#LISTEN I really believe this could become the next Big Thing it has all the things people claim to want

[musical-chick-13]

Do the people know about Id: Invaded. Do they know. Do they know about unhinged murder anti-hero of all time Akihito Narihisago and ultimate sad wet cat villain man Tamotsu Fukuda. Do they know about feral danger crime-solver girl Koharu Hondomachi who referred to the destruction of an entire dimension world in someone’s head as “pretty.” Do they know about the series’ exploration of the themes of what it means to be “broken” and to choose hope and self-improvement and how to really define the term “evil.” DO THEY KNOW ABOUT HORRIBLE YET TRAUMATIZED MURDER LADY NAHOSHI INAMI AND HER PATHETIC (COMPLIMENTARY, AFFECTIONATE) RELATIONSHIP WITH HER BOYFRIEND AND MURDER ACCOMPLICE

[verareids]

feel the same - s.r. x bau!reader

spencer misunderstands a conversation he overhears between reader and derek. tags/cws: misunderstandings, confessions of feelings, use of 'y/n', gn!reader, fluff, mild angst, derek morgan has big brother energy wc: 1708 (much longer than I thought lmao) a/n: I'm truly obsessed with season 1 spencer as of late so I HAD to write a fic with him in mind. <3

also posted on ao3

“You know Pretty Boy likes you, don’t you?”

Spencer had been trying to get some sleep on the flight back after working a case that had drained all his energy when the sound of Morgan’s voice caught his attention. Without opening his eyes, he knew exactly who he was talking to. Spencer had never outright admitted to anyone that he had developed feelings for you but it was getting harder to deny. Once Derek had started pointing out the way he’d look up when you entered a room or the way his eyes lingered as you walked away, he was becoming concerned that this crush was more obvious than he’d like it to be. 

He’s been trying to ignore it, telling himself it’s unprofessional when really it’s because he believes there’s no way you could possibly feel the same. There’s a myriad of reasons why he wished Derek would keep his big mouth shut but honestly – that was probably the biggest.

“Likes me? How old are we?” The smooth sound of your response makes Spencer smile to himself in spite of the current situation. 

“(Y/N), come on…” Derek chuckles and is immediately met with a long stretch of silence. Spencer can picture the death glare he knows he’d see on your face if he were to look at you in this moment. “Look, you know he’s never gonna ask you out himself so maybe you should just–”

“Derek.” You interrupt with an evident sternness in your tone. “I’m not having this conversation with you. I’ve told you, it’s not happening.” Ouch. Spencer had never allowed himself to dream that you would reciprocate his feelings but he definitely wishes he had been asleep for that one. With that, he forces his eyes shut tighter than before and takes in one deep, slightly shaky breath and decides to try to go back to sleep, if only so that he doesn’t have to hear you reject him even harder.

~

Spencer wakes up as the jet is landing and he quickly gathers all of his things, walking out and across the strip with much more urgency than usual. This detail doesn’t go unnoticed by you, not much does – especially where Spencer is concerned – and you make a mental note to check in with him later. He had caught your eye the first day you met him which must be, what? Half a year ago now? And he had been on your mind ever since. You had bonded quickly as friends, being the two youngest members on the team. About a month ago you had finally allowed yourself to acknowledge the fact that you had developed feelings for him. You’d sit next to him at any given opportunity, listen to his infamously long rants much longer than anyone else would, spend just a little too long staring at his lips as he talked you through his theories. It didn’t take long for people to notice. Elle had her suspicions, JJ made a comment every now and then, but Derek – he wouldn’t let it go. He teases you about it constantly. You haven’t given him the satisfaction of admitting it, you haven’t been able to deny it either.

When you eventually make your way into the building along with the rest of the team you notice that Spencer had already left. It’s only then you start to be concerned. It’s unlike him to leave in such a hurry, even more so to not even say goodbye. You rack your brain trying to come up for a reason for this strange behavior. Is he sick? Upset about something? Was it you? You begin to go over every interaction you’d had with him recently when you have to stop yourself before you spiral. He’s just tired. If it was serious he’d tell you… right?

~

The next morning you walk in to find Spencer at his desk working on the report he didn’t write last night before he had basically ran away.

“Morning, Spence!” You greet him, making an effort to sound cheerful as you lean on his desk. He doesn’t look up, like he’s trying extra hard to look busy.

“Morning, (Y/L/N).” He replies without looking up. His tone seems normal, his use of your last name is what sounds the alarms in your head.

“Hey… are you feeling alright?” You ask tentatively, not wanting to pry too much in case you really had done something wrong that you clearly weren’t aware of. “I noticed you kind of left in a hurry last night.” He finally looks up and meets your eyes, easing your nerves slightly. His eyes shift away and then back to yours before a soft smile graces his lips, one that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I’m okay.” He responds after a while in a way that sounds like that’s not all he wants to say. You go to reassure him, make sure he knows he can tell you anything, but stop yourself when you notice the way he tenses when you place a hand on his shoulder. Retracting your hand quickly, you begin to fidget with your fingers before running them through your hair nervously.

“Spencer… I–” You start and stop and Spencer feels a little guilty as you seem to stumble over your words anxiously. “Is it me? Did I do something? Because if I did I–”.

“(Y/N).” Spencer cuts off your panicked rambling. You take a steadying breath as he slowly rises to stand in front of you, your eyes trailing up when he towers over you. He looks around the room and sighs before focusing back on you. “Can we go somewhere to talk?” You nod and begin walking towards a storage room with Spencer following close behind, quickly checking that there's no one in there before stepping inside.

“What’s going on with you?” You break the silence as Spencer closes the door behind him. “You know you can talk to me about anything.”

“I’m sorry if I’ve been acting weird.” You notice the way he dodges the question. He can’t meet your eyes anymore, his gaze shifts around the room and he smiles awkwardly at you.

“Spence, that’s not–” You interrupt yourself, trying to find a way to put your thoughts to words without overwhelming him. “I only want you to be okay. You’ve been acting differently since last night… If there’s something going on I want to be there for you.” When you say that he smiles sadly. He looks down in thought as if he’s considering something.

“I heard you talking to Morgan…” He mumbles, still staring at his feet – wringing his hands together. You furrow your brows in confusion. Talking to Morgan? “On the jet on the way home…”

“Oh.” This isn’t happening. You figure you should’ve known Derek’s relentless teasing would be your downfall. He must know you like him now. There’s a reason you never wanted him to know how you felt. You couldn’t stand the thought of anything ruining your friendship. Spencer visibly deflates even more in front of you at your lack of response. You begin scrambling to come up with a way to get out of this horrifically embarrassing situation.

“Look, I– I didn’t mean to make this awkward…” Oh god. The way he’s stuttering and tripping over his words. You stare blankly at him, then duck your head, bracing for the impact of his rejection. “It’s not like I thought you would feel the same way I just–” Wait what? Your head snaps back up to see his face, eyes widened, which seems to startle him a little. “I wasn’t going to say anything but I guess I just got really in my head about it.” He begins to look a little panicked. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, I’m sorry if I did.” You just keep staring up at him, mouth agape in disbelief. “(Y/N)?” He says your name with a sad desperation and it reminds you that you should respond.

“Sorry, I–” You say slowly while shaking your head. “Are you saying that – Do you like me?” Now it’s Spencer’s turn to look confused, but it was all starting to make sense to you. You had thought he was acting weird because he had found out about your feelings, when in reality, it was the other way around.

“Yes?” He replies hesitantly.

“I like you too.” You say simply with a shy smile but Spencer looks completely taken aback. 

“You do?” The way his eyes light up with a subtle excitement was adorable. Soon after, that look was replaced with skepticism. “But I thought— you told Morgan you didn’t like me.”

“I told Morgan to stop teasing me about you because I didn’t think this…” You gesture between the two of you. “Was ever going to happen.” Spencer let out a sigh of relief and smiled bashfully.

“You could have just told me.” You feel his eyes scanning your face as if he were still looking for proof that you weren’t messing with him.

“You didn’t tell me either.”

“I thought there was no way…” You make eye contact as he trails off in thought. “I guess it doesn’t matter now.” Spencer takes a tentative step closer to you but doesn’t move to touch you in any way, so you reach out to take his hands in yours, lacing your fingers together.

“Well… maybe if we don’t have to fly out for a case today, we could go to dinner tonight?” You’re staring down at your intertwined hands, squeezing once before looking back up. When you see his face he’s still looking down with a big dopey grin on his face and you can’t help but smile right back.

“Yes— definitely.” You giggle at his obvious enthusiasm. 

You both stay in the storage room for another couple minutes, mostly just staring starry eyed at each other. Eventually you both decide that you should get back to work. You try to hide whatever was now going between you as much as you can but like always, Derek Morgan figures you out within minutes and he, along with the rest of the team, teases you relentlessly. (You wouldn’t have it any other way.)

[teamatsumu]

kinktober 2023 -> day 31

breeding kink - miya osamu x reader

word count: 1512

A/N: so this is it! thank you so much for everyone who stuck around for this kinktober event. 31 fics in 31 days, its the biggest project i have ever done. thank u for all the love and support ❤️

kinktober masterlist

What is stopping you?

Your mind repeated the question in your head every day, and it felt like your brain was yelling at you in frustration and confusion, wanting to know why exactly you were tongue tied in this situation. It made no sense to wait anymore. The time was ideal.

Truly, there couldn't be a better time to bring it up. You were happy with your job, Osamu’s business was flourishing; he had just opened another Onigiri Miya in Tokyo. He had a good staff now, an organized system on how to manage it all. He didn’t have to be the only person worrying for the business anymore, since he had hired experienced managers. It allowed him enough breathing room to come home early, cook a nice, hearty dinner for you both that you enjoyed while sprawled on the couch in front of the TV. Money wasn’t a worry anymore.

So really, what was stopping you from bringing up the topic of kids?

You seemed to have become lost in the same thoughts again because you only came to when Osamu nudged you, making you blink and tear your eyes away from the TV screen. He was looking at you questioningly, and you could see a hint of worry behind his dark eyes.

“What’s on yer mind, doll?”

You shook your head and smiled, shrugging a bit. “It’s no big deal ‘Samu. Just a project at work.”

He hummed a little, shoving more noodles into his mouth and sparing you little glances as he did so. You knew he didn’t believe you. Your husband knew you too well to fall for such an obvious lie. But you couldn’t, for the life of you, figure out how to broach the topic that was itching in the back of your mind for the last few days.

What do I even say? Put a baby in me?

You swallowed down the little knot that formed in your throat at the thought. Fuck. Was this turning you on? You grit your teeth tight enough that it hurt your jaw, scolding the little voice in your head to not do anything stupid.

When has your brain and lack of filter ever listened to you, though?

The next night, when Osamu had you sprawled on his lap, your back against his front, two fingers buried knuckles deep inside you and having pulled an orgasm out of you already, you babbled out the thought that had been plaguing you for many, many days.

“‘Sa- Samu,” you whined, long and desperate, dragging out his name. “Need your cock. Need your cum. Please.”

Osamu groaned in reply, pulling out his drenched fingers from your core and laying you on the bed. You pulled your legs up on instinct, spreading them wide, knees brought up to your sides. Osamu’s responding moan was sinful.

“S-shit, baby,” he breathed, clumsy hands quickly discarding his shirt and sweatpants. “Ya want it that bad? So ready to take me?”

You nodded your head frantically, back arching when he finally sunk his big, throbbing cock into you. The slide was comfortable and easy, considering how long you had spent spread apart on his fingers. Osamu wasted no time in immediately picking up speed, knowing exactly what spots to hit that had you reduced to a weepy mess.

You fumbled around until you had grabbed Osamu’s hands, hooking both of them under your knees and applying pressure. Osamu stared at you in realization before he shifted a bit and used his weight to hold your legs apart. You wanted him to put you in a mating press.

“This what ya want, sweetheart?” His voice was so hoarse you felt like you could cum just at the sound of it. “Fuck, ya look so sexy. All spread out fer me.”

Osamu was big on dirty talk, you knew. He loved speaking during sex and he loved when you spoke during sex. Over the years, you two had tried any and every thing in the bedroom that you possibly could, and you had lost all shame when it came to voicing your desires. The filthier, the better actually. Osamu could easily cum if you talked him through it.

Pair that with your days-old ruminating thoughts, and everything spilled out of you like word vomit.

“‘Samu,” you gasped. “Fuck me hard and deep, please. Please. Need to- need to be filled up with your cum, daddy. Need it.”

Osamu’s thrusts sped up and he cursed under his breath. “You’ll get it, babygirl. You’ll get daddy’s cum. Every last drop.”

You nodded frantically, crying out at a particularly well aimed thrust. “Yes! I- Osamu!” You wailed when his thumb made contact with your clit. Your nails dug into his back as you scrambled to pull him close. “Gimme. ‘Samu, gimme.”

Osamu was moaning into the skin of your neck, your legs over his shoulders and your body bent in half. “What’s gotten into ya today, baby? So greedy.”

You wound a hand through his hair, feeling the knot in your stomach pull tighter and tighter. You were seconds away from an orgasm. You pulled his head up by the hair until he was looking into your eyes. Your tears-coated, weepy eyes.

“Get me pregnant, Osamu. I want your kids.”

You didn’t have the time or the mental coherence to look at his reaction, because your orgasm washed over you like a freight train. Osamu’s movements stuttered, as a result of your words or you reaching your peak, you didn’t know. All you could do was feel the waves of electricity wash over you as you tried to breathe through the overwhelming feeling.

It was only when Osamu slowed to a stop in you, still twitching and throbbing, that you opened your wet eyes. He was looking down at you with mouth slightly open in shock, breathing still labored from his previous exertion. His dark hair was messy, stuck to the sweat on his forehead. All was silent between you.

“Are you serious?” He breathed, trying to see through your post-orgasm face. You nodded slowly.

“Thought about it a lot.” You admitted, tightening your legs around his waist a bit. “I’m ready if you are.”

A few more seconds, before Osamu bit his bottom lip and groaned, eyes falling to half mast again. He breathed deep, shaking his head. The corner of his mouth twitched up a bit.

“Do ya know how long I’ve waited fer this?” His voice was husky. He pulled himself up and unwound your legs from his waist. Then he bent you in half again, before setting a fast, bruising, brutal pace.

You gasped and threw your head back at the sudden change, pussy still sensitive from your orgasm, jaw going slack. His cock pounded into you with all the ferocity he could summon, one of the roughest sessions you two had had for a while, burning through you like embers crawling under your skin.

“Thought ‘bout it so much.” He continued choking out words, not slowing in the slightest. “The thought of ya all fat an’ swollen with ma kids. Fuck. Yer gonna look radiant.”

You moaned with him, picturing your pregnant belly, glowing face. Picturing a little human that you will birth. A human that Osamu could potentially put in you now.

“Daddy,” you whined. “Need…. I need- please.”

“Need what, baby?” Osamu had a little smirk on his face. His skin was flushed and damp, a drop of sweat rolling down the side of his face. His eyes were so dark you couldn’t make out his pupils. He looked feral.

“Need my load in ya? That it? Need ta take every last drop, yeah? Can’t risk wastin’ it.”

His hand came up, winding into your hair and tugging hard until you yelped.

“Take it, doll. Take it-”

His voice broke into a long moan as his hips stuttered and you felt warmth flood your insides, his bulging biceps trembling as he tried to hold his weight up through his orgasm. He was loud through it, coaxing you with rough words and even rougher fingers pinching your clit until you came one last time with a heaving cry, eyes rolling up into your head.

You had barely caught your breath when Osamu reached up to grip your face tightly with one hand, your cheeks squishing together. You stared at him with zoned out, misty eyes.

“Don’t ya dare waste a single drop.” He whispered so close that his lips brushed your puckered ones. “Keep it inside yer pussy like a grateful slut, ya hear me?”

You moaned in response, nodding weakly against his grip. He pulled out then and you clenched tightly, but you could feel it as a little bit trailed down your crack. Osamu hummed in disappointment, holding your legs open and watching as his cum leaked out.

“Poor baby. Couldn’t do it, could ya?” You felt him lean forward and brush a surprisingly soft kiss below your ear.

“I guess I’ll just have ta keep goin’ until I know yer pregnant fer sure.”

Taglist:

@bxbyyyjocelyn @thisbicc @lazuliquartz @dreamayy @kuroosluthoe @true-form-hoe @akumakitsune21 @cham0mil3-and-h0n3y @samisfunky @universal-s1ut @msbyomimi @dohwaesu @leothesquishy y @n0tmykays @tsukiran @reyofsunshinelol @bleach-your-panties @galaneiaeris @leyra-giovanni @erenspersonalwh0re @peachesncats @soapsoftheworld @iwannabecamiloshovel @vintagevict0ria @smithieandy @moonlit-mizukage @snazzyturtles @argwein

A/N: For those whose tags arent working, im sorry! I tried and for some reason, your names wont show up in the mentions :( another way of being notified is to turn on my blog notifs for @teamatsumufics . I only reblog my fics there so it serves almost like being in a taglist!

