#at first it wouldn't be much of a problem

[golden-redhead]

Squid Game's Final Season & The Suspension of Disbelief Baby Problem

The more I think about it, the clearer it gets that the whole Baby Thing in Squid Game s3 was... maybe not the best idea. I can understand where the writers came from and I actually genuinely think that on paper it was a pretty interesting idea. I also realize that it was definitely meant to be largely symbolic and we shouldn't expect it to be 100% realistic. Squid Game never tried to act like it's about realism, it was always about the message and the commentary on human nature and the system we live in.

The thing is... Well, there's symbolism and then there's expecting the audience to ignore very obvious flaws that need to be overlooked for said symbolism to work.

First of all, this whole subplot reeks of being written by someone who never had to deal with a newborn. Which, on its own, is fine. The idea that you should only write about things you are familiar with is, frankly, quite silly. Truth be told, I don't have any experience with dealing with newborns either. However, even if you don't have any first hand experience or knowledge about how newborns operate, common sense still makes it very difficult to buy the way everything played out in the story.

The birth scene itself was honestly silly if you know anything about how it works. And I assume it was even more silly for people who have actual experience giving birth or assissting someone during the process. Like, I can accept that it happened fast, even if it is a little unbeliavable, it is still within the realm of possibility. Some births are easier and faster than others, that's true, but even then, birth is messy regardless of how long it takes. There's blood, sweat, poop and all kinds of nasty stuff. And all that applies to a 'normal' birth, you know, in the hospital and with medical professionals around! Then, there's the pain and panic that would have only been made worse by the reality of being in the middle of a killing game. Not to mention how it was a non-sterile environment full of blood and dirt with no way to properly care for a baby that's born too early and to a first-time mother who's in a lot of pain from additional injuries and trauma. And speaking of the mother, even after giving birth, most people are too exhausted to keep going. Jun-hee didn't look even half as bad as she should have, considering everything her body went through in a small amount of time. She should be still actively bleeding and honestly, it's surprising that a potential infection or excessive bleeding didn't kill her first.

Even when you account for things like adrenaline and accept that some things had to be simplified in order to work on screen, there are just way too many elements other than the things related to the birth itself that don't make any sense. And that's all without even getting to the obvious issue of a newborn baby's needs, such as frequent feeding and diaper changes. Or the crying which would for sure drive everyone crazy, especially at night when the adrenaline of the games wears off and people are trying to rest. Or, you know, the serious risk of the hungry and dehydrated baby getting an infection, especially since it has basically no immune system to speak of.

And then there's the jumping rope game... Have you ever heard about SBS? The Shaken Baby Syndrome? Much older children are at risk of serious injury and even death from being shaken. I find it very hard to believe that that baby wouldn't suffer after being shaken, jostled and moved around like that. Oh, and then there's also SIDS. It's short for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. We don't exactly know what causes it, but some babies die despite being perfectly healthy and taken care of. It's just one of these things that seem to be out of our control. If it can happen to children who have all of their needs met, imagine how much higher the risk was for Jun-hee's baby.

Honestly, I could keep going, but... No matter how you slice it, the creators expected A LOT from the audience by demanding that we overlook all of these issues. And that's assuming that you are even willing to overlook it in the first place. Which, frankly, I think is quite hard, considering how many lovable, actually well-developed characters had to die for the sake of that baby. The baby that not only very clearly didn't look only a few days old but also required some pretty bad use of CGI at some points.

Again, I realize that it's less about the baby and more about what the baby symbolizes, especially in Korean culture. It's pure, it's innocent, it's a representation of what could be a better future. I just think that all these things I mentioned above, along with a shockingly defeatist ending for Gi-hun, make it very hard to accept the way the final season ended. This sudden lack of realism taken to such an extreme doesn't help either.

In fiction, we often talk about suspension of disbelief. All fiction requires that to some extent, with some genres or kinds of media expecting more of it than others. The problem is, despite some of pretty unbelievable elements, Squid Game was always pretty deeply rooted in reality, especially when it comes to its characters. I think it's the reason why it resonated with people as much as it did. It's taken to the extreme, yes, but we all can understand the idea of being betrayed by the system. We know how it feels to be constantly beaten down and how one mistake can spiral out of control and ruin our whole life. We realize that life is unfair and that the uber wealthy prey on the poor and uphold a system that's designed to keep us in check.

So, by suddenly going out of its way to make a pretty unbelievable situation work against all odds and have that baby survive when no one else did, the creators demanded a lot from its audience. I think this is where a lot of disappointment and disbelief comes from.

[norrisprincess]

Puppy Love

summary: Charles thought he would just take Leo to an appointment with a new veterinarian, but he didn't know that he would find himself returning to the vet and not exactly for Leo.

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Veterinarian!Reader

warnings: use of y/n, fluff, use of french, smau and a little bit of angst

Author Note: I apologize for any spelling mistakes. English isn't my first language, so I used a translator to write some things!

Leo needed to get vaccinated; Charles couldn't risk Leo getting sick. That's why he walked peacefully through the streets of Monaco, On the way to a new vet that Lewis had told him was quite good since its staff was very kind to pets. The wind gently against his face while he was walking and Leo was walking with his little paws beside him.

After a couple more minutes of walking and some photos with some fans who had recognized him on the street, he had arrived at the vet. It looked like a simple place so as not to attract too much attention. It looked peaceful, the colors were a visual beauty, and no dog whines could be heard.

Charles picked Leo up and entered the vet.

Upon entering the vet, all you could hear was the soft sound of music and the occasional bark. There were some people sitting in a small living room while petting their pets and others just seemed to be waiting. He was muttering softly in French about how quiet the place was before looking at the receptionist.

“bonjour!”

(“Good morning!”)

He said softly with a small smile as he approached the counter.

“Bonjour ! Comment puis-je vous aider ?”

(“Good morning! How can I help you?”)

The receptionist said with a smile as he turned to his computer and opened the list of appointments that day.

“J'ai un rendez-vous pour mon chiot, Léo, prévu à 10 heures du matin.”

(“I have an appointment for my puppy, Leo, scheduled for 10 in the morning.”)

said Charles, stroking Leo's head.

“Bien sûr ! Un instant, s'il vous plaît.”

(“Sure! One moment please”)

The receptionist tapped a bit on his computer to confirm the appointment before turning slightly to face Charles.

“Il nous reste une place, mais Mlle Stacy n'est pas disponible… Nous avons une autre vétérinaire disponible, mais elle ne parle pas français aussi couramment. Ça vous convient ?”

(“We have a spot available, but Miss Stacy isn't available... We have another vet available, but she doesn't speak French as fluently. Is that okay with you?”)

Charles shook his head, still with a small smile, as he settled Leo back into his arms.

“Ne vous inquiétez pas, je n'ai aucun problème avec ça.”

(“Don't worry, I have no problem with that.”)

The receptionist smiled before he stood up from his seat, leading Charles towards the room where the vet was.

Before they could do anything, the door opened, revealing a woman in her 20s with slightly oversized glasses.

“Oh! Miss Y/N, you have a patient here!”

Said the receptionist with a slightly strange English but still with a warm smile on his face.

You nodded a little and gave a small smile allowing Charles and Leo to enter the room before you moved to close the door behind you.

Leo was snuggled up in your arms after a couple of minutes while you tried to calm him down so he wouldn't get scared by the injection.

“He is one of the most well-behaved puppies I have ever handled, he is adorable.”

Your voice, as soft as silk, echoed throughout the room, causing Charles to lift his gaze from Leo in your arms and focus on your face. Glasses now on your head, your hair tied back in a ponytail, and your smile that would make anyone forget their worries.

“Yes, and he's also a sleepyhead.”

Charles said, followed by a small laugh that you also had before laying Leo down on a small veterinary stretcher and moving gently around the room.

Your hands moved gently into some drawers in the room, your hands went to a package of gloves and you put them delicately, then you took a small package with a small syringe and you took a small bottle that contained the medication.

Charles watched your movements closely and realized that Leo had not moved from the place where you left him on the stretcher and there he realized that he had fallen asleep only with your caresses.

You walked softly to the side of the stretcher where Leo was, gently disinfected a part of his small thigh and brought the syringe closer before gently injecting it.

“He'll be a little sensitive since vaccines make puppies a little groggy, so it's normal if he wants to sleep all day after getting home.”

You said putting a lock of your hair behind your ear and looking at him while you threw the syringe into a trash can.

You took Leo in your arms and gently gave him to Charles while the puppy licked your hands a little.

“such a cutie”

You said before Charles thanked you and headed towards the door of that quiet room.

Charles_Leclerc ✓

liked by lewishamilton and 1,304,960 others

Charles_Leclerc Guess who can't wait to get back to the vet?

comments

lewishamilton told you that was the best vet!!!!♥︎ liked by the author

user1 LEOOOO 🐶

user2 Mr Leo himself 🤓

user3 name of the vet?

↳ user4 🤷‍♀️

user5 Charles is so handsome ❤️😍😘

user6 I think is Leooooooo

user7 Lewis on the comments 😭😂

↳ user8 THISSS

user9 Leo is love, Leo is life 🙏

user10 I need a Leo in my life 🥺

user11 ❤️❤️❤️

user12 who?

↳ user13 LEO 👹

↳ user14 duuhhhhhh

user15 king leo 👑🐶

To Charles surprise, he found himself going to that vet almost every day, whether for a vaccine, a dewormer, or a bath for Leo, and each time, he would start a conversation with you, which you would follow animatedly.

Anyway, things didn't just stay there, but he would also ask for your Instagram and go out as friends once in a while so you two could talk a little more.

You didn't accept the outings because your calendar was a bit full at the moment, but you agreed to give him your Instagram and your phone number so you could chat there anyway.

ynxoxo

liked by Charles_Leclerc, Yourfriend and 79 others

ynxoxo I love my jobbb 👩‍⚕️🐶🐱🐹🐰

comments

Yourfriend Leclerc? 🤨 ♥︎ liked by the author

↳ ynxoxo 🙉🙈

↳ Yourfriend 🤨

user16 WHAT IS LECLERC DOING HERE?

↳ user17 THIS 👆👆👆

your_bro_ther CUTIES 🤍 ♥︎ liked by the author

↳ ynxoxo yes we are 🙂‍↕️

user18 So cute 🥹!!!!! ♥︎ liked by the author

After a tiring day at work, take a shower, put on clean pajamas, you set out to prepare something for dinner while keeping the air conditioning on.

You walked through your apartment, the only sound you could hear was your footsteps, until you turned on a small music player in your living room.

You walked towards your kitchen while the intro of ‘Espresso’ by Sabrina Carpenter played in the background at a moderate volume in your apartment.

You were going to grab some vegetables to start making your dinner before a notification on your phone disconcerted you. You decided to check in case it was something from the vet and you needed to go urgently.

A small, silly smile spread across your face when you saw who the message was from.

You put the phone back on the table and hurried to get out everything you needed to start making dinner, except you'd have to make enough dinner for two people, for you and Charles.

The nerves of someone else coming to your house, and that someone being a boy, made you burn your dinner at least twice, making you have to open the apartment windows to let the burning smell out of the apartment and not activate the fire sprinklers.

You were about to start making dinner again before a sound distracted you: the doorbell. Charles had arrived, and you still hadn't done anything. Embarrassed, you walked to the door and opened it, seeing that Monegasque who made your heart race.

“H-Hi…”

you said softly looking into his eyes.

“Hello chéri”

(darling)

He said with a smile as he ran a hand through his hair.

You stared at him in a daze for a moment before shaking your head slightly and stepping aside.

“please come in!”

You said before Charles nodded and he went into your apartment.

He stared at your apartment for a moment before looking back at you.

“your house is very cozy”

He said before you offered to take his coat and put it on the coat rack next to the front door.

“yeah, I like how cozy it looks too!”

you said kindly before Charles started talking again.

“Did you finish dinner or do you want me to help you?”

You laughed a little nervously and ran your hand over the back of your neck nervously before you decided to say something.

“In fact... I burned dinner twice, so I really need your help.”

He smiled and looked at you before rolling up the sleeves of his sweater a little.

“count on that”

ynxoxo

liked by Charles_Leclerc and 180 others

ynxoxo Pizza Date! 🍕❣️ w @ Charles_Leclerc

comments

Charles_Leclerc I had a very good time, we should do it again soon ❤️ ♥︎ liked by the author

↳ ynxoxo YESSS 👹

user19 found Charles 🏎️ forza ferrari!!!

user20 it looks so fun! Gonna do it with my bf!!

Yourfriend hmmmmm 🧐 ♥︎ liked by the author

↳ ynxoxo hmmm 😚

user21 PIZZAAAAAA 🍕

user22 couple material 😻

user23 CHARLES IS NOT SINGLE??

↳ Yourfriend not anymore girl 🤪

↳ ynxoxo What am I going to do with you? 🤦‍♀️

You were lying peacefully in your bed, casually swiping on tiktok like any other day off until your best friend shared a link of a Twitter post with you.

You came across the post not expecting anything more than some silly message about people complaining about how expensive dog food was until you saw those tweets, the ones that already had over 1000 likes and reblogs.

“what is happening?”

You quickly started reading what was happening and then after doing so, you wished you hadn't, your eyes widened and you quickly entered your Instagram only to see thousands of people asking for access to your private account, making you start to worry and decide to send a message to Charles asking for an explanation about everything that was happening.

When you sent the message, a thousand things went through your mind. You had no idea what you had gotten yourself into, you didn't even know this could happen. You just followed your heart and it led you to what seemed to be your downfall.

You got out of bed and rubbed your forehead trying to remove the sweat that had suddenly appeared on it.

Your head was spinning and everything was confusing until you felt your phone vibrate a little in your hand after a few minutes that seemed eternal given the situation you were in.

It was the last thing you saw before you decided to turn off your phone and go out to the balcony to try to get some fresh air and calm down a little.

You were standing against the wall of your living room and your eyes were fixed on the nervous figure of Charles, who was sitting on the armchair in front of you.

“Charles, I need you to explain to me what the hell is going on.”

You said with your arms crossed on your chest and your eyebrows a little furrowed due to your noticeable annoyance.

Charles raised his gaze only to have it locked with yours for a few seconds that felt like hours until he finally decided to speak.

“Look, I understand that you're angry-”

“I'm not angry Charles, I'm furious”

You said, frowning a little more while you still didn't take your eyes off him.

“I understand and you have every right to be.”

He let out a shaky sigh and ran his hands over his face.

“I know I should have told you about how intense Formula One fans were before, and I know I shouldn't have exposed you to this world. I know you don't want to be harassed on the street or online, nobody wants that, and I understand if you want to end it all right here, but I want you to know that I truly love you, and that I will always protect you from whoever wants to hurt you.”

He looked you in the eyes and got up from the chair, walking closer to you, with soft and slow steps as if each step of his could have enough force to break you into a thousand pieces.

“I'm sorry for everything that's happening, I really am. I know it was my fault for not being discreet, but I ask you please not to abandon what we've tried to build together.”

