#and both of them are willing to do it even if it pained them. so they stay unofficial despite their love for each other

[unsolicited-opinions]

you're right, i am in pain. my partner and i (and others) decided to leave our synagogue last year after leadership ignored a vote that lacked a majority and released a statement supporting israels actions anyway. there arent any other synagogues in our city. saying i dont know my jewish history is incredibly hurtful, in fact you came across as very patronising.

im not going to answer point by point, because i think your beliefs in some areas are entrenched and it would be meaningless and hurtful to us both.

i would like to apologise for my wording that accused you directly of things that dont apply- though your bolded quotes arent actually quotes from my message, which is misleading about my points. i wasnt necessarily talking directly about YOU for some statements, just what i have witnessed in this debate in our community.

and to address that, i bought up my jewishness because in the past i have instantly been called an antisemite or even a nazi for being upset about palestinian deaths. it wasnt an etempt to manipulate you, i have to state it in every conversation on this topic now or i am attacked (and i sometimes am anyway, being called a self hating jew and once even a kapo which was fucking awful). that was my argument about conflating the government (and actions) of israel with the jewish people is harmful, because my family, community, and loved ones dont live on the same continent but are being tarred with the same brush. and yet when i criticise the government thats meant to represent me somehow, im a bad jew. antisemites will always be antisemites, im not saying this is new or of anynes creation. im saying they are being handed ammunition, and i have been hit with it.

but yes, i apologise for not making it clearer i was not accusing you directly of having all the beliefs in my post, but you clearly disagree with a lot of what i said.

firstly, the "hamas run" health ministry is propoganda to make you not believe the number of deaths. the GAZA health ministry, which yes is run by the government, just like the garbage collectors and people who write birth certificates, is taken as a valid source by human rights watch, the UN, and many other organisations. in fact, we likely ARE getting incorrect information, and human rights groups estimate that the death toll is much higher, and have been saying that for months. "i dont believe that that many people have died" with the only evidence you have being "the other guys said it" is either bad faith or willful blindness. of course, israel COULD let in impartial investigators, aid groups, and journalists in so we could get completely reliable information, but they refuse to do so.

saying there isnt credible evidence that the israeli government is purposefully starving gazans is laughable. there are quotes of genocidal intent from every level of government, but i dont want to get into the details because searching for recent quotes isnt how i want to spend my time. i can however link you to 74 statements that legally fall under "genocidal intent" made by israeli legislators in the first FOUR MONTHS after oct 7th alone. i know there are other databases like this, if you are interested in looking them up. https://law4palestine.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2-Database-of-Israeli-Incitement-to-Genocide-15th-January-2024-LEGISLATORS.pdf

i dont need to say that the israeli government doesnt care about the hostages- their families have done that for me.

saying that civillian casualties are awful but are to be expected is just false. in no war in modern history have civillians been killed to this extent, and legally israel is responsible for that. if hamas was hiding the hostages under tel aviv, do you think the IDF would have used the same tactics and flattened it? no, because israeli lives matter to them, but palestinans dont. in fact, they have been going for maximum damage to destroy all infrestructure to support life and culture (a check in the legal genocide box). also "human shields" is not, and has never been, a legal excuse to kill a civilian. even if terrorists are embedded in civilian populations, it is NOT LEGAL to kill the civilians en masse as colateral damage. it sounds like a great argument, but put it in any other context or situation and its clear it's unacceptable. and yes, hamas hiding under civilians is unacceptable too, but that doesnt excuse mass murder in retaliation. two war crimes dont cancel each other out.

nearly every human rights group, hundreds of legal experts, many genocide scholars (including from inside israel), and holocaust survivors themselves have said this is a genocide. it is not antisemetic to say that. ive read the legal arguments and papers. you may wish to bury your head in the sand and believe that netanyahu, ben gvir, and other people like them havent used their power to create these circumstances that have lead to genocide, but they have.

my "probably killed hundreds of thousands" was sourced from a lancet paper published in july last year estimating the deaths to be 180,000, due to the lack of counting of those who are missing under rubble, or died of illness or starvation that would otherwise be preventable. seeing as that was a year ago, and 700,000 people are currently suffering accute starvation, and the fact that everyone agrees the gaza health ministry numbers are low, i dont feel like i am wildly over-exaggerating with my statement. but to be fair, you are right in that those numbers have not been confirmed, and won't be for what will probably be a long time, so i'll retract that.

and im sorry, but your section about moral distinctions disgusts me. because those moral distinctions /dont apply/ to the civillians. an IDF soldier who snipes a child through the skull for target practice repeatedly is JUST as evil as a hamas militant murdering children on october 7th. and your talk of "winning" as if there is anything to be won here, or that its asymetric, which yes IS MY POINT. this is a terrorist militia vs one of the best funded militaries in the world. this level of death and destruction on the part of the IDF is entirely unwarrented, because they have the capability to have done a better, cleaner job and chose not to.

and "who started the war" is such a bad faith argument, because no, the war didnt start on october 7th. there was operation pillar of defence, operation cast lead, operation protective edge (also known as the gaza war (2008), the gaza war (2012), and the gaza war (2014). y'know, mowing the lawn. if we were to try and argue who started this war, we'd be going back over a hundred years. thats how cycles of violence work. but yeah, when one group is the occupied and one is the occupier, they tend to have more power.

i have been following this as closely as i have been able to when it started. i am willing to admit that some of my knowledge may be wrong, or outdated, but that doesnt mean i havent read the articles, the papers, the quotes, etc. to back up what im saying. and im sorry that i dont have the capability to find every quote and every source and get into an academic debate with you.

honestly i shouldnt have messaged you in the first place because it was an impulsive action from being triggered and this is a topic i have been trying to avoid for my mental health. i have been pretty successful in avoiding situations like these- i have been off all social media since march last year because the number of dead children i was seeing caused me to have a mental breakdown. i still use tumblr though, and found comfort in some of your posts about judaism outside this general topic. unfortunately i wasnt prepared to see so many arguments that i believe are false and impulsively responded with a lot of pain. you are right there. so i am sorry, because i dont want to hurt you with accusations in response to my hurt. i want you to know that my messages come from a place of deep hurt and frustration with the world, and i know that taking that out on you isnt fair. so im sorry.

Okay, we're continuing from here.

Again, I can see that you're hurting, Anon. I won't dismiss that, but your pain doesn't make your false claims true or your contradictions coherent.

Claim: No modern war has seen this level of civilian death

Just false, and by a huge margin. Civilian deaths in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Rwanda were far higher.

We don't disagree, child. You're just provably wrong and presenting a falsehood as if it's a proven fact.

Claim: The Gaza Health Ministry is a neutral source

It's controlled by Hamas. UN and HRW cite it because it's the only available source, not because it's independent or verified. It has repeatedly been caught lying and presenting obviously bad data.

Claim: Israel blocks all aid and wants starvation

Untrue. Aid is restricted, but not stopped. Other factors like Hamas, Egypt, and logistics are also responsible. The idea that Israel wants mass starvation an accusation, not a fact. And it's an accusation you can't support. I agree the GHF and IDF failed to solve the distribution problem, but there's literally no evidence that Israel has sought starvation.

Claim: Genocide is undeniable

Incorrect. The ICJ has not ruled that genocide is occurring. Your opinion being settled is not the same as a legal definition being satisfied.

Claim: 180,000 Gazans have died

This is not and never has been a fact. It comes from a letter, not a study, published in The Lancet. It was not peer-reviewed. It did not rely on body counts, health records, or eyewitness testimony. It used a speculative mathematical projection based on indirect indicators and assumptions, many of which are unverifiable or contradicted by other sources. Experts across the spectrum, including critics of Israel, have noted that this letter is not reliable evidence of actual deaths.

Claim: 74 quotes prove Israeli genocidal intent

The law4palestine.org document you linked is a political advocacy tool, not an objective legal analysis. It compiles statements (many of them mistranslated, decontextualized, or rhetorical) from Israeli officials and claims they prove genocidal intent, but genocidal intent in law isn't proven by inflammatory soundbites. It requires sustained evidence of a state policy aimed at destroying a people as such. No court has found that standard met. You wouldn't accept a partisan anti-Palestinian compilation as proof of genocide by Palestinians. You shouldn’t apply a double standard here, but you do. Why do other Jews call you antisemtic or self-loathing? This is why.

Claim: 700,000 Gazans are experiencing acute starvation

This figure comes from a March 2024 IPC projection warning that 677,000 Gazans could face famine-like conditions if aid was not scaled up. It was not a measurement of real-time starvation, and the IPC clarified that these categories refer to risk, not confirmed deaths or clinical starvation cases. Conditions are dire, but no international body has verified that 700,000 people are currently starving.

Claim: Civilian deaths shouldn't happen in war

They do. Especially in urban combat against embedded militants. That doesn't make it moral, but it makes your framing historically and legally absurd.

You say you value all lives equally, but treat Israeli victims as abstract and Palestinian victims as sacred.

You say criticism of Israel isn't antisemitic, then blame Israel for global antisemitism.

You say you weren't attacking me, then say my moral distinctions disgust you.

You say you're open to being wrong, but refuse to check your own claims or engage with sources that challenge them.

You say the war didn't begin on October 7, yet you demand Israel behave as if it did...as if there were no rockets, no kidnappings, no attacks, no trauma, and no history before thatday.

You say collective punishment is wrong, yet apply it rhetorically to all Israelis while excusing Hamas because they're weaker.

Anon, you're overwhelmed with grief and outrage, absorbing unverified claims and activist messaging as if it is settled truth, and mistaking moral intensity for clarity.

I don't hold your pain against you, but your pain isn't a suitable substitute for evidence.

Here's what I see in both your asks:

You confuse emotional impact with factual clarity.

You accept anti-Israel claims uncritically and reject Israeli claims reflexively. The accusations against you of antisemtism have, therefore, a basis.

You demand Israel be perfect, but excuse Hamas as inevitable. The double standard is antisemitic.

You can't separate the horror of war from the legal definitions you're invoking without understanding war or the terms you're using.

You admit you can't verify your claims, then double down on them.

Your overwhelmed moral outrage isn't truth, Anon. Your belief that you're somehow a victim because other Jews don't like your antisemitism is, I'm sorry, absurd.

You don't know Jewish history, and it's okay with me of I come off as patronizing to you.

Your arguments are that clueless, that unsupported, that ignorant, and that sloppy.

"yet when i criticise the government thats meant to represent me somehow..."

WTAF, Anon? Do you see the layers of falsehoods here? You've gone far beyond criticizing government policies, nobody has claimed Israel represents you but antisemites, and Israel didn't invent antisemtism. I criticize Israel's government daily, and that's perfectly fine - but that's not what you do.

You spew unsupported nonsense and then play hurt victim when others point out how unsupported and nonsensical it is. You can't seem to differentiate between a fact and an assertion/accusation. You spout moral judgments absent any moral reasoning.

You're probably in your 20s or 30s, Anon. It's past time to move beyond this sort of adolescent bullshit and learn how to disagree like an adult.

You have strong opinions about a topic you claim to have followed closely, but prove this false by routinely misrepresenting reality with provable falsehoods and unsupported accusations which presume a priori that anything Hamas says is gospel truth and anything Israel says is a lie. You're called self-hating because you have deeply embedded, reflexive Judenhass at work. It's an unexamined, partly unconscious bias you need to unpack.

Look at what you wrote: "...IDF soldier who snipes a child through the skull for target practice..."

Either support this kind of accusation with evidence or shove it back into the ignorant piehole from which it sprang.

Listen to the dreck you spout: "if hamas was hiding the hostages under tel aviv, do you think the IDF would have used the same tactics and flattened it? no, because israeli lives matter to them, but palestinans dont."

Israel doesn't hide weapons under schools or hospitals for the explicit purpose of creating civilian casualties.

Blaming Israel for the consequences of Hamas using civilians as shields flips the moral logic. Israel warns civilians, Hamas traps them.

Expecting Israel to value Palestinian lives more than Hamas does is a rigged double standard.

What I'm saying, Anon, is that the problem here isn't how you're treated by other Jews.

The problem is you.

The Jews who know you irl and accuse you of being self-loathing, an antisemite and/or an aspiring kapo have a strong argument...while you have no argument at all.

Your mental breakdown isn't the fault of Israelis, Bibi Netanyahu, your local synagogue, or the tragedies of war. Please unpack these cognitive distortions with your therapist. If you don't have one, find one.

You're right. You shouldn't have submitted the first Ask in the first place, and I shouldn't have given either Ask this much of my time or patience.

You're not making any moral arguments, you're just doing some emotional dumping which reveals your unexamined biases very clearly.

Your hurt and your frustration are real, but they don't justify/excuse your dishonesty, laziness, and sloppy thinking.

Your partner may have to tolerate the emotional dumping, but I don't.

Take care.

[deathbecomesthem]

Cry Baby

Eddie Munson x gn!reader

2K words - +18 ONLY

Angst, unrequited feelings

A/N: I thought this was uploaded here already, but apparently not.

---

“Do you have it?” Your hand is deep in your handbag brushing around the dirt and tobacco dust. It’s in here somewhere, you remember dropping it in your bag before rushing out of your front door. The sound of the horn from the old rust bucket of a van loud enough to wake the neighbors, and he wasn’t going to let up until your ass was sitting firmly in the passenger seat.

“Just – fuck – give me a second,” he’s so annoying sometimes, too eager. You’re anxious to get moving, too, but you’re not willing to risk life and limb. Without even moonlight filtering in, the woods were pitch black this time of night. You let your frustration out in the form of a dig, “I have it, Eddie, can you just back the fuck off for a minute. Christ, why couldn’t you bring your own flashlight?”

His frustrated groan just puts you more on edge. It’s been like this with him lately. What used to be simple fun has felt like a chore. You know why. It’s because of her, but that’s not his fault. He’s allowed to have a girlfriend. You’re allowed to feel sad about it. You’re not allowed to take those feelings out on one of your best friends. He’s not a mind reader, and you’ve never given him a hint of a reason to believe the two of you could be anything more than what you are.

“Ha! There it is!” The flashlight, a tiny penlight your grandpa bought for your graduation, was hiding behind a tube of lip gloss in the bottom corner of your bag. “You ready to go find some ghosts, Ed, or are you too scared?”

“Oh, fuck off,” he’s already out of the van, swinging the door shut. He’s extra amped up because, despite his protests, he’s terrified. When you asked him to join you, he couldn’t say no, he couldn’t risk your mocking. But he hates this shit. Why bother looking for trouble when it finds him either way. And he happens to believe in ghosts.

“We don’t have to do this together, I can come back alone tomorrow night.” He knows this, and he knows he’s not going to let you tromp around in these woods by yourself to look for the old stone bridge. He also knows that he’s not going to miss a single second he gets to spend with you before you leave him.

“If you don’t get your ass out of that van, I’ll assume you’re the one that’s chickenshit. Let’s go!” It was his idea for both of you to dress in all black. Not exactly a far cry from the norm for either of you, but you felt a little ridiculous wearing your brother’s oversized black sweatshirt. All of yours have some sort of logo, and Eddie insisted you’d both be picked up for trespassing if the cops could see you. You’re waiting for the perfect moment to point out that his bright white knees are showing through the holes in his faded black jeans.

You consider your bag and decide it has to stay. You grab your smokes, your lighter, your pepper spray, and the baggie with a couple of pre rolled joints before hopping out of the van. He’s already got a cigarette lit, his hands move agitatedly from like he’s trying to shake out his nerves. It’s enough to make you feel a little guilty.

“Let’s go, Ed. The sooner we get out there, the sooner I’ll smoke you out to calm your ass down.” You lead the way, setting a quick gait. Eddie is on your heels, and you know from experience, he’ll be that way through the entire trek. A little less than a mile, but in the dark it will feel longer.

Normally, Laura would come out on an adventure like this. Your best friend for years, and Eddie’s new girlfriend. The three of you do, or did, everything together. Until a little more than a month ago when you walked in on them making out on Eddie’s bed. The pain, you masked as disgust that night, has turned sour. A bitter taste on the tip of your tongue that twists your words and makes them a little harsher than they should be. To Eddie and Laura. Your two most important people.

So, Laura passed, telling Eddie the two of you need some alone time. She really just can’t be around you right now, because she knows how you feel about Eddie. And it’s killing both of you. It’s too hard to be with them together, pretending that it doesn’t hurt. You want them to be happy, and that’s what they are. Perfect and happy. You’ll be gone in a week, anyway.

“Jesus, Eddie,” you hiss out when his chest connects to your back for the third time, “why don’t you just go wait in the van or whatever?” Your tone is mean and biting. You immediately regret it.

“What’s your problem? When did you get so fucking mean?” The fear is gone, replaced with anger. You’ve known this was coming for a while now, but hoped you could leave for school before the shit hit the fan with him. “You’ve been nothing but a grade A bitch to me lately,” he lets out a mean little laugh before adding, “not just to me, to Laura too.”

It’s like a slap in the face. Eddie has never gotten involved in anything between you and Laura. Never taken sides when the two of you fight. You feel like the ground under your feet has lost its firmness. Like it might break open and swallow you up. He’s right, but it hurts.

“Yeah, well, your girlfriend can take of herself, Ed, or did you fucking forget that now that you spend your weekend balls deep in her cunt?” The tip of the finger you have pushed into his chest is white with the effort. You want to hit him, you want to cry, you want to say something so cruel he’ll never want to speak to you again. “This is so fucking stupid, why are you even out here with me? You should be with your little plaything?”

“You know,” he slaps your hand away from him, “Laura said she thinks you’re jealous, and that’s why you’ve been acting like this.”

“Oh, did she come to that conclusion when she had your dick down her throat?” You hate yourself for it, but it’s been the only thing you’ve been able to think about. The two of them together in all of the ways you’ve been wanting him. You are jealous, and you can’t deny it. You can’t lie to Eddie. It’s pointless. He can always tell.

“I can’t do this, let’s fucking forget it. Please.” Even in the pitch dark of the woods, you can see his big stupid eyes shining at you. “Let’s go find your ghosts. C’mon.”

