#so strange but for the others i keep getting this feeling of boredom from them and they always sit on their phones when im speaking it real

[hazbinsillynight]

Radiostatic week 2024

Day 7 (free day) Jealousy

They were fighting just like always when suddenly everything changed. Neither of them saw it coming, but at least Alastor's shadow got some quality time with their old nemesis. Alastor howerver looked pretty pissed for some reason

Static mixed with strange radio sound could be heard in the principal park of Pentagram City. Everyone had fled away from the fight scene which was reducing the place to a chaotic battlefield. Some screams of panic could be heard and there was some body of careless lesser demon who wanted to have a good show. 

Vox and Alastor. The TV and the radio. The unending fight and rivalry that was tearing once again Hell apart. None of them refused to give the other any opportunity. Vox was obsessed with his rival since his departure of seven years, while Alastor only saw the other as a source of entertainment.

Vaudou and shadow magic were everywhere as well as the lightning and cables. All of this fight for a bit of teasing from the radio demon who knew Vox couldn’t resist. 

“Victory is mine this time Old man!!” Vox exclaimed with Alastor trapped between his cables.

“Ah! You wish!” Alastor claimed with the biggest smile anyone has ever seen on the smiling demon. 

Both of them loved these fights. For Vox they were an occasion to get rid of some stress and get attention from the red Overlord. While for Alastor it was a way to avoid boredom and seeing the media demon from whom he enjoyed the company so much. Their game of cat and mouse was on for what seemed forever and none of the two demons were able to say when it started.

Suddenly Vox got plunged into the ground, held and pushed by Alastor’s shadow. To the surprise of the two demons, it decided to jump on the TV demon and hold him under him against the ground.

While Vox tried to get free from the shadow’s hold, thinking it was an attack from his nemesis, Alastor looked at the situation a bit confused. He hadn’t ordered anything to his double, in fact, the shadow replica didn’t like to fight against Vox. Why he wasn’t sure but seeing it keeping his adversary to the ground somehow didn’t feel good. 

Vox tried to electrocute the shadow being over him but in vain. Instead of shooing it away from him, it got the opposite effect. The dark shape was wrapping itself around the other demon's body, preventing him from moving. Vox growled a bit as he was now incapable of moving.

“A-Alastor!!” He suddenly chirped nervously when he felt the shadow touching him and passing a part of its body under his shirt. He could feel his face burning as he looked at his rival, mortified by the situation.

That got the radio demon off guard, just like his rival he could feel his face burning. Vox was lying down on the ground with his shadow lurking over him like a predator. The dark shape didn’t form any legs and chose instead to wrap the legs and torso of the media Overlord. Vox’s shirt and top clothes were a mess that the shadow took pleasure in playing with. Alastor was mortified, just what decadent kind of behavior was that?!

The radio demon hurried to the side of the other demon, ready to shoo his shadow away. But it didn't hear it that way and as soon as Alastor came closer it hissed at him, clinging onto Vox possessively. 

“Alastor!!” Vox exclaimed when he saw the other stop in front of the protective and possessive shadow. 

A chirp from the dark shape wrapped around the TV demon surprised them both. Alastor could feel his face becoming hotter. His shadow was a powerful being of his creation, capable of tearing demons apart easily. It wasn’t some kind of goey hugging and chirping partner for Vox.

“That's enough now! I think you clearly outpassed your liberties for today!” Alastor exclaimed, trying to make his replica come back to him.

The shadow started growling before hissing louder at its master. Vox was desperately trying to get free when suddenly the shadow turned back to him and started passing his hands softly on the edges of his screen. Before neither of the two Overlords could do anything, it kissed the media demon with passion causing him to glitch stronger than ever.

Alastor saw red this time. The images of Vox being possessively kissed by his shadow replica sent him in such a wave of anger. He just wanted nothing more than to prove his replica that the other demon wasn’t theirs to take. Vox was his rival, his source of entertainment, his everything! There were no negotiations possible! So, with angry and decided steps, the radio demon came closer to Vox that his shadow took away from him while he was stuck in his thoughts.

Vox blushed heavily when he saw Alastor coming to him. The shadow suddenly let him go, smiling and clearly amused by the situation. With his heart pacing ten times faster than it should be, the media Overlord tried to stay calm. He could still feel his screen glitching and electricity waving around him.  He was voiceless. No thought was coming into his mind, the passionate kiss the shadow replica of his rival playing again and again in his head.

“A-Al...Alastor you-”

Nothing of what he tried to say made any sense. With the calm around them and their fight being over, more people and journalists came closer, impatient to hear and learn more about one of their legendary fights. Get your shit together Vox! There are cameras you can’t act like this right now! He tried to reassure himself and started to get up, putting a mask of confidence on his face.   

“I guess I’ll let you win this time, Alastor!” He smirked, knowing the cameras were on both of them.

With his clothes in such a state, their wounds, and how out of breath he was it wouldn’t be difficult to let them believe that he lost the fight. Losing was still better than what could happen if the press learned about what happened.

“Oh shut up stupid TV.” Alastor said with a bitter tone, looking angry but not at him. There was something in his way to walk towards him that made the media Overlord both nervous and thirsty. For an ace in the hole, he could be so hot sometimes. 

Before he could do anything Vox felt the other Overlord pull his shirt possessively and with a wilder behavior than his shadow replica he kissed him in front of the whole crowd of journalists. For the second time this day, Vox glitched and almost caused a blackout for the entire town.

“For anyone that wouldn’t know to whom you belong, Vox.” The deer demon whispered into his ears before biting him into the neck causing the whole crowd to gasp and Vox to reboot.

With a growl and his dear rival in his arms, Alastor growled at the journalist menacingly. A few seconds later they were alone but not before the flash of a dozen cameras, capturing the moment of intimity of the two demons. Surely Vox would have a lot of work to deal with once he woke up.

“Sleep well, my dear. It appears you’ll need all the rest you can find once you wake up.” Alastor said before gently kissing the screen of his rival and dearest demon. 

[codenamesazanka]

UA kids villain arc. Ochako, Shouto, Shoji, Deku Villain arc, in this epilogue.

Not villains as in 'mwahahaha i will evil', but Villain as in someone unwilling to suffer in silence.

The kids, having just gone through a war, are feeling the aftermath. The unreality of going back to school, sitting at a desk, taking notes, raising hands and obediently listening to teachers, after spending months as soldiers in a life-or-death adrenaline hurricane. The sense of absurdity of doing homework again (when had any of this mattered during the war? It's not so necessary, is it? What if I just don't do it?) The strangeness of being treated like a child whose voices and opinions will be overruled by an adult again, after being treated as equals by those same adults during battle. The nightmares, the slow fading aches of injuries, the lingering hyper-vigilance. The anger, the sadness, the fear, all still here; and the overwhelming mix of other emotions of all sorts they can't put words to - because who can describe what they went through? - and so it gets bottled up. Maybe even just the boredom and frustration of normal life after truly living out the wildest heroic dreams.

But it's back to school, back to being children, back to being model students who are bright and cheerful and excelling and have only one path ahead of them - to be Heroes.

Ochako, wanting to keep her promise to Toga to give blood, only to be told to forget it. What was she thinking anyway, saying that to a Villain? Offering to do such a taboo, inhuman thing? Ochako missing school on days she feels sick and in pain, as if the knife was still in her stomach. Her grades are slipping; she better shape up if she wants to graduate. Can't she just try harder?

Shouto having to brave the unending whispers and the stares. That's the boy related to both Dabi and Endeavor. I hear the mother is also from some backwards village clan. What a family. Goes to show that it's just in the blood. Better stay away from him. I know he helped save us but... Shouto trying to visit his father and brother, trying to help with the legal process, and being told it's better for his future if he gives up on them. Cut his ties best he could. Why would he want to keep associating with them? He's a good person.

Shouji told to keep it up. He shined so brightly at the hospital. He's the spokesman the heteromorphs need - now keep them in line. Tell them change is coming, just be patient. First there's rebuilding. Then there's the economy. Then Heroes need trust built up again, so they need to be in the spotlight, they gotta stay in the cities where people can see. The countryside can wait.

And Deku. Deku! He just killed a man, but it's fine. Tenko's heart was saved. He lost OFA and he's back to being quirkless, but it's fine. He got to live his dream. The feelings in his arm comes and goes, and he can't make a fist for every long, but it's fine. He's still got them, doesn't he? He needs to go see Spinner, and he needs to honor his deal with Overhaul, and he hasn't been able to do any of that yet, but it's fine. He can live with the unease and the dread and the guilt for a few more months. He's fine. He's a Hero. He's happy to put on a smile and keep others at ease and deal with his issues by himself, push it all deep inside of him. Harden it into a small ball of lead and guard it from anything leaking out. He's a Hero, and he's willing to put up with the pain and keep it quiet.

So I think the kids should get to have one bad day.

One bad day where nothing turns out okay. They trip and fall and fall and fall. It's a mess. Everything hurts and it sucks and they're tired and frustrated and angry. They feel like they're going crazy - and maybe they are - and they're suffocating and they can't keep doing this. They need to be seen, they need their cries heard, they need their pain acknowledged and accepted. They want the facade of being 'fine' destroyed. They're unwilling to suffer in silence anymore.

So I think the kids should get a villain arc.

[sopiao]

HAI!! I LUV ALL OF UR WORK THEY GOT ME GIGGLIN AND SHIT 🤭🤭

can i request a young teen reader (like 15-16) being watched over and taken care of by their body guards, the 141. like. they’re sick and is part of a dangerous chain, they get hired to take care of you and just overall body guard you???

pls ignore this if this is too much or if you don’t feel like it! be safe!

EHYDHEHSHEHS TY TY TY!!!

this idea is actually so cute. i struggled trying to think for this 🤐

Tossing and turning in your hospital bed, you already read every book that was gifted to you and brought from your home. Already watched every show on the TV. Already made like a couple hundred paper cranes out of boredom. Hell, you’ve been here so long the flowers you got, when you were first admitted, has already wilted and died due to lack of sunlight. That’s how you felt

A soft knock on the door made you sit up immediately. You saw your doctor, your mom, and four strange men. Your mom never explained what she did, expect that you could never get involved in it, and never know what she did. All you knew is that it was dangerous, but she made lots of money from it so she could give you a comfortable life.

As always, she gave you a short and subtle explanation, as always. She introduced the men, but you took little to no interest in this. All you know was that you weren’t safe in a public hospital and had to stay somewhere more private and secluded.

Something like “Mommy got caught up with some people and you need to take a trip” You hated every time she baby explained something to you. You aren’t 5.

—

The car ride there was quite, Ghost having to hold his arm up the entire ride to keep your IV running. You already knew that you’d never be alone from that point on, always being monitored and with someone.

“We already prepared a room for you” Price explained, only earning a hum from you as a response. They didn’t find your silence and lack in response or communication rude or ignorant, just understood that some people like to talk and some don’t. Your room was right in the middle of the hallway, in between everyone else’s, assuming it was for your safety in case anyone found you.

Price let you open the door to see your reaction. The room was.. cozy. In a way. You can tell they tried. There were soft white fairy lights across the lining of the ceiling. It was a quilted comforter with many different patterns. Books laid out in the bed side table for you, ones you never read before. Soft rugs, and a huge and a plushy bean bag.

But what caught your attention the most was the overwhelming amount of stuffed animals that littered the bed. You wanted to laugh but only let out a little chuckle, the only other sound from you the entire time you were with them, aside from the occasional hum response.

They all watched cautiously as you slowly entered the room, looking around and inspecting each little trinket of the room they added, Ghost having to follow behind to keep your IV bag dripping.

“Is it okay for you?” Soap is the first to speak up, all watching how you just sit at the foot of the bed and just look around, noticing something new each second. Wow, they even got you the white princess canopy you wanted when you were like five. Even the skele-animals plushie you wanted six years ago. Most likely your mom told them about this. A for effort.

“Yeah, its… good” You softly nod, Soap and Gaz smile to each other.

“Told ya” you heard subtly from Gaz who stuck his tongue out at Ghost who just rolls his eyes and turn away, who starts to attach your IV bag to the metal pole. They’re hesitant to leave you by yourself, but you insist that you’ll just take a nap for a little bit.

—

A couple hours later, lunch, Price reminds Ghost to go in and ask you what you’d like for lunch. They can eat whenever they want, their more concerned for you. When he hears silence after knocking four separate times, not wanting to intrude on you. He just assumes that you’re still sleeping.

His heart drops to his stomach once he sees the bed empty, and you’re IV pole gone. He rushes into the house’s living room, alerting his teammates. First they do a scan of the house, maybe you wanted to use the bathroom, or check out the other rooms. When the rooms are empty they start to check out the outside, spreading out.

Price finds you in the backyard. Sighing as he relaxes and un-tense his body, slowly making his way towards you. You’re crouched in the ground, back facing him, with your IV pole standing beside you. His shadow looms over you, signaling you that there’s someone behind you, though you don’t say or do anything, just continuing watching the ants climb in and out of the small ant hill.

His shadow looks over you, signaling you that there’s someone behind you, but it doesn’t alarm you. You just continue staring how the ants follow in one singular line.

“Gave us a scare there, kid” Price grunts as he crouches down next to you, wondering what’s so interesting about them, earning the usual hum in response, the only time you’ve acknowledged his presence.

“What’re ya’ lookin’ at?” Price turns to look at you, hugging your knees and chin resting atop of them. He watches you use a twig to push a stray ant back in line.

“Y’know if you wanna go out, you should come and tell us, bring us along” He says in a tone that tries to convince you that they wanna spend time, but is really so you won’t be alone.

“Mhm”

—

Day 2. And you’re still stuck in this hospital gown. You try to look through the dresser and drawers for any clothes, or at least fresh underwear, or clean socks. But when you find the wooden drawers empty you escort yourself and the metal pole, you’re growing used to, to the living room where they’re all playing card games.

They don’t notice your presence yet, focusing on whether the other has the card they need or not. So, you just stand and stare at them, for a good 4 minutes until Gaz catches you in the corner of his eye. Jumping and dropping all his cards face up on the table.

They all laugh then turn once they realize that Gaz is staring at the hallway. Soap clears his throat and asks what you need while Price puts out his cigar to keep you from inhaling the fumes.

“I need clothes” Is all you said. The same expression plastered on their faces, just remembering that they forgot something.

“That’s what it was” Soap mutters.

“Told you we were missing something, idiot” Ghost scolds him, seems like a usual occurrence.

They end up having to drive to the nearest Goodwill to buy you some clothes. They knew that if your mother found out she’d be displeased, but you insisted that it’s where you wanted. You couldn’t leave and go around public in your hospital gown since it’ll raise suspicion.

Which caused you to have to borrow some of their clothes for the time being. Had to borrow Gaz’s pants since he’s the shortest from all of them, thought by only an inch, it was the closest size to you. It draped over you and covered your shoes. Soap offered his shirt which reached your thighs. Had a tear in the bottom.

Ghost decided to stay and stick with you while you picked up clothes, watching intently in what you picked out and what you looked at, holding up your IV, but not too high to make it that noticeable. Noting what you took interest in, processing your style.

“Didn’t know these still existed” Price came up to the two of you with Soap behind him, holding up a cassette player in his hand. Soap had an old digital camera, looking through the photos.

“You should get it, Cap’” Soap suggests, getting bored with the camera. You’re still looking through clothes, but still listening to them talk.

“What the hell would I even do with this?” He chuckles, inspecting the inside and each button to see if it’s functional— and not laced with crack.

“Mm-mm Just to have it?” Soap shrugs, taking the clothes out from your arm to hold for you, and to look at.

“That’s stupid”.

“They have cassettes at the front” You speak up, making them all look at you, since you never speak unless absolutely needed. They’re happy that you’re slowly getting comfortable to speak but don’t want to say anything to jinx it. Price just makes his way towards the front to look for them, you can tell by the little rushed way he walks that he’s enjoying himself.

You find a Dio shirt in the racks, their band dates and locations on the back, like something you’d by from a concert.

“Do people still listen to them?” Ghost whispers, mostly to himself, you can tell his interested. Never would’ve thought that he’d be into that band. You add it into your stash, laying it on your arm. When you get back to the house you end up giving it to him since ‘It doesn’t fit. Too big’ by what you said.

—

Gaz couldn’t sleep at all, it was way too hot. He walked out of his room, using the bottom of his shirt to wipe his face. He entered the kitchen to grab a glass of water but almost screams when he sees you by the counter, sitting on the edge with a sandwich in your hand.

“If you were hungry you should’ve woken one of us up” He sighed, hand on his chest to calm himself down, worried when he saw the knife next to you covered in nutella.

“No. Too much work. Didn’t wanna bother” You shook your head, already half way through your sandwich. He chuckled, looking through the fridge for the water pitcher.

“What did ya’ make?” Gaz asked, leaning against the counter next to you, taking a long gulp from his glass.

“Nutella and Cheerio’s” You take another big bite from your sandwich. He cringes at how sweet it must be but laughs at how often he’s tried it late at night too.

