#also its not like she never put her and her brothers lives at risk anyways
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Zaros x Reader
You leave Serulla, only returning when danger threatens your kingdom
This fic is based on THIS brilliant theory by @astralbulldragon13. I simply couldn't get it out of my head and had to write about it I have to say I'm not very happy with the way this came out, but I spent too much time on it to not post it😭
Also, this is really long (almost 3.5k words) idk how it happened🤡 when I started writing it, I just couldn't stop. Plz let me know if i made any mistakes
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"There, you win. Your son is now the Eminence, but know this, if you try to rule my kingdom vicariously through your Zaros, or control his new life in any way, there is no where you could go, no hole you can hide in, that I won’t find you."
-
The realisation dawned on you, way before the trials began. You weren’t interested in the throne; that wasn’t where your heart lies. That position was polished and refined for your brother, but guilt has its ways of twisting one's mind and kept you fighting for a life that was stolen from him, replacing a prodigy child that was stolen from your mother.
Zaros' insults and demeaning remarks only contributed to your mindset, though that didn’t make them any less hurtful. How could they not be? Especially when coming from someone you admired and cherished. They were fuel to the fire, a constant reminder of how unfit you are.
It was hard to imagine yourself as a good ruler anyways. Sure, you were knowledgeable, but what good is education with no real experience or empathy for the struggles of your people? Not to mention being cloaked by a porcelain mask 24/7, designed and altered to meet the needs of the people around you.
Zaros, on the other hand, was different. His pernicious attitude cracked the corners of your mask, forcing raw emotions to erupt to daylight. It was a distasteful experience considering your position, but deep down you never felt more alive than when you could be yourself with him, throwing insults right back into his face. It forced the masked persona to face the real you and come to terms with what you wanted, before it was too late.
You wanted a life that was yours to live, a life where you could be yourself. Not one you are forced to live, or a person you are required to be. There were things you had to let go of and things you needed to learn.
By himself, Zaros would be a skillful leader capable of building a successful future for Serulla. He had the experience that you lacked, that alone could potentially secure Serulla a brighter future than you could ever offer. The only threat was his mother, Nira Atha’lin. She was obnoxious, quick to point out every miniscule flaw and mistake in your ways, if Zaros was unbearable, she was enough to push you to insanity. Her personality was sour and ugly, like biting into a mouldy rotting fruit. Her intentions are unclear, but it isn’t hard to see her abusing the authority of her son and the crown.
Though that didn’t matter, you trust Zaros, he would never put the wellbeing of Serulla at risk. He’s headstrong and stubborn. It’s no wonder you admire him, in some way or another he’s just like you.
He has become a decent acquaintance in your life. Looking back, he could have easily double-crossed you in the trials and spited his way to the top, but he didn’t. Every last minute of it was fair and just. Maybe that’s why you felt so strongly for him now.
-
Outside the hall, minutes away from a final decision, both Zaros and you stood. If you had something to do, now was the time to do it.
He reaches for the heavy gold handles of the door, but he doesn’t get to push it open.
"Zaros", you take his hand.
He ignores the door, turning to face you.
"If you are indeed the victor, which.... I have no doubt you are; I need you to promise me something."
His eyebrows perk upwards, and he steps closer, taking your hand fully in his.
"We don't know that yet. You gave me quite a challenge during the trials you know. Don't tell me you're giving up now?", signature smirk plastered to his face, though you no longer feel the need to punch it off.
“Please listen to me.”, you sigh, "I need you to promise me you'll never let Serulla suffer. I know I'm not capable of helping all the people who deserve our help, but you are. I’m certain of it, so promise me."
The seriousness in your eyes was enough to stifle his usual sarcasm.
"I... I promise." He barely mutters, no longer smiling. It’s an unusual sight, the kind that makes you feel nauseous. He's even more alarmed when you offer a pinkie to him, like you used to do years ago when you were just kids roaming the corridors and sneaking into the kitchen.
"Pinkie promise?" You smile.
He caught his own pinkie onto yours. "I promise, I'll do my best."
He knew what you were about to do. But he also knows how stubborn you are and there was no way he could stop you, no matter how desperately he wanted to.
After facing Nira that day, you smiled at him and whispered a gentle "Take care of yourself and my home for me". You swore that from that moment onwards, you’d never mask yourself again.
Those were your last words to him before you'd vanished, leaving behind only a letter. In which, you asked that he looked after your mother and detailed an apology as well as a segment of feelings you'd harboured for him. It was an intended goodbye before he forgets about you, lest you have a reason to return. You hoped you wouldn't.
-
Throughout your travels you faced many hardships, the expected reality of being a lone traveler. But you grew from those experiences. You learnt from the people around you and made friends.
You sharpened your survival skills as you traversed the lands, a melody of experiences of new cultures and flavours, from continents you'd only dreamt of, melted on your tongue. Those fleeting dreams were nothing compared to the reality you held in your own two hands. You learnt to appreciate life and how to trust.
The last place you ventured was the Northern Nation, though their reputation is scandalous, their culture is rich. What you weren’t expecting was to meet see a familiar face, a palace staff, an informant no less. Only now he worked for Nira, delivering letters to the most dangerous kingdom of all the nations and had informed you that you were banned from the home you grew up in.
After 8 years, it was time to turn back. It was time to head home.
-
There was a masquerade ball being held in Serulla at dawn, the perfect opportunity to tiptoe into the palace unnoticed. What was the plan? You weren’t entirely sure but one way or another you had to speak to Zaros. If you marched in like you own the place, you would be promptly kicked out a few feet upon entering the gate. It’s a good thing you knew your way around every crack and crevice like the back of your hand. It shouldn’t be too hard blending in once you’re inside. But first you needed clothes and a mask, nothing extravagant, just enough to blur into the masses.
Learning to walk silently made slipping in as easy as dreaming, before you could blink you were in the ballroom. Oh, did it feel nostalgic, you remember the times you were the main focus of these elaborate events. Now look at you, sneaking in and avoiding any attention whatsoever. You missed these walls, they look the exact same since you’ve left them, grand, luxurious and unchanged. You couldn’t help but take a minute to reminisce and admire.
“Can I ask for a dance later, mysterious stranger?” a young man snapped you out of your trance.
“I’m afraid not sir. I have prior arrangements for the evening”, you bow. “My sincerest apologies.”
What a nuisance, you thought, abruptly turning and leaving. You had to find Zaros. As King of Serulla he had to be here, his presence is of utmost importance and entirely compulsory for this kind of event. Perhaps he’d show up later in the evening, all you had to do was wait amongst the crowd. Maybe a drink would take the edge off while you do, maybe it would help you ignore the eyes you felt burning holes into your back.
Hours later the arrival of the king was finally announced, and there he was, fashionably late in all his blond glory. He’s just as captivating as you left him all those years ago, just as beautiful and refined. It was like staring at the sun, glowing so brightly it just might blind someone. Yes, you were staring, but so was everyone else. Who wouldn’t stare when graced with the presence of the King himself? His lips moved as he acknowledged his audience, but your mind was too preoccupied with gawking at him to hear a single word. You’re yanked back to reality when the crowd scatters at his dismissal, so you retreat to a space further away, where you could keep an eye on him as he conversed with guests. It would be unwise to approach him now, there’s too many eyes on him this early into the night. Once the crowd has had their fill of wine and was no longer capable of seeing any further than their nose, you’d seize the opportunity to steal him away.
Lay low, keep an eye on him. Two simple tasks to accomplish. But the fool you’d rejected earlier in the eventing, now a drunken fool, apparently doesn’t understand the meaning of two simple letters, no. You rejected him twice already but he keeps coming back.
“I’m not taking no for answer hic- you simple must dance with me”, before you could reject him again, he’s dragging you to the floor. If it weren’t for the fact that you didn’t want any attention tonight, his arm would’ve been broken on the spot.
You struggle in his grip as he swayed you, haphazardly and arrhythmic to the music, and FUCK you lost sight of Zaros. If only this imbecile would let go of you! And cease his gooselike movements!
“Unfortunately, good sir, they’re not available to dance with YOU this evening.”, you’re backed into a hard wall, a clothed wall? A familiar smelling wall. A speaking wall.
His sticky hands are gone from your body in an instant, he even backs away from you.
“You-your Majesty”, he stuttered.
“All of their dances are promised to me tonight. I’ll assume you weren’t aware and turn a blind eye just this once.”, the wall speaks again, replacing unpleasant hands with a gentle yet possessive grip. It's very obvious who this wall is.
“Now if you’ll excuse us, I’ll be stealing them away now”, he doesn’t wait for a response, pulling you further onto the dance floor. You’re still facing away from him as he guides your body to the tune that swirls the room.
“Welcome back Earis” he whispers and you can just hear the smirk he’s wearing.
“A bit of a lost cause on such title now, aren’t I?” you answer. “How did you know it was me?”, he moved your body effortlessly, like it was made specially to fit beneath his palms.
“How could I not? I could feel your eyes on me all night.” Following the music, he spins you around to finally face him. “Even if death took me, I’d still remember those eyes.”
You scoff, “How charming. But everyone’s eyes are on you tonight.”
“Hmm you think so? A shame, none are as captivating as yours.”
“I need to speak to you Zaros.”
“We’re speaking right now, are we not?”
Fuck, why does he always have to be so difficult?
“Not here. I need to speak to you in private.”
There was too much attention on him for you to speak freely, it’s a surprise guards haven’t escorted you out the room yet.
“Sounds alarming. And just when I thought you came back to see me.” he fakes a frown, and let’s go of your hand as he ends the dance. You curtsy, and he leans closer to whispers for you to follow him. He leaves first and you linger around the corners before disappearing yourself.
Eventually you’re back in the abandoned hallways of the palace, walking with Zaros.
“So why are you back?”
“I’ve made a recent discovery, and I was worried. I needed to talk to you about it.”
“Worried?”
“You’re aware of the notoriety of the Northern Nation, correct?”
“Who isn’t? Their name stains chapters of history text with the blood they’ve spilt.”
“Yes, that’s why it was a surprise when I found out your mother exchanges letters with their King and his court.”
He halts, “What? What are you talking about?”
You turn to him, removing the mask from your face. “While I stayed in the city of the Northern Nation, I recognised a familiar face. A Surullian informant. I’ve seen him work for my mother for years, naturally, I was confused by his presence there.”, you sigh. “I tried to get as much information as I could from him, but he knew nothing. He had simple instructions from your mother to deliver the letters to and from the Northern Kingdom. Unfortunately for me, he had already passed on the letters, so I did not get a look. He swore to never tell a soul of our encounter to avoid any further issues, but I also found out I'm blacklisted here.”
“What are you saying? Why would she even want to converse with the Northern Kingdom? An alliance with them is like an alliance with hyenas. They bring nothing but war and bloodshed. And what on Earth do you mean ‘blacklisted’?”, he shouts in frustration. “She’s my mother, I trust her. I find it all of this hard to believe.”
“Hah of course you don't believe me." you look around frantically. "Follow me.”
He stomped after you as you made your way for the nearest set of guards.
“Wait here, and watch.”
You walked up to them, as if to inquire something, only to be quickly apprehended.
“Let go of them immediately! What do you think you're doing?”, Zaros march in their direction.
“Apologies, your Majesty. We’re only following orders!”
“Whose orders?”, he yells.
“Lady Atha’lin, you Majesty!”, the fear is evident in their voices, and you give him a knowing look.
“Fuck”, he whispers under his breathe. “You’re dismissed and inform every guard in this palace that no one is to lay a finger on them. Do you hear me?”, he says, curt and unforgiving, as they shuffle away clumsily.
“As I said, blacklisted. Do you believe me now mama’s boy?”
If looks could kill, you’d be dead in milliseconds the way he glared at you. He's angry as can be, it’s not every day the tables are turned.
“A shame, had I been kicked out at the gates, you’d be oblivious to your mommy’s devious little plans.” You push.
“Oh what do you care? You left Serulla for 8 years. You’re back to warn me once and suddenly you’re high and might?”
“Hah, I was not just here to warn you. No Zaros, my initial plan was to meet your mother directly.”, you roll your eyes.
“Allow me to refresh your memory, 8 years ago, before I left, I made a promise to Nira Atha’lin that if she threatened Serulla in any way I’d be back to drag to her to hell with me. For your sake, I wanted to meet you first. But know this Zaros, if you’re incapable of handling your mother, I am not. I have no qualms in removing her by force, with or without your permission.”
You went overboard, but it was too late to take it back. The anger in his eyes boils over, as does the internal turmoil, but he keeps silent. He paces back and forth, and it might be better if you left him alone with his thoughts for a while.
“I’ll leave you be for now, when you are ready to find me again, I’ll be in the garden.”, a vast contrast to the tone you had previously.
-
You leave Zaros to decipher his feelings alone, it would be better if you weren’t there. You were annoyed at him for doubting you, yet that was no way for you to speak to him, especially considering the amount of information to process in such short time. How did it even progress that quickly? Sometimes old habits are hard to kill. You needed to apologise to him later.
The garden is still as beautiful as it always was, flourishing healthily despite your mother’s absence. You had heard of it, the news circulated Serulla and its neighbouring nations with the passing wind. The Queen was no more, and her child was absolutely vile for leaving her. People will always talk.
But it looks like Zaros kept his promise to take care of your home.
The garden was silence, as you stood before the two memorial tablets mounted there. One for your brother, another for your mother. You prayed that somewhere in her heart she’d forgiven you for leaving her alone. You wipe away the tears that warmed your cheek.
“She kept speaking highly of you, to the very end.”, his voice startles you, relaxed and calmer now.
“I don’t deserve it, I left her. But there was no point in returning then, if anything it made me not want to return at all.”, you replied, kissing the top of the stone with your mother’s name carved into it.
“I’m sorry.”, he sounded sincere, the most sincere you’ve ever heard him be.
“It’s not your fault, we all have to die one day, do we not?”
“No, for not stopping you from leaving.”
“What?”, confusion thickens your voice. “What are you talking about?”
“All these years you were gone, I couldn’t help but believe it was my fault. I felt guilty, like I pushed you out of your own home. Like this was never truly my place, but yours. I’d found you again after 8 years, only for you to slips through my fingers for another 8. I really am sorry.”
“Zaros.”, you stand directly in front of him. “That was not your fault. I chose to leave. I wanted to, I had to find myself. If anything, your stupid insults helped me, although they still hurt, don't get me wrong. Besides look at how well off Serulla is! You are more of a ruler than I ever would’ve been-”
“And I missed you.” He cuts you off and silence ensues, save for the soft howls of the wind. You didn’t expect him to confess that to you so openly and easily.
“I… I missed you too.” He takes a breath and smiles, not one of his devious smirks or teasing grins. A real genuine smile that once again showed a sincerity you were unfamiliar with. You sit with him in silence for a long time, admiring the stars and flowers. and you remembered a conversation you had a long time ago. He was right watching them in the moonlight was comforting. You could only hope he feels the same way right now.
“Remember how you told me to look at the flowers in the garden at night? It was so long ago; I almost don’t remember their name. What were they called again? Bitter bell something?”, you reminisced.
“Bitter bell dureni” (sorry ik I probably butchered that idk how to spell)
“Right, yes those. I got to see them tonight. They really are beautiful.”
“I’m sorry for how I reacted.", he confessed. "I promised you I’d keep Serulla safe, and I intend to keep that promise, even if it means revoking all authorities from my mother.”
“I’d much rather not use violence too. I apologise for provoking you.”
“I suppose it was a taste of my own medicine”, he laughs and you join him. “Does this mean you’re leaving again?”
“What? Do you want me to leave that badly?”
“Ha-ha, very funny.”
“No, I plan on staying a while, as long as your guards keep their hands to themselves of course.”, he laughs again and you can see yourself getting addicted to it. He sounds serene.
“Then, it’s my honour to have you.”, he reaches for your hand. “Come, your old room has been vacant for 8 years. It’s about time someone used it.”
“You kept my room vacant?”
“I may have had a little hope you’d return some day. To Serulla. To me.”
It’s hard not to smile when he says such things.
You take his hand, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek, and he averts his gaze, though not enough to hide the dusty pink shade of his skin.
“I have another question.”,
“Yes?”
“Did you really mean all those things you said in your letter?”
It’s silent again as you walk the familiar path to your room. You both knew the answer to that.
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OHENSBNDMDNG okokokok let me tell you a story. While thinking back on brozone's flashback at the start of band together, my mind fell on grandma Rosie Puff, and how I've come to be really intrigued in her. How did she end up having to raise all of brozone on her own? Where the hell are their parents? But most importantly, how can we make one of the only other character traits of hers that have not much to do with brozone have some sort of hidden lore to it? I'm talking about the scene where she shows to be very very enthusiastic and serious about rummy, and supposedly other gambling games.
And for a while I've been SUCKIJG AND CHEWING on that crumb of bread. LITERALLY.
What could this mean for the world of trolls? Does gambling exist within singular troll genre clans? Orrrrr is there some sort of clandestine gambling world going on outside of the old troll tree where trolls of all different backgrounds and obscured pasts come together to gamble together? What the hell am I on?
But anyway! That thought never really went anywhere. It just stood in my mind. But I had no idea what to do with it.
And then.... Your trolls Royal Flush au came out of NOWHERE.
I've only just started reading the Google doc and I've gotten past the adaptation of brozone's fallout and, I just gotta say that I really appreciate you giving Rosiepuff a whole lot more autonomy and control over a bad situation. Instead of just staying in one place, where she barely made any huge life decisions that affected Branch (other than sacrificing herself) and having a very vague picture of what kind of person she was, this single paragraph in your Google doc about what she and branch did after brozone disbanded has done A WHOLE TON OF HEAVY LIFTING TO CHARACTERIZE HER THAT I REALLY, REALLY HOLD DEAR.
How she probably became a beam of hope to little baby branch after realizing his brothers are never coming back.
How her bold decision to completely change her and branch's life for a better future, makes her a strong, determined, and confident person.
How... She must've been the ONLY PERSON in Branch's life he could still rely on at that point.
Its just... I've known this lady for a single paragraph but her death just means so much more, and HURTS so much more. Dying in the place she used to thrive in.
SUDDENLY THIS BEAM OF HOPE, THAT WAS THE MAIN SOURCE OF BRANCH'S STRENGTH was taken away from him. So suddenly. So unexpectedly.
I'M GONNA KILL MYSELF
Sorry I went on and on about a character who had one paragraph dedicated to her.
But she also got one paragraph
So therefore she's worth talking about.
In trolls one, we're supposed to care about Grandma Rosiepuff's death because of her assumed importance to Branch without really knowing ANYTHING about her.
But in this AU, you just painted such a clear image of her, we knew her for one paragraph but we also realized she's all that Branch had for a good portion of his lonely childhood. So much more than just one scene of her being taken by a berger, than just one paragraph.
Just!!!!!!!!!! I'm happy I'm really happy with what you did with Rosiepuff. Slay in peace, sweetheart.
BUT NOT JUST THAT-
THIS ENTIRE AU'S WORLD BUILDING.... Is really really thorough!!!!! Like!!!!! It's so well done!!!!! I loved the introduction to the world at the start of the Google doc, AND I LOVED HOW YOU INCORPORATED THIS WORLD BUILDING FOR ROSIEPUFF'S BACKSTORY.
AGHJHHHH I NEED TO CONTINUE READING
Thank you if you went this far!!!!! You deserve roses for all the amazing work you have ever put out into this world big or small, I'm excited to see where this goes.
🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
THANK YOU SO MUCH AAA!! yeah i knew that if i was doing a big casino au i couldnt NOT give grandma rosiepuff some connection to it i mean come ON!! i think thats generally a big overarching theme of how the city of luxgoode takes advantage of vulnerable people and like, taunting them as if risk can make their dreams come true. people will ruin their own lives if they can save the ones they love, even for some of the casino owners (gristle and creek obvi but i think even chaz is a lower rung in this system, it goes up to the 1% mount rageons, especially and mostly v&v's parents)
i also just. love the idea of brozone sharing traits w their grandma. jd may have pulled a lot of the weight but she did raise them too!
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Hello, I see the asks are open! Here is some of this cake I got after killing a slime in the skull cavern: 🍰 just ignore the purple slime on it, I'm sure it's fine. lol. Definitely not a bribe. Anyway.
I made a character recently who adopted a child. Could I ask for some headcannons for how the characters react to the farmer tearing up after their adopted child casually calls them dad/mom for the first time.
For context, their adoption was from before they moved to stardew valley but is still pretty recent and the child has a few abandonment issues so it's a pretty big deal. If it's ok, could I ask for the expanded characters as well?
*Chewing cake* Oh, I thought that purple thing was plum jam. Hmm... *Still chewing the cake* Delicious 😋 Thank you! So, about the question...