This is what he’s good at. Diffusing the bomb inside of you just as it’s about to explode. You always have that rage sitting close to the surface. He’s known you long enough to know you’ll do anything – anything – to push him away when you’re feeling hurt. He won’t let that happen when your time left together is so short.

So, you spin your body around. It’s easier when you don’t have your eyes on his face. It’s the face you’ve seen every day for the last 3 years. It’s the face you think about when you fall asleep at night. It’s the face you see in your dreams. It’s killing you.

The fear must be back, because Eddie’s thick fingers are gripping your bicep like his life depends on it. The light of the flashlight bounces across the leaf covered path, and you catch sight of what you’ve been looking for. A stone foundation, and the stone bridge beyond it.

Beer cans are littered around, a testament to the spot’s popularity. Someone had a fire there recently, you can see the remains of burned logs just off the path. It’s not technically a historic spot, but the rumors persist. The witch’s house and the bridge where she left her baby to die. So the legend goes. It’s bullshit, of course.

“You ok back there, tough guy?” Somehow, the grip on your arm is tighter, and Eddie is practically climbing your back with how close he is. A warm feeling of fondness spreads through you at the feeling. He wears his leather armor, but he’s so soft underneath. The only time he went to a haunted house with you, he made you lead him through it while he walked with his eyes closed. He screamed every time anyone brushed up next to him.

“I’m fine,” his voice is quiet and shaky, “can we please do whatever it is you want to do and get out of here? We can go get a six pack and watch a movie or something.”

“I don’t want to do anything. I just want to smoke a little and see if we see anything.” You shrug his hand off your arm and head to the bridge. The trees open up enough here for the moonlight to shine down creating an eerie atmosphere that contributes to the area’s reputation.

You’re laughing while you watch Eddie’s panicky jog to catch up with you. You’re holding up a joint in triumph and wiggling it at him like an owner offering a treat to their dog for doing a trick.

“You know, I sold this to you, I could smoke my own stash at home.” He grumbles to you, but still accepts your offering. The flash of flame from his lighter makes his face glow. He’s so pretty, all of the time, and it breaks your heart to see. But you push that shit back down as he hands the joint back to you.

You take the joint and grab his hand. His calloused fingers cupping your hand back while you lead him to a spot in the middle of the bridge and sit. You pat the ground next to you in invitation, and he accepts that offering as well. You let your head rest on his shoulder, a thing you’ve done countless times before, but the first time since that night you saw him with Laura.

You watch a cloud pass across the moon, it’s nearly full and you feel so glad to see it like this with him. It almost feels right. It almost feels like you could angle your head up to look at him, but you won’t do that. It feels wrong when the only thing you want is for him to look back and see what you’ve been hiding from him.

“You know,” it’s been quiet for a while, and of course Eddie’s the first one to break, “if I had known –“ you reach your hand up to cover his mouth before he can say anything else.

“Don’t do that,” you whisper out, barely loud enough for him to hear, “just don’t.”

He doesn’t. He lets you have this, let’s you be with him in this spot. Forgetting for a few minutes that when you leave it, he’ll find her. He’ll kiss her, he’ll tell her he missed her. He should do those things, because they’re right and true.

“I’m gonna miss you so fucking much.” His kiss to the top of your head is what finally does it. The dam broken, tears spill down your cheeks. “This is a lot nicer than I thought it would be. Thank you.”

[syndrossi]

Can we acknowledge Rhaenys' awasomeness and get her on the Small council?

She can handle Otto just fine, she can give both Daemon and Viseris the so needed scolding and make them listen to one another, not just talk.

She can advocate for Rhaenyra's interests as a heir, she can arrange aid to Stepstones, she can make sure Hightowers children actually learn of their Targaryen heritage!

Hell, she can make Viseris spend more time with his family (his lonely dinners make me so sad 😢). He can even listen and try another maesters to look after him. Ask Corlys to get some dope healer he stumbled upon during his voyages.

CORLYS may be even less of a pain is the ass if his wife is finally acknowledged properly.

Rhaenys - Hand of the King!!! *chants, chants, chants*

P.s.: I realised if you actually do this, there will be no Dance and Targ drama to write about 😂

Rhaenys's best chance of landing on the small council, due to the patriarchy of the times, would be either once Rhaenyra is queen or in Regnal AU, as either a peace-making gesture from Baelon or by Daemon's and/or Rhea's suggestion during Daemon's reign. (Daemon strikes me as someone who leans hard into nepotism. If he likes and trusts Rhaenys, then who cares if she's a woman? Family is inherently more trustworthy.) Viserys just isn't willing to rock the boat right now, though honestly, putting a woman in a position of power on the small council at least smooths the way a little for Rhaenyra.

But yes, you don't need to convince me! And yes, Rhaenys as a part of Viserys's inner circle does certainly eliminate quite a few story conflicts. 😂 Though Volantis and the warlocks (and other powers on Essos) are happy enough to stir the pot.

[midnight--sadness]

Have you ever received a kissing booth AU? When I searched, it seemed like you hadn't received this idea from anyone else, so I'm sending this to you.(Sangihun, Saleshun, Inhun)

"Gi-hun, I'll be right back, so just hold this for a moment." Jung-bae fidgeted. His mind was clearly not here, but in the bathroom two blocks away. Gi-hun waved his hand as if to tell him to hurry up and go. Jung-bae dashed away as soon as Gi-hun entered the booth. "A thousand won for a kiss? Well, I guess no one's going to come anyway." Gi-hun sat down leisurely and began playing a game on his phone. The booth, located in the corner of the parking lot, was in an alleyway that didn't see many people, even though it was the festival day. He soon grew tired of the game and looked around, jumping up and down and waving at a tall man in the distance. The man immediately noticed Gi-hun and approached him.

"What are you doing here, hyung?" "Kissing booth! You saw me, so you have to kiss me. It's ten thousand won each." The bespectacled man blinked at the discrepancy between the price on the sign and Gi-hun's quote, but without saying anything, he lightly kissed Gi-hun's cheek and left ten thousand won in his hand. "I should've said twenty thousand won." "Ripping off is against the law, hyung. See you at the party later tonight." He quickly disappeared into the crowd, and Gi-hun beamed with joy at the ten thousand won in his hand.

"Well, there's a booth like this in a place like this." Gi-hun looked up. A handsome, yet unfamiliar man was looking at him with a smile. "I was going to open a ddakji booth here, but it looks like you already took the spot. You look bored. Would you like to play a game with me for money?" "Oh, I don't have much money…" "If you win, I'll give you one hundred thousand won. If you lose, give me twenty thousand won." 100,000 won! That's a lot of money. Gi-hun agreed and confidently hit the ddakji, but lost. "I'm sorry, but I only have 10,000 won." "Then you can pay with your body." With my body? Gi-hun looked at him in confusion, and the man pointed to the sign for "Kissing Booth" with his index finger. Ah, that's what it means. Gi-hun closed his eyes and waited for a kiss, but the man kissed Gi-hun's neck instead of his cheek, then bit it hard. Gi-hun jumped in pain. "What are you doing?!" The man held up both hands, his face completely unapologetic. "A kissing booth is a place to kiss. Why are you angry?" He put 20,000 won in Gi-hun's hand. As Gi-hun's expression changed from anger to confusion, he smirked and stuffed a 100,000 won bill and a business card deep into Gi-hun's shirt. "We just opened roulette over there, so come play anytime." And then he disappeared.

"What the heck…" Gi-hun whined, pulling the money and business card out from inside his shirt. Now he was holding 130,000 won and a business card. Well, this wasn't a small sum… Gi-hun decided to ask Jung-bae to share some of the money when he got back. Then, he noticed his shoelaces were untied and bent down. As he was about to tie them, someone grabbed his butt firmly, wiggling their fingers as if savoring the sensation. His other hand stuffed several ten-thousand won bills into the top of Gi-hun's pants. "What the heck???????" Gi-hun was so shocked that he froze in place.

"I'm sorry. Did I startle you?" The man standing there looked serene. It was a stark contrast to the perverted behavior he'd just displayed, so Gi-hun looked around, but but only he and Gi-hun were there. "It says I can kiss you if I pay you, so I was wondering if anything else I can do here." "What do you mean? I'm not here for any lewd purposes! This is a charity event—" "I'm very sorry, I misunderstood." The man immediately became disheartened. Gi-hun's anger melted away as he seemed so genuinely remorseful. "As a sign of apology, can I pay more than others and kiss you?" "What? Well, um, well, if you're willing to do that…" Before Gi-hun could finish his sentence, the man grabbed Gi-hun's collar and crashed his mouth against his. Their tongues tangled, the man's tongue exploring every nook and cranny of Gi-hun's mouth as if it had a sense of self, caressing the roof of his mouth. Gi-hun's eyes rolled and he tried to push him away, but the man's grip was as strong as steel, or rather, like a squid suction cup, and he never let go. Just as Gi-hun was gasping for breath and nearly unconscious, the man's lips moved away from Gi-hun's with a small chu sound, and his hand stroked Gi-hun's head as he slumped to the ground. "That was a great kiss, Gi-hun." He then placed a check on the table and left.

After a while Jung-bae ran into the booth with a bright face. "Gi-hun, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. The bathroom line was so long. Well, the police department suddenly dispatched high-ranking officials to help with the event, so it's all noisy!" Jeong-bae, feeling sorry for being late, started talking wildly. "And—oh wait, what's with the check? 200,000 won is a lot of money, isn't it? And there's even a phone number on it—did some rich lady come flirt with you? You lucky bastard." He stuttered when he saw Gi-hun in a dazed state. Gi-hun's lips were all red from kisses, his collar was undone, and there was a bite mark on the nape of his neck that looked like a love bite. And there were several bills tucked into the top of his pants. "Wait, Gi-hun, this is just a kissing booth… What the hell were you doing here?!"

no, i never received a "kissing booth" au yet!! 💞🙏 those movies were my guilty pleasure for a while lmao

AND OH MY GODDDDDD IM IN LOVE WITH THIS!!! 😩🫶

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH GIHUN WERE SO ON BRAND!!!

sangwoo being all shy and cute and not actually having the guts to kiss gihun.

the salesman turning it into a game and telling gihun to pay with his body 💀

inho being forceful but still charming...

i know jungbae was regretting going to the bathroom and leaving gihun alone nfjikvjmfnvjdnfvjfkj now he doesn't believe gihun that it was only a kiss and that he didnt do anything improper with ppl to get that much money 😭

[assassin-artist]

a couple of friends put the idea of taking my GDA agent Akari and making her a Viltrumite instead. okay well time for extra angst.. dedication to her job and being willing to sacrifice every part of herself (physically and mentally) for her duties is like her core character trait. It's why she'd never leave the GDA no matter how bad things got or what terrible things she's been made to do, so if she were a Viltrumite, I fear they've got the most loyal soldier on their side because there is nothing that move her strongly enough to make her change her mind. She'd grow to love humans in the 20 years she spends on Earth with them, just like Nolan did, but she could never abandon her duty to the Empire like he did.

[sweetevoltrap]

Sylus saying "...don't run" to MC when they're finally being openly honest about their desire for one another and their trust and shared spaces.

[cannibalisticskittles]

keep seeing the idea of 'i am my father's son/mother's daughter/etc' in character pieces and i keep thinking abt what that means for amity

her father's daughter:

at best -- whimsical, optimistic, easygoing, curious, inventive, welcoming. forward thinking, progressive, and charitable. quick to laugh, and quick to forgive.

at worst -- reckless, impulsive, acting heedless of danger to herself, and sometimes to others. lacking self-awareness and self-perception to a dangerous degree.

her mother's daughter:

at best -- calculating, methodical, thinking one (or two, or three) steps ahead. persuasive and with a knack for wordplay and careful wording; no getting tripped up on a bum contract or getting screwed over by a loophole. good at thinking objectively about a situation to find the best path forward.

at worst -- cruel, manipulative, vengeful. so focused on the bigger picture that it's all too easy to dole out harsh punishments in the name of justice (as defined by her). straight up fucking brutally murdering someone.

the worst of her father is... a half-measure better than the best of her mother, lmao

[the-weeping-dawn]

////

[tojbnuy]

husband!toji who means well but always ends up doing things a bit recklessly. toji lives for quickness and efficiency so he doesn’t care if it means he’s putting himself at risk, he’d rather get the job done quick. this is why asking toji to chop vegetables was something you didn’t often do. the man meant well, was always willing to do any jobs that meant your life would become easier, and plus he liked to show off his apparent knife skills. carrots and potatoes were now chopped but your husbands fingers had also been made to suffer.

‘Baby look at the state of you! you’ve got cuts on nearly every finger and even one on your arm.’

‘no big deal doll i can’t even feel them.’

okay maybe the sting was starting to accumulate but it was nothing he hadn’t felt before. and he liked to be doted on.

‘come on sit down i’ll get the cream and plasters.’

his hands were placed in your lap and you gently massaged in the ointment to his cuts then wrapped a few bandaids on the ones still bleeding.

while you were busy, megumi from the other side of the room was intrigued by his parents behavior. he had seen his mum doing this to his dad before and he was pretty sure he knew the next step.

megumi sat up from his little fort, politely walking past the dinosaurs he had placed next to him. his tiny feet patting on the floor until he reached his dad.

‘hi baby what’s up?’ you asked sweetly as your son stood shyly infront of the two of you eyeing you both with uncertainty.

he bent down slightly to where you were holding tojis fingers and said

‘fooooooo’ the air from his mouth tickling tojis hands.

immediately you cracked up at your son copying you. you always kissed and blew on megumi when he got hurt so here he was curing his dad the only way he knew how.

‘this finger too baby’ you said to him as you held up tojis left hand to megumis face.

megumi went round to each finger with a soft peck and a big blow making sure he got rid of the pain.

‘oi kid i’ve got one more here’ toji said as he pointed to his cheek.

megumi was slightly confused as there was nothing red there but he placed his hands on his dads shoulders to balance himself nonetheless and gave him a big wet kiss then blew cold air right into his eye.

‘thank you kid you’ve got powers i feel completely better’

he picked his son up and placed him in his lap, his entire body fitting perfectly onto one of tojis thighs.

‘mama i have powers!’ he proudly exclaimed as he settled down and looked at you with his big googly eyes.

your heart softened at the sight of your two boys sat holding hands, the spitting image of each other matching scowls and all.

a/n : idk i’m rlly tired i was just thinking about it

[bluemoonbun]

Reader is implied to like feminine things, though gender identity is kept ambiguous.

Damian was a good brother. That’s what he always told himself. He was a good brother, a good son. He was cold, rude, and erudite, but he was able and willing to help anyone who needed it.

When he arrived at Wayne manor, Bruce told him the general run down of why you were to be avoided when it came to anything vigilante related. You were still pure, a year younger than Damian but without any of the pain. The only one in the Wayne manor that could have a shot at becoming a normal person. Damian envied that, but kept it to himself. His anger often boiled to the top, drops of green venom dripping from his mouth when you tried to annoy him into spending time with you.

Your complaints of him ignoring you was scalding water on his already raw nerves. Why would you complain about not being the center of attention for five damn seconds? He would trade anything for the life you had. A life where you could lay around after school and never worry about a rogue bullet lodging itself in your arm, or a poisonous plant releasing psychedelic spores into an open wound.

You could and would never join the Robins. You were weak; it was in your blood. Always sickly, always the pacifist. You wouldn't survive a day in his life. And you weren't living his life; you were living his dream.

But apparently the effort the family was putting in wasn’t enough.

He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t noticed that the manor felt… off about two weeks before the fight with Joker. He couldn’t trace it for the life of him at first. When he realized by the second week that he hadn’t spoken to you in days, or really seen you around the manor at all, he wrote off the worms writhing in his stomach. You must’ve been busy with a class assignment and had little time to annoy him with your demands of time together.

After the fight, however, he was a war of a thousand emotions. How dare you leave them? Why would you turn away an easy life fat on nepotism for a group of murderers, con men, the dredges of Gotham’s society?

Were you truly that desperate to be acknowledged that you’d turn your back on the family who did everything for you? He hopes you’re happy there, since you were clearly so upset at not being given attention.

Over time, however, things start to change. A few days after Jason made a full recovery, Damian looked at one of the drones Tim managed to get a chunk of code from. It took a lot of trial and error, and the development of an entirely new program to grab some of the code before it bricked itself, and enough all nighters and energy drinks that any doctor would faint, but it was managed. The code was dense, optimized to work with the least bloat possible, well tagged variables, and even a handful of comments in the code.

//Buy Bane those Boston Donuts from the donut shop on 5th //Why does this code need to be here so it doesn’t auto brick itself. What is in the code protecting it from the wrath of God //Louie likes Texas barbecue ribs. Possible treat? //DO NOT FEED THEM WHOLE RIBS. COOKED BONES BAD. //SINCE WHEN WAS THIS VARIABLE A STRING??? IT WAS AN INT 5 LINES AGO //Help the hopeless lesbians get together. //Would Harley and Ivy dating make Harley my mom or Ivy my big sister? Both???

His eyes skimmed the retrieved comments, laughing at a few. It seems that Bane, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn were the most common subjects of the notes, though a few mentioning the Iceberg lounge asking what non-alchoholic drink you’d like added, or Riddler offering you another puzzle to keep your mind active. Even Joker was mentioned, though it seemed mostly transactional.

It was strange seeing you in this light. You seemed to have a lot of spice in you, but a heart made of gold. You were definitely surprised whenever one othe villains offered to take you on some trip to amusement parks, regular parks, even just willingly watching anime with you. It was odd to see. Surely someone at the house did those things with you? He didn’t but he was extremely busy with school and vigilantism. Jason was legally dead, so surely he had all the time in the world.

“How was I supposed to relate to them? They’re what, 12 and into shit like that one with the cat looking dog thing and the robot girl. I have shit to do. Y’know, managing Crime Alley?”

Well, Dick had come over to hang out plenty of times. Surely he’d spent at least a few hours with you every now and then? “I have an entire team and criminals to manage of in another city, Damian. I don’t have as much time as you think to do whatever it was with them they’d wanted to do”

Maybe Tim? “I have college and stuff, Damian. And I don’t have the energy to put into hanging around them. I’d probably just be sleeping most of the time.

Bruce? “I have to manage you, Gotham, and the Justice League, Damian. I barely have time for myself.”

