forever. Even so, he'll remain strong so as not to worry you and your heart hangs heavy with that knowledge.

Noticing the silent exchange, So-Mi shuffles along in the back while constantly chewing on her nails, glancing between you, Dong-Hyun, and Eun-Ha in succession, more worried for her own life than anyone else's.

When your tears had long dried up, Jun-Hee insisted that he'd carry you on his back the remainder of the way no matter how much you refused. With your arms around his neck, your chin rests on his shoulder and your face is pressed against the side of his.

He's sweating profusely and you pull the sleeve of your blouse down to wipe off the drops that accumulate on his hairline. "Jun-Hee..." you start, a weak whisper.

"Don't," he responds gently. "I know what you're going to say."

"Then put me down, please."

"I won't." He strengthens his hold on your calves, fingers curling and uncurling, itching to touch the scratches, some more severe than others, marring the length of both your legs, the blood yet to dry.

"By the time we make it back, you're going to be in pain."

He turns his head slightly, cheek brushing against yours with an exasperated sigh. "And you think I'm not already in pain when I see you hurt?"

"But I can bear it when I'm hurt alone. I don't want anyone else to suffer because of me. Especially not you."

"Then you, more than anyone, should know how I feel."

Exhaling tiredly, you know there's no point in trying to dissuade him. Relenting, you brush the strands of hair that have fallen into his face out of the way instead, tightening your hold on his shoulders and closing your eyes, succumbing to the deep ache you finally allow yourself to feel.

A few tense minutes later, the group stands in front of the building's glass double doors, everyone stopping to stare.

The trip was pointless and you were all back where you started.

One step forward.

Two steps back.

The moment Jun-Hee pulls at the door, even without opening your eyes, you can tell the hurried footsteps belong to Yoon-Seo and Jung-Won, the two meeting you all by the entrance, having watched and waited the whole time for your return.

You feel a hand on your arm and a gasp follow. "Seol-Hwa..." comes Jung-Won's voice, shocked.

"We saw the notification. What even happened?" Yoon-Seo pats your arm soothingly, backtracking at the look on everyone's faces. "Anyway...it doesn't matter. You don't have to say anything. As long as you're back and safe."

"I'll tell you later," you utter, and Yoon-Seo nods, eyeing your injuries restlessly. Jung-Won's eyebrows are knit in worry, curiosity evident on her face although she doesn't voice it.

The remaining students await in the lobby anxiously and you tap Jun-Hee's shoulders softly to let you down but he doesn't give in. If anything, he only tightens his hold, keeping you close.

Eun-Chan comes running up in surprise. "What happened to Dong-Hyun and Seol-Hwa?" He shifts his gaze between the two of you, eyes widening at the state of Dong-Hyun's ripped clothes streaked with dirt and the bruises littering your skin.

"Say something," Mi-Na presses, voice shaky. "Why do you guys look like this?"

"Dong-Hyun..." So-Mi begins nearly inaudibly, timid. "He thought the line stopped there so he was checking. Then he slipped and Seol-Hwa tried to save him. Both of them..." she pauses, and you bite your lip hard, nearly enough to draw blood, wishing the discussion was anything but this. Her voice alone irritated you. "...Nearly went over the line."

"Funny that you should be the one to recount the story," Eun-Ha states grimly from the back.

"What are you talking about?" Yoon-Seo questions, focusing with rapt attention on Eun-Ha.

"So-Mi here, our role model of a vice president, loves to bend the truth." Eun-Ha's cryptic response has So-Mi fuming, striding over to shove her shoulder back roughly.

"Weren't you the one who told us all to vote for Yool that first night? What about that, huh?!"

"Guys, please calm down—" Yoon-Seo steps in hurriedly to pacify the situation, attempting to pull the two girls apart.

"You love to turn victims into criminals, don't you?" Eun-Ha's eyes blaze with anger, pushing So-Mi's hands away harshly. "As long as it's not you, right?" Eun-Ha crosses her arms and chuckles in So-Mi's face, a sarcastic and dry laugh devoid of humor. "I saw what you did with my own two eyes. Come to think of it, I shouldn't even be surprised. Out of all of us, you would definitely be the one to do it."

"Say it properly so we can understand." Jung-Won walks forward. "Just what the hell happened?"

"She...intentionally led them downhill under the guise of herself having slipped to guarantee that they wouldn't make it out alive." Eun-Ha points between you and Dong-Hyun, the others following with their eyes, the sight matching up.

A few of your classmate's mouths hang open in disbelief while others freeze, trying to process the information as neither you nor Dong-Hyun speak on the matter.

Where you're pressed against his back, Jun-Hee tenses up and you can feel the way his muscles stiffen, jaw clenching and head snapping toward Eun-Ha as he listens, wordlessly seething.

So-Mi rushes over to Dong-Hyun and grabs his hand desperately, the grip unreturned, her hold hanging limply. "Dong-Hyun," she pleads, trying to catch his eye as he avoids it, staring straight at the floor with Hyun-Ho glaring daggers at her. "Tell them that's not what happened."

With bated breath, she awaits his answer but regrets it the moment he speaks up, her face falling. "You didn't catch my hand earlier, so why hold it now?" He looks up at her through narrowed eyes with a look that could kill.

Head shaking, So-Mi drops his hand and falters, taking backward steps toward you as a last resort.

"Seol-Hwa...please." In a crazed manner, she turns to you with an outstretched hand. Before she can so much as graze her fingertips against you, Jun-Hee swivels his body in a way that shields you against her touch.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on her. I won't apologize for my actions if you do." His voice is cold and it makes So-Mi stop immediately, his warning like a slap of cold water across her face.

Not giving up, she turns to the crowd instead. "Are you all really going to believe Eun-Ha, the one who was the first to point fingers at innocent Yool?" She fixes each student with her gaze in turn. "Over me?!"

"What makes you think just being you gives you a pass?!" Eun-Ha slams the backpack she was carrying for Jun-Hee earlier onto the ground, the sound echoing in the still lobby. "Stop acting like you're better than everyone. You would have been a murderer, Kim So-Mi," Eun-Ha spits out with venom, articulating the name like acid that burns her tongue.

"Do you even have any proof, you bitch?!" So-Mi screams.

Calmly, Eun-Ha looks her dead in the eyes. "As if their appearance isn't enough proof," referring to you and Dong-Hyun. "Why are you so defensive then if you're not at fault? The more fervent a denial is, the stronger the confirmation."

"You're cornering me—"

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!" Kyung-Jun's voice reverberates in the space and everyone silences. "I don't give a flying fuck what your roles are right now. It's more important whether we can even leave."

He turns to Jun-Hee, regarding you behind his shoulders, eyes flickering over your form, contemplating what Eun-Ha said for a moment before shaking his head. "How far into the village were you able to go? You said you would meet people and call the police. Did you?!" Kyung-Jun's voice gets louder and louder with each sentence.

"We couldn't get anywhere. At least, not a distance that mattered. The entire place is enclosed within the lines and we're trapped here." Jun-Hee's voice is quiet and robotic, clearly hating to be the bearer of bad news.

Kyung-Jun slams his phone to the ground so hard that it ricochets and bounces a short distance away, the screen clattering on the floor.

Yoon-Seo turns in Jun-Hee's direction, looking at him hopelessly. "Then...does it mean we can't leave this place until the game is over?"

Jun-Hee nods remorsefully, the hopes of the rest falling along with his bowed head.

You're walking up and down the floors of the building aimlessly by yourself when you spot Yoon-Seo tucked into an alcove's corner, sitting in the dark of a resting area with her head down.

Approaching soundlessly, she doesn't notice your presence until you speak up. "Yoon-Seo, are you crying?" You lower yourself into a chair adjacent to hers.

She looks up at you with red eyes brimming with unshed teardrops. The ones that have already managed to escape outline tear marks on her cheeks. "If I hadn't suggested that we could try going to the mountain, neither you nor Dong-Hyun would've almost died. Even Jun-Hee is acting differently. All of you came back like you lost your souls out there." She swipes at her eyes frustratedly, choking up with every word that comes out. "What a stupid thing for me to have said. This is all my fault. I made everyone more hopeless than they already were."

