#I am SO scathing holy shit
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Dokja:
1. Introduced as a bland everyman only made exceptional by circumstance, slowly revealed to be the most batshit, suicidally depressed, bisexual maniac in existence. Uses self-sacrifice like a tool and is completely unaware of how beloved he is by the people he keeps pulling into his fold because he is so deeply and utterly convinced that he is fundamentally unlovable. He's like sixty foundational traumas stacked in a trench coat and he's always sixty steps ahead of everyone else and he loves the people he chooses so so dearly and people keep calling him ugly even though he's canonically pretty average and holy shit dude get some therapy please
2. GHBJNKML i am praying someone has sent him in but. unreliable narrator the most ever and also i just. love him so much. orv in itself is such a goo dnovel but like. kim dokja is the definition of love and the most caring person but also he's suffered so much and while. yknow we're introduced to him as a kind of nerd but like. listen he's so fucked up juts LISTEN
3. do NOT let the pretty official art fool u. this is the most average 28 year old salaryman going through the absolute most in the apocalypse. ORV is a story about the most average man on earth with the most mundane, depressing life. and one story that he read to cope with it all. he's just some guy, but he is also the most beloved specialest guy. not because he had some hidden talent. just because he loved a story ferociously and also he likes getting in trouble on purpose. he is the most unreliable narrator you will ever find. every piece of the universe loves him for his average stupid self. you will understand when you read 👍
4. He looks like a neet-pulled office worker. Spoilers: turns out to be one of the oldest things in the world and the only being keeping it going and alive. He needs to be there to keep the world going. Also, he got like kind of adopted by Persephone and hades. Like his blorbo is real and in love with him. But this man looks so average that people call him ugly to his face just because he’s surrounded by absolute gorgeous people.
Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu:
Read a million-word porno for the plot, left a scathing criticism on every chapter, finished in like 20 days, and got so upset about it that he ate expired yogurt and died. Told his husband that if he'd been pregnant with him, he would have absorbed poison at the cost of his own life for him. Has never been interested in any women romantically or sexually but is completely convinced he's totally straight, probably even while married to and regularly sleeping with his husband, who he loves. His first solution to any dangerous situation is to die about it.
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ep. 113 spoilers
i am so ill about the reveal that price is captain rose’s son. the implications of this are fucking wild.
(tbh i’m not sure if rose is price’s biological dad or his stepdad, but for the purposes of this post, i’m assuming that rose was at least the most significant dad in price’s life.)
it seems that price lived with his mom for most of his childhood, then sometime around/after the hole in the sea, ran away on his own and eventually met chip. and just… holy shit. he was raised by his mom, with his dad basically completely out of the picture because he’s off doing pirate shit. maybe price knew who his father was, maybe he didn’t (i.e., that his mom kept it from him like ollie’s mom did from him). but if he knew, just imagine the resentment. your own dad choosing adventure over you, and constantly being forced to hear about all his excursions in newspapers and through word-of-mouth from travelers. rose was off becoming a literal legend, while price and his mom were left behind. and like, yeah, i’m sure rose visited. he did care for his family, and obviously his wife had to get pregnant again somehow. but each time he came back, it was never for good. he always left again and again and again, because legacy was more important than they were.
and then finally! the day comes in which rose is finally going to retire and settle down with his family. i mean, price and rose’s wife were never enough to convince rose to settle down and it took another child to do it, but hey, at least he’s coming back. until… he’s not. until rose gets swallowed by a hole in the sea - killed by the life he chose over them, killed by the life that they feared would take him, killed by the lifestyle he valued more than them. and it’s not just a tragedy and a loss for them to grieve, either - it becomes a legend, one that keeps getting rubbed in their faces day after day, year after year after year. price cannot escape the fact that his father chose piracy over him, that he was apparently not worth enough to be loved. that shit would fucking fester, enough for price to completely leave behind his life and rid himself of his father’s name.
so price runs away, ditches the last name, and starts a new life - one where he gets to call all the shots instead of being left in the dark. he’s finally in control of who he is. and then, out of nowhere, enters chip. chip, a scrawny orphan who was aboard the black rose, who will not shut up all the adventures, who got to spend more time with his dad than he ever did, who got to live the life he was never allowed to. rose was never chip’s primary caretaker but he was a father figure to him, and it must have stung like hell to meet the kid who was more of a son to your dad than you ever were. chip must have seemed like the physical manifestation of everything price should’ve had but didn’t, because he just wasn’t worth enough.
(i wonder about price’s habit of calling chip his little brother - was that just because of their time spent together or was there a deeper meaning? perhaps price found kinship in chip - another child abandoned by his father putting legacy above all else.)
price spent his entire life in the shadow of his father, feeling like he was never enough, and now that he’s finally escaped it, he finds he never really escaped it at all and he’s face-to-face with yet another scathing reminder. the resentment must have been on another fucking level. what’s interesting, though, is that price does not turn away from chip - instead, he takes him in. rather than run away from this reminder, price sees it as an opportunity - an opportunity to take part of his dad’s precious legacy and mold it into his own. price takes chip and pushes him towards violence, towards gang activity, towards murder, towards all the things rose never stood for. he tried to take a product of rose’s legacy and twist it into something rose would never be proud of. all the while, price, along with chip, is building a legacy of his own - one of power, riches, respect; one constructed without his father; one to rival the great captain rose’s.
until one day, it comes crashing down. betrayed by his pet project, who he spent years rebuilding out of the ashes of rose’s legacy; by his little brother, who he trusted and felt kinship to after both were abandoned by rose; by the reminder of his father, who still bears rose’s influence like a fucking plague. price thought he had moved past his childhood - that he was finally freed of his father’s shadow - only to find himself abandoned once again by somebody who chose a lifestyle over him. stabbed in the back by yet another pirate.
but price is no longer a child. he does not run, he is not helpless, he will not wallow in pity. instead, he lets the betrayal fester and seethe and bubble into anger. he channels it into constructing his own life and legacy - this time, truly on his own. he turns it into an oath for revenge - on chip, on his father, on pirates. he rebuilds in a new place with a new purpose, fighting tooth and nail for whatever footholds he can get, moving into darkport like a parasite, feeding off power from the people around him. he rises in the ranks as a bounty hunter, finally finding a legacy that’s all his own - one that directly fights against those goddamn pirates. they took everything from him, and he’s going to take it back.
then chip shows up in all-port again. despite how the last time went, price cannot help but see another opportunity - an opportunity for revenge, to get back at chip for his betrayal; for power, to crush his insubordination and have him under his thumb again; for legacy, to have one of the black rose pirates bow before him, quake in fear, beg for forgiveness, and recognize him as stronger than his father. the allure was too saccharine. so of course, what does price ask chip to do? to steal from roofus - to betray the black rose pirates and obey him. another shot at rose’s legacy, and another way to show how much better and more powerful he is.
except… that doesn’t happen. price finds himself, yet again, betrayed by chip. his world comes crumbing down around him, and he is forced to watch. in his eyes, chip has taken everything from him - his father, his life, his power, his legacy. he has to watch as chip continues to grow his own legacy, as chip thrives without him, as chip scorns their past and becomes the one thing price resents more than anything. and price finds himself back at the beginning - nothing but a worthless little boy, abandoned and left behind. all the while, one thought races through his head, laced with resentment and anger and pain:
that should have been me.
#i am frothing at the mouth#immensely tempted to write proper fanfic about this#jrwi riptide#jrwi#just roll with it#jrwi spoilers#jrwi reuben price#reuben price#jrwi chip#chip jrwi#jrwi captain rose#dace.txt
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young royals s3e3 episode reaction
episode 3 is where everything always turns to shit so I'm super not looking forward to this lmfao
ohoho the queen of sweden is having a nervous breakdown. so relatable of her.
I'm lowkey also having a breakdown over wille immediately going into prince mode just bc his mom isn't doing well.
"why do you think I didn't tell you anything? because you wouldn't be able to handle it" NNNNNOOOOOOOO
oh my god that one hit WAY too hard. I can't deal with the mommy issues today.
ugh deeply agreeing with wille. simon needs to lock his social media and throw his phone away. he's starting to stress me the fuck out.
"both for me and the people around me" oh that's... quite the sentence. I know simon just got sucker punched by the fact that it's always gonna be like this
"all I want is to be with you" well you can't!
bro I hate teenagers so fuckin much lmfao
NOT BORIS WANTING TO PSYCHOANALYZE AUGUST
that was psychic warfare from wille idc
"he's decided that I'm evil" lmao you are
"I don't see the point in being nice if he's never gonna forgive me" "well, sometimes being nice to others can make you feel very good" JDKFJDLFJDKFJDKFDJKDOGIDL BORIS LOVE OF MY LIFE
THAT IS SO SHADYYYYYY LMFAO
I genuinely cannot stand vincent. if there's anyone in that school who's legit evil it's gotta be vincent.
oh. yeah. I'm feeling murderous.
fuck you country of sweden you know what you did.
FREDRIKA TYING UP HER HAIR TOO WHEN THE HOUSEMASTER CALLS FELICE OUT OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOD
god. teenage girls make the world go round.
NOT WITH THE SCHOOL INSPECTORS PRESEEEEENTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
NOOOOO SKRKSJRLSKFLSKFLSKDLSKDLD
YOU TWO KEEP REHEARSING
NOT PLAYING A SINGLE KEY AND HUMMING SIFKDLFKSLFKSLFKSLFKDLFKDLFF
oh my god my baby boys
it's the fact that them being so public means that not one (1) person in that room believed they were "rehearsing" jdkfjdlfjdlfjdl
the crown prince alone in a soundproof room with his boyfriend? sure.
god that was HILARIOUS
"I just wish I could get a single moment with you without getting interrupted" [get interrupted]
cinema
of course vincent is going to LA. my bro is going to be an oscar winner in no time, given all the dramatics.
oh
oh sweet jesus
simon, this is NOT the time or place to die on the labor movement hill
oh god
man being a teenager was so exhausting I'm so glad I don't have to do anything like that again
when they eat the rich I hope vincent is first in the grill
I hope felice singlehandedly closed the school lmao
I don't wanna like the whole sara and micke thing I really don't but UGH it's so sweet.
oh
OH
oh he's not is he
IS HE FUCKING
BROOOOOOOOOOO THERE'S NO FUCKING WAY
"he seems nice" oh august you are so clueless
this isn't happening skfkdkgkdkflf
oh my god what is it with royal boys and going "you're the only one I can talk to" y'all can afford a therapist can't you
NOT THE BAKING OHHHHH MY BABIES
"you may have inherited my diagnoses, sara, but you're not me" oh fuck
bro I am like. super into sara and micke hashing shit out, neurodivergently
I can't take wille seriously in the chorus. I cannot. he's so funny
oh god sara is coming back
oh fuck me up I love it when they're all sun kissed and beautiful and have nice lil conversations in front of everyone bc they're boyfriends publicly ohohoho
oh
oh my god
oh is that gonna be the hallway scene
not august waving at sara??? bro get up????
omg the looks from stella and fredrika were SCATHING
not them skipping and swinging their hands together you guys I'm losing my whole damn mind it's getting bad it's getting so bad
WHOOOOOOOREEEEESSSSSSS
OOHHH MY GOD
holy fuck that was....... quite the scene huh
um
let me rewind just now for a lil bit
for science
my brothers in christ you are sluts.
something abt them getting to have slutty slutty sex and finishing off with an I love you heals something in me that has been broken since 2021 ngl
like look at them! they're my boys!!! they're in love and they get to have somewhat public (bc like, a hallway? really?) sex bc they're together and everyone knows!!! they love each other and they can express that in a physical form!!!!! my little strumpets!!!!!!!
ah. fucking figures, huh
of course, thanks micke
oh they're in the literal and metaphorical afterglow!!!!! I love this for them
oh that's not a great train of thought to have after sex now is it
"you can trust me" wille, my love my darling, I love you, truly, from the bottom of my heart, but can he? can he really?
oh that's an actually genius move to show both sides of the coin
I do think simon probably should not be there. son's gonna get too much attention
oh I just remembered the episode description a hahahahahahahaahahahahahaha ha oh I don't want to watch
that was precious but I swear to god simon think with your brain for once aaaaaaaaaa FUCK
great now she just posted his location. and he also fully reposted it didn't he
is he genuinely that dumb like at this point even if you're not famous by proxy you still should know not to post your live location?????? Simon. please.
oh right I forgot the monarchy can't be seen involved with that...... I was more worried abt his safety ldjfldjfldkf
oh
oh no
I was right to worry about his safety
FUUUUUUCK
ugh
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Tag (9) people you'd like to get to know better!
Tagged by: @danniiiyyyl to whom i am infinitely mysterious and closed-off and who doesn't know me at all in any capacity <3
i'm actually gonna put this under a lil read more bc i started rambling a ton lmao so !! buckle in
Currently reading: i am. so. so bad at reading actual books bc executive dysfunction has nuked my brain from orbit lol SO i'm gonna tell you the fun webcomics i'm reading at the moment:
golden shrike - i am OBSESSED i tell you OBSESSEDDDD with this one. it's fantasy deer, the art is unbelievably beautiful and the story is fantastic, and it fully takes me back to being obsessed with the blackblood alliance comic as a teen LOL but it's so fuckin' good please read it and then yell about it with me
what happens next - holy moly talk about the most scathing, unflinching depiction of Terminally Online Culture i've ever read - PLEASE heed the content warnings before diving in bc it really doesn't shy away from the stuff it warns for, but holy shit it is the webcomic equivalent of watching a car crash and being unable to look away, it's fuckin' incredible
how to be a werewolf - just a real feel-good fun werewolf comic that also has just a really great engaging story and gorgeous art, we love to see it !
questionable content - a fuckin classic, been reading this since like 2009 and it is 100% my comfort webcomic, but if you're diving in for the first time be prepared for a LONG HAUL bc it's been running every weekday since i think 2003 so there is a BACKLOG. it's so cool watching the art improve over the years though!
Currently watching: a lot of dropout and drawfee mostly! i'm a little bit between shows right now bc i really need people to sit me down and make me watch things, but i have Vague Intentions to watch ted lasso and d20's dungeons and drag queens once my brain allows
Current Obsession: my d&d blorbos, as ever, but i'm currently playing nier: automata for the first time and having an absolute Blast with it
Tagging people I want to get to know better but also people I know already oops: @justagoos @jelliclesong @bibufflizardwizard @spectralwebs @lehamite @thevastnessof @rotanawrites @fabricandcircuits @wheatley-the-boi and anyone else who sees this and wants to do it!
(i just grabbed people i see in my notes a lot who weren't already tagged by dany LMAO so no pressure, just if you wanna!)
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long time no see, Stranga!
First I want to say that I hope gacha hell brings you the endorphins and serotonin you desire. second, holy crap @the-mk-scp-anon made a drabble (Two!!!) for a series of drabbles i just kinda... left unfinished and unsent... Because of that I wanted to finish the Homubey saga at last. Just ignore the other ficlet series' I've made.
without further ado, part 5 of Homubey.
---
"I-I don't... I don't know what to say."
"Yeah, no shit. Even after everything we've all... we still don't know everything 'bout Gems and the rat and-"
"How can- do you still persist? After all that you go through, have gone through, will go through? How..."
In a pocket dimension free of space and time, four friends sat around a small kotatsu table in states of perturbed confusion. Miki Sayaka sat with her head in her hands, blue locks swaying as she shook her head in habitual denial. Sakura Kyouko steadily chewed through her pack of Pockey as she stewed in anger, flames sparking in and out from her crimson ponytail. Tomoe Mami had slumped over the table and stroked the back of the creature that sat between them all. The Golden Senpai had given up all pretenses in maintaining her persona in order to foucs on trying to comprehend these revelations.
Akuma Tamura sat on her knees, facing the creature dead in the eyes, dull purple staring into shimmering violet.
With every aspect of the failed timeline desrcibed in vivid detail, the experience of having one's mind be forcibly expanded and rapidly filled with impossible knowledge - even through secondhand retelling - along with the fall out the constant candidates were left to writhe in; Tamura had thought herself too numb by alternate realities and tragedies, falling down the path that many Akemi's most often crawl down. It was with a twisted sense of relief that the pain Miki Sayaka and Kaname Madoka endure was able to still shake the (mostly) stoic Akuma Tamura, even if it filled the time traveler with a desire to find some form of self-inflicted punishment.
Silence permeated the air, the other Akemi's having left the premisis to ignore the Incubator drone and revelations it brought. The only remaining time traveler poured out another glass of cider for herself, leaving the half empty bottle in between them all; She downed the cup before slamming it back down on the table, hand threatening to shatter the glass.
"To think that not even the Incubator knew of such a fatal flaw in its own vessals. To create drones to manipulate and control, yet to not consider a moron's curiousity..." Tamura's shoulders slumped, head tilted down to the table. "Is this pure ignorance, or was this merely an oversight for a soulless creature?"
"Regardless of the answer, the fact remains that I am now confined to this admittedly fragile body." The now christened Homu-bey merely stared at the despondent alternate version of herself, her tail twitching as it batted away her ex-senpai's hand.
The silence was broken by another Pockey stick being thouroughly reduced to crumbs, scarlet flames turning back to crimson locks. Ashy wisps escaped from Kyouko's mouth as she asked, "What aren't you tellin' us?"
The snarl brought the other two magical girls out of their stupors, Sayaka glancing between the two Homuras while Mami stared at her ex-protege. The Crimson Lancer glanced between the two before slamming a fist down on the table.
"Don't tell me you guys are just gonna accept it just like that? We know how things work for them all, how they're booted back here after they "fail" their timeline." The redhead grabbed the scruff of Homu-bey's neck, the little creature unconciously going limp as she hanged in front of ruby eyes. "So tell us Homs, what happened in the end?"
The once empty vessel sent an empty thank you to the Incubator for creating drones with the bare minimum of expression. Had she been able to Homu-bey would have undoubtedly winced at the scathing accusation from her friend. Fear and anxiety replaced the controlled apathy Homu-bey forced herself to feel, the simple fabrication now threatening to be torn like the moist towlette it was.
"I assure you, Sakura-san, that everything that I've told you is all that occurred. Now would you kindly set me down-"
"Oh shut it, Homs. You're gettin' flowery with your words, you went to formalities instead of bein' casual with us." The redhead lowered the little creature back to the table, keeping her hold on the black not-cat with a thumb and finger. "You probably never noticed you did, or ya have but never really put it together."
With one hand already keeping her in place Homu-bey expected the other to find purchase on her form soon after. When the other palm placed itself upon her head she expected a loose grip on her skull, not the soft carress of a warm palm. Neither had she expected to see such terrible sadness well up in the scarlet eyes of Sakura Kyouko.
