#because if it was intentional then tear my heart out why don't you cos (in the most fucked up way) it's a heartwrenching thing to say
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saying your new home has 'good bones' after you just buried your co-worker in your front yard is crazyyy
#& the thing with stede is that you can't tell if this was intentional or if this was another 'sorry foot😃' moment#steddyhands#but in the /most/ insane way possible#no you dont understand!#because if it was intentional then tear my heart out why don't you cos (in the most fucked up way) it's a heartwrenching thing to say#that's their new home goddamnit! and it's falling apart but it's got good bones and they just buried their first mate in front of it#and that's INSANE#our flag means death spoilers#ofmd spoilers#ofmd#our flag means death#our flag means death season 2#ofmd season 2#ofmd s2#our flag means death s2#ofmd stede#stede bonnet#ofmd izzy#izzy hands
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Anon that requested runaway!SO Narnia prompt here, and my heart squeezed when I saw you put it in your list. Thank you so much!
Saw your post, and I love the idea for it to take place before the 13th Deviculum, it changes Narnia's vitriol towards Iruma so much.
I don't believe that he doesn't think that Iruma's fame (as the Misfits are apparently a household name and in papers) DIDN'T influence his lover leaving him in a bid for freedom! Maybe he noticed that she had been paying attention to whatever news they got of Iruma's antics, like him even attending his first Deviculum.
Makes his beef with Iruma personal, if Narnia even slightly blamed the poor bean's (seemingly intentional) tendency to stand out as what put ideas in her head when she was pretty content to stay before.
(Actually, my first idea about why the SO leapt to the nuclear option of vanishing and not talking it out, prompt happening after-deviculum, was because he knocked her up. And girl got SO scared for her child, since at that point he revealed that he still hated 'dirty humans' and it fed into her pre-existing insecurities about how he kept her secret from everyone he knew, why he never married her in any kind of demonic ritual, and fed her growing misassumption that she was basically a pet that he didn't think was acceptable for demonic society.
Culminating into a major freak out when the SO found out she was going to have a half-human baby.
Like, would he want to keep her child? Would they be raised to never know that their mother was human, with the belief that her heritage made them weak compared to full-blooded demon children? Would Narnia still keep her secret and introduce their child to society as without a mother, without her?
...most of her worries aren't quite true, as imo Narnia *wasn't* trying to treat her like a mistress/guilty secret wife, it was mostly his yandere tendencies and unrestrained demonic territorial possessiveness talking and getting irrationally jealous of possible competition, of anyone else taking up her attention.
Part of it is because Narnia doesn't have many trusted allies (friends) that weren't also co-workers (and thus can recognize a human) and wouldn't set his instincts off! And he got way too comfortable with their current lifestyle, since he was probably an intensely private demon in the first place.
Truly a misundestanding of tragic proportions. Were it Kalego in his position, he could at least be alright to introduce her to Balam, and Balam Shichiro could have gotten a human to eventually open up and communicate about their discontent and gotten things addressed. Alas, this isn't a Kalego story, though it might be interesting to have one where Kalego and the Sullivan household come together over their secret humans, hehe.
But Narnia's SO hasn't been in a good place mentally and emotionally, not for a long time, and worked herself into an irrational panic that culminated into a flight into the night decision.
Sorry, this took so long to get out! I hope I've lived up to your expectations! My beta tells me this made her tear up a bit so I'm hoping it has the same effect for everyone but enjoys it anyways.
The Price of Freedom - request (Yandere!Narnia x fem!reader)Ⓐ
Narnia keeps you trapped on the property to keep you safe from the rest of the Netherworld and while his intentions are good he's doing more harm than intended. After all, humans are social pack animals meant to be able to roam about wild and free. And while there are exceptions to every rule, you are not one of them. So when you see a chance to leave, you take it. Leaving your heart behind but gaining your freedom in the process.
Also, this is a two-parter! The first part is angst but I haven't decided if our little couple here will get a happy ending or not yet. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
You took a deep breath, glancing over at the slumbering body holding yours. His long hair was fanned out behind him and his pale skin practically gleamed even in the darkness of the room. Soon enough, his alarm would go off, and those dark eyes would open blearily, and he'd grumble while trying to turn it off and pull you closer. Eventually, he'd give in, wake up more with a smile and a kiss for you and get ready for the day. It was a daily routine that had lasted for a few years now, and it was one you loved.
Your heart clenched at the fact that this would probably be the last morning it ever happened.
Your eyes travelled all the lines of his face, taking in every detail that you could, hoping to memorize them to the best of your ability. You had plenty of photos stored away, that you already knew you would take out over and over again until they faded with age and even afterwards, but no photo could ever beat seeing him in person. You were tempted to gently run your fingers over his cheeks and down his hair but knew he would wake up immediately, startled.
He was such a light sleeper due to the years of growing up under the Naberius household that you always tried hard to not make too much noise or movements so that he could sleep in when he could. And as this would be the last time you laid beside him, you wanted to enjoy this moment. To have time freeze over this peace, and not have the negative feelings swirling through your body running circles in your mind. To leave this all behind no matter how much you loved it because you couldn't stay caged in any longer.
But you couldn't. As a human, you held no magic beyond what the power of runes and already magic-infused items could give you, much less the amount of power needed to freeze time itself. So instead, here you lay, trying to absorb as much as possible because the moment that he leaves property lines, you would be getting to work. You had even purposefully made a bit of a mess last night and promptly shoved the both of you to bed so that you would have an excuse on why you were moving things about if he came back early for whatever reason.
You could only hope he didn't come home early.
Today had been forecasted to be nice and sunny until the afternoon rolled around with thunderstorms. If you timed it right, you'd be able to pack everything up, leave and make it to town right before the storms hit, with several hours to spare for the rain to wash away your trail. Otherwise, if the rain came early you would be stuck here until the next time such an opportunity presented itself, and who knew when that would be? More than likely you would have gone stir-crazy before that happened, and who knew what kind of damage you would do when that happened?
Not that this idea was much better. Had this been a more ordinary relationship, you would have easily just talked out the fact you had wanderlust and gone out to visit new places. Instead, as much as you loved Narnia, you could admit he was a bit paranoid and even straight-up territorial about your standing in this world. Always going on about the dangers of this world and wanting to keep you here in this safe bubble of a home he had made for the two of you.
Not that it was without reason. The Netherworld was indeed a harsh place and there were so many dangers just out your front door, much less the rest of this big bad world. And yet the human world was not without its dangers as well, and while you knew many threats had magic which left you at quite the disadvantage, you could at least protect yourself semi-well. Narnia had seen to that with what started as daily training sessions, which slowly moved to once every few days then to a few times a month as you proved more proficient, and he gained harder and harder cases to solve.
At first, you hadn't thought much of it. Even in the human world, it was quite often that schedules could get packed. You would have been fine with it if you had something to do other than roam this tiny amount of land. Instead, you were trapped here like a prized pet in a cage, forever waiting for your precious master to return. You couldn't live like that. Not anymore at least.
Suddenly your thoughts were broken by the sharp tones of his alarm. You couldn't help the startled movement you made, having not fully expected it to go off so soon. This in turn startled Narnia awake. His eyes snapped open and immediately focused on you before swiping the room for any danger.
You gave him a sheepish smile, "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."
Narnia brushed off your apology with a casual wave of his hand and leaned in to give you a soft, lingering kiss. A large pale hand caresses your face and sweeps into your hairline to pull you in closer. It was a sweet morning ritual, one that you cherished. He tasted like roses and dark chocolate with a hint of mint, a flavour unique to him. His lips were warm and inviting, and for a moment, you allowed yourself to forget the impending departure.
Breaking the kiss, Narnia slipped out of bed, his movements fluid and graceful. He grabbed a towel from the nearby rack and headed for the bathroom. You watched him as he moved, his silhouette bathed in the soft morning light filtering through the curtains.
He began his usual morning routine, the sounds of running water and the clinking of toiletries filling the air. You couldn't help but smile as you listened. It was the ordinary moments like these that you would miss the most.
While he showered, you took the opportunity to slip out of bed and start preparing for the day ahead. You retrieved a backpack from the closet and began packing it with essential items: clothes, food, a first aid kit, and a map of the Netherworld. You knew you'd have to travel light, but you wanted to be as prepared as possible for whatever lay ahead.
As you worked, you couldn't help but glance over towards where Narnia in the bathroom would be. You could hear him humming a tune over the splashing of water, likely with a contented expression on his face as he went about his routine. It was moments like these that made leaving even harder.
But you couldn't stay. Your longing for adventure, for freedom, had grown too strong to ignore. And so, you continued to pack, determined to make the most of the time you had left with him. After packing the essentials in your backpack, you carefully zipped it up and placed it under the bed, hidden from plain view. You couldn't risk Narnia stumbling upon it and asking questions before you were ready to explain your decision.
With that task completed, you moved on to the next item on your agenda: breakfast. You headed to the kitchen, quietly so as not to disturb Narnia in the bathroom. You had learned to navigate this small cottage with a gentle touch, ensuring that your movements were subtle and silent. In the kitchen, you gathered the ingredients for a simple breakfast - eggs, toast, and a few vegetables. As you cracked the eggs into a bowl and started whisking them, the aroma of cooking filled the air, a comforting and familiar scent that made your heart ache with nostalgia.
By the time Narnia emerged from the bathroom, freshly showered and dressed, you had already set the table for two. He gave you a warm smile as he approached, wrapping his arms around your waist from behind and placing a soft kiss on your cheek.
"Smells delicious," he murmured, his voice filled with genuine appreciation.
You returned his smile and turned to face him, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "Just a little something to start your day off right," you replied, trying to sound as normal as possible despite the turmoil in your heart. Together, you shared a quiet breakfast at the cozy table, the two of you lost in your thoughts. Narnia talked about his plans for the day, the cases he needed to solve, and the colleagues he'd be meeting with. You listened attentively, offering words of encouragement and support.
As the time for Narnia to leave for work approached, you couldn't help but feel the weight of impending separation bearing down on you. You walked him to the door, his hand in yours, and shared a lingering kiss before he stepped outside.
He gave you a weird look, seemingly studying you, causing you to pause and tilt your head at him in response with the most curious look you could muster, before he shook his head and went back to making sure he had his things for work. You felt your body relax at passing whatever test that had been. You could thank the fact that years of wearing a mask in the human world also helped you here, even if you didn't much like why you were using it now.
You gave him a smile and leaned up on your toes to give him a kiss. 'Your last kiss' your mind supplied. What a shame you had to pass it off as your regular see-you-later rather than pour everything you had into it like you wanted to. But that would be suspicious, and he would want to stay longer or it might make him think you were in the mood and stay for a completely different reason. As much as you wanted the touch of his body one more time, you couldn't have it. Not without messing up your carefully laid out plan.
"Have a good day at work!" You chirped at him before waving him off with a laugh as he grumbled under his breath about how no day at work without you was a good day. You leaned against the door frame as you admired the large leathery wings that suddenly burst from his back, the appendages giving a few small flutters to stretch themselves out before he took off into the dawning sky with another wave at you.
You gave him another small wave in return and watched until you could no longer see him on the horizon. Even then you gave it a few seconds to see if he happened to turn around. It wouldn't be the first time he'd purposely forgotten something so that he could come back and spend a few more moments with you. Once those few seconds passed you deemed it safe to carry on with your plan. With Narnia gone for the day, you had a limited window of opportunity to execute your plan. You took a deep breath, feeling a mixture of excitement and fear as you prepared to embark on the journey that would take you far away from the life you had known, and into the unknown.
You only had a few hours to tear this place apart, grab everything you could, put it back together again and be on your way to a new life. It wouldn't be easy as you first went back into the bedroom and stripped the bed of everything. Throwing the sheets into the laundry and tossing your personal pillows aside to be packed later. Next, as the blankets washed, you scoured the walls and frames for every photo of you that you could find. There was an almost surprising amount of them, considering both your and Narnia's aversion to photos, but you supposed that anyone would want to have captured moments when they were in a relationship.
Had this been a normal relationship perhaps you would be packing everything up for a completely different reason. Perhaps moving into a bigger home than this little one-bedroom cottage, or even moving things aside until renovations were done to expand this one. However, this wasn't a normal relationship, and you couldn't entertain the idea of it ever being so any longer.
With every delicate movement, you took great care to erase any trace of your existence from the cottage. You gathered any personal belongings that tied you to this place, from clothing to small trinkets, and stowed them away in your backpacks, making sure not to leave behind a single item that might raise suspicion. The cottage itself bore no signs of your occupancy; the walls were stripped of photos, the bedroom was bare other than his belongings, and even the living room was devoid of any of your personal touches.
You took a deep breath as you stood in the now almost empty cottage, a sense of finality washing over you. It really was as if you had never lived there at all. With one last glance around, you knew it was time to leave. Gathering up your bags you took a deep breath as you took in the boundary line from where the property ended and the next one began. You knew from several small tests that there were no wards that would alert Narnia to your leaving. A serious oversight on his part that you were happily taking advantage of. As you stared at the line you couldn't help but think of Samwise from Lord of the Rings and couldn't but wonder if this is how it felt for him to leave his home behind for a big adventure.
Heart pounding and veins singing you made the first step across, then another and another until you laughed at the fluttering of pleasure that coursed through you. The imaginary shackles that had bound were falling free as you walked determinedly onward towards your new life. You wanted to stop and observe every plant and animal you came across, but you had a long way to go still and you could already smell the rain on the horizon.
Yet, deep within you, a tiny spark of hope flickered, for you were on the path to a new beginning, and the possibilities of the unknown stretched out before you like an open book, waiting to be written.
________
Narnia landed more harshly than he meant to in his attempt to get inside from the torrential downpour quicker. Mud splattered as high as his thighs from his hard crouched landing before he straightened up again to move towards the door. He wasn't entirely sure why he was so anxious to get home, but something in his veins told him that something was wrong. He hadn't gotten this far in life by entirely ignoring his instincts, and yet he couldn't think of anything that could be wrong.
Well. Besides the way you had been acting lately that was.
He wasn't blind, he had known there was something off with you. You had been steadily getting more and more twitchy, almost like a caged beast in too small of a kennel. Perhaps you were entering some kind of new phase? Like when birds moulted old feathers to make new ones, perhaps you were going through something similar but a more human body version? Your skin had peeled several times over the years, so perhaps a more involved version appeared when you hit a new phase. Such a thing would certainly make him twitchy.
As he came closer to the door, forcefully coming out of his thoughts, he realized that all the lights were off. This wasn't too unusual. You had a habit of occasionally going to bed early or watching TV late and purposefully leaving the lights off for a better ambience. But after the weird way you acted this morning and the feeling he had all day, it just made him feel more anxious.
Wrenching the door open, he quickly stalked into the living room, shaking his head much like a dog to get the excess water off his hair before tilting his head to the side. He listened carefully for either the low sounds of music or the TV or even just your steady breathing.
Nothing. It was absolutely silent. Heart pounding, he raced through all the rooms, praying that he would find you simply dozing off and would berate him for waking you. You would laugh before comforting him over his silly anxiety, and everything would be perfectly fine.
Only it wasn't. As he swung the last door open into your shared bedroom, water still trailing behind him, it hit him that you really weren't here. As his eyes swept over every inch, he finally registered none of you was here. The photos on the walls were missing, and your half of the closet was empty. Hell, even your pillows were gone, the bed freshly laundered and remade to look like only one person slept in it.
With this sudden realization, he tore back through the house carefully to confirm what he already knew. Everything you owned, every craft you had made, every book he had bought you, was gone.
You were gone.
If it wasn't for the faintest scent of you still trapped in the furniture, it would have been as if you had never even existed. As if you hadn't spent literal years together here in this home, cuddling on the couch or playing board games on the table. As if you had never had mini cooking wars in the kitchen that usually ended with you both laughing and kissing the food off one another or in the large tub relaxing as the warm herb-infused waters soaked into your muscles.
Had someone taken you? Had someone noticed your existence and decided they wanted you for themselves? Taken you against your will and made it look like you didn't exist so that he couldn't go to anyone for help without looking crazy? Or perhaps, since such a thorough job was done, had Border Patrol swept in without his knowledge? Purposefully kept him out of the loop with an important enough job to ensure he couldn't stop them.
But no, Henri would have kept him from leaving and questioned him regardless. Always playing by the rules, Henri did, and that left him, for the most part, predictable. So not Border Patrol then. But who else? Perhaps Baal? He hadn't been as subtle as he could have been in trying to figure out if Narnia was willing to return to origins. Had he discovered you when trying to stake Narnia out and gotten rid of you?
At the thought, a feral growl ripped out of Narnia, and he ran out of the house and back into the rain in the hopes of catching some kind of trail. With it raining as hard and long as it had, all scents and tracks would be long gone, so the only thing he had left was to feel out any foreign magic that would have been used and try to track that. And yet, no matter how hard he tried or how much power he threw into his wards, he couldn't find any recent detection of foreign magic. None at all. Even the local mail demon flying in would have left something to follow.
It was almost as if...but no, that was impossible. There was absolutely no way you would have left on your own. You knew the dangers and never strayed further than a couple of yards from the walls of your home. Even then you didn't usually go further than your flower beds, or food gardens in the back. With a snarl, Narnia turned back and raced back through the house more closely, determined to find even the smallest clue.
As Narnia's desperate search through the house came to an agonizing conclusion, he stood in your shared bedroom, drenched in rainwater, his chest heaving with anxiety and disbelief. Your absence was undeniable, and the once-familiar space now felt alien and hollow. His racing thoughts continued to churn with questions and fears, each one more unsettling than the last. The eerie silence in the house seemed to mock his growing panic.
Unable to accept the possibility of your disappearance, he clutched at straws, desperately searching for any sign of your presence. He scanned the room, running his fingers over the empty hangers in the closet and the vacant space on your side of the bed. The absence of your cherished belongings was a stark reminder of your absence.
With trembling hands, Narnia stumbled upon something that sent a shiver down his spine. A faint but lingering scent of you still clung to the furniture, a trace of the life you had shared together in this very room. It was both a cruel reminder of what had been and a glimmer of hope that you hadn't vanished entirely.
His heart ached as he clung to that scent, unwilling to let go of the memories and the love that had defined their life together. But as the minutes passed, reality continued to gnaw at him, and he realized he needed answers, no matter how painful they might be. Turning away from the room that had once been filled with your presence, Narnia retraced his steps, still soaked from the rain. His determination to find you grew stronger with every passing moment. He couldn't bear the thought of losing you, not without knowing the truth.
Tripping in his haste he fell to his knees next to the coffee table in the living room. With shaking limbs, he started to force himself to get up when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Laying innocently on the ground, a folded-up piece of parchment, his name written in your distinctive shaky handwriting. You never did get the hang of writing the demonic characters simply because you couldn't practice properly with the spell forcing you to see the letters in your own language but writing in his.
His emotions churned as he approached the letter, a fragile piece of paper that held the key to your mysterious departure. With trembling hands, he unfolded it and began to read. The words on the page weighed heavily on his heart, each sentence cutting deeper into his soul.
His hands trembled as his eyes scanned the letter quickly, hoping for some clue about where you were, only to grow more despondent the further he read. A pained howl tore from him as he took in what exactly your letter had meant, and he hadn't even realized he had started crying until the letters started bleeding together from his tears. With a choked gasp, he immediately wiped the tears away and tried to fan the letter dry again.
This letter was the only thing he had left from you besides the flowers you had planted outside. He had to take perfect care of it all. Had to keep it well until he could find you again. Because he would find you, no matter what it took. If you wanted the freedom to explore, then you could have it, just as long as you came back home-- back to him. His voice quivered with whimpers as he clutched the letter tightly to his chest, his heart aching with love and longing for the one who had vanished from his life.
To My Beloved Narnia,
As I sit here writing this letter, I can only think of all the moments we've shared together.
From our first meeting to our last embrace this morning, our courtship has been
nothing but a source of joy in my life. Sometimes, though, love isn't enough to make
something work. And I've come to the painful decision that we need to separate, at
least for a while. I will always cherish the moments and memories we shared and I am
sorry for the pain that this may cause you, but I can no longer do this. Humans are
not meant to be caged, no matter how nice that cage is. I need to be free, to be able
to go out and about, meet others, and explore this world, even if it's at the cost
of losing you. I'm truly sorry it came to this, and I will love you always.
Forever Yours
#my asks#mairimashita! iruma kun#ask meabh#mairuma#welcome to demon school iruma kun#mairimashita manga#m!ik#mairimashita iruma kun#welcome to demon school! iruma kun#m!lk#marimashita iruma kun#iruma kun manga#mairimashita! iruma kun x reader#welcome to the demon school#welcome to demon school#welcome to demon school iruma x reader#narnia x reader#naberius narnia#narnia naberius#naberius#naberius narnia x reader#demon x human
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Thank you for your answer, I get it on some level. I’ve listened to their music for a while now but am new to this whole shipping thing, and it’s a wild ride for sure. Out of interest, which songs do people think are about JM? Apart from their actual song Friends? Why does part of me think that if this is the case maybe Tae needs new inspiration for his work or something. Someone of his own to love. He didn’t write he album though did he? It’s a crazy world out there I guess I didn’t release that a member would fuel the shipping wars, so wow if he does that.
It depends on how delusional one is. Could be a few or all of them if you're deranged 🤷🏾
I like to think of myself as moderately delusional so I stick to the basics.
You can check out his song about writing a letter to the moon which was inspired by a time he was alone in the park with Jimin late into the night
From 4'Oclock.
Other than the setting and moon references, he actually ever did write a letter to Jimin which he cried while reading it to him. He poured out his heart in that letter. Here, read it and cry
And theres one song he complained he wrote with the intention of singing it withJimin but a producer thought putting Jimin on it would be gay due to the lyrics.
Don't want to talk about the others cos it may sound controversial but do have a listen for yourself. And be mindful of the Jimin "symbolisms" or at least I like to call them that.
Whenever he talks about the moon in his songs we make the connection to Jimin- its obvious now due to JMs moon tattoos but there was a time people thought that was reaching.
The moonchild is Jimin. And it's not far fetched cos V is the same person who shared fan art of Jimin with the moon tats that he's currently spotting and all. Meaning he understands the connection between JM and the moon.
This has nothing to do with his songs but he used to complain a lot about a certain member gatekeeping Jimin to himself and not allowing him and Jimin to hang out. So for me when this theme recurrs in his music I feel he's alluding to Jimin cos why not dudes a menace🤣
Let's give Tae some credit. Don't blindly buy into the hateful rhetorics people spew about him.