I'm not sure, dear anon, exactly which characters you meant, so I did the bachelors/ettes, also added the ones from SVE as well. Thanks for the question! Enjoy!
Hedcanons is written on a situation where the characters know for the situation of the Farmer and their child, that they had adopted the kid before coming to the Valley, and that the child had a sense of abandonment.
SDV/SVE bachelors:
Shane understands more than anyone how much a tsunami of emotions can knock you down at times like this. The day he put Jas to bed and she sleepily called him "Dad" he'll never forget. The girl had already forgotten it, but Shane remembered it forever.
A feeling of abandonment... When Alex's abusive father left him alone with his mother, and later she passed away... It took athlete a long time to shake off the feeling of being unwanted. It's a blessing that he still has his grandparents, and that this child has a loving parent, Farmer.
If you see a little river coming out of nowhere near your feet, just know it's all Elliott's tears. The writer was so touched by the event, its like as if it was his own child calling him father. Elliott doesn't want to get involved right now, but he will congratulate Farmer later.
Sebastian, without noticing it himself, smiled broadly as the crying Farmer hugged their adopted child. Even though he doesn't fully realize how important this is to Farmer, he's genuinely happy for them.
Sam, who in the absence of his father has become not only Vincent's best big brother but now part father figure, truly understands Farmer, even if their situations are a bit different. Every child should have a family and Sammy is glad that this kid have the Farmer in their life.
Humanity is capable of incredible cruelty, but also great compassion and kindness. And Harvey's glasses get a little wet when he witnesses true kindness. He can't put into words how happy he is for this kid and how proud he is of Farmer.
Victor would definitely need a whole box of tissues, maybe two. The fact that the Farmer's foster child could finally feel like a member of the family touched Victor so much that he cried quietly.
The sight of a crying Farmer hugging their kid makes Magnus both smile and feel unbearably sad at the same time. What it's like when a child calls you dad, alas, Magnus will probably never know.
Lance's heart filled with joy when abandoned children found a family again. The adventurer, however, took it upon himself to scold the Farmer if they risked their lives for no good reason, where a child might be left without a family again.
SDV/SVE bachelorettes:
Penny had to cover her face with her hands, for her face was already a little swollen and red from the endless flow of tears. How happy Penny is for them! The girl wishes all the best for this family.
No child should ever feel abandoned, and Leah is very proud of Farmer that even though they were young, they were able to be a great parent to a child. It's not something everyone can do.
As much as Abigail tried to hide her tears, she failed. And you know what? She doesn't care! Even a man with a stone for a heart would shed a tear. The little one deserves a home and a loving family. Hell yeah, Farmer, good job!
Oh, how happy Emily is for them, how happy she is! Happy people and acts of kindness will always overwhelm her with positive emotions. Especially after all the troubles the kid has been through, she is glad child found people who love and care for them.
"Awww" Maru couldn't help gasp in tenderness, and can you blame her when her friend and their child are so happy? She would congratulate Farmer later, she didn't want to distract them right now.
As Haley was about to take a picture of the happy family to give to them later, she stopped herself at the last moment. It seemed to her that it was too personal to take a picture without asking. So Haley would only observe this beautiful scene. Ugh, her tears made her mascara run....
Sophia is about to cry herself to tears. Such a touching moment, she just can't hold back her tears at the sight of her crying friend and how much a child's words mean to Farmer.
Coming out of Jojamart for a break, Claire happened to witness this moment when she saw Farmer standing in the park in the spot where the cashier usually rested. They were crying and cuddling their child. She was very happy for both of them, and decided to rest elsewhere, not wanting to disturb the parent and their kid.
The happy child and their wonderful parent are sure to be the first gossip Olivia tells her friends. Running a farm and giving a family to an adopted kid is a lot of work and a lot of responsibility, and the woman is genuinely happy for the child and proud of Farmer.
#thanks for the ask!#sdv#stardew valley#sve#stardew valley expanded#sdv headcanons#sve headcanon#sdv alex#sdv sebastian#sdv sam#sdv harvey#sdv shane#sdv elliott#sdv penny#sdv leah#sdv maru#sdv emily#sdv haley#sdv abigail#sve lance#sve magnus#sve victor#sdv wizard#sve sophia#sve olivia#sve claire#i like this ask so much#more hurt/comfort ❤️
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One thing I like about the fell xenologue is that all characters in the main campaign have the potential to become their fell xenologue counterparts. What FX did was basically amplify their worst traits to the maximum, and that effected how they interacted with their world, and this is especially present within the royals, and with them being the leaders of their countries that trickled down into their subjects and by proxy the other characters
I feel the best example of this is Celine, who is war-thirsty and ready to attack another country to protect her own subjects from the resource epidemic their country is facing. Celine in the main campaign has shown a similar form of ruthlessness, but on smaller scales, in some of her supports. What she is in FX is that part of her times 10. She's willing to more and more to protect her people, even to go so far as to put those lives of the people she loves at risk to believe that she's saving them all, even when it eventually resultts in their deaths
Diamant is also another perfect example. While Diamant just seems to be Main Game Alcryst, he's actually far different than that. FX Diamant is a king of a country that doesn't want to go to battle, of course, and while this was always the base, I believe it symbolizes FX Diamant's fearfulness. FX Diamant is afraid, he's unsure of himself, he knows his younger brother is more fit for the throne and that Alcryst is going to have him assassinated, or even worse, bring that blade down himself. Diamant has accepted his fate, he won't fight it. He wants to lead his country the best he can, but he's also lost his father. While Alear was alive in this universe as well, Alear fell far too soon to help Diamant be able to completely process his grief, stripping him of yet another ally. The Divine Dragon was everyone's closest friend, after all
Ivy I feel is a similar case but in a slightly different way. FX Ivy is almost like main campaign Hortensia in a way, but devoted to the Fell Dragon all the same. FX Ivy begs his return, something MC Ivy would never do, which leads me to believe that after Alear's death, her faith in the divine dragons was lost, allowing her to fall back onto her previous religion out of just pure emotion. Maybe she thought Sombron would resurrect Alear despite him being the one that killed them, or maybe she just wanted to use his power for her own and burn the entire world down as revenge against the universe for allowing Alear to fall. MC Ivy in battle with FX Ivy says that she hopes that she doesn't sound like FX Ivy, meaning that MC Ivy in some way sees her behaviors in FX Ivy (I've always assumed this was because Ivy was being very careful in the MC to not let that side of herself show while FX Ivy let that side of herself run wild)
Timerra, similar to Celine, wants to do what's best for her country, except FX Timerra has a bit more of a level head on her shoulders compared to FX Celine. (Also I will admit that we didn't get that much time with her compared to others). Solm is a country that keeps to itself and helps no one unless it benefits them mostly, and the only reason they wanted to go to war with Elusia was to keep them from resurrecting Sombron and effectively save their home, so it's worth gathering an army to meet them on the field of battle. They view Elusia power-hungry, and will absolutely tear Elyos to its roots if allowed to run free
Anyways that's it, I could go on about side characters but I feel like the royals are really at the heart of it all and are the best examples I can give. There are characters that are written to just be exact opposites instead of their worst traits, such as Bunet who was described as a terrible cook which pretty much goes completely against his MC character, but you get what I mean
#razz rambles#fire emblem#fire emblem engage#fe engage#engage#fee#fe17#fell xenologue#fell xenologue spoilers
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[SVT Imprinted] Mingyu: Change of Heart (Part 3)
Anonymous asked: can you do another part for mingyu where bomi has to face yoongi? we never found out what happened with the hunters
Anonymous asked: it would be cute to show more of the friendships among the pack!!! even if its just a little bit. i just really like how they interact
Characters: Mingyu x female reader
Genre/warnings: werewolf au, college au, angst, drugging and kidnapping, mentions of torture/abuse, slapping, comfort/fluff at the end, a lil suggestive at the end too, if i missed anything lmk!!! (this was also originally mingyu x oc so if i fucked up editing im sorry lmao)
Word count: 5,106
Summary: Things had been quiet for too long, and the pack thinks that your past has just forgotten about you. But werewolf hunters don’t forget, and they don’t usually let go of grudges. Unfortunately, though, one of the pack ends up getting sucked into your problems.
Tags: @psshwa @uglyratlmao @brokenbutchocolate @shra-vasti @killcomet @brattybunfornct @shuabby1994 @henloiamaweirdobye @anissanightyoung @babyminghao @minluvly @honeyylin @miki-chi @heemingyu @noraehey (if you’d like to be added to the tag list, please fill out this form!!!)
Unable to tag: @junuoyi
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This was probably the most uncomfortable thing the pack had to witness. Nobody was even sure why they had to witness it when it didn’t involve any of them.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it...” Junhui mumbled, staring at the floor instead of at anybody.
“I know, Jun,” Minghao sighed, “it’s okay.”
“Say it like you mean it,” Seungcheol ordered.
Junhui finally lifted his head, but only to glare at the alpha, “I do mean it!”
The whole Jun-saying-he-hates-Minghao thing was something was obviously creating tension in the pack, but that didn’t mean any of them wanted to be involved in the apology. They figured Junhui, Minghao, and Yoona would eventually talk it out on their own. But instead, Seungcheol called a ‘family meeting’ and was making Jun do it publicly in front of everyone.
“Cheol, it’s seriously fine,” Minghao insisted.
“No it’s not,” he stated. “What Junhui said was out of line.”
“And why does it concern us?” Joshua asked boredly from where he was leaning against the doorframe to the living room where everyone was gathered.
“Yeah, last time I checked, I’m not the one who ruined Jun’s life,” Areum deadpanned.
Most of the pack glared at her for joking about it. Some of them seemed surprised she’d said that, and two snickered at the comment.
“What?” she asked the alpha defensively. “I’m just pointing out how it doesn’t include me.”
Jun was a little immature when it came to his emotions. He didn’t really know how to express them without acting out, but he eventually came around and apologized. He actually was pretty easy to come around, but because Seungcheol was basically embarrassing him in front of the pack, he was doing so begrudgingly.
“We’re a family,” Seungcheol sighed. “When two of us are fighting, it affects all of us.”
“Like I said...” Areum trailed off, rolling her eyes.
“Okay,” you stood up with a breath and looked straight at Seungcheol, “I’m leaving. This is weird and they can figure it out. Last time I checked, I’m not their fourth, so.”
Seungcheol gave her a stern look, “No, you can’t leave a family meeting.”
Areum stood as well, shrugging, “I’ll risk the consequences.”
“Sounds good to me,” you decided, and the two of you squeezed by your mates, brothers, and sisters to get to the door.
“Hey!” Seungcheol called after the two of you. “If you leave, you’ll be punished later!”
But his threats fell on deaf ears as you and Areum left the house anyway, hoping Junhui and Minghao could fix their beef on their own -- or at least not while you had to witness the awkward conversation.
“You ever been one one of the bikes before?” you asked.
Areum’s eyebrows raised, “You know how to drive them?”
You scoffed, “One of them is mine, my grandparents gave it to me. Want a ride?”
So you secured a helmet onto Areum’s head before putting on yours. You got on the bike before Areum got on the back and wrapped her arms around your waist. And then the two of you were off. Areum didn’t have a preference of where to go, as long as she was out of that house. She didn’t even live there but she happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and got sucked into the awkward encounter.
You ended up pulling up at the mall, not knowing where else to kill a few hours. You parked toward the back where it was more secluded with less cars. You were admittedly a little nervous somebody would hit your bike with their car.
“So what do you think this punishment is gonna be?” Areum asked as she got off the bike and hung it from one of the handlebars, clearly not afraid of whatever Seungcheol was threatening.
After yours was off, you replied, “Can’t be any worse than watching that shit show.”
“It’s probably gonna be somethi--”
Before Areum could finish her guess of what the alpha had planned, she suddenly cut off with a very short screech. You whipped your head around to see Areum staring back at you with fear in her eyes, her mouth and nose covered by a cloth. Your eyes followed the hand holding the cloth and saw a masked man standing behind her. Before you could react, you had the same thing happen to you, but you tried her best not to breathe in.
You watched as Areum’s eyes slipped shut, and the man started dragging her away. You didn’t want to scream to waste air, so you tried to watch where they went, but your head was suddenly yanked back by your hair, causing you to inhale sharply. You were staring up at a man with his nose and mouth covered by a black mask, but you would know those cold eyes anywhere. They belonged to your former best friend, after all.
Yoongi.
“You thought we’d forgotten about you, huh?” he smirked as your thoughts started to get cloudy, and your eyelids began to feel heavy. “It’s unfortunate your friend had to get sucked into it, but nobody can know what happened to you.”
Yoongi removed the cloth and began dragging your body toward where Faye had gone. You tried your best to articulate words, but it was just a stuttered, mumbled mess. The blonde-haired boy chuckled, tossing you into the back of a van.
“You always were stubborn, _____. Guess that’s why I got along with you so well,” he told you. “Just stop fighting it and go to sleep.”
-
As Aya parked beside your bike, Mingyu flung the door open before the car was even stopped and ran to the abandoned motorcycle. Areum’s small backpack was left on the ground, and your phone had either been dropped, fallen out of your pocket, or intentionally left behind by whoever took you. But it was clear somebody had taken the two of you. He had a very bad feeling as soon as it happened, and he knew Chan must’ve felt the same thing. But he didn’t have time to call the youngest who was stuck in class because his first priority was to follow your scent to the scene of the crime.
“_____,” Aya called out as her, Seungcheol, and Soonyoung got out of the car. “Areum?”
They heard a buzzing noise coming from Areum’s bag, so Mingyu picked it up and unzipped it. Her phone was lit up by Chan’s name and a picture of the couple.
He answered it with a stressed, “Hey.”
“Chan?” Aya guessed.
Mingyu nodded.
“Oh, thank god someone answered!” he breathed. “Are you with Areum? Where are you? I have a really bad feeling and--”
“I’m not with her,” he finally managed to cut in. "I had the same feeling about _____ and they were together. I found her bike but both of them are gone and their stuff was left behind.
“Fuck,” Chan hissed.
“Who would’ve taken them?” Soonyoung wondered, looking between the three wolves.
Mingyu let out a short, dry laugh, “I can think of a couple people.”
Seungcheol suddenly took the phone from Mingyu, “Chan, I want you to go back to the house and get as many of the pack to go with you as you can. Follow the pull and we’ll meet you there.”
"But--”
“We won’t let anyone touch Areum, I promise. Just do what I tell you.”
And then he hung up.
-
Despite being incredibly groggy when you came to, you knew exactly where you were. You’d seen plenty of werewolves and those who protected them be dragged into the room. Nobody ever heard of them afterwards, so you knew what was coming next.
“Good morning,” Yoongi’s voice was too sweet to be sincere, and you scowled. “How’d you sleep?”
“Cut the shit, asshole,” you snarled. “Where’s the other girl?”
“Oh, you mean your sister? From your new family, you fucking traitor?” Yoongi asked, his voice angry and harsh as he gripped your hair and forced your head back. Clearly, he wasn’t over you just randomly abandoning the hunters for Mingyu and his pack without a word. “She’s being taken care of. You’re more than welcome to see her, though, if you’d like.”
You could only imagine what Chan’s mate looked like now. You knew exactly what they did to people when they were brought here, and you knew there was a strong chance that Areum would have been humiliated, beaten, shocked, and possibly even had any marks on her body removed somehow.
Despite being one of the tougher and snarkier of the mates, you knew she didn’t stand a chance trying to protect herself against werewolf hunters. Maybe Eunmi, but Areum? You were genuinely worried for the state your sister must’ve been in now. You hoped that just maybe Areum was still passed out.
“It is a shame that she had to be dragged into this,” Yoongi said in a soft tone, pulling you from your thoughts. “If only we could’ve caught you alone. But if anybody knew what happened to you… Well, that just can’t happen. We’ve gotten into enough trouble trying to tie up loose ends, but this is one we can’t just leave alone. You really fucked us over, _____, you know that? You fucked me over!”
The group you used to work for was thorough, and you knew that well. Whenever they had to get rid of somebody, they always made sure nobody else knew. That was partly why you fucked up so badly when you were sent to take out Chan – Mingyu had shown up, and that was just another werewolf you’d have to kill so nobody would know what happened. If any of the other girls were around when you were kidnapped, they would’ve met the same fate.
You knew she had to get out, find Areum, and help her escape. How you would do that, though, was lost on you. You knew your old group wouldn’t let you go that easily, even if you had a history. The only time they let someone go was when Jungkook had a falling out with his adoptive sister, but that almost ended differently -- and they had to make a treaty, which Namjoon rarely agreed to.
Your thoughts were suddenly cut through by a shrill scream. Your head lifted as you fought against your restraints, afraid that the scream belonged to Areum. All Yoongi did was chuckle at your useless struggles.
“You know you can’t get to her,” he pointed out as he slowly paced in circles around you. “Just give up, it’ll make things easier.”
“I swear to God, Yoongi, if you let anybody touch her–”
“You’re not in a position to threaten anybody,” he cut you off, gripping your jaw harshly. “Neither of you are getting let go, so I suggest you don’t piss off anybody.”
“_____!” Areum shrieked.
“Yoongi, please!” you begged with desperation in your voice, feeling helpless. You knew you couldn’t do anything while you were trapped like this, but you had to do something. It frustrated you to a point where you just wanted to cry. “She’s–”
Yoongi just smacked you face away from him and walking away, not letting you finish. He left the room, leaving you alone to just listen to the screams and cries of your sister, not knowing what was happening to her.
With Yoongi gone, you maneuvered your handcuffed wrists from behind you to in front of you by popping out your shoulders and moving your arms above your head. It was something you learned to do when you were younger and in training – you had always been one of the sneakiest of the hunters due to your flexibility and knowledge of how to get out of situations, maybe second to Elsie – and it finally came in handy.
With your hands in front of you, you reached into you hair for a bobby pin to unlock your handcuffs. Getting out of handcuffs was something you were trained to do, but you weren’t like the others who just carried little pins in their back pockets or whatever just in case. You definitely made it a little difficult for yourself for never doing things ‘just in case’ but you managed, like you did now.
Once your wrists were free, you untied your ankles and booked it for the door. You recalled the override keycode for the door, hoping they didn’t change it. When it slid open, you poked your head out, checking out both ends of the hallway before you tried to figure out where the screams were coming from. You did see somebody open a door, come out, and close it, so you decided to go down that way first.
You sprinted to the door and pressed your ear against it. Sure enough, you heard whimpering and heavy breathing that sounded female. You put her hand on the keypad…
Suddenly, hands gripped your shoulder’s. You gasped and immediately spun around, kicking your leg out to kick the side of whoever had grabbed you. They were sent backwards, their back hitting the wall behind you before you pressed your forearm against their chest roughly. That was when you finally realized who had touched you.
“Ow…” Mingyu groaned softly.
You let out a breath of relief, letting your arm down, “Jesus Christ, Gyu; you scared me.”
Mingyu just pulled you into his arms tightly, resting his cheek against the top of your head, “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
“Keep your voice down,” you instructed in a whisper. You let him hold you for a few seconds, but you pushed him away urgently. “They took Areum; we have to find her.”
The rest of the pack – save for a few – were with him. You took note of the fact Chan’s eyes were blood red, and he was sniffing around the door that you were just standing at. However, he just backed away and started walking further down the hall.
“Chan!” Aya whispered harshly, but the younger wolf kept walking.
“Follow him,” you instructed, grabbing Mingyu’s wrist and tugging him along.
Chan used the pull, as well as his nose to find his mate. He stopped in front of a room at the end of the hall that you recalled was pretty infamous. It was essentially where all of the most awful torture happened, but you didn’t have the heart to tell any of them. They did hear you gulp, though, when Chan stopped at the door.
“What’s in there?” Seungcheol asked slowly.
“Hopefully nothing bad right now...” you replied in a shaky voice.
“Wait,” Hansol spoke up as Chan put his hand on the door, making the tense werewolf growl lowly, “we can’t just…kidnap them back and leave. We need to make sure these hunters leave us alone.”
You nodded as Joshua spoke, “He’s right. A small group should stay with Areum and get her out. The rest of us will–”
“Us?” Mingyu quizzed, raising an eyebrow. “_____, you’re leaving with Areum. We’ll take care of everything else.”
You turned to face your mate, giving him an incredulous look, “I’m the only one who knows their way around this place; I’m helping.”
“Alright, alright,” Seungcheol cut in with a sigh, “calm down. _____ has a point, so Chan, Aya, and Jeonghan will bring Areum back the way we got in. The rest of us stay here and end this. There’s fear in numbers, and we have one of their own.”
All you did was stick your tongue out at Mingyu, who just huffed with a pout on his face.