He grabbed your hands and intertwined them with his, causing you to quickly look away. You felt something liquid fall on his hands and yours, and then you realized he was crying.

“Don't take away Leo's chance to keep cuddling with you, to spend the day with you. From the moment I saw you on that date and saw how you treated Leo, with delicacy, kindness, and how you flattered him, you completely changed my heart..”

Your lower lip trembled a little and you let out a small sob, causing Charles to wrap you in a hug, a protective hug, one you didn't want to escape from, a hug that didn't feel forced but rather felt full of love.

Your hands wrapped around him and you hid your head in his neck, breathing in his perfume while he rested his chin on your head, closing his eyes as he traced soothing circles on your back with his hands.

“we would be a beautiful family…”

You murmured softly with a small laugh before closing your eyes and beginning to fall into a deep sleep in the arms of the man you wanted to spend the rest of your days with, even if it cost you your privacy on your social networks.

Charles_Leclerc ✓

liked by ynxoxo, lewishamilton, scuderiaferrari and 3,876,900 others

Charles_Leclerc I want to introduce you all, to my beautiful family, I had never felt so happy in my romantic life, I felt like my life was almost complete, and you @ ynxoxo were that almost, not only in my life, but also in Leo's life, you are a wonderful woman and I look forward to being able to tell everyone who is the woman who makes me and Leo happy every single day, I love you l'amour de ma vie. ❤️🐶

comments

ynxoxo Je taime aussi Charlie! ♥︎ liked by the author

↳ Charles_Leclerc t’aime*

↳ ynxoxo someone will sleep on the couch ☺️

↳ Charles_Leclerc just kidding mon amour 😅

↳ ynxoxo that's what i thought ☺️

user24 CONGRATULATIONS!!!

your_bro_ther Im so happy for the both of you ❤️ (but if you break her heart im breaking your legs 😊) ♥︎ liked by the author

↳ Charles_Leclerc Im going to treat her like a princess 🫡

user25 finally we have a mother 🥹

↳ user26 yessssssss finally

lewishamilton I wish you the best! 👏🏾 ♥︎ liked by the author

Yourfriend Charles x yn it’s real and im the fan number 1 ♥︎ liked by the author

↳ ynxoxo so true bestie 🫦 ♥︎ liked by the author

scuderiaferrari ❤️ ♥︎ liked by the author

user27 Charles giving likes to every yn comment it’s just 🙏

user28 adopt me 😭

user29 OMGGGGGGGG SO ROMANTIC

arthur_leclerc welcome to the family @ ynxoxo! (We all agree that Leo loves you more) ♥︎ liked by the author

↳ Charles_Leclerc Hey! 😡

↳ ynxoxo hehehe 🤭 ♥︎ liked by the author

↳ arthur_leclerc just saying

lando Destiny, give me a sign if I will find the love of my life just like Charles found his 🙏🏼

↳ Charles_Leclerc No

↳ oscarpiastri no.

↳ carlossainz55 sorry mate but no

↳ user30 no….

↳ maxverstappen1 👎🏻

↳ lewishamilton No

↳ user31 i don’t think so

↳ user32 No

↳ lando OK OK I GET IT 😓

↳ ynxoxo poor lando 😭 ♥︎ liked by the author

maxverstappen1 congratulations ♥︎ liked by the author

oscarpiastri Congratulations Charles 🎉 ♥︎ liked by the author

Charles found himself walking with Leo again through the halls of the vet where you had first met, but this time he wasn't going for Leo's vaccination appointment, he was going for you.

When he was in front of your office door, he knocked six times to let you know that he was the one there.

A few seconds were enough for you to open the door looking at Charles and almost immediately you bent down and took Leo in your arms, making the puppy lick your face and hands with excitement.

“who is a good boy? Yes you are!”

You petted Leo a little before you saw Charles leave a small bag with your favorite restaurant's logo on your desk.

“Thanks for picking up the order for me. You shouldn't have bothered…”

You said, looking at him shyly as you continued to caress Leo in your arms.

“mon amour, I've already told you that I wouldn't mind going to the other side of the world if it's for you.”

You smiled at him dazedly before laughing a little and watching Leo snuggle into your chest.

“you are like my guardian angel”

“et tu es tout pour moi”

(“And you are my everything”)

He said approaching you and stroking Leo's head a little.

He raised his hand to your chin and caressed it a little with his thumb before looking into your eyes.

“I love you”

He said, making the butterflies in your stomach start to flutter, tickling you all over your body.

“I love you too…”

After those words Charles closed the distance between his lips and gave you a kiss, a kiss so soft that it felt like a piece of heaven, like a home, it felt like everything.

As the seconds passed in your mind, all you could think about was that this was the moment you would treasure forever no matter what, right now it was just you, him and Leo.

taglist: no one for the moment 👎🏼

[beabatoru]

500 days of you ── .✦ spiderman! gojo x reader

pairing . academic rivals spiderman! gojo x reader

summary ⊹ ࣪ ˖ being at the top of your class for the past few years has not been a problem for you at all, that is until he transfers in, stealing away your spot with his genius intellect and annoyingly good 4.5 gpa, better than your 4.0, all while wearing that stupid grin you just want to punch off. what's worse is he also happens to be the cities hero, in who you fall in love with, unknowing to who was under the blue mask.

warning . college au, academic rivals to lovers, eventual smut, gojo is a pervert, panty stealing, dry humping, a bit of angst, hurt/comfort, sexual harassment, toxic relationship with family, unhealthy diet, fluff, set in new york like any other spiderman, female reader, p in v, oral, reader is a virgin, violence, gojo is full of himself, webs used.. inappropriately.

w . c

a . n : this is a reupload from my old blog ! it also means that I will continue this series because I miss spiderman gojo :((

500 days is all you have left until you graduate. according to your calendar that you have self made with several pictures from your childhood up to your teenage years, placed neatly beside your bed so you could cross each day as it passes with your baby pink highlighter, you have exactly two years. today, december 20, marks your first day of long awaited winter break in which you desperately needed after enduring what you believe was the worlds hardest final exam for your humanized and social science class.

your roommate has decided to take this time to go visit her family back at her hometown, to spend a few days with her family wrapped in a comforting warm and cozy atmosphere alongside whatever her family provides. but you chose to stay behind, not that you had anymore exams to finish up or anything, but because going back to see your family, if you could even call them one, wasn't even an option. your relationship with them wasn't abusive or anything, just strained, always putting your brother's needs before yours. that's part of why you picked the farthest college you could away from them, an entire different timezone.

you wouldn't call it running away, because that implies fear, you'd just call it more of a extraction. a nice and peaceful separation. sure, they reach out once in a while, but you always come up with excuses on the spot to end the call early. they barely knew that much about you, hell, they didn't even know which college you were going to even your plan in majoring in physics until a month before you left.

nyu is a beautiful campus, not traditional in any way, it bleeds right into the city. any spot there would be perfect to study, and well you didn't have anything to do for the next two weeks so a little studying before the next semester even starts. so with that you made your way over to your locker which was a brief fifteen minute walk away from your dorm.

you don't mind the walk, no rush, no crowds. the usual buzz of students chirping has died down. its not a eerily type of quiet, its peaceful. the faint sound of your footsteps echoed throughout the almost empty hallway. reaching your neatly decorated locker, you opened it unaware of the person right next to you, the door swung right into them.

"shit-"

your eyes widened as you saw the persons books fall right out their hands.

"oh my god im so sorry! I didn't see you there!" you immediately crouched down to pick of the several textbooks, most of them being physics for semester two. it wouldn't be a surprise if the owner of these books would be in the same class as you. "its alright" the mysterious person chuckled as they took away the books from your hands.

your eyes widened as they landed on them. or him, actually. he had beautiful bright blue eyes that for sure held every secret of the ocean, and snowy white hair that resembled the snow that was falling right outside. you couldn't even get a word out.

"im satoru." he said, waiting for you to give your name to him.

"right.. right. I mean- im y/n." you stumbled across your words. he gave you a crooked smile, almost naturally as he saw you stutter. his hands now itched onto his heavy physics books, tilting his head as he studied you. "you have any idea where mr. thompson's class is?" his smooth voice asked. mr. thompson. thats the name of your physics teacher.

"yeah! yeah he's my physics teacher!" that came out a bit more excited than you intended it to. "yeah? mind being an angel and leading me to it?"

you laughed softly, hoping the light pink tint on your cheeks weren't noticed by him. oh but they were. the awkward tension melted right away. "of course."

he didn't mind the blush, and the way his smile widened told you that he definitely noticed your blushing, but he didn't say anything about it, instead allowing you to show him the way around the campus. he fell into step beside you recalling how you as well had this course. "so.." he broke the silence, "you actually understand physics are you just one of those people who pretend to know what you're doing?"

you shook your head laughing a bit as your gaze fell down to your shoes against the pavement. "no, no I understand. im majoring in it so I kind of have to. but it honestly depends on the day, sometimes I feel like the textbook is gaslighting me" now it was his turn to let out a laugh. and it sounded genuine. "thats great. back at my old uni, people were only there for the credits or whatever. no one was really as passionate as I am." you gaze shifted to him. "oh, which school did you transfer from?"

"colombia university."

"is the lack of people taking physics seriously the reason for your transfer?" you asked half jokingly, but you wouldn't be surprised if that actually was the reason, you knew some people like that.

he sucked in a soft breath, eyes flickering from your figure to look forward. "no I just.. wanted a different environment I guess." there was a bit of hesitation in his voice, but you didn't push it. after all you just met this boy not even five minutes ago. you both finally reached mr. thompson's classroom, his door slightly ajar. "he should be in here.. he always is., im convinced he lives in there"

he hummed looking into the classroom, catching a glimpse of the bald headed man hunched over a stack of papers before looking down at you. "thank you, y/n. I hope we see each other in uh two weeks?" the way he said your name sent your butterflies on a rollercoaster.

"yeah.. yeah I hope so too." you said quietly which earned a sweet smile from him before he walked in to talk about whatever he needed to with the professor. with one final look at the door you turned, only to remember you didn't even grab your books, let alone close your locker which was the whole point you came out of your dorm. you quickly rushed back with the thought of the new student lingering in the back of your mind.

── .✦

in the blink of an eye, the break was over, and the dreadful second semester rolled right around the corner. the traumatizing sound of your alarm that was set at 7 on the dot woke you up for your 9 am physics class, slicing through the silence and especially your slumber.

you groaned, clicking repeatedly at your phone to shut the ear piercing sound off. for a second, you considered skipping. but you knew mr. thompson doesn't play no games, and neither did that syllabus. so you dragged yourself out of your bed, limbs heavy, and mind still foggy as you began to miss the warmth provided by your bed. the sky outside was still that dusty gray, soft flakes falling right out of it.

after making yourself a cup of coffee, you brushed out your hair to be somewhat socially acceptable. you were the top student of the school either way, you had to be presentable at all times. you threw on a jacket and a cute pair of pants before making your way out of your dorm, holding envy for your roommate for not having a morning class.

by the time you reached the lecture hall, well your body because your soul was still trapped in between your blankets, you noticed that you werent there first one there like always. your eyes landed on him.

satoru.

he was seated right there at the front of the class, his posture was excellent, back straight, shoulders relaxed, giving you another reason to like about him. his eyes were trained on his phone, with his earbuds blasting whatever he was listening to in his ears. but they shifted as you walked in, and when your eyes met, a soft smile appeared on his pink tinted lips making your chest feel just a little too full.

maybe the second semester didn't seem so dreadful at all.

"hey.." he took out an earbud out of his ear as you approached, sliding in the seat right next to him. "hi" you replied, placing your bag next to you. "glad we're in this class together. haven't really met anyone else since we talked."

"that so? not even your roommate?" you unconsciously fixed your hair to try and maybe woo him with your beauty. "oh actually i'm living in an apartment" your hand stopped playing with your hair.

"an apartment? in New York? the school is already bleeding us dry.. what are you, rich or something?"

that earned a chuckle from him, a quiet one that made your stomach flip. "yeah.. sure." he had a grin on his face, making you question if it was a joke or not. you both watched as more seats filled up with new and old students. but everyone was eventually startled when mr. thomspon walked in and slammed a textbook onto his desk.

"well I'd like to say im disappointed from last semesters final exam results." he began, a hint of amusement in his voice, "but id be lying."

a beat of silence.

"im proud to say that everyone passed." a relieved sigh escaped almost everyones mouths, echoing across the room. "and of course, ms. l/n, miss goody two shoes," you placed a hand on your chest in mock offense making satoru sniffle a laugh next to you. "you got the highest mark, like every year." he grumbled. "im starting to think you're just here to make everyone else feel bad about their grades."

"only slightly." you muttered under your breath, loud enough for satoru to hear. he turned a bit towards you. "lets see how long you stay up there, miss top of the class, until I snatch your spot."

you stared at him while he turned back to face the front. he was just joking right? I mean no one could steal away your spot. no one has for the past two years, and no one will. right?

── .✦

oh but you were wrong. oh so so so wrong.

this boy wasn't your new friend. he was your rival, like his whole existence was to take away everything you've worked hard for. he wasn't your soon to be charming lab partner or the cute guy you'd hang out with at a local cafe after class.

he was your academic nemesis.

it didn't hit you right away. not until the first quiz given to the class was passed back in which you got a 97% on. but once you saw a fucking 100% on satoru's paper circled in a horrid red ink, thats when it hit you. and the cherry on top was when mr. thompson grinned and leaned down to whisper, "looks like you've got competition." you stared at satoru like he had just murdered your family, not that you minded, but in a way he murdered your entire existence.

he looked at the paper, like he didn't even care that he passed, because to him this was normal. he caught your expression and was confused to see that the usual soft look on your pretty face was now replaced with pure wrath.

this wasn't just 480 days of school anymore.

this was war.

every time you raised your hand to answer a question, it was always outshined by satorus. damn him and his longer limbs. and every time, the professor would call on him.

every. single. time.

you even considered this being sexist. then satoru would answer correctly, of course. damn mr. thompson for finding this whole rivalry hilarious. like if your whole identity as "the smart one" wasn't practically being lit on fire in front of everyone right now. you felt the shift, and you heard the whispers of you being out throned. and what made this whole situation worse was that stupid charm that he offered you with, "im glad to be in physics with you." a lie.

a damn lie.

and you couldn't help but hate him for it every day, every higher mark, every time he got called on, and every time he smiled at you in the mornings or in the hallways thinking you two were still friends.

it didn't help that everyone practically loved him. girls slipped their numbers to him every other day, even undergraduates which you found disgusting. he did everything so effortless while you stayed up until 2 am re-reading lessons, burning through notebooks, killing your pens, and even pulling all nighters like kay chung for important upcoming exams, mistreating your body with more caffeine than you could handle to try and claw your way back up the top.

until eventually you burnt out.

you ignored every 'hello' coming from him or any stupid joke he'd come up with, you settled on a different seat away from him not having the guts to stare at him be better than you for another second. not while he thrived and you crumbled.

and it was like you were back at home, always being seen as the second option right after your brother. a man. of course the second you feel like you are finally worthy of something, someone has to take it away from you. but why now? why after two years in which you spent trying to escape that feeling, was everything going downhill? you weren't even sure if he was even aware of the harm he was causing you mentally and physically.

that he was undoing you without even trying.

but he did notice. he noticed how you stopped talking to him, saying hello or laughing at his jokes or even avoiding his gaze like if it would burn your eyes if you made eye contact, and it hurt because you were practically his only friend other than a boy he met in his calculus class. suguru geto, aka his 'man in the chair.' he always alarmed satoru discreetly whenever there was a bank robbery happening down the street. because not only was satoru now holding the title of the top student of nyu, but he was also the hero of manhattan.