He exposed the company for dragging their feet before allowing JM to debut. Exposed them for their homophobia towards Jimin. If anyone moves funny with Jimin trust him to expose them one way or the other. I'll actually bet my life on this.
Perhaps you should look into their friendship. V can be chaotic but he's loved Jimin so hard too and when he says he loves Jimin the most I don't think he's lying .
Jimin has a special place in his heart. Perhaps because he says Jimin was the one who showed up and out for him when his granny passed. I think he's going to be eternally grateful to JM for that.
Don't hate on Tae or Judge him based on his quirks. He's not one to fake his feelings so sometimes when he's annoyed with Jimin you can pick up on that energy. It doesn't mean he's evil. He just have bad days too.
Unfortunately the Fandom isn't as forgiving and would tear him apart for the least funny feelings towards Jimin.
They are friends.they are allowed to fight and make up. We shouldn't hold that over their heads when they "fight" argue or have a misunderstanding. Leave them room and space within their friendship to be ghetto with eachother. What matters is the bond they share the growth they experience as friends and how pure they try to be with eachother.
They are a work in progress
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Kiss me [P. C]
Prince Caspian x reader
Word counts: 2.6k
Warnings: I’m from Mexico so sorry for any misspelling or grammar. If you have any advice tells me!
N/A: I’ll post more Caspian stuff, in case you want to follow me :) (sorry for the scene and narrator changes I hope it's not tedious, haha)
"Run!" Caspian listened, and the peculiar talking animal did not have to repeat it.
Everything was happening so suddenly. First he had had to flee the castle from a threat he did not know existed, then he had found himself in the home of those strange creatures he thought extinct and was now running for his life from his own army.
The arrows on their crossbows soon arrived and the three had to dodge them as they advanced. Caspian advanced a couple more yards and then heard a scream.
"Oh, no”
"I'll go! The young man shouted, worried about the badger lying on the floor with an arrow stuck in his thigh. When he got to him the soldiers were close, so much so that his aim would not fail this time.
"Take it and run! It's more important than me!” the Narnian shouted, giving him the horn that hours earlier he had touched in the hope that something would happen. Why was it so important, anyway?
He watched the animal and then the troops. A panic attack invaded him and he adopted a grimace of terror. He didn't know what to do, he was trapped, he wouldn't save his friend, and he couldn't confront the men either.
Out of nowhere, the soldier leading the troops was defeated, wounded by a warrior who seemed invisible to human eyes. Caspian wasted no time, so he took trufflehunter in his arms from him to start running.
He kept advancing, with the little animal's complaining on his shoulder and suddenly heard the squeal of a horse. He turned completely frightened because he imagined it would not be difficult for that man to shoot and kill him, but when he watched the person on the beast it was not a uniform.
He was an extremely thin complexion warrior, but with his mouth covered in a cloth and a hood that prevented him from identifying him. He wore worn trousers and a shirt that looked like his, as well as a sword in his right hand with which he had already begun to hurt men. The few who tried to shoot him were in vain, for the invisible warrior seemed to know who wanted to hurt his companion and killed them before the arrows could rub him.
For a moment the presence of both mysterious figures was reassuring, but a second later he was already alarmed again.
If your uncle's men couldn't with them, what was waiting for him?
"Get him out of here!” he yelled at his other companion. He drew his sword and turned the other way, but was surprised to no longer see a single soldier. He frowned rather troubled, but out of nowhere the hooded warrior appeared to attack. He fell gracefully from his horse and pushed Caspian with his sword, causing him to fall from his back to the ground.
"Your last words?” he asked, pointing at his neck with the tip of the sword. Caspian was surprised to hear her voice, which looked not masculine at all. Did you look at the... person? That threatened him and swallowed scared-dead saliva. If his destiny was to die at the hands of the warrior in front of him, then he would.
But before sticking the sword around his neck, the warrior paid a little more attention to him and Caspian saw it pale. On his side appeared a small talking mouse with a sword, which encouraged him to kill the telmarine at once.
"You are a mouse" Caspian said, forgetting for a moment the swordsman in front of him.
"Very original to be your last words" he mocked, but Caspian was more focused on how the warrior's knees in front of him faltered and saw him stumble until he fell backwards.
He had fainted.
Caspian tried to get close but the mouse wouldn't let him. Instead he threatened him with the sword while running to help his companion. He took off his hood, cloth and that's when Caspian also felt him faint.
The warrior was a girl.
You opened your eyes and observed a beautiful field, one that definitely did not belong to the forest of Narnia in which you lived.
You were dreaming or, rather, remembering.
You looked at your clothes, smaller than you expected, and you knew what I remember it was. Actually, a very special one.
"Y/N!” somebody screamed behind you, with joy. When you turned, you saw a long-haired teenager running in your direction with a huge smile. “I found you! You're terrible at this game, if you don't mind me saying so" he murmured, smiling more as he stood in front of you. “What's the matter?”
"Caspian" you whispered gently. Despite the years you couldn't help but remember even a single detail of his face. His pale skin, his black hair up to his shoulders, his red lips and cheeks blushed by physical activity. You sighed with relief and threw yourself into his arms, feeling his scent. It smelled like gardenias and linen.
"Hey, I'm not going to forgive you, this victory no matter how mellow you are, you understand?” he said funny, but you didn't seem to want to say anything. You just wanted to hold on to him, you wanted to feel it close to you as much as possible.
At that point, after reliving so many times that moment, you no longer knew it was real and that it was a lie as to words, but the sensations never changed.
"Never leave me" you asked with a lump in your throat, feeling his hands sneak down your back until he held your waist
"Why would I?” he asked gently, near your ear.
"Just promise me, will you?" you whispered. You separated a little from him and both came face to face, with your noses barely rubbing. “Promise it.”
"Sure, I promise" he gasped. The words that came out of his mouth no longer mattered, but the feeling of your breath against his. “But again, why do you think I'd leave?”
"Because you already did" you murmured short, holding back tears.
"What do you mean...?”
"Kiss me" you demanded, taking the cloth from his shirt. You were a little aware that you had both kissed in that meadow when you were younger, but you weren't so sure it was exactly after you told him I'd abandoned you because you weren't even close to knowing it.
"What do you say?” Caspian asked in a trembling voice, but paying a little more attention to your lips. Without wasting time you pulled it a little towards you, feeling his breath get stuck in his throat.
You felt him respond to the kiss for a second, his lips velvety in contrast to yours, but the next second you opened your eyes and he was gone.
You were no longer in the beautiful meadow where your first kiss happened. You were in the woods, at night, alone.
You called him, yelled his name, but he never answered. You started crying and took a couple of steps just to bump into something heavy.
It was a lifeless body. He was...
"Caspian!” you screamed discouraged, waking up from the fading you had experienced.
When your eyes clear, you realized your feet didn't touch the floor and a couple of arms held you carefully.
"I'm here, calm down" someone whispered, hugging you more against him. When you saw the young man holding you, you let out a high-pitched cry and from the impression he dropped you against the moss on the floor. “Y/N! Are you ok? Did you hurt yourself?”
"You're not real!” you said raising your voice, sticking your back against a nearby tree. “You're not... you... Caspian is dead," you murmured frightenedly, watching the man squat and approaching with the intention of reassuring you a little.
"It's not like that, look at me. I'm here" he said kindly, holding one of your hands. “Come, feel my heart” carefully placed your hand, small compared to his, on the left side of his chest. “It's beating. I'm real, I'm here" he repeated, worried about your expression of terror.
"He told me you were dead.”
"I was told that you...” and he was silent, unable to complete the sentence. He never believed that lie, so he had never said it out loud. “How did you survive all this time?” He asked short.
"Do you know this telmarine?” Someone said beside him. You looked at the three creatures present and realized that Reepicheep was the one who had spoken.
"I..." you hesitated. What if it was all just another dream?
"She's a little shocked by the falls, give her space," trufflehunter said. You thanked internally for not having to answer questions.
"We have to go, we can't waste time" Nikabrik said now. You had a little trouble breathing.
"Can you walk?” Caspian asked, looking at you again. Damn, when was the last time you saw those bright eyes? now it seemed like an eternity. “Or I could charge you, if you like.”
"I can walk" you said quickly. You stood up and walked as far away from the man as possible, hoping that the emptiness in your stomach would also go away. Without waiting for an answer you started walking without a course and heard Caspian follow in your footsteps. Apparently your sword was no longer in place, but at a glance you noticed Caspian was wearing your belt.
"Where's my horse?" you asked worried. Caspian came over already took the opportunity to hold you by the waist.
"Calm down, he's fine" he said quietly, looking you in the eye again. “God, I can't take it anymore. Would it be too much trouble if we rested for a few minutes?” he asked the others, still holding you. “I want to talk to you alone," he continued, but now kinder.
"How do we know you're trustworthy?” Reepicheep asked, in an attempt to take care of his friend.
"It's all right. He's good, he'd never hurt me" you said in his direction to reassure him. And so it was, you couldn't blame Caspian for all the suffering you'd faced during those years. “I know a river near here, we can talk there" you said. Caspian nodded and let you go, waiting for you to guide him.
"Don't be late" Reepicheep warned, pointing the sword at you.
You started walking and Caspian followed you, both quietly for a few minutes. When you were far enough away, he came a little closer to you until his little finger grazed your hand. He wanted to take it, but he didn't have the courage to do it.
"So...”
"Why didn't you ever look for me?” you said by slowing down your footsteps, in your broken voice. “All this time I thought he was dead... I blamed myself for it, even did you ever look for me?”
"I did" he admitted. Now he did take your hand. “You don't know how long I've been touring every corner of the kingdom looking for you, but all in vain. I never imagined you'd be... well, here" he said. They were silent again until he asked. “Why did you say you blamed yourself? Why did you think I was dead in the first place?”
"Your uncle told me" you exclaimed tremblingly. “He found out about us. He said a woman like me would never be with her nephew. You were, you're an heir to the throne, and I'm just an ordinary girl. He forbade me to see you or swore I'd kill you. Days later he told me that you had received a letter that I never sent and also told me you were dead. That he'd blame me for it if I didn't run away from there. Your guards brought me here to die and... Reepicheep found me, then I met more Narnians and they welcomed me. They taught me everything I know and I in return began to protect the forest from the telmarines" you explained, looking down. “So many years thinking you were dead, Caspian. So many years I missed you and cried for you. I... God, I was just a kid when your uncle did that. If I'd known you were okay, I'd have looked for you" you finished, now you're in tears bathing your cheeks.
Caspian grabbed your chin and raised your face. He was crying too.
"My uncle told me you abandoned me. If it's any consolation, I never believed it. That's why I looked for you so long, because... I thought something very bad had happened to you. And I see I wasn't that wrong" he admitted followed by a sob.
When you saw he like this, you felt all the pain accumulated over those years bursting into you and breaking down in tears. Caspian hugged you against his chest and you cried together, expressing more in that embrace than with all the words of the world.
After a long time you felt a huge peace and even though you didn't know Caspian's reasons for being there, you didn't care anymore.
You didn't care because he was pursued by the guards or because it was in the hands of your friends. All you cared about was feeling his arms around you and the constant beat of his heart.
He was Caspian, after all, your Caspian.
"There's something I still don't believe, you know?” he began to say in a low tone.
"And what is it?” you also responded in a whisper, fearing altering the peace that surrounded them.
"You're better at riding and with the sword than I am. I don't know if I should be afraid for my life" he joked and forced you to smile broadly.
And then, no place for a smile came laughter of jubilation. Caspian didn't get it, but his chest swelled with love when he heard your laughter again.
"Caspian for God's sake you are alive! You're here with me... Are you ok. I didn't kill you.”
"Kill me? You are crazy?” he asked, worried, hunching a little to keep up with you. “You said it about me: ‘he would never hurt me’ And now I'm telling you; I know you could never hurt me in any way in life. On the contrary, you are the happiness that was taken from me and that I longed for. Here you are, in front of me and I can finally tell you that I loved you every day of your absence. There wasn't a single day when he didn't expect to see you again” he carefully placed his hand on your cheek and admired your face for a moment. “You're beautiful, you haven't changed a bit. You're still the love of my life" he finally expressed, tears filling it up another little bit.
"Kiss me" you said in a whisper, taking the collar of his silk shirt as at some point, when they were younger, you did.
Caspian wasted no time and took you by the waist to lift you up a little, forcing you to tangle your legs in his hip. He was very strong now, because with one hand you held by the thighs and with the other it caressed your cheek, unsure if your skin really felt as usual.
And finally, he kissed you.
He walked a few steps until your back collided with the trunk of a tree and he continued to kiss longer than you would have expected.
This time, when you opened your eyes, you saw a Caspian completely in love and with bright eyes full of life.
You weren't alone in the woods anymore. Now you finally had him.
#prince caspian#ben barnes#narnia#the chronicles of narnia the prince Caspian#harry potter#prince caspian x reader#prince caspian imagine#prince caspian one shot#sirius Black#sirius Black x Reader
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YOUR EYES TELL | JJK (05)
Summary: You live in a world where people see in black and white. The solution to finally see the colors? It's simple. You need to meet your soulmate and look at him in the eyes, but what if the person bound to you is already contented with the monochromatic world? What if...Jeongguk, your soulmate, is already in love with someone else?
Alternatively:
"A future without you is a world without color."
Genre: soulmate au, e2l, slow burn, angst, fluff, roommate au
Pairing: Artist!Jungkook x Lawyer!Reader
Word Count: 3.5k
SERIES: CHAPTER 4 | CHAPTER 6
The best thing about Red was that she wasn't just your assistant; she was also your friend.
Your one and only girl confidant.
Growing up, you didn't really have a lot of friends. It was probably because you used to be so shy.
Unlike other children, you weren't forced by your parents to interact with kids your age. Why would they do that when you already had everything you needed?
You had the latest toys so you didn't have to play tag or hide and seek with your neighbors. You were also a smart girl. You didn't need to ask for your classmates' help. The only weakness your parents saw was the fact that you only excelled in the academic field. You weren't blessed with a golden voice. You couldn't dance, you couldn't ride a bike. You couldn't even do the basic household chore.
This was all because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. You didn't have to try harder. You had a handmaiden to do all sort of things for you. Your parents paid the school so that you wouldn't have to attend P.E classes or any other extracurricular activities.
You were contented to be alone in your big, princess-like room.
In fact, you only met Jimin, your best friend who was two years younger than you, during college days. He was your classmate in your first ever P.E class. You were already a junior that time. You thought you could skip P.E the way you did in high school, but you were wrong. You ended up in Jimin’s class that time.
The two of you didn’t stop being friends after the semester ended. Actually, you guys became even closer. Jimin was the only person who was by your side when you were breaking down because of school. He cried with you, slept late with you, and he also set you up with a lot of his friends. Unfortunately, you weren't attracted to any of them. You weren't picky. You were just a sucker for soulmates and happy endings. His efforts didn't go to waste though. You became good friends with some of these guys. You were particularly close to Jung Hoseok, a boy your age who was in Jimin's dance class.
Hoseok was a great person, but you still craved the idea of having a girl best friend.
Luckily, you met Red.
You met her months ago—back when she was still a struggling student who was looking for a job in the company where you were working.
"And why would I hire someone like you?" Gahee, your co-worker, snarled at Red. The former didn't like the latter's answers during the interview portion. She said Red was too slow, too soft. She wasn't fit to become a lawyer like the rest of you.
"I'm sorry..." This was another issue. Red kept on apologizing. She had a very low self-esteem.
You knew right there and then that this girl wouldn't be hired. Out of the five interviewers, you were certain that you're the only one who was in favor of this intern.
Why?
It was because Red reminded you of your younger self.
As stated, you were a shy kid. But then law school changed you. To survive, you needed to act tough—you constantly needed put on a mask just so you could reach the 'standard' of what a lawyer should be like.
Most of the time, it worked. There were cases, however, wherein you became clouded by your own judgment. Some of your colleagues said you were too empathetic—always rescuing people from their misery.
You were doing it again.
"I'm going to hire her." These were your exact words just as Red was about to leave.
She stopped walking. Red turned to look at you. Confusion was apparent all over her face. Were you serious?
The other interviewers couldn't believe the words that came out of your mouth, so naturally, they protested.
You simply raised your brow at them.
"I said what I said. She's going to be my new assistant." You pointed at Red who still looked so shocked.
"But we don't want to work with her!" Gahee groaned.
"So?"
Gahee's face turned pale because of your response. You arched your brow higher.
"It doesn't matter if you don't want her. She's going to work for me."
The interviewers went silent.
You see, no one could ever question your decision. You might be 'too soft' for some of them, but they still couldn't deny that you were damn good at your job. Your personality in the office was very different from what your family and friends knew. For them, you would always be that quiet little girl who couldn't speak for herself. In here, you were young, but sophisticated. A lion in a world full of kittens.
"Ms. Red Lee's my responsibility from now on. If you have a problem with her, you can talk to me."
This was the beginning of your friendship with Red. At first, she was skeptical of your intention. Why would you want to work with someone like her?
"Because I believe in you." You offered her a smile when she finally found the courage to ask you the question that had been bothering her since the first time she met you.
Red had been your assistant for months now; however, your co-workers still didn't like her. It was as though they were waiting for her to make a mistake.
She did.
"How's our case going? Did our client take the color vision test?" You inquired days before the trial of your client who wanted to sue the business person who sold her fake whitening products. This was a simple case. You didn't understand why your client wanted to go to trial; this could simply be settled without going to the court.
"There's no need for that. I've already talked to her."
"Hm?"
"Well..." Red took a seat beside you. She was blushing. "Remember when I told you I've met my soulmate?"
"Oh. Right!" You beamed at her. How lucky. "So did you break up with JK?"
Red told you she had a boyfriend named JK. You honestly didn't know much about him or their relationship, though you were informed that they had been together for almost a decade, unfortunately, they weren't soulmates.
"I did." The smile she gave you was sad. "But he didn't take it well..."
You didn't know what to say after that. Admittedly, you had urged Red to breakup with her boyfriend because you didn't appreciate that she was keeping him in the dark. It was unfair.
"But anyway," Red sounded so excited that you couldn't help but giggle. "I've talked to your client. I'm sure she can see color since her answer was right when I asked her if she can tell me the color of the shirt I'm wearing."
"Okay, then."
It was stupid of you to rely on Red's words and you knew it. This was the reason why you couldn't defend yourself when your boss humiliated you in front of everyone. As if that wasn't awful enough, your superior also excluded you from the biggest case you were working on.
Gahee was the new head of that case.
"I'm sorry!" Red was crying. You took accountability for what she had done. She was your assistant after all.
"It's okay, Red." You smiled despite the fact that you were breaking inside. Your boss made you look like a fool. You couldn't erase the image of your colleagues smirking that was circling inside your head.
You were no longer a lion.
"I-It's not okay! You lost the case!" She knew that you spent months working on the mentioned case your boss removed you from. Everyone was jealous of you. They wanted to handle that case. Now, Gahee had the chance. You lost yours.
You embraced Red. You couldn't bear to see anyone crying.
"But I'm still handling Mr. Kim Seokjin's case." You stared into her eyes. "That's the only case I want to handle. Trust me."
Red sobbed even harder. She understood what you meant. You lost the biggest case, but at least you were still Mr. Kim's lawyer. Again, his case was more important to you and Red.
"I'm going home. Is that okay? Can you handle yourself?" You couldn't work with a heavy heart. You needed to see Miri. You needed a bath. You needed a break.
Fortunately, Red let you go.
Ever since that day, your assistant became more hyperaware of your needs and wants. She was certain she owed you a lot. This was the reason why you couldn't understand why Jeongguk was crying now.
"G-Gukkie?" You swallowed hard when you saw tears streaming down his cheeks.
Again, Red knew what you needed. You were sure she gave you the correct recipe for kongnamul guk. So why was Jeongguk weeping as he ate the soup you made?
It couldn't be because it didn't taste good. You followed Red's recipe. It was perfect! Everyone loved her soup.
Your soulmate didn't answer you. He also refused to look at you. It was embarrassing enough that you could see his overflowing emotions.
Jeongguk wondered why the world was so cruel to him. He woke up a few minutes ago with a heavy head, and then the first thing he spotted was you.
You were standing near his feet; a lovely smile was plastered on your face. Jeongguk didn't understand why you were grinning at him like that.
Weren't you mad? He remembered everything that happened last night. He acted like an asshole.
Jeongguk's suspicion grew when you handed him an ibuprofen and a glass of water. Not only that, you also told him that you cooked soup to help him with his throbbing head. He was too tired and shy to refuse you, so without saying anything, he let you drag him to the dining table.
You prepared everything for Gukkie. The only thing he had to do was eat. The thing was, he couldn't even do that.
Tears filled his eyes the moment he tasted the soup. He was looking directly at you while bring the spoon closer to his mouth—this was how you acted last night. This was what pissed him off. You were scowling, making him feel like he was the worst cook ever.
How was he different from you when he was acting the same way? The only thing that changed was his expression. As said, he was crying instead of frowning.
It broke your heart.
"Say something please?" You begged. You felt your chest tightening. Did you make him cry? Were you wrong? Red's recipe was perfect, maybe it was you who fucked things up. Did you put too much salt? Too much bean sprout?
What was wrong?
Jeongguk shook his head, harshly wiping his tears away. He didn't say anything. He didn't make it seem like he hated the soup. Actually, he finished it within a few minutes.
"I'm going to my room." He abruptly stood up, hanging his head low.
"T-Thanks for the food."
The way Jeongguk acted made you realize that you couldn't really cook, not even when the perfect recipe was literally in front of you; however, this didn't stop you from making dinner that same day.
Your soulmate locked himself in his room since morning. He hadn't eaten anything other than that soup and frankly, you were getting worried. You didn't want him to get sick.
It was going to take a while to have your food delivered, so you just decided to cook instant ramen. It had always been your life savior.
"What are you doing?"
You stopped trying to open the stove when Jeongguk suddenly spoke up.
He instantly realized what you were doing, causing him to grimace.
"You can't eat instant ramen for the rest of your life, you know? It's very unhealthy." Jeongguk shook his head, disappointed.
You bit your lower lip. It was the only food you knew how to prepare by heart. You didn't want to upset him again by trying to cook something that didn't taste good.
"I'm gonna prepare our dinner." He announced and you nodded.
You were starving. It was Sunday, but you still needed to work. You stayed in the living room the whole day, talking to Mr. Kim Seokjin about his case. Miri wasn't around to keep you company. That cat of yours stayed with Jeongguk the whole day. What a traitor.
"Okay. I'll be in my room if ever you need help." You said.
"Wait!" Jeongguk held your wrist, stopping you from leaving.
