#while in the books after this long I’m just sort of like okay cool what’s the next plot point

[deeplyridiculouslyinlove]

I’m realizing my fundamental issue with the Wheel of Time books is that despite the entire point of the series being the importance of saving the world and essentially all of humanity, in some ways there…isn’t a lot of humanity in the series.

Where are the characters weeping for those they’ve lost?* Where are the characters who make a choice and regret it? Or question forever if it was the right one even if they felt they had no other option? There are so many romantic relationships but never do we hear a character thinking about *why* they love the person they supposedly love. What draws them together? Why is that person so unique and special that they stand out above all the other beautiful people in the world? What are all the long-standing friendships in the books built upon besides proximity at a young age? Why are these characters willing to die for their friends? Do the Aiel or the Seafolk get homesick? Does anyone after maybe book 4 even miss their family and friends? Do they worry about them and in what ways? Why does only that one Aes Sedai care about and for any animals that aren’t horses or wolves? Does anyone feel tenderness? Even most of the romantic relationships are full of hitting and insulting each other, even if it is (usually) playful.

Why is everything about “men this” and “women that” and nothing is about the ways people are the same so even lowly strangers are worth risking your entire life for? No one fees like an outcast? (In this crazy gender dichotomy of a world I’d love an internal struggle with the gender roles someone was put into, but I’d take a more general struggle with who a character was told as a child they were supposed to be as an adult.**) Why can’t we see an older woman who can channel thinking about what it means to have lived for hundreds of years, to have seen generations of people pass before her? Imagine how that would raise the stakes for her in confronting the breaking of the world.

The most human part of the books for me so far was Nynaeve confronting how her anger is rooted in fear and a feeling of powerlessness and lack of control - yet she’s the character consistently named as someone a lot of readers dislike?!

I’m only halfway though book 10 so this all may change but like, if it takes until book 11 of 14 (or later) for the humanity to largely manifest I think my point stands.

*Lews Therin is the exception here, and I don’t think he really counts as a character - at least where I’m at.

**It seems like Min might give us this at first, but then by book 7 her whole personality is removed to make her a Rand love vehicle, so sadly that falls immensely flat. Faile sort of rebelled against her role in life, but only sort of, and we also don’t get to hear any of her thinking about this firsthand.

#I can’t tell if this is a fault in jordan’s writing or if it just isn’t something he was interested in exploring #but it’s why I love the show so much so far #I feel like it’s filling in the humanity behind all the characters in a way that makes me so compelled by them #while in the books after this long I’m just sort of like okay cool what’s the next plot point #normally my criticism of big good vs evil stories is that the evil characters don’t have sufficient motivation fleshed out #but here I sort of feel like that’s true of the heroes?? #the stakes are simultaneously as high as they can possibly be and absolutely nothing #wheel of time #wot book spoilers #dril reads wot

[clockwayswrites]

Not So Imaginary

Parts 1-3 Parts 4-6Parts 7-8 WC: 1177

“I brought you some more books to read,” Jason said as he entered the room.

After Danny had shown that they were clearly a person (a kid at that) and answered a few questions, they had been moved to an actual room on the Watchtower. Jason was pretty sure part of it was how he refused to leave the cell until Danny was moved, but he didn’t really care as long as it got his friend safe.

Danny looked up with a grin. They were pretty solid today, sitting cross-leg on the bed with feet and everything.

“You’re back,” the artificial voice spoke out from the tablet like device in Danny’s hands. It was a version of something called a SGD, Bruce had said, and was used by people who had trouble with verbal sounds. They didn’t know if Danny would always need it or if they’re vocal cords would come back as they continued to solidify.

“I am. B said I could stay a whole three hours today too as long as I ate a snack while I was here,” Jason said, holding up one of the bags he had.

Three hours still wasn’t a lot, but it was better than the one it had been the rest of the week. It took a lot of begging, but B finally agreed that Jason was well enough for a test to see how it went. Danny was still draining life force from Jason, and only Jason, which made certain Leaguers nervous about letting the two of them close. Jason had done everything he could to let it happen: he’d begged and argued, he’d eating everything Alfie wanted him to, he rested whenever Bruce wanted him too which was all the time, and he even agreed to stay benched for as long as it took.

That last one had really helped convince Bruce and Dick that Jason wouldn’t back down from helping his friend.

“Good. I am happy. What do you have?”

“You liked the Hardy Boys, right? I have a few more of those and I found you some science mags you might like,” Jason said as he flopped onto the bed next to Danny. He could feel the odd tingle travel up his arm as he leaned into Danny.

“Thank you,” Danny said with a wide smile. The tone of the electronic voice didn’t match the brightness of that smile, but it was alright. Jason could also feel how happy Danny was.

“You’re doing okay?”

“Yes.” There was a long pause as Danny found the right words. They were pretty quick already with preset phrases, but odder things still took longer than regular talking would. “WW took me to observation deck. We watched stars. She told me stories of stars from her home.”

“Yeah?” Jason asked, trying to keep his voice from hitching around the word. He couldn’t bug Danny with that yet. “You like her? Wonder Woman?”

“Yes.” The reply was quick, but Danny was watching Jason with furrowed brows. They pushed a sense of question through their bond.

“I’m fine. Just thinking through some shit,” Jason said with a wave of his hand. “But Wonder Woman is really cool. She’s my favorite too.”

Danny set the tablet aside so that they could run their fingers through Jason’s hair. It felt odd, what with not all of the fingers always being all of the way solid, but a good sort of odd. It seems Jason couldn’t just Danny’s concern aside.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow, okay?”

Danny let out what for anyone else would have been a sigh and gave a little nod. They shorted through the bag of books Jason had brought and found a Hardy Boy’s to hand over to Jason.

“What me to read to you?” Jason waited for the nod. Apparently it was really important to let Danny choose things right then, or so the adults said. “Okay, move over a bit, yeah? You’re hogging all the bed.”

Danny placed their hand to their chest, face screwing up in an affronted expression. It didn’t work though when Jason could feel the amusement through their bond.

“Yeah yeah, I’m a brute, now shove over,” Jason said with a laugh. He worked his way up until he was lounging against the head of the bed.

Danny didn’t move.

“You’re a brat,” Jason accused.

Danny gave a silent laugh, humor bumbling up in their bond, before they flopped over right onto Jason’s chest. Jason let a huff of a sigh, but ran his fingers through Danny’s hair like he knew they liked before he opened the book to start read about another adventure of the Hardy Boys.

It was easier to feel the drain like this, when they were so close to each other and touching. Jason had tried to avoid spelling that out too much to Bruce. He got that his dad was just worried, but he was afraid if B knew he’d tried to keep Danny away.

As it was Bruce was trying to send Danny away.

Jason brushed the thought aside, focusing on doing his best to give the characters good voices for Danny. At least it was a distraction from all the rest of Jason’s thoughts. Two chapters later the stopped to ask, “Want a break or do you want another chapter?”

Danny rolled over and off Jason’s chest to flop onto the pillow next to him and Jason froze. His shock must have been clear because Danny scrambled up off the bed until they were floating above Jason.

“No! It’s a good thing. Just… you’re getting some of your color back,” Jason explained. He should really stop staring. He should take Danny to a mirror to see or something, but it was just that… Danny was beautiful right then. He found himself reaching up to brush his finger tips of the bright freckles that were scattered across Danny’s cheeks and nose like a galaxy of stars.

Bright teal eyes blinked back at him.

Jason cleared his throat. “Right, sorry, let’s go let you look.”

Danny floated to the side, landing on their feet as Jason stood, and followed behind behind to the small attached bathroom. Jason guided Danny in front of the mirror. White was spreading into their hair now.

For a moment Jason was worried that Danny was frozen in shock, then the other leaned in close to the mirror, touching the surface before bringing their hand up to their own face. Suddenly Danny was moving, spinning weightlessly around Jason as they gave a soundless whoop.

“I know,” Jason said with a grin of his own. “Look at you! You’re really coming together now! I knew you could do it. I knew that you could come back.”

Slowly, Danny drifted back down so that the tips of their toes brushed against the floor. They rested their forehead against Jason’s.

He didn’t need words to understand what Danny was trying to say.

“Don’t have to thank me, stardust. I’ll always come for you just like you’ll always come for me.”

--- AN: Oh ho, is Jason starting to realize he has a crush? And what isn't he telling Danny? Hopefully this part is good, the weather is giving me such a migraine/making me super dizzy so my eyes are crossing some! (Yes, I'm resting, on the couch with a cat!)

I really should have made an update post for this... this supposed ficlet just keeps going! 7K now! Aaaah well. Anywho, stay delightful, darlings!

#dp x dc #dead on main #not so imaginary

[pink-sparkly-witch]

Just Like This

Summary: Working a second job in a bar to help pay for Sammy’s education, Dean finds a kindred spirit in bar manager Y/N. When a drunk Douchebag gets too handsy with her, Dean quickly jumps to her defence but faces harsh consequences.

Pairing: Bartender!Dean Winchester x Female!Reader

Rating: Teen

Bingo Square: Getting Fired for @j3bingo

Warnings: tw: sexual assault (groping), fluff, angst, fighting, minor violence, Chuck is a complete and utter asshole in this, getting fired, quitting in solidarity, first kiss, friends to lovers

Word Count: 3k

A/N: Okay, it feels like an age since I’ve written anything that’s just pure floof. I hope you enjoy this fluffy, protective, besotted Dean fic. Please be kind. I’ve had my angst hat on for a long time, and though this was really refreshing, it’s also a little daunting!

My Masterlist     AO3    Ko-Fi

Consider reblogging to spread this far and wide around this Hellsite, or leave a comment. It really does fuel a creative’s muse. If you’re too shy or too cool for people to know you read fanfic and you don’t want it showing on your blog, you can submit an anonymous ask or drop me a DM 💖

It wasn’t the best job in the world, but as part-time work went, Dean knew it could be a hell of a lot worse than this. He worked with his dad in the garage during the day and worked four nights a week and two shifts at the weekend in Shurley’s Sports Bar. His wages and tips went to his dad to help pay for Sammy’s education. Sure, the kid had a full ride to Stanford; however, he still needed to pay for accommodation after freshman year and the thousands of books he needed for his coursework. And at least this way, his dad didn’t put himself in an early grave by working all the hours God gave him. Lord knows he’d done enough of that when they were kids.

Shurley’s was a decent bar. It had a prime location between the University of Kansas campus and downtown, so it always has a steady stream of customers. It quietened during the summer when the students went home or on their travels, but the locals still made trade steady enough. The owner, Chuck, was a bit of a dick, but he barely showed his face around the place, and the other staff were decent, making it a great place to work.

“Hey, Dean,” Y/N said as she came out of the back office. Y/N was the bar manager and a great girl. They had a lot in common; both lost their mothers when they were young and looked after their younger siblings while their fathers worked three jobs to try and make ends meet. Y/N’d had to drop out of college when her father took unexpectedly sick, having to take care of him and her little sister. Now that her father had passed and her sister had a full ride to another prestigious college, Harvard, Y/N lived in the tiny apartment above the bakery where she worked four days a week and in the bar four nights a week and every Saturday night. The rest of the time, she studied part-time to finish her college education and sent every spare cent she had to her sister in Boston.

“Hey, Y/N,” he smiled at her. She was pretty, too, and Dean wasn’t afraid to admit that he had a massive crush on her. Not that anything would ever happen because she was her, and he was… well, he wasn’t good enough for a girl like that. “How are ya, sweetheart?”

“I’m good, Dean. How are you? Oh! Did you manage to get Sam’s apartment sorted?” Y/N asked, and he smiled that she’d remember such a thing.

“Yeah, it’s all good now. We managed to get the rest of the deposit together,” Dean said. “Thanks for the extra shifts, by the way.”

“Don’t mention it,” Y/N smiled. “I still can’t believe landlords can actually do that,” Y/N shook her head as she headed behind the bar and started filling the refrigerators with bottles of beer and wine to prepare for the busy Friday night shift.

“Yeah, us either. But it’s done, and he has somewhere to live,” Dean said as he put the last menus and condiment buckets on the tables. “What needs to be done next, boss?” he asked, smirking when Y/N chuckled. She hated being called that, but he seemed to be the only one she didn’t scold for it.

“I could use a hand changing over the barrels if you’ve got time?” she said, breaking up the cardboard that the bottles had been housed in.

“Sure thing, sweetheart.” Dean headed into the storeroom and started shifting the beer barrels behind the bar as Y/N continued putting bottles in the fridges and replacing the almost empty spirit bottles with full ones to accommodate the busiest night of the year: Friday night football and Freshers Week.

The bar was packed with customers, the warm, sunny weather drawing even more of them in than usual, and of course, Chuck had decided tonight was a good night to show face and ‘help’, putting the staff on edge. Dean had gone with the head down and get on with it attitude, glad it was three deep at the bar so he had an excuse not to have to entertain Chuck for very long.

Y/N had been running around after Chuck all night, finding this paperwork and that invoice and the employee payroll for the past six weeks. Eventually, when he couldn’t possibly ask for anything more, she’d escaped the office, having brazenly told her boss that she was needed front of house to help serve customers.

“I swear,” she’d said as she tied her little black server’s apron around her waist, “It’s like he fucking knew tonight would be the busiest night but still came to check months old paperwork! God, that man is insufferable!”

It wasn’t often that Y/N showed her annoyance, and Dean couldn’t help but think it was cute. Though, admittedly, that could be his crush talking, her furrowed brow and tiny pout were adorable.

“What can I do to help?” he asked as she took her place behind the bar.

“I should be asking you that question!” she giggled. “What do you need me to do?”

“We could do with someone collecting and cleaning the empty glasses, if you wouldn’t mind?” he responded, smiling as she picked up a basket, cleaning spray, and a cloth before he’d finished his sentence.

“You got it,” she winked and headed onto the floor to clear and wipe the tables down. And that, Dean thought, is what makes a good boss. Someone who works with the team to achieve the same goal. Someone who isn’t afraid of stepping in to help by doing the most mundane tasks that are below their pay grade.

Y/N was a breath of fresh air for him in so many ways. She was bubbly and caring, and no matter what was thrown her way, she responded with an air of calmness and dignity that he admired.

“Hey, man. What can I get ya?” Dean asked the next patron, finally taking his eyes off the girl slowly taking over his every thought.

“Be careful,” Dean said as Y/N headed back onto the floor to clear more glasses and tables. “It’s getting rowdy out there. You know what those college boys can be like.”

“Thanks, Dean,” she smiled. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

He knew she would be. He’d seen her handling every kind of drunk customer. Still, he’d watch her closely because he was more worried than usual. The crowd tonight seemed even more enthused thanks to the local sports team playing. It still surprised him how often the female staff got touched inappropriately and had the most vulgar things said to them by too drunk and far too confident men. More than once Dean had had to step in and stop something from going too far, and he’d do it as many times as he needed to for Y/N or any of the other female staff.

Y/N managed to get around most of the bar unscathed, but there was a particularly boisterous table of men who only frequented the bar when the Chiefs played. Dean had been watching them all night because they seemed to have forgotten their age and tried to out-drink their much younger counterparts. They’d already run their mouths off to the bar staff, and now one of them in particular had their beady eye on Y/N as she moved from table to table, collecting empty glasses and bottles.

Swapping her tray out for an empty one, Y/N made her way over to their table, and the second she got close enough, the balding guy with the beady eye was quick to rear his hand back and smack her ass. Dean’s hackles rose, and he was on high alert as he watched her give the douchebag a piece of her mind. But he didn’t stop. Douchebag wrapped his arms around her waist and tried pulling her onto his lap. All the while, his douchebag little friends laughed and cheered him on like he’d won a fucking prize.

Dean saw red as he ran around the bar and strode purposely over to the group of middle-aged men amid a mid-life crisis and pulled Y/N from his hold, dragging her behind him to protect her.

“The lady told you to leave her alone. I suggest you do that,” Dean fumed, only getting angrier at Douchebag’s smirk.

“Oh, ladies and gentlemen, we have a jealous boyfriend trying to protect his girl! You know, if she were my girlfriend, I wouldn’t let her out the house wearing something so…” he paused as he leered up and down Y/N’s body, “revealing.”

“Listen, asshole, you don’t want to piss me off right now. Why don’t you and your buddies call it a night and go home? You’ve clearly had too much to drink, and we don’t take kindly to people assaulting our staff here,” Dean’s jaw was clenched, but he’d somehow managed to keep his voice steady.

“Sorry, man,” Douchebag smirked as he stood. “Just can’t help myself when I see a pretty girl showing off half her body like a Goddamn little tease. She’s asking for it, really.”

That was the last straw, and as Douchebag made one final (and unfortunately successful) attempt to get his hands on Y/N, Dean pulled his fist back and punched him square on the nose. The resounding crack as Dean broke the guy’s nose was satisfying, as were the synchronised grimacing ‘oohs’ that the audience this little corner of the bar had attracted.

“You broke my nose, asshole!” Douchebag spluttered. “I’m reporting you for assault!”

“You do that,” Y/N said, “and I’ll have you arrested, too. This whole bar and the CCTV saw you grope me twice and clearly saw me trying to get you off me! What he did,” she pointed at Dean, “was save me from being sexually assaulted!”

“Come on, man,” one of Douchebag’s friends said, patting him on the back. “Let’s get you to the hospital. It’s not worth it.”

“Damn straight it’s not!” Dean yelled. “Any way you spin this, he doesn’t win, so get the hell out and don’t come back!”

Tail between their legs, Douchebag and his friends left the bar. The second the door shut behind them, Dean was next to Y/N, checking her for injuries.

“I’m fine, Dean,” she insisted, but her eyes told a different story. The encounter had shaken her up, and Dean wanted to fix it, needed to fix it.

“No, sweetheart, you’re not. You’re–” Dean began but was interrupted by the shrill voice of Chuck.

“Winchester, my office, now! You too, Y/N.”

Seeing Y/N sitting beside him on the other side of the desk was strange. This was where she did all the paperwork, payroll, ordering, and invoicing, so to see Chuck on her chair was disconcerting. And not good.

“I don’t know what was going on out there–” Chuck began, and Dean scoffed in disbelief.

“You’re bar manager was sexually assaulted by a customer. That’s what happened!” Dean sat forward on his chair, raising his voice. He only calmed when Y/N placed her hand on his forearm.

Chuck pursed his lips at his outburst and continued speaking as if Dean hadn’t interrupted.

“I don’t know what happened, but whatever it was, sexual assault or not,” Chuck looked pointedly at Y/N before he continued. “It’s no excuse for my staff to behave violently.”

“You have got to be kidding me!” Dean fumed. “That… scumbag… touched her ass and her breasts and tried to force her into his lap! You see those bruises, right?” he asked as he pointed to the dark purple fingerprint marks on her arms.

“Inappropriate comments, slurs, even touching, is to be expected when you work in a bar–” Chuck was interrupted again, this time by Y/N.

“There are no touching policies in every strip club in the country for a reason, Chuck! You cannot expect it to be any different in a fratboy sports bar! No one should go to work expecting that being sexually assaulted is okay!”

“For God’s sake, Y/N! So what a guy touched your ass and tits! You should be flattered!”

“It was sexual assault, Chuck! That guy,” Y/N pointed behind her in the general direction of the bar, “touched me without permission, and I could have him charged! You too with how you’re behaving!”

“Oh, stop being so dramatic! I feel sorry for your boyfriend if this is how prudish you are!”

“Hey, that is–” Dean interjected, but Chuck kept talking.

“Dean, you’re fired. I cannot, and will not, allow a violent brute to work in my bar.”

“You can’t do that!” Y/N protested.