"Why're ya scared, Homs? What's got ya so worried that you're thinking ten steps ahead again?"
... Of course. Despite everything in the damn multiverse, despite all the hardships and tribulations they've all faced, Homura was still amongst the people closest to her heart. She was amongst peers - family at this very moment in between time and space, and one of her closest friends was currently outing her attempt at withdrawn secrecy. Of course Kyouko would be the first to notice the wrongness of her tale's end, second only to the literal other version of herself just nearby.
Even so, this can not stand.
"Sakura Kyouko... Release me from your grasp." Homu-bey did not wince when felt the warmth be replaced with cold air, nor did she need to compose herself to continue her lie. How easy it was to be heartless when in a once empty husk. "All that I have said is all that has occurred. It would be appreciated if you did not question my integrity or my honesty.
"To sate your curiosity... that timeline ended as all timelines do."
...
...
Pink eyes stared down at the unmoving form of Akemi Homura, tucked away in the bed within the spartan bedroom. In stark contrast to the last time Madoka saw the brunette, Homura looked relaxed, eyes closed with an almost peacful look on her face. She had been changed out of the Mitakihara school uniform and dressed with a slightly open sleep shirt.
An ugly and fresh scar was left to fester on the transfer student's porcelain chest.
With a shaky breath Madoka sat at the edge of the bed, carding a hand through ebony locks as her vision grew misty. The sounds of her stiffling breaths overpowered the omnipresent noise of the clockwork contraption in the other room, the soft silk of the blankets growing damp with every passing second.
"There is no need to cry, Kaname Madoka. They will do no good at any rate..."
The sudden intrusion of her mind, of a familiar voice she heard hours ago -and in many other times- released Madoka from the spiral of despair she threw herself in. Lifting her gaze from the unmoving body, Madoka met the unblinking gaze of Homura's new set of eyes. The ebony creature nestled at the barren folding desk looked on with unabashed apathy, fitting for its origins. A few seconds passed before the crying girl composed herself, brushing away the torrent of tears that continued to leak out.
"I'm sorry, Homura-chan. It's just so- so cruel." The pink haired girl sniffled, returning to her previous affection. "To have to leave you here, alone, with no one to come find you... it hurts so much."
"It is not an uncommon fate for Magical Girls. You should recall that Tomoe would have - should have - met a similar fate. It was merely luck that I left behind my body while she would not."
Homura crept slowly on her paws, edging closer to the edge of the table. Leaping the small distance to the bed, the small feline-esque creature moved to nestle herself in Madoka's lap. The girl in turn absently ran a hand through the polyester like fur, ruffling the purple markings and sealed chamber on Homura's back. Silence enveloped the two, lost in their own world now. How long Homura wished for such a peaceful experience, a quiet moment to share with Madoka, only to have it as she is now.
"... You know what I'm going to do, right Homura-chan?" Madoka stopped her petting, steeling herself with flaky determination. The once human girl merely flicked an ear in response, unwilling to move.
"... I do, Madoka-san. It is in your nature to, after all. I just fear that..."
...
...
"What exactly do ya mean by that, Homs? You just turn back the clock whenever you want or can, yeah?"
"Normally, we would use our magic, our Shield, to go back to March 16th. It is the only day we are able to repeatedly return to, after nearly two months have passed.
"But in my experiences, sometimes we can't use our magic to go back in time, regardless if we want to or should."
"Tamura-san, what do you mean by that?"
"... There have been times, where a specific event must occur for me to use my power. And it is a frequently occuring event amongst all of us who travel to this place."
...
...
"Don't worry Homura-chan. This is my choice, and I trust you to help me with my decisions. So don't feel bad if anything happens, just remember to respect my decision to try it, okay?"
"... Kaname Madoka... what is your heart's greatest desire?"
...
...
"So yer sayin' that-"
"Either we die, she dies, or she forms a contract."
"But that doesn't make any sense! If I did that and you made us all remember everything, how'd the Transfer Student-"
"Because I love her.
"And it always... always..."
...
...
In another time, in another life, a foreigner laid in bed, curled around a small cat like creature. Her shut eyes leaked out tears as the purple eyed being did her best to comfort the sad and hurt girl, her paws caked in blood and white fur.
---
How many of yall remember the Walpy Swap ficlet AU series me and @snek-witch made so long ago? And how many of yall remember that little black cat creature that showed up once in it.
I make cameos and callbacks before they fucking exist!!!
hopefully you enjoyed this drabble, and yall can decide on your own just what exactly Madoka wished for with Homubey. until I cave and write it out that is.
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
IM SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG BUT ITS BACK!!!
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alsdjflaksdj
okay wait holy shit i think roy might actually be queer.
um.
UM!!!!!!
going back and rewatching t/d l/sso truly has been like [mind blown] over here
i can finally take everything keeley says abt rebecca SERIOUSLY instead of "yeah yeah, straight women are like that sometimes"
and EVERY OTHER QUEER MOMENT has me like I AM LOOKING. RESPECTFULLY. 👀
and legitimately like.
what the fuck.
okay so s2 e5 is rainbow
which.
rainbow. first of all.
i even remember being like "ohhhh rainbow? 👀" when it first came out and then watching it i was like "oh okay. it's abt the rolling stones song and higgins' wife. nvm"
and here's how convinced i was that this show was just gonna be fucking straight.
the whole episode pulls from a MILLION romcoms, they talk abt and quote them REPEATEDLY.
MAINLY ted and roy.
and then she's like a rainbow plays when roy QUOTES YET ANOTHER ROMCOM and leaves the studio to go to the richmond game bc he's seen that he has an effect on the players as a coach, and it's what he wants.
and ALSO they just got done talking abt a 17 year old, which is how old roy was when he started, which is ALSO how old he was when TRENT CRIMM, independent, wrote a SCATHING article abt him that he then carried around in his wallet for 20 fucking years
until they hashed it out in a fucking locker room shower
WHICH.
ANYWAY!!!!!!
then roy has to do the romcom "run to them at the airport!!!" thing but it's him getting to the stadium and it's very cute
but part of it
involves him
getting on a rickshaw
that is COVERED
IN RAINBOW DECORATIONS
AND STRAIGHT UP
A RAINBOW FLAG
now, roy LOVES keeley and thought she was gorgeous.
but as we all know.
that don't mean you're not fucking queer, bro.
i dare say, i am compelled to believe that roy could ACTUALLY be bisexual.
listen, i literally--
like LISTEN.
normally i watch shows with my Literary Analysis and Film Theory glasses on. i'm not an Expert, but i KNOW how to do critical analysis of media. i have fun doing it!
but i just.....didn't. with ted lasso.
bc it seemed. to me, at first. like a show. that would just sort of. hand you things.
that it "wasn't that deep" even if its intent and meaning were quite insightful or kind or touching or well done.
but now i'm like
oh my fucking god WAIT
bc now all these characters are confirmed queer
and i cannot express to you--ANY OTHER SHOW!!! AND I WOULD'VE BEEN CALLING IT FROM THE GET GO WHO WAS QUEER AND WHO WASN'T!!!
this show threw me off my fucking game COMPLETELY.
and now i'm like oh my fucking god how did i overlook a LITERAL RAINBOW FEST PLAYING W A LOVE SONG OVER ROY RETURNING TO RICHMOND AND GETTING TO TED AND THEY EXCHANGE MORE ROMCOM LOVE CONFESSION QUOTES?!?!?!
i'm literally sitting here like
okay yeah, no, i get it, i thought it was a joke.
ted makes SO many jokes, i never took these ones seriously. i just thought, the show is being silly.
but!!!
BUT!!!!!
also--
the show breaks the fourth wall and plays w media and formatting on INTERESTING episodes.
first of s2 we have the cartoon dog bc dani can't sleep knowing that he killed earl.
and THEN we have here in s2 e5 the fourth wall break w the couple in the crowd (WHICH ALSO FEATURED A QUEER COUPLE IN THE CROWD! TWO MEN!!!) talking abt how their love story was stolen for the plot of titanic and they've been in litigation for decades. lol
and then in s3 we have amsterdam, where the formatting and fourth wall break is for ted's "trip"
and i just
IT IS INTERESTING
like holy fucking shit.
i'm almost now prepared for colin to say something to the team, or someone else to out him, OR trent to casually come out or something, and for roy to React A Certain Way. leave the room bc he's uncomfortable or something. and it turns out he's queer.
i would also, again, FULLY BELIEVE that he was into jamie.
i mean i gotta be honest, i'd be prepared and would believe roy somehow ending up w rebecca or ted. like that'd be WILD, but i'd believe it.
but now they're REALLY setting him up w jamie and it's sweet! regardless of where that goes, i really enjoy them together. jamie's growth as a character is my favorite, and he'd be leaving roy in the dust if he wasn't forcibly dragging his old ass with him. lol
i'm just sort of blown the fuck away by all of it.
and this episode also featured ted talking abt romcommunism--things will end up exactly as they should be in the end, even if you didn't expect it, want it, or think you needed it.
and then they hint--for like, the ONLY time--that ted and rebecca are the ones talking on bantr, bc they're misdirecting SO HARD abt sam, and it's just like. 👀
it's so fucking fascinating. this show is OBSESSED w subverting expectations and tropes. going left when you think it'll go right. giving you the logical conclusion that you didn't know was out there.
and ted and rebecca? it's too fucking obvious. i just. fundamentally don't believe it (and also i'm still laughing at sassy describing what ted is like in bed and rebecca being viscerally disgusted and spitting out the biscuits that he gave her lol)
and i'm just. FASCINATED! BC IDK WHERE THINGS ARE GONNA GO! I REALLY DON'T! AND I LOVE THAT!
i LOVE seeing the crumbs they've left for me to follow and STILL not knowing what we're walking towards! that's so fun and deft and lovely!
and i'm just really fucking stoked and excited to see that the queerness HAS been there the whole time. it has. and i didn't miss it, i was just given it in a context that made me believe it wasn't real.
but it IS and that's just so fucking cool.
i sound so silly--but like, never at any point was there extreme homophobia or heteronormativity. it's just that i just....given the context and world of the show? i didn't expect. i didn't think. and so many things felt like they remained in the realm of JOKES.
like ALSO in this episode is ted going OVERBOARD complimenting nate wearing his suit to the match. he goes NUTS saying how HOT nate looks.
....and also says "if you want to cut to the truth you get a tailor" or something like that.
which. ALSO FORESHADOWS NATE'S DOWNFALL?????
THE FUCK, MAN.
HOLY SHIT.
okay anyway i would fully believe a queer roy and EVEN POSSIBLY A QUEER TED.
i'm losing it.
i have been burned SO MANY TIMES that upon going back and watching and allowing myself to think and analyze and engage and HOPE now that there's proof that it's not all fruitless--i'm like !!!! SKY'S THE LIMIT!!!!
i mean for fuck's sake, HIGGINS could be queer. they heavily hinted at Some Strangeness for him in amsterdam, as well--which turned out different. but he was a PUNK as a youth! tell me higgins didn't at least TRY making out w some guys in his time. a man that deeply in love w his wife of 29 years? no way he's 100% straight and/or always has been. lol
esp when their song...rainbow........
i'm just.
really endeared and excited and my brain is buzzing but idk what to make of any of it.
apart from:
holy shit, are they saying roy is queer?????
and i love it and i'm EXCITED.
also i didn't say it but i REALLY appreciated how roy and jamie talking in amsterdam included roy just saying "i think keeley has a girlfriend" and jamie just going "well okay let's go look at some windmills, then"
no judgment, no disgust, no sexualizing her, no shock
it was treated as simply as it would've been if it was
"i think keeley has a boyfriend"
it was abt her MOVING ON, not the fact that she's bi.
that was just--a given.
WHICH IT IS!!! SHE DOESN'T HIDE IT!!!!
and i'm just
[falls over]
FUCK ME, MAN. THIS IS WILD.
i can't get over this
it's like rewriting and rewiring my fucking brain
i STILL can't wrap my head around the fact that trent crimm is CONFIRMED gay and didn't out colin for exactly the reasons we all thought
we weren't projecting when we said the look on trent's face when he sees colin and michael is that of a queer elder going "oh my fucking god" at that kind of thing. RECOGNITION OF THE SELF. OF THE STRUGGLE. OF ALL OF IT.
and also i LOVE that it sounds like trent came out RECENTLY! his daughter is YOUNG! i'm just. loving that. i LOVE IT.
my great uncle came out past the age of FIFTY, w a wife (who's also likely queer, i'm just saying--....her lifelong "friend"? 👀 who she immediately moved in with? 👀) and they had three kids together.
like, it happens!!! THAT'S LIFE, BABY!
and i just really appreciate that.
idfk man, there's so much humanity and nuance and reality and just. all of it. in these characters.
and it's all so silly and over the top and also REAL. LIKE REAL. and honest and true, and it's not all sunshine and roses.
it's such an incredibly fine line they're walking between realism and silliness where ppl talk the way they do. and it's just....honestly amazing.
bc we have so many queer ppl now. keeley, colin, trent, even will. and now we have POSSIBLY EVEN MORE????
i'm literally astounded and i'm just HAPPY.
bc so many ppl who just. need to see this kind of thing. watch this show. idfk, man.
anyway.
it's not the most profound queer rep in the world. it's just really making my day, each week & w each ep of the rewatch. lol
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Oh heck yeah!! What's the tattoo, if you don't mind me asking?
Oh definitely!! I think Saccharina was my favorite character in ACOC, and I LOVED seeing Ally turn Liam into a killing machine! Brennan saying "what happened to Liam?" In the most bewildered, exasperated voice is what I live for.
But oh man I definitely get you with the religious trauma stuff. I was raised in an extremely Catholic family so... Yeah. I get it. But Lapin kinda reminds me a little of my mom's best friend when I was growing up! He was one of our priests and he had some SCATHING words to say about some people when he wasn't in priest mode, which was always very funny to see!
Ajdhdhd correct me if I'm wrong, but are you the person who was super excited about the new FOB album coming out next week? Bc if so, I also love FOB and next week I'm gonna be torn between obsessing over the new neverafter episode and listening to the new album!
- 🪐
It's this, without the gold color, and it's on my chest just a little bit higher than where it would be were i wearing a TOS uniform ^_^
The first time I watched acoc, I disliked Saccharina at first, but after thinking more about her and then rewatching it, I've come to really like her. So much so that she's the Emily PC I picked to knit a scarf based on lol
"Someone killed my BEST. FRIEND." is something I think about regularly for sure
(My sincerest apologies if this offends, I mean it purely in jest.) At least your religious trauma's got great aesthetics- I was raised Mormon lmfao
Holy shit that's fucking hilarious 🤣
I absolutely the fuck am!! I start fuckin vibrating whenever I think about the fact that we're getting another song in only 6 days.
I think the song's gonna come out earlier in the day, so my plan is to lose it over the song for a few hours, switch to neverafter mode, and then have the song as the background music for the inevitable spiral of thoughts and theories and emotions
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SWTOR: Fallen Empire and Eternal Throne
send me a fandom and I’ll — meme
hooo man. why this. I talked so much already.
WHY IS STAR WARS SO BIG. WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?
Also warning for anyone who hasn’t played them, there’s probably spoilers below. Also I have really, really harsh opinions about the Emperor (mostly that he’s poorly written attempt at a villain by men who do not know what horror is).
SWTOR: KOTFE / KOTET
the character i least understand
LMAO VALKORIAN
the emperor’s new groove
this doesn’t really answer the question but I’ve been d y i n g to say this
Valkorian reeks of desperation and fear, under that veneer of godliness, and lies. Afraid of death. Afraid of losing the force. Weak, and pathetic, and fearful, and have never faced the horrors of just existing, and in his extra efforts to avoid this, he struggles for power and crushes everyone in their way.
and I don’t understand how I’m supposed to believe that this pathetic villain is supposed to be the Eldritch Horror that was Vitiate, lmao
he’s not the real Eldritch horror. He’s a … yet again, corrupt man with too much power. If I’m supposed to believe he is, supposedly, an eldritch horror of eternal life, like … sorry, but this is a far cry from KotOR II, in which we were actually given four actual eldritch horrors.
(“what do you mean four, izzy?” I mean Kreia is an Eldritch Horror, and so is the Exile, in addition to Darth Nihlus and Darth Sion. Horror is not a sadly predictable corrupted man, horror is the void of space meant to consume all life to feed an immense, unending, undying hunger. Horror is being forced to stay alive when all the agony and pain and suffering of a body torn asunder kept contained in a thin mortal coil surpasses all limitation on what life can feasibly endure. Horror is having your solid foundations and convictions and dignity stripped from you until all you are left with is hopelessness and no will to live. Horror is facing your convictions and realizing everything you are, everything you’ve done, everything you ever will be is meaningless, does not matter, and everything you touch will be swallowed by you.)
Maybe if his writing was actually nuanced I would be concerned or worried or even remotely scared of “The Emperor” but all I am is vaguely disgusted. Plus he’s a shitty Darth Nihlus rip off, tbh. Darth Nihlus deserved better 2kwhatever
Harsh, but alas. He’s just a sick sad man that is eventually put down like he deserves, and to be frank I don’t understand how the writers thought we should ever be scared of him
interactions i enjoyed the most
All of the companions together, in every iteration possible. If there was anything done right, it was the companions interacting with each other. Especially any/every scene with Koth, and Koth & Crew, in it.
Darth Marr and Master Shan. I’m so … jump down to ships that didn’t sail honestly.
the character who scares me the most
Vaylin. And she deserved so much better.
But, woo. Talk about presence, and the way they animated her stalking her prey? She was terrifying in the way that someone who can and will hurt you is fucking terrifying.
the character who is mostly like me
I want to say Theron, if only bc I am also a mess, need a vacation, don’t get enough sleep, and sometimes makes very little sense when I’m trying to process too much too quickly all at once.
hottest looks character
VAYLIN AND ARCANN
HONESTLY
Wow. Wowowow.
one thing i dislike about my fave character
Why the hell can’t I take Theron with me into the Star Fortresses. And why can’t I get +500 influence with him whenever I do the bonus quest? Why is it only the companion I take with me, when he’s there also witnessing this at the same time ??
wrt his character, I kind of dislike … how everyone whitewashes him. wtf, fandom. his parents are BOTH NONWHITE. WHY WOULD YOU MAKE HIM WHITE? FOR THE LOVE OF
I know that’s not what this question is asking but HONESTLY
one thing i like about my hated character
I like the eventual reveal that Valkorian is in fact a whiny pissant who’s afraid of death. That was vindicating, I felt vindicated.
a quote or scene that haunts me
Getting stabbed through the gut by a lightsaber really sucked. But, Rhendr being Rhendr was just like “Not … the first time this has happened.”
a death that left me indifferent
The Torian/Vette death was so shoehorned and senseless. I didn’t really feel anything except, lmao, that I expected it to be written as poorly as it was — and tbh it felt like such a betrayal to Vaylin’s character, moreso than the other two. Vette, the escape artist, somehow captured?
