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#but its just not the same as having him right in front of me
mclqren · 23 hours
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GYMNASTICS LESSONS ★ LN4
PAIRING ✦ lando norris x fem!gymnastics teacher!reader
SUMMARY ✦ you're a gymnastics teacher, and you manage to catch the eye of an f1 driver one friday night, though you both recall the way in which you met in different ways. [ SMAU ]
WARNINGS ✦ cursing
REQUESTED ✦ here!
NOTES ✦ i altered the request slightly and made it so that lando was picking up his niece from the gymnasium instead. reader lives in bristol in the uk & has a sibling. for the sake of this fic, let's pretend that all the drivers are friends off of the grid!! the fc i've used is pamela hughes, but feel free to picture whoever you want! my requests are closed at the moment.
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liked by yourbsf, friend1, and 431 others
yourusername easter holidays well spent ✔️ back to teaching now!!
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yourbsf MY GIRL FOREVERRR 😍😍😍
yourusername MY BABY 🫶🫶
yourbsf im so obsessed with you its not healthy at all
yourusername literally me with you ❤️
friend1 UM MISS Y/N WHERE DID YOU GO ON VACATION.
yourusername tenerife 🌞🌞
friend2 ur glowing girllll
yourusername all you omg!!
imessages ( y/n)
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imessages ( lando )
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liked by yourbsf, landonorris, and 426 others
tagged yourbsf
yourusername me and pepper have been chilling ✌️
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yourbsf PEPPERRR AWW 🥺🥺
yourusername she misses you ❤️
yourbsf MY GIRL 💋💋
yourusername foreverrr 💘
friend1 y/n are you serious why is there a f1 driver in ur likes.
friend2 RIGHTTT
yourusername wait huh
landonorris um hey? 👋👋
yourusername OH MY GOD NOT YOU AGAIN.
landonorris i don't know whether to be offended or not
imessages ( y/n)
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imessages ( lando )
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liked by landonorris, charles_leclerc, and 788 others
tagged yoursibling
yourusername adventures in babysitting (the cinema was fun too) 💐
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user1 good golly she's stunning 😍😍
yourusername thank you sm baby ❤️❤️
yourbestfriend oh my days is that leila 🥺
yourusername yess!! i took her to the gym with me 😭❤️
yoursibling cutiessss❤️❤️
yourusername she's in safe hands trust
danielricciardo i once saw lando norris save five cats from a tree at the same time, he's just that guy 🤷‍♂️
alex_albon lando norris literally saved my entire family from a burning building once 🔥🔥
maxverstappen1 lando lets me go in front of him to win races because he's just that kind 🙏
georgerussell63 lando norris can lift a whole racecar over his head and do squats with it (trust)
yourbsf THESE ARE GETTING INVENTIVE??
oscarpiastri @/landonorris mate are you sure she's not out of your league
landonorris SHUT UP 😖
friend1 so ur like famous now y/n???
yourusername MATE I JUST WOKE UP TO THIS.
user2 i can see why lando likes her - she is GORGEOUSSS
liked by landonorris
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imessages ( lando )
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imessages ( y/n )
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liked by landonorris, oscarpiastri, and 13,190 others
yourusername black n white 🖤
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user7 THE PRETTIEST GIRL EVERRR!!
user8 someone tell me what she does as a job pls?
user9 she's a gymnastics teacher!! my sister used to do baby gym lessons with her, she's the sweetest 🫶🫶
user10 okay but can little lando norris actually handle all that? 😍
user11 no but i absolutely can🤞🤞
user12 waiting patiently for lando to come hype her up
user13 her (unwanted) personal hype man 🔥
yourbsf yummyyyy 🤤🤤
yourusername all mine ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥
landonorris damnn 😍
yourusername very smooth norris!
landonorris so...it's finally working then??
yourusername idk it's not coming into effect yet tbh
landonorris might have to come pick up mila a third time then
yourusername
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( caption one: wined and dined 🍷 | caption two: ❤️. )
imessages ( y/n)
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liked by landonorris, oscarpiastri, and 28,891 others
tagged landonorris
yourusername it's too late to get a refund, so i guess im stuck with him now. ❤️
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user14 IT'S OFFICIALLY CONFIRMED?? SCREAMINGGG
user15 if he doesnt treat you right im always here bbg 🫶
user16 ONGG
user17 new power couple alert ⚠️⚠️
user18 i cannot waittt to see pics of them together i swear
user19 HOW ARE YOU SO PERFECT
user20 TWO MONTHS AFTER THE FIRST RUMOURS STARTED AND ITS FINALLY ANNOUNCED 🎉🎉🎉
yourbsf still cant believe you replaced me with a m*n 😖😖
yourusername YOU'RE FOREVER NO.1 IN MY HEART I SWEARRR HE MEANS NOTHING TO ME ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥
yourbsf how has he done this (taken my wife). what a little rat. he better count his days.
landonorris i can read?
yourbsf oh can you now? 😊
yourusername guys pls be civil 😭
landonorris YUM
yourusername me or the pasta??
landonorris both 🍝🤤
oscarpiastri still don't know exactly how he's done this.
charles_leclerc right?
alex_albon we haven't ruled out witchcraft yet so
landonorris GUYS WHY DO YOU HAVE NO FAITH IN ME STILL ☹️☹️
georgerussell63 it's just a tad bit unbelievable mate
yourusername i get it, im wayyy out of his league tbh. still contemplating on whether i should stoop this low
landonorris yeah yeah, love you too y/n ❤️
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598 notes · View notes
gay-dorito-dust · 2 days
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Hey um if it's cool could I request, Welt, Dan Heng, Jing Yuan, Gallager and Aventurine reacting to reader to questioning their interest in them?
An example: The confession
Them: I have feelings for you Reader: ... Um *shocked*.. I feel the same but.. *trails off* Them: but? Reader: *squints* you sure? About me? Please reconsider your choice. Them: ...
thank you if you decide to do this! No pressure though!
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Jing yuan would raise a brow before vaguely asking you to come with him somewhere he had been meaning to show you for a while and thought that now was the perfect time.
The place where he takes you was just like any other flower garden you’ve been to before but from the way the light glinted off of the waters surface, to the way the flowers blossomed in a variety of unique colours, and other small things like that made the flower garden look ethereal.
Jing yuan chuckled at your expression.
‘You see why I brought you here?’ He asks.
‘…no, not really, why?’ You replied, looking at him in confusion.
‘I’m trying to show you that while you may not think yourself as anything special, much like this flower garden, there are a multitude of unique things tailored to you that make you shine in the eyes of the ones who views you highly.’ He responded as he lends his hand out for a bird to perch on and softly smiled as it moved up to his shoulder where it sat comfortably, trying its hardest not to fall asleep.
‘For every flower is a beauty to behold regardless of their shapes, their size or their colour that even a daffodil can be considered of equal beauty of a roses in someone’s eyes.’ Jing Yuan continues, looking at you from the corner of his eye to see whether his words were sinking in. ‘And my flower believes themself to be a withering daffodil but to me, they’re a rose unlike any other. Stubborn, strong willed, but.’
‘But?’ You echoed, nervousness creeping through your veins as Jing Yuan moved in front of you and leant forward so that he was right next to your ear.
‘But they refuse to accept words of their worth and beauty from someone who cares about them very much, but I hope to change that soon enough, if they let me.’ He whispers as he presses a kiss to your cheek and pulling away to plant a kiss to your forehead.
Dan heng
While he’s happy that you felt the same way towards him, but felt his heart sink when you told him to reconsider his feelings for you.
‘If you are not ready for a relationship, then I understand, but I wish that you wouldn’t look down upon yourself when you’re anything but what your mind is telling you that you are.’ He says as he holds your face, thumbs caressing your cheeks as his eyes shone with concern. ‘Just know that I’ll always be by your side to resolve any issue you may have, for I do not wish for you to be burdened by this alone when I can help lessen it’s impact on you.’ He adds.
Dan Heng would do anything and everything in his power to make you see just how much you meant to him, even if it meant asking March to pull up pictures where his infatuation with you was glaringly obvious.
He would bring you poetry books and read out verses that perfectly describe his innermost thoughts and feelings towards you and how he views you on a daily basis. Dan Heng feels as though he could never convey just how truly unique and magnificent you were on his own. He’s tried but compared to the works of acclaimed poets, it just lacked fluidity in terms of the flow of words.
Everything else fades away when you entered his peripheral vision, almost as though he was made to notice your presence no matter where you were, only to just stare at you with a look that could only be akin to someone who had just found their other half after so long.
Welt would sit you down somewhere and want to talk about it because he truly didn’t think that these were your own words coming from your mouth.
He believes they were someone else’s and he hated that you had started believing this person’s words as reality, when they were the furthest thing from the truth in his eyes.
He wants to help you unlearn what everybody else has thought of you in the past because it doesn’t matter, their words hold no weight until you allow it to. No one’s perception of you was in any way shape or form a reflection of the real you, for every person you’ve ever had a positive effect on posses a different perceptions of you.
The only person who knew the real you was you but it was obvious to Welt that you might’ve forgotten who that version of you was by worrying yourself to death about the thoughts and opinions of everyone else. So Welt was more then happy to help you see that you were so much more then what you think.
He doesn’t know who wronged you in the past but they’ve left everlasting damage on your tender soul, but he was going to do everything he could in his power to show you the you that he sees every time upon seeing you.
Gallagher
‘I’ve got nothing to reconsider when it comes to you sweetheart.’ Gallagher was quick to tell you as he grabbed one of your hands, squeezing it. ‘Nothing at all.’
‘But-‘ you started.
‘No ifs, ands or buts.’ He interrupts you. ‘You’re prefect the way you are and I won’t hear otherwise because I’ll always go out of my way to remind you as to why i care about you, okay?’ He says as he lifted your hand to press a kiss to the back of it. ‘Just let me take care of you and get rid of those pesky thoughts residing in your head by telling them to fuck off.’
You couldn’t help but chuckle at this as you allowed yourself to find comfort in Gallagher’s side as you were greeted by his bodily warmth that made you into melting further against him. ‘I just don’t want to be a bother to you that’s all.’ You murmured, insecurity making your throat tightened, rendering it hard to swallow.
Gallagher felt his heart break for you as he brought his arms to your waist to rub soothing patterns into your side as he presses his face to the side of your head, pressed reassuring kisses there as he whispered sweet nothings as to why you were perfect, beautiful, sweet and caring of all whom you come across, whether they were deserving of it or not.
Aventurine
He understands more then you knew because the moment you admitted to liking him in the same breath as berating yourself, he was about to ask what was it about him that you liked exactly.
You were both in the same boat that was about to capsize from your shared self hatred for yourselves, but Aventurine would be damned if he let you think of yourself in any negative light when you’ve been nothing but a beacon of pure, genuine light for him since first introductions.
He’d much rather be the one drowning in self doubt than you.
He’d have you stand in front of a mirror and asks what you see.
‘Someone who’s lost themselves along the way,’ you answered solemnly, ‘someone who’s lost sight of who they once were because they were too caught up in the opinions of others and waiting on them hand and foot, only to revive nothing but scraps.’ You added and Aventurine couldn’t help but feel himself becoming infuriated, not at you but at the people who have made you feel as though you were lesser than, who made you feel as though you should be outcasted because you didn’t fit into their narrative.
However the sound of your sniffling brought him out of his need to get back at these people for you and saw that you were beginning to tear up and was quick to wipe them away before they fell. ‘Don’t weep for people who don’t have a heart, for they’ll always think themselves superior by materialistic means that they will inevitably loose to time and bad decisions.’ He tells you as he rests his head on your shoulder, looking at you through the mirrors reflective surface. ‘You on the other hand have something that they could never hope to obtain via money.’ He adds.
‘And what’s that?’ You asked, looking into his eyes and noting that despite their dullness, they were still the most beautiful and expressive pair of eyes you have ever seen.
‘Empathy, humility, compassion, kindness and an appreciation for the simple things that many overlook and possess the ability to see the beauty in broken things.’ Aventurine replies, his voice becoming soft towards the end, clearly referring to himself, as he held onto you tighter as though you’d slip from his grasp much like everyone else had. ‘So don’t compare yourself to others who should be looking towards you as an example instead.’
You moved your head to properly look at him, not use to seeing this side of him, so serious and determined to make you see reason. ‘You really mean that?’
Aventurine smiles as he kisses you on the nose, chuckling. ‘Of course! You’re my good luck charm, I’d be hopeless and in a whole lot of trouble without you.’ He says as he presses another kiss to your nose, adoring your expression as you scrunched up your face, muttering under his breath. ‘Cute.’
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fear-is-truth · 3 days
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TAG, YOU’RE IT
— Kai Anderson x fem! reader
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WARNINGS: 18+. mdni — porn with plot. violence. vaginal fingering. unprotected p in v. size kink. implied murder. english is not my first language. not proofread as usual
WC: 2.7k
A/N: this was kinda rushed due to school exams and college applications, sorry in advance for the poor quality. but i adored this idea so much, hope it’s not too awful.
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Vanity tables were crammed into the limited space, each adorned with a haphazard array of makeup and tools. Sighing, you grabbed the clown mask that was sitting on your table and pulled it over your head, its cool, rubbery texture making your skin crawl. In the mirror, the grotesque reflection stared back— sickly pale skin mottled in patches of green and blue, reminiscent of moldy cheese. Painted in garish shades of red, the mouth stretched open in a nightmarish grin, revealing rows of jagged teeth.
As you tucked in the stray strands of hair peeking under the latex, your thoughts drifted to your less-than-enthusiastic job as a scare actress in a haunted house. It wasn't as fun as it had been when you first started a year ago, but it paid the bills. Plus, you needed the money, having broken up with your boyfriend whom you discovered was cheating on you. You used to share an apartment together, but now you were on your own, struggling to make ends meet in order to afford a small, dingy one-room apartment in Michigan.
Disgusted at your reflection, you finally tore away your gaze, fingers fumbling to adjust the straps of your tight black and red corset. The garment cinched tightly around your waist, flaunting your assets in such a whorish way that it made you cringe inwardly, and its scandalously low neckline revealed more cleavage than you were comfortable with.
“So, guess who showed up earlier?”
Your eyes flicked over to where your colleague was hunched over her mirror, tying her mousy blonde hair into a ponytail.
“Who? Not Alex again, right?”
“Yes of course I’m talking about Alex.” Lena rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide the disgust she harboured for your ex-boyfriend.
“He came during break time, asking about you,”
You rolled your eyes, annoyed.
“Ugh. The fuck did he want this time? I’ve told him, I didn’t take his stupid DVD-”
“-said he wanted to talk.”
she pulled her mask over her head.
“Well, I’m not interested,”
“Way ahead of you, I told him you were swamped.” Lena's voice came through muffled, her words slightly distorted by the mask she wore. Before you could thank her, a booming, deep voice interrupted from the door frame.
“Hey, scream queens,” Terry, your boss called out, tapping the doorframe. “We’ve got our last visitors for the night. You two are up in five.”
“Just so you know,” Lena added as she finished lacing up her boots, and started for the doorway, “if he keeps on pestering you, I’ll slash his tires.”
Even though she couldn’t see your face through the clown mask, you couldn’t help but smile.
“Thanks,”
“Don’t thank me, I know you’d do the same for me,”
———
Stepping out of the hidden door, you melted into the shadows, waiting for your target to show up. From your vantage point, you could hear footsteps echoing through the dark corridor, signaling their arrival. They turned around the corner, and just as you were about to make your move, a sudden blur of movement startled you. Before you could react, the man swung his arm, the paper cup in his hand spilling its lukewarm contents all over your front.
Stumbling back in surprise, you felt the brown liquid seeping through the eye holes of your rubber mask and trickling down your cheeks, the scent of coffee invading your nostrils.
Furious, you ripped off your mask, wiping the droplets from your cheeks before staring incredulously at the man before you.
“What the fuck?! You asshole!”
He looked like he was in his mid-twenties, a mop of electric blue hair cascading to his shoulders. Hands tucked casually into the pockets of his jeans, he looked down at you.
“Oops, sorry… you scared me, miss,” he apologised somewhat lamely, though you doubted his sincerity, judging by the smirk playing at the corners of his lips. His attention shifted from your face to your revealing clown girl costume, taking in the corset with its low neckline, the miniskirt, and fishnet leggings.
The lasciviousness of his stare made you feel a twinge of unease, as if he was mentally undressing you with his gaze (which, in truth, he probably was). Despite feeling violated by his blatant eyefucking, a small surge of pride bubbled up within you. After all, he was undeniably a prick, but there was no denying his attractiveness—much to your deep annoyance.
“If I wanted to see a cheap Harley Quinn ripoff, I could’ve stayed home and watched porn on my computer. Nice tits, though-”
You were a good, law-abiding citizen, and you certainly weren’t an advocate for violence, but this douchebag was really pushing your limits.
Without thinking, your hand shot out, aiming to wipe that smirk off his face. But before your palm could make contact, his fingers closed around your wrist like a vice, halting your movement mid-air.
“Feisty, aren’t we?”
“Let go of me, you creep-”
“Name’s Kai, by the way.” he snarled, twisting your arms behind your back.
“Kai Anderson,” exerting pressure, he forced you to bend your knees until you were lying on your back, helplessly pinned beneath him.
“I don’t care who the hell you are-”
You spat, thrashing wildly and driving your knee towards his groin. But instead of hitting your intended target, your knee collided with his lower abdomen, which was packed with hard muscle. He must’ve hit the gym alright. Kai’s nostrils flared, but he didn't flinch. If anything, he seemed irritated by your resistance.
His jaw clenched and his eyes hardened. With a sharp crack, his palm connected with your cheek, sending a jolt of pain ringing through your skull and causing your vision to blur momentarily at the edges.
“Y’know,” he began in a voice that was dangerously calm. “If it were someone else disrespecting me like this, I’d do more than a slap. Hell, I’d snap their fucking neck,”
“Wha- what do you want from me?”
Your voice came out in a weak croak as your vision swam back to focus. Strands of blue hair tickled your cheeks as he leaned in closer, his breath hot against your skin. Your faces were inches apart.
“I’m just trying to help you, can’t you see that? You're better off without that worthless piece of shit, Alex.” You blinked, your dazed mind trying to register his words.
“Alex? How’d you.. wait, did he set you up to this? Is this some sort of sick joke!?”
Anger and betrayal flared up, prompting you to resume your struggle. His grip around your wrist tightened, and you could feel your pulse racing in tandem with his.
“No, I’ve been watching you,” his tone was devoid of shame or guilt. “studying you. And I can see that you're too good for him.”
“Aren’t you tired of being the giver, while all he does is take?” he continued. “Everything you do, you do it for him. And how did he repay you? By fucking a random girl at a party. Doesn’t seem fair to me.”
Your limbs slackened in defeat. He was twisting the knife; that part was unmistakable, and he was close to succeeding. The sting of tears threatened to blur your vision, but you staunchly refused to let them fall. You wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“So, let me guess,” you drawled, “next, you’re gonna tell me that you, will treat me better than any man ever could. Yeah, right.”
To your surprise, the corners of his mouth quirked into a wry smile.
“No, I’m not gonna tell you that,”
Kai paused, then took your silence as permission to keep talking.
“You, are an independent, strong woman. You're gonna take what you want and deserve, on your own terms. You don't need a man to do that for you,”
His thumb brushed gently against your bottom lip, dark eyes roaming greedily over your features as if he was trying to commit every single detail to memory.
“Now tell me.. what exactly do you want?”
Heat burned on your cheeks. You had a feeling that you both knew what you wanted.
“Go on,” he coaxed, “You can tell me,”
“You,” your voice was barely unrecognisable to your own ears.
“I want you,”
He smiled, as if he’d been expecting that answer all along. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to yours. Warm, soft. For a split second, your mind seemed to disconnect from your body. He sighed into your mouth before slipping his tongue inside, swiping lazily against your hard palate. You bit back a moan when you felt his clothed erection rub against your thigh.
“Thank you, lamb. Because I want you too,”
A few moments later, he pulled back and let go of your wrists. His hands started to travel down your neck, stopping at the frilly neckline of your corset. With one swift motion, he jerked the cups halfway down, freeing your breasts from their tight confines. You could hear a low groan escape him as he took in the sight of your hardened nipples.
“Fuck… look at those pretty tits. Someday, I’m gonna cum all over them.”
As if driving the point home, he traced his thumb against your nipple, alternating between palming the soft flesh of your breast and pinching your nipple, making you whimper and arch your back, desperate for more stimulation.
“Patience, patience,” he chided teasingly, “There’s something I wanna check first.” His tone was light, but you could sense the effort he put into maintaining his composure, his voice laced with a thinly veiled lust that dripped from every syllable.
Kai’s hand slid lower, skimming past your abdomen and disappearing under your skirt, coming to rest on your inner thigh. He gave the soft, sensitive flesh a squeeze before slipping a finger under your panties. Leaning forward until his face was aligned next to yours, he took your earlobe gently between his lips and sucked it once, the sensation making you shiver in pleasure, before releasing the flesh with a wet pop.