… Alfred? “I tried, Master Damian. However I’m constantly pulled thin between so many tasks. Besides, all you have is school most days, and you’ve had summer vacations and weekends. Shouldn’t you’ve had plenty of time to spend with your younger sibling?”

… He did have the most time outside of vigilantism. And it took him a week to realize you were missing.

You had to realize that they were under extreme stress though, right?He couldn’t spend all his free time with you. He had his own friends to hang out with. How were you two even supposed to relate?

One day at dinner, the thoughts were thrashing in his head, slamming against soft tissue and tearing through brain matter. He aimlessly poked at the food on his plate.

“You alright, replacement?” Jason asked, pausing in his extremely rare dinners with everyone else. Alfred had promised him a tray of fudge to take home this time around, and nobody made fudge quite as good as he did.

“… They were gone for two weeks.”

Everyone stopped eating as he continued.

“Two weeks. Two full weeks before they showed up at that fight. Did anyone here even know? I only noticed after a week and assumed they were just holed up in their room with a class assignment or something.” He was rambling. Everyone was quiet and looking at each other. How did it manage to slip past everyone? They were detectives, for Christ’s sake.

They were your family.

—

Dinner ended with guilt wrapping around their throats and pulling.

Eventually, all of them found themselves in your room. It had been emptied, but showed no signs of struggle. All the small items, the comforter, and your clothes were gone. But what was taken left something behind. Copies of photos of you winning state level competitions, letters requesting your attendance at seminars, photos of gold medals and blue ribbons spread across the floor. Most damning of all was the most recent photo. A certificate by some big time tech company being handed to you. Edward Nashton stood behind you, a firm, reassuring hand on your shoulder.

When had this happened? They never remembered hearing of something like this. A news clipping on the back told them it was maybe a week before you left.

“The Wayne prodigy stated that their family had more important things to see to than such an occasion. I can’t imagine something more important that either of my kids being recognized by a multi-million dollar tech company! I remember postponing an anniversary with my husband to celebrate our child placing second in the science fair. But I guess that’s just the Waynes for you!”

That’s just the Waynes to you.

But it’s ok. He can make it better. He can be a good big brother. He can spend time watching anime with you and decorating your room with lace and fairy lights and go makeup shopping with you. You just need to come home. Now.

---------------- Taglist! Ask to be added! Edit: It is now closed!

@jjsmeowthie , @jsprien213 , @ladyrosemone

[nyctoseraph]

I SUDDENLY TRANSMIGRATED TO A BLOODY THRONE WAR NOVEL AND I CAN’T GO BACK!

Yandere Crown Prince Phainon x Fem Transmigrated Reader

WARNINGS: obsessive and manipulative behaviors, depictions of violence, blood, slight gore, death of minor characters, non-consensual affection, phainon is delusional, parallels to amphoreus' storyline which can be considered as spoilers. YANDERE/DARK CONTENT AHEAD, PROCEED WITH CAUTION. 11.2k words.

ALSO CONTAINS: Isekai/transmigration themes.

One of these days I’m gonna put myself on a silver platter and serve it to Phainon.

You typed in your phone, gushing to your friend about the new update from the novel both of you had been following lately.

The Era Nova. An action-thriller novel about a charming crown prince thrust into a bloody game of court and throne. The story follows how Phainon, the crown prince with a golden heart, will navigate the dangers of the messy palace life, and how he shall succeed to finally become the emperor of the kingdom.

You were absolutely smitten with Phainon. First and foremost, the author surely did their best job at hiring good artists for the illustrations, because damn did they make justice of the ‘charming and handsome’ part of Phainon's character. Secondly, the gripping scenes of Phainon finally seizing the power from his enemies might've done something to your brain.

[Blue eyes suddenly flashed golden as he raises his sword and lays waste inside the throne room. What used to be regal figures now lie like broken statues, the red on their backs bleed farther than their capes.

Ascending from the blood of past kings, the new emperor, Phainon, has arrived.]

The words of the novel still stuck to your mind like glue, are you wrong for thinking that scene is just,

So hot?

phainon looked so YUMMY in the ending scene like the mask and cloak??? hmmm yes, and he makes even blood look good. wtf ur so real for that tho, but the ending's kinda sad don't you think? he'll be left alone in the palace far away from his people oh-

Maybe it's the way Phainon’s character is brought into the story, but he's this kind-hearted prince who transformed into an imposing ruler. The way his character hardened and developed pulled in your heartstrings. He brings conflict to your emotions, on how you loved his radiant and princely side, but at the same time is swept off your feet by his blinding majesty.

Must be the reason why you loved reading this novel. It seems that the author did a great job of stringing you, the reader, into Phainon's emotions and inner world. It makes you wish for the success of his plans in the story, but it also pains you to see him change as a price.

affected by literal fucking words and pixels, please save me from era nova, why can't i just pick a fav and go??? why do i also have to feel for them like please leave me alone he just wanted to be an appraiser and live normally with his people, why'd they have to do him like that ikr, like noooo phainon my sweet baby :( he succeeded but at what cost? :((((

Phainon ascends to the throne, the end. You saw this coming from a mile away, but actually seeing something that's been a part of your daily life for months finally concluding did hurt you a bit. There's a pang of emptiness, ah, the feeling of finishing a book and never hearing from that world again.

Sucks.

You'll probably get over it and find a new thing to fixate on soon, but for now you'll lament Phainon’s fate and think about the damn novel for a few more hours.

well becoming an emperor so suddenly sounds kinda lonely so if he needs a princess by his side im just here 🙏  girl, you'll die from the court shenanigans alone lol oof yeah u right [are you willing to do that?] fuck yeah lol, all in for PHAINON [heh, come here then] ??? it's 4am rn tho

Don't wanna go out yet. You're supposed to type, but suddenly you felt the most splitting headache you ever had the misfortune to feel. Your vision goes blurry and suddenly, everything's so dark.

★

You woke up to the fluttering of soft…lace?

Opening your eyes, you are faced with the soft swishing of the lacy fabric hanging up on the bedposts. The fabric dancing in the air caresses your face, the gentle touch of lace rouses you further from sleep. Wait, bedposts?

Realizing the anomaly in your room, you stood up. Well, tried to do so. Because your head suddenly feels like it's groaning in pain and so do you.

“Oh no miss! Don't stand up too fast, your head injuries might worsen!”

A brown-haired lady wearing a black dress with white apron suddenly ushers towards you. Her face is frowning, filled with as much worry as her frantic voice has.

White apron… like a maid outfit.

You stilled, brain churning for the last bits of the previous night. For one, you are texting your friend about Era Nova, second is that they asked you to ‘come to them’ at such an ungodly hour, and then… and then what?

“Master! The lady has awoken!”

What happened last night?

Your head suddenly throbs in pain again, it's akin to a migraine that suddenly surprises you when you least expect it. The difference though from an ordinary migraine is that this one seems to carry something.

A lot of things, memories to be exact, actually.

You are the only daughter of the count of this area. You are currently in your estate at Okhema, and that you had a bad fall at… some market?

More and more flooded to your head, some crystal clear memories and some are fuzzy, something bathed in yellowing lights — childhood memories. It doesn't clear itself though, as if it's decided that those are not of importance.

“My daughter… how do you feel?”

A voice interrupts your train of thoughts. There enters a man seemingly in his late forties. He's wearing clothes that seem to be out of a theater play you watched back then. His tall stature exudes elegance, something out of a regency drama.

Where are you exactly?

You didn't speak, mind running in different directions, different explanations and reasonings for whatever absurdity you are currently in as of now. Are you kidnapped? Did you get drunk last night and wandered to a TV set? Why would they play along then if that's the case? Is this a new, untapped-by-science side effect of combined lack of sleep and caffeine overdose?

All of your hypothesis sounds like it was spoken by insanity itself. Why would this happen? Is this real? Dozens of questions floated around your mind until it was cleared away by the same voice.

“My dearest, we have investigated the entirety of Marmoreal market and found no signs of the carriage that hit you. I'm deeply sorry for this news, but don't worry, father is not going to stop looking for…”

Your ‘father’s’ voice droned in and out of your ear, his words seem to be mixing and swirling into your senses.

Except for one.

Marmoreal. Then you also remembered one of the information bits that flooded to your brain, Okhema. You were so distraught earlier that you didn't process the memories itself, the familiar places and names suddenly makes sense, finally tracing back to their origin.

The Era Nova.

Marmoreal is the center of Okhema’s trade, a place where half of the story convenes because Phainon frequents this place so much. The kingdom that hailed him as one of their crown princes is Okhema.

Maybe it was really insanity who penned these events unfolding to you right now.

“Master, excuse my interruption, but my lady seems to be in great pain earlier, she may not be ready for that conversation,” The woman who you first saw when you woke up warily said to the man beside you. In your memories, she is your lady in waiting.

“Right, of course, please take care of her and make sure she rests.” 

The man leaves, the brown haired maid follows, telling you that she's going to fetch you soup and medicine.

Left alone in your thoughts, you only can look outside the window. Behind the branch where two songbirds are perched, singing a duet — lies the Marmoreal Palace, in front of your very own eyes.

Insanity, yes, this must be insanity.

There's no fucking way you just got isekai’d in your favorite novel.

★

Of all the things to read before your isekai trip, it had to be this dramatic thriller of a genre.

You sluggishly stood up after your maid left you with the soup and medicine. You walked towards an ornate mirror, something that looks like it belongs to a museum, not in a home.

With that in mind, you found out two things.

First is that your family is rich. Second is that despite being transmigrated into a fantasy, kingdom-themed novel, you still looked the same.

Yes, unfortunately, no waking up in the body of a pink-haired maiden with flawless skin and plump lips.

At least you're rich, right?

“Man, I wanna know what it feels like to have natural pink hair.” You sighed in front of your mirror. You do look a bit more radiant at least, as if you finally scrounged enough money to contact a dermatologist and do something about your eyebags.

Yes, yes, it might seem like you were just put on a dress for some play but at least your face looks clearer. A win is a win.

Going back, you repeatedly consider your family’s status. Rich and has a stable business? Then it is perfect. An unspoken rule in the isekai world is that, peace comes from not fucking around with the plot. It seems that you're in a lineage of businessmen, not royalty, so there's no reason for you to get tangled up in the bloody ‘court games’ that Era Nova is all about.

Gotta thank the plot for giving you some background on who you are in the story at least. Still, you've opted for pretending that you lost some of your memories, much to your family's horror — so that asking painfully obvious questions in case you forget something isn't too strange.

That, and also because you've seen this in many transmigration novels that you wanted to try it.

You probably should've stuck to something along the lines of romance or slice-of-life novels instead if you knew that this is going to happen.

All feels surreal, you never expected to experience being sent into the world of a novel. You thought isekai is just a fantasy genre you only read.

But alas, you're here now. There's no cameras or crew members revealing you're in a prank, a show, or something. It's been too long for that.

★

Crazy thought, but what if I try finding Phainon?

You suddenly think while you're in the bath, a pair of maids helping you scrub your body. It's been a few days since you got here. You did your best in adjusting, using the memories that were given to you and the books which, luckily, you can understand and read.

It also helps that you're proficient about The Era Nova back in the real world. You've been into forums and posts discussing the plot and the worldbuilding of this work. Save for the more innate traditions and customs, your knowledge about the events and how this kingdom came to be is more than enough for you to navigate in your daily life here.

In fact, you might be too proficient, because your butler let out a stray comment telling you that you have the potential to be a historian in the academy.

Your earlier thought about finding Phainon resurfaced again. Now that you think about it properly, it seems to be the stupidest idea you've made as of now.

No, no! Do not get involved with Phainon, he's the most direct, one-way ticket to the plot.

You didn't think further, instead you relaxed into the bath.

★

Thankfully, you have recovered. You think it's because your brain finally conjured all the memories it needed, hence your headaches had finally stopped.

Your father now also reluctantly lets you go outside again, but he strictly advises you to be careful, a long spiel of reminders and shoving at least two knights with you everywhere you go.

Wow, your family had knights.

Today, you're heading to the Marmoreal Market, where you're supposed to have been run over by a carriage before. You shivered at the thought, although nothing concrete came into mind when you tried remembering it.

Maybe it's mercy, who wants to remember that kind of pain?

Your carriage moves along the cobblestones. Estates, parks, ornate fountains and rows of wooden stalls pass by your window. Straight out of a fairytale kingdom. You couldn't believe your eyes, your heart was pounding. It's real, you're really here.

You only went out to have a closer look at the world you got thrown into. You knew what it's like in the novel, but seeing it in person is a whole ‘nother experience that cannot be replicated.

Today, you're going to investigate, but you guess it wouldn't hurt to explore Okhema too.

★

It's unfortunate that you only have two feet and can only go in a single direction at a time when the Marmoreal Market has a dozen pathways and shops calling your attention.

It's vastly different from the real world, that's for sure.

The colorful tapestries draped into the rooftops of each store weave a grand picture to your eyes. The goods displayed felt magical, even what's supposed to be simple bread sold in the west area looks like it's glazed in gold and the dresses hanging in the southern part all have intricate stitching that make the fabric feel alive.

Your eyes are twinkling in wonder. It felt like you were a kid again in an amusement park, the excitement on each turn of your head palpable. You took advantage of your sizable allowance and picked pastries and trinkets that interest you, those that seem otherworldly that you'll probably never see again once you go back.

Right, what about going back to the real world?

Magic exists in the story of The Era Nova. One of the shops here sells magical items. It's your main objective for the day. The concept of other worlds could still be seen as strange, but it's worth a shot, you think.

When you finally reach the shop, it's unassuming at first, only a crooked wooden signage and an old wind chime greet you when you lay your eyes on its facade, but what's inside is completely different.

Rows and rows of shelves filled with various jars and knick-knacks welcomed you. It's like you stepped into the set of Alice in Wonderland. The line of shelves leads to a counter, a single woman faces you, her little corner filled with hanging plants and more trinkets.

The woman on the counter only stares at you. At first you think it's strange, but remembering that you're inside a novel cuts off that thought. Maybe it's normal here. In most novels, characters that have to do something with magic tend to be a bit mysterious and quirky anyway.

You continued browsing, eyes looking for strange artifacts that could be connected to how you can go home. It feels like a shot in the dark as you have no idea what could be considered ‘a strange artifact’ because all of these things are foreign to you.

As you collect your courage to just straight up ask the bizarre questions of ‘portals’ and ‘other worlds’ to the woman on the counter, a flicker catches your attention.

A hand mirror, it's embellished with small golden suns and silver moons on its frame. The handle is just the same, with a bigger sun and moon eclipsing at the center.

But the design isn't what catches your attention, it's what's within the mirror itself. Because instead of reflecting the shop’s interior — it's reflecting the inside of your real world bedroom instead.

You nearly jumped towards the glass display it's being held in. The woman on the counter stares at you before giving a somewhat pitied look.

“It's a great piece, but unfortunately that's reserved for a special customer.”

Your heart drops at her statement. No, no way, this could be the key to going home. You're going to have this one, even if you have to put trade offers that are disadvantageous to you. As you were about to open your mouth to argue, you were interrupted by a chime.

“Lord Phainon, are you here for your reservation?”

“Yes, thank you for keeping it for me.” A man — no Phainon, walks into the counter. If your heart dropped earlier, it's now currently digging itself lower than the ground. Of all people, it just had to be him.

The woman walks past you and into the glass display. She grabs the mirror and heads into a door hidden by plants. This leaves you awkwardly standing beside the Phainon.

“It's rare to see other customers here, I'm starting to think that I’m the only one who knows of this place honestly,” Phainon casually starts off. You shouldn't be surprised at his friendly demeanor as you've read about it a thousand times already, but that friendliness directed to you makes your heart race at a dizzying speed. 

Snow-white hair that's slightly tousled, the striking blue eyes, like it's twinkling as he smiles. His tall stature is more obvious due to the small space but his stance is relaxed as he watches over you, the differences in your height just perfect enough to display the golden sun on his neck at your eye level. There's no denying, it's really Phainon in the flesh, and the novel did not lie, he's the most charming and radiant person you've seen in the entire time you're here.

Oh dear, he's so beautiful.

You would've gushed about him more if it weren't for the silence that's hanging over you and the current situation about that mirror.

“Ahh… yeah this store is… really interesting!” The response came as awkward as you can imagine, although Phainon didn't seem to mind as he chuckled and continued the conversation.

“I know, right? The shop’s filled with so many antiques and magical devices that I couldn't imagine how long it would take to appraise them all, they seem endless and that's what draws me here,” His tone is cheery, a smile spreading across his face.

You nearly forgot that Phainon has a hobby of collecting antiques and appraising them.

The lady comes out of the room carrying a box — presumably the mirror with your room in it inside. She hands the box to Phainon, but her stare never leaves you.

“Miss if you'd like, we have more hand mirrors and other displays-”

“Oh, is the lady over here interested in this mirror too?” Phainon suddenly interrupts the lady, who answers his question with a nod.

“Actually… I really wanted to check this specific mirror,” you softly said, might as well whisper with how quiet it went out of your mouth.

“My, I didn't expect to make a lady sad today. Unfortunately, I did reserve this a week ago… and I’m kind of expecting this piece — but! If you'd like, you can join me in appraising this, you said you wanted to see it closely right?” He offers, his smile widens as he turns to you, seemingly proud of his solution.

Oh no, he has such a nice smile.

Who could say no to that?

You take his offer.

★

In the first place, why do you still want to go home?

You woke up in a world filled with magic and whimsy, a world that looks like it has your dreams for its foundation. From a fantasy novel to a daily occurence.

So why?

Maybe it's because despite being physically here, you never really belonged. The monotonous voice that calls out to your ‘parents’, the practiced greetings, and the feeling of disconnect from your very self.

It's like you're just playing a role.

A role you cannot take seriously. Because back there, you have a life, a pretty boring one but it's yours. You're wondering if your cat is fed back home, you're thinking about your friend who wanted to meet up that day, and is your family worried? What about your real body? And your phone.

Oh you miss the glorious internet even for all its flaws. Maybe you wouldn't be as lost here if search engines existed.

The thoughts barrage your supposed peace of mind again, which is why you broke your promise of not getting involved with Phainon. 