Torian, who has a literal jetpack, somehow captured?
Why these two, specifically? What purpose does it even serve?
And then Vaylin. They, the writers, were clearly so desperate to make Vaylin unlikable and unsymapthetic they wrote her senselessly killing one of the companions, purely to make it easier on the PC to kill her bc they couldn’t be bothered to write a way for us to save her like we could/can/do save Arcann.
Like … you cannot tell me that this wasn’t misogynistic. Writers chose to write it this way. They chose to write a broken abused child as being irredeemable when her brother, who actually committed genocide and equal if not worse heinous crimes against the galaxy, receives a redemption arc.
Like, repeated themes of people showing the ugly sides of mental illness being murdered, especially if they’re women, is a thing. That’s an actual thing. It’s not a unique or even interesting development. It’s been repeated ad nauseum and it’s, quite frankly, poor writing. =/
at that point of the story, I just stopped giving a shit, and just wanted to finish the story for the sake of finishing it — and then never touching it again.
a character i wish died but didn’t
No one ??? Oh you know what, Broonmark. My completionist ass had to save him, but I really wanted him dead. That was my own damn fault though.
my ship that never sailed
LANA and THERON
I just feel like, take out the PC/Outlander, and they still would have succeeded between the two of them. I feel this often about Bioware stories, actually (this is like … a repeated theme where the story, if you removed the PC, could still go on fine without them) but the galaxy could have survived without the PC with just the two of them.
They work really well together. They know each other. They support each other. Their flaws and their strengths balance the other’s. They just work, and I have no idea if the fandom ever considered it or not but, you know.
Not to say that I don’t ship other’s OCs and Theron (bc some people I follow I’m constantly like WOW @ their ocs lmao) but you know. This is the ship that didn’t sail.
Also … Darth Marr and Satele Shan.
I know, I know. BUT LISTEN. LISTEN. The way Darth Marr talks about Satele is just. My heart? Aches?
Honestly, the line: “But only one, in all the galaxy, was my equal.” The way it was delivered by Darth Marr about Satele Shan was just … there was a lot of emotion, and implications, in that one line. Whether intentional, or even returned, or not, it’s still there.
“We met on this world. We argued, explored… and found an understanding.”
Greater ships have sailed on less, tbph.
#silenthouse#long post for ts#I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY#THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO ANSWER goddddd#memes#meme: send me a fandom#D tag#Izzy talks swtor#swtor spoilers#kotfe spoilers#kotet spoilers#i guess ???#I am SO scathing holy shit#v: star wars
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this got long heheh whoops.
right. so. when i was little, my younger brother and i used to be close. we had a game we would always play, but it became less and less of "two siblings playing" and more and more of "one child playing and the other doing as told." i was the one being ordered around, btw. anyway i got sick of it around grade school one day when he told me how i would react to a certain situation, and that the way i was ACTUALLY reacting was wrong. we didn't know the term at rhe time, but he was basically telling me i was out of character…even though my "character" was literally just me. i told him off, he screamed at me for daring to insinuate that He, The Fourth Part Of The Holy Trinity, (and that's a whole other topic) was wrong, our parents showed up and yelled at us both because "we don't care who started it!!!" and now we barely tolerate each other.
anyway here's the kicker. after This Mess he used to repeatedly tell me in gruesome detail how he would have me executed by firing squad when (not if) he took over the world to rule it with an iron fist. one time he threw a whole-ass thomas the tank engine wooden bridge one-and-a-half feet long directly at my head and then tried to claim that my anger-induced blackout that followed was What Happened First So It Was Self-Defense, Ackshully. he would mutter scathing insults under his breath and claim it was his internal monologue and that we were all mind-readers getting mad at him for Thinking Thoughts At All. he kept trying to insist inanimate objects had a will of their own and were always to blame if he were to trip or something. (which. wouldn't be too bad if he didn't treat allegedly-sentient beings in ways that would get him arrested for assault and battery if he did them to a person or animal)
he hasn't changed, by the way. like at all. he just sighs patronizingly whenever we contradict him about any of this, as if he's right and knows he's right and we're all idiots he'll never be able to convince, woe be upon us. basically if reality isn't as he says it is Then Reality And Everyone Else In It Is Wrong.
ANYWAY. THIS IS ALL JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG AND ALSO BUILDUP TO MY QUESTION. my family and friends don't understand how i'm always "antagonizing" (read: "fearful of" and "avoidant of") him or why i cringe at the sound of his voice (read: why my fight-or-flight goes off whenever he talks, and doubly so when he whispers), and almost all of them actively enjoy his presence. whenever i try to put these things behind me like the "mature adult" everyone tells me i need to be, he pulls some shit like muttering "just another apology you owe me" and pisses me off juuust enough to make me glare at him, thereby siccing The Angry Parents on us both. i can't move out at this point in time, and i doubt he ever will. am i in the wrong for not wanting to forgive him, and daydreaming about cutting him out entirely?
God, I'm really sorry you're related to that. This story was completely bewildering to read, that is a whole lot of entitlement, ignorance, forceful and controlling behaviour, gaslighting and imposement of lies you had to endure. By the way you react to him now, it's obvious he traumatized you really badly, and took every advantage of being your sibling to hurt and control you.
You are absolutely not in the wrong, you should be protected and safe from such a harmful, abusive and creepy sibling. I would avoid that by a wide margin. I wholeheartedly support you cutting him off at your soonest convenience. Any forgiveness would immediately invite more abuse and you can tell that. People putting pressure on you to expose yourself to more of that are so deeply in the wrong they should be ashamed. You deserve a life free of this.
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So this entire thing basically came about because of a silly discussion and that gave me a small idea, but then this morning I got another one so I had to do something with it I guess.
@alexhandersen-marcoilsoe-fandom, @vikingstrash, and @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie, this one’s for you.
Sugar
You weren’t entirely sure when this entire thing had started, but you found it difficult to stop now. You kept coming up with the most ridiculous reasons to go up to Hvitserk and Ivar’s apartment and borrowing stuff from them was as good a reason as any. It had all started with the oldest trick in the book.
“Sugar?”
“Yeah. I ran out.” Hvitserk was having a hard time not laughing out loud at your, quite frankly ridiculous, request. “Do you guys have any?”
“Probably? I’m in charge of the snacks, I don’t buy any of other stuff. That’s Ivar’s job.” He jerked his head in the direction of the kitchen and you followed him. “This may take a while.”
You stood in the doorway as Hvitserk started pulling open all the cabinets and drawers. The way that he kept bending over made it feel like he was giving you a show of kinds and you really didn’t mind that one bit, because Hvitserk always wore the skinniest jeans known to man and they emphasized his long legs and his ass perfectly. You made small mental notes of the things that he pulled out of cabinets so you’d know what to ask for at a later time. Rice, pasta, honey, tea bags… you could keep this ridiculous thing going for ages.
“What the fuck are you doing!” All your attention had been so incredibly focused on Hvitserk’s ass, that you nearly jumped a foot in the air when Ivar suddenly materialised next to you. “Look at this mess!”
“I’ll put it back,” Hvitserk waved a hand in Ivar’s direction and didn’t even bother to look up. “She needs some sugar.”
“What!” Ivar looked at you and then back at Hvitserk again. “And why the hell would we keep the sugar down there?”
“I don’t know, man.” Hvitserk sat down on the floor and smiled at you apologetically. “Do we even have any?”
“Of course we do. We’re not fucking heathens.”
“What’s that got to do with it?”
“Someone might want sugar in their tea.”
“Who?” They’d probably never even had anyone over that drank tea. Beer seemed to be the usual beverage of choice. “So where is it?” Ivar moved into the kitchen, opened the door of one of the top cabinets and pulled out a bag of sugar. “Ah. I was going to look there next.”
“Yeah, sure you were.” Ivar hit Hvitserk’s leg with his crutch and then handed you the bag of sugar. “Bring that back when you’re done.”
“Sure thing. In case anyone wants sugar in their tea.”
Hvitserk snorted with laughter and before Ivar could deliver a scathing reply, you muttered a quick goodbye and got out of there as fast as you could.
“Sugar? What the hell kind of excuse was that?” Hvitserk shrugged and started putting everything that he’d taken out back in again. “You’re doing it wrong, moron!”
You had no idea how many things you had borrowed by now, but after going through almost the entire contents of their kitchen you decided that you needed a new approach.
“DIY?” Hvitserk scratched at his chin as he regarded you curiously. “I know how to use a hammer if that’s what you mean.”
“Good enough for me,” you replied with a smile. “I need to hang a mirror and I’m not allowed to go near hammers anymore.”
“Not allowed?,” he said with a laugh. “You got told off by the DIY police?”
“Something like that. Trust me, you don’t want to know.” He didn’t have to know that you always fixed everything in your apartment yourself. This was just a little white lie to get him into your apartment. “Could you do it for me?”
“Sure. You need me to do it right now?”
“Tomorrow?” You needed time to set your little plan in motion. It would be ruined if he came with you now. “Say, two in the afternoon?”
“I’ll be there.”
He shook his head when you walked away, headed back into the living room and dropped down on the couch.
“What did she want now?”
“DIY.”
“What the hell.” Ivar sighed deeply. “This has been going on for ages. Why don’t you just ask her out already?”
“What? I think it’s cute.” Hvitserk threw a handful of popcorn in Ivar’s direction. “Are you jealous?”
“Why the hell would I be jealous?”
“You know what, why don’t you go round tomorrow and hang that mirror for her.” Ivar was ready to launch into a tirade about how their downstairs neighbour obviously had the hots for Hvitserk, but then his brother used the same line that he’d been using for many years. “Or are you chicken?”
“Fuck off.” Hvitserk started making chicken noises from his sofa until Ivar threw the remote at his head. “Fine! I’ll go! Fucking asshole.”
*****
The idea that you’d had was absolutely fucking genius. It was foolproof.
You’d leave the front door ajar (that was the only part that was slightly risky), Hvitserk would come in, call your name and you’d tell him that you were in the bathroom. He’d walk in, find you completely naked because guess what? You’d run completely out of towels. You would ask for his shirt to dry yourself off with and voila, he’d finally end up in your bed. Surely a guy like Hvitserk would appreciate the effort that you’d put in, right?
You knew he liked you, because he’d started flirting with you from the moment that you’d moved in. His brother, Ivar, was also hot as hell, but he was more difficult to gauge. Hvitserk was easygoing whereas Ivar was standoffish. It hardly mattered now anyway. You’d finally get Hvitserk where you had wanted him for a while, that was the most important thing.
He’d be here at around two. You knew that punctuality wasn’t exactly his thing, so you had taken it into account that he might show up a bit later. Again, it didn’t matter. You’d stuffed all your towels into various clothes drawers to really make it seem like you had just magically run out at the exact moment that he’d shown up. You got out of the shower a little bit before two, just in case Hvitserk was going to be on time, but left the tap on to make it seem like you’d forgotten at what time he was going to show.
A voice called out your name and your heart started beating furiously inside your chest. This was really happening. “I’m in here!” You turned the shower off and swore just loud enough for him to hear. “I’m so sorry! I forgot the time. Just thought I’d have a quick shower.” You pulled the door open, water running down your skin in little rivulets and you put your hand on your forehead to feign stupidity at your current situation. “Can you believe that there aren’t any…” Ivar was standing on the other side of the door, eyes wide and looking you up and down. “...towels left…” For a few seconds, you thought about attempting to cover yourself up with your hands, but it was probably a little bit too late for that now. “Oh fuck.”
“No towels?” He squeaked and then cleared his throat. “How does that even happen?”
“Clumsy?”
“That’s not clumsy, that’s just plain stupid.” You saw his lip curl up as his eyes roamed up and down your body again. “You want me to go back upstairs to get you a towel?”
“What I want is your shirt.” Ivar looked at you with raised eyebrows, not entirely sure what you meant with that. You had somewhat expected that Hvitserk was going to be the one to come to your aid, but Ivar hadn’t exactly run out on you just yet so you just rolled with it. “To dry myself off with.”
Ivar didn’t respond immediately, briefly making you think that this absolutely genius plan had failed completely, but then he took off his shirt in one fluid movement and handed it to you. You had to work really hard to stop your jaw from dislocating when you finally caught sight of his toned chest and used his shirt to cover your face for a few seconds so you could regain your cool. Then you held it in front of your body and gave him a look that you hoped was seductive.
Instead, Ivar took his mobile out of his pocket, aimed the camera at you and took a picture. He tapped on the screen and then you could hear a noise that told you that he had just sent a message. You wanted to ask him what he had just done, but he simply held his finger up to you to silently indicate that you had to wait. About a minute later, you heard a great big crash coming from upstairs followed by loud swearing. You could hear Hvitserk stumbling around in the back of their apartment where his bedroom was which was promptly followed by more swearing.
Ivar turned the screen in your direction with a smirk to show you that he’d just sent a picture of you to his brother and that Hvitserk had sent him back a message that simply read “HOLY SHIT”.
“He’s typing again.”
You moved in close to Ivar so you could look at the screen together and then another message popped onto the screen.
“I am coming downstairs. NOW.”
Ivar put the phone back in his pocket and reached out so he could squeeze your ass. “He was still in bed when I went downstairs so what do you say about us getting started already, hm? To give him something to walk in on?” You giggled and then nodded quickly. “Good girl…”
#vikings#vikings au#hvitserk lothbrok#hvitserk ragnarsson#ivar lothbrok#ivar ragnarsson#hvitserk x reader#ivar x reader#silliness#just me having a laugh#mar writes
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What are your favorite voice lines for each survivor and why? (for example, I die when Nick says "you are the first three people in the world I have ever trusted")
I think I have one for everyone (or at least, one picked outta a few favourites) but I really struggled for a coupla them lol
I know and love a lot of these lines because I play on a lovely modded server where a lot of people use voice mods, and I've heard a lot of these lines from the players there, so if they seem random or you've never heard them before that's why! a lot of em are one-off saferoom lines, or dialogue dependent on doing something specific with a certain character. that's also why I seem to gravitate towards the funny one-liners, but there's some more serious/story-related ones here too
also this post ended up being so fucking long! sorry about that! I put a cut in the middle so it's easier to scroll past
Louis:
Louis: "But you know, as long as I have a Molotov I can make a firewall! Get it Francis? A firewall?"
Louis is my favourite and he's got so many banging lines so you'd think this one would be hard for me to choose, but I had to go with this one! the line's originally from The Sacrifice but it's a favourite for Louis players with voice mods. thanks to that, I've got a lotta good memories associated with it from that modded server I talked about. first time I heard it I genuinely laughed because the punchline being that funny caught me off guard. the joke is adorable, very fitting for his character, and the reactions are priceless:
Zoey: "Oh, boooo."
Francis: "You're such a nerd."
honourable mention to any conversation about Bill being old because that shit's funny every time
Francis:
Francis: "Groovy."
Louis/Zoey: [Short laugh]
Francis: "What's so funny? It is groovy."
alternatively:
Francis: "Groovy."
Zoey: "[Imitating] Groovy."
Francis: "A-FRICKIN'-men."
honestly could have picked any line for Francis because he's so funny but this one is the one that makes me laugh most consistently. that's. that's it really. I just think it's funny. he says this when he picks up an auto shotgun
honourable mention to when he thinks Riverside is in Canada, and any line where he calls Louis 'Louie' because I'm a Frouis shipper and I read into that as a cute endearing nickname :)
Zoey:
Zoey: "Sorry. I can't lower the bridge."
Nick: "That's terrific, cupcake. Look, is there a man up there we can talk to?"
Zoey: "Oh, boo-hoo, I don't know what to do. Go to hell, Colonel Sanders!"
most of Zoey's funny lines are parts of other running jokes, references that I don't get or very tied to the context of the campaign, so it was actually kinda hard to pick one. I love all of her lines as well which didn't make it easier. but this one has stuck out to me since I first played The Passing because it's brilliant. Nick deserves every scathing insult he gets in that campaign <3
honourable mention to basically all her other lines. especially the ones in The Sacrifice because they cut DEEP her voice actress really went for it christ it hurts
DIShonourable mention to her death scream it's so goddamn LONG and the many hours I've sunk into Tank Challenge have left me hating it with a passion, stop screaming at me I'm doing my best
Bill:
Zoey: "You think one day it's all just gonna go back to normal?"
Bill: "I'll see peace back on earth if I gotta murder every one of these bastards with my bare goddamn hands."
I think this line is just a great example of Bill's character really, and actually prompts an interesting train of thought as to how his hopes for the future shifted from No Mercy to The Sacrifice; originally, they seemed much more aligned with Zoey's, possibly part of the reason she felt so betrayed later. also it just sounds cool. it's from the hospital elevator in No Mercy.
honourable mention to this cut line of Bill pickin up an incapped survivor because I think it's really sweet:
Bill: "Bein' brave doesn't mean you're not scared. It means you're scared as hell, and then you pick up the shotgun anyway."
Left 4 Dead 2 survivors under the cut:
Ellis:
Ellis: "If the laws of nature would allow it, I would bear that man's children."
it really couldn't be anything else. I mean, it could, because everything that comes outta this guy's mouth is funny, but I cannot believe this line is real. I love it. as y'all probably know this one's from Dead Center.
honourable mention to every Keith story, and all of his 'Taunt' and 'Argh' lines from the voicewheel. seriously my favourite part of this character is his lines we could be here all day.
Nick:
Nick: "I am breathing shit air into my lungs. It is being absorbed into my bloodstream. I am literally full of shit."
does this make me immature? perhaps. again, I really struggled to pick for Nick, but like many others on the list my reasoning is just that I find this one funny. he sounds so disgusted.
honourable mention to all of his whining about his suit, mostly because the others' responses are golden. and obviously his swearing. because again, I'm immature.
Rochelle:
Rochelle: "Axe me a question, I dare you."
I have such a weakness for bad jokes. first Louis's firewall joke, now this. it's just the way she says it I think. wow my sense of humour is fucked. this one's a possible voice line for when Rochelle picks up a fire axe
honourable mention to all of the funny things she says when she's on low HP, and "Dibbs on Gibbs!" when she sees an infected Jimmy Gibbs Jr.