A sudden cry from the other side of the door brought all attention back to the room you stood in front of.
“No, no, no, no! Stop; please stop!” Areum begged in a loud sob.
A loud growl ripped through Chan’s chest like you’d never heard, and he forcefully pushed opened the door with a metallic crunch. There, kneeling in the middle of the floor, blindfolded, was Areum. You recognized the person standing beside her with a hot iron near her neck as Jin, who was arguably the most sadistic of the group. Jin stopped what he was doing just as Chan ran as fast as he could to his mate. However, instead of going straight to Areum, he found it best to just get rid of the danger first. He gripped Jin’s collar in both hands, causing the hunter to drop the iron to the floor.
While a few members of the pack went to keep Chan from doing anything too drastic, you rushed straight to Areum who was still sobbing on the floor. You removed the blindfold, and Areum immediately tossed her arms around you, crying harder. From what you could tell, Areum hadn’t been touched yet, so she must’ve been crying from threats and just being afraid.
“Shh, it’s okay, you’re safe,” you cooed, rubbing her back. “Chan will take you home, okay? You’ll be safe. I’m so sorry I got you into this…”
Meanwhile, Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Soonyoung were trying to pry Chan off of the hunter. Chan’s eyes were turning a brighter red by the second, his claws out, his fangs out over his bottom lip, and he was shaking like he’d shift at any second. But the pack didn’t want Chan killing somebody and making things worse for everyone else.
“Chan, stop,” Seungcheol growled lowly in a stern voice. “Just go take care of Areum; she needs you.”
You and Mingyu helped Areum to her feet – her legs were like jelly and she could barely stand on her own – and brought her toward Chan. Jeonghan and Soonyoung stepped away to let his mate come closer, and Areum immediately wrapped her arms around his waist when she realized it was him. She buried her face in his back and just sobbed, Mingyu still holding most of her wait.
That managed to break Chan from his killing trance, as he released Jin and turned around, gathering his mate in his arms as he shushed her. Seungcheol and Soonyoung grabbed Jin’s upper arms before he could scramble away, and brought him down to his knees.
“Chan, get her home,” Seungcheol ordered. “Aya and Jeonghan, go with him. Everybody else, with us.”
The group of four quickly left the room, Aya leading the way. However, as they reached the door, Jimin threw it open, a gun aimed right at Aya’s chest. The werewolf went stiff as her eyes shifted to red, stepping in front of her sister that was still being held by Chan. At the back of the small group, Jeonghan snarled but didn’t make any sudden movements.
Jin looked absolutely terrified until he realized Jimin has shown up. A smirk appeared on his face as his hair fell into his eyes. “Oh, so the rumors are true, huh? Baby _____ is a wolf’s mate.”
However, your glare was on Jimin, “Leave her alone, Jimin.”
From behind Jimin, walked in the rest of the hunters, all holding various weapons. Yoongi strolled in second to last, smirking at you as he carried a baseball bat wrapped with silver barbed wire -- he always loved to carry the more ‘fun’ weapons, as he called them.
“When have we ever left mates alone, _____?” he asked in a teasing tone. “I called the other units, they should be here soon.”
Your eyebrows raised for a split second, “Wow, you actually managed to make friends?”
Namjoon, the leader, nodded his head toward you, signaling the small group at the doorway back up back over to you. They did as they were told, and Chan put Areum down but continued to keep his arms around her as he tried to comfort her. Jeonghan moved to stand in front of the three, but Aya put herself beside him anyway.
“If you cooperate, maybe we’ll spare this one,” Namjoon smirked, pointing at Areum with his bow. “But...maybe we’ll just kill her instead.”
But you suddenly got an idea. It was a bit of a longshot, but it was the only idea you had. Maybe it would get some of them to show some sort of compassion and humanity. Either way, it was the only idea you had.
“Namjoon, you asshole,” you burst, gesturing stiffly over at Areum, “she’s pregnant! You’re really going to hurt a pregnant girl and her baby? I knew you were heartless, but this is a new low!”
Jimin’s eyes widened as he studied the crying girl, “She’s… But I… I-I didn’t know! Namjoon, we can’t–”
Hoseok walked up beside him and slapped a hand over his mouth, hissing, “Shut up.”
You studied your old partner’s face, as well as your former leaders as the whole group looked over at Areum. She was wearing a baggy sweatshirt today, so it was hard to tell if she was or not. Even still, you could say she wasn’t that far along yet.
Namjoon glanced over at one of the other men, “Tae?”
Taehyung sighed, still looking at Areum, “I have...heard them talk about pregnant mates. Two of them, I think.”
So they had been watching you for a bit. That made sense. They were probably waiting for a good time to strike.
“How far along?” Namjoon asked, his eyes on you now.
“A few months,” you lied easily, trying to play her off as either Yoona or Faye since they were around the same time along. “It’s her first.”
Namjoon stared at Areum as his jaw clenched and unclenched over and over. You could practically see the mental battle he was having in his head. He knew this baby could very well become a werewolf, but it was a baby nonetheless. Could he really hurt not only a pregnant human, but an unborn child?
“Yoongi?” Namjoon asked, wanting his take since this whole plan was originally orchestrated by him, anyway.
Your old partner was stoic, showing no emotion as he stared at Areum. Then his eyes flashed over to you. You stared back at him, not showing what you were thinking or feeling, either. The two of you just had a stare-off, waiting for the other to do or say something.
Finally, Yoongi sighed and dropped his head, “Whatever.”
“But Yoongi--”
“Shut the fuck up, Jin” Yoongi snapped. He looked back up at you, glaring, “Get the fuck out of my sight.”
All eyes were on Yoongi, nobody understanding his order.
“What?” you finally asked.
“The units will be here any minute,” Namjoon said calmly as he took a small knife from his pocket and sliced open his palm. Yoongi turned into a puff of black smoke, disappearing into thin air, “so you better make this treaty before I change my mind and go against Yoongi’s wishes.”
You wasted no time, striding over to Namjoon and holding out your palm for him to cut for you. Then the two of you firmly shook hands once.
“Go,” he stated, nodding his head toward the nearest exit.
Most of the pack wasted no time, getting Areum up and out of the room as fast as possible. you, however, hung back, so Mingyu paused just outside the door, waiting for you. You just looked at Namjoon, not understanding why him or Yoongi decided to let you go when the two of them were some of the most ruthless members. Jimin might’ve, but Yoongi of all of them?
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said. “Yoongi called the shots on this one. And if any of you end up on his radar again, you know he won’t let you go again.”
You just nodded once, “I know better than anyone,” Then, you stepped forward and pressed a chaste kiss to Namjoon’s cheek. “Pass that along to Yoongi for me, will ya?”
You winked playfully, and with that, you fled down the hall, holding onto Mingyu’s hand.
-
Areum had nightmares almost every night, but she wouldn’t admit it to anyone. Everyone could tell she wasn’t acting the same, though. She was always a little too on-edge when she was at the pack house, so Chan mostly went and hung out at her place instead. Minghao would also leave for a couple hours to see her and keep her company. The two could tell she was afraid of being left alone now.
You felt awful because you should’ve protected her, but you couldn’t. Everybody could tell you felt responsible. Like Areum, you weren’t acting the same, and you were keeping your distance from just about everybody. The only person you couldn’t stay away from was Mingyu, who glued himself to your side.
“Baby,” Mingyu frowned the seventh night that you just poked around at your dinner, “you can’t keep blaming yourself. Even Areum doesn’t blame you -- she keeps texting you to thank you for helping us get out.”
“Chan says she screams in her sleep for me to help her,” you muttered, your eyes blank as you stared at your food that Mingyu had brought to your shared bedroom. “I know he was trying to keep it from me, but I heard him tell Minghao in the kitchen the other day. And if anyone finds out I lied--”
“But nothing happened, and they’re both okay,” Mingyu reminded you, taking both of your hands in his as he dipped his head to try to look at you. “You saved her from having her mark removed, remember? You managed to get out of your restraints to find her even though it could’ve gotten you killed first. And nobody will know you lied. The treaty’s made and they’re going to leave us alone.”
“No, we only found her because Chan sensed her,” you sniffled, starting to cry like you always did when you thought about it for too long. “I was standing outside the wrong fucking room, Gyu! If you guys hadn’t shown up, I would’ve gotten caught, Areum would’ve gotten burned, and who knows what would’ve happened after that! She’d be scarred for life – and that life would be really fucking short, Gyu!”
“Shh, shh, shh,” Mingyu hushed you, pulling you into his lap and gently rocking you, “those are just what ifs. Both of you are safe, and that’s what matters. If you hadn’t escaped when you did, we wouldn’t have found her in time, either. You helped save her, ____. You’re the one who saved all of us. You stood up to the hunters and got us out.”
You heard a knock, and the two of you looked to the door.
“It’s me,” you heard Chan’s voice. “Can I come in?”
You nodded, so Mingyu called back, “Yeah.”
Chan opened the door and offered a shy smile before he stepped forward, “Could I…talk with ____ for a second?”
The two of you looked at each other before Mingyu moved and placed you back on the bed. As he exited the room to give you and his brother privacy, he clapped Chan on the shoulder. Chan closed the door and then went and sat at the end of the bed, offering you a soft smile as you wiped under your eyes and tried to collect yourself.
“How’re you feeling?” he wondered.
You shrugged, “Not great.”
“Well,” he began, his golden eyes looking into yours, “I wanted to thank you for sticking by Areum when that happened. We wouldn’t have saved her without you, so…I’m very grateful to you, _____.”
You were pretty surprised by this. Sure, the rest of the pack told you that you were some sort of hero, but Chan had never sat you down and talked to you about it. He was always with Bomi so he never could. You were touched, actually.
“…You are?” you asked, your eyebrows furrowing.
“You risked your life for not only Areum, but the pack,” he continued with a nod, his smile widening in amusement because of how shocked you looked. “The hunters won’t be after us, all because you had a connection to one of them; don’t look so surprised.”
“I thought everyone was just saying that to make me feel better...”
“_____, you don’t really give yourself enough credit,” Chan laughed softly.. “I’m lucky to have you as a sister, and the pack is lucky to have somebody like you in it.”
-
As you and Mingyu lay in bed that night, you stared up at the ceiling while Mingyu kept his eyes closed despite being awake. He listened to your heartbeat and breathing as you thought, waiting for you to finally fall asleep. When you didn’t for fifteen minutes, he inhaled deeply.
“Are you okay, babe?” he wondered softly.
“Yeah, just thinking again,” you replied, still staring up into the darkness.
Mingyu rolled over and sat up to turn on the lamp on the nightstand before he rested on one arm, looking at you, “Anything you want to talk about?”
“You know, Chan and you talking to me kind of made me realize…I could’ve died. I didn’t even think about that; all I thought about was getting to Areum to save her.”
“You always find yourself in situations where you could get killed,” Mingyu chuckled, shaking his head. “First Chan and I almost killed you, but then you almost killed us. Then Jaehee’s other mate almost killed you, and then Jaehee almost killed you. Then you went to Jinsoo’s, and you could’ve died. Now the hunters almost killed you…”
Mingyu paused as he realized exactly just how much trouble you found your in. His eyebrows furrowed as he spaced out, staring at the bedding, before his golden eyes flickered back to you, “Maybe if I get you pregnant, you’ll behave yourself more like Faye and Yoona.”
You rolled your eyes, gently shoving at Mingyu’s chest, “Yoona always behaves, and the only thing Faye doesn’t do now is climb the ceiling beams.”
“Yeah, but neither of them have done anything to get themselves in trouble like you have,” Mingyu pointed out with a smirk. “Pregnancy is the only way.”
You threw your mate a playful glare, “Don’t even think about it.”
“Alright,” he sighed. But then he suddenly grabbed your waist and rolled himself onto his back, his lips pressing softly to your neck before nipping lightly at your skin. “How about we practice then?”
“Practice having babies?” you snorted.
“No!” he laughed, shaking his head and tickling your skin with his hair. “Practice making them.”
Your hands moved to Mingyu’s hair, carding through it, which sent a content rumble through his chest, “I guess practice makes perfect.”
#ficscafe#seventeen#mingyu#mingyu au#seventeen au#mingyu imagine#mingyu scenario#mingyu series#mingyu fic#mingyu x reader#werewolf!mingyu#seventeen imagine#seventeen scenario#seventeen series#seventeen fic#seventeen x reader#werewolf!seventeen
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I'm rewatching Nancy Drew season 1 and I have so many thoughts (surprise, surprise!).
Now that I'm paying attention, Lucy does indeed look pregnant.
Carson is insane this season. He read his daughter's texts?? Fucking creepy.
Idk what the fuck is wrong with Nancy. Suspecting your dad of murder, even if he's shady, is hardcore.
Nick and Nancy were not a great match. He was insecure about Owen and between Nancy being super closed off and prioritizing Lucy's death over Tiffany's, they were never going to last.
I know everyone thought that Nancy was just being stubborn and putting everyone at risk because of her obsession with Lucy, and they had every right to, but she's not to blame for them almost getting killed at that fancy auction party. Nick was acting partially out of jealousy and because George convinced him to, George was acting on her feelings for Nick, Bess wanted to go to a glamorous party and steal stuff, and Ace was being Ace (he wanted to get info for the Chief and also help his friends Ig). Their plan was terrible and they had no right to act like it was Nancy's fault it failed. She told them not to do it and she didn't even know what they were planning. George accused Nancy like it was her fault. I genuinely hate saying this about a woman, but she's really annoying. I hate that she and Nancy are my least favorite characters.
Lisbeth is a weird character. Her storyline didn't have a proper conclusion, and why would an undercover agent ask someone out? And introduce them to her parents?? Her parents lived in the town where she was working undercover? Was she born there lmao. Bess is better with her current girlfriend, though I prefer Odette!
Laura is another weird character. She feels pretty unnecessary.
Bess doesn't make much sense. I know they explained why she went around calling herself a Marvin, but in that small town no one ever called her out on it, really? And did she steal all her designer clothes lmao.
Nancy has a very complicated personality. When she figured out Ace was working for the Chief, he wanted to tell her what he had learned about Laura but she just looked at him in disdain and said "Why should I trust you?". Like, give him a chance? Even if he's lying, his lies might be useful to you. Get off your high horse. That was OOC too, because Nancy usually listens to people when she confronts them. She doesn't just walk away.
Owen has been ruined for me. Now that I know the show's MO, it's hard to care about him. The show doesn't know what to do with its characters. They're all discarded as soon as the season is over.
This season is way worse than I remembered it lmao.
It's amazing how you can get so attached to shows you have a million complaints about.
I've been noticing some Nace parallels: they both suspected their partner of murdering Tiffany, they both discovered a life changing secret (this one is a bit of a reach, but Nancy being adopted and Ace finding out he had a brother, and what those secrets did to their respective families, counts as a parallel), they dated siblings lmao, and they are both great at uncovering stuff (detective and hacker).
Victoria is pretty cool. I wish she showed up more.
Anyway, I'll keep you guys posted on my rewatch! I'm sure I'll have lots more to complain about haha.
#nancy drew#nancy drew cw#cw nancy drew#george fan#ned nickerson#bess marvin#ace nancy drew#ace x nancy#nace#carson drew
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Of Gods and Witches
Chapter 19
A/N: so imma be going on hiatus for a while and we know the reason why. So until the situation with Tenoch Huerta is resolved, i will be putting off updating this fic as i cannot write it without feeling a bit 😬 about it all
Enjoy, anyways
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Gif by @kukvlkan
Taglist: @thegreatdragonfruta @urgonnaneedabiggership @v3d3rl1cht
Eva has never considered herself cowardly, but then again, she has been lying about her health for the past two years to avoid the talks that come with it and those looks of pity she loathes so much.
So, after Ch’ah shows Shuri the beauty of Talokan’s main city-state and the sun that rises over it, she finally answers the young woman’s burning question.
“You are not a mutant like him.” She points out when they return to the hut and find her giving Itza to her nanny.
They usually do not employ a nursemaid for the girls, but Eva’s waning health does not allow her to keep up with her five-year-old child anymore.
Once this is over, she will make up for lost time.
“Yes, and no. I am more like the woman called the Scarlett Witch, in that I am both capable of magic, but also have genetic mutations passed down to me from my ancestors.
Despite how great I look; I am actually quite old. You see I was born in the year 1896 in a period known in Mexico as the Porfierato and grew up during the Second Revolution. When I was twenty-two, I was put under house arrest for sedition and due to the immense boredom, that came with it, I decided to try my hand at summoning Quetzalcoatl.” The witch decides against a detailed story about her life, there will be time for that later and while, Shuri seems to have done research on Post classical Mayan artefacts, she likely has no knowledge of Mexico’s history.
“Instead of summoning the true Feathered Serpent God, she somehow managed to summon me.” K’uk’ulkan said with a rather nostalgic smile and a firm squeeze of Eva’s hand. “I saw her dancing on the beach outside of her home and felt a connection to her as if I had always known her.”
“Later I would discover the spell I had found was to summon one’s soulmate but by then we had met, fallen in love and been married for several years.” This was the story they told everyone.
And yet all those details that they hold deep in their hearts occasionally manage to be found in murals, novels and stage productions of how Talokan came to have its queen.
“How did you manage to live underwater, if you don’t mind me asking.” Shuri, who has no real interest in romance asks the question they needed her to ask.
Eva answers by showing her the bracelet.
“The chief sorceress of Talokan taught me the runes that allowed to appear as human in the surface without the need for a rebreather. K’uk’ulkan, as a token of his love, gave me the bracelet made with the fibers of the plant that saved the life of his people, but most importantly, his mother.
I was able to cast the runes on it due to its significance and origin and live just as he does.”
And because it is all that is left of the vibranium flowers, she will have to give it up to live like him in truth instead of dying like the Black Panther did.
When Namor gets summoned onto the surface by the queen, Eva takes her chance.
“There is something else, Shuri. Something I need you to swear you will do no matter what happens.” The seriousness in her face causes worry in the young princess.
Her eyes widen thinking she is asking her to protect her children and the Talokanil, something Eva knows she doesn’t even have to ask for.
“I give you my word, as Princess of Wakanda.” She says readily.
And yet it doesn’t stop her from gasping when Eva removes the bracelet from her wrist.
The glamour fades away and Shuri is presented with a ghost of her past.
Her brother.
“The key ingredient to the cure lies in the vibranium flowers. I cannot make it grow, the soil here does not allow it to, and I cannot risk the surface world.” Eva begins explaining. “You are my only hope.”
“What do you wish me to do?” she asks, and Eva just gives a grateful smile as she gives her the bracelet.
“Take it and recreate the flower in your laboratory. Your people need the Black Panther just as my disease needs a cure.
One flower is all I need to live.”
Eva had not expected the Wakandan warrior woman.
Nakia, mother to Prince T’Challa son of T’Challa, she could see it even as the guards hurried to protect the queen and prevent her from freeing their prisoners.
“Let them go.” She orders the guards who no longer think she is as powerful as she had been.
“My queen, what has she done to you?” the guard holding a knife to Shuri’s throat asks thinking the worse.
“We must kill them.” The senior guard overrides her command due to her sudden change in health. “They have hurt our queen!”
And when Eva lifts her arms to cast a shield on the girls, Nakia fires her weapon and doesn’t miss.
Eva sees the blood on her chest as she slumps forward, and all hell breaks loose.
They took her.
It was a trap.
All there was left was a dying soldier and blood.
So much blood.
This was an act of war.
“Our people invoke my name when they pray for protection. Their deaths will not go unpunished.
Gather the city.”
They took his wife and mother of his children and Wakanda will pay the price.
He had been blinded by the hope of finding an ally in the Wakandan Princess.
To find a way to keep Talokan safe and know there would be someone out there to aid him in that.
And they had killed his wife the moment his back was turned.
If the queen wanted war, Namor would give her what she wanted.
Eva hates the cold white of modernity.
Hates the pastel colors of hospitals and the thin papery feel of the clothes they make her wear.
Her queen’s regalia is replaced by bandages under a loose button-down shirt and pajama shorts.
These too were white.
She’d kill for something darker, like black.
Black is such a nice color.
The nurses and doctors speak in a strange language, Wakandan or Xhosa, she cannot quite place it.
She is awake, she is alive, that much she can understand.
“Easy, your grace, your injury has been giving us a challenging time. Your illness complicates the healing process I am afraid.” One of the women, a bald one with an overly sweet nature, said as they helped her sit up.
Fluffed her pillows and offered her something to drink and everything.
“Where am I?” she asks in English.
“You are in Wakanda.”