“Hm, just what I thought. So wet for me already,”
He pressed the back of his index between your folds, collecting some of your slick and dragged it up to your clit. Your knees buckled involuntarily when he applied more pressure on the sensitive bundle of nerves.
“Do you want me to stop? Because-”
“No,” you gritted out. “Don’t stop,”
He smiled.
“Wasn’t planning to, anyway,”
Without warning, he unceremoniously shoved two fingers into you, sinking in knuckle deep. A wet, guttural noise escaped your throat at the sudden intrusion and your cunt clenched— once, twice when his sizable digits curled against your sweet spot.
“Like how it feels?”
Unable to form coherent sentences, you nodded, your mind swimming in a lustful haze at the delicious stretch of his fingers scissoring inside you. As soon as your legs began to quiver, Kai retracted his fingers, making you clench around nothing. You couldn’t help but let out a needy whine of indignation. He yanked your soaked panties to your ankles in one, swift tug.
“Good girl. Time for your reward,”
Kai flashed you with a set of pearly white teeth. Triumphant and somewhat predatory, the effect made you tremble in anticipation. He unbuttoned his jeans and yanked down the zipper, shifting his hips to pull his cock out from his boxers.
You had only suspected he was huge, but now it was confirmed—seeing is believing, after all. Quite veiny, too.
Unable to tear your gaze away, you simply gawked as he wrapped his fist around his impressive length, giving it a couple of harsh pumps before positioning himself between your legs.
You moaned in unison as he pushed inside you, pleasure accompanied by pain shooting straight through your cunt to your entire body. The mere size of him stretched you; filled you up in a way that nobody else had ever done before. Made you wonder if your body was physically capable of accommodating him. It stung, but it also made you feel whole. Squeezing your eyes shut, you dug your fingernails into his shoulder, leaving crescent indents.
“Hah— oh fuck, baby…you’re so perfect for me-”
Kai’s voice cracked as he bottomed out, his handsome features twisting in rapture as your walls clamped down on him. He paused, giving you a moment to adjust before pulling back slowly, just to slam back into you with a grunt. You swore that you could feel the tip of him touching your gut and you mewled. He soon established a rhythm that was both harsh and punishing, prompting your pussy to tighten around him ominously.
“Nngh—ahh…Kai, please, it’s to much-”
Curling an arm behind you, his hand snaked to the back of your skull, fingers tangling in your hair before finally, finally, he crushed his lips onto yours in a searing kiss. You felt him throb inside you as his thumb worked against your clit furiously, and that was all it took to send you over the edge.
The hot coil finally snapped, and your hands found purchase in his hair to hold him in place as your orgasm crashed over you. You keened as a wave of white-hot pleasure rippled through your veins, leaving your nerves tingling and muscles twitching. Through your pleasure-induced haze, you watched as Kai continued pounding into you. A raw moan that sounded almost like a whine tore through his throat, accompanied by a final thrust of his hips. He came inside you, thick, hot spurts of come filling your womb as a string of indiscernible curses tumbled past his lips.
Panting heavily, he lowered his head to rest his chin on your shoulder, ragged breaths hitting your skin as he waited for any residual spasms to abate.
A film of sweat coated his forehead, and his hair clung to his face. Juxtaposing with the brutal way he had been fucking you only seconds ago, Kai brushed his thumb against your cheekbone, lips pressing softly against your forehead before he pulled out with a satisfied groan.
———
“Shit,” you muttered under your breath, heart pounding in your chest as you pulled on your panties.
“There are cameras everywhere, I’m gonna get in so much trouble for this-”
“Don't worry,” his voice was surprisingly calm.
“I’ll take care of it later.” Instead of heading towards the neon green exit sign as you’d expected, Kai made a beeline towards one of the supply rooms, you trailing behind with growing confusion.
It struck you as odd how familiar he seemed with the layout, as if he had been there many times before.
“Hey, what are you—” you began, but the rest of your words caught in your throat the moment he pushed open the door.
There, tied up in a chair was none other than your cheat of an ex-boyfriend. Alex’s eyes widened in recognition as he spotted you, and he began thrashing wildly, his muffled screams stifled by the duct tape stretched across his mouth. As if things weren’t confusing and fucked up already, your friend emerged from the back of the small room.
“He wouldn’t stop screaming, sorry,” Lena explained, reaching out and pinching his cheek. Another girl, her long, bleached blonde hair peeking out from under a black beanie hat, caught your attention. With a casual nudge of her toe, she pushed aside some spare rope before shooting a flinty stare at Kai through long eyelashes.
“Took you long enough,”
“Hey, since when am I not allowed to have fun?”
Kai’s combat boots echoed against the linoleum floor as he strode towards where your ex was being tied up. His expression was unreadable as he leaned in closer, their faces just inches apart. As if in a trance, you found yourself drawn towards Kai, anticipation and adrenaline pumping through your veins as you relished the delicious fear emanating from Alex. You watched as Kai reached for something from his pocket—a glint of metal catching light. A switchblade.
“Vengeance is in my heart, death in my hand,”
He murmured in a low, almost sultry whisper, toying with the blade between his fingers.
“-blood and revenge are hammering in my head.” You finished softly.
“Titus Andronicus, right?” you smiled back. Kai’s expression morphed into one of sadistic pride, a devilish grin spreading across his face as he nodded slowly. The blonde girl groaned quietly in the background, “Another Shakespeare nerd,”
“Give me your hand,” You immediately complied, reaching out your hand.
“No, no. Palm up,”
Kai corrected gently, and you adjusted accordingly. His calloused, much larger hand enveloped yours. Still holding your hand, he lifted it to his lips and pressed a kiss on your knuckles. The gesture was strangely intimate, and it made your stomach flutter with warmth.
“Are you ready?”
You nodded.
“Good girl,”
He smiled at you, then you felt the weight of the knife handle being pressed into your open palm.
“You know exactly what you have to do, don’t you?”
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thanks for reading! reblog, comments, likes, asks/requests are deeply adored because they keep me motivated!
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TAGLIST @acidbrainstorm @evanpetersmybf @alittlesil @kaiandersonsdevotedwife @ellaaaaa44 @newwavesylviaplath @warrenlipkaswife @slvt4jamesmarch @kaismanwich @maddaline @evpeters87 @lacucarachapisser @howtobesasha @lissasharp @feefymo @babydoll-lvr @nickrhodeslittledarling @bluerthanvelvet444 @r8ttenapples @nahoyasboyfriend @kai-slut @lak3cityqui3tpills @coentinim @doll3tt33 @babydollxxblood @taintandviolent @babygorewhore @joshlmbrt @violet1737 @sukirosiac @slutforgarlogan @90sbr1descake @dangeroustaintedflawed @am3ricanh0rrorwh0re
 fear-is-truth 2024 — all rights reserved. do not modify, repost, translate, or plagiarise my content.
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can i request the Obey me brothers and/or the datables reaction to you being jealous ☺️
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mc gets jealous
obey me x gn!reader
🍉 from the river to the sea, palestine will be free 🇵🇸. this account stands with palestine, and so— i require everyone who interacts to educate themselves, and/or support/donate. READ THESE; 1 and 2, HELP HERE, BOYCOTT. | credit 🍉
a/n: the intro is so long in comparison to what i wrote for the characters lmao
cw: the gender of the person flirting with the characters is not mentioned. they don’t leave even after he’s told them to [belphie’s part]
.
The two of you have been spending less time together lately, your personal responsibilities keeping you apart longer than they usually would. But when you realised the both of you hadn’t gone on a date in weeks, you decided to surprise them with one at a popular cafe in the human world.
Once seated at a comfortable corner, you kiss them on the cheek and tell them you’ll be right back with your orders. The trip from the counter to your seats couldn’t have taken more than 4 minutes but when you walk back, there’s a stranger at your spot next to them. By their body language, it’s clear they’re trying to snatch up your obviously irritated significant other.
Maybe it’s because today was finally a free day for the two of you, combined with not seeing them as much as you would’ve liked– but when you finally arrived at your table, you set down your orders with a little more force than necessary.
With eyes as cold as a storm as you possessively inserted yourself by your lover’s side, you asked the stranger in your seat, “Do you need something from us?”
lucifer
A smug little smirk makes its way to his handsome face when the stranger decides not to start anything and walks away.
And while a part of him doesn’t even want to wait until they’re out of earshot– the same part of him that wants to kiss you senseless in front of the many suitors you have– he refrains from doing anything too rash in public.
If he was in his demon form, his wings would ruffle from how you pridefully claimed him to be your lover in front of this “threat”. Not that anyone has the potential to be one when you’re all he ever thinks about in the late hours of the night.
When you sit down next to him once more, still obviously slightly angry after the ordeal, he gently holds your hand and presses it to his lips.
Just in case it wasn’t clear to anyone else in the cafe that the two of you are together.
“There’s no need to be jealous, my dear. I’m all yours.”
mammon
He gets a little flustered when you’re at his side but he soon gets over it and pulls you closer.
“In case it wasn’t obvious, I’m taken. Now, scram.”
Unlike Lucifer, he doesn’t even wait until the person leaves before he gets up to kiss you (on the cheek, he can only handle so much PDA).
“Took ya long enough! Seemed like you were takin’ forever.” “I was gone 5 minutes, Mams.” “Same thing.”
He’s sweet. And needy– but that’s why you love him. Another kiss on the cheek and it seems like he’s already forgotten what happened.
He hasn’t obviously. He’s going to daydream about this for the next 4 months every night before he goes to sleep because it proves you’re just as greedy for him as he is for you.
He’ll tease you about it, of course. “You must really love me if that got ya jealous.” He’ll stop if you ask him too but he’s still going to be giddy about it.
leviathan
He’s so relieved once you’re here because he had no idea what to do. He doesn’t even realise that he’s leaning towards you.
It isn’t until the stranger leaves that he realises that he’s still extremely close to you while in a public cafe.
He instantly gets so embarrassed and wants to leave.
It doesn’t take you long to put the pieces together– so you take your orders to go and pull him outside the cafe and into a nearby park.
“S-Sorry… I know you really like that place.” Now he’s worried that you might hate him for getting embarrassed and potentially ruining the date for the two of you.
When you reassure him that it’s fine and that you can always go to some other place, he calms down enough and the situation completely dawns on him– you got jealous because you thought someone else wanted his affections (which he still isn’t completely sure of btw).
His face is flushed pink when he thinks about it. You love him enough to fight for him.
“What? Oh- uhm.. it’s nothing– just thinking about how cool you looked back in the cafe when you got jealous, hehe.” < is imagining scenarios in his head and totally planning on telling Henry 2.0 about this exciting development in your relationship.
satan
He was about to commit a crime right before you came along.
Usually, he would be better at keeping his anger in check but this is your first date in a while and he’s not about to have some rando ruin it for the two of you.
“Leave.” is all he says to them with a glare sharper than Asmo’s heels.
He calms down as soon as he sees you seated next to him once more.
“They’re lucky you came when you did. The absolute nerve of some people–” he shuts up once you kiss him on the cheek.
While the two of you eat your food, he realises that your actions may have been caused by a spur of jealousy. He’s quick to tease you about it.
“Was somebody jealous? Well, now you know how I feel whenever one of my brothers take you away.”
He thinks you’re so cute when you’re jealous, but he refrains from teasing too much lest you lightly make fun of him when he’s green with envy.
asmodeus
Don’t get him wrong, he absolutely loves attention– but not at the expense of the two of you spending time together.
As soon as you’re next to him, he stands up and pulls you even closer than you already were.
“Ugh, MC~ where were you? I was so bored.”
He’s acting all whiny and needy, pressing his face into the crook of your neck and completely ignoring the other person.
It’s not long before they turn red in the face and storm out of the cafe.
“Finally, they’re gone,” he complains, checking underneath his nails like he was afraid some of their filth might have latched itself to him.
“You’re adorable when you’re jealous, have I told you that?” 
He’s so quick to tease, even though he’s 100x worse when he’s jealous.
Somehow, he’s even more clingy the rest of the date. He's holding your hand, kissing your cheek, pulling you close to him the entire time– his own way of telling you and everyone else that he’s yours and you’re his.
beelzebub
He’s pretty clueless as to what’s happening and what the stranger’s intentions are– but when you come along, his passive face instantly lights up with a smile.
He is so in love with you, that you’d have to be blind to not see the way he looks at you, like your presence alone makes his heart full.
The stranger realises that they didn’t have a chance from the beginning, and Beel doesn’t even notice them leaving.
He notices that you seem angry at something, so he gently takes your hand and seats you beside him again– handing the slightly ruined food to you.
“You look angry. You should eat, it’ll make you feel better.”
He was right, it did make you feel better. Along with him happily eating all the orders you got him.
He won’t bring up the stranger unless you bring it up, but if you do, he’ll just shrug.
“Them? I don’t know, they just came up to me and sat on our table. I don’t mind when people do that but they were interrupting our date. I didn’t want to get angry and make a scene.”
belphegor
Belphie is spoiled. And he is tired.
When someone comes and sits on your seat, trying to flirt when the two of you came in together– he is instantly pissed off.
He wants nothing more than to “make” them leave, but he can’t (at least not in the way he wants to). So he just decides to be upfront instead.
“Do you mind? That seat is taken by my s/o– the one who walked in with me, in case I need to remind you.”
When they still don’t leave, he’s very seriously considering putting a curse on them.
But before he starts the incantation, you arrive in an equally bad mood.
Recognising that it’s two against one, they roll their eyes and leave, muttering something under their breath all the way.
“That was so tiring…” < (he spoke three sentences)
If you offer to go home, he refuses, saying that you both planned this already.
“I’ll try my best to stay awake but I can’t guarantee it. When we get back home, you owe me a nap.”
The sly little bitch managed to turn the whole thing in his favour.
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bookyeom · 2 days
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campfire - bsk
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pairing: seungkwan x reader word count: 1.7k warnings: the tiniest mention of blood at the beginning request prompt: "What are we to each other?"
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A/N: Thanks so much for all the support for my 700 follower celebration. You guys rock! I'm doing my best to get through the requests, but there were way more than I anticipated so bear with me!
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"I’m bleeding," you wince. You sit down on one of the rocks, turning your foot to assess the damage. A small trail of blood leads from your ankle to your pinky toe, and you let out a little whine. "Gross."
Who’s idea was it to go on a hike at 5:30am, anyway? 
Yours. Right. It was your idea. 
You’d thought some of your friends would join you – you’re on a week-long cottage vacation. Why would you not immerse yourself in the nature all around you? But only one person had signed up to tag along – the one you thought liked you the least. You don’t even know if you would consider him a friend.
The hike had been mostly silent, awkward even – and then, like an idiot, you’d gone and tripped. 
Seungkwan wastes no time, immediately crouching down on the ground in front of you. He motions for you to put your foot up on his knee and you oblige, wincing again as you move. You can’t help but watch his face as he assesses the injury. His hair is messy from the wind, and parts of it are falling across his forehead as he leans forward. He looks kind of beautiful in this element, you have to admit. All sweaty and flushed from the exertion. You try and fail to suppress a shiver as his fingers run across your skin, and his eyes meet yours in concern. 
"Did that hurt?" 
You feel your cheeks heat up as you shake your head no, before breaking his gaze and looking back down at your foot. You watch as he pulls off his backpack, resisting the urge to comment on the fact that he has a first-aid kit in there (because of course he does), even though that’s what you do. You and Seungkwan are just that – two people who happen to have the same friends, and bicker over the dumbest shit. But right now, with the way he looks so soft and concerned, his lower lip between his teeth in concentration, you can’t find it in you to make a snarky comment. 
You’ve been finding it harder and harder to do that lately, if you’re being honest with yourself. You don’t know when it started to happen, but the teasing between the two of you just makes you feel warm all over now, instead of irritated like it used to. You’re starting to resent the way he makes you smile.
“This will hurt.” Seungkwan’s voice snaps you out of your thoughts, and you nod, unable to find your voice as he presses a piece of peroxide-soaked cotton onto the affected area. You hiss at the pain, and his free hand gives your calf a gentle squeeze of reassurance. “It’s not sprained,” he tells you, “but it’s going to hurt like a bitch. You should be okay to walk on it, but we should definitely head back.”
He starts packing up his bag again, and you wish that you could find something, anything to say. You know a thank you is in order, but all you can manage is, “Since when did you become an expert in sprained ankles?”
Seungkwan snorts, but he doesn’t so much as flinch while he continues to put his things back in his bag. “Being the captain of the volleyball team has its perks, I guess.”
“And co-captain of the badminton and table tennis teams.”
That makes him look up. His eyes are wide in surprise, and you try to ignore how flushed you’ve suddenly become under his gaze. “Yeah,” he says slowly, “I didn’t know you even knew that about me.”
You can’t help the defense that shoots back up as you retort, “What do you mean? It’s all you talk about. We get it, you’re sporty.”
“Right.” His lack of response to your quip has you flustered. He simply hums, stands up and slings his backpack over his shoulders. “Can you walk on your own?”
You feel stupid all of a sudden. “I think so,” you respond, dejected by the weird energy between the two of you, and you can feel Seungkwan’s eyes on you as you stand, testing the weight on your foot. “I’m good, just go slow.”
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You don’t talk to Seungkwan for the rest of the afternoon. He disappears when you make it back to the house, and all you get from him over lunch are some smiles and a giggle when you guffaw at Mingyu tripping on his own shoes. You spend the afternoon hanging out with Vernon and Seungcheol in the library, ankle propped up as you read in silence. 
A campfire is on the agenda for dinner, and you're told to sit back and relax as things are brought out from the cottage. You’re entertained from your seat by Seokmin and Mingyu as they begin cooking, and the rest of your group comes out one by one. The sun is beginning to set, and the sky is a beautiful array of blues, pinks and purples when Seungkwan sits in the chair next to you.
“How’s the ankle?”
“It’s fine,” you manage, and he nods. He settles in, eyes on the fire, and you can’t help but gawk at him. He chose to sit next to you?
The evening passes without much more chatter between the two of you. Your other friends are entertaining as always, and the time slips away peacefully until Jeonghan announces his early retirement, and others begin to follow suit. The fire is dwindling when Chan, Soonyoung and Seokmin announce that they’re headed in, leaving just you and Seungkwan, and you’re about to ask Seokmin to help you back to the house when Seungkwan interjects.
“I’ll help them.”
You flush at the chorus of oohs and ahhs that echo through the remaining group, but Seungkwan doesn’t even flinch, already maneuvering his chair in front of yours. 
“Come on,” he pats his thigh, “let me see.”
“Seungkwan…” 
He hums, focused on the task at hand. It’s quiet now as he stops fidgeting with the bandage, moving instead to gently massage the sore area around the wound. His touch is gentle but firm, and you feel electricity shoot through you. You’re holding your breath, and you feel a little dizzy; there are goosebumps on your leg from where he’s touching you. It’s not cold out, so you know you can’t blame it on that. It’s quiet, and all you can hear are the murmurs and occasional laughter of your friends in the distance, and the dying fire. 
“Why are you doing this?” Your question comes out harsher than you mean for it to, and you wince.
Seungkwan looks up at that, his fingers stilling on your skin. He’s silent for a moment, processing. “What, helping you?” He sounds incredulous, and you shrink a little bit back into yourself. He begins to gently press his fingers into the muscle of your ankle again, his eyes falling back to his work as he adds, “Didn't know you thought so lowly of me.” 
“It’s not as if you like me either, Seungkwan.” You wish you could pull your ankle away from him without it hurting, wish you could find a way to hide from whatever this conversation is about to be — but you can’t. 
Seungkwan shakes his head, the disbelieving huff of a laugh escaping his lips as he does. “Unbelievable.”
You cross your arms, defensive. “What?”
Despite being obviously annoyed, Seungkwan is gentle as he sets your foot back on the ground. “Nothing. Just let me help you back to the house, alright?”
You stare at him in disbelief as he stands, moving his chair back to its place before he holds out an arm to you. “No. What? You’ve got to be kidding me, Seungkwan.”
He runs a hand through his hair, jaw tight as looks away from you and mutters, “Fine. Get back to the house on your own.”
“That’s not…” You fight back the sudden urge to cry, blinking rapidly. “Seungkwan.”
Something in your voice makes him turn back to you, and now his own arms are crossed in defense. “What, Y/N?”
“I…” You don’t even know what you mean to say, really, and it takes a moment before you whisper softly, “What are we to each other?” 
You can tell he’s surprised by your question. His eyes widen as he straightens. “I… I don’t know,” he admits honestly. “But I can’t figure out why you don’t like me.”
His admittance lingers in the air around you, and your mouth falls open as you process. “Do you like me?” 
Seungkwan’s hand lifts to run over his face as he sits back in his chair. He’s embarrassed, you realize, and your heart stutters over itself in your chest. “I mean, yeah, but I just meant — you think that I hate you or something, but I don’t, even though you don’t like me —“
“I like you,” you blurt out, cutting him off before he can ramble any further. “I thought that you didn’t like me because you’re always so competitive and want to beat me at everything, and you never seem excited to see me or try to talk to me at parties, so I just… gave up on trying to make you like me.” 