Seeing her so sad hurt your heart as her friend. You didn't blame her one bit. No one could've predicted the events. "You didn't make any of us go, Yoon-Seo." Reaching over, you place your hand over the back of hers, warming her cold ones. "We all volunteered. Even then, at least you were able to think of a solution we could try. You can't resent yourself for not knowing that there wouldn't be a real way out, could you?" You give her a genuine smile as she looks over at you. "So, what will you do? We can't leave this place until the game is over. Are you just going to waste your tears here and mourn our regrets?”

"No," she replies resolutely, placing her other hand on top of yours, making a stack in the middle, both your hands tightening with determination. "We must find another way out, no matter what it takes."

"Count me in," Jung-Won adds as she rounds the corner, joining in, the three of you sitting peacefully and comfortably in each other's presence, discussing what to do going forward. "First, why don't we try searching through the staff lounge again?" she suggests.

As the three of you approach the room, you hear muffled yells mixed in with the sound of the table phones going off.

Swinging the door open reveals Jun-Hee hunched over, screaming into the phone's receiver angrily before swiping all present office materials off the desk's surface and onto the floor.

"Yah! Jun-Hee!" Baffled, Yoon-Seo approaches him and picks up the phone he casted aside.

"What are you doing?" Jung-Won quickly flips the light switch on, bathing the room in a soft yellow glow.

"Why aren't you answering the phone?" Yoon-Seo swiftly presses the phone against her ear, listening before trying a greeting that remains unanswered.

"Forget it!" Jun-Hee yanks the phone from Yoon-Seo's grip harshly and once again, tosses it on the floor to land uselessly amongst the other things he threw away in rage.

Jung-Won glances over at you, concerned. You shut the door and walk toward him, taking his forearms in yours and hold them tight so that he'd stop making a mess of the room. "Jun-Hee, it's Yoon-Seo," you remind, shocked that he would lash out at her like that. Yoon-Seo stands still next to you, staring at him like a stranger.

His frustration boils over, and he withdraws his arms out of your grip, grabbing hold of an empty mug with all intent to smash it against the glass cabinets. Yoon-Seo and Jung-Won clench their eyes shut, prepared for the impact, but before he can chuck it, you throw your arms around his waist, hugging him tight, face pressed against his chest. "Stop! Please, Jun-Hee." In a quieter voice only for him to hear, "For me?" He trembles in your hold before immediately lowering the mug, placing it lightly on the table, all tension finally leaving his body. You pull back enough to look up at him, slightly apprehensive about the repercussions still. "What's gotten into you? You're never like this." He's the calmest person you've ever known, rarely losing his temper when uncalled for.

"It's fake. Everything is," he says, a faraway look in his eyes, irises still burning in anger.

You stretch on your tiptoes and turn his face toward yours so that your eyes can meet. Once his dark eyes focus again on yours, they soften entirely, staring at you deeply.

"What are you talking about?"

Jun-Hee slumps into the chair he was sitting in previously. "The phone lines..." he begins, dishearteningly. "They're severed. Every single one of them."

"What?" you look around the room in incredulity.

Yoon-Seo makes herself busy, going from cubicle to cubicle, confirming that even the computer wires were cut and frayed in the same manner. Closing her eyes, she drags a hand down her face, not sure what to make of the discovery.

"Look at this." Jung-Won flips through file folders and binders organized in a bookshelf by the door, tilting it in your direction. "They're all empty..."

Yoon-Seo sinks into a chair opposite yours as Jun-Hee pulls one out for you, guiding you down by the hand into it before dragging it as close to his as physically possible.

"I'm sorry, Yoon-Seo..." Jun-Hee looks her way guiltily.

"It's okay. I know you were just disappointed." She puts her head in her hands. "I too, feel like I'm about to go crazy the longer we're here." Jung-Won settles atop a desk, turning to Yoon-Seo as her friend voices her ideas. "You know, the person who created this game...What was the reason behind putting us through this? I think we need to find that out before anything else."

Jung-Won spins a pen in her hand, thinking. "Where do you think the creator of this game is? Isn't it just us here?"

"Maybe they sneak in when we fall asleep?" Jun-Hee proposes.

"It's a bit unnerving to think someone is sitting around watching us. Also, what makes us sleep automatically without being able to fight against the feeling?" You revisit the role of the announcements. "If there is someone, how come we never see them but can only hear them?" As an afterthought, you add, "If that's even their real voice or it's modulated."

"They probably killed Ju-Won when we weren't aware."

"No, I don't think so," Yoon-Seo refutes Jung-Won's statement. "We were specifically told that it was done by the Mafia." She shudders at the thought. "Only us students are part of the participants list, so it has to be those hiding among us."

"Right," you agree. "If it was someone else, their name and picture would be listed along with ours."

"They must have also chosen the Mafia members when developing the game." Jung-Won stands up, pacing back and forth. "I don't know how they decided that though, or by what criteria."

"Then, someone in our class really killed Ju-Won in cold blood?" Jun-Hee leans against the chair's headrest.

Yoon-Seo takes a deep breath and exhales heavily. "Unfortunately, according to the rules we all saw, that was more than likely what went down."

A knock interrupts your little gathering before Woo-Ram pokes his head into the room, peeking around the door until he spots Jun-Hee. "There you are. I was looking all over. Everyone's saying it's time to vote, so we should go." He looks around, addressing you, Yoon-Seo, and Jung-Won too. "All of us."

Stepping out into the hallway, Jun-Hee looks at Woo-Ram incredulously. "Yool died after we voted and they still have the heart to go through with that again?"

Sighing, Woo-Ram hangs his head. "What else can we do? We can't leave until the game is over." Na-Hee rounds the corner just then with Hyun-Ho and Dong-Hyun in tow. "None of us have much of a choice."

Yoon-Seo tries to persuade him, regardless of the circumstances. "Still, how can we sacrifice someone? We have to stop them. As a group, we mustn't vote at all."

"Wait, Yoon-Seo." You hold her back from marching off to find the others and talking them out of it. If we want to convince them, we need an alternative otherwise they won't listen."

"I'll do it," Jun-Hee decides with determination. "Are the rest gathered together?"

"No, nearly everyone's in their room," Woo-Ram juts his thumb at the closed doors all down the hallway.

"Can you assemble them for me?"

Woo-Ram nods and Na-Hee agrees to help him round everyone up. "But...there's something you should know." Woo-Ram pulls Jun-Hee aside. "Da-Bum is being cornered by Kyung-Jun's crew downstairs. It was where I saw them last."

Hyun-Ho curses under his breath. "Those bastards. I never liked them." Without waiting any longer, he walks away, Dong-Hyun and Jun-Hee hot on his heels.

You, Yoon-Seo, and Jung-Won all fall into step behind, hoping that nothing had befallen Da-Bum yet at the hands of the cruel group.

It doesn't take long to locate the boys, screaming and shouting heard loud and clear coming from the cafeteria.

Jun-Hee swings the doors open, nearly hard enough to throw it off its hinges as it slams into the wall behind. "That's enough! What on earth are you doing?" Jun-Hee pulls Kyung-Jun away from Da-Bum, jostling Jin-Ha and Seung-Bin away in opposite directions. "What's your deal with him anyway? Is it fun for you to belittle others?"

You run in and help Da-Bum to his feet. "Get up, Da-Bum." A quick glance-over reveals he hasn't suffered too much yet, your group having arrived in time to prevent disaster. Yoon-Seo is by your side in mere moments, assisting to take him away not within reach of the three bullies. Jung-Won directs him backward further from the entrance so that he's blocked by your group, standing where someone would have to go through everyone before getting to him again.

Hyun-Ho steps up, leaving Dong-Hyun to look over all of you. "Three on one guy? Aren't you ashamed of yourselves?" he scoffs with disdain.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Kyung-Jun balls his fists up and makes a beeline for Da-Bum, but Jun-Hee elbows his chest hard, forcing him back.

"Cut it out."

"You can't stop me even if you are the class president." Kyung-Jun slides his upturned eyes over angrily. "Why do I have to listen to you?"

Wanting to help out his friend, Hyun-Ho further adds fuel to the fire by shouldering Kyung-Jun until he lands on the floor.

"You're not the boss of me either." Kyung-Jun balls his hands tightly, staring Hyun-Ho down as he gets back up. "Understood?"

You watch with trepidation, sensing a huge blowup about to take place and not being able to do anything to stop it without escalating the situation.