"spiderman makes an unwanted appearance again last night," the news reporter said with her voice being more sharper than the bold lettering on the headline scrolling beneath her, "at a secluded alley near the 'sunny time up' bar, involving a man attempting to steal one of the employee's vehicle."

click.

"when will this vigilante wake up and realize that this job is for law enforcement"

click.

"he's a danger to the people of manhattan! this isn't a comic book, he's interfering with police work!"

every time you clicked on the remote to change channels, spiderman was everywhere. for someone the people claim to hate, he sure is the talk of the week.

"dude is like time square on new years.." you mumbled mostly to yourself.

"my father hates him." your roommate, wendy's father is the head of the police department. he's always complaining about he boy who hides away behind the blue mask, claiming that he is causing more trouble in the busy city. you gave a dry laugh. "your father hates everyone, including me" she sat on your bed next to you, holding a bag of chips in her hand which she offered you.

"I dont see why it's such a big deal. he does more than the police has done in the past five years. he's like what? our age? from what I have heard he is definitely not beyond his twenties." you stared at the video of him swinging across buildings, the sharp blue color of his suit making it hard to lose sight of him.

the color reminded you of satoru's eyes.

your mood suddenly shifted as you thought of him, your appetite was long gone as your stomach twisted in disgust. "how are you holding up with the whole academic rivalry thing."

"shut up." you grumbled.

"I feel like it's one sided, well from what i've heard from you." wendy's voice was quiet, but her words stung. because deep down, you have told yourself the same thing.

"its like he doesn't even try." you dragged your hand across your face as you stared at the textbooks on your desk before they shifted to the calendar right above it. 455 more days.

454 more days.

453 more days.

452 more days.

451 more days.

450 more days.

another school week has passed by. another week of avoiding his intense stare across the lecture hall. another week of hearing him laugh with that black haired boy that had way too many piercings on his face. another week of debating if anything was even worth it anymore.

you looked back up to your calendar, staring at that number written beneath the date. 450 more days until graduation! you got this! how many more days until everything will stop feeling so heavy.

how many more until you stopped caring.

but its like you couldn't even catch a break. your negative thoughts were interrupted by the vibration of your phone. you slowly dragged it out your back pocket before looking down at the called id.

mom.

you couldn't answer. not with your voice cracking or tears falling. you couldn't let them know that you were struggling the same way you were all your childhood and you especially couldn't give them that sense of pride in the way you were burning out. how could you tell them the pressure didn't go away but it only shifted from different mouths in different places. you couldn't handle hearing, "I told you so."

'just stay in state, I dont see why you have to move all the way to the other side of the world. you won't be able to handle it like your brother.'

'your brother stayed here in the same state, why can't you do the same? he visits us regularly!..'

shaking away the echoes of your parents voices, you watched the slow rise and fall of wendy's chest, and you quietly zipped up your jacket before sneaking out. fresh air was what you needed right now. it hit you like a reset button- the kind that clears your head. not caring where your feet took you, you made your way through the city.

the night was still alive, buildings lit up, parties at every corner you looked at, and other people walking as well. it did feel refreshing. until you heard it. a sharp, disgusting wolf whistle behind you. it was low and mocking. the city is big, its bound to have horrible beings. your steps didn't stop, your stomach twisted and you felt sick.

"hey where are you goin' sweetheart? you look delicious." the slurred voice behind you said. you didn't even have to look back to know what kind of man it was. your pace quickened, trying to reach a store or anything that had some sort of crowd. but the footsteps behind you didn't stop, they matched your speed and quickened.

this was exactly what your brother warned you about. being in such. huge city will only be more dangerous. you felt your throat drying up and you looked down at your shadows, seeing the mans hand reach for you. but before even his fingers could brush against you, a blur of blue and white appeared. there was a soft thud, a groan, then silence.

you slowly turned.

"hey," spiderman said calmly shooting a web right on the strangers face. "she's not interested." the man stumbled back, letting out a muffled yelp, fear overthrowing whatever he was on. he didn't even budge. your heart was still racing as you took in his muscular figure. and then he turned to face you. ".. now what are you doing outside at night, hm?" his voice shifted into a much softer one, like he was talking to a kid. you wanted to talk but you couldn't get a word out as you felt the heaviness in your throat as well as the weight you've been carrying from the past few months.

the way he stood was so familiar. "im sorry.." is all you could get out, you soft voice quivered which immediately sent his senses off. "hey, hey its alright why are you apologizing?" his large hands cupped your cheeks. despite them being gloved, they were warm and comforting. his thumbs swept under your eyes wiping away any incoming tears. "why are you apologizing?"

"I dont know.." you answered honestly. but the ache of not being enough was resurfacing. he let out a quiet breath at your answer. "thats okay.. you dont have to explain." his hands didn't move away from your face, in fact you found yourself leaning into his touch.

"let me take you home." he whispered. "..I live at the nyu dorms"

he nodded before dropping his hands to grab the back of your knees without any warning, picking you up, wrapping your legs around his waist. "hold on baby, okay?" your tired mind couldn't even process the pet name before allowing your arms to wrap around his neck, placing your head in the crook of it as well.

without another word, he laughed upward, shooting a web into the sky. the loud roaring of the wind as you both swung across building from building deafened your ears. gravity tugged at your stomach with every sharp dip and rise. you unknowingly shook in his hold, the hand that was holding you rubbed your back before settling to cupping the side of your thigh, dangerously close to your ass. "its okay, I got you."

his hand and feet stuck to the side of the dormitory building. "which dorm is yours angel?"

angel

that pet name reminded you of satoru. why is it that the smallest things reminded you of him? why does your mind insist in continuing to think about him. "... that one." you pointed to the window just two floors up and to the side, in which he crawled to, tightening his hold your plush thigh. he carefully slid the window open, crawling in.

"we're here.." he could barely get out before the soft click of a lamp lit up the room, revealing wendy who was staring at the both of you, holding onto each other rather intimately. your arms were still wrapped around his neck while his leg was pressed right in between yours, in the middle of placing you down.

your eyes widened as you stared back at wendy. "you're awake.." you whispered.

"you're with spiderman.." she stated the obvious. you and him were quiet, the silence louder than you wanted it to as you backed away from him. "I wake up to see you missing, assuming you probably went out to party, only to see you grinding on spider mans leg? oh my dad would hate you even more right now" the masked vigilante cleared his throat, his hand was still placed on your waist, not wanting to completely let go of you yet.

"I should.. get going." he murmured, before looking at you, not wendy. and behind the mask, you swore that for whatever reason he didn't want to leave.

"oh.. yeah uhm thank you, have I thanked you yet? whatever just.. thanks for everything." you stammered, scratching the back of your neck. with one final lingering squeeze on your waist, he pulled away. "any time." he then turned back to wendy. "can you tell your dad to stop trying to tase me?"

"nope." she furrowed her eyebrows.

"..worth a shot. take good care of your friend for me yeah?" he asked before leaving through the window, allowing the city to take him back. wendy's head sharply turned to look at you.

"what..?"

she blinked, once and twice and thrice. "you've got a lot of explaining to do." she grinned.

── .✦

"you just come back from patrolling?" suguru asked as his fingers moved quickly on his controller letting out a few curse words when his opponent did damage on him. "yeah.." satoru closed the window behind him, tugging off his mask letting his white locks spread out, making him look like a model. he threw it on his bed, making his was deeper into his apartment. "you can't just use my pc whenever you want to man." he grumbled as he watched suguru get a victory royale.

"hey, if im helping you out on your little 'hero' shit, I can play whenever the hell I want."

satoru undressed, pulling up some grey sweatpants, but staying shirtless. scars adorned his torso and chest. "guess who I ran into."

"uhh that crazy police guy that tried tasing you."

satoru shivered at the memory. "no thank god. it was y/n." suguru clicked off the game turning his full attention to his friend. "the chick you like?" the blue eyed boy nodded. "saved her from some drunk shit, took everything in me not to kill that bastard after seeing her cry."

"what happened then?"

"took her back to her dorm.. met her roommate as well. turns out she's the daughter of the head of the police department. anyways, y/n looks horrible.. like there's something going on with her."

"yeah its you. you stole away her spot of top student." suguru reminded him. "I didn't mean to!" satoru defended himself.

"her friend for sure is going to spread around the fact that she saw y/n with spiderman. talk to her about it." satoru thought about it. if he asked you if everything was okay with you after last night, maybe you'll start talking to him again.

one thing about wendy is that she can't keep anything to herself. suguru was right, your encounter with spiderman spread like wildfire. like full blown social media wildfire. your name was brought up in multiple group chats, tweets, even those dumb confession accounts on instagram.

"SPIDERMANS GOT A GIRLFRIEND LMFAOOO"

"yall hear y/n slept with spiderman?"

"what do they call baby spiders?"

you were speeding past everyone, heart racing like you were in a heist movie making your way to your next class before you were stopped. "hey.." the familiar voice cut through the air. satoru. "heard what happened last night.. everything okay?" he asked, noticing how thin your wrists were.

was this another one of his acts? "yeah.." you mumbled. "everything fine." you tried brushing it off but he wasn't having it. he raised an eyebrow before his hand placed right on your waist, the same spot spider mans hand was on. "talk to me. you ghosted me weeks ago.. did I say something or do something?"

dont act so innocent, you thought. of course he did something. "physics is just,, stressing me out I guess." which was partially true. his eyes travelled down your face, looking at your lips before his tongue darted out to lick his. "let me help you then."

despite the hatred you held for your rival, you missed him. sure you only talked a few times, but you missed talking to him, his dumb jokes and his dorky smile. "..okay" you agreed. "maybe later this week." and for the first time in what felt like forever, your chest felt light.

── .✦

your classes were finally over. with your bag placed over your shoulder, you made your way outside after deciding to pick up some sweet treats for both you and wendy, who you were still kind of annoyed at for spreading around your encounter with spiderman. you reached the warm welcoming bakery, picking out whatever looked delicious, chocolate cover croissants, blueberry muffins, and a few cream puffs before making your way to check out. the second you stepped out, the rain decided to make an appearance. one that you weren't prepared for.

you clutched onto the bag full of treats.

"you again?" the voice came from above you. you looked up, moving your dripping wet hair to get a closer look. there he was, perched upside down from a streetlight. "..here to save me from the rain?" you asked half jokingly. he hummed, flipping down to land right in front of you. "of course baby. wouldn't want you to get sick.."

his arms wrapped around your waist before shooting a web straight up the roof of the bakery, pulling you both off the ground. you let out a little yelp holding onto both him and the pastry bag. seconds later you both were outside the window of your dorm, before he effortlessly opened it up placing you on your bed. your shirt rose up a little exposing your cute little spiderman boxers.

"is that me?" he asked tracing the waistband that had his heroine name in bold letters. your breath hitched. you completely forgot about those, or even buying them let alone wearing them today. both you and wendy went shopping a couple days back, going into the kids section and jokingly buying each a pair of spiderman undies.

'hey you should wear these to thank him.' she snorted

'eat shit.'

your hand shot out to push his away, chuckling nervously. "okay thats enough.." but he was faster, he grabbed your wrist forcing it to be on your mattress before his other gloved hand tugged up his mask enough to expose his mouth. his jawline was sharp, and those pink lips.. your eyes widened as you looked up at him. "ah.. spiderman?" he brought said hand up to his mouth, his teeth pulling off his glove before spitting it out somewhere else.

"nah.. let me see this." he pulled up your shirt, showing off your midriff, as well as pulling your pants down to your knees. "mm yeah thats me alright.." you felt your heart pounding in your ears. his tongue darted out to lick your stomach.

"spider-man..!" you gasped. he looked up at you, wanting to savor this moment. as if he wanted to memorize this exact version of you.

"never thought I'd be someones fashion statement." he moaned as he saw the wet patch starting to form. his thumb placed itself right on it. "this alright..?" he wanted you bad, but he also wanted you to be okay with this. you nodded looking up at him with a look that just drove him crazy.

his rubbing continued before he pulled away pulling down just the lower half of his suit. "its hard as hell to hide my dick in this shit." he grumbled.

oh.

oh.

he was huge. like really, really big and heavy, it couldn't even stand up correctly. he fisted his cock a few times, watching his pre- cum ooze out before placing it right on your clothed cunt. you wrapped your legs around his torso, bringing him closer in. "thats it." he groaned slowly rocking into you. your body shook with every hump of his hips, the wet patch in your spidey briefs grew bigger. his hands traveled throughout your body, hot and rough as two fingers found their way into your mouth, forcing you to lick them. "good girl, get them nice and wet for me baby."

his voice was low and dripping with arousal. he brought his head closer to your face. you whimpered softly as your hands tugged at his suit, your legs that were still wrapped around him trembled. "wearing these and you expect me not to ruin you?" he moaned as he dipped a finger into the pouch that every boxer had, feeling how much you wanted him. the two fingers that were toying with your tongue left with a loud pop before his lips found yours in a sweet but messy kiss.

just before he could release his hot seed onto you, there was a knock at the door.

"y/nnnn! let me in I forgot my keys!" damn wendy. spiderman sighed pecking your lips one more time before he pulled back, sliding down his mask. he reached for the glove he threw away as well as his lower part of his suit. "ill be taking these as well.." he murmured ripping off your briefs, which had you cringing at the sound, exposing your cunt to the cold air. "ill see you around okay, darling? thank you for this, such an angel."

and with that he left. leaving you with no release and nothing covering your lower half.

"y/n!" wendy knocked again.

"coming!"

oh you wish you were.

[gothicfied]

Could u maybe write something about how the squid game characters would be with a reader who's insecure? 💛

Squid Game (S2/S3) Characters with an insecure reader

Featuring: Thanos / Player 230, Se-mi / Player 380, Cho Hyun-ju / Player 120, Nam-gyu / Player 124, Kang Dae-ho / Player 388, Park Min-su / Player 125, Kim Jun-hee / Player 222, Lee Myung-gi / Player 333

Warnings: Mentions of drugs and overdosing in Nam-gyu's part, reader is insecure about their body in most of the headcanons, gender neutral language for the reader so I'm sorry if I slipped up and it suggests otherwise at any point, other than that it's just comfort/fluff, not proof read (English isn't my first language)

A/N: ASK IS A THOUSAND YEARS OLD but dude, I miss Season 2 so much, it was genuinely so whimsical compared to Season 3 ): Anyway, I feel like this got really weak towards the end. This took me like three days to write, sorry lolololol

Thanos / Player 230

જ⁀➴ Being in a relationship with Thanos, as he wants you to call him and always insists on it, isn't for the weak. He's outgoing, expressive, famous and you are.. well, you are you. Sometimes you think you're too boring for him and that he deserves someone much cooler than you, but you'd never voice your problems like that too him.