“Watch it, or you’ll be gone, too!” Chuck threatened, but Dean knew it was an empty one with her. He needed her too much. The bar would burn to the ground without her in charge.

“No need. I quit. Effective immediately. I cannot, and will not,” Y/N glared at Chuck as she repeated his words to him, “work in a place where I’m expected to be sexually harassed and assaulted and ignore it. I cannot, and will not, work for a man who fires a good person for helping someone in need.”

Standing, Y/N took off her apron and name tag and threw them on the desk. She unhooked the keys from her belt and pulled the cash box towards her, opening it and pulling out two brown envelopes, handing one to Dean and putting the other in her pocket. Once she’d locked the cash box, she tossed her keys down on the cheap metal desk with a satisfying clang.

“Really? You’re going to quit over him?” Chuck scoffed.

“Yes. Dean is worth a thousand shitty bar jobs like this one, and I’d choose him over any of them in a heartbeat,” Y/N said with her head held high. “I hope you know you’ve just lost your two best workers on the busiest night of the year. Come on, Dean. Let’s get out of this shithole.”

Dean didn’t protest. He stood up, smirked at Chuck because he just couldn’t help himself, and followed Y/N out of the bar and onto the street.

“Sweetheart, you didn’t need to do that. I’m a big boy, and I can look after myself,” Dean said after walking in silence for a few minutes.

“I know you can, and yes, I did. That was unfair and undeserved. Especially because it was my fault,” Y/N responded.

“Hey, don’t ever… it wasn’t your fault. Things like that are never the woman’s fault, you know that, right?” Dean couldn’t believe she’d ever think something like that would be her own doing.

“I know, but if I’d listened to you and let Marcus clear tables instead of me, none of this would’ve happened.”

“No. I won’t hear it. You didn’t ask to be groped by a balding douchebag going through a mid-life crisis, sweetheart. Don’t ever apologise for someone else’s wrongdoing,” he reassured her.

“So, what do we do now? We both kinda needed that job,” Y/N chuckled, but it held no humour.

“Well, I might know a guy who owns a wine bar downtown. A classy establishment, so the tips are better. And we’d be treated right,” Dean said, thinking of the bar Cas had tried to get him to work in for months.

“You have a buddy with a bar, and you chose to stay working in that shithole?” Y/N asked in disbelief. “Why? What would possess you to stay there? Willingly?”

“It wasn’t all bad,” Dean smirked. This wasn’t where he envisioned this conversation going–if it ever happened at all, that is–but the perfect opportunity had presented itself and he’d never forgive himself if he didn’t take it. “I got to see you almost every day.”

“Come on! You did not stay there for me!” Y/N scoffed, and Dean shrugged his shoulders, his lips tugging upwards in a shy smile.

“I did, actually. Can’t think of anyone better to spend so much time with.”

“Dean Winchester,” she grinned. “Are you flirting with me?” The teasing tone in her words was one he’d never heard before, and he liked it.

“Do you want me to be flirting with you?” he’d asked, needing to hear her say it before he did something stupid because he’d misread the signals.

“Yeah… I think I do,” Y/N giggled, stepping closer to him, bumping their arms together as they stepped in sync down the sidewalk.

“Yeah?” he asked, checking again because, quite frankly, she was her and he was him.

“Yeah.”

Dean stopped walking and gently grabbed her forearm to stop her from walking ahead. Feeling brave, Dean placed his hands on her cheeks and dipped his head, slowly lowering his lips to hers. Every inch closer he got, he switched his gaze between her lips and her eyes, making sure this was what she wanted.

When there was no hesitation and nowhere else to go, he closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers. They were as soft as they always looked, softer even, and tasted as sweet as he’d imagined they would.

Y/N pressed herself closer to him with a low hum and slid her arms up his chest, resting one hand on his pec and the other curling around his neck. Dean licked her bottom lip, encouraging her to open her mouth and let him deepen their kiss.

He failed to hold back a groan when his tongue met hers, the feeling so much better than anything his mind could’ve conjured up. Dean couldn’t remember how long he’d wanted this, and now that it was happening, he knew he’d do whatever he could to keep her in his arms, just like this.

Tags: @acitygrownwillow @akshi8278 @ashbatz @candy-coated-misery0731 @chriszgirl92 @deans-baby-momma @deans-spinster-witch @deansbbyx @deanwanddamons @duncanhillscoffeecups @foxyjwls007 @giggles1026 @globetrotter28 @hobby27 @hoboal87 @impala67rollingthroughtown @iprobablyshipit91 @jackles010378 @jamerlynn @jc-winchester @k-slla @kazsrm67 @kmc1989 @lacilou @ladysparkles78 @leigh70 @lyarr24 @maliburenee @michecolegate @mrsjenniferwinchester @nancymcl @negans-lucille-tblr @nelachu2423 @octoberclidan @perpetualabsurdity @roseblue373 @sandlee44 @sexyvixen7 @snackles87 @spnbaby-67 @spnwoman @stixnstripesworld @stoneyggirl2 @suckitands33 @synmorite @tristanrosspada-ackles @twinkleinadiamondsky @waters-2567 @winchestergirl1720

#j3bingo #just like this #au dean winchester x reader #bartender!dean winchester #dean winchester x reader #au dean winchester #dean winchester #dean winchester fluff #fluff

[mint-yooxgi]

{2} - Paradise Gardens - Yandere!Demonic Entities!Ateez X Reader

Yandere AU & Demon AU - Book Two to Hotel California

Genre: Mature, Horror, Angst, Fluff, Slight Humor

Pairing: Ateez X Reader 

Words: 9,538

Warnings: Very suggestive content, mentions of past trauma and PTSD. Minor anxiety. This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.

A/n: I love when things all start to fall into place! Finally, I have a solid outline of the next few chapters ehehehe I'm super excited for you all to see what I have planned, and I greatly hope you’ll all look forward to the upcoming chapters. I have a feeling a few things might shock you hehehe anyways, as always, feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy~

Also, gentle reminder that I don’t do tag lists.

Mini Masterlist - Part One

“I still can’t believe that this has been underneath the house this entire time,” your voice, full of awe and wonder, echoes around the area. Again, your eyes are quick to take in every detail surrounding you just like the first time you entered their training space.

The room stretches on before you, more like a mini arena than anything. A light blue lines the walls, almost steel in colour, giving them a sort of metallic sheen as the florescent lights illuminate the space. A throwing range is off to the side, wooden targets well worn lining the scraped up walls. There’s even a large sparring area, complete with mirrors to the side to observe yourself while fighting for any openings you might leave yourself vulnerable to. 

To the left, gym equipment resides. Anything and everything you can think of lines the space, making you feel as if you’re in some weird simulation of The Hunger Games. The training facility, if you can even call it that, has nearly all of the exact same things, up to and including a separate space where you can run types of simulations to practice what you’ve learned.

“We didn’t want to scare you,” Mingi shrugs, sitting off to the side as both San and Jongho grab some equipment to begin preparing for your training.

“That still doesn’t explain why you waited this long to tell me,” you chuckle. “Even after I expressed how cool I find your abilities, both physical and metaphysical.”

“To be fair, Dearest,” Yeosang sits right beside Mingi, the two of them watching on carefully. “The progress we had been making with you could have been changed or lost at any point. We simply didn’t want to do something to jeopardize that.”

You hum in acknowledgement, moving over to the sparring mats alongside both San and Jongho. A moment later, and you begin doing some stretches.

Just as you straighten yourself into a standing position once more, you hear a loud crashing sound coming from behind you.

“Oh, please tell me I haven’t missed it yet,” Wooyoung comes rushing into the room, practically tripping over himself and the equipment scattered throughout.

“Didn’t realize I’d have a peanut gallery,” you mumble, hearing Jongho chuckle from beside you.

“Think of them as extra observers to give you pointers that we may miss.” San comments, a subtle grin tugging at his lips as he begins stretching alongside you.

“Translation: they just want to have an excuse to look at my ass while I stretch.” You reply, amusement shining behind your eyes.

Mingi’s brows raise in amusement, Wooyoung grinning suggestively at you as he takes a seat on the floor in front of his brothers. At least Yeosang has the decency to avoid your gaze, the tips of his ears turning red as he stutters out a response.

“It’s okay, boys,” you chuckle. “The feeling is mutual.”

Wooyoung immediately bursts out laughing, especially when he turns his head to see both Yeosang and Mingi looking completely shocked behind him.

“Perks of being a visual learner,” you add, sitting on the ground to begin stretching out both your back and legs further.

“Wait, you mean you check us out while we’re working out, too?” Mingi is still attempting to wrap his head around your confession only moments before.

“You’ve really never noticed before?” San quirks a knowing brow at his brother.

“You try living with eight modern Adonis’, and you see how well you fare.” You comment, standing back to your feet as pleased growls reach your ears. Then, you’re turning to face the three males sitting to the side. “You’ve seriously never felt my gaze on you while I’m checking you out?”

“Why do you think I told you to start wearing compression shirts since you didn’t want to go topless?” San directs his comment towards Mingi, and your jaw drops.

“That was because of you?” Your voice is incredulous, eyes sparkling with awe as you watch him nod smugly. Your grin soon mirrors his own as you exhale a breath. “Fuck, I love you.”

A pleased growl escapes San’s lips as he absolutely revels in your gaze. The way the others shoot him small looks of either disbelief, or mild jealousy, is simply icing on the cake.

“Maybe we should all start working out shirtless,” Wooyoung hums, a smirk dancing on his features.

“Should we take it a step further and oil ourselves in the nude, too?” Jongho’s eyes gleam as he watches your reactions closely.

“Damn, I haven’t done that since the Olympics,” San hums, crossing his arms proudly over his chest.

The way you swallow thickly does not go unnoticed by any of them.

“So, the distractions have started already, I see,” you nod, almost absentmindedly.

“What seems to be on your mind, Starlight?” Mingi smirks, a knowing gleam shining within his eyes.

You lick your lips, the corner tugging upwards gently. “I think you already know, Moonlight.”

Five low growls echo around the room as a certain tension fills the air. That is, until that familiar gleam of curiosity flashes behind your eyes.

“So, did any of you compete in a circus?” You can hardly contain the excitement from bleeding into your voice as you look around at all of them.

“Hwa was always the best at chariot racing.” Yeosang hums, leaning back in his seat for the moment.

“Something tells me it was more than just being good with horses,” you chuckle, a small smile tugging on your features. “Though, it’s very fitting for some reason.”

“Well, he is the most competitive out of all of us.” San nods.

“And that’s saying something.” Mingi shoots a pointed look at Jongho who simply rolls his eyes in response.

“Jongho and San were excellent gladiators, too.” Wooyoung adds, nonchalantly. Though, with how his eyes gleam, you know his words are very calculated.

“I understand now why they’re the first ones teaching me hand to hand combat, then.” You nod, attempting to not appear as affected as you are for the moment.

“Yunho, Wooyoung, and Hongjoong all enjoyed wrestling a bit too much,” Jongho says, a chuckle falling from his lips as he crosses his arms over his chest. 

You nod, once more attempting to not allow your thoughts to consume you. Unfortunately, with their earlier comments about bathing themselves in oil, it’s quite difficult not to picture the aforementioned males rolling around and wrestling in the nude.

A tense smile pulls at your lips, blinking in the next second. Shaking your head, you attempt to clear your thoughts, grateful to have that void of yours up and running. Though, from the way they all look at you, eyes swirling with that all too familiar darkness, you can just tell they know perfectly well what you’re thinking about.

Clearing your throat, you manage to compose yourself a bit better, even if only slightly.

“Yeosang-“

“Archery,” you cut Mingi off as you turn to face the aforementioned male. “I remember.”

The soft smile that paints your lips has all four of his brothers turning to face him. A smile of which is mirrored on his own features as he recalls the conversation that he had with you that very night all those months ago where he got to hold you in his arms as you slept. Though, the morning afterwards, in his opinion, was even better. A memory he will cherish until the end of time. A memory he will never forget.

“Mingi was never really in to the Olympics like we were,” San states, and you watch how the aforementioned man sits a little straighter in his seat. “None of us could touch him on the water, though.”

“Naval battles?” You quirk a brow, noticing how red begins to creep over the tips of his ears. At his nod, you exhale a low breath. “Literally, could you guys get any more attractive?”

Again, five pleased growls meet your ears.

“We’re just glad you’re enjoying yourself, Dearest,” Yeosang hums, leaning further back into his seat.

“I always enjoy learning more about you,” you reply honestly, and you watch as they all visibly perk up from your words, giddy smiles settling onto each of their features. “Not to mention my little historian heart is practically leaping for joy right now.”

“Is it?” Jongho grins fondly as he meets your gaze. The way they can all hear your heart racing in excitement has a warmth flooding their veins the longer this conversation draws on. “We couldn’t tell.”

Playfully, you stick your tongue out at him.

“Honestly, we could spend weeks telling you all about whatever kinds of history you want to know.” San offers, and the way your eyes instantly light up has his heart fluttering inside of his chest.

“Really?” You fail to hide how hopeful you sound.

“Anything and everything you’d like, Starlight.” Mingi confirms, nodding once he sees he’s drawn your attention back onto him for the moment.

“We are more than happy to share it all with you, Angel.” Wooyoung smiles, propping his knee up so that he can rest his one arm over top of it. He gazes at you fondly, his entire being relaxing into this moment with you.

The way they all see you visibly begin to shake in excitement, bouncing up and down slightly in your spot as a brilliant smile takes over your features, begins to rub off on all of them. None can help the way nothing but love for you floods their veins, each male gazing upon you tenderly at how eager you seem to be. The wonder alone they see reflected in your eyes sets their hearts racing inside of their chests.

“I have so many questions,” you begin, unable to prevent yourself from pacing any longer. 

The fact that you need to expel that energy has both Jongho and Mingi chuckling fondly.

“How about we save them for later, though.” San smiles at you, halting you in your tracks as his one hand comes up to gently grasp the side of your arm.

“Okay,” you nod eagerly. Then, your eyes flash as you meet his gaze. “Does this mean you’re all going to teach me the different fighting styles of different cultures through the ages?”

They all share a brief look between one another.

“Oh, come on! You can’t seriously be telling me that you were only going to teach me the very basics,” you tilt your head slightly as you cross your arms over your chest.

“We can teach you as much or as little as you’d like, Darling.” Jongho chuckles, gently guiding you onto the large sparring mat once more. “We just never expected you to be so enthusiastic about it.”

“I thought I told you that dismemberment wasn’t the only violent thought I can have.” You reply, a slight amused quirk to your brow. “You know I want to be as badass and intimidating as My Kings are.”

“But, how could we ever forget?” Wooyoung practically purrs out, a pleasant rumble escaping his chest that he knows is echoed lowly by each of his brothers.

“Okay,” San chuckles, moving to stand across from you on the mat. “We’ve already taught you the basics of self-defence, and you’ve started working to increase your stamina and strength. All that’s left are some simple fighting stances, and then the real fun begins.”

A look of determination washes over your features as you all become serious in the next moment. Out of the corner of your eyes, you notice Jongho beginning to circle the mat, San explaining some basic footholds and arm blocks all the while. Of course, he’s quick to demonstrate each one, nodding in approval as he watches you copy each one.

“The most important part of your balance is your core,” he explains. “The quickest way to throw someone off their rhythm is to break through their own.”

“No matter what situation you find yourself in, there is always a way out.” Jongho adds. “Never let your enemy know they have the upper hand, unless you’re faking them out. In which case, you have to be sure you know what you’re doing.”

“We can discuss proper strategies another day,” San turns to look at his youngest brother as said male comes to stand right beside the elder. “Let’s just teach you some basic maneuvers to begin.”

Slowly, each of the two males goes through different fighting techniques. Their explanations are thorough, demonstrating the stances as often as you need them to. You pick them up pretty quickly, anyways, and by the time a few hours have passed, they all watch as you practice hitting a punching bag with a certain pride swirling within their eyes.

Taking a short break, you wipe at your brow. “You know, this would be so much easier if you guys could just like, I don’t know, Matrix teach me this stuff. That way I could practice more things on my own.”

Both San and Jongho share a look.

“Unfortunately, Gorgeous, it doesn’t work that way.” Wooyoung sighs, having shifted his position so he’s now laying on his side on the floor with his one arm propping his head up in his hand.

“Sharing those techniques mentally doesn’t necessarily give you the same experience as teaching them to you does.” Mingi comments, and you look towards where he sits. Only now, he’s leaning back slightly in his seat, his one foot resting on the edge of the chair so that his knee is bent.

“Fair enough,” you shrug. “Just a thought.”

“It might be good once you have more of the basics down.” There’s a slight furrow to Yeosang’s brows as he thinks over your words. “You could identify the techniques we’ve used, and then when you know them, emulate them.”

Your whole demeanour visibly perks up at this.

“Certain things are better if they’re taught, but sharing our knowledge could never hurt.” Wooyoung agrees with a slight nod of his head after a moment. “Let’s save that for later, though. We don’t want to overwhelm you.”

“It’s also why we’re focussing on hand to hand combat training first.” Mingi adds. “Once you know that, adding a weapon simply pulls from that combat knowledge and extends it.”

“Okay,” you nod in understanding. “Makes sense.”

“Sometimes, allowing instinct to guide you helps in a fight.” San voices as you step back over to the sparring mat. “It doesn’t work for all of us, but trusting my gut has always saved me.”

“Don’t think, just move.” Jongho hums in agreement, standing off to the side and observing the two of you.

“I think you guys have a few more years of experience than me to be able to say that,” you joke, noticing how Wooyoung begins to laugh boisterously at your statement.

“You could say that,” he grins.

“At least a few,” Yeosang chimes in, amusement shining within his gaze.

“Come on,” San grins, taking a step forward in your direction, “we still need to teach you how to grab someone and pin them.”

“I volunteer!” Wooyoung is suddenly on his feet, arm raised enthusiastically in the air.

“Calm down, you idiot.” Jongho rolls his eyes. “It’s not your day to teach, yet.”

The dramatic pout that pulls at Wooyoung’s lips as he sits back down onto the ground has you chuckling in response.

“Don’t worry, Woo, I can pin you as much as you’d like some other time,” you comment casually, not even bothering to spare him a glance out of the corner of your eyes.

Little do you see the way his eyes flash, yet you do not fail to miss the pleased growl that escapes him in that moment. The way Yeosang stiffens in his spot, pointed glare being sent towards the younger also goes unnoticed by you, but you do see the way the males in front of you seemingly go still.

“I thought you said your training wasn’t a free pass for sexy times?” Mingi grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Who said anything about it being during my training?” You smirk, noticing the way all of their eyes flash black this time in response.

“You’re a tease, you know that, right?” San gets out through gritted teeth, eyes still swirling with that all too familiar darkness as he meets your gaze.

“Am I?” You feign innocence, a slight tilt to your head. “I had no idea.”

A moment of thick silence passes over all of you.

“So,” you hum, a slight amused twitch to your brow, “pinning?”

“Oh, we’re thinking about more than just pinning you now, Darling.” Jongho’s voice is low, nothing but a growl to his words.

“What ever do you mean, Darling?” The way you drawl out that one word sends a shiver right down Jongho’s spine.

“Baby,” San warns, chest rising and falling dramatically with every breath. “You’re playing a very dangerous game.”

“It’s as I’ve said before,” you giggle, a mischievous tug of your lips upwards. “It’s so easy to rile you guys up.”

“Can you blame us, Gorgeous?” Wooyoung’s voice is somewhat breathless as it reaches your ears from behind you. “You are the greatest temptation we’ve ever known.”