You two sit together in silence, occasional crunch from you eating your sandwich and a watery sip from Gaz. After you finish he asks if your full, shaking your head he offers to make you something. Looking up at him then nodding while muttering a thanks.

He makes you go sit in the living room and watch TV while he prepares something. There wasn’t much in the house but he made do with what he had in the house. After an episode and a half of The Amazing World of Gumball he came to the couch with two BLT sandwiches and two cans of soda.

“Didn’t even know we had bacon” You mutter to yourself as Gaz already starts eating, a muffled response you couldn’t really make out. You both just sit in silence once again, less awkward and more comfortable this time, as you both ate the food he prepped.

It was nice. Just eating sandwiches while watching cartoons at 2:14 in the morning.

—

You felt weak today, more than usual. Deciding to take a quick 20 minute nap, you wake up to loud talking, occasionally arguing accompanied by laughing, which made you a little irritated but you felt more energized.

Taking your IV pole with you, at this point you considered it a friend that followed you, you make your way to the living room, they’re all circled around the coffee table, either on the couch or on the floor.

You take a minute to watch before speaking up. Making them all jump when they notice your presence.

“What’re you doing?” You take a couple steps forward to look over their shoulders and see a Monopoly board and Monopoly money spread across the table.

“Wanna play?” Soap cocks his head to the side, scooting over to make room for you.

“I’ll watch” You take the empty spot next to him as they begin playing, less profanity and vulgar language this time, but still the same energy. Slowly you started to grow used to them. Laughed at how Gaz made Ghost pay up every time he hit his property, how Soap would take at least a minute to calculate his money for a deal, how Soap always got the short end of the straw, how they’d always fuck him over.

After a round they played again, but this time you were the banker. Handing out loans and taxes while you sipped on your juice box.

[jinkoh]

rat in the trap

haknyeon x fem!reader

summary: you knew haknyeon wasn’t coming to the bar for you. it was just for his job, to investigate. and yet, when he gave you that sweet smile of his, you couldn’t stop yourself from hoping for something more, for something real...

tags: undercover!haknyeon, suggestive, making out, angst, manipulation, mafia au type themes; warnings: alcohol, gun violence (non graphic), blood

wc: 10.6k

a/n: this was actually inspired by the convoyz episodes, specifically something sunwoo said (you'll see~), but the plot strayed very far from that. anyway i hope you'll enjoy this--it's been in my WIPs since february so i'm glad to finally have it done hehe

masterlist

You were pretty convinced your boss was entangled in something messy. For one he was paying you in cash—not exactly a common thing at a respectable business. Then again, by itself it wouldn't be strange enough to be alerted. The other thing though were the men with their black suits and slicked back hair that came in once or twice a month. There were usually two of them, younger than you'd think and definitely younger than your boss. They'd come right after closing time when you'd already be wiping down the counters. Most of the time they’d just head straight for the little office your boss had in one of the backrooms and leave just as quickly again. But once in a while they sat down in the corner booth, ordering a whiskey on ice and waiting for your boss to sit with them. You didn't know much about them, aside from their drinking preferences and their names that you'd overheard before. Your boss seemed to purposely keep you away from their talks, telling you to leave the closing up to him even though he usually pushed as much work as possible onto you. Not that you'd complain—closing up was annoying and it seemed to be better for your personal safety to not get involved anyway. Most importantly though, you received a generous tip on days like these. He'd give it to you under the claim that business had been good that day, but you knew there was more to it; a bribe to keep your mouth shut about something you didn’t even know anything about. And you weren’t going to try and find out—curiosity killed the cat and satisfaction wouldn't pay your rent if you lost this job.

With all of this in mind, you had your suspicions when Haknyeon came in for the first time. He probably thought he was doing a really good job staying undiscovered, but you'd worked at the bar long enough to know who belonged to your usual clientele and who didn’t. And Haknyeon—well, he was just a tad bit too clean. Even if he undid the topmost button of his perfectly ironed white shirt—he was still wearing a perfectly ironed white shirt. He looked like a salary man or a lawyer, or, if your gut feeling was right, a cop in disguise. 

Rather than one of the tables, he sat down at the bar with a little sigh.

"Rough day at work?" you asked with your sweetest smile. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer and all that. Though, frankly, you weren’t sure what he'd turn out to be. If it came down to it, you’d choose your personal safety above the law anyday. Still, a sweet smile couldn’t hurt. Especially not if it was returned this brightly.

"Not particularly," he admitted easily. "I'm just a little bored, a little tired."

"Bored, hm?" You tilted your head. "This isn’t exactly an exciting place though. Most people that come here just want to silently drown their sorrows in a glass of whiskey. There isn’t a lot here that could help with boredom."

"You're here, though."

For a second you just stared at him, taken off guard by the comment. You hadn't intended to flirt with him. Mostly you'd just tried to casually let him know that you knew the place well—making yourself look valuable seemed like a good idea. But his remark had actually made your heart stutter for a second there.

"Sorry," he chuckled awkwardly, his eyes cast down. "It was a bit much, wasn't it? I just meant to say that you seem to be an interesting person."

You found your smile again. “Likewise.”

“I’m Haknyeon, by the way.”

“So, Haknyeon, what can I get for you?”

“You’re not going to tell me your name?”

You shrugged, a challenging grin on your face. “Do I have to?”

With a laugh, Haknyeon looked up at you through his lashes. You liked the spark in his eyes. “I’ll have a beer then,” he said instead of pressing further. You liked that too.

Haknyeon kept coming after that, sitting at the counter every single time. He made casual conversation, telling you silly stories about his colleagues from his boring office job (which you were more or less certain were really colleagues from his police job) and he also asked about you, your likes and dislikes, your life, your work at the bar, the bar itself. It seemed to confirm your suspicions—why else would he want to know so much about you? And yet a small little hope started to bloom in your chest, that maybe you’d been wrong, that maybe he was coming for you after all. There was just something about him that made you feel attached. Perhaps it was the way he’d slowly repeated your name after you finally told him, nodding as if to say that it suited you. Or perhaps it was his laughter or the way he’d smile fondly whenever he’d been the one to make you laugh. Whatever it was, you found yourself falling quickly, against your better knowledge.

“I think you should go out with me,” Haknyeon said out of nowhere one day, before he’d even gotten his drink.

“What?”

“I’ve thought about it and it would only make sense.”

You laughed. “How so?”

“Well, I think we’ve gotten to know each other as well as we can in this context. So if I want to get to know you better, I have no choice but to take you on a date.” 

He was taking it too far, you thought. If this was really all just about his undercover investigation, he shouldn’t do this, he shouldn’t ask you out. He shouldn’t toy with your feelings in this way if his only objective was to get information on your boss. Naturally, you should have declined. You were already too invested in this, in him and seeing him outside surely wouldn’t help. 

But that silly spark of hope, lingering somewhere in the back of your mind like a persistent  little virus made you act a fool.

“Okay then,” you replied. “So, in which context do you want to get to know me instead?”

“We could go bowling. Or how about go-karts?”

“You want to go karting? For a first date? How well can you get to know me if we’re sitting in separate karts, unable to actually talk?”

He shrugged. “Well, I’d be able to see how dirty you’re willing to play to win. I think that says a lot about someone’s personality.”

“Oh?” You chuckled. “So I take it you’re a goody-two-shoes that likes to play fair?”

He grinned. “Of course.”

It turned out that Haknyeon was, in fact, not a goody-two-shoes at all. He played to win and he’d find a way to get there. Surprising, for a cop, you thought. Then again, maybe you had to be a little cunning if you wanted to excel at undercover work. (But how excellent could he be, if you had him exposed the second he’d walked in?)

“Wanna go again?” Haknyeon asked with a laugh as he slipped his helmet off after another round of mercilessly beating you.

“You really want to destroy all my confidence, huh?”

“Sorry,” he gave you an apologetic smile. “I’ll let you win this time?”

“Oh, don’t you dare, I don’t want your pity.”

He stepped a little closer, helmet under his arm. “Wanna call it a day then and have some drinks instead? My treat.”

You weren’t one to say no to a free drink, even less so when he let you choose the location. So, a little later you found yourself sitting next to him at a table in your favorite café. It felt so much like a regular date, that you almost forgot your whole undercover cop theory. He didn’t talk about the bar or your boss—he seemed to really be there for you, intrigued by the person you were outside of your job. With every second you spent together, the hope that this was something real grew stronger until it was all you could think about. He asked if he could see you home later that evening and you didn’t stop to consider whether it was smart or not to let him know where you lived, because you were too focused on the prospect of being with him for just a little longer, another minute, another hour, maybe even the night. If he’d asked, you would have invited him in for a coffee or a snack or a movie or any other excuse he could have possibly come up with. But he didn’t ask. He gave you a bright smile when he said goodbye, telling you that he’d been happy to spend the day with you. His hands briefly brushed against yours. They felt warm. You wanted to hold on but neither of you did. You pulled away to fumble for your keys. Haknyeon waited until you’d unlocked the door and got inside before leaving. You tried not to feel disappointed as you watched him walk down the street from the window in your apartment.

“We’re going to close up,” you said as you were already wiping down the counter, while Haknyeon was still sitting right there, watching you.

“Yeah, I’ll wait,” he said simply. It wouldn’t be the first time that he’d stayed until your shift was over to walk you home. But today was different. You’d seen the little red cross in your boss’ calendar. They would come today. And while you understood that it was probably the kind of opportunity Haknyeon was waiting for and maybe even the only reason he always stayed behind and saw you home, you also knew that you’d get in trouble if you didn’t manage to kick him out on time. 

“Don’t worry, you can go home first.”

He tilted his head. “You know that I don’t mind waiting for you.”

“No,” you insisted with a little more force this time. “Not today.”

He seemed to understand, to some extent, that him sticking around would cause problems for you. “I’ll wait outside then, around the corner?” He proposed. “Is that okay?”

You contemplated for a second but then you nodded. Even if it wasn’t anything to him, you liked walking home together. He gave you a happy smile and then left. Soon after, the door opened again, the little bell above it ringing into the silence of the bar. The two men had shown up just the way you’d known they would.

“Whiskey on ice,” the one who you thought was called Sunwoo said instead of a greeting, his expression cold and intimidating. 

“Of course,” you nodded and got the bottle out, while the other of the two—Jacob?—nudged him in the side.

“No need to be so grim to someone who has nothing to do with this, hm?” He said, almost teasingly, before turning to you with an apologetic smile. “Make that two.”

It didn’t take long for your boss to come out and you were excused as soon as you’d gotten their drinks. You almost felt a little guilty as you made your way down the street to the corner where Haknyeon was waiting. He greeted you with a smile and a wave as if nothing happened.

“So, who are they?” He asked, probably thinking he was sounding all casual. 

“Hm?” you feigned ignorance. “Who?”

“The two men that came in.”

“You saw them?”

“Well, they basically came in the second I was out. Why weren’t they asked to go?”

You didn’t know what to tell him. You didn’t know any details, but it also wasn’t like you knew nothing. There were their names, and the black briefcase they brought. But what if the moment you told Haknyeon he would drop you like a hot potato? What if the moment you’d give him the information you had you would lose all value to him? And then you’d be left with nothing. 

“Just old friends of my boss,” you replied vaguely. The generous tip you’d received before leaving felt impossibly heavy in your pocket. 

“Hm,” Haknyeon nodded slowly, thoughtfully, as if he didn’t quite believe that that was all. But then his sweet, sweet smile was back. “I see.”

It got quiet between the two of you, and with the silence your fear of losing him got impossibly louder. It didn’t matter that you never even had him in the first place. 

The back of his hand brushed against yours, a faint accidental touch. “Sorry,” he said with a light chuckle. But you weren’t a coward this time, though maybe rather than bravery it was desperation that made you act. You grabbed his hand, intertwining your fingers with his. His skin felt chapped around his knuckles, but it was as warm as you remembered it to be.

“It’s okay,” you replied and your voice came out weaker than anticipated, afraid that he would pull away. But instead he squeezed your hand with a happy little hum, before slipping your intertwined fingers into the pocket of his coat. He held on tightly, his thumb drawing slow patterns onto your skin.

When the two of you reached your apartment, you lingered for a moment. Neither of you said anything and yet neither of you showed any intention to let go either. Somehow it felt so scary to part, as if this fragile thing you hoped existed between the two of you would break if you said goodbye for the night. So you didn’t.

“You can come up,” you said without meeting his gaze. “If you want.”

He hesitated for a second, searching for eye contact. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Another beat passed and you thought this would be it, he would draw the line and leave.

“Okay,” he whispered. 

He followed you upstairs and waited patiently until you’d unlocked the door to your apartment. Then, for a moment, you both stood in silence in your dark hallway. You didn’t turn on the light. You just looked at him through the darkness, the faint light coming in from the windows reflecting in his eyes. You moved a little closer, your gaze dropping to his lips before coming up again. Your heart was racing in your chest, nervous about his next move, anxious he would back out. He stepped in too, until his breath was tangible on your skin but he didn’t close the remaining distance just yet. There was a tension in his jaw as he examined your face, as if he was holding himself back.

“Are you sure?” he asked again.

“I’m sure,” your voice was soaked with impatience, sounding almost forceful.

He looked at you for another long second. But then his hand came up to lift your chin and he finally kissed you, crushing into you as if he’d been hungry for this, for you. When he pulled away you were breathless, shaky hands clinging to the fabric of his shirt.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” he mumbled into your lips.

“Me too. And I still want to do it more.”

He chuckled and there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes that you found unbearably attractive. “Not satisfied yet, huh?” He licked his lips. “I like that.”

“Fuck,” you hissed without even meaning to, and it just drew another little laugh from him.

You stumbled backwards through the hallway, one of your hands feeling for the handle of your bedroom door while the other one was still holding onto Haknyeon, pulling him along with you. As soon as you’d managed to press down the handle, Haknyeon reached up above you and pushed the door open, too impatient to wait for you to open the door. You almost tripped over backwards with the door suddenly moving behind you, but his arm quickly came around your waist to steady you and pull you against him. 

“Careful there,” he whispered before his lips captured yours again. His fingers sneaked underneath the hem of your shirt, a tight grip on soft skin. “Can’t have you getting hurt.”

He walked you backwards until your legs hit your bed and then he carefully lowered you onto the mattress, hands on your lower back keeping you from falling. The moment your back hit the soft mattress he followed suit, hovering above you, his arms propped up on either side of your head. Neither of you made a move, just taking a moment to really look at each other. His eyes were dark and pretty and his lips looked plush and so very kissable.

“You’re beautiful,” you whispered without thinking, only realizing that maybe he would have preferred handsome after the words were already out. 

But Haknyeon just smiled, crinkles forming in the corners of his eyes. “Funny, I was going to say the same thing.” 

He brushed a strand of hair out of your face and then he kissed you again and again, lips slowly wandering down to your neck. His hands wandered back to your hips, pushing up your shirt and you automatically raised your arms to help him slip it off. He made quick work of your bra after that, and you would have thought you’d feel exposed, but his warm hands made you feel safe instead. You realized then, that you were in too deep. The way he touched you and the way he looked at you made your chest feel so full and there was no doubt in your heart that you were in love with him, even if it was all just a game on his part.

“Hak?”

“Mhm?” He looked up at you with curious eyes.

“You won’t leave me behind, will you?” you whispered, knowing all too well that there was no way you could trust his answer. After all, you couldn’t even trust that the name you called him was really his. Still, even if it all meant nothing, at least for tonight you wanted to indulge in the delusions that this was something real. “You won’t let go, right?”

His grip on you tightened, as if to prove that he wouldn’t. “Never,” he replied and his eyes looked so genuine that you almost believed him. “I won’t.”

The delusions didn’t last you very long—in fact, they left with the first rays of the morning sun. 

“I'm—maybe I'm not who you think I am,” Haknyeon started tentatively, mumbling the words into the back of your neck as if he didn’t have the bravery to say them to your face. You’d hoped this conversation wouldn’t come this early. Maybe he felt guilty, now that he’d slept with you. Maybe he’d realized he’d taken it too far and wanted to call it off. His arm stayed wrapped around you though, and you tried to find some reassurance in that.

“It's okay, Hak,” you whispered.

He paused, seemingly unsure what to make of your response. “What do you mean?”

A lump was in your throat and it felt hard to speak. You were scared, you realized. “I had my suspicions from the moment you walked in,” you pressed out, trying to make it sound light and casual as if it wasn’t a big deal, as if you weren’t anxious he’d throw you away after using you. “Did you really think you were being subtle? You can't come to a place like that looking so proper."

“Oh.” He huffed a laugh. "Didn't play my role that well, did I?"

“No. I don’t think my boss has any suspicions though.”

“I mean, that’s good to hear. But I’m not really worried about your boss right now, to be honest.”

“What are you worried about then?”

He shifted behind you, propping himself up on his other arm, to be able to look at you.

“You.”

“I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

He almost seemed offended, you could think that. “I didn’t think you were.” 

 “Then what?” You frowned.

“I’m worried about what you’re thinking now. About me, about the situation.”