જ⁀➴ Thanos is, at first at least, very oblivious to your insecurities. To him, you are the most perfect person in the world, obviously, or else he wouldn't be in a relationship with you. He understands that, fundamentally, you are a very different type of person than him, so he chalks off your behavior as 'just being shy'.

જ⁀➴ The thought of not being enough for him keeps you up at night sometimes. You'd wander around in your shared apartment and maybe make yourself cereal in the middle of the night to at least be doing something. Occasionally, your boyfriend would wake up to sounds in the kitchen and hug you from behind when finding you there.

જ⁀➴ After a couple of weeks, even Thanos starts to get a bit concerned. You don't want to go out that much anymore and seem much more aloof than usual — What's up with that? He had to ask now.

જ⁀➴ After finding out what bothered you, since you couldn't keep your feelings bottled up anymore, he started to feel guilty (yes, he can actually feel bad for someone). Thanos hugged you very tightly that evening and tried to reassure you the best he could. Maybe he wasn't someone who was good with words, but he'd always shoe you his love through actions.

જ⁀➴ Random little gifts, songs or raps written just for you and obviously only about you, more compliments and co. were his way of expressing it. And, after a while, you started to feel better about your relationship, too.

Se-mi / Player 380

જ⁀➴ Se-mi is basically the cool girl every teenage girl always wanted to be. And you were the lucky person to call her your girlfriend. Her piercings, her hair, her style and especially her attitude were all so perfect — It was impossible to not fall in love with her. In return, she also thinks the world of you. "You're my reason to live." Se-mi would tell you sometimes.

જ⁀➴ But, seeing her with other people that seemed to match her vibe perfectly made you realize you might not be everything you thought you were. To her, at least. It seemed like she smiled more around her people, laughed more, talked more. Was it you? Were you the one that didn't fit in?

જ⁀➴ You tried finding solutions for your complicated feelings, because no one wants to have an insecure, jealous partner, right? But, you just couldn't force yourself to be more like her.. because that was just not you. It would be unnatural, unauthentic and pretty weird. You sulked more and more about it, making Se-mi notice aswell.

જ⁀➴ She'd beg you to talk to her about it, but you felt too embarrassed and shut her out. Genuinely, Se-mi chose you for a reason and you knew that very well, but you still couldn't shake the feeling that she would be better off dating someone with common interests or a common style.

જ⁀➴ One day, Se-mi basically forced you to tell her what the hell was wrong, since it was also kind of taking a toll on her, so you had to spit it out. She seemed rather suprised to hear about your insecurities, but didn't shame you for them, of course.

જ⁀➴ Se-mi decided to meet you in the middle and also try out some of the things you liked without acting so nonchalantly about it. Quickly, things turned back to normal, as the two of you communicated better with each other and Se-mi was more open about your relationship. She reassured you that you were the best partner she's ever had, that you were someone that healed her from past trauma and that she loved you the way you are.

Cho Hyun-ju / Player 120

જ⁀➴ In the beginning, Hyun-ju was definitely the more insecure between the two of you. She's a trans woman after all — It wouldn't be accepted everywhere and she understood that completely. But, when she met you and you made her feel loved and validated, she was definitely way more confident than before. Hyun-ju is a strong person, in more ways than one and you were proud of her every step along the way.

જ⁀➴ That didn't mean you weren't insecure yourself, though. All your life you've been dealing with self-image issues you just can't seem to get rid of. The beauty standards are high and you were convinced that everyone around you was lying when they said you were actually really pretty.

જ⁀➴ Hyun-ju, as empathetic as she is, immediately picked up on the problem as soon as you guys moved in together. She didn't know what to do at first: Should she ask you about it? Should she actively do something? Or should she just passively reasure you more by giving you more compliments and showing her love through actions? Or— Or maybe, she was just overthinking it.

જ⁀➴ The easiest thing was: Asking. So she did. And at first you responded with "No, no, it's nothing." But after a few more interrogating questions by her, you cracked. Admittedly, Hyun-ju was shocked about how you talked about yourself, because she couldn't fathom anyone ever thinking like that about you. You're beautiful, funny and smart... she didn't expect you to struggle with your self-image.

જ⁀➴ You didn't plan on crying that night, but you didn anyway when hearing you girlfriend talk so sweetly about you. After a hug and a kiss, you immediately felt better and promised her to voice your insecurities more, so she could prove them wrong everytime.

Nam-gyu / Player 124

જ⁀➴ Nam-gyu is definitely the most unhinged boyfriend you've ever had. You met him one night in the nightclub he worked at after you went there to celebrate your friend's birthday and fell in love with him instantly. You learned to live with his flaws, but you didn't tolerate his drug use — To this day Nam-gyu keeps calling you 'his savior' because he's convinced he would've died to an accidental overdose if you hadn't come into his life.

જ⁀➴ Your relationship was near perfect, the only thing that bothered you was that he still worked at that hell they called The Pentagon. Not only because he was surrounded by potential relapse opportunities, but also because.. well, because of the girls there. You saw what kind of people went in and out of there the night you were at your friend's birthday and you also knew how young men liked to talk about women. Doesn't matter if they're taken or not.

જ⁀➴ You tried making yourself feel better by ignoring it, because you knew Nam-gyu wasn't a cheater... right? You did bring up his job multiple times and told him to quit, because the circumstances in a nightclub were not great anyway. Your boyfriend undertstood your concerns, but couldn't help feeling like there was an underlying reason.. but, he wasn't good at reading people, so he didn't persuade you or anything.

જ⁀➴ One evening, just before he was leaving for work, he overheard you on your phone with your sister as you complained about exactly what you felt insecure about. And then it clicked in him. Nam-gyu thought it was so sweet that you cared so much about his well being, but his heart did crack a bit when hearing you talk about the possibility of him cheating.

જ⁀➴ After you hung up, he carefully knocked on your door frame and asked if you could talk. Oh no, he overheard everything, didn't he? But, it turned out to not be so bad talking about your feelings after all. Nam-gyu agreed with you and basically quit his job the next day, because he couldn't bear to see his love be insecure about anything.

Kang Dae-ho / Player 388

જ⁀➴ Dae-ho is the definition of the best boyfriend ever. He's probably the most caring and sweet person you've ever met and you were convinced you were going to marry him. And he gave you the same love right back: Cuddling with you even though you have to get up for work, buying you flowers randomly every week, calling you beautiful every time he saw you... that wasn't princess treatment for him, that was the bare minimum.

જ⁀➴ Even though you heard all this things about yourself from him, you couldn't help but always find something wrong with your appearance. Beauty standards everywhere werr tough, especially on women and you couldn't quite seem to catch up with them. Every day you'd open instagram to find a new insecurity taking over the platform, filled with people trying to give ridiculous tips on how to get rid of them.

જ⁀➴ Dae-ho, being the good boyfriend he was, always dragged you away from the mirror whenever you said something like "My nose is way to big" or "Do you think I should get lip filler?" because no. No, he didn't think that. The only thing he thought about all day was your (natural) beauty and he couldn't stand seeing you pick at yourself almost every day.

જ⁀➴ "Social media is ruining you, honey." Was the phrase you heard more often than not. In a way, he meant it lightheartedly, since he didn't want to invalidate your feelings just because your complaints were objectively wrong. You knew Dae-ho only wanted the best for you and you appreciated him being so supportive of you.

જ⁀➴ No, but seriously. There was nothing wrong with you. Whenever you said you were insecure about a part of your body, Dae-ho would kiss that exact spot a million times while telling you the exact opposite: There's nothing wrong with you, because you are perfect the way you are and he loves you for that.

Park Min-su / Player 125

જ⁀➴ Even though Min-su can come off as vulnerable and delicate because of his shyness and his habit of avoiding confrontation, he is most certainly the opposite in yout relationship. He's kind, calm and collected (like always), but he's also very mature about things you didn't expect. At first you thought he was just navigating through life cluelessly, but Min-su soon proved that he was a better afult than you were.

જ⁀➴ That also ties into your relationship: He dates to marry, so you can be sure that he takes any hardships quite seriously. And that also applies to any struggles you may have with yourself. It doesn't matter what you're insecure about, he'd never think of it a stupid or silly and he'd always try his best to make you feel more comfortable.

જ⁀➴ Whatever it takes, Min-su would do it: Talk it out, find solutions together, try making you feel more loved throughout the day. At first he thought maybe it was something that he was doing, maybe because he wasn't putting enough effort into the relationship, but you clarified it right away.

જ⁀➴ Past relationships of yours ended badly, so he learned, and now you were just so used to being treated badly and walking around eggshells around your partners. It was maybe a bit strange and foreign to have someone like Min-su by your side and you just had to get used to it.

જ⁀➴ Min-su loves you dearly and will definitely show that everyday. A simple "I love you" doesn't always cut it for him, so be prepared to be showered in gifts or random acts of service. Very quickly, you notice you aren't overly insecure about yourself anymore and you finally realize what a healthy relationship looks like.

Kim Jun-hee / Player 222

જ⁀➴ If there's one thing Jun-hee hates in this world, it's definitely seeing you being insecure about yourself. You'd often complain about your looks in a more jokingly way and the two of you have a laugh about it later when she convinces you that nothing's wrong with you, but she always feels that there's an underlying truth about what you're saying.

જ⁀➴ Jun-hee wouldn't directly ask, mostly because she wouldn't really know how to comfort you or anything, but she was still good at making you feel loved. More often than not you'd find little notes on the fridge or on your bedside table saying things like "Love you, can't wait to see you later" among other things. She'd leave them before going to work, since she had to wake up earlier than you.

જ⁀➴ At some point you started writing those little notes back, putting one in her bag or sticking them to the bathroom mirror. It became like a ritual for the two of you, which always cheered you up, especially if one of you had a bad day. Neither Jun-hee nor you would actually mention the notes, but it was an unspoken rule to write one back if you got one.

જ⁀➴ Little things like this definitely helped you feel more confident about yourself, since it was really nice knowing you had someone that loved you unconditionally. You woke up looking forward to finding a little yellow sticky note (sometimes even stuck onto your forehead) and Jun-hee's words always defeated any insecurities you carried around with you.

Lee Myung-gi / Player 333

જ⁀➴ Dating a famous youtuber has more downsides than upsides is what you learned very quickly. You weren't familiar with Myung-gi's online persona "MG Coin" at first and you had just gotten to know him at a random coffee shop. When things between the two of you started to get serious, though, he had to explain to you how he makes money... Yeah, advertising crypto currency.

જ⁀➴ At first you didn't care much, because at the end of the day you loved your boyfriend. He's caring and sweet, ready to sacrifice anything when it comes to you — That apparently also applied to his, weirdly high amount, of fangirls. They'd literally die for Myung-gi and were not very fond to find out he had a partner now.

જ⁀➴ The fact that people online started commenting on you, your clothes, hair, likes and dislikes, interests, the way you talk... it all made you feel very insecure, very fast. It was like you couldn't exist without being watched everywhere, like you couldn't post anything couple related without being torn to shreds by people you didn't even know.

જ⁀➴ Myung-gi wasn't blind and immediately caught on what was happening. Whatever he did to try and combat it, some idiots would still continue and that's just how the world was — But, he was ready to accept a break up if it was too much for you, even if it wasn't easy. Myung-gi sat you down one evening and poured his whole heart out, telling you how much he loves you and how he'd do anything for you, but that he couldn't bear seeing you get hurt.

જ⁀➴ Obviously you stayed with him. And eventually you learned how to ignore opinions of people you didn't care about. Myung-gi was never afraid to show you off and you shouldn't be afraid being shown off, because, at the end, you were his partner. Not anyone else.

[renedvds]

selfless sacrifice . KANG DAE-HO

PAIRINGS: Kang Dae-Ho / PLAYER 388 x fem!reader

WARNINGS: death . squid-game-related violence . dae-ho lives past hide-and-seek . english isn't my first language, so i'm so sorry for any mistakes . maybe ooc? dae-ho and the reader were already in a relationship . mostly proofread but there might be mistakes .

AUTHOR'S NOTE: wtf was season 3

what if dae-ho survived the starry night? he has you, his support, but his injured ankle becomes a problem when he has to face the next game.

word count: ≈3.1k

"You okay?" You asked, shifting your gaze to your lover with concern. "Take a deep breath. Tell me if you need a break."

You swung Dae-Ho's arm around your shoulder and helped him make his way to the next game. With an injured leg, the chances of him surviving a game that requires physical activity were extremely low. All you could hope for was for the next game to be mentally challenging and not physically draining.

"I'm alright," he replied and forced a smile. Trying to push away his anxiety, he asked. "What do you think the next game will be?"

You chuckled, the sound coming out as strangled and breathless. As much as you wanted to be the one to protect him this time, it was hard to hide the strong anxiety. "I don't know. Maybe they'll make us play in pairs."

"Like what? Cards? Marbles?" He asked, a soft smile on his face, enjoying the small, genuine moment between you and him. "It's very unlikely, though. The last game was in teams."

"Hurry your asses up! There are people who actually care about the prize trying to make their way to the next game!" Player 100 shouted from behind you, giving Dae-Ho a slight push to make him go faster.

You couldn't help but roll your eyes at the usual idiocy coming from the man, "Don't worry about him."

You made your way up the stairs with Dae-Ho to the next game. Once you made it to the top, you leaned back against the wall to watch your breath and then checked on Dae-Ho's ankle.

"Hey! I'm supposed to be the one checking on you," he said, making you shift your gaze from his ankle to his face. He continued. "I don't want to drag you down in the next game. What if it's a free-for-all arena? I'm basically just extra weight."

His attempt at a joke didn't humor you. Instead, it fueled your irritation. "Stop talking about yourself like that. You're not extra weight, and I'm gonna carry you with me everywhere I go."

"You're so selfless," he commented. "Put yourself first once in a while. I wouldn't blame you if you choose to leave me behind, really."

Your conversation was interrupted by the loud creak of the doors opening. You instinctively wrapped a protective arm around Dae-Ho and walked forward to the next game, anxious with the uncertainty of survival.

Once the crowd dispersed around the platform, you look a long minute to inspect the arena. Your stomach revolted with a sense of nausea, anxiety, and adrenaline as your eyes landed on the thin bridge and the long fall down.

"Shit!" You cussed and looked at Dae-Ho. "Dae..."

You couldn't finish your sentence after your eyes found his hopeless gaze. His eyes, devoid of their usual spark, now held nothing but emptiness as they stared down at the cliff, then at the bridge, then at the dolls holding the rope, and then at you. His breath hitched in his throat, and soon enough, he was panicking.