"I-Is gimbap okay?" His voice was soft as he asked this. He realized he needed to talk to you about your likes and dislikes. He couldn't just prepare something and get mad if you ended up disliking it.
"Uh..."
Jeongguk could feel your hesitation. It wasn't like you hated gimbap, but you had too much of it yesterday. Red made twenty five pieces when you told her you were craving it.
"Tell you what," Jeongguk let go of your hand. "Why don't we just eat out? Do you like pizza? What about pasta?"
He kept on suggesting food you could try, but nothing was registering inside your mind. The only thing you could think of was this:
"We're going on a date?" Your eyes were sparkling.
"What?" Jeongguk asked, dumbfounded. Out of the many things he had said, this was the only thing you could think about?
"You said we're gonna eat outside! It means we're going on a date!" You were smiling shamelessly.
Jeongguk's eyes widened. He was panicking. He didn't know why his heart was beating so fast just by the thought of going out on a date with you.
"I-I..." He swallowed hard. "We could invite T-Tae and Jimin."
Jeongguk panicked more upon realizing what he just said. No. He couldn't bear to see his best friend right now. Jeongguk hadn't told anyone that he could see colors now—well, except Yoongi.
Jeongguk wasn't ready yet. He felt guilty. He knew he was the reason why you couldn't see colors. He didn't want Taehyung and Jimin to be disappointed in him. Besides, he didn't want the couple to pester him about liking you. Again, that wasn't going to happen.
Jeongguk was about to withdraw his statement, unfortunately, you were already telling him that it was a good idea.
"So how are you, Guk?"
This was the story how Jeongguk ended up eating sushi with Taehyung.
The couple accepted your invitation. The four of you were supposed to eat together, but Jimin claimed he needed to talk to you. Alone.
Taehyung didn't protest. He missed Jeongguk too. It had been a while since they last talked. This was the perfect time to finally catch up.
"Nothing new." Jeongguk shrugged nonchalantly.
"Really?" Taehyung raised a brow. He could tell when his best friend was hiding something. "So you don't consider being able to see colors as something new, huh?"
Jeongguk's head jerked up.
"You know!?"
Taehyung laughed. Of course he knew. You told Jimin and Jimin told Taehyung. The latter was simply waiting for Jeongguk to open up.
He couldn't wait forever though. Jeongguk could be stubborn sometimes.
"She also told us that you cried earlier..."
Jeongguk pursed his lips into a thin line. Damn it. You couldn't keep anything to yourself, could you?
"I did not." Jeongguk gritted his teeth. The tears forming in his eyes were in contrast to what he was saying.
Jeongguk indeed cried earlier. Taehyung could tell because the younger boy was crying again.
"Guk..." Taehyung caressed Jeongguk's clenched fist.
"Wanna tell your hyung what happened?" The voice of Jeongguk's best friend was like a lullaby.
Jeongguk cried even harder.
Truthfully, he was surprised with himself too. Jeongguk had always been emotional, but his stubborn ass refused to let other people see him cry. This was new. The Jeongguk Taehyung knew would keep his mouth shut.
The Jeongguk today couldn't stop talking.
"I got so drunk last night, hyung. She..." Jeongguk looked at Taehyung to make sure that he understood that the she he was referring to was you.
"She cooked kongnamul guk for me."
Taehyung was silent after that. He tried to understand what Jeongguk was saying. Sadly, he couldn't.
"Are you telling me that you're crying because she prepared a soup for you?" Taehyung sounded unsure.
Jeongguk shook his head; tears were still streaming down his cheeks.
"No. I was just reminded of..." He trailed off.
"Of what?"
For a moment, Jeongguk was silent. His heart was hurting.
"Of the mean things I've said to her." Jeongguk sobbed.
It was a bad idea to look at you while he was trying to eat. Jeongguk's eyes accidentally fell into your lips. It was swollen—a reminder that you still ate the garlic shrimp even though you were allergic to it.
Jeongguk felt like an evil person.
Why were you always so kind to him? No one treated him the way you treated him. It was too good to be true.
"Oh." Taehyung broke into a huge grin and suddenly, he was chuckling.
"What's so funny?" Jeongguk was talking in a pout.
"Nothing!" The best friend's laugh had died down, but he was still smiling. "Is she tricking me, then? Can't she really see colors?"
For Taehyung, it was impossible that you were still living a monochromatic life. It was obvious that Jeongguk cared for your feelings. However, Jimin thought the opposite.
"Seriously? God. I hate that brat so much!" Jimin didn't know that he was capable of hating Jeongguk, but after listening to your story, he couldn't help the annoyance he felt for your soulmate.
You were currently inside a restaurant that was just across the sushi bar where Jeongguk and his boyfriend were at.
Jimin missed you as much as Taehyung missed his best friend. The last time you two communicated was three weeks ago. You did tell him that Jeongguk was your soulmate and that he didn't seem to like you.
Jimin brushed it off at first. He told you to give Jeongguk some time. He failed to tell you that your soulmate just went through a tough breakup though. Jimin knew it wasn't his story to tell.
"Don't. Gukkie's a good person. He just didn't know any better."
"It’s because he isn't trying!" Jimin crossed his arms. He was aware that it was unfair to get mad at Jeongguk, but your best friend could tell that you were getting hurt because of your soulmate's insensitivity.
"If I were you, I would give up on him."
You shook your head instead of agreeing to his statement.
"Jeongguk reminds me of law school."
When Jimin raised his brow, you started to elucidate what you meant.
No one, not even your parents, believed in you when you told them you were going to law school. Sure, you were smart, but you weren't strong like others. You cry immediately. You couldn't handle harsh opinions. You couldn't even handle sleepless nights and intense competition. You hated conflict. You had always been a mediator.
Even Jimin tried to stop you. He asked you so many times if you truly wanted this. It's not that he didn't trust you. Your best friend was only concerned about your well-being. He was there when you were having a difficult college semester. Undergraduate life was clearly much easier compared to graduate school. Jimin couldn't let you lose yourself just because of law school.
But you were determined to prove them wrong. Yes, law school was hard, but you were stronger. If you remained passionate about learning the law, you knew you would become a lawyer.
Guess what? You did.
This was what you were holding onto every time you felt like giving up on Jeongguk.
Pain was nothing if you could make him fall in love with you.
"Jeon Jeongguk!" You shouted when you saw Taehyung and your soulmate walking out of the sushi bar.
You and Jimin had also finished eating.
Your soulmate looked at you with furrowed brow. He didn't understand why you were shouting when the two of you were just a few meters away from each other.
"I LIKE YOU!" You shouted once again. Your voice was so loud that people couldn't help but look at you.
You were gaining attention.
Taehyung and Jimin were laughing their asses off. Jeongguk tried to run away, but his best friend held him down.
"You're fucking crazy!" Jimin shook his head, still laughing when you started to form a big heart over your head.
"I LIKE YOU SO MUCH, JEON JEONGGUK." You continued.
Jeongguk was dying of embarrassment, but you didn't care.
You were sure.
Jeon Jeongguk was going to love you.
#jungkook#jeon jungkook#jungkook fluff#jungkook friends to lovers#jungkook fanfic#jungkook fic#jungkook angst#jungkook enemies to lovers#jungkook e2l#jungkook series#jungkook soulmate au#jungkook roommate au#jungkook sugar baby au#ficswithluv#bangtan#btsfanfic#vmin fluff
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magic and kids
summary:
A/N: I really hope you like it. Thank you for your requests. Loved writing it.
art credit: @phantomrin
TW: none
@britishbookworm2 requested (if you want to leave a request as well, click)
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°•▪︎~▪︎•°
It's been four years since Taryn decided the mortal world would be a more suitable place to raise her child than Elfhame. Even if her sister was now High Queen, the fairies would still make life hard for her and her baby. Maybe not on purpose, she admits it. But magic runs wild, free and unstoppable. Used to it, the Fae Folk barely notices the dangers. And frankly, they don't care. Not allowed to use it on humans as cruelly as before, some meaner courts claim innocent ignorance. How can an entire society of enchanted beings change overnight? How could they be expected to adjust to human fragility all of a sudden?
So Taryn took her baby, promised her sister to visit and fled to Heather and Vivi's. It wasn't as hard as she'd thought. Getting used to the mortal world, that's it. And if her baby had longer canine than normal, or his ears sharpened to pointy edges to the top, it passed unnoticed. Her son certainly didn't stood out the way Vivi did, even with light brown eyes that looked orange in the sun and rusty red hair. He didn't need much glamouring either, not like Oak, Oriana or Madoc. By the time she sent him to preschool his hair was long enough to cover the ears and no one seemed to notice the teeth even without magic.
For all the talk Taryn did on how she wanted her son to be free of his father in all ways, snapping at Oak when the boy tried to teach him magic before he knew how to properly walk and forbidding her family to bring Fairyland up, she named him Renard.
Fitting, though not what she should have done. Maybe part of her can't let Locke go, not entirely. She knew he didn't particularly wanted the baby, that everything he promised her were pretty lies. But for a few months, it has been real. Their marriage, their love, their lives. She saw her dreams come true, one after another: the mistress of an important household, throwing parties for courtiers, motherhood.
Now that everything she wanted snaped broken in tiny little pieces carried away by harsh winter wind, Taryn Duarte couldn't phantom having her child become like his father.
"It has nothing to do with magic, for fuck's sake!" Vivi exploded once, after Taryn better than not threw Oak and Oriana - who came to visit - out of the apartment for trying to reach Renard's magic. "He won't become a sly, selfish fox if he can change appearance or grow horses out of leaves. It's all about his up-bringing!"
"I want him to be normal, Vivi! That's why I took him here!"
Renard has been barely one year old when the argument happened. But it was enough to take his mother's words to heart.
°•▪︎~▪︎•°
Four years old Renard and twelve years old Oak played outside, jumping in crusty piles of autumn leaves. The princeling hadn't given up his plans to teach his cousin magic. He refused to let go of such opportunity: a friend he didn't have to hide of, one he could play with like he used to in Elfhame.
"Hey, Ren-Ren," Oak said, "check this out!" The older boy held up his hand, brows furrowed in concentration, lip grazed between his teeth. Nothing happened for an alarming amount of time. And then... the leaves twirl around the two cousins, splashing then with guts of wind and scarce dew as it swept them up in a friendly tornado.
Renard chuckled in delight, stretching to catch some of the closer leaves. But as soon as he touched one, the whole thing fell apart. "No!" Do it again, Oak. Do it again."
"I'm sorry, Ren-Ren," Oak faked a yawned and laid on the ground. "Magic is very serious business. Very consuming. I'm too tired to even move." He let his eyes close dramatically, watching Renard between his lashes. Truth be told, every time he did magic Oak felt good. Vibrant. As if the earth itself reached out and gave him life. But Renard didn't need to know that yet. He can definitely learn it by himself if Oak's plan works out.
The younger boy pouted and dropped on the ground. "Not fair," he muttered to himself.
"You know, Ren-Ren, you're half fae. That means there's a pretty good chance you're magic too."
"No, I'm not."
"You can't know that. Come on, give it a try!"
"No, Oak! I'm not magic. I'm not like Father, I'm like Mom. Like Mom, just like that."
Oak straightened himself, but didn't rose from the ground. "Ok, Ren-Ren. Listen up. Magic is not bad. It's fun. Don't you think it's fun?"
"Yes!" Renard nodded enthusiastically. "It's super fun. When you do it, Oak." At that the named boy own enthusiasm faded away in an instant.
"Thank you, Ren-Ren," he deadpanned. "But do you know what's more fun than watching me practice magic?" Not giving the kid a chance to answer, to even take in the question, really, Oak said "To do it yourself."
"Do you really think I should try, Oak?" Clearly, the little boy was attracted to magic. And clearly something was stopping him. But his older cousin slowly made whatever that was seem less big and scary, dragging him along in his qualms.
"Totally!"
Renard pushed his lips forward with his tongue, sticking it out through the gap in his teeth. Caramel eyes shone with desire, his red hair flown around by a cold, pleasant wind. "Ok," he gave in, as expected. "How do I do it?"
The smirk that lightened up Oak's face can only be describes as evil. Though no ill intention hid behind it. Only the knowledge his plan worked out, just like his sister, Jude's.
"Listen to me very carefully, alright? There is not just one way to make magic, Ren-Ren. You have to find your own. But for now, try the basics. Think really hard on what you want to happen. Something easy. Got anything in mind?" Renard frowned, then his eyes landed on a tree which still had some green leaves on its branches and nodded.
"Perfect! Now, imagine whatever you want to happen. Imagine it happening. Are you imagining?"
"Yes."
"No!" Oak groaned. "If you're paying attention to me, then it means you're not focusing on magic."
"But how will I know what to do if I don't listen to you?"
"I told you! Magic is your own, Ren-Ren. It comes naturally. So, dig it up. Use your imagination."
Renard tried to shut out the world around him, picturing the sole tree in his mind. A warm pull tugged at him and he followed. His magic, he tried not to dwell on the joy, but instead focusing on his practice. His magic reaching out. Because he reached out first.
The boy allowed the warmth to take control, guiding him through it. The tree now carved in his mind by detail wasn't enough. He needed action. But just imagining the leaves to fall wouldn't do. Renard couldn't say how exactly he knew it. He just did. Something more tender was needed. The half fae kid had to imply what he wants and trust his magic to follow his lead.
So Renard made himself cold. Chilly. Feeling a breeze of wind creeping inside his clothes, whipping his skin gently. Enough to rip a leaf off a tree, though. Which it did. The wind he summoned couldn't be felt, not really. Only by himself and the green leaves that departed one by one from their branch as if plucked by an invisible hand.
Oak gasped. Then grinned. And then he laughed. Renard broke free of his concentration, pleased to see his magic didn't falter. Not until every and each green leaf from his chosen tree didn't fall. The sight made him still in awe for a couple of seconds. But soon enough he joined his cousin with a bubble laugh, jumping up and down and running to tackle Oak in a tight hug.
"I did it, Oak! I did it!"
"Yes, you did, Rem-Ren. Indeed, you did. Congrats!"
"Can we show auntie Vivi? And auntie Oriana?"
When Madoc and Oriana first came in the mortal world, Taryn wanted nothing to do with them. But years of being cared for by the blue skinned, white haired, pink eyes woman showed their tale. She agreed to see her, but only her. She could be part of her child life, if she wanted.
"Sure. But don't you want to show your mom first?"
"Mom and auntie Heather work a lot. We can show them later." Renard said, but he felt his magic shrinking at the thought of his mother. His Mom didn't like his father. And his magic comes from his father. Is that why his magic doesn't want to reveal itself near Taryn? He hoped it was just him overthinking it, because he loves his Mom and wants to share this with her.
°•▪︎~▪︎•°
Oak stayed with auntie Oriana, who was his mother, so Renard couldn't bring himself to be upset over it. He would want to be with his mother as much as he can as well. So he did a little trick for auntie Vivi, who told him to stay where he was, brought a camera and ordered him to glamour the tea cups again. Renard made them look like pumpkins, since the Halloween being over the corner made him impossibly anxious - in a good way.
Turns out even mortal technology can be fooled by fae's magic. Vivi showed the clip to Heather, who coed over him until Taryn came home.
"Hello, treasure. How was your day? Wanna give mommy a kiss?"
Renard jumped into his mother's arms, pressing a strong kiss on her cheek before starting to tell her about all the fun he had with cousin Oak. "And then he said I should try magic too."
Tamryn stilled. "And?"
"Look, Mom!"
Renard broke a vase, then, with a twitch of his fingers put it back together. "Auntie Vivi says I'm a natural."
"Does she? That's amazing, sweetheart."
But his mother didn't sound thrilled. In fact, her smile wasn't even a smile at all, but a thin line. "I'm sorry, mommy. I knew I shouldn't've done it, but I didn't know why. Now I know: you don't want me using my magic. It'll make me bad, like father."
Renard pushed his lips up front, scrunched his nose up, wiggled his toes, all in an atempt to stop the tears hurting his eyes from falling. When he realized it was in vain, he took off running to his room.
When Taryn entered minutes later she found her son curled on his left side in the middle of the bed, hugging a black goat plushie his uncle Cardan gave him on his birthday tight to his chest. She hated herself for causing the pain struck look on her son's face.
"Hey, sweetie."
"Hi, Mom." Renard wiped his nose with his jumper's sleeve.
"I'm so sorry, sweetie. Mommy was just scared, but that's not your fault. You could never be bad. Magic is not bad. Of course you can practice all you want, but we'll settle some ground, basic rules first. Ok?"
"Really?"
"Rules you can never, ever break. Really."
"Thank you, Mommy! You're the best! Just wait until Oak hears about it."
A/N: Renard means fox in french. Also: oops, guess I finished it earlier than expected and didn't really felt like waiting days to post it 😅
#taryn duarte#folk of the air#cruel prince#the wicked king#queen of nothing#tfoa#oak greenbriar#madoc#magicfolk#the folk of the air#the cruel prince#the queen of nothing#wicked king#my fic#my writing#imagines#imagine#fanfic
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What I loved about ABC's Preppers
for ABC Everyday / By Molly Hunt
Escaping the fallout of a personal cataclysmic event, Charlie finds herself among a motley crew of doomsday preppers.(ABC TV: Noel McLaughlin)
Why do people prep? To detach from reality and plan for an uncertain end with an uncertain expiration date?
It's like an eventual opening of a mystery box, just less bombshell and more bomb shelter.
I guess a part of prepping is about security and being able to fend and take care of yourself when the time comes, even if the 'when' is as close and as far as the sun rises and sets.
Prepping is the subject of a new comedy series of the same name: Preppers. The show made me laugh. A lot! But it also made me understand the 'why' behind it all, all through a modern lens. Here are my top four moments.
First things first. What is Preppers?
Preppers is a six-part ABC comedy series with a stellar cast. Nakkiah Lui (co-creator and writer) plays the protagonist Charlie and she is joined by six peculiar preppers played by Jack Charles, Meyne Wyatt, Ursula Yovich, Aaron McGrath as well as non-Indigenous actors Chum Ehelepola and Eryn Jean Norvill.
In the first act, Charlie is saved from almost dying in her car, running away and passing out. She is then woken by a water spray to the face, finding herself in the camp Eden 2.
The characters she meets at Eden 2 aren't prepping because of their fears of a zombie outbreak or the coming of The Rapture — well, some are — but mostly because of disasters that have already happened. Floods, pandemic, genocide, and the Stolen Generation. We've already had a real apocalypse and Lui, with co-creator and writer Gabriel Dowrick, cleverly explores this through a modern-day lens on colonialism, patriarchy, false allyship and intergenerational trauma.
Four moments where the show gets it right
Microaggressions
In a flashback, we observe Charlie repeating positive affirmations to herself before she begins to host a morning show: Wake Up Australia.
All the while, she's continuously dealing with an excruciating amount of microaggressions. I had to pause a few times because it was frustratingly triggering; I actually got a nervous itch. So good job Lui and Dowrick on showing that. Some may think it's depicted as an exaggeration, but I differ; this is reality.
Charlie (played by Preppers creator and co-writer Nakkiah Lui). (ABC TV: Noel McLaughlin)
Allyship
Lui and Dowrick really show the dangers of an ignorant ally through Luke Arnold's character, Fig. He appears to be charming and wants to be a part of Eden 2 but he's all under false intentions to be seen as the good ally.
People like this, who don't have their hearts in it but want the status to 'save' and 'help' Indigenous people, are (pardon my blackness): DAWGS!
Fig, played by Luke Arnold, is not a character with the best of intentions.(ABC TV: Noel McLaughlin)
Community
Eden 2 doesn't work unless they all come together. The gang almost gets modern-day colonised by a new white preppers' camp run by Fig after getting kicked out.
Charlie stands up as a leader, empowering the gang to come back and come together, which they do all while tearing down the white preppers' camp, in an amazing angelic scene.
Crackup
The show deals with such complex issues that are portrayed and explained in such a way that it's lighthearted, funny and at times magical.
Each character is equally funny and strong, with lines that had me repeating them, like when Jack Charles' character Monty said: "Fair like a blackfella's bum".
So, should you watch this? Hell yeh! It is clever, witty and dialogue-driven with a focus on the Blak experience.
You might not care too much for prepping, but the relationship between the characters is dynamic, layered and unapologetic — just like the whole show itself and just like us Blackfellas are. No shame, multi-layered and funny ASF.
You can stream all episodes of Preppers now on ABC iview, or watch Wednesdays at 9pm on ABC TV.
Molly is a writer and artist based on Gadigal Country (Sydney).
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OH MY GOD SHYN WHEN YOU SAID LONG CHAPTER YOU MEANT LONG LONG AND WHAT A BEAUTIFUL BLESSING IT WAS TO READ AT THE END OF A VERY LONG AND TIRING DAY!!
I see why... I definitely see more and MORE reasons why you said this is an adult fic and yes... VERY morally grey but I think... this is where YOU as a writer have this ability and talent is that you don't romanticise grey areas and topics and a lot of that can be done so easily and it goes wrong on so many levels in fics but you don't do that and that's GOOD. Because there's so MUCH happening already but you've established its not healthy, it's not ROMANTIC the connection they share-- already there's so much power play between Namjoon as an alpha and Dalmi as a beta.
Cos when I say my heart HURT I mean it. Its so raw and agonising to hear and read about Dalmi's subgender being thrown at her face. By her advisor who taunts and jeers and CRUELLY comments on Dalmi's worth or lack thereof as a beta, how her priorities are seemingly misplaced because she wants something for herself first herself first because she's invested all her efforts and dedication and energy and passion into something that IF taken away SUPPOSEDLY shouldn't matter in the greater good of being INDEBTED with gratitude of having a high and OH SO mighty alpha claim her. it just made me GRRRRRRR cos Dalmi deserves so much and even her own WORK can't be credited as HERS, the lingerie she's invested HUNDREDS of hours into is suddenly meant to be worn by someone else and the whole AIM and intention behind the lingerie was to create something that the otherwise forgotten subgender beta could USE. DALMI advocates that and to take that away from her, have it thrown in her face that she can't KNOW the pleasures of child bearing duties and instinctual compatibility... it made me want to cry with anger... you know that feeling? I genuinely was going to burst into tears of anger because it just made me feel so MAD about it! And because HEARING that made me restless and pained on such a deeply resonant level so to BE Dalmi hearing that... that's the ground being ripped away from under her feet.
And ISEUL?! There's something so WORRYING and painful about her FEELING this "romantic" connection with Jaebum because she clearly SAYS her choice doesn't matter, that she's doing it for her dad because it's his SAY and that's the ultimate decision in itself BUT how READILY or easily she seems willing to fall into that illusion of alpha omega compatibility despite NO other connection, how she seems to DELUDE herself because perhaps that's the only way she'll be happy? Because she's not ALLOWED to make her own decision so she makes the best of a bad decision and that's engrained because of the way she's raised and how she continues to see her family dynamics operate.