[penkura]

hey! how are you?

hope you're doing well :)

I wanted to ask, If you could pretty please write a one shot about Sanji and reader, I'm watching the Zou arc now, and I really want to know how it would be If reader was with him in the moment he finds out about the marriage and leaves the note, she would cry and beg him to stay or something, you can decide If they were already in a relantionship or not.

Anyway feel free to ignore it if you don't want, and take care of yourself <3

PS: sorry If something got wrong, english it's not my first language.

Omg the Zou arc, pain with Sanji geez. I'm so happy for this request tho, I've not written this scenario before! I had an idea for their relationship as soon as I read your message too, so I hope this is what you were looking for! I kept it open for a part two if you'd like later on as well! I hope you enjoy it!

You and Sanji had been close ever since Luffy recruited you shortly after him. Something about the blond had just drawn you in and he was glad to entertain you and spend his free time with you. Even when you’d sit and watch him cook in total silence, Sanji welcomed it, he was happy to have company and someone to listen when he started talking out loud about what steps were next. You learned his most common dishes so well that you were able to rattle off the directions yourself, causing Sanji to become smitten with you quickly.

You’d fallen in the same way, after spending time with and getting to know Sanji. Despite his perverted tendencies at times, you found yourself drawn to and falling completely head over heels for your crew’s chef. He kept somethings about his life before meeting Zeff from you, the most you knew was that he was one of five children and from the North Blue, you didn’t dare pry too much farther. You didn’t want to push him away and ruin the friendship you’d built with him, especially once you realized your feeling for Sanji were more than just friendly.

Not like you’ll ever tell him, if you have it your way. You weren’t going to make things difficult for not only you and Sanji but your whole crew too. You’ve become content to just admire and pine after him, no matter how many times Nami tells you to just say something to him about your feelings, you refuse to do so. You won’t make things awkward, not when everyone is focused on their goals and now looking towards taking down an Emperor of the Sea in Kaido.

“The main event is a wedding,” Bege takes out an invitation and opens it for Sanji to see, “Between the third son of the Vinsmoke family and the 35th daughter of the Charlotte family, Pudding.”

You were content until this new development. A tea party invitation and requirement from Big Mom, a wedding to a girl he’s never met, the last name he’s never once told you about. You just believed he didn’t have one, like Nami or Usopp, it didn’t matter to you if he did or didn’t. He’s Sanji, he’s not this Vinsmoke Sanji. Your mind is reeling as he flat out refuses the invitation, while your crewmates shout their disbelief at this situation, you can’t even seem to join them. Everything moves so fast, the next thing you know, one of Bege’s crew members has whispered something to Sanji that’s got him going rigid, being getting a pen and piece of paper to write something down. You don’t even notice fully that he’s taken and ripped a piece off it, ignoring the looks he gets from the others around, wondering what he’s doing.

While Sanji slips the note he’s written to Nami, you try so hard to finally speak but the words won’t come out. He can’t leave, he just can’t! He’s so important to your crew, to Luffy, to you, Sanji can’t just go off and marry some random girl he’s never met! It’s not fair, even though you’ve never made your feelings known to him, you have no claim on Sanji. You’re able to get back into focus as he speaks to you all again when he hugs you.

“Please know, I never meant to keep anything from any of you.” He grips your shoulder just a bit tighter than he has before, and that’s what finally gets you to speak.

“Sanji, wait! You…you can’t go! I…I lo—”

He stops you with a smile and placing his hand on your head, nodding just a bit. “I know…but don’t worry, I’ll come back…and then we can talk, okay?”

You don’t believe him, even as he forces the four of you out of Bege’s castle, giving everyone a smile and promising to be back later. He’s never lied to you before, why shouldn’t you believe him? You have every intention of running after Bege as he goes to escape, but Nami reminds you that it’ll be pretty hard to do anything when you’re still chained up like the rest of them. Even after the Minks free you, you want to go after them, but she stops you again, with a hug that finally makes you start to cry over not being able to stop him.

At least, until you feel the scratch of paper on your shoulder and realize that’s what he was doing, when Sanji gripped your shoulder tighter. He was slipping you a note separate from everyone, now you can take it and see what he was telling you that he kept from everyone else. You don’t read it until you’re back to the room you and Nami are sharing thanks to the Minks, and all it does is make your heart ache and feel like you should’ve done more, because now you truly don’t believe he’s coming back.

No matter what happens next, I love you. I’ll tell you in person when I come back.

You’re going to help Luffy get him back, your mind and heart are decided.

[yamujiburo]

HANAMUSA HEADCANONS

more hcs as promised! my girlfriend wrote some too heehee

My headcanons:

Delia is a morning person and was surprised to learn that Jessie was even more of a morning person than her

Jessie's a massive romantic and is usually the one to plan all their dates

They're both very clingy with each other

Jessie and Delia enjoy doing karaoke together

Delia would never say it but she gets sad whenever Ash leaves so quickly for his next journey. Jessie picks up on this and manages to convince Ash to stay home longer for his mom's sake.

After finding out Delia wanted to be model, Jessie started making a lot of new outfits for her using her years of expertise from making disguises

Delia enjoys being big spoon

Delia initiated their first kiss

They both rescue a pair of Zigzagoons from a poacher. They were named Ziggy and Zaggy by Delia

Jessie cuts Delia’s hair for her

Once Jessie becomes a nurse and starts going to work, Delia starts packing lunches for her every day (it’s usually way too much food)

Whenever Delia’s working in the kitchen, Jessie’s always waddling right behind her (not usually being much help but Delia doesn’t mind)

Delia is incredibly fond of Jessie’s Pokémon, Wobbuffet and Gourgeist in particular 

Delia never really drank before meeting Jessie but now they have wine nights together. They usually end with Jessie passed out in Delia’s lap

Pikachu comes around to Jessie rather quickly after realizing she’s not really a threat and finding out how good at head scratches she is (she has nice long nails)

Mimey takes the longest to come around to Jessie 

Ash never calls Jessie “mom” and she’s very okay with that. He does however call her “dad” to piss her off

Jessie calls Ash��“champ” in retaliation

Jessie calls Delia “my Deerling” and Delia calls Jessie “Smoochum”

Delia loves when Jessie gives her kisses on the forehead

Delia is a huge Jessilina fan. Jessie reveals that she is Jessilina but Delia doesn’t believe her at first

Jessie and Ash slowly bond through Pokémon battles

Jessie and Ash tried making breakfast for Delia together once. Delia cried and they thought it was because it turned out bad (it did) but it she was just really happy to see them working together 

Living alone and having to run a restaurant on her own, Delia never got to travel much. Jessie, being pretty worldly, takes Delia on lots of trips once they get together. James and Meowth hold down the fort and run the restaurant while they’re out

Jessie and Delia do a lot of movie nights together. Jessie loves sobbing at romcoms and Delia likes really fucked up horror movies for some reason (Jessie’s terrified of them but doesn’t want Delia to think she’s a coward)

Jessie likes to randomly scoop Delia up and carry her around the house

Jessie enjoys giving Delia makeovers and Delia loves getting them

Delia tends to keep a lot of her negative feelings to herself but after meeting Jessie and seeing how unapologetically expressive she is, she starts letting her guard down a bit. She rants about rude customers and Jessie could listen to her all day

Because she lived alone for so long, Delia sometimes needs her space. Jessie’s still getting used to this (as someone who hates being alone)

Prior to getting her own job, Jessie would just do chores then sit around at the Ketchum house waiting for Delia to come home. She’s very bad at entertaining herself

@miwwiew​ ‘s headcanons:

Jessie is a passenger princess 

Delia has gone so long only conversing with Mr. Mime at home that she will ponder inappropriate things out loud, only for Jessie to now hear what she says and bolt over to her in a panic

"I wonder how I would survive all alone with just Mimey if I lost both of my arms in a freak accident" "IF YOU WHAT???"

"Jessie would you love me if I were an orthoworm?" "Where is this coming from, I'm-"

Jessie is used to verbally sparring with James and Meowth, but Delia has not dealt with conflict for years, so sometimes Jessie will overreact as a bit, which accidentally leads Delia to assume she did something to offend Jessie.

General Team Rocket headcanons!

https://at.tumblr.com/yamujiburo/team-rocket-headcanons/jey12qvg2631

[morganski-19]

Chills Right to the Marrow Part 26

ao3 link| part 1 . . . part 23, part 24, part 25

Wayne walks into the hospital, the information that he’s been given still running a marathon he can’t finish. Too caught up stumbling in all the unbelievable hurdles. Struggling to keep his footing on ground he thought was solid. But it’s cracking underneath his feet.

All these kids, all this time, went through that. Something that the authorities should have dealt with, but left up to children and regular civilians. Causing people to die and get hurt. Be left with trauma the regular public will never understand, and might not even believe.

Wayne doesn’t even know if he believes it. Even though he knows it’s true. It’s just his brain trying to find the fault in the truth to market it as a lie. So he can be mad a something a little more real. More feasible.

“Hey, Wayne,” Dustin calls out to him, causing him to stop in his tracks. “Did Steve talk to you, he said he needed to. I don’t know what about though.”

“Nothing you don’t already know,” he says simply. Each work breaking a small line in his heart.

Dustin rolls his eyes. “So you won’t tell me either, great.”

“Woah, I was tellin’ you the truth. No need to give me that tone.” Wayne might be slightly out of practice, but that parent voice came back real fast.

“Sorry,” Dustin mutters under his breath, crossing his arms. “I’m just sick of people hiding things from me. I’m not a kid anymore.”

But he is.

“But you are.”

He groans. “Sure fine, I’m still technically a kid. But I’m older now, I understand things more. That has to count for something.”

“Sure it does. Doesn’t mean you’re going to part of every conversation though. There are some things that you don’t need to be a part of. Things you don’t need to worry about.”

“People always say that, but I don’t believe them. First they say it’s nothing to worry about, and they they’re almost dying. I’m tired of that.”

And there lies the real reason for this frustration. The need to be involved so he knows exactly what the problem is. So he can try to get ahead of it. Stop it before it becomes catastrophic.

This kid has already had some much of his life change before his eyes. Without question, straying from the established plan. There’s no planning for life, but especially not the way Dustin’s had to live it. The way any of these kids had to live it. Or the adults.

Wayne sees the pain that imbedded itself into all of their beings. The way their eyes dart around, trying to see the unseen. And their bodies to predict the unpredictable. Pulled taught with string, ready for the next fight. For the next big thing.

If he could give anything to help them get one moment’s peace, he would give it. No one deserves to live like this.

“Look,” Wayne places a hand on Dustin’s shoulder. “I don’t have all the answers for you, and I’m not sure what specifically you’re talking about. But I do know that these people care about you, and know that you care about them. There are always going to be things left unsaid, and things kept from you. And you’re not going to get anything if you come from a place of anger instead of compassion. Explain why you want to know, then maybe they’ll tell you.”

Dustin nods, taking a moment to think. Wayne watches as he processes where to go next. Sees the fragility that lies beneath his frustration.

“Do you think they would really tell me?” he finally asks, so unsure of it all.

“They might. And if they don’t, they might give you a better answer than telling you it’s none of your business. That means they listened to you.”

It’s what everyone wants at the end of the day. To be heard.

“That’s at least something, isn’t it?” Wayne finishes, looking Dustin in the eyes. Showing him that he listened. That Dustin was heard.

Dustin nods. Still not looking completely satisfied, but better. “I guess so.”

Wayne gives Dustin’s shoulder a clap before letting go. “You off to see Eddie?”

“No,” he shakes his head. “I just came from there, my mom wants me home for dinner.”

“You have a ride?”

Dustin nods his head.

“Alright. Tell your mom thanks for me, for the dinner. It was very nice of her.”

“I won’t tell her that bit. Unless you want an entire casserole on your doorstep tomorrow.”

Wayne chuckles on his way to Eddie’s room. A real laugh. It’s starting to feel less foreign now.

Eddie’s playing with a stress ball when Wayne enters. Or less so playing and more like squeezing. Mumbling something under his breath before letting go.

“Hey Wayne,” he says. Concentration still on the ball.

“What do you got there?”

Eddie groans, head dramatically hitting the pillow. “Some stupid exercise the new nurse gave me to do. Something about starting to get back ‘motor functions.’ I’m supposed to count how long I can squeeze it.”

“What’s your record?”

“Ten seconds. Trying to get it to fifteen.”

He squeezes the stress ball again, fine for the first few seconds, but starting to shake around the halfway mark. Fingers twitching as they start to release the grip. Eddie’s face scrunching, trying to get them to stay just a bit longer.

“Ha, eleven.” He releases his fist, the momentum of the ball causing it to roll out of his hand. “Take that.”

The ball rolls off the bed toward Wayne’s direction. He picks it up, taking a second to give it back to Eddie. Wondering if it’s right to bring up that he knows.

“You just missed the guys, by the way,” Eddie starts before Wayne gets the chance to. “Finally got off their asses to come see me.”

“They came by a few times while you were in the coma.”

Eddie rolls his eyes, like that doesn’t matter. But really Wayne knows he’s just annoyed. These kids were his friends before spring break. He thought they were going to be after too.

“Yeah, but not while I was awake. It’s one thing to come and see me when I’m asleep, it’s a different thing to come and see me when I’m awake.”

“That’s true. Did you ask them why it took them so long? Maybe they had a good reason”

Eddie groans. “You can’t go a few weeks without trying to give me a life lesson, can you.”

Wayne laughs again. Sits with how the air sits in his lungs so light. Makes his whole body so much lighter.

He doesn’t need to talk about what happened with Eddie right now. Not yet. Not when Eddie’s trying to figure out how to live again. Not while he’s still trying to get them a place to call home.

Everything will come out when it’s time. He knows that. Right now, they can forget for a while and just be.

next part

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@tinyplanet95, @steddie-as-they-go, @slv-333, @littlecelestialmoth, @thatonebadideapanda,

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@papergrenade, @waelkyring, @sweetheartprincess28, @katouasobj, @astercomoasflores

[eldritch-nightmare]

Liu and sully dating headcanond please 🥺👉👈

thank u anon i'm giving u a lil fist bump for sending this in <3 it might b a little short. just a tad. i hope u enjoy it nonetheless. <33 i was going to make a separate poly section but like. then i didn't. anyways i wrote this in one sitting. uhhh requests are opened also btw if anyone wants to send smth in <3

warnings: me being silly and deranged over liu and sully, mentions of guns, mentions of fire, mentions of religion, blasphemy???, blood, mentions of cannibalism, mentions of murder, i swear it's not dark sully is just. sully.