Coach:
Coach: "I find a Burger Tank in this place? I'm-a be a one-man cheeseburger apocalypse."
Ellis: "Well, Coach? I aim to let you."
I hear this line every time I play Dark Carnival - which, considering how much the playerbase loves Dark Carnival, is a lot - and it just makes me smile, especially since they re-added the previously cut line from Ellis in The Last Stand update. also, it reminds me of my first introduction to the L4D2 characters, "Steamed Hams but it's Coach and Nick", which is a masterpiece of video.
honourable mention to his opening line from the trailer, which sets the tone and introduces the character brilliantly, and would have been a great first introduction if my real first introduction hadn't been a Steamed Hams meme.
this post took a surprising amount of time and effort. holy shit. you're welcome ig lmao
#l4d#left 4 dead#l4d2#left 4 dead 2#time to tag every character!#louis l4d#francis l4d#zoey l4d#bill l4d#ellis l4d2#nick l4d2#rochelle l4d2#coach l4d2#i think this is my first post with all of them in#blimey#jrrrambles
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Imagine this: You are at a small party and you get bored with all the mindless chattering and gossip. You say you need some fresh air and head outside. Sighing, you place your wine glass down on a table and take off your heels. "Good evening.", a voice calls out from behind you. Your eyes meet mesmerizing scarlet. You know this man. But does he know you? "May I have this dance, my fellow outcast?" Smiling as you cringe at his words, you take his hand. (1/2)
Holy shit, Anon!
Before I start, I need to tell you that I am obsessed with this ask, and literally started mentally writing this the MINUTE I read through. Please pardon a little creative license; I couldn't resist. Hope you enjoy!
Edit 22 Oct. 2021- As a special request, there is another part to this fic, told from Gil’s perspective this time. Thank you for reading!
It isn't as hard to slip away from the festivities as it should be; everyone is already so deep into their drinks that they wouldn't really notice even if you did made an effort to announce your departure.
You take the miracle at face value however, weaving through various groups and couples to the kitchen, topping up your single glass of wine and stealing a few pieces of food.
For a few minutes, all is quiet in your little haven, only the soft lighting from the stove and a jack-o-lantern keeping you company. You finish off a few bites, and just as you're about to grab some more food, a couple stumbles through the doorway, oblivious to everyone and everything.
Deciding you would rather leave than interrupt them, you slip out the back door, closing it softly behind you.
Sunset is painting the sky in vibrant lilac and rose, birdsong still carrying across the yard. The day is still fairly warm, and you slip your shoes off with a sigh, wiggling your toes through the grass as you make your way to a white bistro set.
There are two empty chairs, and you happily take the nearest one, setting your glass on the table, happy to melt into the iron.There is nothing except the beautiful sky and a newfound inner peace. Blessed silence after all the hullabaloo and gossipmongering from the past hour.
"G'evenin'."
Dammit.
You hadn't noticed anyone else slipping outside, or hanging out in the yard. And now you'll have to make small talk again and feign interest in whatever pointless topics come up. Terrific.
Not bothering to even glance at your companion, who is already making himself comfortable in the other chair, you offer a frustrated sigh. "Hi."
"Oof. Little bitterness there."
Whoever he is, he sounds concerned, if not bemused.
Despite your irritation at having your privacy interrupted, you don your manners once more, turning to him with a smile you don't really feel. "Long night, sorry."
He hums. "That I get. More like a long week I think."
The admission and his tone have you breathing out the ghost of a laugh. "You got me there."
He's surprisingly quiet for a few minutes, seemingly just as content as you are to watch the skyscape. You find you're not nearly as uncomfortable with the company as you would have expected.
Subtly, you try to figure out exactly who he is, though the design of his mask makes it absolutely impossible. Really, the only thing you can make out are his eyes, a vibrant red you're sure are contacts.
You can't help but ogle his costume; he's dressed as if he stepped right out of a portrait, and if you didn't know better you would swear that was a genuine sapphire resting against his chest. And then there's his mask-
Scarlet eyes flicker your way, his lips turning up in a grin when he realizes you've been staring. "See something you like?"
You're far too embarrassed, yet somehow- "Jury's still out."
The grin grows even bigger, showing off the fangs that complete his ensemble.
With how pale he is, you mentally decide, it's the perfect outfit for him.
You had thrown yours together on a whim, using a thrifted evening dress, hand-me-down jewelry, and a fake tiara you had worn a few times during your childhood. Ironically, the only part of your ensemble that was expensive is the mask itself, a custom piece that cost more than the rest of your outfit put together.
Now, sitting next to someone who looks like he stepped out of the 1800s, obnoxiously blue jacket and all, you feel a little underdressed, the feeling passing by as you realize he's discarded his own shoes and socks sometime ago.
There's something familiar about him, his slight slouch teasing at a memory from long ago.
You would think, considering how few people are actually here, you would recognize him, would be able to figure out who he is.
But his eyes are strangers to you, his voice is... unique.
The not-knowing is more aggitating than his company, enough that it is the sole reason for your next words to him.
"As lovely as this has been, do you mind?"
There's no real expression on his face as he turns to you. "Nope. Do you?"
That was a challenge. You can see it in his eyes, heard the playful hitch in his voice. God help you, he's annoying.
"Yes, actually." Deciding to press further, because why-the-hell not, you offer your own challenge. "You're interrupting my alone time."
"Pardon the intrusion, milady, but I'm pretty sure this is neutral territory."
"I was here first," you retort, a bit childishly.
He snorts, folding his arms across his chest, falling further into his chair, posture absolutely intended to mock you. "Were you, though?"
Dammit, he had you.
You shoot him a scathing look, one that was frankly just a little on the playful side, before folding your own arms and pretending to scowl at the setting sun.
A few more minutes pass, before you hear his voice again. "So..." he says, dragging out the sound in a pointed attempt at getting you to talk to him.
You ignore him, or you attempt to at least. It's kind of hard to do that when he's standing now, just inside your peripheral, head turned towards the heavens.
Finally realizing that you have no plans of responding, he takes another step, now more-or-less directly in your line of sight. "Why're you alone out here? Party's inside, ya know."
You level an unamused stare at his pointed question, a hint of bemusement coating your reply. "I could ask you the same thing."
He smirks, some quick, passing thing, before he hides it behind a small sip of his beer. "Touché."
Somehow, that brief exchange has revitalized you, and you take another drink from your wine, watching some birds make their final rounds for the evening.
The sky is shifting, darkening with each passing moment. And inside, the party is getting louder, laughter carrying out to you from the still partially open door.
He glances back towards the house, an odd expression on his face. You follow his gaze, almost instinctively, turning back to him curiously when you can't determine the cause of his- Discomfort? Irritation?
"You ever just want to run away?"
His question takes you by surprise, and you feel your heart constrict when his focus once more turns to you, achingly familiar eyes seemingly- haunted.
Whatever annoyance you had held previously is gone, replaced with something you don’t really recognize.
Trying to ignore it, you nearly default to the normal lie that comes with small talk, especially with strangers, but there's something so familiar about him-
You give yourself a minute to actually weigh his question, tasting different answers on your tongue. It teases you, the temporary daydream of just hitting the road, abandoning everything and everyone you know to start a new life elsewhere.
After a few moments- really, it could have been an Infinity or merely seconds- you have your answer.
"I'd be lying if the thought didn't appeal to me sometimes."
He hums, sounding somewhat detached, turning once more to study the treeline. There's a heaviness around him now, an aura that almost hurts to see.
"Something tells me it's been on your mind lately?"
He studies you for some time, and maybe it's the lighting or just the contacts, but you could swear his eyes are almost glowing. Finally he offers a small shrug, all that negativity seeming to disappear into thin air.
"Eh. Comes and goes. Let's just say my cousin's really pissing me off."
You huff a laugh at the statement, thinking of your own loved ones inside, and how tipsy they were already when you first slipped outside. "Family, am I right?"
He hisses slightly, apparently his own form of laughter, that smile once more teasing the left corner of his mouth.
Silence reclaims the pair of you for a few more moments, and as awkward as it could have been- He's good company. After spending so long having to mindlessly chatter about the weather and ambitions, it was nice to simply breathe.
Your companion- it’s still bothering you that you don’t know his name- seems as at ease as you are, content to lean against the table as if he owns the place.
The sunlight is almost completely gone now, the waxing moon taunting you from behind a few scattered clouds painted in amethyst. The stars are not so shy, several distinct constellations already twinkling above you.
With the coming night, there's a chill creeping closer, a crispness to the air that has you sighing in contentment.
He seems to mistake the sound, eyes flashing with concern as he turns back to you. "Cold?"
Your denial is barely even formed before his jacket is over your shoulders, his lingering warmth already starting to seep into your bones.Your mouth opens in a small protest- Seriously, how dare he just assume!- but seeing how instinctively he had done it, how it almost seemed his second-nature-
Rather than offer up any protests, you sigh out a small thank you, and soon slide your arms into the sleeves, marveling at how warm the damn thing is despite how thin it is.
There is another round of laughter inside, and someone decides to raise the volume of the speakers.
Some orchestral piece is playing, a haunting melody that you felt befit a Gothic novel, a spellbinding spectrum of emotions carrying past the still opened door.
You see your companion shift, straightening his posture as he turns his attention back to you. Curious, brow raising slightly, you glance over at him, wondering at his next move.
Shockingly, he's bowing, a right, proper bow, before standing upright once more, a soft smile just noticeable. "May I have this dance, my fellow outcast?"
Oh God-
"You are ridiculous," you're laughing out, even as you take his offered hand.
He's grinning again, a playful look that fits him far better than some of the ones he's had on before. "It's all part of my charm!"
You're rolling your eyes, still smiling despite yourself.
It's only when he's guiding your hands to a ballroom position that you feel the first flickers of panic. You had been expecting maybe some swaying or just kind of shuffling, not-
"Relax, would ya?"
You meet his eyes, immediately reassured by the soft expression there, eased from that inexplicable familiarity. He isn't going to pressure you, and somehow you know he will always have your back.
"Just follow my lead; I've got ya."
You believe him.
Despite not even knowing his name, what a majority of his face looks like, or even what accent that is-
You believe him, and you decide to trust him.
Letting go is a strange sensation, one you're not entirely sure you dislike. He seems to know you're a novice, goes at a tempo that he can easily guide you through. Despite never having danced like this before, a few moments in you feel as if a part of you has been reawakened, the next steps coming to you before he begins to move into them.
He seems almost proud of your progress, your dance becoming more a partnership with each passing moment.
The song had shifted a long while ago- now some creepy lofi piece with samplings from a children's cartoon- yet your pace remained the same.
"So..." He puts out into the air, a pensive prompt that has you smiling.
"So," you repeat curiously.
There's another weird expression, fading away before you can analyze it.
"What's your name?"
Maybe it's the thrill of anonymity, or maybe you're too caught up in the giddiness of your newly discovered talent. Instead of giving him a straight answer, you playfully offer: "Someone smarter than Cinderella's Prince Charming."
Pensive, you offer an extra thought. "I know the power of a name; who knows what you'd do with it."
The comment seems to amuse him, that achingly familiar smile returning as he guides you into a dip. He hovers there for a moment, slightly pensive. "You know, Prince Charming is a lot smarter than you give him credit for."
He's guiding you back up, his eyes glowing once you're upright again. "He could do more with his beloved's name than she could even begin to imagine."
That last line, a whisper meant just for the two of you, is digging at you, tugging at some memory buried deep, deep in your subconscious.
There's something there, a name starting to shape on your lips-
But then he's doing that half-shrug again, dismissing the exchange entirely. "No matter. Keep your secrets, princess."
The last word was spoken with such fondness that your heart actually skipped a beat.
He barely gives you a moment to process, pulling you into a different routine that soon has the rest of the world fading away again. You let yourself forget everything else for a while; you exist only in this moment, dancing on the grass with a stranger.
Except, he's not a stranger, is he?
God help you, you know this is the first time you've met him, know that you've never interacted with this man before in your life, but you know him.
With every minute you spend with him, you imagine all kinds of moments with him-
Laughter as he wipes chocolate cake off his cheek from an impromptu food fight, annoyance at his cousin's lecturing, the soft smile of pride as he listens to his brother's speech.
And dammit, he never even mentioned having a brother.
But the daydreams keep coming.
Holding his hand in some cobblestoned square, racing through the woods, collapsing into a freshly constructed snow fort, lazing in bed running your fingers through his hair while he reads aloud-
They're so vivid that you're starting to wonder if you lived an entire life with him already.
And God, doesn't that make you sound so ridiculous.
You've only just met this guy, literally know maybe five things about him, and yet you're already imagining a future with him.
Life isn't some fairietale, and despite the tiara you're wearing for the night, you are not a princess. Shit like this isn't real.
But the way he's looking at you, watching you with such vulnerability and longing-
He's pulling you closer, your eyes drifting shut reflexively.
You feel his breath teasing your neck, his hand pulling you closer to him.
You-
A familiar voice is calling your name.
You barely hear it over the sound of your racing heart beat, over his. Your eyes flash open in irritation, though not at him. Never at him.
"It's not midnight yet."
Given the circumstances, the weight of his hand on your back, how tantalizingly close he is, and the inexplicable gravity you've long since stopped denying, his growl actually elicits a laugh, pained as it is.
"Sadly even the most rebellious of us princesses still have curfews."
He groans in frustration, arms wrapping around you in a hug, his forehead dropping against your own. "Don't. I-" His eyes are meeting yours again, darkened by expanded irises and still nearly sparkling for how vibrant the red is.
"Run away with me."
It's a whisper, a plea. It echoes through your entire heart and soul, that aching a crescendo of longing and adoration.You would give anything to stay with him, would follow him in a heartbeat.
But you have a family, a job, responsibilities. You can't abandon them, even at the risk of never seeing him again.
"I'm sorry," you force out, the agony resounding from every last inch of your soul.
You never meant the words as much as you mean them now, your own heart breaking in your decision.
You step away from him, shedding his jacket and turning away.You know if you look at him, if you see his face, if you glance at his eyes once more time-
You manage five steps before he's choking out your name. You close your eyes at the pain in his voice, but it's not enough.
He's used your name, and the sound of it from his lips, the weight of it on your spirit, it's too much for you to resist.
You're turning again, once again struck by how devastatingly handsome he is right now, how much sway he already has over you.
Every one of his approaching steps, each more confident than the last, is increasing the tempo of your heartbeat, filling you to the brim with anticipation.
It's ridiculous, impossible.
Yet you can't lie to yourself. Not about this.
"Please."
He's barely an arm's distance away from you now, hair haloed and features shadowed from the nearby sconces. And those damned eyes-
"N-"
He's murmuring your name again, slowly, hypnotically, shaping it as if he's savoring the flavor, enjoying how it feels.
You really want to ignore the effect it has on you, but he's whispering it again, not giving you a moment's mercy.
"Come with me."
You're powerless to resist.
"Yes."
#aph prussia#prussia x reader#ambiguously vampire gilbert because why not#hws prussia#gilbert beilschmidt x reader#readerfic#halloween party#masquerade#technically#not my best work but seriously i didn't even edit this i just had to get it /down/#hetalia prussia#aph gilbert beilschmidt#hetalia gilbert beilschmidt#hetalia x reader#aph x reader#anon asks#anon ask#anon prompt#like holy hell anon how did you know i needed gil content????#...tbh i don't even know if this was supposed to be gil but i read it as gil and#hi ^_^;#hello lovelies!#prussia reader insert#hws gilbert beilschmidt
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bane of the devil. | ii
genre: vampire!jaehyun
pairings: jaehyun x female reader
important note: the au’s i write for nct members do not, in any way, reflect them in real life. they are only my muses for my writing and an addition to enliven my fictions! ♡
“father, i must confess
i tasted the devil,
orison in my lips
with blood on his teeth,
how could he taste like
honeysuckle,
the bitter tang of revulsion,
and the carnage of war?
father, i kissed the devil
even if i should not
will you punish me
now that i see burnish gold
in his hands
instead of blood?”
— bane of the devil // ii
A nervous chuckle broke free out of your mouth by the mention of the word ‘vampire’. Agitation filled your whole body; your fingers started to shake, your heart beating in frenetic patterns inside your chest. Jaehyun laid still, all bloodied and nearly unconscious on the sofa.
“Are you crazy?” You managed to croak, the tightness in your throat making it hard for you to speak.
Perhaps the pain of his laceration made him delusional. Perhaps Johnny told him about the death of your parents. Perhaps he knows about your obsession towards vampires. Perhaps, perhaps—
“A little bit out of my mind, yes.” His chest and shoulders vibrated by the toneless chuckle his mouth released. “Crazy? No.” Jaehyun’s eyes were still closed, but a playful smile was displayed on his lips. You have no idea how could he smile despite of his situation. He must be really deranged.
“You must be in so much pain,” you sympathized. A single paper cut hurts like hell, what more when it’s a long gash in your stomach? The mere thought was enough to make you recoil in your seat. So, you tried not to dwell in Jaehyun’s pain as you continued to sew his skin back together.
“I don’t feel anything at all.” Then he sat up from the sofa and brought his forefinger to the wound. He pressed his finger down on the incision, causing his blood to gush down his jeans.
You slapped his hand away, while he chuckles as if he enjoys seeing his blood. “What the hell?!”
“See?” he sighed before leaning back on the sofa. Sinister as it was, you have decided to just ignore his remarks and focus on the needle and thread instead. But Jaehyun seemed to be having the time of his life as he pushed on yet another statement, “How I wish I could drink my own blood.”
Bony faces, sunken cheeks, withered bodies— those were what was left of your parents’ once healthy features when you saw them lying on the metal beds in the morgue, their eyes lifeless. The same image went crashing back in your mind as you heard Jaehyun’s utterance. As much as you wanted to lash out on him for being insensitive, you could not bring yourself to now that you weren’t sure whether Johnny really told him about your mother and father’s demise.
“I don’t mean to offend, but…” your teeth twiddled with your bottom lip, Jaehyun silent beside you, “Are you… mentally ill or something?”
It’s impolite to pry. But if you would sleep in a roof with a man who nonchalantly brushes off his injuries like it was just a small scratch and not a long gash, you’ve guessed you needed to know how to walk the attenuated thread that seems to bind his sanity together. You trust you brother— despite him selling your apartment without having a word with you— you’ve met some of his friends before, and you still believe that Jaehyun is not a bad person. And that you hadn’t been wrong to allow him inside the house.
“I am not,” he finally answered after minutes of being lost for words.
“Then why did you tell me that you’re a vampire?”
“Because I am.”