“It’s not like I can change it,” you replied, unable to meet his gaze. “And it’s my fault too. I knew you were just getting close to me for the information, but I still let you in.”

“I didn’t just—It’s more complicated than that,” he protested.

“How so?”

“Because—,” he hesitated for a second, his eyes searching your face for something, but then he still continued despite not finding it. “Because I actually like you, y/n. I’m serious about you and about all the things I said yesterday."

You just stared at him wide eyed, unable to register his words.

“I know it’s hard to trust me under these circumstances. And I—I can’t tell you everything, not even now. But I can tell you the most important truth: I like you.”

“For real?” You’d been hoping for this kind of outcome the whole time, but now that it seemed to be true it felt hard to grasp. “Even without everything that’s been going on?”

He smiled. “Especially without everything that’s been going on. And definitely still after it’s all resolved.” 

“Let’s resolve it quickly, then,” you said with your voice trembling, before you turned to wrap your arms around him and snuggle into his chest. “I want it to be over quickly.”

He let himself fall back into the pillows and pulled you on top of him. “Yeah, me too.”

“Hak?” you mumbled a few days later, all cuddled up on your couch together.

“Mhm?” he hummed, the low sound vibrating in his chest.

“It’s not your real name, is it? Haknyeon I mean—it’s fake, right?”

“Why are you asking? You want to call me by my real name?”

“Is that so weird?” 

“No, it’s not weird at all. But I like it when you call me Hak.”

You propped yourself up to look at him. “Do you?”

“I do.” He smiled, his hand coming up to brush a strand of hair out of your forehead. “It feels special because you’re the only one who calls me like that. It feels like a nickname just between us.”

You felt like melting at his words, but there was also this odd feeling that maybe he was just saying this because he didn't want to tell you the truth. “So, you won’t tell me?”

“No, I can,” he whispered, lifting his head to leave a peck on your lips. “I can easily tell you.” He kissed you again.

“So?”

“It’s He Nian.”

“That’s pretty.”

“Mhm,” he hummed, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck. “My dad chose it for me.”

He said it casually, as if it wasn’t anything special, but to you it felt big. It was the first time he’d mentioned his family at all and it made your chest fill with warmth. Surely, this once again proved that he trusted you, right? That he was opening up to you.

Since Haknyeon had decided to trust you with his identity, you decided to trust him too. He wouldn’t leave you, even when he no longer needed you to get to your boss, so there was no real reason anymore not to spill everything. You told him what you knew, and even though the information was rather limited, it seemed to be helpful. And more than that, there seemed to be other ways in which you could be helpful to the operation.

“We need his books,” Haknyeon admitted to you, when you were sitting on your couch together, cuddled up and wrapped in a fuzzy blanket.

“His books?”

“Yeah. We can easily get the official ones, but there has to be more, there have to be books with the actual money transfers.”

“And that’s where I come in?”

He seemed uncomfortable with the blunt question. “To be honest, I would prefer to keep you out of it. But we’re out of options. Once we get a warrant his connections are sure to tell him. He would know beforehand and get rid of all traces. But without those books it will be very hard to catch him.”

“So now…you want me to steal it?”

“Not exactly—rather than that it’d be making sure they don’t disappear?”

“I—I don’t know,” you admitted. You wanted to help but you had no clue how you could possibly make that work out.

“It’s okay,” Haknyeon quickly reassured. “Don’t feel pressured. If you want, you can also meet up with the team first, hear the plan, and decide then?”

You nodded slowly, trying to think about it realistically. Maybe that was a good idea. You could still back out if it seemed too dangerous.

Meeting his team was intimidating. Somehow it all felt so serious and of course you knew it was, you’d known it from the first time you’d seen Jacob and Sunwoo set foot into the bar. But now that you really saw that special agents and all that were involved, now that you had proof that Haknyeon had indeed come to the bar to investigate, it felt a lot more scary. He seemed to feel your nerves as you stood in front of the door to the meeting room.

“You’re not the criminal here, you know that right?” He said with an encouraging grin, gently squeezing your hand.

“Sorry, I know, it’s just—I was never involved with the police before, it’s scary.”

“Well, we’re not exactly the police—”

“That’s not helping!” You playfully boxed him into the shoulder and he yelped dramatically, acting as if it had actually hurt.

“I wasn’t aware it was bring-your-lover-to-work-day,” someone suddenly commented and your head snapped around to the tall man standing behind you with a raised eyebrow.

“Don’t be like that, Hyunjae,” Haknyeon complained but there didn’t seem to be any bad blood between them.

“I mean, I don’t care, but maybe tone it down a little once we’re inside. I don’t think everyone will like it if you involve personal matters.”

The words did nothing to make you feel better about the situation, but Haknyeon didn’t seem all that worried about it. 

“Yes, yes,” he easily agreed as if the comment went in one ear and out the other. “Let’s just go in for now, I don’t want to get a penalty for being late.”

When you stepped inside there were already a bunch of agents there, but when a guy called Eric complained about you being late, Haknyeon simply brushed it off, saying it hadn’t even been 5 minutes yet.

“He’s right,” one of them agreed, before adding with a grin, “and Joe and Younghoon aren’t here yet anyway, so they’ll have to pay the penalty.” You didn’t need to be introduced to realize that the guy speaking must have been the boss among these guys; there was just a certain aura to him that made it very clear. He introduced himself anyway, the firm handshake and the title senior agent before his name—Lee Sangyeon—proving your suspicions to be right.

Despite not everyone being there, you all sat down and he gave a brief overview of the plan, leaving out enough details in case you decided to back out but telling you enough so you could understand what was asked of you. Honestly, the way he explained it didn’t make it sound all that hard. All you were supposed to do was keep an eye on the safe in your boss’ back office shortly before the raid and give a signal should he try to get rid of any evidence. It  seemed doable and also not that risky, since someone would come to get you out the second you gave a sign.

“You don’t have to agree this easily,” Haknyeon assured when you shared your thoughts on it, “you can take your time to think it through.”

“No, it’s fine. If this helps resolve everything more quickly I’m willing to do it.”

Sangyeon smiled satisfiedly. “Perfect. We’ll fill you in on more details shortly before the raid—the less you know for now the better for both of us.”

Just then the door to the meeting room opened and a tall man came in, briefly apologizing for being late. After him followed another one and the second his gaze met yours you felt the blood freezing in your veins. Instinctively you reached for Haknyeon’s hand under the table, trying to find some sense of security in it. The guy who’d stepped in looked very different now, put together and upright in his ironed white shirt, but there was no mistaking it—he was one of the guys from the bar: Sunwoo.

Your stomach felt sick with fear but no one else seemed to share the sentiment, casually welcoming him in.

“You’ll never learn to be on time, will you, Joe?” Hyunjae asked with a small laugh and Sunwoo—Joe—just shrugged and plopped into one of the chairs.

Your grip on Haknyeon’s hand tightened and he threw you a small worried glance before clearing his throat.

“Since the basics are all clear now, I think it’s time for y/n to leave—can’t have her be late to work and get fired this close to D-Day, right?”

“Oh, sure,” Sangyeon dismissed you easily and only a few seconds later you were in the hallway, almost running down to the elevator.

“What’s gotten into you?” Haknyeon asked, trying to keep up.

You only replied once the elevator door had shut behind the two of you, safe from any nosy ears.

“Joe,” you pressed out, “He’s not—I’ve seen him before. He’s been at the bar.”

He seemed confused. “And?”

“No, Hak, he’s been at the bar.” Why didn’t he get it? “He isn’t who you think he is.”

Things finally seemed to click into place, but instead of sharing your panic, Hakyneon just smiled. “Ah, got it. You mean he’s Sunwoo.”

You stared at your boyfriend in horror. “You know?”

“Of course, I know. Y/n, he’s undercover.”

“Like you?” Something didn’t seem to add up but you couldn’t place it.

“Like me. But don’t tell anyone, not everyone here is in the know. Can’t ever be too careful with whom to trust, right?”

You tried to push the uneasy feeling in your guts aside. “But I can trust you, right?” You looked him straight in the eyes, trying to find a hint of something, anything in them. He didn’t shy away from your gaze.

“Of course.” He squeezed your hand. “I’m on your side.”

Only two weeks later you were back at their office, getting a run down of all the details you needed to know about the operation. The raid was supposed to take place a few days from now, but they suspected that your boss would probably get a tip before that and try to rid himself of any evidence. And that’s where you came in—you were supposed to keep your eyes open during work hours and report back if there was anything suspicious. They had some men tailing him too, but with how your boss was on high alert these days it would be too risky to have someone shadow him from inside the bar. Even Haknyeon wasn’t drinking at the counter anymore these days, only coming by to pick you up after work and see you home like the doting boyfriend he was. The whole plan seemed to be easy enough though and you didn’t feel too worried knowing that Haknyeon’s team would be ready to come in the second you gave a sign. 

Since your boyfriend was on duty to check equipment after the meeting, Younghoon was supposed to drive you home instead. Haknyeon didn’t seem exactly pleased about it and you were reminded of what he’d said last time, can’t ever be too careful with whom to trust, right? Younghoon, you supposed, was not among those he trusted. Sangyeon decided on it though, and Haknyeon didn’t refute him. 

You were already on your way to the parking garage, when you realized you’d forgotten your scarf back in the meeting room. Younghoon waited by the elevator while you rushed back. Surprisingly, the door was slightly ajar. Just when you were about to push it open, you heard voices from inside and instinctively moved aside so you wouldn’t be seen. 

“This will all work out, right?” Eric asked. So even he got nervous, it seemed. Then again, their part in all of this was surely a lot more nerve wracking than yours.

“What are you so worried for?” It was your boyfriend’s voice. “Didn’t we already win?”

“Exactly,” a low chuckle, “After all we have Haknyeon on our side. He plays the nastiest of all.” 

“Sunwoo knows what’s up.” When you risked a glance through the crack of the door, Haknyeon was grinning self-satisfied and there was a slyness in his expression that you’d only ever seen faint traces of. It made a shudder run down your spine, but inexplicably, you also found yourself being attracted to this version of him. You lingered for another second, spotting your scarf right there over the back of the chair you’d sat in, but you couldn’t bring yourself to go in. It felt like you’d heard something you weren’t supposed to hear. Something wasn’t quite right. You rushed back down the hallway to where Younghoon was waiting, confused when you showed up without your scarf. Once you were in the car, you pulled out your phone to find a message from Haknyeon. It was a picture of him, holding up your scarf into the camera. He looked so lovely and innocent and it made you want to forget all about the weird feelings from before.

guess what you forgot~ i’ll bring it over tonight<3

You were able to distract yourself from the conversation you'd overheard just fine during work, all your focus on your boss’ behavior, looking out for anything suspicious (there wasn’t anything, unless his awful aloha shirt counted as suspicious). But once your work shift was over and you saw Haknyeon waiting for you outside, your mind automatically wandered back to it. He greeted you by looping your scarf around your neck and pulling you into a kiss and it was so sweet and so romantic, and yet you couldn’t relax into it at all.

“Hey,” he said with a smile, not letting you go just yet.

“Hey,” you replied, unable to meet his eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just tired, let’s get going?”

He didn’t seem convinced, but he reluctantly agreed, leaving a peck on your nose before taking you to his car and driving the two of you back to your place. As always, you realized, because not once had he offered to go to his place. When you'd asked about it before he'd said it was too dangerous and it would have to wait until things were over. You'd believed it then, but now you were feeling uneasy.

When you still hadn’t gotten more talkative even by the time you were cleaning up after dinner, Haknyeon tried asking about it again. “Something is wrong, isn’t it?” 

You contemplated for a second, watched him take off the rubber gloves and drain the sink after doing the dishes, but then you decided to just be honest. “I heard you.”

“Hm?” He tilted his head in confusion.

“Earlier at the office, I was going to grab my scarf, but you were talking.”

“Why didn’t you come in?” A small grin appeared on his lips. “Or did you perhaps want me to get the scarf for you? Like Cinderella’s slipper?” 

Either he really didn’t think of the conversation as something worth hiding, or he was damn good at pretending. You hoped for the former.

“It didn’t feel like I should. You—you said Joe’s undercover, right?”

“Right.”

“Like you?”

A small crinkle appeared between his eyebrows. “What are you getting at?”

“You called him Sunwoo earlier. And he called you Haknyeon—isn’t that weird?”

His features softened. “It’s not weird at all, y/n. We prepared our identities together for months, and sometimes it messes with your head a bit. It’s nothing to worry about, it’s just names.”

“Then why did you ask me who the two men were that night at the bar? You already knew one of them was Joe, so why did you ask me?”

Haknyeon drew in a sharp breath and scrunched up his face. He looked apologetic, but still not like he’d been caught doing something bad. “Promise you won’t be mad?”

“Tell me first, I’ll make up my mind after.”

“I know it’s not good, but I had to find out how much you knew. I couldn’t be sure yet to what extent your boss was telling you things and to what extent you might even be involved. I just had to make sure.”

You stared at him for a second. “You thought I was involved in his schemes?”

“Listen, there’s many reasons to get into shady business. I wouldn’t judge. But I needed to know.”

“Was that what you were hoping for when you got close to me? That I’d be involved? That I’d be a big fish?” Your voice sounded bitter and your features were harsh, but Haknyeon stepped a little closer, smoothing out your frown with soft hands.

“Don’t be silly, love. I wouldn’t care either way. It was never about catching a big fish. I just wanted to know how far I’d have to go to protect you.”

“Are you saying you would have gotten rid of evidence for me if I had been involved?”

“Yes. I would have. I'd keep you safe no matter what.” There wasn’t even a second of hesitation and his eyes on you were so open and honest, it was hard to hold his gaze. He was willing to go to such lengths for you, risk it all for you, and yet you’d doubted him over a silly little conversation you’d overheard. You leaned up to kiss him then, because what were you supposed to say to that other than I love you, but that seemed to be a little too much, even now. 

“Better not tell your team leader, though,” you teased, getting a chuckle out of him.

“Oh, I’m sure Sangyeon would understand.”

When you leaned in again you felt Haknyeon smiling into the kiss and into every kiss that followed that night.

It wasn’t until the day of the raid that your boss started acting weird. He seemed nervous, sweating heavily and telling you to close up and leave early even though it was barely evening. You were certain he’d been warned. 

“Are you sure I can go?” you asked, just a guise to peek your head into his office and see what he was up to. You’d already alerted Sangyeon and you knew it was only a matter of minutes until they’d be here, but you wanted to do your job right and ensure the safety of the books until they arrived.

Your boss’ head shot up at your words, as if he’d been caught doing something forbidden. And from the look of it he was; a folder of papers in one and a lighter in the other hand. You knew it had to be the information Haknyeon and his team were after. Without thinking you rushed in, grabbing the papers, and your boss, perplexed as he was, let you take them.

“What the fuck, y/n?” He hissed, angry veins pulsing on his forehead.

“You were about to cause a fire, Sir,” you pressed out. A weak excuse.

“And that is none of your business. Now, give those back, will you?”

You took a step back, your knuckles turning white from how tightly you held on.

“Y/n,” he opened a drawer in his desk and you had a feeling what he was going to pull out, “don’t make me repeat myself.”

You’d never stared into the barrel of a gun before, and you felt that it was an experience you would have rather missed. Still, you didn’t let go. If you did, it would have all been for nothing, right? And surely the others would be here any second—

“Y/n,” your boss repeated and the tone in his voice made your blood freeze. He walked around the  desk in your direction and you stumbled back, wondering if you were really going to die like this. It didn’t feel like the right way to go, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. This wasn’t even your mess to begin with. You squeezed your eyes shut as he stepped closer, trying to come up with a prayer to recite, but you’d never been religious and you didn’t know what to tell god now at the brink of death, except for I don’t want to die.

Suddenly, you heard the front door of the bar flying open and just a second later someone was behind you, pulling you aside before pushing past you, gun raised. Haknyeon.

“You mind putting that down?” He said with that cocky tone of his but your boss didn’t seem particularly impressed. He aimed at Haknyeon now, and you wanted to jump in to protect him but someone was holding you back. You closed your eyes and covered your ears, but you still heard the shot echoing through the bar. Tears were already brimming at your eyes when you blinked them open again, just to find Haknyeon standing above your boss, who was pressing his hands onto a bleeding wound on his thigh, gun somewhere on the floor, out of reach.

“Listen,” Haknyeon said with disdain, “I told you to put that away. But you wouldn’t listen and now we have this whole mess here and even have to call an ambulance for you. Couldn’t you have made things a little easier for us?”

“Fuck you,” your boss spat.

“Very articulate.” Haknyeon put his gun back into the holster strapped around his chest, Joe pointing his weapon at him instead while Hyunjae got his handcuffs out to arrest him. The arms holding onto you eased up too since you weren’t in danger of jumping in front of a bullet anymore, and only now you realized they’d belonged to Eric. He held up his hands in surrender when Haknyeon came back over to you, almost as if to say I didn’t touch her. But your boyfriend didn’t really have any eyes for him.