NAMJOON. KIM NAMJOON. Its like you see the absolute TINIEST bits of humanity in him but way before that can settle or HOPE to become part of our understanding of his personality, its washed over and lost under the pure ARROGANCE and entitlement that he holds and wields the power in their marriage even before its happened. HE was the one who made Dalmi compelled to agree, he's the one running on alpha possessiveness of not wanting to smell another man on her (PROMISING to remove Jimin entirely from the picture AND threatened to break her fingers if she brought herself pleasure?!) And yet he's attracted. Whatever made Namjoon choose her (beyond convenience and incompatibility of subgenders) somehow ENABLES this mental right he assumes over her-- PINNING her to the wall and forcing his hand down her jeans. Unashamedly TOUCHING and promising with this VERY blatant violation of her as a person, the ACTUAL PHYSICAL manipulation of her biology by forcing her into a heat to prove a point that that wasn't lying and then WHEN HE DOES... the "helping out" seems so GREY because its a vulnerability HE bought onto her forcefully, goes to claiming gentleness and yet... yet he causes her physical PAIN WHEN he has sex with her. Like actual AGONY because pseudo heat or not... her biology, her body isn't made for it and despite her BIOLOGICALLY DRIVEN desperation (which veers into an entirely different message of consent if its given without lucidity...) its a situation HE controls by tending to a situation he made arise and when he's the only one with the coherency and awareness of what he's doing.
There's degradation, there's threats, there's devaluing and dehumanising and reducing Dalmi to a physical sexual commodity (because she'll never function ADEQUATELY enough in everyone's eyes as a sex toy) And HER ENTIRE worth thrown into her face by EVERYONE... she's always reminded that she's not ENOUGH. And that she never will be.
And I HATE the parents in this. Truly so.
Her dad... PITIFUL DISHONOURING of the title because its HIM. The motto isn't family before yourself... its ME before you. Its in your life I come first.. and everything is for ME and me alone. Selfish, abusive, controlling and just he doesn't DESERVE the parental title.
Neither does his wife. Cos he's forceful and she never speaks up.... and whilst I get it. She too is a shell as a product of her marriage...her concern for her children is too little too late. She never speaks up when it matters, she tells Dalmi to ENDURE and not survive and she teaches SHIT lessons to her kids from her own behaviour as a person, a woman and an omega. Wrong on all levels.
There's so MUCH in all the characters that I could fully whisk you away and hog you just to share this all!! I can't wait to see the characters growth and how you continue to tackle everything!! Masterpiece is now an insufficient title it just doesn't work!! I loved it... it tore and TRAMPLED on my heart and now I shall nurse the ACHE you left behind, that you always do with your work and writing all the time!!
Take care of yourself, lots of love and always thankful for you sharing with us!!
Ahhh let me try and answer with just as much care as you have :)
I'm so glad that you realized the gravity of all the the professor told her. Dalmi has always existed in a world of her own making because it is the only place where she gets respect.
In the world of alphas and omegas, she is an anomaly so she doesn't mingle there. She is alright with her little universe, where she only allows her siblings, Jimin and the occasional beta friend in college.
There are no alphas in her life other than her brothers who of course adore her immensely.
Now, this maybe one reason that Dalmi doesn't hate all alphas. She really doesn't . Because she has made it a point to surround herself with a pair of good ones.
But now, you see Kim Namjoon dragging her out of this safe cocoon she has built for herself. He pulls her out of the circle of her family and Jimin, the only people she can trust and pushed her into a circle with alphas and omegas who will all judge her and find her inadequate.
So you see why she says, again and again, over and over that she hates Namjoon.
Not alphas.
Namjoon in particular because he's the one who messed her life up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next with iseul , Yes, she's a very young girl and deep down she does want romance. Of course she tries to brush it all off but we see that its a facade. Sweet words do make her heart lurch because lets be real....she is still just an eighteen year old girl.
I like Im Jaebum a lot in this fic. In fact you'll find that Iseul and Jae have the sweetest romance of them all :)
Jaebum is a criminal yes, but you see why. He's the illegitimate son of a rich man. He needs to find a way to survive. But deep down he's a good man. You see Jaebum treats Iseul with respect. He acknowlgedges that Iseul is her own person and he can't claim her without her consent.
A lesson that our dear alpha Namjoon would do well to learn himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~
KIM NAMJOON. This fucker.
Lol.
You know, I was sitting in my garden with a cup of my favorite chamomile tea when I first met this Kim Namjoon. I saw him as this suave, dashing young man . Very polite and very gentle. He's intelligent, good looking and he carries out all his responsibilities with sincerity.
A hard working, honest man .
But then, comes the entitlement.
Because he has been so good for so long, Namjoon lives under the firm belief that he deserves everything he wants. That no one has the right to deny him anything.
What Kim Namjoon wants.... Kim Namjoon gets.
Namjoon isn't a bad guy. He just has a few wires crossed wrong. Once he understands that being good is not currency to get whatever you want , he may understand why his existence alone isn't enough to win him Dalmi's loyalty.
#thank you I love you immensely for the time you spend sending me asks#my heart is swelling with love for you#and yes to a dinner date where we can in depth analyse characterslol
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Spotlight: A Life Of A Troubled Celebrity Heartthrob Ch 2
Word Count: 5,483
As usual the party was much bigger than expected. By the end of the night almost everyone was totally wasted.
"Hey Y/L/N! I just wanted to thank you again..you know for-for everything." Sommer shouted into Y/N's ear. She was way beyond drunk at this point. Y/N tried to stay sober after she spotted Colson locking lips with Brinna, the DJ from Rock 93.9 FM. He had totally ignored her all night.
"Don't sweat it. That's what friends are for right." Y/N replied with a tight smile.
"You consider me a friend? After everything I've done to you?" She asked bewildered.
"Yeah. Why not?" She shrugged.
"Awww you're the sweetest." Sommer gushed as she gripped Y/N in a bear hug.
"Sorry to interrupt but I need to borrow Y/N quickly." Ashleigh grabbed Y/N's hand and dragged her to the bedroom.
"What's up?" Y/N asked, breathless.
"What's going on? I just witnessed Colson doing tongue wrestling with Brinna..You saw him too didn't you?" Her face fell.
"Yeah, I did but it's no biggie." Y/N tried to brush it off. "It's not like we're exclusive or anything right?"
"I'm so sorry sweetie. I know it hurts." Ashleigh hugged her and stepped back. "He shouldn't have led you on though. Jerk."
"He didn't promise me anything okay? We just kissed a couple of times so that doesn't mean anything to someone like him." Y/N sank onto the bed and started to strip off her dress.
"Are you calling it a night then?"
"Yep. I can't go out there and put on a brave face anymore. I'd rather stay in my room and have a pity party." She said morosely as she jumped under the covers.
"Okay, call me if you need me. Goodnight." Ashleigh shut the door behind her and as she turned around she saw Colson and Brinna ripping each others clothes off, as he kicked open his bedroom door. Poor Y/N she thought as she went back to the party.
"Hey Ash, where's Y/N?" Baze asked.
"She's got a bit of a headache so she's called it a night." Ashleigh lied.
"Oh I thought maybe it was because of Colson's behavior."
"Why would she care about that?" She said on defense mode.
"Forget it. It doesn't matter." He mumbled as he walked away.
The party was in full swing and most people were having a great time. Sommer and Slim were all over each other as usual and Iann even tried to flirt with Ashleigh. Colson resurfaced an hour later, it looked like he had showered and changed again. Ashleigh was a bit tipsy by now so she decided to confront him. She marched towards him with great determination, not thinking about the consequences that would follow.
Colson was sitting out by the poolside with his friends and there was a random blonde sitting on his lap. This made Ashleigh angrier than what she was before.
"Hey Colson can I have a word?" She stood in front of him, a martini in her hand.
"Hey Ash. I'm kind of busy now..as you can see." He leaned over and sucked the girl's face.
"You're a jerk you know that?!" She said with venom and her voice.
"Tell me something I don't know sweets." He laughed and took a sip of his drink.
"You're a waste of time!" She threw her drink in his face and walked away. Everyone at the table gasped
"What the-??" His face twisted in anger as he stood and went after her.
"Hey how dare you??? Who do you think you are to do that to ME??!" He grabbed her roughly by the arm.
"Ash." She said sweetly.
"What??!" He snapped.
"You asked me who I think I am and I said Ash. That's what you called me remember??"She gave him an angelic smile.
"Don't try and be smart with me or you'll regret it!" He pointed a finger at her and pushed her back forcefully, causing her to stumble back.
"Oh I will.. but probably not as much as Y/N regrets hooking up with you right now." She gritted her teeth.
"She wanted it just as much as I did. Unfortunately I couldn't unpick her lock cos it's too much work. So I had to find a well that's already been dug out. But next time she gives herself to me willingly-she won't leave my room a virgin." He smirked as he walked backwards.
He winked at Ashleigh before turning round and going back to his table. She stood there trembling with anger. How could they have all been so wrong about Colson? Everyone assumed he was a nice enough guy, yes he had a few rough edges here and there but he was a good person wasn't he? It was so easy to believe what you read in the tabloids but this time around they seemed to be right. Colson Baker was a bad boy in every sense of the word.
"Hey Olivia something is about to go down-you and Y/N need to get out of here now!" Baze came and grabbed her by the elbow and made for the fire-escape.
"What's going on?" She asked confused, as they hurried along.
"I'll explain later. Just go somewhere safe for now. Here's some money," He gave her a thick wad of cash, "Go and check into a hotel or something. I'll call you. Keep your phone on." He pushed her towards the stairs.
"Please tell me what's going on??!" She cried. He wasn't making sense and she was scared.
"I will. Promise. I need to go and get Y/N before it's too late so please go!" He turned around and walked back into the penthouse.
"Excuse me Colson but there are police officers in the foyer with a search warrant. What's the way forward?" Jax whispered into Colson's ear.
"What? Are you sure??? Stall them I need to find Y/N and get her out of here." Colson sprang into action. He ran to Y/N's room and fortunately she was wide awake. She was on Facetime with her friends when he barged into her room.
"Hey! We need to get out of here now. The police are on their way up to raid this place so please get dressed fast!" He threw off the covers and dragged her out of bed.
"What? Raiding the place? For what??" She put on her shoes, threw on sweatpants and a sweater quickly.
"No time to explain now okay? I'm going to need you to trust me on this okay?" He held her shoulders and looked at her earnestly.
"Jax is going to drive you to a safe place. I will follow through if I'm not taken in-" He didn't get to finish his statement because police bust into the room and commanded them to raise their hands.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quite a number of Colson's friends and friend's friends spent the night in a holding cell. The police found a significant amount of illegal drugs at the condo. It turns out Travis was actually an undercover detective. They had been trying to bust a drug ring so they were interrogating Colson and his friends to try and get a name of their supplier but they were all tight- lipped.
Finally one of them let it slip that Slim knew the name of the link so they let everyone else go. Colson's lawyer, Andre showed up much later before they were released. Y/N in her disheveled state, followed behind, her eyes puffed up from crying all night. Andre had arranged for them to use the back entrance in order to avoid the paparazzi.
"Thanks for taking your time to get here." Colson snapped as he walked towards the waiting SUV. Y/N jumped into the car wordlessly. She had a lot of things to say to Colson but now was not the right time.
"I've been trying to do damage control. The story is all over the media and drug possession is a serious crime in case you didn't know." Andre said with a grave look on his face.
"I didn't have any on me okay?" He countered.
"But all your blood tests contained high volumes of-" Barry tried to say but was cut off as usual.
"I know what the freakin' test said! I don't pay you to be my father okay? So back off!" He yelled, before he jumped into the car.
Y/N was seated at the opposite end and she just glared at him briefly, then continued to stare out the window. Colson ran his fingers through his hair and sighed deeply. He needed to make things right with Y/N but he didn't know where to start. She didn't deserve to be caught up in his mess. She didn't deserve any of this.
"Y/N." He said softly.
"So you know my real name? Hmm.." She folded her arms and stared at him.
"Look I'm not good with apologies..For the longest time I haven't had the need to apologize to any one for anything. It's always the other way round." His blue eyes pierced through her.
"So you're expecting me to-"
"No!No. That's not what I meant." He held up his hands. "I don't know how to say this but-" He moved and sat closer to her and held her hands. "I'm sorry that you got caught up in this mess. This isn't what you signed up for."
"You got that right. I have a good mind to hightail it out of here and catch the next plane back to Ohio." She scowled.
"Please don't do that. At least give me a chance to make it up to you?" He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. " Please?"
"Why does it matter to you whether I go or stay?" She asked as she pulled away.
"Simply because." He said and she raised an eyebrow.
"Not good enough Baker."
"I like having you around?" He gave her his million dollar smile that caused her heart to melt.
"Fine. I will stay...on one condition.." Her face turned serious.
"Name it." He held his breath.
"I'll need you to keep your distance..just until your figure out what it is that you really want."
"I'm sorry-"
"Let me finish-if that's okay?"
"Sure." He placed his hands on his knees and listened intently.
"You can't keep toying with my feelings. I have them you know? And it hurts when you go hot and cold on me. I know that I'm not even your type and that I was easy but this can't go on. I won't allow it. I came here as your fan and not to be your babysitter so I would really appreciate it if you treated me as such. If you want something more then I would also require something more from you-like fidelity and respect-a real relationship. But I know that is way beyond you and wishful thinking on my part." She said wistfully, her brown eyes clouding with tears.
"Look sweets I'm sorry about the way I treated you but that's just who I am. I like you- a lot. But I can't give you what you want. I don't think I ever could." He said, his voice filled with regret.
"I know. Thanks for being honest." She blinked back tears. He slid over to her and wrapped his arms around her. She put her hands round his waist and laid her head on his chest for what she considered to be the last time.
"You deserve better than me Bambi. I'm no good. I don't want to hurt you so I will try my best to keep away from you. Though I'm not making any promises.." He turned to face her and smiled.
"You're hopeless." She swatted his shoulder and laughed.
"I need to ask you one last thing though?"
"Anything." She looked up at him.
"Will you go with me to the prom? I'm making a guest appearance at a high school prom so.."
"I have a few other options to consider but I think I'll go with you." She teased.
"Gosh! You have just made me the happiest guy Y/F/N Y/L/N." He winked at her and she blushed.
********************************************
Jax had driven them to Colson's other house in a secluded area in Los Angeles. So far the press had no knowledge of his whereabouts so they would be staying there until it was time to leave for Canada on Sunday. Y/N had called Olivia to check on her and the others -they were safely guarded at the penthouse. Baze had tried to call her but she cut the call. She was still angry with him, he could have at least given her a heads up.
"Bambi are you done yet? It's only a high school prom sweets-there's no need to go all out." Colson glanced at his Apple watch again and started to pace the room impatiently. He was dressed in a white shirt, that he had left unbuttoned and a midnight blue designer suit, the latest collection from Giorgio Armani, where he was currently one of the brand ambassadors. His blonde hair was sleeked back and it accentuated his handsome face.
"I'm almost done." Y/N put the finishing touches on her face, examined herself in the mirror and when she was satisfied she left the room.
Her hair was swept to the side and she had donned a sleeveless, glittery midnight-blue gown, with a halter neck, that accentuated her curves and exposed modest cleavage and her back. She had protested to Melissa that she would be a bit overdressed for a prom but to no avail. Byron told her that they would be there briefly and after that she had to accompany Colson to his concert at Madison Square Garden where she would have to change again. This was good publicity. He had assured Y/N that she was good for Colson's image. She was a regular girl that no one knew so they could use that to their advantage. It would prove to the public that Colson Baker was a changed man.
"Wow! You look beautiful." He stared at her as she walked into the sitting room. "It was definitely worth the wait. Shall we?" He held out his arm for her.
"You're looking very handsome but that's nothing new right?" She linked her arm with his as they walked towards the elevator.
"It's nice to hear it if it's coming from a genuine reliable source." He grinned.
Melissa had selected her outfits as usual. The press would be there in and they wanted to portray the best side of Colson. Anything to get their focus off the bad publicity he had received recently. It was hard to believe that they had only been here for two days and there was already so much drama that had happened.
Y/N was not sure if she would go along with this whole plan of being Colson's girlfriend, but Byron said it was pure speculation. He just wanted to lead the press into thinking that but Y/N could not understand how it would help. Byron said he would give her time to think it over and they would discuss it further tomorrow morning.
They arrived at Mira Vista High School's hall just before they were about to crown the prom queen and king. The honor was given to Colson of course and people were falling all over themselves to get a glimpse of him. They had prepared a corner table for him, his guards were surrounding the area and they were not permitting anyone to get close.
"And now ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. It is my utmost pleasure and honor to welcome America's golden boy, every teens rock-idol-please help me welcome to the stage the one, the only superstar of all time: Colson Baker!!!" The MC announced and all the students went wild as Colson stood up and walked to the podium. He pulled Y/N along with him although she tried to resist at first.
"Please." He mouthed over the noise. She nodded her agreement and stood with him.
They could hardly contain their excitement. The girls screamed and the guys hooted.
"Colson, Colson, Colson!" Was resounding all over the school hall causing the walls to vibrate.
"Thank you. Thank you all so much. I love you guys." More screams and "We love you too Colson."
"Well I'd love to sit around and chat a bit-but as the saying goes the show must go on." He spoke into the mic. "So my lovely date over there-and I will announce your homecoming king and queen, then we gotta bust outta here cos we got a concert to go to. Is anyone coming out to Madison Square tonight?? I will be giving out ten free tickets tonight so keep your fingers crossed. But most definitely the king and queen deserve tickets right?"
The crowd roared.
They crowned the prom king and queen, then Colson and Y/N opened up the dance floor. He put his hands round her small waist and she looped hers around his neck. She rested her head on his chest and it felt like home. Like she belonged here, in his arms. He smelt so good and his masculine scent was intoxicating, causing her senses to reel. The DJ was playing Lover by Taylor Swift. Colson started to sing along as he looked at her pointedly.
𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝑰 𝒈𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒐
𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆?
𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒉 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆
𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚, 𝒎𝒚, 𝒎𝒚, 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓
"So I got a private performance..I feel kind of special." She smiled as she put her hand on his chest.
"You are..Thanks for doing this sweets." He whispered into Y/N's ear as they danced, sending shivers down her spine. "I owe you one." He brushed his cheek against her soft one.
"I'll hold you to that." She said softly.
"Baby you can hold me to anything." He laughed and it made him look young and carefree.
"You should do that more often." Y/N said as she smiled back at him. His smile was contagious.
"What laugh? Smile? I know it seems I have everything in that I could possibly want-and don't get me wrong I am grateful but-" He shook his had sadly, " You know what let's not talk about this right now okay?" He kissed her forehead.
"Okay," She touched his cheek lightly.
"Smile." He said as he put his head closer to hers and snapped a photo of them. She pulled out her tongue instead.
"I'm soo going to post this pic." He chuckled as he typed wildly on his iPhone.
"Go right ahead." She swung her hair back and grinned at him.
"Hey sweets..let me sign a few autographs and take a whole lotta selfies, then we can get out of here. I'll be right back-don't move." He led her back to the table and left her seated with Jax.
He made his way back accompanied by his other guards and he melted into the crowd. It was evident that his young fans still loved him by the way they interacted with him. He always grabbed the attention of everyone in a room, people were instantly drawn to him like a moth to a flame. When he was done the guards cleared the way for him as he walked back over to Y/N.
"You're ready to get out of here Bambi?" He put his hand on the small of her back and steered her towards the exit points.
"You look tired?If you're not up for the concert I can get Jax to drop you off at the condo?" He asked with concern.
"What are you kidding me right now?? I wouldn't miss your concert for the world! That's what I'm here for after all!"
"Okay, okay let's go then." He laughed as he entwined their hands.
The press ambushed them as soon as they walked out of the school hall and they were inundated with questions. The body guards pushed them through forcefully and Colson protectively cradled Y/N's head on his chest and she kept it there until they jumped into the limo.
"You're okay?" Colson cupped her face.
"I'm okay Baker. Still in one piece as you can see."
"Good." Silence fell as their eyes burned into each other and the air became electric. Sparks were flying and the attraction was undeniable. They both seemed to wrestle with their feelings but common sense took over.
"I want nothing more than to kiss you right now.." He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbed. "but I can't-I will respect your wishes.' He dropped his hands from her face, as if burned.
She turned her head aside and the moment was lost.
They arrived at Madison Square and as soon as they stepped out of the car Colson was whisked away and she didn't see him again until much later. Melissa led Y/N to the dressing room, where Ashleigh and Sommer were also getting ready and helped them to change into casual outfits.
"Hey stranger!" Ashleigh hugged Y/N as soon as she entered the room.
"Hey you, where have you been?" Sommer hugged her awkwardly.
"Hey..I'm glad you guys are okay." Y/N said as she sat in front of the dresser and allowed Melissa to work her magic. "I couldn't come back to the penthouse because of the press and I had to go to some prom with Colson. We came straight here after."
"So you and Colson..?" Sommer asked.
"No. Nothing like that." Y/N stressed.
"So Travis is a detective.." Ashleigh swayed the topic of discussion, picking up that Y/N was uncomfortable.
"Yeah. Who would have thought huh?" Y/N mused. "Is Slim still-?
"No. They let him go. Insufficient evidence." Sommer tried to make light of it.
"Right girls you're all done . Let's get you to the concert." Melissa announced.
"Yeah! That's what we came for." Ashleigh shouted excitedly.
"Group hug." Sommer said and everyone huddled together and ended up taking photos.
Jax led them to the VIP section where they had a pretty good view of the stage. They were served drinks of their choice and the tables had champagne on ice, tequila and drinks they couldn't even pronounce.
Colson was on stage performing hit after hit and doing what he does best. Sweat was dripping all over his lean body and girls in the audience were about to pass out just by looking at him. He seemed oblivious to all of this as he continued with his performance. One lucky girl was hurled onto the stage and screamed her head off when he started grinding on her.
"This next song is dedicated to all my fans. But especially my ultimate fans that made it through to the competition. I'd like to bring them out to the stage so you can all meet them. C'mon guys." Jax ushered them onto the stage and left them standing next to Colson.
"You guys ready? You all remember the routine right?" He whispered to them and they nodded. "Great. Let's do this." They positioned themselves behind Colson and he started to sing.
He lingered behind Y/N a little longer than necessary and when he decided to kiss her at the end of the song the audience went crazy. It was a spur of the moment thing and he hadn't planned to do it. Y/N blushed furiously and hid her face in his shoulder and he laughed.