Liu.

dating?????? he knows nothing about it. no experience at all. a few crushes here and there when he was younger but... his priorities have been more-so dedicated to trying to kill his brother than being the next bachelor.

he probably doesn't even realize when he's developed feelings for someone, if we're being honest. there are only like... three sure-fire ways for him to realize he's got feelings for someone.

option a) sully. this is the most likely way, because sully is a solid(ly aggressive) wingman and would get fuckin annoyed seeing liu oblivious to his own feelings and would probably leave a note for liu to find that says something along the lines of 'ask them out before i do it for you'. that's certainly one way to make the man confront his feelings.

option b) you approach him first. be honest with your feelings, he's a really good listener. tell him how you want to go out on a date with him, or that you want him to be your boyfriend, whatever, it'll hit him in the face.

option c) patience. he'll figure it out one day on his own, just... it'll take time. and a lot of it.

anyways, using one of these three options laid out for you, you're sure to score a boyfriend! i hope you're not scared of fire. or guns. or... religion. those three things are pretty much a big part of him as a person, so.

but no yeah he's head over heels in love with you btw. the man would gift you the heavens itself if he could, but all he can give you are cute little trinkets that remind him of you.

he's so fucking romantic and he doesn't even try like. trust me. trust me on this guys please please you gotta believe me when i say this dude okay just like. trust me please.

he looks at you like you hung the stars in the sky. he'd probably be admiring you, resting his head on your lap while you play with his hair, your attention so focused on the show or movie playing. it's such a simple moment, but it's the one that makes him realize that he's in deep. like... wow. he's so in love with you.

he's a little hesitant to admit it, but you've become home. not because he hates it or anything like that, god, not at all. he's just... the last home he had was mercilessly ripped away from him. so pardon him for being a little scared. but you make him feel safe, and that's not something he's been able to feel in a long, long time.

liu doesn't murder without a reason. he actively avoids murdering people if he can. but he'd kill for you. whether or not that's something he's ready or willing to admit yet is up for debate but he would murder someone for you without any ounce of hesitation.

he's so willing to go out on dates w you btw. if you want to take a walk in the park, go see a movie, or whatever people do on dates then go ahead. he's legally dead in the eyes of the law. got a grave and everything, so he's not worried about being seen in public.

under the assumption that you know nothing about who he is, or his past, he's never going to tell you. all you'll ever know is that his parents were brutally murdered, he has a little brother that you... you think his brother is dead?? he talks about him as though he's dead. he almost died the same night his parents died, and his house burnt to the ground after. he's... really vague when he talks about his past. you'll never know the full extent, not unless the truth is forced upon you.

god i have so much more i want to add but i dont want this to get too long okay just. he's so in love with you. you've brought light back into his life, and he'll do everything in his power to keep you safe. he cannot lose you. yes we will ignore the thoughts i have of how he'd react if you did die lol. for now.

anyways he's the perfect boyfriend honestly <3

Sully.

also has no dating experience but he's not oblivious to his own feelings. the moment he decides that he cares about you a little more than he typically cares for another person, he's telling you.

he's so casual about it too, like. sir. how can you say 'yeah i think i could fall in love with you' with such a straight face?? you ask him that and he just shrugs.

i really hope you're comfortable with the sight of blood because trust the moment the two of you become an official couple, he's showing up at your place with injuries. nothing too bad, he'd hate to scare you like that, but just little things. like a gash of a knife on the palm of his hand. he has a really high pain tolerance but he'll act like the pain is utterly unbearable if it means having you help him treat it and kiss it better.

it's not like he actually needs you to take care of him. but he likes watching you. he likes watching the way you focus, carefully tending to his wounds, scared that you'll hurt him more if you're not careful. he likes watching the way his blood smears on your skin (totally by accident and not at all on purpose).

definitely the type to bite your lip just a little too hard when kissing you just so he can taste your blood. he thinks it's romantic idk the guy is kind of a freak (affectionately)

he'd probably eat you if he could but then he'd miss you too much so :( no cannibalism. but he thinks cannibalism is romantic guys. feel like i need to state that. he says 'i would eat you' but in a loving, romantic, affectionate way.

he never really understood religion, nor did he care much for it. he understood that it was a big part of liu's life, and therefore something he encounters often, but it wasn't until he started dating you that he understood. there must be some god or deity out there because heaven is wherever you're at.

you must be an angel, because how else could you love someone like him? he'd never pray to god, but god, he could pray to you all day.

and fuck, he thinks about corrupting you, dragging an angel like you down to his hell.

he can picture it now, tears streaming down your face, shaking in fear as you kill someone for the first time. their blood staining your hands and clothes as you drop the knife, horrified by what you've done while sully pulls you into a hug and tells you that you did such a good job.

i've already said this but sully likes watching you. you could be doing nothing at all, or someone could be talking to him. doesn't matter. the moment you're in the same room as him, he's staring at you.

you don't know why he does it, and he never gives you an answer when you ask. he just smiles.

you'd never think this, but sully is scared of you dying. people are so fragile, it doesn't take much to kill them. he's... he's never been scared before, and it... excites him. of course you're the one to make him feel this way. it could never be anyone else. anyways don't die. he'll be sad if you do.

was actually shocked when it clicked that he loved you. like... yeah, he said he could fall in love with you but. fucking wow it actually happened. holy shit.

anyways he tells you like .5 seconds after. he adapts to his emotions very quickly. the guy just casually says, 'hey, i'm in love with you.' and just stares until you respond with 'i'm in love with you too' and then he just has this small smile on his face for like... the rest of the day.

would also murder for you btw. no hesitation, no questions asked. if you want someone dead, he's killing them for you. clearly, they deserve to be dead if you hated them enough to wish for it.

solid boyfriend material but only if you're okay with. him. as a person.

[thecountesstribe]

HOTD Ep 2x7 Spoilers and review.

So this was one of my favorite episodes this season and also one of the coolest imo.

Seasmoke being protective of Addam and looking proud he terrorized Addam into being his rider was too funny. I love that dragon 😂. Come through Addam the Loyal, all Rhaenyra had to say was she's queen and he immediately acknowledged her and bent the knee, I loved that. He's really about to become my other favorite boy.

Corlys being shook and acting like he doesn't know Addam, like sir if you don't tell the truth already. He's never gonna beat the deadbeat allegations. Although when he told him “Well done” I did whoop a little. I would've kicked his ass had I been Addam though.

Oscar Tully! That's it. That's the fuckin post. He gagged Daemon and stood on business. I love to see young kids bullying arrogant adults, he reminded me of the OG lil boss Lyanna Mormont. That's my lil nephew now.

Daemon didn't take the crown. We saw him hallucinating again, this time with the sick version of Viserys and Viserys holding the crown which he didn't take. I mean anybody with a brain could summarize that he never wanted the crown, we didn't need to spend so much time in his delusions in Harrenhal to tell us that. We certainly didn't need a scene of him feasting on his mom to tell us that, yuck. For all his faults he really was about his family. He went about it the wrong way but that's Daemon for you. His stupid self destructive ass.

We had an unnecessary scene of Alicent running about the woods after leaving King's Landing. Chile anyways. Larys is totally protecting Aegon now and he's essentially crippled atp. I fear for Baela's storyline.

Rhaena is looking for Sheepstealer. Her and Jeyne are still tussling but they waited until the final 2 episodes to give her something, Baela had no lines besides looking pretty and staring at Jace. I fuckin hate it here. Could we bully HBO AND THE WRITERS SOME MORE. WTF!!

Vermithor and SilverWing looked so cool. What did that old bum feed Vermithor though? He's big asf. SilverWing just might be the coolest looking dragon. I can't rank them anymore cause I like them all 😭. Literally my favorite thing about the episode. Like the directors cooked. The dragons are funny asf 😂😭😭😭. There were a lot of parentage reveals, I don't believe for a second Saera sired that ugly man but anyways. RhaeRhae led those people to their deaths. Rhaenyra deadass gave this big ass pep talk, she reminded me of Erwin before he led the scouts out on what would be their suicide mission except she didn't stay to see the outcome or participate in it. Vermithor saw an opportunity for a buffet and took it, Hugh claimed him. Fuckin cinema. Still gonna hate his bitchass but I can't lie that was badass. SilverWing was bullying Ulf. Why do people I hate always win sometimes?! Ulf literally failed upwards. Can't be mad at it. I mean if I was a dragon I would've done the same shit. How dare mediocre specimens come before me who is essentially the next best thing after the Gods!

We got Rhaenyra speaking High Valyrian. She had her dragon squad quit on her though and gave her a warning (foreshadowing). Her also being able to calm Vermithor, that's the Dragon Queen of her era y'all. We saw a little movement with her and her protective spoiled cat Syrax too 😍.

Not people hating on Jace now. Listen that argument has been brewing since season 1. He just finally let it out of his brooding body. I don't think many people understand the implications that argument meant. He sounded classist and maybe he was, highly doubt he is but he's being realistic and in the future he was proven right (unless they scrap the book canon). Rhaenyra paralleled Viserys in that entire scene. She really is her father's child in some ways. She did to Jace what Viserys essentially did to her. The one thing that could've upheld his ascension to the throne was him having a dragon and she essentially gave a free pass to anybody to do the same, the same thing was done to Rhaenyra when Viserys decided to marry Alicent and sire more children when he knew damn well that if he had a son, her claim to the throne would've been compromised. Jace knows he's a “bastard”, a legitimate one but a “bastard” ntl (I'm not calling him a bastard in a derogatory sense either, he isn't. Laenor claimed them as his sons and that's the end of it to me) , it shouldn't matter considering the throne is not passing from his father's side but his mother's. Sure his last name would've changed the minute he was named heir and ascended as stated by Viserys but what weight does that hold now? They briefly touched on it when he spoke to Baela about his fathers but he had always been insecure about his parentage. No he didn't call his mother a whore, he's been fighting that battle all his life, she just made it worse. In the dire situation they're in, the sacrifice had to be made but I could understand why he's angry and hurt over it again. She literally just made him illegitimate in the eyes of the realm. His anger is valid. Was his tone harsh yes, try dealing with the whispers and the jeers and everything else for the past 16 years of your entire life and seeing the same proof of what everybody else sees everyday and tell me that you wouldn't hold some kind of resentment towards it. I liked how Rhaenyra was patient with him though, just wished it wasn't as rushed as the scene felt.

The last shot of the episode was fuckin brilliant. Aemond turning his bitchass around knowing he can't handle that kinda pressure. Also Vhagar and Aemond's bond may not be as strong as it should be. She clearly does not listen to him sometimes. He's still responsible for Lucerys death IDC what y'all got to say. The episode got a 4/5 stars from me just for the dragons. I'm here for Jace, Baela, Addam and the Dragons!

Until next week guys for the finale. We're going to see Tessarion and Sheepstealer next week. I'm so excited.

[robot-roadtrip-rants]

My Headcanon for Why Emps Banned Religion

I have read none of the books with a heavy Emps focus but I have read a lot about them, including various excerpts, and obviously that's enough to qualify me for making headcanons about him. So here's my big theory:

The religion ban had nothing to do with Chaos, and everything to do with the Emperor himself.

Listen. Listen. We have three facts:

The Emperor is a 38,000-year-old psyker created to defend humanity against Chaos who has dealt directly with the gods. There is no way he doesn't understand how they work.

The Emperor made a deal with Chaos but failed to keep his end of the bargain. This bargain allowed him to create the primarchs, but it also empowered him personally.

The Emperor is the entity prophesied to become the Dark King, the fifth Chaos God.

I think the Emperor was trying to prevent his own ascension by banning religion.

Humanity has a fairly strong connection to the Warp; it's slowly evolving into a psyker species. A single, non-psyker human won't have much effect, but if billions and billions of humans believe the same thing, it will affect the Warp.

Now, pause for a moment and think about what it would be like to encounter the Emperor. I don't just mean walking up to the guy and shaking his hand, I mean just seeing him and being in his vicinity. You're gonna get knocked on your ass by the most intense Warp aura you will ever feel in your life. To put things in perspective, in one of the HH books, Lion makes an entire room of men kneel just by walking in the room. The Emperor is exponentially more powerful than any of the primarchs. The dude hangs out with blanks because they're just too weak to hurt him.

A lot of people are going to process that encounter as a religious experience.

Now, obviously the vast majority of the Imperium's population are never going to see the Emperor. But millions and millions of people will still go through this experience. We don't see much of this because the HH series takes place when the Emperor retreats to Terra to work on the Webway. Prior to that, he would have been a public figure--giving speeches, holding triumphs, leading armies, going to summits, etc etc etc. There would be a steady stream of people walking away shaken to the core because they decided to go to a big parade or whatever.

Now, add to that his utopian mission (the Imperium will unify the galaxy and create a golden age of humanity! yay!), the cult of personality, and the fact that some planets really would have greeted the Imperium's arrival with joy...

Look, someone's gonna start a new religion. Maybe multiple someones. And you had better believe it's gonna spread because "huh that there is some kind of divine being" is a pretty understandable response to Big E and his Slightly Less Big Sons.

Thing is, the Big E in question knows about the Dark King prophecy, knows how the warp works, and knows he's as much a Warp entity as he is human. If increasing number of humans believe that he's a god, all that belief is gonna pour into the Warp, and eventually it's gonna affect the very nature of his being. Him, who already has prophecies about a divine ascension floating around. GEE WOW COULD THESE THINGS BE RELATED, WHAT COULD POSSIBLY HAPPEN NEXT.

The Emperor really, really doesn't want to become a Chaos god. The Emperor is extremely anti-Chaos. So it is absolutely vital that no one starts worshipping him because the risk is too great, and too much is at stake.

The solution? Ban religion.

See, he can't just allow freedom of religion because statistically speaking, someone's gonna start worshipping him. And he can't start a state religion, because that associates his person with the official religion, and then he'll get turned into a saint or a minor god or something. For fucks sake, the Catherics still venerate St. Vladimir and they don't even know what Russia is! Yeah, official religion is straight out. Honestly, the big problem here is the whole tendency to worship giant miracle-working people with overwhelming Warp signatures. That's what really needs to be targeted. A vigorous program of rationality combined with a strict ban on religion will discourage both the practices and the thought processes that lead to Emperor worship. Humanity will learn to trust SCIENCE and FACTS rather than seeking comfort from silly old superstitions. That is definitely how human psychology works.

The downside of this policy is that he cannot acknowledge Chaos. Acknowledging that big spooky supernatural entities with godlike powers exist severely undermines the whole premise. But the aftershocks of Slaanesh's birth have mostly worn off by now, the Warp is pretty quiet these days, and frankly speaking there is so much Weird Shit in the Materium that the occasional daemon can be written off as wacky xenos hijinks. Plus, the general drive away from religion will also drive humanity away from Chaos worship. It's a bit of a gamble to deny Chaos, but all things considered it's a safe one.

So Emps bans religion and starts his totally-not-a-religious Crusade to unify the galaxy and find his sons. Everything is going great! Chaos has barely made a peep and rationality is blossoming on all the human planets. The way things are going, Emps might even get a head start on that Webway--

Uhhhhhhh. That's. That's a nice religion you invented there, newly-found son. You know it's gonna have to go in the trash, right? Atheism is kind of our thing.

what is this what are you writing about

LORGAR WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!?

Yeah so Emps flips the fuck out. This is literally what he was trying to avoid, and it is the worst case scenario. Not only has an Emperor-worshipping religion sprung up, but one of his sons--y'know, the insanely charismatic monstrosities with crazy Warp signatures that he made--is the one who started it! This has to be stopped, and it has to be stopped HARD. Breaking Lorgar isn't enough. Emps has to break his religion.

And you know the rest.

************************************************************************

LINGERING QUESTIONS:

Q: If Emps was so hellbent on preventing a religion from springing up around him, why did he build a cult of personality?

A: He's an authoritarian dick, of course he's going to build a cult of personality. And of course he's going to convince himself that the cult of personality is necessary, and that it won't conflict with his anti-religion agenda. That's how authoritarian dicks think.

Q: Then why was he ready to become the Dark Lord in TEatD II?

A: Damage control. Emps didn't have the power to take on All Of Chaos Wearing Horus. So if he didn't ascend, he'd be consigning humanity to subservience at best to extremely hostile entities. But if he did ascend, then he might still be able protect humanity even as a horrifying Warp monstrosity. The Emperor will always choose the option that (he thinks) is best for humanity even at the cost of himself. But that's a whole other post.

LAST TIME: Emps has a really fucked up sense of time.

NEXT TIME: Why is the Emperor Like That?

[celtigxr]

The Pink Dread (Master List) - - - - - ch. iv: unforgiven

Chapter Summary: The dinner with the reunited families goes about as well as everyone thought it would.

Word Count: 3703

Sneak Peak: “Oh, shit,” Aegon spoke into the rim of his cup, a wide grin upon his face.  Floris choked, forcing Clement to pat her on the back.  Shyla gasped, then promptly hid her mouth with her hands. “Valeana,” Arthor hissed at her, though it fell on deaf ears. 

Warnings: None, i think. Language, I suppose, lol.

T H E   R E D S

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

Valeana never hated her step sister more than that very moment when they gathered around the table. Floris bumped into her shoulder to take her place at Clement’s right before Val could get there. By all rights, as Bartimos’ second child, she should have sat next to her brother, but Floris was always adamant that the order of things go by age, and that she was Bartimos’s eldest daughter, not Valeana. 

Floris has always been a shrew, but her attitude had soured with age. She had become more entitled and frequently bullied her sisters to do what she wanted them to do. Shyla was far too fragile to disobey, and Val picked her battles. Sometimes the headache wasn’t worth the effort. 

Valeana bit her tongue as she descended into her chair, forcing herself to keep her head down, gaze away from the man across from her. Which was difficult. All her effort was put into the muscles of her neck and face, willing herself to be as close to a statue as humanly possible. Her cheek faced Aemond while she pretended to listen to the King’s toasts. From the corner of her eye, she could see him openly staring, only breaking when his father stood up to toast to forgiveness.

That was when Valeana looked at Aemond without fear of eye contact. How could he, when she now faced the side of his face that was marred and sightless. A pity, a small voice said in the back of her mind. He had such pretty lilac eyes. He still had that regal profile, though, with that strong jawline and aquiline nose. He still had those sharp bow-shaped lips. The softness of his boyishness long gone, replaced by chiseled cheekbones and sharp edges. He reminded Valeana of the tip of a sword. Proud, regal, dangerous, lethal. Unlike a sword, Val had the intrusive desire to run her tongue down the slope of his jawline.

Cursing herself, she tore her eyes away.

As more food was placed upon the table, conversations took place. The adults conversed in pleasantries filled with nostalgia, and the youth exchanged awkward glances, pretending to pay attention to what they were talking about.

Until the silence was finally broken. 

“Sunfyre must be very big now, Prince Aegon,” Shyla craned her neck to find the prince in question. “I remember when he was the size of a horse.” 

Aegon’s ears perked up at the mention of his dragon; it was clear that the beast was his greatest pride. 

Still chewing on a roll, Aegon replied, “Oh yeth,” he took a cup of wine and drank down his morsel. “He’s gotten quite large. Big enough to fly two in his saddle.” 

Shyla’s face lit up like the Grand Sept on Maiden’s Day, though Valeana was the only one who really caught it. She knew exactly how her sister perceived his words: she believed that Aegon was offering her a ride on Sunfyre. 