"You jerks never get it when I say it nicely. Guess I need to teach you a lesson, huh?" Hyun-Ho turns around to grab a metal container off a well-organized display of snacks, smacking Kyung-Jun on the head with it before proceeding to launch him over the very same counter, the table collapsing inward under Kyung-Jun's weight, products flying every which way.

Usually Kyung-Jun would back off and take revenge in some other way when spectators are none the wiser. However, with the presence of so many people, he needed to prove his point and show the control he had, which was in reality, very little. You rear back, knowing that to jump into the middle of this would both be stupid and pointless. Hyun-Ho and Kyung-Jun's rivalry has simmered for a long time with no one truly knowing the real reason behind it.

Seung-Bin looks around, eyes settling on a trash can, immediately upending it to smash against Hyun-Ho. It hits him square in the back and he wavers slightly but doesn't give up.

A kick behind from Kyung-Jun has him pivoting on his heel as the former grabs one of the foldable metal chairs scattered throughout the room to hoist overhead, trajectory sailing toward his opponent.

Luckily, Hyun-Ho ducks right as it brushes atop his head, the chair collapsing into itself and thumping with a loud clang into the opposite wall, sending bagged chips and snacks falling from the shelves upon impact.

The food rains down and Hyun-Ho quickly tosses them in succession at Kyung-Jun's face, the two ending up engaged in a fistfight on pure strength alone, no more creative petty methods as distraction.

Kyung-Jun winds up no match against Hyun-Ho and gets flipped onto his back, crashing into the ground harshly. Seung-Bin and Jin-Ha also get tossed to the side easily, incapable of retaliating for the time being.

Hyun-Ho hovers over Kyung-Jun to pin him to the ground with a tight grip around his collar, forcing him down to the spot.

"Let go of me," Kyung-Jun grits out, thrashing around in vain as Hyun-Ho has no intention of freeing him. "I said let go, you son of a bitch." Though he tries to appear threatening, you watch the rapid rise and fall of his chest, knowing the fight has left him. He's aware that he has lost, fair and square.

Hyun-Ho tightens his hold, squeezing Kyung-Jun's neck hard enough that he starts sputtering, glaring up revengefully. "Then, are you going to finally listen? Will you do as I say?"

Kyung-Jun uses his last spurt of energy to bat Hyun-Ho's fists away from his throat, kicking him off. "Fine, you bastard."

Hyun-Ho brushes off his hands and pants, all the more disgusted at the sight of the messy cafeteria. As he turns to everyone waiting by the door, Kyung-Jun grabs something from the counter, hiding it out of view beside his leg before making a beeline toward Hyun-Ho.

Jun-Hee dashes over and bends his arm back before the rest of you can even register he has in his possession.

You look up to see him wielding a pair of scissors meant to stab Hyun-Ho by way of petty retribution. Without hesitation, you drag Hyun-Ho out from the room, knowing the more Kyung-Jun sees him, the angrier he'll become. "Gaesaekki, get back here! I'm not through with you yet.”

Having had enough of standing around as a mere spectator, you step into the room before Hyun-Ho can stop you, moving Kyung-Jun away from Jun-Hee and stand between them. "Will you give it a rest for goodness' sake?!" He simply fixes you with a steely glare but halts, gauging your reaction. "Can I tell the others what you just did? What do you think they'd say if they knew you were willing to kill someone?" You keep your tone even and face neutral, wanting to appear reasonable rather than confrontational as much as possible. Kyung-Jun relents after a short pause, albeit reluctantly, weighing the consequences. "Come to your senses."

Jung-Won sidles up beside you in support. "What's the point of talking to him?" She points a finger, jabbing it against his chest. "If we vote on you now, everyone else will follow suit. Do you want me to press your name?" Taunting him, she goes so far as to pull out her phone. "I can do it easily. Say the word and I won't think twice."

"You bitch," he grits out between clenched teeth, trying to snatch Jung-Won's device.

You grab his balled-up fist even as he tries to evade it, fingers clenching around the scissors in his right hand. "Drop this now and I promise I won't let the others know." Not backing away from his glare, you stand your ground. "Just stop here."

Surprisingly, Kyung-Jun yields to you, his curled knuckles loosening in your grasp as he thinks better of his odds against your large group. Removing your hand from his, you turn it palm side up, tilting your head toward it. Getting the hint, Kyung-Jun slaps the scissors into your outstretched fingers and steps closer threateningly, lowering his head down to look straight into your eyes. "You better keep to that promise or I won't sit still."

"Aish shibal," Seung-Bin spits out from the corner where he's slumped in a heap nursing his sore arm, forced to surrender.

You regard Kyung-Jun for the last time as you turn to leave, his eyes following when you stop short to mention, "We're all going to gather in the assembly hall in a short while. Come once you've all calmed down."

As everyone files out, Hyun-Ho throws one final remark at the bullies. "You better leave the cafeteria door open and accessible for everyone to use unless you want a repeat of this."

After the confrontation, you had dragged Hyun-Ho and Dong-Hyun by the ears to the infirmary despite the two of them protesting all the way.

Once there, you push both of their shoulders down onto the beds so hard they bounce back up before settling into the mattress, their weight dipping the material.

You stand before them with arms crossed, eyeing their identical meerkat expressions in all seriousness.

The two look back and forth between one another before glancing back up at you inquisitively, entirely confused.

"Why are we here again?" Hyun-Ho speaks up.

"This is like couple's therapy," Dong-Hyun mumbles under his breath and Hyun-Ho elbows him as you roll your eyes.

"You guys never listen," you scold, flicking both of them above the eyebrows.

"Yah!" They say in unison, hands coming up to their foreheads in sync.

"Always getting into trouble. Making me worried," you mumble, busying yourself around the room gathering supplies.

"Talk about yourself," Hyun-Ho retorts, touching his forehead where a red mark is still imprinted. You press the q-tip you were holding dipped in antiseptic and squish it against his cut lip hard, narrowing your eyes as he winces in pain and flinches away from you. "Watch it! Can't you be a bit gentler?"

"Oops, my bad," you tease with a sarcastic smile. "Tough love."

Dong-Hyun tries to hide his chuckle before you also turn to him with an ice pack in your extended hand and he swallows the next fit of laughter immediately. "It's not funny," he says, suddenly stoic. "Nothing is funny." Looking to the side and up at the ceiling, he begins to whistle, hoping to avoid the same fate as Hyun-Ho.

You laugh, hiding your smile behind your hand. "I don't know. This is pretty funny." You place the ice pack lightly down into his lap, pressing it against his stomach where he slipped face-first down the dirt hill earlier on the cliff.

"Why is he being treated better than me?" Hyun-Ho sulks.

"Because he has more injuries, none of which he intended to have." Dong-Hyun sticks his tongue out at Hyun-Ho, enjoying being off the hook. "And you," you start, tapping your forefinger against Hyun-Ho's forehead, shoving it back lightly. "You willingly put yourself into less than desirable situations without thought and get hurt for fun."

"This time there was a reason!" Hyun-Ho argues. "It's not fair for them to act all mighty when they're really nothing."

You sigh, dabbing his lip and some scratches visible on his face with ointment so that it'll heal faster. "I know there is," you concede. "But do you think Kyung-Jun cares about that?" You step back and look at the boys in front of you. "This game...we don't know how it will end. It's best if we try to avoid conflict as best we can. We can't begin to imagine what anyone is capable of with ill intent and a deep-seated grudge that refuses to go away."

"We can protect you!" Dong-Hyun chimes in. "I owe you my life."

You run a hand through your hair, fond but exasperated. "I don't want you guys to have to risk your own wellbeing for mine. I can take care of myself, you know?"

"We know," Hyun-Ho answers. "But that doesn't make us any less worried for your safety."

"Then, can you at least promise me to put your safety before my own? Please?" you plead, knowing how the boys are, unyielding in their principles. You step forward and pull them both into an embrace, their arms coming around you immediately and squeezing tight, the circle becoming smaller in the group hug.

"Are you trying to convince us with your affection or what?" Hyun-Ho's voice comes out muffled where his face is pressed into your shoulder.

"Depends," you say. "Is it working?"

"Feels weird. We never hug."

"Don't get used to it."

For once, Hyun-Ho is solemn, hugging you tighter. "Promise."

"I don't hear anything from you Dong-Hyun," you tease.

He pats your back firmly. "I promise."