“Are you okay?” He asked softly, cupping your face to look at you. When he’d made sure there wasn’t a single scratch on you he pulled you into his chest. “You did so well,” he whispered into your hair. “It’s all over now.”

Eventually he had to let go again to do his job and secure the evidence from the office together with Joe, and you were left to stand at the side like a lost puppy. Your boss had already been dragged out and was currently receiving first aid from the medics that had arrived by now. You were still holding onto his papers, almost as if they’d become one with your fingers at this point.

“You can give these to me,” Younghoon commented, holding out his hand. You hesitated, unsure if you could trust him with this. It was important evidence after all, and if Haknyeon didn’t have faith in him, how could you?

“Don’t worry, I’ll take it from here,” Sangyeon suddenly interrupted, taking the papers from you instead. You knew there wasn’t any room for discussion since he was the team leader, so you let go.

It didn’t take much longer for things to wrap up after that. The most important evidence was secured and your boss had been escorted to the police station or the hospital or wherever else by Eric. The rest of Haknyeon’s team seemed to be getting ready to go, leaving the bar to some other officers and the crime scene cleaners. You were lost to wonder if you were allowed to just go home after everything that happened. You didn’t have to ponder for long though because suddenly Younghoon was nodding over to you as he spoke to one of his colleagues.

“Take her too, Changmin, I’m sure she can still help with the one or the other information on all of this.”

The guy, Changmin, walked over to you, handcuffs dangling from his belt. You knew they were the good guys, but you felt your guts churning with fear. It sounded like they were suspecting you, even after you’d put yourself in danger to support them. Instinctively, you glanced over to Haknyeon, maybe for help or maybe just for assurance that nothing was going to happen. He met your gaze with a nod, a small sign not to worry. 

“I’ll take her,” he said, stepping in front of you before Changmin could reach you. You let out a sigh of relief.

Younghoon looked at Haknyeon with a frown, clearly not very fond of that plan. You could understand that—surely everyone was aware of the relationship Haknyeon and you had gotten into and of course that would impact Haknyeon’s impartiality. Just when Younghoon opened his mouth to object, Sangyeon put a hand on the tall man’s shoulder. 

“It’s fine,” he said. “Let him take her. I’m sure she’ll be more willing to talk to us if she isn’t frightened on the whole ride.”

No one seemed to dare to disagree so Haknyeon led you to his car, his hand at the small of your back. He nodded when the two of you walked past his boss, whispering a quick “Thanks, Sang.” It was just a small interaction, but there was no doubt in your mind that these two must’ve been close. There was this sense of absolute trust between them, that Haknyeon didn’t seem to share with too many of his colleagues. 

He opened the passenger door of his black company car for you and even went as far as to buckle you up, before he did the same for himself and started the motor, following behind two other cars that Younghoon, Changmin, Hyunjae and some other of their colleagues had gotten into. As you stared through the windshield, all you could think of was what would happen once you’d arrived. Landing in some dark interrogation room and being bombarded with a zillion questions you didn’t know the answer to was a frightening concept. Of course Haknyeon was with you now, but surely, as your boyfriend, he wouldn't be allowed  to stick around for questioning. 

Haknyeon seemed to notice that you were feeling tense, glancing over to you with an encouraging smile. “You have nothing to worry about. I won’t leave you alone,” he said, taking one of his hands off the steering wheel to find your thigh, giving it a light squeeze. The touch felt intimate and warm and it helped in making you feel a little more grounded; at least until you realized that you weren’t following the cars ahead anymore. Instead Haknyeon took the exit to the freeway, speeding up the moment you’d left the smaller road behind. 

“Hak, where are we going?”

“Don’t worry,” he said instead of answering your question. “Do you want to listen to some music? We can turn on the radio.”

“Hak,” you repeated with more force. “Where the fuck are we going?” 

Through the side mirror, you spotted Sangyeon’s black car behind you, Joe in the passenger seat. But the cars that had been ahead of you, were now nowhere to be seen.

“It’s all good, I promise. Just trust me.”

“If all is good then why aren’t you telling me?” 

He sighed, a frown on his face as he stared out the windshield and contemplated what to tell you. “You know how I said that I couldn’t tell you the whole truth?”

You swallowed around the lump in your throat. “I remember.”

“Maybe I wasn’t exactly undercover in the way you thought I was.”

You thought you’d already come to that conclusion, somewhere in the back of your mind. “So, you’re not a cop.” It wasn’t a question. 

“No.”

“What are you then? Who are you?”

“You know Jacob? He–uh–he’s my boss?”

“Oh fuck,” you breathed out, not because you were surprised, but because hearing it out loud made it so much worse, and really, what else was there to say except fuck? You’d always known Haknyeon was hiding things, but you’d wanted to believe it was because of his duty as a special agent, not because he was affiliated with some mafia type bullshit. You’d slept with him, thinking he was a good person. Even worse, you’d fallen in love with him. And now you weren’t sure if any of that still mattered, if any of the things between him and you held any meaning.

“Can you pull over?” You sounded like you were going to cry. You probably were.

“Not yet. We need to be sure first.”

“Sure of what?”

“That they aren’t tracking us down.”

“Oh, god.”

"I know, I know. But I can't let them have you."

"Hak, you do realize they are the good guys and I didn't do anything wrong, right? Well, not until now, I guess."

"Good guys? Yeah, sure, I guess so."

"What do you mean?"

"They aren’t your friendly neighborhood cops, y/n, though I'm sure there is enough to be said about those too. Anyway the point is they are willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want. The end justifies the means and all that."

"Oh, you mean they are like you?"

"Sure, if you want to draw that comparison. But I would never hurt you."

You couldn’t help but scoff at that. "You already did."

"Y/n, I—"

But you didn’t want to hear what excuse he was going to make. "So, what do they want?"

"After today? Probably us; me, you, Sangyeon, Sunwoo. And Youngjae, once he's done with your boss." You didn’t bother asking who Youngjae was.

"So all of this was just a plot to get him?"

"Look, he's been a real pain in the ass for a while now. And he had some crucial information that we couldn’t just let anyone have. It was also a good chance to get rid of some other data they’ve collected on us."

“Was that all that ever mattered through all of this? Getting my boss, getting the information…” You didn’t like how frail your voice sounded. “Was everything bullshit on your part? Was I just a game to you?”

“No!” His head snapped around to you. “It was never a game. I swear my job was the only detail that I lied about.”

“That’s hardly just a detail, Haknyeon,” you scoffed. Your gaze fell onto the side mirror once more, watching the car behind you to keep your eyes from wandering to the man beside you. “What about them? So they are the same?”

“Sangyeon and Sunwoo? Yeah.”

“Of course,” you let out a huff, “there was no way his name was actually Joe. I fucking knew it.”

Haknyeon chuckled. “He doesn’t look like a Joe.”

“Don’t laugh. This is not a funny situation. I’m watching my life crumble before my eyes right now. You lied to me about everything. I don’t even know—What about your name? Haknyeon, He Nian—was that all bullshit too? Is either of them even your real name?”

The little smile on his face looked soft, unfitting for the reality you were finding yourselves in. “Both of them are, in a way. I didn’t want you calling me by a name that wasn’t mine.” 

“So, I guess you were at least honest about one thing, huh?” You sounded bitter.

“I was honest about most things, you just keep pointing out the other bits.”

“Because those are the ones that matter.” You didn’t know what to believe anymore. There was a feeling of unbearable hurt and anger bubbling inside of you, the betrayal stabbing you like a knife, and yet a part of you wanted to hold on, cling onto the little hope that despite everything you could have faith in him. “You said I can trust you. That you’re on my side.”

“I am on your side.”

“How can you say that? I’m a rat in your trap and you expect me to trust you of all people to get me out?”

“It’s not like that—”

“Haknyeon, for all I know we’re running from the cops right now!”

He forced a laugh. “Yeah, that looks pretty bad.”

“Pretty bad?!”

“But, in my defense, I did say that I couldn’t tell you the whole truth yet.”

“Well, I didn’t think the truth was this.”

“I—,” he started, but his voice broke, cutting him off. You knew he was a good liar, but when you glanced over and saw tears brimming in his eyes you didn’t think this was merely an act. “You made me promise not to let you go,” he pressed out, “so was I just supposed to break that promise then?”

“How can that still count—I didn’t even know anything. If I had known I wouldn’t have—” You didn’t finish the sentence, unsure if you meant what you were going to say.

Haknyeon stared at the road ahead, a bitter smile on his lips. “Maybe I should have asked you instead, if you were going to leave me behind.”

He sounded so genuinely hurt and it just felt unfair, because clearly all of this was his fault. You shouldn’t have to deal with this kind of mess. “Don’t do this,” you choked out, your voice quivering. “Don’t push the guilt onto me.”

His grip around the steering wheel tightened, turning his knuckles white. It was clear that he hated all of this as much as you did, even if he was to blame. Maybe because he was to blame. 

“I know,” he said, “I know that it’s my fault, I know it was selfish to get close to you. I shouldn’t have approached you in the first place. It’s just—I hoped it wouldn’t matter.”

“How could it not? How could you think I’d be okay with any of this, how could you be so delusional?”

“Because I love you,” He briefly glanced at you, eyes oh, so desperate, before turning back to the road, “I love you and I hoped you feel the same. But maybe I—”

“Stop it,” you interrupted, your voice weak and tired, “I can’t talk about this anymore. Just let me breathe for a moment.”

He pressed his lips shut and he didn’t try to say anything else for the rest of the ride. You didn’t say anything either. Instead, you just watched the scenery pass by in silence, too scared to look at him, too scared to feel empathy for him when all you wanted to feel was anger. 

You weren’t sure for how long you drove and you didn’t care either, but by the time Haknyeon pulled into a driveway it was the middle of the night. He stopped the motor, and with the headlights off it was pitch black outside, only a brief flash of light crossing Haknyeon’s features when the other car pulled into the lot as well. Sangyeon and Sunwoo got out and Haknyeon gestured for them to go on ahead when they passed his window.

“We’re here,” he said without looking at you.

You wanted to tell him that you didn’t know what here meant, but you also couldn’t find it in you to bother.

“So, what now?”

“We’ll find you a place to sleep,” he said, “and then as soon as we have the confirmation that it’s safe, you can go home.”

“I can go home?” You looked at him in surprise. Obviously that was good news, but in your head you’d already accepted the dire fate of never being able to go back again—though, you weren’t sure how dire it really was, since there wasn’t anything or anyone waiting for you anyway.

“I made sure you’d be able to. I’ve changed the name and address in the data they had on you, and since your boss wasn’t doing any proper book keeping and never signed a proper contract with you, it was easy to erase your traces from the bar. So, as soon as we made sure they don’t have anything else leading them back to you, you can go.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“I know you don’t think very highly of me anymore, and I can’t blame you. But I meant it when I said I’d keep you safe no matter what. I would never put you in danger. Even if you don’t want me.”

You felt yourself choke up, overwhelmed with everything that had been said and done today, and unable to really grasp the heaviness of the situation. “Okay,” you pressed out again, trying your best not to cry.

Haknyeon led you into the building. It was mostly dark, but you still heard voices everywhere. Twice you ran into some guys dressed all in black and despite the friendly nod they gave Haknyeon, you found their appearances frightening. You instinctively inched closer to him and when he noticed he put his arm around your shoulders, a small gesture to make you feel safe.

After a while he stopped at a door and pushed it open. You didn’t know what you'd expected but it wasn’t a simple bedroom.

"You can stay here for the night. We'll have to talk to Jacob sometime but it can wait until tomorrow. Just rest first."

You nodded slowly, your eyes wandering through the small bedroom. It didn't look shabby but there wasn’t much aside from a twin size bed, a nightstand and a small table.

"What about you?"

"Me?" He looked surprised. "I have a place upstairs. You can text me if something is the matter, I'll be here in a minute. You can also lock the door if you want." He gestured towards the key that was stuck in the door from the inside. You nodded again and it got quiet, both of you unsure what else to say. The thought of staying here alone frightened you. There were too many people here that you didn’t know and after everything that had happened to you today you felt anxious and restless.

"So, I'll take my leave then?" Haknyeon sounded a little helpless, unable to tell if he should leave you alone or not. Clearly you were tense. But you'd been so angry with him, rightfully so, and he wasn’t sure if his presence could do anything to ease you.

"Sure," you pressed out with a hoarse voice. But when he turned to the door you found yourself holding onto the fabric of his black shirt that was tucked into his pants. "Can I go?" 

"I'll get you home as soon as possible but—"

"To your room."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Huh?"

"Can I go upstairs with you?"

"Are you sure?"

"I—I don't really know if I can trust you, but I do believe you when you promise you won’t ever hurt me and that's more than I can say for anyone else in this building." Your grip around the fabric of his shirt tightened. "So can you just make me feel safe tonight?"

His expression visibly softened. "Of course."

Haknyeon had a tiny one room apartment upstairs and even though it was kept rather simple as well you immediately felt a little more relaxed there. Maybe because it smelled like him or because there was one of his hoodies draped over the back of a chair. It was just a bit more homely.

He got out a loose shirt for you to sleep in and you went to the bathroom to change. It was a little silly, he'd long seen everything there was to see, but things were different now. You felt more vulnerable.

"I don't have a couch, though," he mumbled with a small gaze to the bed when you came back out.

"I didn't think there was going to be one."

"Okay," he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. He seemed a lot shyer now than you'd ever seen him. "You can go to bed first, I'll wash up real quick."

You slipped under the blankets the moment he disappeared in the bathroom. Even after everything, the scent of him made you feel at ease. You must have slipped into a light sleep eventually, because when you opened your eyes again Haknyeon was sitting on the mattress, hair still a little wet from his shower.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" He whispered. You shook your head.

"Aren’t you going to lay down?" You asked when he still didn’t move from his spot after a few more seconds.

"No, no, I am. Just—You know I mean it when I say I'm really sorry, right?"

"Yeah, I know. I know that but—"

"It's okay," he interrupted. "You don't have to forgive me. It's fine as long as you know." 

"Hak—," you started but you didn’t know what to say. 

"It's okay," he whispered again as he slipped under the blankets, keeping a small distance between you. It was just a few centimeters, but it felt impossibly far away. You didn’t like it. You were craving his warmth and the feeling of his arms around you.

Of course you hated what he'd done, the secrets, the lies, the manipulation. He'd destroyed the idea you'd had of the two of you and your future together. But did that really mean you couldn’t have him in your future at all? What if you still wanted him to be part of your life despite everything?

“I do love you,” you pressed out without thinking, continuing the conversation you had on the drive here. “I did."

There was a strangled noise coming from him at the correction, but you didn’t dare to meet his gaze to see if he was crying. You were already tearing up, even without looking at him.

"It just feels a little hard to talk about love if I don’t even know you.”

“But you do know me. You know me better than most," he said, "and if there's any chance that you still want me and if my word is still worth anything, I promise I won’t keep secrets from here on out."

"I don't know," you started, your voice breaking and tears spilling out. 

The second he saw you crying he pulled you into his arms, and you let him, crumbling into his tight embrace. "It's all your fault," you sobbed into his chest.

"Yeah, I know," he whispered against the crown of your head, his own voice trembling "I'm sorry."

"You destroyed everything."

"I'm sorry."

"But I still want you, even now, I still want to be with you."

His arms around you tightened and you felt the way he let out a shaky breath, as if he'd been choking this whole time and only now finally got some air into his lungs again. "I'll make it up to you. And I won't lie again."

"You better keep your word," you replied, your hands clinging to his back.

"I will." He kissed the crown of your head. "I promise I will."

masterlist

[juno-of-wonderland]

Monster au: The Hybrid Lord route [ending 1 (part 1)]

warning: the reader for this route has been drawn (just like the previous one) and will be FtM, blood and injury.

List tag: @112-darling, @rain112-darling, @callmedarling112, @mushroomfrog203

You shake your head, letting go of the bad feeling and approach the flower, crouching down and touching the thin yellow petals. A strange noise was made to the left and no matter how fast you were, you couldn't avoid what was coming; a heavy, hard mass hit your face, throwing you backwards. Due to your imbalance, you fell rolling down a ravine, your body colliding with rocks and roots, tearing your clothes and skin. You heard a thud before you fell. Your head was confused, spinning and your vision threatened to go dark. Supporting your hands on the ground, you try to get up, but your body is sore and your face is burning and hurting, your eyes sting with tears, you fall. Before you lose consciousness, you hear screams and more screams, then everything goes black.