"Sorry about that sweets. Blame it on the adrenaline." He whispered in her ear before he walked back to the center of the stage.
"Everybody give it up for my Ultimate Fans!!" He gestured towards them and they took a bow before walking off the stage.
********************************************
The sun blasted through the windows causing Y/N to groan and wince in pain. She couldn't remember when or how she got home last night. Her head was pounding and felt like it belonged to someone else. The room was spinning slightly and it hurt when she opened her eyes. Alcohol was bad. Especially when it was free.
She managed to drag herself out of bed and went to revive herself in the bathroom. After a cold shower she felt a bit better, but her head was still hammering. She downed a few painkillers and made her way to the kitchen and bumped into a half-naked blonde standing by the kitchen sink.
"Hey." She said and scampered off.
Y/N held her temples and took deep breaths. Her heart was being squeezed but she tried to tell herself that it didn't matter. What Colson did or who he did didn't matter. But the more she tried to bury the pain the more evident it became. She steadied herself on the counter and drank a glass of water but the pain manifested its ugly head. She rushed out of the kitchen with tears streaming down her face but what she saw next only caused her more pain.
Colson was standing just outside his bedroom door making out with the mystery blonde. She was clinging onto him like her life depended on it.
"You made my night sweets. Hope I run into you again next time I'm in the neighborhood." He said to her as he gave her a final peck.
"See you around Colson." She crooned and blew him a kiss before descending the stairs.
Y/N stood transfixed on the spot unable to move. Their eyes met and Colson simply winked at her before closing the door in her face. She trudged back to her room and threw herself on the bed. Then she made a decision-she had to go back to the penthouse. There was no way she would stay under the same roof with Colson while he continued to play ping-pong with her fragile heart.
"I can't do this anymore." She said to herself.
With her bag packed she hauled it downstairs and went in pursuit of Jax or any other driver that would take her back to the condo. She found Jax in the kitchen, giving the cook instructions to take breakfast up to her room.
"That won't be necessary Jax." She came up from behind. "I'm going back to the others-at the penthouse."
"Is Colson aware of your intentions?" He quirked his eyebrow as he towered over her.
"Why would he even care?" She lashed out. "Sorry Jax. I shouldn't be-"
"That's quite all right Miss Y/L/N. I know Colson can be a bit too much to handle sometimes." He winked at her, his brown eyes twinkling mischievously.
"Do you wan't to leave now or after brunch?" He lifted her heavy luggage off the floor.
"Now please." She pleaded as she followed him out to the car.
"I'm risking a lot by taking you away without Colson's knowledge. You do know that right?" He looked at her through the rear-view mirror.
"Really? He could have fooled me." She muttered under her breath.
"I know it may seem like he's a bit of a...jerk but he's under a lot of pressure. He doesn't have any real friends, except Slim maybe-but he's good kid. Just be patient with him. He'll come around sooner than later." Jax was fiercely loyal to his boss.
"I'm sorry but I can't play his games anymore. It hurts too much. I just can't." Her voice broke.
"I understand." Jax replied.
"I can't allow my self to get in too deep. I might not make it back out. So it's better this way. I need to keep my distance." She croaked, fighting back tears.
"It's not a question about keeping your distance but about whether you two can stay away from each other." Jax stated.
"We've only known each other for less than two weeks. I'm sure we can manage." She bit her bottom lip and her heart leaped. Even she didn't believe that.
"If you insist." Jax said and began to hum tunelessly to himself.
Y/N sighed and leaned her head back on the seat. She must have dozed off somewhere along the way because next thing she woke up in her room at the penthouse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile somewhere in Los Angeles a grouchy Colson had finally woken up and decided he wanted to take a certain doe-eyed raven beauty to a late lunch. But alas, when he opened her bedroom door he was met by a soft breeze that wafted through billowing curtains.
"Bambi?"He called out from the landing. No response. "Y/N?" He made his way down the stairs and met with Jax who was sitting on a chair in the sitting room.
"She isn't here Colson." He said from behind a newspaper.
"What? Where is she? Where did she go?" He grabbed the newspaper out of Jax's hands and scowled at him.
"No point in taking your frustrations out on me. You should blame yourself." Jax reprimanded him. He was the only one that could do that and get away with it.
"I don't want her to get too attached." He pulled on his hair and sat on the couch.
"You or her?" Jax raised his eyebrow.
"What? Her obviously!" He scoffed.
"Right. If you insist." Jax started to hum tunelessly, as he usually did when he wasn't buying a story.
"Stop that humming. It's working on my nerves." He snapped.
"If you really want to know she's back with the others at the penthouse."
"But the press is crawling all over that place. She should have stayed here. Why did you allow her to leave??" He demanded.
"Because she wanted to leave after seeing you with that blonde-and I can't blame her." Jax grunted. "You should at least show her some respect."
"I promised to keep my hands off her so I needed a distraction." Colson paced the room like a caged animal. He didn't consider how his actions would affect Y/N, he was too self-absorbed for that.
"Your little stunt that you pulled on stage made it to the entertainment page. Evidently.." Jax cleared his throat and straightened the newspaper.
"Let me see that!" Colson took the paper and there it was for all the world to see-him and Y/N, their lips firmly glued together, her fingers buried in his golden locks. His blue orbs closed as if he was savoring the moment, not wanting it to end.
"You got what you wanted." Jax observed.
"I-not exactly..I was just caught up in the moment that's all." He put his hand behind his neck.
"Really Colson? And you aimed straight for Y/N's puckered lips. Interesting." He straightened out the paper and continued to read the article.
"Bryon is going to have a fit." Colson sighed as he leaned back on the couch.
"So since it's official that you and Y/N are an item-officially not unofficially. Then I think it's time to clean up your act." Jax put the paper aside and looked at Colson intently.
"Yeah..for the first time you could be right." He said, thoughtfully weighing his options. "Truth of the matter is I'm a sex-addict Jax. I can't control it. Especially when hot, sexy girls throw themselves all over me.. I can't resist them." He shrugged helplessly.
"What a load of bull manure!" Jax spat out. "I don't believe that crap for one second." He said with distaste.
"It's true man..I have a problem.. a real problem" He expressed with his hands.
"Rubbish." Jax replied. "You need to stop making excuses for your bad behavior Colson. The drugs, the alcohol, treating women like toilet paper, the bad attitude-IT needs to stop. Only you have the power to change it. No one else." Jax said with concern but he knew his sound counsel was falling on deaf ears.
"I need that in order to survive in this industry. You don't understand-forget it." He said with a wave of his hand.
"Actually I do. I'm 33 and I was your age once.. I was once an addict and and alcoholic. My wife took my kids and left me. I hated her for a very long time but now I understand why she did it. It took me a while but I finally cleaned up my act. I did it for my family and most importantly I did it for myself. I needed to get clean and stay clean for me. I just hope you can do the same before it's too late." He stood up and walked out leaving Colson to his thoughts.
#machine gun kelly#colson baker#mgk#machine gun kelly x reader#machine gun kelly imagine#colson baker imagine#colson baker x reader#fan fiction
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Mao Zijun Xing Fan Interview
Removing the “adonis of period-costume dramas” label, and returning to a Republican era drama
Before Killer and Healer (or KillHeal hence), Mao Zijun had not filmed a republican drama in a long time. For almost the past five years, the audience’s impression of him has been his costume dramas, such as Qin Wuyan from The Legend of Chusen, An Qinxu from The Glory of Tang Dynasty, Yin Yiren from The Legend of Haolan, and so on and so forth. Because most of his dramas are costume dramas, as it happens, offers that come to him are the costume dramas.
Thus, when an offer for KillHeal, a TV drama about “drug crackdown” set in Republican China, appeared before Mao Zijun, he accepted it without a second thought. “At the time, I felt that I didn’t want to keep shooting costume dramas.”
If “costume drama” is a tag the audience associates with Mao Zijun’s role and acting, we can also claim that “zen,” “placid,” and “easy-going” are impressions he leaves on most people. Other than for the purpose of promoting the broadcasts of his new dramas, he seldom appears in public. If he “wasn’t at home, [he’d] be hanging out, or watching movies.” To the public, it’s as if he’s been “spirited away.” As a regular whose name ranks on the “skilled actor without due fame” chart, regardless how many times he’s been asked about the matter, his response has always been “I really haven’t paid it much attention.” His response may seem like a pleasantry, but he means it from the bottom of his heart.
Mao Zijun knows that ever since he became an actor, his career has been successful for the most part without any major setbacks, and he’s met many great people along the way. From his first TV drama Beauty's Rival in Palace when he cooperated with Lin Xinru, he stumbled into the entertainment industry and was swept along despite his inexperience and unworldliness. Including Director Yu Zheng who was willing to give him the male lead roles for The Legend of Haolan and The Matriarch. “So I thought I’ve had good luck. I’ve met people who appreciated me and were willing to give me opportunities. I’m very grateful.”
Mao Zijun’s “zen” attitude, however, doesn’t extend to everything he does. When there’s a role he really wants, his “wolf-like ambition” is brought out. When it comes choosing projects, he doesn’t compromise either. “I think everyone has the desire to strive for things they don't have; regardless of where you are in life, you wish to become better, you wish that you can climb higher. It’s a never-ending climb.”
Regardless of whether he’s gained fame and popularity, or remains a fine wine waiting to be discovered, “becoming better” is a creed he lives by and acts upon.
- 01 - Shooting KillHeal was an effortless process
What made Mao Zijun “return” to KillHeal after a long separation from republican dramas was its story and Jiang Yuelou’s personality. Jiang Yuelou is a morally grey character: a police officer and Chief of the Inspection Department. He's made law enforcement and drug crackdown his lifelong war, and it’s an undertaking he’s willing to sacrifice his life for. Although a patient with manic depression (known as bipolar disorder in modern clinical terms)--which results in his irritable, violent, and stubborn personality and tendency to be a lone wolf--he’s upright at his core, and there’s a gentle side to him deep down.
When Mao Zijun saw the script, he knew that this character had a lot of potential and creative room to work with. Precisely because of the great amount of creative room, on top of Jiang Yuelou’s vivid and distinct personality, filming for KillHeal was a relatively easy-going process for Mao Zijun despite the character’s lifelong angst and suffering. The character was rich and human per se, “so there was no need to brood over some things,” and it could be rather realistically portrayed. By the same token, the more one could ease himself into character, the better the final results.
Many actors determine the difficulty of portraying a character by criterion of the character’s degree of complexity, or their own compatibility with the character. In this respect, Mao Zijun is somewhat different: his criterion is whether the character can spontaneously come to life in the mind’s eye. “When you’ve read the entire script and discover that the character is very vivid and lifelike--his motives, intentions, behaviour and course of actions, all of which constitutes his rich psychological wiring--you will be able to portray him with relative ease, and not based on whether he’s similar to you. “Compatibility is only one aspect.”
Even if you were to act a character completely different from yourself, “you can imagine yourself in his shoes--what he would say or do” because he’s such a vivid character. “You can effectively get into character.”
In crafting Jiang Yuelou, Mao Zijun largely relies on following the script, his character changing with the progression of the plot; as a result, Jiang Yuelou’s uncontrollable violence, uncompromising ways, and other destructive habits doesn’t extend beyond the character and affect the actor himself. Unlike other actors whose characters took a mental and physical toll on them, Mao Zijun isn’t a purely immersive actor.
“Filming for a movie may require more personal feelings and emotions, but for a TV series, I think it’s half-and-half. Except for particular emotional scenes, that is.” In KillHeal, for example, the emotion expressed through Jiang Yuelou’s eyes when he’s solving cases, or reaction to receiving news, are all achieved through acting techniques. But for scenes where he’s facing the death of his subordinates, his mother, his adoptive father, his brother, and other loved ones, his reactions and expressions of pain must be nuanced and highly faceted. Even for crying scenes, he must cry in widely differing ways. For these scenes, Mao Zijun must lend his own emotional faculties to the character.
However, he does not believe tears are the only way to express his character’s emotions. When his younger and less inexperienced co-star, Ian Yi, consults him about his worries of being unable to shed tears, Mao Zijun tells him, “Why must you shed tears? Tears do not mean everything. The more dramatic and emotionally heavy a scene is, the more you must relax yourself.”
Filming to Mao Zijun is in fact a creative process where he imagines the character, then completes him. Hence, for every character he has acted, Mao Zijun would forget about the character. In his next drama, he would similarly imagine the character, understand his character, and the cycle continues.
So far, he believes there has yet to be a character that requires a lot from him mentally and psychologically, or even one that took him a long time getting out of. But, he hopes he will encounter such a character; a character that can let him experience more, feel more, and empathize with more.
KillHeal was a project Mao Zijun worked on two years ago. Two years ago, he did everything he could to bring Jiang Yuelou into fruition. Looking back now, there are details that could be further refined or supplemented, but the current KillHeal is still to his satisfaction, from his performance and methods of expression, to the overall product that is his character. “As to whether it has met my expectations… Because the broadcast of KillHeal had been held off for so long, I was worried about if the drama would go out of date when it finally came out. But there haven't been such problems so there’s nothing else I’m unsatisfied with.”
- 02 - I’ve become increasingly sentimental
While Mao Zijun may not be a purely immersive actor, he is not a wholly rationalistic one either. It’s in his analysis of his characters and response after completing a character that is rational. This rationality is present in his logic, or his healing process after getting out of character, but not acting itself.
Rationality is perhaps a result of Mao Zijun’s own experiences and personality. He had no formal training in acting. He had good grades in high school, perhaps due to parental pressure and his own belief that good grades made life somewhat easier. After graduating from high school, Mao Zijun successfully got into Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics and majored in Auditing.
“Why had I chosen auditing? At that time, I thought auditing had good prospects. It wasn’t a complicated job either--I took math and the sciences in high school, so auditing isn’t hard.” After getting into university, his parents weren’t as strict as they were in high school, so he had the opportunity to “set himself free” and explore new options. Just like that, he started taking jobs for advertisements, and then acting.
“Beauty's Rival in Palace was especially looking for people to fill in roles at the time. Liu Che was an important character despite not having a lot of scenes, and they thought my appearance fit the role.” Mao Zijun laughed lightly, “Also because of my looks that I started acting.”
The profession of acting provided him with many new experiences, because every character was new and unlike the mechanical motions he had to go through everyday. “This is also the reason why I will persist on this path.”
As someone who changed career paths from the sciences to acting, Mao Zijun has never second-guessed his decisions. He thought of himself as lucky, and his path a smooth one. Many of his friends around him have changed their career paths because of setbacks or other reasons, but he hasn’t. His parents have given him understanding and support. “My parents would express their worries, but they would not try and make a decision for me. Every big decision I've made is my own choice.”
Mao Zijun is a Capricorn: steadiness and rationality are a big part of it. But because he’s been an actor for so long, he’s in fact becoming more and more sentimental. When he first started out in the industry, he would care about others’ views and opinions about him. But with time, they gradually ceased to bother him. This is one of the very few things that have changed about him since his debut.
As an actor with no formal training, but has still received praise and acknowledgement for his acting skills, he does not attribute it to natural talent. Instead, he attributes it to his own capacity for self-excavation. “I think as an actor, you are mining yourself (your talents and skills). For example, if you meet other good actors, good characters, you will be driven to tap into your natural talents. For many actors, rather saying they don’t have talent, they simply haven’t been given the chance to discover their potential.”
In Mao Zijun’s opinion, every actor has talent, it is only a matter of chance and whether they can encounter a great character.
- 03 - Try and lose the “let it be” attitude
Mao Zijun has been in the industry for more than ten years. Ten years’ time is enough to change the state of the entertainment industry and the actors in it. As a post-85 liner interacting with post-90s and -95s actors, he’s picked up a hobby of collecting tarot cards, and has been playing video games like Super Mario and Contra that came with the gaming console gifted to him by his fans.
Newcomers in the industry would abide to the instructions of senior artists and the director. If they met difficulties or discomfort in the process of the shoot, they could only learn to deal with it themselves. But the market has changed, with new genres, subject matters, and the actors, too, are young. These young actors can willfully express themselves and vent, unlike the older generation of actors who learned to put up with things.
These changes cannot be predicted. Just like how it happened in a few years’ time, when an actor may no longer have a large audience base like before--an audience who sits in front of the TV just to catch the airtime of a TV series. Mao Zijun, too, is no longer the unworldly and inexperienced newcomer he was.
If he had to draw a demarcation, he says it’s the year 2016. “Before 2016, although I was an actor by profession and had thought I took my job seriously, looking back now, I’d just been in a status quo of “passing time.” Life had been smooth for Mao Zijun: high school, university, getting a job. He hasn’t met any real obstacles. The efforts and hard work he thought he had been putting into his work were tantamount to what he could easily accomplish in his best and most favourable circumstances.
He strongly agrees with the view that actors need to experience pain and setbacks. But he thinks that’s only a part of it. An actor can experience some things, but he is not able to experience everything. To him, some experiences can be gained through reading novels. “The stories, including the thoughts and behaviours of characters, are enriching and detailed. If you’re not able to personally experience some things, you can experience them via other methods.”
Mao Zijun is a very carefree person. He takes on drama offers when he feels like it, and rejects it when he doesn’t. He’s content with hiding himself away from the public eye to take time off for himself. But now, even he doubts whether the “let himself be” attitude is appropriate. “I noticed that there was a gap, like the period of time after The Legend of Haolan finished airing to the airing of KillHeal now. During these two years, you had no other dramas on-air. Your fans want to see your new projects and content, but you couldn’t give them anything, yet they would still give you a lot of support. It would make you question, shouldn’t I be filming more projects for them?”
After questioning himself, Mao Zijun started taking on more projects. Even during the pandemic, he filmed a movie (no news yet), acted as a cameo in The Journey of Flower as the character Sha Qianmo, and filmed for The Matriarch. “Since my fans want to see me so badly, I’ll just have to act in more projects, I thought.”
In The Matriarch, he plays the role of Wei Liang’gong, a very kind, “moonlight” (unattainable) character--a character with all the wonderful traits and virtues of a person--much like the male version of Empress Fuca Rongyin from Story of Yanxi Palace (2018). “This costume drama depicts a very realistic portrayal of life during the period. Acting in this drama was more of a process of experiencing and feeling, using an everyday-life way of performing was quite nice.”
Mao Zijun doesn’t really care whether he’s famous or popular. Even to this day, other actors from the casts he’s worked with would offer him new projects. Speaking from this point, he thinks he’s lucky enough as it is. To him, a TV drama actor, a bit of fame and a lot of fame doesn’t hold much of a difference. In the long term, “fame” is only a matter of degree. “Unless you win an award--a prestigious film award, whether it be movies or TV films--how much fame is but a matter of quality.” What he must do now, and spare no effort, is to give himself more opportunities.
In retrospect, Mao Zijun has gotten the roles he wanted, and there’s really no regrets. What he desires perhaps lies in the future. Fortunately, there’s just enough time.
Writer: 77
WeChat ID: LJLX2013
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Pairing(s): Kuroo Tetsurou x Top Male Reader.
Warning(s): Cursing, Angst/Fluff.
DNI; if you use she/her pronouns.
__________
A sigh ripped past my throat as I stared down at my feet with hazy eyes, feeling the rain hit my body without mercy while I sat on the curb, not wanting to go home to where my parents fought and argued for the millionth time, at least my twin sister is at her training camp so she doesn't have to endure this shit. Then there's the fact my phone broke during my mother and I's fight, so I couldn't call anyone to see if I could stay over, even though I'd rather not bother anyone anyways, they probably got better things to do than deal with my ass. Groaning at the thought I tried to wipe the tears from my eyes when I heard footsteps approach, "[Y/n]? What are you doing in the rain?" My eyes widened at the familiar voice, turning my gaze his way I saw my usual bed headed boyfriend standing besides me, holding his umbrella over the both of us.
His cat like eyes staring down at me with confusion and worry, something I could never get used too. "They're fighting again.." Was all I muttered out, running a hand through my drenched [H/c] hair in order to move it out of my face while Kuroo held out his hand. "Come on then you're coming home with me" I had no time to object when he was already pulling me off the ground, forcing me against him, which nearly made us topple over, but an unusual sly smirk was now present on his face as he looked up at me, but the smirk wasn't one of the usual ones that girls and guy's alike would swoon over. "Should we get going?" I could only nod, keeping my gaze on him while he laced our fingers together, practically dragging me along with him under his umbrella.
His coat had a few wet spots from loose rain drops, the red of it reminding me of his Nekoma volleyball jacket. His focus stayed in front of us, a lingering determination hidden under the beautiful hazel of his eyes that I could look into for hours, and the way he held himself with confidence is something I will always admire, wishing I could do so myself, and mean it at least. Feigned confidence is something I can do well, but Kuroo has been the only one to see past it, hell he even pointed it out when we first met. "Getting a good look?" He chuckled, tightening his grip on my hand a bit in a comforting way that slowly brought a heat to my cheeks, "Maybe.." I muttered out, quickly turning my gaze away from the shorter male when a small, genuine smile was brought to his lips.
As much as I tried I couldn't stop my thoughts from wandering to their usual dark place, staring down at Kuroo and I's joined hands with furrowed brows. How could he love someone as expressionless as me? I can barley smile, I can't speak my mind without being scared of what he might think or say afterwards, even if deep down I know he cares, and that he'd never do anything to hurt me. It truly makes me wonder, how someone as great as him, would want to be with someone as broken as me, it's simply a hard pill for me to swallow. The sudden tap on my shoulder brought my attention back, seeing that we had finally arrived at Kuroo's house, him holding the door open for me with that worried gaze of his.
"Sorry.." Walking inside I took off my shoes and slipped on the slippers I kept here, not really wanting to walk throughout his house since I'm still soaking wet. "C'mon you need to get in the shower, you're a baby when you're sick" He laughed, forcing me up the stairs towards the bathroom while my heart fluttered in my chest, wanting to hear more of his laughter until he finally shoved me in the bathroom, "I'll bring you clothes and a towel, then after we can cuddle on my bed." After that I started my relaxing, skin melting hot shower only taking about ten minutes since the idea of cuddling with my lover was all to tempting. So when I stepped out the bathroom, dressed in grey sweatpants and a T-shirt I looked around the room for the middle blocker, sighing in defeat when I couldn't find him and simply sat at the edge of his bed.
I laid the towel on my head, not caring for the little water droplets that hit my cheek, slowly sliding down to my neck as I looked at the floor.
"He deserves better than you! No one could even bother loving you! He's probably just a whore for your cock!"