"We'll all make it out of here together," you say to them quietly. "Wherever we go, as long as we have one another."

With one last squeeze, you release the two of them, insisting that they head to the auditorium first while you clean up the infirmary. By how the game was already going, you felt like this was as good a place as any to know like the back of your hand. Heavens knows more and more will be injured the longer this goes on.

You've only just started looking through the medical supply cabinet when the door to the room slams open, bounding off the wall with a hard thump.

A hand placed over your heart in shock, you swivel your head toward the sound, seeing Kyung-Jun with one foot nudging the door open, keeping it from swinging shut.

Looking behind him with his hands in his pockets, he hasn't yet realized you were even in the room at the moment. As he sighs and lifts his head from the previous position, his hand also reaches up toward his face, touching his split lip.

You're gawking still, bandages in one hand and antiseptic in the other. It was unusual to see Kyung-Jun look, if you dared to say it, so down and defeated.

Finally, he steps over the threshold and kicks the door closed behind him, looking up and stilling as his eyes make contact with yours. You don't miss them widening slightly, clearly expecting the room to have been unoccupied.

Without saying a word, he turns on his heel about to leave, but putting the clues together, you stop him in his tracks.

"You clearly came for something."

"That's none of your business," he replies evenly, one hand on the doorknob.

"Then, I'll leave so you can stay," you offer.

You see his fingers slackening from the handle before he spins around again, analyzing you. The silence is uncomfortable, and his penetrating gaze, suffocating. Whatever it is he was searching for in your expression finally settles a look of indifference over him, his shoulders slumping.

"No." He takes a few steps forward, still staring at you. "You were here first."

Your eyebrows knit together, not quite understanding. "Come again?"

He purses his lips together, clearly regretting having remained in the room when he should've left. "Stay and do whatever you need to do and I'll wait until you're done."

Kyung-Jun plops himself on the bed Hyun-Ho and Dong-Hyun were just seated on earlier and the atmosphere is such a stark difference, you're tempted to pinch yourself to see if you happened to be hallucinating. Never in your right mind would you ever think you and Kyung-Jun could be in the same place at once without the former going on a rampage. You two were not the type of people who belonged together in any type of setting.

He leans against the hospital bed frame and kicks his leg out on the length of it, remaining quiet.

Decidedly, You don't say anything more and go back to sorting through the supplies, earnestly wanting to get out of the room as soon as possible. The only reason you didn't go escaping at the first sight of Kyung-Jun was you didn't want him to think you feared him at all in any capacity. He always used others' distress as leverage against them to remain in control and you weren't going to fall prey to that trap.

"When will you be done?" he asks, and you can feel the slight irritation in his voice rising.

"Soon," you counter curtly, disregarding his presence. Despite that, you can feel his stare fixated on the back of your head.

You hear rustling followed by liquid sloshing and you turn around just in time to see Kyung-Jun about to smear something on his face from a suspicious bottle that looks a lot like the one you told Na-Hee to use for her foot. You scurry over in a haste and yank it away from Kyung-Jun.

"What the fuck?!" He curses, as a q-tip drops from his hand, tumbling to the floor. His eyes are narrowed in slits as he glowers at you. "Didn't I tell you to do your thing and I'll do mine?"

"This..." you reveal to him in an even tone, pointing to the brown bottle, "...is for the feet only."

His eyes shift over to the label on the bottle he definitely did not read earlier in your grasp. If you didn't know any better, you would say he looks a little sheepish and embarrassed at the blunder.

"Aish," he groans, hand once again going to his lip as the wound stretches from the movement of forming words.

Shaking your head, you walk back to the cabinets, setting the bottle on a high shelf and grabbing the antiseptic you stored away earlier. With new cotton swabs and circular bandaids in hand, you approach Kyung-Jun and place it on the bedside table.

"I'll do it for you."

"I didn't ask."

"First, you came here to the infirmary for an obvious reason," you start ticking off on your fingers what you've observed. "Two, you could've kicked me out like you usually do to others that are in your space." He makes to speak but you plow on, unperturbed. "And finally, the third and most important point, you clearly don't know what you're doing." You look at him with a pointed stare. "Isn't that why you allowed me to stay? You weren't going to ask for help, but on the off chance you swallow your pride and decide to, it's better to have someone here. Am I wrong?"

"No, but I don't like to admit that I am."

"You can try, starting from today."

That draws a smirk from Kyung-Jun. "I like you better than Hyun-Ho." He glances up at your face again from his seated position, swinging his legs over the side and onto the ground, scooting to the edge and closer to you. "You have guts," he says, tapping his forefinger near his lip. "Go ahead." He visibly has to bite his tongue after, inwardly reprimanding himself for having said it at all. Shaking himself out of it, Kyung-Jun closes his eyes and lifts his chin up, inclining his head toward yours.

He's tall even as he's sitting, and you have to lean forward, bending at the waist to be able to clean both his lip and his forehead wound. It wasn't hard to fall out of favor with Kyung-Jun who more or less saw everyone like a thorn in his side, yet for some unknown reason, he tolerates you—back in the cafeteria and even now.

You pause with a swab in hand, not exactly sure how to touch his face. The wait has him opening his eyes, one at a time until they're focused on you, gaze steadfast. "Don't get scared now." He pulls your free hand against the side of his face in a much gentler manner than you expected. "I don't bite."

You look up at him, considering, and he lifts his brows at you. "We'll see."

The corner of one side of his lips quirk up in amusement, but he doesn't say anything else, opting to stare straight at you as you work, easily disinfecting the hurt areas and applying ointment after, waiting for it to dry before you can cover it up. Kyung-Jun's eyes lazily trail the path of your pupil's movements as you inspect the wounds, but he sits still otherwise, not flinching at all, no matter how deep you press the q-tip in certain spots.

"You sure have a high pain tolerance," you intone more so to yourself, having a habit of voicing your thoughts at times.

"I do, but I can't lie that this still hurts like a bitch."

"And you decided to not say anything?"

"You're gentle."

You tilt your head at him in perplexity, and he runs a frustrated hand through his hair. "Don't give me that look."

"What look?"

He doesn't say anything anymore, and you don't push it, bewildered and curious all at once. You were genuinely confused. His labile personality was giving you whiplash but you power through it and finally place the bandaids on him, stepping away.

"You didn't give me weird themed ones, did you?" He inquires suspiciously, tapping both bandaids to make sure.

"Of course not. That would be a waste of the nice ones."

He studies you for a moment, halting his movements before finally getting back up to his feet. "Don't tell anyone I was here." Gone was his usual bravado and you finally understand why he had ditched Seung-Bin and Jin-Ha back in the cafeteria, along with the explanation for his shifty actions prior to entering the room. He didn't want to be seen as weak.

"I wouldn't dream of it," you confirm resolutely, finding no necessary reason to ever bring it up to anyone anyway.

"I mean it." Kyung-Jun points a finger at you. "If you do, I'll kill you."

"People who truly want to kill someone won't announce it beforehand. They just will."

Kyung-Jun lowers his arm, having been caught in his bluff and contemplates your very nature at the core, stare lingering before shaking his head to himself and striding toward the door. As he opens it to step outside, he pivots and casts his attention on you once more. "That look... I hate it like crazy." It finally registers to you that he was circling back to what he said earlier. "Your eyes...." he pauses, gaze flitting back and forth between your own. "Some people will misunderstand and think you actually care."

With that, he leaves, and you're left in the dark wondering if by some people he was referring only to himself.

As you finally make it to the gymnasium, everyone is congregated in a circle, the atmosphere tense and somber. You slip in beside Jun-Hee with Yoon-Seo to your right cradling her phone.

"I gathered all of you here not to decide whom we should vote for, but to give up on voting for good," Jun-Hee starts, hushed murmurs spreading through the crowd.

"Abandon voting?" someone probes with uncertainty. "Are you sure about that?"

"If we vote, one person is guaranteed to die. If we don't, we all stay alive."

"What if we agree to this but someone votes in secret. What will you do then?"

Although Mi-Na wasn't outrightly rejecting the idea, you didn't think she was really in favor of it either, going by the questions she brought up, her wariness ran high. You didn't blame her for you could count on one hand those you without reasonable doubt one hundred percent trust.

"She has a point," Ji-Soo concurs. "How can we truly believe you that this is the best option for us all?" Yu-Jun doesn't chime in, settling for taking glances at his girlfriend as he quietly debates the suggestion.