Valeana remembers Aegon threatening to set her on fire once, because she wouldn’t stop asking to come to the Dragon Pit. They were never allowed, not even with Helaena, who’s dragon, Dreamfyre, was already domesticated and well trained. The Dragonkeepers wouldn’t allow it, and neither did their father. 

“If that were true, then I’d imagine Vhagar could seat double,” Surprisingly, it was Arthor who spoke. Val wasn’t used to her youngest sibling speaking when the crowd was more than three. However, he had always been fascinated by dragons, ever since he saw the Cannibal flying around Crackclaw point. 

The black wild dragon was an island regular, being so close to Dragonstone where his cave was located. When Valeana sequestered herself in her room, she would spend hours on her balcony, watching him, imagining herself being the only person alive that could claim him. The Cannibal, the wildest, largest, and dangerous of dragons alive. No one even knew how old he was, or where he came from, or how he ended up feasting on his own kind, and that made the creature all the more interesting to her. 

Though she did not have the blood of the dragon, and so she kept her fascinations to herself. 

Aemond turned to the young Celtigar, his smirk like coiling ribbon, “Vhagar is as mighty as her size, but I would not say she could seat four and still fly unimpeded. Three at most, I would say.” 

For the first time since they arrived, Arthor smiled, “That is still impressive. I should like to see her, if it is not too much trouble.” 

“I would not get your hopes up, brother,” Valeana found herself talking despite her unofficial vow of silence. Her eyes never left her plate as she cut her venison in bite size pieces, “The Dragonpit is reserved for dragonriders and their keepers.”

There was a moment of surprised silence before Aemond spoke, “Vhagar is far too big for the Dragonpit. So, to answer your question, Arthor, it would not be too much trouble, if we find the time.”

Valeana still hadn’t looked up from her food. 

“Would you care to join us, Valeana?” 

She froze, fork hovering over her plate, halfway to her lips. This was the first time he had said her name in ten years, at least in her presence. The first time he directly acknowledged her. There was a strained aura at their end of the table, one that the adults weren’t paying attention to. 

“It can be quite daunting to be in the shadow of a beast of Conquest, but Vhagar is quite loyal to me. You will be safe under my supervision,” He continued when his question went unanswered. 

Val hummed, and her body unfroze like a ship at full canvas when the rush of wind from an upcoming storm pushed it into life. No, she couldn’t help herself… Her mouth was already open, tongue sharp like an arrowhead. 

“Am I? Forgive me my skepticism, Prince Aemond, but the last time I stood near you, I nearly lost my life. I do not trust you near a flight of stairs, let alone a dragon,” this time she looked directly at him, her sentence punctuated by how she put the food in her mouth. Her teeth sliding against the metal utensil as she pulled the morsel free. 

“Oh, shit,” Aegon spoke into the rim of his cup, a wide grin upon his face. 

Floris choked, forcing Clement to pat her on the back. 

Shyla gasped, then promptly hid her mouth with her hands.

“Valeana,” Arthor hissed at her, though it fell on deaf ears. 

Aemond’s jaw tightened as he tried to hold her venomous gaze, but ultimately failed. He turned his cheek to her, directing his attention to his cup instead. 

“You do not need to make this more difficult than it needs to be,” His voice seemed softer, as if defeated or tired. “This is the season of peacemaking, is it not?”

Valeana couldn’t stop her eye roll, and when she did, she spotted the heated glare Floris was giving her. 

Be. Nice. She mouthed. 

No. Val mouthed back. 

Floris cleared her throat, “Right you are, Prince Aemond. I have many fond memories of our shared youth.”

“Mhm,” Valeana nodded sarcastically as she viciously cut a carrot in half, “Like that one day when Aegon told you he had a present waiting for you in a room, and you foolishly opened a water closet while Septa Jeyne was–”

“-- I remember no such thing,” Floris was quick to shake her head, her hands making quick work of the meat on her plate. 

"I do!" Aegon giggled into his cup. "I'll never forget Septa Jeyne's face," Aegon mimicked the old woman's look of shock, a silent scream on his tongue. 

Floris' face was as red as the wine in her goblet that she tried to hide in. 

Aegon continued, pointing at Valeana, "Do you remember when I stole one of Helaena's bugs and put it down the back of your gown?"

"Vividly," Val's tone dripped with cynicism as she side-eyed her sister, "Such fond, fond memories." 

Helaena had a pained expression on her face as she turned to her brother, "The one with the many legs? I was looking for that bug for days. I cried, Aegon, remember?"

Her brother's face dropped, and something akin to shame replaced the mischievous expression, "I-- Helaena... You had so many-- It was only a bug--"

"Do you still collect insects, Princess?" Valeana decided to alter the direction of the conversation, saving Aegon from an awkward non-apology, and from Helaena having to endure it. 

The Princess turned away from her brother, her features changing to something less pained, and more content. Val had clear memories of the princess being so far removed from her brothers, it was difficult to see how they were related if she did not consider her features. Though their shared memories together were limited to embroidery, since Helaena seldom left her areas of comfort, and the Celtigar girls had no taste for remaining in the same rooms from dusk to dawn. Shyla and Floris in particular couldn't stand being around the many-legged creatures that Helaena loved so dearly. Valeana had no opinion of it; she knew she didn't care for insects enough to handle them with her own hands, but she had always watched the princess from a careful distance with Queen Alicent.

She nodded, a smile showing her pride on it, "I do. One of my spiders had recently mated and made an egg sack."

Shyla made a horrified face. 

"Y'know, Clement sails quite frequently to Pentos. He has seen quite exotic ones you may be interested in."

That got Helaena's attention, based on how her spine straightened and her knife and fork were forgotten, "Oh?"

Clement looked up at her, and offered her the small smile, "Uh, yes, Princess. Though, I did not know you were fond of such creatures, otherwise I would have brought one with me." 

Helaena asked what was the most interesting ones he had found, and the conversation went on like that between the two. With the attention moved off of her, Valeana turned back to her food and ate silently. The minutes went by with nothing of interest being said; Aemond talked more than Valeana, though only to answer questions by the others (sans Clement) and Val was resolute in not looking at him when he talked. It wasn't until the King's voice reached their end of the table that she looked up from her emptying plate. 

"Tell me, ladies, do you still sing? This old Keep was desperately missing the beautiful voices of the Celtigar girls."

Bartimos chuckled into the handkerchief as he wiped his mouth, "Oh yes, there is nothing like the song of the Sirens of Claw Isle. Girls, why don't you give us one or two?"

"Of course, papa!" Shyla stood up immediately, grin broad and eager.

“It would be an honour to perform for His Grace, and his family,” Floris replied demurely. 

Valeana straightened in her seat, and her mouth went dry when she turned to her father, a slight panic in her words as she spoke. 

“My lute is still packed with my belongings.”

Bartimos opened his mouth, but Viserys spoke before he could, “That’s quite alright, my dear. Your voice is instrument enough.” 

Sensing his daughter’s unease, Barty adjusted himself in the chair to look at the king, “Apologies, your Grace. Valeana— She no longer performs with her voice, you see. She has turned to the strings for her music.”

“No?” It was the Queen who spoke, delicate brow furrowing as she looked over at the girl in question, “Why is that, my dear? I remember you had quite a strong voice for a girl so small.” 

Valeana caught the smirk twitching at the end of Aegon’s lip from the word ‘small’, and the two caught each other’s eye. He was lucky he was so far away from her, because she had no qualms making sure he would not be able to sire heirs with a swift kick with the point of her shoe. 

“Womanhood had robbed me of the skill, your Grace,” Valeana replied, then cleared her throat, still feeling it dry. Her voice failed her in talking as well, it seemed. “My voice lowered, and I could no longer hold the same notes as my sisters.”

It was a partial lie; the truth of the matter was that she lost her confidence. After the years she spent isolated, she seldom talked, and singing felt like a language she no longer understood. She only ever hummed and sang lowly and idly by herself in the privacy of her bedchambers, and even then she would cringe at the way her voice would crack when she attempted high notes that she once was able to do. 

“My sisters are still lovely as always, your Grace.”

“Well, I shall like to hear you play the lute on another date then, my dear,” The King smiled kindly. 

“She’s quite good!” Ursula boasted, “I personally love when she plays the lyre – puts me right to sleep!”

“Ahem,” Floris cleared her throat. She's on her feet, Shyla already on her heels, “May we begin?”

“Oh, of course, dear,” Ursula turned around in her seat to watch her daughters. “Please.” 

T H E  G R E E N S 

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

The dinner with the Celtigars was as painful as Aemond suspected. For once, he allowed his pride to step aside and try to make amends with Valeana, as a favour for his father. He had expected more indifference, or meek politeness. He did not, however, expect confrontation coming from little Valeana. That was a new development. The Valeana he remembered was polite, kind, and while she had a quick tongue to retort, it was usually to be playful or humourous. Before the incident, she often forgave Aemond for his tardiness, or when he ignored her while he was around his brother and nephews. She didn’t even put up a fight when she was the butt-end of Aegon’s jests and pranks. 

“I do not trust you near a flight of stairs, let alone a dragon.”

Aemond wasn’t sure why, but that sentence felt like a gauntlet punch to his gut. Had anyone else said it, he would silently agree to it, because he wanted people to fear him. One could never trust Aemond next to Vhagar – one could not fully trust Vhagar, truly. His promise to Arthor was empty; he had no intention of letting the boy within a tourney’s field distance to the near two century old she-dragon. However, had Valeana agreed, he might have made an exception, because what greater way for him to make amends than to allow her to touch the largest dragon in the world? His dragon. 

He remembered how much she longed to touch one, almost as much as he did, but was denied even to be an audience member to dragon training in the pit.

The rejection was one thing, but if Aemond was honest with himself, it was the realization of the consequences of his crime that bothered him so. As a child, he selfishly justified his actions, in all things, not just with Valeana. He justified him claiming Vhagar, he justified him calling his nephews bastards, and he justified pushing Val away from him that day. It was all self-preservation, and at the time it benefited him. He got Vhagar, he got respect, he got fear, and he got away from the overbearing friendship of Valeana Celtigar. It burdened him, and held him back. When Bartimos left King’s Landing, Aemond’s life had changed for the better. He might’ve lost an eye, and he might’ve lost a friendship, but he gained so much more. 

Except… he lost a friendship. It did not occur to him how important that was until he realized it was truly gone for good. 

Because she could no longer trust him. And the confirmation from her own mouth felt like he was finally facing the corpse of someone he didn’t realize was dead. 

The rest of dinner went on in monotonous torture. Floris, Shyla, and Arthor respectfully tried to carry small talk with him, Helaena and Aegon as if nothing happened. Valeana remained quiet through it all, her eyes moving around him as if he was simply not there. It infuriated him. Aemond found himself staring at the crest of her head or her turned cheek, mentally chanting: look at me, look at me, look at me. 

He was dead to her. A ghost she could no longer feel or see. It was a worse feeling than being disemboweled by her resentful sharp tongue and teeth. And Aemond absolutely hated her for it. 

"Tell me, ladies, do you still sing? This old Keep was desperately missing the beautiful voices of the Celtigar girls,” His father asked, and Aemond and Aegon shared a look that communicated the same thing. 

Seven Hells, no this shit again.

The Sirens of Claw Isle as they were known to be called, became somewhat of an annoyance for the boys growing up. There wasn’t a feast where they weren’t encouraged to sing bard songs until all departed for the night. They had lovely voices, but to Aegon, Aemond, and even Jace and Luke, it was like listening to the excessive chirping of birds at the crack of dawn. Granted, at the time, Aemond only ever soldiered through it just to hear Valeana sing. Her voice had a way of echoing through the tall ceilings and down corridors, holding onto notes longer than her sisters. It was almost haunting.

“...She no longer performs with her voice, you see. She has turned to the strings for her music.”

At this, Aemond tilted his head and examined Valeana as she explained herself. Her neck, cheeks, and tip of her ears got a tinge of pink. She was embarrassed…or ashamed?

Curious…

Perhaps there was a gap in her armour after all.

A part of him was slightly disappointed.

After a rather ear-bleeding rendition of “The Maids that Bloom in Spring”, supper finally ended. When his father stood, so did everyone else. The King bid a good night, not without giving Bartimos a hug, a handshake to the Celtigar sons, and kisses on the cheeks of the girls. His mother did the same, leaving when the King made his exit. Soon Otto, Bartimos, and Ursula followed suit. 

As the group filtered out of the Small Hall, making their way back to the Holdfast, Aemond lingered at the tail. Clement was still conversing with Helaena about Pentos, which reminded him of how his grandsire suggested that the King may match the two. Seeing how the two easily conversed, the possibility seemed far more plausible than her thought. 

Valeana was a step behind them, walking alongside Arthor who examined the statues and tapestries they passed by. Floris had Shyla’s arm clutched in hers, and it was painfully evident that the younger girl was trying to free herself so she may crowd around Aegon.

Aegon, who was also trying to put distance between him and the eager girl, fell into step next to his brother. 

“Well, that went splendidly,” Aegon said once there is enough distance between them and the others ahead. “I half expected her to take out your other eye.”

Aemond sighed heavily through his nose, attention set straight ahead of him, “I am sure she thought of it. She loathes me.” 

“Can you blame her,” Aegon’s attention was on Shyla, who was craning her neck over her shoulder to catch a glimpse at him. Aegon wiggled his fingers at her, granting him a large, gummy grin.

“Father wishes me to reconcile,” Aemond ignores Shyla and instead watches the back of Val’s head. “But he asks for the impossible. She barely looks at me, and when she does…”

“Oh, I am aware, dear brother, it has become the source of my entertainment this evening.” 

“I am glad my misery has been that for you, brother.” 

Aegon turned to him, his eyebrow raised curiously, the corner of his lips upturned, “Does it cause you misery, Aemond? That she despises you?”

Aemond stopped walking to glare at him, his hands like stiff tree trunks at his sides. Aegon slowed to a stop in front of him, tilting his head, waiting for an answer. 

“That farce of a supper was miserable. Why would she cause me any other emotion other than apathy? She is a stranger to me.”

“She was your friend once, if I recall,” Aegon folded his arms over his chest, and relaxed his leg to stand casually. “And your betrothed.”

“It was not a friendship,” Aemond lied through his teeth, “None of us were friends with the sisters. We hated them, do you recall?”

“Oh, I recall Luke, Jace, and I hating them quite a bit. But I also remember you and Val exchanging love notes.”

“They were not–” Aemond stopped himself, moving a hand over his face and sighing through his nose again. “She clung to me like pollen to a bee. It was annoying, it was overbearing, it was too much.” 

Aegon narrowed his eyes at his brother skeptically, but he then quickly shrugged, accepting his words. “Fine, she fancied you a bit too much. Does it bother you that she doesn’t anymore? I bet it bruises your ego… Maybe it’s,” he waved a hand around his eyepatch, “Maybe it’s the eye. You’re half as handsome now–Ouf.”

With a rough slam with his shoulder, Aemond pushed through Aegon with the force of his step. As his back faced his brother, Aegon started to giggle madly behind him. 

Echoes of oinks and kissy noises reverberated in Aemond’s memory. 

“Well, if you feel nothing but apathy towards her, then mayhaps I should try courting her?” Aegon started to stride towards him, keeping up with his pace. “It would make father happy, uniting the Valyrian houses and all that noise.”

“You’re free to try, brother,” Aemond replied, voice clipped and dismissive. Valeana would never consider Aegon. She would never entertain the idea. It was absolutely ludicrous. 

Wasn’t it?

Tag: @queen-of-elves, @keylin1730, @anakilusmos

(if you wish to be tagged for updates, please reply and ask!)

Please do not re post, redistribute or plagiarize my work. The only other place this story is posted on is ao3 under the same username.

[yuurivoice]

Felt like sharing a little update with my morning coffee!

As you very likely saw yesterday, writing has been going well. After months and months of "I know what's gonna happen, I just haven't written it yet" the new studio space has really given me a leg up when it comes to locking in and hammering out some writing.

I had to refamiliarize myself with where I left off, and make some tweaks to that so it would reflect what adjustments needed to be made to reflect things I knew would be coming in later entries. That bit is always a bit more time consuming because it's more meticulous, and as you pull back layers of details it creates some additional threads you might need to tug on as well. Believe me when I say, there is one particular thread that led me to some very exciting revelations and ideas.

Yesterday was the first time I had all of the backtracking done and I could just start yapping. Moving on to the next episode of EoE was a lot of fun because I've only had some vague "this, then this, then that, then this" ideas of how it would go, which is my typical process, and it's always a thrill to plug my brain in and see what details were lurking beneath. The same kind of magic I felt with BitterSweet is there for the taking in EoE as well, so I'm having more fun than I've had in a long time now that I'm really cooking.

Characters who had codenames, like Smithy, now have proper names and their voices are becoming clearer the more I write. Codename Knife Pervert is a delight as well.

I recently revisited Chapter 1 of BitterSweet and recognized how neutral Seth's voice was, compared to where he's at in chapter 2 and 3. Mind you, I don't mean literally his voice (but also...lol), but written voice. The distinct way that a character is written, dialog in this case. With that in mind as I dive into these new characters I've never actually written, I'm much more conscious of the need for that distinction and I think it represents an improvement in my writing.