“Every little thing you do enchants us.” Mingi breathes, nothing but honesty in his words as his eyes roam every inch of your figure before him.

“Knowing you want to be here with us, and stay by our sides despite everything that’s happened is more than we could have ever asked for.” Yeosang tells you, his tone soft and airy as he stares at you with nothing but love in his honest gaze.

“The more we learn about you, and the more you want to know about us is like a dream come true.” Jongho admits, taking another step in closer to you until he’s practically wrapping you in his arms. The way you’re currently covered in sweat doesn’t seem to phase him at all as he presses his head softly against your own. “The fact that you have agreed to become Our Queen means more to us than the entirety of the realms combined.”

Soft rumbles of agreement echo around the room, filling your heart with a pleasant warmth as you melt into Jongho’s embrace.

“You are everything that we could have ever asked for.” San adds, closing the short distance between you and cupping your cheek tenderly in his hand. The way you turn to meet his gaze, eyes dripping with such affection towards them says it all. “We wouldn’t give that up for anything.”

You smile, your heart beating erratically in your chest. “You’re all smooth talkers, you know that?”

They all mirror your gentle expression.

“Only for you, Baby,” San’s thumb brushes gently against the skin of your cheek. “Now, stop trying to distract us. We still have things to teach you.”

His scolding is nothing but playful as he steps away from you, a knowing gleam held within his eyes as Jongho finally releases you from his hold. The way you grin, sticking your tongue out at him in the next moment has a chuckle falling from his lips.

“Alright, teach me what else you have to teach me today before I start swooning for real,” you say, heat rising to your cheeks as you feel all of their gazes on you yet again. “You’re supposed to be training me, not romancing me right now.”

“Is it working?” Wooyoung cracks a flirtatious grin, only to be hit upside the head by Yeosang in the next second. “Ow.”

“Who said we couldn’t do both?” Mingi chuckles, his eyes gleaming beneath the florescent lights.

You simply quirk a brow in their direction, a subtle smile tugging at your lips as you turn back to face San. The way you see him already fondly staring at you sets your heart racing inside of your chest. At least you can say that you can feel their love every time they look at you. A fact which has not changed since you first understood what all those fond looks meant. Hell, even before that you could tell, even if you didn’t quite know what types of gazes they were quite yet.

Always, you and your needs have come first. Always, they have kept your best interests in mind. 

They always have, and they always will. 

Always, and forever.

“You already know a few things to do if someone grabs you from behind,” Jongho’s voice draws your attention to the side of the room. “Now, we’re going to teach you how to use someone’s momentum against them in order to flip them onto their back. From there, you can pin them in multiple ways.”

“If you’re lucky, you can even use the momentum to dislocate someone’s shoulder.” San adds, an eager grin pulling at his lips as he explains this to you now.

The way your eyebrows raise in mild surprise has them all chuckling fondly.

“It helps when you can sense your opponent approaching, but this will still work even after they’ve grabbed you from behind.” San continues as Jongho begins to approach him.

The younger immediately attempts to grab the elder from behind. San, of course, is expecting him, so you watch as he bends his knees slightly in anticipation. As soon as Jongho reaches for San’s back, the elder is leaning forward, flipping the younger male onto his back and pinning him to the ground. Jongho wears an annoyed expression as San twists his one arm into the air, stepping on the younger’s chest with his one foot to pin him in place.

“Of course, you can always pin them by the throat when you step on them,” San states casually as he releases his hold on his younger brother, “but the chest will also suffice.”

“Thank you for your consideration,” Jongho grumbles as he pulls himself back onto his feet.

The corner of San’s lips twitch in response.

The next flip they show you is one where someone attacks you from the front. San charges at Jongho, only for the younger to duck beneath the elder, grab him by the thigh, and vault him over his back. Immediately, Jongho is spinning around, pressing his one knee into the elder’s chest as his hand settles right beside San’s head.

“This one, you have to be a bit quicker when pinning your opponent, for they could potentially recover quickly. If that happens, you can miss the opportunity to get your hands around their throat.”Jongho explains, looking up and meeting your gaze as he pushes himself off of the elder male.

“Of course, if you’re holding a weapon, it changes the position of things, but makes taking out your opponent easier in certain cases.” San adds, standing back to his feet and dusting himself off briefly. “But these work, even against opponents bigger than you are.”

“The key gets to be the momentum so you’re not dead lifting your opponent,” Jongho goes on to say. “At least for now.”

“Makes sense,” you nod your understanding as you roll your shoulders, standing a little straighter. “Can you show me a few more times?”

“Of course, Baby,” San smiles, his eyes crinkling slightly at the sides.

Both he and Jongho eagerly move back into position, switching between who flips who. Each time, they can feel your calculating gaze on them, analyzing their movements.

“Whenever you’re ready, you can practice on one of us,” San nods in your direction.

“Or us!” Wooyoung offers, quite enthusiastically at that.

You grin back, a light chuckle escaping your lips. “Alright.”

Not even two minutes later, you find yourself running through the steps of flipping someone with both San and Jongho. One approaches from the front, while the other approaches from behind. Once you’re comfortable in the movements, and they’ve subsequently given you some pointers as you run through them, you’re ready to attempt to flip and pin them in real time.

The moment you feel Jongho at your back, it’s as if instinct kicks in. Despite only learning the movements a short while ago, it’s as if they are second nature to you. The fluidity of which you flip Jongho with surprises even them, your eyes as wide as his are as you pin him to the ground with a foot on his chest.

“You’re a natural, Dearest.” Yeosang hums, pride rumbling with his chest as he observes the scene before him.

Wooyoung lets out a boisterous laugh. “Seeing you knock Jongho on his ass is something I never knew I needed until now.”

At the way the youngest takes a menacing step towards the elder male once he’s back on his feet, you laugh. The way Wooyoung immediately raises his hands in his own defence has amusement dancing in your eyes, his grin soon mirroring your own.

“Careful, Woo,” Mingi nudges the younger male with his knee, “or you might be next."

“It’s not a threat if I’m looking forward to it,” Wooyoung’s eyebrows flick upwards suggestively in your direction.

“Should I make you wear that belled collar now?” You quirk a brow, pure mirth shining within your gaze.

“Again, not a threat if you know I’ll enjoy it.” He hums, eyes glinting deviously.

Another smack resounds around the room, the younger male rubbing at the back of his head seeing as both Mingi and Yeosang had smacked him.

“Could you imagine Captain in this scenario?” The grin that tugs at the corner of San’s lips is nothing short of devious.

“I don’t think our eldest would fair much better.” Yeosang hums, amusement dancing on his features.

“They have always loved the idea of you roughing them up a bit,” Jongho chuckles, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“They’re not the only ones.” Wooyoung grumbles, arms crossed over his chest.

Again, his comment receives him a smack upside the head from both Yeosang and Mingi. Though, Yeosang seemingly avoids your gaze, clearing his throat in the next moment.

“Don’t worry, Starlight, we’ll all keep them in check,” Mingi assures you with a light smile, of which you return.

“I’m not worried, Min,” you chuckle, turning back to face San in the next moment. “Not in the slightest.”

A moment’s pause.

“Ready, Baby?” He asks, shifting his stance slightly in preparation.

All he receives is a nod from you, determination shining once more in your eyes.

He moves.

Again, it’s like you act on instinct, the movements appearing as if they are second nature to you. San gets flipped over your back, you turning to pin him to the ground in the next second. Your one hand rests on his upper chest, just below his throat as your knee digs into his lower abdomen. The way your fingers twitch slightly along the base of his neck has a shiver running up his spine.

A brilliant smile stretches across your features as you move off of him, much too soon for his liking.

“How was that?” You help him back to his feet.

“You’re a quick study, Darling.” Jongho praises, loving the way you seem to stand a little straighter at his words.

“It’s cause I have such good teachers,” you hum, warmth flooding your chest as you see them all smiling back at you fondly.

“Let’s run through everything we’ve gone over today a few more times, then call it.” San tells you, seeing you nod your head in understanding along with his words.

Another brief silence settles around all of you as you go over all of the stances, techniques, and manoeuvres they’ve taught you. Pride fills their chests at how well you seem to pick everything up, both San and Jongho only needing to fix your positioning a few times throughout the review.

“Once you know a few more things, and have these down, we can start sparring with one another.” San grins, helping you with some cooldown stretches to make sure your muscles won’t be too sore afterwards.

“Would you guys ever let me observe you when you spar with one another?” You voice casually, noticing how San stiffens the slightest bit before you as Jongho quirks a brow.

“If that is what you wanted, Darling,” Jongho grins, eyes flashing towards his brothers, “we’d be more than happy to oblige.”

You hum, nodding your head slightly. “Good to know.”

“We’ll save that for next time, though.” Mingi says, finally standing back to his feet and stretching out his back.

“Did you want to observe us sparing with our weapons, or without?” Yeosang asks, turning towards you as you hoist yourself off of the mat after finishing your round of stretches.

“Both would be cool,” you reply, an eager gleam in your eyes. “I haven’t really seen any of you in proper action, so I’ll take anything and everything I can get.”

“We can get pretty intense when we fight one another, Dearest.” Yeosang continues. “We don’t hold back at all.”

“You can’t improve that way.” Wooyoung shrugs, heading over to the stairs with the rest of you following behind.

“We used to place bets on one another depending on who was fighting,” San recalls with a chuckle, flicking off the lights as you all head back to the main floor.

“I miss those bets sometimes,” Mingi sighs, almost wistfully.

“I almost lost an arm the last time we did that.” Wooyoung mumbles, eyes downcast.

“Not my problem,” San huffs out an amused breath.

You snort out a laugh. “I take it you can’t regrow limbs?”

“Unfortunately, it’s one of the things we can’t do.” Yeosang confirms. “Doesn’t mean we can’t reattach them, though.”

“So, you guys are virtually indestructible and immortal?” You let out a low, impressed whistle.

“Definitely not invincible, but damn near close.” Wooyoung grins at you.

“Yeah, I’d say it’s pretty hard to live without your head.” You comment, pushing the door open to the main floor and stepping out into the hallway.

“Which one?” Yeosang’s inquiry, combined with his completely deadpanned expression, has you faltering only briefly in your steps.

A boisterous laugh escapes your lips.

“Oh my god,” you lift a hand to support yourself against the wall as your chest heaves with laughter. “Depends. Which one do you use more to think with?”

“I don’t think you want to know our answers,” San mumbles, suddenly avoiding your gaze as he walks down the hall.

“I think I just got mine.” You snort out another laugh, leaning yourself fully against the wall.

At the halfhearted shrugs Mingi, Wooyoung, San, and Yeosang all give you, you find you can only smile and shake your head.

A few steps later and you find yourself just outside of your room. Stepping through the threshold reveals Kuroo curled up on that Snorlax beanbag chair off to the side. A spot of which you’re sure is one of his many favourites throughout the house.

“Thanks for today,” you smile faintly, leaning against the doorframe.

“Of course, Darling,” Jongho returns the look, that all too familiar fondness shining within his eyes. “We’ll work on some more strengthening exercises tomorrow.”

“Sounds good to me.” You nod. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I need a shower.”

“Want some company?” Before any of his brothers can stop him, the words are out of Mingi’s mouth. The way his lips quirk upwards, a hopeful gleam in his eyes, has you shaking your head in amusement.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves there, Min.” You grin, your one brow twitching upwards slightly. The way you see his shoulders visibly deflate, even the slightest bit, has you chuckling. At least Mingi ignores all the pointed looks his brothers are sending him for the moment. “Maybe next time.” 

You don’t give any one of them a chance to properly process your words before you’re shutting the door in all of their faces. Though, at the pleased growls you can hear echoing from the opposite side of the door, you know they’ve finally registered them in their minds.

The mere thought of you allowing them to bathe with you excites them more than it should, even those who have already gotten to experience such an intimacy with you. Once is never enough, nor will it ever be enough. Not when it comes to you.

Moving over to your bathroom, you’re quick to strip yourself of your sweaty clothes and hop into the shower. The water is refreshing against your skin, and in no time at all, you find yourself relaxing beneath the spray.

Half an hour later, and you’ve finished freshening up. A clean pair of comfortable clothes rests over your figure, the familiar material of your favourite hoodie wrapping around you. The way you can faintly smell hints of apple clinging to the fabric has a smile tugging at your lips. Looks like Jongho was the last to wear it.

Exiting your room, you’re quick to make your way to the kitchen to grab another bottle of water. Taking a sip, you begin to make your way through the house, figuring you’ll head over to the library to catch up on some reading for the rest of the day. Only, as soon as you step foot into the foyer, a familiar black crow greets you, resting comfortably on Yunho’s left shoulder.

“Hello there, Stella,” you smile as she glides over to perch herself on your own shoulder. “What a lovely surprise. What brings you here today?”

“She brought some news for us.” Seonghwa appears from down the hallway, Hongjoong at his side. A book seems to be held in the eldest’s hand as they all turn to look at you.

“Though, she didn’t come alone.” Yunho breathes, a worried furrow to his brow.

“Someone got through the wards again?” Immediately, panic begins to consume you, your whole body tensing right before their very eyes.

The way they see fear spark behind your gaze has a cold sense of dread rushing down each of their spines. They only wish you didn’t have to experience such negative thoughts or emotions again. Yet, they know, they only have themselves to blame.

“No, My Love,” Hongjoong is quick to assure you, coming to stand beside you as he places a comforting hand onto your arm. “She wanted to bring someone, but they won’t be allowed in until we go to retrieve them.”

“Oh,” you find you’re instantly breathing a sigh of relief.

“Sorry, Petal, I should have clarified,” the worried crease in Yunho’s brow has yet to smooth over as he takes a small step closer to you.

“No one but us can enter our domain.” Seonghwa’s voice is firm, reassuring not only you, but all of them in the front foyer as well. “We’ve made extra sure of that, now.”

“Good,” you nod, blinking a few times to clear your vision before looking over at the three of them. “Then, who did she want to bring?”

“Someone who might be able to provide us insight on Miyeon’s plans, even after her death.” Yunho states, and you notice how stiff he stands.

Placing a gentle hand on his one arm, you notice how your touch immediately relaxes him.

“We wanted to make sure you’d be okay with it before we allowed her into our domain. We’ve mentioned her to you before, but you’ve never met her yet.” Hongjoong says, meeting your gaze. “Otherwise, we’d go to her. We just simply have better privacy here.”

You nod your understanding. “Do you trust her?”

The three males share a look between each other.

“We do.” Yunho nods once in confirmation. “At least, for the moment.”

“Besides, if she tried anything, she wouldn’t get very far.” Seonghwa adds, grip tightening the slightest bit on the book in his hands.

“Alright,” you blink. “Then, bring her in.”

Three nods are all you receive in response before you’re all moving to accommodate the new presence they are about to bring in.

Which is exactly how you find yourself face to face with Mina in the dining room two minutes later. All of the guys surround you, Stella perched precariously on the back of your chair. 

You sit at one head of the table, the chair turned outwards to face Mina as she stands directly across from you. Seonghwa rests off to your left, that book resting open before him as he looks over some ancient spells with Jongho to his left. Ancient spells that might allow them access to Mina’s locked memories. 

Both San and Mingi stand behind you, leaning against the wall with their arms crossed over their chests. Their gazes are sharp, unforgiving as they stare her down. 

Yunho stands the closest to Mina, senses on high alert as he monitors her mind for any sudden shift in demeanour. Slowly, carefully, he begins to attempt weaving through that jumble of memories once more. 

To your right, stands both Hongjoong and Yeosang. Wooyoung leans casually against the far end of the table, his hands supporting himself on the edge. Each male watches Mina closely, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

Stiffly, you sit in your chair, eyeing the woman before you cautiously. You know for a fact that they can all hear how frantically your heart is racing inside of your chest at this very moment, but none of them say anything. The only comfort you get for the moment is Hongjoong’s one hand tenderly placed atop your right shoulder, grounding you in this moment.

In your left hand, your therapy pebble resides, thumb brushing over the smooth side in tandem.

You take a deep breath in to steady your nerves.

“Thank you for agreeing to let me speak with you on such short notice, Your Majesties.” She bows lowly as she addresses all of you. “It is an honour to be allowed inside your home.”

Your brow twitches the slightest bit upwards as you watch her sink to her knees before you. Even more shocking, is when she formerly bows to you, pressing her forehead against her hands on the ground.

“An even greater honour, still, to be formally graced by your presence, My Queen.” She breathes, a slight tremble to her voice. Almost as if she’s nervous, not about how they might react, but how you might perceive her. “I count myself truly lucky to appear before you today.”

Her words catch you so off guard that your thumb stills over your stone.

You blink in shock, a momentary silence settling over the room. That’s when you realize, they’re all waiting for you to speak. All eight of them are allowing you to take the lead right now. You control the flow and outcome of this meeting, and they are more than ready and willing to act upon any of your wishes at a moment’s notice.

You exhale lowly once more to steady your nerves.

“Lift your head.” You surprise even yourself at how commanding your tone is. “Mina, is it?”

She meets your gaze, nodding softly. “Yes, Your Majesty. That is correct.”

The way she continues to address you so formally while remaining on her knees before you, throws you for a loop. You’ve never had anyone other than the eight men within this same room refer to you as such. Yet, hearing it from someone else’s mouth feels different. Something you’ll definitely have to get used to.

“Miyeon was your sister.” You state, rather firmly.

“She was.” Mina confirms, the subtlest of downturns to her lips.

Your hand tightens around that little pebble held within your grasp.

“Are you aware of the extent she went to in attempts to destroy me?” There’s a slight shift in your voice, a dullness that wasn’t there before as you continue to stare the female before you down.

Mina’s expression falls, shame washing over her features. “I am aware my sister had her own, private vendetta against you. However, I am unaware of the direct actions she has taken against you, Your Majesty.”

You tilt your head slightly, noticing the carefulness of her choice of words.

“I will not ask for you to forgive her, Your Majesties, for she does not deserve it.” Mina is quick to continue, diverting her gaze to the side as a hint of bitterness begins to coat her words. “She has brought great shame to our clan, and if I had known before what she had been capable of, I would have done everything in my power to stop her.”

“Hindsight is nice, after the fact,” Wooyoung spits rather harshly, his whole body visibly shaking as he pushes himself off of the side of the table.

Gently, you brush against that all too familiar pure white string inside your mind, and you watch as his shoulders relax. Even if only slightly.

Carefully, you study Mina before you.

“You were aware, to some extent, what she had planned for me.” Not a question, but a statement.

A second of hesitation. “Yes, My Queen.”

Both San and Seonghwa nearly lunge for her right then and there. Even Hongjoong, Wooyoung, and Yeosang find it difficult to hold themselves back from skinning her alive this very second. Only, the way you shift forward in your seat, lifting your right hand upwards slightly in pause halts them in their tracks.

“Why have you waited until now to disclose this information with us?” San’s voice is pointed, tone the darkest you’ve ever heard from him as his words boarder on a low growl. You don’t even have to be looking at him to know his chest is heaving in barely controlled rage.

“I wasn’t conscious of it before this morning.” Mina replies, fear beginning to shine behind her eyes.

“You’re remembering things?” Your head tilts forward, eyes narrowing slightly as you look at her.

“Ever since my sister’s passing, the lines are becoming less blurred.” Mina admits, beginning to nervously wring her fingers together in her lap as she sits back on her knees. “King Yunho told me to contact all of you should my memory begin to become clearer.”

“Which is why you’re here now.” You nod gently in understanding.

“I don’t remember everything,” she shakes her head slightly, tears of frustration lining her eyes. “It’s painful for me to attempt to shift through anything more than just basics, but I’m trying. I’m tired of my sister always getting whatever she wants, even in death.”