Seungkwan lets out a whine. “You intimidate me! You’re good at everything and yes, I’m competitive, but you’re an equal match and that’s so hot. But I thought you didn’t like me, so I didn’t try, either.”
“Oh my god,” you say after a moment. 
You stare at one another in the dim firelight for a moment. And then you both begin to giggle.
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“Are we going to ignore that you called me hot?”
Seungkwan stumbles a bit, the arm he has slung around your shoulders tripping you up a little bit too, but he quickly catches himself. You bite back a smile. “Yes. Yes we are.”
“Why? I think you’re hot, too.”
Seungkwan fully stops the two of you now, turning to you with an exaggerated pout. You can just make out his features in the light from the cabin up ahead, and he looks so cute you could cry. “Don’t tease me,” he whines.
“I’m serious,” you tell him honestly. He looks away, but you can see the shy smile that’s formed on his face. 
“Fine,” he says as he begins to walk again. “We can talk more about that inside.”
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@wheeboo @tae-bebe @waldau @eoieopda @gyuminusone @minisugakoobies @lvlystars @seohomrwolf @variety-is-the-joy-of-life @christinewithluv @wqnwoos @iluvseokmin @darkypooo
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xurory · 1 day
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REDAMANCY
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summary. he will always have your arms to come home to whenever things get too overwhelming.
pairings. blade, dan heng x fem!reader
cc. mild cursing . blade barely talked because i said so . fluff :3 . silly march
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there isn't a time where BLADE is not welcome in your arms, and he's well aware of that. after every stressful day, or coming back from missions that separated him from your for far too long, blade never forgets to melt in beneath your gentle caresses as you caged him in your arms, with his own snaking around your waist, resting the side of his face against your chest, quietly listening to the sound of your heart beating — a sound that constantly reassures your lover that you were there, with him, and that you are safe.
you leaned on against the railing of the balcony in your room, silently gazing upon the ethereal moon that no one could compare to. admiring the glowing ball in the sky was one of the few things you did to feed off your boredom every time you're left alone with nobody to talk to, especially at night, quite obviously because the moon doesn't really appear during the morning, and you wouldn't even dare glance at the sun. the sound of your door creaking open alerted you, who in aeons was at your house at this time of nigh- oh, it's blade.
"fuck, you scared me," said you, gaze softening at the sight of blade in front of you—finally back after two weeks of being away. "welcome back, did everything go well? are you okay?" you interrogated, stepping closer to the man before you.
"it went... accordingly." he replied, hearing your sigh of relief.
saying blade looked exhausted was an understatement, he looked beyond tired, as if he hadn't had a wink of sleep for so long. you pat his shoulder, guiding him to your bed. "do you want some water? hold on, let me— oh." he cuts your talking off by the way he pulled you into a hug, and with how tight he was holding you right now, you needed no other explanation to know that he needed this, badly.
your left arm went on his back to gently pat it as your other hand found it's way to his hair, ruffling his soft locks. you let him just melt into you for as long as he wanted, you weren't the type to pull away first, and you never will be. maybe.. just maybe, something went wrong during his mission with kafka, that it caused him to be this clingy. not that you were complaining—you loved holding him.
blade was never the type of person to initiate acts of affection. meaning, most of the time you were the one hugging and kissing him first, and he did his best to return the gesture, just to make you happy. your back rested against the headboard, knowing that you two would be stuck like this for a very long time, approximately until dawn.
"wanna lay down? make yourself more comfortable." you asked in a hushed tone, not too loud, but not too quiet either. he did as he was asked an laid beside you comfortably, arms still wrapped around your middle as side of his head found its way back to your chest. your hand rested against his head, caressing it with such tenderness he craved for. "thank you, for coming back to me." you whispered, kissing the top of his head.
he hummed back, acknowledging your love. and that was enough, you didn't want to force him to talk. all that mattered was he came back to you in one piece. remaining the man you loved.
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being a part of the nameless sure was fun, they brought out the best of your smiles. unlike DAN HENG, who wore the exact same stoic expression almost every day. but still, he atleast showed some signs that he appreciated your presence. but behind closed doors, he's a leech that you can never ever get off of you.
"You guys need to stop teasing the poor guy. Anyway, where is he anyway?" You questioned march, referring to the dark haired guy that disappeared minutes ago. "probably in his room, where else?" march giggled. stelle had gone to mess around with pom-pom who was merely minding her own business near himeko on the couch, drinking her precious coffee.
you smiled to march before heading off to your lover's room, knocking gently at his door and then peeking your head to chech if he was in. your gaze fell on him who was taking care of stuff as he sat in front of his desk. "you disappeared back there, what's up?"
"just wasn't in the mood." you nodded, respecting his decisions. you sat yourself down on the side of his bead, carefully observing the room in case something has changed.
a wave of silence crashed in between the two of you, your back meeting his soft comforter. soon enough, he joined you in bed and left whatever he was working on, arms wrapping around you just right, and resting his head against your shoulder. "tired?" he murmured in reply, rubbing your sides in a circular motion, which slightly tickled you.
you pulled away, leaving him confused just before you cupped his cheeks and kissed him on the lips. the intimate moment laster for another minute before you two had to catch your breath, with you giggling, looking as pretty as ever. he could never have enough of the way you looked gorgeous, utterly beautiful.
for each moment you took away his breath, he fell in love with you all over again, just like the very first time your eyes met his when himeko and welt introduced you as the new addition to the astral express crew.
"ugh, i love you soooo much." you dragged the vowel on your tongue, booping his nose out of nowhere. and after what felt so long, you finally captured him back into your arms, just like he wanted.
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from xumi ; i want these two to choke me
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cheeseceli · 2 days
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When you're rejected by your crush
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Pairing: BTS ot7 × Gn!Reader (individually)
Genre: fluff, headcanons, just a bit of angst because you were rejected
Request: Hello! Can you please write headcanons for BTS (they have a crush on the reader) reacting to the reader being sad after finding out that her crush (a coworker or a friend) is in a relationship with someone else?
Warnings: none?
A/n: this was inspired by the "secret crush" series by @7ndipity a bit. If you do not allow this, please let me know and I'll delete this post right away!
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Jin
Your friend
That's all Jin wants to be for you right now
Of course, he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel at least an ounce of hope when you said that your friend, your crush, was now dating someone else
But at the same time, he'd hate to show interest in you when you're so vulnerable
So he settles in being only what you need right now: a shoulder to cry on
I believe he'd be the one to wait the longest to tell you how he feels, scared you're not on the same page just yet
Suga
His mind is a mess right now
Nothing breaks him more than seeing your eyes without its usual shine
But he had been praying for the day where you fall out of love with your co-worker
So he really doesn't know how to react right now
He chooses to listen to you talk about how you found out everything and about how you're feeling
Will try to forget his feelings and focus on being the best friend you could ask for now
But as soon as you feel better and your feelings for your past crush start to fade, he might try to make subtle moves on you, scared someone else could catch your attention again
J-hope
I see this going on a slightly different way
He found out about your crush's relationship before you
He just knew you'd be heartbroken
So he tries to let you down gently, saying that maybe the guy wasn't this big of a deal
But when the time comes and you're inevitably sad after finding out, he tries to comfort you as much as possible
Is very hesitant on being flirty right now though
Besides being sad, he'd hate for you to be confused because of him
Namjoon
Honestly, for a second he even forgot he liked you
His mind went blank the moment you texted him about how you were in need of comfort right now
Will fulfill his role as your friend and, before you even notice, you were already laughing through your tears at something he said
Just later that day that he realises what this can mean for your relationship
He finally had a chance now!
Waits for a while though, planning exactly what he wants to do
Jimin
He feels so bloody guilty and selfish right now
Because he's your friend! And you're sad right now!
He should be only focusing on how to make you happy again
But knowing that this means you'll have to eventually move on from your current crush just gives him so much hope
Obviously, he will try to hype you up
But as soon as he can, he will try to make you see him in a different light
Taehyung
Relief floods over him the moment you tell him the news
He was so scared of what could've happened if your crush were to reciprocate your feelings
He had to hold back his smile
Hangs out with you immediately to try to make you forget things for a while
Is already making a plan on how to confess
But for now he's focused on making you feel better
Even thanks your crush with literally no context at all
Jungkook
Deadass smiled when you told him about the situation 💀
Don't get him wrong, he's not happy because you're hurt!
He's happy because he might have a chance now
But he at least was able to hide (part of) his happiness in front of you lmao
And now he's 100% dedicated to make you smile again
He wasn't even that cool, you could find someone better than him anyways
Either way, he makes it his personal mission to distract you from that other guy and make you realise that maybe you're better off without him
And if he ends up being extra boyfriend material throughout it, it was purely a coincidence
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Masterlist | you'll probably like: secret crush (by the author I mentioned in the a/n)
Thank you for reading <3
Taglist (open!): @yuyubeans
Credits for images 1 , 2 and 3
Dividers by @cafekitsune
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skinny dipping // theodore nott x fem reader
playlist: skinny dipping - sabrina carpenter
"itd be so nice right? if we could take it all off and just exist and skinny dip in water under the bridge"
summary: y/n and theo have known eachother their whole lives but when sorted into different houses and fears of unrequited feelings take over , they lose their bond- but not really.
no real skinny dipping just the song LMAO its metaphorical , ravenclaw reader , use of y/n , fluff , childhood friends wtih obvious feelings
masterlist
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it was just any other weekend on the hogsmeade trip when you heard the barista of the small cafe you sat in call out his name.
"theo!" she said , placing down a black coffee and moving on to serve more people , but you left your eyes burning holes into the cup.
until his hand went to grab it , giving a quiet and dull thanks before moving over towards the tables , where you sat - not noticing you yet.
you quickly moved your eyes away and pretended to be busy when his body turned in your direction , your acting cut off by your name being called in a voice you could hardly recognise.
"y/n?" he said as you looked up to see him stood infront of your table.
you took your time to study his face , he looked so different it was terrifying , he wasnt the same eleven year old boy you were attached to. but you werent so suprised by how he looked , you always watched him from afar.
"hey.." you let out softly , smiling at him anxiously.
it seemed weird to be anxious around your best friend , except you werent really best friends anymore , just two stanger with memories. memories you can never forget.
"we go to the same school but ive not seen you in ages!" he said excited by your appearance.
"really cause i see you everyday" you chuckled as he laughed too , sitting in the chair in front of you.
"yeah well you know i have bad eyesight," he shrugged with a bright grin.
"how could i forget , having to read everything at a distance to you as kids was a daily occurance" you both laughed as you forget all of your past worries.
"no seriously , its really good to see you , i dont know why we stopped talking anyways!" theo smiled.
you sat in silence for a second , you knew exactly why. the second you gained feeling for theodore at the end of first year you immediatly ghosted him for the next 5 years- and here you are now , sitting opposite the boy you never really got over.
"yeah...well how are you theodore?" you gave him your best smile.
"merlin dont call me that , its theo or dory , remember the name you came up with when we were 5!" his eyes sparkled in the nostalgia.
"i still have no idea where i got that nickname from," you both laughed.
"anyways , im okay. i was having a bit of a shitty day but its better now ," he replied.
"oh really , what happened?"
"nothing just boring studying for exams and my friends were all busy, but i guess it was fate that i came in here," he grinned at you as you felt your heart melt. this was exactly why you stopped talking to him , he could make you go crazy and not even know.
"yeah , so you could run into your shy ravenclaw friend you havent talked to in 5 years," you laughed.
"5 years 1 month and 12 days," he said as your laughing ceased, "i counted the days , i....i really missed you."
your whole demanor softened as you watched him stare down at your coffees unable to hold eye contact , "theodore i wouldve talked to you sooner if you said you wanted to talk .i know i kinda iced you out but im always here."
"i know bella , i just guess something changed that day , you...changed," he said softly.
"yeah well you did too theo , not talking was best for us , we needed to grow and be our own people," you reached out to hold his hand , not realising your seperation had effected him.
"i kinda lied when i said i hadnt seen you , i...well i find you every day, to make sure youre okay," he admitted with a maroon blush across his cheeks, "i guess i hoped you looked out for me too."
"of course i did, i still do. just because we dont talk doesnt mean you arent important to me theo."
he stared into your eyes , seeing his sadness begin to fade and be replaced with a fond adoration as you gazed back in the same haze. looking at him in this way didnt help with your unrequited-
"i love you," he whispered never once breaking eye contact.
your jaw dropped in suprise , "t-theo do you mean..."
"i love you and i always have , the day you stopped talking to me i think a part of me died or something. do you not realise how my friends seem to bully everyone but you? how im at all of your quidditch pratices and games? do you not wonder why no guys approach you? they all fucking pity my unrequited pining," theodore dropped his head and let go of your hand , frustration building up.
"theo," you gained his attention as he hesitantly brought his eyes back up to meet yours , "i love you too, more than words could describe. i guess i just thought youd never like me that way so i left you alone. i couldnt deal with my own feeling and i let it out on you im sorry-"
"dont say sorry bella," he said softly as he held the side of your face , tracing his thumb across your cheek softly, "water under the bridge?"
you smiled at him , holding the hand that rested on your blushed cheek , "water under the bridge."
stream skinny dipping by sabrina carpenter
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loneliestluvr · 3 days
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𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 — 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕 2
part 1. part 2.
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pairing: eris vanserra x archeron oc
synopsis: Caught up in a world of hollow grief for her people, her life, and her father, Blair Archeron is forced into a life under the light she wants no part of after ghosting through immortality since being Made. But what she finds, is not what she expects.
warnings: should have added this in the last one but talking/thinking about loss of pregnancy, being controlled + used, angst, lots of description but Blair gets her lick back a bit 😛 this is also a bit of a slow burn
word count: 2.8k
taryn thinks: so this is gonna be a series and im just kinda holding its hand and letting it guide me rn, i have no planned ending at all or any idea where this is going. bear with me pookies and remember how attracted Feyre was to Rhys without knowing he was her mate please and thank you 🙏🏼
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“Eris,” Rhysand’s voice boomed in that firm High Lord tone he only ever used outside of the River House— Blair had only ever heard it once and not ever directed at her. It was that same day and argument Nesta had told Feyre about the threat to her life, to the babe’s life in her womb, when Rhys’ power had exploded and grew so loud and angry Blair had covered her ears and closed her eyes.
Eris. The name rung in her head as her brother-in-law spoke it and her mouth moved before she could think as she tested it silently on her own tongue. Eris.
The second eldest Archeron still hadn’t brought herself to tear her gaze from the male—Eris—before her, taking in every inch of his face. Every muscle ticking in his jaw. Eris’s eyes followed her mouth as she traced his name with her lips and then he finally looked away. As if he couldn’t handle looking another minute.
“This is Feyre’s second oldest sister, Blair.” Rhys continued, and something like panic lit his every word. “She is beautiful, isn’t she?”
But it was almost muffled— the sound of his voice, the music and chatter behind them. Blair’s hands still neatly folded in front of her as she stood there, like there was nothing else in that marble room but her and Eris.
“Divine.” The red haired male murmured and by the way Rhys’ brows shot up just slightly, Blair figured the male wasn’t ever one for so little words.
The sound of his voice washed through her, the heat of her skin only intensifying as it echoed through her ears. She could hear her blood thrumming through her with it, like just this nearness had her body boiling. A sense she couldn’t describe pulling to him.
“Likewise.” The word was out before she could control it, like her inhibitions overtook all.
What is it that you feel, bright one? A cold, unnatural, and otherworldly voice spoke in her head. The same as always when the smoke cleared. Feminine, if Blair could tell— speaking to her as she was sucked back out of her body and it swallowed whatever words were working up her throat. Pulled right back into that unintentional irreverence. You do feel it, I can tell. Pushing me back, for this? For him— for what lurks under?
“I’m sorry for my tardiness,” Blair said, voice vacant. It was some part of their plan, but Blair had been instructed to follow along. Some quiet tucked away part of her, far in the forest of her mind, began to piece information together.
Things she’d learned simply by sitting and listening, and nobody cared about talking in front of the mute immortal who would sooner die than participate in politics or anything relating to the fae realm.
At least that’s what she thought of herself, nobody would say it. Even if that’s what she knew they were thinking. Even if it wasn’t entirely true.
Blair listened, mindlessly and absently, but what else was she to do when she sat in the quiet of her own mind day after day under something else’s control?
She tilled the soil of her mind, planting and working and tending as she sat and listened. Took in every piece of information that seemed so little to whatever she had become after, tucking it away and into her pocket.
But she never participated, couldn’t seem to ever make her mouth move. Could only sit and look out the window as everyone moved around her.
“Nonsense, sister.” Feyre smiled lovingly, the image of a shining star with the way her barely there gown accentuated her growing belly. “You’ve come just in time.”
As if on cue, a soft melodic music that sounded like the forest’s calm embrace started playing. Forest’s that Feyre and her had frequented in the summers when the younger of them was just hitting maturity, welcoming and lovely. Soft and slow, serene. A moment of peace in a world of pain and anger.
Blair took another breath and turned her head to the dance floor, it was her again this time as she spoke so softly it was almost unheard, “I love this type of music.”
“You’d like to know, Eris, that Blair is of the same talent our dear sister Nesta possesses. One that you seem so keen on having her hand in marriage because of.” Feyre says, but Blair’s eyes remain glued to the floor of people dancing so slowly. Seamless in their waltzing, her body almost began moving by itself— fighting every muscle in her to stay present in conversation as she slowed back into her body.
A rage filling some now faraway part of her, screaming and clawing and fighting to push her back again.
But this moment, this day, had been the most lucid she had felt in over a year— like she was waking up and blinking the fog away. Blair could hear clearly, and think, she could see from her own eyes, she was herself then. She was her own.
The reveal of another Archeron sister was not something that Eris had anticipated for. Certainly not something he’d prepared for, he had never let himself become so raw in front of anyone, let alone those of the Night Court.
One look at her… one gaze into those amber flecked eyes and his entire mask had shattered. For a minute too long he had just… stared at her.
Blair. The name danced around in his head, he could see it scripted on pages with a light hand. Those delicate fingers dragging the quill into a mess of curls and lines, her beautiful name printed in his mind. Blair.
“I’m almost certain at this point only beauty comes of your family, if Nesta was that graceful on the floor I can only imagine any of her sisters being equally as talented.” He said without another second, gaze now fixed wholly on the High Lady of the Night Court despite the pounding of his heart in his ears.
“Nesta continues to be… occupied.” Feyre added, almost ignoring any of his ploying compliments and Eris didn’t miss the whites of Rhysand’s knuckles showing as he clutched the arms of his throne.
And it was true, the Illyrian brute that had swept away his hopeful bride had passed her to the aggravating shadowsinger. Eris would not get her back again, not tonight.
“Perhaps my sister Blair would like to join you in a dance or two?” Feyre said next, the question directed for the female next to him.
Something in his chest felt like it would cave in and Eris thought he could have been floating just being next to her. The soft brown of her hair that went almost to her waist, even with it half up in a mound on the back of her head.
Accentuating those beautiful features under the light, lips pronounced and eyes that guttered all the need for dominance from his soul. His mind screamed: Kneel, kneel before your queen and beg to touch her. To smell and taste and feel, to know.
“Blair?” Feyre’s voice rang through his ears again and Blair had seemed like she was so enamored by the music, by the need to be with it, she hadn’t heard the question her sister asked. Then her head turned back to the thrones on the dais.
“I’m sorry,” She said quickly, furrowing her brow slightly as she tuned back in. “—what was it?”
“Perhaps you would like to join Eris for a dance?” Feyre clarified again and she looked from her sister to him, nearly next to Eris and stared for a moment.
“It’d be my honor to dance with the son of a High Lord.” She said, a small smile blooming on her lips.
By the confusion that seemed to broadcast on the High Lord and Lady’s face, Eris figured that Blair Archeron had secrets of her own. That just maybe, like him, she was undermined and looked over in aspects she shouldn’t be.
Eris stepped closer and offered his arm almost mindlessly, eyes tracing every curve of this smart and quick creature’s face. And Blair took it as that song faded out and the crowd prepared for the next one, the cold of her fingers seeped through the fabric of his tunic sleeve. Icy and bitter despite the warmth that flourished on her cheeks, and she let Eris guide her to the floor.
Blair could breathe. She could feel the race of her pulse, however immortal, she could feel the air on her skin and the warmth beneath Eris’s sleeve as she touched him. It felt like her body was on fire— awake.
Eris Vanserra— High Lord of the Autumn Courts eldest son, she had remembered. It had been like a splash of warm water, it had felt good. Different.
Rhys and Feyre’s ramblings about him, about their trades and need to stand against his father. Their effort to sway him should war find Prythian again, Azriel’s updates as she sat in the living room. Absent.
But that fog had cleared, and here she was. Preparing to dance with him. And everything came back screaming.
It was quiet as they prepared for the song to begin, Nesta and Azriel on the other end of the marble floor.
And then the music began and Eris arm wrapped around Blair until his hand laid on the small of her back, fingers of one hand each entwined as they stared into each others eyes.
It wasn’t that Blair couldn’t think or feel it, but her body moved absently off of memory alone as the dance began. Graceful and smooth, gliding as Eris guided her through the movements.