The dynamic between many of these characters really tickles my brain because we're going beyond Character x Listener POV, or any sort of straightforward romantic connections between characters. Although I'm very certain there will be characters getting shipped (and I'll be right there with you lol), it's nice to be writing without the vague goal of selling smut. Although that'll happen a bit as well.

I'm very optimistic about the amount of work that's going to get done over the next couple of months. Proper audio content coming in the meantime as well, but it's a bit more exciting that the creative clog has been passed and the big projects are moving again. :3

[fairyhaos]

ᥫ᭡ // dude, i can see (through) you

vernon x gn!reader fluff, crack(?), supernatural au, non-idol au, ghosts, ft. ghost!jeonghan

3.5k+ words

warnings for: mentions of insomnia, pills

summary: when you move into your new house that seems almost too good to be true, you find yourself (not quite) face-to-face with the prettiest boy you've ever seen.

“Hey, hey, Hansol, did you hear that the family are finally leaving the house?”

“What? Already? Hyung, come on, why do you keep doing this?”

“It’s fun! I bet it was the floating pots and pans that did it. You know how much effort I put in to get those to lift up.”

“I liked these people. They had a dog!”

“Yeah, and the dog could see us. That’s a no-no.”

“Still, hyung, don’t you think we should just… try to live peacefully?”

“Ha! That’s funny. Anyways, I bet I can make the next tenant move out in just a month.”

“No. You shouldn’t do that.”

“So you don’t think I can?”

“I don’t think you should—”

“Oh, it’s on, Hansol! I'm gonna prove it to you!”

“Please don’t.”

───────────── 👻

There is something seriously, seriously wrong with your new house.

It’s nothing obviously wrong, however: on paper, it’s a perfect place. Situated in a nice town, not in an hugely overpopulated area, with various convenience stores and a park close by. Even the house is perfect: not too big, not too small, and, above all, startlingly cheap.

Everything about it is perfect. But from the first day that you move in, you realise that things are a bit… strange.

“Where the hell has my laptop gone?”

You thread your hand through your hair, exasperated. In the middle of your desk, where your laptop ought to be, there was an empty space.

You’ve always been a forgetful person, accidentally leaving your shoes in the wrong place or leaving doors open or forgetting where you put your keys, but this is getting ridiculous. Losing an entire laptop? That’s odd, even for you.

Frustrated, you open your various boxes that still contain half of your worldly possessions, wondering if you’d gone mad and somehow put it away in them instead.

When it becomes clear that your laptop has not been accidentally packed away, you straighten up, shaking your head and resigning yourself to the fact that your laptop is simply lost to the void that is your new house. Hopefully, you manage to find it again before you have to go to work in a couple of weeks.

───────────── 👻

“So, what’s it like, living by yourself?”

You huff, adjusting the phone against your ear as you crawl around on the floor, bending down to look under the sofa. “Really, really weird.”

Your friend laughs over the phone. “Weird? How?”

“Well, for starters,” you say, fishing out yet another fork that had somehow made it under your upholstery, “I think I’m being haunted.”

There’s a pause. “What?”

You don’t believe in the supernatural, or the paranormal, or anything mythical or to do with ghosts and vampires and the otherworldly. They’re all just tales, made up by idiotic people and spun into a capitalist plot by the media, creating franchise after franchise surrounding possessed dolls and muscled Hollywood men playing traumatised werewolves. It’s irritating, and most of all, it’s all fake.

Science and supernatural cannot coexist, after all.

But now, you’re beginning to question whether that’s really the case.

“—turned all my clocks forward by four hours. Four! I thought I was going insane,” you say, standing up and returning to your kitchen with the fork in your hands, after finding your cutlery drawer empty an hour earlier, despite the fact that you’d put away all your cutlery only yesterday.

You put the fork away, and then open up a cupboard to grab a glass, only to flinch and scream at what you see.

“Oh my god, Y/N? Y/N, are you okay?”

“This is ridiculous,” you breathe, staring up at your cupboard.

Every single row is squashed full of your soft toys.

“Hey, Y/N, are you listening to me? Hello? Can you hear me?”

You blink up in extreme despair at the cupboard before shutting the door. You don’t have the energy to deal with it right now. “Yeah, I’m here,” you say, holding the phone more securely against your ear. “Listen, I might have to call you back. I still haven’t fully unpacked yet.”

“Are you okay? You screamed and then suddenly went silent.”

Heaving a sigh, you close your eyes for a moment and then open them again. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll call you later, alright?”

You hang up, and walk out of the kitchen and into the hallway, before pausing in your tracks, staring wide-eyed at the front door.

The front door that was wide open.

You blink.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the door begins to swing shut, before suddenly closing with a sudden bang.

You stand there for a moment longer, before shaking your head and walking up the stairs.

Whichever ghost was haunting you, they sure were weird.

───────────── 👻

“Hey, Hansol, why is this tenant not leaving?”

“I told you. You shouldn’t do this.”

“Hmm, nah. It’s okay. It’s only been a week. I can do this.”

“Should you, though?”

───────────── 👻

Hansol is, unfortunately, so dead.

Very much in the literal sense as well, because he's a ghost. Don't ask him about the logistics of that, or how it came to be, because he doesn't know. All he knows is that one day he died and the next, he opened his eyes and no one could see him. 

But he's also so dead in the figurative sense, too. Because he and his Jeonghan hyung (who was technically a year or so younger than him when he died but still insists on being called ‘hyung’ because he died around a century earlier than him, and “you ought to respect people’s deathdays, Hansol”) have been inhabiting this house for several years, now, but he’s never had a desire to be human again in all that time.

That is, until he meets you.

You’re the latest owner of this house, and you’re… well, you're interesting.

Never before has he seen someone so tolerant of Jeonghan’s schemes. In his attempt to win at a bet that he’d created by himself, Jeonghan was pulling out all the big guns on you: starting off by being a nuisance, then an irritant, then infuriating before escalating into downright chaotic, in a climax where he made all the doors open and slam repeatedly in the middle of the night.

It’s enough to make anyone want to move out. Hansol half-expected you to leave within the first five days, but instead, you clench your jaw and plaster a smile on your face and keep on going.

He thinks it’s a little curious that you’re putting on a smile, even though there’s no one to see it. Like you’re constantly always alert of people watching you, and feeling the need to put on a mask. It makes him want to be human, just for a second, to put a hand on your shoulder and ask if you’re really okay.

During the second week, however, he realises that you really aren’t okay.

“The tenant still hasn’t gone to sleep,” Jeonghan sulks, floating through your bedroom door to sit (well, hover) beside Hansol on the floor just outside. 

“You can just say Y/N,” Hansol reminds him. “What do you mean, though? All humans are meant to be asleep by now.”

“Yeah, well, ours isn’t,” Jeonghan huffs. He crosses his arms petulantly, and his translucent ghost self flickers and wobbles at the dramatic movement. “Why not?”

Hansol shrugs. “How am I meant to know?”

Before Jeonghan can say something snarky in reply, the door to your bedroom door swings open, and the two ghosts flinch and freeze up, momentarily forgetting that they're ghosts. 

They watch as you slowly trudge down the stairs, muttering annoyedly to yourself. You had a dressing gown drawn over you, and you hug it against yourself while you shuffle through your house, before walking into the kitchen.

Hansol looks at Jeonghan, and the other just shrugs, and they both decide to follow you and see what you’re up to.

Hansol peeks his head through the wall just as you pop a few pills into your mouth.

“What’s going on?” Jeonghan asks, pushing Hansol through the wall so that he’s standing in the kitchen properly. “Are those drugs?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Hansol says, and then floats closer so he can see the writing in the bottle you’re holding. It doesn’t help, though, because the writing is all faded, like this is a bottle you’ve had for a while. “Medicine? But what for?”

Jeonghan folds his arms, sitting on the table. “Great. Our new tenant is dying.”

“Does this mean you’ll stop being mean now?” Hansol asks, coming to sit next to Jeonghan.

“I’m not mean.”

“Yes you are.”

“No I’m not! When have I ever been mean, hm? Tell me, Hansol!”

Suddenly, there’s a clatter, and a mess of white pills spread out across the floor, under the table and throughout the entire kitchen. Both of the ghosts, pause, and when Hansol looks up, his eyes widen.

You’re looking directly at him.

No one says anything, and for a long, long moment, you continue to stare directly at Hansol, and he swallows uneasily, glancing over at Jeonghan. The other ghost is just sitting there, too, but he’s looking at you with interest, eyes flicking between you and Hansol.

“It’s… it’s not me, right?” Hansol says hesitantly. “Surely our tenant isn’t seeing me.”

“Try moving,” Jeonghan says, and directs his gaze back to you. There’s not a trace of wariness in his eyes, and Hansol feels more confused than ever. Jeonghan was the one who said that the last family ought to be kicked out because their dog could see them.

Nevertheless, arguing with Jeonghan wastes fifteen years of Hansol’s (undead) lifetime every time, so he does as he’s told, hopping off from the table and almost falls on his face when your eyes track his movements as he does so.

“Holy shit,” you whisper. Hansol’s beginning to feel a bit panicky now. “Dude, I can see through you.”

And then your eyes glaze over and you crumple into a heap on the floor.

───────────── 👻

“Y/N can see us,” Hansol says, pacing frantically. “Hyung, we’re doomed! We’re—we’re gonna get exorcised and go to Hell and have to meet the Devil!”

Jeonghan just hums, looking down at your sleeping form. “I don’t think so.”

After you had fainted, the two ghosts had (very painstakingly) carried you back up the stairs and back into bed. It takes a huge amount of effort for ghosts to be able to make themselves felt in the living plane, and Hansol had been gasping from the effort for a solid hour afterwards.

Now, though, the exhaustion has worn off, and he’s currently making Jeonghan mildly dizzy with all his pacing.

“Hyung.” Hansol whirls around again to face Jeonghan, making the elder ghost raise his eyebrows. “You know what this means, right? This tenant is unwell. You’re not allowed to play your tricks anymore.”

That makes Jeonghan pause. He bites his thumb, then, thinking, before nodding his head. “Fine. I don’t like tormenting the sick, anyways. It hurts to think about.”

Hansol sighs at that, mouth twisting in sympathy. He pats Jeonghan’s shoulder. “Don’t think about it. You’ve been dead for ages, hyung. I’m surprised your memory is still intact.”

Jeonghan scowls, pinching Hansol’s side, making the younger ghost yelp and then laugh. “Hey! We’re basically the same age.”

“Give or take around a hundred years.”

“Yeah, barely anything!”

The two ghosts continue bickering, their voices absorbed into the nothingness that was the plane of the dead. 

In your bed, you turn your head towards the direction of warped voices, squinting at the faint outlines that you can see near the window.

───────────── 👻

“—really handsome dude, oh my god,” you’re saying while you sort through your papers. Your laptop still hasn’t turned up. “Is there any side effect of taking sleeping pills again after a long time of not using them that, like, causes hallucinations of hot guys?”

Over the phone, your friend laughs. “I guess living by yourself really is making you go insane, huh?”

“I’m not insane,” you insist, chuckling. “It sounds insane, but I swear, he was so…” You hide your face behind your hand, despite the fact that no one can see you. 

“That gorgeous, huh?” comes the response from the other end of the line, and you get the distinct feeling that your friend doesn’t really believe you. You take your hand away from your face, trying to rub away the blush on your cheeks.

“Yeah, actually, he was! Anyway, I gotta go. I still haven’t found my laptop, and doing all my work by hand isn’t going well.”

“Go to the library and use a computer there.”

You pause. “Oh. Good idea. I’ll do that tomorrow. Goodnight, I gotta go now.”

There’s a laugh on the other end. “Okay. Goodnight, Y/N.”

The two ghosts sit on your bed, watching you as you hang up the phone and go back to your work.

“So,” Jeonghan says, and his tone is light and teasing, “Y/N thinks you’re pretty gorgeous, huh? I guess you really were seen, after all.” He nods his head in your direction. “Our new tenant is definitely really interesting.”

Silence falls again, and Hansol watches you agonise over your sheets, one hand permanently buried in your hair.

“Hyung,” he says after a moment, “You should give Y/N the laptop back.”

───────────── 👻

“Stupid goddamn insomnia,” you mutter to yourself, trudging down the stairs yet again. “Why can’t I go to sleep?”

You’ve been in your new house for just over two weeks, now, and things are… normal. After the initial weird things happening during the first several days, everything seems to have settled down, almost like the house had gotten used to its new owner. It makes you laugh, every time you think of it in that way, but there’s no other way to explain how the sudden door slammings have stopped, and all your things seem to be exactly where you left them.

And even the other day, you’d found your laptop again.

Everything was going well.

A flash of big, translucent brown eyes flash across your vision, and you shake your head, trying to dispel the memory.

You despise taking your pills, hate them for how drowsy they make you throughout the rest of the day, but just over a week into moving in, you’d caved and succumbed to their awful numbness. Your insomnia had flared up, almost, as if panicked by the new environment, leaving you unable to sleep for several days.

Strangely, though, after you’d had that… vision, you’d been able to sleep easier for a while. 

Large, surprised eyes flood your memory again, and you frown, scrunching your eyes and attempting to get rid of it.

That boy hadn’t appeared in your vision again after that night, and you’ve reluctantly convinced yourself that it had just been a side effect of the sleeping pills and your own lack of sleep. Hallucinations weren’t uncommon with strong sleeping pills, after all.

You finish downing your pills, drinking the entire mug of water for good measure, before wiping your mouth and setting the mug down on the counter. 

Groggily, you rub your eyes and attempt to head out of the kitchen, stumbling a little as you go. Just because you can’t sleep doesn’t mean you aren’t tired, after all. It’s just your stupid body not allowing you to fall asleep.

Abruptly, your foot catches against your other ankle, and you slam into the doorframe with a cry of pain. Eyes still bleary, you move jerkily only to feel yourself keeling over backwards, falling faster and faster towards the floor, and then—

A pair of arms catch you, and you fall back against a sturdy chest that stumbles, just slightly, under your weight, before gaining control and slowly lowering you to the floor, still in their embrace, head in their lap.

Your head is spinning, vision blurry, but as you look up, the sight that stares back at you is as clear as day.

Big, brown, translucent eyes.

Your own eyes widen in shock, and the pair of eyes staring into yours widen too.

“Oh my god,” you say. “How did you get into my house?”

The boy above you opens and closes his mouth wordlessly. “Um… I live here?”

“Like hell you do,” you return. Before you can say anything else, however, the feeling of his arms disappears and you drop the last few inches onto the floor, back making contact with the hard wood. You yelp in pain, and he cringes apologetically.

“Sorry! Sorry. Uh, it’s hard to make myself tangible for long. I didn’t meant to do that. Sorry.”

You sit up, rubbing your back. “Wait, what do you mean? Are you not…”

Another boy steps into your vision. No—he floats, feet constantly millimeters from the ground. He bends down over the boy sitting on the floor next to you, looking down at you with interest. “I’m surprised that you’ve managed to make yourself visible to our tenant for so long, Hansol.”

You blink, lost. “Hey, I can see you too, you know.”

The new boy looks bewildered at that. “You can?” Then his eyes widen. “And you can hear me?”

“You’re talking, aren’t you?” You narrow your eyes. “Is this some prank? Halloween is right around the corner, after all. Are you playing with me?”

“No, no!” The boy who caught you shakes his head frantically. “No, we’d never. Well, Jeonghan hyung might, but I wouldn’t.” He pauses, and then smiles hesitantly, standing up. “Um… we’re ghosts?”

You don’t say anything for a long moment. And then you tap your chin thoughtfully. “Prove it.”

“Please don't pani—what?”

“Prove it,” you say, and then shrug. “I gotta make sure that you’re really ghosts, you know? How do I know that you’re what you say you are?”

The other ghost, Jeonghan, raises an eyebrow. “Why would we lie to you?”

“I dunno. You’re bored?”

Jeonghan thinks about it for a moment, before nodding. “Fair point.” And then, abruptly, he walks up to you, and you expect him to stop right before you, but to your surprise, he carries on going and walks right through you instead.

“Jesus!” you shiver, a horrible coldness running down your spine. “Don’t do that!”

Jeonghan just beams. “Do you believe us now?”

You look back at Hansol, thinking. If you tilt your head just slightly, he flickers out of focus, like a mirage. But when you look at him in just the right angle, he looks as present as any human, only a little less so. Like he’s almost here, but not quite.

After a second, you nod your head. “I suppose you really are ghosts,” you say, and there’s just enough awe in your voice to make Hansol’s eyes widen in confusion.

“You’re… not going to run away?”

“Are you kidding? This is so cool,” you say, clasping your hands together. You grin. “It was getting lonely here anyway. And besides, you’re also really pretty.” Your eyes widen at your own words, and you backtrack. “Uh, pretty cool. That’s what I meant. Ghosts are cool, you know?”