Something clicks inside your mind, and understanding paints your features. “You resent her, don’t you?”

Mina purses her lips, and you’re sure she’s about to deny it. That is, until she’s heaving a large sigh, her shoulders deflating as she averts her gaze to the ground.

“More than anything.”

You feel Hongjoong’s hand tighten its grip slightly on your shoulder.

You open up your void.

Even I was unaware of that fact, Petal. Yunho meets your gaze only briefly from across the room. Her mind never let on to that.

How could you tell? There’s nothing but curiosity in Wooyoung’s voice as he turns his head in your direction.

My sister and I weren’t always as close as we are now. You respond, standing from your seat. I’d know that look anywhere.

The movement draws all of their attention for the moment, Hongjoong’s fingers sinking a little firmer into your shoulder as he attempts to prevent you from taking another step forward. At the small, reassuring look you send his way, he backs off.

“This whole time, you’ve yet to address your sister by her name.” You observe, coming to crouch before her. That stone is still held tightly in your left hand, and you use it as a lifeline for the moment as you steel your nerves. “That’s pointed on your part.”

“She doesn’t deserve the satisfaction of having anyone speak her name more than is absolutely necessary.” Mina’s brow furrows, bitterness now clear on her features. “Once is too much.”

You hum, bringing a finger up to guide her gaze back to your own briefly. Once you have her attention, your eyes locked with her own, you notice she cannot look away.

“She always got what she wanted, didn’t she? No questions. No consequence.” You watch her eyes flash, a small scowl pulling at her lips. “How many times had you heard someone tell her that this would be the last time, only for it to become a blatant lie?”

“All she ever did was take and take until there was nothing left for her to desire anymore,” Mina spits, her hands now clenched into fists at her sides. “Even if she had the entire world, it would never be enough for her.”

“She wanted it all, and she didn’t care who she took down in the process.” You add, watching as Mina nods furiously along with your words.

“Her two end goals were destroying you, and claiming the throne with King Yeosang at her side.” Mina confirms.

Little do you see the way all eight of them stiffen around the room. Yunho’s lids fall shut almost immediately, his eyes darting around every which way beneath them as he continues to work to untangle that thread of memories while you speak.

“I’m sure Dimitri didn’t like that idea all that much,” you hum, a slight quirk to your brow.

“No, the warlock was none too pleased to learn of that little detail in her plan-“ Mina’s breath hitches, voice suddenly failing her.

A collective stillness passes over the room.

“Dimitri was with you the day she came for a visit, wasn’t he?” You press, watching every twitch of her features carefully.

“Yes!” A flash of clarity shines within Mina’s eyes, of which widen suddenly. “Yes, Your Majesty. He was!”

Out of the corner of your eyes, you notice Yunho nodding subtly.

Mina begins to blink rapidly, brow tugging downwards as she suddenly clutches the side of her head in pain. Her breathing starts to become laboured, and you can see her eyes darting every which way around the room.

“Hey, hey,” you draw her attention to you once more, expression softening as you gently clasp her free hand in your own. “Look at me.” She does, eyes fixated on your own at your command. Firmly, you press that stone still held in your one hand against the skin of her palm, grounding her to you. “Get her out of your own head.”

Mina’s eyes squeeze shut. “She’s not alone.”

“It’s Dimitri, isn’t it?” Your voice is gentle, much softer than it had been only a moment before.

She nods, no longer able to verbalize her responses.

“She hurt him, too.” You say. “She killed his wife and two children to grab hold over him.”

“Family never meant much to her, anyways.” She replies, sadly. “I wondered why he looked so sad.”

“Sad?” You inquire, tilting your head slightly as you move to rest on your knees before her.

“He held himself firmly, but you cannot hide a broken interior.” Mina breathes, squeezing your hand slightly in her own.

“No,” you hum in agreement, understanding flashing within your gaze. “You truly can’t.”

Slowly, you push yourself back to your feet, noticing how Mina opts to remain on her knees before you. Carefully, she leans her head forward to rest on you hands still holding onto her own.

“Thank you, My Queen,” a tear lands on your skin, followed by another, and then another. “Thank you.”

“Whatever for, Mina?” Your brow furrows slightly as you continue to stare down at her.

The way she looks up at you in awe, gratitude shining within her teary eyes, has your breath hitching in your throat.

“You understand me.” She squeezes your hand once more. “My mind feels lighter because of you.”

“I doubt that was because of me,” you smile faintly, eyes briefly darting over towards where Yunho stands off to the side, his gaze already fixated on you. The pride you can see swirling within him as he looks at you so fondly has a warmth blooming in your chest, a subtle heat creeping up your neck. A look that you have no doubt is mirrored on seven other male’s faces behind you as you can feel their stares locked on your very figure.

“I don’t remember everything, yet,” she continues, a slight furrow to her brow as she attempts to recall more of her locked memories, “but things are starting to become clearer.”

“Were you able to tell us all that you came here for today?” You slowly help her back onto her feet, staring into her eyes as she stands across from you.

“I believe so,” she takes a moment to contemplate your words. At the way you raise an eyebrow, she blinks. “I remembered seeing another figure in my memories with her. I realize now it was Dimitri. She hardly ever did ‘meetings’ with Malik present.”

At her words, a mild surprise pulls at more than just your own features.

“Malik was used for more behind the scenes operations for the rebellion.” She adds. “Miyeon didn’t trust him to do the true dirty work. Hell, she didn’t trust anybody.”

You hum, somewhat in feigned understanding. “What a sad life to lead.”

“Indeed.” Mina confirms. Then, in the next moment, she’s blinking, as if remembering where she is, and who she stands before. Awkwardly, she clears her throat, pulling her hands out of your grasp as a vibrant red spreads across her cheeks. “Oh my, I am so sorry for intruding on your personal space like that, Your Majesty.”

Frantically, she begins to bow, eyes darting around the room to look at the eight males still observing the scene before them.

“It’s okay, Mina.” You chuckle, gently grasping her arms as you straighten her in her spot. The poor girl looks like a deer caught in headlights as you drop your hands back to your sides. “I’m sorry for invading your personal space.”

The red across her features darkens as she averts her gaze bashfully. “I don’t mind at all, My Queen.”

Low growls of warning echo around the room from each male present. Only, they’re cut off by your boisterous laughter.

“Oh, Reina would love you.” You grin, taking a step back from the demon fidgeting before you beneath the intense stares of all Eight Kings of the Realm. You snort, moving back beside Hongjoong for the moment and nudging him gently. “Will you all knock it off.”

Immediately, the tension is lessoning within the room.

Mina clears her throat. “Who’s Reina?”

“Never you mind for now,” you chuckle, tucking that small stone into the front pocket of your jeans. “I’m sure you’ll meet her sooner, than later.”

“I hope to be able to gain her favour, then.” Mina bows her head slightly. “She sounds important to you.”

Again, you hum in acknowledgement. “Depends. Do you like photography?”

There’s something endearing about the way Mina smiles shyly. “In all honesty, I’ve always had a passion for it, My Queen.”

“Starlight, I don’t think now is the time to be playing matchmaker.” Mingi takes a step forward, to which you spare a glance at him from over your shoulder.

You shrug, sitting back down in you seat for the moment. “I’m just looking out for my girl.”

Hongjoong chuckles softly before turning back to face Mina in front of you.

“Is there anything else we should know about?” His voice commands the room, and even you find yourself straightening slightly in your spot.

“I have said all that I have come here to say.” Mina bows once more. “I thank you again for allowing me to seek council in your own domain, Your Majesties.”

All she receives is a few curt nods in response from the eight of them while you smile kindly at her from across the way. A moment later, and Stella has flown over to Mina’s shoulder, perching there as Yunho teleports them both out of the room.

As soon as you’re alone with the eight of them once more, a weight you hadn’t realized you’d been holding onto lifts from your shoulder. Breathing a sigh of relief, you practically deflate into the chair.

“Where did that come from?” Wooyoung’s tone holds nothing but pleasant surprise as they all look at you for the time being.

You spare a sudden nervous glance around at all of them now that their gazes are locked on you. “I’m sorry?”

The way your voice trails upwards at the end of your sentence has Yeosang, Yunho, and Jongho all raising their brows amusedly at you.

“What ever would you need to apologize for, My Love?” Hongjoong kneels beside you, taking your hand into his own. Nothing but pride shines behind his eyes as he meets your gaze, gently bringing the back of your hand up to his lips to place a tender kiss upon your skin. “You handled that beautifully.”

Mingi steps in behind you, gently brushing his hand over the top of your head. “Our Queen.”

Eight content rumbles reach your ears, and you find you cannot prevent the way warmth blooms on your cheeks once more.

“I thought I totally messed that up.” You admit lowly, sinking further into the chair you’re in.

“Not at all, Petal,” Yunho shakes his head, loving smile stretching across his features. “Because of you, I was able to untangle more of that knot of memories within her mind.”

“Really?” For the second time that day, you fail to hide how hopeful you sound. At the way he nods, you cannot prevent the way a large smile tugs at your lips.

“What else did you find?” Yeosang turns towards the taller male.

“Everything she spoke was the truth,” Yunho says, a firm nod to his head. “That, and Mina had to be held back while her sister and Dimitri implemented such a charm on her mind. Though, It seems she’s right about Dimitri. Perhaps we might be able to free his mind once we free her own.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” You reply, looking around at all of them.

“To an extent.” Seonghwa confirms. “We still know next to nothing about her plans with Malik, or when and where they plan to strike.”

“We also have no idea why she chose her allies the way she did.” Jongho frowns, leaning forward to rest his one arm on the table.

Your own arms cross over your chest, gaze staring intently at the floor near your feet. A million different thoughts race through your mind for the moment, not all of them pleasant.

“Are the dragons the only ones we know of that have denied a proposition to form an alliance with her?” Your calculating gaze shifts from the floor to spare a look around at all of them.

“As far as we know.” Hongjoong confirms. “Only the sirens have betrayed us.”

“For now.” San huffs, a roll to his eyes.

“Dimitri’s hunters, witches, and warlocks might not have had a choice in the matter.” Yeosang moves to sit himself in one of the other chairs at the table beside you.

“Are there more of them than just the ones who ally with Dimitri?” You ask, curiosity gleaming within your eyes.

“There are,” Mingi confirms with a slight grimace, “but there aren’t many you want to be associating yourself with. Those are the ones who only do business with you if it benefits them greatly. Most of the time, they’re the ones who make sure you end up dead.”

“There are also those that remain undiscovered.” Wooyoung adds, leaning once more against the side of the table.

“Undiscovered?” You tilt your head slightly.

“Either they choose to remain hidden to live in peace, or they are unaware of the power they possess.” Seonghwa explains.

“Ah, I see,” you hum in understanding. “So, attempting to find them is essentially a waste of time.”

“Essentially,” San agrees. “Unless you know where to look.”

“We don’t have time for that.” Yeosang shakes his head.

“We could always proposition the lycans,” Mingi suggests. “They’re always itching for a good fight to expel their energy.”

“If the gorgons and harpies fail, we might just have to.” Hongjoong’s lips pull downwards as he lets out a long exhale through his nose.

“I just can’t figure out what she could have possibly promised them to sway them onto her side.” Yunho stares deeply at the top of the table, wracking his brain for a solution to a problem he can’t quite comprehend. 

“I doubt they would have agreed if she told them she had plans to rule over everything.” You voice, jaw twitching slightly as your mind continues to race.

“Everything?” Yeosang meets your gaze, confusion clear in his eyes. “What do you mean by that?”

“I have a theory, and I don’t think any of us are going to like it very much.” You grimace slightly, standing back to your feet in the next moment.

“What are you thinking, Darling?” Jongho watches as you turn around to face him and his brothers fully.

You let out a brief exhale through your nose. “I need to talk to Wyno.”

#yandere ateez #yandere au #ateez imagines #ateez scenario #yandere kpop #yandere san #yandere wooyoung #yandere yeosang #yandere seonghwa #yandere jongho #yandere yunho #yandere hongjoong #yandere mingi #mingi scenario #hongjoong scenario #yeosang scenarios #jongho scenario #yunho scenario #wooyoung scenario #seonghwa scenario #san scenario #kpop au #kpop scenario #demon au

[justauthoring]

Shadow of Yourself [2/18]

Prompt: “You’ve changed, Eli. I barely even know who you are right now.”

A/N: Let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list :) And please let me know what you think of this second part! Based off of: Cobra Kai 01x04, 01x05 and 01x06 Warnings: bullying, swearing, mentions of SA, mentions of blowjobs, etc. Pairing: Eli Moskowitz x F!Reader

Tag List: @moonydrafts​

SHE DID WHAT NOW?

“You know, I am really sorry.”

“I don’t know why you’re apologizing. You weren’t even there.”

Swallowing thickly at Miguel’s words, you just shrug, holding your books closer to yourself. “I should’ve been,” you offer, meeting his gaze as the both of you head to the library. “Instead of running off with that guy.”

Miguel just shakes his head and although he’s been pretty bummed since what happened at the dance, which then in turn has stopped him from being able to do karate anymore, he’s not oblivious to the look in your eyes. “Did something happen?” He asks, tilting his head in wonder as he frowns. “Demetri told me him and Eli found you crying.”

Damn, Demetri.

Signing, you just shake your head, tucking your hair behind your ears. Realizing the both of you are reaching the library where Eli and Demetri will no doubt already be, you gently grab Miguel’s arm, pulling him to a stop. “It’s nothing,” and at the look he gives you, assure him; “I promise. I just…” sending a glance towards the library, you spot Eli and Demetri. “Just, don’t bring it up with Eli. I don��t… I don’t want to talk about it and he’ll want to make sure I’m okay.”

“But Y/N,” Miguel cuts in, reaching for you this time. “Are you okay?”

Ignoring everything within you that tells you to say otherwise, you just nod, letting a small smile curl onto your lips. “I’m great.”

And you’re turning, walking into the library before Miguel can ask otherwise. He follows behind you a few seconds after and as you reach Eli and Demetri, you let out a soft greeting, walking around to sit adjacent to Miguel, beside Eli.

The second you’re sat, Eli’s turned to you, a gentle smile on his lips but you can see it in his eyes. You inhale deeply, ever since the Halloween dance Eli has been persistent in knowing what actually happened. You don’t blame him — normally the two of you tell each other everything, and while him and Demetri could most likely make out what had happened on their own, it’s clear Eli wanted to know more.

He just wanted to help, you know that. But you’re far too embarrassed. The boy you’ve had a crush on for as long as you can remember thinking you’re some kind of girl that just passes herself around? You didn’t even want Miguel or Demetri thinking that, let alone Eli.

So, quickly you send him a smile, but turn your gaze to your books soon after, promptly avoiding the situation.

“So, that’s it? No more karate?”

It’s Demetri who asks the question, an almost sort of hopeful look in his eyes as he faces Miguel.

Letting out a sigh, Miguel shrugs. “I guess not.”

“It’s probably for the best,” Demetri offers, nodding to himself. “It was starting to boost your confidence.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“No,” Demetri argues desperately. “What has confidence ever gotten anybody except for a black eye and their backpack thrown in the trash?”

Or some guy forcing themselves on you?

Biting your lip, you stay silent as opposed to where you’d normally argue with Demetri. The truth was, you thought it was brave how Miguel tried to stand up to Kyler, and he was so good at boosting his own confidence, you’d even listened to him and gone for it. Not that you blamed him, just… sadly, you were starting to think Demetri’s rather pessimistic views were right.

Kids like you were meant to stay the way you were — bullied and nonexistent.

“W-Well,” Eli speaks up, stammering his first words, “I thought it was kind of cool how you stood up to Kyler.”

Immediately, your gaze flickers up to Eli, surprised.

“Are you insane?” Demetri instantly cuts in, “let me ask you. What is the best superpower anyone could have?”

“Super strength.” Miguel answers with ease.

“Wrong. Invisibility. A distant second would be super speed to run away fast.”

Miguel frowns at Demetri’s words, and Eli chooses not to say anything. Before you realize it, their gazes are on you.

“What about you, Y/N?” Miguel offers, obviously hoping you’ll agree with him. “Super strength would be cool, wouldn’t it?”

Your lips part, moving to respond but then a head of dark hair catches your attention and you’re forced to remember last night as Adam walks by, smirking as he sends you a wink, snickering with his friends.

Shoulders falling, you lower your gaze; “Demetri’s right.”

“See?” Demetri calls out, clearly just as shocked as all of them that you’d actually agreed with him. “It’s best to just hide from all of them.”

“Hide from who?”

You jump at the new voice, too lost in your own thoughts to notice Kyler approaching. You frown when you see him press his hand against the back of Eli’s neck, a smirk on his face as he squeezes just faintly so he knows he’s there.

“Whom,” his friend cuts in, “it’s the object of a preposition. Remember English class.”

His confusion at his friends words gives Eli and the rest of you the moment to run off. You watch as all three instantly stand up, grabbing their bags in a hopeless effort to get away. You see it before they notice, Kyler latches onto Eli before he can get away.

“Hey, where you going?” He calls out, tugging Eli towards him before turning him to face both of them. “Oh, look at this freak.” He laughs, gripping him by the chin. “Oh shit! What kind of girl would ever kiss this shit?”

You push yourself to stand before you even realize it, anger clouding your judgement as you move towards Kyler. “Get your hands off of him, Kyler,” you hiss out, trying to pull him away from Eli. “Leave him alone.”

You weren’t just gonna stand by while they made fun of Eli, especially not something he was so self conscious about. If you couldn’t help yourself, you at least hoped you could help him.

However, you freeze when Kyler and Brucks’ attention turns to you. At the twinkle in their eyes and the smirk that grows on the latter’s face, you already know what he’s going to say before he does.

“Hey, you’re the girl aren’t you?” Kyler laughs out, aggressively shoving Eli to the side as the both of them turn to you. Kyler turns to Brucks then, slapping his chest; “you know, the one Adam was talking about?”

Your heart falls to the pit of your stomach.

“Yeah, yeah!” Brucks grins, laughing as he turns back to you. “The one who gave him a blowjob last night, yeah?”

You feel frozen still, unable to move as they laugh and mock you. You can feel Miguel, Demetri and most importantly Eli’s gazes on you, piercing into you, but you feel helpless to say anything in denial as the tears well, making your vision blur.

“Yeah,” Kyler nods, before punching Brucks shoulder teasingly. “Apparently she’ll do it for anyone,” he lowers his voice to a poor whisper, clearly meant for you and everyone to hear. “Hey, there ya go, Lip.” He turns to Eli, and you almost feel sick to your stomach. “I bet you Y/N here would kiss you. Probably do a lot more than that too.”

Your eyes drift to Eli before you can stop yourself — hoping, praying that he won’t believe what they’re saying. He has to know… he has to know that you wouldn’t do stuff like that. Not you.

But he just looks confused, baffled as you meet his gaze and it’s then you’re no longer able to hold back your tears any longer.

You grab your bag with a haste, barely paying attention to what you’re grabbing as you turn without another word, holding back the sob that threatens to break past your lips.

“Wait!” You hear Brucks call out, making you press your hand to your lips in order to stifle your cry. “I was hoping you’d—“

You don’t hear what he says, letting the library doors slam shut behind you. Nor do you hear Miguel call out for Kyler to stop. You don’t hear anything, your heart pounding madly against your chest as the tears get harder and harder for you to hold back.

-

‘Open the window.’

Sighing at the text message, you choose to ignore it, holding your pillow tighter against yourself. There’s a moment of quiet, until another buzz echoes from your phone.

‘Please.’