Spinning and twirling and whirling, she could only look at him as they moved. They did not speak, just danced and eyed each other.
Something charged went through the air between them, the close proximity of their bodies, and Blair wanted to know it as equally as Eris. Wanted to welcome it.
He smelled of spruce and warm honey, mahogany and citrus, flames and burning coals. Blair swallowed it down, drank it in and almost closed her eyes from how strong it was.
The pads of his fingers were rough, felt scarred as they held the small of her back and her own soft fingers. The freckles on his skin were similar to hers but brighter, a hue of ginger rather than her umber shaded spots.
And where he touched, across her waist and now one of her hips, burned.
The feeling like a fire, warm and welcoming and home, spilling into her veins like hot oil. And then Eris was dipping her, their faces a mere inch apart and Blair’s lips parted in a breathy gasp.
His eyes watching those perfect lips, trained on them as they stood like that. Dipped over and under one another, Blair’s leg hooked over his hip like she would fall.
But something in those pointed eyes, cunning and lethal, told her he would never let her go.
“Where have they kept you?” Eris asked finally, and brought her back up to a stand as they began again.
“A female is nothing to be kept.” Blair responded as easily as their dancing continued. Reminding herself of the proper terms fae used. “I have heard of how backwards Autumn can be, though. Perhaps that is your way of thinking?”
“You were not there for the war.” It was not the statement he made it, a rephrase of his first question. And he did not scold her for the jab she shouldn’t have made, supposed to be swaying and wooing but instead bit at him like a ravenous dog. “Nobody talked of a fourth sister.”
“I hadn’t realized I owed my life to the Court’s of Prythian or it’s people.” His hands left her body and trailed to the tips of her fingers as she spun out and when she returned his hold was firmer but he smiled, wicked and beautiful. “What?”
That look in his eyes, she couldn’t place it. And her voice held more venom than she intended, despite how soft and sweet it may have sounded aloud.
“You intrigue me, Blair Archeron.” He said and pushed her out again, her dress spinning out at the bottom as she twirled and came back to him. Pressed against his chest, one hand on the back of his neck and he might have shivered. “Trust the most beautiful of your sisters to be the smartest.”
“We’ve shared mere words, what are you basing my intelligence off of?”
“A feeling.”
“A feeling?” She repeated. He nodded and then she was keenly aware of where his hands were, trailing to the base of her own neck— close enough to be courting. More than that.
“Tell me,” Eris started, beginning a box step procedural that she followed. “—have they tucked you away out of fear of what you could become, or fear of what they could lose?”
“Who’s to say I’m not the one who chooses to stay away?” Eris’s eyes glittered with a need to know, like he wanted into her mind to see all of that intrinsic astuteness shrouded by firs and spruce. “Who’s to say I wanted to be a part of this life at all?”
“I offered to give them armies in exchange for your sisters hand and they bring you in.” He states as the song comes to an end and another starts. A rapid tempo, fast and harsh. Mostly string instruments, dramatic. “Why?”
“I was late,” Blair corrects, one hand holding the back of his neck as the other is gripped in his. Larger, muscled, and firmer than Blair’s delicate, soft, and teasing hand. “—you must be a terrible listener.”
Amusement lit Eris’s eyes as he held an arm around her waist, fingers brushing her ribs.
“Did they keep you away because of your mouth, then?” He crooned, their bodies moving seamlessly to the upbeat music. Stepping and spinning all at once, matched with the other pairs of dancers on the floor.
“What of my mouth?”
“What of it, indeed.” He smiled, eyes flicking to the rich ridges of her garnet colored lips. Blair’s cheeks heated and for the first time her eyes flicked away from his face. Anywhere but him as they landed on Azriel and she almost breathed in relief when she found that his eyes were already on hers.
A silent question in them and Blair blinked softly in response.
“Would you believe me if I said the second I saw you, I forgot about Nesta completely?” Eris whispered into her ear, lips brushing against the hair that curled there. So close she could feel the heat of his breath, like a flame licking her skin.
She cursed the part of her that wanted to feel that heat in other places and shoved it down. She looked back to Eris, noses nearly touching with the proximity this dance required.
“And what if I am already spoken for?”
Questions, so many questions with him. And Blair just fed them back as if the answers were in the questions themselves, a proper response unneeded.
“Are you?” His brows raised.
“No.”
It was simple, nothing further needed and she didn’t understand why she cared to tell a male she had met mere minutes ago that she was available. The first other than Rhys, Lucien, Azriel, Cassian and the blonde male she had set her eyes on since coming here. Since being forced here.
“They must do it to you all then.” Eris said, smile fading into a tighter one as he saw that look in Blair’s eyes. “Dwindle your flame, drown it out, waste you.”
“My sister and her mate have been gracious to me in my… adjustment. I have nothing to complain about, and certainly nothing to waste.”
Eris shook his head so barely as they spun Blair almost didn’t catch it, disbelief in every beautiful crook of his utterly handsome face.
“All of you is wasted, my dear Blair. They are blind if they cannot see what lives inside of you, your fire, whatever that power is and whatever you are now.”
Perhaps it was because Blair didn’t even know what was inside of her, why her chest warmed on its own for the first time in over a year just now, but she didn’t say another word.
When the music ended, she bowed before Eris as any graceful courtier would— a dismissal on her part before she stepped back and allowed for him to bow in return.
But he did not, and only stared at her as if he couldn’t—wouldn’t—bring himself to say goodbye. We are not done playing, Blair Archeron, was what his eyes added as Azriel swept her from the floor and the room all together.
His eyes followed her the whole way and that cold returned as soon as she left his line of sight.
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🏷️: @prythianpages @impossibelle @readychilledwine
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hannie-dul-set · 6 hours
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STAR STUDDED BAGGAGE [3].
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SYNOPSIS. the saying “never meet your idols” exists for a reason. you just didn’t expect the reason to be because said idols would end up declaring that you’re their alleged lover from a past life (past lives, rather). now you have three big celebrities vying for your attention, and it’s not as dreamlike as you imagined it to be.
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PAIRINGS. choi yeonjun, choi soobin, choi beomgyu x female! reader. GENRES. reincarnation! au, celebrity! au (soloist! yeonjun, actor! soobin, rock band member! beomgyu), slight college! au, slight historical! au, rom-com, angst, reverse harem woohoo. WARNINGS. swearing, talks about stalking, talks about death, data privacy violations, so much emotional whiplash yummy, a very long conversation, google dependent historical information. WORD COUNT. 6.3k.
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NOTE. this chapter finally made its way out hell 😭😭😭 per usual, please let me know your thoughts on the chapter! a single comment on ao3 inspired me to finish this, so ur feedback really means a lot! enjoy<3
MASTERLIST | NEXT >
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CHAPTER 3 — can we go back to being parasocial?
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IF SOMEONE HEARS YOUR SUMMARY OF THE EVENTS THAT UNFOLDED WITHIN THE PAST FEW DAYS, they may accuse you of lying. Delusional, even. You’d think the same had you not been the center of it all— yet the proof is in your pockets. Your phone. In the album Choi Yeonjun failed to sign, stuffed inside your bag at the last minute before you left your apartment earlier.
The summary. Right. Yes.
“Can they stop sharing that video of Yeonjun excessively flirting with a fan?! I’m going to kill myself if I see it one more time.”
You were lucky enough to nab a fansign slot. But instead of getting Choi Yeonjun’s signature, you ended up getting a kiss of a hand instead, along with a scrawl of numbers on your album that you’re far too terrified to try to dial.
“Hey, send me our photo with Soobin the other day,” nudges Huening from beside you. “I’m gonna print it out and put it in a locket and use it as a family heirloom.”
You bumped into one of your favorite actors, Choi Soobin, in the middle of a late night convenience store run with your friends to fuel your group all nighter, stained his shirt with your ice cream, and got a photo with him in the process.
“By the way, have you called the business card yet? What are you gonna do with your broken phone screen?”
And Choi Beomgyu may or may not have professed his undying love for you, asked for your hand in marriage, and started crying in front of you in less than ten fucking minutes.
“She’s zoned out.”
The problem is, you can’t even bask in the delightful absurdity of it all because one common thread from all those three separate instances has been keeping you up for nights. It’s clawing at your brain, lingering in the back of your mind like an incessant stalker— which, mind you, is not a pleasant feeling when the very causes of such disturbance were once the bringers of joy and all things good in your otherwise meaningless life as a cog in the capitalist machinery that is society.
“Hello? Are you awake?”
Said problem being the fact that you’re pretty sure they all called you by your name at one point.
How the fuck do they know your name?
“I deleted Twitter. I Airdropped it to you. No, I have not called it yet. Now please let me think in peace.”
Crazy. This is all too crazy. In the first place, what are the odds that you bump into three celebrities within one week’s time? Is this some sort of prank, or something? Are those three filming a hidden camera show together? No, no. That couldn’t be because there’s no fucking way a company is sane enough to stage a risky hidden camera prank during a fansign knowing full well how obsessive and insane fans can get. You’re lucky your face wasn’t caught in any of the videos circulating online— video of you and Choi Yeonjun, mostly him, acting out a fucking sageuk. You’re lucky you haven’t been doxxed yet.
“Finish your sandwich,” Taehyun clicks his tongue, nudging your food closer to you, and you sigh heavily. Maybe you’re just wrong, you think, taking a bite from the bread. Maybe this is just a misunderstanding. Maybe you’re just overthinking.
You eat your lunch and steal some wet wipes from Gaeul in between. Right. It’s not like you’re ever gonna bump into them again. You live in, as cliche as it sounds, two different worlds after all. You’re just gonna watch their dramas, listen to their music, enjoy their performances, and that’s it that’s it that’s it.
“Prof Jang sent a message. Class is canceled.”
But still—
“Woohoo! Let’s go to the new dessert shop that opened downtown.”
Choi Beomgyu’s voice saying I love you, Choi Soobin’s cologne wafting in the air you were breathing in, and Choi Yeonjun’s lips pressed against your skin.
How can a sane person just forget about all of that?!
“Why do you look like you’re fantasizing about perverted shit?” Woohyun slaps you in the face with a reality check. This is fucking stupid.
“I’m not fantasizing,” you grunt, because they were events that actually fucking happened— they weren’t birthed from your brain’s insanity. “Anyway, dessert? Where is it?” You ignore your burning face, hoping that your friends decide to ignore it too, but Gaeul has her eyes narrowed at you. Crap. She didn’t recognize that it’s you in the videos right? Holy fucking hell, you’d rather die.
“Aren’t you gonna answer that?”
Oh. Well. That’s— that’s something. A good something because she hasn’t suspected you yet, moitioning instead to your cracked phone that has been buzzing under your notice because you’ve been thinking way too fucking much.
You check the caller ID, but it’s an unknown number, and it doesn’t match the business card you got from your run in with the alleged Choi Beomgyu. “Hello?” you answer, and a voice you don’t recognize says your name and asks if it’s you. “Yes, this is her. Who’s this?”
Another item added to the weird as fuck things that happened to your this week. You excuse yourself from your friends, and with knitted brows, you listen to the stranger at the other end of the line. “You met Choi Soobin the other day at a 7-Eleven in Gangnam, right?” The fuck? Did someone see you that day? Is this a stalker? “This is his manager. Lee Byeongho. I would like to speak with you regarding a certain matter.”
Now, hold the fucking phone.
“Is everything alright?”
You respond to Huening’s concern with a stiff smile before turning away from them. “Did I do something wrong?” you fuss into the call. “I didn’t post any of the photos from that day. I never talked about it online either, and I’m pretty sure my friends haven’t either. Wait. Wait a minute. How did you get my number?”
“Yes, it was difficult to obtain knowing only your first name and university.” That doesn’t answer your question. That just gave you more questions. “But, no. You aren’t in trouble. Actually...I called because you’re the only one who can help us— help Soobin— get out of trouble.”
Your face scrunches up.
“I’m at your campus right now. Parking lot. Do you mind meeting me for a moment?”
Just what did you get yourself into?
“You haven’t finished your food. Where are you going?”
“Somewhere,” you reply, quickly snatching your half-eaten sandwich from the table as your friends follow your swift movements with matching looks of confusion. “I’ll be right back. It’s nothing, don’t worry.” However, you are quite worried. You’re pretty sure Lee Manager, or whatever, is committing some data privacy crimes against you, but the one thing you want at the moment is answers. Your brain is about to explode from all the fucking questions and confusion. There’s a sliver of hope that meeting up with this sketchy guy can answer a few of them. You’d take that chance to air out your head.
There’s a black van in the parking lot. It’s the first thing you noticed because one of its doors are open, and there’s a familiar looking guy waiting just in front of the exposed seats. 
He notices you approaching. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” he says. What’s with men you’re meeting for the first time treating you with familiarity? You’re going to rip your hair out and throw yourself into moving traffic.
“Sure, but can you get to the point?” you stiffly say. “I’m a little busy. I still have classes in a bit.”
“Of course, I’m sorry. This whole situation must’ve come off as a shock to you.” Great, now you’re feeling bad. Soobin’s manager (allegedly) looks like he’s been through a whole lot as well. “Anyway. You are a fan of Choi Soobin, correct?”
“Well,” you blink. “Yes.”
“How about the dramas Kang Jaehee has written and directed?” he follows up. “Are you a fan of those as well?”
Your brows furrow. “I guess?” Peach Tree. That Summer. Mogi. Those are the titles that come right at the top of your head. “What does that have to do anything with me?” Manager Lee spares you a look of pity. You feel like this meet-up is just set out to making you even more fucking confused.
“I sincerely apologize. I didn’t want to drag you into this either, but I’m afraid you’re the only option I have,” says Manager Lee despondently. “Since...since you are a fan of Soobin, and I assume that means you also care about his career, so—”
He pauses. Like he’s practicing the next set of words he’s about to say inside his head.
“—do you mind meeting up with him to convince him to take the lead role for Kang Jaehee’s upcoming drama?”
But nothing could’ve prepared you for that.
What.
What the fuck?
“Mr Manager. Sir,” you start, appalled beyond comprehension. “I’d appreciate it if you start making a bit more sense.” 
“Trust me, I can’t believe I’m doing this either.”
You’re speechless. Your mouth is hanging open with no words coming out because, again, what the fuck? Manager Lee looks just as defeated as you, as if he weren’t the one who had just presented that ridiculous proposal. You are, quite frankly, at a discernible loss. 
Manager Lee lets out a sigh and digs a hand into his pocket. “I’m afraid this is all the time I have today. But please contact me once you’ve made a decision.” Another business card acquired. This is just dandy. “I am really hoping for your cooperation, miss. I’m sure you’re aware of Soobin’s inactivity lately, and my intention of approaching you today is simply in order to help my star’s career. Please consider the favor positively, and we will compensate you as much as my authority can allow.”
With that, you’re left with another laminated piece of paper in your hands. Gosh. This is a headache. When you get back to your friends, they notice the distress you’re in, further justifying a visit to the new dessert store, and seeing how your soul has completely left your body, you’re dragged along with them with ease.
“Hey, pick one. My treat,” says Woohyun. You let out a grunt and point at a random pastry on display. Next thing you know, you’re seated in between Huening and Gaeul at the store you don’t even know the name of. 
Huening is force feeding you an eclair. “Eat.” Your scowl disappears when you allow the eclair entry into your mouth. “Seriously, what’s going on with you? Who did you meet earlier?” 
Seeing as you show absolutely no intentions of telling them, they refuse to question you about it further. Good on them, because there’s no way in hell you’re spilling your predicament. Not until you find out exactly what kind of situation you’re in, at the very least. The two business cards feel like they’re weighing your pockets down, a constant reminder of their existence along with the scrawl Yeonjun left behind.  
“I know exactly how to make you feel better.”
The declaration comes from Gaeul, who slides her phone over to you, and when you look down to see what exactly her miracle medicine is to make you feel less manic, you hack out a cough upon seeing Choi Yeonjun’s face on her phone screen. “The hell is wrong with you?” asks Taehyun from across, giving you some water to push down the eclair lodged in your throat. “I know you like him, but even that is an overreaction.”
Jesus, you’re close to losing it. When you’ve avoided choking to death, Gaeul puts an airpod into your ear, and you hear Yeonjun reading out some comments. “Choi Yeonjun, you look really happy lately, did something good happen? someone asked,” he says while having snacks of his own. “First of all, why are you calling me Choi Yeonjun? It’s like you’re putting a wall between us. I don’t like it.”
Gaeul makes a noise of some sort and had you not been subjected to this week’s insanities, you might have reacted the same way too. Instead, you simply listen to his live in caution, feigning disinterest as you watch him nibble on some pretzels and churros through the screen, continuing to answer the slew of questions in the comments.
“Anyway, you’re right! Something good did happen.” Yeonjun hums while picking out a pretzel from the paper bag, rustling noise and a lively tune filling the audio for a moment— a short moment, right before he continues speaking. “That’s because I finally met the love of my life.”
Taehyun has to give you his water again.
“Oh? Oho, what’s with the exclamation points?” he laughs. “Did I meet them the other day? Hmm...that’s a secret. You’re curious? You think it might be you? Well, let’s see. Should I describe her?”
“God, he’s so fucking messy,” says Gaeul from beside you. “This is why I like him. How many calls is he getting for his manager and company this time?”
“What’s going on? Why is she so startled?”
“Yeonjun’s talking about his apparent soulmate, I don’t know. Wanna listen?”
“Didn’t he get in trouble for doing the same thing last time too?”
Now, you’re not one to give a shit about his love life, and you like to stay out of that side of celebrity gossip as much as you can, but Choi Yeonjun himself is droning on about the love of his life right now. You can’t not hear about it even if you want to. However, as much as you want to let things come into one ear and out through the other, you can’t. Because— wait. Wait. His description is eerily familiar. His description is making you double take and second guess what you’re fucking hearing.
“Sounds a lot like you,” Taehyun remarks without much thought, right after Choi Yeonjun says that the girl he likes has a bit of an attitude, but he likes that about her.
Huening lets out a snort. “Yeah, that’s definitely you. Why don’t you go in a wedding dress the next time you attend a fansign? Who knows, you might have a shot.”
You snap them a dirty look. Fuck. This is making your head spin. For the second time, Choi Yeonjun’s tendency of putting himself into headlines and the trending searches for doing something insane is giving you nothing but stress.
“I did give her my number, but she hasn’t messaged me yet, so I’m quite hurt.”
Number. Hold on a fucking second.
“The comments are going crazy.”
You grab your bag from underneath you, dropping it down to your lap.
“Hey, if you’re watching this, pl—eeeeease contact me. Kim Noona thinks I have a phone addiction now because I’ve been dying waiting for your call.”
You quickly get up from your seat.
“Yo, where are you going this time?”
“I need a minute,” you announce, eyes scanning the store for a quiet place alone while hugging your bag to your chest. There’s nowhere. Looks like you have to get out. 
“Damn, we were just joking. As if you have a chance with a celebrity like him.”
Huening’s joke is ignored and you quickly leave outside the doors, making a sharp turn around the corner, slipping through the passersby downtown until you find an empty alley. Your heart is racing. Your heart is racing like crazy and you may be reaching right now. You may be acting crazy, but what Choi Beomgyu said during the interview with Yeong-Il the other day is echoing in your mind, and— in conjunction with everything else that had happened— you’re starting to think that maybe he wasn’t joking.
Your cracked phone screen greets you when you take it out of your pocket. On your other hand is the first business card you got this week.
“Who’s this?”
“Hello. Good day.” You tell them your name, the events that led up to you receiving this number, with the hope that maybe you’re finally on to something. “I’d like to talk about the compensation for my broken phone.”
Whatever that something is, you’re gonna get to the bottom of it.
*
It’s already beyond closing time at Kwiyeomdongmoim Cafe (a mouthful, you know), yet your pink apron is still neatly tied around your waist as you pace back and forth, to and fro, in circles inside the breakroom. The time is half-past nine in the evening. You should’ve clocked out thirty minutes ago, but you’re still waiting. 
The knock on the door signified the end of your wait. You turn to see your boss’s head popping in through the half-open crack. 
“Three guys are waiting for you,” informs Seokmin. “They all seem handsome. Are they your suitors?”
When you ditched your friends at the still unnamed dessert store the other day, you did it to make a few calls. Three, to be exact. Today is the culmination of those calls, which is why you’ve been erratically nervous the entire freaking day. Choi Soobin, Choi Beomyu, and Choi Yeonjun’s managers all answered respectively when you called all the sketchy numbers you got and made some negotiations (apparently, the mess on your album is Yeonjun’s number, but he got his phone confiscated after that livestream). 
“As if,” you say, walking up to the door leading back into the cafe. Suitors, more like stalkers. Fans stalking their idols is common, but the other way around is a pretty fresh idea. “Anyway, thanks, Kyeom. Thank you for letting me use the store for a while.” Because this is the only private place you can think of outside of your own home— and there’s no way in hell you’re letting them in there when you don’t even know how they managed to get hold of your personal information.
“We’re closed anyway.” Seokmin smiles and makes way for you to pass by. “Go ahead and do your thing. Do you want me to stay inside or keep watch?” 
“You can stay inside, it’s alright.” 