"[Y/N]... [Y/N]," his voice cracked, his stutters blocking his throat. His trembling, sweaty hand found yours, desperately trying to cling onto you to soothe his anxiety. "I'm not— I... I'm not going to make—"

"Dae-Ho!" You shouted, trying to pull him away from his panic. "Don't you dare think that way. We don't even know what the game is!"

As if on cue, the speaker announced the rules and introduced the new game. It should've been obvious from the start, and yet you decided to cling onto the small glimmer of hope that this wasn't the actual game.

However, your hope shattered right after.

"Welcome to the fifth game," the robotic voice announced, devoid of any emotion or sympathy for the players. "The game you will be playing is Jump Rope."

Dae-Ho let out a soft "no..."

"You must cross the bridge as you jump over the rotating rope and get to the other side within twenty minutes. You may decide on the order amongst yourselves."

The voice dimmed and the players murmured amongst themselves. Dae-Ho stumbled backward and let go of your hand. You immediately turned around and watched as he slumped against the bench. You couldn't stand watching him suffer like this.

"Dae-Ho," you called, gently approaching the panicked man. He held his hands close to his ears to block out noise and kept his knees close to his chest, slowly rocking back and forth in despair.

The song began, blocking out your words with the loud chant of the dolls as they swung the rope.

"Knock, knock. Who's there? Your little friend. Come on in."

"Little friend, little friend. Turn around. Little friend, little friend. Touch the ground. Little friend, little friend. Touch your toe."

"Little friend, little friend. Now away you go."

Jun-Hee sat down next to Dae-Ho, cradling her baby in her arms. Gi-Hun glanced at him and then shifted his gaze to the former pregnant woman and her child.

"How's her ankle?" You asked, but once Jun-Hee lifted her pants and showed her violet bruise, you had to look away and bite the inside of your cheek in horror.

"The game will be over in twenty minutes," Gi-Hun spoke. "You can leave the baby until then and then pick it up afterward."

You were about to agree with player 456 until a masked guard interrupted. "All players must make it across the bridge within the time limit. Any player who fails to cross within the time limit will be eliminated."

"She has a baby! The baby is not a player!" You tried to reason, but another guard had pointed a gun at your head. Dae-Ho slowly placed his hand on your shoulder, and once you locked eyes, he begged with his gaze for you to stop it.

"Everyone here is a player," stated the guard, brushing off the inhumane treatment toward the newborn.

All you could do was give Jun-Hee an empathetic look and mentally wish the best for her. Your attention shifted to Dae-Ho again. Time was limited, the clock was ticking. He couldn't stay in the same place for twenty minutes without moving an inch.

"[Y/N], I'm not making it out alive..." he whispered, his voice cracked as his throat closed up. He could already feel his tears pool his eyes, threatening to spill like an endless cascade of sorrow. "I can't— I can't do it— You have to go and... and leave me here... I'm sorry, I'm a coward. I really am a coward..."

"No!" You shouted but softened your tone after he flinched. "Dae-Ho, I'm not leaving you!"

You wrapped your arms around him and he returned your embrace immediately. He continued, "I can barely limp with this leg. [Y/N], I don't wanna die yet..."

"Stop talking," you shushed him, fearing that if he said another word, you'd collapse and give in to your death. You didn't mind the disgusted stare from player 100 or Nam-Gyu's fight with Min-Su. All you wanted was to comfort your lover, who was far too deep into the idea of dying alone.

"I promised you that I'd get us both out of here," he began. You tried to shush him again, but his pained voice remained persistent. "You... You told me that you wanted to raise two cats... together... in a new house..."

You let out a choked sob and tried to distract yourself by watching Nam-Gyu desperately reach for Thanos' cross necklace. However, a second after he opened the cross, he stayed still. The rope knocked over his feet, and he fell to the endless cliff, welcomed by the harsh surface of the floor, coating the beautiful yellow flowers with crimson.

"Player 124, eliminated."

The speaker's voice was like a hammer constantly hitting your head. You let go of Dae-Ho right after hearing the elimination and placed your hand on his shoulders, shaking him to bring him back. "Wake up! We have to go! Now!"

"I said I can't go!" He shouted back.

Nevertheless, you offered your hand.

Dae-Ho looked at your hand and then at you. "[Y/N], this will not work..."

"Try it," you said. Finally, he accepted your hand and stood up. "Try to jump without my help."

Although you might've appeared to be confident in your decision, you tried to best to hide your anxiety and shaky voice from him. If you gave out the slightest bit of uncertainty, he might give up on trying.

After all, he is only trying to protect you. To save your life by letting go. He always wanted to die heroically.

Dae-Ho took a deep breath and steadied himself on his feet. As he prepared himself to try his first jump, you heard a slight commotion and turned your head around, watching Gi-Hun cross the narrow bridge with Jun-Hee's baby.

"I can't watch this!" You closed your eyes shut and turned to Dae-Ho, opening your eyes again to look at him.

The room erupted into cheers when Gi-Hun made it to the other side. You sighed in relief, feeling a new sense of hope. If Gi-Hun could do it with a baby in his arms, perhaps Dae-Ho could do it with an injured leg.

But he failed to land properly after his jump, his foot almost twisting as he fell to his knees. You helped him get up to try again - you were not leaving him behind.

However, every attempt turned futile. Players were already crossing the bridge, the timer had gone down twelve minutes, and you and Dae-Ho were still trying to find a way to cross.

"I can't do it," he stated. You couldn't hear any more hope in his voice - he'd already given up, devoid of his usual charming, cheerful encouragement. "[Y/N], you need to go. You can't wait for me and die. You can't die here!"

Always the kind-hearted soul he is, he was ready to stay behind while you crossed to the other side. The fall was long, survival chances were low, players were already being pushed off, and in the blink of an eye, you had only six minutes left to escape death.

With such a small amount of time, you turned to look at Dae-Ho for help - except he didn't, because he only gave you one option, and it was to leave him behind.

"I can't..." Your heart ached with unimaginable pain, the mere thought of leaving Dae-Ho threatened to slice your heart open. You didn't want to let go. You couldn't. He was all you had left in this survival game. Without him, who were you even living for? He was your last glimmer of hope, the thread that kept you from snapping.

He took a deep breath and cupped your face with his hands, trying to steady his breath to make himself look good for you. "H— Hey, hey, hey, listen. I'm scared too, okay? I really don't wanna die..."

His voice cracked. Despite his fear, despite the uncertainty, he wanted to be your encouragement and shield even during his last moments - all to protect you, all to finally be useful for once. "But if I don't get to dream of a tomorrow, I want you to live yours."

"What about those promises we made?! I don't know what to do— Nothing will be the same for me! I can't live without you!" You snapped, your tears rolling down your scrunched face, bubbles of saliva forming in your mouth as your throat closed up, unable to let you choke out any more words. "I can't do it! I'm going to fall! I don't want to do it!"

"Then live for yourself, not for me!" He wiped your tears as he let his own fall free, vulnerability showing with his voice. He softly pressed his forehead against yours and held your hands. "You can do it, okay? Look at me."

Your eyes finally met his. He forced a smile and gently wiped your tears with his thumb. You leaned into his touch, trying to savor every moment with him, knowing that this was the last time you'd feel his touch. Dae-Ho's hands slid around your body, trapping you in a protective embrace as he gently rocked you side to side.

His head rested on top of yours. He whispered, his voice weak and trembling, "You can do it."

Four minutes left on the clock, and many players still hadn't made it to the other side yet. The jumping rope swung in an endless loop of doom above the abyss. Dae-Ho kissed the crown of your head before letting of of you.

And that's when you knew your time with him was up.

"[Y/N]," Jun-Hee called. You turned your head to her and noticed she'd been watching you from a distance, her own eyes welling up with tears. "Go."

She wasn't going to be able to make it to the other side either.

Dae-Ho gave you a small tap on the shoulder, and you knew it was time. You approached the doll and fixed your gaze on the other side, trying to ignore the dangerous distance you had from the floor, and the way your legs trembled like jelly, and the way your vision blurred, and the sudden revolting nausea in your stomach, and your unfocused gaze, and your labored breathing, and the way your heartbeat echoed in your ears, and—

"Breathe," Dae-Ho said from behind you, his tone soft and gentle, trying not to scare you. "I know I can't give a lot of advice, but... just... don't look down, okay? Look forward. Pretend you're just jumping rope. The best way to cross is to block out any distractions."

You let out a weak hum to acknowledge his words and finally stepped forward. The rope swung again. You jumped in time, keeping your balance by only a little. Three minutes left on the clock.

On the other side, Gi-Hun shouted and screamed at the remaining players. He waved his hand and helped the ones closer to him to get to safety.

You advanced slowly with a steady balance. Your arms were spread out, your body slightly to the side, and you had your stronger leg in front of the other. "The best way to cross is to block out any distractions," you mentally tell yourself.

You blocked out that voice and labeled it as a distraction. The more you remembered Dae-Ho was on the other side, helpless, the more your motivation drained out. Two minutes and thirty seconds left. You were the second last player on the bridge.

Dae-Ho and Jun-Hee cheered for you on the other side, and their voices brought a small comfort in the moment of adrenaline. You jumped across the small opening in the bridge and reached the second part, earning loud cheers from your lover. One minute and fifty seconds left.

"Jump! Come on!!" Gi-Hun shouted and extended his hand. You stayed jumping in place to glance at the clock for a few seconds. One minute and twenty-five seconds.

You could do it. Player 333 was in front of you. He jumped forward a few times and ran towards the other side once the distance was narrow enough. He grabbed Gi-Hun's hand and reached safety.

Player 333, pass.

Just you and once minute left on the clock. Gi-Hun extended his hand again. "[Y/N]!! Come on!!"

Finally, you sprinted towards the other side and grabbed Gi-Hun's hand. You tripped on your step and fell to the floor. It took a moment to register what had happened until the speaker voice affirmed:

Player 067, pass.

"YES!! [Y/N]!!" Dae-Ho grinned from the other side. You stood up and approached the edge of the platform, but you kept a safe distance. All you wanted was to see Dae-Ho.

"I did it!!" You shouted, a joyful smile forming on your lips. "Dae-Ho, I did it!!"

Jun-Hee smiled at you and gave you a thumbs-up, to which you replied with a bigger smile and another thumbs-up. You were safe, you made it.

The moment of euphoria died down as the countdown began. In the blink of an eye, one minute turned into twenty seconds. Dae-Ho's and Jun-Hee's twenty seconds alive.

Your smile dropped and your heart clenched. You were so lost in the adrenaline of victory that you had forgotten that Dae-Ho was still on the other side, away from safety.

"Dae-Ho!!" You shouted. "Come! Try it! Do it, please!!"

Jun-Hee stepped up. Gi-Hun begged her to cross the bridge, but with only ten seconds left, she gave you and player 456 a sorrowful gaze and stepped off the platform. It happened so fast you barely got time to process.

Player 222, eliminated.

On the other side, Dae-Ho met your gaze, his own tears rolling down like a never-ending waterfall as he smiled softly at you, knowing he'd be gone soon, dying a heroic death. "[Y/N]! Thank you for everything!"

And in the next second, a bullet fired and the speaker announced.

Player 388, eliminated.

You dropped to your knees, your eyes fixated on Dae-Ho's lifeless body falling down the long cliff. His body hit the ground, the sound haunting your ears.

Some may call it selfless. Others will deem it as idiotic. But to you, his sacrifice meant everything. Because after all, Dae-Ho only wanted to protect you. After failing to protect other people in his life, other participants in the game, and other players in the rebellion, his sacrifice proved what his cowardly actions couldn't.

And you? You lost your lover. You lost your future with him. But you earned a promise.

If you couldn't live for Dae-Ho, you had to live for yourself. And deep down, you know that's what he wanted, too.

extra note: im so embarrassed of my writing this is probably so corny💔

@renedvds on tumblr . 2025/06/30 . do not repost or translate my work .

[gay-dorito-dust]

OK NOW WRITE FOR ZOEY AND MIRA

With Zoey you found it easy to be yourself with her becuase she was more then welcoming to it within immedite affect. She's always making life alot more fun in her own way, time flies by when you were with Zoey and you couldn't have lived life in any other fashion then the fun way.

The sky is the limit with Zoey and she makes you feel as though you were soaring alongside her as her viberant grins and her occasional acts of cutness agression towards you, such as squishing your cheeks together and or hugging you tightly from behind and cheering when you retun her tight hug with your own. It was hard to feel anything other then overwheliming happiness and feel that you were capable of doing absolutely eveything when you were with Zoey and you love it more then anything and didn't want it to end.

Zoey may or may not have multiple books with lyrics based on you like how she had volumes of books filled with insults towards every demon imaginable. She is a creative idivisual and needs an outlet for that creativity and so the mountain of notebooks within her room was to be expected sight, most of which were filled with drafts of rap lyrics regarding to how she felt about you. You'll be able to catch her going over them under her breath and making the apropriate changes to them, something you loved to see as you got a glimpse of her hardworking mind, of her ability to create seemingly lyrical perfection.

Zoey would drag you to have movie marathons with her, wearing cute pyjamas and making a pillow fort out of bordom, strining up fairy lighs within it as you both lay upon every cushion you both could snag possible; enjoying the simplicities of life however they may come and whenever they come and knowing they were all the more sweeter with Zoey by your side. She was your light in the dark, the one you listen to to get out of a spot of trouble when it comes to your self worth, she was the one that would encourage any habit of yours as long as it wasn't going to do any damaged to you in the long run.

Zoey is under the believe that she's too much sometimes, or that she's never enough or was too suffocating. You don't see that at all, not one bit and you never could and would do your best to make this well known, mainly by giving her the affection -both verbal and physcial- that she never once failed to give you desite not being in the best of spirits herself. 'You're the best you know that.' You'd say as you squeeze her from behind, kissing just under her ear just the way she liked as her cheeks warmed up.

With Mira it was almost as if it was impossible to hide what was wrong and or annoying you, as though she could see through you and right into the root of your problem. She wouldn't leave you alone to deal with it, she pratically refuses to if she can help it, but wouldn't go as far as to constantly pester you into telling her either as Mira knew that things would only get better if you made the first step into doing so.

'The absolute best at everything you do.' You reitierate as you kiss the back of her neck before burrying your face in it, breathing her in, acting as though you were still trying to accept that being with her was your reality now. 'You're never too much, you're just enough. You're not suffocating, You're comforting and act like my weighted blanket, always grounding me and bringing me back when my mind feels like it's elsewhere.' You add on, caressing her sides as you felt her hands grip over yours, making you smile as you continued to speak words into existence in hopes of getting rid of those voices that tricks your girlfriend into beliving what she's not.

Zoey is everything you dreampt of in a partner and you were going to treasure her as such, whether it'd be spoiling her with affection or gifts and sweet treats, for she deserved to keep smiling as it's beautiful aspect of her that you love and will forever love.