#eva smith riley#kukulkan namor#namor x eva#kukulkan x oc#of gods and witches fic#namor x mexican!oc
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Shadow and Bone 2x03 Review
I have finished ep 3 hooray! Going to be honest, it was an ok episode don’t get me wrong but I do feel like the pacing was a little off in this one, I feel like a lot of big things happened and it might have been better if some of those things happened over a couple of episodes, it just felt a tad bit rushed. Anyway as always spoilers, lots of spoilers, any book spoilers will be between two * for you to skip at your convenience if you so wish.
Nikolai, Alina and Co
So I am going to start off with Nikolai and Alina and that storyline involving that crew. I will say that the flying ship was very cool, I liked the way it detached from the ship. I also thought that Alina’s reaction to the boat taking off was very relatable like yup I too would find the nearest seat and then sit with my eyes closed hanging on for dear life.
We also finally got the Nikolai reveal and not going to lie was very happy they kept the punch in, it was amusing but also I think understandable for Alina’s character as this is the second time that she has been lied to by someone who she put her trust in. That being said I did really like the conversation between them where Nikolai points out that she makes it too simple and that people do what they have to do to protect those they love. But I also like that he pointed out that Alina never would have trusted him if he said who he really was at the start which is very true. I do think this logic can also be applied to her relationship with Aleks as well as its the same scenario, if he had revealed to her from the start that he was the creator of the fold she never would have trusted him. As Nikolai said it is never that simple.
I was surprised that they’ve introduced the spinning wheel so soon but it was nice to see Alina and Nadia reunite, I also liked the relationship between Nadia and her little brother Adrik, I am glad we got to see him. We also see Zoya again and it was nice to see her and Alina kind of make up and Zoya pledge allegiance to Alina. I’m still not sure how I feel about them all being at the spinning wheel this soon though. *In the book its not until way at the end of book 2 that they flee there so its almost like they’ve covered the first two books in ep 1 and 2 and now they are doing the end of book 2 and the beginning of book 3 in this episode. Which again as I said multiple times in speculation posts before the series aired just feels way too fast. But hopefully I am wrong and the pacing will sort itself out.
We also got Nikolai making his proposal for a political marriage to Alina. I guess it does make sense to show a united front and a way of bringing otkazat'sya and grisha together and like Nikolai said his royal family name would give her some protection so it does sound good politically. One thing I will say about the whole scene though, is I appreciate that they are trying to make Mal less of a toxic jealous control freak over Alina than he was in the books but I feel like they are stripping him back too much and making him too perfect. Like to me his reaction was a bit too chill which just seemed very unrealistic. Like I think it would have worked better if he initially had the same reaction as Alina of this guy is coo coo but then later in the episode he comes to her and says he’s mulled it over and realised it is the best thing for her and ravka, it just would have felt a bit more natural than the immediate acceptance.
The Crows.
So the crows had some tension amongst the ranks this episode and Kaz was definitely beginning to unravel a bit. It was clear the others in the crew felt like Kaz was taking unnecessary risks with their lives seeing as last episode Nina got shot and Inej got hurt. It was interesting to see these cracks in the crows relationships but honestly I am worried for Kaz because it does seem like he is spiralling.
We do learn more about Kaz’s backstory through some more flashbacks. Looks like Kaz’s brother invested money in some kind of business with Rollins and then Rollins ran off with it all, which I am going to assume meant they were left with nothing. We also learn through Wylan that the disease we saw in previous flashbacks was called firepox and it sounds horrific, we learn there were so many bodies that the crematoriums couldn’t keep up and so they had to float all the dead bodies on the harbour, which is what those previous scenes of young Kaz were where I said it looked like he was lying on a pile of dead bodies well that was because he was lying on a pile of dead bodies, and god did this get morbid fast. I am assuming they thought he was dead and so threw him on with the rest of the bodies. We also learn from Kaz confiding in Inej that Rollins killed Kaz’s brother, though I don’t know if he did that directly or not as there was that flashback of his brother coughing which makes me think he caught firepox and died so it was Rollins fault indirectly. Like them losing all their money meant they had no where to go and as they were homeless they were exposed to firepox. That’s my theory anyway.
I do have to talk about that scene between Inej and Kaz though because damn was it a good scene. I loved it, I loved that Inej called Kaz out and what I loved even more was that this time he trusted her and opened up. I also love how Inej immediately was on board and in ok well now Rollins shall die. It was also a rather tender scene between them as he tended to her wound. Also I think I may be a bit slow because I am pretty sure that Kaz has a touch eversion and that is why he wears gloves and that was probably covered in season 1 but I totally missed until this moment. I liked the discussion they has about finding the opponents weakness and how when Inej asked Kaz what his is he said his limp and cane but that no one had been smart enough to find his real weakness. But I think I have figured it out. His real weakness is Inej. In this episode we discover Rollins has a son and its clear that the other crows are worried Kaz in going to use his son against Rollins, I think this links into Kaz’s on weakness and fear that someone will use Inej to hurt him.
So Wylan and Jesper’s little side quest together was kind of cute not going to lie and I totally killed in last eps review they did totally sleep together and surprisingly it was Wylan who left the morning after. I knew I wasn’t just imagining the vibes between them. The song Wylan played on the piano was really beautiful, Jesper did seem to have quite the emotional reaction to it so I wonder if that song has some relevance to his past somehow. I am really enjoying the energy between these two though. They are really wholesome.
Nina finally got in to Hellgate and saw Matthias in the fighting rings, these rings do seem really messed up as it looks like they not only have the prisoners fighting each other but fighting wild animals and the like, its giving very roman colosseum vibes. I did feel bad for Nina when she was calling out to Matthias and eventually gets his attention only for him to then give her the cold shoulder. Its obvious that she is not only desperate to make up with him and reconnect but also is so desperate to get him out of there. That being said I don’t think she will take Rollins deal. I reckon they are going to do a cop out where it looks like Nina has but then it turns out she told Kaz from the beginning and they came up with some kind of plan together, what that plan might be I haven’t the foggiest. But like Kaz said at the beginning of the episode, Nina is a crow now and I just don’t see her betraying them.
Aleksander, Baghra, Genya and David
So when I said I felt like this episode was rushing the storyline a bit, I do think Aleks’ story in particular is being a little rushed. The first scene we see of him is the one between him and baghra near the beginning of the episode and I adored this scene, it was just really interesting. I loved how it starts out with Baghra telling him to stop lurking, it really does remind you that this is a mother and her child. But I think what I loved the most about this scene was that it does address how much of an effect Baghra’s parenting had on Aleks, the scene does kind of call her out on the mistakes she made. The thing is the lessons we are taught when we are young are the ones that’ll stick with us and the ones that are the hardest to unlearn. So I think this scene was important to show how Baghra’s teachings have informed Aleks views of the world. For example how she taught him that grisha were superior and that the otkazat’sya should fear them. It also addresses the events of Demon in the Woods a little talking about how she would burn down villages in the name of protecting her child. I have talked about the significance of this before how it set the example for Aleks that if you love someone then destroying entire towns and villages is acceptable to protect them. This is a lesson that stays with him and I do think it played a part in why he expanded the fold into Novokribirsk, he has love for Alina and Zlatan in his men tried to harm and would continue trying to harm her, he has love for the grisha and Zlatan was a threat to them too, so to him destroying Novokribirsk was an act of love and he saw it that way because of the example he was set by his own mother.
I did think the line about how she didn’t teach him compassion was a bit of an odd one if I am being honest because it implies that Aleks doesn’t feel compassion yet we’ve seen multiple examples throughout season 1 that would say otherwise. I mean if you look at the definition of compassion:
A strong feeling of sympathy and sadness for the suffering or bad luck of others and a wish to help them.
He clearly has compassion for the grisha, you kind of have to have that compassion if you are going to recognise they are suffering and your response to be that you want to do everything in your power to help them and give them a safe place. He also shows concern and sympathy to Alina when it is clear she is suffering in season 1. Whilst I would say that he might struggle more with his compassion for others as years have gone by and he has had to numb himself in order to make those hard choices but I don’t think he is devoid of it or that he never learnt it like this moment suggests. Like when baghra starts listing off all the rumours she’s heard about the grisha being persecuted and killed by the first army, you can see that this pains Aleks, that he feels guilt over it and that he feels compassion for their suffering.
However I will give it to Baghra that moment when talking about Alina and she says ‘there was a moment where you might have earned her love instead of claiming her power’ wow talk about a hit in the gut. You tell that one really did hurt Aleks. However it is also worth pointing out that if Baghra hadn’t got involved then he still may have earned her love and might not have tried to claim her power and none of this may have happened. But ya know hind sight and all that. I can still appreciate that it was a damn good line.
David was pretty smart in this episode in that he played nice with Aleks and used that trust he knew Aleks had in him to his advantage to learn more about the Nichevo'ya and their effect on Aleks. But it was interesting how Aleks actually seemed to be kind of sweet to David, like he seemed genuinely happy that David was there it was kind of a bizarre contrast to how unhinged he also seems to becoming with the merzost poisoning him. During the conversation Aleks talks about how apparently Morozova went mad so I am guessing this was also a result of the merzost and could be where Aleks himself is heading, we could see him continue to lose his mind. I won’t deny that I do find it an interesting concept.
However the part that I do think was rushed was what he does to baghra and genya. I get that they are trying show that Aleks is becoming more unhinged the more desperate he gets but I think having both these big and violent moments happen in the same episode was too intense and made it feel to sudden if that makes sense. Like I feel like the pacing would have worked better if he had cut Baghra’s finger off in this episode and then saved his attack on Genya until episode 4 then it would have seemed like a more gradual shift, and like him sinking deeper into this madness caused by the merzost.
One thing I will say I think they did right was that as opposed to the books they did make these two acts of violence make sense for Aleks’ character. * I also think the change from blinding baghra to cutting off her finger makes alot more sense than it did in the books.* Like I can follow Aleks’ chain of thoughts here, he is feeling very angry and abandoned by his mother, who also keeps talking about Alina, another person he feels angry and abandoned by and that anger at his mother only grows the more she refuses to help and so by cutting off her finger he can exact his revenge on his mother and satisfy that anger he feels but also he is desperate to find out more about Morozova’s amplifiers and knows that he made them from his own finger bones so thinks if his mother won’t give him any answers he’ll take her finger bones and see if they will give him some answers instead. It is also really unhinged which furthers that storyline of him being poisoned by the merzost. What I do think is an interesting touch is that both when he cuts off Baghra’s finger and when he attacks Genya you can see those blakc veins creeping up his neck. With Genya you could probably explain it as him summoning the nichevo’ya and using merzost but it is interesting that it is there when he is cutting off Baghra’s finger as he isn’t actively using merzost in that moment but it is clearly still having an effect on him, its almost like the merzost itself has a hunger for violence.
Like with Baghra I do think him using the nichevo’ya on Genya made more sense in the show’s scenario. *It didn’t make much sense in the books because of the order he gave not to harm Alina and yet he punishes Genya for not harming Alina which made no sense.* I do think it is understandable why Genya running triggered Aleks I mean not only it because its another betrayal from one of his grisha, like Zoya betrayed him in the fold, but it is very similar to how Alina left him. When he catches up with him he doesn’t ask why she ran but why she abandoned him. I think Aleks at this point is so lost and unhinged that he can’t understand why all these people who used to stand by him are leaving. Afterall his goal is still the same, to safe grisha, in his now warped mind achieving this goal is the most important thing in the world and he doesn’t understand why no one else is willing to go to the same lengths he does to achieve that goal.
I will say also that while I understand why David and Genya ran watching a guy produce shadow and monsters and cut his own mother’s finger off is bound to unnerve a person, I do think this is another thing that is a bit rushed. Again though I think this comes from being a book reader because in the books it takes them both alot longer to realise how dangerous Aleks is. Its another thing that I think maybe could have been pushed into ep 4. That would have given it just a little bit more time to stew and also that would have put David and Genya’s escape attempt half way through the season which I think would have worked better, like the first half of the season they are loyal to Aleks but then come mid season they have that epiphany of hey this guy is bonkers lets skedaddle.
Going back to Aleks and the merzost we see those black veins again when Aleks has that angry outburst after discovering that the Morozova journal is gone, it really does seem like it flares up when he is angry and causes these violent outbursts. What is interesting though is that Aleks’ way of calming down is to call on that connection between him and Alina. To visit her, its like he is using her to keep himself steady, like she is the focal point he is using to stop himself from spiralling completely out of control.
Right well that’s another review and episode done. On to episode 4 and then we are at the halfway point, so that’s exciting.
Favourite Lines
‘There was a moment where you might have earned her love instead of claiming her power.’
‘There are no mistakes, only lessons.’
‘Pekka Rollins killed my brother.’ ‘Then we destroy him.’
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🟠 - Daren
🟠 Orange- What is a trait your OC hides about themself from others? Do they refuse to acknowledge it or begrudgingly accept it?
see this is what i need to play with with daren more i think, because daren is kind of one dimensional compared to the others. out of the main cast, daren, elise, and heather are definitely the weakest because i kinda tend to hyperfocus on sinie, agitha, csilla, and everett sometimes (oops) so this is something i wanna discuss!
so something about daren that is canon is that his family is definitely the largest in the cast, 6 people live under one roof, daren, his mother and father, little brother dimitri, older sister, and grandmother. i dont see them living in a particularly small house necessarily, i think they can all fit but i imagine and draw darens room small and cramped which tells me one thing about daren and its that he's willing to sacrifice for others.
i have the idea that maybe he grew up rly poor, living in a two bedroom house with his mother, father, and two siblings, sharing a room with said siblings. he's super close with his siblings, though closer to their older sister Anaya. so they all grew up having so little and being so cramped, but one year daren's grandmother had a stroke and her health declined significantly, causing daren's father to take a risk and apply for a better job in a higher position of work and qualified for the position and got the job. (i picture daren's father as this macho genius, very competent in everything he does and very smart. can figure anything out if he put his mind to it. but also kinda arrogant because he grew up basically a genius. it ties into his relationship with daren)
so, when daren's father (he still needs a name ngl) got this better job, he moved his family into a better, bigger home but it was still within their means and they still live within their means, theyre by no means rich, just no longer poor as dirt. maybe the house has 5 bedrooms, but one is more like a storage room or extra office space rather than meant to be a bedroom. his parents would take the master, his grandmother would have the second biggest room, needing it to get around in her wheelchair, and anaya and dimirtri would have the other two because daren would volunteer to take the closet room. why not? its finally his own room, he has the least out of all his siblings, and anaya and dimitri deserve their own space for company with all their friends, they all go to sinie's house to hang out anyway. but the thing is...thats the middle child in him. anaya is the eldest and the only daughter, she's a diva, however kind hearted. dimitri is the baby, and hes an arrogant fuck because hes just like his dad, too smart for his own good and spoiled by everyone in the family including daren. thats their lil baby brother!
so, this whole tangent was to go on about how i basically think daren would hide his own needs and wants from others because he never wants to take from anyone else. hes content with little, but doesnt recognize when they deserve more. maybe its hard for them to celebrate their birthday because theyre always thinking of others. i always say elise should be the mom friend because she is basically helping raise her little brothers, but daren is suchhh the mom friend its unreal. he is the decision maker of their group, the caretaker and the homemaker. he's selfless and responsible, smart and competent, mature and rational, but also a powerhouse in attitude and in the combat scene. daren would definitely think its too selfish to ask for something, even if he needs it because if he can do it for himself he will. dont try and take care of him because he wont allow it.
as far as if they refuse to accept it or not, i think its a matter of how the story is told because at the beginning they definitely dont notice. how coud they, he's only 18 hahaha
oc ask meme
#affinity talk#asks#daren michael luke#thank you for asking this about daren it rly got me thinking!
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hello when i say wen qing never did anything wrong i mean exactly that
#idk someone rbed my txt post saying she was a flawed character in the way everyone else was because she never killed wen ruo han when given#i don't think thats a good argument?? her options were to let strangers die or let her brother die........ there is no right answer to that#so does that make her flawed?#im not against characters having flaws and i think its interesting too but#from a freaking kid to the last second of her life all she was doing was trying to protect people#and we weren't given enough insight into her life anyways to determine if she did do any morally ambiguous things since this is wwxs pov#so saying that she was a flawed character for trying to protect her brothers life just ...... aint it idk it makes me :///#also its not like she never put her and her brothers lives at risk anyways#every single time she was trying to protect wwx and everyone else she was one step closer to danger#so yeah i dont think wen qing needed to apologise to anyone . she did not need to say sorry she did nothing fucking wrong#even the whole core extraction thing w jc#obv its shit that it happened without jcs consent but THINK abt the state wwx was in when he begged wq to do it#how could wq refuse???? shes one single girl#the exact same age as all the other kids#expected to make such big decisions#it isnt fair. she tried her fucking best to make everyone happy only to be put under the MOST scrutiny. she didnt deserve her death#LITERALLY fuck off i am the biggest wen qing apologist here she did NOTHING wrong#ok i feel better now lol#like its not like she personally killed wen ruo hans victims she was LITERALLY a fucking hostage. being forced to watch wrh MURDER people#would that not make u terrified????? she grew up with that monster#imagine all the ways he threatened her to keep her under his control#dont blame wen qing for wen ruo hans victims thats just so unfair#wenqing undoubtedly feels bad abt letting them die 100% but that doesnt mean shes to blame
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Does Wei Wuxian ever cause trouble tho? I see everywhere in fics or otherwise where he is criticised for so but I don’t think he ever does? He’s playful, yes, he’s lively and friendly, yes, but troublesome? annoying? I don’t think anyone other than Lan Qiren (who doesn’t like anyone breaking even smallest of rules) Jiang Wanyin (jealousy issues ahem) and Yu Ziyuan (again jealously issues) no one really calls Wei Wuxian annoying? (well that and other people like Wen Chao who mind Wei Wuxian thwarting their evil plots lol)
In fact they quite enjoy his company? He’s literally the popular kid among his peers, the one that brings smiles to their faces?
He’s soft and kind to Wen Ning who was so shy and nervous and encourages him to stand up for himself, and takes his side in front of everyone else? Wen Ning in turn saves his and his martial brothers lives when they’re on the run, and shelters them?
And based on that kindness of his towards her younger brother (and also because Wen Ning encouraged her and she’s a just person) she risks her entire families lives to save Wei Wuxian and his brother? In turn Wei Wuxian later on saves their family?
Luo Qingyang also known as Mian Mian, Wei Wuxian saves her from her face being burned horribly, who later on stands up for him in front of the cultivational world and leaves her hard earned position because she refuses to be part of condemnation of an innocent man, one who saved her life, and later on the two meet, needless to say things are good between them.
Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian are on friendly terms, Wei Wuxian is his friend who doesn’t pressure him to be someone he’s not, instead compliments him and cause mischief together (said mischief being innocent actions of children not something ‘shameful’ that ‘brings bad attention to the sect’ none of that!). Nie Huaisang is one of the people who doesn’t see status while talking to people, enjoy’s the freedom that Wei Wuxian brings and later on brings Wei Wuxian back to life (though also fuelled by his revenge)
Lan Wangji well, 33 whips, committing treason do i need to say more. (that its a whole another essay that’s gonna be written another time) all that needs to be said is Lan Wangji adores him and loves him unconditionally (something Wei Wuxian needs thank you) and Wei Wuxian too, loves him back with all the love,
The juniors who include Lan Sizhui (Wen Yuan), Lan Jingyi, Jin Ling,and Ouyang Zizhen, all of who deeply care for Wei Wuxian, all of them appreciate Wei Wuxian’s guidance and loved him;
Wen Remnants as a whole are found family for Wei Wuxian, they care for him and he cares for them, like a family, they love each other. Wen Ning, Wen Qing, A-yuan, Granny Wen, Uncle four, all the uncles and aunts love him, and he loves them back.
None of the people who Wei Wuxian is close to and loves and who love him back find him “annoying or troublesome” at all, they enjoy his lively nature, it puts them at ease, they can easily communicate with him and he with them, sooo the notion of anyone being annoyed by him in general isn’t true unless you’re talking about the whole ‘worried because they know Wei Wuxian would put himself into risk for them and may end up hurting himself’ for which they might try to offer him comfort and bandage his wounds, but never scold him because they ARE grateful for him saving them, if he hadn’t they would be heavily injured or dead or worse.
They love him, if he throws himself in front of a car to save a child, they will be worried for him yes, they will scold him to take care of himself, they will never demean him or tell him ‘you shouldn’t have saved the child’ because they know he was in the right, what should he have done?
So when I come across any of the fanon writing any of Wei Wuxians loved ones (other than canonically abusive characters like Yu Ziyuan or Wen Chao) being degrading or abusive towards him (even the narrative being like its fine to do so), its so irritating like No! These are people who would fight for Wei Wuxian! Not insult him! They absolutely love him okay.