You need to see that damned mirror.

Isn't it funny how things are progressing just like an actual isekai novel? Because you do remember a few titles that had the protagonist promising to stray themselves off of the plot only to get plunged right in the middle of it moments later.

You mentally swatted the thought. 

Because unlike the romance novels you've seen, the main driving force of this story is violence and revenge. Phainon succeeded in the story by removing all that tried stopping him. If you make a mistake — get too entangled, you might just get yourself extremely hurt.

There's a hypothesis that if you were to die in an isekai, your soul might just go back to reality. It's a hypothesis that you wish to not prove by looking for alternative paths instead, but if all comes crashing down, you'd rather have your death not by a weapon.

But… there's the alternative already right? Maybe getting a bit involved with the main character is a small price to pay for that. If the mirror proves to be the way of going home, then your involvement with Phainon would have no way of going any further.

So here you are, meeting the very man himself. The Sun of Okhema and the star of The Era Nova, Phainon.

You're not one for lying to yourself, you're a little too excited about seeing Phainon again. He’s totally your type, and if you're as headstrong as those female leads in isekai, you might've even risked it for him.

Well, you're not, and you want to go home now.

“Over here, my lady!” A loud voice beckoned you. With how cheery it sounded, you knew it's definitely Phainon even without looking.

He's wearing casual attire, too casual. White dress shirt that’s a little too sheer, and plain black slacks that go straight down to his leather shoes that's studded with small golden bits on its straps (which you found out are small suns as you walk closer to him). For all the straightforwardness of his outfit, the black choker that wraps around his neck stands out.

You see, you have no qualms about his clothing choices, but the sheer fabric is quite literally framing his muscles to all its glory and you’re a teeny tiny bit flustered. The choker isn't helpful either, as that leads your stare on his neck and jawline instead.

Ah self, pardon my bullshit just this once, not everyday you see the man of your dreams.

You swallow your embarrassment and approach him. You've opted to just a simple wave, but Phainon had other plans — he grabs your waving hand gently kisses it, his eyes never leaving you.

Well, shit.

“Oh? Was that too direct? Apologies, it's a common courtesy here so I just got used to it,” Phainon suddenly retracts himself when he sees your half open mouth.

“No, no, it's fine! Don't worry about it,” You responded almost too quickly, “Anyways, so…”

“The mirror, yes?”

“Yes, yes, the mirror! Can I have a look at it?” Now that you listen closely, it seems weird that you're so eager to ask for someone else’s personal belongings, but for the sake of your trip back home, you're willing to just swallow your pride for now.

“Hmm… no?” Phainon playfully answers, the smile on his face growing.

“Ah?” You could only utter that syllable. Did he finally catch on how weird this entire thing is?

“What I mean is not yet, we have to appraise it first.”

You could only stare at him dumbfounded before laughing it off. Phainon has a hobby of appraising antiques, this is one of his most highlighted quirks in the novel as he wishes to finally break free from his royal duties and work as a full-time appraiser. 

Unfortunately, he has to let go of that dream after bearing the crown in the ending.

So as an avid reader and a fan of Phainon, you just let him talk your ear off about the intricate carvings of the mirrors and what tool could have been used in making them. 

Just this once Phainon, because in the upcoming years, you'll have bigger worries than telling me the approximate age of this hand mirror.

You smile at how enthusiastic his voice sounded, but as he got into explaining the mirror itself, the entire thing started to feel off.

The mirror, which showed you your old bedroom, now suddenly feels… too normal. Plain. Nothing.

Back in the shop, it's eye-catching. Not only because it showed your real world, but also because the object itself seemed to be calling out your attention. 

But right now, as Phainon traces his fingers on the embellished grooves, it feels nothing, like the magic sucked out of it. The suns and moons are now just ordinary embossing on the thing’s surface.

You and Phainon are currently sitting on a bench just right outside the palace. The two of you might've sunk too deep in conversation that the lamp posts that towers you are already lit up. The skies are blurring into orange blue tones.

“Oops, I got carried away. But I hope the lady is satisfied with my appraisal? Hopefully I was able to give you the closest look to it.”

Phainon moves closer to you, before gently putting the hand mirror to your lap. 

“It's yours now, a gift, you're the only one who listened this long,” He grins, before standing up and offering his hand, “It's nightfall now, so I will walk you to your carriage.”

The two of you walked across the streets that's starting to liven up. Stalls are being set, with vendors hanging up lights and signages. The kids are running around, the adults sighing behind them. It seems like a bazaar is being set up.

A bazaar?

[As night befalls, the festivities rose. In between the hanging lights and the rows of wooden stalls, lies a plot turned against Phainon.

The assassin waits, a rifle at hand. The people flow until they fill the crevices of the bazaar. In the mind of the hunter, a flock of panicked sheep will cover the fallen prey long enough for him to get away.]

“Fuck was that today?” You whispered to yourself, which earned a curious look from Phainon.

Assassinations. This is what you're talking about as danger and Phainon go hand in hand. Of course, one less royal is one less contestant to the crown.

And now, you might've gotten yourself involved at just the perfect timing to be right beside him when he's supposed to be shot from above.

Phainon did survive this in the novel, but you're not quite sure if you would. The two of you are heading closer to the bazaar when you decide to do your last-ditch effort at distracting him.

You ran towards a little girl selling flowers and bought whatever flower catches your eye, it so happens to be a bunch of hyacinths.

You didn't even collect your change from the girl when you walked back to Phainon and handed him the flowers. “Uhh.. I just wanted to give these to you, thanks for today, Phainon!”

Right, he wanted to buy flowers in the bazaar that day.

“Oh and also, let's just take a detour, the bazaar lights kinda make me dizzy… unless you need to buy something there?” 

“No, I don't need anything… thank you too.” Phainon answered. Thank god it worked.

Right in front of you, Phainon is smiling softly, staring at the bunch of hyacinths that are now in his hands. He has the prettiest smile, wish he could keep that.

As the two of you walked to your carriage, it started to slowly sink in that maybe Phainon is not just a character, at least not right now, because that smile felt real.

You hope the assassin gets tired of waiting.

★

When you sat down in the carriage to collect your thoughts, you noticed a few things that were a bit wrong. 

In the flurry of your thoughts and emotions earlier, there's one thing you'd miss — the honorifics. Despite him being a complete chatterbox, he's still a prince, and never once in your entire conversation had you referred to him as such.

Oh god, does he now think I’m disregarding his status like the other nobles and royals that are against him?

You've known that your family are businessmen, but you only recently found out that you're prominent ones. Your nobility goes far and wide in Okhema, your family's influence in trade could certainly be used as leverage to the likes of Phainon.

Oh no, I hope I’m not on his hitlist yet, I didn't mean to disrespect him.

Now that you mention it, you might've acted suspicious because of your fixation on that mirror. And now, you also feel bad for trying to claim something he technically owns, knowing his background in the story. 

You comforted yourself with the fact that it's his idea to meet like this though, also his idea to let go of the antique, but you now can only hope that it's a genuine meeting and not some sort of test for the weird daughter of the biggest business man in the city.

Right, he did give me the mirror.

You propped up the thing that led you in this situation. An antiquated mirror, which now should've shown you your real world, if your hypothesis was right.

But just like earlier, it doesn't even feel magical or even interesting, as if the mystique that led you to it was knocked straight out of it.

“Fuck, don't tell me that I was only hallucinating back when I was in that shop… to think that I might've made Phainon uncomfortable and pressured him into giving this up, ugh.” You buried your face in your palms, sighing deeply.

A thought popped into your head — the Academy. The Grove of Scholars do have a few mages in their ranks, they're the teachers of magic in this world. Maybe they could help you identify whatever's in the mirror.

Alright, let's make use of this thing, sorry Phainon, but it's a gift now isn't it?

★

The academy in this world is bizarre.

It sits atop of a ginormous tree that towers the entire field. Its branches envelop the surrounding area, in them, different buildings are encased, which can be accessed by the winding pathways that wrap around the trunk.

The tree isn't really the most bizzare thing to you though, it's the stairs. There's special devices scattered that could bring you to the various facilities of the grove, but stairs are still the predominant way of moving around here.

“I'm not built for this thing… is this why they always make the art for those scholar characters bulky despite them claiming they're feeble?” You sat down on one of the staircases. You checked back on your bag and saw that the hand mirror was still there, you breathed a sigh of relief.

“Are you new here, miss? Haha, yes the grove has a lot of stairs, but once you enroll here, you'll get used to it!” A bubbly voice suddenly comes beside you.

“Oh, hello! Yes… it's embarrassing I get tired this easily, I'm not here to enroll though, I'm just here to inquire about an antique.” You answered the pink-haired girl.

Her smile brightens and she shows you a badge, it's the same as the academy’s.

“Oh, I'm a student here, miss, rest assured that I'm knowledgeable enough though. If you want to tell me about it, maybe I can save you from climbing further up there!”

You take her kind offer and tell her everything you've noticed about the mirror you're holding. She asks you to put it in her hands, and after a few moments her answer comes to you.

“There's not a single trace of magic in here.”

You should've known, but you still felt quite disappointed. What was that back in the shop then? Delusion?

“Oh… I see, well good thing you're here, I might've gone up there only for nothing.” You can only laugh softly at her.

“Well, my professor's lab is there, so even if the mirror turns out to be a fake, you can still ask him about your theories regarding the portal. Don't worry, he won't think it's weird!”

“Also…” The cheerful voice suddenly turns into a whisper, “If you're planning to sell this thing, it might not be worth much.”

“Oh, uhm, I’m not going to sell it… but why wouldn't it be worth much?” You looked at her slowly.

“The mirror is tampered, or probably recently restored, the glass is new. It's not entirely an antique if there's new parts right?”

★

[Broken, bloody pieces of what used to be a fair hand mirror lie messily on the carpeted floors. The golden eyes staring at it only blinks.

The eyes move back onto the table, the metal that used to carry the glass is facing him. The man’s bloody hand, one where some shards are still buried in its skin, carefully caresses the embossed suns.

He then picks up a round piece of mirror, the crafting skills he picked up from his adventures made it so that the foreign piece would fit perfectly in the hollow space the old one left.

If not for keen eyes, it would've looked like it belongs there just fine.]

★

You just woke up, but you feel like going back into the darkness of your sleep.

And stay there for a long, long time.

Because in front of you is a maid. She's an ordinary maid, if not for the blue and gold envelope in your hands.

“His highness Phainon wishes to formally meet you in his estate. Today. Should I prepare your bath and clothes while you eat breakfast?” There's a hint of a smile on her face.

But not yours.

Because you think that this might've been your end. The words his highness sting you. Ah yes, the royalty and their titles, what could go wrong.

But the envelope is already there. For a split second, the idea of just chucking it down the fireplace and running to the countryside like those villainesses sounded good in your head, but you soon came to realize that declining a royal might just pose more misunderstandings.

Let's just hope he lives up to his novel persona and I'll be able to plead with him.

★

You're kind of disappointed in yourself.

For someone who's a ‘self-proclaimed The Era Nova specialist,’ you judged Phainon way too quickly.

It feels more awful seeing his closed-eye smile directed at you.

No, he didn't execute you or put you under some royal decree. What he did do is literally thank you for buying him flowers that night and served you the most fragrant (and probably expensive) tea you've ever had.

“Sorry for the sudden invite, I was just excited to finally have a friend here.”

“Ah… yes, of course, I'm happy to have met you too, your highness-” This time you made sure to not forget, but he only frowned at this.

“So formal now, aren't we?” He looks at you with what seems to be puppy-dog eyes and your heart flips.

“Did I… have I offended you that night? I'm sorry-”

“Oh no! No you didn't, I don't care much about titles like that anyway… plus even if I do, it's not your fault, you're not used to it, right?” He quickly exclaims, trying his best to prove your thoughts about that night wrong.

Used to it?

“Anyways, please don't think of this meeting as anything else aside from a simple chat with a friend.” He smiles again, “Oh, the biscuits ran out, let me fetch some more, if you excuse me.”

He saunters to the door, leaving you alone in his office. You suddenly feel smaller when you realize where you are. Is it really okay for him to bring a stranger to such a place?

He even personally fetched snacks for you, as in the novel, he's used to doing things on his own. It's because he grew up to do so, because he's raised to be alone. 

But he never brought that up against anyone, instead he just considers it as a way of showing sincerity to those around him, personally attending to them and being ‘a friend’. These things about him make him such a warm character. You feel the worst for being distant to him.

You should've known that he probably never had anyone listen to his long-winded explanations about his antiques or just have a simple chat that doesn't involve royal politics. He's always been described in the novel as a free-spirited and cordial fellow after all.

But hopefully, he doesn't blame you for putting up walls. He was at the center of all in this novel, all the good and the bad. You just wanted to enjoy your stay here and go back home. You cannot risk being tied to him.

All these thoughts had you fiddling your necklace that's made with a rare pearl only found in the deepest parts of the sea. The thing is incredibly expensive. So when the pearl suddenly detaches from the chain, you pray Phainon takes longer and crawled to the floor to retrieve it.

You think you've hit an all-time high stress level when you feel a sharp pain in your palm. As you're skittering around the sofa, you manage to feel the pearl underneath it, what you didn't notice is the shard of glass sitting beside it.

It was too late when you felt it after unknowingly pressing down on it to catch the pearl. You sat back down on the sofa, carefully dropping it to your purse.

You held onto the glass shard though. The piece emanates a strange sheen to it, as if it's glowing.

Suddenly, the mirror flickers, a bright light reflects on it for a few seconds before disappearing.

No way… are all the mirrors in this world weird?

“Hey I'm back…?” You turned your head towards Phainon, who's carrying a plate of various biscuits and sweets. You hurriedly shove the shard in your purse too.

Phainon's stare darkens and you gulp. Shit did he see me crawling around in his office right after he trusted me to be left alone?

“Wait, so-”

“Your hand is bleeding, what happened?” Phainon quickly ran towards you. He set down the plate and pulled a snow-white handkerchief from his pockets. He gently wiped the blood which you hadn't noticed, had trickled to your fingers. He also patted closer to the wound, which made you wince.

“Wait, my pendant fell and I went to retrieve it, but I must've pressed my hand on a sharp edge… thank you for wiping it, I didn't notice the blood.” You alter the story a bit, not wanting to alert him about you taking something from his home, even if it's a mere mirror shard.

“I see… there's a washroom down the hallway, let me bring you there.” He stops dabbing at the wound, he then helps you up, the worried look on his face now lightened.

★

If you hadn't known, you would've thought that Phainon's estate is the Palace itself.

What's supposed to be a simple walk into the washroom turned into sightseeing for you. The hallways are magnificent, something you thought you'd only see in movies. The interior of the entire place is entangled in gold. There's also sculptures and antiques, which you're guessing are a part of Phainon's collection.

The washroom is covered in dark blue, which makes the marble of the sink stand out. As you dip your hand into the basin, you unconsciously looked into the mirror and met with Phainon's stare.

“Your estate is magnificent, your hi- ah, Phainon.” You mentioned, trying to stave off the awkwardness of him staring like a hawk while you clean your wound.

“Hmm, family passed it down to me, gift from the emperor.” Phainon continues. His body leans to the doorway, eyes still in your hands.

“I see… Do you live alone? Sorry if it seems prying, but I haven't seen another soul ever since I got here.”

He lives alone. You think. In the novel, while Phainon is presented to be this outgoing boy, he actually leads a secluded life. He chose to live alone in an estate to distance himself from the palace. But it would be weird if you acted like you knew.

“No, it's not prying, and yeah, I live alone, quite lonely if you ask me.” He walked towards you when you finished, grabbing your hands and gently drying it with a wash towel. He then wraps your palm in thin gauze, the actions making your cheeks heat up.

“Apologies if it seems sloppy, I haven't really done this to anyone aside from myself.” He murmurs.

“No, no, it's fine! Thanks a lot, Phainon.”

The two of you walk back to his office, there's still biscuits to finish and stories to tell, after all.

★

[For all he could remember, he's always been alone.

A child born from a loveless marriage, only brought to this world to fight for a piece of embellished metal. There was a time when he had friends and such, but it's a time long gone as what's only left now is a hollow manor he calls his home.

It's a lonely gift, devoid of anyone who cares. It's a cage in a sense that what's only keeping him here is the promise of a crown. If he could, he would've left in a heartbeat, but all he ever built up will be left in waste too.

So you cannot blame his anguish when he found out that his hardships were only written for entertaining an otherworldly audience. That one fateful evening where his magic uncovered the reality of his sad, lonely world.

But there was someone.

Who kept flipping the pages of his story, the one who laughed when he did, cries when he does. Curiosity led to observation, and suddenly, he didn't seem too alone.

He kept track of you in the reflection of waters, in dreams, in mirrors. Sometimes your words would be heard in his head, sometimes you're like an apparition in his walls.

But all that's important to him is that you're his devoted reader. A dedicated audience to this woeful farce.

He saw the ending, the bloodshed in the throne room, the crown and the new reign. He laughs, because it was framed as a victory, it's ironic — because all the nights he wished he was just born an ordinary boy ultimately ends up with him being farther away from it.

He’s not going to stray away from it though, he doesn't think he can, he's too deep to ever go back up. But he's still a lonely man, so when his magic finally transcends barriers, he couldn't help but ask you a question.

“Are you willing to do that for me?”

Your agreement is all that mattered, as he's hurriedly scribbling in the tattered book he found somewhere. The book lists itself as ‘The Era Nova’, but Phainon did not care about what anomaly made him aware of the universe’s truth, all he could care about is your new identity written in frantic scribbles.

Your soul feels nice. It's the only thing he could come up with when you came to him. It's like you truly loved him.

It's dark in his office. He couldn't believe a few hours ago you sat within the same room. He thanks the assassin sprawled out dead in the dungeons of this estate, his foolish plots gave him a reason to bring you here.

And a reason for you to save him, to show him you truly care for him. The handkerchief in his nose smells of faint iron. He could only apologize in his head for leaving you to hurt.

But he hopes you'd understand a desperate man’s attempt of making his predetermined ending feel better.]

★

You made it this time.