'Something is wrong and i know you might not feel the need to let me know now, but know that i'm by your side no matter what, you shouldn't have to feel as though you are beyond help or are too late to being given help becuase that's not true.' She would say to you as rests a reassuring hand on your knee, letting you rest your head on her shoulder as she reminds you that help was just beyond your doorstep, and how it's whether or not you take that step beyond that doorstep to get it.

Mira is a person you found reassurance within and your relationship was one that had strong foundations of trust and acceptance of one another in you're entirity, but also a relationship that has bouts of playful teasing and moments where all either of you wanted to do was cuddle on the couch in your matching couple pyjamas. Something she enjoys to do with you when she's given the oppertunity as it meant she didn't need to travel far to be where she wanted to be the most after a tiresome day; you looking cute and like an absolute snack in your nightwear.

Truely a divine sight if anyone were to ask her.

'couch?' You ask.

Mira smirks as she shows you the armful of snacks she had. 'couch.' she replied.

You both feel asleep on the couch, but it's okay you were cuddling each other as well, so the aches in your necks was more then worth it.

Mira isn't vocal with her affection to you. It's something that she needs to warm up to, but that doesn't mean she didn't have other ways to remind you that she deeply cared for you, whether it'd be resting a hand on the small of your back or giving you small smiles that were reserved for you that never failed to make you feel warm and fuzzy within your chest. Relationships while being an idol was tricky buissness as there were a specific breed of fans that couldn't understand that what they were participating is an parasocial relationship, not an actual relationship, and thus dangerous situations arising where one or both of you could get potentially hurt.

So Mira makes sure to keep you from the public eye, yet also making sure that you knew it was never out of shame but saftey and security, from both demons and weird people in particular. She wants to keep you safe by whatever means necessary as the idea of you being hurt in any capacity is a fear she didn't wish to become true one day, so she takes measures to make sure it doesn't.

Mira often wonders in moments of vulnerability if her bluntness and straightforward nature would one day push you away, but you were more then ready to tell her that you wouldn't be with her if you did feel that way. You would let her put her head on your shoulder as you rub her back, telling her eveything that you love and admired about her, especially her blunt and straightforwardness. 'Alot of people are concious of what they say and often times it leads to being hurt anyway becuase they were so fearful of telling it how it is,' you tell her as you kissed her forehead, 'you do and it's the most refreshing thing i've ever had in my life as i don't have to unpack a lot of shit to understand whether you meant what you said becuase you always do mean what you say.' You finished.

[stalkedbytrains]

When the scantron printed out the perfect test, at first you were surprised. No one should have gotten a 100%. It should have been impossible. You put in advanced physics, ancient history, art history, organic chemistry, and literature questions based on an untranslatable manuscript that might have been an ancient joke. It should have been impossible. And you made answers to the test to so that there was something to grade.

Then you looked at the name.

"Adrienne Moore."

Because of course it was.

Her power set wouldn't let her cheat easily. At least not without you noticing.

"I studied," she said when confronted.

The teen was unruly and annoying and downright unmanageable.

"Why?" you ask.

"Because I wanted to annoy you. And besides, my powers are great, but they're not perfect. They won't solve every problem for me. So I have to know as much as I can so that I can solve every problem. Or think in new ways to confuse my opponents. And it is already working. It worked on you."

You’re a teacher in a class of kids with supernatural abilities. You hit them with a ridiculously hard test at the start and end of the year, not to see what they know, but to see if they can cheat without being noticed. You notice one of your students actually, genuinely knew the material

[transmutationisms]

ok off the last ask are there any tv shows you Do think are good or does the position of tv is bad kind of hold universally?

imo the reasons tv is on average bad are largely to do with production and not actually just coincidental

-because a tv show generates more profit the longer it runs, networks & showrunners are perversely incentivised to Make Stuff Happen & also to fail to deal with the narrative consequences of that stuff (nobody wants to watch 10 seasons of a show where the personal dysfunctions that the story is premised on are overcome and dealt with and the characters just calm down by season 3)

-advertisers have typically/traditionally gotten a large degree of control over the actual content onscreen (this is a pressure in any creative work made for profit -- but, eg, it's not unusual for tv advertisers and esp product-placers to get final review of actual scripts, to threaten to pull ads if a show discusses xyz or gets 'too political', &c)

-for numerous contingent reasons including some reaction to the above, tv has not typically been seen as a prestigious creative industry (even in the 'golden age', compare the reputation of tv to that of the cinéma or stage theatre), leading to a lot of writers and directors who don't really want to be there, are embarrassed, view their tv work as the pitch to launch their film or novelist career, &c &c

-all of this exerts downward pressure on the compensation rates for pretty much everyone who works on tv, from actors to crew members, which makes the industry less appealing and less prestigious and is used to justify even worse and cheaper labour practices &c &c -- meaning a lot of tv work goes to people who don't want to be there, couldn't qualify for better compensated roles, are mainly cast for being conventionally attractive, &c

i've watched and enjoyed plenty of tv and it's not like it's impossible to execute something well artistically even in these circumstances. for example, i think succession has some really stellar character writing, & that this is directly connected to the fact it had hbo money & a showrunner who always planned for it to have an endpoint & a limited number of seasons—but it's also connected to the fact that the story is framed around characters being constitutionally incapable of major change. for similar reasons, a miniseries or anthology series is imo usually a better format for a drama than the conventional constantly-renewed network series. alternatively you can go the seinfeld route and have your show genuinely be about trivia, with a hard reset every episode (like, compare how long seinfeld could keep beating the same three dead horses versus eg the immediate problems faced by a show like the good place where characters were supposed to be enduring meaningful personal growth incompatible with their roles in the actual narrative).

but imo very few people who work on tv are interested in thinking about what the medium can do well, because again they view themselves more as temporarily embarrassed artistes, and even those who do view television as its own medium with its own constraints and strengths are often kneecapped by the actual circumstances of production (like, a mini-room may well be full of really talented writers who want to do fascinating things with the medium -- i wouldn't know, because they get approximately 30 seconds per episode to throw shit at the wall that some exec can market to a cereal company).

i've liked plenty of shows enough to watch more than 5 minutes of them (succession, lots of medical soaps, the first 2 seasons of misfits, doctor who, thw twilight zone, parts of mad men, the thick of it, mr robot, community, i may destroy you, pushing daisies...) & i think it's fair to say if i liked something i probably thought some aspect of it was good, meaning, well executed in some way. but i would also say pretty much all of those are dogshit in other respects, are overall susceptible to the same problems tv in general is, &c.

[imperiuswan]

With all due respect, the problem with wags

PSA: a gentle reminder that wags are just normal people that happen to date drivers. Yes, they may be models, professional athletes and social media sensations, and be featured in rhode, but at the end of the day, they're people with their own passions, careers, and stories, not just accessories to your favourite driver.

If you know me, you would know that I am 1. a fangirl. 2. the number 1 hater of wag culture (and parasocial relationships in general). Combining my two expertises, here is why wag culture is horrible:

For instance, merely gaining the status of being a wag affords you incessant and unrelenting praise. I don't think anyone can deny that a wag's popularity is solely due to the driver—yes, i'm looking at you, Alexandra minions. I can guarantee that you know someone like Alexandra in your life—your Lacy of sorts. Someone who is beautiful, outgoing, and just genuinely a nice soul to be around. From my personal, purely unbiased perspective, here is my impression of Alexandra: an unassuming French-Mexican girl with good fashion sense, posture, networking skills, and just so happened to be dating the prince of Monaco Charles Leclerc. I won't elaborate on her brand deals with Rhode, Meshki, etc, but people need to stay grounded so here we are. Purely objectively, Alexandra is a marketing machine. While it is undeniable that her brand deals are deserved, her largest selling point is that she fully embodies the je ne sais quoi, it girl persona while dating objectively the most popular f1 driver amongst female fans, which gives a connection that allows brands to delve into the growing female fan demographic of f1 without paying an exorbitant sponsorship for f1 academy which probably wouldn't bring them too much press anyways. To continue, I fear I must talk about Lily Zneimer. She seems to be the perfect unassuming girl, sharing a lilt of as if to say she is just like anyone else. I suppose that is why she became so popular even through her privacy. If you google her, you find out she's British, met Oscar in school, and is an aspiring engineer. If you dig a little deeper, you find out that she received all 9s on her GCSEs. That's all can be found on her on the internet. You know NOTHING about her personality, hobbies, etc. NOTHING. Who are you stanning? And yet, there are fanpages dedicated to reposting her every move, passionate fans that spend hours searching up every piece of her outfits to post on instagram. As evidenced by Lily's private demeanour, the fanpages could be making her uncomfortable, and pulling her into the exact situation she seeks to avoid by being a private wag. On an off note, a large reason why she is loved as a "private wag" is because she is not profiting off Oscar for clout on instagram, by which is internally misogynistic on its own. Since people don’t know anything about Lily, there’s nothing for them to criticise, so they "stan': her mainly to use her as a contrast to more well known wags, often as a way to hate on those other women, if that makes sense. To put it simply, you are just glorifying someone with very little status. Wags like Alexandra (to no fault of their own) are stealing from actual women in motorsport. I recently saw an article titled something along the lines of "Is Alexandra Saint Mleux the most glamorous woman in Formula 1?" First off, she is not a woman in Formula 1. She would not have any connection to F1 or motorsport if she wasn't dating Charles. She isn't involved in the sport’s competitive or technical side. The term “women in F1” generally highlights those making a hands on contribution—drivers, engineers, strategists, mechanics, and other team personnel—rather than those attending as partners or guests. While wags certainly contribute to the racing atmosphere and community, their role doesn’t fit the professional focus that the phrase aims to recognise. Using your logic, is Pascale Leclerc a woman in f1? How about Nicole Piastri? Calling her a "woman in f1" is a slap in the face to the actual drivers, engineers, etc who have had to fight for a place in this highly competitive, male‑dominated industry. By applying the label to someone simply because of their relationship to a driver, it diminishes the efforts and expertise of the women making a direct, professional contribution to f1 every day. Alexandra has 2x the amount of followers as Susie Wolff, 18x of Hannah Schmitz, 10x of Doriane Pin. Let that sink in.

Lastly, I find the wag tiering system interesting. If you go on tiktok search up f1 wags and scroll just a little too far, you will find fanpages dedicated to a specific wag. Occaisionally, these account like to slander the previous girlfriends of these drivers in order to re-enlist the superiority of their fav wag. I have nothing to say other than it is utterly ridiculous, parasocial, and just downright weird. Let’s break down what constitutes a “good wag” by analysing the definition : WAG, wives and girlfriends of professional athletes. Therefore, by this logic, the vitality of a “good” wag is decided by the how “good” of a girlfriend they are. But how do you measure being a good girlfriend when you dont have any input or space in their personal life? critiquing outfits or whatever sponsorships they may have recieved due to their wag status (highly connected to the prestige and reputation of their driver boyfriend) is completely irrelevant to their status as a wag, as is psychanalysing their reactions (cheering, smiling, emotions, etc) to their boyfriends winning. Point is, you have no right to judge whoever a driver choses to date.

On the opposite side of the coin, people are to obsessed with digging up dirt about wags. I recently discovered a 30 page website dissecting Rebecca's entire instagram posts, presence, employment, connections, and public appearances, since she her adolescence, including extrapolating many rumours that have little to no relevance to her current public image. I won't continue as that thread does not need any more publicity than it already has, but you get the idea. Additionally, I think that most of you are familiar with the povkellyp fiasco. Why do peaple act like kelly is some kind of evil mastermind?? like be serious. You’re foaming at the mouth over a woman you don’t know because she dated two drivers, has a daughter and dared to exist in public. It’s giving misogyny in a cute fandom wrapper. not everything needs a villain arc. Sometimes a person is just living their life and y’all project a whole telenovela onto it. Maybe go outside. Have a coke. Pet a dog. Yes, she’s high profile because she’s connected to Max, one of the biggest names in f1, but that doesn’t justify making her a target. Criticising her every word, outfit, or social media post doesn’t prove how passionate you are about racing—it just exposes how little you have to say about the actual sport. People change—even if the horrible rumours surrounding her are true, Max has his reasons for choosing her to be the mother of his children. You needn't interfere and perpetuate rumours, and doing so is childish. If she is really so bad, people will realise without your hate posts.

To conclude, I must remind everyone to be open of others' opinions, and to reflect before commenting something mean. All the wags are amazing girls who deserve the utmost respect. I am happy to engage in open discussions surrounding my argument, should you wish to hear more.

Those are everything I can think of for now. Anyways, thank you for reading my rant ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

xoxo,

frida

[lush-escape]

The Vigilante's Guide to Grief

pairing: Jason Todd x f!reader wc: 1.2k a/n: I'm getting just a little 🤏 burnt out with this fic but also there's only one more chapter and I'm lowkey kinda sad about it prev: depression next: acceptance

Stage six: Testing

Hey babe

It's June 15. It's been three months today since I started therapy. I'm still going semi consistently. Christy says I've got a long way to go. Doesn't surprise me. I'm so fucked up that I'm sure an entire life's worth of therapy wouldn't even begin to scratch the surface. She said I'm doing alright though, said she can already see improvements. Apparently I don't say fuck as much as I used to or tell her how stupid her job is, how pointless it is. So maybe she's right. Getting into the routine of it though was horrible. Fitting appointments into everyday life, having a new person constantly in my life knowing everything about me. It was terrifying if I'm being honest. Kinda like when you moved in

Jason taps the end of his pen against his notebook and smiles to himself. He can't even remember the last time he actually smiled when he thought about you, a smile that didn't end in tears. It had been months now.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” You ask Jason as you look around the bedroom confused. Your first few days living together were… rough. Finding space for all of the things you brought over, not wanting to get in the way while Jason insisted he would make room for your things no matter what.

Now he was staring at you, clothes and towel in your hands, like you had just told him to his face that he was adopted.

“What are you doing?” He answers your question with one of his own.

“Showering…” you answer him almost skeptically, not you're not sure if that's what he wants to hear or not.

“You shower first thing in the morning? We just woke up.”

“I mean… yeah? Is that a problem?” Where is this going, you thought.

“Okay well, I like to y'know… go to the bathroom first thing in the morning.”

You blink once and then again, “Can't it wait?”

“No.” He states simply.

“Okay well I'm not going to shower after you bomb the toilet.”

Jason barks out a laugh, “I'm not going to bomb it.”

“Don't lie!” You smile at his laugh, “I'll be fifteen minutes, okay? I promise I won't be long.” You're slowly inching your way towards the bathroom.

Jason's hand is on the blanket as he slowly uncovers himself. He looks like a predator ready to jump on its prey. You stand still, adrenaline pumping through your veins.

“Jay…” you tell him quietly, cautiously. A soft warning to not even think about what he's doing.

“Yeah, baby?” He smirks as he slowly climbs off the bed.

“Don't do it.” You know he's faster than you, stronger than you. You know he'll make it to the bathroom before you and you're sure he'd have no qualms about pushing you out of the way.