Why is Wei Wuxian considered to always cause ‘trouble’ when the so called ‘trouble’ is a carefully calculated action that only harms himself (not his family or his sect, just himself)and saves other people (people who are grateful to him) causing ‘trouble’ implies he doesn't care about others, he cares, ‘trouble’ implies he causes others problems, he doesn't, why did this become such a far spread fanon anyway?
#mdzs#grandmaster of demonic cultivation#wei wuxian#wen ning#wen qing#mian mian#luo qingyan#nie huaisang#lan wangji#wen remnants#wei wuxian is a cinnamon role okay#they care for him and he for them#let them love each other in peace#let them live in peace#canon and fanon troubles#look every single action of wei wuxian has always helped others at the cost of himself#not his sect or his family or whatever else#it never has#he deserves the world#wei wuxian protection squad#wei wuxian appreciation#charas like nie mingjue and lan xichen would have absolutely adored him if not for the circumstances of their meeting#look wei wuxian is best boy#yilling trio#yiling trio
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Could I have a prompt? 🥺🥺 So WWX is taking bath in the Cold Pond to heal from the wounds by the discipline paddle (which I assume he was punished being clothed in his Black robe or in his Gusu Lan disciple robes or Head disciple Jiangs robes whichever fits). Before going to CR, wwx is whipped by mdm yu and LWJ notices wwx’s raw red scars and many scars across his back kinda overlapping and not yet being healed because maybe MDM yu sealed his core or something. LWJ, or with LXC saw WWX’s many crisscrossing scars and realize they’re still raw and kinda risking for infection because when mdm yu unseals his spiritual energy before going to CR, WWX never thought of healing it. Cue LWJ and LXC gets horrified and ask WWX why he had many scars on his back (or other parts of his body can also be included!) no pressure 💕 I love your writing! ❤️❤️
Anyway, it is set during the period in which WWX studies at CR. Lån Qiren, who is obviously not eyeing Wei Wuxian just in case the boy creates some trouble ends up realizing that he is too non chalant about not eating (because the food there is for rabbits) and WWX is like "Oh, yeah. Nah its fine, I've been worse".
This one has trigger warnings for child abuse, negligence, and issues related to eating habits. Keep that in mind before proceeding. Nothing graphic, but I wanted to warn nonetheless.
I've merged two prompts here.
Please remember that prompts are closed. Also, remember I do not write self-deprication. All prompts that require WWX to have low self-esteem are not going to be written, apologies but the subject is very uncomfortable for me and I don't believe it is canon accurate anyways.
On to the prompt fill.
"That Wei child is entirely too careless."
Lan Qiren closes his eyes and prays for patience. That boy has been a menace ever since he stepped into Cloud Recesses. Brilliant but wily and mischievous with absolutely no regard for rules.
"What has he done?" He asks gruffly, reading over the reports from the kitchen staff. Cloud Recesses always monitors the food intake of their guests to make sure everyone is well-fed and no one is consuming more than their due. It wouldn't do for young cultivators to fall ill in their care, after all.
The primary healer, a matron of some age, had brought the reports instead of the kitchen manager, which was quite unusual, "He forgets meals. Goes without food for days. Survives on small bits of fruit."
Xichen, who has been working on his own reports, raises his head and looks concerned.
Lan Qiren crosses his arms, feeling a growing sense of ire, "He dislikes our meals." He's not the first one to skip meals because he considers them 'bland' and 'boring'. It's likely the child has been sneaking down to Caiyi town to have more extravagant meals.
"I checked with our ward team. When he goes days without eating, he doesn't make any trips to Caiyi town either."
Lan Qiren pauses and studies her. Lan Mingyun nods curtly, "When I first noticed this behavior, I immediately put him on my list." Her list of children with food-related issues, he assumes, "His eating habits are very erratic, erratic enough that I wish to assign one of our senior disciples to keep an eye on him."
"You're that worried?" Lan Xichen asks in surprise while Lan Qiren frowns. It isn't unusual to do so but he wonders if it is really necessary.
"As far as I know, the child lived on the streets for quite a few years," She says and Lan Qiren narrows his eyes, inwardly reprimanding himself. He had forgotten about that aspect of Wei Wuxian's history, "The link between early childhood trauma and behavioural problems are well known to us."
Lan Xichen frowns, "I'll ask Wangji to keep an eye on him."
He glances at his nephew sharply, "Why Wangji?" He demands because surely someone else would be better.
"From what I understand, Wei-gongzi will not welcome an assigned senior. He seems to be someone who brushes injuries or illnesses off. He likes Wangji and will be more willing to accept his company."
While the argument is reasonable, Lan Qiren is loath to involve his precious nephew in this. He's already so bothered by the boy.
But.
He thinks of Wei Wuxian with his sharp eyes and lingering smile and nods.
---
Wangji listens to Xichen patiently even as his fingers curl into fists under his sleeves.
He doesn't like Wei Wuxian. The boy is too disruptive, too bold, too distracting-
Too beautiful.
He doesn't like him, but that doesn't mean he's content to ignore his well-being. When Xichen asks him to keep an eye on Wei Ying's eating habits and general behavior, Wangji agrees.
It will be taxing for him, but he agrees.
What he doesn't anticipate is… everything that follows. When he starts consciously looking for them, the signs are alarming. Wei Ying doesn't just skip meals whenever he gets too distracted, he picks at the food even when he is eating. While Wangji is comforted to know the boy frequently seeks something richly flavored at Caiyi Town, he doesn't do it often enough to compensate.
There are also some concerning behaviors in the Jiang contingent. Upon closer inspection, it is clear that while Wei Ying does break the rules, the other Jiang Sect disciples are often complicit. Including Jiang Wanyin.
They not only let their da-shixiong take the blame for all of their actions, but also encourage it. Wei Ying seems disconcertingly accustomed to it. He makes a scene while being punished but seems alright within an hour.
Jiang Wanyin encourages mischief and reprimands him in turns.
Wangji doesn't understand this.
"Xiongzhang, I am concerned," Xichen looks up from his tea, his attention immediately on Wangji, unwavering and comforting, "Wei Ying," He takes a moment to form his thoughts, "I am uncertain. I believe he is in an unsafe environment."
Xichen sets his tea aside, "How so?"
"I happened upon a conversation," He grimaces because it is eavesdropping even if his intentions are noble, "Jiang Wanyin and Nie Huaisang requested and encouraged him to get alcohol into Cloud Recesses. When he complained about the punishment, Jiang Wanyin said 'at least, it wasn't Zidian'."
His brother sucks in a sharp breath, "Zidian? Madam Yu? Spiritual weapon? A high-grade weapon typically used against enemies?"
Wangji dips his head.
"I'll ask uncle to stop assigning corporal punishments." Lan Xichen says, "They won't have the desired effect in any case and we don't want to damage him permanently. Tomorrow, ask him to practice Cultivation in the Cold Pond as punishment."
Wangji nods, "I'll assign Jiang Wanyin and Nie Huaisang proper punishment as well."
"Wait until we have a better grasp on the situation." Xichen says solemnly, "If we act too quickly, things will escalate and may cause more harm to Wei-gongzi."
Wangji is reluctant because his sense of justice is not satisfied. He remembers how the Jiang disciples encouraged Wei Ying to accept punishment on their behalf. And then to know Jiang Wanyin was also complicit…
"We must approach this cautiously, Wangji."
He nods.
---
Red, irritated, scarred.
Wangji swallows as he sees the state of Wei Ying's back as the Jiang disciple steps into the Cold Pond. There are so many whip scars on his back, so many that have barely begun to heal, that he feels nauseous.
"Wei Ying," He struggles to keep his tone neutral, "Your back." He cannot imagine the agony that Wei Ying would've suffered when he took more punishment on it the other day.
Wei Ying glances at him and grins, "Aiya, Lan Zhan, is that concern I see on your pretty face?" He asks, spinning around eagerly, "Concern for little old me?"
His back is out of sight and the way Wei Wuxian is leaning towards him is meant to distract and fluster.
Wangji… suddenly understands. Wei Ying is naturally playful and mischievous, but he uses his personality for disguise and manipulation as well. Not maliciously, but in a way that harms him.
"Wei Ying," Wangji refuses to be moved. There is a significant shift in his mind. He no longer feels annoyed by the person before him. If anything, he feels furious.
He feels protective.
"Wei Ying, your back."
The Jiang disciple shrugs, "Punishment, you know how it is."
"For what?" He demands, catching Wei Ying's elbow and turning him around. The willingness to touch him stuns Wei Ying momentarily, enough for Wangji to get a good look at the brutal devastation written on Wei Ying's back.
Wei Ying clears his throat and shrugs, "It's more of a preemptive punishment? Madam Yu knew I would cause trouble here, of course." He chuckles.
"Preemptive punishment?" He asks softly, the very notion troubling him.
Wei Ying shrugs again but doesn't attempt to explain when it is clear Wangji isn't willing to indulge him.
"Wei Ying,"
"Lan Zhan," Wei Ying starts to move towards the shore, "Don't worry about things that don't concern you. Your head will forever be burdened if you do."
Wangji feels something in him recoil at such a blunt dismissal.
"Doesn't concern me? How can it not concern me?" He wants to ask but is unable to.
Wei Ying has made him very uncomfortable with his forward personality and near constant teasing, but Wangji has seen the genuine offer of friendship underneath it all.
He has always spurned it.
As Wei Ying climbs onto the shore, his wounds red against his naturally pale skin, Wangji makes a decision, "Would you not feel concerned if it were me?" He asks but he already knows the answer.
He already knows this man enough.
"Of course," Wei Ying says and shrugs on his robes, hiding a wince but unable to help his body's reaction to pain, "But you and I are different." He glances over his shoulder at Wangji, "I consider you my friend," He says, "But you don't consider me yours."
His breath stills at the acceptance in Wei Ying's tone.
"And that's alright." The Jiang disciple waves and walks away, "Don't worry too much, Lan Zhan. This one isn't weak. The wounds will heal within a few days."
---
"The facts are these - Wei-gongzi is punished preemptively with Zidian, often enough that there are deep scars on his back," Lan Xichen explains, "I assume it is his Golden Core keeping him from sustaining permanent damage."
Lan Qiren is still bristling at the very thought of preemptive punishment. What a ridiculous notion! Of course, the child doesn't care about rules and upsetting people! He has already been punished enough to excuse everything but outright treason.
How is such a method effective? How does it correct a child's misbehavior?
"The Jiang Sect disciples are accustomed to their da-shixiong being punished in their stead. They actively encourage it. Jiang Wanyin has asked Wei-gongzi to sneak in alcohol. And he refused to come forward when Wei-gongzi was punished." Xichen takes a deep breath, "I believe any lingering issues he may have because of his early days as a street orphan-"
"Are ignored," Lan Qiren concludes grimly, "It is no wonder the child has such strong cultivation. He is facing strife constantly."
"Is there a way to rescue him?" Wangji asks after being grimly silent for the entire meeting, "Get him away from the Jiang Sect?"
Lan Qiren eyes him, "Wangji, the situation is complicated. He's still the Jiang Head Disciple and sects don't just part with their high ranking disciples."
Xichen smiles sympathetically, "We'll find a way to pressure Jiang-zongzhu into taking action. He'll lose face if the other Sects know how his lady is treating their Head Disciple." He shakes his head at Wangji's expression, "Let us think about it. Meanwhile, you just need to be there for your friend, Wangji."
Lan Qiren arches a brow, "Friend? Wangji, I thought you disliked the boy."
Wangji purses his lips, a stubborn light entering his eyes, "Wei Ying is my friend." He insists, resolve lining his every word.
He looks at Xichen, who just looked amused, "According to Wei-gongzi, he considers Wangji a friend and will be very concerned if Wangji was in a similar situation," He huffs, "But Wangji doesn't consider Wei-gongzi his friend, so there's no need for Wangji to worry."
Lan Qiren closes his eyes and rubs his forehead in an uncharacteristic display of frustration, "That boy is a singular menace."
---
Wangji pursues friendship with all the dedication in his being. He learns to cook savory dishes and gives them to Wei Ying every day. Wei Ying, unable and utterly unwilling to deny, eats it all.
He glares the Jiang disciples into submission whenever they attempt to draw Wei Ying into mischief. The Jiang Head Disciple is fully exempt from corporal punishment. Instead, he spends hours in the library either copying rules, rewriting classics, or transcribing Buddhist texts.
All of these activities prove to be much more effective punishments.
Meanwhile, Lan Qiren attends a Discussion Conference and has word with Jiang Fengmian.
The response is a gentle order from the Jiang-zongzhu for Wei Ying. He asks his disciple to remain in Cloud Recesses for Musical Cultivation training. He also mentions it is time for Jiang Wanyin to take up Head Disciple responsibilities and learn true leadership.
Wei Ying eyes the smiling Lan Xichen and impassive Lan Qiren sharply but doesn't say anything.
In two years time, the distance between Wei Ying and the Jiang Sect grows. The distance between Wei Ying and Lan Zhan ceases to exist.
Just like that, Wei Wuxian's destiny changes.
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Explosion
Pairing: Tom Riddle x Reader
Summary: Parenthood comes with its tribulations, even more so when your life is as dangerous as Tom Riddle’s.
Word Count: 1.2k (1,250)
Warnings: mentions of violence
“It wasn’t supposed to happen,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Yes, well, it did happen,” you angrily responded. “It’s not just your life at risk anymore, Tom. These are your children.”
He slammed his briefcase down on the desk, rattling his pens, inkwells, and papers alike. “I know that. And, as I’ve said, I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
You threw your hands up in surrender and stormed out of his study. Heat was bubbling in your stomach, and it took everything you had to not react violently. The events of the night were still fresh in your mind, and you wanted nothing more than to bash your husband’s head in on the spot. But you had to remain composed. For the children.
“Dad, look what I can do!”
“In a minute, Clarice.”
“Dad, look!”
“I said, in a minute.”
“But Clarice finally got that spell down, Dad.”
“Will you shut your children up?”
“What business do they have being in our meeting?”
“Dad?”
“If you don’t shut them up, I will.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“Bombarda!”
You shuddered at the memory. The men at the meeting were right. Children had no business being there. Tom’s followers were a rash, often unruly bunch. They obeyed orders but were unafraid to act of their own volition. That much was evident during the meeting, when they blasted an explosion spell just to quiet children.
Tom’s children. Your children. The Death Eaters had put your children in danger, and the only punishment delivered was a quick reprimand.
Tom was their leader. It should have been his duty to hex them, curse them, do anything to show them that they could not risk the lives of his children. But he barely lifted a hand.
You were beyond feeling angry. He was a father, for goodness sake. A terrible one for even thinking of bringing his children — your children — to a Death Eater meeting. An even worse one for not obliterating the fools who thought they could get away with casting a spell like that.
You crept to your daughter’s room, peeking inside to see her already in bed. She was slumbering peacefully, with a nightlight turned on and a stuffed bunny under her arm. You noticed she was changed into clean pajamas, no doubt the work of her older brother. As the youngest of two, Clarice had her brother to look after her when her parents were preoccupied.
And preoccupied you were. As a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, you had business to attend to this evening. You had entrusted the children to your husband, which you now realized was a mistake on your part.
He had promised you that they would be in good hands, not once mentioning the meeting he arranged for the same evening. What was he thinking bringing your children to a gathering full of dangerous, irate wizards? Did he have no regard for their safety?
If the housekeeper at Malfoy Manor hadn’t sent you a message when she heard the commotion and alerted you of the possible danger your children were in, would they really be okay?
You closed the door to Clarice’s room and made your way to Pierre’s. He was also in bed, though you had a feeling he wasn’t asleep. He was old enough to know fear, to understand how dangerous his father’s followers were. He knew his dad would never hurt him, but he couldn’t say the same for all of the men in the room.
“Mum?” Pierre’s little voice sounded from inside the room.
“Yes, love?” you answered, stepping into the room from your hiding spot behind the door.
“Is Dad cross with me?” your son asked quietly, fiddling with the ends of his blanket.
You furrowed your brows as you perched on the edge of Pierre’s bed. “Why would he be cross with you?”
“Because we ruined his meeting,” the young boy replied. “I was s’posed to keep an eye on Clarice and not get us into trouble. But we ruined things anyway.”
Of course your perfect little boy would blame himself for the events of the evening. How could you ever explain to him that it wasn’t his fault, wasn’t ever his fault, that his father was associated with inane boors?
“You didn’t ruin anything, dear,” you assured him. “It wasn’t your fault that someone at the meeting lost their temper and snapped at children. If anything, Dad should get in trouble for even bringing you there.”
Your son nodded in understanding. “Can you tell Dad I’m sorry anyway? I don’t want him to be mad at me, even if it wasn’t my fault.”
Your heart broke hearing your son’s words. You smiled at him and nodded, promising you’ll speak to his father later. You rubbed Pierre’s back and whispered I love you like a lullaby until he fell asleep.
You bumped into a tall figure the second you exited Pierre’s room. “How long were you standing there?”
Tom ignored your question. “Is he asleep?”
“Yes,” you answered quietly, not wanting to disturb the children.
“He has to know that I am not upset at him,” your husband said, emotion pooling in his eyes. “It wasn’t their fault.”
“You can tell him yourself,” you replied. “In the morning.”
You were no longer furious at Tom, your fiery rage having dissipated after seeing your children safe and sound, sleeping in their rooms. But you were still upset that he even thought to bring them to a gathering of dangerous people and did close to nothing when things got out of hand.
As you walked away, Tom clutched your arm. “I am sorry.”
You sighed. “I know you are. But that doesn’t make what you did okay. I know the spell wasn’t aimed directly at them, but they could’ve gotten hurt.”
“I know,” he said, regret crossing his every feature. “They shouldn’t have been there.”
“And you did nothing to the man who dared do that to your children. Our children.”
“I know,” Tom repeated. “I chastised him at the time, but I know it wasn’t enough. I should’ve killed him on the spot. He’s losing his position the minute I see him again.”
“Do you understand why it’s such a big deal?” you all but pleaded. “We can’t lose them. They’re our babies.”
“I know,” he said for the third time. “And I am so sorry. I’ll make it up to them. I’ll protect them. They’ll never have to be afraid again.”
You knew from the glassiness of his eyes and the pain on his face that he was telling the truth. He understood the depth of the situation. You could see that he was remorseful, that he was determined to never let something like this happen again.
“I trust you,” you told him. “They trust you, too. Don’t let them down. They love you too much.”
“And I love them,” he assured, pouring his very heart into those words. “I just hope they can forgive me.”
“Of course they will,” you said, leaning in to his arms. “In fact, I think they already have.”
He looked around in confusion until he spotted two messes of dark hair poking out from behind a wall.
“Hi, Dad!” the littler one giggled.”
“We heard you talking, and we woke up,” the other one quipped.
“You know, we’re kind of hungry. Can you make us pancakes?”
You and Tom exchanged looks, a smile breaking out on your faces.
“Of course, my loves.”
—
Author’s Note: I suck at endings. Hopefully this one didn’t turn out too badly. 😬
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[spoilers] hosplay season 2 ep3 - ikjun/songhwa
I am on cloud nine.
When I posted my theories about ep 1 two weeks ago, never would I have expected such a huge development to happen 2 episodes after! This episode is what I will describe as Songhwa’s preliminary realisation, and the catalyst for this is told through the perspectives of two people in this episode.
TL;DR: This is a sign that Ikjun and Songhwa are now positively moving in the direction of endgame!!!
cr: _fever_pitch @ twitter
This scene made me smile so hard! While Songhwa may have asked Ikjun for dinner because she wanted to ask him about DLL, the fact that she initiated it by literally using Ikjun’s iconic “let’s eat” line, speaks a lot. I love the way Ikjun’s face lighted up in an instant when he realised it’s Songhwa.
What I realised also is that he even invited Junwan to eat with them in the cafeteria - maybe he didn’t want to burden Songhwa since they would be alone? Or maybe he was just trying to protect his own heart, we cannot be too sure but definitely, Ikjun-ah, best boi you, best boi.
The next scene that comes is definitely one scene that highlights their dynamics as work partners. Other than the fact that Ikjun knew Songhwa was worried over something and asked her to just speak up just by looking at her stirring her food, it seems that Ikjun/Songhwa approach things in a somewhat similar wavelength.
Ikjun points out at once that “we can help them”, to which Songhwa confirms saying that she already told them they could.
When Ikjun says that it doesn’t matter if the patients do it in a different hospital in Seoul because DLL can still provide financial support - Songhwa replies “I told them that”.
And when Songhwa said DLL will contact Yulje, because the other university hospitals aren’t willing to take the case, Ikjun agreed and said “good”.
Ugh, I absolutely love their rapport here. It shows understanding and compatibility between two friends who clearly share the same opinions about certain things and I love that they’re working together for DLL.