This time, you didn't whine about the academy's preference of stairs, instead you ran as fast as you could to a laboratory, in hand a broken piece of mirror. Your mind being more focused on the questions that lingered after your discovery at Phainon’s estate probably helped in obscuring the effects of running up at around five floors (to your estimation, at least). 

When you reached the metal doors of the lab, you didn’t even knock, you only barged in, meeting the gazes of the pink-haired scholar who helped you last time and her so-called professor who’s sporting a peculiar eyepatch. The man did not seem to mind though, as he only sighed and mouthed a ‘told ya’ to his student. The said student only awkwardly smiled and ushered you further inside the room.

“When my dear student told me about your small predicament last time, it honestly piqued my interest. I had always heard of theories about portals and such, but this is my first time actually hearing about it as an experience rather than a hypothesis. Well then, I presume what’s in your hand is the experiment sample then?” The professor with the dead stare did not even spare that to you, his eyes are only trained towards the shard that’s nearly piercing through your skin.

“Don’t mind his bluntness, my teacher is a reliable scholar first and foremost, you can entrust him with studying about this seriously, especially since he’s very interested in it. I will also be sharing the progress transparently, so don’t worry. Now, if you don’t mind, you can loosen up your grip on that broken glass, it might pierce you…again.” The scholar’s eyes trail on your bandaged hand, her gentle words made you drop the mirror into the table, your fingers pushing it towards the professor.

“If my deductions are on the right track, alchemy might be able to replicate this kind of glass. If you would give me time to construct, I’ll be sure to leave your name into the papers I will produce about this. Hehe, imagine the looks on those fools’ faces once they realize that I am, once again, correct.” He muttered, attention now more focused on assessing the shard rather than in your conversation, with that in mind, you relent from asking further questions and just trusting their words.

“If anything happens, you’ll be the first to know. Thank you for this new knowledge, kind lady.” The pink-haired scholar assures you, escorting you out of the room, it’s probably because her mentor’s starting to open five cabinets at once now. Yeah, I’ll leave that guy alone too.

“If all of these end up right and the mirror or whatever portal is made, please give me a chance to use it.”

“Of course! I thought I’ll have to drag some poor scholar down or myself in that but it’s nice to know that someone is willing to play guinea pig in this experiment.” A voice from the inside suddenly rings out.

The two of you outside the door chuckled at that.

★

Just like in the real world, learning facilities at nighttime are eerily quiet and give off a strange chill the longer you stay.

The leaves surrounding the grove are rustling along the wind’s howls. You’re starting to regret your decision of not waiting until tomorrow morning to visit. You couldn’t blame yourself though, it was the closest lead you had to going back home, but running here at nightfall wasn’t the brightest idea you had for the day.

All the scholars are probably within their dormitories now or have already gone home. The likes of that professor are stuck within the highest floors that contain their laboratories. 

If anything were to happen, nobody will be fast enough to get you out.

What the hell? Shut up. You reprimanded your unnecessary thoughts. In fact, you need to tackle a few questions that are plaguing your mind first.

Why did Phainon have this kind of item, a broken one at that, just littered on his floors. Wasn’t he a bit fussy of his collection in the novel? Why wouldn’t he notice if one of them is broken?

More popped up in your mind, unfortunately, it’s all questions and no answers.

If I’m correct, this glass belongs to that mirror he gifted me. But it’s intact, is this from another item? Another magic portal item or something?

Then, the scholar’s words rang loud and clear; “It's tampered.” 

Did Phainon…break the mirror? Did he restore it because he was too embarrassed? Or was he someone who doesn't mind alterations on his antiques?

A stupid sounding thought broke out at the back of your mind.

Did he break it because he knew something was up?

Suddenly, a breeze passes by your shoulders. At first. At first it was only a breeze, but when you looked to your side, you suddenly felt something on the other. A fabric, just brushing close enough to feel in your skin but light enough to make you question if it's real.

But now you're sure it's real, because a few moments you hear pieces of metal clanging. You looked in front of you, and just like those apparitions in horror movies, there's a figure at the end of the dimly lit hallway.

A tall figure, donned in a black cloak and armored in swirling metal plates. A mask sits inside its hood. Its fingers covered in plated claws and its chest appear to be hollow.

He looks familiar.

You stop in your tracks, senses on high-alert. He's probably the one who brushed past you and if that's correct, then he's extremely fast. No use in outrunning him then, better just keep an eye out on his movements or sources of help.

The figure also stops and stares at you. Your stand-off lasted for a short while until it tilted its head,

And waved.

At least that's what you think it did before it suddenly vanished before your eyes, nowhere to be seen or felt again.

★

Phainon has developed a habit of sending you random letters and various trinkets he got from his travels.

He also loves to initiate meetings and tea times with you. At first, you're happy to attend each and every one of them, but as time goes on, you start to question his fondness for inviting you at least every other day. 

Not that you doubt him, at least not too much — you knew his tendencies to latch on to things due to his upbringing, but you can't help but question his true motives when he just invades your personal time as if you're not an acquaintance he just met recently.

You learned to decline his invitations. You really liked his character, but you're unsure of whether you can handle being involved with him as a person. He's on his way to becoming the ruler of this vast kingdom and you're supposed to be on your way home, so not much should happen.

The invitations thinned out, albeit gradually. He still sends a lot of trinkets — such as small woodworks of cute animals and magic lamps, which are now starting to pile up on your work desk, but the letters and requests to meet do not overflow from the holder anymore. He appears to have gotten the message.

You want to go home. Sure, you loved this place and the magic it has, but the gnawing anxiety of the life you left back there is haunting your days here. If you're going to get yourself thrown into another world, you want to at least make amends in your previous one.

Speaking of going home, you're currently staring at a letter. The pale green envelope stares back, proudly displaying the logo of the academy on its seal. You take a deep breath and brace yourself for whatever the results will show.

Greetings, My Lady

I’m pleased to inform you that I was able to recreate the material you brought here last time. It was truly a magnificent experience…

The light in your eyes sparkled. I can finally go home. Your cheeks hurt grinning. You looked up to your ceiling, mentally saying farewells to the place that took you into this world.

You continue reading.

“...but unfortunately, a huge accident happened within the academy. A cloaked assailant sneaked within the grove and hurt a few scholars, aside from that, it seemed to be targeting this specific experiment. I saw with my own eyes how it shattered the mirror, almost pulverizing it. I was able to retrieve a few samples and escape but I am not sure if I'll be able to recreate it as fast…”

Now, this is why they say never celebrate too early. Disappointment eats you up, causing you to just chuck the letter away. Not time for farewells yet, you suppose.

But one thing caught your attention. Cloaked figure. That night, you also saw a figure with a similar description.

Black…cloak?

Phainon.

Many scenes of the novel involve Phainon disguising himself in a black cloak. When he assassinated the other royalty in that throne room, he was wearing a black cloak.

“Shit, why didn't I remember that sooner?” You uttered, almost inaudibly. You've been focused on going the past few days that you have forgotten the details of the novel. 

Phainon might just be the reason you're failing your attempts at returning home, and you just let yourself be too involved with him.

★

Lately, instead of you, only letters of your declines have been reaching his doors.

Phainon is growing frustrated at the replies he received. Just as when he thought the two of you were getting closer, you just had to start distancing yourself.

Did you find out something?

He laughs sardonically, his hands covering his right eye that's now turning golden due to the sudden influx of magic. He looks down at his table, the paper now ruined, too much ink seeped into it. Of course you denied it again, and somehow managed to send it to him as he's writing another invite.

He can feel it, your soul wavering. When he first brought you here, all he felt was pure amazement and curiosity from you, but now he can feel doubts and fatigue too.

“Can't you… just- ah.” He slumps his head, turning towards the small figurine he carved earlier. It's a figure of two lovebirds, perched on a small throne while nuzzling each other. Both of them were wearing a tiny crown on their heads.

Really, he tried carving your likeness more times than he'd like to admit, but there's something about you that makes it so hard for him to be satisfied with just carvings. Whatever he makes doesn't live up to his image of you in his head — feels fake, feels cold. So he just opts to present your likeness as animals and things he's fond of.

Nowadays, Phainon has been fantasizing about you joining him on his journey.

So when he felt your soul trying to break free from this world, he couldn't help but silently beg you to stay and not leave him to be alone in this world again.

★

Please, be my partner. There is an upcoming ball to the palace, you're the only one I can trust.

You never expected such a heavy statement coming from him, especially not after you just tried to keep him at an arm's length. You've even reached a point of telling him off. There was stirring conflict within you, Phainon clearly appears to be invested in your friendship, but at the same time, you're uncertain of what kind of plot he'll bring into your already bizarre situation.

However, if you keep declining him time and time again, it'll appear unusual. The two of you started on good terms, suddenly abandoning him could be seen as rude and might just make him ask more questions.

And frankly, you're running out of believable reasons for declining him.

So you push yourself up and ask the maids for help. You'll humor him this time, maybe even get to ask him why he's so dead set on sticking close to you.

★

The carriage ride to the palace is a peaceful little thing.

You looked out to the town square, the awe of being in another still hints at you, but you've gotten used to the sights by now. All your attempts at steering away from the plot ironically ended up with you driving right through the center of it.

Everything with the palace screams imposing, it's a marvelous place, but it does a good job of making you feel small. Luckily, not a lot of guards are stationed to stare down at your minute existence. But the few ones who were are staring at you oddly.

You went through normal procedures and you're escorted to the grand doors. It's closed. 

On your way here, there have been a multitude of red flags raising left and right. Firstly, it's quiet, not a single peep, not befitting of such a proud place. And for all the palace’s vanity, there's no other visitors of the same caliber, in fact there's no other visitors at all.

There was no ball.

That's your final observation. You don't know what you did so, so wrong in your stay here, but Phainon has reached a new point where he straight up lies to get your attention now.

What was so important about meeting you? When all he talks about when the two of you have your little tea parties are idle topics not worth making a palace this grand deserted.

The guards opened the door, and you're right, it's absolutely empty. There's supposed to be an option to go back, but the men outside had conveniently closed it off before you could say anything.

He really, really wants to talk, huh?

You march down deeper into the building, hoping that guesswork and acquired knowledge from the novel could bring you towards the prince’s quarters.

But before you could even reach the third set of winding hallways, you heard a loud scream coming from the central part of the floor. You froze, cold sweat forming in your temples. No, it couldn't be today right? Your heart pounds loudly, you can feel the beating in your ears.

Too early, it's years too early.

Phainon ascending to the throne couldn't be today, hell, it couldn't be this year. Because he's not yet prepared. He bought support from various kingdoms before the ascension, it's an integral part of the novel’s worldbuilding. From what you've heard from him, he only traveled within Okhema the past months.

So it shouldn't be today right?

One scream, two screams. Screams interrupted your silent denial of what's happening. There's too many, and it just got louder after the sound of a door being thrown open boomed.

I need to get out. 

You tried navigating the hallways, hunching down when the screams got louder. It died down soon though, and you managed to find yourself in an open area that looked similar to the lobby you went in from.

It's not the same lobby though.

“Going to decline my invitation again?” A voice suddenly emerges from behind. You turn towards it and you see Phainon, holding a bloody greatsword and wearing an uncanny grin on his face.

Oh his face. It's a shame that his beautiful face is so fucking bloody right now. It's dripping, some clinging to his white hair. And his white regalia — might as well be red, with how drenched it is in blood.

The scarier part is that none of it is probably his blood. He's unscathed against this many royals, they didn't stand a single chance.

So not a chance you would. He makes way towards you, you can only step back mere centimeters before finally freezing up. He stops when he's close to your form, the smell of iron almost suffocating you.

He leans down, “You're going to leave me again, aren't you?”

“What…?”

“The people you're so afraid of ruining your life, these stupid royals, I killed them all, so you don't have to be afraid.”

“How did you… fuck, you're insane-” Your words are caught in your throat when Phainon suddenly grabs you and carries you in his shoulders. You tried hitting his back, but he only holds your waist tighter and snicker at your feeble attempts of breaking free.

He walks past the dead bodies of what used to be royals. You remember the scene from the novel, the fallen figures. You only tear up, your hands fall limp, refusing to hold onto Phainon's damp attire, lest you want to squeeze out royal blood from it.

“All of these blood flowing out of them and converging into one, this might just be the purest form of the royal blood they keep prattling about!” He suddenly mentions in passing, you feel his shoulders shake from laughter.

You shuddered.

You reach the throne room, which aside from the throne, just contains multiple portraits and statues. And the bodies of the people behind those, probably.

He settles you down the grandiose throne. It feels foreign, the velvet clings to your skin, while the metal feels too cold for comfort. He kneels down, arms clamped to your waist as he leans his head down on your thighs.

“Phainon.”

“Can you say my name again?” He looks up, putting his palm on your thigh and setting his chin on top of it, his manic, golden eyes just laser-focused on yours. The color just pops out more in contrast to the red around it.

“Why are you doing this?” You didn't entertain his request, which put a slight pout on his face. He removes his head on your thighs and lifts you up again, earning a yelp from you. He then settles down to the throne and places you on his lap, his arms locking you close to his chest.

“You said, that if I needed a princess by my side, you'd be willing to take that place,” Phainon whispers, now putting his chin up on your shoulders, his head slightly leaning towards yours.

Your eyes widened, “All this time, you're aware-”

“I am. What I didn't expect was you finding those anomalous portals fast, I tried breaking them all but they kept reappearing.” He sighs, sulking a bit.

That's why. That's why he seems so relaxed about you forgetting his titles, that's why he treats you as if you're not used to the customs of Okhema, your supposed birthplace.

Because it's him that plunged you right into this world.

“What I also didn't expect is that after all your declarations that you love me and that I am your favorite, the first thing you do is to try and leave me.” He continues.

Phainon made it a point to bring you entirely here, and not just stuff your soul on some poor extra. He altered the story not for himself, but to drag you along with him into this world.

“I am not from here, Phainon, and that was clear as day to you. I have a life back there! And the love I had for you, it's because you're a character I loved reading about-”

“What I had for you was real!” Phainon suddenly exclaims, he flips your positions, hands on your shoulders as he pushes your form to the throne’s backrest. “I've always observed you, you always appear to me when I feel so down. I've known you longer than you think!”

You're speechless. He can see you? All this time.

“You love me, don't you? So why leave?” Phainon leans his forehead on your shoulders. He's now straddling you, which makes it harder to move and the smell of blood more nauseating. 

He lifts his head up, bringing his face close in front of yours, “Well it's not like you can, because yeah, it was me. All of it was me. The hand mirror? I broke it. The scholars, I just gave them a little scare. I did it all, for you… so you can't leave, not after you said you love me.” 

“I don't-” He interrupts you.

“I will kill you.” 

If there's still anxiety and fear left pent up within, it finally spilled out now. Your breath hitched at his statement, your entire body tensing up.

“My power grew to the point where I found out some… things. Did you know that if you leave your other body for too long, it'll cease to- hm, operate?” Phainon caresses your face before continuing, “If your body died there, then you'll have nothing to return to right?”

“I'm not going to kill you here, I’m killing you there, so that you'll be able to live here.”

“You're sick… You're the fucking worst, what did I ever do to you.” You broke down. Phainon responded by cradling your form and running his fingers in your hair.

“Nothing, you don't have to do anything. It's because I love you. Ah! I almost forgot,” He suddenly reaches out under his vest. He pulls out a blue velvet box and hands it to you.

His stare is expectant, so you opened the box, inside was a wooden figurine of two birds, perched on a throne that looks like the one the two of you are sitting in. You hate it. Not because it's badly made, no, actually the opposite — it's such a chillingly accurate representation of the scene you're currently in right now.

You hate what it's insinuating, you'd love to deny it, but underneath the figurine is a ring, a silver band, with a blue and yellow gem opposite of one another. The blue gem is enclosed in a moon, while the yellow one is within a sun.

Stop denying it, it's no use.

“I learned it from a jeweler who’s been working here since I was a child,” Phainon loosens his hold. He gently puts the ring on your finger. On his own is an identical one.

And as if noticing that something is missing when compared to the bird figurine, Phainon leans down and plucks something off of the floor on the throne's side. He grips the armrests as he does, caging you in, but his lowered form gives you a clearer picture of the bloodbath in the room. Gold and blues all intermingled with red.

Phainon straightens his posture again, in his hand are crowns. Two crowns.

You feel cold metal on the top of your head, in front of you Phainon also puts a crown on his. He smiles at you, so sweetly, before leaning down and sealing your fate with a passionate kiss.

That fateful day, the two of you are crowned Emperor and Empress of the kingdom.

Phainon had ascended the throne, this time, he isn't alone.

[The end.]

[seraph's note]: AWOOOOOOGH PHAINON. i am utterly devastated with 3.4 but at least brought the peak gameplay and character of my GOAT phainon. i've been enjoying on bringing him to just about any available content in-game lol.

this took waaaaaay longer than it should, i was supposed to upload it on the day i got him but i got writer's block lol. if it wasn't obvious, this is heavily based off of those isekai manhwas (that i will always eat up despite having almost the same plot everytime). the delay hopefully paid off as i channeled my inner yap god to this 11k word piece lmao. thx for reading if you managed to get to the end, love you for that, mwah.

want more? check out the [database.] for other content!

[solxamber]

"Let's Break Up" with: Vice-Housewardens + Ruggie

more hurt/comfort for the soul

Other parts: Housewardens ; First Years ; Cater, Floyd, Silver

Trey Clover

The words slip out in frustration, sharp and final.

"Let's break up."

The mug in Trey's hand shatters.

The crack of breaking porcelain jolts you, the sound cutting through the tense silence like a gunshot. Shards spill across the floor, tea splattering everywhere, but Trey doesn’t even flinch.

Before you can react, before you can take back what you didn’t mean, he’s there—crossing the space between you in an instant, his uninjured hand cupping your face, warm and trembling.

His chest rises and falls too fast, his breath unsteady. His eyes search yours desperately, raw emotion flickering in their depths. “Please,” he murmurs, voice rough. “Reconsider.”

You open your mouth, but nothing comes out. His grip tightens, just enough to ground himself, just enough to keep you here, with him.

“Take it back,” he pleads, his forehead nearly pressing against yours. “Tell me you didn’t mean it.”