My mothers words rang through my head as tears slowly gathered in my eyes, blurring my vision almost immediately. I always wondered why she'd bring Kuroo into our fights, telling me constantly that he'd be better off fucking a pretty girl then being a whore for a guy like me. I had never been so angry at her, I never cared for when she'd insult me but insulting Kuroo was out of the question, it was immediately after she shouted the word that I threw my phone behind me, shattering its screen and putting a hole in the wall. I hated fighting with her, knowing she's just pissed that dad wouldn't give her a good fuck anymore simply because he found his co-worker much more interesting.
Tears slowly flooded from my eyes as I let out a choked sob, resting my elbows on my knees as my head hung low, feeling my body tremble and my chest ache. My breath caught in my throat when slim fingers slid under my chin, pulling my head up so I could look into that gorgeous hazel I fell in love with many years ago. "It'll be okay [Y/n], I'm here" He whispered out, the soft tone was something I hadn't heard much of, but was calmed by nonetheless, my hand reached out, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him towards me, a pleading look in my eye begging for him to climb into my lap which surprised him greatly. Never once in our relationship have I initiated anything that involved physical contact, hell I couldn't even utter the words 'I love you' because every time I tried my mothers words would weigh me down.
However Kuroo still gladly slipped into my lap, moving his arms to rest on my shoulders while mine wrapped around his waist securely, burying my face into the crook of his neck, simply wanting the touch of my lover against me. The feeling of Kuroos fingers running through my hair slowly calms my painful sobs, turning them into quiet sniffles, taking a deep breath of his scent that I craved for everytime he was away. My hands stayed on the small of his back, pulling away from the hug just enough so I could rest my forehead against his, brushing our noses together softly as I stared into his eyes that looked torn from my own broken gaze. "Sometimes I think my mother is right, I truly believe I don't deserve you, you've always been there for me no matter what and what have I ever done in return? She makes me feel like I'm just dead weight to you, and honestly most the time I believe it."
Before he could interrupt I brought my hand to his cheek, brushing my thumb along his cheekbone in order to cut him off, "You always stuck to me though, even when so many people threw themselves at you, people that could've been so much better for you, you still chose me, an emotional broken wreak of a man." He stayed silent as I talked, biting his lower lip with a twinge of something hidden behind those pools of hazel, watching me intently when my gaze shifted towards his lips, moving my hand so that my thumb could pull his lower lip from his teeth.
"But god damn you manage to make me feel so fucking special" I whispered out, feeling his grip on my hair tighten by a fraction as I captured his lips with my own, loving how surprisingly soft they felt against my own, but the kiss ended as soon as it started, even though I couldn't bring myself to pull away to much. "I want to be with you for as long as you'll let me, cause fuck Tetsurou I love you to much to let you go" I mumbled against his lips, looking into his half lidded eye's that brightened with so much happiness they literally teared up, and being anxiety filled I thought I had made him upset for a moment, but that thought quickly left when he smashed his lips against mine with so much force that I fell against his bed.
He had the biggest smile I've ever seen as he pressed his palms against my chest, looking down at me with a loving look I happily returned, smiling back at the bed headed male, "You have no idea how long I've waited to hear that! God I love you, you idiot!" He laughed, leaning down to press a, this time, soft kiss against my lips.
"I love you too Testu."
#kuroo testuro#kuroo x male reader#x male reader#x seme male reader#haikyuu!!#haikyū!!#kuroo tetsuro x you
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A/n:This has been on my drafts for too long now. Is not one of my best works but is certainly something that I thought a lot when I first read the chapter and comung to understand Pops and Kai relationship as father and son. I hope this not come as petty or ahitty like some works of mine because this one I meant it to be... special.
Allert for murder and suicide mentions
Only by a miracle
"Why if I do even need to ask for? Just bullshit ..." he asked, barely bothering to look in your direction while he watched the news ... at least try to pretend he cared.
After the raid of the hassaikai, the league of villains; especially because of Shigaraki; taking his arms, taking away what little significance was left for the poor man, Chisaki had simply put everything aside ... his interest in things and knowledge, his goal of "cleaning the world", even of at least care about his physical and especially mental state ... the reason why you two are having this conversation right now. The only thing that he seemed to not have lost hope or interested thankfully was you.
"I just thought that maybe it was something to help you ... "you answered quietly, gently approaching and sitting right next to him" a psychologist may be a good idea especially after everything ... happened. That co-worker of mine can help and- "
"With all due respect (Y / n), I'd rather rot in Tartarus than accept someone else's help ... After all," he sighed, an empty, melancholy look in his golden eyes "that's what I deserve . "
"Stop." you immediately spoke right away, eyes burning with the urge to cry at his words. "Please, we already had this conversation ... you don't deserve it." leaning your head on his shoulder you can feel how tense his body was but soon relaxed ... as if he had actually released a weight from his shoulders.
sighing, your boyfriend finally seemed to slowly return to the real world than the torment that had turned his head as he looked at you.
"You're going on yours at least I hope." you nodded, gritted your teeth and widened your eyes when you saw the familiar green hair of the boy responsible for literally almost beating Kai.
You tried to take control before Kai saw it but already feeling his body tensing and the way his shoulders started to shake you already knew that he had already seen the boy.
You barely remedy what you at least think of the boy named Deku ... upset and irritated because he beat your boyfriend along with the other almost hero Lemillion beat his boyfriend or pity and fear if Chisaki happened to find him. As much as he no longer had his arms, he was still strong ... you have already witnessed several tantrums and breakdowns of his in the last few monthswhwre he had torned the small apartment you two lived now down ... his depression and panic attacks and paranoia were horrible .... but with sure what hurt you the most was when he woke up from a nightmare ... feeling a torturous pain in the place where his arms were supposed to be ... but all this was psychological pain. kai knew how much it affected you, and knowing that you were too stubborn to leave him, he insisted that you do therapy instead of him.
"Let's...turn this off." you mumbled before taking the remote and turning off the tv after turning to him and massaging his shoulders until he saw that he had calmed down at least a little.
"You know ... how about you come with me tomorrow?" you commented, happy that you had finally unlocked him a little "The same place where my therapist is where he is hospitalized and-"
"No ... he would be the last person who would at least enjot my presence angel." you frowned, your hope to at least pay a visit to the poor elderly in a coma fails again. You knew the amount of guilt and sorrow Chisaki carried of putting Pops on a coma, but behind that cold facade and th walls he had constructed, you knew better... You knew that he his intentions truly weren't on the bad side, but even you had to agree he had gone way too far on his path.
Sighing, you stood up, making Kai look i to your eyes questionably before you kissed his cheek lovingly mumbling that you were going to make his favorite for the dinner, smiling sadly at how he sighed and leaned on you, mumbling how he didn't deserves you and such things.
You went to the kitchen before jumping at your notification on your cellphone and beaming happilh at your door frame.
"Ne ne! Hon!" You put the box you just had received and openes for him to see, hoping to see him lighten up a bit.
You smiled and almost teared up when he gave one look at the box and let out a weak chuckle, looking at you with adoration.
"Seems like I wont be needing feeding anymore." He commented as you jumped on him to cage his frame on a hug as tears threteaned to spill from your eyes.
That was the first time in months Chisaki had come close to even smilling... things were slowly starting to get better... but yet, you knew it was never going to return back the way it was... and the worst?
You knew that not only you felt something was missing.
~
The next day you woke up feeling your boyfriend's arms prototics holding you close to your chest, the back of your neck feeling the warmth of his breath while his lips lightly brushed your skin. You mumbled to yourself seeing the schedule and gently raising the fake arms for you to slip past them to get out of the bed. Uou smiled when you saw and heard how Chisaki complained in his sleep at the loss of your warm, getting close to him and giving him a kiss first on his temple then lightly on his lips, stroking his hair for good measure.
Getting ready and leaving a note for Kai to see when he wakes up, you left your apartment for another appointment with your therapist ... after of course going to a flower shop.
~
"Good luck with your father-in-law, young lady"
"Thank you doctor" you responded by leaving the office and walking through the hospital corridors, avoiding the eyes of doctors and nurses when you passed and went to the room where he was. You entered with the permission of the secretary, your heart and body always seemed to freeze when seeing Pops in the vegetative state, machines saving him from death but not bringing him back from the coma that Kai had put him in.
"Good morning Pops." you whispered, exchanging the dead flowers on the table next to the machines to replace them with the new ones you had bought before your consultation "I came as every time."
Taking a chair and dragging it to the side of the bed you sat down with a sigh before smilling at the sleeping elder.
"... we miss you. All of us, both subordinates and me and ... Kai." you bit your lip before you started saying "I don't know if you can really hear me every time I say this, but I swear to you that Kai just wanted to make you proud... Pops if you knew how much he suffers and regrets doing this to you ... " you wiped the tears from your eyes with the back of your sweater. You looked at the old man's face ... resting on the hospital bed for months now.
"Doctors say that even at your age you are a fighter." you giggled before returning your attention "... I tried to bring him here but he feels so guilty that he has no courage to come face you again .... please if one day you wake up again, forgive him, please... you were the only one he trusted and respected since childhood ... "you sighed before taking the bag and giving the elderly a small and careful hug as he used to do while he was awake" I ask a thousand pardons for him... I’ll be back next week Pops, maybe I can get him to come here next time! " you giggled sadly before frowning. Saying a little goodbye, you went towards the door ... but when you touched the maceneta you froze, hearing the sound of the mattress twinks and the fabric of the sheets moving ... looking slowly over your shoulder you gasped in astonishement and shock, bringing your hands to cover your mouth while your eyes watered when you saw tired gray eyes and the little smirk that the elderly person gave you in your bed even with numerous tubes in it.
"How good it is to see you again my dear. How long have I been away?"
~
"Sir is truly a miracle that you woke up from this coma honestly." The doctor said in astonishment as you awkwardly finsighed mumbling explaining all what had happened during the elder's absence.
"The shie hassaikai members are ALL on jail?" Pops asked calmly but you cringed hard at seing how wide were his eyes as you nodded.
"We're... trying to pay Chro- I m-mean Kurono! To get out of prison though... is a start." You clenched your jaw as Pops muttered something to God as he burried his face on one of his hands.
"Well." The doctor smiled at you both as she made her exit "You still have to spend one week to check up, but soon you will be able to go away wuth your..?"
"Daughter in law." The elder sighed, finally lifted his head up to show his gratitude to the medic before she left. Looking back at you "How is my granddaughter? Eri? I suppose you didn't know about the plan that boy had on his mind."
"Y-yeah.. She is on the hands of the hero Eraserhead, as far as I know of, the U.A took her custody to help her to control her quirk for real this time." You grabbed his hand and squezzed assuringly "She is on good hands Pops. I promise you."
"For once." He sighed before giving you a smile. Your phone buzzed and you excused yourself to pick it up.
"Hey hon.." you spoke as Pops furrowed hsi eyebrows, mentioning with his hands that he also wanted to hear.
"Where are you? Your apointment should had ended by one half an hour ago?" The nonchantly voice of Chisaki made you worry about how Pops body seemed tense as he montioned for you to jot speak a thing about him.
"U-uh... it got longer?"
"You're shit at lying, you know that right?" Pops smirked while you blushed a bit.
"Sorey sorry.." you rubbed the back of your neck a bit "I-I went to that place where they sell those sweets you like, that's all."
You heard a sigh and frowned at how tired your boyfriend sounded as he spoke on a vulnerable tune you had grew used to on the past few months... but Pops widened his eyes, almost not recognizing the vouce behind that cellphone.
"Just hurry up and get back home... I feel like one of those is about to come again.." he spoke as if that were a burden, you hummed immediately promising him to be home soon before saying how much you lobed him and hanging up.
"One fo those?"
"For these past few months he had gotten depression and some PTSD attacks..."
"Hironic." The eldery sarcastically chuckled with bitter as he leaned up his back on the mattress "He was the one to put my grandauther through hell, put me on a coma, ruin the whole bussines of my family and now, he is the one with depression." You furrowed your eyebrows at that. Taking a breath in, knowing that was something that could happen you talked back.
"I know the things he had done were wrong Pops... but believe me when I say he just wanted to-"
"(Y/n) my dear. As much as I know how generous you are, you can't actually try to be on Chisaki's side this time." He glared at you as you gulped "I lost count on how much I tried talking him out of those absurd ideas of his, but as always a stubborn one, he continued on and left the path I tried to teach him for years."
"Well, with all respect sir, you cant totally blame him if he was raised by a mafia boss no less." You grumbled as the elder narrowed his eyes at you for the first ever time.
"I taught him manners. He was the one who didn't followed them. Preffering to take this dark and horrific path. The yakusa is superior to villains and what he does? Becomes one of them despite fighting others that we are not? Is he bipolar now?!"
"Pops please just listen to me... We both know he suffered before you took him in, he feels in debt with you ever since that day."
"And he retributes me with this. Putting me on a coma."
"Pops I-"
"Stop defending him kid!" He yelled and you flinched away from him in shock "That man put my own grandaughter through hell and used her as some lab rat experiment, and now not only i lost my own daughter but her as well!"
Silence consumed the room... you felt at the verge of crying before taking a huge breath in determination. You wont let him, you wont let the man who created the one you love speak like that without you giving him a reason.
"Kai done these things, thats for sure ... but his whole life he felt trapped by the fact that he never got to repay you. He had absurd ideas for that? Of course, I will not cover up his errors. But I am not going to let even you Pops speak like that. Since you already knew he wasn't listening to you, why didn't you take him away from Shie Hassaikai's work and just put more pressure on him saying that he would, one day, be the new boss? Your sucessor no less?! " he remained his glare to his hospital room window "... he just wanted you to be proud of him .. so he still protects Shie Hassaikai's honor ... Pops do you even know that he lost only his arms still fighting to give you something?!" You cried as the old man opened his eyes wide and finally looked back at you "For the past months he and I have been in our personal hell, he has nightmares every night! Do you even happen to remember that you had to comfort him the first night he slept at your house? imagine the attack only ten times worse! do you even know how it was to see him begging me for me to kill him ?! "you sobbed while the man was still in shock to hear what you said and your state.
"my dear why are you still going through this?" he said almost breathlessly while you wiped your tears, almost leaving the room.
"Because I love your son ... and I know he loves you in his own weird and antisocial way ... Please I know that it is very difficult to forgive him, but I beg Pops ... try it... both of you only have each other now...." you sighed and left the room without even saying goodbye to him or the nurses asking if you were okay.
~
Two weeks had passed after that. You remained a secret that Pops woke up from his coma to prevent Chisaki to fell on one of those nerve train racking thoughts of his...
"You win this ever time, is not fair." You whined as your boyfriend smiled, replacing the many pieces back on the shoji board back again.
"So why do you even still insist on playing it then with me no less dearest?" He asked, not exactly expecting an answer before he froze at the way you kept looking at him with love.
"Because is your favorite game. And I love seing you happy while playing it." You giggled at the immediate scoff to hide his blush as he closed his eyes, his black mask preventing you to show his smile as he mumbled an affectionate "crazy woman".
You giggled even more at that. Things were surely better than they could have been. Thanks to your teraupist you were also able to help your own boyfriend... his attacks had stopped and you never felt more relieved to see that the bags from beneath his eyes were slowly dissapearing.
"Ugh... im hungry!!!" You whined loudly again, rolling over to lay your head on his lap as he looked down at you with an arched eyebrow.
"What do you want me to do about it?"
"Take out." You proclaimed before he flipped your nose.
"Absolutely not. Is disgusting." He growled as you whined and put your bottom lip out.
"One time it won't hurt! Pleaseeee???? Please my devil??" You smiled mentally at seing the tip of his ears going red "please my handsome cutie softie delicious-" he hushed you with one of his fake finger son your lips as he growled.
"Fine fine, have your way brat. Jesus Christ you're so spoiled." He offered you one of his last used, that the police couldn't track, credit cards as you lowered his mask to kiss him.
"Says who again?" You giggled before sighing in bliss when he brought you close, you stradling his lap as you circled his neck with your arms, contained your noises as he trailed his kisses down to your jaw.
It has been so long since you two had-
You both growled when your cellphone ringed, but Kai still stood on his track as he mumbled in your ear for you to pick up... although he still continued to carres your thighs as he vould feel them again and lay kisses in the crook of your neck.
You widened your eyes though whem you saw that it was from the hospital... you had beem visiting and making conpany to Pops even despjte the argument you had gotten to him, but now it seemed he was free to go... shit. You couldn't hide this anymore from Kai.
Although you gasped back to the current reality when you felt a certain... hardness on his lap.
"If you tell me you have to go Im setting this place on fire." He mumbled in your neck as you whined. That surely must be the worst cockblock you two had in your relationship. You nodded as he growled again, making yourself out of his laps, he let you go hesitantly.
"What is even about this time?" He said nonchantly as he adjusted his hair back.
"I... have to go to the hospital."
"Is that therapist of yours again?" He asked in annoyance as you left in a hurry, crossing his arms and auspecting at your attitudem
"I-It will be quick!"
"You didn't answer my-" and the door closed while he sighed loudly looking up at yhe ceilingx having to deal with the problem you had caused down there "Fucking brat." He growled out loud standing up with a hiss to go to the shower.
~
The drive back from the hospital was so awkward... the pregnant silence making you go crazy as Pops remained quietly the entire ride.
"I thought a lot about what you said once my dear." You yelped and looked at him in surprise.
"Eh?"
He smiled before looking at you with a serene expression.
"I was never once a good father example for both my actual daughter or Chisaki. Part of me didn't want to believe, but Kai needed more than just my help after I took him in... Guess he took on my stubborness."
"N-no, that was not what I meant-"
"Relax kid... I just recalled what you said back there when you left. There is nothing left for me asides from trying to at least solve things with Chisaki... I cant thank you enough, both of me and him weren't on the right side, so is not on place of me to judge him... specially when I tortured a childhood friend of my once."
... wait whAT-?!
The train stopped and you hesitantly took Pops hand when he offered it to help you stand up.
You two walked before you stopped by the front of your apartment complex as you looked at Pops uncertainly, but he only nodded with a smile.
"Is time for me to speak with him after who knows how long."
You shakily entered your apartment as coincidentally Kai emerged from the tiny hall, drying his hair with a towel, already dressed on his casual clothes as he opened one of his eyes to look at you.
"Better have a good explanation or else punishment is going to be extra harder." He smirked devilish and you would have gotten turn on if it weren't from right after he widened his amber eyes as if he had saw a ghost as Pops entered, crossing his arms as he looked back at Chisaki.
"Hello, Chisaki." He spoke seriously before smilling at how the man he created for years now seemes as a fragile boy who had been caught for doing sonething silly.
You aproached Chisaki slowly before taking his hand, making him look at you to remind him it wasn't one of his paranoia events... Pops was there. Smilling at him.
It was real.
The elder aproached, a small still present on as he looked at Chisaki.
"You seem way better than the last time I saw you. I'm glad to see that."
He couldn't speak, his throat was sore, it hurted too mcuh to even breath near this man again. He knew what had happened, so why on hell was this old geezer smilling at him iut of all people?! He could feel his eyes start to burn as he clenched on your hand before flinching violently when a hand that wasn't yours rested on his shoulder.
"I'm not mad at you. Is all in the past, I know your intentions weren't what happened... and I forgive you, Kai." He pulled Chisaki for a hug and the man himself tensed accidentaly letting go of your hand and lifting his metal arms in the air awkwardly. "But I hope one day you can still forgive me for not being a good father to you... my son."
That was the last straw for the man once called himself the name of his quirk, to break completely. He cried, silently, but the river of tears falling down his eyes was still there as he clenched the back of the man as he trembled... muttering how he hated himself and how much he was ashamed and sorry as Pops also apologized.
You smiled at the scene, trying to left the room but failing when your boyfriend and Pops called you back instantly... these two had still long to talk... but Kai still wanted you there. With him. As he always wanted.
After all, you and Pops were the only concept of family he ever had learned.
#bnha villains#bnha#bnha characters#bnha x reader#bnha imagine#chisaki kai#chisaki kai x reader#overhaul x reader#overhaul#fanfic overhaul#my writings#zuffer writings
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Lately, I've found myself drawn to stories ( and I mean drawn to as in envisioning those stories in my head, thinking them through to the very last detail, not reading, let alone writing them down, because I've long since accepted that they will never turn out quite the same on the paper ) where Red is the one who'd been seriously hurt and, therefore, rendered unconscious for an indefinite amount of time and worried Liz is the one who doesn't leave his side, hoping and praying and pleading that he would wake up. Probably, something that has to do with how unfair it is that we've seen Red keep vigil by hurt!Lizzy's side – playing music for her, holding her hand, reading to her etc. – a number of times and yet, over the course of 8 seasons, never have ever been allowed the pleasure of seeing Liz do the same for him ( not even when he was shot – because she left to retrieve the Fulcrum and couldn't come back until the fight was over – or when he was poisoned – because she'd been waiting to be cleared to see him and he ran away the moment he wasn't actively dying, because that's Red for you all ), even though she loves and cares about him as much as he loves and cares about her.
I mean, just imagine the possibilities!
Liz pacing around the waiting area of Red's mobile hospital while he's in surgery, unable to think about anything else other than how he looked – battered and broken and barely alive – when they've found him and how his head rested in her lap ( she could almost convince herself that he was merely dozing, if he wasn't so deathly pale and still and there wasn't so much blood on his clothes and her clothes and her hands and the backseat of the car ) and his hand was limp in her death grip as they rushed him to his doctors and she whispered words of reassurance and encouragement to him even though she knew he couldn't hear her and how she had to fight the instinct to curl around her lover and snarl at anyone who would come close because she can't let him be hurt further as the medics took him away from her, exchanging observations and orders that didn't sound particularly reassuring. She's also acutely aware of the fact that Red is fighting for his life – there, just a few feet away from her – and, though he's the strongest man she's ever known, he may not win, and so she makes a promise to the empty air in front of her that she will kill him herself if he dares to give up on her and Agnes like that now, when they've just reached the good, right place in their relationship, just confesses their feelings to each other. At some point, Dembe most certainly pulls Liz in for a hug, letting her cry in his shoulder, doing his best to comfort her ( even though there's nothing that can bring her more comfort than Red's hug, when he – alive and whole – wraps his arms protectively around her and holds her close and lets her hide from the whole world in his arms, his chest, his shoulder and neck – wherever she prefers to burrow her face at the time – and the memory itself makes her cry harder, because there's a possibility that he will never hug her like that again ), even though he's just as worried and scared as she is, and Mr Kaplan helps Liz clean up, washing away Red's blood from her hands and producing seemingly out of the thin air fresh clothes for her to change into.