He nods. “Call me when you’re done. Scream if you need backup. I can handle all of them.”
You laugh and thank him once more, a pat on his arm before you decide to peek out the door first as a precautionary measure. From your spot, you can see three thoroughly covered men in windbreakers, caps, and masks sitting on three separate tables in the store. The blinds have already been rolled down, so you can’t see anything outside, but there doesn’t appear to be any cameras around, so you take it as a safe sign to finally leave your hiding spot.
The moment you do, the break room door creaks, and all three pairs of eyes immediately fall on you. 
They stand up. They call out your name in unison.
Holy shit.
And when they do, they all look at each other with a sudden flash of hostility in the air.
Um. Well. How are you supposed to do this? “H—hello,” you manage to squeak out, prompting their attention once more. Soobin takes off his cap and removes his mask, the other two following suit, and oh my god. Oh my god. You suck in a deep breath. Today, you are not a fan. You are an interrogator. This is not a fansign. This is an interrogation. 
“I— uh, I asked your managers if I can meet you all to—today for a specific reason.” Wow. Good job. Your hands are shaking and you can’t look up from the floor or else you’d start losing your mind. “But—but, before that— would...would you like some drinks…?”
Interrogation paused. You need to get your shit together first.
“Please enjoy.”
With the help of your boss (because your hands wouldn’t stop shaking and you dropped the first one you made), you managed to whip up four iced teas and settle all three of them into one table at the very back of the store. You send a stiff smile at Seokmin after he placed all the drinks on the table.
God, you owe him so much— especially when he’s being unreasonably glared at by the three men sitting with you right now. Choi Beomgyu to your left, Choi Soobin to your right, Choi Yeonjun directly across from you and holy fuck, you have yet to look at them properly yet for your own safety. They haven’t been talking to each other either, simply sitting and waiting for you to speak. You’re pretty sure they know each other though, at least by name, being in the same industry and all. 
To say that the tension in the air is suffocation would be an understatement. How...how do you start this? The fuck should you say first?
“You know, I was really happy when Kim Noona told me you called.”
Apparently you don’t have to start it. Choi Yeonjun does it for you.
“But why are these two crashing our date?”
And that’s when things also start to get messy.
“Date?” Choi Soobin interjects. He sounds offended. Why does he sound offended. “What are you talking about?”
Choi Yeonjun doesn’t get a chance to make his case. Because Choi Beomgyu from your left suddenly snatches one of your hands from the table, prompting you to look at one of them for the first time tonight, and your eyes fly wide open. “I’d...like to apologize for the other day. I was just overtaken by my emotions. I hope you weren’t too freaked out.”
You are quite freaked out because holy shit, this is too much maybe. Not maybe. Yes. This is too much. Too. Much.“Hey, why are you holding her hand?!” you hear Choi Soobin exclaim from your other side. Choi Beomgyu’s soft expression suddenly disappears into a glare and a sneer the moment he shifts his gaze.
“You’re holding her hand too!”
“Why can’t I?!”
“Hey, this isn’t fair! One of you switch with me—”
Dizzy. You’re feeling dizzy. Your head is spinning and you’re suffocating from the heat emanating from your very face. Whatever they’re arguing about isn’t even reaching your ears anymore. You’re getting lightheaded and your sweaty hands start slipping out from the two’s weirdly tender hold on your hands because your body is physically breaking down.
“Shut up! Oh my god, my head—”
Your vision actually starts spinning for a second so you quickly bring the bottom of your palms to your temples, elbows on the table to balance yourself, only to be wobbled and shaken because the three suddenly jolted off their seats in panic.
“Are you okay?!”
“I’m fine, just please—for the love of god— sit down and shut up.”
They sit down and shut up. You massage your temples in silence. You remove your hands from your face and, after sucking in a deep breath and releasing it thereafter, feel your heartbeat settling into a normal rate. As normal as it can get in this situation.
“Whew. Okay. I think I’m ready. Let’s get down to business.” Finally, you’re the one steering the conversation. You give each of them a once over as quickly as possible because now you know that prolonged eye contact will only hurt you. You settle with looking at the gaps between each of them. That’s fine. You’re fine. “Choi Soobin, Choi Yeonjun, Choi Beomgyu.”
It’s like three bulbs just lit up in succession. Your brain is starting to hurt.
“A—as I was saying, you three are some of South Korea’s biggest celebrities and although I am, in fact, a big fan of all three of you—” Why is Choi Soobin growing pink. Why the fuck is he blushing. “—that— that does not make me fail to recognize the amount of weird shit that’s been happening lately, and I think I need answers.”
They are still sitting down and shutting up. They listen to instructions well, at the very least.
“First, how the fuck did all three of you know my name without any prior introduction. Second—”
The words get clamped in your throat. It’s lodged in there very tightly because you make the mistake of looking one of them in the eye, only to notice that all three of them are looking at you with the same expression. An expression you can only describe as longing.
And your face starts burning.
“Se— second, why…why do you all keep looking at me like I’m an ex you want to get back together with…?”
Maybe you asked the wrong question.
Because for some reason they all look sad now. Really sad. Really fucking sad and it’s making your stomach clench and nerves all numb and funky because making three big celebrities all sad simultaneously is a bragging right at one end of the spectrum, and a national crime at the other.
It’s Choi Soobin who cracks the silence. “I…I had a feeling when I saw you again for the first time at the store.” Again? “Do you not remember me?”
Your face furrows. “No…? Did we ever meet before you became an actor?”
Hurt. The look of sadness has now spiraled into hurt and one might think you just stabbed and twisted a knife into his fucking gut.  “How—how about me?” Your attention turns to Choi Yeonjun who isn’t looking any better. It’s like his entire world view was just proven to be wrong and why does it feel like you’re the one to blame. 
What else can you do but shake your head in denial? Now he looks like he’d just been told he’s adopted!
“You’re…you’re joking,” he tries to laugh it off, but it only comes off as strained and shaky, then, in one fell swoop— desperate. “R—right…?”
“Great!”
Before you start feeling even shittier, Choi Beomgyu finally decides to join in. 
“And here I thought her forgetting about me was the worst case scenario.” His tone is bitter. There’s a snap in his words. “I didn’t think there’d be other bastards in the same situation as me. God fucking damn it.”
There’s a moment of silence. You watch as realization hits the other while you’re still left in the dark. Choi Yeonjun juts his seat closer. Choi Soobin tries to reach a hesitant arm to your direction, but you’re  tugged to the other side by Choi Beomgyu, who’s suddenly a little too, too close.
“Hey.”
Your hands are clamped together. 
“I meant it when I said I love you. I do. I have loved you four hundred years ago and I still love you now, and if whatever god or deity decides to make you meet you for the third time, I’ll still love you then.”
Beomgyu’s holding both of them in between his in a firm grip.
“Second life is about you. Blue Spring is about you. You’re the person I’ve been waiting for from the beginning of this life until the last.”
Now, if this situation wasn’t crazy, your heart would be skipping a beat right now.
But it is crazy. This is fucking insane. And you look around to see that there’s a weird look of sympathy and understanding in the other Choi’s eyes, clearly not recognizing the visceral insanity of this situation, which fills you with a swallowing lump of existential dread. You pry your hands out of Beomgyu’s grasp (you swear you can hear glass breaking), and slowly turn to Choi Yeonjun and say, with a very hesitant, very cautious, “Y...you too…?”
The look on his face says it all. And then you swivel over to Choi Soobin.
“And you?” 
“I’ve lo—”
“No!” you snap. “Don’t finish that sentence. Please. Oh my god.”
You see Seokmin popping his head out from the corner, mouthing an are you okay? and you shakily bring up a weak thumbs up. “Well, isn’t this interesting,” you hear Choi Yeonjun say, which feels like a slap in the face because what exactly is interesting about this. “Here I thought I was special.”
“Get off your high horse,” retorts Choi Soobin, a sneer in his voice. You double take. Choi Soobin is supposed to be sweet and gentle and kind. Who is this man? “Whatever kind of past you had with her doesn’t mean anything. I met her first. I met her at the end of King Danjong’s rule.”
“Ha!” Choi Yeonjun starts. “We got married under King Taejong. I’ve loved her before any of you did.”
Now, what the fuck?
Choi Soobin’s face pales and he chokes over his words. “M—married?”
There’s a smug grin on Choi Yeonjun’s face. He leans back against the chair with his arms crossed in victory. “You heard that correctly. Married. Pack up your bags. Unless you want me to tell you everything we did on our we—”
“Shut up, shut up, I don’t want to hear it!”
Marriage. King Danjong. King Taejong. Second life. The gears are churning inside your head. You don’t like the direction where the gears are pointing.
“What about you?”
Choi Yeonjun raises the question and the attention is now on Choi Beomgyu. He’s been quiet. The other two wait for him to say his piece— a feigned air of disdain and arrogance but there’s an unconcealable undertone of nervousness underneath it all. Your iced teas have been left untouched. Choi Beomgyu simply scoffs and presses his crossed arms against his chest.
“I have no reason to tell you any of that. This is between me and her.”
And at your mention, you receive the undivided attention of three pairs of eyes once more. Your heart rattles. God fucking damn it. Listen, you’re an avid consumer of the entertainment industry. You’ve watched a good amount of dramas and have read a good amount of manhwas to surmise a conclusion with the bits and pieces of stray information being tossed back and forth between the three. And it’s all ridiculous. But you have nothing else to work with unless they come spilling their guts themselves.
“So,” you clear your throat. “Are you three, like…a couple…hundred years old…?”
They all look offended. 
“No!”
Well, maybe you’re wrong about that part. But after a very long, convoluted discussion, the “facts” (if you can even call it that), are finally laid down on your feet.
They say you’ve all met before. Separately, in three separate lifetimes, with this one allegedly being your fourth unless there were lives in between that they can’t remember. One thing for certain is that the three of them remember the life they had while loving you— and they loved you very much apparently because those feelings and memories got carried over even after they got reborn into the present day.
The problem is, you don’t have the same symptoms. You don’t remember anything about your past lives. Hell, you can’t even remember anything in this life before you hit two years old. 
You slump in your seat. The table rattles. They get up from their chairs and come circling around you in concern.
“Are— are you okay, do you need to lie down? You could rest in my van for a while and—”
You swat Choi Yeonjun’s hand away before it could land on your shoulder. You’ve now got your hands on your face in stress, and peeking through you see Choi Soobin on your right, crouching down and looking up at you with furrowed brows and big, sad eyes. On your left is Choi Beomgyu, half-seated on the chair. You let out a very long, very anguished and muffled groan. This is too much. “If— if what you guys are saying is true,” you say. “What does it matter?”
There’s a tense pause in the air. 
“What do you mean…?”
You spring up from your seat and turn around, Choi Yeonjun in front of you. 
“I mean what does it all matter? King Sejeong, Joseon era, or whatever— I don’t care about all of that. We’re in the twenty-first century right now. I’m neither your lover nor your wife. I’m just a fan of your dramas and music and performances and that's it.”
You squeeze your eyes shut. You don’t really want to see their faces right now. You let a huff of air slip past your lips, turning back around to collect the untouched glasses of drinks on the table.
“Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet me and explain. I hope it’s all settled. Thanks for clearing everything up today. You can now all leave.”
It’s Choi Yeonjun who races after you when you make your firm and quick strides to the counter. He cuts off your path. “I—I don’t understand,” he chokes out. You make the mistake of meeting his gaze and see the threat of tears glazing his eyes. “What—what do you mean?”
Admittedly, that hurled a giant pang against your ribcage, knocking the air out of your chest, but you move forward. You brush past him, setting the glasses back on the counter, and— after a moment’s pause— you turn around, a heavy weight on your shoulders. It’s like gravity is trying to suck you deep into the mantle. “What I’m trying to say is we should all just get over what happened all those hundreds of years ago and live our lives in the present. I mean, I don’t know any of you. Don’t you think it’s unhealthy to keep clinging onto the past, especially when you guys are nothing but strangers to me in this life?”
Dead silence. You don’t dare look at any of them in the face. You try and retreat to the break room as quickly as you can, hands fumbling to untie your apron along the way, but you stumble over your steps, screeching to a halt the moment you hear someone say—
“Do you think it’s that easy?”
You could hear your heart in your eardrums. 
It takes all the strength in your body for you to look back, to see the pained expression on Choi Beomgyu’s face standing the farthest away from you out of the three. “Do you think I put my name out there so that it’d be easier for you to find me, wrote all those songs about you in the hopes that I could see you again if you’re someone I can just easily forget?”
Your throat tightens. It’s like you’re swallowing a boulder.
“If you wanted me to forget about you, you shouldn’t have died right in front of me then. You shouldn’t have told me you loved me right before you went cold in my arms if you wanted me to fucking forget.”
Oh.
Oh, god.
Choi Yeonjun and Choi Soobin don’t look any better. It hits you that you might have been more than a little bit unfair.
“I’m sorry.”
You don’t know your history. You don’t know what the fuck happened between you and them throughout those years that made them feel so strongly about you. But it must be harder for those who remember than for those who forgot.
It’s not like they chose to live in the present with half of their souls stuck in the past, either. You’ve been acting awfully unfair.
“I was being insensitive. I’m so sorry,” you exhale. Your knees feel like they’re about to buckle. Your head is spinning in circles. “But to be honest, this is all still very overwhelming, and I’m having a hard time comprehending and making sense of everything. It doesn’t feel real.” You try to take a step closer, but your legs give in. Choi Yeonjun quickly rushes to balance you back on your feet.
“Don’t push yourself,” he says, softly. You can’t look at him. God, these guys really know how to bring your guilt all the way home.
“Thanks, um, anyway—” You breathe in. Shit, you can’t believe you’re considering this. “Again, I really can’t and won’t be able to understand the magnitude of your— well, uh— feelings, since I really don’t remember anything. But how about…I spend some time with each of you individually, and maybe…maybe it can help in jogging back my memories?”
The atmosphere shifts. Ah. This feels like a fucking trap.
“You— you mean it?”
To be honest, you’d much rather just not deal with any of this, just stay at home and continue living your life with these three men as persons you only know behind the screen. But those looks in their eyes— hopeful and melancholic— make you feel your organs are being rearranged every five seconds, and you’d feel bad leaving them with the pain of this conversation especially after they poured out their hearts to you.
You can’t deny the joy and escape they’ve given you for the past couple of years you’ve spent as their fan. Maybe entertaining this unreality is the least you can do.
“I mean, well,” you start, clearing your throat. “Choi Beomgyu, you still need to pay for my phone. Choi Soobin, your manager wanted me to talk to you about something, and Choi Yeonjun—”
You look at the guy who still has one arm pressed against your back, two hands in a firm grip on your shoulders. He’s looking at you and batting his eyes expectantly. You let out a sigh and set yourself loose.
“I need to discuss something with you soon, too.” As in, please stop vaguely mentioning me in your live streams because I fear I might find an angry mob in front of my house. “I think I have all your contact information anyway.”
There aren’t any more reactions coming from them. This seems like the best possible solution for all of you. You sigh again. This has been an emotionally draining evening. You can’t wait to get some fucking rest.
“I’ll be in touch with you or your managers soon. For now, let’s call it a day.”
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STAR STUDDED BAGGAGE. © hannie-dul-set, 2024.
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betweenbreaths · 12 hours
Text
doctor's orders (WIP)
Fandom: Love and Deepspace
Characters: Zayne x Reader
Summary: Zayne is surprisingly obedient as a patient when it’s your turn to play doctor. 
Rating: E (M for this snippet though)
A/N: Posting this WIP first because I think it'll take me a while to write the full thing. :")
++++++
He’s terribly late. 
It’s almost midnight now, almost 12 hours past the time he was supposed to have you over at his place for lunch and a home movie date. He had already prepared everything perfectly, from the food, to the table setting, to the extra blankets on the couch (only because you liked to snuggle). And then you had arrived right on time, and everything was going perfectly.
That is, until his work phone rang and he received an alert that one of his patients had to undergo surgery immediately. 
You hadn’t looked fazed when he filled you in on the situation; after all, it was hardly the first time he had been whisked away from a date for unexpected work emergencies. You had told him before that you didn’t mind; saving lives came first and you’d have done the same if you were notified of wanderers in the area.
So he’d left promptly, promising to be back as soon as he could.
And now, twelve hours later, he has finally returned to the front door of his apartment, with a bouquet of flowers he’d picked up along the way as an apology. Zayne had texted you earlier to ask if you had already left, and you’d said that you would stay and wait for him, and that there was no hurry. 
He sees your shoes still neatly placed outside, and yet another pang of guilt hits him. He just hopes you’re not too upset. He’ll have to make it up to you somehow. 
As Zayne opens the door and steps in, he calls your name. 
Silence. No response. 
That… must be a bad sign. Either that, or you fell asleep somewhere. Certainly not in the living room, because there’s no trace of you other than the crumpled blankets and the remote control tossed to the corner of the couch. 
He shrugs off his coat, leaving it on one of the chairs by the dining table and peers around, wondering where you’d gone. Instinctively he heads straight towards his bedroom — you might be taking a nap there.
He knocks lightly on the closed door before opening it carefully, slowly, in case he wakes you. Then he hears you call his name. The tone in your voice isn’t one of anger or disappointment. 
In fact, it’s the opposite. You sound… mischievous, playful. Even a little naughty. 
Almost like you’d planned something completely unexpected for him, and you’d been waiting for him to come in, like a predator waiting for prey to fall into its trap. 
And when he steps in, Zayne all but forgets to breathe.
++++++
Leaving you alone in his apartment for twelve hours had left you with plenty of time to devise a surprise for your boyfriend. Your spark of inspiration came when you decided you’d do the poor man a favour and sort out his laundry for him since he can’t even afford the time to eat the lunch he’d so painstakingly prepared for that afternoon. 
And when you came across the freshly washed spare doctor’s coat in the pile of clean clothes, you were immediately drawn to it like a moth to a flame. You ran your fingers over the thick, wrinkled fabric, a smile playing on your lips when you think about how far he’s come in his career.
And when you put it on, the scent of detergent and warmth enveloping you, an idea so brilliant, so devious, popped into your head. 
After all, you’d already come over to his home already prepared with a new set of black lacy lingerie for him to tear off of you, and this coat would go perfectly with it. 
The look on Zayne’s face when he steps into his bedroom and his eyes fall on you is absolutely delightful. You see a myriad of emotions flicker in his eyes: confusion, surprise, bewilderment…
And then his gaze becomes hungry. Sinful. Heat pools in your centre as his gaze falls on your body, examining every single inch of you. You can already tell from his dilated pupils that in his mind, he’s ravaging you, kissing you senseless and tasting every drop of you, and god you can already anticipate how rough he’s going to be with you when you let him have his way. 
But first, you’re going to have some fun with this.
Zayne approaches the bed, each footstep almost echoing in your ears and mirroring your accelerating heartbeat and you prop yourself up on your elbows, clicking your tongue and shaking your head at the man. 
“You’re late for your appointment, Zayne. I’m almost off my shift now.” 
“I apologise. I was held up at work because of an emergency.” 
“I wish you would prioritise your health the way you do with your work.” 
Your lips curl into a knowing smile, and so does his, although his smile looks a little more defeated. 
“Using my words against me now?” 
“Maybe. But I don’t have time for small talk. I’m supposed to have a date with my boyfriend and he’s waiting for me at home, so let’s make this quick.” 
Zayne cocks an eyebrow but says nothing as you sit up and tap the empty spot next to you on the bed. 
“Lie down. We need to do a routine examination.” 
Surprisingly, Zayne does as he’s told without protest. You feel the bed dip with his weight when he sits down, and you swallow nervously when he stares at you up close, eyes darting down towards your lips and raking down your figure. His gaze is smouldering and you feel your cheeks warm as the corner of his lips turn up. 
“Like what you see?” you can’t resist the urge to ask. 
“It would be more appropriate to ask your boyfriend that, Doctor.” 
Right, right. 
You clear your throat, trying to get back into the roleplay. With Zayne now lying comfortably on the bed, you scooch over, placing your hand over his chest. 
“Checking for my pulse? Where’s your stethoscope?” 
You roll your eyes at him. “I don’t need one to know that your heart is racing right now. Do you feel uncomfortable? Any chest pains?” 
“Yes, it does hurt a little.” 
“Where?” You experimentally press on his left pec. “Here?” You shift your hand downward slightly. “Or here?” 
“No.” Zayne grabs your wrist then, and without warning, pulls you down with a hard tug. You lose your balance, falling straight towards him and you barely manage to stop yourself from giving him a headbutt when your left hand plants itself into the mattress right by his face. 
In this position, you’re now mere inches away from his lips, and his piercing gaze doesn’t leave your eyes as he re-positions your right hand on his chest. 
“Here.” You feel his strong heartbeat beneath your fingers, and the warmth of his breath fanning across your face. Just a little closer and you’ll be able to taste his lips and lose yourself in his passionate, fiery kisses. 
He’s clearly thinking the same thing as you, eyes falling to your parted lips. He sucks in a sharp breath when your tongue wets your lips — a habit of yours when you’re nervous. And then you feel his free hand come up to rest on the nape of your neck to pull you in, closer and closer to him. 