Knowing he won’t give up until you do, you slide off your bed with a huff. Your footsteps are slow, having not left your bed since you left school early yesterday and all but collapsed there. You’d spent most of your day moping by yourself, too mortified to even think of going to school today after what had happened.

Luckily your mother hadn’t really argued much, too busy with her own life to care about yours — not that that really surprised you. However, that in turn allowed you to have a sick day when you were definitely not sick and by default, save you from having to face Eli, Miguel and Demetri who you know you wouldn’t be able to avoid otherwise.

Well, at least you thought that’d be the case — it seemed Eli didn’t really feel like waiting around until you decided you were ready to go back.

He’s frowning when you open your window for him, but you don’t say anything in response to the look he sends you. You simply just crawl back to your bed, pulling your knees to your chest as you watch him crawl in through the window, moving to stand awkwardly in front of you.

It’s not the first time Eli’s come to your house. There’s of course the nights your house is chosen for movie night, but Eli’s also done this very act multiple times before when either of you were upset. You’ve patched him up multiple times when Kyler managed to get to him, and he’s consoled you more times then you can count when Yasmines words cut a little too deep.

Normally, you crave his presence, wanting his comfort. Today, you’d rather he’d left you alone — too afraid to find out if he… if he believed what Kyler had said about you.

However, as the silence echoes and Eli continues to stand in front of you without saying a single word; you find you can’t handle the silence. He’s here now and you’re faced with the reality that you need to know.

“It’s not true,” you mumble after a moment, licking your lips as you slowly look up and meet his gaze. You can only imagine what you look like — tears stained on your cheeks, eyes red and puffy. “I-I… I didn’t do anything with Adam, or-or anybody else.”

The desperation sets in, it just clicking to you then how desperate you are for him to believe you. You didn’t want Demetri or Miguel thinking that way of you either, of course, but you don’t think you could stand it if Eli thought of you in that way.

“You have to believe me,” you cry out, and Eli blinks in surprise as you turn distraught. “I… I haven’t even had my first kiss yet and—“

“Y/N. Y/N!”

Jumping at Eli’s voice, you blink up at him, lips left parted.

Shoulders falling, Eli moves towards you, falling next to you on your bed. Your body tenses as he does, feeling unsure for the first time with Eli ever as his shoulder brushes against your own.

“I believe you.”

The second he utters those words, everything just goes away. Your body eases instantly and all the anxiety and worry that had been built up inside of you washes away without a single second thought. His words feel like a miracle to you, all the horrible anxiety built up inside of you dissipating seconds. Your eyes, still puffy from crying, turn to look at Eli who’d already had his gaze on you — eyes comforting and a small smile on his lips.

“You do?”

“Of course,” he assures, nodding at you. Then, his face falters, uncertainty at how you’ll feel about his next question flooding his gaze. He’s still not really sure if you are ready to talk about it. “I assume it was Yasmine?”

Swallowing thickly, you nod, fiddling with your fingers in your lap. “Yeah, the day I wore that shirt she apparently felt obligated to, well… you know…”

Eli nods and silence falls over the two of you.

You can’t help but ask; “do Demetri and Miguel…?”

“They know it’s not true,” Eli assures. “Miguel wanted to run after you right away but well… I wanted to be the first one to talk to you.”

Feeling your cheeks warm, you stammer out a response; “o-oh…”

Eli then turns, avoiding your gaze as he mumbles out; “was… everything Kyler said not true?”

You tense, confused at his words as you turn to Eli, shaking your head. “You just said you—“

“No, no,” Eli quickly cuts in, turning to you as he shakes his head. “I meant… when he said that maybe you’d… you know, that maybe you’d kiss me. Was… was that not true?”

Your eyes widen, disbelief running through you as Eli makes the move you’ve been waiting years for him to make. You’d forgotten, honestly, in the midst of everything that Kyler had even said that. You’d been too in your head, too hurt and worried and upset to process anything other then the cruel words they’d spat at you.

But… but of course that was true. Even if it came from Kyler.

You’re fumbling with words, unsure what to say and Eli is looking more and more unsure by the second. You’re too embarrassed to say it outright, to express the words, so you do the first thing that pops into mind, a split second decision, and press your lips against Eli’s.

It’s awkward, more of a simply smashing your lips against one another then really kissing. Neither of you have ever done anything like this before and honestly, it makes your heart melt the same you’ve always imagined it doing. You feel yourself sink into Eli as he eases from his initial surprise.

Then, he’s pulling back, shock written plainly on his face as both of your cheeks burn.

“I… I, um…” You stammer over your words, mind racing at the fact that you’d actually just kissed Eli.

“You… kissed me…” he mumbles, dazed.

You frown, feeling suddenly a lot more self conscious at his lack of response to your kiss. “Did… did you not like it?”

“I loved it.”

You pause at his outburst, not hesitating a second to breathe the words as the both of you blink at each other before a giggle breaks past your lips and Eli follows shortly after with a laugh of his own — just the sight of you so happy makes him happy and he watches with fond eyes as you laugh.

“I’ve been wanting to kiss you for a long time,” you confess after a moment, voice a whisper. “I, uh… I’ve had a crush on you for a long time.”

Eli’s eyes crinkle, warmth flooding his gaze. ��Me too.”

Turning to Eli, you smile. “Really?”

He’s grinning too, the happiest you think you’ve ever seen him; “yeah.” He nods.

Unsure what to say, you lean back, tucking a strand of hair behind your ears as you let out a laugh. “Well, I mean, I guess that answered your question?”

Eli snorts, “it definitely did.” And then, he pauses, “it didn’t… bother you, my lip?”

You think back to what Kyler had said — the taunt that had started all of this and frown. You hate how self conscious Eli is about his lip. You’ve always thought it was what made him special, different from the rest.

Eyes softening, you turn to Eli, meeting his gaze firmly as you reach out for his hand, squeezing it. “Eli,” you utter, voice soft and a whisper, “I think your lip is beautiful.”

And it’s the nicest thing anyones ever said to Eli, let alone about his lip. He wonders how he could’ve gotten so lucky to have someone like you like him back. You’re… you’re far more than he thinks he deserves.

He’s always thought that.

“What does this mean for us now?”

You pause at Eli’s question, pursing your lips. “Well, I mean, Demetri might actually be a third wheel now.” You tease lightly, grinning when Eli laughs, slipping his fingers through your own as you gaze up at him, smiling brightly.

“Oh, yeah,” Eli blinks, “Miguel actually stood up to Kyler.”

Your lips part, “what?”

“Yeah,” Eli nods, “turns out his karate really was worth it.”

Pausing, you turn your head in thought, still in disbelief. “Figures the one day I decide to stay home, something exciting happens.”

Eli chuckles, before adding, almost unsure; “I was, um… well, I was thinking of joining. Cobra Kai, I mean.”

“Yeah?”

He nods.

“I think it’s a great idea,” you encourage brightly, eyes twinkling as you squeeze his hand. “You should go for it. Seriously.”

Eli nods again, lips parting before he pauses, pulling back. It looked as if he wanted to say something, and frowning, you lean forward, meeting his eyes.

“What is it?”

“I wanna join it for you too.”

Brows furrowing, you shake your head; “what do you mean?”

“I want to be able to stand up for you,” he explains, cheeks flush as he scratches the back of his neck. “Protect you… from guys like Kyler. Like you always have for me.”

Your heart flutters, this warmth spreading through your entire body as you stare back at Eli. He’s avoiding your gaze, obviously unsure of how you’ll feel about what he’s said — maybe he’s worried you won’t like it, find it weird. But really, you don’t think you’ve ever had someone say something so… kind to you before.

And you want him to know that.

“That’s the sweetest thing anyones ever said to me, Eli. Thank you.” You whisper, threading your fingers through his own, squeezing to emphasize.

He blushes, turning his head away to hide himself from you which causes a light laugh to leave your lips in response.

It’s one of the things you love most about Eli — that shy nature of his. You don’t think you’d ever get sick of seeing it.

“Of course,” he mumbles, “I-I meant it.”

-

“How’d karate practice go?”

Turning away from his locker, Miguel’s face lights up at the sight of you. “Y/N, you’re back!”

Flushing slightly, you nod; “yeah, sorry I didn’t really say anything.”

Miguel shakes his head, closing his locker as he turns to you completely. “Are.. are you okay? I… I wanted to check up on you, but Demetri thought it best we just left you alone and well, he’s known you longer so—“

“Miguel?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m okay,” you assure softly, smiling brightly at him. Honestly, given the events that have occurred since the last time you saw Miguel, you’re more than okay. But you’re not sure what Eli’s said to Miguel and Demetri yet, so you feel it best to just keep quiet for now. “I promise.” You send him a thumbs up, before grinning, winking at him. “I heard you’ve made quite a name for yourself though.”

“Oh yeah, you heard about that?”

“Eli told me.”

“I was tired of Kyler being an ass to everyone,” Miguel explains with a shrug. “Especially after what he said to you.”

You smile; “I appreciate that. Though, I heard you were standing up for a certain somebody too.”

Miguel blushes, cheeks burning. “Eli?”

You nod, giggling. “Yeah.”

“Since I know about you and Eli, I’ll admit, yeah. I like Sam. More than just like.”

Shaking your head, you set your hand on Miguel’s arm. “I’m happy for you, Miguel. And I mean, she’s had to have noticed you now — given you stood up for her honour and everything.”

Miguel just nods, rolling his eyes at your teasing.

“You never answered my question though,” you continue, moving to elaborate at his furrowed brows. “How’d karate practice go? I know Eli and Demetri joined. Is Demetri just about ready to quit?”

You say it with a tease, but at the frown on Miguel’s face you figure you hit it on the dot.

“Sensei kicked his ass in front of everyone,” he explains, shrugging. “Wasn’t too happy about it.”

Whistling, you nod; “that sucks.” Honestly, you hadn’t expected Demetri to really… stay long. It was clear he didn’t want to join Cobra Kai or learn karate.

Biting your lip, you ask about the person you really wanna know about. “What about Eli? Is… is he doing well?”

Miguel hesitates and you instantly frown.

“Not good?”

“It’s just… well, let’s just say Sensei was a little hard on him.”

“Oh.” Shoulders falling with a slump, you sigh. You were hoping to hear it’d gone well, knowing how excited Eli had sounded about it when he first told you. And the fact that part of him was doing it for you… you didn’t want him to end up regretting his decision.

“W-Well, I’m sure it’ll be okay.” You assure, not really sure if you were trying to reassure yourself or Miguel. Maybe both. “Eli’s tough.”

Miguel nods, “of course.”

“Have you seen him today, actually? He’s not answering my texts.” You pull your phone out again at the mention, not surprised to see, like it’s been all day, that there’s no reply back from him. It was odd for him to skip school, or at least not text you about it first.

Had karate class gone that bad?

“No,” Miguel sighs, “I hope Sensei didn’t scare him away.”

“I’m sure it’s fine,” you offer, though both of you don’t really believe your words. “Something might’ve just come up. That’s all.”

Miguel agrees with you, and the both of you fall into a eased conversation, gathering your stuff as you head off to class together. However, even as you sit down in your seat and your teacher begins to drawl on about whatever it is you’re learning today, you find you can barely pay attention, your mind filled with worry for Eli.

He’d seemed so excited about joining Cobra Kai… for him to not show up to school after what Miguel’s told you… it made you sick with worry.

What exactly had Miguel’s Sensei said to him?

#cobra kai #cobra kai x reader #cobra kai imagine #cobra kai series #cobra kai season 5 #eli moskowitz #eli moskowitz x reader #eli moskowitz imagine #hawk cobra kai #hawk x reader #hawk imagine #miguel diaz #miguel diaz imagine #miguel diaz x reader #jacob bertrand #imagine #imagines #my fics

[mbakuetshurisprincess]

Everything You Come With

AN: Okay so a while ago an anon said this and the idea has bounced around in my head for so long. So today I was like fuck it sit down and write that shit and that’s what I did! It’s super short but I’m trying to get better about not writing fuckin BOOKS for every post so here's this bite-size fic. Unrelated, a few housekeeping/general notes, I’m about to start back with university (Penelope Scott was really right about sophomore year in Cigarette Ahegao) so my posting is going to be a lot less frequent. I’m still gonna try to post and not go TOTAL ghost like I did before but it’s definitely gonna be a challenge. So please bear with me and send me all of your positive HBCU academia energy 

Summary: After the events with Namor, a fear of water plagues you wake or asleep. 

Pairing: Shuri x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Descriptions of drowning and panic. Cursing, think that’s it.

Word count: 1,808

Suggested listening: Circles - Mac Miller

“And I can keep you safe, I can keep you safe Do not be afraid, do not be afraid You're feelin' sorry, I'm feelin' fine Don't you put any more stress on yourself It's one day at a time”

Water. You felt the sensation of cool water pooling underneath your feet, looking down you saw the clear water just starting to reach your ankles. Where were you? You looked up from your feet and tried to take a step forward, only to be met with a clear glass wall no more than a step in front of you. What? You looked around and noticed the other three walls, encasing you in some sort of glass box. What the fuck was going on? 

Your confusion was only increased by the feeling of the water rising higher on your legs, now reaching your calves. How had it gotten that high that quick? The coldness was starting to get to you as you were just in leggings and a shirt. You took a moment to study your surroundings, outside of the clear box you were in, you saw nothing. Not like a room with no objects in it, nothing. Surrounding you was the kind of nothing that leaves a person with uneasiness, a black void that can’t hold anything or anyone within it. This couldn’t be good.

Where was Shuri? Surely if you were in some sort of danger she would be there to save you, she always was. You tried to call out to her, to yell her name in hopes that the sound of your voice would bring your love to your rescue. But the sound just bounced around the clear walls and echoed back to you. There was no one to hear you scream. The water started rushing into the box faster now, sending cool waves across your mid-thigh. 

You found yourself fighting to stay calm, as the water level rose around you. Water hadn’t been a fear of yours before this year. You’d been a well-known swimmer in your tribe and were known to often be found hanging out by the river's edge during your free time. When Namor attacked Wakanda you were almost drowned, having been held underwater by waves for nearly five minutes before Shuri saved you. It took divine intervention by Bast herself to save your life some said because there was no way you should've survived being unconscious for so long. The incident left you with a fear of water so strong you couldn’t even shower for months without Shuri being with you to calm your anxiety. But you had worked through that, you and Shuri both had started seeing therapists separately, attempting to heal from the year's events. And slowly but surely your water-based worries had lessened. 

But right now feeling the water rest at your waist, you felt it all slowly start to creep back into you. You forced yourself to take a deep breath in and out. The only thing that could calm you right now was Shuri, so you imagined what she would say if she was with you. 

“Look around you usana. What’s going on?” 

You surveyed your surroundings once again and gathered all of your information. You were in some kind of clear plastic box, surrounded on all sides with water filling it. 

“Where’s the water coming from?” 

Looking down at your feet you tried to find a hole or valve where water could be coming in from, but you found nothing. How was the water rising if there was no place for it to come in from? Strange. As you made the realization that there was no water valve the water started rushing in faster, almost as if it heard what you were thinking. The feeling of water rising up just below your breast sent panic through your body, this was now becoming dire and you still hadn’t found a way out. 

“Hey hey, stick with me usana.” You could practically hear Shuri’s reassurance in your head. “Use that brain of yours, breathe and think about this rationally.” 

You did as Shuri commanded, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath. The word rationally replayed in your head and finally, it all clicked. You were dreaming. Somehow you were stuck in one of your top nightmare scenarios. Armed with this information you opened your eyes, ready to apply the coping skills your therapist had taught you to break yourself out of this nightmare. But the sight that you saw when you opened them did nothing but bring horror into your heart. The same as before as if triggered by your realization that something was up, the water level had risen now to your shoulders.

Its coolness and sudden appearance instantly brought you back to Namor and slowly you felt the calmness be ripped away from you. Dream or not this was becoming too much. As the water raised past your shoulders and to your ears you tried to move but your feet were anchored to the ground as if they weighed thousands of pounds. The feeling of your heart beating fast in your chest was sending you into overdrive and it took everything in you not to scream. You tried to move once again, to swim upwards and try to beat the water, but your feet stayed stuck to the ground. 

Swiftly the water covered you and everything went silent, just the echo of your heart to let you know you were still alive. You didn’t know how long you could hold your breath, but you still wasted energy thrashing your arms upwards trying to pull your feet from underneath you. It wasn’t working, you could feel the panic reaching its precipice within you, your body fighting an urge to just scream and let the water overtake your lungs. 

“Y/N.” 

You could hear Shuri calling you from above, you knew it was her. If only you could just unsecure your feet from the bottom and swim up to her. She would be able to pull you from the water, you knew it. You stopped your scream of fear and worry from coming out to try to swim upwards again, to no avail.

“Y/N.” 

She called to you again, her voice sounding more desperate for you this time. Every muscle in your body was trying to push you off the ground and get you out of the cold water to your Shuri but it wasn’t working. Why wasn’t it working, you begged yourself. Your body gave in and finally let out the scream it had been holding in. You felt the water rush into your lungs and fill them, choking you with its coolness and sudden invasion. 

Your eyes shot open and you sat up abruptly out of bed, gasping for air. You looked over and saw a very worried Shuri staring at you, sitting up. You tried to speak but only managed to get out an “I-” before the tears spilled from your eyes. 

“Oh usana,” Shuri said with a sad sigh, pulling your body on top of hers so you were straddling her waist. She wrapped her arms around your waist and slid them up your back and rubbed soothing circles. You couldn’t help all the tears that you let out as you buried your head into Shuri’s shoulder, holding onto her neck tightly as if she was going to slip away. 

Shuri would let you stay like that for as long as you needed, just content that she could bring you some type of peace at the moment. Deep down it scared the shit out of her. Your movement in your sleep is what first woke her up, she watched as you tossed and turned debating if she should wake you or not. When she finally did call your name and you didn’t wake up, that's when she started getting concerned. It was obvious to the Queen that whatever dream you were having wasn’t a pleasant one and it pained her to know that the figments that your mind created were the one thing she couldn’t make go away. Your scream shook her to the core and when she saw your tears it took everything in her for her to not cry right then with you. She hated seeing you in so much pain. 

After allowing Shuri’s presence to ground you for a while you finally spoke into her warm body. “I’m sorry.”

“There is nothing to be sorry for my love.” 

Her response didn’t do anything but bring more tears to your eyes, what did you do to have such a sweet partner. “I’m sorry for being such a burden to you.” You said quietly with your head still buried in Shuri’s shoulder. 

Shuri stopped rubbing your back for a split second as she processed the gravity of what you said. “Have I made you feel like a burden?” She asked the question sincerely. 

“Never.” You reassured softly, Shuri never made you feel like a burden even with everything you dealt with. She always said she had agreed to love you as a person and that included everything you came with, no matter what. 

Shuri tapped your back signaling that she wanted to look at you and you shook your head no. You knew your eyes would be all puffy from crying and that your hair probably looked crazy since your scarf had slipped off sometime during tonight's events. Your ‘no’ was met by a meek “Please,” from Shuri and how could you deny her. Slowly you lifted your head from her shoulder to meet Shuri’s eyes. When you finally looked at her she gave you a small smile “There is my beautiful girl.” 

Despite the grim mood in the room you couldn’t help but blush at Shuri’s compliment. She had a way of doing that, of making you happy even when you didn’t think it was possible. 

“You are not, have not, and will not ever be a burden to me,” Shuri spoke the words seriously to you, holding your eye contact. “We went through something and it’s okay that you’re still not at a hundred percent yet, you don’t have to be.” 