"We should at least try to trust one another," Jun-Hee resolves. "We can collect the phones so no one will be allowed to vote."

Eun-Ha nods, deep in thought. "He's right. That'll work." You look over at her, analyzing her actions and statements up until now. Call it your astuteness or pure instinct, but she in no way, shape, or form struck you as a Mafia member.

Ji-Soo continues to dissect Jun-Hee's idea, not so readily agreeable. "Who's going to guard the phones, then? The person in charge might change their minds last minute."

She's not wrong per se, given that your classmates were willing to go through with murder, a small betrayal like this didn't seem too far fetch.

Yoon-Seo gestures with her phone to the center of the court. "In the middle. We can all keep watch over it."

"What if someone steals it?" Mi-Na adds in, looking around at everyone's faces lacking confidence. "I'm not doing it." She takes a step back, crossing her arms and hiding her phone. "Don't count on me handing in my phone."

"I think it's a decent plan," Yu-Jun speaks up weakly, daring to take a peek at his girlfriend this time, linking arms with her. "Let's give our phones, yeah?"

Ji-Soo retracts her arm, rounding on him, her open blouse flapping wildly. "Are you crazy?!"

As the couple argues back and forth much less strained than you expected, probably due to Yu-Jun's calm demeanor and ability to recognize Ji-Soo's short temper, it helps her simmer down somewhat, the two going on to hold a conversation despite their differences.

"Can't you live without your phone for a few minutes?!" Joo-Young outbursts against Mi-Na, reaching out toward her friend's mobile device.

Mi-Na evades Joo-Young's hands and sidesteps the circle. "Why the hell are you yelling at me?!" Angrily, she tugs her hair roller out from its strong hold on her bangs and tosses it to the floor in a show of defiance.

"Gosh, you all are noisy and annoying," Kyung-Jun bellows, everyone immediately shutting up. "Banjang is actually making sense for once. Why won't you cooperate?" Looks are thrown around the room, curious as to why Kyung-Jun is siding with Jun-Hee. He doesn't agree with anyone or follow the rules, gladly making his own to follow. When no one says a word, Kyung-Jun grits his teeth and fixes everyone with a menacing stare. "I'm not asking. I'm telling you to do it, and you better damn well listen to me when I'm being nice." He emphasizes the end of his sentence, purposefully throwing it in Hyun-Ho's direction, echoing the words relayed to him previously.

The wait that follows is excruciating after Kyung-Jun collects phones and thumps the trash can haphazardly into the center ring. You and Yoon-Seo had tied white ropes in a line and placed it around the receptacle, enclosing it within, almost like no-man's land.

[ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs ᴀ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ ʟᴇғᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴠᴏᴛᴇ. ]

No matter how many times you hear the announcement, it still makes goosebumps run across your skin and your hair stand on end, habituated to expect the deathly siren to follow.

"Yah Prez, are you sure we'll be alright?" Seung-Bin probes, head in his hands and fingers running through his buzzed hair repetitively, visibly anxious.

Calmly, Jun-Hee replies to him but doesn't take his eyes away from the collection bin. "Let's just wait a little longer. It's not midnight yet."

"Fuck this shit..." Seung-Bin curses as he settles down, trying to manage his restlessness by wringing his hands in his lap instead.

All around you, your classmates are either sitting frozen with eyes unmoving from the center, biting their nails to the nub, or pulling their hair out in worry, scattered in various spots. Some are in chairs, others are on the floor, and the remaining are lying down like they've given up already.

You're no better, sitting cross-legged with your eyes transfixed on the clock by the exit sign, unwilling to remove your eyes from the second hand. 30 seconds to go. Every tick of the black plastic has your heart beating along with it, palpitations irregular and resoundingly loud in your ears. You don't realize you're bouncing your leg repeatedly against the heel of your foot below it until Jun-Hee lays a warm palm on the exposed skin of your knee, just below the cover of your skirt and you turn to him, his eyes silently questioning.

You nod and smile back, trying to not make it as strained as it feels. His touch is a welcoming distraction in forcing you to stop staring at the numbers on the clock you've been so focused on that the printed dots and dashes begin to blur into a swipe of black and white, hypnotizing you.

All of a sudden, Woo-Ram springs up, his metal hair skidding back as the legs screech against the wooden floors. He points with a shaky finger toward the clock. "Hey, hey, hey." He pats those next to him hurriedly. "It's past midnight now and there was no announcement. Did it work...?"

You whip your head toward the clock and sure enough, it was now well past twelve, time ticking by so much faster than when you were waiting on it.

"Have we made it?" So-Mi's eyes widen in shock, the first time you've seen a true reaction from her not screened by her fake acting.

"We did it..." Jun-Hee whispers as you both spring to your feet, unable to believe in the miracle of a loophole.

Joo-Young turns to Mi-Na, grabbing and shaking her in excitement. "It's over! We've beaten the game!"

Jun-Hee draws you into a triumphant hug, holding you close. You can feel the smile on his face as he presses his cheek against yours. He's squeezing you so tight, it almost lifts you off the ground, your arms winding around his neck as you stretch on tiptoes, celebrations breaking out all around you.

In a matter of seconds, the smile drops right off of your face and your throat closes up as the alarm blares incessantly, signaling a broken rule.

Jun-Hee's arms fall from around your waist as he falters back, staring at the intercom, almost wishing he could will it away.

[ ᴘᴀʀᴛɪᴄɪᴘᴀɴᴛs ᴍᴜsᴛ ᴠᴏᴛᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴅᴇɴᴛɪғʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀғɪᴀ. ]

Without a second thought, Joo-Young scurries toward the trash can of phones.

"What are you doing?!" Hyun-Ho yells to closed ears.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Joo-Young counters, spinning around to look at him, crazed. "Nothing else but grabbing my phone." She gestures wildly at everyone's sheer panic. "And if we do nothing only to die? Are you going to take responsibility?!"

"You can't return lost lives and you know it," Mi-Na reiterates, hastily moving to where Joo-Young is standing right on the ropes acting as a barrier.

"Wait..." Jun-Hee splutters.

"For what are we hesitating? We're still doomed," Joo-Young says with frustration.

"Stop blaming Jun-hee and settle down," So-Mi states from her spot on a chair, unmoving. Her friends listen to her for the time being and you wonder what she has over their heads that they willingly cater to her and heed her every beck and call.

Mi-Na's abrupt scream pierces the room as a body unexpectedly drops from atop the bleachers onto the floor with a sickening thud.

Your blood runs cold as you eye your fellow classmate, knowing a drop from that height would've crushed her organs resulting in internal hemorrhage with only fatality as the outcome.

There's no salvation.

Your hands shake and you have to clasp them together hard enough that your knuckles lose all color. Even then, they continue to tremble.

You wonder belatedly if in this position you could pray. Would the gods offer saving grace, or have they abandoned you too?

Instantaneously, another body plops down on top of the previous one, the impact so hard the corpses rebound off the ground before plopping with listless limbs back to the floor, the cracking of bones clacking.

Blood pools, a sea of red expanding vaster and vaster.

[ ғᴏʀ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴜʟᴇs, ʟᴇᴇ sᴏᴏ-ʙɪɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴀʀᴋ ᴊɪ-ʜᴏᴏɴ, ᴡʜᴏ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ʙᴏᴛʜ ᴄɪᴛɪᴢᴇɴs, ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴇxᴇᴄᴜᴛᴇᴅ. ]

"Grab your phones if you don't want to wind up like them!" Kyung-Jun shouts across the gymnasium as someone chucks the trash can overhead and phones scatter every which way.

Complete pandemonium and utter chaos ensue as every single person resort to crawling on all fours to locate their phones, no less like grave sinners atoning for their wrongdoings, groveling for leniency and forgiveness.

[ ғᴏʀ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴜʟᴇs, ᴏʜ ᴊɪɴ-sᴇᴏᴋ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴇxᴇᴄᴜᴛᴇᴅ. ᴏʜ ᴊɪɴ-sᴇᴏᴋ ᴡᴀs ᴀ ᴄɪᴛɪᴢᴇɴ.]

Jun-Hee's legs give out and he falls onto the floor, staring lifelessly into the void of the room, unblinking, overcome by the burden of guilt and the deaths he sentenced innocent individuals to inadvertently.