It’d be so tempting to just give up now, to let him have his way with you and to get that quality time and intimacy you’ve been craving all day now. In fact, you’ve been waiting a whole week for this, because lately Zayne has been too busy and today was the only day you could squeeze in a precious date with him. 
But that’s also the reason why you want to enjoy this to the fullest. After all, it’s not often that Zayne is so indulgent with you in bed. 
At the last second, you regain your senses and place your right hand over his mouth, putting an unceremonious halt to his attempt to kiss you. His lips graze the surface of your palm and that’s enough to make goosebumps rise on your arms. 
“If your chest hurts, let’s take a closer look, shall we? I’ll need you to take your shirt off.”
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hbyrde36 · 2 days
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for @penny00dreadful
Ch 1 <-
Chapter 2: Yellow Brick Road
WC: 4946 | Ch 2/4 | AO3 <-
They’d been walking for quite a while, nothing to see save for the fields of corn spread out on one side of them, wheat on the other, when they came upon a fork in the road. 
Steve stood in the middle of the intersection, peering as far as he could down one path, and then the other, but there was just no way of knowing where each of the winding roads led. He threw his hands up in frustration before settling them on his hips. “Great, just great. Now what do we do?”
“Convenient how no one thought to mention the road split off.” Eddie grumbled.
“Right or left?”
“Flip a coin?”
Steve shrugged, it was as good a way to decide as anything else. “Sure, why not.” 
Eddie stared at him expectantly. 
“What?” Steve asked.
“Well, I don’t have any money on me.”
“Then why did you suggest flipping a coin?!”
Eddie bristled, as if Steve were the one being ridiculous. “Because you’ve always got spare change on you!” 
“It’s those damn kids, always begging me for quarters for the arcade.”
“Did you ever think if you stopped carrying coins, the little shits would stop hitting you up for them?” 
Steve frowned. “That’s… hmpf.” Because no, he hadn’t, actually. He started to rummage through his front pockets—a feat, frankly, given how tight his pants were, and wondered how big a fit Dustin would pitch if he were to actually stop handing out free money like he was a goddamn ATM machine.
“Hey!” A voice called out. “Dingus one and Dingus two!” 
Steve startled—they hadn’t seen another soul for miles. 
He looked all around for the source of the sound and finally spotted something—a lone figure mounted to a pole just inside the split-rail fence, nestled between a few stalks of corn. One of its arms was propped up, pointing, the other resting at its side. He grabbed Eddie’s hand and rushed towards it, swinging his legs easily up and over the wood planks, glimmering heels and all, before helping the other boy do the same. 
As they got closer he could see that it was a girl made of straw and burlap—a scarecrow, his brain supplied offhandedly, though her face looked remarkably human and alive. 
She winked, and smiled down at them. 
Steve gasped, his eyes raking over the dusting of freckles painted over the girl’s cheeks and nose. “No—No way.” He shook his head, taking another step closer. Was every person in this place a version of someone from home? 
“Robin?” 
The Scarecrow frowned. “Never heard of her.” 
Steve deflated. “Right.”
“Is that the way we’re supposed to go? The way you’re pointing?” Eddie asked, getting right to business as if he were unfazed at this newest encounter. Which was fair. It was pretty tame compared to the horrors of the last alternate dimension they’d been trapped in. 
“That way’s okay.” She said with a small shrug, before dropping her left arm and raising her right—rotating it like a windmill in the process. “But that way’s pretty good too.”
“Very helpful.” Steve deadpanned.
“Of course,” she went on, ignoring him as she crossed one arm over the other—pointing in opposite directions at once. “People do go both ways.”
Eddie snickered, immediately clapping a hand over his own mouth to stifle his laughter. 
Steve felt a rush of heat as he broke out in a full body flush, cheeks flaming. Surely The Scarecrow hadn’t meant—
The thing was, Robin—the real one—had been talking to him a little bit recently about the possibility of going both ways, as it were. He’d been starting to suspect, for no reason in particular, that he might not be as entirely straight as he’d previously thought. 
Okay, fine.
There was a reason, and the culprit, cause, and source of his suspicion was standing right next to him, looking at him with those big brown eyes, sparkling with the last remnants of laughter, and smiling in that very particular way that showed his dimples to full effect. 
It made Steve feel wild, like a swarm of butterflies had taken flight in his stomach. 
He wondered if Eddie knew, if he should tell him, but he wasn’t sure he was ready for that.
It wasn’t the possibility of being bisexual that frightened him. More than a possibility, he supposed—clearly that ship had sailed—what with the way he practically salivated anytime Eddie raised his arms to stretch or reach for something up high, exposing that delicious little strip of tummy and—
Yeah… definitely not straight. 
And he knew the other boy was gay, Eddie and Robin had both come out to the rest of the group a few months ago, so, the possibility was there, but just because Eddie liked guys didn’t mean he liked Steve. 
All of that to say, his fear lay more in the worry of ruining their friendship if Eddie didn’t feel the same way about him.
“We’re looking for the Emerald City, do you know it?” Eddie was asking The Scarecrow when Steve tuned back into the conversation. 
“I can’t say that I do, no, but that’s not much of a surprise. I haven't got a brain, you see.”
“How can you talk without a brain?” Steve asked. 
“Seriously?” She quirked a brow. “Have you heard what comes out of most people's mouths? It’s not that hard.”
Well, she had him there.
“The thing is, my words come out faster than my thoughts sometimes, and I just wind up rambling on-and-on until I stop making any sense at all! No one understands me, and I just know if I had a brain it would solve all my problems. “She sighed wistfully, staring off into the middle distance for a moment before seeming to remember that they were there, and snapped back to attention. “What’s in the Emerald City anyhow?”
“A wizard, hopefully.” Eddie said. 
“We’re going to see if he can help us get back home to Hawkins.” Steve added.
“Hawkins, huh? That’s a funny name.” The Scarecrow mused. “Well, if he’s capable of interdimensional travel, surely he could handle one measly brain. I’ll even take a second hand one, I'm not picky! Can I come with you?”
Steve resisted the urge to point out that her figuring out all on her own that multiple dimensions even existed was proof enough that she did, in fact, have a brain. He didn’t mind the idea of her tagging along, even if she wasn’t Robin.
“It’s fine with me,” he said, looking to Eddie, who nodded his agreement. “We should warn you though, there's a witch after us.”
“I ain’t afraid of nothing except rabies and talking to girls, which is completely normal.” The Scarecrow paused, thinking it over. “And maybe a lighted match.”
With a little finagling they managed to get her down with minimal damage. Steve held her around the waist while Eddie loosened the nail in the back of the pole, and it would have been fine, but in the heels his center of gravity was a little off, not to mention the uneven ground, so when she was set loose and suddenly he was holding all her weight, it put him off balance, sending them both sprawling to the ground. 
She lost a little hay in the fall but quickly shoved it back in, rearranging it this way and that in the front of her top. Steve looked quickly away—it was like watching his sister adjust herself in her bra or something.  
“What? You don’t like boobies?” The Scarecrow asked, finally done fluffing herself up. 
“Not yours!” 
“Well that’s just rude,” she huffed, pushing herself to her feet. She vaulted the fence, and started slowly making her way down one side of the yellow brick road.
Steve glanced up to find Eddie already above him with a hand out ready to help, and he let the other boy tug him to his feet, his skin burning where their palms touched. But Eddie accidentally pulled just a bit too hard and they wound up chest-to-chest, while Steve struggled to find his footing.
“Thanks,” Steve said softly, tongue darting out to wet his lips as his gaze flicked down to Eddie’s mouth, heart beating like a jackhammer. 
“Anytime, Stevie,” Eddie whispered back, sounding just as breathless as Steve felt.
They were so close, it would take nothing at all to just lean in and—
“You dweebs comin’ or what?” The Scarecrow shouted from a few yards away.
They broke apart in surprise, sharing an awkward laugh, and hurried to catch up with their strange new friend.
“It’s Steve and Eddie, actually.”
“I’m starving.” Eddie griped for the dozenth time in the last half hour alone.
It wasn’t like Steve couldn’t sympathize, he was hungry too, but Oz didn’t exactly have a convenience store on every corner, and whining about it incessantly wasn’t helping anyone.
Even if he did find Eddie’s whining to be sort-of… cute.
God, he was in so deep.
Thankfully, as they walked, the scenery began to change and the fields that had been flanking them on either side for so long gave way to a grove of trees, and not just any trees– 
“Oh!” Steve tugged on the other boy’s shirt and pointed excitedly ahead. “Eddie, look, there's a bunch of apple trees.”
Eddie curled his upper lip in disgust.
“Were you, or were you not, just complaining about our lack of food?”
“Yeah, but I was hoping for a cheeseburger or something, not… fruit.”
“Don’t be a baby,” Steve rolled his eyes as he stepped off the path, heading towards the nearest tree, and reached up to pick one of the many shiny, red, and delicious looking apples. 
Before he could even register what was happening, the tree moved, a cluster of its branches wrapping around his wrist like a hand, squeezing tight. 
“What do you think you’re doing?” A deep voice croaked.
A voice that seemed to be coming from The Tree.
Had Steve not faced down a demogorgon, demodogs—plural—the Mind Flayer, an entire swarm of demobats, and fucking Vecna, before, he probably would have been terrified at the prospect of a talking goddamn tree, but when he got over the initial shock he was mostly just annoyed that he couldn’t get himself free. 
He wrenched and pulled but it was no use, until Eddie appeared at his side, taking hold of The Tree’s other arm—if you could call it an arm.
“Hey man, let go!” Eddie yelled at it. “You didn’t have to hurt him, we were just hungry!”
“How would you like to have someone come along and pick something off of you?!” The Tree barked.
Eddie snarled, bending back several of its smallest branches until the thing squealed in pain. It released Steve abruptly and he stumbled sideways, right into Eddie’s arms, and together they backed up to where The Scarecrow stood.    
“It’s alright, Steve. You don’t want any of those apples anyway.” She said, looking down her nose at the offending plant. Er, creature? 
Whatever.
“Are you hinting my apples aren't what they ought to be?!” The Tree grunted.
“That depends, are they supposed to have little green worms?”
“Get out of here or I’ll–” 
“You’ll what? Grow at me?” She taunted.
The Tree growled, struggling in place and waving its branches at her.
The Scarecrow stuck her tongue out, blowing a raspberry at it, and pulled the boys away by their collars. 
They were only a short distance away when she stopped on a dime, whirling back around to face the small orchard. “Get bent by a stiff breeze you weeping willow!”
“What are you doing?!” Steve hissed.
“Getting you some apples, duh,” She shot back. “Come on, catch!”
Steve turned, and sure enough The Tree, along with several of its brethren, were now hurling perfectly ripe apples straight at them. He caught as many as he could, cradling them in the front of his shirt until he couldn’t hold anymore, while The Scarecrow hid behind him. 
Eddie, for his part, tried his best, but sports had never been his thing, and it showed. He wound up on hands and knees chasing after a few of the fruits that had rolled away in the soft grass. 
The other boy was only out of sight for a moment, but Steve’s heart still dropped when he called out from behind a tall shrub.  
Steve rounded the overgrowth in an instant, bracing for whatever new threat had come to find them. He was prepared for a lot of things, a pack of rabid bunnies perhaps, or a sentient rose bush, what he wasn’t prepared to see was a girl made out of tin, and not just any girl—Nancy.
“Nance?”
“I… don’t think that's her name.” The Scarecrow said, circling the other girl’s still form. “I’ve heard of these things. She’s a Tin Woodswoman!”
Steve stared. The girl was frozen like a statue with one arm held aloft wielding an ax, and though she couldn't blink or move her head, her pleading eyes were looking right at him, following him wherever he went. 
Suddenly, a sound much like a squeaky wheel came from between her unmoving lips.
“Was that… did you try to say something?” Steve asked. 
“Ooooooool ca,” The Tin Woman tried again. “oooooooooil–ca”
Steve snapped his fingers. “Oil can! She said oil can!” It didn’t take long to find the small container with its built-in dispenser stashed behind a nearby tree trunk. “Where should we oil her first?”
“You should probably get her consent before you start in on all that.” Eddie muttered.
“Eddie,” Steve glowered. “Be serious.”
“Not that I know much about these things, but maybe start with her mouth so she can talk?” The Scarecrow suggested. 
“Right.” Steve aimed the end of the spout, dispensing a small amount of the liquid to the corners of her mouth.
Within seconds the oil went to work and her lips loosened. “Oh thank goodness I can talk again. Can you oil my arms next, my elbows?” The Tin Woman said.
Steve worked quickly, lubricating all of her joints, but still her one arm was stuck up in the air. Seeing her struggle, Eddie grabbed it and yanked. The limb finally fell, axe and all, the sound of it like an old car door being forced open.
Eddie grimaced. “Oh shit! Sorry, did that hurt?” 
“No, it feels so much better, I’ve been holding that ax up for ages.” The Tin Woman assured him, taking a few tentative steps. She only creaked a little. 
“What happened to you?” Eddie asked.
“Misread the forecast. About a year ago I came out to cut a tree down when it started to rain. I rusted solid—mid-chop!”
Curious, Steve continued to examine her, wondering what enabled her to walk and talk. Not that it was any weirder than The Scarecrow, really. He knocked on her middle, the sound reverberating like a drum. 
“Wow! What an echo! How’d you pull that off?” The Scarecrow asked.
“It always sounds like that.” The Tin Woman shrugged. “I guess the tinsmith forgot to give me a heart.”
The Scarecrow gasped, “no heart?!”
“No heart,” The Tin Woman sighed, hanging her head. “It’s not that I mind not having one exactly, they are easily breakable from what I understand. It's just that, well, it makes me come off kinda cold, y'know?” 
Now, this wasn’t Nancy, Steve knew that, but damned if he hadn’t had the same thought about her once or twice after she’d so thoroughly crushed him, calling him and his love bullshit that night in the bathroom at Tina’s Halloween party—and the betrayal that had come after.
Heartless. 
He knew it wasn’t strictly true. Those were the thoughts of a boy who’d had his heart stomped on by the first girl he’d ever given it to. Nancy had the capacity to love, and fiercely. He’d seen it in the way she protected the people she cared about, willing to do anything to keep them safe—including him. She just didn’t love him in the romantic way. It had taken him a long time to accept that, to be okay with it and get over her, but as he looked into Eddie’s eyes over the top of The Tin Woman’s pointed funnel hat, he knew it’d all been for the best. 
Nancy had a heart, she just didn’t always know how to show it, and he was willing to bet this Tin Woman had one too.
“You should come with us!” The Scarecrow said.
The Tin Woman tilted her head. “Where are you going?”
“We’re going to see a wizard! Eddie—that’s the long haired one.” The scarecrow leaned in to whisper conspiratorially. “And Steve here are trying to get home. I'm in the market for some brains, and I’m sure the wizard could manage a heart for you too!”
“Do you really believe he’ll get you home?” The Tin Woman asked, turning to Steve.
“I hope so, we’ve come such a long way already.” He said.
A shrill cackling laughter filled the air, and in a plume of red smoke The Wicked Witch appeared out of nowhere, atop the roof of a nearby log cabin.  
“Long? You call that long? Why, you’ve only just begun!” She sneered down at them, turning her attention on the two newest members of their little party. “And you two lovely ladies, helping them along are you?”
“Yeah, what of it?!” The Scarecrow taunted.
“Stay away from them, or I'll stuff a mattress with you!”
“And you—” The Witch paused, pointing the tip of her broom down at the Tin Woman. “I'll use you for a beehive.” 
“You wouldn’t dare.” The Tin Woman growled.
“Oh, the crumpled up wad of aluminum foil wants to play with fire, huh? Let’s see how your highly flammable friend fares against this—” The Wicked Witch raised her hand palm up, conjuring up a fist full of flame that she hurled at their feet.
The Scarecrow shrieked and threw herself to the side, even Steve and Eddie shrank back from the heat of it, but The Tin Woman, who had nothing to fear from a little unfriendly fire, quickly put it out, using her hat to smother the blaze. By the time it was done, The Wicked Witch was gone. 
“You weren’t kidding about a witch being after you!” The Scarecrow said. 
“About that,” Steve began, rubbing the back of his neck. “I think it would be best if Eddie and I traveled the rest of the way alone. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to either of you because of us.”
The Scarecrow narrowed her eyes. “Not a chance. I'll see you safely to the Wizard, whether I get a brain or not.”
“Me too!” The Tin Woman agreed.
-
Not long after their confrontation with The Wicked Witch, they continued on their journey down the yellow brick road, where their surroundings changed yet again. The scattered trees thickened into dense woods, dark where the canopy blocked out most of the sun, and the air was filled with the sinister sounds of unfamiliar wildlife. 
“I know I said I wasn’t afraid, but I don't like this forest. It’s dark and creepy.” The Scarecrow said.
Steve shrugged, bumping his shoulder against Eddie’s. “We've seen worse. Anything is better than a sky full of demobats, right?”
“What’s a demobat?” The Scarecrow asked.
“It’s like a regular bat,” Steve began. “Except… not at all? They’re bigger than you might think, with gray leathery flesh, and wings, and these long tails they like to choke you with. Their mouths are small but don’t let that fool you, they’re full of razor sharp teeth.”
Eddie glanced at him sideways, a crooked grin playing on his mouth and a light blush spreading across his face. “I dunno, Harrington. I’d pay good money to see you take a bite out of one of those little fuckers again.”
Steve grinned back, cheeks burning under Eddie’s attention. “That so, Munson?”
The Tin Woman gaped at them. “What is wrong with you two?” 
If possible, Steve’s face grew even hotter, but as luck would have it a series of bellowing roars sounded off in the distance, and their flirtation, if it was indeed that, was quickly forgotten.
“What was that?” The Scarecrow whisper-shouted.
“Lions?” Eddie guessed.
Deep growls filled the forest next.
The Tin Woman hung onto the Scarecrow’s arm. “And tigers.”
Steve strained to listen for what else might be out there, and heard a long huff and a distinct gnashing of teeth. “And bears.”
“That doesn’t seem right, all in the same woods?” Eddie murmured skeptically. “Lions, and tigers, and bears?”
“Oh shit.” Steve shouted as something came barreling out of the trees and onto the path, coming straight for them.
They all reared back, cowering away from the oncoming threat and The Tin Woman stumbled in the process, dropping her axe to the brick road with a clang.
Steve scrambled to pick up the fallen weapon, twirling it out of habit as he took up a spot in front of his people, stepping between them and the overgrown stuffed toy who for whatever reason seemed to mean them harm. In hindsight he should have known better than to expect Eddie to stay back with the others and let him handle it, for as much as the guy liked to call himself a runner and a coward, not once had he backed down from a fight when the safety of his friends was in question.
Now being a prime example. 
Armed with nothing more than Steve’s tied-together discarded sneakers, which he was swinging around wildly like every teen boy who saw The Karate Kid in theaters and decided to try their hand at nunchucks, Eddie joined Steve at his side, facing their foe head on. 
“Put ‘em up, put ‘em up!” The Lion sneered.
Steve was pretty sure he’d had footie pajamas that looked like this guy once. 
Mid swing, the laces on Steve’s sneakers came loose from their knot, and one of the shoes went flying out of Eddie’s hands, beaming the lion right in the forehead with a loud smack. 
The beast’s paws flew to his head, cradling it as he began to cry hysterically. “What’d you do that for, I didn’t bite him!”
Eddie furrowed his brow, looking from the pathetic sobbing creature to Steve and back again. “Were you… going to bite him?”
“...No?”
Steve scoffed.
The lion moved his giant mitts from his face, tilting it up into the light. “I-Is my nose bleeding?”
“It would serve you right if it was!” The Scarecrow scolded.
Now that Steve had a better look at the guy, he realized he’d seen The Lion’s eyes somewhere before. He peered closer, squinting into the oddly humanoid looking face when it clicked.
He looked back at Eddie and mouthed, ‘Jonathan.’
Eddie snorted.
“Hey, can’t you see he’s just scared?” The Tin Woman said, pushing them both gently aside. She gazed down at The Lion with a telling softness in her eyes, and took up the end of his tail, drying his tears with it. “There now, that’s better.”
He blinked up at her in awe. “I-I’m sorry.”
She patted his hand and smiled. “Now, do you want to tell us what that was all about?”
“Oh, I'm just a stupid coward is all.”
“I don’t know about that,” Steve cut in. “I mean, you did come after the four of us all by yourself.”
“Naw, that’s not being brave. I saw you coming and I got scared, like I always do, and decided to lash out first before you could do the same to me. If I was really brave I'd have just come out and said hello.”
“Well, no harm done I guess, but we should really get going.” Steve said.
“But we can’t just leave him here all alone.” The Tin Woman insisted. “What if we brought him along? Maybe The Wizard can help him too. Even if not, the world is much less terrifying when you’re not alone.”
Steve couldn’t help but look Eddie’s way at that, feeling the truth of her words in his soul. They’d been through so much together since their fraught beginnings at the boathouse—made countless trips into the Upside Down before it’d been destroyed, faced Vecna and his hoard of monsters, twice, and it’d all been that much easier to bear because they’d been together.