Red, of course, pulls through the surgery, beating all odds, and Liz's heart floods with relief at the good news before sinking when the doctor explains to her and Dembe and Mr Kaplan the extent of Red's injuries and that it's impossible to say when – or even if – he wakes up.
And so the waiting game begins. Liz doesn't leave Red's side, holding his hand, stroking his knuckles with her thumb and never letting go, constantly talking to him and reading to him and even asking Dembe to bring the record player and some records from the Bethesda apartment to play to him, hoping that it would elicit some kind of response from him. Yet, as they days go by, there's not a single, smallest sign that he's aware of anything that's going on around him, that he's still there somewhere and is trying to find his way back to her, to them – he doesn't stir, doesn't so much as flutter his eyelashes, and Liz grows more desperate with each passing day, even though the doctor assures her that Red's slowly but surely improving ( but she can't see it with her own eyes, and if she can't see it, she's less likely to believe it, the more time passes with him just lying there, undisturbed by the loud, chaotic world around him ).
And then there's Agnes... While Liz keeps vigil at Red's bedside, the babysitting duties are split equally between Aram and Samar, Charlene and Cooper, Ressler and Audrey and Dembe and Mr Kaplan. Yet more often than not whoever picks little Agnes up from school and / or her ballet classes brings her over to the safe-house where Liz and Red are. She doesn't seem to be as unnerved by Red's state as her mommy is, climbing on his bed each time she visits ( after giving her mommy the biggest hug, of course ) and leaning in close to him, examining his face thoughtfully before half-asking, half-stating "He's still tired, mommy?". And Liz usually replies with a hoarse "Yes, baby" because she doesn't trust herself not to get choked up if she tries to answer more eloquently. Agnes simply nods then, satisfied with the explanation why he hasn't woken up yet, and settles against Red's side – mindful of his injuries and the spider web of wires and tubes connecting him to all sorts of monitors and machines – and either naps ( especially, on ballet classes days ) or tells her mommy and Red ( she talks to him just like Liz does much too easily – promising him to show him the new moves she's learnt when he wakes up etc. – as if she's already done that before or seen anyone else do that... unbeknownst to Liz, she did both – when Liz herself was in a coma, Agnes both saw Red talk to her mommy and was encouraged by him to talk to her, too, because it may help her mommy sleep easier and maybe she'll get better sooner and finally wake up ) about her day or does her homework or draws ( more often than not, she draws either cards for Red to read when he wakes up or just things she wants him to see ). And when the time comes for her to leave, she always kisses Red on the cheek, wishing him "sweet dreams" and to get better soon, and then gives her mommy, who tries so very hard not to tear up but fails miserably, a hug and a kiss, too, and tells her frequently that she shouldn't cry because Red is just too tired, just like she – Liz – once was, and that he just needs to sleep a bit more.
And when the door behind Agnes closes and Liz is sure her daughter won't see / hear her, she breaks down hard, in big, ugly sobs, because her little girl shouldn't be acting so naturally in this kind of situation and because she wishes so hard that Red just woke up, because she can't do this, any of this, without him.
In the end, once his body has healed itself enough and he regained enough of his strength, Red, of course, does wake up. It's a slow process, and Liz thinks she might either faint or go mad from the overwhelming feelings that are swirling inside of her when Red moves for the first time in what seems to her like forever – squeezing her hand feather-lightly – and when he leans slightly, unconsciously into her touch when she strokes his cheek – out of habit, without even expecting any sort of reaction from him and being pleasantly surprised – and when he opens his eyes for the first time – it's a brief occurrence, with his eyes slipping shut tiredly again after just a few moments, and he's still pretty much out of it, apparently, not even noticing her presence by his side, but for Liz it's a major event – and when he finally, finally looks directly at her – alive and conscious and alert – and calls her "Lizzy". He's still weak and his voice sounds terrible and Liz knows she shouldn't let all of her pent-up feelings – the fear and despair and frustration and love and relief and exhaustion – out on him like that – he's just woken up, after all – but she can't hold back the tears nor the jumbled mess of "thank you"s and "I love you"s and " "I've missed you"s and "I'm so so happy you're back" and "I was so worried" and "Don't ever scare me like that again" that spills from her lips as she leans in to kiss him lightly and give him the gentlest of hugs...
(Since I'm not a ficwriter and, therefore, have no intentions of using this pile of ideas/images/feelings myself, I wouldn't mind at all if you or any other writer drew inspiration from this rambling of mine)
Ahhhhh 😭😭😭 Are you sure you're not a fic writer, anon?? Cause this reads like some quality hurt/comfort to me!! 🥲🥲 Honestly, this is a lovely scenario to imagine & it gives me a slightly bitter sense of satisfaction to think of Liz suffering through just a fraction of the time Red spent by her side while she was in her coma... especially if it's the catalyst for fEeLiNgS to emerge tee hee bc, you're RIGHT, we were woefully deprived of those situations in the show & I'll never not be sad about it tbh. More specifically, things I love the most about this in no particular order: Liz having to "fight the instinct to curl around her lover & snarl" *swoon*, Liz swearing she will kill him herself if he dies LMAO, Dembe hugging her for comfort & Mr. Kaplan helping her get cleaned up 🥺🥺🥺, Liz playing records for Red yasss, AGNES & everyone taking turns babysitting her while she misses her Daddy desperately but deals with the situation with a maturity & grace beyond her years in an effort to help her grieving Mommy through it cool cool mkay mkay, Liz only breaking down once Agnes leaves OWWW, anddddd Liz being a blubbering mess when Red finally wakes up & calls her "Lizzie" & they kiss *whispers* it's fine, i'm fine 🙃 IN CONCLUSION, I love this anon, thank you for sharing this lovely little AU with me!! 🥰 And much, much love to you, of course, my friend!! ❤️
#The Blacklist#Lizzington#Agnesgate#thoughts#headcanons#mine#ask#anon#ughhhhhhhh#this mini fic is packed with feels#and punched me right in the face#thank you for this gift anon#:')#much love!!#<3
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Entitled. (II)
- you are in an open relationship with Baekhyun.
//E(I)//E(II)//
You got a call. You didn't know if you should be happy for having a new schedule, somewhat a new distraction, an escape from the repititive heartaches you experience every minute or so, or maybe, you should be upset because you're absolutely exhausted after all the work and stress because of your relationship with Baekhyun.
Oh, an orgasm is absolutely what you need right now. It's quite funny because you should have been getting some out of this open relationship but you knew you wouldn't open your legs for anyone that isn't your boyfriend. Unfortunately, your boyfriend's been busy opening the legs of women that isn't you.
You shook his hand firmly, a genuine smile on your lips, exhaustion still prominent but it'll do, you guessed. "It's a pleasure meeting you."
"I see you've been acquainted." Your manager, Jun, laughed as he enters the room, "you and Kai will be having a photoshoot. That's the first step."
You nodded your head, your eyes focused on your new co-worker. Definitely an eye candy. Kim Kai, the model every high-end brands would kill to have. All you know about him right now is that, and how determined he is to explore the acting industry. You've heard that he'd been training for a while and they have chosen you to be his first leading lady for an instant win. They guessed that since everyone loved you, they'll love him, too.
You never had a problem with any of your co-workers, or your leading men, just to be specific. You knew how to work the camera and how to exclude such chemistry with a man you just met. You knew you were the best choice.
"Guess we're stuck together." You mumbled, trying to lighten up the mood. They left you with the words, 'get comfortable with each other, you'll need it' so here you are, sitting right across of him in an expensive restaurant.
"Yeah. Such a pity." He teased, a playful smile playing on his lips. You just know, you were going to like him.
He insisted upon driving you home, earning quite the whispers and glances on your way to his car. You didn't mind. No matter what the truth is, they'll twist everything however they want it. You were spent anyway, you couldn't care less to anything right now.
The drive home was a silent, though, it wasn't the type of silence strangers have. You wouldn't call him a stranger after this day, he was an absolute angel and you were pretty sure you can call him your friend.
"We're here."
You hummed and gathered your things, shifting on the small space of his car. Once you've settled your eyes on him, you opened your mouth to thank him, only closing it back again when you realized he wasn't paying attention to you. Your heart rate picked up seeing how he's intently staring somewhere outside the confines of his expensive car.
"Isn't that your boyfriend?"
You swallowed hard, panic clouding your mind, "Kai... I... thanks for-"
"Are you seeing that?"
You hesitantly turned your head, following his line of sight. There he is. Your eyes stung, heart throbbing with pain as you processed the sight of his hands planted on a girl's hip, kissing her with so much passion outside of your own house. A bigger hole pierced through your heart, looking away immediately as you cannot look at the love of you life give all of him with a kiss. A kiss that isn't for you.
"I... yeah... uhm..." you blinked rapidly as you hurriedly shifted on your seat, trying to block your boyfriend and his other girl from Kai's sight with your body, "I should... go..."
He tore his eyes off them, furrowing his eyebrows at your strange actions, "what are you doing? He's literally cheating on you."
You shook your head, immediately regretting it, cursing yourself as the tears you've been trying so hard to hold back slipped, rolling so carelessly on your flushed cheeks, "no..." you chuckled bitterly, "no, he's not."
"Huh?"
"Look, Kai. I really need to go. I'm just so... tired..." you wiped off the tears with the back of your hand, "please, don't talk about this to anyone..."
"But..."
"Please? I can't do this right now..."
He let out a small sigh, his orbs held so much confusion and pity. You hated it. You never wanted to be looked at with pityness, but you guess you really are pathetic. "Well, it is your business... but can we talk about this? We're going to work together for a good amount of time. You know I can't just..."
You nodded your head, wanting to end this conversation already. You really are tired. You felt like you're going to pass out if this continues on any further, "I will."
Your glassy eyes met his happy, satisfied ones. Your body ached, you felt like you were going to get a really bad fever that'll kill you. Finally, you thought.
"Hey, love." He welcomed you home, immediately wrapping his arms around your waist. You felt your soul leave your body when he placed a small kiss on your lips, can't help but remember how he was kissing the other girl a while ago.
How is this so easy to him? When did going back to you right after he finished fucking other women became so normal to him? You can't help but blame yourself. You should blame yourself. This is your fault. You are the stupid one in the relationship.
"Saw pictures of you with that model earlier." He started, his eyes bore into yours, "was it good? Were you satisfied?"
"What?"
"He fucked you, didn't he?"
You gasped a single breath because that hurt. That fucking hurt. You felt like crying again. You were so fucking tired, so tired of working, so tired of crying, so tired of dealing with him.
All this and you can't find the courage in you to just let him go. You can't and as the time passes by, you hated yourself more and more.
You were so hurt, so mad, and all you wanted to do was to hurt him back. You wanted to make him feel what you felt almost half of the relationship, the hatred clouded your mind, overshadowed your love, but how could you if you weren't so sure if he cared, if he loved as much as you do.
"Yeah. T'was mind-blowing."
The next following days were a blur, meetings and discussions, on and on about how they'll introduce Kai and the plans about the up-coming movie. It was getting boring, yes, but at least you wouldn't have to spend more awkward time at home.
"I think it's best if you two attend the gala together."
Your eyebrow immediately shot up with that, "what about my..." you faltered, "my boyfriend?"
You can feel Kai's eyes burning holes through the side of your head, still very confused of what happened three days ago. He couldn't seem to find the best time to question you about it with how packed both your schedules are. You knew you were happy about it, dealing with people telling you how foolish your relationship with Baekhyun is definitely getting tiring.
"Yeah, I think that'll create a scandal, we don't want that." One of the staffs agreed with you, making you relax on your seat a little. You're sure you are currently agitated with him right now but you wouldn't want to create another fight to stress you and him out again.
Your mind flew to the night you stayed at home alone, to the nights he neglected you, to the nights to sobbed yourself to sleep. You were so miserable and you're still thinking of what he would feel right now? Would he care, though? You were pretty sure he won't be leaving with you that night, what would be the point of having him as a date if you would still end up driving home by yourself?
You cleared your throat, "but... yeah I guess having Kai as my date would be a great idea," you trailed, "after the movie announcement, it would make sense why, and... I don't think Baekhyun would mind."
"That's settled, then."
"What... what do you mean we're not going together?"
Your heart rate picked up as you paced through the house, getting what you needed for tonight's event before going to your stylist's place. You never actually had the time to talk to Baekhyun about the sudden change of plans because he knew, you knew, it was automatic. You're his plus one, and he's yours. It only changed this time.
"They needed me to go with Kai."
"What?"
"For work."
You sighed when he didn't respond after that, picking up your bag, ready to leave.
"But... but I wanted to spend time with you tonight..."
Your steps halted, eyes shifting from the door to him. Your blood boiled, a bitter laugh bubbled out your throat even before you could stop yourself, "Oh, Baekhyun, I know, you know, you would leave me for someone else," you broke off the eye contact, before he sees how broken you are, "don't lie to yourself."
#exo#baekhyun#baekhyun x reader#baekhyun angst#baekhyun imagines#baekhyun fanfic#baekhyun fanfiction#baekhyun fic
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S08E01
Ok so here's where D&D suck. They try to create an "open to interpretation" kind of scenario with most female characters, arya is definitely there but nobody is given a hard time over it more than Daenerys. They never explain or make her explain the why's & how's, because they want daenerys to be the "bad ass dragon queen whose impulse has given the show it's many epic cinematic moments"
GRRM does something quite similar too. He writes characters as faulted as human beings are supposed to be, he likes to conflict a reader's mind in the most tiring way possible. He said afterall he believes Faulkner's words "The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself".
He makes his character do an action/say some words that more or likely they HAD to. But then he introduces the consequences of the said action/words while at the same time he gives a reason & understanding of why such a hard decision was made/tough words were used. GRRM creates conflict in such a way that it is upto YOU. The Reader, to decide for themselves what they make of the situation. Which ultimately means it's only one's assumption to choose to believe the character was wrong because you choose to ignore the reason behind their action/words. While the one's who support the character chooses to accept the character not only with the reason behind the action/words but also with the consequences of it.
Your "hate" towards daenerys is just YOUR assumption, your villainization of daenerys is just YOUR assumption, your degradation of daenerys's efforts & experiences is just YOUR assumption. Not the actual story definitely not the author's intent.
The scene where daenerys takes the unsullied is the most bad-ass, jaw dropping & inspiring scene centered on a female character ever. When it dropped I remember GA being taken by how "bad-ass" she is. But now I see haters using Astaphor as a "brutality" condoned by daenerys. All because the show never cared to reflect upon a deeper more sympathetic thought process behind doing what she did. While tge book reading haters like I said above choose to ignore her reason & only care about the consequences.
Tv Show: "we never really get this sense .. of her capacity for cruelty. They are surrounded by people who are terrible people but haven't done anything to her personally. It's interesting to me how the sphere of her empathy widens the sphere of her cruelty widens as well."
-Dan Weiss ( X )
Books:
"I was alone for a long time, Jorah. All alone but for my brother. I was such a small scared thing. Viserys should have protected me, but instead he hurt me and scared me worse. He shouldn't have done that. He wasn't just my brother, he was my king. Why do the gods make kings and queens, if not to protect the ones who can't protect themselves?"
"Some kings make themselves. Robert did."
"He was no true king," Dany said scornfully. "He did no justice. Justice . . . that's what kings are for."
– Daenerys III ASOS
The show never showed this side of daenerys's story GRRM is literally giving a reason behind what she is doing at Astaphor while in the future books you get the consequences of those actions, THAT'S HOW YOU CREATE AN INTERNAL CONFLICT IN A READER (&/or) VIEWER.
What D&D do with dany all the time is leave her reasons behind & only show her actions & the consequences. Which over time lead everyone to believe she is descending into some form of madness, that she is an entitled power hungry monarch & that she is actually being a villain! Ignoring the fact that D&D draw inspiration for the show from a book series whose author treats all of his characters in a conflicting manner.
Something like that happened in s08e01. Am not talking about the s@nsa vs daenerys situation. I think it's a call back to Alaric Stark & Queen Alysanne Targaryen's relations. Alaric Stark was known to be cold & hard towards Queen Alysanne at first but eventually softened towards her in time being as he got to know her more. S@nsa stans don't need a reason to hate on daenerys so this storyline was like a gift to them to continue that petty hate.
No matter what their relationship prospers into I have to say s@nsa was being unnecessarily rude towards daenerys. Alaric Stark actually had a reason to be cold towards the Targaryens, his brother died defending the wall against a mutiny caused by some prisoners King Jaehaerys had sent to the wall. But there is nothing that daenerys did to harm the Starks?! S@nsa herself has no reason to hold a grudge towards daenerys or the Targaryens. The northern lords are being a bunch of ignorant fucks still dwelling on the politics of the past that which a "smart" person would overlook given the state of emergency they are in. Instead s@nsa is using that ignorance to incite more segregation in Winterfell. Knowing well that the wall was breached she is treating the dragons as a burden when girl! they are your best defence against the undead one that Night King controls. S@nsa might be smart but right now she is not acting smart!
Regarding the matter of food, I don't think s@nsa understands the level of danger that the oncoming army of the dead possesses against the living. Alaric Stark was judgemental of Queen Alysanne & the party that travelled with her because she wasn't necessarily there to defend Winterfell against anything, she was there on one of the many royal progression's that the king & queen did all over the kingdoms. But daenerys isn't here on some progress she is here to stand her armies beside the North men & Knights of the Vale in the fight. It is S@nsa's duty as the Lady of Winterfell to arrange for the food & other commodities for perhaps the greatest alliance northerners have.
I don't much tread into the doylism aspect of things but the way s@nsa said that she didn't account for the dothraki & the unsullied did she mean she was expecting Jon to die in the south? Because there was only two ways Jon's southern trip would go he might return with allies hence more mouths to feed or he might die. That sure don't sound all that smart of a deduction though!
When daenerys said "whatever they want" she defended her children reminds me of how everyone used to tell the direwolves don't belong inside the castle walls but out in the wild but the stark kids defended them anyways. Daenerys did the same thing too she defended her magical wild beasts who, just like the direwolves are dangerous & different.
Daenerys expecting respect from sansa isn't entitlement, Jon is S@nsa's king & daenerys is Jon's Queen. By that it is a certain decency to give daenerys that respect. In inside the episode video David nutter & Sophie say that s@nsa wants daenerys to know that this is HER home??! I mean daenerys doesn't want her home she wants your respect, she has a home it's called Dragonstone!
“No man has ever died from bending his knee,” her father had once told her.
“He who kneels may rise again, blade in hand. He who will not kneel stays dead, stiff legs and all.”
-the Kings Prize ADWD
I just can't wait until s@nsa softens upto daenerys like Alaric did towards Alysanne. So people can actually focus on other more important things in the storyline.
Then about the reaction Sam had when he learnt about his father & brother's death.. THAT WAS ABSURD. He clearly wasn't that sad when he learned of randyll's death but his brother's death affected him most. Which reminds me of a quote..
He wondered whether Dickon would shed a tear for his brother who died in the snow, somewhere off beyond the edge of the world. Why should he? A coward’s not worth weeping over.
-Samwell I, ASOS.
Do it now. Stop crying and fight, you baby. Fight, craven. It was his father he heard, it was Alliser Thorne, it was his brother Dickon and the boy Rast.
Craven, craven, craven. He giggled hysterically, wondering if they would make a wight of him, a huge fat white wight always tripping over its own dead feet.
Do it, Sam. Was that Jon, now? Jon was dead. You can do it, you can, just do it.
-Samwell I, ASOS.
Sam remembers his brother in the books with the likes of Ser Alliser Thorne & Rast. It is understandable that his heart might be broken to listen of his brothers death but to do what he did especially to the last remaining family of his mentor, Maester Aemon Who treated him 1000x times better than both his father & brother.. Maester Aemon felt so passionately about Daenerys & he only trusted that information to Sam.
"No one ever looked for a girl," he said. "It was a prince that was promised, not a princess. Rhaegar, I thought... What fools we were, who thought ourselves so wise! The error crept in from the translation. Dragons are neither male nor female, Barth saw the truth of that, but now one and now the other, as changeable as flame. The language misled us all for a thousand years. Daenerys is the one, born amidst salt and smoke. The dragons prove it." Just talking of her seemed to make him stronger. "I must go to her. I must."
-Maester Aemon, Samwell IV, AFFC.
Daenerys is our hope. Tell them that, at the citadel. Make them listen. They must send her a Maester. Daenerys must be counseled, taught, protected."
-Maester Aemon, Samwell IV, AFFC.
Alleras stepped up next to sam. "Aemon would've gone to her if he had the strength. He wanted us to send a Maester to her, to counsel her & protect her & fetch her safely home." "Did he?" Archmaester marwyn shrugged. "Perhaps it's good that he died before he got to oldtown. Elsewise the grey sheep might have had to kill him, and that would have made the poor old dears wring with wrinkled hands." "Kill him?" Sam said, shocked. "Why?" "If I tell you they may kill you too" marwyn smiled a ghastly smile the juice of the sourleaf running red between his teeth.
-Samwell V, AFFC.
It is so awful that Sam has infact put the last two family members of Maester Aemon's blood against each other. He is treating Daenerys the way he treated Alliser Thorne when Sam realised if Ser Alliser becomes the Lord Commander his life would be hell so he literally uses Jon & raises him to be a Lord Commander in the hind sight to protect himself. When Jon actually (in the books) decides to fight for Winterfell & take stannis's offer.
Instead, he blamed Jon Snow and wondered when Jon’s heart had turned to stone. Once he asked Maester Aemon that very question, when Gilly was down at the canal fetching water for them. “When you raised him up to be the lord commander,” the old man answered.
-Maester Aemon, Samwell III, AFFC
“Dragons,” Aemon whispered. “The grief and glory of my House, they were.”
- Maester Aemon, Samwell III, AFFC
Not only was Sam's reaction a little over the top but it was wrong how he channeled it upon Jon as well. He ruined the most important revelation of Jon's life because of, again, himself. Jon also didn't seem to care about the fact that daenerys is related to her (lmao) but was more taken aback by Sam suggesting him treason against daenerys.
I do not want to play the oathbreaker, even for good reason.
- Jon VIII, ACOK.
Jon Snow flexed the fingers of his sword hand, remembering all he’d lost. Sam, you sweet fat fool, you played me a cruel jape when you made me lord commander. A lord commander has no friends.
-Jon X, ADWD.
"I had a frightening dream last night, m'lord," Dolorous Edd confessed. "You were my steward, fetching my food & cleaning up my leaving. I was Lord Commander, with never a moment's peace." Jon did not smile. "Your nightmare, my life."
-Jon VI, ADWD.
Daenerys: "We all enjoy what we're good at" Jon: "I don't!"
-GOT, s07e03.