…

You opened your eyes, grunting in pain, you turned your body so that you were on your back, looking through the hole you fell through, you realized that it was already day. You cough your nose before slowly getting up, you sit down and look at that giant den, earth, branches, stone, sinister eyes in the darkness, earth and… Your head slowly turned to look at your eyes, damn it, maybe you really did invade someone's den. The sinister green glow didn't leave your direction and you couldn't make out much of anything because it was in the darkest part of that hole. "Uh… yeah… look, I swear I didn't mean to invade your den, something hit me and I fell here" you said to the thing. You heard a snort and then "herbivores" was spoken. First mental note, the creature can talk, second note, it's apparently male, third note, it's full of itself and you don't like it very much, fourth note, probably, almost certainly, it's some carnivore and you need to get out of its sight if you don't want to become dinner. You moved further away from him, dragging your butt on the ground, until your hand touched something delicate. You looked back and it was the dandelion flower! It was a little crushed and had missing petals, but it must still be useful for something. You looked for your bag to put it away, but you didn't see it anywhere on the ground. So, hesitantly, you looked up. There it was, stuck on a branch that you couldn't reach. "You've got to be kidding me," you muttered. Taking the flower and putting it in a large pocket of your pants, you regretted not being able to keep it in a better place. You walked in circles for a few minutes, thinking of ways to get out and always keeping an eye on what was with you in that hole. Your first and only idea was to climb. One hand grabbed a mound of dirt and one foot climbed on another. You managed to climb three sections before the earth crumbled and you fell, swallowing dirt in the process. You spat and tried to get the taste off your tongue. The creature didn't laugh, but you could feel how amused he was with the situation. "I want to see you do better to get out of here," you muttered. Sitting on the floor, you couldn't think of anything else. You just stood there, watching the clouds pass by, comparing them to things you knew. Belatedly, you noticed blood on the floor. It turned your stomach. At noon, that hole looked like an oven, and your prisoner seemed to agree. If his few grumbles were because of that, maybe that's why he's been in the dark since you woke up. You also wanted to go into the shadows, but your instincts told you it was dangerous, and this time you decided it would be better to stay between the light and the darkness.

"Hey," you said in the midst of boredom, and as expected, there was no answer. "Do you own this place or are you trapped here too?" Silence. "Is that blood on the floor yours?" I can help you, I have this” you show the flower “and some other things in my bag to help you” You felt his eyes on your hand, they were intense and contemplative. “At dusk” he said. You were confused, but accepted the strange situation. As soon as night fell, you waited, with your stomach growling loudly, God, you thought you would faint from weakness at any moment. Staring at the emerald eyes that shone in the darkness, you witnessed them come up from the ground, which indicates that the creature had been lying down this whole time. He came out of hiding, getting closer and closer, you could now see his body, all the wounds and his shape, his lion ears and tail, even dirty and injured, he was breathtaking, but as expected, he looked at you like a prince would look at his poor servant. He held out his open palm, you plucked a petal and handed it to him, which made him frown. “That’s not enough,” he said. “It heals more than you can imagine.” “Maybe a human, but not a vampire, could give me that flower or I’d use your blood to get out of here.” Oh, ohhh, that explains why he has to wait until nightfall, but why isn’t he regenerating on his own? Maybe the weapons that wounded him had something in them… do vampires have animal ears? You hesitated, despite the threat, to hand over the flower, it was such a rare item! But you could never get out on your own, you gave the flower and waited for him to be willing and, after healing himself, to take you out of there too. The vampire swallowed the flower whole, you noticed the sand near his feet molding and the wounds accelerating their healing process slightly, he looked at you and you looked back. Suddenly his hands were on your hips and he was close, very close. Before you knew it, you were already out, thrown on the ground, the man standing next to you, just standing in place, then he falls to the ground, unconscious… you wonder what you did to end up in a situation like this.

(part 2)

[bakersimmer]

Hey! I love your Miller Legacy. The way you run it so amazingly and how many generations you've played is amazing. How do you not get lost in all of this? Do you keep a notebook or something? How do you plan everything? Do you have some kind of plan for the story of each character?Sorry for so many questions. But I'm just curious, because I never manage to get past even one generation. And I'm just curious how you didn't get bored with the game? Also, where did you get those WooHoo Frenzy tem

Hey! 👋🏻 Thanks 🤗 I'm sorry this answer is so long! 😅🙈

This is not my first attempt. I didn't even start this legacy with the idea that it would be something long-term. I just wanted to enjoy the game and renovate a house.

I followed the renovation challenge rules. I had so much fun. And then it hit me: I need specific goals to stay engaged. The mistake in my previous attempts was that my ONLY goal was to have kids and move on to the next generation. I kept doing the same thing over and over and over again.

I give each of my heirs a story, but only just enough to reveal what drives them. The more you flesh them out, the harder it becomes to let them go. So it's a delicate balance. Let's say you have to like them but not love them.

I use each new generation to discover something new about the game. (Or about a mod). I've had this game for years, but that doesn't mean I know or have done everything.

I don't have a separate notebook or anything. I just do what feels interesting. I try not to do the same thing twice in a row. It's boring, and boredom makes me want to abandon things. If I see that the goals I have set are unattainable, I replace them with new ones because frustration makes me want to give up. I can give you an example based on the last generation. The Lovestruck EP was released when I had already started with the new generation, but I wanted to explore new features that came with the EP. So, I adjusted this generation's goals and life. I had a plan, but I changed it.

I get bored (more like annoyed) when I force myself to do things that don't bring me joy. If I feel like I have to play to have something to share here, I immediately feel like I hate this game. When I'm tired and open the game, again, big no.

First of all, I think I have amazing mutuals, and I love their sims. But there's another reason why I ask for sims from other people. When someone takes time out of their day to create something for me, I feel it's only fair that they see the results of their effort. If I asked for a spouse and then abandoned the family, it would be like saying, "I don't value the time and effort you put into this." That's not something I ever want to do. It's a strange way to keep myself accountable, but it works for me.

I made that template.

Whoever made it to the end deserves a medal 🥇

[hamiltonfilms]

Hey, could you do a continuation of social media au with Arthur? I really enjoyed the first part so I am waiting for new parts.

Get Lucky 😎

INSTAGRAM AU/STORY

pairing : Arthur Leclerc x Verstappen!reader

summary : you and arthur crush each other and you think no one knows about it but everyone sees it

warning: fluff but also angst, memory of a broken heart, overprotective brother Max, +16, adults language

a/n: so I decided to write a continuation so keep reading and I hope you like it

part 1 / part 3

y/nverstappen

liked by arthur_leclerc, skysport, oscarpiastri, dennis_hauger and others

tagged: dennis_hauger oscarpiastri juri_vips arthur_leclerc liamlawson30

yn/verstappen pov you accidentally leave your phone in a meeting and go to the toilet.

see all comments

arthur_leclerc I just noticed something wrong with my face

dennis_hauger you should be glad you have a more cooler camera roll now

y/nverstappen yes, if you mean you're cursed photos

oscarpiastri I was forced to take this photo they wouldn't let me eat in peace

y/nverstappen I'm sorry for those idiots who didn't let you eat in peace

juri_vips wow, I'm a handsome dude in these photos

yn/verstappen especially on the last oneespecially on the last one

y/nfanss1 ok but what is wrong with arthur's picture

dennis_hauger

liked by y/nverstappen, arthur_leclerc, juri_vips and others

tagged: y/nverstappen

dennis_hauger dancing queen

see all comments

y/nverstappen I don't know whether to laugh or cry

dennis_hauger I think both answers are correct

maxverstappen1 do you both look like you're on something, y/n i hope you're not high

y/nverstappen attention attention bro overprotective mode on, no max i'm 100% sober and not high

randomfan33 oh jesus so cute does anyone know if they are a couple?

y/nfansss the only thing dennis and y/n have in common is that they are teammates apart from their friendship

y/nverstappen

liked by dennis_hauger, maxverstappen1, danielricciardo and others

tagged: danielricciardo, dennis_hauger, maxverstappen1, yourbestfriend

yn/verstappen just a photo dump from last week

see all comments

danielricciardo I'm still waiting for you to start your jpg account

y/nverstappen Maybe someday you'll see haha

danyricfann1 yes y/n provides us with the content of daniel and max's pictures and she is also a swiftie, i just love her

y/nloverr like we all welcome to the fan club

arthur_leclerc I see a great T-shirt in the 5th photo, I think I should buy it for my brother

y/nverstappen hahhaha i think everyone loved this shirt

randomgirl

liked by arthur_leclerc, charles_leclerc , y/nverstappen and others

tagged arthur_leclerc

randomgirl today is our day. love my sweet boyfriend

see all comments

arthur_leclerc ❤❤❤

arthurandy/nforever nooo arthur and y/n were supposed to be a couple and they weren't and y/n liked??!?

arthurfanss today we will talk about how artur looks in these photos or what about y/n

user567 y/n and artur were and are rivals from what is known, they were not even friends

currently MP Motorsports

A meeting like a meeting I didn't really care about them why hmm maybe because they've been talking for two fucking years about having to change tactics and whether they will or not. Browsing through instagram, out of boredom, I saw a post on the proposed one and something seemed to me that the boy from this post seemed strangely familiar after the comment I saw that it was Artur. Instantly my heart was shattered and tears welled up in my eyes. On Dennis's face, I saw this strangely laughing, terrified expression.

"Y/n if you feel bad, you can go to the toilet, you know, anyway, it's the end of the meeting" I heard from the mouth of one of the strategists.

I ignored everyone's gaze and, like the rest, got up from my chair and left the conference room. Someone grabbed my arm, I turned around and saw it was Dennis (the one who is my best friend from karting, let's say he protected me from stupid assholes and I protected him from stupid girls) Hauger.

"It's okay you look miserable you know y/n I'm getting worried" I didn't have the strength to even respond so I showed him my phone "that's an asshole"

That's how only he and I knew about my "crush" despite everything he tried to prove to me that it was only temporary, but it wasn't. I felt him hug me so I hugged him tighter. I felt tears running down my cheeks immediately in my head I felt terribly pathetic but I can see that I felt betrayed and why? Let's think maybe it's because lately I thought I had an advantage, because he flirted with me, maybe because I was a cheap whore to him, that something happened, that I was just stupid. Our hug is over.

"It's not your fault, he just doesn't have much taste" I felt a smile appear on my face, I still don't know why he is on my side. "If it makes you feel any better, we're all going to the club after the race tonight and I'm pretty sure he'll be there with her so we can give him a reason to be jealous."

"Sometimes I don't deserve you golden boy you know?"

Without words, we set off to the garage to gather for the race. It wasn't an awkward silence, on the contrary, it was comfortable. Suddenly I felt someone enter me.

"I'm sorry I didn't see you" that uplifting tone of voice was telling me something so I looked up and saw Arthur.

"It's okay" I said with a slight smile and kept walking even though I could feel his eyes on my back.

A moment passed and it was after the race p3 is not such a bad result even though if it wasn't for arthur I would have had p2. After the time spent and the media interviews, I went to change clothes and arrange a time with Dennis to pick me up from the hotel. I got in the car and headed towards the hotel but my attention was caught by a dingy Mexican restaurant I had a bad mood I don't know if it was because of the whole thing with Arthur or because instead of p2 I have p3 or maybe because I have my period. Probably summarizing all aspects are correct. While eating the burito, tears began to flow by themselves, but I was eating and driving at the same time, which probably wasn't safe because of the sea of tears from my eyes. When I ate and got to the hotel I threw myself on the bed I had a lot of notifications but I thought that probably people were congratulating me on a successful race. Suddenly on the phone screen I saw that "loser brother" is calling, he probably wanted to go out today because we are in the same place.

"Do you ever write back when you need to?!" You can tell the frustration in his voice

"Nice to hear from you too"

"Y/n is no place for jokes, you and Artur what about you, broken heart. I don't know to come to you with ice cream and tons of sweets" that voice I remember from childhood, the older brother's concerned voice.

"What the fuck are you thinking. Me and Arthur, heartbroken?"

"So not okay, but wait, so you're not?"

"No Max, nothing has ever connected me with him, I don't know where this idea came from"

"So you haven't been on Instagram wait I'll send you a link and remember I'll always be by your side" He hung up to be honest I don't know if I was scared or laughing but as soon as I opened it I froze.

motosportgossip

liked by user44, y/nfanss, arthury/nloverrr and others

motosportgossip is y/n going through a broken heart? what is behind the crying and burrito, did arthur leave her for someone else?

see all comments

user44 they were never a couple

y/nloverrr not just our poor y/n if that's true then i don't believe in love

y/nverstappen you missed because the reason was my p3 and probably period so yeah

y/nfans god she slaying

[bloodandthestars]

𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝟐 𝐀𝐌 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍.

biker!ais x gn reader

tags: fwb (so mdni), biker au, reader is a bit bold late in the night

a/n: if he’s ooc I’m sorry, but I needed to write this out my HEAD, just something sweet and quick for you guys while I recover and write more Geto. here are some songs used for this: smartwater (summer walker), 2 AM (che ecru), right my wrongs (bryson tiller)

wc: 2k

Once again you found yourself restless in your apartment. In the dead of night, the ceiling becomes a familiar sight. The silence doesn’t bother you— it’s the fact that sleep doesn’t come any sooner that does. You keep forgetting to grab melatonin on your run to the grocery store, thus making your nights long. Watching the city lights helped at the very least. You got yourself with a slight groan, putting some bottoms on and house shoes. There was a slow walk to the kitchen where your tea brews hot. One inhale’s able to ease you, but not by much.

You slide your worn window open with a grunt, slipping outside to the fire escape. The metal was a bit damp but doable. You sit down with your legs crossed and your back against the brick of the apartment. Your plants in the corner seem to be doing well after rain from the previous night. It left every surface dewy and shiny, from the fog on windows to the street beneath you. Skyscrapers not too far away light the night, sounds of traffic entrancing your ears. The city always felt like home, like a friend to always have in the background of your life.

That seemed to ring true with everything you had going on. You started a new job that was piling on a workload before you could get comfortable, the floor’s washer and dryer was never working, and any free time you had was spent sleeping to charge your battery up again. Was it a tad isolating? Sure. You had your friends but you weren’t exactly feeling social when you were tired. Time alone became a new thing for you when you moved into the city. It was something to learn to enjoy, you thought, not something to be afraid of.

Zzpt! A chime on your phone takes you out of the atmosphere. You look down at your bright phone, not only telling you it’s late in the night but that you’ve received a text.

‘I’m assuming you’re up, Sparrow?’

You huff, fingers already ready to type out: ‘You stalking me or something?‘

Before you can set your phone down, it chimes again. ‘Don’t flatter yourself.’

He was one result of that time alone. You went out to a bar, one your friend recommended as your big night out. The Amaryllis was…a strange name at the least but seemed fitting when you stepped inside. Bar had to be a total understatement. Red drenched the entire place with its lighting. There were two bars on either side, with a large space in the middle full of people. Your immediate thought was to go straight to the bar. You settled your bag down, taking a seat under you and settling there. The bartender asked what you wanted and you asked for a martini, simply the first thing that came to mind when you thought of bar drinks. As you waited, the music caused your head to bounce slowly. An RnB beat that clearly got those mingling in the mood to dance. In the middle, there were some grinding against one another, others whispering close to each other’s faces. Your eyes linger from one person to the next and eventually, they linger on him.

‘Yes I’m up.’ You clarify.

‘Good.’

‘And why’s that?’

‘I’m a bit bored.’

‘Hm, if that’s the case, I rather not be entertainment.’

You scoff at his answer of boredom. A couple of minutes pass when he finally replies honestly. ‘Fine. I can’t sleep either.’

‘Was that so hard?’

‘Like pulling teeth.’

His red eyes locked you in the moment you caught them. He had a whiskey locked in his hand, lazily drapping his arms on the bar from behind. You looked away, finding other things to look at, but your gaze seemed to trail back to him. His never left.

‘How was work?’

‘Long and tiring.’

‘So, usual?’

‘You know me so well.’

‘I have my moments.’

You bite your bottom lip as you type out your own question. ‘What has you up?’

It was right then when your eyes returned to him in that club did you both remain staring at one another. People could walk through your line of sight and yet he never wavered when they walked in his. You could feel your stomach twist, but it felt good in a way, exciting even. Knowing that there was someone there who couldn’t take their eyes off you. And when you think back to that night, you were sure he figured that out too.

‘Nothing you should know about, Sparrow.’ This message took him the longest to send, making you even more curious. Not without an eye roll, however.

‘You sure?’

‘Promise. Don’t need to worry your pretty little head.’

It’s not like you could help it. He was willing but withdrawn. Taunting but behind a wall of a fortress. He’s honest, only when he wants to be. How could that not intrigue you?

When you were in the club, you turned away to sign off on your tab. As soon as you were half way through your signature, he’s right there, asking if you were really about to leave. You weren’t really, if it wasn’t evident enough to the bartender on how you were taking your sweet time. And when you told him that, he couldn’t help but smirk, signaling to the bartender that his tab was opened where you were now. You exchanged names. Yours rolls off his tongue after you say it, as if to make sure his mind never forgets it. He gives you his: Ais.

‘You know I’d listen.’

That big night out alone, didn’t end that way.

‘I know.’

Another text. ‘But I don’t want that right now.’

‘Then what do you want?’

‘You.’ Another follows a little too quickly. ‘You talking is enough for me.’

‘Is it?’

A beat goes by, your phone pressed to the metal under you as you awaited his next text. ‘You ask too many questions.’

You’re trying to hide a shit-eating grin with you bite your bottom lip a second time. ‘I think I ask all the right questions, actually.’