There was a certain rise of intonation in his words that you have a difficulty distinguishing if it was a question or a statement.
“Did Johnny order you to do this? To scare me by standing bloodied in my doorway, and to frighten me more by saying you are a vampire? Because it’s not funny.” You slammed the lid of the sewing kit shut, breathing heavily while looking at Jaehyun. Your fingers imprinted the lid with blood.
His infamous smirk was plastered on his face in a blink, displaying his dimples. He gripped the arm of the sofa then sat up, his eyes boring into yours. “First, no one orders me around. Secondly, I don’t know shit about what you’ve just said. And yes, I think you really need to be frightened because I really am a blood-sucking bastard.”
Jaehyun bared his teeth, his two fangs elongating— Before. Your. Very. Eyes. The ravaging of your heart inside your chest was unbearable. The widening of your eyes would have been enough to let your eyeballs roll off your eye sockets.
Are you going to die now? Are you going to die just like your mother and father; lifeless eyes, wasted body? Mom and Dad. They died in such a terrible way. A cruel death for two loving souls. And they were killed by a vampire— like the monster in front of you. You grabbed the sewing kit— it’s stupid, it’s hopeless but you need to stay alive— and slammed it into Jaehyun’s face.
His face turned sideways by the impact. If a different person would put his shoes on yours right now, the person would surely collapse because of fear. But you’ve anticipated this all your life— this is your purpose. To meet a vampire, to kill a vampire. However, you are still just a person; petrified of the undead.
Breathing ragged with your heart nearly collapsing, you ran for the kitchen and rummage through the drawers to find a vinegar. Before you could sprint away from him, you need to at least injure him first. The rosary standing near the altar behind the television waved at you, you grabbed it until the cross dug in your palm.
With a vinegar in one hand, and a rosary in the other, you dashed back to the living room. Where Jaehyun sat as if he was on a vacation. His arms were laying stretched out on the head of the sofa, his eyes observing you with deviltry in them.
“Begone! You monster!” You opened the lid and threw him the vinegar, the liquid splashing on his body, on the floors and some on your own shoes. The smell of it whiffing your nose, making it itch. It would scorch Jaehyun, that’s for certain.
With the rosary raised by your hand, you shut your eyes and started chanting prayers. “Our Father, Who art in heaven, Holy be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth—”
Then a howl. You opened your eyes and saw Jaehyun lying on the floor, he was in a fetal position while screaming. You did it! Without waiting for him to recover, you grabbed your phone and ran for the door. As you gripped the doorknob, the howl of pain echoing around the room was replaced by howls of laughters.
Jaehyun is laughing.
You turned around with narrowed brows. He was kneeling on the floors now, clutching his stomach while laughing. His shoulders continued to vibrate, his laughs enveloping the whole space.
“Why—? How?” was your breathless question.
“Damn, that was hilarious.” Then he slowly got up on his feet, a low laugh escaping from his lips even now. He took a step towards you, while you backed away from him.
His hands was raised in shoulder length in an instant, “Whoa. I’m not going to bite you,” he chuckled, then he raised a brow, “not unless you want me to.”
Every young adult romance books who has a cocky man as their main character had that line in one of their pages at least. It was enough to make you cringe just reading it in a book, but to be told the same thing in real life was like a dirt you could not wash off your body.
“Why… why aren’t you scathed?” You observe his body from head to toe, not a trace of scorched skin could be seen in his pale features. “Are you just fucking around?” An infinitesimal dismay bubbled up in your heart by the realization. You could have killed him, you could have taken vengeance for the death of your parents. Could you, truly? If you weren’t even sure about your theories, if you do not even have any idea about the face of their murderer?
“I am a vampire, babygirl.” He continued to advance to you, until your back was against the plain walls of your house, with Jaehyun’s one hand pressed to the walls beside your head. “So you better pack and move out tomorrow before I suck all the blood from your body.”
This close, you could see his lashes fanning his cheeks. They haven’t mistaken when they wrote vampires as terrifying yet beautiful creatures. Jaehyun is stunning. All the papers plastered on your blackboard slowly came to life through him. You have primed yourself for this day, yet the weak side of being human ate you up as you stood unmoving, eyes focused on Jaehyun and Jaehyun’s face only. They were right when they said vampires were mesmerizing.
You could not move a muscle to defend yourself. With a heavy heart, you braced yourself for your end.
“Hatred. So much hatred.” Jaehyun sniffed at you, you blinked. What is he doing? “Your blood would taste bitter on my tongue,” he stated, breath fanning your face. It smelled like cigarette, cigarette and mint. “You are so full of hate. Why?”
Then he took a step back, before running his hand through his hair. “Go.” His playful façade was back when he looked at you as if he’s going to pounce on you anytime sooner. “Lock your doors and don’t leave. Johnny told me to keep you safe, so don’t try to run. Because I will know.”
You should bolt out of the house and away from him, it’s preposterous if you won’t. Staying and sleeping in your bed should be out of the choices.
Where else would you go, though? Haechan’s? The little devil would surely squeeze the reasons out of you if ever you decide to stay the night in his house. Mark’s? He’s living with his own. He’d surely feel flustered by the thought of you sleeping in the same roof as him.
Jaehyun made it clear he would know if you do something as to try to leave the house, you do not doubt him one bit. On the other side of things, this is your chance to put your life out of misery: the misery that was inflicted by the murder of your parents.
Sometimes, we have to be a little bit crazy to accomplish something right? We have to be out of our minds to push our boundaries and ignite the bravery in our hearts.
Tonight, you’ve decided to be insane.
Tonight, you will stay.
—
A single dagger lay quietly on your bed. You sat, your legs crossed with each other as you stare at it with pure concentration. The blade reflecting your face in a blurred image. You bought it online years ago, and was hidden underneath your dresser ever since it has arrived. The design was remarkably artistic; a snake head as its pommel and hilt, and instead of a silver blade, it was onyx black.
Grief. It was the reason why you bought it in the first place. Of course, it was Johnny’s name you wrote in the information so you could buy the dagger. The grief and the yearning to find a vampire was what fueled your determined little spirit, resulting in you, breaking the rules.
Jaehyun’s elongated fangs flashed in your sight as you stare at the dagger. Is he really a vampire? But the vinegar had no effect to his skin, not even the rosary or the prayers. Yet the fangs. How could he make those fangs longer? Perhaps he couldn’t. Perhaps it’s your disconcertment playing tricks on you.
You let your body fall into the mattress. It was like a hearkened prayer. A vampire showing in your doorstep when you least expect it. Was it why he does not appeared to be breathing? Or hurt by his wound and the sewing you’ve done to his skin? Perhaps he’s high, intoxicated, you have no idea. But you believed that even drugs would not obliterate the painful effect of your stomach being slashed open.
If he’s truly a vampire, why didn’t he use his powers to heal himself? Being undead, and the blood they consumes from humans or animals makes it easier for them to recover from any wound. A gash like that in Jaehyun’s stomach would only compare to a small knife cut or to nothing at all.
There’s only one way to know. No, there are many ways to know the truth, you realized as you glanced at the full body mirror resting near your closet. Vampires can not cast shadows nor reflections. Especially when the mirror is backed with silver.
You pulled the chair, drafting table, and your little drawer away from behind the door. It was a horrendous idea to lock your door with your furnitures, only to pull them back again. Safety first, though.
What if he’s truly a vampire? The question drew you in a sudden halt, your hand frozen onto the doorknob. Then you realized that you have not prepared yourself to meet a real vampire after all. Concocting everything in your mind was easier because it hasn’t occurred to you— not even in your wildest imaginations— that you’d see a vampire today. In the modern world and years after the death of your parents.
As the saying goes, it’s now or never. So you turned the doorknob, and stepped outside your bedroom— your hand holding the dagger behind you.
Jaehyun sits on the sofa while he dries his hair with a towel. He was wearing Johnny’s clothes. The scent of your own shampoo lingers in the air, a proof that he had used it. You swallowed the irritation and sauntered up towards him instead. There’s a mirror hanged on the wall above the piano, you took a quick glance at it while planning ways on how to make Jaehyun stand in front of it.
“I told you to stay in your room,” he impassively voiced out, eyes not looking up at yours. When he did look up to you, your breath was snatched away. He looked fresh, and clean. His face was free of blood now, revealing his pale yet soft features and the redness of his lips. The beauty he possesses locked you up on your position.
“By the way, I’m charging money towards the person who looks at me like that,” Jaehyun stated before standing up.
You blinked, washing away your embarrassment by clearing your throat and slightly shaking your head. “I have to ask you about a few things.” Before he could answer, you’ve already spoken, “Where did you meet Johnny?”
“Casino,” was his bored response before reaching for the remote and tuning on the television.
“Casino? Why would you meet him in a casino?”
“Your brother owes me a large sum of money after gambling all of his in baccarat,” he explained. The various colors from the television illuminating his face.
“Baccarat?”
“Casino game, one you would not understand as a college girl.” He glanced at you then. “Do you have any beer stored here?”
You ignored his remarks and shook your head instead, “We don’t. I do not allow it.”
“Well, thank fuck that this is my house now.” He leaned and propped his arms on his legs, “Why don’t you buy me a bottle as a welcome gift?”
“Don’t you have a penny?” This time, you’re the one whose voice was laced with boredom.
“I won’t ask you if I have a dollar.”
“Your audacity, it’s impeccable,” was your sarcastic response. “Why did Johnny vend you the house? Our house?” You put an emphasis to the last words, trying to veer the conversation to your advantage.
Jaehyun merely looked at you from the television, “Didn’t I just answer your question? He lost all his money, he borrowed mine, and as payment, he sold me your house. Business.”
“I couldn’t believed Johnny would sell you this house without consulting me,” you exhaled. Realization was dashing against your mind. He really sold the house, the one thing your parents built with their blood and sweat.
“Yup. Me too,” he smiled impishly, “I couldn’t believe you would have enough audacity to hide a dagger behind you.” He stood up, walking towards you in a languid manner, “Baby, is that for me?” He asked, his mouth dripping sensuality; sweet as honeysuckle. “Because I would tell you now it won’t do anything.”
You concealed your shock by straightening your back and stepping backwards, the mirror inviting your line of sight. All you have to do is step back until Jaehyun’s façade is on its surface.
“Really? What about I stab you with it through your heart?”
The urge to bury the dagger in Jaehyun’s chest was like a magnet, pulling you with a force that made your hand reveal the dagger. Fascination flickered in his eyes as he took in the length of the blade.
“You’ve got good taste.”
The dagger was raised, so is his finger. In a blink, his finger was pressed on the very edge, his blood cascading down the blade. One step, one step is all it would take for the mirror to reflect his body. One step and—
And then his mouth was on yours. Unmindful of the dagger between the both of you, Jaehyun pressed on, his kiss going ferocious in every second. Your body went rigid, the slick flicker of his tongue on your lower lip electrocuting you in the most pleasurable way.
Vampires are sinisterly sensual creatures. They could lure you with their beauty, fascinate you with their eyes. It was another thing to read about it, and another to feel it yourself. A millennium old gens never lied about vampires’ ability to romance a mortal.
The mirror. You opened your eyes, the mirror on your peripheral. It was difficult to get a better view, especially when Jaehyun was still kissing you. Your body refused to pull away, so you pulled Jaehyun closer instead. In a very unobtrusive way, you slightly turned your head sideways, so you would be able to see the mirror.
Trying your hardest not to completely fall into the desire, you grabbed Jaehyun’s hair with your other hand, then turned your body. Verity slapped you right in the guts as you see Jaehyun’s back reflecting on the mirror. You pulled away, catching your breath and gripping the dagger tightly with your hand. He reflected on the mirror, he wasn’t scorched when you splashed vinegar onto his body, he repelled the prayers and the rosary. Is he the insane one? Or is it you?
Jaehyun’s lips were swollen, and you do not doubt yours looks like that too. You stared at each other for seconds, Jaehyun stupefied in front of you. He looked shocked, like he had just came out of water, and was struggling to stabilize his breath. Before anyone could utter a word, you sprinted back to your room and locked it behind you.
—
That night, you lay awake on the mattress. Sleep feels like miles away. You could not simply close your eyes and pretend that there wasn’t a potential vampire under your roof. And you’ve kissed that vampire. It feels like betrayal, a bittersweet kind of one. However, you’ve nailed it on your mind not to repeat the same stupidity again. Not if you want to take retribution for the death of your parents.
A Roland for an Oliver. Always.
One person needs to know your wrath tonight, though. That is your brother. So you dialed Johnny’s number repeatedly until he answered.
“Why did you sell the house without consulting me?” was your greeting. The ire that you’ve been keeping inside you for hours after knowing the imbecilic decision of your brother rose up in your throat, begging to be unleashed as a scream.
“Well, good evening my dear little sister,” Johnny’s smug reply. You could almost see his sarcastic face in your mind. Before you could speak and bring hell to him, he inhaled and spoke himself, “I didn’t sell the house— well, sort of. But not really. It’s a fifty-fifty negotiation.”
You stood up, your hand on your waist. “I couldn’t believe you, Johnny! Casino? What in the heck were you thinking?”
Johnny cursed from the other line, “So the dick really told you about it?” Then a deep sigh, “Whatever he told you, it’s true. I’ve lost all my money in a game of baccarat. Don’t ask about it, you would not understand,” he uttered, so fast you almost didn’t catch it. Why is everyone thinks you won’t understand that game?
“What about Mom and Dad’s fund? Did you—”
“No! I did not,” Johnny sighed, deeper than the last time. “Well, almost half of it.”
“What?!” The scream that was threatening to come out from your mouth was unleashed, at last. You were afraid the neighbors heard it. “You—! Why did you do that?” You muttered, exasperated. Your knees felt like they would give up any second now, so you grabbed the chair and sat on it while trying to soothe your raging nerves. “That’s for us, Johnny. For our future.”
“I know. It was bad luck, Y/N. I promise, I’m working hard as much as I can to earn the money we’ve lost—”
“You’ve lost,” you repeated.
“Yeah. I’ve lost. Just, let Jaehyun stay for a while. He’s got no one and nothing.”
“What do you mean no one? And nothing?”
“He’s got no family. And no money. He’d lost it at the casino.”
You raised a brow like Johnny would see it, “Johnny, do you know that—” I saw him standing on our doorway, his stomach open and gushing out blood? Sighing, you have decided not to tell Johnny about the bloodied Jaehyun you’ve seen on your doorstep. He would only worry about you, and that’s the least thing you wanted now that your brother is miles away. “Do you know that he showed me a contract saying you sold him the house as payment for the money you owed him?”
Johnny once again cursed, “He’s fucking around with you. I’ll show you the real contract, hang on.”
Then you pulled your phone away from your ear the same time Johnny sent you a message. It was a picture of the real contract. And it was stated in the paper that Jaehyun could stay as long as he wanted in your house until Johnny earned the money he owed him. You knew it. Johnny didn’t sell the house. There is just no way he would do that.
“I knew it. I know you wouldn’t sell our house without discussing it with me.”
Johnny took seconds to speak, “I’d never sell the house, Y/N. No matter what. It’s ours.”
You rolled your lip with your teeth, “Where are you now, though? Are you eating well? Are you alright?”
Your brother chuckled, “I am. Don’t worry about your big brother. Just study and keep your self healthy.”
A pensive sigh was what you answered him. You wished your parents’ funds was enough for the both of you. So, Johnny wouldn’t have to work his butt off working here and there to provide for you.
“Just… take care. Don’t do anything illegal.”
“I won’t. Anyway, I have to go now. I have tons of work to do tomorrow. Call you tomorrow night, ‘kay? Take care, you little devil.”
“Alright. You too. Bye, Johnny.”
Then the line was cut off. You plugged-in your phone’s charger and set up the alarm. Staying up late was a bad idea, especially when you didn’t even have an ounce of sleep yesterday. It was a miracle that you’ve reached midnight without falling on your feet and sleeping on the floors. Dinner also went in the back of your mind, your appetite vanishing because of the adventure you’ve gone through for the past hours.
Going out of the room was out of the choices too. Jaehyun could be sucking an animal or a person’s neck in Johnny’s room for all you know. You frustratedly sighed, your imaginations would be the ones that would kill you, not the potential vampire inside the other room.
To get your mind off things, you checked on your group chat for any messages. Mark and Haechan, as usual, was bickering. Haechan sent a picture of his middle finger above his plates. While Mark sent a picture of the blackest coffee you’ve ever seen in your whole life with a caption, ‘palpitate? I don’t know him’ which elicited a chuckle from you.
As you glanced at your own plates, discarded at the corner near the original position of your drafting table, envy for Haechan and Mark enveloped you. You could have been on the third or fourth floor plan for the five-storey residential if not for Jaehyun.
You turned off your phone and decided to take a quick shower. You badly needed one. Jaehyun’s warning could not even stop you from washing the dried blood on your hands, wrists, over and under your fingernails.
Silence welcomed you as you peek through the door, the television was turned off, which only means that Jaehyun’s already in Johnny’s room. You finally stepped out, towel and robe in your hands.
Inside the bathroom, your shampoo bottle lay discarded on the shower floors, a sign that Jaehyun has emptied the container. You groaned, and threw the container to the trashcan with a loud thump.
As the water cascaded to your hair down your body, you felt the kiss you shared with Jaehyun, jolting your eyes open. What was that? You touched your lips. So many years of indulging yourself about vampires and how to kill them, one kiss and you are slipping off your principles already. What feebleness, you mumbled while slightly slapping your cheek.
After your quick shower, you felt cleaner than ever. No trace of blood could be seen on your hands. You wrapped yourself up with the robe, then your hair with the towel.
As you stepped out of the bathroom, you saw Jaehyun drinking a glass of water. You wrapped yourself tighter as you walked past him. He raised a brow but did not say anything. You’ve guessed the discussion about his stay could be accomplish tomorrow. Since you already had been exhausted to the bones, sleep was all you wanted and not another argument.
“Hey.” Jaehyun called out.
You froze for a few seconds before turning around to face him. What is it he wants this time?
“What?”
“What’s your name?” He asked, arms crossed with his body leaning on the counter.
Oh, yes. He hadn’t inquired about your name yet.
“Y/N,” you declared.
Jaehyun stood straight then, pocketing his hands on the pockets of his sweatpants. “The kiss. It means nothing. No need to fret about it.”
You blinked. “I’m not fretting about it.”
“Yeah? Keep telling that to yourself while touching your lips as if you could still feel mine against it.”
All the blood rushed up to your cheeks, you do not doubt you looked like a tomato with eyes right now. “What are you talking about?” Did he peer through some hole while you shower? Did he use his vampire instincts to watch you bathe?