Jon doesn't want to have power for the sake of power. Over & over again in the books & in the show he made it clear he did what he did to fight the Army of the Dead not for a crown.
Jon: "Do you think we can beat the Army of the Dead without her? I fought them sansa twice, you want to worry about who holds what title I am telling you it doesn't matter. Without her we don't stand a chance.. Do you have any Faith in me at all?
Sansa: you know I do.
Jon: she'll be a good queen, for all of us. She's not her father.
Sansa: no, she's much prettier .... Did you bend the knee to save the North or because you love her?
-GOT s08e01
There are two reasons why anyone would bend the knee.
•Out of fear, fear of cruelty, collapse or death.
•Out of love & respect & trust.
Jon bent the knee to daenerys for the latter, that scene with sansa & Jon was cut off annoyingly leaving the argument hanging but there was more than just love, yes Love is there My god if this isn't what every jonerys stan had been screaming since s07 ended. But there was more than love, there was respect for letting him mine the dragonglass regardless of no existing alliance, there is also trust when daenerys actually not only let him go beyond the wall but also flew all the way there, solidifying the trust he placed in her to come to his aid without an alliance in place.
Jon glanced over his shoulder. The shadow was there, just as she had said, etched in moonlight against the wall. A girl in grey on a dying horse, he thought. Coming here, to you. Arya. He turned back to the Red priestess. Jon could feel her warmth. She has power. The thought came unbidden, seizing him with iron teeth, but this was not a woman he cared to be indebted to, not even for his little sister.
-Jon IV, ADWD.
But instead he chose to be indebted to daenerys by asking for her help without giving her anything in return. Because he trusts her to be a good, reliable Queen & she won his trust.
Sam: "Don't you know?
Jon: know what?
Sam: Daenerys, she executed my father & brother. They were her prisoners.
Jon: ......
Sam: she didn't tell you
Jon: I'm so sorry. We need to end this war.
Sam: would you have done it?
Jon: I have executed men who disobeyed me.
Sam: you've also spared men thousands of Wildlings when they refused to kneel.
Jon: I wasn't a king.
Sam: but you were you've always been. Jon: I gave her my crown Sam. I've bent the knee am not King in the North anymore.
Sam: Am not talking about the king in the north am talking about the king of the bloody seven kingdoms.
.......
your mother was Lyanna Stark your father, your real father was Rhaegar Targaryen. You've never been a Bastard you are Aegon Targaryen true heir to the iron throne.
.............
You're the true king, Aegon Targaryen, sixth of his name, protector of the realm, all of it.
Jon: Daenerys is our Queen.
Sam: she shouldn't be.
Jon: it's treason.
Sam: it's the truth. You gave up your crown to save your people would she do the same?
She literally did the very thing in s07e06 when she left dragonstone with Drogon, Rhaegal & Viserion to rescue Jon.
Tyrion: "You cant win the throne if you're dead. You cant break the wheel if you're dead."
Daenerys: "So what would you have me do?"
Tyrion: Nothing. Sometimes nothing is the hardest thing to do. If you die we're all lost everyone, everything!"
Daenerys: "You told me to do nothing once before & i lostened to you ... am not doing nothing again."
There are moments in the story both in books & show where we do undeniably see daenerys put the people or her children ahead of her crown.
That morning she summoned her captains and commanders to the garden, rather than descending to the audience chamber. "Aegon the Conqueror brought fire and blood to Westeros, but afterward he gave them peace, prosperity, and justice. But all I have brought to Slaver's Bay is death and ruin. I have been more khal than queen, smashing and plundering, then moving on."
"You have brought freedom as well," Missandei pointed out.
"Freedom to starve?" asked Dany sharply. "Freedom to die? Am I a dragon, or a harpy?" Am I mad? Do I have the taint?
"A dragon," Ser Barristan said with certainty. "Meereen is not Westeros, Your Grace."
"But how can I rule seven kingdoms if I cannot rule a single city?" He had no answer to that. Dany turned away from them, to gaze out over the city once again. "My children need time to heal and learn. My dragons need time to grow and test their wings. And I need the same. I will not let this city go the way of Astapor. I will not let the harpy of Yunkai chain up those I've freed all over again." She turned back to look at their faces. "I will not march."
"What will you do then, Khaleesi?" asked Rakharo.
"Stay," she said. "Rule. And be a queen."
– Daenerys VI, ASOS.
Not that she must or she needs to give up her crown for Jon or anyone so Sam can be convinced with her being a good queen. Fuck that! Sam is being impulsive here (something that daenerys is blamed of, turns out everyone does it) she has on multiple occasions put her people first. Sam hopefully learns it in time because his knows I don't want him to be the A-hole he acted like..
If she had been some ordinary woman, she would gladly have spent her whole life touching Daario, tracing his scars and making him tell her how he’d come by every one. I would give up my crown if he asked it of me, Dany thought … but he had not asked it, and never would. Daario might whisper words of love when the two of them were as one, but she knew it was the dragon queen he loved. If I gave up my crown, he would not want me. Besides, kings who lost their crowns oft lost their heads as well, and she could see no reason why it would be any different for a queen.
-Daenerys VII, ADWD.
A queen belongs not to herself but to her people.
– Daenerys V, ADWD.
The red priests believed in two gods, she had heard, but two who were eternally at war. Dany liked that even less. She would not want to be eternally at war.
- Daenerys V, ASOS.
"We will have it all back someday, sweet sister," he would promise her. Sometimes his hands shook when he talked about it. "The jewels and the silks, Dragonstone and King's Landing, the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms, all they have taken from us, we will have it back." Viserys lived for that day. All that Daenerys wanted back was the big house with the red door, the lemon tree outside her window, the childhood she had never known.
- Daenerys I, AGOT.
She did take a dozen flasks of scented oils, the perfumes of her childhood; she had only to close her eyes and sniff them and she could see the big house with the red door once more.
- Daenerys VI, AGOT.
"He died for me." Dany clutched her lion pelt to her chest. Underneath, a sheer white linen tunic covered her to midthigh. She had been dreaming of a house with a red door when Missandei woke her. There had been no time to dress.
- Daenerys I, ADWD.
"Is it Daario? What's happened?" In her dream they had been man and wife, simple folk who lived a simple life in a tall stone house with a red door. In her dream he had been kissing her all over—her mouth, her neck, her breasts.
-Daenerys II, ADWD.
Dany had never known a home. In Braavos, there had been a house with a red door, but that was all.
-Daenerys III, ADWD.
Soon Dany was as clean as she was ever going to be. She pushed herself to her feet, splashing softly. Water ran down her legs and beaded on her breasts. The sun was climbing up the sky, and her people would soon be gathering. She would rather have drifted in the fragrant pool all day, eating iced fruit off silver trays and dreaming of a house with a red door, but a queen belongs to her people, not to herself.
- Daenerys IX, ADWD.
Isn't it amazing how the very episode in which Sam raises the question "will she give up her crown?" is the very episode where daenerys said this
She obviously didn't feel at home neither at Dragonstone nor at Winterfell. This romantic moment is the closest to a house with the red door this show has ever done.
Also notice how throughout the episode whenever Jon is speaking to others he refers to daenerys as Queen. But when he is alone with her by that waterfall he refers to her as "a southern girl". Jon loves the girl daenerys not "the floppy ears" of the dragon queen that she wears..
If she had been some ordinary woman, she would gladly have spent her whole life touching Daario, tracing his scars and making him tell her how he’d come by every one. I would give up my crown if he asked it of me, Dany thought … but he had not asked it, and never would. Daario might whisper words of love when the two of them were as one, but she knew it was the dragon queen he loved. If I gave up my crown, he would not want me. Besides, kings who lost their crowns oft lost their heads as well, and she could see no reason why it would be any different for a queen.
-Daenerys VII, ADWD.
"So we pray. I want to plant my olive trees and see them fruit." Does it matter that Hizdahr's kisses do not please me? Peace will please me. Am I a queen or just a woman?
- Daenerys VII, ADWD.
So the point is neither does it make sense for Jon to turn against daenerys all of a sudden for something like a title that he himself just said doesn't matter to him. Given that the third episode is where the battle for dawn is supposed to take place. Iron throne is not on Jon's mind. Plus I don't think Daenerys will be anything but shocked, confused yet happy to find a family member, none other than the son of her elder brother whom she idolizes, she is in love with Jon as he is with her!
A crown should not sit easy on the head. One of her royal forebears had said that, once. Some Aegon, but which one? Five Aegons had ruled the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. There would have been a sixth, but the Usurper’s dogs had murdered her brother’s son when he was still a babe at the breast. If he had lived, I might have married him.
-Daenerys I, ADWD.
Ser Davos is already planning a better solution to all this. A just woman & an honorable man to probably get married!
Now I need Sam to somehow learn more & more about who daenerys actually is.
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Here's a Peter/Gamora Infinity War AU prompt. What if in Infinity War, Thanos didn't have Nebula as a captive, so takes Peter as well to make Gamora tell him where the Soul Stone is and tortures Peter who tells Gamora "Don't tell him. Don't you tell him!" So Thanos uses torture and resurrection on Peter over and over again to force Gamora to co-operate while the Guardians and Avengers plan an attack on Thanos.
Some parts of the dialogue are either directly taken from or a variation of dialogue from Infinity War. Warning for slightly graphic descriptions of torture.ao3 | word count: 2.7k
“Let her go, Grimace!”
Gamora’s heart leapt in her throat helplessly at the sound of Peter’s voice, watching him emerge from behind the rubble with his blasters held high, the tremble in his hands betraying the confidence in his stride. She felt the grip on her back tighten impossibly further, vice-like and awful and reminiscent of a long ago, but never-forgotten childhood. “Peter.”
“I told you to go right,” he said urgently, and all Gamora could do was choke out an agonized, sobbing laugh.
“Now? Really?”
“You let her go!” Peter demanded once more, narrowing his eyes.
Thanos, however, looming over her like a shadow (though he’d already been weighing on her mind and soul for what felt like eternity), merely smiled. “Ah, the boyfriend.”
“Like to think of myself more as a Titan-killing, long-term booty call. Let her go.”
Gamora let out an exasperated noise. “Peter.” His eyes met hers again, a hesitation in his step. “Not him.” Peter faltered entirely, his arms slowly inching back down, ready to fall to his sides entirely. “You promised,” she said, alarmed to find her breath catching in her throat, stuck with a cry that was desperate to climb its way out. “You promised.”
“Oh, daughter. You expect too much from him.” Another hard yank, and for a moment, it felt like all her hair was being ripped out, right down to her roots. All she could do was let out a painful exhale, pleading to herself not to let it show on her face. “You expect too much from them all, these companions of yours, these Guardians. What pleasure do you derive from protecting humanity from the inevitable, Gamora? What satisfaction do you gain out of your endeavors?”
“A purpose that belongs to me, and me alone.” Her voice shook as she spoke, her eyes still locked with Peter, frozen in the reminder of what he’d sworn to her not even an hour ago. “Responsibilities that motivate me far more than fear. And people who care more about who I am than what I can do.”
Thanos chuckled dryly. “And what would your dear Nebula have to say about that last one, daughter? What would she think if she were here?”
Gamora’s eyes widened, breaking eye contact with Peter to tilt her chin upwards in an attempt to look Thanos right in the eye, but to her dismay, it was now he who was looking at Peter, his eyes hungry for something she’d been fearing for four years, something she’d had nightmares about since the moment she realized he and the other Guardians were going to be important to her, now manifesting right in front of her. “You’ve seen her.”
“Some time ago, your sister snuck aboard my ship to kill me. And very nearly succeeded. What’s even more impressive is the fact she managed to get away before we could capture her. So…you see my dilemma.” His grip clamped around her entire midsection very suddenly; she felt the air leave her lungs, felt the crack of her ribs, leaving her gasping, burning up from the inside like the first time he’d taken her apart.
“No!” Peter broke into a sprint, his blasters aimed straight for Thanos’s head, but before Gamora could warn him - and how could she, her vision starting to fade in and out, her brain slowly shuttering down, the only sensation left in her entire body being the clench of her fists - Thanos snatched him up in his other hand, and then they were falling…falling…falling…and oh, Gamora thought weakly, this might be the end.
Gamora woke up approximately what felt like years later, finding herself laid out unceremoniously across a damp, ice-cold floor. She struggled to push herself up into a sitting position, still dizzy from asphyxiation, blinking blearily into the shadowed light. It didn’t take long for her to realize exactly where she was and what had happened, only for her field of vision to be interrupted by Thanos kneeling in front of her, holding out a bowl in a mock peace offering. “I thought you might be hungry.”
With the last ounce of strength she had left, she knocked it clean out of his hands across the room, her breath coming in short from the effort. “Of all the places to bring me…you knew I hated this room. This ship. I hated my life.”
“So I’ve been told. Every day…for twenty years,” he said bitterly, moving to sit on the steps of his throne. Gamora slowly turned herself around to face him, wincing at the way her bones ached. “The hours you spent - no, the hours you wasted - telling me I was wrong for saving you when your planet was on the brink of collapse. How do you feel now, knowing they know nothing but full bellies and clear skies?”
“I feel the same as I did before.” She inhaled, trembling. “That you’re insane.”
“This universe is finite, its resources finite. If life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist. It needs correction,” he growled.
“You don’t know that!” she shouted.
“I’m the only one who knows that. At least, I’m the only one with the will to act on it.” He got to his feet, moving closer, standing above her like he did before, casting her in darkness like he’d always done, like he always would. “For a time, you had that same will, daughter.”
“I am not your daughter,” Gamora said derisively. “Everything I hate about myself, you taught me.”
“And yet, here you are, the deadliest woman in the galaxy. The only one who I trusted to find the Soul Stone.” Thanos extended his arm, slowly rotating it around until the Infinity Gauntlet was undeniably in front of her face, obscuring her view of everything else. Every last Stone glowed blindingly, tauntingly, with the exception of one.
She glared up at him, her eyes cold. “Then I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
“I am disappointed. But not because you didn’t find it.” He leaned down beside her, his breath ghosting over her ear, whistling through her hair. She shivered. “But because you did. And you lied.”
Thanos roughly grabbed her by the wrist and yanked, dragging her along behind him. She snarled, beating her fist again his ironclad grip, resulting in nothing but her own bloody knuckles and a hoarse throat. They made their way down a damp corridor to a room she unfortunately knew too well, the doors shuttering open to reveal -
“No,” Gamora gasped.
“And just think, if he had kept his Celestial genetics, if he realized that his precious power he so carelessly threw away could save him…we wouldn’t be here, daughter. He wouldn’t be here.“
Peter was suspended in the air by a series of electrified cables, a form of torture oddly ancient, raw, and sadistic, even for someone of Thanos’s intentions and means, that dug deep into his skin, searing red hot welts into his body. Beads of sweat rolled down his face, his eyes half-lidded, mouth falling open further and further with every labored breath he took. Thanos flung Gamora forward like she was a mere ragdoll, and she immediately ran to Peter, stumbling over her own feet, cupping his face in her hands. “Peter.”
“Gamora,” he said breathlessly. “Fancy…meetin’ you here.”
She let out a noise she didn’t recognize, somewhere halfway between a laugh and a sob. “You’ve got a terrible sense of humor.”
“Won…you over…didn’t it?” he chuckled, his chest heaving, rattling ominously. “Don’t…tell him.”
“What?”
“He’s gonna…but you don’t…don’t tell him. Don’t you tell him a damn thing.” He smiled almost deliriously, like he was beginning to lose oxygen, or rather, that he’d been losing oxygen for a long time now. “You got this, Gamora. I…I know you do.”
It was then that she felt a hand on her shoulder. She automatically stepped back, reluctantly withdrawing her hands from Peter’s alarmingly cold face, though she fixed her gaze on the floor, refusing to look up. “I swear to you on my life…on his life…I never found the Soul Stone.”
“Are you certain, daughter?” A hum resonated through the room, so searingly loud she felt her teeth clatter, and with a flash of red light, Peter suddenly fell limp, his last breath coming out as a subdued whimper.
Gamora let out a blood-curdling scream, something so feral she barely recognized it had come from her own throat. She turned to grasp wildly at the Gauntlet, sucking in her breath, willing herself not to let the hot tears that burned in her eyes fall. “Please.”
Another flash of light, this time a sickly green, and Peter jerked to life once more, panting heavily; he could barely lift his head by this point. “Tell me again, Gamora.” She heard the click of Thanos’s jaw as he spoke. “Say it to my face.”
“I speak the truth…Father.” Gamora swallowed down the bile that was rising in her throat, lifting her chin to meet his violet gaze. “And this time, I want my ignorance to be your downfall.”
Thanos’s lip curled; he stepped back and released her, circling her like she was his prey. “You’re strong…me. You’re generous…me. But I never taught you to lie. That’s why you’re so bad at it.” Another hum, accompanied by the red light, and all Gamora could do was inhale her own voice before she could cry out again. “Where is the Soul Stone?”
Her eyes went to Peter’s lifeless body, lacking the wit, the light, the movement she’d grown to love so much. She had to fight back the urge to go to him, take his hands in hers, search for a pulse that she knew was no longer there. “We could live in this loop for infinity, Father,” she said, her voice thin. “Or you could choose to believe me.”
“You could have redeemed yourself in my eyes, you know.” Thanos continued to pace. “Four years ago, you betrayed me. You walked away from everything you’d ever known for people you barely trusted. But the moment you learned of his immortality, his power, you could have brought him to me. I would have let him live. I would have even let you be together, if he became part of our cause.” The green light nearly blinded her, and Peter once again found himself gasping for air, every inch of his body burning from the inside.
“Your cause,” Gamora sneered. “Never mine, never Nebula’s, never those who you stole from their homes, that you ripped every last piece of their humanity from, leaving them empty, leaving us empty. Just your cause. Your sick, twisted cause.”
“Remember your life by my side, daughter?” Thanos asked like he hadn’t heard her. “I fed you, clothed you, raised you into greatness. Saved you from the fate of your planet. Do you think you would stand a chance against the galaxy if I hadn’t done so? What would your life be then?”
“My life?” Gamora finally turned on her heel to face him, her eyes darkening. “All my life, I dreamed of a day, a moment, where you would get what you deserved. And I was always so disappointed. But now, you kill, and torture, and you call it mercy. And now I stand before you, and I do know something you don’t. You’re asking me to tell you…and I’m telling you…no.”
“You defy me, daughter?” Thanos growled.
“I already have. And now, I always will, with every last day that I have left. My only hope is that my days will outlast yours.” His fist clenched once more, and she squeezed her eyes shut, not sure if she could face the red light again, but then -
All Gamora could hear was a thundering, earth-shattering crash, then a ringing that echoed in her ears, melting into a high-pitched frequency that made her cry out; it took her a moment to even realize she’d been thrown to the ground. Peter was flung down beside her, the cables having been yanked right out of their reinforcements from the sheer force of the explosion, though they were still wound about his wrists and ankles. Then, there was silence, soon broken by a violent cough that rattled around in Peter’s chest; they were both covered in a thick layer of ash.
“Are you okay?” she whispered urgently. He reached over to squeeze her hand in silent reassurance, smiling weakly. Relieved, she crawled closer to bring her forehead to his, finally allowing one single tear to fall as she squeezed her eyes shut in meditative serenity, then turned away so she could look towards the source of the sound. Gamora groaned when she realized what had happened. “Nebula always did have a taste for the dramatic.”
Nebula emerged from the pod that she’d crash-landed upon Thanos’s head, wielding her electroshock batons above her head, though it was more of a stance of anticipation than a stance of victory. Several unknown figures burst through the hole she’d created, along with, to Gamora’s elation, Drax and Mantis, both seemingly unharmed. “Gamora!” Mantis exclaimed. “Peter! Oh, it is so good to see you’re both okay!”
“Okay…is a subjective term,” Peter rasped, struggling to stand. Gamora followed, tucking herself underneath his arm to steady him. “Who the hell are these guys?”
“We’re the Avengers, man,” one of them said; he sounded worryingly young. “I’m - ”
“No time for pleasantries, he’s getting up!” Nebula snapped. The others encircled the pod, watching apprehensively, weapons drawn at the ready. Suddenly, Thanos came roaring back to life, his voice raw with anguish, throwing the metal scrap clear across the room like it weighed nothing.
“Nebula,” he snarled. “What - ”
In a flurry of activity that Gamora’s oxygen-deprived brain still had trouble comprehending, everyone sprung into action, pinning Thanos down by various means she couldn’t even begin to understand, calling out orders to each other like they’d rehearsed it a thousand times over. One particular man made a strange movement with his hands, almost like a spell of sorts, and Mantis fell right through the floor like it was nothing, only to reappear right above Thanos’s head and drop down onto his shoulders. She wound her legs tight around his neck until he was gasping, dug her fingernails into his temples until he began to bleed. His eyes rolled back, mouth falling open like he was in a trance. The young one and another who appeared to be a metal humanoid went for the Gauntlet, bickering lightly as they slowly, but surely eased it off Thanos’s forearm.
Peter limped his way over, yanking one of his gravity mines out of his utility bag and clipping it onto Thanos’s belt. It immediately and quite literally brought him to his knees, hunched over and heaving like Peter had been not five minutes ago. “He’s all yours,” Peter said lowly, taking a step back.
Speechless, Gamora turned to Nebula. “You’re here,” she breathed. “Nebula, you - ” Overwhelmed, Gamora flung her arms around her sister, and was surprised to find her returning the gesture immediately, far less stiff than the last time - the first time - they’d hugged four years ago. Less surprisingly, Nebula broke the embrace first, though there was almost a hint of a smile in her usually cold eyes. Gamora peeled back her glove to reveal the small device hidden in the palm of her hand, chuckling disbelievingly. “I always said the distress signal would be of use someday. You never believed me.”
“Are you singing your own praises, sister?” Nebula said dryly. “I should expect nothing less.”
“It’s just…it’s so good to see you. I’ve missed you, more than I thought I ever would. And here you are…you came back for me.”
“Don’t exaggerate, I’m here for him.” Then, smaller, Nebula mumbled under her breath so lowly that Gamora could barely hear her. “But also…maybe.”
Gamora looked to Peter who was clutching his sides, looking battered and worn, but mercifully alive. “Peter?”
“I’m okay,” he wheezed. “Let’s put this asshole in the ground already.”
She laughed softly, turning back to Nebula. “Are you ready?”
“I have waited too long for this moment.” Nebula paced menacingly towards Thanos, drawing one of her electroshock batons out. “Do you have any final words for our father before we strike him down?”
Gamora came to a stop in front of Thanos as well, her lip curling with disdain. She unsheathed her sword. “I’ve said all I need to say. Now…it’s your turn.”
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