Your heart is racing, but all you can focus on is his other hand—the one that had been holding the mug. Blood is pooling in the creases of his palm, little crimson beads welling up where porcelain had cut into his skin.

You inhale sharply. “Trey, your hand—”

“I don’t care,” he says, and he means it. He would let it bleed if it meant keeping you here for another second. “Please.”

Something inside you cracks.

Your anger, your frustration—none of it matters when you see the way he’s looking at you. When you hear the break in his voice. When you realize how much he loves you, enough to throw away every bit of his usual calm, enough to bleed for you if it meant making you stay.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper, voice tight with guilt. “I didn’t mean it. I—of course I didn’t mean it.”

His shoulders sag with relief, a shaky breath escaping him as he presses his forehead against yours. “Thank you,” he murmurs.

Your fingers curl around his wrist, pulling his injured hand between both of yours. “We need to take care of this.”

He exhales, his body finally catching up to the pain now that the panic has subsided. “Yeah,” he says, but instead of letting you go, he pulls you into his arms, wrapping you in a firm, desperate embrace.

“I’m sorry too,” he murmurs against your hair. “I didn’t mean for things to get like this. I should’ve listened more. I should’ve—” He swallows hard. “I’ll do better.”

You squeeze him back just as tightly, breathing in the scent of him, the warmth of him, the realness of him. “We both will.”

For a long moment, neither of you move, holding onto each other as if letting go would undo everything. Eventually, you tug him toward the sink, already fussing over his hand.

Trey watches you, still catching his breath, still feeling the lingering ghost of fear in his chest. But for now, you’re here. He's still yours.

And that’s all that matters.

Ruggie Bucchi

The words slip out before you can stop them.

“Let’s break up.”

Ruggie freezes.

For a second, there’s just silence—heavy, suffocating. Then he lets out a laugh, but it’s wrong. It’s forced, brittle, a sound that cracks at the edges.

“That’s a joke, right?” His voice is light, playful—too playful—but his hands reach for yours, gripping them tight. “Your sense of humor sucks.”

His fingers are trembling.

You feel something deep in your chest twist at the sight of him, trying so hard to brush it off, to act like you didn’t just rip the ground out from under him. His tail is stiff behind him, his ears twitching with every unsteady breath he takes.

You want to say something, to take it back, but the argument still lingers in the air between you—frustration, hurt feelings, words neither of you should have said.

He swallows hard, staring at you like he’s willing you to laugh, to say just kidding, to let him believe this isn’t real.

But you don’t.

And in that moment, something in him wavers. His ears droop, and his fingers tighten around yours like he’s scared you’ll slip away if he doesn’t hold on.

His voice is smaller this time.

“…You didn’t mean that.”

You inhale shakily, stepping closer.

“No,” you whisper. “I didn’t.”

He exhales a shaky breath, and before you can say anything else, he’s pulling you into his arms, holding you so tightly it almost knocks the air from your lungs.

His face presses into your neck, his whole body going slack as if he’s only now realizing just how much those words had broken him. You can feel his breath against your skin, uneven, like he’s trying to keep it together, like he doesn’t want you to see how much it hurt.

You hold him just as tightly, one hand coming up to thread through his hair, the other rubbing circles into his back.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs against you. “I shouldn’t’ve—I didn’t mean—”

You shake your head, cutting him off gently. “Me too.”

His arms tighten around you.

For a long time, neither of you speak. He just holds you, pressed close, his tail weakly brushing against your hand in a silent plea—stay.

When he finally pulls back just enough to look at you, his eyes are misty, his lip caught between his teeth.

“Don’t say that again.” he says quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Not even as a joke."

You cup his cheek, wiping away the dampness there with your thumb.

“I won’t.”

Ruggie exhales shakily, leans into your touch, and this time, when he lets out a breathy laugh, it’s real.

“…Guess we both suck at fighting, huh?”

You let out a weak chuckle, pressing your forehead against his.

“Yeah.”

And for now, that’s enough.

Jade Leech

The words slip out before you can stop them.

"Let’s break up."

Silence.

Jade just stares at you. The ever-present amusement in his eyes is gone, leaving them bare, unguarded in a way that makes your stomach twist. He doesn’t smirk, doesn’t scoff, doesn’t even tilt his head in that condescending way he does when he’s about to say something cutting.

He just looks at you, frozen in place.

You don’t know what you expected—maybe anger, maybe something cruel and sharp to push you further away, to give you an excuse to slam the door behind you. Instead, there’s nothing. Just the way his eyes widen ever so slightly, like you’ve said something impossible.

Your chest feels tight, but you force yourself to turn away. You don’t get more than two steps before a hand grips your wrist—firm, but not forceful. You barely have time to react before he pulls you back, arms wrapping around you from behind, his face pressing into the crook of your neck.

"Don’t go."

It’s a whisper, but it shatters something inside you.

You tense, your breath catching in your throat. And then—you feel it. The faintest, almost imperceptible wetness against your skin.

Jade is crying.

A cold wave of fear crashes over you. You’ve never seen him cry before, never even imagined him capable of it. He’s always so composed, always in control, always one step ahead. But right now, he’s shaking.

Your frustration dissolves instantly, replaced by something heavier, something unbearable.

“I didn’t mean it,” you say, barely able to get the words out. “Jade, I didn’t mean it.”

His grip tightens around you, like he’s afraid you’ll slip through his fingers. His breath is uneven, ragged in a way that makes your heart ache.

You turn in his hold, reaching to cradle his face in your hands. His eyes are glassy, red-rimmed, his expression raw in a way you’ve never seen before. He looks lost.

“I—” His voice breaks, and he swallows hard, trying to compose himself. “I didn’t think… you would ever say that.”

You shake your head, your own eyes stinging. “I was angry. I didn’t mean it.”

For a moment, he just stares at you. Then, with a quiet, shaky exhale, he presses his forehead against yours.

“I pushed you too far,” he murmurs, his voice hoarse.

You close your eyes, fingers curling into his shirt. “And I let it get to me.”

Neither of you say anything after that. You just stand there, holding each other, breathing in the quiet between you. The storm of emotions still lingers, but it’s softer now, no longer a force trying to tear you apart.

Jade exhales slowly, his hands settling on your back, grounding himself. When he finally speaks again, his voice is steadier—but there’s still a fragility to it, something uncertain.

“Don’t do that again,” he whispers.

You nod, wiping a stray tear from his cheek with your thumb.

“I won’t,” you promise.

He doesn’t let go for a long, long time.

Jamil Viper

The words leave your lips before you can stop them. Sharp, impulsive, thrown like a dagger meant to wound.

“Let’s break up.”

The room falls into an unnatural silence.

Jamil stands frozen, his expression unreadable—no anger, no sadness, just… blank. It’s unsettling. You almost wish he’d lash out, argue, anything but this suffocating stillness.

Then, he laughs.

It’s soft, bitter—nothing like the amused chuckles you love hearing from him.

“…Okay,” he says.

Two syllables. Two syllables and he sounds so distant, so removed, like he’s already walking away from this, from you. Like it doesn’t matter.

But it does. It does, you can see it in the way his hands are clenched into fists at his sides, in the way his breath shudders ever so slightly, like he’s forcing himself to stay composed. Like he’s holding himself together by sheer will alone.

“If that’s how little this meant to you…” His voice is calm, even. A practiced neutrality. But you hear it—the smallest break, a splinter of something raw and aching beneath the surface. “Then fine.”

And he turns away.

And you see them.

The tears in his eyes.

He turns too late to hide them from you, but he still tries, tilting his head just enough that you almost don’t catch it. The effort, the control, the desperate attempt to maintain his composure even now.

Your stomach twists violently.

“Jamil.”

You reach for him without thinking, grabbing his wrist, tugging him back. His skin is warm beneath your touch, but his body is stiff, unyielding. He doesn’t move, doesn’t look at you.

You don’t let go.

“I didn’t mean it,” you breathe, voice shaking. You’re already shifting closer, hands moving from his wrist to his arm, to his shoulders, to his face, desperate to get him to look at you. “I didn’t mean it, I swear.”

His breath catches. He still won’t meet your eyes.

“You can’t just say things like that.” His voice cracks, and your heart breaks into pieces. “You can’t.”

The weight of what you’ve done crashes down on you. You had wanted to make him feel the frustration, the anger, the helplessness you’d felt in the heat of the argument. But not like this. Never like this.

His shoulders shake.

“Jamil…” Your hands cradle his face now, fingers trembling as you wipe at the tears streaking his cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

For a moment, he stays frozen beneath your touch.

Then, with a shuddering breath, he moves.

His hands grasp at the fabric of your clothes, clutching onto you as if you might disappear if he doesn’t hold on tightly enough. The tension that’s held him rigid for so long crumbles, and he presses his forehead against your shoulder, his entire body trembling.

“I don’t want to fight,” he whispers. “I don’t—” A breath, uneven, desperate. “I don’t want to lose you.”

The sheer vulnerability in his voice threatens to unravel you.

“You won’t,” you swear, voice raw with emotion. “You won’t.”

He lets out something like a laugh, but it’s broken, strained, wet with the remnants of unshed tears.

Then, his legs give out beneath him, and you both sink to the floor, tangled together, arms wrapped around each other like lifelines.

Neither of you let go.

Rook Hunt

"Let's break up."

The words barely leave your lips before Rook is on you.

One second, he’s standing before you, the next, he’s grasping at your arms, pulling you close, desperate. His hands tremble as they cradle your face, and his voice—normally so composed, so theatrical in its beauty—is breaking apart at the seams.

"Non, mon amour, non, non, non—tu ne peux pas—please, don’t do this." His words spill out in frantic, overlapping murmurs, a tangled mix of languages, as if one language alone isn’t enough to hold the depth of his despair. His breath is uneven, his hold almost frantic. "Je t’en supplie, tell me this is but a cruel jest. Tell me you do not mean it!"

You’ve never seen Rook like this before.

You've seen Rook in many states—amused, playful, reverent, even solemn—but never like this. Never so utterly shattered. His eyes, always gleaming with some unreadable mystery, are bare now, stripped of all their usual playfulness. He looks at you like a man standing at the gallows, waiting for the final blow.

His hands tighten around you, as though afraid you might slip through his fingers. "I will fix it, I swear it! Whatever it is, however I have failed you, tell me, je t'en prie! Let me make amends!" His voice hitches, and when you finally dare to meet his gaze, your breath catches.

His eyes—so often gleaming with mirth, with mischief—are glossy with unshed tears.

Your heart clenches. "Rook—"

His hands cradle your cheeks, thumbs brushing over your skin with a reverence that makes your chest ache. "I love you, mon cœur. I love you more than words can weave, more than poetry can hold." His voice breaks—an unsteady breath, barely a whisper—"Ne me quitte pas."

You reach up, pressing your hands over his, steadying them. "Rook, stop."

He freezes, breath caught in his throat, as if waiting for a verdict that will decide his fate.

You swallow past the lump in your throat. “I didn’t mean it.”

For a moment, neither of you move.

Then, a sharp inhale—a breath of air after near drowning—and suddenly, he’s crushing you against him, arms winding around you with near bruising force.

"Mon dieu," he breathes, his face buried in your shoulder. "Merci, merci, merci—" His grip tightens, as if he still can’t quite believe it, like he needs to feel every inch of you to be sure you’re still here.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper against him, voice thick with emotion.

"Non, mon amour, I'm sorry." He pulls back just enough to meet your eyes, shaking his head, remorse etched deep into every line of his face. “I have hurt you, haven’t I? Tell me how, tell me where, and I shall do better, I promise.”

You nod, hands gripping the fabric of his shirt. "Then we’ll both do better."

A breathless laugh escapes him, half relief, half lingering disbelief. And then he's pulling you close again, arms firm around you, his lips pressing against your temple, your hair, your hands—anywhere he can reach as if to assure himself you won’t slip away.

And you let him, because neither of you are willing to let go.

Lilia Vanrouge

"Let's break up."

At first, Lilia laughs.

It’s soft, breathy—almost amused. “Oh, that’s quite the joke,” he chuckles, his usual teasing lilt in place. “You nearly had me for a second.”

You don’t respond. You just look at him, expression unreadable, arms crossed, waiting.

His smile twitches, just barely, but you catch it. His amusement fades as realization sinks in, and something shifts in his eyes.

“…Oh.”

The room feels quieter now, despite the argument that had sparked this in the first place. He tilts his head, as if examining you from another angle will make this not real. Then, slowly, he reaches for you, his movements careful in a way that is deeply uncharacteristic of him. His fingers hover near your face, uncertain, hesitant—like he’s waiting for you to flinch, waiting for you to pull away.

"Come now," he says, softer now, a touch strained. "Don't do this. You don't mean it."

Your lips press into a thin line. You’re still frustrated, still convinced you have a point, but the sight of him—his sharp, knowing eyes turning glassy, the slight tremor in his breath—makes something uneasy settle in your chest.

"Lilia," you say, but you don’t get to finish.

Because he pulls you in.

His grip isn’t suffocating, but it’s desperate. One hand cradles the back of your head while the other clings to your waist, firm and pleading. His breathing is uneven, his usually composed demeanor cracking at the edges.

"I—" He stops, swallows, tries again. "I am sorry. I never meant to make you feel like this." His voice is quiet now, almost fragile. "If you truly wish to leave, I won’t stop you. But please, tell me—tell me this was only spoken in anger."

You exhale, your hands resting lightly on his shoulders, feeling the tension in them. His heartbeat is rapid against your own, and for the first time since knowing him, you think he’s the one who might fall apart first.

"It was," you say at last, barely steady. "I didn’t mean it."

Lilia lets out a breath that shakes, just slightly, before pulling you in impossibly closer. His fingers curl against you, grip tightening for a fraction of a second before he steadies himself.

He exhales a weak laugh against your skin, a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “You mustn’t be so cruel to this old heart of mine,” he murmurs, his voice uneven with something too raw to name. “One day, you’ll be the death of me.”

His hold lingers—just a little longer than necessary—before he pulls back, just enough to look you in the eyes. There’s something softer in his gaze now, something fragile and achingly sincere.

"Promise me," he says, and though his voice is gentle, it leaves no room for refusal. "Never again."

You huff softly. "Alright."

Lilia presses his forehead to yours, exhaling slowly. “And I’m sorry for pushing you to that point.” His voice is quieter now, reverent. “I love you.”

You nod, your grip tightening around him. “I love you too.”

Lilia hums, gently swaying as he holds you. “Then let’s stay like this a little longer, hm?”

And you do. You stay, wrapped in his arms, letting the warmth of his embrace soothe the lingering ache.

Masterlist

[heartyluv]

Do the LIs enjoy period sex?

Warning: Mentions of blood, period sex (obvi), dirty talk, a little bit of smut

Rafayel - I don’t think he enjoys it, but it’s not because he thinks it’s gross.

Rafayel seems like you’ve tried it once, but he couldn’t get into it much because he kept worrying if he was hurting you or too busy trying to gauge if you were uncomfortable. You’d think with the way you were sucking him in and telling him to keep going that he would understand you felt more than good, but he couldn’t fully indulge with that thought in the back of his mind.

And you’d absolutely respect him when he says that he’d rather wait until your cycle is over to take care of all your sexual needs. In the meantime though, he finds remedies that both of you can try and could help with your cramps. Like he’d find he most natural and beneficial teas and supplements, make herbal baths for you to take together, he’d book massages for both of you, and he’d even get himself a heating pad so you’re not alone when you use one when you’re lounging around with him. And he absolutely loves it.

“Raf, babe, you shouldn’t put the pad on the highest setting with it on your bare skin!” you giggle with slight concern when he clicks the button five times before resting it on his stomach.

“Don’t worry, cutie.” He lowers his shirt down over it, ready to bask in the warmth. He winks at you as you press your lips together, looking over him and wondering how he does it. “Besides, I know you’ll save me if the time comes.”

Xavier - Yes, and he’s an uncontrollable whimpering mess when he does it. Hear me out.

Sweet Xav will only have sex with you on your period when you ask. He never offers because on a regular basis, he always tends to your needs and puts them above all else, but that sentiment is increased tenfold when you’re menstruating. With that being said, his goal is to do everything you want to help ease any pain, cravings, or heightened emotions. Everything you want from the grocery store? He’s buying it in bulk. Your back is aching and your stomach hurts? Let him run you a warm bath with some epsom salt and tend to your hair as you relax.

But the day you ask him if he’s willing to fuck your pain away, he freezes up at first. He’s wide eyed, even stuttering a little bit before he clears his throat with a gentle nod after processing your request and says, “Of course. Just tell me how I make sure I take care of you properly.”

And my love…when he slides into you for the first time with all the additional slick and what he’s certain is increased warmth, he nearly buckles on top of you. You’ve always felt good to him—always—but having you like that would make him weak. And he’s trying his best to make sure he keeps an eye on you, to make sure he’s doing okay, but when you tell him to go harder, when you beg him to keep hitting that spot he’s reached, he’s throbbing inside of you with newfound vigor.

“L—Like that?” He bites his lip before kissing on your jaw as you nod frantically, pushing your hips up to keep him deep. “Oh, you feel good…hmph…Is this what you needed from me, my pretty star…?”

“Yes, bun…” Your boyfriend breathes heavily into your neck when you squeeze him tighter. “P—Please…sogood, sogoood…”

After that first time, he never admits that he secretly hopes you come to him and ask him to take care of you with his cock. He’s absolutely okay if you don’t, though. In his eyes, there’s always next month.

Zayne - He doesn’t have too much of an opinion on it. Walk with me.

Zayne is a man who prioritizes health and comfort. So yes, if you ask him to have sex while you’re on your period, he’s more than willing to do that. He’s not foreign to blood and as a doctor, he absolutely knows that sex can help you with the pain you may be dealing with. But just like Xavier, he never offers. That’s because he will never try and assume what you need since wants and symptoms varies with every single cycle. Other than your regular cravings, he’s prepared to change up the things within his control to satisfy you.

So, he doesn’t expect or even anticipate you asking him, but please never shy away from doing so. In fact, I think he encouraged and educated you about it before the first time you did it. He wanted you to understand that you have him as an option and as your man.