Jeonghan laughs. “Hansol already knows that you think he’s gorgeous. We heard you.”

Instantly, a flush surges up into your cheeks, and Hansol rubs at his nose, embarrassed, before punching Jeonghan in the shoulder. He doesn’t deny it, though, which makes you feel kind of really flustered, but there’s a shy smile on his face as he looks at you.

“I think you’re also really pretty, too,” he says, and goddamnit, a ghost shouldn’t have the power to make you blush like this.

Jeonghan is about to say something, but then gets interrupted when, abruptly, a yawn wracks your frame and you cover your mouth, face scrunching up.

“Well, I think I need to head to bed,” you say, rubbing at your eyes. “Think I’m finally getting tired.”

That makes Hansol almost wilt in disappointment, and it’s such a cute sight that you almost reach over to ruffle his hair. Which is weird. Because he’s a ghost, and also because you hardly know him, but there’s something just so endearing about Hansol that makes you feel like you want to know him forever and ever.

Slowly, you make your way back upstairs, the ghosts trailing after you.

“I’m going to pester you both with questions tomorrow,” you inform them as you get into bed. “Like, about how I’m able to see ghosts and why I can hear you and how long you’ve both been here. I really will.”

Jeonghan laughs. “We look forward to it. It’s been a while since we’ve had someone other than each other to talk to. I think we’ll both like your company.” He nudges Hansol in the side, smile turning devious. “Hansol even more so than me.”

Hansol groans, covering his face, and you just smile, too drowsy to think of what that means at the moment.

“Leave my room before I go to sleep,” you say, as your eyelids close. “I heard you talking in my room a few nights ago, you know. You should know it’s not good to spy on people in their sleep.”

Jeonghan might reply with something, but you’re not entirely sure. Sleep is already pulling you under, pulling you far away from the state of being awake.

The last thing you recall is a cool pressure against your forehead, and a warm voice whispering your name.

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

fics tags: @jeonginssa @weird-bookworm @minhui896 @bunnyiix @slytherinshua @haowrld @belladaises @moonlitskiiies @mirxzii @zozojella @kawennote09 @thedensworld @a-wandering-stay @abibliolife @doublasting @wonranghaeee @icyminghao @sweet-like-caramel @your-yxnnie @evasaysstuff @odxrilove @kyeomyun @crackedpumpkin @jeonride @kellesvt @butiluvu @sakufilms @eightlightstar @aaniag @amxlia-stars

[theepisceswriter]

JJK characters comforting a stressed out/overworked significant other ( Gojo, Nanami, Toji, Mei Mei)

TW: none really apply, GN!reader, headcanon format

GOJO SATORU

He's QUICK to notice the signs when you're under distress, any slight change in your mood and he's on the case like Olivia Benson.

It's during times like these that he really clings to you and is an attentive partner because he's seen what the weight of stress can do to people close to him and he REFUSES to let them succumb to it if there's anything he can do to stop it.

He becomes so soft and vulnerable with you the moment he notices your eyes are a little too bloodshot

"What's wrong baby? Do you want to talk about it? We can lay down if you'd like."

He turns into your therapist for the day and purposefully clears his schedule for the day so you can rant to him for as long or as little as you'd like. You can take it all the way back to drama from grade school if you wanted to and he'd listen genuinely to try and come up with solutions for you.

Did I mention all of this is happening while you're laying on his chest and he's stroking your hair? V U L N E R A B L E !

The moment the source of your stress is identified don't even worry about it anymore, he's most definitely going to take care of it and you.

Oh and he's going to throw you a stress-free themed party with the jjk kids that seems so silly but actually helped all of you in the long run.

NANAMI KENTO

Nanami is a stressed out and overworked man in general so you would do your best to hide the fact that you’re stressed out to not add on to his stress, but Nanami isn’t falling for any of that “I’m okay, I swear (:” nonsense when it comes to you. He recognizes those bags underneath your eyes all too well. Not to mention that he can hear you typing away on your laptop and shifting around in bed checking your email at god forbidden hours of the night when you should be sleeping.

He moves in silence for real unlike the people who post those quotes on their IG stories, so you most likely wouldn't even notice that he knows how stressed and overworked you are. You should absolutely know better than to think you're tricking him, when this man gets partners he STUDIES them to a T!

You'll just come home from work and he'll have dinner already made for you along with special pastries that he prepared himself and a night of self-care prepped for you to complete; he's big on acts of service as a love language.

"But Nanami I have wo-" "You didn't ha-" AHT! He's not hearing that, he'll just gaze at you and then motion to the table with his head. You have no choice, this man is going to make sure you're stress-free for certain by the end of the night.

And yes, you are going to get a lecture on the importance of mental health and self care and no you cannot tell him about himself.

MEI MEI

“Darling, why do you work yourself so hard when I can just take care of us?”

Mei Mei is a sugar momma and you can’t convince me otherwise. Half of that money she finesses out of others? Yeah, it’s going towards you and your expenses.

The first sign of distress and she’s sending gifts to your house that she knows will cheer you up. New shoes, a couple of new expensive outfits, some roses, etc, etc.

I also feel like she's a master baecation planner too, so don't be surprised when she sends you that "pack your bags" text at 8pm and the next thing you know you're in Aspen skiing with socialites.

Though, depending on how much she likes you and values you this could be a good or bad thing. If she's not really vibing you like that but thinks you're cute enough to keep around then she's doing all of this just to get you to shut up about ranting to her.

"Stress is just a mindset and one that causes wrinkles so knock that off."

BUT, if she reaaaaallllyy likes you then these are genuinely just the perks that come with having Mei Mei as a girlfriend. Best believe she'll find a moment in the midst of spoiling you when you two are alone to get to the bottom of your stress and help you figure it out.

TOJI FUSHIGURO

He don't give a FAWK what you got going on baby !

I'm just playing yall, he cares but because he's emotionally unavailable its very hard to tell that he cares sometimes.

Hit him with a "I've just been so stressed lately" and he'll hit you with a "So stop stressing 😐" he means well I promise.

It's when he sees it take a toll on your mental health that he gets concerned, or as concerned as someone like Toji can be. Once he notices the fatigue, lack of eating, and dark eye circles his protection instincts kick in. As someone who's traveled into the deepest and darkest parts of his mind, the last thing he wants is for someone he cares about to end up in a place like that because he knows how it feels.

Just like Mei Mei, his acts of service and the amount of support he gives you depends on how far along and serious you two are as a couple.

If you're casual he'll just give you verbal reminders like; "Don't you think you need a break?" "Go eat you look like a witch" "I would suggest a nap to help with those dark circles." He's apart of that sassy man apocalypse we're.

BUT, if you two are locked in then he'll go out his way a lot more to make sure you're comfortable like buying you comfort food, watching a movie or two with you, and fucking to keep your mind off of it.

He'll physically take your work laptop away from you and put it on a high shelf purposefully so you won't be able to reach it. Your job keeps calling you in on your off days? He'll pickup the phone next time and let them know the Toji way why you can't come in. Boss irritating you over a project? Don't let toji see him in person or get ahold of any office numbers!

[yoyeolears]

One + One = Three || full

summary: You were screwed. Absolutely, utterly screwed. Liking Hanbin was one thing, but the sudden change in how you felt about your best friend, Zhang Hao, was definitely not part of the plan. Liking both Hanbin and Hao was certainly a recipe for disaster. That's what you convinced yourself at least.

haobin x afab! reader

warnings: none

genre: mainly fluff, a bit angsty, university setting

word count: 5,133

★━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━★

You were screwed.

Absolutely, utterly screwed.

Liking Hanbin was one thing, but the sudden change in how you felt about your best friend, Zhang Hao, was definitely not part of the plan.

Not only was it clear that the man was interested in Hanbin himself, he also never really showed any particular interest in dating girls. Sure, he had dated Xiaoting, but that was back in middle school and it lasted for about two months before they mutually decided they were better off as friends.

Liking both Hanbin and Hao was certainly a recipe for disaster. Even if, and that is hypothetically of course, one of them returned your feelings, you would still not know what the right move was. How could you choose between the two people that make your every day the brightest when they are around?

Maybe this was payback for that one time you accidentally gave Matthew his seat mate's notebook instead of his and he ended up finding out about her long-time crush on him. You honestly wouldn't blame Chaeryeong for hating you. She had to spend the entire year sat next to the boy who rejected her.

No wonder this was happening to you now. Life was just throwing everything back at you.

"Earth to Y/N?"

"Huh?", you turned to look back at Ryujin, whose eyebrows were raised at you expectedly.

"Sorry, I spaced out. What were you saying?"

Ryujin scoffed, "Yeah, no shit. I've called your name at least 10 times."

You rolled your eyes at her, "Okay, that is an exaggeration."

"It's not an exaggeration when it comes to you."

You gave her your biggest pout at which she laughed at before her face turned stern again.

"Seriously though, what's on your mind?"

You quickly shook your head, "It's nothing."

Ryujin crossed her arms. She knew you too well. There were two people in your life you couldn't fool. Ryujin and Hao. You guessed it came with knowing them since all three of you were toddlers.

You hesitated, "I don't want to make it into a big deal."

Ryujin scoffed, "It clearly is though. This is not the first time you space out in the past days. And that frown on your face has become permanent at this point. You were even frowning when we went for BBQ last Friday. BBQ, Y/N! BBQ."

"Okay, okay!", you tried to calm her down, "I get it. I've been miserable. There's just a lot on my mind."

"Exactly! And I, as your best friend, want to listen to what's bothering you.", she reached to take your hand in hers as an encouraging gesture.

You sighed, "You know how I like Hanbin, right?"

She widened her eyes, "Holy crap! Are you actually finally admitting it?"

You squeezed your eyes as if in pain, "Ugh! Yes, I am admitting to liking Sung Hanbin. Now, do you want me to tell you what's going on or are you going to go on about how you were right all along."

She pinched her fingers and dragged them across one corner of her mouth to another as if zipping it.

"Okay. Basically, I don't think I only like Hanbin. Scratch that. I don't only like Hanbin."

She made a questioning expression, "So, you love him?"

"No, I mean I don't know. I know I like him a lot, but this is not what this is about. I like a second person as well."

Ryujin straightened her back in her seat, which clearly showed how intrigued she now was.

You couldn't believe you were about to admit to what had been tormenting you for weeks. In fact, you thought you would take this to the grave. Liking Hanbin was okay. Hanbin was a friend, but he was certainly not Hao. Hao, who approached you on the first day of nursery, because he was also from abroad and no other kid smiled at him as kindly as you. Hao, who held your hand at the age of six when you broke your leg, and you were wailing on the hard ground while he was praising you for how brave you were. Hao, who gave you the warmest of hugs when your first boyfriend broke your heart at the age of seventeen and assured you that you deserved the world. This was different. Liking Hao was different. It changed your relationship entirely and maybe that was something you weren't seeking.

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, "I like Hao."

You said it. For the first time you admitted to liking your best friend out loud. Part of you did feel some level of relief, but another part felt utterly sick. As if you had quite literally spilled your guts out on the floor.

Ruyjin opened her mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again. You could tell she didn't expect the words that had come out of your mouth.

"That's okay you know.", is what she settled with.

"There is nothing wrong with liking Hao. I get it. He has always been there. At your best, at your worst. He makes you smile, laugh. He makes you happy. There is nothing wrong with it."

You looked outside the window of the coffee shop, your eyes dropping to a fallen autumn leaf completely isolated from the rest. Maybe it was quite a depressing thought to have, but you kind of felt like that leaf. Isolated. Surely, liking two people at the same time was weird, right? Especially, when one of them was your best friend and the other one was the person said best friend was undeniably infatuated with.

"I know. It seems like a big deal because it's Hao and part of me fears how this could change our relationship. But I know there is nothing wrong with how I feel. I just don't know why both. Why do I have to like both? And why must it be them? We all see how Hao and Hanbin are when together. They clearly like each other and I am just there. Like some sort of pest."

Ryujin smiled sympathetically at you.

"Well, I think we can't control who we like. That includes the number of people we can like at the same time. What you need to ask yourself is how important these feelings are to you and what is the best way to handle them. Personally, if you ask me, I think you should be honest with them."

You slumped in your seat, head tilting down to stare at your feet. Her warm hand slid out of yours.

"Of course, you'd say that. Some people don't have the same amount of bravery as you Ryu."

She leaned forward catching your hands again.

"You are wrong. You are the bravest person I know. You prove that every day by being here even after your parents moved back to your home country. You've made it so far and achieved so many things on your own. So, excuse me if you think I am misjudging the situation, but if the girl sitting in front of me can build a life of her own thousands of miles away from her family, she can certainly be honest with the people she loves."

In a way Ryujin was right. You had been through way more difficult times in your life and managed to persevere. In fact, this should be easier compared to many other situations you've found yourself in. Yet, it didn't. Perhaps, it was the fear that you would lose the people that made living so far away from your family less lonely. Hao was your family here. Hanbin had also made a cozy nest in your heart in the short span of time you knew him. In your head the risk of loss was there, albeit unrealistic. The logical version of yourself was well aware that Hao and Hanbin would never abandon you or your friendship due to non-reciprocated feelings, yet the emotional version seemed to be overtaking the logical one.

"I am scared of losing them.", you silently confessed.

The girl across you sighed, "I know how much they mean to you as people. I know you love them because they are good people. So, trust in that. If these two are really who you think they are, they would never judge you for the way you feel."

You smiled at her, "Maybe you are right".

Ryujin gleamed, "I know I am right."

You turned your head once again towards the direction of that isolated autumn leaf. Only this time, it wasn't alone. Somehow, it had found its way to the rest.

Somehow, you believed you would too. You believed you would find your way to them. After all, you were not alone.

★━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━★

Talking to them proved to be difficult. Whenever Hao seemed to have a spare moment, Hanbin was absent. Likewise, when Hanbin was available, Hao was busy with something else. It almost made no sense to you how these two who were always attached to the hip, were now like two magnets unable to stick together. It was almost as if the universe was plotting against you and soon you found yourself feeling defeated.

"Have you thought of just arranging to meet up with them?", Ryujin asked, before slamming her locker.

Of course, you had thought of it. You guessed that the only reason you hadn't opted for that solution was because you would rather do it spontaneously. On the other hand, meeting meant preparation. And preparation also translated to i-have-too-much-time-to-think-about-this.

You opened your mouth to reply to her when all of a sudden, the locker beside her slammed shut.

"Who is meeting up with who?"

It was Gyuvin.

"Stay out of it, you tall freak.", Ryujin pointed at him.

Gyuvin gasped, "That's absolutely vile behaviour from you, Miss Shin Ryujin. What have I ever done to you?"

Ryujin glared her eyes at him, "You freaking destroyed all the hard work I put on that shelf today with your uncoordinated long limbs."

"Hey! I didn't ask for these. If you want to blame someone, blame my parents.", the younger male protested before turning to you, "Anyway, who are you meeting up with?"

Ryujin slapped his arm, "Stay out of this."

"What? I am her friend. Don't I deserve to know what this is about? Plus, I am almost pretty sure it involves Hao or Hanbin to some extent."

You turned to him in panic, "How'd you know?"

Gyuvin smirked, "Please. When is anything ever not about any of them?"

"I've got other stuff I talk about aside from Hao and Hanbin.", you tried to defend yourself.

Ryujin grimaced, causing Gyuvin to laugh.

"You both suck.", you pouted at them, "Anyway, as much as I love you Gyuv, I am not going into further detail about this."

Gyuvin pursed his lips, before nodding his head.

"Fair enough. However, let me tell you this. If this is about them, I am sure whatever you are stressing over is not worth it. Both love and care for you dearly. They would never judge you whatever it is you have to say to them."

Ruyjin, who had now packed up her bag to leave, turned to him and gasped.

"Oh my god. That is the most mature thing that's come out of that mouth in the 2 years I've known you. I am so proud of you."

Gyuvin rolled his eyes, but smiled at Ryujin nonetheless.

"Thanks Ryujin.”, he turned to you once again, “I am serious Y/N. If this is about them, don’t avoid whatever conversation you need to have with them. It’s not fair on them and it’s not fair on you either.”

You averted your gaze to the floor. Gyuvin patted your shoulder sympathetically, Ryujin following closely behind him.

You knew it was time to stop avoiding it. You needed to talk to them. With determination filling your veins, you clicked on Hao’s contact.

Your call is being connected…

“Y/N?”

★━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━★

Your hands were sweating profusely.

You rubbed them together in hopes of getting rid of the wetness, but the sweat just kept building up. You had never felt more awkward sitting in your apartment’s couch as you waited for Hao and Hanbin to show up. Your hand reached out to dust the seats next to you again, eyes quickly darting to the clock on the wall.

3:57 pm. They should be here soon.

You took a deep breath. It was just Hao and Hanbin. You knew them. You knew their hearts. The worst possible outcome was rejection, which you tried to convince yourself thousands of times you were ready for.

The knock on your door snapped you out of your thoughts. Better now than never. You were spiraling and that was dangerous. The less you thought the better.