“Not doin’ nothin’, baby.” His smirk turns wicked.

You make a break for the bathroom. It's not even sixty feet away but you can hear Jason's feet catching up behind you.

With an adrenaline filled laugh you manage to get into the bathroom before Jason, slamming the door shut behind you just as his hands reach it.

“Oh come on!” Jason laughs as he slaps one palm against the wooden door.

“Guess your poop is gonna have to wait!” You sing song from the other side with a laugh.

“This ain't over,” He threatens, you can hear the smile in his voice. “I'll wake up before you tomorrow.”

You ignore him with a victorious smile and start your shower.

You're out not even twenty minutes later and open the bathroom door to the smell of fresh coffee. You smile warmly at the pleasant scent.

“Mm, coffee.” You hum, walking further through the apartment to the kitchen. Jason's leaning his hip against the counter taking a sip from his mug.

“Got you a cup.” He motions to the white mug next to him.

“Thanks, babe.” You smile and take the warm cup. “I'll make breakfast.” You tell him.

“Breakfast?”

“Yes. Breakfast.” You laugh softly. He acts like he's never heard the word before.

“I don't usually eat breakfast.” He mumbles.

You knew that already, but actually living with him and experiencing it for yourself? No way.

“Well, you do now.” You busy yourself around the kitchen.

“I can get used to this.” He smiles.

Okay. That's a lie.

Jason smiles to himself again.

You moving in was probably the best thing to ever happen to me. Even with all of the bumps we faced. Getting used to each other's routines and making new ones. I was never happier….

“I don't want to do this… I won't do this.” Jason stares at his phone with a shaking hand. He was a wreck. He can't remember the last time he ate. Some insane, or what he thought was some insane, part of him was ready to push the dial button on his phone. Telling him to reach out, that he needs help.

He stares at the therapist's card that Bruce had given him, the one he handed to him just weeks ago and said “when you're ready, chum”.

Talking about it with a therapist made it more real. Made it a fact that you were gone and he was struggling and needed help.

But he knows he can't continue on the way he was. Being angry, blaming himself, withdrawing away from his family. His heart pounds in his chest, he was more than nervous to make the call. He was scared.

He dialed, taking the plunge.

His appointment was two weeks later and was far different than what he was expecting. When Jason imagined therapists he imagined stuffy, holier than thou, old people. Not the woman with dyed hair, piercings, and tattoos sitting in front of him.

“So Jason,” Christy smiles warmly, “what made you decide to reach out?”

I hate getting used to everything without you. Some days I don't think about the fact I don't have to race to the bathroom first thing in the morning. Other days it's harder getting out of bed in the morning knowing you aren't here to whine at me. For a long time I stopped eating breakfast because you weren't there to cook for us. I started again and it's horrible. Who likes cooking that early in the morning? You're psychotic.

Jason lets out an amused huff through his nose and runs his hand through his hair.

I miss you. She was right. Christy. Writing to you is getting easier. She suggested getting a new hobby too. I told her I read but she said it needs to be something we didn't do together. That way I'm not thinking of you the entire time. But I don't know. Maybe she'll be right about that too. I told Dick maybe I'll start drawing like Damian. Steph suggested getting into tattooing. Imagine that huh.

Jason hums in thought for a moment.

Maybe I can start writing. Write a book or something. Guess we'll see.

taglist: @thy-crimson-king @vellichor01 @theendofthematerialgworl @tinasdcstuff @4rachn3 @cecebookworm @eva-ngelionn

[ciacconaism]

- Has your hope been severed?

Yandere! Pre-forsaken Azure x Reader

Note:

-Azure goes by he/they pronouns

-typical yandere behavior (drugging, kidnapping if you squint)

-implied amnesia

“I want to go home Azure. This isn't my home- I know it isn't!”

Your sudden outburst made Azure pause what he was doing. He didn't look at you. Only a hum could be heard as acknowledgment of your presence. They continued to finish cutting the thorns off some roses like he usually did, but only this time did you find the gesture unsettling.

“And what, pray tell, is the reasoning for your claim, my nightshade?”

He still wouldn't face you, but you know without a doubt his usual smile was still etched onto their face, his calmness a stark contrast to your unease.

For seconds, you just stood there trembling, watching as he snipped away at the thorns on the roses.

This doesn't feel like home. For weeks ever since you woke up, your mind has only felt fuzzy–your past nowhere in sight. Your so-called beloved forbid you from venturing further than the ends of the garden. He claims it was for your safety, but over time, you figured that wasn't the case. Call it a gut feeling, but this isn't right.

Seeing as you weren't responding, Azure set down the gardening shears and got up from his spot to approach you. Instinctively, you stepped back. He never harmed you, not even once, so why are you so scared?

“You're trembling…how about we head inside and get you settled?”

You made no effort to move at first, but Azure took your hand in his and began guiding you back inside your shared home rather hastily.

You didn't notice, but Azure as well was panicked. But not for the same reasons as you. Oh goodness, no.

You're becoming aware again. Aren't you?

No worries! A simple remedy will do the trick again! Just don't leave his side. That's all he begs of you. All this is for him you.

Don't you dare ruin it.

Before you knew it, Azure had guided you to sit down on the bed in your shared bedroom. Once a place that brought you comfort, now felt like a cage. Then again, this always has been one, hasn't it? Noticing your face still panic stricken, Azure cupped your cheek and placed a kiss on your forehead.

“You're falling into hysteria again, my nightshade. I know just the thing to get you to relax. Don't move now!”

And with that, he was gone, leaving you to your own devices. You were akin to a leaf in the wind still as much as you tried to get yourself to calm down.

Their words didn't sit right with you, though. Hysteria? Again? You weren't crazy. What on earth was he talking about? You just didn't feel like this was your home. Why can't he understand that?

Your gaze fell to the window and the garden outside. The garden was beautiful, but it only further reminded you of this prison of a home. You never quite picked up gardening as a hobby. You only watched as Azure tended to the flora. It's not like he'd allow you to tend to the garden anyway. He claimed you'd only get yourself hurt and scar your soft skin.

You grimaced at the thought of him. He was quite clingy but respected your boundaries to an extent. They were… perfect as a partner on a superficial level, but it didn't feel right to you. Are you the problem?

No, no. There was something very wrong. You just couldn't put your finger on it.

Who were you prior to waking up on that fateful day? Why couldn't you recall a thing?

“That's enough now. Please drink this tea I've prepared for you.”

You gasped at the sound of Azure's voice. You were too caught up in your thoughts to process his reappearance in your shared room. You started at the teacup in his hands–waiting for you to accept it. Hesitantly, you reached for the cup and asked no questions. Azure smiled before sitting down next to you on the bed. He watched intently for your next move.

If push comes to shove, so be it. He doesn't want to force you to do anything, but they can't have you remembering. The same mistake won't repeat itself twice. He won't allow it.

You just continued staring at the teacup in your hands. White petals swirled around in the fragrant tea. The smell was quite nice and inviting. So, without another thought, you drank.

“Just relax. You don't have to finish it all if you don't want to” Azure assured you. But really, you already having drank even a bit was all he wanted. It didn't matter if you finished it.

You're so naive. Azure is ashamed to admit it, but he loves that about you. You won't leave. Not with that mindset. You never will realize what you got yourself into. He could never part with you, even if the Spawn could never forgive their actions. He'll repent for all he cares, but please don't leave them!

As seconds passed, you gradually grew tired. You didn't fall over though, oh goodness, no. Your beloved was there to catch you as you dozed off. The teacup that was in your hands shattered on impact as it fell to the floor, but Azure could care less. He simply smiled as you went limp in his embrace.

“Tomorrow is a new day. Please rest well.” Is all you heard before you lost consciousness.

A/N: Sorry fellow Azure yumes, I was itching to have some yandere Azure content instead of something fluffy. This totally wasn't in my drafts for 2 months now.

[dazedantics]

Type - Bob Floyd x Reader

I need to stop reading on this site

Bob was an observer.

Maybe he wouldn't talk to a person. Not because he didn't want to or anything like that. But even then he would note every little thing about that person.

What they acted like around certain people or when doing certain things. When they were nervous and what made them calm down. If they'd prefer to be talked to or rather left alone.

Maybe he didn't notice the other things. Like if they were feeling sad or angry. Now, obviously he can see when someone's sad. But if it's deep set or an ongoing thing and they're working to hide it, have been for a while. He can clock that something is going on, but can't really piece together what's going on behind the happy face.

In the moment stuff.

That's what he's quick to pick up on.

Like on the first meet or when he's assigned to a task with a person for a short period of time. He can pretty much guess what they're feeling rather quickly.

He likes to solve problems.

So whenever he gets a sense of something going on, he'll try different methods to help out -make them smile, forget what's going on for a moment. Try and make their day.

Once he figures out the right method, he doesn't forget. Keeps it tucked it away in case he sees that person again.

And that's just with strangers, new people.

So imagine how much he notices about someone he gets close to?

When he gets close to you?

And starts developing feelings after spending so much time watching you.

Not in a creepy way! Just paying attention. The general idea he gets about your person becoming clearer the longer you spend together.

You laugh when he says things, even when he's not trying to be funny. Sit with him during your free hours. Talk to him about random things. Smile at him just cause.

He already found you cute when you'd first met. Never said anything cause that'd be weird. But time seems to make you becoming more beautiful each time he sees you.

You seem to like him.

He senses you're comfortable around him. You seek him out a lot. You're a lot more open with him than you are with others. Something he notices before you even tell him that.

But you're not interested in him the way he is.

You like ... the exact opposite of him.

So it leaves a dull sting at the bottom of his heart knowing he didn't have a chance.

But he's not possessive.

He's happy to keep being just your close friend since he liked you even before his feelings developed. He was supportive. And would rather keep watching out for you if he couldn't be "the one."

He listens to you talk about your crushes. Gets a read on them before telling you his honest opinion on if you should go for it or not then explains why.

At least, he used to be able to do all that just fine till now.

Now where you're both close with all the team, required to come together often, not much chance to go out and see other people, force to form bonds you'd remember for a lifetime.

And Bob has to watch you pine for the guy just so not like him.

See him flirt with you. Watch your heart flutter as you catch the wink they send. That sly grin, teeth showing as they lean against the wall, far too casual in getting close than he should be.

Watch that grin of yours spead. All genuine and hopeful as you say your goodbyes for the day. Giddy as you come back to Bob's side. Eyes saying you'd be talking about the encounter once you were out of earshot of the guy.

And then watch you again when the flirtation goes on for too long and you start feeling dejected by how your chats are leading you nowhere despite how much you want them to.

And that dull ache he felt when realizing it'd never be him becomes worse as he realizes watching you like this is far worse than what he resigned himself to.

"Maybe it's me, Bob," you tell him finally on a late night out at the beach.

You sit on a stoop, side by side, a small gap between the two of you. No thighs touching or shoulders bumping. Something he'd like.

At some point after your arrival here, a silence draped over you two as you stare off at the setting sun across the waves, he'd given in to his thoughts.

Sliding his hand slowly closer to yours about an inch every ten seconds until the sides of your pinkies grazed.

A pause.

Then moving again to rest the end of his hand just atop the end of yours.

Wait.

Then an inch again.

Process repeated until his hand fully enveloped yours.

Not holding not lacing, just resting there. Pensive.

His hand is warm over yours. The beach breeze nippy, making your skin take a slight chill.

He thinks you're greatful for his heat.

At least he hopes you are.

And you stay like that for a while. Not talking. Not looking. Just being.

Still.

Serene.

And then he feels your hand turn under his, flipping over to take proper hold of his hand, fingers laced together and all.

He doesn't look, not even a peek. But a smile grows as he stares out at the gleaming water, glasses slipping down his nose. He can tell his attempts to keep the grin at bay are failing. But you're not looking at him to see it, so it's fine.

Then you sit like that for a moment longer.

Till your heel starts to nervously kick against the stoop where you sit. Not harshly. Just thought filled. You want to tell him something but are worried of the response. He can tell.

But he won't say anything until you do.

Never does.

In this exact moment it's because he wants to just remember this day, this part of the day, clear to look back on in the future.

"No. It is me," you continue. "I pick them all wrong, Bob. And the thing is, I know I do! Right from the start I know they'll be that type. That they'll just talk and talk, making me feel all giddy, but never intend more than just one date. If you can even call what they have in mind that."

Your thumb nervously keeps running over his knuckles. He squeezes your hand. Little pulses to keep you steady. He hopes.

"But I just like those types! Annoying as it is. They make me feel so ... excited! Pumped to start chasing the moon and not come back. I like the flirts. The arrogant types. I dunno, they just seem so confident and I like that."

You let out a deflated sigh, laying back against the stoop, hands still connected, eyes on the sky.

"Maybe I should stop. Wait till I'm back home, give those guys there a chance. But ... I don't know ... they feel so ... desperate? That's not the word, I know. But they're just ... so willing to drop everything and marry me. Which is what I want, don't get me wrong. But the types I like make me work for it, y'know?"

Bob had turned his head to watch you by now, certain words pinging in his mind as you spoke.

You ran a hand through your hair before resting it beside you.

"They make me feel like I'm putting effort into it whereas the other guys make me feel like I don't have to do anything. Feels unfulfilling. I just don't get 'that feeling' when I imagine a life with the sweet ones compared to the type I like."

A sigh.

"Maybe I need to get my brain checked for all this. Force myself to go with the option I know could lead to what I want. That's what's best for me. Right?"

That last part was directed at him rather than just spoken to get it off your chest.

You were looking at him. A little sadness in the eyes, lips subconsciously curled into a pout.

It made him ache to see this.

He shifted his body more towards you, keeping his hand in yours. Nudging up his glasses a bit before speaking.

"It's okay to want that. Not everyone likes the same things."

He didn't plan on himself moving closer, inch by inch like he had with your hands, the pause in between.

But he didn't stop.

"But it's okay to not be the only one working for it either. You can get what you want with any type of person. But that's when you don't force it. When you don't go out there intending to find 'the one.' That feeling you're talking about will come along naturally too."

He was hovering just above your nose by now, eyes scanning yours as they always did.

He moved his free hand up, placing it on your stomach. Then flexed his fingers slightly.

Not intending anything.

Just ... doing.

And he felt that sharp inhale as he did it. How your body stayed tense, eyes widening with something he hadn't quite seen before.

He'd figure out what it was eventually.

"Personally, I feel you should be the one doing nothing. Make them work for it. You have a lot to offer. Make them want to see it ... the way I want to."

Again, a sharp breath and deep swallow.

He could feel himself burning up. A red forming from across his nose to each ear.

He swallowed as well, jaw squaring to stop himself from licking his lips.

He looked down to yours though, tempting thoughts coming to him again. But no. If he was going to do that, he was going to do it right.

But he still wanted to do something.

So after another pause, he leaned in, and pressed a kiss to your cheek.

"You're gonna be fine. If you think this guy is worth it," he shrugged pulling back, "then keep talking. I'll do something about him if it gets worse."