Ms Songhwa saying this line just shows that she values and trusts Ikjun’s judgement. Just as how she whole heartedly believed him when he told her that a “Villain” is someone who works hard to pay bills (BUAHAHA I can’t wait for her to realise the truth and strangle Ikjun).
Ma’am, why do you look like him as he is leaving like he is your entire world?
Coughs. Moving on!
Heo Seonbin~~ Just like how long have you observed your Professor and her best friend that you’re able to form this sort of conclusion that he always makes her laugh and that he will ‘totally’ do it for her if she asks?
Of course, this whole fake dating thing didn’t materialise because Songhwa isn’t the type to go for that - plus she respects Ikjun’s feelings, I’m sure, so she wouldn’t want to put him in that sort of confusing situation after knowing how he feels for her.
But I have a strong feeling that this scene is strategically placed for a reason and that is to nudge Songhwa towards the realisation that other people are seeing something special between them despite her insistence many times that they’re just friends. And who is the best to tell her that other than Seonbin, who is practically the closest friend that she has at this point that isn’t part of her gang.
In the previous episode, I posted a theory from a kfan that Ikjun was the one who asked for Seokmin’s favour to scrub in the Violinist’s surgery to ease Songhwa’s burden, and that the strawberry cake Seonbin brought for Songhwa towards the end of the ep, was actually bought by Ikjun. This theory remains as a theory until proven otherwise but I live for the fact that SilverDragon may be the ones playing cupid for their Professor this season. I mean, Songhwa did play cupid for them in S1, right?
Kekeke, now, onto my favourite scene of the episode. Kyuhyung’s cameo as Gyeongjin’s brother! I still cannot believe we got this scene handed to us on a silver platter but dude, it’s a complete parallel to IkSong and I absolutely LIVE for Songhwa’s expressions during Hanyang’s (I’ll just call him that) story telling.
Songhwa drank her coffee twice - girlie probably felt so called out that she was flustered and had to busy her hands with something. That’s human tendency, anyway. And we know from EP 1 that her rejection didn’t address Ikjun’s confession in its entirety. So for Hanyang to say “my answer didn’t make sense,” could very well be what Songhwa had in the back of her mind after her rejection, or what she will now realise moving forward.
“As a man and a woman, not just friends.”
A foreshadow, I hope? Because I am betting that this entire scene will play out in Songhwa’s mind over and over again. He is the catalyst she needs at this point of time to realise that the risk is worth taking.
The best line ever. It’s so simple yet so profound. So realistic, too. Because we know exactly who it is that is capable of making Songhwa feel happy. It’s the one person that always makes her laugh. And what more do you need, honestly?
What struck me, as I’ve mentioned on Twitter, is that the scene could have just ended after Hanyang said this line - that being with his gf makes him happy/great. But instead, we got a follow up question from him in that he quite literally ASKED her straight up, if she had someone like that in her life too.
And...guess who showed up at that very moment? Casually, without any hint of jealousy or envy but just decided to stick a straw into his nose?
cr: milly_v_v @ twitter
And made her laugh...without fail again?
I’m not crying, I swear.
My mind is officially at ease, because it seems that IkSong is definitely now headed towards the right direction. ShinLee really wasn’t joking when he put triple Rainbows during the drive in the tunnel. Triple Rainbow...for three episodes? Kekeke.
I’m thinking that Songhwa may still need one or two more eps to sort out her feelings, but by Ep 6 I’m guessing she will finally take the first step towards a relationship with Ikjun. But hey, I’m always prepared to be surprised in the best ways possible (like this entire scene in Ep3) by ShinLee.
#hospital playlist season 2#iksong#my otp#lee ikjun x chae songhwa#lee ikjun#chae songhwa#hospital playlist#spoilers
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| kismet | j.jh | part one
pair: jaehyun x fem!reader
word count: 10k+ welps
summary: his parents sends him for a month long vacation to the country side to meet his other half, which so happens to be you. and alternatively, your beloveds asks of you to be in your best behaviour while he’s around. disliking how things turn out, you both come up with a pact with each other before your two families gathers together for christmas eve dinner.
genre: arranged marriage + bad 1st impressions
a/n: happy new year ✨ and you know what that means? *wink wink* new layout for my oneshots hihi! ok you guys this took soooooo long to write ;-; i wasn’t satisfied with the first draft so i had to reboot everything! and i mean everything!! :3 so i had this specific genre in mind for a long time and i’m glad that someone requested at the same time while i was in the progress of writing it~ i should’ve posted this on christmas day but i was spending time with my family :D hope you understand hihihi anyway i’ll stop this here so you can enjoy reading! ~j
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| part two | part three (final) |
jaehyun never reacted so quickly in his entire life, simultaneously spitting out the drink he consumed and eyes growing at the news his parents suddenly brought up. his neck ache at sudden twist. “what did you say?” he wiped the drips of coffee at the corners of his lips. his breathing intensified the more the silence passed.
mr. and mrs. jeong playfully sighed & exchanged looks as their son shouldn’t be this surprised regarding the topic. they have discussed about this when he turned eighteen. now twenty-three, he shouldn’t be so surprised or over-reactive about it either.
“you heard your father,” mrs. jeong chewed her meal elegantly, yet giggles were still heard through closed lips. “you’re meeting her next week.”
he squinted with plenty of doubts filling his head, he was sure that there was still a year left. and to him that also meant he has exactly a year to convince his parents to call off the marriage he never asked for, let alone planned it. he still has a lot- correction, have yet to achieve in his mid-twenties and having a wife now would be slightly cutting his privacy short.
in other words, the path to leisure he wished for after years of academics would divert to spending a life planned out for him. he had a diary and planner, and
they were organised and well-thought out. but he had enough of his parents writing out his future for him, why couldn’t he write his own love story?
jaehyun was on his second last year of veterinary medicine, having some of the weight and pressure of academics lifted off his shoulders. of course he knew he still has to study, he just felt a little relaxed knowing that he would soon practice his dream career.
never had he expected that time flew and was going to meet his fiancé soon.
his phone blinked with along with a message from his friends— mark and johnny. he briefly looked at the wallpaper of his long-time girlfriend of four years; she was the one who was on his mind. “nononono, i can’t get married now.” jaehyun’s panicking voice echoed the dining area, shoving the phone into his pockets.
mr. jeong raised a brow, placing his cup of coffee on the glass table. “relax, you’re not putting a ring on her finger yet.”
“‘yet’?!” the dimples on his face deepened as his cheeks bubbled. “mom, dad, i haven’t even met her!”
“hm? that’s why you’re spending the whole month at the countryside!” mrs. jeong exclaimed excitingly, and to jaehyun it seemed she was enjoying herself as if she were the one going there too.
“a month?! what am i going to do over there?!”
“isn’t this great? we finally get to see you outdoors instead of a laptop and report papers! you need a break honey.” his mother clasped palms.
“ugh i can manage my time—”
“once you start working i’m pretty sure you won’t have the time to, jaehyun.”
since the love topic was brought up, his parents started to dig out their memories during their dating years. jaehyun groaned and massaged his temples, feeling uncomfortable with all the love stories he already heard or been told about. “did you forget that i have a girlfriend?” mumbling, he let out a deep, long sigh hoping they would hear him. and that failed miserably. his parents were in their own world.
he shook his leg underneath the table and grew impatient with the duration of their conversation. “please, i’m begging you. i’ll get married in my own time and pace. sue and i are pretty much going to settle once we graduate-”
a certain ringtone perked his ears and his hands quickly pat his pockets to search his phone. he let out a sigh of relief, that his girlfriend psychologically read his mind and knew how much he wanted to get out of the dinner table, not to mention his parents’ overly attachment to one another.
“sue you called! i was wondering if you want to hang out for a while.” his voice was high in spirits. but word has it when it reached its high, it would plummet to the ground shortly after. “hey, what’s wrong?”
on the other line, just a call away from his girlfriend, was her held-in sob and whimper. “where are you right now? i’m coming to get you.”
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jaehyun’s limbs shook in anger and slammed his fists onto the stirring wheel so hard that this time he promised himself he would move on. last week, she didn’t just break up with him— that was a call for farewell, something kept well hidden from him and all this time he didn’t know she felt the way she did for the years they’ve spent together.
for a minute he wished this was all a dream, that conscious world would wake his slumber mind. it wasn’t. the reality pretty much awoke him and kept him up all night. he blinked several times, her words still numbing his hearing, wishing it was a lie... but he heard her loud and clear that night.
“...you’ll always have a place in my heart.. but i’m really sorry..”
he grew speechless though his heart had millions of questions. the windows of his lips sealed closed no matter how much he wanted them to be answered. opposite from where he was at, he stared at the porch of her house, waiting for a silhouette to appear before him. instead a luxurious car pulled over and an unfamiliar man took his coat off to wrap around sue. that action didn’t hurt jaehyun, but it was sue’s smile of comfort that triggered his pain more. seemed like she knew this man given that she let him into her house, like nothing heartbreaking happened before this.
the door closed and jaehyun’s teary eyes never left her residence until loud slams of swinging car doors opened on both sides of the passenger’s seats. “tsk.” he hissed and quickly rubbed the tears meaning to fall. him being seen crying would really make him a target for his friends, for not moving on. couldn’t risk being the attention more than he already was.
“goodness mark it’s not like we’re on vacation that you have to pack almost everything,” johnny threw one of mark’s duffle bags at the boy, earning a so-what kind of look from him. “we’ll only bring jae to the y/l/n’s then leave afterwards—”
screw this, jaehyun thought. by now he shouldn’t look too swollen to his friends. but screw mark for renting and living across from his ex’s house.
“save your explanation john.” jaehyun growled and started the engine, fastening his while seatbelt the two continued their bickers. more of it was mark’s shallowness that pissed johnny.
“yeah, save your explanation john- ow!” mark gave the tall lad a death-gazing glare at the pain that stayed on his skin.
johnny leaned forwards, tapping the dimpled boy on the shoulder. “dude, you changed your mind?”
jaehyun scoffed, resting his left arm onto the window’s edge as he drove. “mom said i should be accompanied. i didn’t want you both to come but she’s so insisting it’s getting into my nerves.”
“actually mrs. jeong said you might need us after your sudden breakup,” mark pressed the button. the window rolled up and down whereas him and johnny exchanged looks to try to liven up the mood in the car. “what are friends for, hm?”
“o-oh yeah. you’ll need us.. as in.. ‘sue’pport.” he nodded with a fake sob. soon mark bursted out in giggles and joined the wagon.
“‘cause you lost your ‘sue’weetheart.”
“she’s making you ‘sue’per emotional.”
“we were ‘sue’prised she dumped you.”
“but as your brothers, we ‘sue’wear we’ll be here—”
“ugh! i don’t know why mom suggested you to come but your side comments really aren’t helping at all—” jaehyun rolled his eyes regretting instantly at the pain afterwards.
his friends found him hilarious. they were laughing so hard that jaehyun couldn’t continue or interrupt their exploding voices. “since when did you need help, mr. leave-me-alone?” johnny took a huge leap from his seat to be beside the offended boy. “for all i know you’re the type who wants everything perfect, in control and planned.”
“nah dude, right now..” mark zipped his bag. “he needs help with love issues.”
“this has nothing to do with my love! and for the record, about the y/f/n’s? it’s arranged!” he lowered his cap and slid back slightly against the seat while the car was on idle. “do i need to spell it out for you?”
“that can change dude,” johnny slurped on his giant soda takeaway. jaehyun battered his eyes but was careful enough to not leave his sight off of the road. “who knows this fiancé of yours could meet your expectations. maybe more than sue could ever do.”
jaehyun’s mind clouded and still had the effects from the breakup. still so fresh. he didn’t want to believe it in fact happened; that it was all true. he was sure sue was the one for him. hearing his pals say it word per word only had it finally sunk in— she dumped him.
it terrified him in ways he couldn’t imagine, haunted him countless of nights because he failed her. he even bragged to his parents that he would marry her and slip a ring on her finger. thinking about it, how stupid was he to hold onto that hope?
he looked like an idiot, felt like one and his friends probably viewed the same. they said his fiancé could outstand sue? she was the perfect package! what more could he get?
he had her.
honks of the vehicles behind led jaehyun’s eyes trailing to the stoplight that emitted green. he pulled over and johnny knew he had to take his place.
“here, let me drive. you’re not fit for driving. now, just be comfy back there, okay?”
—
hours later violent jolts of the car hit jaehyun’s cheek, regaining consciousness from his slumber just to witness the beautiful sunrise peeking from the horizon. he sat up, his posture trying to straighten to denumb nerves that held long during his sleep.
his playlist blasted the speakers. johnny had his legs on the dashboard and hummed with the music. mark was still sleeping peacefully like he hadn’t had a care in the world other than his precious bag of unfinished chips in his hands.
he groaned at the discomfort of pulled muscles and the sudden break to the countryside. if johnny needed an hour intervals for the drive he could’ve said so, right? but now they were at the open road, greenery and fields merging together in one land.
“what time is it? where are we and are we there yet? i’ll drive if what you do delays the journey.” jaehyun gestured him to move aside. “johnny, stop eating.” it was quarter to two.
“wha-? i’m hungry. hey, you’re the one who didn’t want to come and yet you’re rushing to get to the y/l/n’s?” johnny unwrapped his second burrito. “besides, we’re only five minutes away—”
“tsk ‘cause i need to piss real bad.” jaehyun was fidgety and panned the view before setting eyes on his friend.
johnny felt a churn in his stomach as his cheeks bubbled. “oh gross! i’m eating dude! if you’re gonna piss then do it outside?!”
jaehyun shoved the burrito into johnny’s mouth to not speak anymore. “rather hold it in than for you to puke in my car!” he held his strength while johnny fought his way to breathe properly. “i won’t piss outside and there are cattles who feed on fields!”
“bruh stop lecturing me with your vet knowledge- ah!” johnny held his forehead from the sudden finger flicking.
“dude, it’s called common sense. now move aside!” he shooed the tall boy off the driver’s seat. jaehyun stepped on the gas, heading towards a small town entrance.
they finally reached a couple of stores & restaurants, surveying and asking its townsmen using your family name to locate your residence. maybe they would know which apartment or house you resided in. except that was the twist of their understanding.
jaehyun and his boys were shocked to know how your family name plastered in posters and brand products displayed at open stores, but were more shocked to see the gazes from the people.
a little over an hour, they managed to get hold of more information as they were told your house was ten minutes away from the town. jaehyun walked along the pavement to grab something to drink, only to be poked by a young man who was around the same age as they were.
“hi.” he greeted the unfamiliar man. “i take it you’re looking for the y/l/n’s?”
he took a squint as he observed jaehyun from head to toe, circling around him. “uh-huh, you look like m’lady’s husband-to-be in the pictures.”
“e-excuse me?” jaehyun cleared his throat, seemingly unwilling to have this conversation going.
mark held his laugh per usual, it would take time to get used to jaehyun stumbling his words.
because the engaged man really wasn’t ready at all.
“yeap he’s the guy.” johnny popped the ‘p’ with a lollipop in his mouth. jaehyun rolled his eyes, taking the candy stick and tossing it away. he didn’t care about johnny’s scoffs.
the new young lad wore his motorcycle helmet. “sweet.” he prolonged the word. and that was when both mark and johnny lost it. they recalled the pun they entertain themselves with prior to arriving here.
“oh, i work with the town’s famous family,” he showed his i.d. wrapped around his neck. “you can follow me since i’m heading there too.” the three quickly twitched at his quick paced movement. “i’m kunhang by the way, but i’d rather be called hendery. it’s my professional name, it just sounds cooler.”
jaehyun furrowed his brows at the praise. “okay hendery, uhm famous? they’re big time?” he pointed at the posters holding your family name. “how so?”
hendery swung his face shield downwards. “you’ll see.”
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gallops of horses were drumming the entire farm. dust and dirt swirled with the wind in the air and it took a while for the boys to adjust their sights at the distance. hendery dropped a couple of spare boots for them to wear. jaehyun was in awe. horses were majestic animals and though he got to study them, he never seen such a number of them on the fields.
“oh goodness me our guest is here!”
they turned around to voice of a jolly lady, an apron on and folded cuffs from her clothing. “hello there! welcome! you must be jaehyun! my soon to be son-in-law!” she shook his hands and later pulled him for a hug. “oh you look just like your mother!”
“hi mrs. y/l/n. y-yeah, i get that a lot these days,” jaehyun scratched his head. “thanks for having us.”
her eyes trailed at mark and johnny, and they too, were pulled in for a hug. “i see jaehyun brought along his handsome friends with him! do enjoy your stay here with us!” she caught a glimpse of a figure approaching the crowd. “c’mere baby and meet the boys!”
jaehyun looked over his shoulder, lips parting and exhaled a short breath. she seemed young, she has a pretty face but obviously still in high school. what the? oh g- i’m marrying you?
“pfft no ew. i’m not getting married to you. i’m only 17.” she let out a chuckle, almost sarcastic enough for jaehyun to explode.
crap i said it unconsciously.
your mother lightly slapped her arm. “marg, where’s your sister?” she asked. “i told her to specifically come at the barn 1600.”
“she took jet for a ride. ‘detour’ she said, but i guess she’s on her way here.” she replied and mark choked on his water bottle. marg rolled her eyes. “green minded ass-”
“language marg!” hendery flicked her forehead, the latter held the pain. “the rudeness. sorry, kiddo here is the family’s baby. you’ll see the eldest daughter soon- oh! right on time m’lady!” he waved his hands up high.
jaehyun didn’t know what pissed him off more; one was at himself for being starstruck and in awe at you after his breakup, and two?
the beautiful black horse you were riding on didn’t seem to be halting. it was trotting at first. you were on its saddle. he squinted his eyes, were you smirking? unbelievable. he thought you were doing this on purpose. no, you were really going to run him over.
he noticed a change in speed, trotting then galloping on dirt. the sounds of it matched with the beatings of his rising heart. jaehyun took a step back, then it became more than one, until he was worried that he would end up being chased. there were couple of gasps and reminders of voices. he fell on his bum with palms hitting the ground as he breathed heavily, eyes still on you.
the horse listened to your rein, it let out a loud neigh with its front legs heavenwards. your laugh merged with it. “whoa- hey, easy jet, easy.” you cooed the animal, soon removing your helmet and hair flowed like those in shampoo commercials. “i think he got the message.”
jaehyun sat there dumbfounded, his brows drew together. what message? you were centimetres from killing him- wait. he saw you turn cold and your smile disappearing.
bingo! he got it. he knew the reason why you did this.
you were against the arranged marriage too.
johnny leaned into mark’s ear, who had his hands cupping his lower face. “bro, jet’s a horse so stop giggling and clean your mind.”
“dude i’m not laughing at that. just look at jae. i’ve never seen him so helpless.” he cackled a laugh.
once your feet were on the ground, he finally got a better look on you. you were wearing a light wooled grey sweater with denim blue jeans. your hair now on one side and boots stained with dried mud. you took off your gloves to put your hand out for a handshake, one rested around your helmet. “hi, i’m y/n.” you greeted with a smile, ensuring it was fake enough for jaehyun to notice.
“quite of an entrance.” jaehyun dusted his jeans and groaned at the exerted strength as he stood. “jeong jaehyun. veterinary medicine student..” he was about to grab your hand until you shoved yours into the pockets of your jeans.
“y/n!” your mom exclaimed with warning. “your manners-” she clamped her lips when you put up a hand, eyes darting at her later at him.
“alright, okay. look mr. i didn’t ask for your field of study and i don’t need to know or do anything with you.”
jaehyun crossed his arms, a fake smile plastered on his face. what an attitude. “apparently you will? because i’m here for the next thirty days.”
“is that so?” you hummed and jaehyun didn’t like how you singsonged.
he knew something was coming and sometimes he thought it was best to keep quiet instead of letting his annoyance towards you spark up. “good, that means you’re helping me out with everything i do here.” he heard you say. “and do things i tell you to.”
“what?” his eyebrows snapped, and for you it was quite entertaining to see this reaction from him. following the trail of your footsteps, jaehyun stomped on wet soil as he stood before you. “hey you can’t just order me around like i’m your staff!”
“of course i can, you’re in my property-” you gestured the land.
“no, it belongs to your parents.” the tone of his voice irked you. he was grinning too.