“I didn’t watch you bathe. As I’ve said, you’re not my type. Girls willingly peels off their clothes for me, I don’t need to peek at some hole to see tits and a pussy.”
An unbelievably loud gasp resonated from your mouth, your cheeks heating up again by his bold statement. How did he know your thoughts? “What do you think of yourself? A god?”
A smirk, “Yes.”
“You’re really unbelievable,” you muttered while shaking your head. Then you turned your back on him, not turning around even after hearing his salacious laugh behind you.
—
Heat continued to wrap your body until you kicked the blanket off of you. You slowly opened your eyes, the blinding rays of the sunlight jolting you awake. You needed not glance at your phone to know that you didn’t wake up on time.
Running a hand through your hair, you unplugged the charger from your phone. Several texts from Haechan and Mark were displayed on the screen.
[Already submitted your plate. :)]
[You bugbear, where are you?]
You typed in your reply for Mark, thanking him for submitting your plate for visual techniques. It was the right decision to leave it on his drafting tube. Then you sent a wacky picture to Haechan.
After not getting a reply from the two boys, you stood up and put on your slippers. The chaos of your room was an eyesore. You reminded yourself to clean and get back on planning later.
Jaehyun was nowhere in sight, he wasn’t in the living room nor at the kitchen. Perhaps he’s still sleeping. Or maybe he’s afraid of the sunlight. As you walked straight to the kitchen, you remembered the call you had with Johnny. Someone needs to explain himself today.
A lot of things whirled in your mind as you mix the coffee in your mug. First, you need to confirm whether Jaehyun is a vampire or not. What would you do if he is? Would you kill him? No, he would definitely kill you first if you ever did something as to think about assaulting him. Or maybe… maybe he could help you— on finding the vampire who killed your parents.
Your eyes widened by your realization, the spoon falling to the sink, making a loud clanking noise. Why had you not thought about it earlier? You muttered a curse before sitting. Yes, that would be it. Once you successfully vindicated his vampire nature, you could ask him to collaborate with you in finding the monster who killed your parents. However, Jaehyun looks like he’s going to be a huge pain in the ass. Men like him do not do things without gaining something from it.
“Yes, that’s right.”
You jerked in your seat as you heard Jaehyun. He entered the kitchen like it’s his own, walking straight towards the refrigerator and slamming it shut when he didn’t find what he was searching for.
“Can you not read my mind?” Your annoyed reiteration.
Jaehyun continued his rummaging through the drawers. “I don’t. Your thoughts are just all over the place. Too loud.”
You ignored his comment and focused on your goal instead. All while remembering the things you have learned about vampire’s ability to infiltrate minds and how to block them out of it. “You told me you’re a vampire.”
Jaehyun merely glanced at you, “Did I?” Then he continued his ransacking.
“Yes. Last night.”
He attempted to leave the kitchen, “Don’t know what you’re talking about.” Then he stood still, facing you. “Aren’t you supposed to leave my house now?”
“Oh, speaking of that, I called Johnny last night. You lied to me.” You walked straight to one of the chairs and sat on it, your spoon pointing at Jaehyun’s way. “He didn’t sell you the house. You’re supposed to live here ‘til Johnny earned back the money he owed you.” A wicked smile was displayed on your lips now.
“Whatever. I better not see you again today.”
“This is my house!” You stood up from your seat, the coffee spilling as your hips collided with the table.
“Not anymore. Get out.”
“No.”
“Get out.”
You straightened your back, “What would you do, then?” Knowing that you are walking through a thin thread, still, you pushed on. “Bite my neck and suck my blood?”
Jaehyun huff out a breath, “You’re delusional.”
“You’re in denial.”
It took him two strides to face you, “Shut up.”
“Why? Did it surprise you that you revealed your true nature to a mortal? Mere minutes after meeting her?” You gathered all your willpower to smirk.
“I did not reveal you anything.” He said through gritted teeth.
You have never felt so powerful until you saw Jaehyun’s face right now. “You did. You told me—”
He turned his back towards you and left the kitchen. But your spirit has risen up, your being refractory oozing out of you. You followed Jaehyun to the living room, your hand grabbing his shirt.
Jaehyun jerked your arm away, his face ruddy from irritation when he faced you. “I didn’t tell you shit.”
“If you really didn’t, show me your wound then.” You waved your hand to where his wound was located in his stomach. “The wound that I’ve stitched up last night.”
He seemed appalled, but he quickly recovered, tuning in his smug face at the stroke. “Sorry, but my abs isn’t available at the moment. Try again next time, sweet.”
“Why don’t you just show me?” You voiced out, irritated. Jaehyun sighed and turned his back on you for the second time, but you didn’t budge as you pulled his shirt again. He tried to jerk your hand off of him but you held on.
“Let go!” He continued to wrench his shirt from your grip, the force of his hand pulling you towards the living room with him.
“Show me!”
“Damn it, Y/N! Let go!”
Jaehyun, for the last time, tugged his shirt from your hands, the force pulling you on your knees. Now you knelt face to face with his crotch, but you ignored your awkward position as you held his shirt again, then you caught a glimpse of the wound. It was a wound no more, but a faint scar instead—
“I knew it—!”
“Good mornin—! Oh shit! Oh my God! Y/N!”
You froze as you heard Mark’s shoutings, followed by Haechan’s remarks.
“Hotdog for breakfast, really, Y/N?”
You struggled on your feet, nearly tumbling again as your toe hit the foot of the coffee table. Swallowing the pulsating pain, you fixed yourself and faced your friends.
“It’s not what you think it is—”
“I told her to wait but she’s a spunky little thing, even begging and crawling for it.”
You’ve witnessed as Mark’s mouth formed a big ‘o’, his eyes nearly falling off their sockets. Haechan, beside Mark, only looked at you as if he was already tucking the information at the very back of his mind to blackmail you in the future.
“Don’t listen to him. He’s crazy.” You tried to smile despite the embarrassment. “Johnny asked me to take care of him for awhile.”
“Yeah, sure.” Haechan snickered.
You widened your eyes at him then turned it towards Jaehyun, a forced friendly smile painted on your lips. “Just… I know this is hard for you. But stay in your room, okay? I’ll give you milk later. Be a good boy, hmm?”
You saw the irritation in his face, causing you to swallow the chuckle that was threatening to come out off you. For the last time, Jaehyun looked at you with daggers in his eyes before sauntering up to Johnny’s room.
“What was that?” Mark asked, his eyes watching Jaehyun disappear to the other room.
“Johnny’s friend. He’s been on a traumatic past, made him childlike. It’s a pity, really—”
Haechan cut your sentence off by screaming, “Y/N, what the fuck is this?! Blood?!”
Both you and Mark followed Haechan’s sight. Sweat automatically formed in your forehead as you saw Jaehyun’s blood on the sofa, almost black in color because of its dryness.
“Oh! It’s— That’s— ignore that! That’s from Jaehyun’s wound. He cut himself last night— and yes, have you had your coffee yet? Come, let’s have breakfast!” A nervous chortle was elicited from you, then.
Haechan and Mark exchanged glances before sitting on the ottomans.
“No, it’s okay Y/N. We really just came by to check up on you,” Mark declared, his palms on his knees.
Haechan, on the other side, glanced at the blood before looking at you. “Are you alright?”
A spontaneous nod, “Of course. I am!”
“He’s not giving you any troubles, is he?” Mark dug in. You shook your head. Lies. Trouble has been the first thing Jaehyun led on your doors the moment you invited him in. “Since when did he arrive?”
“Last week,” was your terse reply. “Anyways, highways, why are you here?”
Haechan kept looking at the blood, so you rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a clean rug to cover it. Only when it was covered did he answer you.
“We had a notion that maybe you’re sick,” Haechan stated. “And you told us last week Johnny’s away. Besides we don’t have any more classes so we decided to visit,” he added.
“Thank you. But I am not sick. Just woke up really late.”
After talking about your plates, and the reminders two of your professors discussed, Haechan and Mark already bid their goodbyes, no doubt to play computer games. They did not ask about Jaehyun nor the blood on the sofa any further. Instead, they’d asked you numerous times whether you were really okay before making their way out. You answered them both with a slight pat on their backs, reassuring them that all is well even if you weren’t sure of it yourself.
Jaehyun was already sitting on the sofa when you got back inside, his eyes unfathomable as he took in your presence. Suddenly, you remembered his wound, and the scar that was left of it in a span of hours.
“Shall we go back to business?” He raised his brow, an impish smile imprinted on his luscious lips. At your confused look, he attempted to untie the string of his sweatpants, resulting in you, grabbing the pillow and throwing it his way.
“Gross!” You grunted.
“C’mon. Acting all shy now? Where’s the energy from earlier? I like that version of you better.” Then a wink.
You felt the veins of your temple tick. “You’re disgusting.”
“Disgustingly hot?”
“Go to hell, Jaehyun.”
“Working on it.”
Inhale, exhale, was your continuous chant in your mind as you tried to calm your nerves. After a minute of closing your eyes and breathing heavily, you finally had enough sanity to talk to the mad man sitting on your sofa.
“You’re really a vampire.”
Jaehyun let his head fall back, his eyes closed. “I am not,” was his worn out reply.
“How would you explain your wound, then? That’s completely healed not even twenty-four hours after I’ve put it back together?”
“Y/N, don’t you know that I’m God’s favorite? That’s why I heal easily.”
“Will you stop fucking around and confirm it to me instead?” you exhaled. “You’ve already revealed yourself, Jaehyun. And if you don’t want to wake up with the whole world salivating to put a stake through your heart tomorrow, you will listen to me.”
Jaehyun looked affronted, as he furrowed his brows before opening an eye. “Was that supposed to make me shit my pants?”
You sighed, deeper than a well. One minute of talking to Jaehyun and you felt yourself going insane already. “Listen, Jaehyun—”
“Why are you so eager to know whether I am truly a vampire? A normal person would’ve knelt and begged for mercy in front of me if they’d so much as see my fangs.” He sat up straight then, regarding you with interest.
“I am not afraid of your kind.”
Jaehyun chortled, “Says the girl who literally poured vinegar on me while chanting prayers.”
“Speaking of that, how did you repel those? Those are the bane of every vampire’s existence.” You, no doubt, believe your eyes looks like they are twinkling right now.
“You don’t know enough about vampires, then.”
Your years of determined study about the lore of vampires denied Jaehyun’s insult like an instinct. “Or maybe, you are a peculiar vampire,” you reiterated.
“Didn’t admit I was a vampire, did I?”
The conversation was getting exhausting now. You feel as if running and chasing Jaehyun in an endless path that leads to nothing. Vulnerability had a hard time reflecting itself to you, but you feel like you could only reach for the answers to the questions that were circulating your parents’ deaths for years if you showed it to Jaehyun.
“Our parents died years ago.” You tried your hardest not to look at Jaehyun as you started speaking. “They said… it’s a hopeless case. The police, the detectives, and even Johnny already gave up on it. But I refused to do the same.” You cleared your throat. “My parents had two bites on each of their necks. Yes, it could’ve passed as a snake’s bite. But the two of them? A snake bite on their necks? And since when did snakes leave their victim’s body looking withered as a dead plant?” With that, you looked up to Jaehyun.
His eyes were fixed on you, devoid of any emotions. “When did it happen?”
A slight hope ignited in your heart by his question that you answered right after the words tumbled out of his lips. “Ten years ago.”
He sighed before standing up on his feet. “When they said it was a hopeless case, it really was Y/N.”
Boulders on your shoulders, that was what his words felt like. The earth and the heavens felt like closing in on you.
Jaehyun started to walk away. Ice seems to envelope all your hopes. The impact of it was different, as it came from a vampire itself. You looked up to stop the tears that were threatening to roll down your cheeks, but a traitorous tear slid down the side of your one eye, your lips shaking. You wiped it off, as harshly as you could before standing up and sprinting to your own room, the frames rattling by how forceful you shut the door closed.
—
For hours, you sat on your bed, your mind drifting off to nowhere. You refused to cry, it wouldn’t make any difference. The blackboard who has all the articles from newspapers, books, internet news magnetized your line of sight. You stood up, and walked towards it.
As you ran your hands through the crumpled papers, the image of your parents flashed in your mind. You shut your eyes closed, then the tears finally slid down.
“Mom, Dad, I’m sorry.” Your body shook, your shoulders continued to vibrate as you cried. It’s been a while since you let yourself fall. Forcing you to think that the pain of your parents’ deaths has already left. But no, it does not. Time only made it worse.
A scream resonated from your mouth as you let the pain coaxed you. You gripped the papers attached to the blackboard, and wrenched them with enough force to graze your knuckles on the hard surface, the thumbtacks scratching your fingers. Slowly, your body fell to the floors, the coldness of it biting your soles. You hugged your knees as tears continued to come out of your eyes.
Then you heard a knock.
You slowly got up on your feet. Bloodshot eyes greeted you when you looked at your reflection on the mirror. You hastily wiped your cheeks and fixed your hair before sauntering up to the door.
Jaehyun’s façade loomed over the other side.
“What?” You never meant to make the words come out vexed. But Jaehyun displayed a look of hesitation, making you uncomfortable. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“I might have a solution to your problem.”
Your gripped on the doorknob tightened, your chest constricting. “What… what do you mean?
“I meant… I might’ve a solution to the death of your parents.”
“Really?!” You held his shoulders and shook him.
“Yeah. But before anything else, I need a beer.”
After Jaehyun’s revelation, you fixed yourself and dashed for the nearest convenience store, grabbing his preferred brand of beer and filling your cart with it. You needed to be tight on your expenses after you saw the receipt, but you have no time to care one bit now that you feel elevated more than ever.
When you arrived home, Jaehyun quickly opened the bottle with his hands, while you refrigerate the others. You dashed for the living room after putting all the bottles inside.
“So, what now?” You asked like a little puppy while Jaehyun chugged down his beer.
“I’ll help you in one condition.”
Of course, there’s a condition. Thankfully, you’ve anticipated Jaehyun to be the kind of man that it didn’t surprise you anymore.
“Anything.”
“I’ll live here as long as I want. My clothes, cigs, beers— that’s all on you.” He pointed his finger at you, while holding the bottle in the same hand.
“Don’t you have any cash with you?” You tried to look kind as much as you can. Yet Jaehyun still raised a brow as a no.
“Blame the casino,” he added.
As you reckon his conditions, you grimaced privately. What would you tell Johnny if you started spending your funds? Or when you started asking for money all of a sudden?
“Alright. All your expenses, on me.” You smiled, teeth flashing while pointing at your self.
“I want my own room.”
“I will clean the storage—”
“Your parents’ room.”
With that, you stopped speaking, stopped breathing. “No.”
Jaehyun’s lips turned sideways, “Then the deal is off.” He turned to leave but you grabbed his wrist.
“Wait, alright. Alright. You could sleep there tonight. I will talk to Johnny.”
Jaehyun sat up again, a triumphant smile plastered on his lips. “Nice.”
“How did you know it was my parents’?”
The room was always locked, not when you clean it every once a week. You need not ponder how Jaehyun knew it was your parents, his vampire instincts surely told him. The room was bigger than any of the rooms inside the house, with big curtains making it cozy. There’s no doubt Jaehyun wanted it to be his just by that feature.
“Do I need to answer that?”
You shook your head. “So, how do we find my parents’ murderer?”
Jaehyun took a swig off his bottle before speaking, “Are you certain it’s a vampire?”
You didn’t answer. Instead dashed back to your own room to delve the box tucked underneath your dresser along with the dagger. In it was the picture of your parents in their withered state, the camera captured a shot of their neck, revealing the two bites each of them had. You hurriedly went back to the living room and revealed Jaehyun the pictures.
He took it with oddity, his mouth formed in a tight line. “Vampires. No doubt.”
After all these years, it was confirmed at last. You wanted to shout, but that isn’t pleasant for a time such as this. “I knew it,” you breathily stated.
Jaehyun shuffled the picture in his hands, “Some vampires has a peculiar way of killing their preys. However, the way your parents’ were murdered was no special. This is how the majority of the vampires kills.”
You leaned closer to see the picture yourself, but in a spur of moment felt embarrassed as you remember the kiss you shared, so you shifted away from him. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Yes. This gave us no clue as to who might be behind this.”
You feel your hopes shattering again. Jaehyun’s next words smashing it to smithereens.
“Vampires are all around Europe, and I do not doubt this town have several vampire clans too.” He continued, “But I know someone who could possibly identify the vampire behind this.” He waved the pictures in front of you, his mouth putting an emphasis to the word ‘possibly’. Your hope rose up in your chest again, despite the reluctance to his statement.
“What are we waiting for, then? Let’s go!” You stood up, ready to go at any given moment.
“Don’t be so excited, Y/N. He’s not a pleasant view to look at.” Then Jaehyun took one last swig on his bottle before laying it on the table with a thud.
“Anything, anyone, Jaehyun. For my parents.”
Jaehyun shrugged, “Tonight, then.”
“Where do we go?”
“Cemetery.”
—
The sky was pitch black that night, no trace of twinkling white lights could be seen in the heavens. You held your jacket tighter to your body, the howling winds with heavy mists slapping on your face, hazing your skin with little droplets of water.
The cemetery’s entrance loomed over you, the letters in the metal bars embossed with an eerily looking font. You gulped, it’s sinister façade making the hairs on your neck prickle.
“Can’t we go back tomorrow morning?” You pursed your lips after asking. Jaehyun’s eyes was fixed on the name of the cemetery above you. Eternal Rest Cemetery.
“We won’t be able to meet Hubert in daylight,” he explained.
On the way to the cemetery, Jaehyun had given you little informations about the person you would meet tonight. His name is Hubert, Eternal Rest Cemetery’s gravedigger. He didn’t tell you how had he met him, or what does he looked like other than ‘creepy’.
“Why? Isn’t daylight more fitting for meetings such as this one?” You continued to babble as you entered the vicinity. Trying your hardest not to grip Jaehyun’s arms, you unobtrusively walked closer to him instead.
“I told you, we couldn’t meet him in daylight. And I am not bestfriends with the sun, Y/N.” Jaehyun is clothed with a black shirt, paired with one of Johnny’s sweatpants again, since you haven’t bought him his own yet.
“Why? Aren’t you immune?” You glanced at the several tombstone, waiting for some ghost to show up and grabbed you with them underground. If this scene was accompanied by a smoke, and sinisterly white lights, it could pass as a horror movie already.
The wet tombstone was glinting against the moonlight, muds covering the green grass, leaving it mixed up with brown and green colors.
“How could you keep too many questions in that pretty mouth of yours?” Jaehyun asked, snapping his head at you.