Hearing Shuri say those words felt like a weight had been released from your shoulders. You felt like since everything with Namor had happened a year ago, you for some reason needed to move on. Like your healing was supposed to be on some fast-tracked timeline and at some point, you had fallen behind. But Shuri freed you from that with her words and you knew she meant them. 

“Thank you.” You said quietly ducking your head back into her. Normally she would insist on more talking so you two could work through the nightmare but the Queen could sense your tiredness. She kissed your forehead and pulled you close to her body so that your chests were touching; you rested your head on your favorite pillow, her shoulder. You fell asleep on Shuri that night, knowing whatever was next she would be there beside you. 

Taglist: 

@shuriszn @sokkasbae25 @verachii @cuddl3s4shur1 @takeyaki @jinnie10101 @letitias-fav @sweetalittleselfish-honey @beautybyfire @6-noir @mocha-aya @yvxmpire @mysticalmarss @ziayamikaelson @youralphawolf72 @n7cje

#shuri x y/n #shuri x reader #shuri black panther #shuri imagine #shuri udaku #shuri fanfiction #shuri x you #black panther #black panther fanfiction #black panther imagine #black panther fic #black panther fandom #wlw blog #wlw #wlw ship #wlw fanfic #jc writes

[icebluecyanide]

Alex Rider S03E06 Reaction

Unspoilered episode reactions, warning for book spoilers, you know the drill. Time to kill Mrs Jones!

Liveblog

‘We have both been betrayed too many times’ over an image of John, nice

Don’t just approach the strange man watching you, Jack!!

Why did he tell Jack?? It’s sort of wild that Alex is thinking of killing Mrs Jones as just something he needs to do first, like he can in any way go back to a normal life after. Like, also him thinking he would ‘just’ finish Scorpia, like that’s not an entire criminal organisation that’s been hidden for years. Alex, I love you but perhaps these are not realistic life goals

Omg why would you get the CIA involved

Ahsdlfhs I need Alex to be more isolated, I can’t handle him seeming to be winning this argument with Yassen about contacting Jack when it was objectively a stupid thing to do. ‘She needed to know I was okay’ Alex… you will literally never be able to live a normal life again if you kill Mrs Jones, you showing yourself to Jack will not make this easier in any way

‘We trust each other, you should try it sometime’ Alex you literally just met up with your friend in secret ahsdlfhs

Oh no I think Yassen may know that the story about Mrs Jones isn’t true. ‘Shortly after the operation. Shortly after your father died’ sounds like Yassen knows John didn’t die on the bridge. But also gosh him telling Alex he could be a good killer!! What are Yassen’s motives here?? 

Ayyy first Helen mention, that took a while. Interesting choice to have Yassen be the one to tell Alex, and that he knows about the plane crash

“Because it’s my job. I work for Scorpia. And I’m good at it” 🥺

“You think this is about John. Alex Rider’s father” ahsldhfs why not just call him John Rider lol

YASSEN IS COOKING FOR THEM!!! 🥰 They’re having dinner together omg 

“You can’t kill someone and go home. You can only go forward.” “forward to what?” “To the next target” ooof gosh he’s not wrong tho and Alex is definitely overdue hearing that given his behaviour earlier this ep

“Alex worked it out, because he’s actually quite good at this stuff” yeah I mean that is part of why they blackmailed him to work for the Department, Tom ahsldfhs what sort of burn is this supposed to be lol weren’t you all glad Blunt wasn’t interested in Alex anymore??

“If i were betrayed like that, I would make sure there were consequences, no matter how long it took” lol foreshadowing

Gosh this part about her trying to make him separate from Jack is a lot more complicated in the show than in the book, what with Alex not being as isolated/him not feeling like he’s already decided to be with Scorpia/Scorpia being a lot more brutal to him so far

“He’s confused” I mean he’s also trying to kill Mrs Jones and joined a criminal organisation. So like, they absolutely should be treating him with caution now

Why are they not putting together yet that Alex is going after Mrs Jones tho? In the book Blunt puts extra security on her the moment it becomes clear that Alex may have joined Scorpia because he learned about Albert Bridge, it doesn’t seem such a big leap to assume Alex is out to kill a particular person?

Love how they kept in the Coke trick with the metal detector, always loved that in the book haha

Lmao Alex just putting together the gun on camera

I love how she immediately notices the picture being turned down and knows something is wrong

Alex is so angry!! I’m sad that we don’t get Mrs Jones challenging Alex about his dad being a killer tho

Overall

Very nice. Some really cool scenes this episode, loved how much Yassen and Alex we are getting but oh man I need the Department at least to be rough with Alex when they bring him in after this, I crave Consequences.

Thought/predictions

Some very interesting Yassen and Alex scenes in this episode, and I loooove the fact that they are living in the safe house together for a bit and that Yassen was cooking them dinner, but also it is wild to me how Alex could just walk out. Where is the danger, the consequences of him telling people? Yassen is huffy for one moment and then Alex talks back and they move on like ahsdlfhs I love Yassen being soft for Alex, but he really is being very foolish contacting people he knows like that. Like ‘yeah I’m on a mission of revenge and I’m planning the murder of a government official but after that I plan to come home’ like Alex… 

Those were some really wild reactions to Kyra stealing the equivalent of state secrets lol. Like, those are highly classified files, and frankly the fact that Smithers either didn’t notice it going missing or didn’t care because he likes Kyra makes me think that perhaps the Department is not ISO certified.

Okay so, Julia Rothman wants revenge on Blunt and John (through Alex). The plan was just Blunt until Alex started searching for Scorpia and now Mrs Rothman really wants to watch him die too (which I assume Alex will learn once they tell him about what Scorpia is planning next ep when they bring him in). 

Yassen on the other hand seems to think Alex can be a killer like him and John, and I still can’t tell if he knows that John betrayed Scorpia. Because he is very ‘emotions don’t matter’ so it is possible that yes he felt betrayed but now he put that aside, and he is not about things getting personal and doesn’t question orders, so he might never have even considered that Julia Rothman actually wants Alex dead. Because apparently he’s happy never thinking lol. But that also means that perhaps once he’s forced to choose between Scorpia and Alex later this season, he may need to make an actual choice, and may realise that Julia actually planned to kill Alex from the start. Alternatively, he doesn’t know but also never looked into it. But the way he phrased things when it came to Alex’s mother dying and warned Alex not to make things personal is a bit suspicious. But also that means he’s lying to Alex about his dad??

Also Kyra loves Alex apparently, but I wish we could have got more on her feelings about Alex joining the organisation that murdered her parents. Like, it may even have been Yassen who did it, and now Alex is hanging out with him. Can we please get some moral consequences and angst in here?

I want a hundred more scenes of Alex and Yassen living in the safe house. Did they do dishes together? Did they have separate bedrooms? What’s it like for Alex to spend so much time with the man who killed his uncle? He did actually seem to warm up to Yassen from around that time with the shopping list, but it has to be strange when he’s reminded of Yassen being a killer.

I assume they will send Alex in again like in canon but I really wonder what that conversation will be like, because I always liked how in the books Alex is sort of half resigned to the fact that they are going to ask him, and half knows he wants to do it because he wants to save people & get back at Julia Rothman for the lies and also her trying to kill him.

Questions

Does Yassen know??? I need to know more about his motivations

Is Tom’s brother going to be okay without a good cameraman?

Will Tom move to Malta?

What is Yassen going to do when he sees Alex is caught??

How did the shooting end this time, did Alex just straight up miss or is there still a glass wall?

#alex rider tv #alex rider spoilers #alex rider tv spoilers #alex rider s3 #cyan watches alex rider s3 #alex rider #yassen gregorovich #mrs jones #alex x yassen

[amor1st03]

Change | Kim Seungmin (Sneak peek)

Coming soon!!

a/n: a little sneak peek of what I've been writing, I'm not writing as often but I do find it relaxes me when I do and I've finally finished something that I think is good to post

Full fic, when I post it, will be found here

The constant stream of swooning girls bothered you more than you would like to admit.

It’s not that you were jealous. You weren’t jealous. You were annoyed.

Your job at your uni’s library had been a peaceful one until a certain someone had to disturbed the peace.

Kim Seungmin.

Or as one girl in your class had told you, one of the school’s most eligible bachelors. You were quick to correct this to one of the most attractive fuckboy.

Him and his seven best friends were known around campus for their good looks and charm. You heard many stories regarding each of their latest conquests.

Now, you had nothing wrong with people sleeping around, that’s what loads of people did at uni right? What you did have a problem was people being led on. You had seen quite a few people crying over being rejected by one of the guys after they thought they had someone special with them.

There were few who were unable to fall for their charm. You being one of them.

You had no interest in a quick one night stand. You wanted something that meant something. Something real.

Just because Kim Seungmin looked so good while leaning on the counter talking to the girls did not mean you were going to fall for his antics.

You rolled your eyes as one of the girls twirled her hair and fluttered her eyes before looking away. When the girls had finally left you called over.

“Now that you’re done flirting can you put these back on the shelves.” You motioned your head in the direction of the cart full of books, not looking up from the computer you were using.

“I wasn’t flirting.” You look up at him, raising your eyebrows.

“Sure. Just go and put those back.” Without another word he took the cart and headed for the shelves. You watched as he left before turning back to your work.

“Is Seungmin here?” You looked up from the computer to see Chan.

“Hello to you too, Christopher.”

“Damn, English government name and everythihng.” He smiled at you. Chan was the only one of the eight guys, besides Seungmin, you spoke to. Last year, he had come to the library to talk to Seungmin when he had found you. He had asked you out to which you politely declined. He had been taken aback, it had been a long time since someone had rejected him. He had been suprised by you and although he never asked you out again the two of you formed a sort of friendship.

“Seungmin’s here, he’s just putting some books back.”

“Well I was just gonna tell him that on friday I’m having a party at my place. Actually, why don’t you come too? It’s been a while since you’ve come to one of my parties.”

“I’ll think about it. And I’ll tell him too.”

“Alright, thanks. I hope to see you there.” Chan left and not long after Seungmin returned with the empty cart.

“You just missed Chan. He told me to tell you he’s having a party at his on Friday.”

“Okay, cool.” You gave him a little nod before turning away to continue your work. “Hey, um, Y/N, would you, maybe, wanna come to the party?”

“Chan already invited me.”

“Oh, alright.”

“Anyway, I’m gonna clock out now, my shift’s over, but I’m gonna stick around to study for a little while. I swear, if I catch you flirting with all the girls that come to check out a book instead of working I’ll kill you.”

“I already told you I don’t flirt with them!”

#kim seungmin #skz kim seungmin #stray kids #skz #kpop #fanfiction #fanfic #kim seungmin x reader #kim seungmin fluff

[twistedtummies2]

Meeting Aaron Dismuke & John Barrowman (ComicCon)

Okay, SO! I just got home from ComicCon. First of all, yes. I did, in fact, get a chance to meet Aaron Dismuke - Tamaki, Lucifer, Professor Moriarty, and more. First of all, MY GOD THE MAN IS TALL. O_O Second of all, he was absolutely darling. Even before I got to him, I learned how nice he was: two young ladies wanted a picture and autograph, but the card reader at his booth was malfunctioning. He told them, very sincerely, that if he couldn’t get the card reader working in a short time, he’d let them have their signatures and pics for free. (That did not happen; they got the device working again...oooonly for it to malfunction once more immediately after. Go figure. :P ) In fact, multiple times during my encounter with him, he pointed out that he felt the prices for the convention were MUCH too high.  Once I did meet him...it only got so much better. I asked him what his favorite part of playing William in MTP was...and he got so excited he SLAMMED the book I’d brought for him to sign shut before going into this spiel about everything he loved about the show. I may be paraphrasing slightly, but I think it went like this... “So, when I was a teenager, I actually had this fantasy - I used it for a school paper - about how, if someone were to kill the ten richest people in the world, and then keep doing that every month...what would happen? How would the world be better or worse? Would this eventually lead to a better place? William’s ‘Eat the Rich’ Philosophy isn’t EXACTLY the same, but it tapped into that old fantasy, and so it was actually more personal for me. Plus, I really love his attitude: anger is actually an emotion I don’t find easy in my repertoire - I don’t really get angry much in real life, I don’t think - and it was interesting to play a character who, no matter what happened, NEVER gets angry. Or, you know, never EXHIBITS how angry he is. He keeps everything level. Plus, it’s a classic character from some classic stories, so that was just cool!” After all this, he signed my book (”Catch Me If You Can, Mr. Holmes.” - A. Dismuke, Moriarty) and then I decided to be a bit more daring. I asked him if it would be allowed for me to take a video recording of him saying that same famous line. He responded that it was allowed, but he would have to charge me for it. “How much?” “I don’t know, the price is probably dumb...tell you what. For you? Thirty dollars.” I SLAPPED THOSE BILLS DOWN, BOI. He then asked for me to put my phone in selfie mode, and proceeded to record not only him saying the lines, but an almost two-minute spiel of him talking about the dialect and how he actually had to change his pronunciation of “Holmes” slightly during the show, because apparently someone joked that the way he said that name “sounded like a Minecraft character.” I sure as heck wasn’t gonna stop him.  THEN, we took the picture...and in the past, people I’ve taken photos with at the Con usually just sort of smile for the camera. There’s nothing wrong with that, naturally, I wouldn’t ask for otherwise. But he actually wanted to do something special, so he came up with us posing with him reading the manga, while myself - in costume and character as Holmes - peered at the book through my magnifying glass. He and the person taking the photo cracked up and we had to take the picture a second time because it came out all blurry the first time. XD TO TOP ALL THAT OFF...later, I passed by his booth, and he was still there. I called out to him: “Professor! We meet again!” He bowed. BOWED, I SAY! Naturally, I am elated by all of that. (Also, I still have more to share, but I’m putting a Keep Reading at this point because I think meeting Dismuke is the part you all want to know most about, and this is clearly going to be a long post. LOL)

SO...Aaron Dismuke wasn’t the only person I met today. I also got to meet John Barrowman - Jack Harkness from Doctor Who & Torchwood, Raoul from Phantom of the Opera, Merlyn from Arrow, etc. For him, I brought along a DVD collection of all the episodes for the 9th and 10th Doctors - those were the seasons Jack appeared in.  This encounter was much shorter, but it was still no less enjoyable. He was also amazing; he talked to everyone in line as if they were people he’d met before, and was well-acquainted with, no matter who they were, what they were dressed as, etc. When I got up to him and asked for his signature, I also asked him, “what’s a role you’ve always wanted to play that you haven’t yet?” He paused then responded: “To be honest, I don’t think about that. See, if it’s a role I’ve always wanted to play, then that would mean it’s a role that already exists, and that somebody else has already done before. And there’s nothing wrong with that, but what I REALLY love most is playing a character who is completely new, and being able to bring my own originality into the part.” An interesting philosophy I found both noble and unique. Then came the pictures...and yes, pictures, because he took four of them. We took one of us just smiling for the camera, then another of the same (”just to be safe”), then a “sassy” picture (I looked more...weird than sassy, ha ha), and finally a “silly and ugly” picture. All around awesome. <3 Beyond those meetings, lots of fun was otherwise had. Bought a lot of cool goodies from the shops (nothing anime-related, so not sure how much of it you guys would be interested in; might share more info there with friends in private), and I took a lot of photos of some really cool costumes. A lot of people really liked my Sherlock Holmes cosplay, I was surprised and happy to find! One encounter I MUST share before I close this message out: right after meeting both Dismuke and Barrowman, I ran into a cosplayer...of William!  “Professor!” I called out. “What are the odds?” I think they were even more happy to see Holmes than I was to see Moriarty! They were with a couple of non-costumed friends, who commented that they hadn’t expected to meet any other Moriarty fans there...and then asked to confirm if I was one. I responded by pulling out my copy of the manga from my bag. This only got them more excited, and they remarked, “You must be so ready to meet Aaron Dismuke!” I grinned and revealed I’d already gotten the autograph. I’m pretty sure the squeal they let out might have broken the sound barrier.  We took a photo with each other, each holding our copy of the manga’s first volume. Of all the people I took photos with/of that day - from comic book characters, to My Hero Academia cosplays, to the Addams Family, to Alice in Wonderland characters, to Scooby-Doo, to the 11th Doctor, AND STILL MANY MORE...that was by far the most joyous. “I mark this day with a white stone.”

#random life stuff #aaron dismuke #john barrowman #doctor who #moriarty the patriot #sherlock holmes #captain jack harkness #william james moriarty #professor moriarty #comiccon #cosplay

[mugiwara-no-toshokan]

Thrice Prophesized

CisFem Reader x Roronoa Zoro

CW: In-Universe levels of violence, amnesia, romance, reader gets some good bad-ass moments, but shouldn't feel Overpowered if I did my job well, surprisingly no smut in this one loves, but it's book 1 of 2.

Still 18+

Chapter 21: Thrice Prophesized

The Merry Go was, to your surprise, the hideout of the Straw Hat pirates. Located in a forest in East Blue, there was an old, wide, squat tree with an old tree house tangled in the branches. There was a caricature of a ram’s head, as far as you could tell, at the prow of the tree house, that was barely visible through the thick branches and leaves.

The longer you looked the more rooms, ladders, and ropes you could see twisted and wedged between the branches.

But what was in the branches wasn’t the hideout. The tree just acted as a marker of sorts, as Zoro lifted a nearby mossy stump and revealed a metal tunnel.

“This leads into the actual hideout.” He says, stepping back so you could look.

It had taken you a few minutes after the van had stopped to settle your stomach, and everyone else had gone into the hideout while Zoro had stayed with you. You step back from the tunnel entrance and rub your arms a little.

“Sorry… I just, want to stay outside for a little longer.” You admit. “I feel like if I got down there I’m not going to be okay.”

“… Claustrophobic?”

You shake your head. “No, I’ve done cave expeditions and underground shifts before. I just feel like I need to walk around a little.”

“With or without company?” He asks.

You smile. “With would be nice.”

You and Zoro walked around the forest in silence for some time. You kept one eye on the direction of the tree house, eternally grateful that your sense of direction at least was trustworthy. The weather was moderate, there was no hint of an impending autumn, there was no chill of a new spring. Summer was still a foreign sensation to you, but the air wasn’t thick and heavy, whatever time of year it was, the day was simply comfortable.

“Is this island like this everywhere?” You ask idly.

“Mm. There’s some snow in the mountains in the north, but most people say the only natural disasters in the Metro are the Warlords and Emperors.” Zoro answers.

“Does it have seasons? I mean, uh…” You look into the tree tops with a smile. “The leaves on that one island were beautiful. Autumn was always so brief in the Duchy, but it feels like it’d be nice to appreciate that again.”

“… Yeah, there is. This place changes for a few weeks.” He explains coming up beside. “Just long enough to turn all the leaves and then it starts warming back up.”

“So there’s no winter to speak of?” You question, leaning toward him and resting your head on his shoulder.

“Not really.”

“That… makes me a little sad, I think.” You admit, an odd tightening in your heart is trying to squeeze tears out of you.

“You… we won’t be on this island for forever.” Zoro says after a moment. “I don’t mind the snow.”

“Making travel plans already?”

He grunts, and after a moment tilts his head to the side and rests it on top of yours. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah, but I still have this weird feeling.” You say, brow furrowing. “I don’t feel nauseous, and I think I could safely go underground, but it almost feels like…” You reach out with your hand and feel yourself take a step. “It’s just… right there. As though I could,” you’re reaching out with both hands, and it almost feels like you could wrap your hands around the air itself and pull it.

“I could just… pull.” The tugging sensation is stronger, and you almost feel like you’re stepping away from yourself.

You take another step and feel an iron grip on your wrist that snaps you back to your senses. Zoro has a grip on your wrist and his other hand is already drawing a sword.