‘No you don’t.’

‘Clearly I do, since it’s taking you so long to text back.’

You feel that twist in your stomach again, boldness seemingly becoming the theme of the night with you. ‘What do you want then?’

‘You know I’m not good at talking over the phone.’

‘You do just fine with me.’

‘You’re different. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to look at you when we talk.’

‘That’s what FaceTime is for.’

‘You know what I mean.’

You lean your head back against the wall, exhaling as you look up to the sky. You shouldn’t be doing this. ‘Come on then.’

It should be appalling how fast the word ‘Delivered’ disappears and turns into ‘Read at 1:48 AM’. But to you it was nothing new. If you told him to come, he’d be there. If he was in need of you, you’d find your way over. One night turned into these casual flings between you both. Not what you were expecting to find in the city— nor what you really need right now— but god, did he prove himself for no complaining.

You recognize the rumble of the engine in an instant. It echoed across the neighborhood, but you know he wouldn’t give a damn about that. Anytime you heard it you thought it could rival rumbling the earth. You quickly go to stand, peering over the fire escape in time to see him slow down in front of your complex. He twists throttle twice with his foot hard on the brake levers to come to a stop. The motorcycle’s roars fade to silence. Its matte black texture gave a muted shine under the streetlights, while any grey part looked worn of use yet always ready to go. His helmet turns in your direction to watch you. He tilts his head at you and you tilt yours back, ending the interaction with a grin and a rush back into your apartment.

“I still think you should’ve got the paint job in red.” You say as you’re already out of the front doors. A chill runs down your spine from the night air. One of his gloved hands flips his visor off his eyes. Red irises were already attached to you. He crossed his arms, making the leather of his jacket tighten with a slight crunch. “And I still think it would have been too flashy.”

“You could pull off flashy.” Your fingers run over the top of the vehicle, still warm from use. He watched your fingers, then looks back to you with a scoff. “You don’t mean that.”

You shrug, eyes catching his and smiling at him. You look back down to his motorcycle, fingertips tracing over the top of the fuel tank. Ais still watches you even then, pressing his lips together at how your digits scale his ride. You turn your head to him, catching his attention again. “Little late for a house call.”

“It’s never stopped us before.”

Your fingers stop abruptly, causing him to get hesitant. You then put your chin in your hand while resting your elbow atop the tank. “No, I guess not.”

His head tilts at you, a scarred brow raises. “What? You don’t like our visits anymore?”

You roll your eyes. “I never said that.”

You could tell by the crinkle of his eyes that there was a grin under his helmet. You bite the inside of your cheek, rolling your eyes at him again to avoid smiling at him. You stand up fully, and a warm hand pressed into the small of your back. The other hand keeps himself balanced. You could feel his thumb slowly rub the fabric of your top.

“You ready to go then?”

You give him a look, doesn’t mean he’d pull away. “I have work in the morning.”

“Okay.”

“So I can’t stay long.”

“Mhm.”

“Are you even listening to me?”

“I am.”

“Ais.”

The mention of his name turns his eyes up from your lips. The look in them goes lax. “I’ll bring you back early enough to change for work. I can take you.”

A scoff abruptly comes out of you. “No way, last time you did that I had to deal with being the gossip of the week from my co-workers.”

“So?”

“So?”

Ais shrugs, leaving you wondering how he could act so nonchalant. “It’s none of their business, so who cares.”

His thumb continues to stoke your lower back, making the temptation all the more palpable. You were mere inches from being pressed against his side and if he had his way, you would have been there already. You continue to look at him, contemplating your choices. Another moment under your gaze and his shoulders relax with a slight sigh. “I’ll drop you off around the corner if that helps.”

You soften just a tad. Damn him trying to be a gentleman.

He leans close, lowering his head to make sure both of your eyesight is leveled. “But you are coming with me.”

There’s a twinkle of amusement in your eyes that he catches quickly. “What makes you say that?”

“What?” He huffs. “You can only act bold over the phone, Sparrow? One, you’ll want to put your money where mouth is. And two-”

That leathered hand quickly finds itself cupping your rear, causing a metal jingle to be heard. You jump at his slight squeeze, butterflies fluttering in the deep pit of your stomach. There’s a mischievous slight in his voice. “You have your keys in your back pocket.”

Now you were planted at his side with him with his hand placement. You look up at him, body giving into his own heat. Your stomach was twisting again but it hits you then on what it really was. A feeling of now or never that seemed to always accompany his presence. A rush of adrenaline that just needed fuel to go little further. That’s exactly what he was. The gasoline to a fire you seem like you had to enjoy before it completely burned out.

And this time, your smile is stronger than your resistance to it.

[tabithatwo]

there's a reason that so many people are intensely anxious about whether yellowjackets decides to keep classifying jackie and shauna a "vague teen-girl homoerotic-ish friendship" or to follow through and cement what that type of relationship actually is and actually means. and i've seen a lot of conversation about why it doesn't matter and if it doesn't matter to you, then i'm so happy for you (and jealous of you L O L) but if you're curious to understand WHY it matters fucking DEEPLY to so many people, gather around and buckle up while i attempt to explain it

first let me tell you why we're all acting like animals with lesbian-television induced zoochosis as we wait for 2.02: all signs point to this episode being the big one for jackie in particular (and for jackie and shauna as a relationship), so there's an assumption that the teased makeup scene is in this episode. that scene is what a lot hinges on.

(if you are on board with the narrative arc and already set on the make or break moment of that scene, you can skip ahead to NOW MY FINAL ACTUAL POINT a few paragraphs down)

there's been a distinct narrative arc ramping up to a big reveal (i already have very strange and mixed feelings about sexuality being used a reveal, but for a character like shauna, in a show intentionally meant to capture the tricks we play on ourselves in our minds, i would be absolutely on board with it) that said, the moment is now.

since the pilot, we've been on this journey of shauna's sexuality. sex is central to her character in a way that it isn't to any of the others. we meet her in 2021 masturbating on her daughter's bed, she goes on to have an affair with adam, we explore her boredom in her sex life with jeff, we see it improve post affair/murder. in 96 she has sex with jeff in the pilot, she grapples with the results of that sex for the rest of the season, she's quickly on board with the orgy/murder/shroom fest. (there's more to her and sexuality - rabbits representing her and jackie etc, but that's another post for another time.) suffice to say, sexuality is central to shauna.

in 2.01 shauna's sexuality is again central and even more explicitly sapphic/jackie central. "the thought of you with someone else always scared me. but it also turned me on. someone else's tongue in your mouth. their smell on you. I used to think that made me some kind of pervert." this show is smart. it's thoughtful. that's why we love it. giving us this line in 2.01, after showing shauna watch him with only one other person in the entire show (jackie in 1.01) is not an accident.

likewise, "say it" used in 2.01 by hallucination/ghost jackie, paralleling shauna's "say it" in 1.01 (asking jeff to say he loved her) is not accidental.

(gifs from 2.01 from @yellowjacketsgifs)

this show is very thoughtfully and intentionally weaving the jackie shauna romantic, sexual, obsessive love threads. i'm not going to go into exploring every moment between them that is sapphic (there are plenty of threads doing that, most people who follow me have seen it and understand it, i'm operating on the assumption that the people interested in this post understand that already).

2.01 gives us adult shauna referencing sexual arousal related to jackie. it then shows her being fucked by jeff in front of a painting of herself that is disfigured and decaying. and finally, we get the confirmation that shauna is cannibalizing jackie in 96 (leading to jackie's own disfiguration and decay). we've been led to understand shauna as a sexually driven and deviant character, and a lingering almost-reveal in 96 to jackie's corpse/hallucination/ghost hangs over us.

if this confession doesn't happen, if they walk back the gay, if they refuse to cement the realness of their romantic, sexual love in this moment, it's hard to understand why they'd build this perfect narrative arc just to ignore it and go on to cement it with something else later. anything is possible, but it really lends itself to a forever vague depiction. confession may be too narrow of a word, but what it encapsulates to me is something that you cannot ignore even if you want to - an i love you, a kiss, an i wanted you and i couldn't have you. (even the beginning of one of these, followed by an interruption that delays this heightened narrative arc would mean not losing hope.)

there have been constant interviews with the writers walking the gay back and forth, acknowledging and dismissing it in the same breath, and if that's happening to mask a reveal coming at the peak of this arc, then that makes sense. but if that's the language being used and no reveal is coming, it feels that this is the language we will always get for them.

NOW MY FINAL ACTUAL POINT- it fucking matters if they keep it vague. yes, that's how it goes in a lot of real life relationships like this. yes, it's common for young sapphics to have these relationships and never call them what they are. but that's the very fucking point i'm making.

these "friendships" do not happen to straight girls. i've seen some people say "i'm a lesbian, but even i had platonic friendships like this." and to that i say, i also didn't understand that straight girls don't do this shit for a long time. but they don't. there is no homoerotic tension in a friendship between two heterosexuals.

but women are told time and time again that there is. that everyone thinks girls are pretty. that all female friendship is just intense like that. that it's a part of growing up. and it's gaslighting. it's a thing we tell young girls to keep them in a box, to force them into comphet, to push their feelings down and away, to not rock the boat. it runs so deep we don't always realize we're doing it.

saying it's fine because there are cemented canon lesbians in the show is a cop out. and i understand the urge to say it - we're used to taking the scraps we can get from lesbian media and saying thank you. we don't bite the hand that feeds us, because not much food is coming. and i'm thrilled that i'm watching acknowledged lesbians on my screen, that i get to see their relationships. i love tai and van and tai and simone. but that doesn't fix this. saying be happy with what you got doesn't make sense here. this isn't a situation where jackie and shauna read as straight and viewers are trying to mash them together with no cause. if you think that, i really don't know what show you're watching. it's clear, it's intentional, it's direct.

and so many sapphic women have been constantly told, both in media and in their real lives, that what they had or have with women was less real because it was complicated. was less real because comphet or bisexuality or confusion existed along side it. was less real because they don't look or seem gay. because they never called it what it was. because they were young.

that, in media, it's enough to watch two girls engage in sapphic love without ever calling it that. without showing the audience what it was explicitly. masking it the same way society does and allowing for room to argue that it was platonic. that, in real life, it's enough to experiment. to think quietly about your attraction to women. to smother it, because every woman feels that way.

shauna is the pinnacle of comphet. everything about her screams it. and that's never an accident in creating a character. it includes nuanced and intense depictions. to pretend that it isn't possible for a show this smart to cement the reality of their relationship, while allowing shauna to retain the repression that comes with it as a characters is silly.

they can call it what it is in a million ways. and they are tight-roping the line so very carefully, leaving a small scrap of doubt. if they don't tip it over that line, it's intentionally holding shauna and jackie, both as individuals and together, in the purgatory hell that so many women who see themselves in these character have had to claw their way out of.

and the prospect of that from a show that you love, a show that knows how to depict lesbianism and sapphic love when it wants to, a show that is intentionally curating this entire dynamic in jackie and shauna, is painful.

[jeminy3]

AA/Narumitsu Love Potion AU Outline

Wanted to finish this ages ago, was gonna be a fic, friendships fell apart, I forgot, no one cares anyway, yadda yadda.

AA/Narumitsu Love Potion AU Outline

Very loosely based on the movie Strange Magic

-Opens with Mia and Maya as children being told a fairy tale about Love Potions by their mother.

OR: Maya recounting this fairy tale to Phoenix sometime during AA1, either out of boredom or because of an episode of Steel Samurai she was watching that mentioned some kind of magical Love-themed item. Phoenix is strangely prickly about it, as he usually is when the subject of Love Potions is brought up. Maya thinks he’s just being a stick in the mud with no romantic imagination.

This fairy tale summarizes the events of the film Strange Magic and justifies the existence of Primrose petals in the real world, and how they can be brewed into Love Potions. They are usually found in remote, less developed areas, like the Fey village and Eagle Mountain.

+ Love Potions are semi-magical concoctions that recreate intense feelings of infatuation for hours at a time with regular dosage. There is no known cure besides waiting for the effects to wear off – or, according to Maya, “real love – if you fall in love for real, they won’t work at all.”

Legally, they are recognized as an illegal form of psychoactive, nonlethal poison. Love Potions and Primrose petals are implied to be coveted black market items.

–

- A summary of the events of AA1, introducing Phoenix, Miles, Maya, and their relationships with each other. Puts focus on the complicated relationship between Phoenix and Miles, especially during Turnabout Goodbyes and Rise from the Ashes.

- They seemed to be on the verge of reviving their childhood friendship, despite the years of separation and trauma. But by the end of these stressful cases, a rift forms between them again, leading to Miles’ sudden departure.

+ Maybe: this part features the first mention of Love Potions being used to manipulate people during Rise from the Ashes.

As Phoenix and Ema look into how and why Gant is keeping Lana under his thumb, Phoenix has a strange thought, and searches their desks for bottled fluids of some kind. He finds nothing of the sort, and he lets out a frustrated sigh. Ema asks him what he was looking for, but Phoenix blows her off, saying it was nothing. He tries to shake off the cold, sick feeling in his gut that had formed as he thought of this theory.

–

- Summary of AA2’s events, focusing on Miles’ departure and the devastating effect it had on Phoenix. Phoenix tries not to dwell on his feelings and focus on helping his clients, but it’s hard on him.

- Gumshoe and Franziska mentioning Miles are sore spots for Phoenix, but he is dodgy about it, as usual.

- Leads into Goodbye My Turnabout and the sudden return of Miles. Phoenix is justifiably angry with him, and Miles is slightly bewildered, then ashamed at this reaction. They eventually set aside their personal feelings to work on the case at hand and rescue Maya.

–

- A summary of the Engarde case so far, leading into Phoenix and Miles now investigating Adrien’s office/quarters for evidence that will help indict Engarde. Phoenix finds a cup of coffee left behind on her desk and notices something strange about it. Giving into impulse, he takes it and smells it, sensing something familiar enough to send a chill down his spine, and a sick feeling into his stomach.

He states his surprise out loud, getting Miles’ attention. When Miles asks, Phoenix says he might have a crazy theory right now. He thinks Adrien is being poisoned – specifically with Love Potion.

Miles is momentarily shocked – Phoenix explains his theory by talking about her strangely obsessive, dependent behavior about Engarde and how she defends/defended him. Engarde might be keeping her in his thrall with more than just his manipulative charms. Phoenix knows this is a wild theory, but he can’t explain how or why he knows about this right now and just asks for Miles’ trust on this. They need to hand the coffee to Gumshoe and the police for lab testing.

Miles processes this, and to Phoenix’s surprise, he not only accepts this theory, but takes the coffee for himself, stating there is no need for police involvement, Miles can test this theory here and now. Then, to Phoenix’s utter shock, he sips the coffee.

After tasting it, Miles scowls and confirms that yes, there is Love Potion in Adrien’s coffee. At Phoenix’s shocked expression, Miles tells him to relax – Miles says he is immune to Love Potions. Phoenix is only further confused by this, so Miles shakes his head and mimics what Phoenix said earlier – there’s no time to explain how or why, he only needs Phoenix to trust him right now.

Phoenix processes this, then nods and agrees. They can both talk about this later – rescuing Maya and getting Engarde in jail is the highest priority right now. They set off to take the coffee to Gumshoe.

+ Aside: as they continue this investigation, Miles feels strangely flustered and concerned around Phoenix for a while after this event, but he ignores this, blaming it on a random bout of sickness probably brought on from his immunity/aversion to Love Potion. (In reality this is an effect of the Potion he drank from the coffee, slightly amplifying his existing feelings for Phoenix).

–

- Summary of the ending of Goodbye My Turnabout, with Maya safe and reunited with Pearl, and Phoenix and Miles reconciling.

After reconciling with Franziska and seeing her off at the airport, Miles returns to Phoenix’s office, surprising him. Maya and Pearl have already retired to bed for the evening, so Phoenix meets him alone, correctly guessing that Miles is here for that “talk” they owe each other. Miles confirms this.

The two settle in and awkwardly begin talking about how and why they both know about Love Potions.

Phoenix says that unfortunately, he was a lot like Adrien, once upon a time. Which includes being poisoned with doses of Love Potion, specifically via his cold medication by his murderous college girlfriend, “Dollie”. He avoids specifics because this is a painful subject for him.

He talks in broad strokes about how “Dollie” used Love Potion to make him head over heels in love with her, manipulating him into unknowingly holding important evidence for her, then take the fall when he was framed for a murder she committed. It was only through Mia’s dogged determination to defend his innocence and uncover the truth that he was shown the extent that he had been manipulated. (He pointedly casts a sad, but proud glance at Mia’s former office around them). It’s clear it was a very difficult and traumatizing time in Phoenix’s life, and to this day there are still a lot of unanswered questions surrounding it.

Miles is appropriately shocked and disgusted by this, and gives his sympathies. He can’t imagine the pain Phoenix went through, though he supposed he can at least empathize with being betrayed by someone you once trusted.