"Jun-Hee..." you call out weakly as you kneel beside him, receiving no answer for the first time.

A deafening silence befalls upon the room as bodies continue to barrage down with every passing minute from the rafters, lifeless forms hurtling to the ground with abandon amidst the crimson flashing lights.

The danger.

The warning signs.

Red as pure evil.

Why didn't anyone see it sooner?

Why didn't you?

But how could you? When Jun-Hee's still here in front of you, dressed in white, like a fallen angel succumbed to watching human suffering. Your eyes can only see him even in the shroud of red, but you're forced to remove your rose-tinted glasses. No, this shade of red isn't the color of love, of ardor, or of vitality.

It is the color that dyes the remnants of anger, uncontrolled flames, and stains of blood.

Not even the gentle flashes of white associated with light, goodness, and transcendence can mask the deep hue permeating all around.

Instead of peace, you see madness.

Instead of bliss, you see misery.

Instead of life, you see death.

No more did the divine exist in white.

The gods aren't here—you're all alone.

Yet, try as you might, how can you dare to blame the gods when humans are the most dangerous of all?

Unforgiving.

Unrelenting.

Self-persevering.

Plain naïve.

You had hoped—hoped so desperately.

But to hope is to risk disappointment. Now it's gone and left, leaving you exposed and vulnerable, clinging onto the shreds of previously existing innocent expectations.

The space has become a battlefield littered with bodies and drenched in torrents of blood.

Red meant war.

And you're losing the fight.

𝟬𝟯 : 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 | 𝟬𝟱: 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗦 𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗦

© 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟’ 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨, 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫-𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭. 𝐀𝐥𝐬𝐨, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞, ��𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞.

[bestworstcase]

@cryptidblues tumblr Ate this ask for some reason so copying text from the email notif

See I’ve always thought that the mechanism through which cinder stole the maiden powers (bug) from Amber made her a Grimm hybrid. And THATS why Ruby’s silver eyes worked on her at the top of beacon tower; regardless of the presence of the wvyern. Because underneath her skin she was Grimm (and still fully human). “Your newfound strength brings with it a crippling weakness”/“You said the light only reacts to Grimm but…it reacted to Cinder”/“perhaps there was something that you just weren’t seeing?” Leading from that the implicit threat of “Oz can’t defeat [Salem]”/“but maybe someone else can?” to Salem is not that Salem could be eradicated by silver eyes (go poof like other Grimm) but rather be put back in The Tower by silver eyes. By being turned to stone. Still immortal but frozen. Trapped. Her Freedom completely sundered. “You thought there was no greater punishment we could bestow upon you?”/“Your light comes from his brother”/“The god of light…his eyes”. There’s an assumption that Salem is invulnerable, no personal skin in the game, “she’ll come back”, nothing effects her, nothing sticks; but her running this risk of being petrified by silver eyes gives depth and high stakes to any interaction she has with Ruby face to face (and her possible complex relationship to a hypothetical favorite silver eyed lieutenant). ᓚᘏᗢ

the reason i Don’t believe the grimm beetle made cinder vulnerable to the glare atop beacon tower is that ruby hits her with a second full-blown glare in atlas towards the end of v7 and—even though cinder by that point has a whole grimm arm—cinder flies away from that one unscathed. either:

a) the implication salem makes in v5 that cinder can learn to resist the glare is true,

b) there is an additional, unknown but more important factor besides “grimm” involved here, or

c) both.

i think the answer is probably both, although more b than a. (maria sees the flash coming from the god of light’s eyes and concludes this power came from him; but she couldn’t see that ruby’s eyes were silver until she saw their light go off, and she missed those two silver-eyed children of ozma’s. “maybe there’s something you’re not seeing” is true of her, too)

(the silver light evokes the pure white of the void between realms, where the dead travel from life to death and the souls of the living and the dead can meet in between. ozma passes through this liminal space every time he dies and reincarnates, and his children with a mortal woman have silver eyes. after ruby witnesses pyrrha’s death and her light erupts, the hand cinder used to kill pyrrha is destroyed and ruby spends months hearing echoes of pyrrha’s final words—which she wasn’t there to see—haunting her dreams. there are butterflies, classic symbols of reincarnation and in certain cultures historically identified as psychopomps, all over the scene where maria discusses her theory. maria is also philosophically wrong in her conception of creation/life as “enemies” of destruction; destruction feedslife and exists in balance with creation, and the glare itself is definitionally destructive. silver eyes have something to do with death.)

the kids at least, per nora and “maybe someone else can [destroy salem]?” do seem to be thinking in terms of ruby’s eyes being the silver bullet that can stop salem if not destroy her outright, and ruby has the wyvern example to look to to be thinking about trapping salem in stone forever. but then the leviathan is there to raise the possibility that petrification is not necessarily forever, and salem herself seems unconcerned when ruby’s eyes start to flash in ironwood’s office. plus again the implication salem makes that the glare can be resisted: if that is something she taught cinder to do, it’s something salem must be able to do too.

i do think the glare is probably capable of hurting her somehow—i have my own specific headcanons as to how for Fic Purposes but in terms of textual speculation, what happens if you take a grimm woman who can’t die and blast her with the grimm-killing light from the threshold between life and death? it sounds painful, if nothing else.

but if the leviathan could break free after being petrified, and salem is both immortal and human and thus able to, like cinder in v7, resist the glare in some way, i think being turned to stone or encased in stone is not likely to slow her down for very long. although i can’t imagine she would enjoy the experience.

the other factor to consider is that—well, quite a lot of the fandom assumes the point of silver eyes is to “purify” the grimm out of people, for example saving cinder from her grimm arm, and on the basis of maria’s theory that is an easy extrapolation to make; which is to say, after the experience in the ever after, i wouldn’t be surprised if the idea of “purge the grimm out of salem to make her herself again?” was broached on the heroes side. the reality though is that being grimm is not what’s wrong with salem and becoming grimm is something she chose, or at least accepted as a possible consequence of what she attempted to do when she jumped into the pool of grimm, and using silver eyes to try to Force Her to go backwards is probably not a good idea and not something that will work. she is change incarnate—that’s what destruction means.

so there is a thematic challenge here that might be explored; seen through the lens of maria’s theory, silver eyes are anti-change (preservation) and therefore anti-theme (destruction is part of life, not the enemy of life) so her theory is incomplete and the most obvious way to fill in the gaps and arrive at the whole truth is to test the glare against salem herself, because she is change. 

and because rwby is so thematically driven i’d anticipate this happening concurrently with salem turning in a new direction, which intersects in very interesting ways with what is being set up vis-a-vis needing cinder to open the vaults vs wanting cinder to be alive, safe, and free. (i think the momentum there is toward salem being forced to choose between getting the crown and protecting cinder, and she’ll sacrifice the crown for cinder’s sake; the… possibility of silver eyes being involved in that scenario is obvious.)

[metfell]

i blocked you like forever ago and i dont remember why because you actually seem really fucking cool but anyways i decided to unblock you a while back since we are mutuals in law . and like clockwork one night this week you were in a dream of mine haunting me through my phone and giving me dozens of notifications and your blog was one of the only ones i could access for help while wandering the endless fog and being hunted by the beast. anyways i wouldnt have told you but i sas crunch post about how cool it is to have friends in a dream and i figured id tell a stranger - 🔪

did you like my fog

[alexwilltellyouthings]

Entirely self indulgent rating post about the top 10 TV shows that made me fucking insane for some reason

10. Sense8

God, this was so good. Such a blessing. I saw part of the cast during a Pride Parade and it's one of my favorite memories. I felt every possible emotion with this show, I love it.

9. The Last of Us

This is kind of a cheat, because the obsession comes from the games, but it is what it is. It's one of the few games that had a big impact on me and I closely relate it to my relationship with my dad. Can't wait to cry my heart out at season 2.

8. Good Omens

It's a given, isn't it? That stupid angel with his stupid demon and their stupid God. GRRRAAWW. A lot of thoughts and feelings came from the fandom, I have to point out. It's been very nice.

7. The Umbrella Academy

I have the first issue of the comics autographed by Gerard Way!! I mean, yes, it's because I'm a MCR fan, but it became even more precious after I got into the show. I'm rewatching right now, preparing for the last season. I'll be a mess when I say goodbye to them. Can't even really think about it too hard or I'll cry right now.