Your legs moved on their own before you could think about ignoring the knock or doing anything crazy like escaping from your apartment’s window. You were only on the first floor after all. You would be fine.

On the other side of the door Hanbin and Hao greeted you with their sweet smiles. You could discern the slightest glimpse of what looked like concern, but you pushed it to the back of your head.

Don’t overthink.

“Hey.”, you greeted them, “Come in.”

They took their shoes off before quietly shuffling in your living space. You shut the door behind them. Suddenly it felt so real. You were seconds away from spilling the truth. Well, seconds was an exaggeration. It would certainly end up taking some time if you included all the stutters, mumbles, and awkward silence.

Hao and Hanbin sat in your couch, trying to make themselves look comfortable. You knew they weren’t by how they kept changing their sitting positions. Part of you wondered what exactly they thought they were here for. Hopefully, nothing bad. You didn’t think this was that bad anyway. It wasn’t, right? Or maybe, they knew what they were here for, and they didn’t know how to deal with the situation either.

So much for not slipping into your thoughts.

“Hao, you look constipated. Relax, I am not here to deliver any bad news. At least, I think I am not.”, you noted.

Your best friend visibly relaxed.

“It sounded serious from your tone during the phone call.”, Hanbin pointed out.

You sighed, “I know. I am sorry if I scared you two. It’s nothing that serious, I promise. I just overthink things. And – and I don’t know how to express myself properly due to that.”

Hao pursed his lips, “This is probably a very cliché line, but you know we would never judge you, right?”

You smiled at him, your eyes getting foggy, “I know HaoHao.”

Two minutes in and you were already practically crying. So much not to worry them.

Hanbin reached out to take your hand in his as an attempt to comfort you. You played with the ring on his finger – the same one that adorned your best friend’s middle finger – trying to collect your thoughts.

You kind of felt awful about doing this. You know they deserved to know, but that didn’t stop you from considering that maybe you were being selfish. Hao and Hanbin had something special. It was apparent from the first day they met at the University’s annual concert organized by the Arts Department. They both seemed mesmerized by each other. Eyes never straying for not even a split second. You clearly remember Hao’s hands digging into your side asking about the captivating male dancer on stage. His eyes never faltered away from Hanbin’s figure, his mouth practically hanging open from fascination.

Were you about to ruin this special bond?

“You are overthinking.”, Hanbin stated.

You closed your eyes, frustrated at yourself.

“I am sorry.”

You didn’t know exactly what you were apologizing for.

You kind of expected for Hao to reassure you again, but instead you were met with silence. Your best friend knew you so well. Words of encouragement always worked on you until you started getting emotional. The minute you started getting emotional, your brain stopped processing anything in a positive way.

You took another deep breath. This was it.

“There is something I haven’t told you. I honestly didn’t think it would evolve into what it has, but it did. And as much as I have tried to ignore it or tried to ‘change’ it I can’t.”

You took a second to look at their expressions. Hao had his eyebrows furrowed, evidently confused. Next to him Hanbin looked deep in thought. He didn’t seem as confused as your best friend, which slightly confirmed your suspicions about him being possibly aware of what this was about. Hanbin was after all a very observant person. It was the reason why he was the leader of the University’s dance team and the reason why your friends always went to him for help.

“God, I really hope this doesn’t make you uncomfortable. Or changes anything between the three of us. I would hate that. And I can’t lose the two of you, because you mean so much to me a-and considering how socially awkward and incapable I am, I would probably end up spending the entirety of my lifetime alone, doomed because I-“, your brain short-circuited.

Hanbin gave you an awkward toothy smile, almost sympathetic in nature, “Y/N, it’s okay. Take your time. You are literally blue in the face due to the evident lack of breathing.”

You blushed from embarrassment. Next to Hanbin, Hao’s expression had morphed into that of absolute worry. You hated that look on him. Hao was such an emotional person and you hated when you felt as if you were the reason behind his worries.

You looked at the clock on the wall. 4:15 pm (Read Note 2 for fun fact). It was now or never.

“I like you.”, you admitted.

Hao looked back and forth between you and Hanbin, the latter giving you a tight-lipped smile.

“Which one do you like exactly?”, Hao asked.

Hanbin shook his head in disbelief. Hao truly was oblivious to the whole situation.

“I think she is talking about both of us.”

Hao’s eyes widened, “Wait, for real?”

You suddenly felt self-conscious. You had been honest, but that came with another price. The price of explaining. You couldn’t just leave it at that and expect the pair to figure it out between themselves.

“I-I’m sorry. I know it’s weird. I didn’t expect it to happen. I am sorry if I am making you uncomfortable.”

Hanbin visibly tensed, “Now what in the world are you apologizing for? There is nothing wrong with how you feel. There is nothing ever wrong about loving people. You should only be apologizing to yourself for making yourself feel so guilty about it.”

You bit at your lip, “Hao, will you say something?”

Your best friend seemingly awakened from his daze at the sound of his name spilling from your lips, “I- since when? I mean have you been feeling this way for a long time?”

“I have liked Hanbin for some time now, but I only came to realize how I felt about you only recently.”

“How recently?”, Hao pressed.

“Past three months.”, you mumbled, avoiding his gaze. Your eyes were getting unclear again. God, why did you have to be such a coward?

Hao got up from his seat before squatting in front of you. Soon, warm hands engulfed yours, kind eyes trying to meet yours.

“Bao, please look at me.”

You hesitantly looked into his eyes.

“I would never, ever change the way I treat you due to your feelings. In fact, I think I am a bit guilty myself.”

You blinked in confusion, “You have feelings for me too? But I haven’t seen you date a single girl in the past eight years.”

“Can you think of anyone I’ve dated in the past eight years?”

You opened your mouth ready to answer, but no answer seemed to form. He was right. Hao had not dated anyone after Xiaoting. Your best friend had been so busy with school and violin that he barely had time for any other people except for you.

Hao chuckled, “I kind of like both, I suppose. I am sorry for not telling you. It’s not that I didn’t trust you or anything. I just thought you knew?”

You shook your head, “No, I am the one that’s sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed. It was wrong of me to do that.”

He squeezed your hands, “It’s okay Bao.”

A cough from the neighboring couch diverted your attention from each other.

Hanbin smiled, “Forgot about me already?”

Hao rolled his eyes in response, “Jealous much?”

“Kind of. I am supposed to be a part of this conversation, no?”, Hanbin pouted.

“This fool right here has had the longest crush on you too.”, your best friend exposed him.

Hanbin shyly diverted his gaze to the coffee table in front of him.

This was beyond confusing to you. Hao had just admitted to having feelings for you and, now Hanbin, who you were so sure was infatuated with the former, was being outed for his feelings as well. Had you been this wrong all along?

“But I thought you both liked each other.”

The two males looked at each other before bursting into a fit of giggles.

“We do. That one assumption you are right about.”, Hanbin replied.

Hao nodded his head, “In fact, Hanbin confessed to me about liking you three dates in.”

You gasped, “Three dates? Zhang Hao, you have been seeing Hanbin and you didn’t tell me?”

One of his hands left yours to scratch at his nape embarrassed, “Part of me thought that was what you called us over for. Because you had figured it out and you were mad. However, as soon as you started talking, I knew you didn’t know. I am really sorry Bao. I just didn’t know how to tell you. I had figured out that you liked Hanbin and I was scared of breaking your heart. I didn’t think it was going to turn out this way.”

You sighed, “So, what was the plan then? Never tell me?”

Hao’s lone hand reached for yours again, “Of course not. Hanbin and I haven’t made it official yet. I was planning on telling you then. I wanted to be sure it was going to work out before I told you. Thought that would make the heartbreak worth it. I am sorry. This sounds so stupid now that I am saying it out loud. I only wanted to protect you and your feelings.”

You slipped your hands out of his, both reaching to cup his cheeks.

“It’s okay Bao. I will always forgive you.”

Hao’s eyes shined brightly with emotion. You smiled at him; eyes filled with so much love. His face frowned for a second, and then warm lips were on yours.

Most people would say kissing isn’t that special. In practice, it really is just a bunch of nerve endings touching other. Kissing Hao was anything but that. Kissing him felt like drinking a healing potion, all your worries easing away, muscles relaxing. It felt like warmth spreading throughout your entire body and engulfing you whole. It was comfort; it was home; it was love.

“Now, I am extremely jealous.”, Hanbin muttered.

You slowly pulled away from Hao, your hands never leaving his. Hanbin was sitting on the opposite couch, hands on his lap, looking at the both of you with the biggest pout on his face. He suddenly reminded you of that leaf outside the coffee shop. It felt wrong.

“Come here.”, you motioned him.

His eyes lit up in excitement, body almost falling on the floor from the hurry to get to you and Hao.

“Be careful! You are going to accidentally kill yourself before you even get here.”, Hao scolded him.

Hanbin protested, “Maybe if you weren’t all caught up in each other, I wouldn’t have to sit there in the first place.”

You smiled at him, “I am sorry Hanbin. You are part of this as much as Hao and I.”

“It’s okay. You two needed to talk this out anyway. It’s different for me.”

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“Well… I kind of knew about everything?”

Hao looked at him bewildered, “What? What are you implying?”

Hanbin chuckled, “You told me how you felt about Y/N yourself after I confessed how I felt about her. We had already confessed to each other, and let’s just say that I had this tiny inkling that she liked me after Matthew’s birthday party five months ago.”

“But what about how my feelings towards Hao changed? You couldn’t have possibly known about that.”, you asked.

There was no way Hanbin had known about everything all along. Sure, you had thought that he might have been roughly aware of your crush on him or maybe Hao, but not everything. If he was, why did he not say anything about it in the first place?

“Actually, I did.”, he smirked, “It became obvious at some point. When you first realized your feelings had developed into non-platonic ones, you would practically squirm when he’d give you a hug, and once you realized there was nothing you could do, you started taking advantage of it. Your hands would linger when you’d playfully pat his shoulder, you would silently stare at him a lot, and not to mention, it was the first time I saw you blush when he kissed your cheek. He’d been doing that for years, but you never had a reaction to it. It wasn’t that hard to figure out.”

“Sung Hanbin, I think you chose the wrong profession. I think it is time to switch careers. Just become a detective or something. God, I can’t believe you’ve known all this time.”, you whined.

“Why did you not say anything?”

Hao had asked the question you’d been meaning to ask yourself.

The other male sighed, “Because your relationship has always been different. You’ve known each other since you were kids. I knew how hard it was going to be for the both of you to talk it out, but I also knew you needed to do exactly that without me getting in between. I made a promise to myself that I would not pursue anything further unless this conversation happened. That’s why I never made it official with you Hao. You had your reasons and I had mine.”

“You still confessed to him though.”, you pointed out.

Hao shook his head, “That was actually me.”

“Indeed. I wouldn’t have confessed to Hao if he hadn’t first. Also, I couldn’t exactly reject him, so I decided to be honest instead. I know this might sound bad, but it was a relief when you told me you wanted to take it slow. Being aware of everything was kind of exhilarating in a way, however, it was extremely difficult to keep it all to myself and wait it out.”

“What if none of us ever confessed?”, you pondered.

“I would have stopped seeing Hao. I didn’t want to date Hao when I knew how more complicated this was. That was not a concern though. I knew someone would make the first move at some point. It was only a matter of time. I was certain that if your friendship of twenty years was as important as I believed it was, one of you would come out with the truth. That’s what I admire about you two. The respect, love, and effort you’ve put into this friendship. You are always there for each other and never keep each other in the dark. That’s how you progress and improve not only what you have, but who you are as individuals. Hao would have never changed his mind about pursuing music instead of science if it weren’t for you Y/N. And you would have never made the decision to stay in Korea if it weren’t for Hao. Now, look at the both of you. Hao is one of the top violin performers of this University, has a teacher’s license which has granted him his wish of teaching and inspiring other kids to pursue music, and you have built a life on your own in a country far away from everything you have ever known. You are even graduating top of your class.”

You didn’t think you could possibly love Sung Hanbin more than this moment. Hanbin had only known you two for less than two years. It had taken him only this long to put the pieces of your souls together. He didn’t just know you. You were part of him. You were him. Hanbin was more aware of who you and Hao were, than you yourselves. While that could partly sound a bit creepy or off putting, you knew Sung Hanbin yourself. Maybe not to the extent that he seemed to know you or Hao, but enough to be certain that the man in front of you cared so deeply about the people in his life that his eyes were always observing, ensuring that the people he loved were okay. Hanbin was love. Hao was love.

Your sniffles caught the attention of the two men, who unbeknownst to you had started a conversation of their own.

“What’s wrong Bao?”, Hao asked in concern, hands reaching to comb through your hair soothingly.

You wiped at your eyes, “I just love the both of you so much.”

Hanbin cooed at you, reaching to wipe another stray tear running down your cheek.

“We love you too.”

You smiled at them through your tears, before practically throwing your body on top of them, each hand circling around their napes.

“It’s okay Bao. We are here now.”, Hao reassured you, placing a kiss on the side of your neck.

Hanbin nuzzled his head against your arm in approval.

This was it, you realized. This was your happiness in your arms. You could get through everything as long as you had them. You were no longer that stray leaf on the ground. In fact, you never had been. You would always have them. Whether as friends or lovers. At that moment, you promised yourself that you would never doubt any of them again. Hao and Hanbin would always be with you. No matter what season. They were yours and you were theirs.

“So, when do I get my kiss?”, Hanbin mumbled, mouth pressed to your neck.

Hao laughed, “Still jealous?”

Hanbin groaned in response.

“Don’t worry Bin. You will get endless kisses. I am not going anywhere. Not now, not ever.”

END

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A/N: It's finally out! My first fic (more of a one-shot really) in years. I think the last time i published anything i was 13?? The level of cringe was 10000/10. English is not my first language, so kindly bear that in mind. However, I now live in an english-speaking country, so i certainly hope it is better than my 13-years-old writing skills. Thank you to everyone who decides to give this a shot. Writing for Hao and Hanbin was such a therapeutic time for me. I love the both of them very dearly and they bring so much comfort in my life. I sincerely hope this brings you comfort and warmth. I have other fics in store for the future, and I promise they are longer. Sending lots of love to everyone!!<3

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taglist:

@guessm0del

@cyberpunksunwoo

[accidentally-in-fictional-love]

💻🍭🥰🤔- if you want to! hope your day is nice 😽

Donuts by the Bay - Sweet/Romantic Kurt Goreshter Headcanons

Warnings: Fluff Q//w//Q

Notes: You don't even know how happy I am that Kurt is next in my queue I love him so much 🥰 I tried to keep all my hc requests between 10-20 but then I keep just going to 20 so that's what I'm gunna keep doing lol I hope you enjoy and thank you for your patience~ I hope your day is nice too! 💗💗💗

the first time you see him, you think he might be the type to mug you in a dark alleyway, between his tattoos and his haircut and his outfit you end up sweating nervously as he gets closer to you, and you're so busy trying to avoid him that you don't even notice yourself get mugged by a completely different guy until he's grabbing the thief by the arm and getting your attention, giving you back your wallet with a thick accent

you run into him again as you're waiting in line for donuts to bring to work, and he has the same idea it turns out as you properly thank him, and when you end up asking for the same thing coincidentally he gives you such a big smile you don't know how you were ever afraid of him

you see him repeatedly as you both stop for morning treats, and you chat while you stand in line each time until he tells you about his job at a security business, a start-up he and his friend own, and when he gives you his card in case you ever need some home security his personal number is written on the back

the next time you see him (after chickening out of calling him repeatedly) you sum up all your courage and ask him out for coffee, and you learn that while the pastries aren't just for him he does have quite the sweet tooth, another thing to contrast your first impression of him, and you can't believe how incredibly wrong you were as you sit with him in the corner of the café without realizing you're actually swooning as he speaks

after you start dating he greets you with kisses to your temple when you meet up at the shop each morning, kisses to your cheek when he takes you out to lunch, and a kiss to your hand when you finally have dinner together

he's surprisingly affectionate despite his more or less stoic nature by default, not the type to climb onto the nearest table and sing your praises to the world, but more the type to casually have his hand on you in some way no matter if you're sitting or standing, needing to be close to you until it becomes so second nature you don't even realize you've started doing it back

he's smart, so much better at computers and tech than you, and he's always ready to help you with something no matter how small or silly, he never laughs when you think you're asking a dumb question, just listens to your problem and takes a look, and without fail he has yet to not fix whatever task you bring to him

his friends mean a lot to him, the only people who had his back when he was dealing with getting out of Folsom State Prison, and when he opens up enough to let you meet them not just in the 'come check out our business' way but the 'let's all get dinner together one night' way you see just how much they compliment him even though they're all so different

whenever they need to work on a new commercial for X-CON, since Luis loves to keep changing it up purely due to nerves, you're the one he offers up as their test audience, since he trusts your opinion so highly, and while he is unbearably cute as he reads off his cue cards and curses in Russian when he messes up, you're always ready to give them pointers and adjust their scripts so it flows more naturally, which they really appreciate

you end up deciding that you could use a bit of home security after you've been together a while, an unintentional paranoia arising in your stomach after spending so much time around them all and their stories of break ins, some caused by them back in the day ironically enough, but he just holds you close, presses kisses to your forehead and promises that he'll never let anything happen to you

when you do order some cameras to put outside he's the one to personally install them, and he sneaks in a few extra bonuses for you without the others knowing, just to make you feel safer

whenever he visits he always waves at the camera by your door, just because he knows you'll eventually see it, and you keep a small collection of each one because you can't imagine letting them be lost to time

he loves cooking old family recipes from back home, sharing things he was taught by his mother, grandmother, telling you all about what each one means to him as you sit on your counter and watch him, and when you eat together he always lets you try it first so he can see your reactions

as you lay together on the couch or in bed he loves to link his fingers with yours and tell you about his tattoos, where he got his ring and necklace from and how the latter's been passed down through the men of his family for generations, and he teaches you the words for them in Russian

when you're held close he'll whisper things to you that you don't understand, and when he translate them you get him to teach you how to say them too, and his eyes shine when you tell him you love him in his native tongue for the first time

on the nights where you're anxious and can't sleep he brings you hot cocoa in bed and holds you to his chest, softly singing lullabies from when he was a child until your heart calms and you relax into his arms

for your birthday you find out that he's been planning a surprise party for you for weeks, he needed to ask Scott and Cassie to help most of all since Luis and Dave have horrible ideas, and aside from a beautiful cake and dinner they all helped make he also gifts you a box of the pastries you always get with a little ribbon on top, and for some reason (you know why) they taste even sweeter than usual as you all share them together in your living room

for his birthday you also need to go to Scott and Cassie, but only because you have no idea what he wants, but they're also stumped and can't help, so when he shows up at your place you feel bad that you have nothing to give, but he's just happy to make his favourite foods together, just the two of you, and spend the night with you while he shows you a movie from his childhood, and he translates every single line as you watch without subtitles

you never talk about marriage, not even when you date long enough to move into a brand new place together that's big enough for the both of you, but you think he might want it as much as you do when you wake up one morning and find him already awake and looking at you in the dawn's light, his hand brushing gently against your cheek as he wishes you a good morning in Russian, and you don't even realize til later that you understood him and wished it right back, English not even crossing your mind as he then kissed you in response

when he proposes to you he uses his own ring, a stand in until he can afford the one you want, but you just say yes and kiss him and tell him that you want to keep his, he's never getting it back now