None of them would, of course, but Zayne really would never shame you or make you feel gross for a natural reaction and desire. Having a period doesn’t stop you from wanting the things you’re used to, and a good partner would never make you feel as if you shouldn’t want that. There’s no such thing as messy or nasty to him.

But that doesn’t stop you from being shy, and he understands that.

When you do have period sex, he acknowledges how much wetter and sensitive you are. I think he uses those moments to actually study and to get to know your body better. Long story short—it’s more about and for you than it is him. He believes that it’s his mission to know you just as much as you do, if not better than you know yourself.

“Talk to me, darling,” he whispers, his breath fanning across your collarbone as he sucks and licks on your flesh. “Tell me how you feel. Let me hear you.”

His thrusts are just perfect. Slow, but not too slow where you need him to go faster. Strong, but not so much that it makes your pussy sting with each snap of his hips like he’s made you feel before. “I feel…s—so good. You’re…fuck, Zayne…” He knows you can’t find the right words, so he takes your hands in his hair and the squeezing of your cunt around him as his answer: That he’s doing exactly what you need him to.

Sylus - Oh, absolutely. And I think you both tease each other about it because of how much you equally enjoy it.

You were the one to tell him about the benefits and he definitely believed you were messing with him at first.

Now, I’m thinking Dragon Sylus, loves to claim and be claimed, type behavior. As soon as you mentioned his cock being in your pussy, it twitched in his pants at the mental image of him being marked with your blood. You using him to feel good and he gets to see the ruby shade on his skin? He needed it.

To say he was intrigued and on the bandwagon without hesitation was an understatement. But he doesn’t pressure you or make you feel as if you should feel obligated to let him fuck you on your menstrual. No matter how much he loves it, the decision will always be yours to make. He heeds your command.

But know that he tracks it because in the event that you do come to him, he wants to be ready and he likes the anticipation—wondering when or if you’re going to give him that privilege. He’s like a dog waiting for a treat and you playfully poke fun at him for it every timeeee.

When you walk up to him, rub down his shoulders and kiss his face, only to ask him to pleaseee get you something to eat, you giggle when he huffs out a laugh and shakes his head at your blatant suggestive behavior.

But he doesn’t let you play coy. Nine times out of ten, you’re begging him to stuff you, and you’re gonna get an earful of his taunts when he’s burying his cock deep in the beautiful red mess between your thighs.

“Look how greedy my kitten is,” he coos, your legs thrown over his shoulders as he caresses one of your breasts in his large palm, occasionally grazing your sensitive nipple. The slapping of skin does nothing but fuel him along with the way your blood smears along his thick and pulsating length. And he relishes in that.

“She weeps even more for me when you’re like this. Nothing is funny anymore when you’re so desperate to come, is it sweetie?”

“Sy…” you choke, feeling your tits jump with each relentless slam of his hip. “Hnngh…so deep…’m gonna c—come…”

Caleb - I wrote a whole thing for him already before LOLLL!!! —Click Here— to read.

♾️ Tags: @starryeyed-apple @asiatic-apple @sensual-study @sweetcalebb @asiaticapple @raemanova @awquaz @callads7 @floatinginaer @crimsonsylus @aquarianbeat

Creds to @/bbyg4rlhelps for the simple red dividers & @/cafekitsune for the MDNI banner!

[fulloflambing]

࣪ . ִֶָ๋ CAPITANO: husband headcanons ♡

pairing: capitano x afab!reader/you warnings: reader is addressed as 'wife', canon and modern!au cho's note: the kinich one did rlly good, so now lets try it with our big boi hehe. happy reads everyone! lmk if u guys want an nsfw ver. of either/both characters ;3

this man is the definition of YEARNING.

he wasnt comfortable with the label of him being your boyfriend. with all his eternal affection and love for you? to just be a mere boyfriend? absolutely not. he just HAD to be your husband. proposed the moment he realized he loved you.

definitely proposed with a big stone :p

wears his ring 24/7 and kisses it whenever your not around and he misses you dearly.

he abuses the power of his mask and never misses the chance to stare and just admire your beauty. underneath his mask his eyes are full of love and admiration for you.

discreetly clingy. if your going out somewhere he wants to go with you 'to keep you safe' or he 'needed to pass by that area later anyway'.

hates taking off his helmet, but never stops you from sliding it off of his head to shower him with praise.

his nicknames for you are my love, dear, darling, prince/princess

his love language for you is physical touch, and words of affirmation

his favorite spots to kiss you on is your forehead, lips, the palm of your hands and your knuckles.

engraved your initials into his sword, and because of that he makes sure he takes good care of it always.

his kisses are always slow and intimate.

he is a quick-kisses or pecks HATER. he has to kiss you for atleast 10 seconds. he doesn't care if hes late, if theres someone right infront of you— he kisses you like its the last time, everytime.

more of a listener than a speaker

he likes to go on dates or do activities with you where you both have to talk to eachother a lot. like fine dining dates, late night walks or driving!

very touchy in private. he likes to snake his arm around your waist, pull your hair to the side and kiss the back of your neck.. hes just addicted to praising and carressing your body.

ever since he married you, he absolutely despises overtime. he gets bossier and meaner to his subordinates when he realizes he might have to stay a little later to supervise them. sometimes he even leaves his job or his expeditions early just to get home to you.

frequently brings you gifts. a bouquet of rare flowers, a jewelry set with special ore customized just for you, lavish wine.. you name it.

never wants to argue with you. the second you tell him he's wrong, he just immediately agrees with you, spewing "yes ma'am." "your absolutely right. i didn't think of it properly.. apologies my love."

ever since he married you, he likes to subtly flex he has you as his wife.

"Sorry, i must end this conversation early. My wife is waiting on my presence." and you can just HEAR how cocky he is to say that.

writes you longgggg letters when he has to get away from business for awhile.

regarding his letters, he made you scribble/draw a design which he got custom made to become his wax seal for said letters :) a very keen man

got you a coat matching his own!

when your crying, he likes to hug you in silence, just letting you soak him in your tears. when you've calmed down, he tells you hes there to listen if you want to talk about your feelings, and theres no problem of yours hes not willing to help you solve. in his mind, your pain is his own, and he'll always be there to support you through any troubles.

very possessive. he wants people to know your his, and hes yours.

princess treatment on TOP. carries you easily when your tired of walking, idly massages your hands or feet when your both lounging together, regularly brings you flowers

during misunderstandings, he likes to take a minute of silence to compose himself and his thoughts to make sure he doesnt say anything he doesnt mean

likes to properly sit down with you to talk out problems between the both of you, and keeps an open mind. he doesnt rush you or cut you off when your talking about your feelings, and lets you know hes present and he cares about how you feel

takes extra time and effort after an argument to remind you he loves you.

overall, capitano is a very romantic lover despite his cold resolve, and honors your wishes with his life.

[lilianne-tarot]

PICK A CARD: Your Future Spouse’s First Impression of You? ✮⋆˙

I. II. III.

Hey there! Welcome to my first pick-a-card reading on this blog page, I hope you all enjoy it! If I make any mistakes, please bear with me. Comment down what you felt about the reading and if it resonated with you and show some love, Your support means everything to me!<3

How to Pick Your Pile: Take a deep breath, clear your mind, and look at the images above . Which one pulls you in the most? Trust your gut! Once you choose the image, The number below your chosen image is your pile. If more than one catches your eye, that just means there’s extra tea for you, go ahead and read both!

If you enjoyed this reading, get your own personalized paid reading here!😊🦋

For personalized 18+ readings, click here!

My Ko-fi link: HERE! 🫶🏻

My Masterlist🫶🏻

⊹₊⟡ Pile I

Cards pulled: the world, page of cups, ace of wands, 8 of pentacles, hanged man, justice, 4 of wands, oracle cards

Okay babe, like instantly I’m getting this vibe that you are in a field like marketing, finance, or something that really involves talking and writing. your job includes practical work, being clever AF, and not being emotional at all. You are into a field which makes you fulfilled (at least finacially or in you day to day life), and let me tell you… Your future partner is SO INTO IT. Like deadass, your practicality pulls them in like a moth to a flame. And listen!! It’s not that you don’t have emotions, pfft no. In fact, you’re such a sweet romantic, devoted lil baby when you actually care 💗. But the thing is, you only show it to people who deserve it. You’re not the type of person who is trying to prove how “good” you are to everyone. Period. You’re selective, you’re not out here giving everyone your full mushy marshmallow side of you. And honestly that makes People think you’re this emotionally cold, witty, maybe even selfish or boring. Some people see you as someone who can literally manipulate them buying something they didn’t even want 😂. Your words are your Lethal weapons, best thing you have. Your presence is so soft yet Strong AF. 

Now, coming to how your person will perceive you. WELL. when they meet you, they’re gonna be like “This is the one for me. Period. End of discussion”. For some of you i feel like you’ll are not into love and relationships as much as they are by the time yall meet so when they shower you with their love and start love bombing you you’e gonna feel attacked in some way🤣 you’ll be like, “goshhh leave me alone” and they are like, “NOOO MARRYYY ME PLEASEEE” 😭😭 ISTG THIS PILE STARTED SOO CONFUSING AND TOOK SUCH A TURN LOL. 

OKAY so this is a specific message I’m getting. Some of you went through betrayal in life in terms of love and have been quite unlucky in love so yall wouldn’t believe in love or someone who would make you their priority. This is so painful istg. to them your love is a gift of the divine. You’re someone they can risk it all. So this whole thing about you, they’ll sense immediately, without you even saying it, that you’ve been hurt. They’ll feel your silent belief that love might not be “your thing” anymore. Maybe you’ve even sworn off marriage? ouch 😭.

But your person don’t wanna change your mind with their huge declarations of love. No no. They’re more like, “Okay, you think love is a waste of time? Then waste it on me ” That message LITERALLY hit me, and i think i heard it in a song but it fits here perfectly. They’re all like: I am willing. I am hearing. I am risking. I see you. They don’t just like you, they want to settle down with you. (them considering doing this even though they are mostly going to be like someone who believes in short-term flings and one-night stands, DUDEEE this is crazyyyy)  they would be ready to do the most insane thing just to be with you. they are ready to DO ANYTHING. Like they would even agree to change countries, OVERNIGHT, if you give them a chance to be with you. 

They would see you as a baby😭 not literally. I know this sounds so weird and awkward 🤡 but actually what i mean here is they would adore you like a baby. Nurture you and treat you like your heart is the most fragile thing to them.  They wanna be your shield, your literal security blanket. Someone who you would choose to rely on and trust. That’s their ultimate life goal at this point ✋🏻 They can see past the workaholic, composed outer shell straight to your soft, squishy inner child who needs healing and it’s high time to do it. And they’re like “lemme protect this one.”

But OHMYGOD this person wants to rush. Like it’s so funny. Iif yall have seen those vidoes of “hyper active gf/bf X chil gf/bf” I’ve been seeing that image since the beginning of this message. AHHHH I JUST THOUGHT OF SOMETHING. So among birds, the male bird is more gorgeous than female birds and they use their beauty to charm their female lover, I’m seeing a peacock here, like the female is just standing there🧍🏻‍♀️ and the male peacock is giving his best performance, which is just so hilarioussssss😭😭😭. So this is going to be the scene with yall as well.  They’re ready to lock it down. And You’re like “umm excuse me, I’m just now believing in love again” And yet, they’re already planning the venue and picturing the honeymoon. And hey, maybe even the physical stuff, they want closeness FAST. But not in a creepy way, they’re just excited to nurture you. MARRY YOU, even. Like… who does that anymore?!? 🥹

They give off BIG masculine energy, regardless of gender. Like… protective, active, pure-hearted, sunshine-in-human-form kind of vibes. i think you'll spent your life protecting and nurturing others so now your person is going to do all of that for you. This person is gonna light your whole life up. The Four of Wands says: “Happy endings only, baby.” Sooo yes, your life’s been all logical and methodical lately, but they’re here to remind you that JOY still exists, and you deserve it. ✨

Alsoooo, this person will be OBSESSED with you and we know that by now. but they are gonna respect you so much as well. Maybe even be intimidated and stunned by your emotional strength. Like they’ll see you as someone above them. The moment they meet you, it’s like “oh dang, I gotta step my game up to win them.” Which is HOT. They see you as an opportunity. The blessing. The “I can’t lose this or I’ll regret it for life” kinda vibe. You’ll make them realise what matters, no more wasting time with flaky BS ❤️

For some of y’all, your partner might’ve been a little wild before, like fucking around and doing whatever i want vibes. But after meeting you? BABY they’ll go through a whole mental transformation You’re more stable by the time they meet you, and they’re gonna learn so much from you, especially emotionally and spiritually. Maybe you’ll be going through a time of spiritual healing when you meet them, prolly because of the heartbreak we talked about earlier. Because some of y’all are interested in spirituality, art, literature, all the mystical and deep stuff. You’re that empathic, emotionally intelligent angel who helps them feel things properly for the first time. And that’s the reason they'll be losing their sht.

They’ll mirror you. Like literally pick up your habits, try your hobbies, and follow your routines because they just wanna be in your world. And this is NOT a time-waster. Nuh-uh. This person is action-oriented. They see something? They go for it. They like someone ( YOU)? They say it. No games, no hesitation. It’s giving: “my boy saw the girl, and he WENT FOR HER” 

They’re gonna LOVE being around you. Worship your presence. Be obsessed with your voice especially. Also… this is gonna sound wild but THEY MIGHT SEE YOU AS A BABY COW  (but like the cute, innocent one okay!!). Especially if you’re younger or just have this sweet soft vibe, they’re gonna be like “must protect this smol bean.” 🥹

And if your last relationship made you be the parent all the time?? Like the mature one always giving and fixing? BLESS. THIS. NEW. RELATIONSHIP. Your persona is gonna heal that. They’re the protector now. They’re the one initiating, solving conflicts, planning a dang future with you. It’s not just love, it’s “LET’S GET MARRIED” level .

This person is LOUD. Like socially, energetically, “life of the party” loud. And you? You’re chillin’, vibing, admiring them from the corner, “that’s my person.” It’s giving introvert + extrovert harmony. Yin and Yang. Opposites that complete each other.

Liked the reading? get your own personalized paid reading here!

⊹₊⟡ Pile II

Cards pulled: Knight of cups, Knight of wands, the Sun, queen of swords, queen of cups, page of Pentacles, the Chariot and Oracle cards.

AHH MY FAVOURITE PILE. SEXYYYY LMAO

TO desribe your person's impression of you in few words: forbidded. irristible. tempting.

instantly when your person first meet you or have a proper conversation with you, they're gonna be like, "hey baby i think i wanna marry you" 🫡 (IYKYK) but the challenge they're gonna face is going to shake their ground 🤣

Your person is kinda like a bee. A WHOLE BEE. Just like a bee who wanders from one flower to another, and they believe there are many to taste and many to explore in this whole garden but they are so wrong with this mindset of theirs lol. Because the moment they meet you they’re gonna slapped with the reality check which will shatter this mindset😭😭

 I feel like you'll are someone who puts a strong emphasis on material things and how you look and how the materialistic aspects of life and your social standing, career, and everything around that theme. You're ambitious towards your dream and goals, and you really value your social standing and everything related to the Venusian theme. And there is nothing wrong about that. you value your reputation immensely, this is something your person is going to notice as the first thing in you. To your fs you seem like someone who doesn't need anyone to complete you, to validate you, and that kind of intimidates your person initially, cuz they picks up on that instantly. that kind of want them to chase you HARDER because to them it seems you don't need them and they are not used to having run behind someone everrrrr. I think they had a fair share of suitors and people crushing on them, so they got whoever they wanted, but this time the script was flipped so they just can’t keep it lowkey anymore😂. And suddenly, they want to impress you (good luck with it mr/ms future spouse) . I think for a lot of you this person is going to be a younger person. But there is definitely going to be age gap of some sort. If not literally then surely on a maturity/ emotional level. 

I’m also seeing that some of yall might be into healing job or something where you have to talk to people. You might be in a healing job like therapy, medicine, consulting, or something along these lines or maybe you’re just that one friend in your friend group whom everyone trauma dumps to cuz they know you would listen to them with no judegement and offer them the best adives. Either way, your person sees this soft, trustworthy energy in you right away. You just feel safe to them. Solid. Like you’ve got your priorities together, even if you’re still figuring things out (no judgment, same). There’s a huge chance you’ll meet this person through work or something career-related. Could be your first job, your current field, or even on a random trip that’s kind of job-related. When they meet you, it weirdly reminds them of something from their past, something emotional or meaningful, and it hits them. Like, you just click with a part of them they forgot was still there. 

COMING TO THEM, Your future spouse is such a softie🫠. They seem quite charming, gentle and caring in nature. They are also super romantic when they actually let themselves show it. This person is one of the affectionate towards you and they are willing to commit towards you. They genuinely respect you a lot. Like, they see you as the full package. But here’s the thing about them, they kind of don’t think they’re the full package YET. They look at you and feel like they’re not on your level yet. Like they need to upgrade themselves and work on themselves a lot before even thinking about asking you out. They want to, they really do, but your strong energy throws them off just enough to make them second-guess themselves.  Still, they’re not backing off (GOOD JOB). one thing is for sure, They’ll be super into you from the get go, like instant butterflies. You might notice they get a little nervous or try too hard to play it cool, but underneath that, they’re basically like “how do I win this person over?????????.”

you come across as strong and soft, which is kind of your superpower. You speak your mind, but in the most graceful, non-aggressive way that still leaves people like “damn, okay.” That’s what gets them.

this might be someone who’s already in your extended circle. Could be a friend, mutual, someone from a family connection, or maybe they pop up at a gathering where there’s already some shared comfort. It’s not giving stranger vibe, it’s giving “Hey, why do you feel kinda familiar?” There’s this cozy vibe with them, like you’ve known them in some alternate reality. It could also be a past life connection.

Also, you're gonna find them super soft whn you actually get to know them on a deeper level. Like innocent-in-a-cute-way soft. They’re still figuring life out, but not in a mess, they’re just young-soul energy. And ou're the wise owl here. You’ll feel it. You’ve seen things, learned things, set boundaries, and now you’re in your “I don’t have time for nonsense” era. You’re fiercely protective of your independence, your peace, and your standards. Not bitter, not jaded, just self-respecting. You’re loyal, loving, and lowkey hilarious, and once people get past your gate, they’re in for life. That nurturing, “mom friend but make it glamorous” energy you radiate, that’s what pulls them in like gravity. You’re elegant and put-together in public too, like someone who always knows which fork to use and still makes it look casual.