Phoenix carefully guesses he is talking about Manfred von Karma. Miles nods solemnly, his brows furrowed. He speaks broadly about his time as Manfred’s ward, how much he had respected and trusted the man without realizing that most of the time, Miles was nothing more than a target of abuse and twisted revenge for Manfred.

And when Phoenix asks, yes, it seems Manfred treated his own daughter Franziska similarly poorly. Miles is visibly tense about it, after seeing the results of that pain in her crying face just earlier that day.

But, Miles continues, at least there were some times when Manfred seemed to make an effort to be a decent guardian, however feeble the efforts were. During Miles’ youth, when he was still studying to become a prosecutor, Manfred sometimes brought him to social gatherings within the world of law to encourage him to socialize with his peers – especially those of the opposite sex.

...Mostly those of the opposite sex. (Miles looks visibly uncomfortable about this, and even Phoenix cringes a little). Yes, unfortunately, Manfred and his equally-conservative colleagues attempted to set up Miles with their daughters / female wards in arranged dates, hoping they would strike up a relationship. These only resulted in forced meetings that were mostly boring, awkward and in Miles’ eyes, a complete waste of time.

But, Miles adds, looking even more uncomfortable by the second, there was more to it than that. Painfully, he recounts an evening where Manfred took him aside just before the start of one of these arranged dates and discreetly gave him a bottle filled with a strange liquid, and instructed him to add its contents to his own drinks. He claimed it would make him more… ‘agreeable’ to the lady, more comfortable.

Phoenix, after a moment, guesses if that was a Love Potion. Miles nods somberly. Manfred was apparently so ashamed of Miles’ lack of romantic interest in these young women, and so desperate to save face with his colleagues, that he had (illegally) procured a bottle of the stuff to give to Miles and instruct him to, essentially, poison himself to make him fall in love with one of these young women.

“...But you’re immune, you said,” Phoenix says, and Miles confirms with a grave nod. He painfully recounts that no matter how many times he dosed himself, or how much he poured into his drinks, he didn’t feel any kind of heightened affection or fondness for any of the women, not even enough to fake it. At most the only kind of reaction he got out of the stuff was dizziness in his head and a sick feeling in his stomach, likely side effects from the large doses.

Needless to say, even Manfred had to give up on these efforts. Eventually he quietly stopped inviting Miles to these dates, or to any social gatherings at all, instructing him to focus solely on his studies, since it seemed like the only thing he would be useful at.

When Manfred did attend gatherings after that, he only brought Franziska with him, telling Miles to watch over the manor in their absence and keep it tidy. Manfred had a maid in his employ. Miles wasn’t needed for something like that.

Miles sighs deeply as he finishes his story, and Phoenix stews over this silently, eventually extending his sympathies. Though he still finds it a bit strange that someone could just be completely immune to a Love Potion.

Miles shrugs sadly, saying that he’s figured he is simply incapable of falling in love at all. Phoenix is sad about this, but attempts to comfort Miles, saying that there’s nothing wrong or broken about him even if he can’t feel love. Aromantics exist, after all. And they have just as fulfilling relationship with friends – at least, Phoenix still considers Miles a good friend.

Miles is touched by this, that Phoenix still considers him a good friend even after the hurt he caused with his sudden sabbatical. Phoenix flusters, saying yeah, guess he just can’t stay mad at him. He still treasures their friendship, especially after all they’ve been through.

Miles is the one to start flustering now, and he coughs and pointedly changes the subject. The point is, it seems they’ve both had bad experiences with Love Potions, manipulated and heartbroken in different ways, and it’s likely that many other people have been hurt in similar ways by their existence. They’re already an illegal substance, but they should take greater pains to crack down on criminals who keep getting their hands on them.

Phoenix, eagerly following the change of subject to escape the awkwardness, agrees wholeheartedly. Love is a silly thing in general anyway, especially if it can be so easily manipulated by weird magical drugs. They mutually agree to work harder to be more wary of Love Potions and one day, stamp them out of the world altogether. Miles concurs, and they shake on it, ending the night on a good note.

- Miles decides to go back home shortly after this, but not before Phoenix awkwardly asks him if he’ll be very busy now that he’s back. He wanted to properly catch up with Miles in a more casual setting sometime. Miles awkwardly says he’s still figuring things out, and has even been considering traveling again, since he found it quite agreeable on his sabbatical and could learn a lot from international legal systems… But for now, yes, he could arrange to join Phoenix for a casual outing or two. He owes it to him, after all.

Phoenix flusters again, but is happy and grateful, and they exchange phone numbers to stay in contact. They share warm goodbyes and goodnights, and Miles steps out the door and into the night.

+ Despite all their cynicism, Phoenix and Miles, ironically, are unaware of the feelings developing between them.

–

- AA3’s events are summarized, with more focus put on the offscreen relationship between Phoenix and Miles during this time. They’ve spent several months keeping in contact through calls and text, occasionally joining each other for lunches/dinners to talk and catch up. Shortly before the start of AA3’s first case (in the present timeline), Miles left the country to study international legal systems like he hinted at before. Phoenix is okay with this and happy for Miles as he takes control of the direction of his life, and it’s implied that he’s still staying in contact with him via texting.

- Somewhere in case 3-2 or 3-3, Love Potions come up again, either used in a minor way or simply mentioned in passing. Phoenix is set on edge even more than usual, between Godot’s seemingly-baseless hatred for him and the uncomfortable themes of lovers, betrayal and poison that keep coming up in these cases. Phoenix thinks of Miles and holds fast to the promise they made about stamping out all Love Potions.

- Case 3-5 begins

- Hospital scene. Phoenix is moved by Miles visiting him so suddenly. He gives Miles his badge and has him defend Iris.

- After Phoenix recovers, they investigate together. Primroses grow on the mountain. Nick hates the sight of them and Miles does too. They wonder if love potions are being used to influence the case.

Eventually – Dahlia, via possessing Iris/Maya, reveals she has been trying to poison everyone with Love Potion, but for some reason it hasn’t had any effects on Phoenix or Miles.

+Hasn't worked on Godot either because his love, Mia, is dead and Godot is too careful about his coffee to be poisoned again.

- Dahlia is defeated, Iris is saved, and both she and Godot go to jail.

Later, they wonder about the poisonings. Maya says the only way to be immune to love potion is to fall in love for real. So Phoenix and Miles have fallen in love already with someone. But who?

They are deeply confused until they look at each other and begin to wonder. Phoenix feels absolute trust in miles, and Miles feels the same for Phoenix. They fluster and dodge the issue

- Later, before Miles goes back to Europe, he meets with Phoenix privately. Miles says he is leaving again but would not be opposed to dinner together before he goes. Phoenix agrees, it’d be nice to unwind and rekindle their childhood friendship. Internally he wonders if they’ll explore something more between them as well, after remembering the Love Potion incidents.

Both silently think that maybe love isn’t so bad after all.

END

[chainoftalent]

i am starving for kiyo content ‼️‼️ can i ask for the whole yan profile for my boy korekiyo???,,,

This is fine, this ask isn't old, I'm good at this I swear

Korekiyo Yandere Profile

What are they generally like? Lucid, aware? Obsessive? How do they behave?

Korekiyo is very aware, but they also know the long history of tropes like this, and as such can justify it through that history, he finds the whole thing beautiful, the struggle, the history, the feeling of his hands on you. Beautiful.

How likely are they to kidnap their darling? How quickly will they do so?

Pretty likely, but they do like the chase a lot, they want their beloved to come to them, to make a deal with the devil, they have no hurry when the chase is just so fun.

How difficult is it to escape from them? How do they keep you restrained? How do they deal with attempted escape? 

Very difficult, Korekiyo does love shibari after all. It's a rare moment you aren't tied up in some way, with his hand around the end of the rope like a much more embarrassing leash. If you do try, Korekiyo would still find it beautiful, and such beauty should be rewarded, really, what did you expect? this is just how it is darling.

How easy are they to trick, deceive, or manipulate?

Very hard, he's very certain of what he's doing and wicked smart. He knows all the tropes, the tricks, you'd have to be very good at reading him to even have a chance.

How lenient are they? What privileges can you have, and what will you be denied?

He's decently lenient, you can't leave obviously, and you won't be untied, but you'll have books and stories and plenty of things to take up your time and chase away boredom. Though don't expect to be able to do much yourself, Korekiyo is the one who dresses you, who does up your makeup or hair, who makes you look like a doll, kneeling all prettily and delicate. You look divine, but he is no true worshipper.

What kind of rules do they have? What kind of punishment would they use?

Mostly the basic rules, no escape, don't disobey, don't make a mess, don't scream unless he wants you too. As long as you're not throwing fits though, he's mostly content to let you do what you want. Though if you do try and make a mess or let alone BREAK something expect a firm grip on your arm and chin as he reminds you just how much you depend on his kindness.

How do they deal with rivals, or perceived rivals? Will they get rid of them? Will they kill them themselves, or find another way?

Rivals won't be killed, that's not the kind of person he'd send to sister! Terrified, tortured, or framed on the other hand? He has no true limit beyond not killing them for other unrelated reasons.

How easy is it to make them mad? What does their anger look like?

Their anger is slow, unless you hit specific buttons, like breaking things or getting in the way of his anthropology. At which point he will get physical, expect to be put in stress poses until you beg him to be allowed to relax and apologize. At least he'll rub creams on your rope burns and the like afterwards.

Do they see you as above them, beneath them, or equal to them?

Beneath him, you're another of his treasures, he doesn't see beneath him as like an inherently negative thing though, that just means he's the one with the final say, it means nothing to your actual character.

How determined are they for you to love them? How hard will they try to make it happen? Or are they content just having you?

They do not need you to love him, perhaps they don't even fully want it. Love is fickle strange thing for Korekiyo, I don't think even they know if they actually want you to love you, or if one of the reasons he's so drawn is because like this you can never really love him.

Bonus: Is there anything that makes them unique, in comparison to other yanderes?

He's calmer, much calmer. Silent snake in the grass.

General perverseness: how sexual of a person are they? What’s their drive like? How touchy do they get? Do they have any reservations about sexuality?

Its KOREKIYO do I even need to say anything? Touchiest fucker who needs to have you bound up in red rope 24/7

How forceful are they? Do they care about your willingness?

They're pretty forceful, but they also care about your pleasure, but even your despair and terror is beautiful.

What sort of kinks or fetishes do they have, or would they fill?

They are a sadomasochistic shibari enthusiast with a love of all of humanity. He's going to at least try nearly every single kink on you just to see what happens.

How do they feel about pregnancy or babies? Do they want them?

I feel like Korekiyo would want at least one kid, he's such a family person so they definitely would be on board for a few kids, but probably later on, it's too soon now.

What kind of (nsfw) punishments would they use?

Lots of rope, stress positions, flogging, a whip, and they'll make you moan in between each pained scream until the pain and pleasure blend into a mind melting beautiful slurry.

What body parts of their darling do they like the most?

I feel like Korekiyo is a hand person, something about him just screams hand fetish. He's gonna do your nails so fancily!

[nightghoul381]

Hello.

Congratulations on reaching 100 followers.

I would like it if you could do first kiss with Harrison (ikevil).

English is not my first language.

EEP SORRY THIS IS SO LATE!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REQUEST AND FOR YOUR PATIENCE!!

This is such a long time coming, I'm well past 100 followers now, but I finally had an idea for this request!

Play Acting

Harrison Gray (POV) x Reader Prompt: First Kiss Genre: Fluffy with a bit of spice WC: 1.2k

I usually didn’t enjoy watching Liam during practices at the Scala, I only went because I wanted to support him. I knew it made him happy, I also had the lovely experience of finding that he lied about not being upset whenever I told him I didn’t feel like going.

Instead of hurting my friend, I decided to join him anyway, boredom be damned. This show, however, had an unexpected twist. Or at least an unexpectedly stunning actress joining the troupe.

The minute our eyes met and you flashed that shy little smile at me I knew I was sunk. You tended to stay on the edges of the group, trying not to draw attention to yourself. Yet as soon as you took to the stage you captured the attention of everyone present.

It’s as though pretending to be someone else filled you with such confidence any insecurities you might feel were blown away. I have to admit I can’t seem to keep my eyes off you. The way your eyes brighten and your face flushes when you receive praise for your performance, the way you play with your hair while waiting to go on stage, and most of all, the way you blush whenever I catch you looking at me.

I can’t help but be curious, and strangely enough it seems even Liam hardly knows anything about you. A mystery waiting to be unraveled. My kind of girl.

“Harry! We’re all going to go get drinks tonight to celebrate opening night! Did you want to come with us?” Liam shouts excitedly, huge grin spread across his face from the adrenaline high acting gives him.

“Everyone else is going?” I ask, trying not to seem too interested. If you were going to be there, then there was no doubt there would be a chance for me to talk to you alone since you typically seemed to avoid conversing with the rest of the cast and crew.

“Of course! It’s like an early cast party, so will you? Oh--” Liam inquired, cut off by one of the other actors and the director who were gesturing excitedly for him to join them.

“Sure, I’ll go,” I sighed, trying to keep the small rush of excitement I was feeling to a minimum.

Just as I had figured, you were with the group for the first round of drinks but soon settled against the wall a short way from the rest of them. Taking my time, I casually made my way toward you. You were so wrapped up in the conversation a few of the other performers were having that you must not have heard me come up to you.

“Hey.”

The little squeak you let out and the way your body jumps told me I’d accidentally caught you off guard.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” I chuckled, absent-mindedly patting your head.

“I… um… you’re Harrison, right? Liam has mentioned you a few times,” you stammer, face bright pink with embarrassment. Damn, just how cute can you get?

“Yeah, that’s right,” I chuckle, letting my arm fall from your head and leaning against the wall next to you. Something inside me is screaming for me to get closer. To test the waters and see if you’re as interested in me as you had seemed.

I lean in close and hear you take in a sharp breath.

“Did you enjoy seeing me at the rehearsals?” I ask, my voice dropping low to keep the conversation between the two of us. “You sure seemed to be looking at me a lot.”

“I look at everyone that much!” You hastily reply, eyes stretched wide in shock.

A lie.

“Mm, and here I thought maybe I was special,” I chuckled, letting my mouth curl into a lop-sided smirk.

Your tongue darts out to lick your lips while I take a sip of my drink, your attention seemingly fixated on the way my throat moves as I swallow.

“Am I drinking funny?”

“Aah! No! I thought I saw some had spilled, that’s the only reason I was looking, honest!” You insist, waving your arms in front of you as though to emphasize that I had the wrong idea. The only problem with that was the fact that I knew, once again, you were lying.

“Tch, see… something tells me you aren’t being entirely honest,” I tease, stepping just slightly closer and bringing my face closer to yours.

“Tell me the truth now, okay? Are you interested in me?”

You hesitate, swallowing thickly and letting out the breath that you’d been holding.

“A little.”

Another lie.

It would be unfair of me to continue pushing you like this, but the adorable hue of your cheeks and the sweet way your voice catches when you respond with what is clearly a lie keeps egging me on.

“Tell me something else. Do you want me to kiss you?” I purr, bringing my lips just inches away from yours.

“N-no…” you breathe shakily. I can practically hear your heart pounding in your chest, but I’m not about to continue making you uncomfortable. Instead, I let out a sigh and lean back.

“Too bad, I was kinda hoping I might get a chance with you, but if you’re not interested I can take a hint,” I raise my hand in a wave and turn to leave.

“Wait!” You shout, voice still quiet compared to the din of the pub.

I stop in my tracks and look back over my shoulder at you questioningly.

I wait while you approach me, shyly tugging on the sleeves of your sweater.

“I changed my mind.”

Oh? I settle back against the wall and you do as well, surprisingly close to me.

“I… I am interested in you. I do want you to kiss me.” Your face is crimson now as you admit the truth, anticipation causing your fingertips to tremble slightly as you reach up to my cheeks and stand on your tiptoes, your soft lips pressing against mine briefly.

Taking a deep breath, I slip my hand behind your back, pulling you the last few inches until you’re pressed close to my body and let you deepen the kiss.

Your grip on my cheeks seems to tighten as you let yourself get lost in the kiss. The taste of your drink on your tongue as it dances against mine is intoxicating, something deep within me responding with a primal need to claim you for myself.

I let my other hand come up to cradle the back of your head, slipping my tongue into your mouth and drawing out a pleased moan. There was something so innocent, but so erotic about the moan that I had to pull myself away from the kiss before I got carried away.

“Now that we’ve established we’re interested in one another, would you like to get dinner with me tomorrow after your performance?” I ask, willing my heart to calm down at the sight of your kiss swollen lips.

“I would really like that.”

“Then it’s a date.”

Taglist: @judejazza @aquagirl1978 @themiscarnival @abundance-pathchooser @xbalayage @maries-gallery @randonauticrap @queengiuliettafirstlady @candied-boys @echoes-in-the-forest

[intoxicated-chan]

𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮

Summary ➳ Anyone would’ve pointed out how cold (Y/n) was, almost like Cloud, Jessie compared her. But Biggs felt like there was something different, he knew he was right when he saw her smiling for the first time…

(A/n) ➳ I love this man too much, I really do hope he’s in the next game. There isn’t enough content for Biggs, I just had to. I also planned to make this into a series/book but wanted to see how you guys think of this. I also cut some things out so it was all crammed in and long.