[rosedforbes]

made another drabble for my dearest @galvanizedfriend !! just like the other one, it's connected the Yokan's series THE WOLF on AO3!! this time, I'm bringing Kol + child!Eve to the table :)

DISCLAIMERS: Eve is NOT my character; English is NOT my first language; please, be nice 🙏

He misses being a witch with his whole being, would even trade a sibiling or two just to spend one single day with pure magic flowing through his veins again. However, he can't help but admit that being a vampire has its perks.

Most people only focus on immortality, conviced that the possibility of becoming as old as dirt really is the best part of being a vampire, but Kol has learned that it's more of a curse rather than a blessing, especially if you had to spend half of it closed in a dusty box. Some of them, the slightly smarter ones, believe that the strength and the speed are the real gifts of vampirism, alongside the over-developed hearing. It makes sense, Kol thinks, particularly for the ones who lived like a prey for all of their life, constantly devoured by the thought that their next breath might be the last.

But his personal favorite, the one that everyone seems to forget about, is the ability to get into someone's mind.

Truth is, it doesn't really work the way people expect it to, just looking in their eyes and – poof, I know that you think about your ex whenever you look at your new flame, Susan. No, it's a bit more complicated than that, but when you're as old as Kol, you learn a trick or two to make sure that even the strongest mind will fold at your touch.

Even though Kol is so fond of this little advantage, he never feels the need to use it with Caroline. Nobody does.

She is his favorite member of their twisty and cursed family — not that he will never admit it out loud, not to her, certainly not to Rebekah — but God, that girl could have a stake pointed at her big golden heart and she'd still be unable to lie. Caroline Forbes excels at so many things, but concealing her thoughts and feelings will never be one of them.

And that's why he's counting the minutes that will take her to walk inside his room and ask whatever the bloody hell she wants.

It was funny when he reached five minutes. A little less when he got to fifteen. Very annoying when he counted twenty. By the time the thirty hit, his patience was already five meters under the ground.

"Finally," Kol exclaims in relief as soon as she enters the room. "I was beginning to think that you'd forgot how a door works." he says, earning nothing but a dirty glare.

"Ha-ha, very funny," Caroline mocks, although he can see how she's trying to hide a little grin. "I need a favor."

Kol dramatically gasps, placing his hand on his chest. "You don't say! Color me impress-"

"Can you watch Eve?" Caroline cuts him out, not really feeling the need to listen to the rest of his mockery.

Kol stares at her for a minute, blinking repeatedly while moving his head a little to the side, like a confused puppy. "You waisted half an hour of your time just to ask me that?" He says, visibly impressed and annoyed.

Caroline huffs, fixing a loose curl behind her ear. "I'm sorry, it's just... I used to leave her at the camp with Mary, so she could go around and play with other kids all day and eat all the sweets she wants — even if they both deny it." She drawls around an eye-roll. "But since we got you all back, Eve has been reluctant to go there." She explains, looking at him with a mixture of exhaustion and...fondness.

Kol gives her a small, tight-lipped smile, with his eyes firm on his fidgeting hands.

He lied before. Caroline is on the podium, but she's not his number one of the family. No, that place has been taken by a little girl who made him realize that maybe Nik's mischievous grins, accompanied by a pair of dimples and witty eyes, are not so bad, after all.

Ever since they got back, his niece has been looking at him and at the rest of sibiling with a look full of curiosity and eagerness, like a kid who discovers that there are different types of chocolate and can't wait to taste them all.

The situation is still a bit unsteady and Kol is constantly busy doing something from dawn until dusk, but whenever he goes home to catch a moment and maybe grab a bag of B+, he always finds Eve with at least one of his siblings.

Of course, most of the time, it's Nik, and he really can't blame either of them. He would've never put his money on it, but Niklaus does make a great dad, although he knows most of the credits go to Caroline and Eve rather than his brother.

Still, if she's not with the brother with anger issues, then Eve is with the one with the commitment ones, making pancakes with more rainbow sprinkles than flour. They are good, and it always takes him a minute to debate if he should keep it to himself and not give Elijah his satisfaction, or if he should admit it to see a proud smile breaking through his niece's face.

If she's not making diabetes-azard-pancakes with that retired-looking-lawer, then Eve is with either Freya or Rebekah, playing with the light of the oldest's candles and giving opinions about some old fashion style with the youngest.

Kol knows what she's doing. She wants to compensate for the time they have lost together. It makes him joyful and bitter at the same time.

he snaps back to reality when Caroline starts to talk again. "Klaus and I have to go meet Bonnie to talk about some of the spells of the house, while Freya, Elijah and Rebekah are going on a journey to see another witch who thinks can find a way to make us immune to Marcel's venom." She rambles. "And besides, you two hadn't been together for a while. She misses you."

Kol feels a pang through his chest, looking at Caroline with guilty eyes. "I'm... sorry. I've never meant to make her feel ignored or disengaged, I had so many-"

"Kol," she says softly, showing him a comforting smile. "I know — Eve knows. I'm not blaming you, I just thought this would be an opportunity for you to both take a break and spend some time with her."

"I..." Kol gulps, trying to recollect himself. "Of course. You don't even have to ask, Caroline. You know I'd never say no."

Caroline sighs contently as she gently squeezes his hands as a form of gratitude. "Thank you, Kol."

──────

"You're thinking about it too much, Spawn. You're so focused on the words that you forget to actually put energy into it." Kol explains to her, looking down at the two leather cords.

How did he end up in this situation?

"Come on, Unc' Kol!" Eve whines. "You always say that your knowledge about magic is so vast that it would take you five lifetimes to write it all down!"

Kol keeps pretending to read the newspaper, a tactic that he had to muster to protect himself from his niece's puppy eyes. He has seen tons of them during his life, either on the face of his victims a moment before their last breath, or when his lovers tried to convince him to take their relationship to another level, deluded by the thought that they could change him, fix him. Ironically, both situations ended with Kol walking away from a corpse with a full stomach.

With Eve, though... He always finds himself incapable of not obliging. Kol really doesn't know how she does it. He's half convinced that Eve actually knows more magic than she lets them see, and she found a spell that helps her bewitch everyone with a single look.

"And I stand by that," Kol tells her. "But your parents are going to kill me if I teach you a new spell without their approval and supervision." He points out, and really, he can hardly recognize himself. He was never one to follow the rules — actually, more the reason why they were created, due to his wild and chaotic spirit. But now... He spent centuries trapped in a box, and so the last five years. He has no intention of going back in a coffin.

"Well, good thing you're immortal, then!" the little devil says, giving him a large, not-so-innocent smile.

Kol lowers the newspaper enough to show Eve his scowl. "You are hilarious, Spawn."

she huffs in defeat. "Please, Unc' Kol," she says in a sad voice, looking at him with those puppy eyes he tried so hard to avoid. "Just one?" She repeatedly flaps her eyelashes at him, just to give him the final blow.

Kol drums his fingers on the table near him for about a minute before sighting in resignation. "Fine, you win!"

Eve's anger brings him back to the present. "it's not my fault! These cords are broken!" she takes the latters in her firsts. "I told you we should've gone with the resurrection spell." She grumbles, giving him a pout.

Kol replies with an arched eyebrow, not falling for the cute scowl like he did for the puppy eyes. "And I told you I'm not teaching you any of that stuff until you're at least sixteen." he replies while taking the cords from her hands. "Besides, how do you think you will succeed doing a spell as complicated as the resurrection one, when you're having troubles with the basics?" He says to provoke her.

Usually, Eve is the type of person to always pick up a dare. Just like her mother, whenever someone tells her she can't do something, she will do everything in her power to prove them wrong. Most of them use this little trait of her for their own advantage — such as daring her to eat all the vegetables in less than fifteen minutes, for instance.

This time, though... Kol expected to receive a glare from Eve, followed by a performance of her rolling up her sleeves and getting ready to try again the spell; instead, she stares at him for a few seconds before looking down at the cords, her eyes brimes with tears.

Kol has been walking on this earth for longer than a millennium, but he never felt as much guilt as right now. "Sweetheart, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to sound harsh..." He coos as he covers her tiny face with his hands.

Eve sniffs while trying to take down a sob. "It's not fair! I'm trying so hard, Unc' Kol, I swear," she wispers the last words, and Kol is sure he heard his heart breaking. "But it doesn't matter how hard I try, I can't get it right! Is something wrong with me?" she asks with such a sadness in her tone that hits him worse than a white oak dagger.

"Spawn, there is nothing wrong you." He coos as he washes off a stained tear on her cheek. "Despite your uniqueness, you are still a young witch. I have met witches from all over the world, during different stages of their life, and trust me when I say that most of those of your age have troubles lighting up a candle. A linking spell is already hard for a seventeen years old witch, let alone for one who's seven."

Eve gently pulls away from him, rubbing her hands on her face to wash away the remaining of her breakdown. "Seven and a half." She mumbles, and Kol can't help but let out a low chuckle.

"Listen... let's take a break, mhm?" Kol says as he stands up. "We will get you a piece of cake, and then we will come back to chords. Deal?" He asks, giving her a little grin.

Eve is about to say yes, but she suddenly has a change of heart, narrowing her adorable eyes at him. "I want half a cake."

"You'll get diabetes, darling."

"Aunt Freya can cure me."

"It doesn't work like that."

"Fine. Then we'll call Aunt Bonnie, too."

"Won't make any difference."

"You just made me cry!" she protests, giving him a daring look. come on, she's saying, try to say no again.

Kol lets out an exhausted sigh. "Three pieces of cake. Take it or leave it."

His exasperation must be showing on his face, because Eve gives him a sympathetic little smile before nodding. "Deal."

He picks her up with the same ease he would use to lift up a feather, before walking in the kitchen while thinking about a way to blame on Freya — or Elijah, but that's plan B — the missing third of the cake.

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Kol felt something tugging down at his jacket just as he hunged up with Caroline. As soon as he turns around, he's welcomed by a very proud smile on Eve's face, accompanied by her little hands holding up a knot. "I did it! " she almost screams with excitement as she goes on her tiptoes to show him better her achievement. "I made the linking spell!"

Looking down at the jumpy young girl in front of him, so proud of herself and eager to see his reaction... it does some little tricks to his wicked heart. It's something completely new, Kol doesn't even know how to call it, or if there's even a name to such emotion. This thing inside his chest... it feels quite like pride, but it's not it. Kol knows that feeling all too well, maybe for the wrong reasons, but nonetheless, he's very familiar with it. This is something more. A mix of emotions that he has never felt since he turned into the beast he is today, more than a millennium ago.

He crunches down to Eve's eye level, giving her a knowing grin. "See? I told you, Spawn, you just needed to let it go. Feel the magic running through your veins, surrounding your body every single day." he tells her with a tone that is supposed to be comforting and soft, but judging from Eve's change of expression, he can tell she felt the bit of melancholy that accidentally slipped in.

"Unc' Kol..." She begins while looking down at the strong, knotted cords on her hands, as if she can't bear to look him directly in the eyes. "Do you think I'll lose it? The magic, the connection we have." She wispers the last sentence, almost like she's scared to jinx it.

"Of course not, Eve. Why would you?" Kol asks as he gently takes the tie from her grasp, an attempt to regain her attention back to his face.

"Mom lost it when she became a vampire. You did, too." she says as she switches her look back to him. "Will I lose it too, when I'll turn?"

That unknown, but not unwelcome, feeling he had before is suddenly replaced by something uglier, a storm of emotions he knows to heart, even though he has never shown it on the outside. Confusion, concern, panic, sadness. All of them are roaming free through all his body like it's a damn highway. Eve was talking about a deadly disease like it's just a band-aid a few seconds ago, giving it for granted. How did they come to this? how did she?

For the first time in his life, Kol finds himself at loss for words. Eve is seven, for God's sake. She's not supposed to think about this stuff. Hell, she's not even supposed to know. Despite his childish nature, Kol is not familiar with kids, but he's sure they're supposed to play with crayons and beg for candies before bedtime instead of worrying about the day they will die.

Eve, a child after her mother's heart, can't handle the silence very well, so she decides to take word after watching Kol's failed attempts to say something — anything. "I know what I am, Unc' Kol. I'm a tribid, which means I'm part witch, part werewolf, and part vampire. Now I'm just a witch, but eventually, I'll turn into the other two, too. I am fine with that — it's not like i can change what i am — I just... I don't want to lose this," she says as she lights up a candle near them with a flick of her fingers. "In the process." She concludes, looking at him like she's expecting something. Comfort, reassurance. A bunch of pretty, soft words that will put at rest her big heart.

It's not like Kol doesn't want to send away these demons that are roaming inside her thoughts, on the contrary. He just... refuse to lie to his niece.

Eve is the very definition of loophole. A child born from an original hybrid and a former witch who managed to cure herself and her mother while she was still in the womb. It's thanks to her if Caroline is still here with them, if those furries in flannels have the powers of a hybrid without the need to put an end to their pathetic life. You would expect that, with this background, she can survive everything. Always victorious, with zero defeats in her path. But the wicked truth is... nobody knows.

Eve has always been full of surprises, and Kol doubts she'll ever stop to leave them impressed, but that also means that they don't know how to protect her. Does she have a weak spot? All of the power she has, will it destroy her? do they have to keep living like this, in the shadows, to keep her safe?

He wants to cradle her between his arms, kissing her forhead, and telling her that she doesn't have to worry about anything. that nothing will ever be able to hurt her. that her magic will always be a constant. But he can't. Because he knows, deep down, that turning into a tribid — killing to be a werewolf, dying to be a vampire — is a matter of when, not of if. and the worst part is... a side of him is relived at the thought that she will turn into something eternal, immortal. And Kol is disgusted by himself.

What kind of person finds comfort into thinking that the sweetest girl to ever exist will turn into a walking corpse?

Kol's head is pounding. This is too much. it's not his place to talk about it, not before Nik and Caroline.

"Don't tell your mother, but I know where she hides the Froot loops," Kol says, a pathetic way to slip out of this conversation. It's lame, he knows, but his mind was still too occupied to put at ease those dark thoughts. "And if you ask nicely, I might give you more than one bowl." he offers as a little and playful grin, which doesn't quite reach his eyes, appears on his face.

Eve is silent for a few minutes with an expression he can't decipher,  no matter how hard he tries, before offering him an understanding smile. "Let's go, Unc' Kol." She says while taking his hand in hers.

He stands up and follows her to the kitchen, but his eyes are fixed on their jointed grip. Eve is actually holding three of his fingers, her little hands disappearing into his own. Kol wishes he could do the same with those worries that are festering Eve's mind. Just put them into his hand and make them... disappear.