And he stayed sat back up for the rest of the night. Hand in yours. You still laying back. Quiet. Nothing else said other than "goodbye" when you parted for the night.

You didn't speak about that day moving forward.

Kept meeting each other during your usual times. Sitting together. Talking together. Smiling. Laughing.

Like normal.

But he has noticed you hang around that guy more. Talking.

Notices how open the guy has become. Sees him talk back more. Less smirky, more interested.

Sees how you hold both his hands and swing them absentmindedly as you talk.

How the guy spares looks his way more often.

He doesn't sense something mean. But it's odd.

And still he feels that ache in his chest.

And still he doesn't mention it.

Just smiles as you come back to him.

He expects things are going good. That maybe he'll have to settle his mind on the idea that you'll be around him less often in favor of the other guy.

But he'll be fine.

He'll keep observing from afar as he knows he's good at. Ready to keep you safe if need be.

He doesn't expect you pulling him aside one day as he enters the building, dragging him away from your group of people, into the hall, far away enough in case someone might hear.

His initial instinct is concern.

But then you take his hands in yours as you did the guy.

And you start talking, all held back smiles and averted eyes.

You look happy.

Perhaps you'd tell him that guy was the one.

Good for you.

"I know who I want now." You started.

And he smiled. "Good. That's good. Happy for you."

"Bob, I didn't think this would happen. Not to sound rude or anything, it's just ... y'know ... you're so ...," you paused, eyes flicking him up and down. "You?"

You giggled, swinging his hands nervously.

"Not my type at all you know?"

And his heart stilled.

He heard you. He know he did. He wasn't interpreting this wrong was he?

"I've always felt good about you, I love being with you. It's just ... that night at the beach? And you were all ... close ... and saying all that stuff? It gave me that feeling I said never get with your type. Worse than I've felt it with anyone. Well, not worse, that's not the word. And I don't mean to keep referring to you as a type like that's all I see you as! I don't! I truly don't. I just mean it as ... I just ... you know what I mean!"

He was not hearing this right.

There was no way.

"Look, Bob." You took a breath. "I don't know if that was just 'a moment' type of thing. But I've been talking to that guy and he thinks I should try it out."

Oh.

Right.

No way.

You chuckled looking down at the floor. "Y'know, he said he thought you and I were dating or had some history when we first met. That's a good thing right? A sign for potential good in the future?"

Wait ... way?

You shook your head, looking him in the eye now. "Point is, I want to try with you. Talk with you. Flirt with you. Date you. See if you're the guy I should've been looking for all along?"

... No way ....

You laughed nervously. "I- I know you're a quiet guy, Bob. But I kinda need you to respond to this."

That brought him back.

And he blinked once before rushing to cup your face in his hands and plant that kiss he'd been waiting so long to have.

This had to be a dream.

A damn good one if your hands felt that nice running through his hair to bring him closer.

His glasses were knocked askew, but he didn't care. Your lips felt too good on his. Soft and warm and more than he could hope for.

And maybe he got a bit overzealous, hardly pulling back before kissing you again and again with more force.

Not harsh or demanding.

Just ... desperate, maybe? Memorizing every little detail of the moment. The taste, the feel, the reaction, everything.

If this was just some cruel prank then he was making the most of it.

He felt you smile against him, hands on his chest to push him back, a soft whine escaping him as you separated yourself. Unintentional truly. He hardly noticed.

You giggled, lips sucked between your teeth as you caught your breath. "Easy, Floyd. You haven't even given me your answer yet."

"That wasn't enough?" He breathed out.

That laugh came again and he felt himself start to calm. Your hands reaching out set his glasses straight.

"I'd like verbal confirmation, Lieutenant."

"Oh my g- yes! Yes ... yes." He stated. "I would like that."

Then he paused, face flushing as it all caught up to him. Nervous laughter coming from him now.

"Oh my God. Sorry. Sorry ... sorry, I was ... s-sorry ... I'm sorry."

You chuckled, brushing his hair into place. "For what? I enjoyed that."

He let out a heavy sigh through his nose.

A pause.

And then?

He pulled you back in again. And again. And again.

You really couldn't be talking to him like that.

[mattslilies]

Green Thumb - M.S.

"matt, baby, they aren't real." or... the one where matt loves to decorate your home with plants, but has a real problem actually keeping them alive, leading you to buy fake ones without telling him. warnings: none! a little silly, a little fluffy word count: 547 a/n: divider credit to @cursed-carmine!

you didn't like lying to matt. you very rarely did, and only when it was either not important, or too important for him to know about right that moment. that being said, the lie you were carrying out right now wasn't one you planned on telling him about anytime soon.

matt loved decor in your house. you had moved in together, and he had immediately set to work giving the space a touch of both of you, running everything by you first, but in the end creating a home that you both adored.

the only problem was the plants.

mat had decorated half of the downstairs with various hanging and potted plants. don't get you wrong, they were beautiful, especially when the flowers on them bloomed, but the problem was that they never seemed to get that far very often.

matt was nearly incapable of keeping plants alive. he couldn't get a plant to flourish to save his life. you didn't know what the issue was. the poor boy had even managed to kill succulents, and you barely had to do anything for them to live.

you saw how his face dropped every time he had to surrender a plant, quickly replacing it and trying everything possible to keep it alive. he'd google for hours, make full on daily schedules for the upkeep of the vine, and still nothing would work. he just didn't have a green thumb.

so, having run out of ideas, you started scouring online for fake plants that looked and felt identical to the real ones. quietly ordering some, you waited until matt was out of the house to perform the switch.

you weren't a big fan of deceiving him, but you wanted to keep him happy, and consistently killing your decor wasn't making either of you any happier. you got ones that didn't bloom flowers, so that your excuse could hold out a little longer.

and it did.

three weeks had gone by before matt made an offhand comment about the plants in the living room, which was three more weeks than you expected him to go without noticing the fraudulent leaves.

"you know, i swear every time i move some of those vines, they just go right back to where they were. i've never seen a plant do that."

you cringed internally, knowing that if he was picking up on the stiffness of the plants, it wouldn't take him much longer to call you out. you decided to come clean, hoping for the best.

"matt, baby, they aren't real."

his head snapped over to you, shock clearly written on his face.

"what?"

you sighed.

"i replaced them with fake plants a few weeks ago. don't be angry, please. you were so unhappy every time they died, and i wanted to save you some trouble and keep you from being so upset all the time."

you expected him to be upset, to yell, to say something rude, but instead he just laughed. you were surprised, and just watched him giggle.

"you're not... mad?"

he shook his head, leaning over to kiss you.

"no. you were trying to help me, and it's okay. i don't have a green thumb. at least now i can stop wasting water on plastic three times a day."

[newkatzkafe2023]

How about a male monkey reader that's can make the most delicious wine of any flavor and their most famous peach wine for their kings especially when they in a certain mood if you know what I mean

Sip, Savor, and Celebrate love🍾🥂

(Lmk Wukong) Now Wukong would enjoy a glass of wine every now and then, so when he met you a wonderful relationship bloomed. Wukong would tell you all kinds of stories as he would try different wine flavors, always opening up about his past. Wukong also gets a bit flirty and handsy whenever he drinks a little bit more then usual, giggling and looking at you with hearts in his eyes. It's always so adorable when Wukong would chirp and grow clingy, before you both end up getting it on at your winery. Wukong can't get enough of your wine just like he can't get enough of you 🤭

(NR Wukong) Ohhhhh, you're a hot man after his heart, everyone knows that Wukong loves wine and to have a sexy husband making Wine yesssssss please. Wukong would always come by to watch you make wine or have him try different samples of new flavors, it's his favorite time of the day. Especially when Wukong made one all by himself Peach and rose water wine, aged to perfection and the same one he always busts out when he wants some late night lovin😉😉😉

(MKR Wukong) you won his heart with your famous addictive peach champagne, he had to break alot of noses just to get a bottle. You did this to him, Wukong was having a very difficult day when you first met and you offered him a drink to calm his nerves. EVERYBODY I KID YOU NOT THE SECOND HE TOOK A SIP OF YOUR WINE the scuffy monkey king was in heaven😇😇😇 you would have him drooling and drinking straight from the bottle. Like seriously he would throw claws trying to get it you would think he has a problem, but besides that he also loves the monkey who made it........you😉 one night Wukong got a tab bit tipsy and you both began to make out going wild. I hope your proud of yourself cause he can never go back.

(HIB Wukong) LIFE IS HARD!!!!!!!! and because of this, Wukong needs a little bit of something to get though the day. That's when he went to your winery house and once Wukong got a sip of the adult juice, it was all over. Wukong would come by every night to drink away his issues and his dark past, as you would sit and listen to him while pouring drinks. Sometimes when Wukong gets really drunk he started slurring out secrets about things he'll never say as a sober man, and alot of it was about you. How much he wants you and everything you have, your fur, your body, your scent how he wants you to touch him and take him on every service in your home. Once he's in his right mind he would be in a state of horror, but your not mad otherwise he wouldn't be naked in your bed😆🥰.

(Netflix Wukong) Now i wouldn't see him as much of a drinker, I mean i seen him kinda drunk but that's because of that fruit he ate. However when he met you that's when he started to explore the world of alcohol and tasted so many types. His favorite being the your famous peach champagne and he loves to drink it with you, especially when he it means he wants to get frisky overall you have a gift and he wants more😉

(BMW Wukong) Man, this guy just looks like he's a heavy drinker, so when he met you and tried your famous peach wine, there was no getting rid of him. Most of your dates was just of you and Wukong drinking wine late at night and sharing stories, and soon Wukong would start saying ranchy things and purring in your ears. You know what that means....Wukong wants you, and he wants you to take him all night long🤤

(Destined one) He's not a drinker but will definitely try it for the occasion. Which is why he likes your wine so much. The Destined one rarely finds wine flavors he actually likes, and the fact that you make delicious drinks and cocktails of course he would be coming back. When the Destined one who rarely gets drunk actually does get wasted, he ended up getting pretty shy and would lean on you for support. Of course you tried to help him and get him to at least drink some water, until he popped off his robe and gave you a spicy hand Jester that says give me your D😳 that's was the fastest way to know what a creampuff feels🫢

(Lotmk Wukong) Man he's can't hold his alcohol at all, Like if he's not drunk the poor baby is puking his guts out. Unfortunately dispite this fact he can't stop drinking your peach and rose water champagne, it's to addictive and delicious. He adores you and loves your talents and is always willing to try whatever you make. He also tends to get a tad bit frisky as Wukong will tell you how beautiful you are, and then began making out with you. Baby boy isn't so innocent anymore now that's he's wasted😉.

FEEL FREE TO REBLOG🍷

[whereserpentswalk]

You grew up on a planet that's entirely toxic to humans. Since it's the right temperature it's where humans on your planet settled, and anything more habitable is light years away, so you learned to make due. Everyone wears gas masks and full body suits everywhere they go outside, and it's just how it is.

Your parents, who were part of the first wave of colonization, view the atmospheric precautions differently then how you do. They try to take off their masks whenever it's safe to, don't wear clothing over their suits, and care about how they look when their masks are off. They still think of themselves as people who don't wear protective gear, who have to wear it right now.

For you it's different. You've never been outside without your gear, never seen the sky without a lense over your eyes, never talked to someone outside your family without having both your faces covered. The idea that people's faces could be part of their identity is odd, even perverted to you. Since you're so used to having your gear on you wear it indoors even when you don't need to because it's what's yourse. You only really have it off when you're eating, sleeping, showering, or using the bathroom, your most base and animal like momments. You almost see your face as something vulgar, when you look in the mirror without your mask it's not you that looks back but just a fleshy, kind of gross, body part.

It's a problem when talking to older generations a lot of the time. You don't see your body the same way as them. They want to know what you look like under the mask. Or they don't understand why you care so much about how your gear works, or wearing clothes and jewelry over it. Your peers understand more, you haven't seen any of their faces and you wouldn't want to, you recognize them by the type of gear they wear, and how they customize and decorate it. The gap is getting even wider with fewer and fewer buildings being built to be sealed from the outside world.

When you lost your virginity you had your mask on, and so did your datemate. It would be weird to see eachothers faces in the momment, those vulgar organs with their alien organic flaps.

Speaking of aliens that's another separation. Your parents still think of animals in terms of those that evolved alongside humans, while you feel close to the native life. When you think of nature you think of the orange sky and silver swamps, and the six legged creatures that lurk within and who fly above the firey clouds. The only mammals you've ever seen are humans, and you rarely even see them with their mammalian parts exposed.

There's also relationships with the native alien sapients of course. According to imperial law, you can't advocate for the sovereignty of alien populations (nor the claims of rival human empires for that matter) but your generation is a lot closer to the aliens you've conquered then your parent's generation is. Your parents expected them to be wiped out by the time you were born but they just sort of weren't. Your generation tends to know a lot more about their culture, know a bit of their language, in the cities it's not even uncommon for aliens and humans to be neighbors. There's even whispers of labor movements considering the alien struggle agaisnt human empires and the workers' struggle agaisnt the high lords to be joined.

There's even people in cities who are fully forgoing their human flesh, making their suits fully part of their bodies, with no way of ever being taken off. Most of the older generation is shocked that some people your age are giving up your humanity like that, and even though you don't agree with it you understand. Mabye if you didn't have skin, and just had your gear permanently attached in its place, things would be easier, and you'd look more like yourself.

You once had a high lord visit your town, and he seemed so disgusted with you, so disgusted with the way your generation became so tied to your gear in place of earthborn flesh. The way he looked at you, it's like he saw you as more of the planet you were born on then you were of the planet of your ansestors, and he hated you for it, as if you were an alien. You're not sure his assessment was wrong though.

[self-loving-vampire]

I wouldn't describe it that way, personally.

Don't get me wrong, it's not all bad. If it was I already would have left as well. At the very least I get some nice art and animal pictures out of it (though this is a very replaceable service). Some of the people here are alright too.

But I don't really see it as a way to form connections. That sometimes happens, but it is incidental and the site is not even ideal for it in my opinion. I feel like I don't have much in common with the average user and tend to not feel very interested in them. A lot seem annoying enough to block on sight too.

I don't think it was this bad when I first started using the site. Like I said, I feel like a lot of the users I liked and respected the most have already left and I haven't really found other people like them on this site since then.

If there's anything load-bearing to my online connections it would be discord rather than tumblr. I use it a lot more, have more of my friends on there (including people who stopped posting here), and generally just feel like I have a higher average quality of interaction there even though I curate my tumblr pretty aggressively and have likely blocked over 10,000 people.

And that's not even getting into the moderation problems. A few people I know have gotten banned for posting about their kinks, and they didn't even do it as much as I do. I would not be shocked if I just got suddenly banned one day and have set up an automated daily backup script in case of that. I don't expect to be around for that much longer, and if I did get banned I don't think I'd want to remake either.

Stanford paid 35,000 people to quit social media. This was the largest study on emotional health in history. The results were so shocking, scientists called it "comparable to therapy."

Null effect? Damn