Eddie nodded as if he’d heard all of Steve’s innermost thoughts though he hadn’t said a thing out loud, and he knew they were on the same page.
“The more the merrier, I guess.”
-
Before long they reached the edge of the forest, which opened up into a sprawling meadow full of bright flowers in shades of red, pink, purple, and orange, growing right over the yellow brick road. That sight alone was enough to take Steve’s breath away, but it wasn't the only thing that caught his attention. Just on the other side of the vast ocean of blossoms was a cluster of tall brilliantly green buildings, a city, shining just like the emerald gemstones it was named for. 
“There’s The Emerald City!” Steve shouted, pointing towards the horizon excitedly. “Oh, look! Eddie, we’re almost there!”
But Eddie didn’t respond, he was squatting down at the edge of the growth, eyeing the colorful blooms with suspicion. 
“What is it?” Steve asked.
Eddie turned concerned eyes up at him. “Something doesn’t feel right about this, like maybe it’s some sort of trap?”
“How can flowers be a trap?”
“Well, for one thing they’re not just any flowers, they’re poppies.”
Steve crinkled his brow. “Okay…”
“Poppies? Y’know, the thing they use to make opium?”
“Oh!”
“What’s opium?” The Scarecrow asked.
“I don't think they have drugs here.” Steve said.
Eddie tilted his head thoughtfully, and shrugged. “That’s fair, no need to trip balls when you already have talking trees.”
“So what do you want to do?” Steve asked. 
“I don’t like it, but it doesn’t look like we have much choice. The only way to the Emerald City is through it, so.” Eddie shook his head, pushing himself back to his feet, and reached for Steve's hand. “I guess we’ll go as quickly as we can, and hope for the best.”
The unlikely quintet formed a chain of linked hands and ran together as a unit through the vibrant meadow. At first Steve thought Eddie had been wrong, that it was just an innocent field of wildflowers, but by the time they’d reached the top of the first small hill he was gasping for air, and his legs felt like they were pushing through molasses, unusual for someone who exercised regularly, jogging at least four times a week.
“Wait, wait.” Steve panted, leaning heavily into Eddie as he tried to regain his breath.
“Steve?” Eddie looked him up and down, worrying his bottom lip.  
“I can’t run anymore, I–I’m,” Steve cut himself off with a yawn. “I’m so sleepy.” He wobbled in place, knees going weak. The other boy caught him around the middle, lowering him gently to the ground.
“What’s wrong with him?” The Scarecrow asked.
“I don’t know.” Eddie said, studying his face as he hovered over him, eyes wild with panic.
“I have to rest for just a minute.” Steve babbled, knowing it sounded ridiculous. They were so close to their destination, he could practically see the individual windows on the buildings of the Emerald City, and suddenly he wanted to take a nap? Something wasn’t right, but he couldn't seem to fight it. 
The Lion yawned loudly. “Now that you mention it, catching a few winks doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” He swayed on his feet, kept upright only by The Tin Woman’s grip on him.
The next thing Steve knew, Eddie was gently prying his eyelids open, though he didn’t remember closing them. “Fuck, I knew something was off about these flowers. It’s that damn Wicked Witch, it has to be!”
Not that Steve was paying much attention to what he said, because god was Eddie pretty like this—his big brown eyes even larger and more beautiful up close, so dreamy, with his dark curls hanging down around him like a curtain. 
Eddie's lips parted in surprise as his hands still cradled Steve’s face. “What did you just say?”
Oh shit, in his tired stupor had he actually said some of that out loud?
“Eddie, I–” Steve managed to force out, but Eddie swayed above him, eyes rolling back in his head for a moment before he tipped sideways, falling gracelessly to the ground beside him. 
It was becoming harder and harder to keep his eyes open, and Steve knew it was only a matter of time before he succumbed to the magical sleep that was pulling him under. He turned his head and found Eddie looking at him too, doing the same long blinks, both of them fighting a losing battle. 
With his last bit of strength Steve reached out, and Eddie reached too, clasping their hands between their bodies, fingers entwining with practiced ease like they were made to fit together.
As Steve’s eyes slipped shut there was another thunk nearby, the distinct sound of a body hitting the ground, something he had unfortunately heard enough times to know, and could only assume The Lion must have been felled by the same thing that’d gotten them. 
The last thing he heard as his consciousness faded away, were the terrified shouts of The Scarecrow and The Tin Woman calling out for help.
Chapter 3
Thanks again to @pearynice and @hitlikehammers for all your help with this!
34 notes · View notes
pedroshotwifey · 2 days
Note
For the NSFW prompts, can you do #25 with Dave and Dieter and GN reader?
Hey, babe! Here it is in all of its filthy glory! I'm not sure what came over me, but I do know what (who) came over them :)
Pairing: Sub!Dieter Bravo x Sub!GN!reader x Dom!Dave York
W/C: 2.4k
Tags/warnings: polyamory, established relationship, dom & sub roles, finger fucking, ass eating, orgasm denial, edging, playful banter/undertones, fluff, smut, healthy relationship, aftercare, blowjobs, deepthroating, facial, cum eating, ball play, mutual masturbation, hair pulling, pet names, degradation (not rly but kinda), one singular spank, one singular barely there face slap, no description of reader other than they have hair (doesn't specify how long), Dee and reader being little shits
Summary: You and Dieter think it's fun to tease Dave, and Dave thinks he should teach you both a lesson for it.
Tease
Dave probably only got home about half an hour ago, but you’re already starting to feel the effect he has on you. You’ve been a bit pent up all day, and you can’t help it anymore. He, you, and Dieter have been cuddling in bed for most of the time he’s been here, you on his left and Dee on his right as you savor his presence in the dark. You’ve had a feeling that Dee’s been just as pent up as you all day, but now you hear him snoring—which is pretty on brand for him. 
The two of you are allowed to mess around while Dave's at work, the only rule being that neither of you are allowed to come without his permission. So, technically, it’s your own fault for starting shit with Dee this morning. But still. You need him for backup right now. How do you just fall asleep after being edged for a solid hour and a half?  
You’re lying so that your back is to Dave’s front, and obviously you can’t resist grinding your ass back into him. You’ve been making subtle adjustments for the last ten minutes or so, feeling him grow harder and harder. 
You hide your smile in the pillow as you push your ass against him again, attempting to play innocent for however long you can. Of course, it doesn’t work. You hear an intake of breath before Dave slides a hand over your hip and growls into your ear. 
“You don’t realize what it does to me when we’re cuddling and you press your ass against me.” 
You put on your best guiltless face and crane your neck to look at him. “What do you mean?” you ask sweetly. He just gives you a pointed look—a warning. 
I mean, you do have to admire his composure thus far. Had it been Dieter, he would probably already be all over you already. As if on cue, you see a bed-messed head rise up behind Dave’s broad shoulders. He looks like he just woke up, which is probably accurate. 
“They can grind it against me if they want,” he offers like he’s doing the two of you a great service, face serious. He’s propped up on his side, and you can tell the exact moment he grinds against Dave’s ass because Dave whips around and shoots him that same glare he gave you a few seconds ago. Dieter just smiles and you have to hold in your laugh, which makes him have to hold in his laugh, which causes the both of you to lose it. 
You both fall back down on either side of Dave, your laughter growing as he looks between the two of you, trying to figure out what the hell is happening. He ends up grumbling something neither of you catch through your fits of giggles. 
“I guess both of you need to be taught a lesson, acting like children,” he says. 
That catches your attention, and the laughter stops almost immediately. You and Dieter catch each other’s eyes yet again, but this time they’re filled with mischief, excitement, and anticipation. 
“Oh no, please don’t do that,” you drawl, very obviously sarcastic. Dave brings his attention back to where you’re now laying on your back looking up at him, and his face could probably be summed up into the ‘listen here, you little shit’ meme. You hear Dee snickering behind him. 
You flash him a wink and he can’t take it anymore. He sits all the way up and starts to get out of bed, going to turn the light on. 
“Both of you,” he tosses over his shoulder. “Get up and strip.” 
He doesn’t have to say it twice. You and Dieter quickly scramble out and start pulling your clothes off as Dave walks back to the bed, only unbuckling his belt. Before he takes a seat on the edge and waits for both of you to finish. As Dieter pulls his pants down, you can’t help but glance at his cock, still hard as it was earlier. 
“Come here, Dieter,” Dave points to the bed beside him, and Dee is quick to follow his instruction. You see him gulp as he climbs onto the bed, sure to be on his best behavior. He knows he’s in trouble when Dave uses his full name. “Hands and knees,” he tells him. Dee gets into position. 
You watch with pleading eyes, waiting to join in on the fun. 
“Get behind him,” he says to you. “I think he wants your sweet tongue in his ass. Don’t you, Dee?” 
You climb onto the bed behind him, taking position as Dee nods frantically. 
“Ask nicely,” Dave demands, settling up behind you and placing a hand on your back. 
“Please eat my ass, I need it,” Dieter begs you, pushing it out more in invitation. 
“Good boy. Go ahead, baby,” he tells you. “Give him what he wants.” 
You quickly surge forward, licking a stripe up his taint and feeling him shiver against you as he lets out a long groan. 
You try your best to ignore the way Dave’s hand starts to creep further down your body, cupping your ass. It goes away for a second, and when his fingers return, they’re covered in what you can assume is his saliva. He trails them down to your hole, not pushing them in but just teasing. You whine against Dieter as you circle his hole, your hips pushing back to try to get Dave inside of you. 
Clearly, that wasn’t a good choice because there’s very quickly a spank against your ass, making you jolt. “Be good,” He reminds you. You nod and finally slip your tongue inside of Dieter, making him moan and his hips thrust forward, his cock swinging in the air. You keep going, working him further by thrusting the muscle in and out as Dave’s fingers come back to your own hole, this time allowing one to slip in about halfway. You keen but do your best to not push back, just keep focusing on Dee, doing what he likes. 
Dieter moans again as you touch that spot he loves so much, and you can tell he’s fighting the urge to touch his aching cock. 
Dave pushes his finger all the way in and you start to tremble with need. You pull your tongue back and start to circle Dieter’s rim again, and this time his hand comes back and threads through your hair, not pulling or pushing, but most likely there to stabilize himself. 
“Mhhp, ‘s so good,” he whines. 
Dave chuckles and you can see him shaking his head out of the corner of your eye. “Desperate things.” 
He’s pumping his finger in and out of you now, and he adds a second as your tongue pushes back into Dieter’s ass. You can feel heat start to lick at the base of your spine and curl up in your belly, and you’re sure that Dee’s probably feeling the same right now. You catch a glimpse of Dave’s other arm moving, and you know he’s palming himself over his slacks. 
Dave’s fingers speed up, and you can feel yourself getting close. Judging by the way Dieter’s whines grow more high pitched and his body starts to shake, he must be getting close, too. 
“D-Dave,” Dieter whimpers. “Please can I come? Pleasepleasepleaseplease.” 
His hips are rocking now, and you place a hand on his thigh to steady him as you increase your efforts. You’re almost there, too. You just need a little more of Dave slamming his fingers deep inside of you, crooking them just right.
You’re about to signal to ask, to fall apart with Dieter, when Dave’s fingers quickly pull out, and then you’re being dragged away from Dee’s ass. 
“No!” you cry as Dave pulls you to him, your building orgasm beginning to fade. Dieter collapses, a groan of defeat leaving his lips. 
Dave laughs, holding you and making you watch as Dee lays in a panting heap on the bed. You look up at him, a million different emotions in your eyes. When you look back to Dieter, you find an expression that probably matches yours watching your Dom as well. 
Dave looks back and forth between you, a smirk playing at his lips. “What? Not funny when I do it?” 
Your jaw just about drops. So that’s what this is. You almost forgot about that. You look at Dieter, who dramatically plants his face into the mattress. 
“Get back up, Dieter, both of you on your knees, now.”
You both slide from the bed, much less enthusiastically than you had gotten on. Dave, the only one still smiling, gets off behind the two of you and walks past where you’ve gotten into position side by side on your knees. 
You both watch him, trying not to drool as he slowly strips out of his clothes and then walks back to you, his hard cock hanging tauntingly in front of you. You can’t take your eyes off of it, the bead of precum at the tip as he firmly grasps it. 
“Well?” 
You and Dee are pulled from your trance, both of you looking up at Dave’s face. “Open your mouths,” he tells you, leaving no room for negotiation—not that either of you would want such a thing. You both obey, opening your jaws and showing your tongues. 
“There we go,” Dave encourages condescendingly. He taps the tip of his cock on your tongues one at a time, giving each you the smallest taste. 
“Okay, here’s how this is going to go. You’re going to touch yourselves while you suck my cock, and if you can come before I do, then go ahead, you don’t have to ask permission.” 
You both perk up at this, tongues still out and waiting. 
“If you can’t though,” Dave continues, something dangerous flickering in his eyes. “Then you’ll just have to wait until I decide you can.” 
You and Dee stay facing him, but your eyes flicker toward each other. You both know that he doesn’t just mean wait hour or a day. He might make you wait a week—more if he feels like it. If you want relief any time soon, it needs to happen now. 
“Well? What are you sluts waiting for?” 
You both surge forward, mouths finding his shaft and sucking once he moves his hand out of the way. He tastes so fucking good—salty and musky. You both moan at the same time, sending vibrations up Dave’s cock and making him groan. 
“Fucking good job,” Dave mutters. Dieter whimpers at the praise, and you feel yourself throb, which is the second you remember you’re allowed to touch yourself. 
You thrust your hand down between your legs, immediately starting to work yourself. Your eyes roll to the back of your head at finally being able to do something about the ache that’s been there all day. There’s a sudden sting on your cheek, and you’re forced to look back up at Dave from where he landed the soft smack. He’s watching you with a piercing gaze, and it sends another spark through you, getting you close to the edge again. 
Keeping up the pace between your thighs as much as you can, you keep your eyes on Dave and lick up his thick shaft, tasting more precum as well as Dee’s drool. Dee moves over enough for you to move your mouth to Dave’s tip, and you take it in, sucking and using your tongue to flick the head of it. With the combination of your impending orgasm and Dave’s husky taste on your tongue, your entire body feels fuzzy and light.
“Oh, shit,” Dave grunts and places his hand on your head, gently pushing you further onto him. Dee moves lower and starts to nip and suck as Dave’s heavy balls. You can hear the furious slapping sound of Dieter getting himself off, see the way his cheeks start to gain more color as he gets closer to the edge. 
Dave starts to thrust into you, your lips stretching around his girth. When he hits the back of your throat, you gag, your eyes filling with tears. It’s almost hard to focus on the intrusion, however, when you have the pleasant, heated sensation swirling in your lower abdomen. You’re almost cross-eyed by the time Dieter comes back up and starts to lick at Dave’s length when you’re pulled off. 
Dave’s panting heavily now, a sure sign that he’s getting close. A surge of panic floods through you, and you move your hand even quicker, whining in relief once you know you’re going to be able to come. You’re so close. You switch with Dee, who now has his moans being choked by Dave’s cock, and start to lick at Dave’s balls. 
The symphony of noises coming from the three of you is loud. The slap of skin on skin where Dee fists his cock, the breathy moans and curses spilling off of Dave’s tongue, the gargles coming from Dee’s throat, the keens from you. 
You all finish at the same time, groans and growls filling the bedroom as you and Dee are tugged back, coming on your hands as your mouths fall open and your eyes close in pure bliss. The pleasure races through you, forcing you back on your haunches even as you keep up your movements to ride out your high. Dave’s salty cum paints your face, and you don’t have to look to know Dee is receiving the same treatment. 
You wait until you’re sure all of you are done before you open your eyes. You all breathe heavily, you and Dee sinking down to your asses and leaning against the side of the bed as Dave crouches down in front of you. He watches both of you, savoring the sight of you both so fucked out and wearing his seed. 
One at a time, he leans forward and kisses your heads. “I’m going to go get some towels and water,” he says, his voice gentle now. Dee nods and scootches close to you, snuggling up even though you’re still on the floor and your bodies are sticky with sweat. You smile, again reminded of how lucky you are to be so close to these two. Dave just shakes his head at the two of you.
“Stay out of trouble while I’m gone,” he jokes. 
Yeah, right. Dieter will probably be falling asleep again in the thirty seconds it’ll take him to get back.
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So in my next episode of I just can't stop talking about Dune part 2, lets talk about the ending scene, specifically about the positioning of the characters during the duel and kiss the ring scene, because I think there's some really interesting symbolism there.
At the start of the scene we see everyone enter the room and take their places and what is interesting is the characters are in groups with each representing part of Paul's journey. The best image I could find of where everyone is positioned is this wide shot where everyone is bowing to Paul towards the end of the scene:
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It's not the best image but you can just about make out that on the left, where the blue arrow is pointing, you have Chani and the Fedaykin, then in the middle along the back wall, where the orange arrow is, you have Jessica, Gurney, Stilgar and the fundamentalists and then finally on the right with the black arrow is the emperor, irulan and the bene gesserit. Three separate but important groups.
Just before the emperor enters, Paul approaches Chani and we get that exchange, 'this isn't over yet' and 'I'll love you as long as I breathe." To me its really interesting that this final showdown starts with Paul directly in front of Chani, looking at her, with his focus on her. Another interesting detail is that when the emperor enters Paul does not immediately turn to face him, in fact he stays looking at Chani, lingering on her, even when he first begins to speak his focus still remains on her. It is only when he says that the great houses may be curious to hear his side of the story that he begins to move. Again it's interesting that its when he is talking about 'his story' that he moves across the room and that story or journey is visually set out for us. He starts with Chani, expressing his love for her, the fedaykin are also there, the people who took him in and accepted him as one of their own, they very much represent the path that he had chosen for himself. The path that he then steps away from.
Paul begins to approach the emperor and as he does we see him walk past Jessica, the mother that he followed south, whose footsteps he followed in when he drank the water of life leading to him becoming the kwisatz haderach, Stilgar the man who was constant in his belief that Paul was the Mahdi and who became teacher to him, helping him learn the ways of the fremen, Gurney who is a connection back to his identity as the son of Leto and the house Atreides, and the fundamentalists who became the army that he was able to control in order to overthrow the emperor and who will also fight the holy war.
Finally he arrives in front of the emperor and his daughter, the final obstacle in his way, his way of getting vengeance for his father's murder and, through his marriage to Irulan, the title of emperor of the known universe. Of course the emperor isn't going to give up his throne easily which is when we have the duel between Paul and Feyd and once again their positioning throughout the duel is interesting.
At the start of the duel Feyd is positioned here:
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You can see he is standing in front of the emperor and irulan, who are outlined in the grey box. Also if you turn the exposure up:
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You can make out the bene gesserit there as well in the black circle. This is a visual representation of what it is Feyd is fighting for, he is fighting on behalf of the emperor but his end goal is that he wants the emperor's throne for himself. The way he gets there is the same way paul would, marrying the princess. The bene gesserit being there also shows how they are on Feyd's side, they know how to control him and so would rather have him as emperor and as a prospect for the kwisatz haderach than paul. So in the shot above we have Feyd, and then a visual representation of what he is fighting for but also everyone that is depending on Feyd winning this duel.
The same can be said of this shot here of Paul where you can clearly see Chani (in the blue circle) and the fedaykin behind him:
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Like Feyd, Paul's ultimate goal is to be emperor, however whilst Feyd wants the throne for his own selfish reasons, I think for Paul his motivations are that he wants to protect Chani and the Fremen. Paul has seen multiple futures thanks to drinking the wol and he wants to guide them down the one where all his friends and loved ones live. But once again we are being shown a shot that represents what Paul is fighting for and the people whose fates are depending on him winning this duel.
So at the very start of the duel, the two sides are clearly set out and we know what the stakes for each side are. I also like how they are both almost standing guard over the side they are fighting for, like a shield protecting those behind him.
As for Jessica, Stilgar, Gurney and the fundamentalists I do think its intriguing that they are kind of separate in this scene, they way they are position makes it seem like they are almost an audience in a theatre watching to see how it plays out. I did wonder what significance this might have as they do still have stakes in this fight. But I think, and I could be wrong this is just speculation, I think it might be because even though they have stakes in the who wins the fight their fates are already sealed. I think at this point irregardless of who wins they will still unleash a holy war on the universe, the only difference would be whether Paul is actually leading them or whether they are doing it in his name as an act of vengeance for his death. Whereas the emperor, irulan and the bene gesserit's fates still depend on whether paul or feyd wins, if paul wins they lose their power, if feyd does they can control him and stay in power. Chani too I think her fate is dependant on who wins once Feyd takes notice of her, if paul wins she has choices, stay or leave (and she choses to leave) but if feyd had won you can bet she would have been taken by Feyd as some kind of prisoner of war or pet for him to play with. But like I siad that is speculation on my part.
Throughout the duel itself there are also some interesting positions and symbolism going on. For example at first when they are fighting and are evenly match they maintain their positions of Paul being in front of Chani and the Fedaykin and Feyd in front of the emperor etc. However if you watch closely whenever it appears like Feyd is getting the upper hand on Paul and like Paul may lose its whenever Paul is on the side of the emperor. When Feyd knocks him down, Paul is in front of the emperor and lands pretty much at the emperor's feet.