“i can do whatever i want and choose whenever to help. i’ll only listen orders from mr. and mrs. y/l/n if they want me to do work..” he trailed off, your mother waving at him with admiration— typical as she saw him like an long lost son. “..but i guess not. my mom did say i needed a break from studying too much and she’s totally right. i must be pardoned from labour.”
it was your turn to cross arms and give him a lop-sided smile. the audacity of this man. you felt like ripping all your hair out. “you think staying here would prevent you from doing labour, your highness? sitting on your throne all dignified and at peace? well guess what, just because you’re a guest that doesn’t mean you get to be treated differently-”
you heard him bubble out a forced snicker. what was it this time? “of course it’s different! i am the guy you’re betrothed to-”
“i won’t allow it.” your jaw tightened with lips in a hard line. “a person like you is not worth my time and definitely not someone i’d want to marry.”
he pursed his lips. “wow do people ever tell you how bad of a host you are? you just don’t go shoving assumptions into people’s faces for your own entertainment. we’re humans.”
“i’m only rude to you. and yeah, people are humans. but you’re the devil’s incarnate.” you pulled jet’s reins and led him to the stables in which jaehyun observed how you gave that same smirk from earlier. “see if you’ll enjoy your stay here, hubby.”
jaehyun clenched his fists and was sure little crescent moons already indented his palms. he only wanted sue to call him that. yet that was useless, they broke up. your face remained in his head and anger filled him up, now boiling so much that he felt a little lightheaded arguing with someone like you.
he wanted to yell but johnny and mark sandwiched him between them with hendery walking in front. “tsk it’s only the first day and i want to go home.” he scrunched his nose.
hendery had his palms behind his head, lips jutting to hold his grin. “m’lady—” he corrected himself. “y/n’s not usually like that. it’s a first seeing her so cranky and hotheaded.”
“really? how is she usually like?” mark asked with curiosity. “she seems cool because she smiled at johnny and me before the tables.. y’know, turned.” he shrugged with implications towards jaehyun.
“not cranky and not hotheaded.” hendery opened the door to your house, showing them to the large living area. “a lil’ different today but i tell you, our y/n is a professional equestrian. she’s passionate with what she does and—”
“a horse rider?! passionate?!” jaehyun hissed as he took off his shoes and brown coat, kicking it slightly to the side and hung it on the wall respectively. “she almost killed me!”
johnny hit the back of jaehyun’s head and clicked his tongue. “snap out of it jae, you’re overreacting. we’re at your future in-law’s residence and i think it’s a bad idea to badmouth their daughter.”
only a low groan escaped out of jaehyun as he refused to listen. “look, first impressions don’t always hit off a good start. but thinking how you both don’t have a say to this arranged marriage, your feelings towards each other are totally understandable.”
jaehyun pressed the bridge of his nose as he took in his friend’s words. if what johnny said was true, was it right for him to begin holding grudge on you on the first day? you barely knew each other. clearly he knew you hated him, yet if his parents were here and saw the whole thing, they’d ask: why risk the chance of not trying? and again, he remembered he was told, people can change.
—
throughout dinner, he got to know what your family business was and why it was well-known. he didn’t ask questions, they were just told to him like they were comfortable with it. they weren’t bragging either. perhaps it was due to the fact jaehyun would soon be part of this family that they told him the entire story.
you didn’t show up during the hour and honestly it got jaehyun feeling so much relief since he wouldn’t have to deal with another useless argument. he disliked wasting time and preferred to do this schedule accordingly, so remembering it only made him rage inside. he was glad he wouldn’t have to deal with you tonight.
except that relief was shortlived. you had to appear right when he thought of you.
great.
he tried to fix himself in his seat on the sofa by the fireplace, averting his gaze upon you while your mother continuously slapped you light on the arms. you probably finished your bath, given that you still have a towel wrapped around your head and a.. robe.
“y/n! have some courtesy! we have guests!” your mother warned as she gestured in front to cover you, apologising to the new boys. hendery immediately stepped in as well, his eyes shutting to a close and pushing you back to the bottom of the staircase.
“but mom! i’m hungry and there might not have any cookies left if you keep giving it to them-” you were cut off with hendery’s pats.
he brushed his hair. sighing, he had to shoo you away because you were clearly attracting eyes, definitely not the decent kind. “i have a jar prepared for you m’lady so please.. get dressed!”
you quickly ran up as you were told, mumbling and complaining. jaehyun and his friends were definitely at a loss for words. because not only were you careless, you were oblivious too.
mark scrunched his nose to start a conversation with jaehyun. “looks like she called you ‘hubby’ too quickly.” he closed his lips to contain his laugh.
“pfft jae your ears really are honest huh?” johnny pointed at them as he held his chest, fistbumping mark for another win.
he wasn’t going to tell them that he in fact did find you pretty, and the thing was, he shouldn’t be giving a reaction too soon. “it’s the spicy chocolate cookie!” jaehyun defended.
“huh, i didn’t bake any cookie with those flavour-” hendery pondered, but he stopped since he spotted jaehyun begging to help him here.
“you know that we know if you’re lying right?” the two squinted eyes, putting more pressure to the boy to admit what he felt when he saw you earlier. “bet ya felt something.”
afraid that your family could hear them, jaehyun grabbed their shoulders to huddle them in close. he cleared his throat to catch their attention, yet his friends continued their giggles. “i swear if you both embarrass me in front of the y/f/n’s, consider the days with your precious.. phones.”
“ah c’mon dude. don’t do that. we bought our i12’s together-” mark whined.
“then at least help me out here guys. i have a reputation to hold-”
“oh for being her hubby?” johnny gave a playful grin and soon was replaced with a nervous smile. “okay i’ll zip it.”
he heard your mother facetiming his mom, voices loud enough for him to know that there would be a huge gathering at christmas eve dinner. great, another one i have to deal with.
jaehyun put down his beanie and crossed his arms to snooze for a bit. he had too much going on in his head the whole day that maybe sleeping it off would let him calm down from all feelings he felt tonight. on the sofa, the weight beside him lowered, the scent of freshly baked cookies along with lavender perfume got him peeking under his beanie.
it was you, who looked like a squirrel happily munching away with your jar of cookies whilst eyes glued to the television.
he smiled a little to himself. so you can have this cute side-
fragments of sue’s face appeared in his mind. right. he was supposed to be heartbroken. he still was. a week into the breakup had remains to his heart. bothered with sue’s ultimatum and your annoying munches, he grabbed your wrists and out at the veranda.
it pissed him because it seemed like he was the only one who cared about both of your futures or actually would do something to change your families’ minds, where as you were carefree with your cookies. “hey!” you held the jar tight in your arms as you quickly slid your feet into your slippers. “rude! i’m eating!”
the rest of the people in the dining and kitchen area grew voices of woohoo’s, jaehyun’s pupils flared at their cheers. “just come with me for a second!” he hissed, turning the knob and closing the door.
“seriously jaehyun you can’t just ruin my happy time! what do you want-”
he looked in between the curtains from the outside, where he could faintly hear his friends talking the embarrassing things about him— especially how he felt for this arrange marriage. “aren’t you pressured or angry at the situation our parents have put us into?” he leaned against a column. “even my friends are joining the wagon.”
you cackled whilst scrolling your phone. “here i thought you only cared about animals, dr. jeong.” hearing how jaehyun scoffed at your comment, you shoved your device in your pockets. “and yes of course i’m mad! what they decided is so against my will.”
jaehyun stared at you and surprised that he actually felt exactly the same. “really? then let’s make a pact. sounds good?” he offered with arms folded while you still were occupied with your phone. “well?”
“why would i listen to you? as far as i know, we already clashed and hate each other.” you rolled your eyes. “what makes you think i’ll agree?”
he sighed. “y/n, i know you don’t want this, i don’t too. at least there’s something we have in common. i’m just thinking that we have to show them we’re not meant to be together. we both have lives we want to live without the other.”
there was a change in his voice. you could tell he was serious and trying to suggest something he’d want you to agree on. “fine, what’s the pact?” you gave an uninterested tone. probably a bad idea, you thought.
“like you said, ‘clash and hate each other’. we have exactly twenty four days to convince them that you, me, us?” he pointed at his chest then yours. “is impossible. twenty four days, it’s until the night of christmas eve.”
actually that’s not bad at all. “hm, that’s easy since i can’t stand you.” you said, now standing up to face him. “even better if we can do this in less than 24.”
“cool, we have to make our fights as natural as possible. no signals or heads-up. full-on make me angry and i’ll do the same. the more we argue the more they’ll believe there’ll never be an ‘us’.” his voice a bit lively than before. “i want my buds to be fooled into this too. just be realistic and- nghf!”
you shoved a huge cookie into his mouth. “tsk, you’re noisy. i get you so shut up. i agreed with the pact, but i have conditions, okay?”
jaehyun nodded as he chewed angrily with his eyes closed, though the cookies’ taste might’ve simmered down his temper towards you. “ha, then i have conditions too-”
“see you in the morning.” he heard you say as the door slammed with the attached bell ringing his ears.
now that was one of his conditions; no interrupting while he talks. he sighed seeing you head up the stairs. he sighed. “ugh, i can never marry a girl like her.”
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stretching as high as you can, the muscles loosened in every part of your body from riding yesterday. the sun shone its brightest despite the cold weather. you remembered the pact and you knew you would not let a day pass without bothering him. somehow his existence annoyed you to the bone, not even words were enough to explain how you felt.
at the farthest point your peripheral could reach, you spotted jaehyun peacefully— and actually enjoying— the hammock whilst faintly you heard mark and johnny debating which pronunciation was the correct one. fixing your boots as you walked towards them, the two scurried off to the side, noticing the stomps of your feet getting closer.
“get up.” you wriggled the hammock, causing it to be lop-sided.
jaehyun managed to balance himself from the swings. “what the-” his voice hitched. “you’re ruining my relax time!”
you pretended to ponder as you looked up to the sky. “hm, sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it?” referring to his sudden action towards you the night prior.
“seriously y/n what do you want? i’m in no mood to do work today and i clearly told you last night-” jaehyun fixed his eyes onto your finger that silenced his lips.
jaehyun raised a brow and rolled his eyes. what was your deal? he thought. “condition number one.” you started, bringing your voice down. “starting today you’ll do the work for me and with me. considering you’re taking veterinary science, i’m guessing you know your ways through equine husbandry. so in the coming days you can check the horses’ health while i practice my rounds.”
ah, so that’s what this was about. “uh-huh, but my condition number one is you shouldn’t make me do labour unless you really need it.” jaehyun got off the hammock, chugging his glass of water like it’s one-shot. “it’s the first light, y/n. my service starts in the afternoon.”
“i see. you’re not a morning person.” you checked your nails.
“i so am! but it’s my month long vacation. let me enjoy this before i experience exploitation from you.” he forced a smile that made you want to push him off the veranda.
you walked down the steps and straight to the barn opposite from your house. “it’s either exploitation today or exploitation for the whole month.” you singsonged while you twirled in your stance. hearing him growl meant your tactic worked. “i’ll let you experience the beauty of country side, city boy.”
jaehyun’s brows narrowed as he followed you anyway, later looking back at his friends who were stifling a laugh. “did you just compare me to feces first thing in the morning?”
“did you just boggle up my brain with scientific terms?” you hid a giggle when you heard his friends finally bursting out and losing it. because they too, experienced jaehyun’s sudden blabber of uncommon usage of words, especially conversational-wise. “i made a pun but it seems like you acknowledge the nickname.”
“i did not!” jaehyun pressed his temples. “i may have misheard you but i didn’t acknowledge it! you’re too assuming!”
“mhm sure.. but you are stepping on one though.” you whistled and gestured mark and johnny to the stables.
jaehyun grumbled as he checked the soles of his shoes. indeed he stepped on it and licked his lips in annoyance that it’d be hard to clean it off. the door opened and hendery’s morning face only turned sour at the unsightly view. he tossed another pair of spare boots for him to wear before they both headed to where you all were.
hendery introduced the things they do here; feed the horses, fix their saddles repair them if damaged. they were minor things since your family did hire people to do them. and since you and him were professionals in equine sports, he mentioned you both spend all days practicing.
good, if it was you who toured him around the area, he wouldn’t think lasting a day with your intentions of ruining his mood. though it was part of the pact, it seemed like you enjoyed this a lot more than he expected. hendery brought him to places your family owned, land properties that expanded until the mountains. it’s no wonder you were free to roam around and unafraid of getting lost.
you made him do a lot. and he was glad he was able to handle, thank heavens. however he didn’t feel much of a challenge from any of them, where you claimed they were ones he couldn’t do. jaehyun lost track of time, the sky was his only companion to tell the hours and probably lost count of the tasks too. all he could remember was the endless bickering, yells and frequent eye rolls.
in all those, he still let you off the hook— first day of work and all, he has to be patient. and he wasn’t bothered with what you tasked him to do, until his friends stood behind you as you showed them the rest of the horses.
after you told him to move the bundles of hay he thought was the last, you were currently trying to make mark pet the horses as they were bobbing their heads towards the young man while johnny recorded his reaction.
“isn’t she all well now.” jaehyun rolled his eyes as he helped hendery lift the infinite bundles. “my friends get the leisure and i have to work?”
hendery laughed as he unbuttoned his collar. “she was told by her mom that you’ll be in her care since you both will get married eventually. plus mrs. y/f/n said it’s a way to get to know y/n too.” he explained, seeing you walk towards them with a hay cart, hands signalling your childhood friend to get some bundles from you. the final bundles were finally fed to the horses, and you skipped your feet to fetch jaehyun.
jaehyun knew you had intentions to make fun of him because the way you walked really pissed him off. so he decided to have his fun too. ”are you that weak you’re unable to carry a small patch? guess my hourly pay needs an increase.” he low-key flexed his muscles. truthfully speaking it was a sight to look at, too bad his attitude didn’t match it.
you rested on one leg while you look at him. he was testing the waters with you, smile slowly resurfacing as you gave even the slightest reaction towards him. oh it’s on. he annoyed you yesterday and would be a lot more in the next coming days. jaehyun leaned forwards that he was towering over you. his body made you feel small but that didn’t stop you from getting back at him.
“the only thing increasing for you is workload.” you hummed, putting back the cart into its place.
he glared at you as if you were dead meat. you ignored him. “i’ve had enough for today. muscles are sore.” hands in his pockets, jaehyun kicked the remains of hay off his shoes before he was stopped by you. “ugh you’re so annoying.” he clicked his tongue.
“nope, you’re not done until i am. we have to find materials for christmas wreaths at my grandpa’s up north.” you pointed at the mountains as you took hendery’s hands and soon mounted on jet with him.
“oh and i’m supposed to walk there while you’re so relaxed miss bossy?” jaehyun shook his head in disbelief looking at the distance.
“uh yes?” you laughed to yourself. “i don’t think you’ve ever ridden a horse before, but if ever you did, it’s probably at a carnival.”
sudden outbursts of emotions evident on his face now. “was i born under a rock? of course i’ve ridden!” he took the reins given to him by hendery. “and it’s not a carousel!”
for a while he had a certain confidence, his soles stepping on the stirrup and dimples deepening with the strength he gave to put his right leg over. but once that was done and high up off the ground, his heart beat an army per second. cash, hendery’s horse gave loud neigh. jaehyun had done this before as a child and definitely felt like one now. he should be able to handle a 30-minute journey.
jaehyun heard you giggling, perhaps he knew how hideous he looked. despite hendery seated behind you, you led the way for the most part of the ride. you were surprised to see jaehyun have gotten the hang of it. it pissed you a lot because he was vlogging with his phone— sputtering out words to keep the diss battle going. johnny and mark hopped on the available bikes, cycling on your sides, and their laughter rather calmed you than annoy you.
it pissed you a lot more because you’ve practically ran out of ideas to tell him in return. keeping quiet wasn’t your forte, you were a young woman with plenty of things to say, even more so to jaehyun. going through the woods, you signalled hendery to halt the horse for you and the rest of the boys followed you to gather the materials needed.
“this shouldn’t be too long to take.” jaehyun looked at the trees towering meters above him, then straight to you who was shaking head in disbelief. “we’re just taking the materials at your grandfather’s and head back, right?”
“did i mention my granddad?” you balanced yourself on large wood log. the tone of your voice started to warm up with bickers you weren’t able to tell him.
“you did!” jaehyun anticipated this and somehow he didn’t. “now lead the way to his place and we can get the hell out of here.” his eyes grew squints of disgust at his surroundings, as if he hadn’t been into the forest before. his friends went on ahead with hendery around the woods to look for what’s needed.
“nah, we’re picking acorns, pine cones, berries and other leaves by hand. his cottage is just around here but that doesn’t mean the materials are from him. let’s go, whiney.”
“oh my g-” jaehyun pulled you on the arm and off you went towards him. “y/n i’ve had enough for today and i’m so tired of taking your orders- i’m physically tired of doing things your way and i can’t think straight-”
“pecans?” you said as his eyes crossed to see your palms full of the shelled nuts. “you’re hungry, aren’t you? that’s why you’re so cranky and agitate-y.” placing one but onto a flat rock, you smashed it strong enough for it to crack yet not totally destroying the inside. you popped one into your mouth and gave the most taunting grin jaehyun has seen from you all day.
he was about to grab the rest of the nuts until you swung your arm that he wasn’t able to reach them. “y/n! give me some!” he yelled and the rest of your friends look at you both after hearing you laugh in the most evil manner.
“never!” you scurried off deeper into the woods. jaehyun rolled his eyes not at how fast you were, but due to how slow he actually was because of the amount of disgust he had.
he knew this would take all day and he didn’t know how long his patience can take for another three weeks with you.
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jaehyun couldn’t describe in words with what he experienced since arriving. if he had to compare with school, it was similar to studying and cramming for hours non-stop. it gotten him mentally exhausted, physically too. but the only difference between being cooping up in his room and doing work outdoors was the continuous nagging from you.
it was far from quiet. he could handle his mom’s high pitched yells. but you? anything that came from you or done by you made him want to plaster a duck tape on your lips. you were as annoying as a five year old child who looked for someone vulnerable to bully. unfortunately he became your prey because he was in your lands. and though there were times he was able to banter back, he always felt you still had the upper hand.
it was all sunny and good days out in the countryside and jaehyun found that fact the only bright side. he enjoyed it every single morning. yet sometimes good sunny mornings meets its bad, that is, when grey clouds destroyed the beauty of the sky. in this case, it was you. you were far from his dream girl— sue. she was elegant, poised and had a heart of gold. you were the complete opposite who’d rather be rogue and do things your way. other than completing ten christmas wreaths and feeding the horses or more farm work, he couldn’t remember what he did for the past eight days because all that entered his mind was the dictator you.
but today he felt different, maybe things wouldn’t be as hard than last week. he felt good. he sat at the long dining table with all morning faces exposed. it was currently 7 a.m and your mom have already prepared breakfast. and per usual, you were the only one they waited for before they start the first meal.
“marg, is your sister still asleep?” your mother put down a large casserole to warm up everyone’s stomach in winter.
marg only shrugged because for one, she didn’t care, and two, she stated that it wouldn’t be her doing this since jaehyun was marrying you. “oh jaehyun. please do head upstairs to her room and awake y/n up.”
“and why do i have to do this?” jaehyun mumbled to himself and johnny nudged him on the arm. he groaned and got up, his stomps were heavy and unwilling.
once he was in front of your door, he knocked twice loudly so he wouldn’t have to spend so much time to get you. there was a small tune playing in your room, like it was from a music box. the door was already opened. he peeped through the thin gap, seeing you still sleeping soundly. goodness’ sake, he thought, and entered the room since your mother was asking if he woken you up.
your room was in fact, neat. all things were organised and arranged. if there was one thing he learned from you other than being an ass, was that you loved stuffed animals. not a hint of dolls or barbies or any toy displayed related to that spectrum. two lines of medals displayed and they all shone in gold. plaques had your names and young portraits of you with smiles of victory. hendery wasn’t lying when he said you were a professional. he wasn’t going to lie— you were impressive despite the little horns coming out of your head.
he stood next to your bed where you were all bundled in a huge blanket. he raised a brow, it was strange for you to have two thick blankets covering you. “hey y/n.”
no response.
“y/n. wake up, your mom is calling for breakfast and you’re usually the first one seated at the table.” he wriggled your body with the butt of the umbrella and you didn’t budge.
“she baked croissants and aren’t they your favourite? dipped in chocolate ganache and sprinkles?” he tried sounding happy. note that, he tried.
this girl.. he bit the insides of his lips, spotting the markers in a cylinder container and took one to begin drawing on your face. his soft giggles filled your room and the strong scent of markers met your nostrils, waking you from your slumber.
“what the he- jaehyun?!” you hissed at how close his face was to yours, failed to realising he was done drawing on your morning skin. “get away from me!”
everyone downstairs could hear the both of you, arguing like cats and dogs. each footstep might’ve covered the entire floor above them and the ceiling could give in.
“you ruined my morning with your ugly face!”
“what?! you’re more ugly, ugly!”
“you entered my room?! you have no rights!”