You drew into a sudden halt, flustered by his question. Against the night, Jaehyun looked ashen if not for the redness of his lips, his face was giving off a chalky visage. He looked more vampiric now ever since you saw him.
When you didn’t answer, Jaehyun started to walk again, with you trailing behind him, mindful of the tombstones watching as you passed by.
In front of the rustic metal bars, Jaehyun halted. You stood behind him, observing the size of the space where the gravedigger must have been staying. Jaehyun rattled the bars again, the rust cascading down the grass.
You start as you saw someone penetrated the metal bars. Jaehyun shifted on his position, giving you a better view at the person— or an entity— in front of him. In an instant, you were reminded by the ghosts in Lord of the Rings. Hubert looks like a green smoke, but his whole façade is intact, no missing flesh nor eyes. He is tall, clad in suit like it came from Victorian era. Now you understand why Jaehyun insisted to meet him in night time. A ghosts could not be seen in daylight.
“Hubert! My friend, do you remember me? Of course, you do! Even ghosts wouldn’t forget this face.”
Hubert brushed him off with a stare before nodding his head your way.
Jaehyun waved his hand towards you, “This is Y/N. My friend. She needs something from you.”
Hubert looked at Jaehyun meaningfully, it was like a code you have no chance to decipher. After that, Jaehyun whispered something to him, but the ghosts shook his head.
Jaehyun glanced your way, his face abstruse. Then he held your shoulder, guiding you away from Hubert who remained standing on his spot.
“I forgot to tell you something.” Jaehyun released a curse. “Hubert, he has no tongue.”
You couldn’t help but to release a curse yourself, “What?!”
“If the crime happened in a cemetery, he would surely know the vampire who killed your parents.” Jaehyun took a quick glance at Hubert, “Usually, he would write it down on a paper. But something befell him, with the involvement of dark magic. I could smell it from him, Y/N. He is enchanted.”
This time, it’s you who peeked at Hubert’s tall frame. “I… I don’t know where my parents really died.”
“A higher chance that they were killed here, then.” Jaehyun licked his lips, “Trust me. Vampires around this town usually slays their prey in cemeteries.”
It was a gnawing suspicion at you, the real location where your parents had died. The policemen said it was likely that they were dumped into the crime scene, since their body hadn’t made a pattern on the earth yet. It was distinctly possible that they were killed in a cemetery.
“How could we make him talk?” You bit on your lower lip.
Jaehyun’s eyes lingered on your lips for a few seconds before he answered. “He wants you to offer him your own tongue.”
You were thrown off balance by his statement, your words coming out as a loud baffled gasp, you were afraid you would wake up the whole cemetery. “My what?!”
“So he could talk,” Jaehyun explained like he was talking about the strands of your hair instead of your tongue.
You felt your tongue before speaking, “Is there any other way?”
If cutting your tongue out of your mouth was the only way to identify your parents’ murderer, you’d gladly do it. But you at least need to try for different alternatives, since your tongue is a crucial part for your mission.
“Yes,” Jaehyun answered, he held his finger to quiet you down when you attempted to speak. “We would need to hunt for a witch to enchant him. But I’m telling you now it’s gonna be a lot of work. Witches has already learned how to be cunning and inconspicuous ever since Salem.”
The Salem Witch Trials. You’ve encountered it when you first started reading about vampires. It was a series of prosecutions for people suspected of witchcraft between February 1692 to May 1693 in Massachusetts. Thirty were found guilty, nineteen of them had met the infamous Gallow Hills to die by hanging.
“How did you know all this?”
“It was my on the job training before I completely transformed into a vampire.” Jaehyun declared. You would have nodded since you didn’t know that information when he started to laugh. “Just kidding.”
“Then… do you know any witch that might be in this town?” Your voice was calm and toned down now, not sure if it’s because of your location or the lingering feeling that Jaehyun might think of you as a coward for refusing to lacerate your tongue.
He wiped the sides of his mouth with his fingers, “Yes. I know one. But I don’t think she’s going to see me.”
“Then I’ll talk to her.”
Jaehyun took in your expression and the determination in your face before nodding, “Alright.” Then he turned his head back to Hubert, who has disappeared to his small space behind the metal bars. Jaehyun tried to call for him, but the ghost did not appear again.
“He could be really annoying sometimes.” Jaehyun shrugged.
—
The following days, you tried to get back on your normal life by starting off your plates and pretending as if you hadn’t just met a vampire in your doorstep, and that you didn’t make a deal with that vampire to find your parents’ murderer, and that you hadn’t gone into a cemetery in the middle of the night to talk to some tongueless ghost that might be holding the key to your life’s biggest mystery.
Exhausting, yes. But fulfilling nonetheless. Johnny had no idea about your endeavors, and you do not plan to tell him anytime sooner. You’ve also warned Jaehyun not to mention anything to your brother, which was only answered with a deadpanned expression and ‘I don’t have a phone’ statement.
Jaehyun had his own adventures at night, only returning before the dawn breaks. You did not ask about his business, but you’ve been seeing droplets of blood on his shirt every now and then. The humane part of you wanted to banish him, for threatening the life of other people, but you also didn’t want to offend him. You could not afford him bailing out of your deal.
One night, though, you had no chance to stop yourself when you noticed blood on his shirt.
“Do you kill people, Jaehyun?”
The answer could be no, since there were no news about people being murdered the same way your parents had been.
“Why do you care?” He sounded irritated that you shut your mouth for a moment before pressing on.
“How does their blood tastes like?”
He snapped his head at you, baring his fangs. “Care to offer me your neck so I could answer your question?” With that, he slammed the refrigerator door shut, and stormed out of the kitchen with beer in hand.
You watched as his back disappeared from your sight, his statement leaving puzzles in your mind.
Then you remember a fact about vampires from your books. Yes, they need human blood to sustain themselves. But that does not prohibit them from drinking the blood of other living creatures. Doing so would satisfy their thirst, but it won’t provide them the same power as human blood. Jaehyun’s wound didn’t heal according to his ability to cure himself faster than any being because a continuous doze of animal blood would render their powers weaker.
Which only means that Jaehyun does not drink human blood. A swell of pride bloomed in your heart by the realization. Perhaps he is a vampire, but he isn’t monstrous.
“Here.”
You looked up to Jaehyun, who slammed a paper on your drafting table.
You ignored it. “Can you please knock before barging in my room?”
“Look at what I’ve got.” He ignored your annoyance and motioned his hand on the paper. Only then you took a glance at it. It was an invitation. “Invitation for Madame Juana’s party.”
You stood up from your seat, eyes twinkling. “Isn’t she the witch?!”
The golden print of the invitation was exquisitely inviting that you grabbed and ran your fingers through it. You could not believe Jaehyun got the invitations.
“Yes. It is a formal party, Y/N. We need clothes, especially me.”
“What are you waiting for? Get dressed! We’re going shopping!” You giggled before pressing the invitation between your planning and design’s book.
Two hours before the malls starts to close. You quickly changed and met Jaehyun outside the house. This time, he was wearing a white shirt paired with cargo pants, one you bought him. His dog tag making him hotter than he already is.
You tried not to focus on him as you got on the bus. Jaehyun sat beside you, while you sat near the window. Then the memory of the bus you rode in weeks ago suddenly drawing to a halt went crashing back in your mind.
“Jaehyun… weeks ago. Did you… cross the streets all of a sudden?” You decided to ask. It doesn’t change anything, you were just curious since there’s a high chance he was the one who crossed the street that night, fast as a lightning.
“Yes,” was his uninterested reply. You nodded and didn’t press any further. But when you shifted to look at the view outside the vehicle, Jaehyun spoke. “Were you hurt?”
He didn’t ask how did you know. It was obvious that you were inside that bus. Slightly perplexed by his question, you shook your head. “No.”
“Did I hurt anyone?” His eyes were fixed forward, not bothering to glimpse at you.
“No. You did not.”
“We’re here,” he announced before the bus halted in front of the mall.
—
“Jaehyun, could you please slow down?” You hissed while tugging your too-tight dress further down you knees.
Jaehyun was walking ahead of you as if he was being chased by a wild cat. The painful feeling of your heels against your soles flaming your agitation. Madame Juana’s party was a formal one. And it’s not as if you could not walk with heels, you could perfectly do that even if you put a book on the top of your head. But Jaehyun’s strides makes it harder for you to do so.
The stygian corridors of Madame Juana’s mansion makes it harder for you to navigate with your too-tight dress and dangerously thin red bottoms. What literally came into her mind to decide not to put lightbulbs in her corridor? Your question was answered when you saw the light from the hall infiltrating through the open curtains at the end of the corridor. A touch of anticipation.
Jaehyun held up his hand at you when you’ve finally reached him.
“Hurry! It’s starting!” His breath fanned your cheeks as you entered the party, making you blush all of a sudden. He was clad in a simple black suit, which took a huge amount from your allowance. Despite that, he towered most of the men in the hall once you entered.
Jaehyun is simply ravishing.
Eyes from both women and men bore into his façade as you walked through the throngs of guests. Some whispering about his vampire nature, and some giggling by how good he looks like. It made you realized that this party wasn’t meant for mortals.
The orchestra was playing a forlorn music from the other side of the made platform, unfitting for a party such as this one.
“Madame Juana’s mortal husband died.” Jaehyun whispered all of a sudden, an explanation for the question you’ve asked only to yourself.
“Why is she throwing a party then?”
“Because she’s happy. She’s collected a number of rich husbands in the span of her life, Y/N.” He leaned closer, his minty breath whiffing your nose again.
You cleared your throat, trying to make your voice little. “How old is she?”
A waitress passed by, offering you a margarita. You gladly took one with a nod of thanks.
“Five hundred years old.”
You almost spat your drinks, eyes widening. “Five hundred years old?”
Jaehyun only nodded. The music halted, magnetizing your focus on the woman at the top of the stairs. She was clad in the finest silk, her skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood. If you didn’t know that she was a witch, you would think of her as a vampire.
“Don’t say that to her face later,” Jaehyun warned before clapping his hands.
You ignored his enraging ways to read your mind and started to clap your hands together. Madame Juana started to descend the stairs, her silk gown moving like ocean waves. She does not look like a five-hundred year old witch. Rather, she only looked like a few years older than you.
One of the waitresses handed her a mic, you were mesmerized by how her lips moved as she welcomed everyone who has attended his late husband’s first month death anniversary.
After her warm reception, the forlorn music became jovial. The guests started to chatter in loud voices, while Madame Juana greeted each of her visitor.
Jaehyun stood still beside you, watching the Madame like a predator… or a prey. And as if Madame Juana felt Jaehyun staring at her, her eyes suddenly shifted towards the both of you. You start in your position, feeling as if your muscles are strained. The Madame raised her hand, which is holding a glass of red wine, towards you. Jaehyun imitated her actions, and you have no other choice but to join them as they toss their glasses to the air.
You sipped on your drinks, the same time the music shuffled and then all you could hear was the Waltz of the Flower by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Most of the guests gathered between the hall, and they started to dance. You know the piece yourself. Your mother loved it so much, teaching you how to slow dance with it when you were little.
Awestruck by the pairs of dancing bodies on the dance floor, you did not notice Jaehyun stretching out his hand to you until you blinked out of oblivion and saw him watching you with a small smile painted on his lips.
“Will you give me the pleasure to dance with you, milady?”
A hearty chuckle resonated from your throat before taking Jaehyun’s hand. He guided you towards the dance floor, securing you with his hands.
“I am not good at dancing,” you warned him with a chuckle.
Jaehyun laughed, “Let’s fall together then.”
Eyes locked with Jaehyun, you let yourself leave your worries behind for a while. You stepped on Jaehyun’s feet every now and then, but he only brushed it off with a chuckle. After a few minutes on the dance floor, you regained your footing along with the memories of the steps your mother taught you. Jaehyun spun you around with an ease of a professional.
The chandeliers painted Jaehyun’s face with a light that wasn’t meant for a creature such as him; it made him more human, more real. His dashing aura blinding you, together with his smile. All of a sudden, you forgot the bloodied man in your front porch weeks ago, replaced by a new Jaehyun. It felt like it was the first time you were seeing him.
You chuckled. Both of your laughters mixing with the music, pulling you into bliss. You hadn’t noticed when most of the guests drew into a halt, leaving a few pairs together with you and Jaehyun on the dance floor.
The both of you were catching your breaths when the music stopped, the claps of the visitors making you smile.
“Kiss! Kiss!”
Your smile was easily replaced by a flustered expression when the visitors started to chant. Jaehyun mischievously glanced at you, deepening the redness of your cheeks.
“Kiss! Kiss!”
All the chants were muffled as Jaehyun grabbed the back of your head. Your eyes widened, muscles frozen. You closed your eyes and waited for his lips to touch yours, but nothing came.
Someone cleared her throat. You opened your eyes and saw Madame Juana walking towards you. She smiled, pearlescent white teeth flashing.
“Nice to see you here, Y/N.” Then she gave you a peck on the cheek before turning her eyes to Jaehyun. Her smile quickly dropped to a frown as she took in his aura. “And you. Jung Jaehyun.”
Her smile returned when she looked at you again, “Come. Let’s talk about your parents.”
Madame Juana led you through a corridor across the entrance you walked in earlier. Unlike the other one, the corridor was flashing with lights, almost blinding you. She opened the door at the end of it. Stacks of books and bookshelves filled your sight as you blinked and refocused your eyes.
“As you can see, I have too many visitors to entertain tonight. Talk.” She waved her fingers languidly as Jaehyun closed the door behind him.
“We need your help to enchant a tongueless gravedigger,” you started.
Madame Juana sat, her eyes looking straight at yours. “I’ll help you.”
Your happiness swelled up as you didn’t expect her to easily cooperate.
“In one condition.” She propped her chin onto her palm.
“Anything!” You took a step towards her, laying your palms on the top of her table. Jaehyun followed and stood beside you.
“Kill Alena for me.”
Jaehyun tensed, his mouth formed in a thin line. “You are insane.”
You widened your eyes at him in warning and turned your head towards Madame Juana instead. “Who is this Alena?”
When she attempted to speak, Jaehyun cut her off, providing you the answers himself. “She’s the head of the Detritius clan of vampires.”
You shot Juana a look. “What makes you think I could kill her?” Even if driven by madness, you still could not. Right now, you doubt your skills— you doubt even your determination.
“That’s it, pretty girl.” She raised her finger towards Jaehyun to shut him up. “I’ve cursed Alena to die in the hands of a mortal. Your goal to make the gravedigger speak is fitting to my intentions. It’s a win-win situation, don’t you think? Not unless you’re ready to slash your own tongue out of your mouth.” She smiled her alluring smile.
You took a glimpse at Jaehyun. He was shaking his head at you, but this is your chance. It’s preposterous, but it is the only way. You shut your eyes for a moment and took deep breaths before facing Juana again.
Then you nodded.
“Perfect!” She clasped her hands. “Visit me again tomorrow, so we could talk about it in details. Don’t worry, I’m not sending you to war without weapons, darling.” She stood up and brought her hand to your cheek, caressing it. “Now get out. Both of you.”
You did as you were told, your heart hammering against your chest. Jaehyun did not speak to you until you’ve reached the outside of the mansion and until you grabbed his arm.
“Jaehyun—”
He sighed, “Y/N, I’m not sure about this one.”
You released a breath, “Why? Jaehyun, you can’t bail—”
“Alena… I am bound to her.” He ran his hand through his hair, his eyes suddenly seeing the ground more interesting than you.
You took a step back. His words blowing you out of proportion. “I don’t understand.”
Only then he looked up to you, his eyes reflecting something you could not decipher. “Y/N, Alena is my fiancée.”
#jung jaehyun au#jung jaehyun imagines#jung jaehyun scenarios#jaehyun au#jaehyun imagines#jaehyun scenarios#nct au#nct imagines#nct scenarios#nct 127 au#nct 127 imagines#nct 127 scenarios
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𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝟗 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.
this was SO MUCH fun i spent all day on it and was pretty hard since sliske is already his own thing, but there ARE indeed characters my own interpretation of him plays off of since jagex shoveled his characterization into a garbage disposal post TWW.
𝐈. · 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐁𝐀𝐋 : anyone who has spent some time as a mutual knows i relate sliske a lot to dr. lecter. it’s the cold, cunning, and charming with and ability to measure ones steps without faltering. the ability to lure someone in with polite, harmless demeanor, only to RIP the carpet out from under them with some of the most scathing, deep insults from all the things he’s gleaned from your psych. the soft analytical approach and patience to wait for things to fall into place. also, neither of these fuckers BLINK often enough and remain fixated on their prey eerily. this includes book lecter which, imo, was p superior in magnificent little details.
𝐈𝐈. · 𝐕 : i am a simple woman, i see an enigmatic anti-hero with knives and smooth moves and i go ‘ooh ahh’. v was a real showman with a mask and worked very cloak and dagger, his personality almost too happy and charismatic despite the domino effects he had planned, much like sliske. i wouldn’t call sliske an anti-hero but he had his moments of bringing about cruel but deserved justice to a few individuals who deserved it and even in endgame, made sure people were very aware of some of the lesser gods flaws and hidden crimes. plus uh, knives man. the knife fighting holy shit.
𝐈𝐈𝐈. · 𝐉𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐇 : c’mon, who am i if i don’t put the only man who wore a collar maybe bigger than sliske? even as a kid i was really just taken by the goblin king. i mean just look at the dude. the fandom has already made enough jareth comparisons to sliske and goddamn i’m glad. the outfits, the labyrinths, optical illusions, the slight of hand tricks, enigma and soreness over love. plus i just love bowie and theres not a day i don’t miss him with immense fondness. :c
𝐈𝐕. · 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐑 (𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐕𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐓) : have you seen the show? good, then you literally have the majority of my interpretation of sliske’s personality. playful, charismatic, subtly suggestive, and hiding a really emotional side ft. bad temper. sliske is a lot like lucifer in the sense of only living for the pleasure of life and all it holds with a rich sense of hedonism to fill a void of complex emotions and spite under that mask. plus his human glamor just looks so similar, even before i started watching ( and still need to catch up. :/c )
𝐕. · 𝐃𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 : i’mma be real with y’all. i know jack shit abt doc strange outside the mar.v.el movie(s), which if i had the time to sink into comics i would bc i just like the aesthetic of the magic and the world he is in. i may have only seen the movie but the magic is a wet dream of what i WISH magic in runescape looked like. which at one point in concept arts, the whole magic circles shit WAS supposed to be canon but design/graphics restraints kept it from being real. sliske also heavily uses illusions, projection, and the psych in his magic. plus the outfit. the cape, the collar, y’know?