Word Count ➳ 1.7k

Content Warnings ➳ Female Reader, Reader is a member of Avalanche, Reader is mentioned to have scars, mentions/description of violence, mentions of murder, cuts, blood, stiching, needles, soft swearing, angst-to-fluff…

“And who are they?” Cloud questioned, watching the military-like group take down the mechs and the rest of the SHINRA soldiers as the

“First guests to the party. Another Avalanche cell. Our holier-than-thou friends from the old guard... It’s always their way or the highway. Lately they’ve been a real pain in the ass... Till now.” Biggs answered Cloud. “It’s also the cell that (Y/n) apparently left.” The large door shuts and the gears turn to lock it.

“Apparently?” Cloud lifted an eyebrow as he stood to his feet.

“Some say she was booted, ran off, or chose to leave peacefully.” Biggs sighed, shaking his head. “Who knows? I can’t even tell what’s running through her head most of the time. Which is why she’s known as the Wild Card of Avalanche. So dangerous that SHINRA is scared to even bring her in.”

(Y/n) leaned on the railing of the random roof, picking at the paint flaking off the rails in boredom. She watched from above as the slums. It was a normal day for some but they don’t know that the members of Avalanche are right under their noses.

But she couldn’t blame them since the group did their best to keep their business away from the innocents.

She should be meeting with them at this time but from Barret’s words, she wasn’t necessary for the next part, probably from the last mission since she arrived late which worried the majority of the team.

She wasn’t going to admit it what caused her to be late, she just shot down a soldier or two…

“There you are.” The familiar voice broke her from her thoughts, she turned her head slightly and saw Biggs walking closer to her with his usual smile on his face. “I was wondering where you went.”

“Well, you found me.” She turned her head back, looking back at the slums. “And what brings you here?”

“I wanted to see you off before I go.”

She hummed. “Another reactor?”

“Yep.” Biggs chuckled awkwardly, sensing annoyance since he remembered her trying to get on the mission as well. “...You’re not sure how you feel about that.”

“It’s fine. Best that Barret chooses his best and the ones he trusts.” (Y/n) huffed, cleaning her hands of the chipped paint left on her fingernails. “Besides, I have other things to focus on.”

“Like what?”

“It’s best if I don’t share.” (Y/n) glanced around the roof before looking down at her phone… A stolen phone from a SHINRA personnel that they forgot to shut off. “I have some SHINRA men I have to talk to.”

Biggs watched her, wide eyed as getting one of those phones was near impossible but that depends on who you steal it from. He stretched his arm out, reaching for it, “Where- How did you get this-?”

She instantly pulled away from his reach, looking at him as if he just insulted her. “Like I said, it’s best if I don’t share.” She repeated.

“Sorry, I didn’t…” Biggs was again unsure, she was so strange in his eyes as he heard fifty-fifty things about the woman who stands besides him. He was thinking so much that he didn’t realize that she began to leave, heading towards the latter.

“Wait!” He called out, seeing her look at him. “Once I get back…Would you care to join me topside? I heard there was a good place for food.” He shyly rubbed the back of his neck, his mind racing as he felt flushed.

“Depends.” (Y/n) answered. “Do you plan on coming back in one piece and alive?” She asked.

Biggs nodded, almost hesitantly. “Of course I do.” He said, hoping that she didn’t catch the wave in his voice.

“Then you have my answer.” She smirked before climbing down the ladder.

When Biggs reached the latter, she was already gone. Like a ghost, there wasn’t a glimpse of her in his sight. His fingers ran through his hair as he continued to try to search for her. “They were right about one thing.” He mumbled. “She’s full of surprises.”

As much as Biggs wanted to get home early, he knew he couldn’t rush what they were doing. This plan was thoroughly careful, he became even more worried and impatient when there wasn’t a SHINRA soldier in sight. But when he returned home, it was late.

Some trains were stopped after Cloud, Tifa, and Barett chose to jump off the train. He was worried about what (Y/n) would have to say.

Would she hate him? Curse him out? Hopefully forgive him? He couldn’t sleep, heck, he couldn’t even clean. Not without her filling up his entire head.

The knocking on his door made him shoot up from his bed, tumbling on his feet as he put on a shirt. “Just a moment!” He spoke, nearly stumbling over his shoes before he made it to the door. He’s surprised once again when he sees (Y/n) standing outside, an arm behind her back, but his surprise is replaced with panic.

“Do you have any bandages?” She asked him out of the blue.

“W-What?” He blinked a couple of times, confused if what he’s seeing was real.

“Bandages.” She said. “You know, bandages. Do you have any left?”

“Oh yeah.” He turned back and went to his desk, top drawer to pull out bandages.

“Thanks.” She took them from him.

“Why do you need…” He looked down her other arm but he could tell she was purposely hiding it and then he saw the droplets of blood behind her, it’s almost a trail. “Are you bleeding? Like now?” He hurriedly said, stepping closer.

“It’s fine.” She spoke nonchalantly, like it’s an everyday thing. “Thanks, once again.” She turned to leave but Biggs grabbed her shoulder.

It gave Biggs a better look at her arm, a large gash, from her wrist to the inside of her elbow. “It’s not fine. This is serious.” He paid her no attention when he dragged her inside his place, closing the door with his foot and making her sit down while he grabbed the rest of his first aid kit.

“And you know how to stitch wounds?” She asked him.

“I learned back at the Leaf House.” Biggs responded, grabbing a needle but cleaning the dried blood first, using his other hand to apply pressure to her gash.

“The Leaf House?” She perked almost immediately. She winced when she felt the needle pierce through her skin, clutching her thigh tightly as she felt the threat move.

“Sorry.” Biggs apologizes, slowly stitching her wound. “Do you know the Leaf House?”

(Y/n)’s eyes wandered around the room, avoiding his gaze. “Once or twice.”

“Any family there?” She nodded, but didn’t expand and Biggs knew not to push any further. “How did you get this?” Biggs changed the topic.

“It’s-”

“And don’t tell me, it’s best if I don’t know.” Biggs snickered, even more when he felt her foot kick his leg softly. It was more of a poke.

“I just ran into some SHINRA soldiers.”

Biggs looked at her for a moment before returning to her wound, “I thought they were scared of you.”

“Who said that?” She questioned, hoping to find the one who’s been spreading stuff around.

“That’s what I heard.” Biggs replied, finishing his last thread before cutting the thread and knotting it. (Y/n) sighed and said another thank you to Biggs. She moved her hand carefully, so as to not open the wound. “The cut was clean and deep. It will likely scar.”

“It’s fine. Just another to my collection.” She mumbled, grabbing the bandages and wrapped it, but not tight.

Biggs quietly started to pack his first aid kit away, taking quick glances in her direction. “Um… I’m sorry I didn’t return early, if I known-”

“It’s okay, Biggs.” She said, handing him back the bandages. “I’m just happy you thought to ask me out.”

“...Really?!” Biggs shot up.

She nodded once more, a soft smile forming on her lips as her eyes relaxed. She no longer looked angry or cold, tense or standoffish. She looked calm, and happy.

“I… I never really thought that I could have what people have. You know, relationships with others or even friendships. I thought that if I could keep people at arms length.” She picked at her nails, nervous and scared. “Yet each time you come running back.”

Biggs laughed, smiling proudly. “You always kept me on my toes. A surprise right after another, you keep on surprising me. I barely know you but sometimes it feels like I’ve known you for years. I know what others say about you but I don’t care, I don’t care what they say because I…” He grabbed both of her hands, holding them tightly. “I love you, okay? I love you. And I can’t imagine loving someone else.”

“I don’t want you to be scared of me.” She shakily spoke. “You’ve heard what I’ve done.”

“We will go at your pace, however you like. Hell, I’ll even wait for you if you ask me because (Y/n), you have me, wrapped around your finger.” Biggs no longer felt embarrassed or nervous, he felt proud and he too, happy. “What do you say?”

“I’d be lying to myself if I said I didn’t.”

If the smile on Biggs’ face couldn’t get any bigger… He slowly pulled her to feet and was careful to hug her, treating her as if she was made of glass. Biggs felt her hands clutch onto the fabric of his shirt.

“To topside?” He softly asked.

She looked up at him. “To topside.”

© Intoxicated-Chan 2023, I do not allow my work to be copied, translated, modified, adapted, or put on any other platform without my permission.

[evita-shelby]

A different sort of man

IV

Taglist:@zablife @thegreatdragonfruta @midnightswithdearkatytspb @look-at-the-soul @cillmequick

Gif by:@teenwolf-theoriginals

“Mr. Shelby, madam.” Her butler said as he bowed and left.

It was strange to see this man and know they are husband and wife in many universes.

Mrs. Eva Shelby, it rolled off her tongue quite nicely.

Here she is Lady Smallbrook, the odd but bewitching widow of Lord Smallbrook who suddenly died some six months after changing his will.

She wore black, not because she mourned the man ---she had neither loved nor hated him, he had been too dull for her to form any feelings save for boredom--- but because she simply loved the color.

Perhaps after Mr. Shelby has returned, she could remove the insipid cold fish from the equation and take what is hers.

Thomas keeps his eyes on hers and acts as if she weren’t every man’s fantasy wearing only a thin black lace and satin negligee that leaves little to the imagination.

“What, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before, Thomas.” Eva smirked with burgundy red lips.

“You would kill me even if it was you, Evie.” He said and she put on her robe with great disappointment.

She was the jealous type, he knew her well it seems.

“So, can you help me get back to my Eva?” he asked and the witch nodded.

“We can have you home by midnight, amorcito.”

“Why midnight?” he asks as he helped her ready the whatever the fuck this was.

The sitting room was quite something, reminded him at times to a witch’s vardo who mum had said was their great aunt.

“Its was midnight yesterday when I did it. We should know if it works in the morning, unfortunately.” The witch said with a bite of her lower lip.

Neither were keen on sharing a bed together, let alone faking a relationship when both were clearly married.

But if it meant they could fix this mess in record time, he’d fuck her even.

“Good to know you find me attractive in every lifetime, Tom.” She shook her head and kept looking at her spell book.

Fucking mind reader, how did the other Tommy do it?

“Grace, I wanted to tell you I won’t be coming home tonight. Won’t bore you with details, just something I need done.” He said as if she didn’t know where he was calling from. “I’m sorry, kiss Charlie for me.”

He had never been warm, always cool with the coolness of a blue blood.

But this was not coolness she welcomed because it made it easier to hide his background, this was plain indifference.

Same indifference she had for Clive, same indifference she showed every other person she had met in Small Heath because they were ,to put it simply, beneath her.

She needed to know where this Eva lived, to see it with her own eyes and let him know he has broken her heart.

Grace hears Clive laugh over her shoulder, did you think God wouldn’t punish you for your sins, Gracie dear?

He will toss you over once he bores of you, he had laughed cynically as she told him she loved Tommy.

You will regret making a fool out of me, Gracie, he had said just as her instincts got the better of her and he fell dead from the bullet in her gun.

She hadn’t meant to kill him, but either way, Clive was dead.

Suicide, her uncle had paid them to say.

Suicide, she had told Thomas even when he had gotten his hands on the real report.

Grace roots around his desk and finds the calling card with the whore’s address over the photographs of her carelessly tossed aside.

If you want me so badly, come meet me yourself.

-E.

“I doubt your wife will like it if I were to take her spot, Tommy.” Eva said as she lead him upstairs as both felt drunk and high like they did last night.

“I bet the other one will be happy to be return to her.” he said with a yawn and undressed for bed.

He leaves his underwear on, usually he sleeps naked, but the other Thomas Shelby has no prior acquaintance with the witch save for some biweekly eye fucking and looking at her undress in Ada’s room that one time.

“Only let you do that because I had seen you naked thrice before that. Maybe the other you will be more amenable to fucking me long and hard in my impossibly soft bed.” The widow said not bothering to stay on her side and making him pray his Eva doesn’t kill him because his body responds as it always has to her.

“Lucky, lucky Mrs. Shelby.” She said before falling asleep on his chest.

“My god, I have great taste.” Eva says as she wakes up with a man wearing far more clothes than she had hoped.

“I guess it didn’t work.” He said in response with a groan.

Shame, none of her previous lovers had been disappointed with her.

Oh well, this one she can fuck at least.

“This isn’t my house.” Eva says as she wakes up wearing tastefully skimpy lingerie and draped on her husband.

“Fuck.” He muttered.

Was he the real one?

“Tell me something only my Tommy would know.” She demands of the man beneath her.

“Bullets scare you, your favorite color is squid ink purple, you craved candle wax when you were pregnant.” He answered and knew that even if he was stuck in this hell, at least he had his Eva with him.

“Lady Smallbrook, there is a Mrs. Shelby demanding to see you and Mr. Shelby.” The maid, whoever the fuck she is, said.

“Laura, the maid is called Laura.” Tommy said as he waits for her to shake off the unwanted company and fuck on the impossibly soft bed.

[imagionary]

Are Buck and Dave aware of HR? Why did Brian create them? Boredom? From your doodles Dave seems chill with HR but what do the two think of each other?

Sorry I got a lot of questions and sending it all in one ask seems smart

Buck and Dave are fully aware of High Roller! High Roller works as HR (CR? PR?) and is quite friendly with most of the other managers and employees in COGS.Inc

One day, Buck and Dave did something so absurd, that it got the both of them fired (Evils and I don't know what this incident could have been, but our guess is that Buck ended up becoming too powerful to an eldrich degree somehow, probably through contracts with Dave, and ended up using some kind of crazy power through his slot abilities?) Well, Brian decided why not use the scrap of Dave (Brian is fully aware that there is something going on with Dave,,) and Buck and see what happens, so he did.

Once his experiment was done, it finished itself; grew its own skin, more intricate wiring, and finishing touches, and its title appeared on its blueprint page: High Roller.

Brian has been fascinated with this strange occurrence ever since. Now he knew something had to be up with Dave; and besides, of course he built a new Buck, but he never built a new Dave,, and yet the next day Dave was walking around the office again, despite Brian having used his scrap to create High Roller

Dave and High Roller are very good friends! There's something going on between the two of them, omg xD Dave and High Roller keep jokingly flirt with each other and talk to each other in ways they wouldn't with others, and they also do things for each other that they wouldn't with others; but they treat it like a joke, so who knows what's going on between them other than it ain't gay to kiss your homie goodnight; such close friends that you can wake up hugging in the same bed; such close friends that you can joke about clacking keys and having long drinks over at each other's houses, etc

Dave likes to go to High Roller and pull little pranks on him, like keeping his chair cold; he and High Roller like to gift each other money (they're like two artists passing around the same 100 bucks); High Roller likes to gift everyone little rubber low ballers, but he especially likes to give silly little ones to Chip and Dave; Dave goes to High Roller's office every so often so he can clang in his corner; High Roller and Dave like to help each other out all the time, and other people they enjoy, and jokingly bicker with each other when it comes to money (they both get into quarrels about who will give who more money or who gets to chip in most when helping other's, etc; they're silly); Dave doesn't normally go to anyone for his thoughts or feelings, but he has been going to High Roller a bit more often for it,,

Buck is a new Buck, and doesn't remember the close bond he had with Dave; but Dave is still Dave and he remembers everything, mi compadre; High Roller is her own separate entity, they don't count themself as Buck or Dave or a mix of them, and Dave and Buck don't count High Roller as such either

I hope this answers everything!

[cowboytuba]

A thought I've been rolling around in my head is about Ultrakill's latest update and the arg before it. With the arg, long story short is that hell itself is an entity, and a cruel one at that. It locks doors, teleports beings, and utilizes the technology humanity brought down during their initial expeditions into hell to make the cyborg husks.

The end of P-2 brings a terminal that drops lore on the terminals. Since they're stuck in one spot and have been cut from contact outside of hell, it's said they've grown bored and as such begun trading with the machines that can move. Mobile machines record their fights for survival and the terminals grade it based on entertainment value and assign it points the robot can use to trade with the terminal for things like weaponry they teleport in.

Now the bit where my thinking comes in is such; the final line of the arg has hell taking over the message being sent and says "another dies. bring me more. I hunger." This means that hell can use modes of communication. Now what that "hunger" is could be several things, for entertainment, for souls, for bodies, feel free to hit me with others. Going with entertainment, there would be cause for hell to work alongside the terminals, keep their fancy machine toys fixed for whatever bouts of violence it desires while the terminals get their stimulation. However it's strange that hell needs the terminals working since it's known it can operate human technology just fine, so why let the terminals be? Could the potential of boredom be hell acting out and using terminals as an avenue? This guess is much more of a spitball as we do see machines like V2 showing more human emotions like vengeance during its rematch and the ability to be enraged.

Another curiosity is the terminals for the secret levels, reading messages that appear to be from god and them lamenting their creations and missteps. How could the terminals have gotten this information? If Hell fed it to them, how did hell get it? Why show this information, what end does it serve?