Now your person is very into their goals. Like, this is the kind of person who has a whole plan of what they are going to do with their carrer. It could also be that they have some family business of some sort so their carrer path is already planned. They care a lot about career, money, education, and just...winning at life. And somehow, your connection will tie into that part of their world. Not saying it’s gonna be all business and work, but your presence shifts their focus. You spark something in them that makes them want more than just success on paper. You make them want real connection too. WITH YOU. they might act all chill and emotionally composed on the outside, but inside  they are just a fragile little baby 🫠They don’t always know how to handle all those emotions, though, so you might see them try to play it cool while they're internally spiraling like, “Why am I obsessed???”

They’re ambitious, yes, but emotionally not so skilled yet lol😭. You’re showing up as the wise one in this connection, and they’re the student. There’s a clear maturity difference here, but it’s not a dealbreaker. If anything, it’s adorable ( i’m lovinggg this😭). You’ve both got earthy energy, you vibe with the small joys of life. You’re the sunshine in the relationship, and they’re the knight/ the chariot protecting that light like, “Nobody mess with this, or you’ll answer to me.”

ALSOOO, They’re loyal AF, so you never have to stress about trust. Might be a little bit of a dreamer, definitely pretty (like, actually pretty), and they see the world with these rose-tinted glasses that make everything feel magical. They’re gonna look at you like you’re their personal dream ocme true. CUTEEEEEEE😭 Now, full honesty, they might not have been the most serious about love before. Kinda more “flings, sex and timepass” than “relationship goals.” But You're the exception. You're the one who flips the whole script for them. And they love it.

BESTIE THIS PERSON IS SOO UNPREDICTIBLE😭😭. Reading about them is like solving a confusing case. Something new is popping up every moment, once they are just fuck around energy, suddenly they are also career focused, then they are also emotionally deep and cute??!?!?! Like they are making me question myself😭😭

Like In their career and goals? Super focused. All about logic, hustle, planning. But in their personal life? Total softie. Cuddly, romantic, shy, and a little emotionally-driven puppy. Their heart leads in relationships, not their head. Which is funny, because it’s the opposite of how they act professionally. They’re not emotionally unstable or immature. they’re secure, they’re not gonna have you babysitting their feelings. It's a green flag there. Also, you two? Total “we feed the street cats and cry at sunsets” energy. You both adore the little joys like kids, animals, flowers, summers, random beautiful things, and they’ll totally join in on appreciating it all with you. If you say, “Look how cute this snail is,” they’re right there like, “OMG he has a little home 🥺.” songs cringe but with your fav person nothing remains cringe TRUST ME. 

Liked the reading? get your own personalized paid reading here!

⊹₊⟡ Pile III

Cards pulled: 9 of wands, 2 of swords, the world, king of pentacles, 4 of swords, 7 of pentacles, king of wands, death and oracle cards.

Before diving into the reading, i'll have to say that this pile has the strongest and heaviest energies. I had to pause multiple times while doing this, and thus I will keep every message real with y'all as well to keep the real essence of the reading intact.

At first glance, you might look like someone who keeps everything to themselves, someone who’s always protecting themselves, guarding themselves, and has locked themselves inside a cage they made on their own. Maybe even someone who gets into conflicts here and there if someone tries to climb that wall. 

In your life, you might have faced a really painful betrayal, where you believed in something or someone with your whole heart. Maybe it was a dream, a person, a career, a degree, a friend, or anything you truly trusted, and it didn’t work out. It broke your heart deeply. After that, you started protecting yourself. Your person will witness this entire journey, they will see you going through all of this. They will understand the depth of your pain. Maybe the signs were always there, maybe it was obvious that things weren’t going to work out, but you still believed. And now, you might even feel like a fool for believing in it.

You might think, "I didn’t even try to understand the truth when it was right in front of me." This thing likely happened to you when you were very young, which made the pain even harder. And that’s okay. You were young and vulnerable. But somehow, this pain you went through , it’s also going to hurt your person deeply. Like, they’ll feel that pain in their heart too. There’s a really strong water sign energy here, I feel it clearly. Maybe it's Cancer, Pisces, Scorpio, or even strong water planets in you or their charts. Some of you might have these zodiac signs, or maybe you just love being around water, because while doing this reading, I keep getting images of water. I can feel this water energy very strongly. Maybe your person is a water sign. Anything is possible.

Your person is going to help you go through this pain and heal from it. They will help you slowly open up again, break down those walls, and rebuild your spark. They want you to spread your wings again. They’ll help you gently dust yourself off, slowly but softly, and break out of those walls you built around yourself. They’ll help you come back to life. Once again, this is not a first impression because this person has known you for a long time. Even before officially meeting, I feel like they will already know about you in some way. So the whole idea of a first impression doesn’t apply here.

This is like the first pile I read, I don’t see this as just a first impression, but as a full journey. But when your person sees you, they’ll think you are someone with deep empathy and softness in your nature.

Okay, I’m seriously getting emotional now. I’m not joking. A sentence just came to me so suddenly, and it hit me hard:

"It’s not your job to heal everyone." "It’s not your responsibility to take care of everyone’s emotions." You are only responsible for yourself love. Spread your wings high and just fly, because that’s what you deserve.

This is exactly how your person sees you. This is what they want for you. They want you to see yourself the way they see you, strong, worthy, and free. I can’t even explain how much this sentence affected me while writing. I had to stop for five minutes. That’s how powerful it was. It felt like the most beautiful message ever.

You’ll meet this person during a really low phase in your life, when everything feels confusing, and you’re struggling to make decisions. You’re stuck in a very critical moment. You’ll feel frustrated, lost, like nothing makes sense. And even your person will be feeling something similar in their own life. They’ll feel like they’re trapped too, like someone has put them at gunpoint and they’re being forced to just look at what’s convenient or beneficial to others. You’ll meet your person at a low phase in your life, when everything is confusing, when nothing makes sense, when decision-making feels impossible, and you feel like you’re stuck in a really critical situation. You’ll feel exhausted, stressed. And honestly, your person, they’ll also be in a similar phase. Maybe even worse. They’ll also feel like they’re completely stuck in their own life. Like they’re being held at gunpoint and people around them are being selfish. While you, on the other hand, won’t even understand what’s going on or what exactly you’re doing anymore. So love at first sight or basically falling in love os a theme youll both explore at the MUCHHH later stage of your journey together. 

Meanwhile, you're trying to figure out what you're doing with your life, and you can’t seem to understand anything clearly.

When yall meet or get to know each other, you might have been in a situation where your person could clearly see that you were going through a very intense phase in life. Maybe they were even a part of that journey, the journey where you had to face multiple moments of confusion and indecision. There were moment where you had multiple breakdowns and even times of self doubt and insecurity. And they’ve seen you go through all of that. So I feel like this person had already become a part of your life long ago, at a very early stage of your life because i don’t see any theme of first impression here. It’s more about how they actually see you. you'll only realize it much later, maybe very late in life,  how they’ve been ap art of your journey for so long, because you were so caught up and occupied with other areas of your life that you didn’t even notice this happening. You were so busy guarding yourself and protecting yourself that this wasn't even something that bothered you at all. 

A specific message i am getting is you’ll begin to know this person when you are going through an important phase of your life, a transformative one, and something that is testing you. Like an important exam in your life, your job hunting time? Or just anything along these lines which needs patience and resilience and trusting in oneself. 

This person is the kind of person who, more than themselves they wants YOU to succeed in life. This person will genuinely want you to succeed a lot in your life, move far ahead, and do great things. And they will notice how you hold yourself back from your true self, how you keep yourself controlled. They will see all of this and will want you to let go of this state of yours. They would wish you would stop holding yourself back and doubting yourself, and just spread your wings wide and high and explore every colours of life. 

AHHHH. this is crazyyyyy. SO Right after I told you to spread your wings, I pulled an oracle card I got a message from that oracle Card, and it showed me the image of the Phoenix. Phoenix is a bird that holds powerful fire energy. In the image, it’s shown spreading its wings wide and high. I seriously got goosebumps seeing ths. That card instatly gave me a very clear message from the universe, it confirmed what I had just told you. It showed me how much this person wants you to grow emotionally. They want you to break out of your comfort zone, spread your wings, and live your life fully. They want you to experience everything in this world.😭😭

I can strongly feel that this person would go all the way to make sacrifices for you. This is definitely a love where your person won’t mind sacrificing anything for your sake, if it means your happiness. GOSHHHH I CANT- 

This love is very real and grounded. It’s the kind of love where the person will go through ANYY pain just for you. They feel your pain like it’s their own. Maybe something happened in your past that made you become so guarded and protected, and this person wants you to feel your inner strength again. They want you to know that no dream or desire is more powerful than you. If you truly want to grow, nothing can stop you. This person carries very steady emotional energy, they are emotionally mature and stable. This isn’t someone who will bring unnecessary drama into your life over small things so you can be relaxed about that. One thing i noticed is how this person is SOOO similar to the the male lead of the kdrama when life gives you tangerines, how he dedicated his entire life for his wind especially him saying things like, “i can’t live without her” LORD.

This person will bring a lot of transformation into your life. The last card I pulled for you was the Death card, and that’s not negative here. It actually shows how this person is going to completely flip your life around and change everything for the better. As I’m doing this reading, I feel intense emotions. My energy feels drained, and my heart is pounding, i’m not eve kidding. I had to pause this reading multiple times cause the overload of emotions i felt were overwhelming at some point lol but im glad this tured out so beautifully ultimately HAHA. That tells me this is how strongly this person will feel about you, this is how deeply they will experience knowing you.

Again, this reading isn’t about a "first impression" because this is a long story. You both have known each other for a long time, longer than even words can explain. maybe even beyond this lifetimes. You complete each other, like puzzle pieces that perfectly fit together. So, in your case, there’s no such thing as a "first impression"   because your connection is very divine and complicated in a beautiful way.

You’re someone this person is truly ready to invest time, energy, and commitment into. They are ready to build something stable with you. They want to grow with you. As much as they want to live their own life, they also want to make you feel safe, happy, and secure. You both might even have a Twin Flame connection. Twin Flames often go through similar kinds of life events, and I think you both will experience that too. Maybe I’m wrong, but I feel like you two will have similar life stories or meet through a shared path. For example, maybe you're in the same college, doing the same course, or working in the same place,  there's a similarity here. Maybe through a same fandom of spiritual path. Your emotions will be very dependent on each other, even at a subconscious level.

Liked the reading? get your own personalized paid reading here!

[sevikaswinkinghole]

Line Cook!Sevika Drabbles⟡🍽️₊˚⊹♡

SFW

CW: Line Cook!Sevika x Waitress!Reader, Sevika and Reader both smoke cigarettes, credit to @coleggo on tiktok and twitter for the Line Cook!Sevika art, not proofread like....lowkey at all sorry <3

✿Sevika who works as a line cook for a mid level restaurant in the city. She went to culinary school in her youth, but after a long line of jobs in various fields and years of food service experience, she found herself committed to a generationally owned restaurant close enough to her place to walk. What more could a middle aged woman with bills and responsibilities ask for?

✿Sevika who doesn't talk much during her shifts. She clocks in, cooks, cleans, remains cordial to her coworkers, and clocks out. Everyday, like clockwork. Some of the other cooks, waitresses, and waiters gossip about what her life is like outside of work, what she does when she't not scowling or mumbling under her breath while cooking one hell of an appetizer. Nobody could figure out how to get through that icy cold heart of hers, until you start working there.

✿Sevika who notices you on your first training shift. Your perky ponytail and excited smile making her chuckle, figuring the labor and intensity of food service would change your attitude real quick. But as you train and learn the job, your smile never falters. You greet each guest with your pearly grin, treat each and every patron with kindness and patience, and even take the angriest rudest guests with that signature smile. Sevika notices it all. She catches herself watching you from the window into the kitchen, seeing your hard work manifest into the care you give each customer.

✿Sevika who cares about you way more than the other waitresses. She’s never rude or disrespectful to them, but everybody knows you’re her favorite. During slow shifts she helps you with your side work, she’ll make you fries when she knows you haven’t eaten all day, and never gets mad when you forget to ring in an order or mess up a couple things on a ticket. She know’s you work hard and is willing to do whatever she can to make it easier.

✿Sevika who sees your first real breakdown at the job. You were having an off day and couldn’t get into your usual swing of things, but once a customer chewed you out for bringing him the wrong order, you couldn’t help but crumble during your smoke break outside.

“Hey hey hey,” Sevika rubbed slow circles on your back as you sobbed, mascara and eyeliner running down your tear soaked cheeks as you tried to calm down “It’s alright (Y/N) breathe..”

“H-He was so mean!” You cried, trying to wipe away the makeup from your eyes with your sleeves. The black pigment stung your eyes and stained your shirt, the day just kept getting better and better.

A lit cigarette was tucked right between Sevika’s lips as she watched you with pain filled eyes. It hurt to see you cry over a stupid asshole, the food industry was filled with them and he wouldn’t be the last. “He was..thats why fuckers like him get the dropped burgers” Sevika joked, hoping her quip would distract you enough to make you grin.

You chuckled sadly and sniffled, looking at the older woman with bloodshot eyes and ruined eyeliner “True…thanks Sevika” You smile, giving her the thing she wanted the most.

✿Sevika who really tries to keep your relationship strictly work. She respects boundaries, maintains a safe distance, and doesn’t stare (too much..). But that all changes when the restaurant gets a new bartender. The guy was quite the flirt, whether it was with customers for tips or coworkers for a little something extra. A few waitresses and one other line cook all fawned over him, but Sevika could see right through his sleazy personality. She simply ignores him most days, until his flirting reaches you.

“Did he say something to you?” Sevika asks through the window in a hushed tone, nodding her head over to the new guy who was mingling with another waiter.

“Who Clint? Yeah, he asked about getting drinks after my shift, why?” You raised an eyebrow, grinning at the twitch in Sevika’s eye at the response. You never noticed it before but it was definitely noticeable.

“No reason, thought it was something about work…” She spoke, emphasizing the word she thought he should be focusing on instead of you. She couldn’t ignore the irritating feeling of jealousy that struck her heart. Sevika was usually so confident to make the first move, in any other capacity or environment she would have already sought you out. But this job meant a lot to her, and getting involved with a waitress as a line cook always ended in somebody’s demise.

✿Sevika who officially catches feelings that night when you invite her out to get drinks with you and Clint. You happened to invite a few other coworkers to make it a group hang out, which makes Clint regret asking in the first place. Because once you all close up the restaurant and head down the street to a local bar, all of your attention went to Sevika. Clint could barely attempt to flirt since you never left the older woman’s side.

Your drunk giggling echoed through the bar booth you and Sevika sat at. The rest of your coworkers were drinking at the bar top and watching the last couple minutes of whatever game was on, while the two of you sat and talked about everything but work. Sevika sipped something dark and strong, the amber liquid swirling in the glass as she swigged the last of it.

You were on your second dirty shirley, yapping about your newest obsession while Sevika pulled out her cigarettes. You noticed how intently Sevika was listening, her piercing grey eyes watching your every move, responding with an occasional ‘oh?’ or ‘and then what happens?’ to push you further into the story, even laughing at some of your silly jokes. It warmed your heart to see how much she cared about what you had to say, her attentiveness you making you swoon in drunken bliss.

“You w’nna cig?” She asked as you finish your drink, taking both of your glasses and putting them on the bar top.

You nod and stood up to head outside, trying to ignore the butterflies in your stomach when she opened the door for you..or ignore how hot she looked lighting the cigarette in her mouth. The way it hung lazily between her full lips made the warmth in your body wander down south. You reached up and took it from her lips, letting the pads of your finger brush delicately against her lower lip before bringing the cigarette to your own mouth.

Sevika paused, her mind racing as she watched you take a drag, her stomach coiling into knots while she imagined all the filthy things she could do with a mouth like yours. That’s when she realized she would need to have you, in more ways than one.

✿Sevika who walks you to your car later that week after a long shift. It was a holiday weekend in the summer, prime time for heavy restaurant traffic. You were both so tired as you crossed through the parking lot, city noises and late nightlife buzzing around you both as you walked in comfortable silence. Sevika was lost in thought, unsure how to express feelings she didn’t even realize she felt so strongly about. Everything about you pulled her closer, your sweetness and kind smile making her want nothing more than to make you hers tens times over.

“Thanks for helping with orders Vika, that last minute rush this evening was so unexpected.” You sighed, unlocking your car and opening the door to throw your purse inside. Your old used car was sitting under a buzzing street light, the warm summer air blowing a cool breeze through your thin uniform shirt. You shivered a little as you turned to the taller woman.

Sevika had her mech arm rested against the car door frame, peering down as you shivered from the cool air. She took her leather jacket off and wordlessly shrugged it over your shoulders, the warmth of the lining and smell of her cologne filling your nose.

“Vika you don’t have to-” You paused as her warm flesh hand caressed your cheek, eyes locking onto hers as her thumb brushed along your cheekbone.

“Don’t want my favorite girl getting cold..” She spoke, desire filled eyes gazing down at your gapped lips.

Your heart fluttered aggressively as she closed the gap, pressing her warm lips against yours in a satisfying kiss. The kiss tasted like smoke and something savory, your tired bodies pressing together as you wrapped your arms around her neck. The stress of the night melted away at her touch as she deepened the connection, your lips tangling beautifully with hers before pulling away slowly. You looked up at the woman with hazy lust filled eyes, biting back a goofy grin as she kissed your temple.

“See you tomorrow (Y/N)”

I have to stop coming up with new exciting things to write about instead of working on main things……but I won’t! 🥰

I got this idea from Coleggo’s art (which is incredible if you don’t already know) and their Sevika x The Bear crossover. She would be such a hot line cook it needed to happen.

this is kinda shit and short but as always, thank you for being here! ily 🥰

Love,

Squuoosh ❤︎₊ ⊹

Taglist: @lonerslug , @sapphicstrawcore