Continues under the cut

6. Our Flag Means Death

LISTEN THIS CHANGED EVERYTHING TO ME. What do you mean we can have a show THIS queer? It's all I want now. I ate it up. I smiled so much. I wanted this so badly and had no idea.

5. Interview with the Vampire

Feels like it should be top 3 honestly but I'll get there. This is also a cheat, I've been reading the Vampire Chronicles since I was like 15. Growing up with Anne Rice probably messed me up but hey at least I have great taste. And seeing them on screen? The way they made it BETTER? And Lestat?? Who has been haunting me for 15 years on and off??? And the second season and their reunion and and and?????????? I'm STILL insane about them and will be forever, I'm afraid.

4. Doctor Who

Listen. Listen. Okay. Yeah. What can I say? If you get into it, you're doomed. And I have been doomed for 10 years at least. I stopped watching for a while and got back last year, and it hit me all over again. I love this dumbass genius alien in a way that's calm, even. Just a permanent part of who I am now.

3. The Untamed

The year was 2022, it had been a while since I had a proper fixation and I didn't think it would happen with this danmei live-action, but then came Wei Wuxian. Guys, if I tell you I fell in love. Couldn't stop thinking about him. Everyday I was plagued by his smile and red ribbon and tragic backstory, yadayadayada. I really like other characters too, and their stories, but WWX did something to me that I still don't quite understand.

2. Queer as Folk (US)

This was a looong time ago and it didn't really persist over time like the others, but it was my first actual obsession. I was clinically insane over these gays. I had no one to talk to about them, so for every episode I wrote several pages of notes to comment to my (only) friend at school the next day, the poor thing. It was pretty much all I talked about because I spent EVERY MINUTE we had to talk going over the notes and explaining the episode. Like, between classes, during breaks, everything. Months of that. She held on firmly because she was a good friend, but I'm aware it must've been terrible. Like I said, insane.

1. Dead Boy Detectives

Maybe I'm putting this up here because it's my current hyperfixation? Maybe. But I don't think I have felt something hit as strongly as this since QaF over there. This time I can participate in fandom so I don't need to write every thought I have because it's all a big talk anyway, but I'm still pretty much having those thoughts all the time for *checks notes* nearly three months. I'm writing more than I have in years. I'm back at Tumblr after I don't know how long. I'm staring at GIFs over and over like I have the fucking time for that. I'm distracted at work daily. I talk about it in therapy. I have the main cast's notifications on. I'm getting involved in fandom discourse sometimes even knowing I shouldn't. It's a nightmare. I love it. I love them.

If you read all of this, congrats! Now you know how my mind works, kinda!! I'm open to talk about any and all of these shows. It's amazing how they mess us up. It's also scary, but anyway.

[prideandbone]

⚝ — FOREVER AND ALWAYS

✦ this is just a quick little fluff scene that's been plaguing my mind, so i had to write it out. satosugu brain rot is real </3

✦ gojo x geto, wc: 413

“suguru?”

no sound answered his summons as the boy with hair as pale as winter peeked through the doorway into the classroom. an amused smirk found its way onto his lips as he caught sight of his best friend, slumbering on the desk. with light steps, gojo walked over and quietly took the seat opposite geto, settling down with a gentle ease.

a part of him was tempted to jolt geto awake, eager to witness his best friend's annoyed awakening, just for the chance to lean in and silence him with a kiss amidst his grumbling. yet, a single glance at geto, quietly sleeping, tangled his heart. the shadows under his eyes were pronounced, his complexion paler than usual – it was clear why he had succumbed to sleep in class.

despite his vulnerability, geto remained the most breathtaking sight he'd ever beheld, gojo was always left mesmerized.

he gently moved his fingers to geto's face, tenderly sweeping the bangs from his eyes to behind his ear. his thumb glided across his forehead, just over the eyebrows, smoothing out the furrows that had appeared as the boy pondered in his dreams.

what troubles could be haunting him? gojo wondered how he could ease these concerns, how to offer him the peace he rightfully deserved.

the abrupt ring of his phone pierced the silence, making him grimace. beneath his fingertips, geto stirred, muttering indistinct words softly. gojo withdrew his phone from his pocket and eyed the notification that lit up his screen.

it was shoko. she was waiting for him to bring geto so they could go out for a meal. that's right, his search had been with a purpose. as geto's eyelids fluttered open, he drew his face closer to where gojo's hand rested.

“satoru?”

gojo quickly adjusted his posture, sitting up straight, "i was worried i might have lost you, considering how far off you seemed." there it was, his typical playful teasing. geto responded with what sounded like a soft, derisive chuckle, and let his eyes close once again.

"could you stay a while longer?" geto drew gojo in closer by the arm, resting his head against it. he sleepily extended his hand to weave his fingers with gojo's. gojo's expression softened, a rush of affection swirling inside him.

he was hopelessly enamoured, every small interaction sent his heart racing. the mere act made him inhale sharply and set his phone aside, completely lost in the feeling.

shoko could wait.

“always.”

[o-flairegan]

Story is under the cut if you want to read it here

Footnote

So I'll just take a footnote in your life,

And you could take my body

Every line I would write for you,

But a footnote will do,

A footnote will do.

Footnote- Conan Gray

Agatha stares off silently, the crisp morning air numbing her face and hands as she stands on the back porch. The wind blows lazily through the trees and tousels her hair but she doesn't move.

Even as the cold seeps through her jacket and the mug of tea in her hands cools she stays rooted, looking at the woodlands and knowing everything has changed.

Agatha feels empty, like someone has carved out a hollow in her chest where her heart used to be. The gnawing ache and jittery feelings seem in sharp contrast and she doesn't know if she should stay still or run.

Her mind turns to the one person she wants to reach for, Rio. With that thought the tears finally fall and she swallows harshly around the lump in her throat.

If only it were that simple, but Rio isnt hers anymore and maybe never should have been.

It is a self deprecating thought but she can't help it. She is a forty year old artist with not much to show for her life except some cool artwork and some interesting life stories.

While Rio is a young college student, with an exceedingly bright future ahead of her.

Agatha had hoped to be there to see her achieve her wants and dreams but all that had shattered a few nights ago over text.

"Um so Kara asked me out on a date."

Those words will haunt her forever, like a sucker punch to the solar plexus. Agatha can't say how many times her eyes traced those words.

She knew that what they had was a hope at best but It hurt all the same.

When this had first started between them Agath had said , "If someone else comes along dont give that up for what we might be."

She regrets those words, a bitter taste in her mouth and anguish in her heart.

Agatha knew it had been a risk to fall for Rio, foolhardy to open herself up but it had been so easy. The young woman was sarcastic, smart and funny, while showing moments of sweetness and care.

It was hard not to care, to fall for her a little bit every day over text and phone calls.

A month was all they really had before everything was upended by that one little text.

However it felt longer because every waking moment felt like Rio was involved in some way. Agatha had wanted to share her work and anything new in her life.

Both at one point had admitted to hoping that the notifications on their phones meant it was a message from the other.

The friendship came easy and with it more. Nothing ever happened between the two, not physically anyway. Not for a lack of wanting at least from both parties.

If they hadn't been states away from one another maybe things would have been different.

With a deep sigh Agatha steps in from the cold and drains the last of her lukewarm tea, her face screwing up at the taste.

As she cleans her mug and starts making a light breakfast she thinks over the last two days and the conversations she has shared with Rio.

She will be happy to never hear the words I'm sorry again. They had been uttered and texted too many times to count. From both parties.

Even as Agatha reeled with the knowledge of Rio wanting to date someone else she still worried about the young woman. She still cared and wanted her safe.

Didn't matter that her heart was cracking and she felt like she hadn't been able to properly breathe in days.

Even though she had wanted to wipe the slate clean like with every past relationship, something kept her from it.

She couldn't bring herself to leave and instead offered friendship because the thought of not having Rio in her life at all hurt more than the thought of not having her.

It would be an adjustment, to shove all those feelings aside but they had been friends and she would do it for Rio. Would do anything for her if it would make her happy.

The only lingering doubt she had was if whoever Rio was dating would care.

They are ex-something's after all and not everyone is alright with their partner being friends with an ex.

Agatha can only hope that isn't the case but at the same time she wants Rio to be honest.

If the young woman tells her to go she will walk away and never look back even though it would pain her to do so.