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I interpreted this as showing Paul's downfall, showing how he lost his way, it was his pursuit of revenge against the Harkonnens and the Emperor, his desire to claim the throne, that pulled him onto the darker path he is taking. It's again that visually representation of what Paul is going through emotionally/internally. We are seeing him being pulled and pushed away from Chani and the Fremen and that life that had made him happy and being, quite literally, thrown onto this path of becoming emperor and starting the holy war.
It can also represent the emperor's and Feyd's on desires to see the House of Atreides quite literally brought down, laid at the emperor's feet and defeated. It's like we are getting a glimpse of what one potential outcome/future could have looked like, Paul defeated.
Another way you could look at this is that when Paul is kicked to the floor, Feyd is now in between Paul and what he is fighting for, his motivation for fighting. I mentioned earlier that to me their positions at the start of the fight were like they were guards, well now Feyd has broken through that shield and is a direct threat to those Paul loves.
Paul falling down at this position also means that he is now directly facing Chani and the path he's left behind. It is as Feyd approaches Chani, a looming threat getting closer and closer to her, that Paul finds the strength to get back up and continue the fight. Seeing the threat to Chani makes Paul move away from the emperor and towards her and Feyd. I think this shows the shift in Paul's motivations and what is keeping him fighting, what is giving him strength, at first he was fighting to get revenge and the throne or at least I think that was his priority, there were other reasons too but in the moment it was his wish for justice that was driving him, but here it shifts to wanting to protect Chani from a more immediate danger, I said in another post that at this moment dying is no longer an option as it will leave Chani vulnerable to Feyd if he does which is something Paul will not let happen.
Another interesting moment is that when Feyd stabs Paul he first drives him backwards, back towards the emperor, so similar to when he is kicked down the first time, we have this imagery of Paul losing and him standing with his back to the emperor and the bene gesserit, the people who have been the cause of his suffering, and who represent this path of becoming the kwisatz haderach, the madhi and the holy war etc. When they are closet to the emperor, Feyd pushes the knife in deeper.
But then Feyd flings Paul away from him and Paul stumbles back so that he is once again standing with Chani and the Fedaykin at his back. As Feyd menacingly approaches him to finish him off, instead of focusing on the incoming threat Paul looks to Chani, to get a reminder of why he is fighting, why he is doing this and to draw strength from her. When he finally defeats Feyd it is again when he is standing closer to Chani.
I just think its really interesting that during this duel whenever Paul is at his lowest we are shown him on the side of the room with the emperor, bene gesserit, the people who are seeking to destroy him, and then when he is at his strongest and at his moment of victory in the duel he is standing on the side of Chani and the Fedaykin, the ones who give him strength and who he loves.
Once he's pulled the knife out we see him once again look to Chani, all of these looks to me make it very clear that she is his motivation behind his actions, he's doing it for her, he's doing it all because of that vision he had of her death, to keep her alive, which is really heartbreaking because its his actions to keep her safe and alive that are breaking her heart and that ultimately cause her to leave him. But I digress.
After this look to Chani we then see him repeat the same journey we saw him take at the start of the scene. He starts close to Chani and the Fedaykin, crosses the room passing Jessica, Stilgar, Gurney and the Fundamentalists and arrives before the emperor. Only this time he completes the next step, making the emperor bow and kiss his ducal ring.
When everyone else in the room bows, three stay standing, Princess Irulan, the woman who is his key to the throne, Chani, the woman he loves, who taught him the ways of the fremen and the desert and Jessica, his mother who fuelled his legend amongst the fundamentalists and trained him in the ways of the bene gesserit allowing him to become the kwisatz haderach. Not only is it symbolic that its these three women alone that remain standing but their positioning is again really interesting.
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They are each a point of a triangle. Triangles have alot of symbolism and often represent three sides of a whole or a cycle. There's religious connotations to it too with the triangle often being used to represent the holy trinity in Christianity. Some meanings that I think could be relevant here though is the cycle of birth, life and death. Jessica representing birth, she is his mother but also she orchestrated the 'birth' of the kwisatz haderach in the south. Chani I think would represent life, she was the life he chose for himself. Then Irulan would represent death, she's the key to the throne and the Paul we knew had to die in order to become the man he is now. She represents the death of his old life.
Another meaning is beginning, middle and end, its similar to the life cycle triangle but this one is a reminder that everything has a process, there's the start, the journey and the end. I think this ties in well with what I was saying about how Paul merely crossing the room showed his journey throughout the film. So too does the positioning of each of these women in his life. Chani was the start of his journey, where he learnt from her, where he fell in love, then he drinks the water and becomes the mahdi, represented by Jessica and it ends with Irulan and him becoming the emperor.
Triangles can also represent protection, power and strength which I think each of these women provide Paul in their own unique ways. They can also mean creation which you can argue that each of these women contributed to who he is and has become, in a way they are the ones who have created him.
What is ironic is at this moment as the emperor is bowing, Jessica communicates with Mother Mohiam and tells her she chose the wrong side to which Mohiam replies there are no sides. I just found this kind of funny considering the room is set up into three very clear sides.
But anyway, moving on, after the emperor and everyone bow we then see Paul, yet again look back to Chani, even after everything he still can't completely let go of that link back to who he was, the life where he was happy and loved as a man and not a prophet. But then Chani walks away severing that last link. Paul keeps his eyes on her until she is completely out of sight, then he half turns, looking down and closing his eyes so that he is front on with the fundamentalists and Jessica. It is at this moment that Gurney tells him that the great houses are refusing to honour his ascension. Paul then turns his back to Stilgar and facing Irulan and the emperor, he looks to the floor and takes that final step when he says lead them to paradise, unleashing the holy war from his nightmares onto the universe. His only hope now being that the fundamentalists believe in him enough that he is able to control this war in his own favour. I think its significant that Paul turns his back to Stilgar, the friend who became a fanatical follower, and looks down to the floor at this moment of declaring the holy war. It's indicative of his shame, of his pain and shows how much its hurting him to make this choice, so much so that he can't look at the fremen as he gives the go ahead.
Honestly I could be looking into this way too much but on a rewatch of the scene I just found it all very interesting the way it was all laid out and how Paul navigating the room seemed to reflect his own personal journey from Paul Atreides to Usul Maud'dib the fedaykin to the Lisan al gaib to the emperor of the known universe and how that is reflected in the people around him.
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sortasirius · 3 days
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First Place
Fandom: 911
Pairing: Evan Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Words: 2209
Rating: T
Summary: Buck wakes from the same repeating nightmare to a knock on his door.
Title comes from this song.
Also on AO3 here
Stay with me.  He was pushing on the wound in Eddie’s chest, soaking the gauze he had packed on there, soaking his hands, a hole blown in a levy, a tidal wave that Buck couldn’t stem.
A loud rhythmic sound, maybe one of the machines on the rig acting up.  Buck didn’t have time to worry about that, he just had to worry about keeping Eddie awake.  Keeping him alive.
He was not allowed to leave, he wasn’t allowed to go to a place where Buck couldn’t immediately follow.
Stay with me.
He repeated the words like a mantra, like a prayer, saying them over and over as Eddie’s eyes rolled in and out of focus, his hand scrabbling blindly on the metal floor beside him, then coming up to rest on Buck’s forearm, then back down again.
Stay with me, you have to stay with me.
More of that rhythmic noise, louder this time.  He thought he heard his own name.
“Open up!”
He looked around, only now noticing that the rig was empty.  He looked up at the driver’s seat.
Empty.
Buck, Eddie whispered, his hand coming up to touch his face now, Buck-
Stay with me. 
Stay with me.
You have to stay with me.
“Buck!”
He sat straight up from the couch, gasping for air, his heart doing its best to beat out of his chest as whoever was at his door knocked loudly again.
He scrubbed a hand down his face as he moved slowly towards the door, trying to shake the fear that clung to him like a second skin.
Just another nightmare, just like all the others he had had since Eddie had had a hole blown right through him.
He had thought, maybe stupidly, that with Eddie home now, things would go back to normal.  He was safe, at home with Chris and probably Ana.  He was home.  He was with Chris.  It was fine.
He would tell himself this over and over, even as he would watch the clock tick nearer and nearer to dawn, and would finally gave up on sleeping all together and just sit in front of the tv, not taking in the flickering images in front of his eyes.
He thought it might be easier if he could stay with Eddie, but he couldn’t ask him that.  He had his own life, his own son, his own girlfriend.  He didn’t need Buck hanging on like a lost puppy, clinging to him like a life raft in a storm.
That never worked out for Buck, but he had never been able to let go.
He pulled open the door, only to see Eddie himself, dressed in that cream colored henley that Buck had always thought looked great on him and…pajama pants?
“Hey,” Buck blinked, looking around, “I didn’t expect-“
“Can I come in?” Eddie was shifting side to side, like he was nervous, and it was rare that Buck ever saw Eddie nervous.
“Sure,” he said, inwardly thankful that Taylor had already left.  She didn’t like to stay the night, she said Buck was too cuddly and it made her too hot, “I figured you’d be with Chris.”
“He’s in bed,” he looked over his shoulder, into Buck’s apartment, “Can I come in?”
“Oh, sure. Of course,” he stood by to let him pass, analyzing his movements as he walked by him.
He was moving well.  Buck had been up half the night googling signs and symptoms of infection or blood poisoning or a myriad of other things WebMD told him could come along with an extended hospital stay or a heavy caliber gunshot wound.
He’d lost so much blood, seeping out onto the asphalt, his insides out-
He gave his head a little shake, closing the door and following Eddie to the couch, sinking down onto it next to him, and looking at him curiously.
The silence stretched on, Buck watching Eddie, Eddie watching his hands. They were twisting together, like he was working up to something.
“I dumped Ana,” he finally said, so bluntly that Buck was taken aback.
“Oh did-  Did something happen?”
Something like a small smile curled Eddie’s mouth, but he still wouldn’t look at Buck.
“Yeah.  Carla.”
Whoa. This was a new development.
“You-  You’re dating Carla?”
“What?  No,” he laughed, “No it-  it was something she said to me.”
Another silence.  Buck couldn’t understand where this was going, or why Eddie had come to the loft just to tell him this in the middle of the night when they would see each other on shift the next morning.
“What’d she say?”
“That-  That I had to make sure I was following my own heart, not just Christopher’s.  And I was thinking about it and I realized she was right, I was just with Ana because she was nice and because Chris liked her.”
“Oof. Rough.  Hope you didn’t say that to her.”
“But I realized,” Eddie continued, plowing over Buck’s words, “That there was someone we had in common. Someone Chris loves that I-  I think I do too.”
There was a sick kind of sinking in his gut, something that he didn’t really understand, but something that was common anytime Eddie mentioned a date or someone he was seeing.
“Oh yeah?” he tried to keep up a bright smile, “Who’s that?”
Eddie didn’t answer him, but just…looked at him instead.
“What?”
“You know,” he seemed to be choosing his words more carefully now, “When I got shot, you were the first thing I saw.”
Buck shifted; he didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want to remember that horrible moment, something that he was sure was going to keep him awake for years, screaming nightmares punctuating his sleep.
Eddie on the ground, his warm blood splattered across Buck’s face…
“It didn’t even hurt, really,” Eddie was saying, “The shock of it, you know.  I don’t even remember falling, but I remember I couldn’t see you.”
Buck rubbed at his chest, where was he going with this?  It’s not like he didn’t remember, it was just a couple of weeks ago and felt like he was still living in the nightmare.  He saw him bleeding out, Buck powerless to do anything but watch every time he closed his eyes.
“And then I looked under the rig and I saw you, and I could hear yelling and shots from the sniper and screaming and a fire nearby, but I-”
He broke off, shaking his head, but the idea of him not finishing what he was going to say was suddenly too heartbreaking to bear.
“What?  You can tell me.”
He took a deep, steadying breath.
“I was reaching for you. I was reaching for you because-  Because I didn’t want to die without touching you, even just for a second.  Just one last second.”
Buck felt like all the air had been punched out of his chest.
“You-”
“And then the way you talked after.  How it should have been you, how it would have been better if it was you,” Eddie shook his head, looking almost angry, “I can’t-  Chris needs you. I-  I need you.  I need you, Buck.”
“You-  You need me?” he said slowly, trying to force his brain to work faster.
“Yeah,” he whispered, shifting closer to him on the couch, so their knees were touching, “I need you more than Chris does, and he’s already complaining that he hasn’t seen you in two days.”
“I just wanted to give you your space,” he mumbled, head low.
“You don’t have to give us-  Give me any space.  I want you around, always.”
“For now,” Buck let the words slip without even thinking, his internal monologue slipping out uninvited.  Instantly, he wished he could take them back, because Eddie’s eyebrows furrowed down in concern and he reached for him, gripping his knee in his hand, warmth leeching through the fabric of Buck’s sweatpants.
“What do you mean, ‘for now’?”
“Nothing,” he said it too quickly, but wouldn’t pull away from Eddie, nothing in the universe could make him pull away from Eddie ever again, “It’s stupid.”
“No,” he was using that same tone he had used in the hospital, when he had told him that he wasn’t replaceable.  Forceful.  Assured.  Like nothing had ever been more true.  “Tell me what you meant.”
“It’s just-” he had never said this to anyone, never let it see the light of day. Because if he said it, he would lose them that much faster, “Everyone leaves eventually, when they see me.”
“See you?” he couldn’t escape the look on Eddie’s face, “What do you mean, see you?”
“Just when-  When I’m too much. Because I’m always too much. It’s what everyone says.”
“Who says that?  I wouldn’t say that.”
“I just-  The way I act. I’m too much. I’m…I’m exhausting.”
Eddie’s whole face changed.
“Oh Buck-”
“No it’s fine.  It’s fine.  I shouldn’t have said anything-”
“I was just mad at you-” Eddie sounded frantic, “I didn’t mean.”
“It’s not you, it’s everyone. My parents, my sister, the rest of the crew, any girl…ever.  Even Taylor tells me she can’t stay because I cuddle too much, even when I’m asleep I cling too hard.  I know I’m too much and I just-  I can’t get my hopes up that anything would be different here.”
He swallowed, blinking back tears that stung his eyes.
“Hey,” Eddie’s voice was so gentle, “Will you look at me?”
He didn’t want to.  He didn’t want Eddie to see him going to pieces over something as silly as this.  It was just the truth, something that he had known from the time he was a child, even years before he knew that he was only born for spare parts; he loved too hard, and he crushed the people that he loved in the process of loving them.
So it was easier for everyone to leave him, or else risk being suffocated.
A gentle hand came up to lift his chin, and he was looking at Eddie, his gaze something dangerously close to tender.
“You aren’t too much,” Buck snorted wetly, making to shrug him off, but Eddie held fast, “No, listen to me.  Really listen to me.  You aren’t too much, and fuck everyone for ever making you feel like you were.  Fuck me, for all that.  I was just angry at you-  I didn’t realize what I was saying would leave-  Leave such a mark.  But it’s not true, Buck.  You’ve never been too much, not for Chris.  Not for me.”
“I don’t know,” he wanted to try for humor, otherwise he’d be bursting into tears right here in front of Eddie, “You get pretty annoyed at me.”
“Yeah, that’s because you’re pretty annoying,” a ghost of a smile flitted across his face, “But that doesn’t mean you’ve ever been too much.”
Buck closed his eyes, hot tears leaking from them against his will.  He felt the pad of Eddie’s thumb wiping them away, and he leaned into the contact.
“Don’t-  Please don’t just be saying this.  Don’t say it if-  If you don’t mean it.”
“I do mean it,” Eddie’s voice was so earnest that Buck opened his eyes, “I mean every word.”
They stayed like that, just looking at each other, and Buck felt almost like it was a standoff, seeing who would break first.
“I don’t-  I don’t know how to feel,” he finally said, pulling back from Eddie just slightly, so that he dropped his hands, “I still-  I think I need to sleep, I can’t put anything together.”
“Are you sleeping down here?” Eddie looked critically at the blanket and throw pillow Buck had been using as a makeshift bed, “What’s wrong with the loft?”
“I can’t sleep up there,” he looked away from him, “Not that I can sleep much better down here either.”
“Just can’t sleep?” Eddie arched an eyebrow at him, “Or is it-”
“It’s you,” Buck said, nearly bitterly, “I keep dreaming about it.  The shooting.  Everything.  I keep having to stop myself from calling you at three in the morning just to make sure you’re okay.”
There was a pause, one where Buck could practically see the wheels in Eddie’s brain turning, before he said,
“Then come home with me.”
“What?” Buck said loudly, sure he had misheard him.
“Come home with me,” he repeated, steadily, “You won’t have to check on me if we’re in the same bed.”
That strange feeling in his chest had vanished, replaced by something warm and blooming.
“You mean that?”
“Oh yeah, I definitely mean it,” he got to his feet, groaning slightly, and extended his hand to Buck, “What do you say?  It’ll give Chris the thrill of his life when he wakes up to find you in the house.”
“Just Chris?” Buck fished tentatively, and Eddie laughed, leaning into his space, so that they were only an inch or so apart.
“Not just Chris,” he whispered, pressing his lips gently to Buck’s.  He leaned into the kiss, pulling Eddie in closer, careful with his left side, ever aware of the bullet hole that had torn him apart and brought them together.
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pagannatural · 3 days
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2.12 Night Shifter
-Although Dean is impersonating an FBI officer when the jewelry counter girl asks him what it’s like, his answer is a truthful description of his life: “it’s dangerous, and the secrets we gotta keep…but mostly it’s lonely.” This wouldn’t be anything wincest except that he looks guiltily over at Sam twice while getting her number. The theme of loneliness between them and the brothers’ yearning for closeness from each other has come up several times this season, most obviously from Sam needing Dean to open up to him. But Dean is feeling it too. Sam was hanging off of him drunk last episode and Dean walked away from him so it makes sense that he’s trying to get someone else in his bed, and clearly thinking about Sam while he does it.
-Sam lies to Ronald. In the past he’s been the one who wants to tell civs the truth, while Dean lies. Dean’s instincts appear to be right here, and Sam’s sour impression with Ronald becomes an obstacle moving forward in this episode. It serves to highlight that Sam is still just not as experienced at this. They’re both really good with people and have high interpersonal intelligence, just in different ways.
-Dean feels “naked” without weapons. He’s been living in fear since he was four so that makes sense but it’s so bleak.
-Dean takes control of the situation with Ronald and Sam looks scared for him, then miserable when he’s locked in the vault and separated from Dean.
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One of the bank employees asks “who is that man?” and Sam says “he’s my brother” as if that answers her question even a little bit. She wistfully says he’s brave and Sam looks even more miserable. He’s so sick of women fawning over his brother.
-a second scene of this woman fawning over Dean at Sam! I could watch this all day. Sam becomes increasingly perturbed with each passing moment. Listening to someone wax on about the person you’re secretly and wretchedly in love with but can’t have is terrible but especially when it’s someone who doesn’t even know them. He looks like he’s holding back on an emotion. Sam could just be irritated by the way Dean is overshadowing him, but I would expect him to respond by rolling his eyes or looking irritated rather than conflicted and sad.
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Sam looks up to Dean. He doesn’t admit it until later on in the series, but Dean is his hero. His hero and guardian and brother and the only one who can kill him.
-Sam bumps his shoulder against Dean’s on his way out of the bank vault. He didn’t need to do that, there was space. People like to accidentally touch their crushes. And right in front of the fawning woman, like a cat rubbing its cheeks against its human’s legs to mark him.
-Sam points out that Dean is wanted by the police and is visibly upset. I love that Sam is the one panicking about this. Dean is too but he’s trying to be brave and save face for Sam.
-oh this is where they walk up to each other like they’re going to kiss. They’re making eye contact as they get really close and Sam kind of half circles Dean, looking into his eyes. It has the same vibes as the scene from Silver Linings Playbook where the love interest is teaching the main character a dance and instructs him on how to walk to her like he’s in love with her. You can see Dean moving his lips telling Sam he knows who the shifter is, but no sound, making this moment feel even more private
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-the way Hendrickson says “there’s a monster in the bank” and then it cuts to Sam gives me chills
-Hendrickson mentioning that Sam is “the bonnie to your Clyde” makes Dean smirk. Sam is his wife. “That part’s true”. They could’ve said the butch cassidy to your Sundance or something but they went with a romantic couple and had Dean smile like aw yeah, that’s us, like he’s still so happy to have his baby back with him on the road.
-“they’re dangerous, smart, and expertly trained” god they really ARE. This show really earns their reputation.
-Dean is mid-action bringing a knife down on what he thinks is the shifter when Sam says in a near-whisper “Dean waitwaitwait”and Dean pauses to look over his shoulder. He’ll do anything Sam says. Sam’s gentle protest is more important than killing the shifter.
-Sam fights the swat team duo and wins. They escape and drive away knowing that they’re fucked and being hunted by the FBI. Their ascension from petty criminals to most wanted outlaws is so good because they are dangerous and fucked up and doomed and yet they’re together. I also love that Sam solved Dean’s problem by getting the uniforms and gear off of the two SWAT guys. He’s protective of Dean.
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