“What do you feel?” You ask, looking around with him.

“A predator.”

You feel it a second later, and there’s a puff of smoke from your lips as the air around you cools. You and Zoro leap back at the same time as a flash of ice and frost covers the area and snow pillows up from the ground.

You’re yanked back hard and see a black, oily, hand rip through the air and swipe at you. You keep your eyes on the tear and see blood red eyes hiss at you from the tear.

“The hell is that?!” Zoro barks as the air mends. The feeling of being stalked doesn’t abate.

You shake your head. “Arundel, maybe? A threat from the Duchy.” You explain. “The last thing Duke Lucaren said was that something was looking for me. But that was neither winter magic as I know it, nor a portal as I’ve seen them.”

Zoro yanks you again and you can almost feel the long black finger touch you as you’re pulled away from it.

“Prophecy!” The voice demands, hissing as the blood red eye peers through the veil and the arm stretches toward you more. “Give me my prophecy!”

Prophecy.

The surge inside you surges so hard and fast your body curls in on itself before you’ve landed from Zoro yanking you away. As quickly as the surge twists through you, you feel the heavy oppressive weight of haki pressing on you. You’re half buried in the snow and Zoro is over your body, pouring haki out to counter the turmoil inside you.

“Run!” You hiss.

“No.”

“It’s going to attack you!” You scream. You’re surprised you can even speak. The demand of the creature, it’s oily long fingers, it’s crackling screeching voice, all of the power it held was demanding obedience from you.

“I promised.” He says it with such force you swear you can see two dark eyes burning with conviction down at you.

“DAMMIT!” You want to beat him away, you want to hurl curses at him, you want to throw him to safety. Anything to make him preserve himself.

You start forcing your own haki to work for you. Almost as fast as you can wrap it around you body the turmoil inside you is scattering it away, only to be pushed back by the force coming from Zoro. You keep trying, over and over again and again. Use the chance to learn. If you can suppress the surge on your own then that’s all the better.

The rush is quelled, and there were no more tears or demands from the air. Sweat drips off Zoro, breathing heavy and shivering over top of you. The exertion has you both tired, but only one of you is safe in the cold snow.

“Up.” You say, gasping the words. “We have to.”

He nods and you push him to help him get up onto his knees. He looks legitimately worn out. It’s going to be a long walk back to the tree house. You couldn’t have meandered more than twenty minutes away, but it was far enough that no one was going to come find you soon.

Zoro didn’t let his exhaustion show, so you knew he had to be more strained than you were. You get to your feet and reach for him.

“If you can get to your feet, I can get us back.” You assure him. “But I can’t lift you.”

“Rest.” The exhaustion in his face is almost pulling energy out of you in response.

You shake your head. “Snow’s going to get you. Rest later, move now.”

Zoro gets to his feet just long enough to buckle against you. You barely get your legs set under you before the weight crumples into you. You muster up what strength you can and begin to drag yourself and your prophecy stopper out of the snow.

“You… are… nothing… but… muscle!” You gasp, trying to give yourself something to focus on as you struggle forward. “Mountains… take you,” you grumble. “Cause you… are one.”

You feel him twitch and you’re glad to know he’s conscious at least. The first time he had stopped you from being overtaken it hadn’t required so much effort. The force behind the red-eyed creature’s demand might have caused your final prophecy. The power that roiled in you was far more than you had felt at any point before now.

“You… saved my life.” You say in realization and you feel him twitch again. You take another step and your body tenses.

You can’t move.

“Zoro.” You whisper, relieved that your words were still your own.

“Fufufufu,” a laugh cuts through the cold air and you feel Zoro’s body tense. He’s trying to move, but your body moves without your say and you let him slide off you and into the snow as you turn to see a man along the canopy. He’s tall, not like a giant, but taller than Brook, and the first thing you notice is the strained manic grin cutting across his face.

“(Y/N)… run.” Zoro grunts, and you can hear him in the snow trying to get to his feet.

You turn your head toward him, tearing your gaze away from the shifting pink coat and the face you recognize from Usopp’s posters. The form looming over you was terrifying, and not because of your current predicament.

“Don’t let that fool you, the Warlords aren’t to be taken lightly.” Usopp warns. “No matter how odd they look.”

“I can’t control my body.” You whisper, taking steps away from Zoro before you were brought to your knees in the snow. Looking up at the pink mass of feathers as the Warlord descends down to meet you, and a familiar form rises up from the snow to stand beside him.

“Monet.” You say, inclining your head a little. “Well then.” You turn your attention to the man you already know. “You must be the young master I heard about. Donquixote Doflamingo, Warlord of the Grandline Metro.” You sigh.

Your options were gone. Zoro could barely stand. You’d seen haki exhaustion lay Luffy low for a good ten minutes. You didn’t know if the flood he had used to suppress your prophecy earlier was more or less of a strain than Luffy’s technique, but there was no way you could buy ten minutes. You had control over your words and your head, but from the neck down you couldn’t even twitch a finger.

You could likely break the control with haki, since you were certain your predicament was another strange devil fruit power. But you had already been burning from nothing to try and get Zoro out of the snow earlier. All you could do was talk to stall for time, and the great unknown variable you were dealing with right now, was whether or not you could out-talk a Warlord.

“It seems my reputation precedes me.” He says, amusement dripping from his tone. “Did you see me in a vision, little prophet?”

“In a manner of speaking,” you say, and feel your stomach drop as the manic grin falters. “Someone drew me a picture.” You amend hastily. No amount of snow or ice had left you feeling as cold as the shiver that had tore through you a second ago.

“The Straw Hats educated you.” He frowns, but this expression is less terrifying than the earlier one. It fades quickly, replaced by his earlier grin. “How well, I wonder!”

You feel yourself hauled out of the snow and are dangling in front of him. The shift is enough for you to realize there are several strings or wires stuck to your body. One at the base of your neck, and several along your shoulders and other points. You were a marionette.

The frustratingly terrifying feeling of being unable to control your own body was off set a little by how comfortable you were suspended like this. Either by necessity or conscious design, you were not being hurt, and your body was still healing from before – five days wasn’t long enough. Your bruises were mostly gone, but the stress fractures and your rib were still issues.

A motion from Doflamingo and you hear a strained grunt from Zoro. You don’t turn to look. You could, but you can’t right now. Instead, you keep his gaze, as much as you can from the behind the odd-shaped tinted glasses he’s wearing.

Every twitch of his fingers you can hear him elicit another sound from Zoro, and you quickly realize that’s the conversation. That’s how the Warlord has decided to communicate with you. No witty banter, no exchange of words, nothing you were hoping for.

“Spare him.” You say evenly. Doflamingo’s fingers stop moving and his smile brightens. “He lives and in exchange I won’t retaliate against you or your people.”

“You think you could take us?” He questions, and you hear a soft thud and grunt from Zoro. Probably dropped back into the snow.

“I think I’m more valuable alive, and alive I will become stronger.” You reply. “Spare him and I’ll even be convivial.”

“Mm, we do have much to talk about, you and I.” Doflamingo says, looming over you as a chuckle rumbles through his chest.

“(Y/N)…” Zoro growls, but you keep your eyes on the glasses in front of you.

“It’s not like Mr. Donquixote is going to torture me,” you say in response, keeping your gaze forward. “Luffy has no need for a knight, so it’s okay.”

You can sense Doflamingo’s gaze shifting, and something in his amused expression hurts your heart, but it’s the reaction you needed. Zoro wasn’t good at covering up his knee-jerk reactions, and your hope had been that he’d take your words at surface level for now, and realize their meanings later.

“We’re to be on our way then, Mr. Donquixote?” You prompt.

“Please, call me Doffy.”

“I promised conviviality, Mr. Donquixote, not friendship.” You assert, trying not to flinch as one arm moves around your waist and tucks you against him. There’s a tug as strings pull your sword free and toss it into the snow.

You risk a glance at Zoro, catching his gaze for a brief moment. You wanted to apologize, you wanted to explain that you knew everything he wanted to do, and you wanted to say that you would’ve stood beside him and faced Doflamingo and Monet unto your inevitable deaths.

Mired in such exhaustion, there would’ve been no other outcome, and as a knight you would’ve had no issue with that.

A Knight would’ve held the line.

But now you walked a different path.

#x reader #reader insert #one piece fanfiction #roronoa zoro x reader #zoro x reader #Thrice Prophesized #grandline metro au

[kanazawa-division]

ARB Birthday Special: Joey Kurusu

~~ October 9th ~~

“The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them.”

Login Lines:

“Oh shit! Oh shit! I’m late for work! Haaah…why didn’t my alarms go off?! I set up six of them! Man, I knew I shouldn’t stayed up all night gaming! Wataru’s gonna have my a-huh?”

“What’s this? A present? And it’s for me!…Oh crap, so that’s why my alarms didn’t go off, it’s my birthday, haha!”

Voice Lines:

“Damn, I’m 24 now. I know it’s not a huge milestone or anything but after all the shit I went through and coming close to death more times than I would like to admit, I’ve come to learn that time is very precious and I’m thankful for every minute, hour, day, and year that I’m alive….wow, that was hella sappy lmao.”

“Everyone at the station sent me a happy birthday! Even the Narcotics Unit and those guys don’t talk to anyone! Man, it feels like yesterday I was just joining the force, I’m glad to make such nice and cool friends.”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I just got a text from my dad, he wished me a happy birthday….’why do I look angry?’ I’m not angry! Really, I’m not! It’s just….this is the first time he’s reached out to me in four years…yeah…I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Hahaha! Oh man, my mom is hilarious! She sent me a book a puns….a book of police puns, hehe. Oh, I am definitely going to use these on Wataru and Kyler, maybe this is the day I finally get a smile out of both of them! Wish me luck!”

“Hey Shanny….I’m sorry I haven’t visited in a while, work’s got me in a chokehold right now, especially with all the DRB stuff happening…but I haven’t forgotten you, I would never forget you. I hope you’re doing okay wherever you are, I hope that you’re happy, your big bro is working really hard to find whoever took you away, they’ll get what’s coming to them, I promise.”

“Sorry guys but I’m spending the day with my lovely Mamoru! It’s been a while since we’ve been on a date, I know it’s my birthday but I wanna make this special for him….Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, call me a simp, whatever, I’d gladly be his Tier 3 Sub!….Wait-“

“Wataru! Buddy! You’re here! And here I thought you forgot about little ol’ me!…Ouch! That’s so mean! C’mon man, we’ve known each other for how long?…You’re so cold Wataru, you’re lucky I’m here to thaw that frozen aura of yours, otherwise you’d never have any friends haha, ooooh! A gift! From you! Let’s see what it is!”

“It’s a….a….okay, I’m stumped, what even is this?….Ohhhhh…This is…nice….I guess…Hey! My desk is not messy! Maybe to you but I can easily find whatever I need no problem! It’s called ‘organized chaos’, dude, there’s a method to the madness…Holy fuck, you’re old-“

“Kyler! My dude! Good to see you, man! Feels like it’s been forever since we last hung out…that’s still too long! C’mon dude, not only are we teammates but we’re friends! We should hang out outside of our jobs! Hm? You got something for me? Your bestie? Aw, you shouldn’t have…I’m joking, gimme.”

“Whooooa, sick! A new game! Deadpool huh? This is a character from your American comic books, right? Niiiiiice! I’ve been wanting to play more western games, this is just what I wanted! Thanks Ky! We definitely have to play this together, a game night with the boys! It’ll be awesome!”

Wataru Lines:

“Hello Joey, happy birthday…to be honest, I had completely forgot it was your birthday and even when I remembered, I originally wasn’t going to do anything…*sigh* For the umpteenth time, we are not friends, we are coworkers, I don’t know why that hasn’t clicked for you…Good grief, just take this.”

“It’s a desk organizer, something I noticed that you desperately needed ever since you started working here. It’s irritating to pass by your desk and see all sorts of junk everywhere, I implore you to use it, there is only so many times I can see your Hatsuno Miki pencils and notebooks lying around so haphazardly.”

Kyler Lines:

“Sup Joey, happy birthday, man…we literally just solved a case four days ago, alright, alright, you might have a point. Speaking of, I got something for you, I figured you would like it….fine then, I’ll give it to someone else…yeah, yeah, you’re welcome by the way.”

“It’s the Deadpool video game, I had it imported all the way from America to here so you better enjoy it…Nice, I’m glad you like it, I’ll admit, you do kinda remind me of him sometimes…but without the regeneration abilities, ducked up face, and is somehow more annoying. *Sigh* Y’know what? Sure, just text me when and I’ll be there, happy birthday, Jo.”

#hypmic #hypmic oc #hypnosis mic #hypnosis mic oc #hypnosis microphone #joey kurusu #wataru sasaki #kyler aaron #justice shield #happy birthday joey 2023 #arb birthday special #alternative rap battle #arb

[callipraxia]

okay I’m here to thank you. Do you remember that post from like a Long Time Ago where you talked about what inks you used to plan/outline fwjb on paper? well, a few days after I heard about that, I went to the nearest store and bought the shittiest composition notebook and highlighters you’ve ever fucking seen in your life. then I forgot about it for like a very, Very long time. that's important context.

I suddenly remember it existed three days ago. I picked it up, decorated it, and colored two full pages of marker because. because well why not. The first couple pages are soaked in ink my bad. anyways—I finally decided to start actually WRITING in it, in PENCIL, because while actual writing notebooks would be a lot better than a Fucking Composition Notebook, I’m pinched. so. I did that. and guess what?!? it helped! it fucking helped! my weird ass outlines On Paper! I figured out a WHOLE Three Act Structure for do you remember hanging up the stars, AND have begun loosely sorting all of the POVs I have in the search for future reference. like?!? oh god it’s so helpful to have something I can Look At. very shitty picture attached (ignore the gagging mess of handwriting, never grew out of third grade cursive hybrid lettering, you might not even be able to read it--) (this is for the stars)

so… thank you! this was very helpful and that wasn’t your intention with the post but fuck all I Listened. you’ve got organized writing a lot more than I do, lol. will possibly take More Notes in the future…! :)

oh Wow now im getting feelings from showing off my handwriting to a public for the first time. hopefully this doesnt unlock and unbridled the terrible ordeal of being known anxiety! /lh

Ooh, cool! And your handwriting’s quite nice and very legible, so don’t be anxiety about it!

Composition books are also perfectly valid forms of writing notebook. I’m writing the first draft of Tracey’s journal in one, actually, because that’s the kind of notebook he’s writing in in-universe, and the McGucket memoir’s on a purple legal pad. The FWJB outlines and notes, meanwhile, were written mostly on loose sheets of printer paper, gathered into a folder (which proved invaluable as a supplement for my memory, which went into full leaky-faucet mode for a while halfway or so through IE cos COVID/2022 being Just The Worst Year). Most of my one-shots are written in my tiniest handwriting on bits of scrap paper, including a number of those alignment sheets the printer spits out when you plug it in. As much as I love good-quality notebooks, they aren’t always the right tool for the job…especially if you just hoard them and never deem any idea good enough to ‘waste’ them on (I’m convinced that getting the FWJB notebooks on clearance sale was directly tied psychologically to my willingness to actually use them, somehow or the other).

#writers #writing #writer problems

[inkdemonapologist]

Rambling A Lot About The Lost Ones

(this is very long and it’s NOT spoiler-free. A bunch of it is me trying to figure out why I liked a lot of the book but didn’t quite vibe with the direction it went. YOUVE BEEN WARNED.) Okay, let’s start off with:

THINGS I LIKED ABOUT TLO:

Constance!!! I THOUGHT I WAS NOT GOING TO LIKE HER BUT SHE’S OBJECTIVELY THE BEST

I’m still thinking about Constance’s excitement at getting to Make Fog... like it’s just so well-done, the feeling in that scene of like.... seeing a friend who is Finally Getting To Be Themselves, and just thinking in some heartbroken part of your mind, “don’t you know? this isn’t supposed to be so rare... this is how it’s always supposed to be”

Also the way Constance getting pulled along to the Ink Machine is set up is SO GOOD..... the excitement of seeing someone actually treat her the way she should’ve been treated all along, slowly sinking into dread as you start to notice what’s Wrong with Bill... honestly one of the BEST moments for me

Immediately after the Ink Machine Things Happen, the next couple chapters that do an incredible job describing the teens’ reaction to that surreal trauma. Bill just desperately wanting it all to go away and Constance fighting for some control over what’s happening to her brain -- I’ve joked that Adrienne is good at writing sanity damage but HONESTLY I FEEL THIS IS LEGITIMATELY A STRONG SECTION

the hints of Thomas, and the implications that he might be more under the ink’s influence than he realises, ARE REALLY INTRIGUING

Literally every scene Joey is in is great. Joey only gets like 5 pages and they’re all the best.

Brant is funny actually

I feel like if “non-JDS teens stumble upon the Ink Machine, experience horrors and try to take control of the resulting consequences” sounds engaging to you, you’ll probably enjoy this book.

THINGS I HAVE VERY LONG-WINDED AND CONFLICTED FEELINGS ABOUT:

TLO does this weird thing where midway through it feels like it SUDDENLY CHANGES GEARS and veers almost single-mindedly into the Emotions Issue in a way that doesn’t... quite feel like it goes with everything that came before it??

While it does follow coherently from Constance’s personality -- she’s always portrayed as having a lot of frustration, but keeping that frustration tamped down for the sake of others -- Bill’s Ink Influence actually keeps him AWAY from the Machine and the Ink, completely dropping that obsessive interest we’d started to see in him before. He’s so afraid, he just wants to forget it and stay as far out of it as possible, and if he didn’t happen to meet Joey and have information fall into his lap, he might’ve done just that. Constance says she feels more like herself than ever under the Ink’s influence, which could be pretty ominous, but other than yelling at Bill one time it mostly just makes her Suddenly Really Cool?

Like, it’s weird, and distressing for the kids, but it’s not really sinister, not like the sinister vibes of the first ink machine encounter, where Bill’s acting so strangely and Constance has such a strong feeling that they can’t let the ink touch them. Joey isn’t doing this. The Ink isn’t getting anything we can see out of making their emotions wonky. Brant transforms, but that’s just because he DIED(???), so like, as long as you don’t get smashed in half by a door you’re probably okay? Nothing is keeping the other two involved, in the end, and they never fully understand what’s going on. They’re just some teens experiencing out of control emotions and making a futile effort to break the machine that made their emotions wonky, which, by the way, was a side-effect that isn’t really central to the machine’s main threat.

Ultimately the emotions explanation for the Ink has some logistical problems (Lost Ones in the game don’t really seem Consumed By One Emotion so much as just, miserable, and this doesn’t happen to Buddy in DCTL, etc) but that sort of stuff can always be worked with if you sit and fuss with it. I think the concept itself -- that the Ink can exaggerate something about you that you’re normally able to keep hidden -- is very compelling actually! It’s sort of how I’ve interpreted both Sammy and Susie for a while, that their strange behaviour is just a piece of their normal personality that people don’t usually see, exaggerated to a cartoonish extent. 

But I don’t quite like how it plays out here, the way the story’s entire focus swerves away from the dread that had been previously building to fixate on setting up these all-encompassing emotions, a specific and consistent effect that’s a lot less scary when it’s so easily understood. “Oh no now I’m angry all the time” could be horror, but here, while there’s some good lines, it doesn’t quite feel like it ever gets there. 