“breakfast’s ready and your mom asked me to!”
“well my nose could’ve smelled mom’s food but i smelled your stinky breath instead!”
“whatever, i finished your share of croissants!” jaehyun quickly head down the staircase.
“you dare eat my food?!” you still had a blanket from head to toe as you followed him down. “no one takes my food!”
“your loss since you’re still in bed you lazy ass!” jaehyun sat beside johnny and continued his meal. “and you were snoring loud too-”
“i did not- agh!” you grumpily sat and immediately eyed the last croissant sitting at the center of the table. all eyes were on you with black ink scribbled on your face.
there was an awkward silence then you felt jaehyun’s stare at the only food you wanted for breakfast. there was a back and forth battle of stares between you, him and the food. maybe it was the slow reflexes you have in mornings that jaehyun took the bread before you did. he stuck out a tongue as he deliciously ate half of it, chewing slowly just to let you imagine the flavours of sweet silky chocolate. you could feel yourself drooling and the cravings of your stomach rising up to your throat. every chew he did was a stab to your guilty-pleasure heart.
jaehyun stopped and gave a smug grin. “you wanted this y/n?” his question sounding a song rather than an honest one. “all you have to do is beg.”
you gulped, rolling your eyes. “shut up!” you kicked his knee out of jealousy and savoured the soup instead.
“ow!” he hissed through a laugh and looked at your mom. “mrs. y/f/n, i’d like to know the recipe for this. do you give lessons?” jaehyun licked the remains of chocolate around his lips, hopefully it was enough to cover up the violence you did under the table.
your mother giggled at his sweet talk. “why learn it from me when you have y/n to teach you?”
you choked on your soup and tear your gaze away from jaehyun to your mother, where she was already enjoying your shocked reaction. “oh give me a private lesson, bulldog terrier.” he propped his chin and mimicked clicks as if he was calling animal.
you quickly touched and rubbed your face to see the ink contaminate your fingers. the spoon reflected the dark circle around your right eye. “oh my g- you! this will be hard to remove!” the fork around your hand pointed directly at him.
“y/n!” hendery put down your wrists as jaehyun laughed loud. you took the wet wipes marg gave you and whined a little whilst you stood by the mirror behind jaehyun.
“don’t be so bummed out honey.” your mom assured, giving a wink to jaehyun. “it’s a small prank. marg did it to you before.”
checking yourself for the last time at the mirror, you rolled your eyes. “i have enough patience for marg,” with one hand you cupped jaehyun’s lower face from the chin spreading to the cheeks, soon pinching hard on his dimples with a pointer finger and thumb. “but none for the human bread.”
“ow don’t touch me!” jaehyun swifted his head to look at you and he saw you flashed a smile like you were satisfied.
“a human bread with molds. ew, i lost appetite so i’ll be out for a ride.” you stood up to grab your coat. “see ya ugly.”
“remember to you have to clean the barn house y/n!” your mom called out.
“yeah got that!”
johnny and mark bent their heads down and let their friends suffer from multiple dots on his faces. what made it funnier was that jaehyun munched happily on his meal, hadn’t gotten a single clue. he then eyed you when you passed the window and straight to the stables. “isn’t it too early for practice?” he drank his cup of hot chocolate.
“she can ride all day. sometimes she doesn’t arrive home and the next morning you see her sleeping in the barn house.” marg tied her hair into a high bun. “the amount of dedication is there, except the passion she used to have isn’t really there anymore- hey!” she glared at hendery who gave her a warning look.
what was that all about? jaehyun thought while his eyebrows met together and good thing it wasn’t obvious to your family. he was indeed curious, but he’d rather hear it from you than to look like a jerk who wanted to gossip about personal lives. the thing was, it’s you. though majority of the week was him suffering with workload, he liked to bicker with you until you gave up and had nothing to say.
so far he recorded as 5-11 in terms of owning the other. the latter was his score and he was proud of it.
hendery’s phone vibrated and slid it to jaehyun’s place. jaehyun blinked to adjust his sight to the brightness of the phone. a sigh came out of his lips and the rest of them could tell it was another order from you. “ooh that doesn’t sound good.” mark slurped his soup.
“it’s not.” jaehyun brushed his hair and hesitation slowly crept his body. “she asked me to clean the upper floor of the barn by the time she arrives.”
—
jaehyun massaged his wrists by twisting them. he looked at the barn house’ entrance because he noticed a figure approaching. you’ve had the best morning after jaehyun ruined it. as you rode, nothing beats the freshness of the cool wind. you love riding through the woods and grasslands. it sets you free from everything keeping you caged. your smile began to falter when you saw jaehyun who was not even halfway close to finishing. “you’re late. your mom had to apologise on your behalf because i’m doing the job for you.”
“ooh thanks! i’ll count on it!” you laid comfortably on a chair.
“hey!”
you leaned against the furniture, arms crossed where he was a floor above and standing at your 2 o’clock view. “dr. jeong it looks like you’re having a hard time. need help?” you stifled a laugh because he still has the ink marks you left on his face.
“on with the assumptions again, aren’t we?” he fixed his gloves and moved wooden planks from one place to another.
“yeah you make yourself too easy of a target, jaehyun. and i thought you’re the type to not take things seriously.” you tied jet’s reins to a pole.
“you’re forgetting my condition number two, you can only badmouth me if the others are around. now get your flat butt up here and move the tool box aside so i can continue what i’m doing.” he grunted whilst lifting.
dusting your pants, you were now standing a storey high. the sight of the height below you made you sick. jaehyun nudged your arm and you took the items blocking his way. you sighed and he noticed how fidgety you were. he put up a small smile. his entertainment from you didn’t end at the breakfast table.
he scooted closer to you, pretending to bump into you with the pile of tall wooden planks in his arms. he heard you hiss, and that was the signal to begin. “oops didn’t see you there shorty.” there was a change in his voice, a more aggressive type of approach.
“you’re doing that on purpose.” you checked the pained area of your forearm.
“what if i’m not? it could be an honest mistake.” he tilted his head away from the wood to see you.
a held-in soft disbelief laugh came out of your lips. “honesty doesn’t really blend in well with you.”
jaehyun gasped with arched brows. “wow i’m very offended— you think this face..” he largely gestured himself. “would ever lie?”
“if you want to hear me saying you’re handsome.. it’s not happening.“ you took the rope to hang on a nail.
“but you did say it.” he singsonged and you could push him off the loft but that could only happen in your head.
“then that’s an honest mistake.” you flashed a forced smile at him. you carried the boxes stacked upon one another. “if you have a huge ego like that i bet you never dated. no girl would ever date you.”
jaehyun fell silent, his mood to bash you suddenly changed. the shifts in his steps became heavier and as if he was putting his anger upon them. he didn’t like being reminded of sue, even if you unconsciously did so. “can’t you just keep quiet as you work? do you always have something to say? keep your damn mouth shut if you think all the fun you get is from belittling people.”
“okay sheesh sorry i didn’t know you have a heart for people too.” you removed your helmet to relieve the discomfort from it.
as time passed— two hours to be exact, the more your guilt begin to seep in you. jaehyun never spoke after that. silence was like death at this point. not a hint of sniffs and sighs from him. did you go too far that he actually chose not to talk anymore? all you thought about was the pact he suggested. what now? anyone could appear any moment.
this wasn’t like you at all. you hesitated to talk to him and to give the first move to bicker. you stood there staring at him piling boxes after boxes and sweeping the floor where dust accumulated like piles of sand. you bit your lips because screw this, you hated this atmosphere, you hated this silent treatment. “j-jaehyun?” you called out.
nothing.
“hey-”
“hm? guilt eating you up now?” you froze at his voice as he chuckled. “it has, hasn’t it? look at your face!” he was laughing, his hands holding his ballooning stomach. “y/n you should’ve seen yourself!”
your gaze followed his hands that quickly took his phone placed at one corner. he was recording and your obliviousness blinded you. “oh you have no idea how much i wanted to laugh! my cheeks hurt so bad! hahaha!”
“you’re not using that to blackmail me!” you strided towards him.
he put his arm high as you struggled to reach it. “i might as well do that thanks for the idea!” faintly you heard his friends coming to check as to why their friend had the laughter of the century, only to find you both bickering again like this morning.
“delete that video jaehyun! i mean it!”
“not until you agree to clean the loft!”
“that’s like telling me to do everything!”
“then that’s exactly what i’m telling you to do!”
johnny put up his phone to recording the struggling you and jaehyun enjoying his time to take advantage of his height. “dude i’ve never seen jaehyun this happy since sue broke up with him.”
“yeah his dimples are legit showing it’s scary me.” mark squinted at the two of you.
jaehyun swung his arms to avoid your attempted catches. he scrunched his nose and although that was undeniably cute, you couldn’t afford to feel humiliated for another two weeks. “jaehyun please delete it!”
“it’s not convincing enough you know?”
“stop joking around we could fall!” you hissed.
“fall?! then stop trying to get my phone!”
“then put down your ridiculously long arm!”
“yours are just too short!”
“i swear— delete the footage!”
“you have to sound like you beg for it—” he cackled and with a few stretches you managed to reach his wrists as you lunged forwards. “oi stop!” that one last reach only made jaehyun lose his balance and fell backwards.
and all you heard were yells of worry.
to say that you both gladly fell on soft pillows of hay was an understatement. at least that what it looked like to your friends. jaehyun was shocked, his arm felt numb. he took a good look at you and there you were laying on his arm with pale lips. “hey, you okay?” his hands were already out to help you. “y/n—”
“m’lady!” hendery rushed to you, causing jaehyun to flinch at the tone of his voice. he gently took your right arm, but you gritted your teeth and asked him to take the left. “painful?”
“not that serious.” you said, feeling the stares from jaehyun. “ew don’t look at me like that. i’m fine, really. let’s just call it a day.” you gave a small smile and he wasn’t buying it.
because jaehyun saw you clung onto hendery for dear life.
#jung jaehyun#jung yoonoh#nct jaehyun#nct 127#jaehyun oneshot#jaehyun#jaehyun nct#jaehyun x reader#jaehyun au#jaehyun scenarios#jaehyun writings#jaehyun imagines
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statue of ice
yes i am still updating this fic lmao
main masterlist ◈ maribat masterlist ◈ ao3 link
She only lasts a few weeks before caving and telling her brother that she’s Ladybug.
The Guardian – Fu is his name – was vehemently against revealing her identity again, already annoyed that she’d told Jason. Privately, Marinette thinks that Fu can “go fuck himself”, and maybe Jason would have said it out loud, but she does not.
Instead, she ignores his wishes and tells Tim anyway.
To his credit, her brother isn’t even surprised. He just quirks a smile during their scheduled video call and says in a light voice, “I guess it runs in the family, then, doesn’t it?”
Marinette is inclined to agree. After all, what are the odds that both of them ended up being protectors of two cities?
.o0o.
A week later, Tim calls her to confirm Marinette’s suspicions that Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth.
“He’s slippery. Paid to have all the security cameras around his home removed, but I traced akuma sightings on social media and marked them on a map and what do you know, his house was right in the center of the circle. I also checked out the property. He literally has a butterfly window, Mari. Everything in his house is butterfly patterned. It checks out.”
“Thank you, Tim-Tam. I’ll take care of it from here,” Marinette says. Her mind is already working, forming a plan to take Gabriel down. Permanently.
It has to be public. The city wouldn’t believe it otherwise, and some are already accusing Ladybug and Chat Noir of creating the akumas themselves so that they can make themselves look good by defeating them.
Exposing Gabriel as Hawkmoth would cause the downfall of his company and result in the loss of thousands of jobs, but Audrey Bourgeois had a Parisian branch of Style Queen that was still fairly new and looking for employees, and she knows that Audrey would most likely hire all of Gabriel’s employees out of spite.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to help?” her brother asks. “You don’t have to do this alone, you know.”
She knows. She wants so, so badly not to do it alone, to have her brother by her side as she faces down a magic user that could turn her into a puppet in the blink of an eye if she allowed herself to feel just a little bit too much, but she can’t bring him into this. Can’t bring anyone else into this. Tim already spends his nights stopping rapists and murderers and seeing all the horrors that Gotham has to offer. He doesn’t need to see what Paris throws at its people as well.
“It’s a miraculous matter, Tim-Tam,” Marinette says instead of voicing any of those thoughts. “Besides, bringing anyone else in puts them at risk of akumatization. It’s best to keep as few people involved as possible.”
“Okay then,” Tim responds, not fully managing to hide the disappointment and apprehension in his voice. “Good luck, Mari.”
The corners of her lips twitch upwards in a tiny smile. “I am the living embodiment of good luck, Tim-Tam. It will be alright.”
.o0o.
It is easy to poke and prod at Gabriel’s ego until he thoughtlessly lunges, crashing through his own window onto the street below when she dances out of his way.
Ladybug follows, dropping and rolling with a familiarity that comes from being forced to do that same motion countless times, and she toys with him, dodging, ducking, but never really attacking, until the news helicopters start circling overhead.
Chat Noir arrives just as she sweeps Gabriel’s legs out from underneath him, and he doesn’t quite manage to stifle his gasp of horror, all irritation at Ladybug for taking Hawkmoth down without him forgotten when he sees who is underneath the mask.
Ladybug may find Chat Noir (Adrien Agreste, she reminds herself,) a nuisance at best, but she is not heartless. She knows what it’s like, to want to believe that one’s parents are good people. She knows what it’s like when that illusion one tries so hard to maintain finally shatters, and it’s something that nobody deserves to experience.
Chat’s face hardens as Ladybug starts murmuring words in an ancient tongue underneath her breath, casting a spell on his father, who gave up the fight as soon as the butterfly was removed from his hands, to ensure that Gabriel will never be able to touch another miraculous again. He won’t be able to exist within three feet of one.
It’s a good thing she chooses that spell too, because it protects Gabriel from his son’s wrath.
As the authorities are cuffing his hands behind his back, something cold settles in Chat Noir’s eyes as he calls up a Cataclysm and lunges at his father, the clawed hand rippling with dark magic outstretched, ready to disintegrate a living, breathing human being.
Gabriel is yanked backward by an invisible force, pulled out of harm’s way, and Chat’s Cataclysm lands on a chunk of debris instead. The Black Cat is held back by his partner before he can try something else.
“Chat,” Ladybug hisses, as he struggles in her hold, still trying to go after his father, who is being put away into a police car. “It’s done. It’s over. He won’t hurt anyone ever again, and the justice system will deal with it.”
Chat Noir slowly starts to resist less and less at her words, and she takes that as a cue to continue. “It feels anticlimactic, and I know you want to do more. You think we should do more than just let them take him away, because you’ve been fighting on the front lines of this battle since the beginning. But our part is over. Our duty has been fulfilled. He won’t be acquitted, if that’s any consolation. There are mountains of evidence against him.”
Her partner turns around, suddenly, and buries his face into her shoulder as his body jerks with what she realizes are sobs. He’s crying,Ladybug realizes. He’s crying for his father. For who he thought his father was.
When was the last time she cried for one of her parents?
Ladybug reaches a hand up and awkwardly pats Chat Noir on the back for a moment before she spots the reporters.
“Let’s take this to our usual meeting spot,” she whispers to her partner, and he nods, composing himself in an instant. Janet would have liked Adrien, she thinks. Gabriel’s parenting style was evidently similar to how Marinette had grown up.
Five minutes later, they’re standing on the Eiffel Tower, overlooking the city they’d sacrificed so much to protect.
“This is it, isn’t it?” Chat Noir asks, turning to her. “This is the end? There’s no use for us anymore.”
Ladybug inhales slowly, taking in the view from above one last time and committing it to memory. Not that she needs to – her eidetic memory ensures that she’ll never forget. It’s for the sentiment, she supposes.
“Yes,” she murmurs. “We have to give them back now. Say goodbye to our kwamis.” She’ll miss Tikki’s company, she thinks, but not as much as she misses Jason’s. The kwami was sweet, yes, but she didn’t understand Marinette’s need to do something other than being Ladybug.
“Where do we even return them to?” Chat questions, and then she remembers that he’d never been told of the Guardian’s existence.
Ladybug unhooks her yoyo from her side, tossing it up and down one last time as she prepares to swing. “Follow me,” she says, and then she throws the yoyo and leaps off the side of the Tower.
.o0o.
Fu’s massage parlor is just as inconspicuous as ever, and somehow, no one is walking along the street when Ladybug and Chat Noir enter.
The Guardian has been expecting them – there are three cups of tea sitting on the table in front of him.
“Ladybug, Chat Noir, please sit,” he says in his wheezy voice. They oblige, but the tea remains untouched on the table.
“Chat Noir, it is time to return your miraculous,” Fu states, and the two of them stiffen, immediately picking out what’s wrong with that sentence.
“Why am I not included?” Ladybug inquires, her polite tone holding an undercurrent of danger. “There cannot be a Ladybug without a Black Cat.”
“Well, you see, you won’t be using the Ladybug,” the Guardian explains with a slightly condescending look on his face. “But there can only be one Guardian, and I’ve chosen you to be my successor.”
The sound of Ladybug’s palms slamming on the table makes the other two people in the room jump. “Absolutely not,” she declares as she stands up. “I did not agree to become the Guardian. This has never been discussed.”
Fu looks up at her with confused eyes. “But you became a candidate when you agreed to put on the earrings, and Chat Noir is simply not fit for the job.” Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Chat Noir wince, but he does not disagree.
“I put on the earrings because people were dying,” Ladybug growls. “Because this city needed something, someone, to look up to, and there was no other viable option. The Guardian is never in the light. They spend the rest of their extended lives hiding in the shadows to protect a box of magical jewelry. The Guardian is not a symbol of hope, because nobody knows the Guardian exists. I put on the earrings to be a symbol of hope, not because I wanted to, but because people needed one. The people don’t need one anymore, and I don’t want to continue doing this.”
“I was fighting a war, Fu,” she spits, furious words laced with venom. “I was fighting a war with one ally by my side and we were both children. Now that the war is over, I am no longer needed, so I am leaving. I want the shreds of innocence I had before this war back, but that is not possible, so I can at least try to move on from this instead. Let me move on.”
Without warning, she reaches up and carefully takes the earrings out of her ears. She would have loved to rip them off in one swift movement, but earrings were not that type of jewelry. The Ladybug suit disappears in a flash of pink, and then she is Marinette again, standing in a massage parlor with a pair of red-and-black earrings in her hand and two sets of wide eyes fixed on her.
“Marinette,” Chat Noir breathes. “Oh my god, I… I’m so sorry.”
Marinette drops the earrings on the table in front of them. “Are you sorry for being an ass, or just sorry because the person you convinced yourself you were in love with was an illusion?” she asks, not looking at anyone or anything in particular as she pivots on her heel and strides for the exit.
When she reaches the doorway, however, she pauses, eyes still fixed straight ahead of her. “Oh, and Adrien?” she calls, eliciting two identical noises of surprise. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry too. About your father, of course.”
Then she opens the door and walks through, never once looking back as she sees the city that once weighed so heavily on her shoulders from the ground looking up, instead of from above, gazing down.
.o0o.
She’d spent some time wondering how she was going to adjust to life in Paris after that, knowing what she knew about Adrien and Gabriel and what Adrien knew about her.
As it turns out, she only has to go through one week of feeling Adrien’s green eyes on her at every available moment in class and going out of her way to avoid him, because her mother dies.
It’s surprisingly anticlimactic.
Janet Drake was always such a formidable woman. Her mere presence in a room could make grown men cower. To Marinette, she seemed almost invincible – always superior to everyone else, untouchable as she lashed out with quick with and a sharp tongue and long nails digging into her children’s shoulders. If there were ever any cracks in Janet’s façade, if it even wasa façade, she’d never seen one.
And yet, in the end, it turned out that she wasn’t untouchable after all. She’d died because she drank poisoned water out of desperation, even as Batman was right there. Batman had arrived to save them, he had freed them from their bonds, and the first thing they did was drink water poisoned with nerve toxin. Jack had survived, though he was in a coma and paralyzed.
Janet did not.
And that was it. That was the end of a woman that had dominated Marinette’s life for so long, a woman whose voice still hissed and lingered in her mind, reminding her to sit still and be silent and never, ever let your emotions show on your face.
Tim – he’d never had that mindset thrust upon him as forcefully as she did. After all, Tim had a father that didn’t despise him for his gender. Jack took charge of molding the son, and so Tim is crying, when he tells her all of this. He thinks he’s being subtle, but she’s his sister. She knows better.
Marinette didn’t care for her mother much, but she supposes she could give the dead at least some modicum of respect.
So as she packs her bags and books the next available flight to Gotham City, Marinette honors her mother’s wishes and does not shed a single tear for Janet Lynn Drake.
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