𝐕𝐈. · 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐑 ( 𝐁𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐕𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐓 ) : gee channy, why does sliske get (2) versions of lucifer? bc i said so. i rambled about this comparison in this post , tl:dr; lucifer wanted free thought, individualism, and self pride before god found this an offense and cast him out. hmm that’s really familiar, innit?
𝐕𝐈𝐈. · 𝐌𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐒 : okay yes, this is quasi-“devil” entry number three, but good old mephistopheles the demon is very campy, germanic devil in jester flavor who tempts and manipulates you.... with humor because he can sense you’re on the path to hell anyways. plus his name means “scatterer or plasterer of lies”. that’s metal as fuck. google him, look at his smile and nubby little horns and tell me that’s not sliske.
𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈. · 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐑 : death man in hood and shadows who comes to collect your soul and might take a deal to let you live longer just fits the bill. have you seen grim in all the old paintings? shadowy, wraithy, ominous? yeah, you get it.
𝐈𝐗. · 𝐇𝐄𝐗𝐗𝐔𝐒 : your honor, i ain’t explaining shit. i plead the fucking fifth. if you’ve fuckin’ seen it, you know. ( mr. curry sir, this is a children’s film but PLEASE go on i guess. )
tagged by: @sylvansoldier ! ♥
tagging: IDK STEAL IT PLEASE, just don’t ramble like i did.
#cw long post#i got out of hand officer i'm sorry. i'm guilty of making long posts all the time. uwu.#✦ │ 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙾𝙽𝚂 & 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙾𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚂 ––– i do hate parting with information.#✦ │ 𝙳𝙰𝚂𝙷 𝙶𝙰𝙼𝙴𝚂 ––– oh how i love games of chance.
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What about peace by Taylor swift? I don’t have a specific ship I jsut like that song
hey babe it’s been a minute since you sent me this but i knew when you did that it was gonna be mashton and i just needed to be in the right headspace and finally i’ve written it <3 i fucking love this song so i hope i did it justice !!
ao3 link!
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Michael is tired.
It’s late, really late, so maybe that’s why; maybe it’s just the weight of the darkness, tugging at his limbs, wearing him out. Maybe a good night’s sleep would fix it, but Michael doubts it. It’s not that kind of tired.
No, this tired is deep and abiding. It’s been there for a long time, and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere anytime soon. He’s tired of having his guard up, tired of hiding his face behind real walls, his heart behind figurative ones, tired of blinking camera flashes out of his eyes. Tired of reading about himself in the news.
Tired of pretending he’s not tired.
In his arms, yawning, Ashton is sleep-tired. Michael can tell. The night is pulling at them both, and in a few minutes Ashton will probably fall asleep. They’re not tired for any reason except the hour; the day had been relaxing, easy, comfortable. Michael loves relaxing evenings with Ashton, eating pizza and cuddling in front of the TV, when the biggest stressor is trying to guess who will get eliminated from whatever shitty reality show they’ve put on. For a few hours, Michael gets to forget about his baggage, about the madness that is his life; sometimes Ashton will try to carry the burden, but on days like these he manages to vanish it completely, for just a little while.
But it’s back, now. And Ashton has been around for long enough that Michael figures they should at least talk about it. Ashton deserves a warning. If this is going to become anything, anything at all more than it already is — and Michael has his doubts, because inevitably every time he’s ever gotten close to anything more it’s crashed and burned before him — Ashton should know what he’s getting into.
Before Michael can say anything, though, Ashton murmurs, “You okay, Mike?”
Michael sighs. Trust Ashton to know. “Why do you ask?”
Ashton tilts his head to look Michael in the eyes. “I don’t know. Your…vibes are different.”
Michael huffs a laugh. “My vibes?”
“Yes, your vibes,” Ashton says stubbornly. “They’re off. What’s going on?” He kisses Michael’s shoulder. “Thinking hard?”
Michael inclines his head. “When am I not?”
“True,” Ashton says, smiling gently. “About what?”
About how this relationship has an expiration date, Michael doesn’t say. He worries his bottom lip and avoids Ashton’s eyes. About how badly I want you to stay, and how likely you are to leave when I tell you the reality of my life. Ashton’s eyes will trip him up, because they’re so earnest, so sincere, and Michael will forget about his stupid fucking hangups and just say, like, you’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever met or I love you I love you I love you please never leave or even just nothing, let’s go to sleep.
“There’s something I want to talk to you about,” he says carefully. “Nothing bad. Well. Nothing bad about you.”
Ashton frowns. “Okay,” he says.
Michael closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath. “So, um, obviously I love you. So much. You’re one of the best people I’ve ever met, and I — I don’t know how my luck is this good after everything, that I found you, that you…want to be with me, but.” Another breath. “But you have to know that this isn’t going to be, like, a normal relationship.”
He pauses. Ashton says, a hint wry, “Yeah, I figured.”
“Okay, but you’re not — fuck, I don’t want to sound arrogant or anything here,” Michael says, pressing the heels of his palm against his eyes. “Like, I’m really…famous?” He laughs a bit. “Yeah. I’m really famous.”
“I know that.”
“And I’ve taken a lot of shit in the past, and like, whatever, I can get past that, but…the people who are in relationships with me take a lot of shit, too. Without fail. Every boyfriend I’ve ever had has had at least one scathing article about them. No matter what I do, it always happens. I can’t stop them writing about my life.” He opens his eyes finally, and he looks over at Ashton, whose face is unreadable. Michael doesn’t like that; Ashton wears his heart on his sleeve, most of the time. “You’ll never have peace with me, Ash. I can’t control that. So you just should know that.” He swallows. “I’m sorry.”
Ashton looks mildly alarmed. “Why are you sorry? Are you breaking up with me?”
“No! No, no, fuck no,” Michael says quickly. “I’m sorry that we can’t just be a normal couple in a normal relationship. I’m sorry this won’t be easy, I’m sorry that it has to be this complicated. I’m — I’m fucking sorry that being with me comes with all this fine print. You’re incredible, and I love you, but you can’t be flying blind here. I’m giving you the chance to —”
“To leave?” Ashton says, in a strangled voice. “You think I’d leave because it’s hard? All relationships are hard, Michael.”
“I’m not saying they’re not,” Michael says firmly. “But this one is hard in a really atypical way, you have to at least admit that.”
“Every relationship has challenges,” Ashton says. Michael opens his mouth, but Ashton beats him to it. “Okay, I get it that this is different. You’re one of the biggest pop stars in the world, and I’m just some bloke from Australia. Yeah, it’s not the same, but whatever. I love you. We’ll figure it out.”
And if we don’t? Michael thinks, but looking at Ashton, he can’t bring himself to say it. “That’s the thing, though, you know? You’re not just some bloke from Australia. Not to me, but also not to them. You’re going to be Michael Clifford’s boyfriend.” Bitterly, he scoffs, “His latest boyfriend. Latest in a string of failed relationships, is probably what they’ll say.”
“Fine,” Ashton says, and his voice sounds like steel. “Michael, you have to know I don’t care. I don’t care. They don’t know what we know. They’re not here with us.”
“You say that now,” Michael says.
“And I’ll say it forever,” Ashton interrupts. “Michael. I love you. That’s the only thing that matters to me, okay? Everything else we’ll deal with as it comes. That’s how every relationship is.” He cradles Michael’s face in his hands, palms as warm as his voice when he speaks again. “I don’t want peace, Michael. I don’t want easy. I want you, whatever that takes.”
Michael stares at him, but Ashton doesn’t waver. “Okay,” he says quietly. “But if you change your mind —”
“Stop,” Ashton says, and Michael falls silent, always at Ashton’s whim. “You’re telling me all the reasons this relationship won’t work. What about all the reasons it will? What about the reasons it does?” He holds up a finger. “First of all, I love you.” A second finger. “And you love me. So that’s already two reasons.”
Michael bites his lip. “Yeah. True.”
“Third,” Ashton says, “I’m an excellent cook, and you’re awful at it. So you need me around.”
A laugh escapes off Michael’s tongue despite his best efforts to stop it. “Hey, now.”
“Fourth, my siblings would probably kill me if I broke up with you,” Ashton says, putting up a fourth finger. Michael giggles. “And I enjoy being alive. Don’t even get me started on my mum.”
“My mum would kill me,” Michael agrees.
“Fifth,” Ashton says softly, lowering his hand to link it with Michael’s, “I am hopelessly in love with you.” Michael feels himself blush, feels his heart rate pick up even though it’s not the first time Ashton’s said it. Ashton always makes his heartbeat feel like a drumroll. “So whatever happens, happens, but I’m not going anywhere if I have anything to say about it. Rain or shine. You’re far too important to me for that.”
Michael wonders if it would be wrong to cry, or if Ashton would take it the wrong way. He doesn’t cry, but it’s a close thing, so instead he presses forward, capturing Ashton’s lips in his own, trying to say me too without having to actually say it, because to say it wouldn’t feel like enough. Two syllables can’t adequately express everything Michael feels about Ashton, now and forever, but maybe Ashton will understand anyway. Maybe Ashton will just know.
“I don’t know how I got this lucky, but holy fuck, I am so glad I did,” Michael breathes, pulling barely away, leaning his forehead against Ashton’s. “You mean the world to me, Ash. I love you. I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“Thank you,” Michael amends, because that’s what he means anyway. “Thank you for — fuck, for everything. For hearing me out. For still being here. For being the best fucking person I’ve ever known.”
The corners of Ashton’s mouth pull upward. “I’ll accept that. And thank you for trusting me.”
It had never been a question, whether or not Michael ought to trust Ashton, to love Ashton. From their first day, Michael had been sold; to fall in love with Ashton had always been a question of when and not if. “Look at us,” he murmurs, “communicating like mature adults. If only the press could see us now.”
Ashton laughs. “You don’t want that.”
“No, I don’t.” He can’t avoid it — neither of them can — but Michael can pretend, just for now. This moment, with Ashton, can be their secret. “I love you.”
“I love you,” Ashton echoes. He presses another kiss to Michael’s lips. “And I’m tired, and I can tell you are too. Stop thinking so hard for tonight. Go to sleep.”
There’s nothing Michael wants more. “Okay,” he says. There’s a rare, unfamiliar feeling settling in his chest, his bones, as he shifts his position to fully embrace Ashton, brushing a kiss to the back of his neck.
As Michael falls asleep, Ashton’s heartbeat under his hands, he realizes the feeling is peace.
#michael clifford#ashton irwin#mashton#mashton fic#5sos#5sos fic#fic#my fic#ahhh i have genuinely thought about writing this fic every time ive heard peace for the last three months#like literally since you sent this ask emily#every time i would hear peace id be like fuck i have to write that fic#but i was never in the right mental place#until now!#so anyway. pretend like michael is taylor swift#ya know#tossing this one in the queue#god i fucking love queuing fics it's such a unique brand of chaos#q#pixiegrl#ask#answered#i think there's comedy in me putting this fic in my queue and then manually posting it anyway#this is for iba#i mean obviously it's for emily but it's for iba as well
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Recommend some good folk metal music please
:D i never thought i’d see the day when someone actually wants to know more about the music i listen to *cracks knuckles* my time has come
I apologize in advance for this novel. Feel free to skip to the recommended tracks lol.
Most folk metal comes out of northern Europe (Finland, heavily) though you can find it all over the world (Hu Band comes to mind but I mean, it’s on every continent). I am one of those people with like, a small handful of favorite bands that I listen to mercilessly so I am sure that I am only representing a miniscule percentage of what’s available out there. What’s great is that folk metal is much more versatile than many other genres in its sound; the essence of folk metal is simply to 1) utilize traditional (or rather, in the sense of a metal band, non-traditional) instruments such as violin, accordion, brass ensemble, bagpipes, what have you, and 2) have lyrical themes which revolve around regional folklore, mythology, cultural heritage, or place (what I particularly like is a frequent reverence and respect for nature). Other genres of metal (death, black) have the second element but not the first, and tend to incorporate darker overall tones and consistently harsher or lo-fi vocal styles and sounds. Folk metal can be a gateway genre into metal and can often be quite hopepunk (if you will). Because of these criteria, the actual sound of folk metal can range from sea shanties to ‘spooky walk in the midnight woods’ to scathing social commentary to SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SH
Basically you can find a range of styles within the genre that fit what you’re looking for, from those that have an orchestral, ballad feel, to things that border on death metal but have a hurdy-gurdy in there. There’s also a much higher percentage of female-led folk metal bands than other metal genres.
I’ll go through my top picks.
Turisas. These motherfuckers. My boys.
Turisas is based in Finland, but sing primarily in English (with occasional Finnish, a smidge of Greek and Swedish too). Four albums out to date, fifth in progress. Sound is absolutely fucking bonkers god tier shit, if I may say so myself. Every single song sounds like you’ve been transported into an Iliad metal musical. Heavy use of a full orchestra and choir, along with sick violin and accordion solos. Their lyrical themes focus heavily on ancient Greco-Roman and Viking military history - but before you raise any red flags, rest assured they’re liberal as fuck and trust me the tea is scalding when Mathias feels like making a Point about Then and Now. No seriously, I don’t know how to express the beauty and depth of his songwriting - Mathias Nygård is an incredibly talented composer, musician, and songwriter (nay, POET), and an extremely intelligent and down to earth guy. There are plenty of bands that are happy to write Viking songs about pillaging and glorious death in battle and all that (Alestorm comes to mind), those are a dime a dozen. Turisas makes history come to life in a way that transports you back in time and thrusts you into the living breathing world of the past. They deal with the horrors and tragedy of war from both sides, consequences and motivations, fears and pride and loss, home and family, despair and hope. They write songs about people, big and small, and their role in weaving the great tapestry of history. And the best part is that it’s informed - Mathias does his damn research and the tales he tells are rooted in fact. He brings them to life so we can experience what it must have been like for those real living people, with the goal of forcing us to confront our own selves in them. He’s a modern Homer, I shit you not.
Did I mention there’s a song about pirates that’s actually really complex and nuanced, about how the hypocrisy and vile colonialist deeds of emperors makes them no different than the criminals they persecute?
Or that they do a badass cover of Rasputin?? yeah?????
Anyway enough gushing. Their second and third albums (The Varangian Way, Stand Up And Fight) are consecutive concept albums that follow the story of the Varangian Guard (the legendary Viking battalion that defended Alexander the Great) so the songs are actually chronologically linked to tell this epic tale. It’s a fucking listen, lads. The Varangian Way is probably my favorite album. But all their albums are top notch.
My favorite songs: End of An Empire (this one comes for 2020 hard), Piece by Piece (AKA die fascists 2k20), Cursed Be Iron, Among Ancestors, Greek Fire, Miklagard Overture (you gotta earn this song tho, it’s the finale)
Good first listen picks/hits: Battle Metal, To Holmgard and Beyond, March of the Varangian Guard, Ten More Miles, One More
Finntroll. These other motherfuckers. My other boys.
Another big name in the Finnish folk metal scene. As you can see, their band revolves both aesthetically and musically around Scandinavian troll folklore. Yall weird elf-fuckers who like the really big ears? Here you go. Look at those ears. They’re good friends with Turisas. Both love their facepaint.
Musical style leans much more towards black and death metal influenced, with a heavier, fuller sound and growling vocals. But it’s an incredibly rich and creative aural tapestry, with layers of masterfully executed sound that’s a real delight to lose yourself in. Use of fiddle, brass, keyboard, accordion, and banjo, and strong folk melodies make their sound unmistakable and unique. They are known for their ‘black humppa’ beat, which basically gives the effect of feeling the primal need to stomp around loudly to their music. It’s great cardio. They also utilize orchestra in some great intro tracks. They know their stuff.
The majority of their songs are sung in Swedish (they do some English cover songs which are FANTASTIC holy SHIT), but don’t let that stop you. The mood and power and emotion of their music transcend language, and you can be sure the lyrics are about either trolls, witches, the dark woods, spirits, or something of that ilk. I think Swedish as a language works very well with this kind of music, and honestly having it in English would lose something.
They have been around a long time and so have many albums, but I personally have only listened to the last three which feature their current singer, Mathias Lillmåns, whom I adore. Those albums are Nifelvind, Blodsvept, and their recent release Vredesvävd (that i’ve had on repeat since I got it three weeks ago). I’m sure their other ones are great too, I just can’t make a personal recommendation since I haven’t heard them.
My favorite songs: Galgasång, Tiden Utan Tid, Ylaren, Skogsdotter, Två Ormar, Ett Norrskensdåd, Skövlarens Död
Good first listen picks/hits: Forsen, Under Bergets Rot, Häxbrygd, Trollhammaren (older song), Solsagan
I’ll go through these other ones a little faster, I haven’t heard quite as much from them but I do love them.
Korpiklaani.
Great, full folk sound, utilizes a lot of folk instruments including some less commonly seen ones like hurdy gurdy. Songs are mostly in Finnish but plenty in English too. Jonne Järvelä has a really unique voice that grows on you, but it’s not for everyone. The band started as Sami folk, and Jonne is trained in Sami yoik singing, which makes an appearance in a few songs. I prefer the Finnish tracks, as a lot of the English ones are drinking songs lmao. But again, really well-executed music with layers of sound that keeps you hooked. I haven’t heard enough of their discography to really recommend enough to cover everything.
Song picks: Minä Näin Vedessä Neidon, Metsälle, Ämmänhauta, Lempo
Moonsorrow.
Definitely a darker, black-folk band. Probably not a great pick if you aren’t accustomed to black metal - very long tracks (8-15 mins is standard), growling/shrieking vocals, a ‘thinner’ but encompassing wall of sound usual of black metal, but with the benefit of wonderfully entrancing dark folk elements and chants. It’s done really really well. Sung almost entirely in Finnish (apart from cover tracks). Lyrically, focuses on themes of Norse mythology, man vs nature and similar elements. Definitely one of those bands whose music gets you into a zone. I can lose serious time just putting a whole album on and letting my mind wander elsewhere. My favorite album is Jumalten Aika.
Song picks: Ruttolehto Sis. Päivättömän Päivän Kansa (my fucking FAVORITE), Suden Tunti (well known hit), and also uhh check out their cover of Non Serviam cause it’s a fucking banger
Other bands that I like what I’ve heard but really can’t say much about them, whoops - Tyr (from the Faroe Islands, great stuff, Faroese is a baller language), Ensiferum, Nightwish (female-led).... I’m open to suggestions. Like I said, there are folk metal bands all over the world, and each is intrinsically linked to a sense of place and cultural identity that makes them unique. I’d love to hear about more tbh.
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