And in the end of TLO, nothing else really happened. We don’t understand the stakes of the machine -- since the TLO teens directly point out it’s unlikely that the machine is truly here for repairs, my best guess is that it’s here to dodge investigation immediately after JDS’s MULTIPLE MURDERS, and it’s kinda neat to have a detail like that hinted at in the background of another story, but having nothing uncovered by these kids means that nobody in TLO ever truly understands what’s going on enough to make their interaction with the machine meaningful. I suppose they (theoretically?) prevented the Ink Demon from getting out to wreak havoc on Atlantic City, but I don’t understand the Ink Demon well enough to know if he would’ve done that, or if Thomas and Joey had ways to contain him or not -- and neither do the kids. They don’t understand what he is at all. So, what was all this for?

TLO states what I believe is its most compelling theme a few times --

“What’s the point?” “I don’t know. But it’s what happens.”

None of this happened on purpose. It just happened because Joey didn’t care if people got hurt. The kids fume a little about Joey thinking people in New Jersey aren’t as important as New Yorkers, and the same sorta idea crops up in that “Brant who?” knock-knock joke -- the whole point is that these kids aren’t selected or chosen or targeted for any reason. They’re just the people it happened to, the unimportant victims of Joey’s greed and reckless cruelty that he barely even bothered to notice, too distracted by his own shiny ambitions.

I’m conflicted because when I describe this, it sounds profound! It feels like there’s gotta be a way to make this concept work. But when in practice.... it felt more like, “why have I been reading about all this?” in the end. DCTL was also doomed -- we knew Buddy wasn’t going to expose Joey or kill the demon -- but we’re still excited to see what becomes of Buddy, and to learn more about this mystery he’s trying to uncover that we only know the outcome of, but not the process. But everything the kids were trying to do in that final showdown of TLO had such unclear stakes that’s hard to see it as more than pointlessly doomed. 

And I just.... feel like that showdown, and that focus on the ratcheting up of the kids’ emotions, is weirdly out of theme for the franchise as a whole. If I had to write a paper about BatIM’s original themes, I’d talk about being trapped and exploited, the price of obsession, and a loss of self -- and that could’ve played out here, watching the kids get drawn into something very scary. “No escape,” Scott says, but that can’t possibly be because Joey’s going to go around picking up every single Lost One in his car. How do Lost Ones come to be in Bendy and the Ink Machine? If Bill HAD stayed out of it, would that have worked, could he just have gone home and never touched the Ink again -- or would something have drawn him back, inexorably? Is there any sort of slow (but not slow enough) transformation? Constance is so easy to picture because she immediately jumps into questionable science (in a way that made me feel so robbed that we weren’t getting this scene in a Susie book!!). She wants to stop it and understand it and she wants to know more and it’s so easy to imagine that spiralling into something that pulls her back to the machine. Or Bill being so terrified of this thing he can’t seem to hide from, and eventually having to go back just to know if it really even happened, as a growing obsessive paranoia leads him to increasingly lose touch with his normal life. Instead of storming the machine and fighting the demon -- something that I suspect very few JDS employees did -- we could have seen a picture of what happens to people who get caught up in the ink by accident.

We ALMOST got that. We got so, SO CLOSE to that, to the point that some pieces of that narrative started to play out!! But then the creepy supernatural effects were explained with great certainty, while none of the actual, like, mystery was uncovered at all. Why is the machine here? What is Joey trying to do? What does Thomas think he’s trying to do? We can guess at all this based on DCTL, but the adults and demon never get compelling motives here, just vague hints that don’t come to anything within this story. The kids never learn what the demon is, and don’t consider that the ink might be connected with animation until the story is almost done.

I know a lot of people have complained that there’s too much focus on the characters who are Not Previously Established Bendy Characters, but I think, while that’s a valid feeling, in some cases it might be a misplaced complaint. Bendy: The Lost Ones could have unrelated teens and still have them learn about the machine, about the demon, and about the horrors of JDS and what Joey has done in a way that connects back to the actual story of BatIM, but they don’t -- and to me, that’s why it feels like... like, it’s not a bad book. A lot of it is quite engaging! But it still feels detached from Bendy in a way that’s tough to put a finger on.

#bendy: the lost ones #bendy: the lost ones spoilers #bendy tlo #we all write on the walls #I REALLY LIKED.... MOST OF THIS BOOK #its so hard to put my finger on what it is that i found frustrating in the end #THIS IS SO LONG BUT I DONT FEEL LIKE EDITING IT INTO COHERENCY ANYMORE #have whatever this is

[ghosts-and-blue-sweaters]

3, 5, 14, and 17 for the character ask game!! OH and I need to choose a character. Umm either Ghostbur or Phil (that's a person, right? I'm pretty sure it is but I don't know for sure)

Hello, friend! And yes, both of those guys are characters :D I shall answer for both of them!!

Ghostbur

Obscure headcanon

Hmm… this is a good question for Ghostbur :0 He’s a very obscure man.

He collects books! But not just history books (which he canonically reads) but all sorts of books; ancient books, religious texts, poem books, psalms, series, novels, fiction, non-fiction, short stories, fables, and on and on and on!

No one really knows where he gets them all lol

Best personality trait

EEEEEEEE

SO MANY!!! BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE LENGTH OF THIS POST I SHALL ONLY FOCUS ON ONE!!!

His compassion and care for people :) No matter what the situation was, Ghostbur always paid attention to the well-being of others, and tried to help them as much as he possibly could.

That’s why he visited Tommy so much during Exile, and kept him company and gifted him the compass.

That’s why he gave Blue to almost everyone he came across, in an effort to make them less sad.

That’s why Ghostbur encouraged Tubbo, and told him that he was doing great :)

Like… okay, I could go on and on about this alsgajfsjafsgs but his care for others is near-unmatched, and it’s very sweet :’)

Most heroic moment

REEEEEEEEEEEE

I think that confronting Phil after Doomsday was pretty brave of him—and goodness, was Ghostbur scared. He was so very scared, but he talked anyway, and he let himself be open and honest and raw, and even though Phil didn’t do the greatest job with responding, I still think that Ghostbur was very brave, then :’) I freaking love that scene.

OH AND ALSO WHEN DREAM WAS LOOKING FOR TOMMY!!! And Ghostbur did his very best to lie in order to protect Tommy 😭 It was sksgajsgajfshaf it was so wholesome, it was so adorable my goodness that scene is the greatest ajdgsjsgajgshg

Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them

:)))

Well. I um. I have a playlist. For Ghostbur. It is twenty-three hours long.

SO THERE’S THAT!!! But to name a few specific songs, I’d go with…

Married Life - Michael Giacchino

The Secret Place (acoustic) - Phil Wickham

Taking Care Of Things by Cavetown

Turning Out by AJR

Phil

Obscure headcanon

HE DRINKS TEA BOILING HOT. LIKE. I’M TALKING AS SOON AS IT’S OFF THE KETTLE, HE STARTS DRINKING. DOES NOT WAIT FOR IT TO COOL DOWN. DOES NOT BLOW THE STEAM AWAY. JUST STARTS DRINKING.

It’s mortifying.

Best personality trait

Aww :D

He’s a very steady guy; he’s not super emotional or conflicted, and rather chooses something and sticks with that something, whether it’s a person or a cause.

And goodness, does he care about the people he chooses! He’s such a sweet and kind guy, especially towards Techno and Wilbur (after Wilbur was revived). His love for those two is awesome :)

Most heroic moment

Hmm… okay, let me think on this for a minute.

Honestly? Doomsday comes to mind. Which is weird for me, because I definitely don’t agree with Phil’s actions when it came to Doomsday—in fact, me and a friend had a whole argument about it, which lasted forty minutes! It was great lol

But, while I disagree with Phil’s opinions and decisions when it comes to Doomsday, I do understand him. I understand his dislike of L’manburg, because to him, L’manburg is what took away his son, and L’manburg is what hurt Techno, and L’manburg is what changed Tubbo, and L’manburg caused so many problems and is not worth the pain that went with it. At least, that’s what Phil believed.

And I get it! I really honestly get it! I don’t agree with it, but I get it!

And like one of my friends said, Phil was willing to be the one that everyone hated by blowing up L’manburg; he was willing to be the bad guy. He was willing to be seen as evil or a traitor, as long as it meant that L’manburg was gone and that no more awful things could happen because of L’manburg existing. Phil was willing to be the bad guy if it meant he was “doing the right thing”.

And I think that’s brave. I don’t necessarily think it was right, but I do think it was brave.

So probably that :)

Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them

EYYYYYYY :D

Here’s a few songs that make me think of this birb guy <3

Icarus - Bastille

Flying - Cody Fry

The Star-Spangled Banner - Chase Holfelder

creature - half alive

#my DSMP thoughts #ask #ask game answers #thank you so much for the ask!! :D

[another-whump-sideblog]

Jane’s Pets Pt. 50: Escapism

Tws in the tags

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Today is a good day. Puppy woke up before her alarm feeling well rested. She had good dreams, but not the kind that make you feel disappointed when you wake up. The happy, light feeling carries over into wakefulness.

She decides to make breakfast for her roommates. Not because she has to, or because it’s her job, but because she wants to.

She’ll make chocolate chip pancakes. She can have chocolate because she’s human and not a dog or a pet.

Charlie comes out of their room, yawning. Their long, orange hair is a mess.

“Good morning. I woke up early, so I’m making pancakes.” Puppy says.

“Morning.” Charlie yawns again, then sniffs and perks up. “Chocolate chip pancakes? Is today special?”

“Nope! I just wanted chocolate. Do you want to cut up some fruit to top it with?”

Charlie nods and gets some strawberries from the fridge. Liam comes out of his room.

“Good morning. How’d you sleep?”

Liam rubs his eyes. “Mmmm… ask me again later. I don’t know yet.”

“That’s fair. Well, I slept great. Woke up feeling well rested and everything.”

Liam grumbles something about morning people and collapses onto the couch. Puppy smiles. She absolutely adores her roommates.

When breakfast is ready, she gently wakes Liam up again. “Hey. I made chocolate chip pancakes. Do you want any?”

Liam nods and rolls off the couch.

Breakfast is nice. Charlie and Liam wake up enough to hold conversation, and the three of them chat about how how they slept and their plans for the day.

They end up with plenty of leftovers. Puppy puts them away while Charlie does the dishes and Liam wipes down the table.

Puppy starts sorting some of her laundry while Charlie and Liam get ready. She always showers after Liam and Charlie leave because she doesn’t need to be anywhere early in the mornings, unlike them. She’s a writer and her schedule is very flexible.

Puppy has found that the time she waits for the shower to be available is great for getting some quick chores done. It’s very satisfying to get things done so early in the morning.

Liam and Puppy hug goodbye, and Charlie offers the two of them air hugs. Puppy will miss them while they’re at work, but they both enjoy their jobs a lot and she would never want to take that from them.

Charlie works at a non-profit, providing free or cheap therapy to people who need it. They’re amazing at their job, and make the world a better place every day.

Liam is a gardener. He likes being outside.

Puppy makes enough money off her books that neither of them have to work, but they do anyway. Whatever makes them happy.

Puppy showers and brushes her hair and teeth. She picks an outfit that shows off her unscarred arms and legs and uncollared neck. She thinks she’ll write in the nearby park today, since it’s so nice out. Then she’ll go to the library, and then to her dance class.

It’s a very nice day. Birds chirp and there’s a pleasant cool breeze. Perfect weather for hanging out in the park and writing.

Admittedly, Puppy gets distracted fairly often when writing outside, but that’s okay. She could never write another book and still have enough money to sustain her for the rest of her life.

It’s nice to be around people. It’s nice to hear children laughing, it’s nice to see people happy and relaxed. Complete strangers who won’t be murdered or anything, just alive and happy.

After writing a few pages, Puppy decides to call it quits and head to the library. She has a book club meeting today.

Everyone in her book club has interesting perspectives on the book, and it’s all very nice. She shares what she thinks and they listen, and they don’t tell her she’s not allowed to speak anymore if they disagree. They have a lively discussion that goes on for hours before picking a new book and agreeing to meet at the same time next week.

She can make plans like that. She doesn’t have to ask permission, she can go somewhere because she wants to go there and she won’t be punished.

She can do what she wants. She can make friends without fear because she knows no one will use those attachments against her.

She stays in the library to read for a while longer, then heads to her dance class.

Puppy has been getting really good at dancing, she thinks. It’s not difficult to make her body do what she wants it to do. She feels connected with her body and it doesn’t hurt. It feels good and it makes her happy. She chats aimlessly with fellow students. She doesn’t think have to have a purpose when talking, she can just talk.

Someday, she thinks she’ll teach a dance class. That would be really fun.

When the class is over, she heads home. She doesn’t dread heading home, she’s excited about it. She’s excited to ask Liam and Charlie about their days and tell them about hers. She hopes they’ll have time to play a game and watch a movie tonight.

She gets home before the two of them, but they’re not far behind.

“How was your day?” She asks.

Charlie smiles. “Y’know, saved lives, made the world a better place. I’m basically a superhero.”

Puppy can tell there’s something bothering them, but doesn’t push. She knows Charlie will ask for help if they need it, and she knows that she’ll be able to provide that help without hinderance, so it doesn’t stress her out.

Liam steps into his room to take off his work clothes. “My day was good too. I saved lives too. Not human lives, but I still think it’s impressive. What about you?”

“Good! I went to the park, and then I had book club and dance lessons.”

“I thought you didn’t have dance class on Tuesdays.”

“I didn’t, but I joined another class. This one’s ballet, isn’t that fun?”

Liam makes a noncommittal sound. He’s not a big fan of dance, which makes it all the sweeter that he comes to every dance performance.

Charlie starts getting things ready in the kitchen. “I’m thinking enchiladas tonight, how does that sound?”

“That sounds great.” Puppy says. She slides into the kitchen and starts helping. Once Liam is in more comfortable clothes, he comes to help too.

The three of them fall into an easy rhythm. Charlie takes the lead, instructing the other two on how best to help, but the three of them work together as equals. Dinner is done in no time.

They share stories as they eat. Puppy talks about the same book she talked about in book club earlier, still full of thoughts about it. Charlie excitedly talks about the new methodology they’ve been learning. Liam talks about plants and how the season changing will impact them. Puppy would normally find that incredibly boring, but coming from one of her best friends, she hangs on to every word.

After they eat and clean up dinner, they play Clue. Charlie makes a wrong guess three turns in and has to sit the rest out.

“These board games are just luck.” Charlie mutters.

Liam laughs. “Sure, with the way you’re playing them. You are allowed to strategize, though, if you ever want to try it.”

“Shut up.” Charlie puts on an exaggerated frown, but their eyes sparkle. They’re having a good time, even though they lost.

With just two people left, the game goes very quickly. Puppy has narrowed down the person and the weapon when Liam makes his guess. He was right.

“He cheats!” Charlie exclaims. Liam shrugs. He tries not to act like it, but he’s very competitive and very happy to have won.

“I want to watch a movie before bed.” Puppy says. The others agree, so the three of them watch a movie with no gore at all, one that they all enjoy.

Liam and Puppy curl up together, and Charlie sits closer than usual, wrapped up in a blanket. They’re more comfortable with touch when it’s not skin to skin.

Puppy can’t stop smiling. What a good day today has been. And what a good week it’s going to be. Tomorrow she’ll go to the farmer’s market, and on Friday she has a modern dance lesson.

She sighs contentedly. She is safe and warm and no one can hurt her, no one wants to hurt her. Her friends are safe and warm and no one can hurt them, no one wants to hurt them.

If only it was real.

A/N: Let me know if I should tag anything else!

Tag list: @eatyourdamnpears @ghostsinthecloset @scp-1296 @fuzzybucketz

#whump #whump writing #whumpblr #intimate whumper #creepy whumper #nonhuman whumper #multiple whumpees #whumpee #caretaker #pet whump #3rd person pov #jane’s pets #I don’t know if I should even tag this as whump but in context it’s pretty sad #50 chapters in and we reveal Puppy’s main coping skill

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

BTS from A Reprieve From Thought :DDD

Fic Specific Asks!

BTS: I’ll write a DVD commentary about my personal favorite passage from [that fic]

sorry this took ages, I forgot about it in my drafts 😅

so first of all I think it’s worth noting that this is in a general darklina doc titled this lol

for my other BTS fic thing I read through the entire fic and made comments through out so I’ll just do the same thing here. it’s uh pretty short PWP so let’s see how this goes…

minor thing but a few people have read this as a continuation of the canon scene set in his cabin and that’s not actually the case! with the set up I was trying to establish that it’s more of a missing scene during the rest of time they’re hunting the sea whip

also him not looking up is not entirely a power play lol he’s just a nerd

this I was trying to mimic the book vibe where extended descriptions of the Darkling just make it feel like she’s staring at him for a very long time.

I was thinking he’s poring over one of the journals

so a couple things, I always interpret the Darkling as uniquely and uh tbh sexually fixated on the amplifiers on Alina and like what they represent. he’s just really weird about it!!

anyway I also just forever find the implication that he doesn’t need an amplifier, but his power only makes things fucking worse really interesting? all that power and it’s completely useless! I think he’s definitely bitter about it.

anyway the first book also makes it really clear that she does not have fuck off insane power like him? to the point where I also doubt she would turn out to be immortal tbh! I find the implication that he’s basically manufacturing an immortal companion for himself really fascinating. lbeyond the baseline of having a very unique power, their experiences probably would not be similar at all but he’s just that desperate for them to be.

mostly self explanatory, but generally there’s not much room in the canon book for her to feel much betrayal? or sort out whatever burgeoning feelings she may have had for him before things imploded dramatically. I think in reality it’s just a writing issue sjfjfkhg but you could read it as her refusing to really view anything that’s happened through an emotional lens.

so this is some unacknowledged and unwanted hurt coming to the foreground. like “so you did like me a little 🥺”

and also that annoys her! which is why she’s more like “lololol you’re attracted to me? embarrassing! aren’t you embarrassed!” which is the trajectory that leads to her kissing him first.

SO while she is playing a very immediate petty game, he experienced a mental record scratch and went straight to omgomgomg *soulmates*

I think he is being sincere with her here. he’s just like are you finally ready to abandon your petty qualms and obey me without question and come back to my side??

I think he’s a very emotionally starved and obsessive character and simultaneously hardcore resents her for both bringing this out in him but also that she doesn’t meet his predetermined idea of what the object of his obsession (the fated sun summoner and his like immortal companion) should be like.

and Alina’s just like ………..huh?

I’m not going to screencap the entirety of the making out portion but shdhfgf I’ll be real with you, anon, I get so tired of describing the physicality of like kissing or sex. I literally got so bored I repurposed some descriptions from another fic for another ship I wrote ages ago and altered it to fit this scenario. I don’t think any of the original text is at all recognizable/there’s barely any left tbh after editing but I did need the jumping off point in order to not just be like “uh… kissing… more kissing?”

so this starts an entire bit where he’s nagging at her lmao and she’s mostly… not cool with it really but willing to play along if he gets her off dhfjffg but then he’s like “you betrayed me” and she’s like “okay hold the fuck up who made who massacre an entire city of civilians???”

anyway, more minor note at the time of writing, and still currently, I felt like the dialogue line about mentioning silken sheets was more my own writing style bleeding through rather than like perfectly IC word choices but I ran with it because I liked it lol

lol he takes any excuse to power trip. I mean he does already make her beg in canon 🤷‍♀️

she’s ready to go with it a little for role play/kink purposes but he’s pushing it lol.

sorry she’s going to have a fucking crisis (lol literally) after this!!!! I don’t think the actual plot trajectory would change much though. she’s probably going to feel worse, he’s going to be speaking in even more insane double entendres. but that’s about it!

#fic specific asks #grishaverse #shadow and bone #darklina #alarkling #i ramble sometimes #*writer’s cap* #a reprieve from thought #oh no I saw so many typos 😭