Finishing breakfast Agatha pushes the thoughts of the young woman from her mind.

All she can do is hope for the best.

It isn't till that evening when night has fallen and anything that Agatha can use to distract herself has long been abandoned that her thoughts begin to wander.

Her house is still, the only sound is the hum of the heater while the darkness just brings forth memories.

She can hear Rios' voice in her head, her laughter, the soft rasp in her voice when she is sleepy and the purr in her voice as she said such delicious things.

Agatha squeezed her eyes shut tightly and tried to will the voice in her head away. Her hands come up to rub at her eyes harshly.

Agatha felt wrong in that moment craving Rio as she did. It was all in the past and it had to stay there for the good of them both.

She can't help but wonder if Rio thinks of her on nights like this or if she has moved on.

Agatha selfishly hopes she remembers her, remembers their late night chats, their flirty exchanges that bled into more.

She would never ask, doesn't want to know if she is remembered or if she has been so easily forgotten as she feels. Yet she craves it here in the dark, her wicked heart craving what she can not have in the daylight.

Her breath comes in shuddering gasps as tears fall. Agatha hates herself for this weakness, hates how the lingering doubts she has stirs the depression she keeps at bay.

All artists are tortured in some way, she is no different. Parents who wanted nothing to do with her, living on her own for so long and in situations she isn't proud of have left their own scars.

Agatha will deal with the old wounds along with the heartache she feels. The one good of this all is that Rio will never see her like this, this pitiful shell of herself.

With the upcoming holidays she will throw herself into projects and distractions. Especially knowing Rio won't be far from her, but the young woman isn't hers. Not anymore.

It would be too soon to see her as a friend, especially with things how they are now.

Agatha doesn't trust herself. Not yet. So she will spend the holidays alone as she has for years.

Sure she has friends but those friends have family and inevitably she will end up alone.

In a selfish way she wishes this had all occurred after the holidays, if only to save her the extra anguish.

With no more tears left to shed the older woman falls into a fitful sleep.

Agatha wakes the next morning feeling groggy, eyes aching and swollen. She reaches for her phone, poised to send Rio a message out of habit but falters.

She can't do it, she needs to give Rio her space. So she sets down her phone and instead goes to make tea as is her morning routine.

After tea she gathers her paintbrushes, watercolors and water and sits at her desk to paint. She hits play on the music and freezes as the first notes of The Exit by Conan Gray hit her ears. Agathas had forgotten that her carefully curated playlist of music is peppered with bits of music Rio had introduced her too.

Just another in a long list of things she won't soon forget.

Yet Agatha spends the day painting and listening to the music, only taking the breaks for food and to let the paint dry.

Each piece she paints feels a bit like a soothing balm. It won't fix the ache in her chest, only time can heal that and she has nothing but time.

Leaning back in her chair, Agatha blindly reaches for her phone, pausing her music before opening her texts and hitting Rio's name.

“Can I still send you your Xmas present?”

Agatha hits send before she can think twice about it.

Rio's message comes through quicker than Agatha had thought it would. “Only if you want to.”

Agatha wants to scream. Of course she wants to, had made something what feels like ages ago for the younger woman.

She takes a beat to reign in her emotions before responding. “I do. I made it for you.”

The response she gets in return is simple. “Then yeah.”

Agatha breathes a sigh of relief, glad that she can at least do that for Rio.

Still in the late hours of the evening, still sitting at her art desk Agatha wonders what might have been.

Thinks about their plans and what she had secretly hoped for. She wishes she had been selfish, had been greedy

Rio though deserved better, deserved to have those experiences. To live, love, make mistakes and learn.

And really what could Agatha offer her other than her heart and some pretty paintings?

She would stay in the young woman's life as long as she was wanted, or would fade out with time, till she was just a memory.

Sighing, Agatha dropped the pen shaking her head to clear the thoughts. With a flourish she finishes with the short note to Rio.

With trembling hands she placed it in the package that held the young womens Christmas present. It was just waiting to be packed and sent off.

Agatha could only hope the present would be appreciated as keeping them would only serve as a reminder of what she had lost.

Maybe in the future things would be different but she wouldn't live for the hope of it all.

Sealing the box she rests her hands on it for a moment as her chest tightens and her eyes flood with unshed tears.

Raising her hand to her lips she places a soft kiss on them and touches the box. She will send it when she has a chance and can only wish it will be well received.

With a twinge she does worry that it might be a bit much but really it was a painting that she hopes Rio enjoys.

And who knows, maybe someday things will be different for the two of them. Or at least Agatha can hope.

[kyra45]

SEVERAL months later and I have finally located that one DM haunting my message notifications that took FOREVER.

[yagamisdiary]

hey girl let me just vent about how sexy you are ok. So the year is 2021 I'm in bed scrolling through Tiktok and keep on seeing girls crying over Eren fanfiction and I thought who are these dumb bitches crying about Eren fanfiction let me tell you I'm the eren yeager fanfiction library I know the ins and outs of every eren yeager fanfictions its in my blood yk anyways, I enjoyed them but I never cried over them and stuff at the TIME. so I'm like the girls never lie, so I got on my little reading app I don't know if you've heard of it, but it's called w-w-wattpad anyways type up parasite first thing to come up mind you! and I see it 20hrs+ and I thought HELL NO these 13-year-old girls r on some mad shit rn I'm not doing all that. So I sat on it for a few days and videos on my fyp kept on coming up and I was in lockdown so I didn't have anything better to do SO FUCK IT. I started reading I'm a hater bro I was trying too hard to be different anyways I get to the bonfire chapter and when y/n goes to Eren and gives him that snore OH SOMETHING HIT ME my feet were in the air giggling like a little kid let me tell you and I was addicted since that day, even dragging y/n feet down in the lake, THE STARGAZING AND THE DONT KISS ME HAUNTING MEEEEE,eren being a stoner and an emo boy is forever in my soul and sorry guys unpopular opinion but the disabled toilet scene was lowkey good like forgot about that goatee hehe…. but when she got SHOT LIKE TWIN I FELT THAT TOO, MY HEART WAS BEATING OUT OF MY CHEST, BREATHING WAS GETTING SHORTER like its real emotions let we tell you. Dont get me started on the way Eren was so caring afterward my man my man knows how to treat a girl right and then the Halloween chapter and which was the latest chapter at the time and this was the one everyone was crying about so I got my tissues knowing I won't be needing them so I'm reading 3 am mind you, boneing sesh, hot, in love, Eren outfit slays, when that door opened to yk I was ready to fight a bitch, like my blood was boiling it was sizzling and I thought my baby going to stick up for this fine ass NO LETs BREAK UP ITS NOT FUN ANYMORE EVERYONE KNOWS YOU JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER GIRL YOU CRY ALL THE TIME HAVE PANIC ATTACKS AND YOU RELY TO MUCH ON ME, the way I'm crying is real THAT SHIT hit so hard it's not even funny like these "dumb bitches" were right THIS IS A REAL BREAKUP like I can't even say how I was feeling cause it was so much, like sleeping that night wasn't an option. But then I managed to get some sleep and I woke up to the most sexy notification of the ages parasite update chapter called Eren's Halloween I WAS SHITTING BRICKS. Anyways what I'm trying to say is that this book has been such a big help to me over the years this is my escape and a place where I can find something different and I just wanted to tell you cause I have been holding this in for three years buddy like I'm in the shadows liking your stories following you on everything but has always been too scared to say anything so here I am saying something and over the last few weeks its been really hard on me, mentally and physically and ik parasite is construction you could say BUT BITCH TAKE YOUR TIME CAUSE, TIMELESS WORK TAKE TIME MWAH back to my point I have been thinking in my head about different scenarios and points in the book to make me feel better and its so weird but I start smiling like its not just the book but the community around it too. So I'm going to wrap this up cause my fingers really hard but please take care of yourself and I hope you r eating good tonight xoxo Your stalker from 2021

this is the funniest thing i’ve ever read & a canon experience i fear

[depressed-toadstool]

So like 3 years ago I changed my SnapChat notification sound to that "ah yes bsiois man" clip from Ranboo.

Flash forward and I CANT CHANGE IT BACK. The original app I used to change it in the first place can't even change it. My phone settings won't change it. IT LITERALLY HAUNTS ME AND NOTHING I DO GETS RID OF IT 😭

I'm forever stuck with Ranboo in my phone.